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

Chapter 366 Thank you uncle, goodbye uncle!
"Dying to Survive" is a huge hit. In the summer movie competition, the two web dramas "Story of Yanxi Palace" and "Sand Sea" have become newcomers and have occupied the hot search list before and after their release. At the end of last year, a new video of the incident between Li Xiaolu and PG One was exposed. The finals of "Produce 101", which has been hot all summer, are coming soon...

There is an endless stream of gossip in the entertainment industry, grabbing the audience's limited attention and time. In just a dozen days, the series of events triggered by "Cell Phone 2" has been ignored by few people.

However, within the film and television industry, there are various undercurrents.

In the more than one week since the official announcement, more than 30 film and television companies have been deregistered in Horgos. Many shell studios set up by artists in their early years have also been disbanded during this period.

It can be said that the top practitioners in the entire industry are now in a state of mind: "We know that the hammer will fall sooner or later, and the superficial efforts we are doing now are useless. But if we do nothing, we feel anxious in our hearts, so we always have to do something in case we can get away with it."

Well - it’s very similar to Yang Chaoyue’s intensive singing and dancing practice before the performance.

At Meng Bai's request, Arc Light has already completed the communication with the departments in Beijing North and Blue Island. It has "returned" hundreds of thousands of policy benefits, which has completely eliminated the only loophole.

Even if the next storm is coming, they can sit aside and watch the show peacefully.

Meng Bai has recently been waiting for the situation to develop while starting to prepare for the first part of the "Zijin Chen Trilogy", "Bad Kids".

Of course, after the script was submitted for review several times and the project name was changed again and again, the final title was decided to have nothing to do with the original work - "The Hidden Corner".

Arclight, Film and Television Department Studio.

A man with semi-long hair and an artistic look sat opposite Meng Bai.

The man's name is Xin Shuang. He is the owner of a small film and television studio and also a new director.

Many of the trailers for Arc Light's previous films, "Day and Night", "Criminal Mind", and "The Crime Hunters", which is about to be completed, were shot by him, so they have been working together for a long time.

However, this time Meng Bai asked him to come not to continue shooting any trailers, but to be responsible for directing "The Hidden Corner".

Speaking of which, this guy's experience is a bit similar to Guo Fan's.

After graduating from the University of Political Science and Law, I formed a band because I liked rock music. After playing music for a few years, I found that I was more interested in filming, so I formed a film and television studio with my friends, took on some commercials and promotional films, and directed them myself.

Many people always say that the entry threshold to the film and television industry is low, and facts have proved that it is indeed low.

However, Xin Shuang's ability is still good, otherwise he would not have been able to continue to cooperate with Arc Light. In addition, after a few years, he is also very familiar with the style of "Arch Light Production", so he is a very suitable candidate.

"Mr. Meng, I went to Blue Island some time ago to look for some filming locations, but..."

"It's okay. This isn't the first time we've worked together. Don't you know our working styles? Just say whatever comes to your mind."

Xin Shuang heard this and smiled in relief: "That's right, I feel that Blue Island may not be suitable as the main filming location."

Meng Bai looked at him: "What do you mean?"

"Blue Island...is not hot enough."

"...Not hot enough?" Meng Bai thought for a moment, "You mean, the background style needs to be even hotter?"

Xin Shuang's eyes lit up: "That's right, I said that President Meng, you must understand what I mean. The background of the story is summer vacation. The hot summer aggravates the impetuous mood and makes all the contradictions become intensified, so we need that kind of unbearable feeling of heat."

Meng Bai nodded. Indeed, there was nothing wrong with Xin Shuang’s understanding.

If a drama wants to be popular, it only needs to hire two popular actors. But if it wants to be filmed well, the leading actors, script, director, camera, props and makeup, environment and background, and even music, all aspects need to be considered.

Although the temperature in Blue Island in summer is high, it is generally cool and pleasant. The crew can certainly add details through various means, but the cost performance is too low. If you want to match the atmosphere in the original work, it is better to change the city directly.

"Where do you think it fits?"

"Guangdong." Xin Shuang had considered this for a while. "Zhongshan, Dongguan or Zhanjiang are all near the sea and have old towns. They are suitable as the background of the story."

"Okay, you're the director, you decide." Meng Bai said, "This isn't your first time working with us, we're all familiar with Arclight. If you have any needs, just tell the film and television department directly."

"Don't worry, Mr. Meng, I will do my best!"

Xin Shuang suppressed his excitement and tried hard to maintain his artistic style, but secretly he clenched his fists tightly.

Meng Bai didn't care about it, every director has his own style. Wang Wei also dressed like he was attending a dinner party on the set every day, and no one said anything, as long as it didn't affect the filming.

"By the way, while you are doing the preliminary preparations, you can also do the casting work. Especially for the three young actors, it will probably take some time to find them." Meng Bai said: "Hu Guang has a list of actors he has worked with before, you can check here to see if there is any suitable one. If not, then look outside for it."

Unlike many previous crime and suspense themes, the main characters of "The Bad Kids" are three children around ten years old, which is also the origin of the name of the original work "Bad Kids".

