Entertainment: I just want to be the boss behind the scenes

Chapter 325 Beneficiary

"After so many years, you suddenly come to see me in the middle of the night. You're not here to listen to my complaints, are you?"

"It's the tenth anniversary of our high school graduation, and everyone in the group decided to drag everyone along..."

"I'm just a loan student, no one will remember me."

"What are you saying? Have you forgotten that we played basketball..."

"That's not me. I've never been on stage... It's okay. I was too inconspicuous at that time. And you, Fang Mu, are too dazzling."

"..."

"hiss--"

Behind the director's monitor, Wu Bai watched the two actors' rivalry on the screen and couldn't help but sigh: "Tsk, this play is so good!"

Meng Bai at the side laughed and said, "What you said is true. He was the little prince of art films and aimed at the three major European film studios. Now he has transformed into making commercial films. It's a complete dimensionality reduction attack."

I have to say that although Qin Hao himself has a typical Northeastern personality, his image in acting is really suitable for roles like "Fang Mu", who is calm, delicate, lively inside but cannot be seen on the surface.

"Ah?" Wu Bai was stunned for a moment. "No, I wasn't talking about Qin Hao. I was talking about Zhang Luyi, who acted opposite him. His acting is really good. In the previous scene, both of them were very imposing, and it can be said that they were equally matched."

The plot of "City Lights" takes place after the timeline of "Criminal Justice 2".

Green Vine City, which has always been "peaceful and stable", has recently seen a number of murders. Unlike ordinary criminal cases, the murderer this time is very high-profile.

He calls himself "City Light" and specifically targets those who have committed crimes but escaped punishment due to legal flaws. His method of crime is to kidnap these people first and then call on citizens to vote on whether they will accept punishment.

Well, it is also a very classic story mode in criminal investigation suspense dramas.

In the second season of the web drama, Fang Mu graduated from graduate school and was specially recruited by the Green Ivy Public Security Bureau, where he became a colleague of Tai Wei.

Having experienced many cases such as the "Dark River" and the "Re-education Camp", he is no longer the "genius boy" with inner demons, but a mature policeman.

After taking over the "City Lights" case, Fang Mu experienced several failed attempts to protect the "victims" and gradually discovered that the purpose of this "City Lights" was not for "justice" at all, he was just challenging himself.

Using the clues deliberately left by the other party at the previous crime scenes, he gradually narrowed his suspicion to his former high school classmate "Jiang Ya".

In fact, his suspicion was not wrong, Jiang Ya was the so-called "City Light".

Similar to Fang Mu, Jiang Ya is also a genius with a very high IQ, but his personality is more withdrawn. However, he has always admired Fang Mu and has been secretly observing him over the years.

It was for this reason that the Q organization, which had been very interested in Fang Mu in the "Re-education Camp" case, contacted Jiang Ya and provided him with various logistical support in order to get him to challenge Fang Mu.

Jiang Ya knew that he was just a "touchstone", but he still readily agreed. Then, Lu Teng had a new criminal who called himself "City Light" and committed a series of crimes.

This character is somewhat similar to Fang Mu in setting, and also has a lot of rival scenes, so when choosing actors, it is natural that the main focus should be on talented Mesozoic actors.

Meng Bai and the director team discussed the candidate for a long time and finally chose Zhang Luyi.

Similar to Qin Hao, he is also a talented actor with strong acting skills and many classic works, but his popularity has always been low.

Hearing Wu Bai's sigh, Meng Bai said: "They are all from our Central Academy of Drama. There are a few who are not strong enough."

After saying that, he thought for a moment and added, "Except for Tang Yan."

The top 85 of the 4 flowers are "Great Tang Poet Immortals", two from Beijing Film Academy, one from the Central Academy of Drama, and one from Beijing Dance Academy. There may be differences in popularity, but the level of acting skills can really be said to be the same.

"You're a drama major, how can you get away with hanging around in the acting department every day?" Wu Bai muttered, then whispered, "Hey, let's discuss something."

"What's wrong?"

"In the future, please try to find more talented actors like this. It will save the crew a lot of energy." Wubaidao.

"What you said is true. If you always look for actors with good acting skills, then you, as a director, won't have the opportunity to train them."

"Haha, then I'd rather not have this opportunity."

Meng Bai smiled and continued, "What about Teacher Li? How did she perform this time?"

"Xiao Li..." Wu Bai stroked his chin and pondered for a while, "How should I put it? It depends on who I'm comparing myself with."

