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

Chapter 528 Christmas Xiao Chaoyue

Landao, formerly Liuting Airport.

This airport, once the first in Jiaodong, has been out of service for half a year. The surrounding villagers, who used to see planes flying overhead almost every day, now rarely see this scene.

However, this place is not quiet. On the contrary, it has almost become a construction site since a few months ago. New factory buildings and various large machines and vehicles that are far beyond what you usually see can be seen everywhere.

As for the people coming and going, there are too many to count, with thousands of people coming in and out. What is particularly noteworthy is that there are also a large number of foreigners gathered here.

"I guess all the foreign extras from all over the country should be in Blue Island now."

On the set of "The Wandering Earth 2", Meng Bai couldn't help but sigh as he listened to seven or eight foreign languages coming from all around him at the same time.

"About the same. There are more foreign extras in Shanghai and northern Beijing, but not many in Landao. Gongger and his team contacted more than a dozen casting companies to recruit together, and finally they found all the people." Guo Fan behind him introduced.

In the past, traditional casting for a film crew was usually left to the assistant director to screen, and the final decision was made by the producer, director and investor.

Later, with the entry of Internet capital, various positions in the crew began to be formalized, so they learned from Hollywood and gradually gave birth to specialized casting directors, also known as Casting Directors.

In the past two years, due to the emergence of many large-scale productions, there is a huge demand for actors to play supporting roles other than the leading actors, so some casting teams specializing in casting have emerged.

These teams are generally formed by well-known assistant directors or agents in the industry, such as CD-home which was born out of Noon Sunshine, and Haohan Xingpan founded by Gong Juehan, who is famous in the fan circle.

The Wandering Earth 2 is undoubtedly a huge project, with tens of thousands of extras. With such a large scale, it is impossible to expect the crew to select the cast themselves, so they called on well-known teams in the industry to take charge.

The reason why many film practitioners like to call this kind of science fiction blockbuster a "heavy industry film" is largely because the production of such a large-scale project can drive the development of the entire upstream and downstream industrial system.

This is also the reason why the official has given the green light to "The Wandering Earth 2" all the way. Having another high-grossing movie is naturally good, but industrial progress is more critical.

"grass!"

Guo Fan suddenly cursed: "If you hadn't told me, I would have forgotten that tomorrow is Christmas Day, and these foreigners have to be paid extra overtime. Really..."

"Ha, this is the first time I've heard of a director being concerned about the cost." Meng Bai patted his shoulder, "Our budget is still quite sufficient this time. Besides, you got so many resources for free before, so you don't need to worry about one day's salary."

"Alas, this is the aftereffect of the first film. I always want to save as much as possible. Thanks to the help of Brother Jing and the others, the salary was not high, which saved a lot of production costs."

"Very good. On behalf of the investors, I would like to express my sincere gratitude for your money-saving behavior."

The two chatted for a while, and Meng Bai looked around and said, "By the way, where is Brother Jing?"

"Oh, I just heard that his wife came to visit. He must have gone out to pick her up."

"You come to visit the set in such a cold weather?" Meng Bai wondered.

Guo Fan smiled ambiguously: "Today is Christmas Eve."

"...makes sense."

After a while, Wu Jing was seen walking over with a short-haired woman, and it was none other than Xie Nan.

After greeting each other, Xie Nan looked at Meng Bai and said, "Hey, Mr. Meng is here too!"

"Brother Nan, your tone sounds as if you think it's incredible that I'm here."

"No, it's Christmas now, I thought you were going to spend time with your girlfriend."

"I have too many girlfriends and I don't know which one to accompany. I might as well not accompany any of them." Meng Bai spread his hands and said in a joking tone.

Most of the people present had a good relationship with him, and had probably heard of various scandals about him, so they couldn't help but laugh.

Xie Nan even said, "It seems that next week when we record "Female Push", I will hear another wave of criticism against President Meng."

