Chinese entertainment starts with Hong Shixian

Chapter 665 The Clumsy Old Master Qi's Hall...

As August arrives, the sun in the sky grows increasingly scorching.

In the film market, "Operation Red Sea" remains strong. Although it is not as fierce as it was when it was first released, it should not be underestimated.

Just two days ago, "Operation Red Sea" surpassed 3.4 billion yuan at the box office, officially overtaking "The Mermaid" to become the highest-grossing Chinese film!
Enlight Media, Berna Media, and iQiyi were all excited, and the stock prices of all three companies rose accordingly.

This made them overjoyed, and they called Qi Hui to announce that they would be holding a celebration banquet.

But Qi Hui forcefully suppressed them.

There's still more than a month left in the film's run, why hold a celebration party so soon?
The three investors were somewhat disgruntled by this, saying that what he said made sense, but... well, they would listen to Qi Hui.

Qi Hui's group was thrilled.

But this has caused great distress to other films that wanted to be released during the summer season.

What will happen to their movies if things continue like this?
We can't just change the release date, can we?
The previous promotion has already begun, so wouldn't it all be for nothing?
They gritted their teeth, stamped their feet, and went ahead anyway.

For example, the movie "The Lost Tomb" starring Lu Han was scheduled for release last month.

But the ferocity of "Operation Red Sea" made them tremble with fear, and after much deliberation, they... became hesitant.

They haven't said they'll withdraw the film, but they're not very firm about setting a release date either.

After much delay, it was finally decided in August.

Operation Red Sea is still very fierce, but it's showing signs of fatigue. If we can defeat it... right?
They'll make a fortune!

Besides, tomb raiding is such a popular genre, it might not be any worse than "Operation Red Sea"!

Our "Tomb Raider Chronicles" may not be without a fighting chance!
Last year, didn't tomb raiding movies also hold the top spot at the box office for a while?
Although... that was a movie that Qi Hui and his group made...

Despite this, the decision was still made to release "The Grave Robbers' Chronicles".

Not only "The Lost Tomb", but also romance films like "Sweet Sixteen" and "Love O2O" have been included.

It has nothing to do with "Operation Red Sea". If it is not released soon, the movie will be a disaster.

The market is increasingly pessimistic about romance and youth films, and those involved are feeling uneasy and anxious.

The filming of "In the Name of the People" is also nearing completion.

The main focus is on filming scenes related to Qi Hui, since he was away for a while and the crew was filming other people's scenes.

Many actors have also finished filming, including Sun Liancheng, Wang Dalu, Ding Yizhen, Liu Xinjian, and Chen Qingquan.

Chen Qingquan has relatively few scenes, at most one or two days of screen time.

At that time, Qi Hui was preparing for the roadshow of "Operation Red Sea" and missed seeing President Hou's grand performance.

It has to be said that this is actually a pity!
Upon realizing this, Qi Hui couldn't help but sigh. Then, his eyes darted around, and he pulled out paper and pen, beginning to ponder the poem "The Little Song of Opening the Clam."

How could President Hou's background music be missing?
Aside from Qi's "Little Song of Progress", President Hou's background music is the most eye-catching!
On set, the B-team director is directing the filming.

The scene is set in a hospital, where Hou Liangping is visiting Chen Hai, who is lying in a hospital bed.

...Speaking of which, he's been acting in bed scenes for a long time.

"...3, 2, 1, action!"

"Hey, are you from the provincial department or the municipal bureau?" Hou Liangping struggled as he was being held on either side of two burly men.
"For the provincial department, I'll go to Qi Tongwei; for the municipal bureau, I'll go to Zhao Donglai!"

"Do you know who I am? I am Hou Liangping from the Anti-Corruption Bureau of the Procuratorate..."

"Okay, cut!" the director shouted. "Very good, Mr. Lu, let's do that shot again."

"Camera, change the angle..."

"..."

"Okay, go ahead..."

The shouts of the Group B director rang out from time to time, but Qi Hui sat in the director's tent, writing and drawing, ignoring them.

But Li Lu leaned closer and asked, "Director Qi, do you have any ideas for your scene later?"

"No, I'll listen to you," Qi Hui said without looking up or even thinking.

Li Lu: "..."

