Generation Z Artists

Chapter 330's ending is like a movie.

"Mr. Fang Xinghe, if it's not too much trouble, could I offer you a drink?"

"Director, feel free to do whatever you want with me!"

"Director Fang, thank you for your guidance!"

At the wrap party, all the actors who could come back returned.

After returning to Korea, Jun Ji-hyun took on a new role, Yui Aragaki was shooting a pictorial in France, and Janine Chang was at home picking her toes... But so what? The production team notified them a day in advance, and they flew back to Qingdao overnight.

A group of female supporting characters who couldn't get seats at the main table lined up to offer toasts.

Realistically speaking, the drama has finished filming, but the editing is still undecided. Whose plot is more substantial and appealing, and whose visuals are more beautiful and captivating, all depends on post-production.

Speaking of ideals, it's a rare opportunity to act opposite Fang Xinghe. If we don't seize the moment to solidify our relationship now, how will we grab new opportunities in the future?

Son Ye-jin's face was flushed as she stared at Fang Xinghe with adoration.

She didn't go up to disturb them, but her naturally expressive, tearful eyes never left them.

So what man wouldn't like a sensible tea girl?

When it comes to emotional value, she is a hundred times better than Miss Zhang.

Jun Ji-hyun learned Chinese and casually challenged Fang Xinghe to a drinking contest.

"Director, isn't my sister sabotaging you? Shouldn't you praise me? Drink up!"

This girl is quite shrewd. She couldn't outdo the younger girls during training, so she put a lot of effort into learning Chinese. Now, apart from her slightly awkward accent, she can basically have fluent conversations.

She probably knew that her looks weren't an advantage in The Return of the Condor Heroes, so she quietly took the "bro" route, maintaining respect while being quite unrestrained.

Wow, they're really good at this.

Yui Aragaki, on the other hand, was truly timid and hesitant. She neither dared to approach nor speak loudly, and she drank three ounces of baijiu (Chinese liquor) before stepping forward.

Finally, she expressed herself in a very poetic way: "This kind of shoot is truly magical and dreamlike! I wonder if I have gained Mr. Fang Xinghe's approval? If you could give me a word of encouragement, it would be Yui's greatest honor..."

The little girl had also learned Chinese, but her level wasn't very high. The last sentence she mumbled in Japanese was only understood by Fang Xinghe among those present.

Brother Fang warmly encouraged her: "You will become a huge star. Don't worry about your acting skills. You'll be famous for more than ten years. Just practice slowly. It doesn't matter if you can't improve. You'll still be famous."

"what?"

Yui Aragaki stared wide-eyed, unsure whether this meant she was satisfied or not.

So she mustered her courage and apologized again: "Fang Xinghe, I'm just a nobody newcomer. I'm truly flattered that you chose me, so I've tried my best, but it seems I haven't been able to keep up with you. I'm so sorry..."

"Then let's try our best to help promote it, and try to avoid doing things we'd regret in the future~~~"

Dog Fang chuckled softly and waved his hand, shooing the bewildered little girl away.

Actually, Brother Fang was quite satisfied with her.

She may not be famous now, but she has potential, and no one knows her "cuteness" better than Fang Xinghe at this moment.

The era of the previous generation of princesses has passed. In the new generation of top Japanese female celebrities, only Haruka Naihara and Haruka Naihara are performing a duet.

If you're talking about status, all the lead actors are ranked ahead of her. If you're talking about acting skills, then there's no need to mention her; she's the weakest in every aspect, from beginning to end.

But she's just naturally attractive to the Japanese, what can anyone do about it?

From her breakout role in "Koizora" to her subsequent rise to fame with "The Full-Time Wife Escapist," she had few notable works during the ten years in between, yet she consistently ranked in the top three of the Nikkei rankings. Compared to her contemporaries, Satomi Ishihara was practically just an internet celebrity.

Given equal fame, she is more popular with the public than others, which is a matter of personal constitution.

The character of Guo Xiang is so endearing, and coupled with her ability to attract fans, the effect is far better than having a mistress play Guo Xiang.

The two have similar popularity, but the peak popularity of Aragaki Yui in China is not even half of the peak popularity of Aragaki Yui in Japan. The difference is that big, and those who are familiar with Japanese entertainment should understand.

Even if you don't know much about Japanese entertainment, but you do know much about Chinese entertainment, you should still know that the path to becoming a top star is one of controversy and not having many loyal fans.

In South Korea, similar to Yui Aragaki is Kim Tae-hee, who is the kind of person who is likable without needing any works or acting skills. However, it is a pity that there are no roles in "The Condor Heroes" that are very similar to her and that allow her to perform naturally and create a stunning effect.

Then we had to settle for second best and use the most popular Jun Ji-hyun and Son Ye-jin, who was our first love.

After having a couple of drinks, Fang Xinghe specifically reminded them: "Go back and participate in more variety shows. You can talk about anything that I haven't asked you to keep secret."

"Really? That would be great!"

The girls were overjoyed, even Jun Ji-hyun was no exception.

