Actresses

Chapter 17 Cast

Shi Jiahe put down her phone, her expression returning to normal. "Where were we?"

The woman sitting opposite her gestured with her chin. "Is it another celebrity contacting you?"

"Yes." Shi Jiahe smiled, "Here, the boss's business is definitely the most important thing every day."

"Shall we continue, or are you leaving now?" The woman picked up her coffee, lowered her head, and took a sip.

Shi Jiahe quickly waved her hand and said, "No, no! She had some good news to tell me in advance, and we can talk about it when we get back to the company later. Right now, nothing is more important than what we're talking about. Do you have any suggestions about asking you to help find a screenwriter and script? After all, this is the first time we've led the development and production ourselves, so there are still quite a few blind spots."

Shi Jiahe gazed eagerly at the opposite side.

Compared to her own natural makeup, this woman's makeup was far more refined. Her shirt, adorned with a simple yet prominent designer logo, was neatly tucked in, and a brand-new handbag from last year sat beside her. She exuded an aura of generating economic benefits every single hour. While the platform isn't as extravagant as it was a few years ago, well-known platform producers shouldn't be underestimated.

As the head of a popular studio on a long-form video platform, Wei Ning has a remarkable track record, having produced several hit S+ series featuring popular young actors and veteran performers. Shi Jiahe approached her today for two reasons: firstly, they had known each other since their early days in production, working side-by-side through thick and thin together; secondly, Wei Ning had mentioned in an interview a few years ago her desire to create a major drama series starring movie stars, specifically mentioning He Yuran. However, the entertainment industry is unfortunate, and He Yuran's career has since peaked. Therefore, Shi Jiahe's visit today didn't start smoothly. But all of this was somewhat expected.

Fortunately, Wei Ning was still kind and considerate, and his overall tone had been quite polite throughout the conversation. However, Shi Jiahe could keenly sense Wei Ning's politeness and tactful refusal between the lines. But that didn't matter; even if she didn't achieve her goal, she could still try to gather as much information as possible before leaving.

Wei Ning thought for a moment and said, "Why do you guys insist on making a film about the entertainment industry? I think you shouldn't touch this subject matter no matter what genre you're going to work in."

"I remember a few years ago, there was a very successful drama about entertainment agents and artists," Shi Jiahe casually remarked.

She didn't really want to argue about this topic, otherwise she'd have to recount the long conversation she made to persuade He Yuran, which was too much trouble. The focus today was to convince Wei Ning to help her find a script.

"Oh, I know that one, but that was five or six years ago. Back then, it was considered a benchmark, but it's hard to say now—you know how fast the long-form drama market changes, especially in terms of policy. Entertainment-themed content itself carries a very high risk of censorship and public opinion controversy. After all, if you're talking about fandoms, disputes over billing order, or gossip, the risk is high, and the audience is very narrow, which naturally limits it compared to other genres. Casual viewers aren't interested in these topics, so it's much harder to break out of the niche. However, I suggest you make short dramas. That way, the cost is lower, you can see market feedback quickly, and the iteration cycle is shorter. Besides, why have your artists personally act in this kind of thing? Why not just invest in younger actors to fill the role?"

Shi Jiahe stared wide-eyed, stunned for a moment before saying, "But I think there's so much more to film in our film and television industry. It's not like every story about this industry is just about fandom rankings, right?"

"So what are you going to film? Completely ignoring topics like fans, talking about the actors?"

"It's not necessarily a bad thing!"

"Can you even film an actor's personal life? In the eyes of the audience, they're all idiots, lacking professional skills yet constantly whining. Wouldn't you be asking for criticism if you filmed that? Oh, Jiahe, you might not think so, because you're working with veteran artists—sorry, Ran Jie is indeed a veteran artist in my mind, compared to the young idols I've worked with—her professional skills are undeniably solid. But we all know that young idols are always out and about, either drinking too much on set and being late, or playing games all night. How can you film those kinds of things?"