You didn't even think about it before saying you had no ideas?
"Ahem... We'll be hoeing the ground in a bit, are you sure you can manage?" Li Lu made conversation.

The next scene is Qi Tongwei, played by Qi Hui, going to the nursing home to hoe the garden for Chen Yanshi.

To be honest, this scene was quite embarrassing and damaging to his image. It was the ugliest scene of Qi Tongwei, the director of the Public Security Bureau, besides crying at a grave.

But Qi Hui had already practiced with a hoe a couple of days ago.

Make sure you're skilled at farm work; after all, Qi Tongwei comes from a farming family!

Qi Hui hadn't picked up a hoe in a long time. He started boarding at school in middle school and hadn't helped with farm work at home.

I was too young when I was in elementary school, so I didn't do much of that.

But... during the pandemic, I was under lockdown in my hometown, and coincidentally, it happened to coincide with the spring planting season.

In one go, they made up for all the farm work they had missed.

Anyway, being treated like a beast of burden on a construction site is no big deal, so being treated like a beast of burden at home is nothing.

I learned how to use a hoe and such back then.

Although I'm a bit rusty now, I practiced a few times a couple of days ago and I'm already quite proficient.

"No problem." Qi Hui stroked the sheet music in his hand, looking for any other issues.

“I have an idea,” Li Lu said. “Qi Tongwei’s performance in this scene is really damaging to his image.”

"He used to be a shrewd and capable director of the Public Security Bureau, and he was incredibly handsome in his police uniform."

"But now, when I'm hoeing the ground, I still get caught by Sha Ruijin. It's embarrassing and shameful."

"Do you have any way to salvage Qi Tongwei's image without changing the plot or dialogue?"

Qi Tongwei is the Director of the Public Security Bureau. He can be despicable and shameless, but... he cannot be clumsy.

That's a bit beneath your class!
As for the incident of crying at the grave... the audience didn't see it, and could only imagine it based on Li Dakang's description, so it doesn't really count.

But hoeing is different; it lowers one's social standing.

Moreover, the aftermath of this scene, during a Standing Committee meeting, revealed that Qi Tongwei had been crying at a grave.

Two things happening at once... What a terrible thing to do, Old Hall Qi!
This won't do; we need to find a way to salvage the situation even a little bit.

Qi Hui raised his head, his face somewhat dark.
Without changing the plot or the dialogue, make the already poor characters a little better.

Is this definitely not just making things difficult for someone?
"Director Li, are you treating me like a wishing machine?" Qi Hui said irritably.

"Hahahaha..." Upon hearing this, the other actors and screenwriters not far away immediately burst into laughter.

To be honest, this request is indeed a bit difficult.

Li Lu shrugged helplessly. Since he couldn't handle it, he could only let him remain ugly and clumsy.

Seeing this, Qi Hui also became serious.

After a moment's thought, he slowly said, "Since we can't change an ugly and inferior soul, we can only try to find a way to improve appearance."

"Oh?" Li Lu raised an eyebrow, knowing this kid had something on his mind: "Tell me about it?"

"How about I take off my shirt and show off my muscles?" Qi Hui said, expressing his idea.

He has always maintained an eight-pack and his physique is quite good.

As I said before, there's a reason for everything!

Good looks are justice, and they're a fighting force!
The inner ugliness and clumsy soul cannot be changed, but the audience can see Qi Tongwei's handsome appearance.

Just like Hong Shixian, he's a scumbag, but you can't deny he's handsome.

Similarly, Qi Tongwei was clumsy and... despicable, but his muscular physique salvaged some of his image.

"This..." Li Lu hesitated. They were a serious anti-corruption drama. Would it be appropriate to have Qi Hui show off his muscles?

That's a bit frivolous.

“I think this is a great idea,” said screenwriter Zhou Meisen.
"Take off Qi Tongwei's clothes and arrange for him to leave after Sha Ruijin and Chen Yanshi have left."

"Qi Tongwei was the only one left in the small garden. He was depressed and upset, so to vent his frustration, he ripped off his clothes and continued hoeing the ground as if to vent his anger."

At this point, Zhou Meisen excitedly slapped his thigh: "Brilliant!"

The change in the character's emotions makes it all fit together, doesn't it?
As expected of me!

That's so talented!

(End of this chapter)