The sweetest in the entertainment industry

Chapter 311: Selecting a Script

Besides Mei Xue, the other two people attending this decision-making meeting were business elites from the third floor: Fei Yunxiao and Zhang Haidong, a professional talent highly valued by Gu Lanxi and particularly skilled in data analysis.

Mei Xue is well-versed in the operating rules of the entertainment industry, while Fei and Zhang are intimately familiar with the nature of capital. When these two sit together, it can be described as a powerful alliance.

After closing the meeting room doors, we checked the room to make sure it was safe and everything was in order before closing the doors and windows and officially starting the discussion.

"These are all scripts that I have initially screened. They are of high quality, the teams are reliable, and the schedules are suitable."

The meeting was held on the third floor. When Mei Xue came upstairs, she carried a stack of documents and placed them on the table, spreading them out in a fan shape. They were seven uniformly bound scripts.

"I have compiled data from the past ten years. Due to the massive influx of capital, the number of films officially released in mainland China each year is between 400 and 500. However, the excessive influence of viewership has led to a serious capital bubble. High-quality domestic works that combine artistry, commercial reputation, or international influence only account for about 5% to 10%."

Zhang Haidong started by spouting detailed data, then stopped talking and focused his gaze on the script in front of Mei Xue.

The meaning is self-evident.

That's far too few.

Seeing that even his wire-rimmed glasses couldn't hide the scrutiny in his eyes, Mei Xue remained silent, but patiently and gently explained to the two of them:
"Theory must be combined with practice."

"First of all, for large-scale commercial films or mainstream movies in the industry, the female lead is usually decided six months to a year in advance. The boss doesn't like to work on projects without a break. In addition, 'Lurking' is a patriotic film, so it's impossible to work on multiple projects at once. I only started screening scripts when the film was two-thirds of the way through. So we missed many films that started filming years later."

"Moreover, the boss has a rule that he only accepts roles with a complete script. Many roles rely on the director's fame and the script is not even finalized. The risk is too great, so they are not considered."

"Furthermore, although I should blindly praise my own boss, it is undeniable that there are other excellent actors in the industry, and our boss also has roles that are not suitable for her. When casting, she is not considered. For example, some roles require the female lead to have more experience."

Seeing them looking at her, and thinking that they would need to work on their relationship further to cooperate better, she sighed again and explained, "Some movies require older actors, and our boss is too young; the image doesn't match, you know?"

"I'm sorry, I'm not very familiar with some of the industry conventions. I'll be more careful next time."

This was his first time working on an entertainment industry project since he started his career.

Although the boss acted in previous years, she mostly did it for fun and didn't expect to make much money from it, so she kept her investments and entertainment business very separate.

This kind of cross-industry collaboration is something that not only Mei Xue is not used to, but he and his colleagues in the investment studio are also quite unaccustomed to.

"It's okay. Although we are in different teams, we each have our own strengths. It's inevitable that we will have some adjustment period when we first start working together. It will get better with time."

Mei Xue, being older and more experienced, quickly took control of the meeting and began to use the two finance men as tools.

"Oh, right, there's one more thing I forgot to mention. In order not to lower the overall quality, after 'The Hot Summer' two years ago, the boss no longer accepts sweet romance dramas. Considering that the international recognition is relatively low and the actors are easily typecast, I have also screened out ancient costume fantasy dramas, which further narrows down the range of options."

When it comes to serious matters, Mei Xue is very earnest, and has a rather meticulous and calculating air about her.

Zhang Haidong's ears turned red.

"Okay, Sister Mei, please continue."

Having gained the upper hand, Mei Xue began to speak eloquently:

"Following the patriotic film 'Lurking,' there are three most suitable directions for our next film: first, a high-quality art film that solidifies our acting skills; second, a top-tier film that achieves both box office success and critical acclaim, balancing commercial appeal and artistic merit; and third, a Sino-foreign co-production that can expand our international influence."

Mei Xue took out two books and put them aside.

"Firstly, for art films, it's advantageous to compete for awards. We not only lack domestic awards, but we've also only received one Best Supporting Actress nomination at Cannes. We need to plan carefully. Cannes, Berlin, and Venice are all relatively friendly places for Chinese-language films. Just walking the red carpet at any of them will make people want to know more about you just by your appearance."

"I would like to make a special mention of the fact that in recent years, the public's sense of national identity has become increasingly strong. For the sake of its image, the Tokyo Film Festival needs to treat this matter with caution."

