I'm just an actor

Chapter 104 Theme
Zi Zeng said that plans can never keep up with changes.

After only two days in Shanghai, Xu Rong's single-minded plan to catch Tong Zirong's experience points had to be shelved again.

"Crossing the Guandong" exploded, and its ratings were close to CCTV's single-episode ratings record.

A series of constantly refreshing ratings data, the hustle and bustle of the media and the Internet, Xu Rong, who is at the two points and one line between the practice room and the hotel, did not have a deep impact, because "Yangcheng Dark Whistle" he starred in also created ratings in the southern region records, and are still maintained to this day.

What really affected his life was that he had to ask Tong Zirong for leave again and return to Beijing.

Recorded the ace column "Art Life" of CCTV Variety Show.

Of course, it was not aimed at himself, but at the entire main creative crew of "Crossing Guandong".

The battle is quite grand, and the storytelling master Shan Tianfang will give a speech. At the same time, Wang Gang, an avid fan of "Crossing the Guandong", will be invited to tell his feelings about "Crossing the Guandong" from the perspective of an audience.

Even among the opening dramas over the years, this is unique, and the reason is quite simple, the ratings data.

After memorizing the questions in the script almost without much difference, Xu Rong walked out of the CCTV building.

After parting from the crowd, Xu Rong looked back at the CCTV building. He believed that one day, he would be on this show alone.

Seeing him staring at the building in a daze, Li Youbin patted him on the shoulder and asked, "What are you thinking? Let's go, go to my place for a drink?"

Xu Rong nodded, got into Li Youbin's car, and said with a smile, "I'm thinking, when will I have the opportunity to be on the show just now?"

Li Youbin snorted, and said, "Going up is just memorizing lines, what's so good about it?"

Xu Rong smiled and didn't answer his words. He knew that Li Youbin might never be on this show.

Li Youbin doesn't really get along with CCTV.

After "Bright Sword" became popular, CCTV followed the early tradition of not separating the production and broadcasting, and cast "Man Standing Attention". During the filming, Li Youbin resigned midway because he was dissatisfied with the other party's various rules and regulations. Although the producer found someone to replace him However, due to the lack of such a hot top celebrity like Li Youbin, the TV series was not released in the end.

It became one of the TV series that failed to make the cut last year, not only losing money, but also losing face.

But we can’t do anything with Li Youbin. Back then, Li Youbin brought his family and his family to the capital, but his organizational relationship was still there, and he just stayed without pay. After "Bright Sword" became popular, his relationship was transferred to the national dialect, but he was sent away. The August [-]st factory was involved, which was quite complicated.

"Look at us, even if you're not satisfied with us, you don't have to hold your nose and invite us." Seeing Xu Rongguang smile, Li Youbin also smiled, "They want ratings, and without us, they really can't do it."

"It's not like a play led by some people, it can't even catch up with the beginning of the year."

Xu Rong couldn't help laughing. Li Youbin was talking about his starring role in "Harbin Under the Night". Although it is confirmed to be broadcast on CCTV's comprehensive channel, the exact time is still uncertain, but it is estimated that it will definitely be out of the question as the beginning of the year.

"Head, look at that." Xu Rongsui pointed out the car window.

Li Youbin glanced around and found nothing but rows of pagoda trees, and asked, "What are you looking at?"

"I saw a grape seller on the side of the road just now, do you think it's sour?"

"Why don't you just sit here and don't move, and I'll buy you some oranges?"

Xu Rong squinted, sighed, and said leisurely: "You said that I am only in my early twenties, and the starring role is broadcast on CCTV. Tell me, where do you reason?"

Li Youbin smiled and said, "Hey, I guess I gave away a lot of money, right? I remember that you filmed a movie before and wanted to sell it to CCTV, but you didn't want to die. After a few days of broadcasting, the results were terrible. Even TV stations couldn’t watch it anymore, so they stopped it.”

"No, I don't have such short-cuts." Xu Rong sat up straight, and his face was flushed as if he had been slapped by someone's big ear.

The more he regards acting as his career, the less he wants to mention it now.

Even if he is not the male lead and the second male lead, as one of the main creators, as an actor, the scenes he filmed were completely rejected by the audience, and the TV station was forced to stop broadcasting. For any actor, it is a great shame.