In fact, she no longer needs to appear on variety shows to promote herself, but in South Korea, being able to appear on variety shows and talk about Bang Sung-ha is definitely the best way to elevate one's personal status.

It's similar in Japan. Working with Fang Xinghe is equivalent to working with Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Cruise, or even more exaggerated.

Brother Fang smiled with satisfaction.

When it comes to publicity, who says you have to do it yourself?

Isn't the point of using these Japanese, Korean, Hong Kong, and Taiwanese actresses to get their help?

Even a toad can be squeezed to piss in a dog's hands, let alone them... They'll all be working for free for me!

And you have to go to work happily with a smile on your face.

After dealing with the group of little girls, the main table was filled with drinks, and a group of big shots started to chat idly.

Tony Leung said he thoroughly enjoyed filming the movie; Choi Min-sik said he learned so much from the director; Ken Watanabe said he felt immense pressure acting alongside them; and Feng Yuanzheng said, "Damn, I played another psychopath..."

Everyone was very excited and wished The Condor Heroes great success in ratings. Then, not satisfied, they inquired about Fang Xinghe's next project.

Is it a movie or a TV series?

"Let's go to the movies."

Fang Xinghe set a trap for them, saying nothing more, and waving his hand to avoid further questions.

In fact, he only had vague ideas himself and didn't have time to think deeply about them.

It's too early to be thinking about the next project before The Return of the Condor Heroes is even finished.

Zhang Dahuzi instinctively tried to help out: "The post-production of The Condor Heroes is very troublesome. Director Fang is a perfectionist, so he definitely doesn't have the mind to think about anything else right now."

Dong Youde and the others pointed at him and laughed heartily, all understanding what was going on—he was truly anxious.

No one was more afraid than Big Beard that Fang Xinghe would abandon his post and go do something else.

As of now, there is still less than 2000 million yuan in cash in the special account, while the total investment... has reached a full 3 million yuan!
The total pay for the cast and crew was originally 5500 million, but it wasn't enough because the project was overdue.

No one asked Fang Xinghe for extra pay for the main characters, but it was different for the ordinary staff. They would get an extra month's wages for every extra month of work they did.

The costumes, props, and sets were originally budgeted at 4000 million, but that wasn't enough, so an additional 1000 million was added.

The first four months of location shooting cost 48 million yuan, including food and supplies for the crew and horses.

The grand scene outside Xiangyang City costs 8000 million a month.

Filming action scenes in a studio costs 1960 million a month, and that doesn't even include the cost of building the studio; it's purely for personnel and equipment expenses.

Of the 3 million, only 2000 million remained, barely enough for the music, voice acting, and regular post-production expenses. Industrial Light & Magic's special effects cost 2500 million US dollars! Calculated at the current exchange rate, the total cost of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" was 5 million RMB, not including marketing and distribution!
Sony of Japan and CJ of South Korea each contributed 10%, Galaxy Pictures contributed 70%, and Zhang Dahuzi managed to scrape together 5000 million to secure the final 10%, having exhausted all his funds.

In fact, there were indeed people willing to take over this deal, but there was no premium; it was a pure 5000 million exchange.

Of course, the bearded man refused.

If the exchange is made on a flat basis, the cost of capital is a net loss, which means that you have not only failed to pay the fees but also lost money, essentially working for nothing for a year.

"Boss, you can't just abandon your post!"

The bearded man shamelessly called Fang Xinghe "Grandpa," and without any pretense, he complained to his face, "I've staked everything on this, so I can only feel at ease if you personally edit the footage!"

"Row."

Fang Xinghe laughed heartily: "Go and invite Zhao Jiping here for me. I'll do the post-production myself."

Generation Z may not know who Zhao Jiping is, but to put it simply: he is the composer of the scores for "Farewell My Concubine" and "A Chinese Odyssey".

Zhang Jizhong immediately patted his chest: "Don't worry, I'll block his door when I get back!"

Zhao Jiping spent several million more, well, it's just a small amount.

Fang Xinghe's requirements were very simple—profound, tragic, nationalistic, and with an epic quality.

Fang Xinghe first sent him some materials to let him work on it, and then he plunged into the editing room to start a rough cut of the whole film.

Only after this step is completed can we begin to work on the music.

Fang Xinghe had no memory of the original soundtrack of The Return of the Condor Heroes, except for one song called "Peerless Under Heaven," sung by Jane Zhang, but he didn't know who composed it.

At this time, the Super Girl competition had not yet started, so he could neither find the song nor easily contact the person.

But don't worry, money can solve most problems.

Collect songs!

The news that "The Return of the Condor Heroes" was soliciting theme songs and ending songs caused a stir in the entire Chinese music scene—oh wait, Japan and South Korea were also quite excited, with submissions pouring in.

These days, there's no such thing as a bad movie producing a hit song. Generally speaking, hit movies and TV shows complement each other; popular dramas help spread the songs, and songs enhance the quality of the dramas.

Fang Xinghe's requirements weren't high; he just wanted a theme song of the level of "Hard to Recite Sutra".