Shi Jiahe was at a loss for words. She thought to herself, "You're going to completely deny everything right off the bat? At least let's look at the story first."

"But I think actors are human too. As long as they are human, they have stories that can be explored and told. What you're talking about is definitely not the focus we want to show. We should look for positive things. It mainly depends on our angle of approach."

"It's too difficult, my dear teacher Shi. For example, when making urban dramas now, people want to see the growth of working women, positive energy, and reflections of urban reality. What aspect of the entertainment industry fits this requirement? The entertainment industry is too far removed from the workplace in people's minds, from the current urban reality. Platforms are constantly making changes to submissions, and when artists go crazy, you have to deal with their PR. How can you film that? I just thought about all the things involved in dealing with traffic, and if you put them in a drama, there are very few things that can be presented openly. And they're too trivial to film. Viewers might think the entertainment industry is glamorous, but in reality, for us producers, a lot of time is spent sending each other various materials, cloud storage links, and long text messages as work evidence on WeChat, and then making phone calls to communicate about some really trivial things. Such static scenes can't be presented in film and television dramas, and even if they were, they wouldn't look good. What do you think?"

Just then, the phone rang. Wei Ning glanced at the screen and said, "Look at this. Here comes the trouble."

Then, she answered the phone, and as if possessed, immediately switched to a very ingratiating smile, quickly walking towards the garden outside the restaurant. "Oh, darling, tell me, I'm fine, I was just waiting for you to call me!"

The cheerful sound quickly drifted away.

Shi Jiahe sighed, leaned back in her seat, sipped her coffee, and glanced through the bright French windows at Wei Ning, who was walking back and forth in the courtyard with a beaming smile.

Looking back, six or seven years ago, when Wei Ning first joined the platform, she was quite humble and cautious when speaking to Shi Jiahe. Today, sitting across from her, she speaks to her in a tone that seems to be lecturing her. It's hard not to feel a bit wistful; back then, the platform was booming, and with its deep pockets, they could produce nearly ten films a year. Although the workload was heavy, a producer's experience could accumulate rapidly, like a snowball rolling downhill. In just a few years, one could become a seasoned producer, looking down on others.

But looking at it from another angle, the platform isn't having an easy time either. Producing a show is much harder than before, and investments have been drastically reduced. "You might end up begging our artists one day," Shi Jiahe thought through gritted teeth.

Just then, she suddenly noticed that Wei Ning, who had been holding his waist, was now pounding his temples, closing his eyes, and stopping his babbling. He seemed to have entered a state of sudden stillness.

Interesting, indeed, you switch between states with ease.

Shi Jiahe put down her coffee, sat up straighter, and leaned towards the window to observe the people outside more closely. She felt as if a dark cloud was floating over Wei Ning's head, and that a bolt of lightning might strike at any moment.

She guessed the caller had given her some kind of trouble. Ninety-nine percent of the time it was about billing order. Shi Jiahe could only guess. After all, Wei Ning sounded like she'd suffered immense psychological trauma from all this.

A few minutes later, Wei Ning hung up the phone, put on a stern face, and strode back to the restaurant.

"Sorry, sorry for the delay. Where were we?" Wei Ning said.

Shih Chia-ho casually remarked, "We can't film about the entertainment industry."

"Let me correct you, it's not that you can't take pictures, it's that you should try not to take pictures."

"So it's okay to take pictures?"

"Yes, there's nothing you can't film, but try to avoid it if possible, because the risk is too high."

Shi Jiahe thought to herself that he was quite meticulous, so she quickly replied, "You're absolutely right. You even analyzed the pros and cons for me just now. I've really learned a lot. You people who work on the front lines of production, dealing with policy trends and user preferences all the time, are much more knowledgeable. As a broker, I still have a lot to learn from you."

"Sigh, that's an exaggeration. What do you mean by 'knowing' or 'not knowing'? We still have to beg you artists every day." Wei Ning sighed.

