Becoming a Movie Star, System Only Finished Loading After Ten Years

Although Li Dawei hoped to prove himself through the film "Wait and See," he also understood who the real key to the film's box office success was.

It certainly wasn't him, the director of "Golden Family."

The most crucial was Qi Hao.

Qi Hao had over ten million fans. If all of them went to watch the movie, with the average art film ticket price at 25 yuan, that'd be a box office of two to three hundred million.

Of course, while his fans are sensible, they aren't all board members, so they definitely won't all pay to see the movie.

Even if it's only one in ten.

With a total cost of five million, an art film just needs about twelve million at the box office to break even.

"Qi Hao and Wan Qian cooperated very well on set. I think Qi Hao is like a master key... A great actor should be able to fit with anyone without feeling out of place."

Li Dawei's compliment fell on the ears of those with ulterior motives, and they couldn't help but show a knowing (and sleazy) smile.

A master key, now that's a novel metaphor.

It sounds much better than a taxi.

"No, no, I still have to learn from you."

On stage, Qi Hao quickly showed humility. You're the master key, not me; you're the bus.

"Wan Qian, this is your first time working with Qi Hao, right? How do you find him?"

There was no need for Wan Qian to spend money to buy publicity articles.

With her movie "Wait and See" with Qi Hao showing, she straightforwardly ascended to the throne of Qi Hao's latest rumored girlfriend.

As for the newly leaked photos of Qi Hao and An Feng, that's just the next client of the master key.

Moreover, Li Dawei knows how to create buzz.

So in the trailer, he left no suspense and edited in the interactions between Qi Hao and Wan Qian.

There's Qi Hao puckering up like an old lecher, getting close to her face.

There's even a scene where he flips Wan Qian onto a donkey cart.

And another where both of them are lying on the donkey cart, asleep, being pulled by a donkey to the village.

If it weren't for the power of the censorship, fearing setback before success, Li Dawei might have released the whole "feature film."

Wan Qian couldn't struggle against it. Upon hearing the reporters' questions, she answered dutifully:

"It's a great honor to work with Mr. Qi Hao. I've often heard from people in the industry about how outstanding his acting is, and after collaborating, I realized just how good it is."

Reporters nodded in agreement.

Understood, understood.

This is a compliment on Qi Hao's skills.

"Is it nerve-wracking to do romantic scenes with Qi Hao?"

We are serious media, unable to ask improper questions, but serious questions can still lead to endless "wild thoughts."

"Of course... But Mr. Qi Hao is a very polite and gentlemanly senior. He gave me a lot of mental prep before the shoot..."

Wan Qian was well-prepared, almost going to look up interview videos from Neon to learn.

No matter what the media asked, she had good answers.

Qi Hao stood idly by. The media all knew what kind of person he was; a thousand-year-old turtle, ten-thousand-year-old tortoise. After mixing in the entertainment circle for over ten years, even the most seasoned reporters find it hard to extract much from him.

Better to pick on the newcomer Wan Qian.

Though Wan Qian's answers seemed flawless, to professional journalists, they were full of holes.

Qi Hao is gentlemanly and polite? Girl, you're feeling it.

Did a lot of mental prep? Looks like the foreplay was thorough.

Your ideal is quite different from Qi Hao? You just want the fling, not the town entry.

Regrettable that you couldn't be with Qi Hao in the show? You want to make up for it in real life.

Hoping to collaborate with Qi Hao again? No thanks, come again.

After a series of seemingly serious but not so serious questions, it was finally time to watch the movie.

The film opened with subtitles indicating the 1970s in a northern rural setting, with a story involving educated youth slowly unfolding.

Qi Hao's narration and images began simultaneously.

Among the younger generation in the entertainment industry, Qi Hao's lines are renowned; few saw the dubbed version of "Iron Man," but "Kung Fu Panda" was different. Many children who went to watch couldn't understand the subtitles, so parents chose the dubbed version when bringing their kids to watch the film.

Qi Hao voiced the protagonist Bao, receiving wide acclaim.

This also brought him many voice-acting jobs.

Including domestic animated movies and overseas imported cartoons.

Though it didn't earn him much money, it was good practice for his lines.

As the educated youth team sang, the protagonist at the back entered the scene, breaking away from the main group with a partner to find a place to hide and slack off.

The character Ma Jie, played by Qi Hao, gradually revealed his cunning and slippery personality traits.

However, most people were focused on Qi Hao himself.

To see if his performance was a step back compared to "Heavenly Dog."

Qi Hao made sacrifices in appearance; he couldn't portray a rural educated youth in branded suits and slicked-back hair.

But this level of sacrifice didn't show progress compared to "Heavenly Dog."

The main focus was still on the acting.

Uh... It was wicked good!

Ordinary audiences probably felt this way.

While professional critics' reviews were—Natural!

In Jin Yong's novels, there is a character called Dugu Qiubai, whose martial arts realm is divided into five levels by Jin Yong.

The first level is "sharp and fierce, invincible and unstoppable, competing with the heroes of Hebei in his youth," which shows youthful vigor and sharpness.

Applied to acting, it's like being nothing, yet still wanting to market one's acting skills.

