The actors found that they had never rehearsed in such a crew before.
Regardless of fame, traffic, or the capital behind it, only acting skills and suitability for the role were considered. Many people came and went on a whim, but there were also many good actors who had never had a chance before who signed contracts with tears of joy.
Because there was no murky capital involved, Tianyao Entertainment had absolute control and gave the director and screenwriter absolute freedom in casting, so the cast of "Letter to You" was quickly finalized.
In order to catch up with the progress of "The Female Prime Minister", even if it couldn't premiere earlier, it had to at least launch at the same time. So "Letter to You" didn't delay much. Song Shuling inherited Song Group's usual swift and decisive working efficiency. The team had just finished preparation, first with a script reading, then makeup photos for the important roles, followed by pre-publicity. After doing this, the first day of filming was scheduled for a week later, and everything was proceeding quickly and in an orderly manner.
At this time, "The Female Prime Minister" hadn't even finished casting. They were in no hurry, wanting to take advantage of more hype. The investors took the opportunity to be picky about the cast, determined to create an unprecedented hit drama.
It wasn't until the publicity for "Letter to You" began to spread on major websites that the "The Female Prime Minister" team finally realized the severity of the situation.
If it was just the start of filming publicity for a TV series, it wouldn't have much to do with them. But the "Letter to You" team was clearer than anyone about the weight of those three words. They thought they could suppress it forever, but the other party directly brought it to the audience's attention to compete with them!
If it was just the original work accusing them of plagiarism, the investors had ten thousand ways to suppress it so that it wouldn't affect the crew at all.
But the original work chose to compete with them instead, the same genre, the same plot. After airing, let the audience judge, let the ratings judge. It was not clear whether it should be called pigheaded or overly confident.
Having come this far, the plagiarism could not be suppressed.
Soon, the hashtag #The Female Prime Minister plagiarized Letter to You# trended on social media. Tianyao Entertainment's public relations department helped behind the scenes. No matter how "The Female Prime Minister" team tried to suppress it, they couldn't suppress the hype.
The "Letter to You" team had long ago prepared a color scheme with professionals. Just by clicking into this tag, one could see reasoned and evidenced comparisons. Readers of "The Female Prime Minister" were furious when they went in and came out cursing.
"Letter to You" was published two years before "The Female Prime Minister". Its powerful worldview, rich background, and complex character system constructed a grand fictional dynasty, an amazing power struggle.
"The Female Prime Minister" only plagiarized a tiny part, copying out a vulgar story of a female lead counterattacking and leveling up. Just looking at the color scheme, one could see the gap and pattern between the two books.
It was ridiculed all over the internet. Zhong Ruanxing's announcement on Weibo that she would star in "Letter to You" was like a slap in the face of the "Female Prime Minister" team, shattering their hypocritical mask.
It excited netizens:
- Family, I didn't expect there would be follow-up to the "Female Prime Minister" melon! Good after-sales service!
- Zhong Ruanxing is really determined, not only refusing to join the shameless crew, but also bringing out the original work to fight against them. She's really a role model for us!
- Has anyone noticed that the producer of "Letter to You", Tianyao Entertainment, is Zhong Ruanxing's new agency! This newly established company is quite determined!
- I want to see who still dares to act in the "Female Prime Minister", this hot potato. If no actors accept the role, will it be aborted?
- Don't! Film both! I really want to see the two competing!
- Fight fight fight!
- Pass it on, today Zhong Ruanxing is also rectifying the entertainment industry!
...
The "Female Prime Minister" team resentfully realized that the hype they had taken advantage of before all contributed to "Letter to You". Now "Letter to You" rode on it all the way up, reaching the high level of popularity and positive discussion on the whole network that they had wanted but failed to achieve.
It was said that the biggest investor of "Female Prime Minister" was so angry that he smashed an antique vase in his office. Adding insult to injury!
No matter what, the preparation for "Letter to You" was complete, and filming would start in a week. Whether or not "Female Prime Minister" filmed or made other tricks didn't affect it much. Not to mention the newly established Tianyao Entertainment, the controlling shareholders behind it turned out to be all women, even blocking the route of rumors about Zhong Ruanxing's relationship with high-level executives!
They could only watch "Letter to You" become popular before filming, while "Female Prime Minister" was stomped into the ground by netizens with the same hatred.
A week later, Song JinXing would join the crew to play a role that was not an icy character he excelled at, but still cool and steady. And because he now had the most beautiful and warmest star in the world, there was also some gentle human touch to Song JinXing, and he didn't feel much pressure playing this kind of role.
Although the previous few months had passed, Song always prepared for the unexpected. His acting training had not stopped, and his skills had improved a lot compared to before.
If "The Female Prime Minister" was a brainless female lead power fantasy drama, then "Letter to You" leaned more toward an ensemble hero story, with each character, whether protagonist or antagonist, very outstanding, each one a eulogy by itself. The director also chose veteran acting masters, and just from the script reading, Song JinXing learned a lot from these veterans.
The filming location was still in Hangzhou, so Song JinXing was quite familiar with it. The weather was getting warmer now, so it was a good time to start filming.
However, before leaving for Hangzhou, Song JinXing had one important thing to do in Beijing.
Attending the family banquet at the old house with Zhong Ruanxing and appearing in front of the Song family.
Because the precious grandson was bringing his girlfriend home this time, Granny Song started arranging early. She had even changed the tableware, asked about her grandson's wife's tastes, invited famous chefs from Beijing, and had the high-end private custom shop that made clothes for her send over several sets of custom daily dresses for "her". From earrings to necklaces, handbags to high heels, everything was prepared.
She must make her grandson's wife shine and blind everyone else's eyes on her first appearance!
In the three days before the family banquet, Granny Song personally called her daughters-in-law and grandchildren, subtly boasting and telling them that JinXing was bringing his girlfriend home this time and they should prepare gifts for their meeting. Don't be rude to my grandson's wife!
For a while, the Song family was abuzz.
Some complained that Granny was obviously biased, some were surprised that someone like Song JinXing could get a girlfriend, some were curious about the girlfriend's identity. Regardless of their attitude, this family banquet was more grand than usual.
