Huayu became famous overnight

Chapter 195 If you don’t push yourself, you won’t know how low your bottom line is
The opening ceremony ended with Xu Ming's speech.

In his words, on the day the movie is released, anyone who stands in the way will be killed.

It’s not that he is too confident, it’s just that next year’s opponents are simply too vulnerable.

Among the top four box office movies in the previous life, the first one, "The Flowers of War", is expected to be delayed to 12.

The second is "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate" directed by Bona, starring Xu Ke and Jet Li. It is a strong opponent, but it only took more than 5 million yuan in box office.

Not to mention the third one, "The Founding of a Party", the box office of 400 million yuan proves that the potential of this kind of main theme movie that piles up stars is ultimately limited.

The fourth one is "Love Is Not Blind", which he filmed in advance.

The fifth film, "Overheard 2", is even less worth mentioning, with a box office of just over million.

With this calculation, Xu Ming actually only has to face two opponents, "Flying Daggers of Dragon Gate" and "The Founding of a Party".

The schedules are slightly staggered, and the remaining small dishes can be handled in minutes.

"You guys go ahead and shoot first. I have an interview with CCTV's Sixth Princess this afternoon. When I come back in a couple of days, just assign the people from Group B to me."

Jiang Wen is about to leave after attending the opening ceremony.

The more popular "Let the Bullets Fly" became, the tighter his schedule became. Being able to attend the ceremony was already a great relief in his busy schedule.

The division of the crew into Group A and Group B was decided as early as during the preparations, and it was proposed by Ning Hao himself.

The latter doesn't think he can defeat Jiang Wen, so he might as well just give up the power and let Jiang Wen deal with the assistant director.

"How many days are two days away? We need an accurate number, otherwise it will be difficult to arrange the schedule later."

Xu Ming held Jiang Wen and said seriously, "You are a big director after all, do you still need me to teach you this?"

"Hey!"

Jiang Wen's eyes widened. Facing Xu Ming's unyielding gaze, he said angrily, "Three days. I will definitely join the group in three days."

"Okay, I still trust Director Jiang's promise. After all, a man cannot stand without integrity. Is Director Jiang the kind of person who would break his word?" Xu Ming said with a smile.

Jiang Wen was choking on his breath. Damn, this guy was clearly trying to shut him up.

At the critical moment just now, he really wanted to get away with it first, as he didn't have time to delay it later.

Unexpectedly, Xu Ming outmaneuvered him.

This kid knows himself very well.

"Don't worry, I will never go back on my word just to shut you up." Jiang Wen said unhappily.

Xu Ming chuckled and saw the person off with a smile on his face.

Wait for him to come back.

Ning Hao couldn't help but ask, "You're being so harsh with Director Jiang, aren't you worried about offending him?"

He knew that Xu Ming and Jiang Wen had a good relationship, but in front of so many people, Jiang Wen had just broken the box office record, so he was nervous about not giving him face.

"That shows that you don't understand Director Jiang. He is a very smart person and he understands the truth. It's just a matter of whether he is willing to do it or not. The smarter a person is, the less likely he is to be offended, especially when he is right."

"He is just used to testing other people's bottom line. We have to maintain the bottom line from the beginning to prevent him from completely letting go."

Xu Ming explained that "The Unknown" was his trump card for next year and he could not afford to lose it, so he certainly could not allow Jiang Wen to mess around.

Of course, the premise of all this is the emotional foundation between him and Jiang Wen, and the latter still owes him a big favor.

If it were someone else, it would be strange if Jiang Wen didn't get angry if he gave him such a low profile.

Ning Hao nodded as if he understood, not quite sure whether he had grasped the basics or realized the essence.

He then asked, "By the way, I don't understand the meaning of the robbery spoof video of Hu Guangsheng and Li Haigen in the script. Can this thing destroy their self-esteem?"

To be honest, he had suspected at first that the script was not written by Xu Ming.

Someone wrote it for me instead.

But the more he got in touch with Xu Ming and the more he discussed with him, the more impossible it seemed. This guy knew everything about the script, and some of his insights were unexpected even for him, the director.

It was so complete, so complete that before the movie was even shot, it was like the other person had the whole movie in his mind.

"Have you seen "A Murder Caused by a Bun"? The so-called spoof video is an extension of the style of that video, but it will be more intense and sarcastic. I call it ghost animal."

"After we finish filming the robbery scene, I will have the post-production team edit the spoof video. You will understand it when you see it."

Xu Ming has already thought of a publicity plan centered on this.

At that time, the spoof video will be posted online in advance to create an off-stage drama.

When the movie is released, if some viewers recognize it, it will be considered an Easter egg.

"Then I understand."

As soon as Ning Hao heard "A Murder Caused by a Steamed Bun", he immediately had a clear understanding of the emotions of the two stupid thieves.

