[Regarding YSYS’s new drama in production, are you optimistic about it?]
[OP: Rumor has it that YSYS is planning to shoot a mythological drama, a female-centric story with the “goddess saves the world” trope. Rational discussion—place your bets on whether it will flop or blow up…]
[Female-centric, goddess—I shake my head just seeing those two tags. Zero desire to pay attention.]
[Isn’t the director Zhang Shuo? Guanjun is really going all in on “For Your Sake”…]
[If I remember correctly, “For Your Sake” also had a female lead with a goddess-like setting, right?]
[Not exactly. I think she was a holy maiden—a holy maiden of the Snow Valley, guarding the sacred tree. Later, people hyped her up as a goddess.]
[But it was still a “protect all living beings” kind of setting, so it probably falls under the “goddess” label.]
[Does she even love them? I feel like she actually despises all living beings (indifferent melon-eating.JPG)]
[Aren’t we discussing YSYS’s new drama? Same genre, same director—Director Zhang already flopped once with this kind of material and basically ruined his reputation. Yet they still dare to hire him for the same type of show?]
[There’s still a difference between mythological dramas and xianxia romance dramas, right… Director Zhang made a show called “Legends of the Mountains and Seas” before—it even aired on television and had decent ratings.]
[That’s exactly what people said to hype up “For Your Sake” back then, and look how that turned out—a spectacular flop (laughing to death).]
[Can’t YS just keep making sweet little romances? No matter how rich the company is, they’re still newcomers to the industry. Low-cost, small-scale sweet romances are the right path. Why can’t they see that and insist on making a mythological drama?]
[But the screenwriter is Song Zhizhi. That makes me feel like the script might be reliable…]
[“Little Sweetheart” had the original novel as its foundation, and the author was even on set throughout production. As long as they didn’t get hit by a sudden “inspiration” and start randomly cutting or changing things, the plot couldn’t go bad.]
[The comment above might as well have said “anyone could have done it.” But if that were the case, with so many adaptations out there, why did “Little Sweetheart” become a hit? The answer is simple—because most screenwriters nowadays are overflowing with their own “brilliant ideas.”]
[“The goddess loves all beings” again. Isn’t this trope exhausting? Can’t they just focus on making a sweet little romance? Isn’t that good enough?]
[All beings don’t need a goddess to love them! Does the goddess even know how busy she is? There’s nothing else to write about, so they just keep milking female-centric stories!]
[I was starting to like Guanjun because of “Little Sweetheart.” She seems crazy, but at least she takes her work seriously. Now looking at this, it feels like she’s gotten too full of herself.]
[Breaking news! The producer of “For Your Sake” just posted on Weibo, talking about some behind-the-scenes experiences from various productions over the years. Seems like a subtle jab at Director Zhang Shuo for chasing fame!]
In an instant, the gossip-loving netizens in the forums all flooded over to Weibo.
Ying Shi was no exception.
The timing of this Weibo post was undeniably suspicious.
“So what he’s saying is that Director Zhang’s stubbornness caused ‘For Your Sake’ to flop?”
Ying Shi pondered thoughtfully. “Is he afraid that Director Zhang will use ‘The Legend of Medicine Maiden’ to clear his tarnished reputation? That would leave him alone stuck in the pit—and that’s not a pleasant thought.”
Previously, the public criticism had focused on the male and female leads. Even if the producer bore some responsibility, he could always hide behind the excuse of “not wanting to offend the investors.”
But neither the male nor female lead was happy with that. Now, with the director working on a new drama, the old stories about “For Your Sake” were being dug up again.
The producer’s move, aside from being self-serving, was also likely an attempt to divert the audience’s attention.
Ying Shi glanced at the comments. “The fans have finally found their chance.”
The male and female leads of “For Your Sake” had suffered significant losses because of that drama, becoming go-to negative examples frequently cited by film and television bloggers in their critiques.
Those critiques had consistently focused on the actors interfering with the production—repeatedly bringing up how they had “sudden bursts of inspiration” on set and kept changing the plot. This had reinforced that impression among netizens, damaging the leads’ public appeal.
One could only imagine how frustrated their fans must have been.
Now the producer had come forward, implying that the bad plot was due to the director’s lack of control.
Of course, in Ying Shi’s view, that wasn’t entirely wrong either—Director Zhang shouldn’t have let the two leads run wild.
If it had been Ying Shi, she probably would have argued with the leads, and in the worst case, she would have replaced them.
In a production environment like that, she might as well have walked away.
[The storm has passed! Finally, the truth comes out! Xiao Fang is just an actor—if the director didn’t approve it, how could those scenes have made it into the show?]
This was from a fan of the male lead, Fang Kaiyun.
[Cheng Cheng has had it so hard. She put her heart into making a drama, only to be stabbed in the back by the director.]
This was from a fan of the female lead, Qiao Cheng.
[It’s just blame-shifting. The director has the most power on a set. When the drama flopped, they started putting out press releases saying the actors changed the plot!]