"Compared to herself?"

"Then she has made great progress in the past few years. At least she can handle the role."

Meng Bai felt relieved when he heard Wu Bai's words.

Among all the main actors in "City Lights", the ones with the worst acting skills are Li Qin and Zhao Jinmai.

However, Mai Mai is a supporting role with few scenes, and he also has experience in two web dramas, so he has no problem playing the role.

So the person who worries people the most is Teacher Li.

After so many years of cooperation, Wu Bai and Meng Bai are very familiar with each other, and there is no taboo. Since the director can approve it, it means there is no problem.

……

Speaking of which, "City Lights" is already Meng Bai's third drama shot in Landao this year.

Although he personally serves as the chief producer this time, Meng Bai's workload is actually not as busy as when he was filming "The Wandering Earth".

After working on more than a dozen projects over the years, ArcLight Films has developed a professional production team.

There are dedicated people to take charge of external liaison, schedule arrangement, fund transfer and other tasks required for filming. He only needs to review the final submitted report and then sign it.

So when other people in the crew were busy, he was not that busy.

There is even time to visit other crews.

"Director Ning, long time no see."

In the science fiction studio of Oriental Movie Metropolis, Meng Bai greeted Ning Hao.

"Didn't Lao Guo say that the filming was completed? Why hasn't Mr. Meng left yet?" Ning Hao asked curiously.

"Oh, there happens to be another project that will also be filmed in Blue Island."

"Is that so?" Ning Hao said with emotion: "No wonder Arclight has developed so fast. Your efficiency in this year is equivalent to our efficiency in two or three years."

"Well, these are just small things." Meng Bai waved his hand. "If they were all big productions like Director Ning, no one would be able to handle it in a year or two."

Ning Hao is currently filming the previously mentioned "Crazy Alien".

Compared with "The Wandering Earth", this project is obviously much more grand.

At least Meng Bai came to visit, so he didn't need to buy lunch for the crew.

"Come on, Brother Bo, let me introduce you."

On the set, Ning Hao pulled over a middle-aged man with wild hair, a skinny body but a strong aura: "This is Mr. Meng from Arclight Films who I told you about before."

"I know." The man smiled and looked at Meng Bai: "Hello, Mr. Meng, we are like fellow villagers meeting each other."

"I've wanted to meet Teacher Huang Bo for a long time. Today, thanks to Director Ning, I finally have the opportunity." Meng Bai smiled and shook hands with the other party.

The middle-aged man speaking the Lando dialect is naturally Huang Bo, the leading actor of "Crazy Alien".

Many celebrities in the entertainment industry are from Landao, but the most famous ones, besides Fan Qiaoqiao and Huang Xiaoming, are Huang Bo.

Meng Bai is very familiar with Huang Xiaoming now, and Fan Qiaoqiao has also met him twice in some ceremonial activities before. The only person he has not had much contact with is Huang Bo.

This is not surprising. After all, one is mainly in the film industry and the other is in the online drama industry. It can be said that there is absolutely no chance of intersection between the two.

However, it's not that Huang Bo has never heard of Meng Bai.

Some time ago, there was a rumor circulating in the capital circle that Tencent offered 150 billion to acquire Arc Light Pictures, but was rejected.

This news seemed to be groundless, and few people in the industry believed it at first.

After all, whether it is "150 billion to acquire a film and television company that has only been established for a few years" or "someone would actually refuse this", it doesn't sound like the truth.

However, as time passed, no one from Tencent has ever refuted the rumor, and there has not even been a private statement. Many people who had been watching the fun finally came to their senses and realized that this might actually be a true story.

A newcomer that has only been established for less than four years has actually surpassed a number of established film and television companies.

This is really a bit surprising.

Therefore, in the past two months, many industry insiders who had not paid much attention to the online drama market before have also begun to inquire about the situation of Arc Light.

As the boss of Arc Light, Meng Bai has always been hidden behind the scenes, but that is mainly for ordinary audiences outside the circle.

For people in the circle, it is naturally impossible not to get the news.

Coupled with the huge hit of "Wolf Warrior 2" in the summer, all the capital involved behind the scenes was brought out for discussion, and Arc Light was no exception.

Continuing to dig deeper, last year's summer blockbuster "Detective Chinatown" and China Film Group's big production "The Wandering Earth" this year also surfaced.

Many people have just discovered that this "small company" that they thought only produced web dramas has actually been quietly involved in many film projects.

Moreover, they are all big productions with an incredibly high success rate.

