Chapter 3 Paper Tiger

  "Li Hao." Lin Xiao calmed down and said in a deep voice, "My head is a bit dizzy. Which company do we belong to now? Who's our agent? Are there any notifications?"

  "Huaxia Film and Television Entertainment! Agent CAMI, what's the notice? It hasn't been finalized yet, but the three trial outlines that were taken out at first were personally selected by you." Li Hao looked at him worriedly "Xiao Ge, why don't we let the doctor take another look?"

  Lin Xiao fell silent for a moment before smiling and saying "I'm fine, I just wasn't fully awake. You've reminded me of everything now. I'll watch some TV and take a rest."

  "If anything happens, just call me." Li Hao hesitated for half a day and still went out.

  Lin Xiao quietly closed his eyes, tidying up the threads. It seemed that everything had undergone some subtle changes. In his previous life, at this moment, he hadn't signed with a company, nor would he have received any notifications. Yet now, the trajectory of fate had deviated by a thread.

  Suddenly, the cold system sound rang out again. "Newbie mission unlocked: Help Huaxia Entertainment Company get out of trouble. Reward all points 20 points. If it cannot be achieved within a year, the system will automatically eliminate the current host and find the next host."

  Huaxia Company

  He was stunned for a moment, could it be the company he is currently in? The situation doesn't seem that optimistic.

  "Knock knock." Just as he was thinking, the knocking sound came again. He had just said come in when the door was pushed open a crack.

  Right behind her came a woman in her late twenties, dressed in a feminine tailored suit, with her hair slicked back and wearing a pair of thick black-framed glasses.

  At this moment, the system in Lin Xiao's mind went crazy "Found A-level agent CAMI, A-level side mission started. Graduated from University of Southern California, resume: 96-97, Gwenyth Paltrow's agent. 98..."

  "Top agent? University of Southern California?! Gwyneth Paltrow?!" Lin Xiao was stunned. The name of this school, in the film industry, is like thunder piercing the ear.

  The University of Southern California, one of Hollywood's three major academies, has George Lucas (Star Wars series) graduating from there, which is enough to make a name for itself in the history of film and television. Gwyneth Paltrow even won the 71st Academy Award for Best Actress with Shakespeare in Love!

  "It's a pity you're still alive." CAMI gave him a cold glance. "Next time you want to die, let me know and I'll find a higher place for you."

  Lin Xiao bitterly smiled, this scapegoat, he bore was extremely unjust.

  Cami was carrying a large bag with her and also had a leather bag hanging from her shoulder. She turned the big bag upside down, inside were all Lin Xiao's favorite foods and a pile of his clothes.

  "Hurry up and get well so you can come back and make money."

  Although her mouth was venomous, Lin Xiao didn't have a bad impression of her. Instead, he smiled at her and specially brought over the food and drinks they had prepared, carrying them all this way. At least Tian Guang's agent hadn't done that before.

  CAMI didn't continue speaking, he just took out three stacks of photocopies from his bag "Do you remember what I told you yesterday? Never mind, if you remembered it wouldn't be you Lin Xiao. Take advantage of this time to carefully read these things and think about them."

  Lin Xiao took it over, took a closer look, and only then did he realize that this was the plot outline, which is what the director sends to you when trying out for a role. As soon as he saw the name, his mind immediately rang out with three loud "booms"!

  "Quest issuer appears, side quest starts, accepting 'Entertainment in the Kangxi Dynasty', A-level script. Reward: Acting +50. Acceptance success rate: 30%."

  "Branch mission activated, never give up on taking photos, B+ level script, reward acting +30. Success rate of taking photos: 40%."

  "Branch mission activated, receive 'Spider Diary' script, C+ level screenplay, reward acting +10. Success rate of receiving: 60%."

  A-level! B+ level! C+ level! He looked at these three outlines in disbelief, these three plays, he didn't even hope to get in in his past life!

  The Kangxi Dynasty doesn't need to be said, he knows that the book written by Er Yue He will occupy the domestic 8 pm slot next year. In those years, there were not so many choices, watching CCTV's big play at 8 pm was a habit of most families.

  Moreover, because he had almost never acted with big-name stars before, from Chen Daoming to Gong Li, which one is not a veteran actor of many years? If they can finish filming, it's already a great observation experience, and the acting skills will definitely be greatly improved.

  The lineup of "Never Give Up" is not so luxurious, and the production cost is not so high. However, there are also old actors like Li Youbing. But what really puts his mind at ease is the director of "Never Give Up", Zheng Xiaolong.

  The reputation of "Never Give Up" is definitely not as good as that of "Kangxi Dynasty", but Zheng's next work, "Zhen Huan Zhuan", which is also a Qing palace drama, is hard to say.

  Even if he didn't get a role in these two films, he still had hope for the last one.

  Looking back, the last one had a luxurious lineup, directed by Ying Da and starring Huang Xiaoming. Unfortunately, this film was remembered for being someone else's screen debut instead.

  Screenwriter: Ning Caishen.

  Kangxi's popularity can be expected, but now except for him, no one knows that Zhen Huan Zhuan has a Wulin Outer Biography!

  He quickly organized the events of the past decade in his mind. In 2000, China's TV drama market was still dominated by ancient costume dramas until Meteor Garden sparked an idol craze the following year, thoroughly exploding into a diverse trend. If he could seize the initiative in this new century... even if five years later he would be like he was in his previous life, he would still be one step ahead of others at the starting line of The Legend of Zu and Empresses in the Palace!

  "I really didn't expect the company to have such great energy." Lin Xiao put down the script and said sincerely. However, what's going on with that system task? A company that can grab the 2001 CCTV drama audition can actually be in deficit?