It's like a man being told no by his wife.

Seeing that Xu Rong was hesitating and unable to answer, Li Youbin patted him on the shoulder and said, "I'm just kidding, why are you so eager to catch your eye? I watched a few episodes of your scene and it was pretty good." Well, it was sold in the wrong place.”

Xu Rong leaned back on the back of the chair again, he also thought so, because he talked about this play with Li Xuejian, Zhang Weibei and He Zhengjun later, and they all commented very well.

But it just can't stop the audience from not buying it.

He didn't want to talk more about this topic, so he turned his head and asked, "What's the plan for this year?"

"Transformation." Li Youbin said without thinking, "It's really not going to work if you don't transfer. The Anti-Japanese War is getting worse and worse, and period dramas are not doing well. Criminal investigation can be accepted, but recently I haven't received any good scripts."

A strange idea suddenly popped up in Xu Rong's mind, and he said, "If you want me to say, if you have a similar book, you can take on the role of the emperor."

Li Youbin said: "I would like to, but which TV station would dare to buy it?"

After finishing speaking, he seriously thought about the feasibility of Xu Rong's proposal. His original plan was to copy his old job and play the transformation of the villain, but the current environment is tightened, and the villain is at best a male two male three , in that case, he would have to lower his salary.

After waiting for a while, Li Youbin raised his head and asked, "What about you, are you still filming spy wars?"

Xu Rong shook his head and said: "I have a wide range of acting, so it doesn't matter what I shoot. You don't know. The books that were handed to me have all types, and I can't pick them. What is the main thing? The audience recognizes us. play, for example"

Li Youbin couldn't listen anymore, so he stopped him: "Will you die if you don't brag?"

Xu Rong smiled and said: "Don't believe me, the one I filmed last year, I collaborated with Gao Xixi, was a drunk and rich man, and played an honest middle-aged man. I read a book recently, and the more I thought about it, the more I thought it was good."

"That's right, you're not married yet, so don't let your waist down."

Xu Rong hasn't been filming for a while, except for looking over the script of "Latent", he really doesn't have much free time. A while ago, he was studying with Tong Zirong during the day, and at night he went through all the popular dramas from last year and the year before, watching while watching. take notes.

It's not to learn how other people act, but to compare the ratings data obtained through the company while watching dramas, to see which dramas have high ratings, and which dramas have started to decline in ratings.

He is very aware of his shortcomings and is not very good at picking books.

A good book may not make a good movie, but a bad book will definitely not make a good movie. He understands this truth quite well.

In fact, even if Li Youbin didn't call him over today, he would still have to come over to sit around when school starts.

Talk to Shi Lanya.

After entering the house, Shi Lanya was busy cooking, when he saw Xu Rong coming, he poked his head out of the kitchen and said, "Little Xu is here."

She heard her husband say that Xu Rong was coming to record a show yesterday, so she knew that he was likely to come to eat at home.

Li Youbin and Xu Rong are usually busy, so they haven't sat together for a while.

"Hey, sister-in-law, I'm here again for dinner today."

"Don't worry, I won't starve you."

Li Youbin touched a cigarette and was about to light it when the lighter ignited. He turned his head and glanced at a certain room, then let go of it again, stood up, and pointed to the balcony towards Xu Rong.

On the balcony, Li Youbin lit a cigarette. Seeing Xu Rong following him, Li Youbin closed the floor-to-ceiling windows and asked, "I didn't ask carefully before, why did you cooperate with that Song Jia again?"

"You've always heard everyone's evaluation of Zhou Xingchi, right?" Xu Rong shook his head with a smile, he knew what he was asking, and explained, "Her business level is very good, you should understand that."

Li Youbin nodded, understanding what he meant.

It's okay to cooperate, but it's okay to make friends.

Xu Rong was quite surprised that Li Youbin came to smoke on the balcony. He looked into the room and asked in a low voice, "The child is back?"

Li Youbin punched his nostrils and let out a nasal sound: "En."

Earlier, Xu Rong had heard Li Youbin complain on the phone several times, and one time he was probably so angry that he couldn't make it through, and wanted to divorce Shi Lanya.

