Unboxing, Director!

Chapter 182 Spicy Maru
On June 1st, Lu Jianguo, as the third largest shareholder, attended the founding meeting of BJ New Film Union Cinema Circuit.

Starting today, the first batch of 30 cinema chains across the country have been officially established and are in operation, marking a major reform of China's film distribution and screening mechanism.

Of the 30 cinema chains, 11 are inter-provincial chains and 19 are intra-provincial chains.

BJ New Film Union Cinema Circuit is one of the 11 inter-provincial cinema circuits.

Currently, these cinema chains are dominated by state-owned capital, and private capital can only participate, and even then, it is subject to certain restrictions.

Therefore, the Lu family currently only holds a 16% stake in New Film Union, at the cost of two downtown properties and 160 million yuan in cash.

It seems like a good deal to secure a spot in the first batch for a small amount of money.

But since it's not a controlling stake, it's ultimately lacking.

Fortunately, Han Sanpin said that if the film industry develops as expected in the future, the restrictions on private cinemas will be completely lifted within two or three years.

If I remember correctly, it was around 05 that Wanda became the first private cinema chain.

So now, having secured their position, the next step for the Lu family is to continue accumulating funds and properties, so that when the next opportunity arises, they can expand in one fell swoop and strive to acquire a controlling stake in their own cinema chain by 05.

That said, after establishing the cinema chain, the first business for New Film Union will be Lu Jiang's film "Lobster". At that time, they will work together with other cinema chains to maximize the number of screenings.

As for the box office expectations for "The Lobster," Lao Lu's feedback is "1500 million."

There aren't many domestic films that can gross over 1000 million yuan at the box office, so 1500 million yuan is already quite good.

Lu Jiang didn't have much of an opinion on this. After all, the main thing for this movie wasn't box office performance, but rather streamlining the marketing and distribution process.

If you're really looking to boost box office numbers, wait for "A World Without Thieves".

There's been progress on the old road's cinema chain, and today Li Chao, who's in charge of the music, finally welcomed two key members.

On the morning of the 1st, Zeng Yi and Linghua signed an artist contract with Lu Jiang in front of the company's photographer.

Welcome to Dawn.

Lu Jiang shook hands with the two men and exchanged contracts.

Zeng Yi and Linghua followed suit, and then a flash went off, freezing the image of the three shaking hands.

The ceremony had a strong sense of witnessing history.

But in reality, there was only one photographer, one video camera, and one still camera on site.

The only people involved in the ceremony were the photographer, two artists, Lu Jiang, Li Chao, and He Muyang.

Without a single journalist, it wouldn't be published.

However, Zeng Yi and Linghua didn't care at all. After all, they were just nobody. It was already quite good that Lu Jiang took notice of them. What more could they ask for?

After signing the contract, the two did not have time to digest the new group name "Phoenix Legend" that Lu Jiang had chosen, and began to continue producing "Above the Moon" with He Muyang.

In their view, this song was also the reason why Lu Jiang took a liking to them.

"Above the Moon" is adapted from He Muyang's "The One Who Misses You". Earlier, after Lu Jiang established contact with He Muyang through Peacock Records, He Muyang and Lu Jiang exchanged many musical topics and presented many works for Lu Jiang to review.

His goal was simple: if Lu Jiang could sing his songs, or get the opportunity to compose music and write lyrics for him, that would be a meteoric rise to success.

In subsequent exchanges, Lu Jiang's talent shone through, giving the old song "The One Who Misses You" a new soul.

He Muyang was amazed by this, but to bring it to life, he needed a singer who could match it.

And so, He Muyang, who already knew about the "Crazy Boys" (the original name of Phoenix Legend), recommended the two of them.

With Lu Jiang as their witness, their first performance impressed Lu Jiang, who found it perfect. As a result, this previously unknown duo successfully won the heart of the superstar Lu Jiang.

Thus, Phoenix Legend became known as a talented horse meeting its discerning owner.
At noon, Lu Jiang arrived at the Tianjin location of the "The Story of a Noble Family" film crew.

Today is the press conference for the start of filming of "The Story of a Noble Family", but in fact the crew has been filming for nearly a week.

The scenes filmed first were those of Liu Chunjiang and Xiao Lian.

Lu Jiang's scenes will begin filming in a week, because he will be going to the United States the following week.

At the press conference for the start of filming, the entire cast and crew of "The Story of a Noble Family" were present.

The actors are almost identical to those in the original timeline, except for Leng Qingqiu and Jin Yanxi.

Almost everyone in the crew was happy to be able to participate in such a production, except for Li Dawei and Liu Qianqian.

Upon arriving at the scene, Lu Jiang immediately spotted the treasure chests on the heads of the two people.

Li Dawei's treasure chest is blue: [With the host winning Best Director at Cannes, Li Dawei is under immense pressure. He hopes that this time, his directing will not generate any controversy with the host in the media.]