This online short film from 06 not only made the Internet laugh, but was also seen by many directing students as a trendy way to deconstruct movies.

Even Director Chen was so angry about this spoof that he sued the producer.

That would explain the reaction of the two stupid thieves.

……

"Card!"

"This one is okay, better than the previous one. Xu Ming, you can be more aggressive and completely suppress Bao Qiang." Ning Hao said.

Since the start of filming, although there were some bumps in the road, fortunately, after everyone had some time to get used to it, the efficiency gradually improved.

The key here is Xu Ming's performance.

Needless to say, Wang Baoqiang is very worry-free, and this role is almost not difficult for the former.

But compared with Wang Baoqiang's performance, Xu Ming's performance was not quite up to par.

It's not that he acted badly, it's just that it wasn't good enough.

However, Ning Hao found that the other party adjusted quickly. Once he pointed out the shortcomings, he would correct them in the next step.

This also made Ning Hao feel relieved, otherwise if the leading actor Xu Ming's performance level couldn't keep up, the whole play would have collapsed.

"Okay, I'll adjust my status."

Xu Ming nodded, walked behind the monitor, and watched the playback of his performance clip.

Compare with the original Zhang Yu's performance in my mind and make improvements.

This is why he is considered to have strong learning ability.

Look at Wang Baoqiang who is handling the situation with ease on the screen.

Xu Ming couldn't help but sigh that the other party was really blessed by God. This guy didn't even show any signs of acting.

Fortunately, he did sufficient preparation before filming and had the original version to compare with, otherwise he would have been overwhelmed by the performance.

"Brother Baoqiang, how did you play this character? Do you have any techniques?" Xu Ming asked.

"I don't have any skills. I'm just guessing." Wang Baoqiang scratched his head.

He has not received any formal training and mostly relies on his own intuition to perform the roles.

For example, Nezha with three white eyes...

"Okay. By the way, how did you guys discuss Xu Zheng's movie Lost in Thailand?" Xu Ming asked casually.

"We've almost talked about it. We're all friends. It's his first time as a director and he doesn't have much money. I'm prepared to make an appearance at a friendly price," Wang Baoqiang replied.

He is actually not that familiar with Xu Zheng, they just worked together once on "Lost on Journey".

The latter invited him to continue the popularity of "Lost on Journey".

"hehe."

Xu Ming chuckled and didn't comment. If I remember correctly, it was after this movie that the two of them parted ways.

On the one hand, Huang Bo received nearly 50 million yuan in box office share, while Wang Baoqiang still received 2 million yuan in salary.

Although Huang Bo used 3 million yuan of friendship salary as an investment to get the dividends, Xu Zheng was a bit too stingy to even give him a red envelope after the movie became a big hit at the box office.

On the other hand, it also has something to do with "Lost in Hong Kong" and Xu Zheng's desire to have the whole thing to himself.

The sequel simply kicked out the other two leading actors and made himself the protagonist. Unfortunately, it only made money at the box office but lost its reputation.

Bao Bei'er and Wang Baoqiang are completely different levels of actors.

Although both of them are silly, the latter makes people feel cute while the former makes people feel annoying. Sometimes it is really hard to say whether one can be popular with the audience.

"Xu Zheng said that you Qiming were planning to invest in him, why didn't you invest now?" Wang Baoqiang asked puzzledly.

“Investment is something that changes rapidly.”

Xu Ming didn't explain much and just responded with one sentence.

"I don't understand what you big shots are thinking. I'll just focus on filming my movie." Wang Baoqiang shook his head.

Just like he is a contracted actor of Huayi, no matter how big the conflict is between the group and Xu Ming, it did not stop him from joining the crew.

Sometimes, the difference between enemies and friends is just a change of stance.

In fact, Xu Zheng had come to look for Qi Ming many times in the past period of time, but each time Xu Ming deliberately refused and never showed up.

If this guy dares to use me as a backup, he will have to bear the corresponding price.

Companies such as Guangguang, which were originally interested in the film, seemed to be frightened by online articles about actors turning directors and the copyright issues of "Lost on Journey" and have been wavering.

In this situation, Xu Zheng has few choices.

Xu Ming was certain that the other party would come to him again. Anyway, he had already bought the copyright of Lost on Journey from Huaqi.

If this guy is really ignorant, he doesn't mind starting a new embarrassing series.

Wait until another shot is finished.

When Xu Ming found the state that Ning Hao wanted.

A commercial vehicle drove into the set and a bald man got out of the vehicle.

"It's winter, I brought some hot drinks for everyone, please feel free to have a cup each."

Xu Zheng signaled his entourage to carry the hot drinks downstairs, and then walked towards Xu Ming and others.

