yournovel Chapter 88 premiered ahead of schedule.
Chapter 88 premiered ahead of schedule.
Meanwhile, in the president's office of Xingyao Entertainment.
Li Mo frowned as he watched the online storm.
Although Lu Ran had made a confident promise before, long-running dramas were still Xingyao's weakness, and Li Mo didn't have much confidence in them.
He picked up the phone and called Lu Ran: "Lu Ran, have you seen the news?"
On the other end of the phone, Lu Ran's voice was languid: "I saw it, Mr. Li."
What do you think?
"What do you think?" Lu Ran smiled. "Just a clown jumping around. Don't worry, Mr. Li, when 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes' airs, they'll realize how ridiculous they are right now."
Li Mo was taken aback for a moment, then laughed: "You're quite confident, kid."
"It's not confidence," Lu Ran said. "It's that their work is just awful."
"Alright, then you handle it, kid. This time, it concerns Xingyao's honor, so don't mess it up." Li Mo's words of advice came from the other end of the phone.
After hanging up the phone, Lu Ran stretched.
He watched one episode of Xinghua and Xingguang's drama. He was a little worried at first, but after watching it, he was no longer worried at all.
What the hell is this awful show?!
Lu Ran felt it was necessary to let the people of this world eat more coarse food.
...
A month later, as expected by the industry, Starlight Entertainment's "Sword's Roar to the Ends of the Earth" and Star China Entertainment's "The Court in Turmoil" were released a week ahead of schedule during the summer season, thanks to a well-planned publicity campaign.
On the day of their premiere, both dramas surged to the top two spots on the trending topics list.
#Swordsman's Roar Premiere Ratings Exceed 1#, #Courtroom Drama Costumes and Props Aesthetics Are On Point#, #Raymond Lam's Action Scenes Are So Cool#, #Best Actress's Acting Skills Are God-like#... Related topics occupied six of the top ten spots on the trending search list.
According to platform data, "Sword's Roar Across the World" surpassed 50 million views on its first day, followed closely by "The Court in Turmoil" with 48 million views.
Such a start is nothing short of a dream come true.
What excites viewers even more is that both companies have adopted a strategy of releasing two episodes a day, with additional episodes on weekends.
For a time, viewers were immersed in the plots of the two hit dramas, engaging in heated discussions every day.
"The action scenes in 'The Sword and the Hero' are so exhilarating! This is what a martial arts drama should be like!"
"The palace drama in 'The Court of Imperial Censors' is so good! Every character is so vivid and realistic; the acting skills of these veteran actors are truly exceptional!"
"Being able to watch four episodes every day is so wonderful!"
In contrast, Starry Entertainment's "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" is eerily quiet.
There was no trailer, no promotional posters, and not even a single still image was released.
The official Weibo account's latest post is still from a month ago, when they were recruiting singers for the theme song.
Xingyao's situation, especially when compared to Xingguang and Xinghua, is particularly glaring.
Public opinion began to overwhelmingly criticize Xingyao.
"Has Xingyao given up on everything? They've even stopped doing any promotion?"
"I guess they saw the quality of 'Sword's Cry and 'Courtroom Storm' and knew they couldn't compete, so they simply gave up."
"Lu Ran is still too young. Short dramas can become hits because of their novel themes, but long dramas are different; they require depth and experience."
"I heard that the budget for 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes' was less than half that of the other two films. How can they be compared?"
"Starlight and Star Glory release two episodes a day. Even if Star Glory is released, it probably won't be able to catch up with the popularity."
Even within Xingyao itself, a pessimistic mood began to permeate.
In the break room, several employees were whispering among themselves:
"I heard that Wang Wei, the director of Department Six, is already contacting other companies. I guess he wants to switch jobs."
"No wonder, our company suffered a humiliating defeat this time."
"Minister Lu hasn't made a move, and Director Chen Ke hasn't said anything either. Could it really be..."
