With that in mind, she told Huo Yun her idea.
Unaware of the future plot, Huo Yun inevitably had plenty of doubts. "The IP and script are certainly good, but second- and third-tier male stars can't carry this project. Big-name actors probably won't want this resource and will consider it bad luck. If we can't find a suitable male lead, there's a serious risk the project will die."
"And if it airs, He Cheng's fans will probably become the show's die-hard antis. He probably won't have many fans left after this, but any fans who can keep stanning him under these circumstances will have astonishing fighting power."
Ye Jin nodded.
"Sister Yun, those are all very real problems. A lot of investors have concerns of one kind or another too, which is why it's been so hard for this drama to find new investment." Then she shifted gears. "But if it didn't have those problems, do you think we'd ever get a chance to invest, Sister Yun?"
Chapter 15
Huo Yun had to admit that Ye Jin was right. Hadn't she been willing to accept this third female lead role for Ye Jin precisely because it was a good project, with one of the largest budgets among the dramas that had recently begun filming?
If He Cheng hadn't gotten into trouble, this drama would never have lacked investment. Countless investors would have been waving their money, eager to join.
Huo Yun sighed. "But now that something's happened, the risk is much greater. Even big companies don't dare invest. Isn't it a bad idea for a newly established company like ours to take such a huge risk?"
Ye Jin understood Huo Yun's concerns. She had always been cautious, planning steady, solid career paths for her artists rather than chasing quick money, let alone investing real money now.
If she hadn't known the plot in advance, Ye Jin thought she probably wouldn't have dared take the risk either.
"Sister Yun, I understand your concerns. But I've studied the big-IP costume idol dramas on the market. Basically, as long as they can air smoothly on a video platform, it's very hard for them to lose money. Audiences for costume idol dramas generally don't demand much in terms of quality. Most just casually watch while eating. Even if the quality is bad, they'll watch the whole thing while cursing it."
"Besides, once we're investors, we can have a say in casting the male lead. Think about He Cheng's acting and looks. Would it be hard to find a male lead a little better than him?"
Huo Yun: She makes so much sense that I can't even argue!
And so, in the end, Huo Yun agreed to Ye Jin's proposal and contacted the investors behind Kunlun Duel to discuss investing.
Of course, the most important thing was still settling on a new male lead. After all, without one, the project couldn't restart, so what was the point of discussing investment?
What they hadn't expected, however, was that the second-largest investor, Star Universe Film and Television, would actually push hard for He Cheng to continue as the male lead!
They even offered a perfectly serious explanation: He Cheng hadn't officially been blacklisted, after all. Rather than spending a fortune hiring another big-name actor to reshoot, they might as well let He Cheng finish filming and release it after the storm had passed.
Huo Yun looked utterly baffled. "Has He Cheng put Star Universe Film and Television under a gu spell or something? Why else would they be this crazy?"
They all knew that although the reasoning sounded plausible, a little thought made it clear how inappropriate it was.
Other male stars had naturally been exposed for cheating over the past few years, and their careers had all suffered devastating blows. Moreover, given the peculiar nature of celebrity careers, the more popular the male star, the greater the impact, leaving them unable to recover for years.
Although these men hadn't been outright blacklisted like certain disgraced celebrities, they either could no longer play leading roles or could no longer land acting jobs, moving straight behind the scenes.
Only a very few capable actors with considerable talent and acting skill had any chance of getting audiences to overlook their character and give them another opportunity.
He Cheng was undoubtedly the most popular male star to have gotten into trouble in recent years, and he had little talent, relying entirely on his fans. This scandal had all but sentenced his career to death.
As for quietly releasing it once public opinion had settled down, leaving aside the fact that they would have to wait at least a few years, the video platforms buying dramas weren't fools either. They couldn't possibly spend a fortune buying this drama. Never mind making money-the investors wouldn't even recoup their costs.
Although the plot had changed and the original novel's storyline no longer applied, the relationships behind the characters remained unchanged. After thinking it over carefully and looking up the investors' backgrounds online, Ye Jin understood the key to the matter.
Aside from his girlfriend's support, He Cheng's rise to top-tier stardom had naturally also depended on big capital. Star Universe Film and Television had invested in his dramas and sponsored his concerts many times; they had collaborated extensively.
She then searched online for news about the boss behind Star Universe Film and Television and discovered that Star Universe Entertainment supported He Cheng so strongly because Star Universe Film and Television's president, Yan Haoqian, was his fan and "friend."
Yan Haoqian was now in his fifties and counted among the entertainment industry's big shots.
He was best known for frequently going out with muscular men and little fresh meats. Netizens had even nicknamed him "Grandma Yan."
During He Cheng's survival show days, Yan Haoqian had repeatedly used his position to canvass votes for him and even manipulate things behind the scenes. After He Cheng debuted, he had introduced him to opportunities even more frequently. He Cheng would occasionally return the peach with a plum by attending fashion banquets, film and television events, and so on hosted by Yan Haoqian.
Because of Yan Haoqian's bad reputation, He Cheng had also been attacked by antis back then. However, aside from public dinners, the haters hadn't managed to dig up anything.
Ye Jin had considerable faith in netizens' abilities. She felt that He Cheng really probably hadn't had any immoral relationship with Yan Haoqian back then, and Yan Haoqian wouldn't have dared force a popular top star. But now...
She told Huo Yun her suspicions and concluded, "He Cheng really is willing to go all out. Now he really has become bisexual, so the netizens haven't exactly wronged him!"
Huo Yun: Is this really the time to dwell on whether he's bisexual?
She ignored Ye Jin's flippancy and instead asked, "With our cash flow, we definitely can't match Star Universe Entertainment's investment. If it really comes down to a battle, we won't have the advantage."
Ye Jin quickly turned serious too. "Naturally, we can't compete with Star Universe over who invests more. What we need to do is win over the other investors, especially the largest investor, Fruit Video. As long as they firmly refuse to accept He Cheng, Star Universe Entertainment won't be able to overrule them."