The three actresses who first joined the company met different fates.
Zhai Ke'er, who was brought in by Cheng Yuan, regained her status as a trending star. Jiang Tang transitioned into film acting, playing supporting roles and evolving from a bit player into a respected character actress. Chen Xi, who had initially brought her own popularity, faltered after a controversy with anti-fans.
Zhai Ke'er is now the most popular actress in Random Entertainment's acting department. Times have changed - what were once considered scandals in her past have now become badges of honor representing the modern woman.
When she made her comeback, Cheng Yuan helped her reframe her past "scandals." Different times brought different interpretations - the same controversies that had forced her out of the entertainment industry now brought her back into the public eye with renewed interest.
These days she's filming a movie alongside Jiang Tang. This dual female lead film is another Random Entertainment production designed for market success.
Due to Zhai Ke'er's recent role becoming a hit, she's gained many new fans. The film set is constantly surrounded by fans waiting for her to finish work.
"Jiang Juyou and Sister Cheng Yuan came to visit the set today."
Zhai Ke'er and Jiang Tang were chatting together, with makeup artists touching up their looks nearby.
As they were talking, Zhai Ke'er's assistant suddenly came up with this news.
"Where are they?" Zhai Ke'er looked back but couldn't see anyone.
The assistant replied, "They're with the director, I heard."
Although Jiang Juyou mainly manages the singers' department, she's still a company executive and needs to maintain certain social and business relationships.
The director of this film was signed with a hefty contract by the company, which also brought in his entire team. Both Zhai Ke'er and Jiang Tang's casting in this film involved some behind-the-scenes work by producer Cheng Yuan.
"Hey, where's my phone?" Hearing her sister had arrived, Jiang Tang checked her pockets but couldn't find her phone, then looked at her assistant.
"Here it is." The assistant handed her the phone.
"Jiang Tang: Are you at the set?"
"Jiang Juyou: Yes, by the director. I can see you."
"Jiang Tang: We'll probably finish late. Will you still be around for dinner?"
"Jiang Juyou: Probably not, I need to leave soon."
"Jiang Tang: Alright, see you after we wrap then."
"Jiang Juyou: OK."
After replying, Jiang Tang was about to return the phone to her assistant when she noticed a message in the work group chat asking her to promote the new project on Weibo.
Jiang Tang only did numerous TV dramas with small roles when she first joined the company. Later, she switched to films, which had shorter shooting schedules. Sometimes with smaller parts, she could appear in several movies per year.
Since the start of this year, Jiang Tang has appeared in over a dozen films, some as cameos, others as legitimate supporting roles.
Due to her frequent screen appearances, she's gradually built up quite a fan following.
The project being promoted was a TV drama she filmed last year - her only television work in recent years and her first leading role.
She copied and pasted the promotional content to Weibo as required and reposted a message from her studio.
Across from her, Zhai Ke'er was also busy with her phone, muttering, "How do they come up with these ideas?"
Though she didn't specify, Jiang Tang understood what she meant.
"They learned it all from the idol groups, but the fans seem to really like it," Jiang Tang smiled.
Zhai Ke'er laughed too, "I see fans in the comments asking for restocking because they couldn't buy any."
They were discussing actor merchandise.
Everyone knows idol groups have diverse and elaborate merchandise. Actors, being role-dependent, usually have most of their merchandise controlled by copyright-holding companies, leaving them with limited options for personal IP products.
However, the product managers in the acting department learned from the idol department's methods, and through imitation, they actually developed something interesting.
They created books documenting actors' lives on set, including photos of their daily commute, interactions with fans, and snippets of daily life and amusing incidents.
Mimicking idol album production, they included selfie photocards and CDs containing vlogs of their life on set.
This initiative only started this month, currently applying only to actors with new shows premiering.
Both Zhai Ke'er, with her upcoming film, and Jiang Tang, with her TV drama, became test subjects for this new strategy.
During another break, both headed to the tent and sat scrolling through their phones.
"So these won't be available for purchase anymore?"
"...Random Entertainment never does second runs, but I never expected this trend to catch on in the acting circle."
"I was making fun of my friend recently when she said she couldn't get this month's merchandise. I told her to stop falling for these consumer traps, and now look at me [clown]"
"It's the studio's fault for not promoting it more. I never even saw this announcement."
"Damn! I thought it was just regular merchandise and scrolled past. Who knew the content would be so rich?"
"I got one, but I'm not telling, hehe!"