One of Shi Jiahe's greatest strengths is her keen sensitivity to detail. Perhaps because she has spent a long time with the emotionally unstable He Yuran, she can instantly detect even the slightest emotional changes in people.

Without a doubt, Wei Ning must have encountered something related to celebrities. And it was an extremely difficult problem.

"What's wrong? Is there anything I can do to help?" Shi Jiahe asked.

"The male lead of my production wants to postpone the start of filming again. It's already been postponed for several months, and now it wants to be postponed again. How am I supposed to explain this to the platform's vice president? Besides, the director, actors, lighting, and production team are all booked. If he wants to make changes, everyone's schedule will have to be changed."

"What if we change players?"

"Replacing him won't pass the review. Going through the review process again is pointless; I'd rather make the crew wait another three months," Wei Ning sighed heavily. "There's no other way; the actors are the most important now. That's why I say you artists' agents are much better off than us producers who are caught in the middle. After all, you have more choices."

Shi Jiahe thought to herself, "Stop making fun of me." She originally wanted to ask a few more questions about the script, but seeing Wei Ning's worried face, it seemed difficult to continue.

But never mind, we don't know when we'll meet again, this time I have to make sure she finishes saying what she wants to say.

"Um... I just thought about it, and I still want to work on an entertainment industry theme. The reason I'm looking for a screenwriter is that I hope to create a script that's different from what we currently understand. I don't think actors lack suitable material to portray, especially actresses; their predicaments are undeniable, but the key is the angle from which it's told. And if you're worried about a purely entertainment industry theme, you can layer other genres, like suspense plus entertainment. The key is the characters in the story; the entertainment industry is just a backdrop, and the fan culture isn't the focus of the script I want to write. So, could you help me see if you have any screenwriters with original writing abilities? I can talk to them directly."

"Let me think about it. But I can't say when I'll get a reply. Screenwriters are everywhere, and there's a shortage of screenwriters everywhere, but screenwriters are never easy to find."

"I know that too. I just hope to get another chance."

At this moment, Wei Ning suddenly frowned. "Jiahe, did you... ask a lot of people about this?"

Caught off guard by the question, Shi Jiahe hesitated for a moment, thinking to herself that Wei Ning was quite cunning, and it was better to describe things vaguely. "I've only just started asking around, so I'm still being very cautious. After all, our Sister Ran is a big name, and if I ask too many people, it won't sound good if word gets out. So I only talked to a few people like us who I have a good relationship with and who I really want to collaborate with."

"Oh." Wei Ning nodded. "To be honest, I'd also like to work with you. But the problem is, the male and female leads in my projects are both around twenty-five years old, and we need to cast popular actors, preferably top-tier ones. Otherwise, the pressure on me is too much, so you have to understand. It's almost time; I need to go back to the company for a meeting to deal with these messy things."

"Okay, okay, then we can talk on WeChat anytime."

Wei Ning stood up, then sat down again. "Oh, there's one more thing I need to remind you of. The most troublesome thing for us when doing projects is getting approval. Since you're in charge of production, the most important thing isn't the script, but your cast. You must finalize it in advance. He Yuran alone is definitely not enough; you need at least two—or at least one—actresses with influence on the platform to even talk about getting approval. Do you understand?"

"Okay, okay!" Shi Jiahe hurriedly agreed.

Although Wei Ning is speaking bluntly now, he is indeed providing her with the specific information she needs.

On her way back to the studio, Shi Jiahe kept thinking to herself. Judging from the phone call, Sister Ran must have managed to get Jiang Fan on board. But Jiang Fan hadn't acted in several years, so he was clearly not a recognized actor on the platform, and he was also on the older side. In other words, the more pressing issue was that, in order to get the project approved, they would need at least one young, popular actor.

How am I supposed to bring this up with He Yuran? It's like throwing a bucket of cold water on her when she's in the middle of something exciting.

Just thinking about it put Shi Jiahe into a dilemma.