books44 Chapter 24 Online Popularity
Chapter 24 Online Popularity
Many entertainment bloggers and short video editors go to Douban to find materials.
Almost everything can be found on Douban.
Various hilarious anecdotes: A Gen Z kid ordered Mixue Ice Cream milk tea for his 70s-generation bosses during a meeting, and I accidentally burst into a series of farts laughing while the boss was giving him a lecture...
There are even many rumors circulating in the entertainment industry: a popular male actor has body odor; a marketing guru and a post-85s Golden Horse Award-winning actress had a knife fight on set; a brand changed its brand ambassador overnight because…
Entertainment editor Guo Qingqing skillfully opened Douban, ready to plagiarize some existing materials, piece them together, and post a few blog entries to finish her work for the day.
Suddenly, a post caught her attention.
[Shocking! The biggest investor in the TV adaptation is actually a wealthy female book fan—happiness came too suddenly!] Hot
It is well known that there has always been an irreconcilable conflict between adapted dramas and fans of the original books.
Because adaptations need to pass censorship, the script will be modified accordingly. For example, if the original work is about a male-male couple, some adaptations will forcibly break up the couple in order to pass censorship. Even worse, they will give them female partners. If a male-male novel is forcibly changed into a male-female romance, then the book fans will naturally be unhappy.
Some screenwriters are particularly good at divergent thinking and can change the plot of the original work into a mess, making things completely nonsensical. What is a reasonable setting in the original book must be changed into a more clichéd version in order to cater to popular tastes.
Guo Qingqing also recalled a previous TV adaptation that was criticized and went viral online. It rewrote the original story about the female protagonist's self-awakening, saying that her awakening was due to a man, which caused a serious conflict between the plot and the character settings.
But if we're talking about the biggest flaw, Guo Qingqing thinks it's in the casting. It's impossible to please everyone; there are as many Hamlets as there are book fans. When they find that the casting doesn't match their imagined image, they'll be dissatisfied.
In particular, some production teams hire popular young actors and actresses with high salaries in order to gain more viewers. All the funds are spent on hiring actors, so of course the result is a pile of shit. In the end, only the fans of the popular actors will watch the show.
Guo Qingqing works as an entertainment editor, so she knows all about these things.
These kinds of adapted dramas all have one thing in common: the comments are controlled by fans, and everyone in the comments says it's good. If you actually watch it, you'll fall into a trap.
A search on Douban revealed a rating of 2.0.
It's so bad that any fan of the original work would spit on it if they passed by, and even casual viewers wouldn't want to watch it.
Therefore, in Guo Qingqing's memory, there are very few adaptations that have been able to gain the approval of book fans.
However, the content of this post seemed to be different, which piqued Guo Qingqing's interest, and she quickly opened the post to browse it.
Xiaomei: Here's what happened. I've always liked a certain author's novel. I heard that her book was going to be adapted into a web series. I didn't have high hopes at the time because it was being adapted by an MCN agency. I had never heard of an MCN agency making web series before, and this was the first time this MCN agency had ever made a film or television series, so I didn't have much confidence in them.
Xiaomei: Although I thought that even if it was filmed, I definitely wouldn't watch it, I still followed the official Weibo account of that MCN agency.
Xiaomei: Just yesterday, they released the official character photos. When I saw them, I was blown away. The costumes and props were so exquisite that I couldn't believe it was a web series. Moreover, every actor perfectly matched the image in my mind, especially the male lead. The male lead is a general. When I saw his official character photos, I got goosebumps. He was so handsome that I screamed.
Xiaomei: No pictures, no proof. Here are the pictures first: [Images][Images][Images][Images][Images][Images][Images][Images][Images][Images][Images][Images][Images][Images][Images][Images][Images][Images][Images]
Guo Qingqing clicked on the picture and her eyes lit up instantly.
She's seen so many promotional photos that she can tell the budget of a show just from them.
Some promotional photos are very simple, just a white background, cheap clothes, and sallow faces. They look like they were just taken and released, which shows that the production team didn't have much money, or that they didn't put much effort into the production. The final product is likely to be disappointing.
However, some promotional photos are very well done, clearly showing a large budget. For example, some big-budget movies have promotional photos that could be used as posters.
Guo Qingqing flipped through the pictures one by one, becoming more and more excited. Was this really the quality a web series should have? The set design, costumes, props, and makeup were all perfect!
Although the actors all looked unfamiliar, they were all very good-looking, especially the male lead, who had a total of five sets of promotional photos, showing great sincerity. What's even more impressive is that he's handsome from every angle.
As Guo Qingqing looked at the posts, she couldn't help but save them. Only after saving all the pictures did she continue reading the posts.
Xiaomei: Something even more shocking happened! The investor in this drama is actually a wealthy female book fan! The reason is this makeup and styling. A few days ago, the wealthy woman posted this makeup and styling on our book fan forum.