It is both easy and difficult to find such younger actors in the circle.

It is easy to find because every year a large number of parents who have the "star dream" send their children into the entertainment industry through various means.

The reason why it is difficult to find actors is that young actors often have no experience and rely almost entirely on their spiritual talent.

The two most talented young actors Meng Bai has seen in recent years are Zhang Zifeng, with whom he worked in "Detective Chinatown", and Zhao Jinmai.

It’s just that they are both young girls now and are no longer suitable for the roles in the play.

On the other hand, when filming "Soul Ferry: Huangquan", Wang Shengdi, who played "Xiao Sanqi", was quite suitable in age, so we can consider letting her try when casting later.

But speaking of her, Meng Bai suddenly remembered that he hadn't asked about the data of this movie for a while. Mainly because he had been paying attention to many things recently, and "Psychological Crime: City Lights" was about to be released, so he forgot a little.

After sending Xin Shuang away and asking him to start preparations as soon as possible, Meng Bai returned to the Film and Television Department to find the person in charge and ask about the current situation of "Soul Ferry: Huangquan".

"The box office revenue should be over 40 million now."

"It was exceeded last week." The person in charge looked at the data in his hand, "The current number of effective moviegoers is over 17 million, the number of single-film purchasers is nearly 30,000, and the total cumulative box office revenue is nearly 44 million."

"It's quite fast!" Meng Bai said with some surprise.

The share of 44 million, if converted into theater results, is roughly equivalent to a box office of around 200 million.

Don’t think that just because the top movies make tens of billions or hundreds of billions every year, a box office of 200 million is nothing.

In fact, this is an unattainable number for most theater movies.

Just talking about this year, as of the latest summer season, there were only 22 movies released in China with box office revenue exceeding 200 million yuan.

Half of them are imported films, including Marvel blockbusters such as "Black Panther" and "Avengers 3".

Therefore, if we calculate from the perspective of revenue sharing, "Soul Ferry: Huangquan" can already rank around eleventh or twelfth among this year's domestic films.

What's more, this movie still has a four-month profit-sharing period, so its performance can continue to rise.

"Okay, you guys prepare. If the box office share exceeds 50 million, we'll hold a celebration party." Meng Bai instructed.

"Don't worry, Mr. Meng, we will definitely not be able to escape this celebration banquet."
-
Mid-July, Xiaoshan, Hangzhou.

"The weather isn't very good today. Is it going to rain tonight?"

After getting out of the car, Meng Ziyi took off his sunglasses, looked up at the sky, and said worriedly.

"It shouldn't be. The weather forecast says it will just be cloudy." Meng Bai walked over and said leisurely, "This is not bad either. At least it won't be hot."

"That rhymes well. Uncle, are you going to switch careers and become a rapper?"

"Hey, little girl, why are you cursing when you are fine?"

From the explosion of "The Rap of China" last year to the various scandals of contestants, in just one year, rapper has changed from a profession to a slightly derogatory adjective.

Meng Ziyi snorted lightly, but then began to look around.

It has to be said that "Produce 101" is worthy of being the most popular program this summer. The streets near the Xiaoshan Guali Cultural and Sports Center are almost all occupied by posters, signs, and roll-up banners of the program contestants.

Especially on the big screens on both sides of the venue, there were support videos that fans raised funds to put on for their idols playing continuously.

Meng Bai and his friends arrived late because they didn't need to queue up to enter, and most of the audience with tickets had already entered.

But even so, the entire street from beginning to end was still crowded with groups of people.

Some of these are fans who didn't win tickets and wanted to come to the scene to see if they can buy one at a high price. But most of them are fans of each contestant who spontaneously formed a cheering group. They wander around and give gifts to passers-by when they meet them, and ask them to help vote for their idols.

Some don't even ask, they just give the gifts directly, casting a wide net.

The two of them had not walked far when they had two or three gift packages in their hands. This was because they arrived late, so many stores had already distributed all the gifts.

Meng Bai looked at the contents of the gift bag, and they were basically the same: photos of idols, cheering banners, small gifts like fans, and snacks like Pocky chocolate bars.

It’s true that the cost of this gift package is quite high, and it was all purchased with funds raised by core fans.

What is "fan economy"? This is the most representative "fan economy".

"Uncle, look!"

Meng Ziyi raised her hand and pointed to a large flower wall next to the venue, on which the words "Yang Chaoyue debuts at a high position" were spelled out with red and white roses.

There was also a group of fans nearby who were diligently promoting the show to passers-by, making their final efforts for their "Village Beauty".

Although he knew that this girl was very popular when he watched the show before, it was not until he saw the actions of so many fans offline that Meng Bai finally got a real sense of Yang Chaoyue's popularity.

Looking at the familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar face on the poster beside him, Meng Bai rubbed his chin.

Is the person above really Xiao Yang?
Why does it always feel like it’s not similar?

"Uncle, please take a picture for me. I'll send it back to Chaoyue."

Meng Ziyi handed his cell phone to Meng Bai, and then ran to the flower wall.

"..."