The second level is "Ziwei soft sword, used before the age of thirty, injured a righteous man by mistake, and thus discarded into a deep valley," showing a growing sense of self-reflection.

In terms of acting, it means knowing you're not up to par.

The third level is "a heavy sword without a sharp edge, great skill appearing clumsy, roamed the world unfettered before the age of forty," portraying ease and subtlety.

Qi Hao has probably reached the pinnacle of this level.

One step further to the fourth level would put him on par with veteran actors.

Qi Hao performed with ease, leaving the audience unaware of where his acting excelled, yet the character vividly came to life in a way no one else could replicate.

More importantly, this was not Qi Hao's sincere performance.

If it were a sincere performance, he wouldn't be jealous of Hei Liu for getting two eggs to eat.

In reality, he could give away twenty with a casual gesture.

When an actor encounters a role that's a perfect match, they can effortlessly deliver a great performance. Playing a role that's not such a perfect match and still doing it well is remarkably difficult.

Qi Hao's excellent performance made the movie naturally engaging.

The story of this movie is not complex; in Chinese folklore, there are many such animal revenge stories with supernatural elements, and most people might have heard about ten versions in their childhood.

The main characters are mostly Huang Daxian and snakes.

It's rare to have a story centered on donkeys, because they are usually perceived as foolish and stubborn.

The rare appearances they make are usually as subjects of servitude.

For instance, Zhang Guolao reversed rides a donkey, and Afanti also has a donkey.

This time the movie features donkeys, two of them, one named Hei Liu and the other Hei Qi. As for where Hei Da to Hei Wu went, the movie doesn't specify.

Most likely, they were turned into donkey meat by the people of Hebei.

The story could take place in any historical period in China, or in any village across the vast land.

However, this story is set during the sent-down youth era, where the context both heightens its absurdity.

The educated youth, Ma Jie, is sent to a village at the northern foot of the Qinling Mountains to take care of a breeding donkey named Hei Liu.

Driven by jealousy, Ma Jie abuses Hei Liu, causing him to lose his reproductive abilities, and eventually, being rendered useless, is slaughtered.

Hei Liu's brother, Hei Qi, comes under Ma Jie's service.

Hei Qi plots for revenge on Hei Liu's behalf, attempts to harm Ma Jie, but fails. Hei Qi ultimately self-immolates, intending to perish along with Ma Jie, leaving Ma Jie barely escaping with his life.

The "donkey" in this movie carries symbolism.

In Chinese agrarian culture, donkeys are considered the most hardworking and least demanding of livestock, even more so than oxen and horses.

Oxen and horses at least complain a bit, but donkeys do not.

Yet, even such resilient livestock cannot escape the fate of dying whether enduring or resisting.

At the beginning, bursts of laughter often erupted at the scene.

As it went on, no one laughed anymore.

Gradually, everyone began to understand Hei Qi, starting to comprehend his persistence, sympathizing with his fate, and even began to empathize.

What they originally thought was that they were Ma Jie, only to realize they were Hei N upon reflection.

Judging from the audience's feedback, the effect of this art film was quite impressive.

Li Dawei was beyond delighted, throwing Qi Hao a challenging look.

Look at you, I hired you to act, and you turn around and shoot a movie to backstab me.

Even spent three million buying the script.

Wow, my "Wait and See" only had a total investment of three million before you added more investment.

"Thanks to Qi Hao, Wan Qian, and Yue Hong for their wonderful performances, now let's give the stage to the actors."

After Li Dawei said a lot, he invited the actors to give their thank-you speeches.

Although Qi Hao went first, he didn't start speaking immediately, instead, he humbly let the senior actor Yue Hong go first, then let the ladies go first.

When they finished speaking, he began to speak.

By this time, there wasn't much time left since the cinema had other showings scheduled, and they couldn't occupy the venue indefinitely.

"On behalf of Hei Liu and Hei Qi, I thank everyone for their love of the movie. Unfortunately, they couldn't attend the premiere, but don't worry, they participated in the filming and received pay. I personally gave tens of thousands from my own pay to support their retirement. They are currently enjoying their life in the old county. If you have a chance to travel there, you can visit them..."

There wasn't much time, and Qi Hao gave it all to Hei Liu and Hei Qi.

This restored the sanity of many viewers who became repulsed by Ma Jie or even began to bear a grudge against Qi Hao after watching the movie.

It's easy to understand the ill will towards Qi Hao.

You, as a dignified human being, why be jealous of a breeding donkey?

If you're so capable, take its place and work.

Unfortunately, Hei Liu being an excellent breeding donkey and enjoying preferential treatment in life was like rubbing salt into the wounds of the self-perceived failures of Ma Jie.

He felt that he lived worse than a donkey.

Thus the hatred was born.

Qi Hao's farewell speech, centering around Hei Liu and Hei Qi, made people realize that Qi Hao and Hei Liu and Hei Qi were not adversaries as portrayed in the film.

Hei Liu was not killed, and Hei Qi didn't die in flames.

Qi Hao, after finishing filming, continued to care about how the two donkeys were doing.

These three have such a good relationship!