Lu Jiang couldn't help but chuckle.

The Cannes Best Director award is indeed very intimidating; it's enough to scare people.

Looking at the color, it's blue.

Obviously, he won't be affected by any controversy, since he only made this film to gain experience; his mother, Liu Guoquan, is the real director.

It's just that compared to her own mother, having a dispute with Lu Jiang is harder to accept.

However, Li Dawei can rest assured. Liu Guoquan had already communicated with him about this matter, and Lu Jiang is not the kind of person who would interfere just because he doesn't like something. So there shouldn't be any problem getting the treasure chest.

Next, let's look at Liu Qianqian's treasure chest, which is purple: [Since the audition, Liu Qianqian has never been able to regain that perfect acting state. She is extremely worried that her true colors will be revealed after the official filming begins, causing the host to completely hate her. Because of this, she has been suffering from insomnia for many days. She hopes to regain her form as soon as possible.]

Haha!

Lu Jiang actually smiled this time.

This result was expected.

After several months of working on "Heavenly Sword and Dragon Sabre," he had already learned that in the first few uses of eye acting techniques, actors with poorer acting skills would be more confused and mistakenly believe they were geniuses.

Lu Jiang had this same thought in mind when he decided to tease Liu Qianqian.

It seems to be working well, and Lu Jiang is very satisfied.

He saw Lu Jiang smile when he saw him.

Liu Qianqian was initially overjoyed, but was quickly overwhelmed by a huge sense of panic.

Brother Lu Jiang must still think his acting skills far surpass those of his peers, which is why he showed an appreciative smile when he saw him.

But if I still can't get back into character after filming starts, what will Brother Lu Jiang think of me?
That would be even more disappointing than a normal disappointment!
How to do how to do?
Liu Qianqian couldn't help but twist the hem of her clothes with her fingers.

Liu Xiaoli noticed the situation immediately: "What's wrong, Qianqian?"

"Nothing much, I just needed to go to the bathroom."

"Okay, go quickly. I'll explain things for you here. Hurry back, the press conference is about to start."

"Okay, thank you, Mom~"

Liu Qianqian quickly agreed and went to the restroom.

After entering the bathroom, Liu Qianqian looked in the mirror and kept encouraging herself. But as before, she had no clue how to get back into the swing of things.

Fortunately, Liu Qianqian eventually found a new approach.

To avoid being disliked by Brother Lu Jiang, one doesn't necessarily have to rely on acting skills; there are other ways to do it.

For example, find common topics and become friends first.

As for acting skills, I should just admit that I'm not good at acting, since I'm still young anyway.

Well, let’s do it!

But what common topics should we find?

There were no clues on Lu Jiang's brother's QQ space, and he hadn't even replied to a single message on QQ.

After thinking it over, she decided to start with her interests and hobbies, and she quickly remembered something a classmate had once said.

Boys' hobbies are most likely to be just a few.
Yes, just do it!

Liu Qianqian thought, no matter what, let's give it a try!

Soon, Liu Qianqian returned to the press conference venue.

"Xixi, come here quickly and say hello to your brother Lu Jiang."

Liu Xiaoli greeted them immediately.

"Brother Lu Jiang, I'm sorry, I just needed to pee."

Liu Qianqian then offered an explanation.

Lu Jiang's attention, however, was on Liu Qianqian's treasure chest.

The entry has changed!

It changed to: [Liu Qianqian wants to find common ground with the host so that the host won't dislike her so much.]

It keeps changing, how strange!
Lu Jiang nodded: "Everyone has to go to the bathroom sometimes, I understand. Please take a seat."

"Thank you, Brother Lu Jiang~"

With Liu Qianqian taking her seat, the press conference for the start of filming quickly began.

As agreed, when introducing Liu Qianqian, Lu Jiang used his prepared script: "Director Li and I were having dinner, and we were worried about not finding a suitable actress for the second female lead. Then we looked up and saw Liu Qianqian's advertisement outside the window. We all thought this girl's temperament was quite suitable, so we gave her an audition. In the end, this girl really gave us a big surprise."

The reporters and actors present were all envious of Lu Jiang's appreciation.

Few people know that this sentence is incredibly valuable—three million!
After introducing the actors and completing the remaining procedures, a simple opening banquet followed.

The opening banquet and the hotel where the crew stayed were all in the same place, a hotel owned by Chen Jinfei's friend, which was also close to the film set.

Before the opening banquet, Lu Jiang still needed a final makeup check.

Earlier, Lu Jiang was too busy to finalize some of the outfits and styling.

The makeup and costume design for "The Story of a Noble Family" was done by a Hong Kong designer who cost a lot of money. It was difficult to coordinate the time and not easy to keep up with Lu Jiang's schedule. So we decided to focus on finishing it today.

More than an hour later, Lu Jiang transformed into the playboy Jin Yanxi.