Looking at Meng Ziyi who had already posed and started to urge him, Meng Bai sighed helplessly and raised his hand to take a few pictures casually.

"Is it ready? Let me see!"

Meng Ziyi ran over and took his phone, then his mouth sank: "I'm not saying anything, little uncle, your photography skills are really, tsk..."

It can’t be said to be bad, but it just feels mediocre.

"I'm a screenwriter, not a photographer. It's good enough that I took the photo for you." Meng Bai stretched out his hand. "A photo costs 500 yuan. I'll give you 20% off, so it'll be 5,000 yuan."

"How dare you ask for 500 yuan for a photo like this?"

"As for photos, the key is not how they are taken, but who is in the photo." Meng Bai said: "Do you think your photos are not worth 500 yuan?"

"Well, if you put it that way, it seems to be true, but... um? Wait... eh?"

Meng Ziyi felt that there seemed to be something wrong with this statement, but he couldn't put it into words, and yet it always felt weird.

The two were arguing when a young girl suddenly came over and looked at Meng Ziyi and said, "Hello, sister, do you need a photo? I can help you."

Meng Ziyi was stunned and looked at the other party: "Uh, you are..."

"Miss, you are here to participate in the show too, right? We are Yang Chaoyue's fan club. I can help you take photos and give you a gift later. I would like to trouble you to vote for Yang Chaoyue, okay?" the fan girl said seriously.

Meng Ziyi immediately laughed when he heard this: "Haha, I'm also a fan of Chao Yue, we are in the same camp!"

After she finished speaking, the fan girl immediately seemed to have found her group, and they held hands and started chatting happily.

After taking pictures for a while, Meng Ziyi finally found a satisfactory photo and finished the photo shoot.

"Aren't you going in?"

“I didn’t get a ticket in the group, so I can only wait outside.”

"Ah, that's such a pity." Meng Ziyi sighed.

"It's a bit of a pity." The fan girl nodded, but still smiled and said: "But it doesn't matter, I can also help Chaoyue to canvass votes outside, so it's not a wasted trip."

As she spoke, her face showed determination.

Not to mention Meng Ziyi, even Meng Bai, who had been watching coldly from the side, felt somewhat emotional.

Although everyone likes to mock these fans as "naive", "impulsive" and "gullible", the stars in the entire entertainment industry are built on the basis of these ordinary fans.

"Sister, give me your contact information and address, and I will send you two copies of Chaoyue's TO-signed posters." Meng Ziyi said generously.

The fan girl's eyes suddenly flashed: "Miss, do you know Chaoyue?"

"Well, I don't really know him, but I can get in touch with him."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, little sister!"

The fan girl was so happy that she immediately told him her name, contact information and address.

Well - I have to say, these fans are really easy to fool.

After leaving the message, the fan girl sincerely thanked him, and then gestured to Meng Bai next to her: "Thank you, sister, for supporting Chaoyue. Oh, and your boyfriend is also good, come with you."

"Ah?" Meng Ziyi was stunned for a moment, and quickly waved his hands, "No, no! He is not my boyfriend!"

"Well……"

Seeing that the little girl didn't believe him, Meng Ziyi hurriedly said, "Really, he... is my uncle!"

"Uncle...Uncle?"

The little girl was stunned for a moment, then glanced at Meng Bai beside her and whispered, "Your uncle is so young."

After that, she smiled again, took a gift package from the table behind her, walked to Meng Bai, handed it to him and said, "Thank you, uncle! There are very few people of your age who can come to the scene. This is a small gift package for you, and I hope you can continue to support us Chaoyue in the future!"

"At my age..."

Meng Bai looked at the fan girl in front of him with a sincere smile on her face, then looked at Meng Ziyi who was looking up at the sky not far away with an expression that said "don't look at me, it has nothing to do with me". He reached out to take the gift package and forced a smile.

"Don't worry, I will definitely support you, Chaoyue."

"Well, thank you uncle! It should be about time inside, come in quickly, bye uncle!"

……

Meng Bai and Meng Ziyi naturally didn't have to queue. After a while, a staff member came out and took them in through the guest passage.

"...Boss Meng, this is the players' waiting area, but entry is strictly prohibited. The entrance and exit are on this side..."

The staff member who led the way obviously knew Meng Bai's identity and introduced him attentively along the way.

It circled the infield until it stopped in an area to the right of the main stage.

"Mr. Meng, this is our guest area. All of them are representatives from the companies of the finalists, as well as some special guests. You two are seated over there. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions."

"Okay, thank you for your help. Go ahead and do your work."

Meng Bai and the others walked towards the location. As expected, there were already quite a few people there. There were both men and women, mostly middle-aged people, which was very inconsistent with the atmosphere at the scene.

Not to mention, there are actually a few familiar faces, like Mango Entertainment, Huayi, JC Entertainment, and Taiyang Chuanhe.

"No, if you had told me earlier that you were coming over, I would have troubled Tencent Video." Meng Bai sighed.

"Then I didn't know that you would come to the scene." Wang Haiping laughed and greeted Meng Ziyi next to him.

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(End of this chapter)