Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 82 Is it a romantic debt?

After the male and female protagonists are determined, the preparations for the film can proceed quickly.

Cao Yang originally planned to shoot this movie in Beijing, but he didn't expect that Lu Dongdao got the news from somewhere and contacted Cao Yang.

Shouting: Subsidies, subsidies, we have financial subsidies, Director Cao, come quickly!

Cao Yang didn’t care about the subsidy, it was mainly because Ludong Island was too welcoming, and the first two movies were shot on Ludong Island, so he had a connection with it…

I'm coming.

Therefore, Cao Yang arranged for Cheng Jianye and Gu Changwei to go with several crew members to find a suitable filming location first.

By the way, let Cheng Jianye contact several advertisers. The cars that appear in the movie, the piano used in the heroine's piano training class, and the drinks used in several dinner parties can all be quietly implanted with advertisements without affecting the viewing experience of the movie.

Moreover, Cheng Jianye was asked to clearly tell the car dealers that the film was going to be shown in Cannes, but the car would break down at the beginning of the film. If they could accept it, they could make an offer, but if they could not, then forget it.

Two days later, Cheng Jianye called and said that Qirui Automobile in China had quoted a high price and asked whether he wanted to accept it.

Cao Yang asked them if they were not afraid that car failures would affect the brand?
Cheng Jianye said that he had told the other party, and the other party said that it didn't matter, because the word on the street now was "Qi Rui Qi Rui car repair queues", and what they wanted was to become famous quickly, and everything else was secondary.

Cao Yang knew this joke.

To put it simply, after Qirui produced the cars, it did not have the qualifications to sell cars and could only be "fostered" by Shanghai Auto. After a short period of cooperation, the cooperation broke down, resulting in the manufacturer's maintenance points no longer existing in the market.

In addition, Qi Rui had quite a few minor problems at first, and it was difficult to find after-sales service from the manufacturer, so this joke came about.

What is there to hesitate about? The price is right and the other party doesn't mind, so sign the contract.

Cao Yang thought about it and decided that domestic brands were not easy to come by these days and they were generous with the money, so he decided to help out if it was easy.

So the car breakdown in the script was changed to the car running out of gas.

The heroine's original intention of returning to the small place was to escape. She was so worried that she didn't pay attention to the fuel gauge, and it was understandable that the car ran out of gas.

This small change does not affect the plot, but instead highlights the heroine's character and psychology.

Then, the local government of Ludong Island heard that there were scenes of drinking at dinner parties in the movie, so they made an introduction to Ludong Island Beer and negotiated another advertising placement.

The piano advertisement was won by a well-established piano company in Yangcheng, China.

After all the contracts were signed and the revenue was calculated, the film had already made back all its investment and even had a huge profit just from the revenue from product placements!

It is really, really easy for big directors to make money these days.

Before the film started shooting, the overseas copyright had been sold for nearly 600 million US dollars, plus advertising revenue, the total amount was tens of millions of dollars.

This is pure profit.

No matter at any time or in any industry, the income at the top of the pyramid is extremely considerable.

The preparations for the film are progressing in an orderly manner, and several main characters have been almost confirmed.

The heroine was Gao Yuanyuan, the hero was Wu Qihua, the pastor was given to Liao Qizhi, and the kindergarten principal was given to Wang Jinsong. Teacher Wang was so happy that he invited a few close colleagues to have a meal together in advance.

Huang Lei happened to run into them, so he joined in the meal.

During the period, everyone was wondering why Wang Jinsong invited everyone to dinner for no reason, and joked that he might have found a second love.

Wang Jinsong laughed, waved his hands to deny it, and finally sighed casually. He said that he might have to take a leave to film in a while, and he would treat everyone to a meal before leaving and help take care of the students.

Now that we've gotten to this point, someone's bound to ask what kind of movie we're going to shoot.

Teacher Wang pretended to be silent for a moment, and said that it was just a minor supporting role, but it still had some parts. Oh, and it was Director Cao’s new play…

For a moment, everyone seemed to be laughing and joking, but in fact, they were upset inside - why? Why do you, Lao Deng, have the exclusive favor of Director Cao?