Li Youbin's son lives with his ex-wife, and they are also supported by him now. Shi Lanya also brought a son here, who is also raised by Li Youbin.

But after all, the child is not his own, and he doesn't appreciate it at all. The relationship between the two of them was not very good.

Xu Rong smiled wryly, and said, "Just take good care of me, but then again, don't you plan to ask for another one?"

He won't say things like "If I knew today, why did I have to do it at the beginning?"

Li Youbin took a breath of smoke and spit it out quickly. He didn't know whether he was exhaling smoke or sighing, and said: "Your sister-in-law disagrees. I see people who are almost fifty. It doesn't matter whether they can live until their children get married." Well, let’s forget about it, let’s not talk about this.”

"You told me earlier that I tried it, and it's not bad. It's much better than when it first started." Li Youbin wiped his mouth with a smile, "You're calling me dad now."

Xu Rong vaguely guessed what he wanted to say, and said, "Then you don't favor one another, your son is still your own relative after all."

"Is that what you need to say?"

"It's time to eat, why did you smoke it again just after entering the door?"

Shi Lanya came out of the kitchen, saw that there was no one in the living room, walked a few steps, turned her head and saw Li Youbin sneaking up on the balcony to smoke again, she walked over in three steps at a time, opened the French windows, and before she could speak, Li Youbin walked over Stuff out the cigarette.

The two looked at each other, smiled at the same time, and said nothing.

"Eat and eat."

"Dad, why don't you stay at home for a few days this time? Let's go skiing tomorrow?" The two of them had just entered the room when a fat boy about seven or eight years old came out of the room, rubbing his eyes and seeing Xu Rong, He was stunned for a moment, then turned around suddenly and slid into the room.

After waiting for a while, he put on another short sleeve and walked out, ready to be served.

Shi Lanya stared: "Go and wash your hands."

"Mom, in front of outsiders, can you save me some face?"

Li Youbin smiled and said: "You still know how to save face, but you are so naked that people can see it. This is your Uncle Xu."

"I know, I know, Uncle Xu, I've watched your TV series, do you really know martial arts?"

"Which way will I be? I will act."

Xu Rong tried his best to control the smile on his face as naturally as possible. This was the first time in his life that someone called him "Uncle".

When the little fat man went to wash his hands, Li Youbin smiled and said, "Why, are you still not used to it?"

"kind of."

Li Youbin sighed, "I got used to it slowly. When I was young, there were not a few children at your age who could run on the ground. By the way, when will you get married?"

"what happened?"

"Hey, I'll be waiting for you to kowtow and call daddy then."

Xu Rong grinned and said, "That's not impossible. I owe the company more than 1000 million. Do you want to pay it back for me?"

Li Youbin unscrewed the wine bottle, poured a cup each, and said, "I'm just kidding you, haha."

Seeing the two talking more and more outrageously, Shi Lanya said, "You two have got it, you two are long and short all day long, by the way, Xiao Xu, how is the house you bought?"

Xu Rong didn't pay attention to this very often. The price increase must have increased, but for a while, he didn't plan to sell it. Although he bought a set of 1000 million, he planned to keep one for himself. , the other set is going to be doubled several times in four years, rising to 16 times, that is, it will be sold after 1.6 million.

As for why it is four years, because this is the way to increase before.

Xu Rong thought for a while, and said: "A few days ago, I read the news that it was rising. Hey, head, sister-in-law, let me tell you that buying a house is really profitable. I bought a one-bedroom apartment in SJS. It’s almost doubled, if I had money back then, I’d have bought it in the city, and now it’s almost three times the price.”

Li Youbin and Shi Lanya looked at each other, and said: "Then I'll look back and see what I'm afraid of. If I buy it and it falls, isn't that a loss?"

"Anyway, I don't think we can lose money. If we keep increasing like last year, it will be more money than filming. However, we can't tell what the situation will be. If we really lose money, we can't rely on me."

Xu Rong was not sure when he finished speaking, because he didn't know much about this aspect, he turned his head, looked at Shi Lanya, brought the topic back to the original intention of coming here, and asked: "Sister-in-law, how do you feel about family ethics dramas?" , can you take it?"

Without even thinking about it, Shi Lanya said: "Then you have to look at what kind, it will be in the 90s, isn't it just Zhang Damin who is talkative."

