Chapter Twenty: The Rise of a Star and an Actor
"The top ten brokers" is a name that He Muyin has vaguely heard of, but he can't quite recall who the specific ten people are.
There are thousands of big and small stars in the mainland, and there are also many agents. Some have a thriving business and fame that is no less than that of ordinary stars. Others work behind the scenes, willing to be a star's pusher, doing things low-key, but their strength cannot be underestimated. So some media selected the top ten most famous and powerful agents from among the many big-name agents, also known as the "Top Ten Agents in Mainland China".
He Mu is just a small person at the bottom of the entertainment circle, and those gold medal brokers only know a few with high popularity and exposure. Among them, the most famous one is Wang Jinghua, who left Huayi Brothers in May this year and joined Orange Sky Entertainment to establish Orange Sky 18 Culture Brokerage. "Sister Hua" has an unshakeable position and connections in the entertainment circle. Her departure led to Chen Daoming, Xia Yu, Liang Jiahui, Liu Jialing, and more than a dozen other big-name artists jumping ship with her, almost emptying out Huayi Brothers' brokerage firm, making it one of the biggest entertainment events of the year. Who else can be called "the number one broker in mainland China" but her?
There are also Li Xiaowan, who discovered Zhou Xun and Chen Kun, and Chang Jihong, who made Jiang Wenli, Liu Yan, and Sun Li famous. They should also be among the top ten. As for He Mu's knowledge, it is limited to this extent, and he doesn't know more than that. After all, he has not yet truly entered this circle and can only be considered a peripheral figure.
He Mu did not guess who would be his agent, Xiao Fang told him straightforwardly that the person was "Datang", He Mu thought for a moment and said he had never heard of it.
Xiao Fang also understands that although Da Tang was one of the earliest agents in the mainland, he has always been very low-key. In 2003, his reputation reached its peak, but it was also a mixture of praise and criticism. At that time, He Mu was still a high school student and had not yet developed an interest in the entertainment industry, so he naturally did not pay attention to the sensational entertainment events at the time.
After that, Datang gradually faded out of people's sight, quietly operating his own brokerage firm, but also declining day by day. The company's profits were not optimistic, just at this time, the ambitious and heroic Xiao Fang invited him to serve as the director of the Tiger Wolf Artist Department, not only offering an annual salary of one million, but also promising that the company would get 30% of the profits from the artists alone, and also gave him a great deal of autonomy. In addition to their previous interactions, multiple factors led to Datang joining Tiger Wolf.
When Da Tang walked into Xiao Fang's office, He Mu saw his agent for the first time and unexpectedly it was a handsome man. Da Tang was over thirty years old, of medium build, with short hair and a small mustache, clear and elegant eyebrows and eyes, refined and cultured, giving people a good impression at first sight.
He Mu bowed slightly and said: "Hello, Teacher Tang."
Da Tang waved his hand and said lightly: "My surname is not Tang, Da Tang is my stage name. I'm older, just call me Old Tang."
Xiao Fang smiled and said: "Da Tang is from Tangshan, Xiaomuzi you guys are considered old friends. Since we all know each other now, let's talk about cooperation. Da Tang, go ahead."
Da Tang and He Mu sat opposite each other, Da Tang said slowly: "Before we discuss cooperation, can we have a casual chat? The more I understand you, the better I can tailor our promotion to suit you, which will also benefit our cooperation."
"No problem." He Mu stabilized his body and listened carefully.
"When did you start having the idea of wanting to be a star?" was Da Tang's first question.
Should I be honest? He Mu's heart was filled with doubts.
Xiao Fang seemed to know He Mu's thoughts, "To tell the truth, let Teacher Da Tang help you with the right medicine."
Alright, let's just say it, it's not like it's something shameful.
He murmured to himself: "I think it was during my senior year of high school, I had a crush on a girl in class. Actually, I'd had feelings for her for a long time, but they just got stronger and stronger during that year. At the time, she really liked some Korean celebrity, I forgot what his name was, only remembered it was an English name. Although that Korean celebrity was just an unreachable idol from abroad, I still felt uncomfortable in my heart."
He Mu saw Da Tang making records on the spot and continued: "At that time, I thought, isn't it just being a star? That Korean can be popular all over Asia, and I can be popular all over the world. Now thinking about my thoughts at that time, they are indeed quite childish. It was because of this childish idea that during the winter vacation in 04, I came to the capital alone to take the entrance exam for the Beijing Film Academy. At that time, I only knew that it was the cradle of mainland stars, and my mother's favorite Little Swallow Zhao Wei also came from there."
He paused for a moment, then continued: "Although I thought I had a talent for acting, at that time I didn't have any preparation at all. During the exam, my eyes went black and I naturally didn't pass. After failing, I stubbornly refused to go back to school, feeling that it would be too embarrassing to return in such a sorry state. So I hung around the entrance of the Beijing Film Studio for several months, playing minor roles for several months. It was during these few months that I developed a sense of admiration for those actors who were filming. What I admired wasn't their glamorous side under the spotlight, but rather how they could portray all sorts of lives in front of the camera. I fell in love with this feeling."
"At that time, I wanted to be an actor. When I was a kid, I thought about becoming a writer or painter, but at that time, I just wanted to act. So after the college entrance exam, I came back here and signed up for acting classes, but in the end, I didn't pass the exams, only passing the first round of auditions.
He Mu didn't say why he failed three times, it's pointless to talk about it too much. "After failing the art exam for the second time, I went south to do extra work, from Xiangshan to Hengdian, until two months ago when I came back to Beijing to act in a web short film."
"Do you still have feelings for that girl?" Da Tang was still concerned about He Mu's emotional issues.
"I'm not clear either," He Mu shook his head, "She was studying at Beida, but during that time in Beijing, I never went to look for her."
Datang thought for a moment and didn't delve deeper into He Mu's emotional issues. He changed the subject, "You said earlier that you want to be an actor, not a star, right? Do you understand the difference between an actor and a star that I'm referring to?"
"I understand what you mean. I hope to be an actor who attracts everyone's attention, rather than a fleeting meteor. What I like is acting." He Mu thought for a moment before saying.
"It's tough, actors are lonely, and stars are in the spotlight," Da Tang said thoughtfully. "But it doesn't matter, this is just a dream of yours, don't take it too seriously. My skills can at most help you become a star, but if you want to become a star actor or artist, that depends on your talent and hard work, others can't help you with that, you won't be too demanding of me, will you?"
"Of course not, I also agree with your point of view, any achievement is inseparable from one's own efforts." said He Mu Dao.
Datang nodded in satisfaction with He Mu's answer, but whether he was sincere or not would have to be tested by time. "Let's talk about the contract now." Datang took a paper from Xiao's hand...
Thank you for the reward and evaluation votes from Little Water Drop, sister is really bright!!! The big arm starts to rise, brothers' recommendation votes are still not quickly presented!!!!!
