The exposure of Jin Qiaoqiao's text messages regarding "accompanying drinking" has once again sparked a discussion about the unwritten rules in the entertainment industry. Director Zhang Jiarui, who was recently in Chengdu promoting his new film "Lost City," frankly admitted that this is a common phenomenon, and revealed that he had once encountered an investor who specifically requested Zhang Jingchu to accompany them for drinks. After refusing, the investment deal went nowhere.
Female stars being asked to accompany drinking is not uncommon. Zhang Jiarui has always insisted on shooting artistic films in his own style, with limited investments. Some larger investments have been put on hold due to various reasons, one of which being the refusal of female actors to attend drinking sessions, causing the investment to fall through.
Regarding Jin Qiaoqiao being asked to accompany drinking, Zhang Jiarui believes that such phenomena are not rare: "Attending dinner gatherings is a widespread reality in China, not just in the film and television industry. Some investor bosses really directly request to go to KTV private rooms during business talks, asking me to bring a few young actresses over. Of course, I strongly oppose such practices, and some agreed-upon investments were stopped because of this."
Zhang Jiarui feels that some investors are not serious about making movies. Perhaps some celebrities are their idols from years ago, and now that they have become successful and wealthy, they want to have dinner and befriend these stars.
Zhang Jingchu refused to accompany drinking, and the investment was shelved.
Actually, it is reasonable for investors to want to meet actors. Zhang Jiarui said: "If someone invests so much money, don't they have the right to have dinner and communicate with the actors in the movies they're investing in? That's obviously incorrect." "I've also met many high-quality investors who simply chat about the script or have casual conversations. But if they try to get the stars drunk and make them sing late into the night, I find that very disturbing."
Zhang Jiarui used his long-time collaborator Zhang Jingchu as an example: "A couple of years ago, I prepared to shoot a big-budget movie. Someone specifically requested Zhang Jingchu to play the lead role and also wanted her to sing and drink with them. I had to tell the boss that Zhang Jingchu doesn't sing and doesn't drink. As a result, an investment of 20 to 30 million yuan was withdrawn without hesitation. Zhang Jingchu is stubborn; she can't do these things."