Caught in Affairs with Superstar

Chapter 682: Chapter 489: Eight Characters Do Not Match (Part 5)

His assistant said, ”Because of this incident, the staff have formed a very good impression of her.”

He Xuran curled his lips and said nothing.

”By the way, Brother Xuran, you asked me to keep an eye on Liu Zhikun, and I finally caught onto something,” his assistant said. ”I’ve noticed he has been meeting Actress Meng Ran from another crew several times recently.”

”Meng Ran?”

”Yes, she’s the girl group member who debuted from a talent show a couple of years ago,” the assistant explained. ”Their meetings have always been very secretive.”

He Xuran asked, ”Are the two of them a couple?”

”I haven’t captured any concrete evidence,” the assistant replied. ”Brother Xuran, why did you want me to watch Liu Zhikun?”

”I need something to hold onto for when this movie hits the screens; then it becomes a competition,” He Xuran spoke. ”Liu Zhikun’s agency team is very formidable; I must have something of theirs in my hands.”

Liu Zhikun’s agency team is infamous in the industry for their prowess.

Some say Liu Zhikun’s team can even rival Su Yan’s agent He Ting. Of course, this mostly refers to their ability to take kickbacks. However, it also implies their competency in other areas as well, which convinces people to give them kickbacks. Liu Zhikun’s team is said to never be at a disadvantage, including status, compensation, order of appearance, and so on.

During the shooting of ”Four Killers,” Liu Zhikun was the lead actor, while Zhou Yun was fourth. This was because, at the time Zhou Yun took the role, she hadn’t won any awards yet, ”Life” hadn’t been released either, and among the four, Zhou Yun had the least impressive film record. Nobody expected that by the time filming started, Zhou Yun had far outshone the other three.

Privately, Yao Yuanfeng also sought Zhou Yun’s opinion about moving her to the lead position. Given her status at the time, it was expected that the others wouldn’t object much to her taking the lead. The only minor difficulty might be Liu Zhikun’s side, but Yao Yuanfeng didn’t think that he couldn’t handle it. However, Zhou Yun said it wasn’t necessary.

”Nowadays, too many actors are fighting tooth and nail over the order of appearances, which I personally find pointless. Even if I’m listed fourth, I’m aware that I’m the focus of the movie promotions, and I’m confident that my performance in the film is no less than anyone else’s—that’s enough for me,” Zhou Yun said. ”Let’s not stir up discontentment over this issue.”

That aside, the fact that Liu Zhikun’s team managed to secure the lead role amidst the competition with Yin Linglin and He Xuran demonstrated their strength.

However, this ranking is not as trivial as Zhou Yun had implied.

Key metrics are often accounted for by major agencies, including one very important datum: the box office revenue for a lead actor’s movie.

For instance, if ”Four Killers” were to exceed one billion in box office earnings, those earnings would not be counted towards Zhou Yun’s lead role revenue but could be attributed to Liu Zhikun’s statistics.

Many movie companies are very concerned about this.

This isn’t just about the capability to draw box office returns; it includes a degree of superstition as well.

If someone plays the lead, the box office tends to be higher.

At the same time, this status is also significant when competing for other resources.

For example, if Liu Zhikun and He Xuran are currently on an equal footing, but in the future, they both vie for an endorsement or another role, Liu Zhikun’s team could leverage this ranking directly in negotiations. The fact that Liu Zhikun was ranked first in ”Four Killers” indicates the movie industry’s greater recognition of him.

Zhou Yun is indifferent because, at this point, she has reached a position that her peers cannot match and is unaffected by these factors.

However, if Zhou Yun had not won the previous two Movie Queen awards, Zhou Lan certainly would not give up the lead spot so easily.

One ranking might involve implications for the next ten rankings.

It is not simply about saving face.

One day, the director making a documentary about the production of ”Four Killers” approached Zhou Yun and mentioned wanting to schedule an interview with her, which might be used in the documentary.

Zhou Yun cooperated and arranged a time.

Right after a shooting session, Zhou Yun went to the designated location and sat down on a folding chair.

The camera lens focused on her.

”So we’re starting now?” Zhou Yun asked, somewhat surprised.

The documentary director nodded and said, ”Yes, I’ll start asking you questions now.”

”Okay,” Zhou Yun smiled and nodded.