It was unclear which side this person was on, pretending to be a neutral netizen.
[Because the original investors pulled out, Xiao Fang invested his own money just to save the production. And yet they twist it into him buying his way into the role!]
“Was it true that the male lead stepped in to cover the investment?” Ying Shi couldn’t help but feel curious when she read this.
【You can exchange points for the answer.】
Ying Shi dropped her curious expression. “No exchange.”
Then she muttered to herself, “Director Zhang is working for me now. Why can’t I just go ask him directly? Why waste points?”
【……】
With that, Ying Shi opened her own Weibo profile, replied to a comment on her most recent post, and reposted it.
[Mushroom, is it true you’re really making a mythological drama? And Zhang Shuo is directing? Well, good luck. Just remember, you’ve got no one to fall back on.]
[Procrastinating Drama Watcher v: Thanks for the support! I’ll do my best. I made the decision to produce this drama, I chose the director, I approved the screenwriter. As the investor and producer, I trust my own judgment. If the drama becomes a hit, it’s because I have a good eye. If it flops, that’s on me too—because without my approval, this crew wouldn’t have been put together in the first place. // @……]
[……]
[Isn’t this just openly slapping them in the face?]
[I knew it—keep your eyes on Guanjun, and there’s guaranteed drama!]
[Laughing to death. Guanjun is busy preparing her new drama, and then some random person pops up to nitpick the director she chose. If it were a random netizen, fine, but this guy is someone with vested interests who’s worked with the director before. Who would put up with that?]
[That Xiao Yi is really disgusting. He’s the producer, and the male and female leads were investors too. Are you telling me the three of them couldn’t outmatch a director just doing his salaried job?]
[Do you think we all have amnesia? Back then, they used behind-the-scenes footage of the leads adding and changing scenes as a selling point, hyping them up as “actors who think.” Now they’re trying to throw the director under the bus?]
[If you’re the producer, you have some say, don’t you? The drama flopped—maybe you should take a look in the mirror too (dog head).]
[It’s exactly like a work team—one person in charge, two nepotism hires. When the project fails, they make the only person who actually did any work take the fall (laughing to death).]
Ying Shi was satisfied. She put down her phone.
For the next while, she would focus her energy on casting.
Her fingers tapped the keyboard as she created a reference document for herself, listing the roles she cared about most. She would have Su Manwen stagger the audition times so she could be present for all of them.
…
The auditions would naturally be held at the Ying Shi Entertainment office building. The fourth-floor conference room would be cleared out, and staff would be arranged to guide people along the way.
Seeing that the time was about right, Ying Shi came down from the twelfth floor, ready to watch the auditions for the female lead, Yao Sanxiu.
As she reached the fourth floor and was about to enter the conference room, she noticed a conspicuous figure in the crowd of auditionees.
“Isn’t that Qiao Cheng?” Ying Shi asked the system.
Qiao Cheng, the female lead of “For Your Sake,” was also one of the reasons Director Zhang had been so frustrated back then.
Her fans had been charging ahead earlier, trying to drag Director Zhang through the mud. In the process, they had even lashed out at Ying Shi, an outsider who had simply spoken up for the director.
After that, they seemed to have calmed down a bit—they weren’t acting as unhinged as the male lead’s fans.
Qiao Cheng was here to audition? Auditioning for the role of Yao Sanxiu?
Ying Shi had watched “For Your Sake.” The female lead’s performance had been incredibly affected. The character was supposed to be an innocent, unworldly, cool and ethereal holy maiden, but Qiao Cheng had played her as haughty, condescending, and dismissive of others.
From what Director Zhang had mentioned, Qiao Cheng was the eldest daughter of the Qiao Group. She had only entered the industry as a hobby, just playing around.
So now she had her sights set on the role of Yao Sanxiu?
Fortunately, Ying Shi didn’t need to attract investors for her dramas, so naturally, she wouldn’t be threatened by Miss Qiao.
She pushed the door open and walked in, noticing Director Zhang frowning. She casually asked him about it.
“I saw Qiao Cheng,” Director Zhang said. Then, as if realizing something, he added, “Don’t worry, Boss Ying. She’s not right for Yao Sanxiu. I won’t agree to it.”
“Whether we agree or not, let’s wait and see her audition first,” Ying Shi replied. She didn’t like to speak in absolutes. But seeing that he was still troubled, she thought for a moment and naturally understood what he was worried about.
If Miss Qiao’s audition was poor and she ended up not getting the role, it wouldn’t have much impact on Ying Shi or the new drama “The Legend of Medicine Maiden.” But it would affect Director Zhang.
After all, he still had to work in the industry. Offending the eldest daughter of the Qiao Group would likely cause him no small amount of trouble down the line.
Actors came and went from the audition room. When it was finally Qiao Cheng’s turn, the room fell silent.
The facts proved that her performance was indeed inadequate.
Well then. The pressure was now on Director Zhang.