Starring Zhao Lusi and William Chan, ‘Shine For Me’ has become a sensation, racking up over 1.5 billion streams and soaring to the top as this year’s drama king in China. The fashion business sparked by Zhao Lusi alone is astonishing; ever since the shooting started, her outfits have sold out due to demand for “her style.” After the drama aired, the president of Bulgari even made a personal post to acknowledge that many pieces of jewelry in the show were from their brand, marking Zhao Lusi’s truly glamorous comeback and completely casting away the shadows of her previous fallout with her agency “Galaxy Cool Entertainment,” which had stalled her career. Recently, rumors online say that the broadcasting platform Youku’s parent company “Orca Entertainment” has recognized Zhao Lusi’s infinite commercial potential, and is keen to help her resolve her contract issues with “Galaxy Cool Entertainment.” Her new drama with Peng Guanying, ‘Lovers,’ is also expected to be revived for reshoots.
Online sources report that ‘Orca Entertainment’ has noticed Zhao Lusi’s powerful ability to single-handedly make ‘Shine For Me’ a hit, and is likely willing to resolve her contract disputes with ‘Galaxy Cool Entertainment.’ In addition, Youku has Zhao Lusi and Peng Guanying’s new drama ‘Lovers’ (rumored to be renamed ‘Liuyu’), which became a hot potato because its filming was never completed. Earlier reports said the unfinished ‘Lovers’ was directly submitted for approval, and that the full show was cut from 24 episodes down to 14, drawing massive criticism from netizens. If ‘Lovers’ is forced to air, it might have negative repercussions. These are said to be some of the reasons why ‘Orca Entertainment’ wants to sign Zhao Lusi. In recent days, frequent broadcasts of large images from Zhao Lusi's past works on screens at ‘Orca Entertainment’ headquarters seem to indirectly confirm that the two parties are in talks.
During the filming of ‘Lovers’ in December last year, Zhao Lusi was rushed to hospital due to ill health, and soon after, allegations emerged of the production team using a “dual-script,” director Deng Ke using a stand-in, and more. Zhao Lusi herself admitted to suffering long-term depression. Since then, the drama has been on hold. If she is indeed signed by ‘Orca Entertainment,’ it’s likely that the remaining scenes of ‘Lovers’ will be reshot. Zhao Lusi previously stated she was waiting for further notifications from the ‘Lovers’ crew, but has so far only been met with an exorbitant compensation demand, although her comments suggest she does not reject the idea of finishing the project. This has left netizens hoping this partnership can finally bring ‘Lovers’ to completion.
News Source: Up Media