"Girls' Mystery Club" was aired some time ago. When the pilot episode was first released, it was criticized by many viewers for its slow pace, but as the main episode was aired, the show quickly gained momentum.

Two weeks after the show was aired, the popularity on the site exceeded 7000, and the number of views exceeded 8.5 million; one month after the show was aired, the cumulative number of effective views rose to million. At the same time, the show's rating was as high as , which has exceeded the first two seasons of "Detective Chinatown", and the popularity of Weibo and the entire network also increased accordingly.

Compared with the trend when it first aired, it opened flat and ended up rising.

The show is now in its fourth episode, but it has already been recorded for episodes nine and ten. The six members of the "Female Push Group" have known each other for a long time, and their relationships have become much more familiar.

Of course, no matter how familiar a group is, there will always be someone who is closer. In comparison, Wu Xin and Qi Wei, who jumped from "Detective Chinatown", are closer; Xie Nan is closer to Li Yitong because her husband has worked with Meng Bai for many years; Li Xueqin is a harmonious person and has a good relationship with everyone.

But the most surprising thing is that Tian Xiwei, the youngest member, seems to have a good impression of Li Yitong. Every time they record together, whether in front of the camera or behind the camera, she pays special attention to this "sister".

Similarly, Li Yitong seemed to have a different eye for Tian Xiwei, and she was often seen focusing her attention on the other girl.

Unexpectedly, the two of them seemed to be heading in both directions.

Even many viewers have noticed this, and many people in the fan circle have begun to support this CP of "older mature woman x younger lolita".

However, the subtlety of the actual situation is probably only understood by the two girls themselves.

As the family member of the main actor, Xie Nan came to visit the set not empty-handed. Everyone on the scene was given a cup of hot coffee. Fortunately, there were no big scenes to shoot today, otherwise the coffee alone would cost tens of thousands.

The temperature in Landa is already very low at the end of the year, but it still feels very comfortable to drink hot coffee on such a cold day.

The crew is currently setting up the scene, and Guo Fan and his team of directors are busy. On the contrary, actors like Wu Jing have nothing to do for the time being.

"I heard that you guys have also started preparations for the Three-Body Project?"

"The early preparations have been going on for a long time, and the filming will start before the Chinese New Year."

"The original novel is so long, can it be finished?"

"We'll do it one by one." Meng Bai introduced: "We plan to film it in six seasons, two seasons per episode, and we're only in the first season now. It will start from the opening of 'The Three-Body Game', to 'The Past of Red Shore', and end with 'The Guzheng Project'." "Will the Red Shore part... pass the review?"

"Tsk, just filming while it's going on." Meng Bai said: "The Three-Body Problem is not a famous work, but at least it is a world bestseller, and the official review is relatively loose."

"That's not a big deal. When I read the book before, I felt that the Red Bank section was the most exciting in the first part. It would be a pity to delete it." Wu Jing asked casually, "Have you chosen the leading actors?"

"The main roles have been decided. Zhang Luyi plays Wang Miao, Shi Qiang found Jiang Wu, and then Ye Wenjie, an old man and a young girl, was played by Teacher Chen Jin and Wang Ziwen..."

Meng Bai gave Wu Jing a brief introduction of the cast, and finally asked jokingly, "Why, are you interested in making a cameo appearance?"

"I can guest-star as Luo Ji."

"what--"

Meng Bai snorted in pretentious laughter: "You said that you want Brother Nan to grow his hair long and play the role of Zhuang Yan, we can still discuss it, you play Luo Ji..."

"Hey, let's not talk about it, be civilized."

"That's what I meant."

"grass!"

Wu Jing laughed and cursed, but he also felt that his suggestion was a bit outrageous, so he didn't say anything else.

"Hey, I suddenly realized that I was filming a scene and my wife was recording a show over there. It seems that my whole family is working for you."

