While the TV drama director was anxious, Shao Yichen's side was also having headaches.
An early release date! Doesn't that mean rushing the work!
Rushing work! Doesn't that mean overtime!
—And she would have to work overtime along with everyone else!
Shao Yichen had just relaxed for two weeks before being forced to leave her leisurely life and return to being a miserable corporate slave.
Nevertheless, when Li Qianqian asked if she wanted to push back the film's release date a bit, she firmly refused.
Lose the battle but not the stance, don't hit someone in the face—no, that's not right—it's about pride, not gain. Wasn't the reason Shao Yichen chose "The Long Ballad of Immortals and Demons" as the subject precisely to compete with Fu Lianghui?
If she couldn't directly confront Fu Lianghui, what meaning would her work have!
With this twisted mindset, Shao Yichen swept her hand and set the release date one week after the TV series version's premiere.
So in the following three months, the usually lazy Shao Yichen, working overtime alongside the system, experienced the so-called "blessing" of 996 work schedule for the first time. Physically and mentally exhausted, she vowed never to work overtime again—and never to make others work overtime either.
But the results were remarkable: through the joint efforts of the special effects team and the system, not only was the film version of "The Long Ballad of Immortals and Demons" completed in time for release, but the effects were even more outstanding than originally envisioned, truly at the cutting edge of technology and first-class quality.
Shao Yichen looked at the final cut and let out a long sigh of relief.
Strictly speaking, this was her first film that she had truly put effort into making.
She didn't know how the final cut would be received, but she and the other crew members had indeed given their all.
Besides... she had made that bet.
Whatever happened now, she could only do her best and leave the rest to fate, Shao Yichen thought.
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While Shao Yichen was anxiously waiting for the film's release, there were others also awaiting it.
However, their thoughts were quite different from Shao Yichen's—they hoped the film would be as terrible as possible! The special effects as awful as possible! The box office as poor as possible!
That's right, these people were Fu Lianghui's fans.
It must be said that although these people becoming fans of Fu Lianghui indicated that they had at least one severe problem with either their judgment of people or their mental processes, their fan experience over this period had undoubtedly been miserable.
Their favorite celebrity was rejected by the film industry and returned to acting in TV dramas. To make matters worse, an up-and-coming film director had somehow taken a stance against them—when the TV drama released stills, the film also released stills; when the TV drama set a release date, the film immediately announced its release date. The two productions would officially premiere just one week apart, and if you counted the film's preview week, the difference between the film and TV drama's release was just one day!
This was clearly a direct challenge to the TV drama!
For a time, Fu Lianghui's fans were in turmoil. Some clearer-minded ones had already predicted that their idol's TV drama might not be well-received and started to change their stance, saying they should focus on themselves. Another group of fans still fantasized that this work would help their idol turn around public opinion and regain the momentum he had as a top celebrity a year ago.
Yuan Lan belonged to the latter group.
She had started idolizing Fu Lianghui more than a year ago, when he was still a top-tier celebrity in the entertainment circle, with fame on par with the GG Boy Band, and was about to release a big-budget film—he was at the peak of his career. It happened to be right after her college entrance examination, when she was extremely bored. As a fan who admired success and supported career development, Yuan Lan naturally didn't hesitate to become Fu Lianghui's fan, starting to cheer for "brother," joining fan groups to scream with like-minded "sisters," and even becoming a small fan leader in the fan circle.
However, since she joined, Fu Lianghui's career had begun to decline. His film flopped, and his variety show was canceled, making her wonder if she was the legendary jinx. After losing the TOP filter, Yuan Lan gradually realized his acting was really quite ordinary. Even so, she still retained a slight visual filter for Fu Lianghui and continued to hope that her "brother" could make a beautiful comeback through this TV drama.
For this purpose, she had firmly decided not to watch Shao Yichen's film version of "The Long Ballad of Immortals and Demons"—how could she contribute even a bit of box office to her brother's competitor? No way! She absolutely wouldn't go!
However, that evening, her best friend of ten years excitedly contacted her, saying she was finally on summer break and wanted to invite her to watch a movie together.
Since they had attended different universities in different cities, they could only communicate via electronic means, and the only opportunities to gather were during summer and winter breaks. Therefore, as soon as Yuan Lan heard this invitation, she agreed without hesitation.
Then, the day before their meetup, she remembered to ask her best friend what movie they would be watching.
Her friend sent her a screenshot of the movie, and Yuan Lan took a careful look—it was a preview screening of "The Long Ballad of Immortals and Demons."
Not good, she felt like she was having a heart attack.
But her friend knew nothing about the entertainment industry, and could even be considered a casual fan of Li Xingyu, completely unaware of the complexities of the entertainment world. As for the fact that "The Long Ballad of Immortals and Demons" had two versions, she probably had no idea. Her booking this ticket was most likely just a coincidence.
It was too late to cancel the tickets now, so Yuan Lan, a Fu Lianghui fan, had to reluctantly embark on the journey to watch the film version of "The Long Ballad of Immortals and Demons"—after all, a real-life friend was more important than a distant idol.
