I really don't want to be the top streamer anymore

Chapter 181 I Like the Way You Ignore Me

Chapter 181 I Like the Way You Ignore Me
Zhu Yu pretended not to hear Xu Kong's words.

However, it can be seen that Zhu Yu's attitude towards Xu Kong has changed a lot from before.

In the past, even if Xu Kong was asked to pick up the child, people would be on guard against letting him go home.

Now, we have begun to actively invite him.

"I'll help you clean up"

——"Forget it, if you have nothing to do, just go out first, I still have work to do later."

Xu Kong looked at Zhu Yu who was starting to clean up the office and wanted to help.

But he was driven out by Zhu Yu.

However, this time he came to see Zhu Yu and did what he was supposed to do, so he left with satisfaction.

After filming for more than two months and returning to Fengge, there were a lot more unfamiliar faces in the Artist Department building.

"It seems like the company has signed a lot of new people recently."

Guo Zihao was talking about the gossip he heard from Zhu Yu's assistant.

Zhu Yu should have known about it as well, but when Xu Kong went to find her, he didn't hear her mention it.

Of course, Xu Kongjin was busy with personal matters and did not give Zhu Yu the opportunity to tell these things, so it was normal that she didn't know.

“There are quite a lot of new people being trained this time.”

"It is said that there is some big talent training program."

Guo Zihao spoke to Xu Kong in a serious tone.

To put it simply, Fengge is a company that has been established for more than 20 years.

The average age of its actors, directors, etc. is quite old.

Although these people under Fengge are still active in the entertainment industry for so many years, they are definitely quite successful.

But at present, there are indeed some new and old faults.

As for the artists, everything is fine. Although we haven't signed a large number of people in recent years, we are still training young actors one after another.

The main thing is the screenwriters and directors, almost all of them are veterans in the industry.

Xu Kong just treated it as a piece of gossip and didn't think it had much to do with him.

His current main job is still the post-editing and production of "The Long Season".

With the previous experience of "Legend of Sword and Fairy", the post-production editing and production of this new drama was much faster.

Basically, it is still the same editing and post-production staff as before for The Legend of Sword and Fairy.

They are all Fengge’s own people.

The crew here just needs to pay Xu Kong’s salary.

Penguin's producer Ding Decong had no objection to this.

Or maybe this aspect had already been discussed with Penguin in advance.

In addition to Xu Kong's drama, the remaining dramas of the Penguin Suspense Theater will also be produced by Feng Ge.

"Director Xu, I talked to Mr. Zeng and he said your drama can be aired at the end of this year or the beginning of this year."

As a producer, Ding Decong still needs to follow up on post-production even though the drama has been completed.

So for now I just stay in Beijing, come to Fengge every day, and work with Xu Kong to monitor the post-production work.

"So much the better."

Xu Kong nodded.

He certainly doesn't want his drama to be delayed.

Although it’s not scheduled to be broadcast immediately after filming.

But after all, it is a drama invested by Penguin itself. Due to various plans, it is quite common to shelve it for a while before broadcasting.

Some dramas may even be shelved for several years due to various reasons.

Xu Kong still hopes that it can be broadcast as soon as possible.

In fact, according to the previous plan of Penguin Mystery Theater.

This drama by Xu Kong is not the first one to be broadcast.

But because the shooting period has been greatly shortened, it seems that it should be able to be broadcast earlier.

However, what hurt producer Ding Decong the most was the way Xu Kong spent money.

The investment in the entire drama was almost 200 million, but there were almost no so-called big scenes or special effects.

The most expensive part is the film remuneration. After all, two movie kings were invited at once, and the remuneration they offered was not low.

Ding Decong could still accept this point, as it was good value for money.

But apart from that, the most expensive parts of the filming budget are props and sets.

In order to restore the various styles and details of the last century, Xu Kong invested money almost regardless of the cost.

Many props are expensive and disposable.

For example, the makeup used by Gong Biao, played by Chen Shuang, to gain weight was used almost once per day of filming and was expensive.