In the office of the Sixth Department of Long-form Drama, Wang Wei looked at the playback data of "Sword's Roar Across the Horizon" on his computer screen, and couldn't help but smile.
He picked up his phone and sent a WeChat message to Zhang Dehai in the Seventh Department: "Old Zhang, did you see that? Starlight and Star Entertainment have really gone all out this time. Our company's 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes' is nowhere to be seen. I heard that the production department is already discussing cutting the post-production budget."
Upon seeing Wang Wei's message, Zhang Dehai remained unusually calm.
Although his views were basically the same as Wang Wei's, he always felt that this matter could not end like this.
He had no intention of changing jobs; he just wanted to stay at Xingyao until he retired.
After thinking for a moment, he still sent Wang Wei a message as a word of advice: "Wait a minute, I think Lu Ran is acting a bit strange."
Wang Wei smiled when he saw Zhang Dehai's reply.
He laughed, saying Zhang Dehai was terrified of Lu Ran; wasn't the current situation clear enough?
Whether it's Starlight or Star Radiance, Lu Ran can't beat either of them.
"I'm planning to leave next month, and I've already contacted Xinghua. Lao Zhang, do you want to consider it too?" After all, they were former teammates, and Wang Wei felt he was giving Zhang Dehai a chance, hoping to lend him a hand.
But this time, Zhang Dehai did not reply to the message.
Wang Wei didn't care, turned off WeChat, and continued reading "The Sword's Roar Across the Horizon".
The more he looked at it, the more he felt that his decision to switch jobs was absolutely correct.
Xinghua offered him a high salary, which was much more promising than working for those people at Xingyao.
Only in a company like Star China Starlight can he fully unleash his talents.
...
At the training base, Tan Yu and his group also felt the pressure from the outside world.
"What exactly is Brother Lu waiting for?" Zhao Dapeng asked, scrolling through Weibo with a worried look on his face. "The internet is full of people cursing us right now."
Liu Jun remained calm: "What's the rush? Brother Lu definitely has his plans. Have you forgotten what happened with 'The Return of the God of War'? Nobody was optimistic about it at first either."
"How can that be the same?" Tan Yu said. "Short dramas have lower costs and more room for trial and error. This is a long drama, with an investment of tens of millions. If it flops, the losses will be huge."
"We've filmed more than half of our drama. How about we discuss with Lu Ran about making a trailer first?"
Everyone understood what Tan Yu meant.
If "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" flops, Lu Ran's status in Xingyao will plummet, and those who follow Lu Ran will not fare well either.
"I believe in Brother Lu," Sun Tianyu, who had been silent all along, suddenly spoke up. "He never does anything he's not sure about."
Despite saying that, the atmosphere at the training base inevitably became heavy.
Only Xu Manxue seemed completely unaffected.
Besides training, she practices singing every day. She has mastered "Another Me in the World" and has even figured out several different ways to perform it.
After hearing her audition once, Lu Ran simply said, "That's good enough. We'll record it once the drama airs."
Waiting for the show to air?
Although Xu Manxue didn't know when she would have to wait, she chose to believe in Lu Ran.
That afternoon, she was practicing singing in the practice room when Tan Yu pushed the door open and came in.
"Manxue, have you checked Weibo?" Tan Yu's expression was a little strange.
"What's wrong?"
"The director of 'Swordsman's Cry' and 'Courtroom Storm' was interviewed today and asked for his opinion on 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes'." Tan Yu handed her his phone.
In the interview video, Chen Kai, the director of "Sword's Cry to the Ends of the Earth," said with a smile: "I admire the drive of young people, but making a drama is not like writing a song; it requires experience and reflection. I hope my colleagues at Xingyao can be down-to-earth and not be overly ambitious."
The director of "The Court in Turmoil" was even more direct: "I haven't read the script for 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes,' but I heard the screenwriter is a music producer? It's like being in a completely different field; I suggest you focus on your main job."
...