One movie ticket couldn't change anything anyway, Yuan Lan consoled herself.
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Yuan Lan and her best friend, each holding a large bucket of popcorn and a cup of juice, with cute 3D glasses that formed a matching pair on their heads, entered the cinema.
Actually, though Yuan Lan said she wouldn't watch it, she was somewhat curious about the film. She had seen photos of Li Xingyu and watched variety shows where he appeared alongside Fu Lianghui, and had to admit that even as Fu Lianghui's competitor, his looks were truly impressive. As for Shao Yichen, the title of "up-and-coming director" had been hyped for a long time, and although she hadn't watched any of her films, she had inevitably heard about her a few times.
Though she wouldn't admit it, this movie trip with her best friend did satisfy her secret curiosity.
The two took their seats in the theater, and soon the entire screening room fell into darkness as the film began.
The opening was a long shot.
A spiritual bird shimmering with blue light flew down from the mountaintop through the clouds, past architectural ruins hidden among vegetation, past the "Changge Peak" plaque shattered into several pieces, past mountain paths, and finally through the new branches of a spiritual tree that had been split in half at the waist at the foot of the mountain. The camera followed the spiritual bird, finally focusing on a figure in white beneath the tree.
Yuan Lan knew this should be the film's protagonist, Qi Changge.
And she had to admit, Li Xingyu was indeed very suited for this ethereal, flowing-robed immortal look. Framed by light and shadow, he truly seemed as if he might ascend to immortality at any moment.
Looking at the white-robed figure on the big screen, Yuan Lan even forgot to breathe for a moment.
—Perhaps even a true immortal would look no better than this?
When Yuan Lan realized what she was thinking, she felt a sense of shame, as if she had betrayed her organization.
Yuan Lan, oh Yuan Lan! Weren't you supposed to be here to scout the enemy for Fu Lianghui? How could you have thoughts of switching sides so quickly!
Is Fu Lianghui's face inferior to Li Xingyu's?
But although she desperately tried to brainwash herself, in a corner of her heart, an honest voice told her: it truly was inferior.
And this sense of inferiority stemmed mainly from demeanor rather than facial features.
To stand out in the entertainment industry, Fu Lianghui undoubtedly had a good-looking face. But even if he wore the same outfit, he would still give the impression of just "an attractive ordinary person."
This was, to some extent, also a difference in acting ability.
While Yuan Lan was waging an internal tug-of-war, her best friend was watching with keen interest. Less interested in celebrities than Yuan Lan, she leaned over and whispered in Yuan Lan's ear: "The special effects look great! The fight scenes must be amazing!"
Only then did Yuan Lan shift her attention specifically to the special effects and settings.
Indeed, the special effects were truly eye-catching and perfectly integrated with the characters and scenes, clearly the result of considerable effort.
And after the female lead appeared, the scene where Qi Changge threw a weapon at her was so immersive and thrilling that it instantly captured both Yuan Lan and her friend's attention. They simultaneously stopped chatting, sat up straight, and became fully immersed in the plot.
Yuan Lan, having learned early on that Fu Lianghui would star in the TV drama version of "The Long Ballad of Immortals and Demons," had already read the novel and knew the plot inside out. Therefore, when watching, she was less focused on the storyline and more on observing how well the film had been adapted.
Shao Yichen had previously made original screenplays—how would she fare now that she had chosen to adapt a major IP?
She soon discovered that this film adaptation had its own distinctive approach.
Shao Yichen hadn't simply copied the script from beginning to end but had boldly given it a complete makeover without hesitation.
Specifically—she had not only adjusted certain emotional aspects of the book's characters but also dramatically reduced some dialogue in the romantic scenes between the Heart Demon and the female lead, relying more on the actors' expressions and demeanor to convey emotions.
This was actually quite a risky approach, as such adaptations were thankless tasks. If the actors' skills couldn't support this style of performance, the effect would be even worse than simply following the novel faithfully.
But Yuan Lan found that Li Xingyu's performance blended seamlessly with this adaptation.
In fact, reducing the dialogue actually highlighted his exceptional acting skills.
Moreover, since the Heart Demon character originally had a personality that disdained talking, this adaptation made the distinction between him and Qi Changge's true self even more apparent.
Yuan Lan gradually realized that the reason Shao Yichen adopted this risky approach might be precisely because the actor was Li Xingyu.
She had chosen this method to highlight Li Xingyu's acting skills!
She sadly realized a truth—after the TV drama aired, Li Xingyu and Fu Lianghui's acting skills would undoubtedly be compared.
And from any perspective, the loser wouldn't be Li Xingyu...
Author's Note:
Today's update! Thanks to all the little angels who cast emperor tickets or watered me with nutrient solution during 2020-10-05 12:06:49~2020-10-06 20:49:09 period~
Thanks to the little angels who watered with nutrient solution: Meow Meow Meow 10 bottles; Little Jing 1 bottle;
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!