Seeing that Xu Rong frowned slightly, Shi Lanya continued: "Look at what you want to express. In the past, they all talked about social ethics and moral issues, and they focused on relatively large aspects. Now it's different. They focus on more detailed things. Although both are family ethics, the content of the story is completely different.”

Xu Rong nodded and said: "I also feel this. Since last year, those purely eulogizing scenes have decreased a lot."

"Both of you drink less, Xiao Xu might have something to do in the afternoon." Seeing that Li Youbin and Xu Rong were having a fight, Shi Lanya persuaded him to pour another drink, "Actually, you can judge the logic of the script yourself. You must also pay attention to one thing, which is positive energy. The "Forgiveness" you received before is not because of this."

"Yes, a group of people who are purely cheating money."

"Those books have their own problems, and it's a good thing for you if they didn't make it. No show is better than a bad one." Shi Lanya got up, and brought a pack of papers, "Logic, positive energy, these two points are in place, It’s not a big problem to sell it, but if you want it to become popular, you have to read more current affairs news.”

Xu Rong and Li Youbin looked up at her suspiciously at the same time, and asked, "Current news?"

"That's right, if you don't read the news, how do you know what the people care about? For example, after the opening up, Western culture flooded in, and moral values ​​deviated. "Longing" became popular, and later more people went abroad. "Beijing People in New York" became popular. Yes, and later, there were more migrant workers who went out to work. With the "Migrant Workers of Survival" you filmed, college students' employment and lack of self-motivation have become social problems. The change of concept, the popularity of "Golden Wedding", these are all related."

Seeing Xu Rong nodding her head, she continued: "The problem that everyone cares about and is troubled by, you don't think that officials don't see anything, do you? Problems must be solved, and there are many ways. Literary works guide thinking. First, this has always been the keynote. What era is it? You can’t persuade people to read more, right? TV and movies are what everyone is willing to accept, and they are also the best way to spread values. - Brain, look at those TV series and movies that are banned, which one is not a naysayer?"

Xu Rong thought of something else, and said, "But there are some that don't involve these issues."

"I'm talking about the mainstream, and of course it's not absolute. A particularly good book, coupled with a good behind-the-scenes, can also produce blockbusters, such as "Soldier Assault", but overall, the risk is very high. Anyway, I think Ah, you can never go wrong as long as you follow the social issues."

Xu Rong raised the doubts in his heart and asked, "Then why did the spy war become popular in the past two years?"

Shi Lanya asked back as a matter of course: "When will the spy war not be popular?"

"When you go forward decades, 20 years, 30 years, 40 years, when will the spy war not be popular? Five 60s, "Yangcheng Dark Whistle", "Harbin Under the Night", "No. 51 Military Station", "Lin Haixueyuan", Which one is not a classic? Spy wars and criminal investigations satisfy the general curiosity-seeking psychology of the audience, burying questions, creating suspense, and then slowly answering for you. Of course, there have been no good works for a few years, but that is a human problem. It doesn't matter, it will be in the future, this is a kind of eternal theme."

Li Youbin and Xu Rong slammed their cups together, smacked their lips, and said, "According to what you mean, Xiao Xu might as well shoot spy wars with all his strength?"

"See how much money he wants to make?" Shi Lanya said with a smile.

"What do you mean?"

"If you really want to make a lot of money, which group has the ability to pay, you can target that group to take the show. For example, if you film something that children love to watch, such as "Happy Planet", endorse a learning machine, a repeater, etc., for sure. No problem, but the audience itself does not have strong financial ability, and the merchants will not charge you too much endorsement fees, let alone spend sky-high prices to buy TV advertisements. If that is the case, you might as well sing Peking Opera, etc. One day you will become a master of Peking Opera and endorse health care products, the elderly will be richer than you think."

Xu Rong understands that his film salary is related to his fan base, the more popular and financially capable the audience, the more willing the TV stations are to buy his plays, and the more keen the advertisers are to buy the corresponding advertising space, which means that As a result, the producers will fight for him and tighten their belts to raise his salary.

As for how to have a universal and financially capable audience, it is natural to focus on social hot issues, or what Shi Lanya said will last for a long time.

understood.

(End of this chapter)