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

Chapter 413 Manslaughter
For Meng Bai, the most direct impact of the 5 billion celebration party for "The Wandering Earth" is that the company's film and television department has been flooded with projects and scripts.

Thanks to the widespread dissemination of "Little Ball" fans, many people on the Internet now know Guo Fan's title of "Cyber Succubus". Among them, "Wu Jing became the leading actor from a guest appearance" and "Meng Zong became the main investor" are the two cases that the audience talked about most.

Now, not only those in the circle, but also the audiences outside the circle know that it was because of his massive financial support behind the scenes that "The Wandering Earth" became a "box office miracle and the light of science fiction."

For those in the industry who are currently in the midst of a cold winter for the film and television industry, it is extremely difficult to find a sponsor who is wealthy and willing to spend money.

In addition, Arclight Pictures now has specialized film and television business, so the three companies receive a large number of project plans almost every day.

Everyone hopes to be lucky enough to be valued by "Mr. Meng" and then become the next Guo Fan, or the next "The Wandering Earth".

"Don't even mention yours. The number of projects we have received at Ruyi has doubled recently compared to before."

In the office, Chen Zhixi said with a smile: "The funniest thing is that more than 30% of the projects are science fiction themes."

"Haha, science fiction is all the rage right now, and everyone wants to take advantage of the opportunity to ride on the popularity." Chen Sicheng at the side responded, "I wouldn't be surprised if a bunch of movies like Answer Earth, Out of Earth, and New Earth appear in theaters in the future."

Meng Bai on the other side couldn't help but laugh when he heard this. Obviously, he also felt that what Chen Sicheng described was very likely to happen.

After laughing, he shook his head and said, "It's okay. Just follow the trend. There will always be serious filmmakers. The good and the bad will be washed away by the waves, and time will eventually leave behind those works that are worth remembering."

"I hope so."

All three have been working in the film and television industry for many years. Although they are now considering things more from the perspective of capital and businessmen, they still have expectations for this industry.

After expressing their feelings for a while, the three of them changed the topic and started talking about business.

When Detective Chinatown 2 ended, Chen Sicheng said he wanted to put the third film on hold for now. After discussing with Meng Bai, the two proposed a new "Southeast Asian crime-themed" film.

During this period, in addition to being busy with "The Wandering Earth", Meng Bai has also been thinking about new stories privately, and now he has finally come up with his first project.

"'Manslaughter'?"

Chen Sicheng and Chen Zhixi looked at the cover of the script in their hands, which had the name of the movie written on it.

"Well, it's worthy of President Meng's effort. I get that feeling just by hearing the name." Chen Zhixi had a bright smile on his face and praised without hesitation.

"Come on, Sister Xi, let's not do this."

Meng Bai waved his hand indifferently, and then began to introduce the content of the script to the two of them.

"Speaking of which, the story of 'Manslaughter' is actually derived from 'Detective Chinatown 2'." Meng Bai said: "The protagonist of the movie is one of the protagonists of the New York case, Song Yi."

In the New York episode of Detective Chinatown 2, many detectives from other countries appeared, such as Noda Hao from Japan and Kiko from Hong Kong. These are not just supporting NPCs, but will definitely appear in the later stories.

In addition to these "god-level" detectives, there is also a character who is the fuse of the case, the "smuggler" Song Yi. He was initially suspected of being a murderer by the protagonists, and later became a small follower of the "Tang Detective Duo" because of his wanted list.

But it was not until the end that Qin Feng finally discovered that he was the real mastermind behind the whole case and a member of the mysterious "Q Organization".

After the first film was released, Kun Tai, who was "incompatible with evil", received a lot of praise from the audience, so Chen Sicheng called him back for the second film and asked him to play "Song Yi" again.

This is also the first time in the entire "Green Ivy Universe" that the same actor plays two roles.

Of course, the two characters Kun Tai and Song Yi have nothing to do with each other. The movie version and the web drama version also have semi-independent story lines, which do not affect the main storyline of the web drama.

In the plot of "Detective Chinatown 2", Qin Feng once asked Song Yi about his background. At that time, the latter said that he used to be in Bangkok and came to the United States to find his missing sister.

However, with Song Yi's true identity exposed, no one knows whether this "background story" is true or whether he fabricated it in order to get close to Qin Feng and the others.

Therefore, when Meng Bai was thinking about the new project, he used this point, combined with the fragments of inspiration in his mind, to write a new story similar to the "Prequel to Song Yi".

In the new story, Song Yi is a businessman living in a small town in Thailand. He runs a small company and his favorite thing to do is watch movies.

