Chinese entertainment starts with Hong Shixian

Chapter 625 Director Qi truly lives up to his title!

Jinling
With ample funding, the cast and crew of "In the Name of the People" have gradually arrived at their accommodation.

They arrived very early. These were all professional actors. At Li Lu's request, they quickly joined the crew, reading the script and studying their characters.

But one person was still missing: the actor who played Qi Tongwei.
Qi Hui!

Even his personal makeup artist, Mao Geping, was there, but he wasn't.

Li Lu was initially a little annoyed, while screenwriter Zhou Meisen was furious.

This project originally had no script and no source material.

Initially, it was the Supreme People's Procuratorate that approached him and asked him to write the script for this play, which is why he started writing it.

Seeing that Qi Hui was not taking his work seriously, Zhou Meisen immediately lost his temper.

They pressured Li Lu to find out what was going on, and if there was a real problem, they would find a way to replace the actor.

I'll go talk to the Supreme People's Procuratorate, the Logistics Support Department of the Central Military Commission, and the Golden Shield Group!
Li Lu rolled his eyes. What a load of rubbish... Not to mention the funding issues, even if you talk to other organizations, they might not support you.

Therefore, Li Lu could only appease his old friend by telling some white lies.

Then I called to ask what was going on.

Qi Hui only replied that the filming wasn't finished yet.

Then, a photo was sent over.

The photo shows a warship speeding across the sea, with Qi Hui discussing a problem with a colonel with two bars and three stars and a senior colonel with two bars and four stars.

Judging from their posture, they seem dissatisfied with the position of the warship.

Seeing this photo, not only Li Lu, but Zhou Meisen was speechless.

Especially after learning about the situation from the General Logistics Department of the Central Military Commission, they realized how arduous the task was for the Navy Political Department.

There was nothing they could do but wait patiently... Zhou Meisen and Li Lu sighed helplessly.

"Do you think he can play Qi Tongwei well?" Zhou Meisen was filled with anxiety.

The character Qi Tongwei is extremely important!

Strictly speaking, Zhao Dehan and Ding Yizhen, the two characters who fall at the very beginning, are actually setting the stage for the character of Qi Tongwei.

These two individuals perfectly embodied the outward righteousness and high-sounding pretense of corrupt officials.

One person constantly talks about being "principled and easily slandered," while the other is always saying, "Integrity starts with me."

It looks absolutely perfect.

However, Qi Tongwei's digging and crying at the grave gave him a flaw, making him seem out of sync with Ding Yizhen and Zhao Dehan.

Therefore, many viewers did not initially associate Qi Tongwei with corruption.

He just wants to advance his career; how is he like a corrupt official?
However, it wasn't until later that the audience realized what had happened.

It turns out it’s you, kid!

I never imagined that someone with thick eyebrows and big eyes like you could be corrupt!
"Well..." Hearing Zhou Meisen's concerns, Li Lu was also quite worried: "Well, once he joins the crew, I'll give him some extra help!"

With an investment of 1.2 million, let alone him personally tutoring Qi Hui, Li Lu could be as good as Qi Hui's son!
He actually regretted not letting Qi Hui try out the role when they were at the coffee shop.

I should have tried it out back then.

Although he had seen Qi Hui's past works, he felt that Qi Hui's acting skills were up to par.

But he had never actually seen it.

As for why Qi Hui wasn't allowed to try out the role at the coffee shop... well, didn't he get burned by the coffee back then?
How embarrassing! How can I even bring myself to speak?
Thinking about it now, Li Lu couldn't help but feel his face burning with shame.

Too shameful!

……

"Director Li, the actor playing Qi Tongwei hasn't arrived yet?" Lu Yi, wearing sunglasses and a brown leather jacket despite the hot weather, joked.
"Isn't that a bit too much of a big shot?"

He and Qi Tongwei had many scenes together and had to rehearse a lot of lines.

But this person didn't even show their face, which is a bit too much.

The opening ceremony will be held tomorrow.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Fengyi, Zhang Zhijian, Wu Gang, and the others also looked at Li Lu with curiosity on their faces.

To avoid gossip within the production crew, Li Lu did not inform the crew members about Qi Hui's situation.

So... this situation has arisen.

"Don't talk nonsense!" Li Lu glared at him. "I'm here today!"

Yesterday, Qi Hui messaged him, saying he could join the crew today.

"Who is it?" Upon hearing this, the group immediately straightened their backs, their faces showing curiosity.

"Qi Hui".

"Oh, it's that kid..." Wu Gang suddenly realized.

He had met Qi Hui on the set of "Lurking". Although they didn't have any scenes together, they got along quite well.

I even ate a meal with him, and it felt pretty good.

"He's a good person," Wu Gang said with a smile. "His abilities are also quite good, so there shouldn't be any problems."