The overall makeup and styling are not much different from the original Chen Kun, but Lu Jiang is definitely more handsome because he has a better physique and a more noble air.

Liu Guoquan once commented that Lu Jiang is a rare type of actor with a noble air in mainland China.

That's for sure; Mr. Lu has been wealthy since childhood.
Then Lu Jiang, along with Dong Xuan, Liu Qianqian, and others who had changed their makeup and styling, took a set of photos.

Dong Xuan is 1.7 meters tall. At first glance, she doesn't have the petite and delicate feel of the original Dong Jie when she wears a Republic of China student outfit. However, because she is tall and has excellent body proportions, her facial features are like an ice queen when she doesn't smile, making her look even more aloof.

Liu Qianqian was dressed in a gorgeous dress, with full lips. Just looking at her face, she was quite cute. However, she is now almost 1.7 meters tall, and her overall appearance gives off the vibe of a pampered young lady. It's clear that she has been well-nourished since childhood, which is quite a contrast.

After changing into their uniforms, the three of them took a group photo. Two of them were 1.7 meters tall, and the other was 1.81 meters tall. As soon as the photo was taken, the crowd applauded and praised them highly.

When they separated and took photos together, Liu Qianqian was a little reserved at first, but the photographer seemed to be from Cannes and had a very sweet tongue, saying all sorts of things like "perfect match" and "golden couple".

After being showered with praise, Liu Qianqian quickly relaxed, showing off all sorts of fancy moves and having a great time.

Lu Jiang remained unfazed; having experienced the Cannes praise frenzy, this was nothing compared to what he'd witnessed.
After taking photos, everyone changed back into casual clothes and went downstairs to the opening banquet.

Because the series is currently being filmed, I rarely drink alcohol.

After the opening banquet, Lu Jiang returned to Beijing immediately because his flight was in the middle of the night.

Dong Xuan and Liu Qianqian also went back with them. Liu Qianqian has fewer scenes and filming will probably start in mid-July. Dong Xuan, like Lu Jiang, will officially join the crew a week later.

When they returned to Beijing, Lu Jiang and Dong Xuan were invited to ride in Chen Jinfei's RV, and Liu Qianqian finally had a chance to chat with Lu Jiang about everyday things.

"Brother Lu Jiang, don't you usually use QQ?"

"Yes, I'm busy, and I rarely have the chance to turn on my computer."

"Oh, no wonder I've never seen you online. Brother Lu Jiang, how many games do you think the Chinese team can win?"

As June arrives, the World Cup is the biggest topic of conversation. Coincidentally, since Chen Jinfei watches football regularly and Liu Qianqian watches it occasionally, she felt that bringing up this topic would definitely provide plenty of material to talk about.

Upon hearing this question, Dong Xuan immediately became enthusiastic: "I bet on the match between the Chinese national football team and Costa Rica. China will win 2-0. It'll cost you 1,000 yuan!"

"So many?" Liu Qianqian exclaimed in surprise, and immediately asked, "Where did you buy them? Can I buy them?"

Dong Xuan: "Kids shouldn't gamble on sports."

Liu Xiaoli chuckled: "It's alright, a few hundred yuan is enough to play around with."

Liu Qianqian became even more enthusiastic and immediately looked at Lu Jiang: "Brother Lu Jiang, do you think it's a good idea to bet on the Chinese national football team to win 2-0?"

Lu Jiang, who hadn't participated in the conversation, laughed and said, "I don't know about the Chinese national team, the French team, the Brazilian team, etc., but I do know that if you want to bet on football, betting on the South Korean team to win is definitely the right thing to do."

Lu Jiang's professional tone immediately convinced Liu Qianqian that she had chosen the right topic!

She immediately chimed in, "Brother Lu Jiang, do you also like the South Korean team?"

She didn't particularly like the South Korean team, but that didn't stop her from trying to get close to them.

These words made Lu Jiang turn his head and frown.

Liu Qianqian was completely unaware of the disdain in Lu Jiang's incredulous gaze. She thought she had made the right bet and surprised Lu Jiang, so she immediately added, "I also really like the Korean team."

Dong Xuan didn't notice Lu Jiang's expression; she was only concerned about Xiao Qianqian, so she immediately asked, "Why did you bet on the South Korean team to win?"

Lu Jiang looked away: "Because I understand the Korean sporting spirit."

"You're very resilient, aren't you?" Liu Qianqian continued to flatter her.

Lu Jiang's lips twitched, and he said leisurely, "Their sportsmanship is very special. They will do anything to win. This time it's South Korea's home ground. I dare to guarantee that they will at least reach the quarterfinals. If FIFA makes any mistakes, do you believe they can win the championship?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Qianqian was first taken aback, and then she froze on the spot after realizing what was happening.

I couldn't find any common topics with Maru, but I definitely stepped on some landmines. What should I do?
(End of this chapter)