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

Chapter 364 Things Got Out of Hand
"I heard that the two sides are now confronting each other?"

"That's right. It's said to be related to a movie project we worked on together before. We were planning to release it next month, but now we don't have to think about it anymore."

"Ha, now things have really gotten out of hand!"

"..."

North Beijing, Huaqing University Auditorium.

In the front row of the audience, Meng Bai, Ning Hao, Xu Zheng, Huang Bo and others gathered together to talk about the big news that the entire network has been paying attention to recently.

In July, the 2018 summer season officially opened. The first movie to be released was the one Ning Hao mentioned earlier, "Dying to Survive", starring Xu Zheng and directed by new director Wen Muye, which had its name changed several times.

Meng Bai came here at Ning Hao's invitation and also introduced Xu Zheng to him.

In fact, Xu Zheng also participated in last year's "Crazy Alien", and he was the one who completed the motion capture of the character of "alien".

It was just that he joined the group late, so the two of them didn't meet. Including Shen Teng, he joined the group after Meng Bai and the others finished.

It’s interesting to say that the three leading actors of the movie "Crazy Alien", Huang Bo, Shen Teng, and Xu Zheng, all happen to have movies coming out this summer.

Xu Zheng's "Dying to Survive", Shen Teng's "The Richest Man in Xihong City", and Huang Bo's first self-directed and acted film "A Good Show".

Three movies, one in early July, one in late July, and one in mid-August, completely covering the entire summer season.

These three people, together with Wu Jing and Wang Baoqiang, have always been regarded by many audiences as the core with the most box office appeal among the new generation of actors in the domestic entertainment industry.

It is for this reason that, even before the start of this year's summer season, many viewers were calling for "competition on the same stage" to see who would come out on top.

This is also why Arc Light decided to release "Psychological Crime: City of Light" at the end of the summer season, because the previous "battlefield" was too intense.

Meng Bai arrived early today. When he arrived, Ning Hao, Xu Zheng, Huang Bo and others were all there. They got together and started chatting before the premiere started.

As for the content of the chat, it was naturally about the "Cell Phone 2 incident" that almost the entire network has been paying attention to during this period.

Since the conflict between the two sides broke out, the situation on both sides can be said to be escalating every day during this period of time.

One side eagerly stated that they were all rumors, while the other side produced various evidences.

I guess the film crew didn't expect that they would hit a real wall this time.

Seeing that the other party was throwing out solid evidence, the crew completely stopped and there was no more movement.

But the netizens who like to watch the show online will not give up easily. Many of them have started to verify the authenticity of the pictures using various means.

It has to be said that we should not underestimate the power of the spectators, as the investigation really uncovered something wrong.

As early as 4, Hehe Films filmed a war film with multiple partners, claiming to have invested million yuan. But soon after, it was revealed that the funding chain of the investors behind the crew was broken, and the production of the film was also affected.

However, only the film production funds were affected, and the film remuneration funds were still normal because they came from another channel.

The problem lies with this part of the remuneration.

Now that the matter has become a big deal, the higher-ups have also intervened and started investigating the matter.

"How many do you think there are?" Xu Zheng frowned and asked.

"Who knows about this stuff?" Ning Hao said with a funny expression, "Anyway, I'm screwed this time."

"I'm afraid it's not just them who are implicated..."

Meng Bai, who had been silent all this time, suddenly spoke slowly.

Everyone was stunned for a moment, and then began to ponder.

It's true that this trend is no longer limited to just one or two people.

This could very well turn into a sweep of the entire industry.

Not to mention others, even those present here, including Meng Bai, do not dare to pat their chests and guarantee that they have no problems at all.

"If you ask me, we'd better seize the time during this period to make up for what needs to be made up and deal with what needs to be dealt with. Otherwise, when the wind direction changes again, it may not be too late." Huang Bo interjected.

"Indeed, I heard that some people have started to cancel their companies in the past few days."

"Why don't you deal with it now before it gets in the way? I estimate that there will be a large wave of cancellations in the next few months."

"Alright, alright, let's talk about this later. Today is the premiere, let's watch the movie first."

Ning Hao stood up and glanced at the time: "It's almost time to start. Lao Xu and I will go get ready first."

The few people who had gathered together dispersed and walked towards the guest area in the back row. However, everyone frowned, thinking about what had just been said, and had their own plans in mind.

"What, what happened?"

Seeing Meng Bai coming back with a pensive look on his face, Li Yitong, who was sitting next to him, couldn't help but ask.

Yesterday Meng Bai asked if she wanted to watch a movie. She thought it was a date at the cinema, so she agreed excitedly. But when they met, she realized that they were actually going to the premiere. In fact, Meng Bai simply felt that he was a little bored, so he asked who had time. It happened that this girl was in Beijing North recently, so Meng Bai brought her here.

