CHAPTER 701: CHAPTER 494: OUT OF THEIR MIND (PART 2)

Fortunately, the upward momentum of several new male actors in the company is quite good. Zhou Jianfeng is about to shoot "Under the Grand Dress" with Zhou Yun, and his breakout moment is just around the corner, while Wen Yucheng has taken on a lead role in Chengqian Film and Television’s self-produced drama, alongside Xu Siyao. Luo Lu also has a continuous stream of acting offers; although he isn’t playing lead roles, he’s constantly landing roles as the second or third male lead. He Yong had sent these three to audition for "Under the Grand Dress" because he was very optimistic about these young talents.

He Yong thought that no matter what, the pace of nurturing new talents must not stop. In addition to that, he was also contemplating recruiting other talents.

He had his eyes on Zhang Mo, who co-starred with Zhou Yun in "Falling Leaves."

Zhang Mo was previously a stage actor with very few film and television credits, and "Falling Leaves" hadn’t been released yet.

He Yong had heard Zhou Yun talk about Zhang Mo, and Zhou Yun had a high opinion of him and praised him a lot. He Yong felt that if he could sign Zhang Mo and manage him well, he might be able to position him as a strong actor. The film and television market is increasingly in demand of such strong acting talent. They might not all play leading roles, but almost all second male leads are strong actors. This is a mainstream casting strategy in the current market—to use celebrities for lead roles and solid actors for secondary roles, ensuring both commercial value and the quality and reputation of the drama.

He Yong had already added Zhang Mo on WeChat and had chatted with him online for quite some time. He felt it was time to have a face-to-face conversation.

He Yong even thought that Zhang Mo might just become the next Song Chi.

Even if the chances are slim, it’s worth a try, isn’t it?

...

Song Chi replied to everyone’s congratulations one by one.

He actually felt a bit regretful because he was going to be a juror for the "Un Certain Regard" section, but this time, not a single Chinese-language film had been shortlisted for the section.

A reporter asked why he decided to go to the Cannes Film Festival despite being in a wheelchair.

Song Chi answered, "Every person who loves film will overcome all difficulties to attend this film party, and besides, this time Xiao Yun is also going, and I want to accompany her."

Song Chi’s response was widely shared.

The headlines became "Song Chi Goes to Cannes Film Festival with Zhou Yun Despite Fracture."

Upon seeing this headline, Zhou Yun’s first reaction was that it was excessively... embarrassing. These clickbait headlines always try to create sensational stories.

"Song Chi is deeply in love with you," Yuk Chu laughed over the phone.

Zhou Yun: "Get lost, don’t you start annoying me too."

Yuk Chu said, "I saw this news and thought it was funny, really funny."

Zhou Yun: "These news outlets nowadays, there are hardly any that do proper journalism."

"What else can they do? Nowadays, everyone is competing with them for news and publishing stories. If they don’t do something to stand out, how can they compete?" said Yuk Chu, "But you guys are amazing— one is a nominee, and the other is a juror, and you both just happen to be at the same festival. It’s no wonder everyone is so hyped about it."

"I’m surprised myself," said Zhou Yun, "It really is quite a coincidence."

Yuk Chu: "It’s good. I hope you bring back the Cannes Movie Queen award this time."

"Don’t jinx it," Zhou Yun laughed.

Yuk Chu asked, "But there’s still a chance, right?"

"This kind of thing depends on luck. It’s not like I can just say I want it and then I will get it," said Zhou Yun. "What have you been up to recently?"

Yuk Chu said, "I’ve just finished shooting ’Imperially Granted Constable,’ and tomorrow I’m joining the cast of ’Time Flies.’ By the way, help me promote my new drama later, it’s airing tonight."

"Sure thing, on Weibo, right?" Zhou Yun asked.

"Yes," Yuk Chu said. "It’s a drama I shot last year. Even though I’m not the female lead, I really like the role I played. She’s very cute."

"Is it that ’Despicable Love Object’ you mentioned before?" asked Zhou Yun.

"That’s the one," Yuk Chu said. "I play a top-notch green tea bitch in it, and I really enjoyed playing her, haha."

"Then I’ll have to check it out," Zhou Yun said.

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Yun logged onto Weibo and quickly found Yuk Chu’s post promoting her new drama.

Zhou Yun shared the post, commenting: Looking forward to Xiao Yuk’s new drama, got my little stool ready, starting to binge-watch tonight.

"Despicable Love Object" is a mid-budget web series airing on Chestnut Video, scheduled for tonight. There’s not a single mention of it on the trending searches, indicating that there really wasn’t much funding for marketing.