If the shooting period had not been shortened, the cost would have been even more exaggerated.

But during the filming, Ding Decong still controlled himself and didn't think about it.

The main reason was that he had read the script and seen the original film footage shot by Xu Kong.

It is clear that Xu Kong has not deliberately increased the budget.

As long as the budget doesn't exceed too much, he, as a producer, will simply turn a blind eye.

For the entire day, even for lunch, Xu Kong did not leave the post-production studio.

Although Xu Kong had adopted this working mode in his previous two dramas, Ding Decong was still quite shocked.

"Director Xu, did you do post-production editing and production like this for your previous dramas?"

When the two were having dinner in the cafeteria of Fengge headquarters, Ding Decong couldn't help but ask.

"What's wrong? Is there a problem?"

Xu Kong glanced at Ding Decong and asked back.

The food in Fengge Canteen is very good. When it is busy, Xu Kong will come here to eat from time to time.

And compared to being outside, there is a high probability of being watched by people.

After all, Fengge's company has quite a lot of artists under its banner. Although there are still some people who come up to ask for photos and autographs, generally speaking, they are not disturbed too much.

“It’s just the first time I’ve met a director like you.”

Ding Decong said truthfully.

He has produced quite a few dramas. The director will definitely be present for some dramas' post-production editing, but he will only be given a corresponding script and direction. More specific shots will definitely be handed over to the post-production editor.

But Xu Kong is completely different.

Although he didn't do it himself, almost every shot's editing and production were entirely Xu Kong's own ideas and intentions.

This means that Xu Kong himself has a huge workload.

To the extent that you have to watch the entire show from beginning to end.

After understanding what Ding Decong meant, Xu Kong didn't think there was anything wrong with it. Instead, he had become accustomed to it.

After all, the previous two dramas also came about in this way.

In order to avoid arousing suspicion, Xu Kong learned to shoot some abandoned shots starting from The Legend of Sword and Fairy.

After all, it would be too exaggerated if there was almost no waste of materials.

But the proportion is still very small.

With the original film as a reference, there is no need to spend any energy on post-editing shots and narrative ideas.

The only problem that may not be avoidable is the practical problem.

This method meant that he had to follow the post-production editing of the entire drama from beginning to end.

Including how to restore and some places that need minor adjustments, no one can replace him except him.

Post-production on The Long Season took less than a week.

Xu Kong's personal studio was bustling again. Song Youyou and Shang Yuxin finished filming and returned to Beijing almost one after the other.

When Shang Yuxin came back, she still had the short hair style she had in the new movie.

I have to say, Shang Green Tea's pure and sexy style is more prominent with short hair than when she had long hair.

"Does it look good?"

When Shang Yuxin found out that Xu Kong was peeping at her, she was not angry but quite happy instead.

She even took the initiative to gently pull down her loose short-sleeved shirt, revealing her snow-white and smooth shoulders, and winked at him.

"cough cough"

Xu Kong coughed twice.

Although there was no one else in his office at the time, he was still a little embarrassed when he was caught peeking.

Shang Yuxin now has a deeper understanding of Xu Kong.

It's clear that this guy is just a hypocrite most of the time.

"If you want to watch it, just watch it openly. I have no objection. What are you afraid of?"

"Are you afraid that I'll eat you?"

Xu Kong nodded.

This is what he is really afraid of.

I originally wanted to keep my distance, but by some strange coincidence, I ended up getting closer and closer to Shang Lucha.

Shang Yuxin is no longer afraid of Xu Kong at all.

On the contrary, every time I came to his studio, I would quietly help close the office door.

There's a feeling of expecting Xu Kong to do it again like he did before.

"When will your movie be released this time?"

Xu Kong did not answer and changed the subject.

After the success of "Legend of Sword and Fairy", Shang Yuxin received many scripts, including some from big directors.

But she still chose a movie with a relatively small investment and a little-known director.

It can be seen that Shang Yuxin is still obsessed with entering the film industry.