Xiaomei: Original post [link]
Xiaomei: The pictures posted by this wealthy female fan are a bit blurry, and it looks like they were taken from a distance from the filming location, but it is indeed the same protagonist with the same makeup and styling!
Xiaomei: Back then, the rich female book fan claimed to be an investor, having invested two million in the production team, but nobody believed her at the time; everyone thought she was just joking. Now we know it's true!
Xiaomei: Who would have thought that the investors for the adaptation would be our own people? It's so reassuring! No wonder the casting is so perfect for the characters. The plot is sure to stay on track. After all, our biggest backer is our own people. Fans of the original work are ecstatic! This is so awesome!
Adapted drama, fans of the original book, wealthy women, investors.
These elements combined made Guo Qingqing, a seasoned editor, smell the scent of online traffic. She quickly took a few screenshots, pieced them together into a blog post, and reposted it to an entertainment account.
Everyone knows that there are irreconcilable conflicts between fans of the original work and fans of the adaptation, but what if one day the fans of the original work become the investors of the adaptation? Would there still be conflicts?
Moreover, the fact that a wealthy female fan of the book invested two million yuan without warning, a plot that seems absurd even in the novel, actually happened in reality, is incredibly exciting.
Moreover, with the backing of a wealthy woman, this web series appears to be of very high production quality, contrasting sharply with those adaptations that start strong but end weakly, making it a hot topic for attracting viewers.
Sure enough, she received several comments shortly after she was able to leave.
[It seems like a completely new team, so I'm a bit worried; their acting skills can't be guaranteed.]
The male lead is so handsome! I'll definitely watch the show, even if his acting is awkward.
[Following a rich woman guarantees a good life! Original novel fans are ecstatic]
What's the name of this drama? Follow us for the latest news!
When her colleagues saw that her post had gone viral, they were like stray dogs on the street, grabbing any food they could find and sharing it.
As more and more people read it, its popularity soared, and it even climbed to the top of the trending searches.
Just like that, inexplicably, Jiang Mingfei suddenly discovered that her web series had become a minor hit even before it aired.
In a strange way.
When Jiang Mingfei saw Zhang Yu's photo taken at the costume fitting, she immediately thought of Bai Li.
In addition, the post mentioned a mysterious wealthy female book fan who invested two million yuan, and the evidence is conclusive—it is Bai Li.
Bai Li said she wanted to give her web series a boost; so that's what she meant.
Jiang Mingfei smiled knowingly.
Bai Li invested more than two million. The supplies she brought when she visited the set, plus the support she gave to Zhang Yu, and the expenses for her two top assistants, all came close to one hundred thousand.
In addition, this promotion has helped the production team build up buzz in advance. It can be said that without Bai Li's efforts, the production team would not be progressing so smoothly now.
Jiang Mingfei immediately called Bai Li to share the good news.
Bai Li was also surprised when she heard this, and when she saw that the topic was ranked tenth on Weibo's trending topics and third in the entertainment category.
At the time, she was only thinking of reassuring the book fans and attracting them to watch the web series. Unexpectedly, this unintentional act brought a huge influx of viewers.
The news spread by word of mouth among the crew who were still filming the series.
People from all walks of life came to ask them if it was true or not through trending topics.
"Hey bro, your production team's pre-production marketing was really good. Did a rich woman really invest two million in your production? Is that true? Or is it just a publicity stunt?"
"Sister, I saw the stills of your drama online! They're so beautiful! Your production team is amazing! I'm so envious!"
"Your account has gained a lot of followers. The company will temporarily take over the account for you for the next few days. Send us a few photos from the film set. While the popularity is still there, we'll post a few things to help you retain the new followers."
……
Several actors in the crew gained a lot of followers on their accounts, but none of them gained as many as Zhang Yu alone.
Someone has discovered Zhang Yu's short video account.
That's why you'd say modern netizens are all Sherlock Holmes.
Netizens confirmed that "Teacher Octopus" is indeed the officially announced male lead, Zhang Yu, based on his physique and a glimpse of his chin in past videos.
In just one morning, Zhang Yuguang's short video account gained 100,000 followers.
"Ahhh, so this is what octopus teacher looks like!"
"So handsome! Daddy! You're my god!"
However, some discordant voices have also emerged.
"Why is the male lead a cosplayer? [laughing and crying emoji]"
"Zhang Yu is a contracted internet celebrity under the MCN agency that invested in this script. It's hard to say whether there's any inside story involved."
"I advise you not to have too high hopes. Can cosplayers even act?"
There is still a big difference between cosplayers and actors. Zhang Yu may be a very good cosplayer, but he may not necessarily be a good actor.
Ultimately, an actor's performance is what matters most.
Zhang Yu's eyes remained unmoved by the doubts he was expressing. He put down his phone, started filming, and immediately got into character.
There's no need to explain so much now; I believe the final work will explain everything.
Miss Bai and President Jiang have created the best conditions for him; only by cherishing them can he live up to their expectations.