"That's right. Don't you have Wu Suowei and his brother in your family?" Meng Bai said, "Let's see if there are any young actors who need them and arrange for him as well."

"Forget it, let him study hard first." Wu Jingti said disdainfully to his son, and then suggested, "How about we get together in the evening?"

"Forget it, we won't bother you two anymore." Meng Bai waved his hand, "It just so happens that I have something else to do."

"Okay then, we'll find another opportunity after we finish filming."
-
Shanghai, Pudong.

In a large flat next to the Huangpu River, Yang Chaoyue was packing her suitcase while answering the phone.

"The crew told us that we didn't get the role of 'Feng Baobao'. The role was given to a newcomer named Wang Yinglu." Yang Chaoyue's agent said with some regret on the phone.

"That's it..."

Yang Chaoyue paused for a moment, but soon returned to normal: "Forget it, if we didn't get selected, then we didn't get selected. Let's find another project."

"It's the same with this crew. A lot of fans of the original novel online have been calling for you, and they think it's not appropriate anymore."

The agent complained, then asked carefully: "Chaoyue, why don't you ask Mr. Meng..."

"Don't!" Yang Chaoyue hastily refused. "She's just the heroine of a small project. There's no need to look for him... the boss. Besides, there will be so many projects we won't get in the future. Can we ask the boss to come forward every time?"

"That's right. Okay, I'll look for a suitable one during this time." The agent said, "You should take a rest first. There will be a TV drama award ceremony on Weibo in a couple of days. I'll pick you up then."

"Ok, I know."

After hanging up the phone, Yang Chaoyue sighed, turned around and sat on the bed, pulling the doll beside her and holding it in her arms.

What she just talked about with her agent was a comic-adapted drama called "Under the Alien" a few days ago, in which she auditioned for the female lead "Feng Baobao".

This anime is very popular and is considered one of the top Chinese anime in recent years. The character "Feng Baobao" has attracted many fans.

There had been discussions online before about who would be more suitable to play the role if a live-action version was to be made, and Yang Chaoyue was considered to be a very popular choice at the time.

After all, according to the description in the original work, "Feng Baobao" looks like a girl of 18 or 19 years old, dressed casually, with her hair always loose. At the same time, she has a pretty face, plump breasts, tall figure, fair skin, and a pure and silly personality.

These characteristics basically match Yang Chaoyue perfectly when she first participated in "Creation 101".

So this time Tencent Animation teamed up with Youku to collaborate on a remake, and her team naturally contacted the crew to get the role.

I thought she would have a sure win based on her popularity and online support, but unexpectedly, it was snatched away by a newcomer in the end.

Of course, it’s okay if the crew refuses. It’s not certain that it will be her, so any choice is fine.

What's more, the new person was also from Taiyang Chuanhe, so her team couldn't snatch him away even if they wanted to use the company's power.

The crew gave a rather euphemistic reason, saying that it was due to factors such as pay and schedule. But Yang Chaoyue knew that it was mainly because of her poor acting skills and the mediocre performance of the dramas she had starred in this year that the crew was concerned.

When the crew selects actors, they will definitely choose those who can carry the show, provided that they meet the requirements of the role. But if they can't carry the show, then it's better to choose a newcomer, at least the cost can be lower.

After all, her popularity bonus period from the talent show is almost used up, but her own strength has not grown to the level that can support subsequent development.

If she really wants to continue to be an actress, she has to seriously hone her acting skills.

Thinking of this, she sighed. It was not easy to hone her acting skills. Not to mention her talent, she did not have enough time to study in depth.

After holding the doll and thinking for a long time, she finally decided not to think about it anymore.

I have to catch a plane to Blue Island soon to spend Christmas Eve with my boss. I'll ask him to help me think about it then.

Thinking of this, Yang Chaoyue regained his spirit.

Looking at the closed door, she took out a red Christmas outfit with a guilty conscience, looked at it with satisfaction, and put it in the box.

(End of this chapter)