  "This time the company is going all out with PR. Yongle Real Estate has issued its final ultimatum, and if there's no improvement within a year, they'll withdraw their entire investment." CAMI glanced at him and said, "You two are also lucky, the company had several auditions lined up before this one, but the director rejected them all. China and the US are different, it's a director-centric system, even if we have a good relationship with the producers, there's still a layer in between. You two are currently the most famous artists in the company."

  "Yongle Real Estate?" Lin Xiao was shocked, this is one of the top five real estate giants in the country. How could they invest in a small and unknown emerging entertainment company? What's going on here?

  "There's nothing to be surprised about, after all, Chu Zong is the only son of Old Man Chu. Even if the parent company doesn't support Yongle's entry into the entertainment industry, they will still show some support for the sake of Old Man Chu's face." CAMI explained.

  "Is it Old Zhang calling Chu Yiming?"

  "Didn't you see him when you signed the contract?" CAMI asked in puzzlement.

  So that's how it is. Lin Xiao had already analyzed the situation to be about 80-90% accurate by this point. It seems that the "Chu General" she mentioned was actually Chu Tianyi, the only son of real estate mogul Chu Tianyi. In his previous life, he remembered that this genuine rich and handsome man would often appear in the news, but unexpectedly, when he was younger, he had even ventured into the entertainment circle!

  But it seems that in the end, he still returned with his tail between his legs. He slightly furrowed his brow, not at all happy about the background of Huaxia Film and Television being Yongle. He muttered to himself, "Each industry has its own rules, even if Yongle is a real estate tycoon, the entertainment circle doesn't lack super conglomerates comparable to Yongle, such as Tianyu with many stars in hand, and Hua Ye, the film leader. For identity-sensitive Huaxia, they must have been on high alert. The cross-border newcomer Huaxia Entertainment will probably find it very difficult to pass."

  "It's enough that you know." Cami was somewhat taken aback, she hadn't expected him to think of this.

  "How many artists does the company have now?" he asked.

  CAMI sighed, "The company is mainly focused on the film and television industry, with only ten artists, except for you two, they are all newcomers, a few of whom have just graduated from school. However, you two can't be considered veterans in the film and television industry either. You also know that in the formal circle, if one out of ten newcomers can survive to the third year, it's already not bad."

  "No wonder we have such a high-level broker for our unknown newcomers." Lin Xiao murmured. This was probably the best news he had heard since waking up.

  "Don't think too much, taking care of your body is the first priority. This audition, whether it's for you or the company, is extremely important." CAMI packed up her things and said meaningfully, "Chu has also told you that if this batch of people can hand in a satisfactory answer within Yongle's final deadline, then they will be the founding pioneers of the company. I believe Yongle won't mind continuing to invest funds."

  Lin Xiao nodded, he finally understood what the system's task meant. The seemingly powerful Huaxia Film and Television Entertainment was actually just a paper tiger with a wealth of connections, but due to the lack of connections and pressure from peers, they couldn't even recruit good artists. The ultimatum from their parent company, Yongle, was like a guillotine that could fall at any time. The company had pinned all its hopes on this batch of people.

  What they lack is an artist who can make the company stand out and gain a good reputation. If someone can do that, Chu Yiming will surely go all out to create momentum for him.

  "Should this company be reborn from the ashes?" He didn't follow through with this line of thinking, because there was something more enticing that he wanted to try.

  With excitement and tension, he quickly opened the system panel that only he could see, and clicked on "Training" without hesitation.

  He remembered that when the three scripts first appeared, the first prompt was: The task publisher has appeared!

  What a natural thing, the person who posts the artist's task is of course his agent!

  "Drip......" With a faint sound, the scene in front of me changed like a water curtain.

  "System check, conditions met, training system available."

  "From now on, the host can pay money to receive extra training for their attributes without taking up their own time. The host's acting skills are 200, single item value D-grade, and C-grade acting training is now available for 1000 yuan per day."

  1000! Lin swallowed his saliva, and he only had enough money in his account for 10 days of training!

  "May I ask if you have entered training."

  "Yes!" He made the choice without hesitation.

  "Whoosh!" His mind seemed to have been suddenly sucked out, and he found himself in a sealed room. The room had only two sofas, with no one else around.

  "Excuse me, which director and which work would you like to choose?" The system starts asking.

  "Chen Kaige, Farewell My Concubine."

  Just as his voice had just fallen, an old man suddenly appeared on the empty sofa in front of him. Small eyes, a bit of eye bags, thick black eyebrows, exactly the same as Chen Kai Ge.

  "You've chosen Farewell My Concubine." Director Chen said bluntly, "I want you to play the role of Sheng Jieyi. Of course, I won't give you any overly profound advice; I'll only offer suggestions suitable for your current level."

  So that's how it is. It seems that as the level increases, this simulated director will gradually become more profound. This system also appears to be a black-hearted system.

  But it was just the minimum requirement, and a few minutes later he knew it wasn't that simple at all.

  "CUT! No way! You have to understand your role! Duan Xiaolou is a character who distinguishes between play and reality! He doesn't have the confusion of Cheng Dieyi! You haven't clearly separated 'play' and 'reality'!"

  "CUT! Read the script again!"

  "Acting skills! Acting skills! Can you actually act or not?! Do I need to demonstrate for you?!"

  ……

  His several years of accumulation in the previous life were criticized here, and he was bleeding profusely from the start. From the first shot, there were countless times when it got stuck. First, the whole film was pulled through, and Director Chen's eyebrows were already deeply furrowed. By the time they got to the split-screen shots, even the first few shots hadn't passed yet.

  However, his gains were also enormous, and he even felt exaggeratedly that the gains from just a few dozen minutes of guidance were greater than those of several months in his previous life!