She Only Cares About Cultivation-Chapter 1087 - 899: Super Star 73 (First Update)
"Youth Diary" had a total investment of just over one million, yet it exhausted Liang An’s entire network and finances, including loans and mortgages, truly leaving him with nothing.
After ten days in theaters, the daily box office went from tens of thousands to millions, with the total box office reaching over three million. Even if fifty percent of the revenue goes to the theaters, he’s definitely breaking even. Moreover, as the movie continues to perform well, garnering good reviews, the screening rates are gradually increasing. If there used to be one show a day, it’s now increased to three or four.
Despite having no publicity, premiering quietly, and featuring only new actors, it showcased such superb acting that it was undeniably impressive.
So, would you say that Song Kexin and Dong Hui’s performances weren’t OK?
No, their acting was still acceptable, but in comparison to the intense emotions portrayed by Hua Yan and Ling Yao, it seemed immature and raw.
When these two acted together, there was an undeniable tendency to outshine the other. Their control over the eye scenes was quite spot-on; some moments didn’t require dialogues, and solely through their gazes, they could pull the audience in. That is true acting; that is skill.
That’s why the Douban scores were lowered because the contrast between these two story units was simply too stark.
Both stories are love tales from school uniforms to wedding gowns. The difference is the first is between two compatible families, enrolling in the same university, jointly starting a business, and later living with the mundane necessities, first sweet then bitter. It is similar to the experiences of many ordinary people and thus resonates well.
But that’s without having seen the second story.
The second story, albeit somewhat cliché, involves a huge disparity in family backgrounds, with the male side being powerful due to political influence, and the female side coming from a broken home, raised by a struggling single mother. The boy likes the girl, and she appreciates his excellence, but this affection during high school is vague, ambiguous, hardly qualifying as love.
Although there’s no melodramatic scene of the boy’s parents asking the girl to leave, the boy’s father suddenly encounters an issue, breaking the promise to attend the same university due to a no-show on exam day, as the boy is sent abroad by his father using the last of his connections, who later commits suicide by jumping into a river.
This kind of plot is already overused, yet with different actors every time, it offers unique feelings.
For four years, while attending university, the girl worked part-time and studied, eventually entering a joint venture enterprise after graduation. She thought she’d never cross paths with the boy again, never expected to run into him on a rainy night coming home from overtime work. With torrential rain pouring, she rushed to catch the last bus, only to be splashed with water by passing cars. As she lay soaked and embarrassed in the mud, the man came out from a car, stepping cleanly with his shoes, holding an umbrella, and in that eye contact, memories flooded back...
The first story offers simplicity with truth, not demanding much from the actors since it lacks critical moments for acting.
The second story carries melodrama with realism, demanding high-level acting due to its numerous conflict points, where the reunion after separation leaves one wondering how much of the previous affection remains. The male lead’s forced circumstances and the female lead’s regret emphasize real changes in social rank, with the female lead developing resistance toward the male. As they interact professionally, he discovers the glow within her, slowly reclaiming the innocence of first love, consequently pursuing her again.
Such a story, after ten days of screening, due to numerous online short reviews, many reminisced about first love, resonating with many. Moreover, being in the peak summer season, the movie emerged surprisingly as a box office dark horse, turning the four leading actors into the focus of this summer.
Especially Ling Yao and Hua Yan, two real-life scholars who passionately performed, even causing someone to tag the [Human Truth] video account. Within ten days, fans soared to three million, gaining one to two million followers rapidly, shockingly.
Furthermore, everyone was surprised to find out that Lisa from [Human Truth] also made a cameo in Hua Yan and Ling Yao’s unit.
Viewers are indeed observant. Due to Ling Yao and Hua Yan’s outstanding performances, many netizens grew curious, leading to various edited videos appearing, and the roles she previously cameoed in were dug out as well. Overnight, Hua Yan’s name became a sensation across the internet.
