This actor has something

Chapter 319 Good Secrecy

Print media hasn't completely disappeared, but it's pretty much done for.

Those journalists with a longer-term vision started researching transformation early on, changing the format of an article, publishing it on one website and another, and even submitting it to different portal websites.

Unfortunately, the returns on online content are very low now. Compared to traditional print media, the income for the same article is less than half.

There's nothing we can do, everyone's involved.

Everyone knows that the future trend is the internet, so now it's not just regular journalists submitting articles, all sorts of people are doing it too. How many journalists are there? They simply can't meet the massive demand on portal websites. As a result, the internet is now full of all sorts of true and false information.

Anyone, human or dog, can have a say, just like how the evil in human nature can be unleashed without restraint across the internet.

When something bad happens, everyone rushes to criticize it, regardless of the facts. They believe whatever they hear and just want to have some fun first.

Of course, everyone will rush to participate in any exciting events, trying to stay up-to-date with the latest trends. Otherwise, if you don't know what others are saying when discussing things with netizens, you'll seem a bit out of touch.

The internet at that time was so simple and unadorned; it was either bad, strange, stupid, or kind-hearted.

The term "setting the tone" is not yet widely known in this era, and those who set the tone may not even realize they are doing so.

The reporters on the two buses started to play their part, and coupled with the popularity of the TV series "The Little Fish and the Flower Without Flaws," many people were willing to read fresh news related to the Flower Without Flaws. As a result, news about He Daqi began to dominate the headlines of portal websites.

At this moment, the portal website on the laptop screen was constantly turning pages. Seeing that he occupied most of the news on the first few pages, He Daqi knew that his time in Sichuan was running out.

"Pack up all the random stuff you bought, and when we think it's about time, let's head back. This afternoon, I'll have Ning Hao finish filming my remaining two scenes."

"What's the rush? I haven't had enough time yet. There are still so many places we haven't explored together."

Hearing Zhou Huimin humming to him, He Daqi got up from his chair, turned around and slapped Zhou Huimin's buttocks, which was lying on the bed. It was quite loud, which made Zhou Huimin angry. She rolled around on the bed and kicked He Daqi.

When Zhou Huimin pouted and looked up at He Daqi, He Daqi waved his hand as if instructing a servant: "Stop dawdling. If I tell you to pack, then hurry up and pack. Go back and stay for a couple of days. I still have to go to South Korea to film for half a month."

"Tell me first why you're in such a hurry to leave."

"If we don't leave now, things will get out of hand. I've seen a lot of bored netizens organizing online, saying they want to come and see the film crew I'm currently on. Let's slip away quickly and let Ning Hao worry about it."

He Daqi guessed correctly. When he went to the machinery factory in the afternoon, he found that there were many dogs sneaking around and peeking inside, a place that no one but the film crew would pay attention to.

There are really a lot of idle people these days...

Sitting in the car, He Daqi raised an eyebrow and clicked his tongue softly.

Once the car entered the machinery factory, he got out and grabbed Ning Hao, who was directing the staff to set up the scene.

"Senior brother, forget about this for now. Quickly organize people to film my remaining two scenes. I'm in a hurry to get back to Beijing."

"Is something urgent to you?"

“Yes.” He Daqi nodded in agreement.

Ning Hao couldn't tell anything from He Daqi's face, but he was definitely unhappy. He wanted He Daqi to stay on set longer, not for any other reason than to keep the show popular.

Now that He Daqi has come looking for him, although he is not very willing, he has no excuse to continue dawdling. He had agreed from the beginning that he would only stay for a week, and now a week has long passed.

"Hmm... I've already arranged the locations for your remaining two scenes. I'll call my friend first and ask him to come over as soon as possible."

"Row."

He Daqi roughly knew who Ning Hao's friend was. Of the two scenes he had left, only one was a scene with Ning Hao. Ning Hao had said before that he had given the role of Chairman Feng to a friend, so he was probably contacting the actor named Xu Zheng.

Xu Zheng arrived quickly, sporting a large bald head and politely nodding, bowing, shaking hands, and greeting everyone he met. It was hard to believe that this was an actor who had been quite popular last year.

To be honest, He Daqi is quite envious of him. Look at how quickly he's left the entertainment industry. He doesn't even have to think of a way to leave; he just gradually retires step by step without anyone noticing.

Unlike He Daqi, who could ask for exorbitant prices and still have people rushing to give him money.