Not a son of man!

Huang Lei was even more envious and jealous. He was so angry that his teeth were itching. He took a bite of the food and chewed it hard without caring about his image. What a selling-out old bastard!
In the end, everyone tacitly ordered a few more bottles of good wine, which was enough to make Wang Jinsong feel distressed for a while.

The heroine's child needs to be around five years old, either boy or girl.

Cao Yang did not release the news, but directly asked assistant director Liu Shan to find one on Ludong Island.

Otherwise, as long as the news is released, there will be so many second-generation people in the industry who are of the right age who will be eager to debut under such a young Golden Lion director. Who to use and who not to use will be a worrying matter, and I am too lazy to argue with them one by one.

As for the remaining less important roles, Cao Yang plans to give them to current students of Beijing Film Academy, except those who are of unsuitable age.

Then, he received a call from Lao Tian.

Old Tian was hesitant on the phone and seemed to be a little embarrassed to speak.

Cao Yang was puzzled. This was not like Lao Tian's character, so he said, "Brother, if you have something to say, just tell me. Don't play hard to get with me."

Old Tian relaxed all of a sudden, and said a little embarrassedly on the phone: "I owed someone a favor before, and now you came to me and asked me to recommend an actress to you."

"Romance debt?"

"Get lost. I never owe romantic debts. I usually pay them back on the spot... Bah, you've led me astray."

Old Tian cursed with a smile, then sighed and said, "I really don't want to push this person to you, but there is no way, I have to repay a favor."

"Okay, Senior Brother, just tell me who it is. If she wants to be the heroine, even if Teacher Situ explains it clearly, it's impossible."

"Yeah, I know. I've made it clear. The other party just wants to establish a connection with you. If you can't be the protagonist, you can be a supporting role. Once I make this call, it will be considered as returning the favor."

"Who is it? So powerful?"

"Xu Jinglei."

Cao Yang was silent for a moment. This woman was really amazing. She could even ask for favors from Old Tian. Could it be the so-called Beijing circle’s help?
This is how it is in our country, a society where favors are the norm. As long as you owe someone a favor, there is nothing you can do about it, no matter how difficult the matter is.

Like Cao Yang, does he owe anyone a favor?

It must be owed. One is to Old Situ, and the other is to Old Tian.

Don’t say that you have already repaid me. It’s hard to explain the favor of support.

There must be no exceptions when it comes to matters of principle, such as the protagonist of a movie, which is something no one can interfere with.

But as a supporting role, Lao Tian spoke up, which would definitely give him face in Caoyang.

"Brother, since you asked, I agreed. So you have repaid the favor you owed to others, right?"

"Um……"

"Okay, Senior Brother, tell her that I've agreed to give her a minor supporting role. Then, tell her that the heroine of the movie is Gao Yuanyuan, and she'll understand what I mean."

Old Tian was silent for a long time, and finally sighed, "Cao Yang, I..."

"Alright, Senior Brother, when did you become so fussy? There's no need to talk about this between us. You don't have to act like a woman and try to be sentimental... Just fart directly."

"Oh, you...get out of here, I'm dead."

"Okay, go find your romantic debt now."

"You kid..."

Old Tian listened to the "beep" sound coming from the phone and sighed again. Once you enter the world, you have no choice!

Go to his grandma.

Cao Yang asked Lao Tian to tell the other party that the heroine of this movie was Gao Yuanyuan, which actually meant rejecting the other party.

Are you sorry?

A few months ago, in "Metro to Spring", Gao Yuanyuan was still a minor supporting role in your movie, playing a supporting role and not even having a few lines.

Now, turning around, I ask you to play a supporting role for Gao Yuanyuan, with almost no lines. Do you still have the nerve to come?
In fact, if Gao Yuanyuan wants to get into the role more easily, the best option is to let Xu Jinglei hang around the crew when she has nothing to do. This will definitely make Gao Yuanyuan look nervous and angry.

Cao Yang can also do this kind of thing.

But divide people.

Cao Yang is a narrow-minded person who holds grudges.

(End of this chapter)