He often said: "When you have watched more than a thousand movies, you will find that there is nothing strange in this world."

Song Yi came to Thailand from China and worked hard for many years. He has a wife, Ayu, and two daughters. The eldest daughter, Song Qian, is fifteen or sixteen years old and is in middle school. The youngest daughter, An An, is six years old and has not yet started elementary school.

Song Qian was an excellent student in school. During a class reunion, she was raped by the son of the local police chief. When the perpetrator chased her home, Ayu and Song Qian accidentally killed him.

Song Yi, who rushed back after receiving the news, understood that although his wife and daughter were killed by mistake and the other party was the first to act, his mother was the chief of the police station and would never let them go.

In order to protect his family, Song Yi used his years of experience in watching movies and used the "montage" technique to conceal the truth and help his lover and daughter escape the crime of "accidental killing".

"On the second, we'll watch a boxing match and eat cake together. On the third, we'll go to the market and go home in the evening."

Chen Zhixi looked at the lines that were repeated many times in the script, and after muttering a few sentences, he suddenly realized: "Isn't this the editing technique used in film and television post-production?"

"Yes." Meng Bai nodded: "By repeating the action and strengthening the memory, the evidence and reality are misaligned, freeing up a day."

"Wonderful!"

Chen Sicheng, on the other side, finished reading the script and let out a long sigh: "This technique is indeed quite clever. Moreover, it is also very dramatic."

After saying that, he smiled and said, "This script is awesome. I just finished reading it and now I have the idea of filming it."

"Then go ahead and shoot it. I asked you to come here because I wanted to hand it over to you." Meng Bai said.

This series was originally discussed by the two of them, and Chen Sicheng has experience in both Thai backgrounds and suspense themes, so there is no problem in letting him shoot it.

"It's also our contribution to Confucianism." Chen Zhixi said hurriedly.

"Don't worry, Sister Xi, we are a family now, and we will definitely not forget you."

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot, you're my boss now too."

The three most important people in a project, the investor, the director, and the producer, are all here, so the project was approved without a doubt.

"So, does that mean Xiao Yang will definitely play the male lead?" Chen Zhixi looked at the two men. "After all, if we regard this movie as a spin-off of Detective Chinatown 2, then the actor cannot be changed."

"No need to change. When I wrote the script, the character image was designed according to the one in Detective Chinatown 2." Meng Bai said: "Besides, Xiao Yang's acting skills are not bad, and his popularity and appeal are also good. Just let him continue to play the role."

"What about the other characters? What are your plans?"

"No rush, we can discuss this slowly after the preparations are completed."

Chen Sicheng also had new questions: "There are two settings in the script that I don't quite understand. One is Song Yi's daughter Song Qian, who has the same name as his missing sister in "Detective Chinatown 2". Is there any foreshadowing? Also, if this is used as an introduction to Song Yi's background, how did he later join Q and then go to New York?"

After listening to this, Meng Bai smiled and said, "Are you curious?" Chen Sicheng and Chen Zhixi looked at each other and nodded, "Yes, I am curious."

"Are you curious about what happened behind this?"

"Yes."

"Very good, then let's wait and watch "The Accidental Murderer 2"."

"..."

Chen Zhixi and Chen Sicheng were both choked. Looking at Meng Bai's smug expression, the former rolled his eyes speechlessly while the latter just laughed and cursed.

"Okay, okay, just kidding."

Meng Bai said with a smile: "That's right. In the end, the script has Song Yi surrender himself and go to jail. From an off-stage perspective, this is mainly to circumvent censorship, but from a plot perspective, it is to trigger the subsequent story, so that Song Yi has the opportunity to contact Q, and the latter helps him escape from prison."

"The name of the eldest daughter, Song Qian, was indeed specially designed. She is the key to the subsequent plot. It was because of her that Song Yi agreed to join Q and come to New York. As for what happened specifically..."

Meng Bai spread his hands: "I haven't thought about the rest yet, I'll talk about it after we start filming the second part."

I was listening to a story but it was interrupted when it was at its most exciting part, with the reason being that the author was too lazy to continue. This is undoubtedly a very frustrating reason.

However, Chen Zhixi and Chen Sicheng both admitted that this was a good way to whet the appetite. Especially for the audience who have watched "Detective Chinatown 2", they will definitely be very curious to know the subsequent plot, so the audience base for the second part will be established.

So even though they still had some resentment, the two of them didn't continue asking.

As a senior Thai film producer, Chen Zhixi's connections and channels there are considered to be the strongest in the mainland film industry. The story of "The Accidental Murderer" does not involve any big scenes, so the preparation is very simple.

