novelraw Chapter 205: The Main Cast
Chapter 205: The Main Cast
The reasoning was simple. The public knew that without her, Apex would have never considered looking for an original script on a site like Manhui, and the show "Glory" would have never seen the light of day.
In fact, everyone was now also aware that the value of Manhui’s copyrights had skyrocketed.
Before, no one had shown any interest, but Jessie Sterling broke that pattern. She even made "Glory" a household name, which naturally gave Manhui the confidence to demand higher prices for its copyrights.
In a way, Jessie Sterling was the one who had brought popularity to all the webcomics on Manhui.
"Boss, are you going to go?" her assistant asked, standing beside Jessie Sterling.
’My boss should definitely be on that live stream,’ she thought. ’Forget everything else, just with her looks, she could outshine half the celebrities in show business, okay?’
As a die-hard admirer of her boss, she naturally wanted the whole world to know about her.
Jessie Sterling shook her head. "I’m not going."
She didn’t consider herself someone who had much to say in front of a camera. It would be terribly awkward if there was dead air.
Besides, she wasn’t planning on becoming a celebrity, so what was the point of attending these live-stream events?
Hearing this, a flash of disappointment crossed the assistant’s eyes, but she quickly moved on to report on other work matters.
Although Jessie Sterling had refused to participate in the live stream, on the day it aired, she and Victor Morgan were at home, watching it on TV.
Victor Morgan had little interest in such things; he barely recognized any of the celebrities. But at his wife’s request, he put his work aside for the time being.
When the live stream began, the first person Jessie Sterling noticed was Yvonne Rhodes.
As the original author and the scriptwriter, Yvonne Rhodes had attended her fair share of events, like Manhui’s annual parties and the yearly comic cons. As the creator of the work, she often received invitations. So, Yvonne Rhodes didn’t turn down the live stream event this time either.
After all, the appearance fee was quite substantial!
Sitting next to Yvonne Rhodes were the main cast members, all of whom looked very young.
Tonight’s live-stream dinner was hot pot. This kind of environment makes it easy for people to relax and open up.
The host was a pillar of a domestic TV network that specialized in entertainment. She had excellent control over the flow of the show, and there wasn’t a single moment of dead air during the entire meal.
"Ms. Rhodes, you’re a well-known artist to all of us. I was wondering, had you ever thought your webcomic would be adapted into a TV series?" the host asked.
Yvonne Rhodes: "No, because in our circle, no one’s webcomic had ever been adapted before. There have been animated series, though, so I was very surprised at the time." She chuckled as she said this. "I even thought someone had pulled some strings for me."
Host: "Pulled some strings? What do you mean?"
An actor from the main cast chimed in to explain, "Ms. Rhodes knew our boss from before."
The host was surprised. This was news to her. She looked at Yvonne Rhodes. "Ms. Rhodes, is that true?"
Yvonne Rhodes nodded. "Yes, we knew each other. But back then, I didn’t know she was the president of Apex. We met at a party. I was quite surprised when I saw her at the contract signing."
"Well, that’s truly fate," the host remarked. "Actually, we also invited President Sterling today, but she was too busy to make it."
Yvonne Rhodes smiled. "She is indeed very busy."
The host quickly shifted the topic to the main cast, asking about interesting stories and embarrassing moments from the shoot.
They were all new actors, young and still at that stage where they’d say whatever was on their minds without much of a filter. The atmosphere during the meal was harmonious and full of funny moments.
"The person we’re most grateful for is definitely our President Sterling! On the first day of filming, she gave out so many red envelopes, and they were all big ones with several hundred yuan each. It added up to almost a thousand yuan!"
"And then there’s that incident everyone knows about. If President Sterling hadn’t turned the tide, ’Glory’ might not have been released to the public so quickly."
"Especially the casting. I heard from a senior that if you don’t sign with an agency before graduation and don’t have anyone backing you, it’s hard to even land a significant supporting role. But for this show, people from Apex came to our school for open auditions and interviewed a lot of students."
"For a recent graduate like me, if it weren’t for this kind of audition process, there’s no way I would have landed a lead role right out of the gate."
"I heard that was President Sterling’s requirement—to use new actors whose ages were a closer match to the characters in Ms. Rhodes’s original work."
The fans watching the live stream couldn’t help but feel curious when they heard all this.
Whether it was Yvonne Rhodes or the main cast, everyone seemed to be mentioning the president of Apex.
Plus, because of Leo Goodman’s previous attempt to slander Apex, netizens already knew that the current president of Apex Films was a young woman.
"Suddenly, I’m a little curious. Who exactly is the president of Apex?"
"They were already friends with Yvonne Rhodes? Met at a dinner party? I just checked our favorite author’s Weibo, and it looks like the only dinner party she’s been to recently was the annual year-end event."
"This president must be pretty great. I mean, they’re all capitalists, but to give out big red envelopes at the opening ceremony, in today’s market? That’s really decent of them."
"I have a wild theory... could the president of Apex be a fan of Manhui?"
The host was paying attention to the guests at the table while also keeping an eye on the bullet comments in the live stream.
After all, one of the biggest joys of hosting a live stream is interacting with the fans in real time.
So, when the host saw the comments popping up, she couldn’t help but shift the topic back to Yvonne Rhodes.
"Ms. Rhodes, since you and President Sterling of Apex are friends, does that mean she’s also a fan of webcomics?"
Yvonne Rhodes thought for a moment. Jessie Sterling did indeed have favorite comic artists. She nodded. "Yes, she is. Otherwise, why would she have thought to look for a suitable script in a niche circle like Manhui?"
Host: "So, is she a fan of yours?"
Yvonne Rhodes let out a laugh. "Not exactly. The genres President Sterling enjoys don’t seem to include the kind of stuff I draw."
The host seemed a bit disappointed. "It would have been great if President Sterling could have joined our live stream today. I see that many of our viewers are also very curious about her!"
"She’s a very interesting person. Very easy to talk to and very approachable," Yvonne Rhodes said.
Jessie Sterling, who was sitting in front of the TV at home, couldn’t help but laugh out loud as she watched this part.
Then, Jessie Sterling reached out and tugged on the clothes of the person beside her. "Did you hear that? See how well-liked I am?"
When Victor Morgan heard Yvonne Rhodes’s voice, he merely glanced up at the screen.
He didn’t have a very favorable impression of Yvonne Rhodes. After all, if it weren’t for her, Victor Morgan would never have realized that he not only had to guard against other men coveting his wife, but also against other women.