Chapter 93

Another week had passed, and Zhang Tan arrived at the Pujiang Film Studio. As he rode the elevator, he encountered Wang Yifan, who gave him a cold glance and ignored him, not even bothering to greet him.

Zhang Tan simply rolled his eyes and paid no attention.

Today was Monday, the day of the regular departmental weekly meeting, and Zhang Tan had to represent the "Little Actors" crew.

He first went to the office, where he met Jiang Rong.

Nowadays, only Jiang Rong remained in this office, as Zhang Tan and Luo Ming were both following the production team.

The two chatted for a while, then Zhang Tan left and went to the meeting room, finding a seat at the back.

Although there were no name cards, Zhang Tan was quite aware and did not choose a seat at the front. Newcomers should be low-key to live longer.

Gao Xiaolan also arrived, smiling and saying, "I really didn't expect you to write songs. I would believe those two songs were written by some master."

You have a lot of things you didn't expect, I'm a treasure boy, Zhang Tan thought, but he humbly responded on the surface.

Zhu Ruopu and He Miao were the last to enter the meeting room. As before, Zhu Ruopu first listened to the progress of each project, then took out his phone, pulled up the data, and began to announce the latest episode's viewing statistics.

He started with "The Chief of the Department."

Last week, the first episode of "The Chief of the Department" had a strong start, achieving 3.5 million views, ranking ninth in the daily views of all web dramas.

Everyone was confident about the second episode, with a male celebrity, Yu Cong, making a guest appearance. They believed the views would increase, breaking 4 million. However...

"On our own video website, the second episode had 800,000 views, ranking fourth in daily views," Zhu Ruopu said.

For the first episode, the number on the studio's own video website was 1 million, ranking third. The second episode saw a decrease instead of an increase, which was quite bizarre.

It didn't end there.

"Adding the views from the other two platforms, the total is 2.5 million, ranking 20th in the industry."

The meeting room was in an uproar.

The drop in numbers was quite severe.

Zhu Ruopu's expression was serious as he said, "We need to analyze the reasons, find the root cause, and make timely corrections."

Wang Yifan's face was also not good, nodding in agreement. However, he believed it was an anomaly, and the numbers would rebound in the third episode.

Zhang Tan thought it was no wonder this guy had a gloomy face in the elevator, looking as if he owed him money. It turned out the views had dropped.

For industry professionals, a sharp drop in numbers was like having your pants fall down in public.

Zhu Ruopu's voice rang in his ears.

"The second episode of 'Little Actors' has made significant progress, reaching 500,000 views, ranking sixth in the company..."

He Miao was the first to clap, and the others followed.

The applause was not very enthusiastic, but it was better than nothing, especially when seeing Wang Yifan's gloomy face. To Zhang Tan, it sounded like thunder, especially loud.

Zhu Ruopu continued, "The rapid growth of 'Little Actors' can be attributed to several factors: first, the company's promotional plan has been implemented, with significant results; second, many celebrities have forwarded and supported it on Weibo, driving some traffic; third, the word-of-mouth is starting to spread."

Among these reasons, the second was the most unexpected. Who would have thought that a large group of celebrities would follow and support it? The source was easy to find: Su Lan.

Miss Su had done a great job.

Zhu Ruopu continued, given the noticeable improvement in performance, 'Little Actors' would be broadcast on Penguin Video, airing simultaneously.

This also meant that the audience for 'Little Actors' would significantly expand.

As 'Little Actors' began to gain momentum, the children's drama became known to more and more people, and related discussions became more heated.

And this drama was indeed controversial.

On Bihu, the topic "How do you view 'Little Actors: Grandma Liu Enters the Grand View Garden'? Is it worth encouraging children to act in serious dramas?" quietly climbed to the top ten hot topics.

The supporters and detractors were evenly matched, each with valid reasons.

User "Human Face" wrote:

It's hard to understand why some people want to ban 'Little Actors,' claiming that children should act like children.

I am very puzzled.

What do you think children should be like? Like little monsters? Only knowing how to slide down slides or cry? Then growing up to become more mediocre adults? Excellent people are also excellent in their childhood, and they start at an age you can't imagine.