Zhai Ke'er, reading the fan comments on Weibo, turned to ask her assistant, "Really no chance of restocking?"
"No, it's company policy. They apparently produce based on pre-orders only. The only way to get one now is if someone cancels their order and those extras become available," the assistant explained.
Jiang Tang was in a similar situation, browsing through her super topic page where people were offering above retail price to buy the merchandise.
"Title: Gossip/The trend has finally reached the acting circle."
"Random Entertainment's product managers have extended their reach to actor fans. Recently, many actors have released character journals, following the same format - unlimited quantities during a limited time window, sold before the show airs, shipped after premiere."
"I didn't pay much attention to merchandise before, but now I just want to go back in time and slap myself."
"It's too tempting for a career fan like me!!!"
"It records their initial preparation work, their reactions to receiving the script, the process of accepting the role, their life on set, lots of conversations with fans during commutes, and funny moments with cast and crew."
"It includes photos too, really pleasing to the eye. Not just text version but video too, and most importantly - it! has! photocards!"
"Those are Random Entertainment photocards!"
"Ahhhhh I regret so much! Why didn't I check it out myself?!"
Comments:
"Good news: This merchandise really captured us actor fans' hearts. Bad news: My bias isn't with Random Entertainment."
"Fifty yuan per book! Just fifty yuan! Two photocards! One book! One CD! Fifty yuan! Not buying is losing money!"
"New merchandise [wrong] New investment product [correct]"
"Random Entertainment finally understands that the Chinese entertainment industry ultimately belongs to actors! Ahhh I finally don't have to envy idol fans anymore!"
"Prices are already skyrocketing before shipping."
"Suggest expanding this across the entire industry."
"I think the book's content is more attractive than the photocards. Usually we only see what's in the shows, and behind-the-scenes stuff we can only piece together from scattered Weibo posts, if at all."
"Haven't seen our group this lively in a long time, must be a big deal."
The idol and acting circles have huge barriers between them, almost completely separate.
Their ecosystems are different, as are their needs.
While Random Entertainment's unique merchandise had previously shocked and intrigued them, ultimately most people who don't follow idol groups stayed within the acting circle, except for the few who were drawn in to become fans.
The Chinese entertainment industry still primarily revolves around dramas and films, with artists' popularity fluctuating based on the quality of their works.
The fan base in the acting circle is quite fluid. When a drama becomes popular, actors gain many new fans, and when another drama becomes hot after a while, these fans tend to migrate there.
Only die-hard fans purchase the actors' merchandise and endorsement products.
By introducing official selfie photo cards into the acting circle, one can easily imagine the massive economic impact it will bring in the future.
Whatever Random Entertainment does gets copied. Just as their character record book finishes its pre-sale, other companies immediately announce similar sales for their own artists, with identical content and specifications.
The only differences are higher prices and longer waiting periods. It seems they discovered the product's popularity and hastily put up sales links before even starting production.
"Jiang Tang herself: Your unlimited time-limited sale is making my fans cry out loud."
"Jiang Juyou: ?"
"Jiang Tang herself: Can't you extend the sale for a few more days?"
Jiang Juyou didn't understand at first and had to ask her assistant about the situation.
"Jiang Juyou: If we follow the idol group album sales model, after the online pre-sale ends, there will be a week of offline sales. Those who couldn't buy online can purchase at physical stores. The Galaxy Merchandise Building next to our company will definitely have stock. I'm not sure about other locations; you'll need to ask your product manager about that."
When Jiang Tang saw this message, she urgently had her assistant verify it, and it turned out to be true.
Just as Jiang Juyou said, there would be a week of offline sales after the online pre-sale ends. While idol groups' albums are regularly sold at the Galaxy Venue, their merchandise is only available at the Galaxy Merchandise Building.
"Ke'er! Quick! They're selling it at the Galaxy Merchandise Building next to our company!" Jiang Tang shared the news with Zhai Ke'er, showing her Jiang Juyou's message.
Zhai Ke'er, sitting nearby, squealed and started sending voice messages to her Weibo fan groups, eager to share the news with her fans.
Jiang Tang was even more direct, posting a screenshot of Jiang Juyou's message on Weibo, visible only to her fans.
Meanwhile, in a distant part of Beijing, a security guard at the Galaxy Merchandise Building sneezed.
"Tch, is the temperature dropping again?"
Actor fans: This time! It's our turn to storm the Galaxy Merchandise Building!
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This was yesterday's extra update, today's update will still be in the evening.
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