Why didn't the two lead actors renew their contracts for the sequel to this wildly popular drama? The production company said it was for the sake of the plot, and the actors said it was for a career change. Are these reasons really valid?

"Teacher Xu, I've seen your plays; you really brought the characters to life."

"No, you are the teacher. To be honest, to have both a Best Actor and a Best Actress praise my acting makes me feel full of confidence right now."

He Daqi didn't mention which show he watched, only that the acting was good, but Xu Zheng knew which show He Daqi was referring to.

Generally speaking, when people say he brought a character to life, they certainly wouldn't be referring to Li Wei's role as an official.

The two exchanged only that one sentence before Ning Hao hurriedly called them to get into the car and leave.

Ning Hao was also too worried to think straight. When He Daqi said he had something urgent to do, Ning Hao thought He Daqi really had something to do and was afraid that He Daqi couldn't wait and would leave. So he hurriedly took him to the filming location they had chosen earlier and finished filming the remaining two scenes in less than an hour.

Since they were already there, and Sun Honglei, who played the lead role, also had a scene to film, Ning Hao arranged for them to film it together.

After making the arrangements, I turned around and saw He Daqi leisurely standing to the side watching the fun.

"Aren't you in a hurry to go back?"

"Yeah, but we're not leaving today. We'll play for a couple more days first. What I mean by being in a hurry is that we need to finish filming the rest of the scenes so we don't have to keep running back and forth to the set." He Daqi chuckled and shrugged.

Ning Hao opened his mouth, but couldn't say anything for a long time. He remained silent, but in his heart he was cursing her like a shrew.

After finishing filming the building scenes, Ning Hao, much like Xu Zheng earlier, bowed and apologized profusely to the building management. After all, the agreed time wasn't today, and his hurried arrival had indeed caused them trouble.

He suddenly realized that being a director wasn't so easy after all. There were just too many things to handle. When he was filming "Miracle in Cell No. 7," he used Du Qifeng's team. Now that he had gathered his own people and established his own studio, he realized how difficult it was to be a commercial film director who had to manage everything.

Lost in his melancholy, he didn't notice that He Daqi had also slipped into the car, intending to go back to the machinery factory with him.

By the time he realized what was happening, he was too lazy to ask anymore. Whatever, he thought. He wasn't the boss, and the investors weren't in a hurry, so why should he be? Xu Zheng, who had come back with him, originally wanted to ask Ning Hao some inside information. He was very curious about the investment process of Crazy Stone. Seeing that Ning Hao was lost in thought and He Daqi was playing with his phone, he didn't disturb him. There was plenty of time; he could ask whenever he wanted.

The whole trip took less than two hours, and we got back to the machine factory before 4 p.m.

This is a bit awkward. If we organize people to continue filming, it's too short and we won't get any good shots. But if we don't film, we can't just sit idle, right?
Ning Hao was caught in a dilemma.

Fortunately, he didn't have to worry about it anymore, because after he and He Daqi got out of the car, they saw someone on set who shouldn't have been there.

"Chairman Han?"

"Why are you here?"

He Daqi and Ning Hao spoke at roughly the same time, both asking questions. After asking, they realized that the other didn't know Han Shanping was coming today either.

That's strange...

Aside from agreeing to be the exclusive distributor for this film, it has nothing to do with China Film Group. So what is Han Shanping doing here?

"Hahaha, I came here for a meeting and happened to see the newspaper. I remembered you guys were filming here, so I decided to come and take a look. Didn't you say that the distribution issues were all handled by China Film Group? Why are you guys promoting it in advance?"

Ning Hao chuckled and scratched his head upon hearing this. To be honest, looking at him, he had really learned a bit of He Daqi's essence. He said, "I just wanted to take advantage of Daqi being on set to promote the film more. It will only be the icing on the cake for your publicity work later."

Han Shanping patted Ning Hao on the shoulder and said with a smile, "It's okay, Ning, you did a great job. The pre-production effect is good. If you encounter any problems during filming, be sure to let me know. I asked Sichuan Film Studio to take care of you when I came here. After all, your movie promotes Sichuan culture."

"Thank you, Chairman Han," Ning Hao quickly said.

Han Shanping nodded, then looked at He Daqi: "Daqi, I heard you finished filming your movie in South Korea? Wasn't it supposed to take a year to film?"