Gu Lanxi picked it up and flipped through it briefly.

The two scripts are titled "Heart Fragrance," which tells the story of a deaf-mute girl's perseverance, and "No One Admits Mistakes," which is a seemingly heartwarming but actually cold and chilling exploration of human nature.

The first one focuses on disadvantaged groups and emphasizes the rise of women, which is quite good, but Gu Lanxi also directed "Spring Day," which is also a film related to female power.

After flipping through them once, Gu Lanxi didn't say which one was better or worse, or which one she liked or disliked. She simply stacked the two scripts together and placed them beside her.

"One of these films will start filming in March, and the other in April. The former has a more realistic style and can be completed in a little over two months. If you're in a rush, you'll only need to stay on set for less than two months to finish filming. The latter's director focuses more on natural lighting and color expression, so set design will take more time, and the filming schedule will depend on the weather. It's estimated to take a little over four months, but I reckon it might take at least half a year. But if you can make a good film, there's a good chance it will win an award." After Mei Xue finished speaking, Fei Yunxiao and the other person quickly analyzed the data and compiled a table of all the films with similar styles from previous years.

Filming time, budget, awards, critical acclaim, box office...

Mei Xue looked at him with admiration in her eyes: "Indeed, professional matters should be left to professionals!"

Seeing that the three of them were working together more and more smoothly, Gu Lanxi just sat quietly to the side, watching without any emotion.

"Secondly, there are many blockbuster films that have achieved both box office success and critical acclaim, but many of them are sequels and already have their own female leads. These two are the films that I think have the potential to become huge hits. One is a comedy, which would be more fun to make, but the male lead is the top comedian in China, so the female lead's presence would be weaker. The other is a war film based on a historical battle, selling patriotism. It also focuses on the male lead, so it would be difficult for the female lead to stand out."

"Well, I'll think about it."

Gu Lanxi sensed that Sister Mei was biased, but she still took the script and placed it on top of the previous two.

"The last three are all Sino-foreign co-productions. One is a live-action movie adapted from a Disney animated film, another is a Sino-US co-production martial arts blockbuster, and the third is a sentimental Sino-Korean family drama..."

Mei Xue spoke earnestly, while the other two quickly gathered data to support their points.

The meeting ended promptly at noon. I went downstairs with the employees to the Lu's Cafeteria for a quick bite before returning to the meeting.

The boss is as stiff as an iron butt, so naturally no one else can sit still.

During my lunch break, I read through all seven scripts.

Due to political sensitivity, Gu Lanxi directly excluded joint venture films.

Ultimately, she chose "No One Admits Mistakes".

This afternoon I spent the whole afternoon analyzing the script, going through the director and production teams, and also digging into the other main actors who had already been cast to see if they had any scandals.

Everything seemed fine, and Gu Lanxi was quite satisfied. However, upon checking the investors' situation, she discovered significant problems with their financial management.

"If I become a 'hostage' at any time, I'll have to pay for the movie myself."

Mei Xue couldn't help but feel embarrassed: "I didn't know about this either. Sure enough, professional matters should be left to professionals."

"Let me think about it some more. Has a response time been set on the other end?"

"Before next Thursday."

After all, if one doesn't work out, you have to find a second one. In order not to offend anyone, the production team will arrange a time in advance to prevent the situation from turning into a mess where the first one agrees and you end up pleasing neither side.

"Is there anyone offering customized services for me? Have you received any offers in this area?"

"That's possible too. If you're interested, you can arrange to meet the director or producer, have a meal, and have a good chat."

"This project doesn't even have a script, let alone a team or investment. Even if someone approaches us and everything goes smoothly, it won't be ready to launch until at least the year after next."

Gu Lanxi was in a bad mood, feeling like she had wasted the whole day.

He immediately adjourned the meeting, grabbed his bag, and left the studio.

When I checked my phone, unsurprisingly, there were 99+ unread messages.

Looking at them one by one, they were mostly posted in the morning and stopped in the afternoon.

Call back and the phone is off.

I called Xiao Jiang; he was still filming footage in the studio.

Gu Lanxi thought for a moment, then told Aunt Wang to brew a pot of ginger soup, went home to get it, and then headed over there.

CEO Gu: I'm a professional at appeasing my husband.

Lu Dingliu: This will keep me angry for at least three days, otherwise how will I cope in the future?! ┭┮﹏┭┮