According to her experience, if the project is launched now, it can basically be prepared before the summer vacation, and it will take another two or three months to shoot. If everything goes well, it can even catch up with the Spring Festival next year.

However, this kind of suspenseful crime theme is at a disadvantage when it is released during the Spring Festival. It would be better to postpone it to the May Day or summer vacation period so that there is no need to rush the time.

As for the producers of this project, Arclight Films, Ruyi Films and Chen Sicheng's Yitong Films are definitely there, and Wanda and Beijing North Culture, two familiar companies, can also be added. In addition, China Film, Maoyan, Alibaba and others can also be called.

This is a routine operation in the film industry. It is not just about sharing financial risks, but more about pooling the strength of all parties to give the film more distribution and publicity resources.

Especially this time the project is the most promising combination of "Meng Bai + Chen Sicheng" in the current film industry, which is basically a sure win. No matter who is involved in this kind of project, it is equivalent to owing a favor to someone, and when other projects need to use them in the future, it will naturally be easier to talk.

The three of them chatted in the office for an afternoon and almost decided on the general plan for the project.

Chen Sicheng raised his hand to check the time: "Let's have dinner together tonight?"

"Sure, no problem for me." Chen Zhixi said.

Chen Sicheng smiled ambiguously: "Mr. Chen, it's okay for you to come to dinner, but we won't take you to the entertainment activities after dinner."

"Entertainment?"

Chen Zhixi was stunned for a moment, but she reacted in a flash. She spat at the two men opposite her: "Bah, disgusting!"

"No, Sister Xi, I haven't said anything yet." Meng Bai expressed his innocence.

Chen Zhixi rolled his eyes at him and said, "Don't give me that. Do you think I don't know that you two are of the same kind? Do you dare to say that you won't go to the entertainment activities tonight?"

"What's there to be afraid of? I really won't go." Meng Bai said sternly.

Chen Sicheng looked over and said, "It's not necessary, Junior Brother. Let's not give up our happiness just for the sake of pride."

Meng Bai spread his hands: "The main reason is that I have plans with other friends tonight, so I can't even go out for dinner, let alone entertainment."

"Friends? Ah, your girlfriends, right?" Chen Sicheng waved his hand and said, "There are plenty of opportunities to find them. This night is all that matters. Come with me. I'll show you something fun."

"Forget it. I'm not interested in the kind of woman who can't stand being without heavy makeup and lighting."

"Alas, sometimes, we can't just look at the face..."

Chen Sicheng muttered a few words, and seeing that Meng Bai was indeed not interested, he waved his hand and said, "Forget it. I really have nothing in common with you young people. Let's go."

"You...be careful."
-
"Wow—"

With a sizzling sound, as the ingredients were poured into the pot, the spacious kitchen was immediately filled with the aroma of oil.

Jin Chen leaned against the refrigerator door, looking at his friend dressed as a "little cook", and couldn't help but say: "I say, you are spoiling him too much, and you even cook for him yourself."

Li Yitong was cooking carefully, stirring the dishes in the pot seriously. She didn't cover the pot until she looked up and said with a smile, "I didn't tell you who I made it for. How do you know it wasn't to celebrate your termination of the contract?"

"Come on, I don't know you. You value women over friends. I've never eaten a meal you cooked."

"Then you can taste it today."

"..."

Jin Chen grinned speechlessly, having absolutely nothing to say to this love-brained friend.

Actually, she was supposed to meet Li Yitong today. One reason was to celebrate the completion of her new drama, and the other was to celebrate her own final termination of the contract with the company and her freedom.

Since she went to court with her former company Tangren and they had a complete falling out, Jin Chen has had almost no acting offers in the past year. Even the resources she contacted through her own connections were all rejected by the company in the name of contract disputes.

For example, Arc Light's "Secret and Great" and Noon Sunshine's "Long River" are all hit dramas in the past few months. For a small actor like her who is not even a third-tier actress, it was really a chance to become a big hit, but she missed it.

During this year, she only aired a small web drama that she had filmed before, and the results were quite mediocre. She also participated in Tencent's "Supernova Games", and relied on her dance skills to perform rhythmic gymnastics, which at least made a small splash.

But all in all, this year has been wasted.

But she was open-minded and persevered for a year, making it through the last period of her contract. Her contract just expired a few days ago, and she finally got rid of the obstacles of her original company.

However, this year of silence still had a great impact on her. The film and television industry is changing very quickly, and she was not a very popular actress to begin with, so her current situation is not much worse than that of newcomers.

Fortunately, I still have a best friend.

More importantly, my best friend has a super awesome boyfriend.

(End of this chapter)