"Don't listen to other people's nonsense. It's still early. I'm going back there in a few days. I'm just taking some time to come back and make a cameo appearance here." He Daqi waved his hands repeatedly.

"I see... If you finish filming ahead of schedule, just let me know. China Film Group has received several good scripts that are very suitable for you. You can take a look when you have time."

"I'll definitely go after I finish filming, but I'm really not sure about the time right now."

"It's nothing, it's nothing," Han Shanping replied with a smile. After a moment of silence, he asked He Daqi, "...Daqi, I heard that the special effects for that movie in South Korea cost more than ten million US dollars. Is that true or just a rumor?"

"real."

"Why did they spend so much money? Their special effects are almost like those in Kung Fu Hustle!"

“Um…” He Daqi thought for a while before answering, “It’s not quite the same as Kung Fu Hustle. The special effects of The Host are more like Jurassic Park 2, a monster movie.”

Upon hearing that it was similar to Jurassic Park 2, Han Shanping felt that ten million US dollars was a bit too little and asked in surprise, "Is ten million US dollars enough? I remember that the special effects of Jurassic Park 2 cost nearly sixty million US dollars."

"It's definitely enough. After all, Jurassic Park 2 was filmed in 97. The technology wasn't as good as it is now. So many years have passed, and the price has come down a lot. Plus, The Host only has one monster, so the special effects are pretty easy to do."

Han Shanping's eyes lit up upon hearing this. Ten million US dollars—even South Korean film companies could afford that, and China Film Group certainly could. If it were that price… it seemed to have quite a promising future!

"Come on, Daqi, tell me about this special effect in detail. Let's chat over a walk."

It's been half a day, and Han Shanping is still asking questions, while He Daqi and Ning Hao still don't know why Han Shanping came here today.

……

……

As summer approaches, Beijing truly feels like a sauna.

The sweltering heat made people feel listless, and travelers leaving the airport walked slowly, with almost no one wanting to chat.

As soon as the couple came out of the airport terminal, they were stunned, as if they had been punched in the face. They paused almost simultaneously, feeling hot and short of breath. They immediately looked up and began frantically searching for their van.

"Over here!" Liu Ying opened the car door and waved to the two of them.

After He Daqi and Zhou Huimin got into the car, they both felt a little more comfortable.

"The weather really changes every day," He Dayi said, wiping the sweat from his brow with a tissue.

"I've been staying in Beijing all this time, so I don't really feel it," Liu Ying replied with a smile, turning her head.

When Liu Ying mentioned that she had been staying in Beijing, Zhou Huimin was reminded of something and asked, "Little Liu, haven't you gotten the script for 'Curse of the Golden Flower' yet?"

"No, after you gave the order last time, I sent people over. They did an excellent job of keeping it a secret. The people I sent over said that the actors who were already confirmed haven't received their scripts yet, but they do know the filming start date. It's currently scheduled for February next year."

"How's the inquiry about 'Riding Alone for Thousands of Miles' going?"

"It's an art film, but judging from the marketing and distribution, they're trying to use Zhang Yimou's reputation to sell it as a commercial film. It's said that the investment alone is over 6000 million yuan, but I think that's impossible. If it were really an art film, the investment wouldn't reach that amount. The main actors are two Japanese actors. According to what I've heard, this movie will most likely be released in Japan first, around the end of October, and then it will be released in China, with at least a month's interval. The specific month of the domestic release is uncertain."

After listening to Liu Ying finish speaking, Zhou Huimin didn't say anything more and closed her eyes to ponder.

Liu Ying didn't turn back; she was still waiting for Zhou Huimin's explanation.

“A month apart… a month apart at the end of October will be the end of November, or even December? Do you think… Ning Hao has a chance to get Crazy Stone out before the end of November?” Zhou Huimin muttered to herself for a moment, then raised her voice slightly to ask.

“It’s possible, Ning Hao edits films pretty quickly, but it’s not worth it to use a crazy stone to smash him, is it? Will China Film Group agree to that? After all, they promised to give China Film Group exclusive distribution rights before.” He Daqi frowned and reminded him.

"Whether they agree or not, if they cut corners on distribution, we'll throw money at marketing and promotion. I don't want that Zhang guy to make any money. Even if it costs tens of millions, I'll make sure I get my revenge," Zhou Huimin said with a sneer.

"No, no, with that money you would be better off waiting for a new movie to be made and then working on it, that would be much easier."

"That's what I thought."

(End of this chapter)