He smiled widely: "I'm here to visit you all, I hope I didn't disturb you?"

"No, we just finished shooting a scene. Why did you want to come?" Wang Baoqiang said happily.

"Director Ning Hao and I have worked together twice. We are old partners. I also know President Xu. We are old acquaintances. When I passed by Guizhou Province, I naturally came to say hello to you." Xu Zheng said with a smile.

"Just listen to his nonsense. I was the one who asked him to come over and make a guest appearance." Ning Hao explained.

"Hey, you come to act too, and you hide it from me."

Wang Baoqiang patted Xu Zheng's arm, and the latter had a forced smile on his face.

Obviously, he was not used to the other party's enthusiastic body language.

Xu Ming watched calmly. He had a hunch that the other party was targeting him. It seemed that the financing road for "Lost in Thailand" was not smooth.

That makes sense, after all, there is a guy like him who throws nails on the road in this life.

No matter how good the other party’s tires are, they will eventually leak.

"I only have about 100 kilograms of meat. I'll leave it to you, Director Ning, to take care of it."

Xu Zheng greeted everyone and took the script from the assistant director, as if he was there just for a cameo appearance.

Xu Ming was not in a hurry either, as he was in a safe position anyway.

"Xu Zheng said a few days ago that he would come to visit the set. I told him at the time that he could help out with a cameo role if he came. I thought that if he didn't come, I would replace him with someone else, so I didn't notify you in advance."

Ning Hao specifically found the former to explain, because the other party was the largest investor in the crew.

Xu Zheng's guest role was not small, and he was paid for it, so naturally he had to inform the other party.

"Haha, it's a good thing to invite Teacher Xu to make a guest appearance. You can just decide on these roles if you think they are suitable." Xu Ming said with a faint smile.

He is not the kind of person who would hold on to trivial matters, so he just let it go by ignoring the matter.

On the first day, I caught a glimpse of Xu Zheng.

The next day, he went to Group B to film opposite Jiang Wen.

It was not until the third day that Xu Zheng went back to the hotel after work and found Xu Ming.

"Mr. Xu, do you have time? I want to talk to you about something."

Xu Zheng stood at the door and said respectfully.

"Yes, come in and tell me, Director Xu."

Xu Ming welcomed the other person into the house in a friendly manner.

"Oh, what kind of director am I? I've only co-directed a few TV series."

Xu Zheng waved his hand and said modestly.

"What are you..."

Xu Ming didn't have time to play around with this guy, so he signaled him to get straight to the point.

"I talked to you about "Lost in Thailand" before. I have been thinking about it for some time and I feel that I will feel at ease only if I work with you," said Xu Zheng.

It is still being served at this time.

What is the point of considering this period of time? It is clearly a failure to compare prices from three different stores.

What do you mean they can feel at ease only when cooperating with him? It's obvious that other companies are not as generous as him.

I guess the conditions given by the light should be quite harsh.

Come to think of it, public opinion is unfavorable to Xu Zheng, and there are disputes over copyrights. With all these negative factors piled up together, it would be strange if the investors did not lower the price.

“Oh, Lost in Thailand. We discussed it internally and felt that it didn’t quite meet the company’s requirements.”

Xu Ming smiled and said the most cruel and heartless words.

Xu Zheng was stunned. He obviously didn't expect that his first time would be successful but he would run into obstacles the second time.

There is a saying that a good horse never turns back to eat the grass it has already returned. It would be even more devastating if it turns back and finds that there is no grass to eat.

"Didn't you think highly of it before? I've polished the script for a while and I guarantee it'll have more jokes than before and will be more to the audience's liking." Xu Zheng said anxiously.

“Who can really understand the audience’s appetite? As you can see, neither Tangshan nor Let the Bullets Fly are comedies, which shows that the market trend is not in comedies. Moreover, we have already invested in the black comedy Nobody.”

Xu Ming shook his head and said apologetically: "You might as well ask other companies in the industry. I heard that Xiaoma Pentium and Guangxian are both accepting new projects. Or I can introduce you to Mr. Yu of Bona."

Xu Zheng had been to all the companies mentioned by the other party. If there was any hope, he would not travel all the way to Guizhou Province to make a guest appearance.

"Mr. Xu, to be honest, I have contacted all these companies, and they have absolutely no intention of making a good movie. I cannot accept my work being tampered with beyond recognition."

"I believe that as a screenwriter and actor, you understand my feelings."

Xu Zheng played the sincerity card, with a sincere look on his face: "I am willing to invest 10 million of my savings in the movie, and you can help with the financing and we can start filming."

"The previous conditions were not suitable, we can talk about it again."

If we had just talked about this earlier, it would have been over.

This guy, sometimes he doesn’t realize how shameless he is unless you push him.

(End of this chapter)