"Huh? Oh, it's okay."

Meng Bai was awakened by the voice and returned to normal, saying, "We were just discussing the recent things on the Internet and thought about it for a while."

Li Yitong suddenly realized and said with emotion: "Now the crews of her dramas are in trouble. They probably won't be able to be broadcast."

“For most of the time, for guest appearances, we can just delete the scenes, but for the leading roles, I guess there’s nothing we can do about it.” Meng Bai said.

Hey, come to think of it, she seems to be the lead actress in Mr. Li’s movie “She Kills”.

Meng Bai's heart moved. This girl really has a bad luck this year. A TV series was taken off the shelves, and now there is no movie. I guess she is very depressed now.

"What are you thinking about again?"

"Oh, I remembered that a friend of mine also had her project affected. I have to go back and comfort her."

"Well, it is true." Li Yitong naturally didn't know that Meng Bai was talking about Li Qin, so she nodded and said, "Alas, filming nowadays is also very risky. Not only does it depend on whether the crew is reliable, but also on how the co-actors are."

"Forget it, you guys are getting paid well, so where's the risk?" Meng Bai said, "We, the investors, are the ones who really take the risk."

However, Li Yitong's words did remind him. In the future, when selecting actors for filming, not only must they go through risk control review first, but they must also sign an agreement. If an actor has a problem before the show is broadcast, affecting the operation of the project, he will have to compensate the crew for the loss.

You want to make money and spend money at the same time, but there is no such good thing in the world.

"By the way, the script you gave me last time is the spy drama called "Glorious Times". The crew has already decided on it and it will start filming next month." Li Yitong remembered something else.

"It's pretty fast." Meng Bai said, "I thought it would be by the end of the year."

This drama is a project of Beijing Broadcasting and Television. It is a spy warfare theme and a rare story telling the history from the liberation of Peking to the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

I had originally wanted to ask Arc Light to produce it. After all, among the few spy war dramas with a rating of over 8 in recent years, two were produced by Meng Bai.

However, Arc Light already had plans for "Secret and Great" at that time, and the collaboration ultimately failed.

However, Meng Bai thought the script was good and expressed his willingness to be a co-producer, and also asked for the role of the female lead to be given to Li Yitong.

"I haven't asked yet, who did you choose as the male lead?"

"Teacher Zhang Yi."

"Oh, him."

Meng Bai nodded. He naturally knew Zhang Yi. He was one of the most representative middle-aged male actors in the small screen in recent years.

Especially in last year's movie "Chicken Feathers Flying to the Sky", his role as "Chen Jianghe" almost won him the Best Actor Grand Slam. He is a very talented actor.

While the two were chatting, the premiere had already begun. The auditorium of Huaqing was larger than that of ordinary cinemas, and the two were sitting in a remote area, so they were not in the camera's view and did not pay much attention.

They finally stopped talking until the previous introduction and interactive session ended, the lights dimmed, and the movie officially began.

Meng Bai was watching the producer's animation on the screen when he suddenly felt his palm, which was resting on the armrest of the chair, being touched. Then, a slender and fair hand held his.

Unlike other girls, Li Yitong's palms are not the soft type. On the contrary, perhaps because she needed support when practicing dancing, her five fingers are slender, with distinct joints and obvious blue veins.

Judging from her hands alone, she doesn't look like a girl. Instead, she looks similar to Meng Bai, only two sizes smaller.

Seeing Meng Bai staring at her, Li Yitong couldn't help but ask, "Why, you tricked me out, and I still can't touch you?"

"I didn't say I couldn't."

Meng Bai smiled faintly, then tightened his fingers and interlocked them with hers.

Li Yitong felt the warmth from her palm, smiled, and then happily watched the movie.

Unfortunately, her good mood lasted less than half an hour and dissipated amid the suppressed shouts of "Lv Shouyi" in the movie.

She bit her lips lightly, staring at the screen, tears welling up in the corners of her eyes.

Meng Bai's reaction wasn't as obvious as hers, but his expression was no longer as relaxed as it was at the beginning. He watched the plot seriously.

The story of "Dying to Survive" is somewhat similar to the previous Hollywood film "Dallas Buyers Club", but it is actually adapted from a real case in China.

At first, I saw the cast, Ning Hao and Xu Zheng, and thought it was a comedy. But halfway through, I realized that it was actually a serious reality-themed movie.

Sure enough, Xu Zheng with hair is more reliable than the one without hair.

Although the director is a newcomer, Ning Hao and Xu Zheng are very mature in rhythm and technique. The leading actors are also powerful and performed very well.

However, what impressed Meng Bai the most after watching the whole show were Wang Chuanjun who played "Lü Shouyi" and Zhang Yu who played "Huangmao".

(End of this chapter)