Zhang Fengyi nodded without saying anything. He had met Qi Hui once before, at the Golden Eagle Awards a few years ago.

At that time, Qi Hui also won a pretty good award.

"Oh, that big star..." Zhang Zhijian suddenly realized, his smile unchanged, but he felt a little uneasy inside, though he didn't say anything.

They didn't question Li Lu's eye for casting actors, nor did they ask about the specifics.

He knew that Li Lu must have his reasons for making this choice, and he would just wait and see.

"Oh ho?" Lu Yi, standing to the side, became interested. "Such a big star?" "What if you can't control the director?"

He wasn't just making things up, because even Li Lu, the director of Group B, couldn't control him.

That blond guy, let alone him, everyone who sees him dislikes him.

Zhang Zhijian smiled knowingly; that was why he remained silent.

Didn't someone ask for him?

"Hehe..." Li Lu smiled insincerely: "Let me give you a heads-up first. He is an investor. The costumes you wear, the hotels you stay in, and the food you eat all come from his funds."

Zhang Zhijian and the others immediately stood in awe: "That 1.2 million..."

“That’s right, it was him who voted!” Li Lu nodded.

Qi Hui was busy with the naval political project, and Li Lu didn't want others to nag about it.

It's good to keep them in check.

Lu Yi opened his mouth, but said nothing more, lowered his head to look at the script, and didn't say a word.

He acted as if the discussion had nothing to do with him.

"I'm sorry, director, senior colleagues, I'm late."

At that moment, a deep, magnetic baritone voice rang out.

The group turned around and saw Qi Hui walking over.

He was handsome and dashing, with a graceful demeanor, a steady and vigorous gait, and extraordinary bravery.

Her skin is a little dark, but she looks very reassuring.

"Haha, Qi Hui, you truly live up to your title as Director of the Public Security Bureau," Wu Gang laughed. "Your demeanor is undeniable; just looking at you gives the people a sense of security."

Lu Yi glanced at Qi Hui, pursed his lips, and remained silent.

He really wanted to say that Wu Gang was bidding on investors' horses.

But... Wu Gang wasn't exaggerating. Qi Hui's demeanor was indeed calm and powerful, giving people a sense of security.

"Teacher Wu Gang, it's been a long time." Qi Hui greeted him, "Greetings, seniors."

Qi Hui shook hands and greeted Zhang Fengyi, Zhang Zhijian, Lu Yi, and others, showing no airs whatsoever.

Zhang Zhijian pushed up his glasses, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

The arrogant and domineering young man he had imagined did not appear in Qi Hui.

This actually surprised him.

If it were any other young heartthrob, he'd probably be surrounded by a whole platoon of people serving him.

This is not an exaggeration; he had a colleague on the set of the movie version of "The Lost Tomb".

He had talked to me about the two young male actors in their production crew.

He chuckled to himself.

Qi Hui not only didn't have that many problems, but... why did he look a little tired?

Zhang Zhijian was somewhat puzzled.

"Okay, let's continue rehearsing the lines," Li Lu said. "We're starting filming tomorrow."

"Let me go first," Wu Gang said with a smile. In the first meeting scene, Li Dakang and Qi Tongwei exchanged a few simple words.

That's perfect, he can also help Qi Hui.

“Okay…” Qi Hui nodded. He had been setting up the studio before coming here.

Post-production work on "Operation Red Sea" is now on track.

He only needs to control the main direction; the specific editing, voice-over, music, special effects, etc., can be left to professionals.

He can take a short break while filming "In the Name of the People".

"let's start."

"Secretary Yuliang, Secretary Dakang." Qi Hui sat in his chair, relaxed, with a slightly thoughtful expression, and slowly said:

"Please consider this: how about... the Provincial Commission for Discipline Inspection detains Ding Yizhen first?"

His tone was calm, as if it were none of his business, but it also carried a hint of consideration for helping his superiors out of their predicament.

“Yes! I agree with Director Qi!” Wu Gang replied, glancing at Qi Hui with some surprise.

The dialogue was delivered with clear rhythm and appropriate emotion, and even the questions and suggestions made to the two leaders were perfectly timed.

This doesn't sound like they're reciting lines; it sounds more like they're actually having a meeting.

It doesn't look like acting.

"You... secretly practiced it behind my back?" Li Lu couldn't help but ask.

"Where? Where?" Qi Hui waved his hand and laughed, "I've met quite a few officials at the department level."

A senior colonel with two bars and four stars is roughly equivalent to a department-level cadre.

Li Lu glanced at Qi Hui, unsure of what to say.

Zhou Meisen's worries should be alleviated considerably this time.

Zhang Zhijian pushed up his glasses, somewhat surprised.

For him, the biggest challenge in playing Gao Yuliang was that he had never been a secretary in real life.

Therefore, it is somewhat difficult to perform.

(End of this chapter)