This year has seen a string of classic hits in the Chinese music scene: Jay Chou's "Seven Mile Fragrance," JJ Lin's "Jiangnan," Cyndi Wang's "Love You," Fish Leong's "Ningxia," Mayday's "Stubborn," F.I.R.'s "Our Love," Angela Chang's "Aurora"... Dude, is it too much to ask for just one song, "Hard to Recite Sutra"?
"Not at all, not at all."

Zhao Jiping chuckled and rolled his eyes at him: "Go find whoever can do it. Anyway, I only handle the music and production, not the theme song composition."

This guy really knows how to find a peaceful life!

That's not the case, of course. Zhao Jiping's forte isn't pop music; his focus on composing music is correct.

Moreover, his work was very nice—the rough cut of the first 10 episodes and the ending had just been given to him, and in less than three days, he gave Fang Xinghe a satisfactory sample.

"My overall idea is to use traditional Chinese musical instruments such as the guqin, xiao, xun, and pipa in conjunction with a large symphony orchestra to create a grand musical language that is primarily Eastern with Western influences, thereby conveying a sense of pathos and a profound sense of history."

In addition, different musical atmospheres were created for each major character.

For example, in the storyline of Ouyang Feng, the Western Poison, the background music uses the xun (a type of ancient Chinese wind instrument) as the main melody, and the desolate atmosphere serves as a footnote to his madness.

The Eastern Heretic is naturally a xiao (a type of vertical bamboo flute), with the addition of natural sound effects of ocean waves.

Xiaolongnu is definitely associated with the zither, while Guo Jing is often accompanied by the drum…

"very good!"

Listening to the indescribable depth of the sound coming from his headphones, Fang Xinghe excitedly gave two thumbs up.

Music is hard to describe. Generally speaking, his feeling was like hearing the symphonic version of "Above the Moon" for the first time, and his whole body's DNA was stirred.

Teacher Zhao's abilities exceeded his expectations.

Since you're so capable, then do more.

"You've done such a great job with the soundtrack, so to ensure consistency, could you also help choose the theme song?"

Fang Xinghe, shameless and arrogant, pressed his advantage.

Zhao Jiping originally didn't want to agree, but he couldn't resist Fang Xinghe's ability to get involved with the police.

"Our show is intended for export overseas; it represents the highest level of Chinese television dramas. It doesn't matter if I lose face, but you can't afford to embarrass yourself!"

"I'm so dizzy..."

Teacher Zhao rolled her eyes and said a currently popular but stale internet meme, but ultimately had no choice but to take on the responsibility of vetting the content.

"Okay, have your staff send me the samples, and I'll pick some out for you first."

The dog chuckled to himself and left, happily heading off to America.

This wasn't just a casual stroll; we were there to check out the special effects.

Although Industrial Light & Magic's engineers fully understood his needs, the American visual effects industry these days doesn't work based on money, but on nationality.

Money alone is not enough; one's status within the industry is also crucial.

If you don't have enough status, they'll ensure my skills are top-notch while using idle second-rate machines and third-rate staff to create fourth-rate special effects for you.

Fang Xinghe has some influence in Hollywood, but that's about it. In the hierarchy of contempt among the US, Canada, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Australia, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, India, and China, if he doesn't personally keep an eye on things, he'll just be waiting for others to slack off.

Business rules?

Don't be ridiculous. There are no rules in transoceanic business, only background. This time, Warner Bros. or Sony aren't backing him up.

Having paid $2500 million and brought along a few seed employees who had learned the ropes, Fang Xinghe stayed at Industrial Light & Magic, organizing his novel while supervising the construction.

I went there in mid-May, and the important scenes were mostly finished by mid-July.

The remaining 20% ​​doesn't need to be monitored personally anymore, but fine cutting, compositing, and master tape production can only begin after everything is finished.

Then comes the submission for review and organizing screenings, selling the series, and then waiting for the TV station to schedule it.

Fang Xinghe considered the overall progress and felt that the broadcast would not start until at least the end of the year.

Fang Xinghe wouldn't release such a large-scale, high-quality drama without making it perfect, lest he ruin his own reputation.

Nothing major happened during this period, but there wasn't a large chunk of time either. To avoid wasting any time, he took the opportunity to handle his business matters.

After finishing his work, Fang Xinghe was still somewhat idle when he suddenly had a brilliant idea: to edit the two battles of Xiangyang into a movie.

How to describe it?
It's a bit disjointed, the storyline isn't complete, and it doesn't really highlight the main character.

After all, Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu only played minor roles in the second battle of Xiangyang, and eventually, disheartened, they fled overseas.

However, if too much background information is included, the runtime will be too long, exceeding three hours.

If this kind of movie were to be officially released in theaters, it would obviously not do well at the box office, nor would it do well in terms of word-of-mouth—the logic of buying tickets is completely different from the logic of free TV dramas.

Looking at the incredibly impressive, movie-quality visuals, Fang Xinghe was at a loss.

We've filmed and edited everything, so how can we maximize our profits?
(End of this chapter)