The King of Soft Rice in Chinese Entertainment

Chapter 309 The Significance of the Meeting
Time quickly passed to October 2002, and the Tianlong crew finally finished filming in Zicheng and moved to Xinchang to continue.

As expected, Xu Jiuyang took leave and returned to Beijing. He didn't have many scenes in Xinchang to begin with, and this time the big boss personally came to the set to arrest him.

That's right, I'm talking about Angela.

As mentioned before, she also funded this version of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils. Even Zhang Dahuzi wouldn't dare offend Li Yunxin, let alone her.

Although Angela didn't specify what it was about, Xu Jiuyang didn't ask any further questions, figuring it was just something like those other things.

As for public opinion on set, especially the public opinion of male staff members... who cares about that?

As expected, after returning to the capital and resting for a while, he and she went to the preparatory committee for the "Red Cliff" project.

Yes, because the investment was so huge and the number of people mobilized was so large, a committee was naturally formed.

So much so that when Xu Jiuyang arrived at the rented place, the crowds coming and going gave him the feeling of a large-scale battle being fought, as if banners were about to be hung on the walls.

"The military has already made arrangements, but the specifics depend on the progress of the film crew..." Zuo Shandiao said as he walked with Angela and Xu Jiuyang.

Before this, he had already taken them to visit several departments, including props, sets, and costumes, leaving nothing out.

Xu Jiuyang didn't hold back and offered many opinions, such as—

"There's nothing wrong with Han Dynasty clothing, but we can't follow history completely, because there weren't that many dyes at that time in history."

“The armor should be properly polished, not made like in TV dramas, like it’s Japanese style.”

"The Three Kingdoms City can be used, but the filming location for Red Cliff needs further consideration. Special effects and real-life scenes are two different things."

“You are a great power, and a great power should have the temperament and style of a great power. Don’t be like Hong Kong and Japan, acting petty and narrow-minded.”

Yes, all of this was said by Angela. There's no way around it; she's a foreigner, and her words carry more weight, especially when she throws out one anecdote after another. It's easy for people to feel ashamed of themselves and thus work even harder, as was already proven on the set of "Heroes."

Moreover, his presence would be too conspicuous and would arouse jealousy, potentially affecting the production team, so it's really unnecessary.

However, the most crucial aspects of the entire project are the screenwriter and the actors.

The reason there is no director is that four veteran writers have joined the screenwriting team and discuss the plot with several screenwriters every day.

The screenwriters who were arrested were all veterans in the industry, such as Liu Heng, He Jiping, and Lu Wei. After all, it was a key national project with ample funding.

In fact, Xu Jiuyang disliked Lu Wei somewhat, not only because he was the screenwriter of "Wolf Totem", but also because Lu Wei was the type of person who turned from a dragon slayer into a dragon. In the 90s, he still had some ambition, but later he degenerated into serving as a screenwriting consultant for Hu Er'e's "Fengshen" series.

But if you think about it carefully, everyone will be the same more than ten years from now. Even the biggest big shots in the industry at this point will have to bow down for a living, which is not incomprehensible. Anyway... if something like this happens again, just suppress it.

Moreover, in recent years he has spoken out through various channels, criticizing Li Bihua's revised version of "Farewell My Concubine" for basically plagiarizing his script. Now there is a big project that needs to be done independently without those people from Hong Kong and Taiwan, so they have asked him for help, and he will definitely do his best.

“I won’t go into the key points, but the most important thing about this film is that it must be entertaining while respecting the general direction of history,” Angela summarized after a thorough discussion with them. “You’re all familiar with the Hollywood three-act structure, so even if you want to improvise, please keep it within that framework.” Then, before anyone could speak, she immediately added, “As Guanzi said, ‘When the granaries are full, people know etiquette.’ You’ve all eaten your fill, but there are still many junior screenwriters and newcomers who can’t even get credit. You should leave them some room to grow, right? Otherwise, I’ll think we’re the socialist country.”

Upon hearing this last sentence, the screenwriters present all turned pale, and even Zuo Shandiao became somewhat uneasy, having to cough twice to signal that things shouldn't go too far.

The four veteran directors, however, remained as steady as mountains. Director Li even said rather bluntly, "Is Ms. Lin Dewo saying this as a friend?"

Fortunately, Director Xie stepped in to smooth things over: "Since this is an organization's mission, we will of course obey the arrangements."

Clearly, they could all see why Angela had said those things.

"Well then, thank you all for your support." Angela smiled nonchalantly.

After they came out, Xu Jiuyang asked in a low voice, "I didn't ask you to say that last sentence."

"It's okay, even if there are any problems, they'll all be coming at me," Angela replied with a smile. "Isn't that exactly what you were planning?"

“Not entirely,” Xu Jiuyang said seriously. “You’re the project’s host, so it’s normal for you to have the power to subdue them, but you can’t use that to your advantage—I’m your boyfriend.”

Without a doubt, the key point is in the last sentence.

Angela chuckled softly and immediately replied in a normal voice, "Okay, darling, I'll be gentler next time."

Xu Jiuyang rolled his eyes, then looked ahead, wanting to see how Zuo Shandiao would react, but Zuo Shandiao only showed him the back of his head.

So he sighed inwardly. It wasn't because the previous meeting hadn't been effective; there was no need to worry about that at all. After Li Yunxin's funding was added, the "Red Cliff" project had been elevated to a quasi-national strategy, not to mention that there were several veteran directors in charge.

Whether an organization is functioning well or not can be judged by how efficient it is after a meeting.

Meetings are for reaching a consensus. Only with a consensus can we work efficiently. It's normal to have dissenting opinions. However, if someone refuses to implement a plan after the meeting, even though the higher-ups have reached a consensus, on the grounds of opposition, then if such a person hasn't been punished severely, it means the organization has begun to rot.

Currently, China is doing relatively well in this regard. In fact, the reason why China can surpass the UK and the US over the next 20 years is not only because its competitors are constantly underperforming, but also because its organizational level has always been maintained at a certain standard.

The Red Cliff project has ample funding, the backing of Angela, a foreigner, and endorsement from higher authorities. In addition, the veteran directors have clearly been persuaded. Under these circumstances, there is actually not much to worry about.

But if it's okay now, what about later?
The entertainment industry has deteriorated to such a state 20 years later. The intrusion of internet capital and the creation of assembly lines are largely the reasons, but the lack of a single, decisive figure in each project is also a contributing factor.

The reason why "The Wandering Earth" was successful is because the core of the team is Guo Fan. He makes all the decisions. Everything can be discussed and debated, but once he makes a decision, it must be executed meticulously.

So when "The Wandering Earth 2" came along, many people wanted to get a piece of the pie. Even though he withstood the pressure and kept control of the production team, he still had to give Andy Lau a separate storyline. This made the story of the second film more difficult to understand than the first, which affected the box office and allowed "Half River Green" to take advantage of the situation.

Xu Jiuyang had seen this situation more than once in his past life: the crew would start filming, and after only two days, the female lead would approach the director and say that she thought this scene should be filmed this way, and that she had asked her screenwriter to rewrite it; then two days later, the male lead would approach the director and say that he thought this scene should be filmed that way, and that his screenwriter was still on the way, but he had already finished writing it.

(End of this chapter)