"I am not sure as well."

"But I will probably sign up for a few foreign film awards this year first."

Shang Yuxin thought about it and spoke.

Strictly speaking, her new film is not a commercial film.

However, it is not entirely true to say that it is a pure art film.

Investors are still aiming to make money.

The main way is to hope to be nominated or win awards at some foreign film festivals.

Then use it to promote it domestically.

“But I always feel that something will go wrong again this time.”

When talking about the movie she starred in, Shang Yuxin couldn't help but smile bitterly.

"Didn't you choose the script yourself?"

Xu Kong asked with some confusion.

In his opinion, among actors of Shang Yuxin's current age, her acting skills are definitely among the best in the entire entertainment industry.

And Shang Yuxin has not had any plastic surgery, and some close-up shots are very good.

She also looks like a movie actress.

It shouldn't be difficult to transform into a movie actor.

"I was the one who chose it, but the investors asked to change the script during the filming. I think they changed it three or four times."

Hearing Shang Yuxin's words, Xu Kong was also stunned for a moment.

Is this still happening?
"The investors hope to be more commercial, while the director thinks that the main focus should be on being nominated for some awards."

What Shang Yuxin said is a common situation in the industry.

It is perfectly normal for investors to interfere with filming.

In the past, some investors actually started out in the real economy, and there were also many so-called nouveau riche.

But people are more clear that professional matters should be left to professionals.

Therefore, they rarely interfere with changing the script, and even during filming, they just take a quick look and never make any demands on aspects of the film shooting and production.

At most, he would arrange for his lover or mistress to join the crew and get a role.

But now, investors basically have no so-called other industries, or they simply invest because they are persuaded.

Most of them are here to make money.

Therefore, they will send so-called producers to monitor the whole process, for fear that the director and the crew will cheat them of their money.

Moreover, he would make a bunch of demands from time to time, with no room for negotiation at all.

This is indeed the current situation in the film and television industry.

Of course, there are some professional investors, such as Fengge, a film and television company, which invests in and produces its own projects, so such situations will hardly occur.

But at the same time, there are only a few companies of Fengge’s size in the entire entertainment industry.

And the people who use it are most likely directors under their own company.

Some people from outside who come with scripts have a small chance of getting investment. The more likely possibility is that Feng Ge takes a fancy to them and spends his own money to buy them from the other party.

"Forget it, I'll just accept my fate and focus on filming TV series from now on."

Shang Yuxin sighed and said.

Then he looked at Xu Kong with anticipation.

"Or maybe I can direct you to make a movie?"

"Consider it and let me be the heroine."

After hearing this, Xu Kong couldn't help but give the other person a blank look.

The movie will definitely be made, but he doesn’t have any specific plans in this regard at the moment.

After all, movies and TV series are different. Investment is secondary. The most important thing is that the risk is relatively high.

Unlike some TV series, even if the movie itself fails, it can still get quite high copyright fees commercially.

As for movies, the box office is real. If it loses, it loses; if it makes money, it makes money.

Even if the movie is taken off the screen, platforms like Kiwi and Penguin Video will buy the streaming rights, but if the movie does not perform well at the box office, these platforms are not fools and certainly will not pay a high price to pay for the movie investors.

"Just wait."

Xu Kong didn't refuse, but just replied lightly.

"Or in the next drama, is there a role suitable for me?"

"I have been filming for so many years, but I still like working with Director Xu the most."

Shang Yuxin started to act coquettishly and cutely.

She placed her hands on Xu Kong's desk, supported her chin, and looked at him with her big eyes blinking.

"When the time comes, I'll tell you when the time comes."

Although Xu Kong already has some plans for the next drama, he has not made up his mind yet and cannot give Shang Yuxin a definite answer.

"You are still as hard-hearted as ever."

Shang Yuxin said this with a somewhat lost expression.

But she quickly recovered and looked at him with a smile: "But I just like the way you ignore me."

Xu Kong was quite helpless when he heard this.