Take my four-year-old niece, for example. She loves dancing and English, and even won a dance competition, which led to her being selected to learn acting. She is very sensible and already knows how to take care of others at four years old. She even takes the initiative to throw away things you leave on the table. I think she is very talented, and her demeanor is similar to the young actors in the drama. She is a very cute child, not lacking in childlike qualities.

You can't say they lack childlike qualities just because they are excellent and different from your childhood.

Childlike qualities are not defined by anyone and have no definition. Being true to their nature is being childlike.

But user "Flowers Bloom and Wither" wrote:

We have been calling for the protection of minors for many years, and the state has enacted laws and regulations. Just as we have made some achievements, we now find that some film and television companies, to attract attention, put children on screen, and the entire media seems to be praising children. For the sake of ratings, they make happy children act in tragic roles, forcing them into the atmosphere of the role. This is a bad trend that should not be encouraged. Moreover, this drama has no novelty.

The two sides argued fiercely, and the topic's heat quickly rose, entering the top ten, the top five, the top three, and finally reaching the top.

The answers and discussions on Bihu were relatively highbrow, while on Weibo, they were more direct.

"Those who say it's not good, get lost."

"It's just awkward."

"I find you awkward too."

"Are the current popular young actors going to be ashamed?"

"The costumes and makeup, many directors should be ashamed."

"Exploiting children will foster a bad trend and harm the protection of minors."

"Children around ten years old, yet they act like adults, how strange and awkward. Isn't it better to be a naturally innocent child?"

...

Even in Zhang Tan's class group, there was a heated discussion.

All were in the film and television industry, and after graduation, they worked in this field, so it was closely related to them and naturally more concerning.

"It's clear that the director is serious about the production. The actors, costumes, and makeup are all excellent. The young actors' performances are all on point, and the one who played Grandma Liu was the most impressive. It's hard to imagine that a 9-year-old child could act like that."

"Admitting the director's good intentions, it could have a significant negative impact. There are many topics to choose from, so why put a group of children on screen? I'm a bit worried about the future of these pretty young girls."

"Those with dirty minds see everything as dirty."

"Lu Xinyi, let's stick to the facts and not insult each other, okay?"

...

Everyone was discussing heatedly, and several people were arguing.

The group owner had to step in to calm the anger and asked Su Lan to say a few words.

His words as the group owner were often far less effective than Su Lan's.

Sure enough, Su Lan was watching, and she immediately appeared.

"I don't think it's bad for children to act in serious dramas. We just need to be careful that these new waves don't push us old waves onto the beach."

...

The heated discussion even caught the attention of the People's Daily, which published a commentary.

"Recently, a drama called 'Little Actors: Grandma Liu Enters the Grand View Garden' has suddenly become a sensation online. The biggest feature of this drama is that all the actors have an average age of only 10 years. Despite their young age, their acting is on point, so both the drama's name and the audience's praise refer to them as 'Little Actors.'"

"While many people praise this drama, many others express concern. Can children act in serious dramas? Does making children perform complex emotions prematurely mature them? Is it a better way to inherit traditional culture, or just a game dominated by adults?"

"First, let's discuss the concept of 'serious drama.' 'Dream of the Red Chamber' is considered a serious drama due to the influence of the 1987 version, but in fact, there has always been controversy in academia about the ages of the characters in 'Dream of the Red Chamber.' Generally, it is believed that Jia Baoyu and Lin Daiyu were only six or seven years old when they first met, and Baochai was only 11 or 12 when she entered the Jia household. Therefore, the 'Little Actors' version of 'Dream of the Red Chamber' cannot be called an adult drama. Instead, many viewers believe that it compensates for the shortcomings of the 1987 version, where older actors played younger roles..."

The article was over 3,000 words, with an objective and neutral stance but leaning towards supporting 'Little Actors.'

Due to the involvement of the official media and its positive evaluation, some radical media and individuals dared not attack too recklessly.

And amidst the heated discussions, the views of 'Little Actors' continued to rise, much to the surprise and delight of the production team and the studio.