Many people have slowly begun to adjust their impression of ArcLight Pictures from a company that grew up by riding the right trend to an emerging leading company in the film and television industry.

As a result, the influence and popularity of Meng Bai, the boss of Arc Light, has also greatly increased.

As an insider, it is natural that Huang Bo has not heard of the name of his "little fellow villager".

When he came to Landao to shoot a few days ago, he asked Ning Hao if he could get to know him, but he found out that the other party's project had already ended.

Unexpectedly, we actually met each other just a few days later.

While eating, several people started chatting.

"I heard that Brother Bo has also transformed into a director?" Meng Bai said.

"Yes, I have an idea that I have been thinking about for many years, and I want to give it a try." Huang Bo said: "It took more than half a year to shoot, and it was only wrapped up in July."

"Has the release date been set?"

"It is currently scheduled for next summer, but it also depends on whether there are any blockbusters during the same period." Huang Bo said with a smile: "After all, this is my first time as a director, and the subject matter is relatively niche, so I still have to find a schedule that is not too stressful."

"Haha, Brother Bo, you're being too modest. If nothing else, just your name alone is worth at least 500 million in box office revenue."

"No, no, I really can't say." Huang Bo waved his hands. "Just the projects I know of now, such as Shen Teng's "Rich Man" shot at the beginning of the year, and Lao Xu's "Dying to Survive", are all scheduled for next summer. The pressure is very high."

"Well, that's true."

Meng Bai echoed this, while secretly calculating in his mind.

The post-production of "The Wandering Earth" will take at least a year, plus various review processes and theater schedules, it will definitely not be able to make it in time for next summer, let alone the National Day schedule.

So the most suitable time is the 19 Spring Festival.

From this perspective, there is no need to compete with the film that Huang Bo just mentioned.

But it’s not completely without pressure. At least Ning Hao’s "Crazy Alien" is also scheduled for the Spring Festival.

All in all, the two crews are actually rivals.

But even so, people still helped where they could.

So Guo Fan has always said that if "The Wandering Earth" is really successful and domestic science fiction can make a breakthrough, it will definitely not be his credit alone.

Several people were eating and chatting, mainly Ning Hao and Huang Bo.

Although they have participated in several film projects, Meng Bai and Hu Guang are still newcomers to the film industry.

In comparison, Ning and Huang are the "old guns" in this circle, and he happened to hear a lot of industry gossip and news.

However, Meng Bai didn't come here just to visit today.

Ning Hao had mentioned before that they had launched a "Bad Monkey 72 Transformations Film Project" to support new directors, and had already produced several works.

When they met last time, seeing that Meng Bai was also very interested in this project, Ning Hao said that next time there was a new project, they could talk about it together.

"The director's name is Shen Ao, and he's a semi-newcomer. He's made a few short films before, and won the short film award at the Spanish Film Festival. He's pretty capable. This project is his first official feature film."

"Bidding for the Olympics?" Meng Bai asked, "Could it be someone born after 95?"

These names with distinct characteristics of the times mostly symbolize a certain historical period.

"Haha, I had the same reaction as you when I first met him." Ning Hao laughed and said, "He's not that young, he must be born in the 80s."

"That sounds more normal." Meng Bai said: "What is the theme of the project? What is its name?"

"The movie is called 'The Beneficiary' and it tells a story about insurance fraud."

Meng Bai smacked his lips and said, "This story sounds very much in line with our Arclight style."

Ning Hao was stunned for a moment, then reacted.

Indeed, the theme of "insurance fraud" sounds like a suspense film.

"Not quite the same. This movie is mainly realistic."

"feature film?"

"Yes." Ning Hao nodded.

"I see..." Meng Bai pondered for a moment, "It sounds quite interesting. Director Ning, please send me the script later."

"Sure." Ning Hao agreed without hesitation and introduced: "The budget cost of this movie is about 6000 million. We already have 3000 million. If Mr. Meng is interested, you can leave 1000 million for Arc Light."

For Arc Light today, a 1000 million investment is really not a big project.

But even though it's not big, it's not wasted just to make a noise.

If this was Ning Hao's project, he would definitely invest in it without thinking twice.

But now that a new person has been hired, even though Ning Hao is optimistic about him, it’s hard to say.

So Meng Bai did not agree directly on the spot, but just said to read the script first.

This was what was supposed to happen, so Ning Hao naturally wouldn't say anything more.

　Thanks to “Although the World is Big” and “Teddy Bear of Miracle Island” for the reward!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)