Entertainment: Who still wants to fall in love when there are cheats?

Chapter 243 [Chu Xuan] Filming

Right after the Spring Festival, Li Boda's team had already begun preparations for filming the movie "Chu Xuan".

Wang Jie collaborated with Li Boda again, becoming the producer of the film "Chu Xuan".

Speaking of which, ever since Li Boda started directing, Sister Wang has been the producer of Li Boda's films.

Especially after Li Boda filmed "Infinite Terror 1" and "Infinite Terror 2", Wang Jie's ability, fame, and even her status in the entertainment industry have changed dramatically since she became the producer of these two large-scale productions.

It's fair to say that Sister Wang was a top producer in the entertainment industry at that time; calling her a big shot wouldn't be an exaggeration.

Logically speaking, Sister Wang should continue to serve as the producer of the "Infinite Terror" series this time.

However, it seems that Sister Wang is convinced that following Li Boda is the right choice.

So this time, Sister Wang gave up being the producer of "Infinite Terror 3" and instead chose to be the producer of "Chu Xuan".

The producer of "Infinite Terror 3" is Shi Nansheng, Tsui Hark's wife.

However, this situation is actually not bad.

After all, Sister Wang and Li Boda have been working together for so long that they are used to each other and their collaboration will be very comfortable.

Needless to say, Tsui Hark and Shi Nansheng have been collaborating since the 1970s and 80s, and have known each other for decades. Therefore, having Shi Nansheng serve as the producer of "Infinite Terror 3" is a good thing for Tsui Hark and the entire production team.

Meanwhile, the production costs of "Infinite Terror 3" have been increasing. This time, the production cost is 30 million US dollars higher than that of "Infinite Terror 2", reaching as high as 130 million US dollars.

Such a large production cost also excited Tsui Hark. After all, even though Tsui Hark is a very famous director in China, his previous film, "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate," which had the highest investment, only cost 200 million RMB, which is less than 30 million USD, not even a fraction of the cost of "Infinite Terror 3."

While Xu Ke was excited, he also had great admiration for Li Boda. After all, not everyone has Li Boda's courage to give up a film with an investment of 130 million US dollars. If it were Xu Ke, or even any other director in China, they probably wouldn't be willing to let go.

Li Boda had no idea what Xu Ke was thinking. He was currently chatting with a six or seven-year-old child.

Rong Zishan, a six or seven-year-old boy, was chosen by Li Boda to play the role of Chu Xuan in his childhood.

The reason for choosing this child was that Li Boda saw him in an advertisement and found him to be quite intelligent, so he tried to contact Rong Zishan's guardian.

When Rong Zishan's parents learned that Li Boda wanted to cast him in a movie, they immediately brought Rong Zishan over.

After meeting Rong Zishan, Li Boda tried to communicate with her and then asked her to try performing.

Rong Zishan's performance was a bit awkward, after all, he was just a child and hadn't formally studied acting. However, despite this, Li Boda found that Rong Zishan was quite talented.

With a little guidance, Rong Zishan can perform quite well.

So Li Boda signed the Rongzi shirt right away.

After the actors were in place, the production team for "Chu Xuan" was officially established, and a press conference was held to mark the start of filming.

Given Li Boda's fame at the time, his filming press conference was naturally quite a spectacle, with reporters from all walks of life flocking to the event without the production team even needing to invite him.

"Director Li, filming for 'Infinite Terror 3' is about to begin. Why aren't you directing 'Infinite Terror 3' instead of making the movie 'Chu Xuan'?"

"Mainly because I personally really like the character Chu Xuan. In fact, the reason I filmed the first movie of 'Infinite Terror' was because of the character Chu Xuan..." Li Boda frankly said about his love for the character Chu Xuan.

"Director Li, is the film 'Chu Xuan' a personal film about Chu Xuan?"

"That's right, it's Chu Xuan's personal movie. This movie tells the story of Chu Xuan's origins and why he was selected to join the Zhongzhou team."

"Director Li, you've temporarily stepped down from directing 'Infinite Terror 3' this time. Will you continue to direct other films in the 'Infinite Terror' series in the future?"

"In the future, I will probably still direct the Infinite Terror series of movies. However, the Infinite Terror series is a very large world system, and there are many more movies to follow. I personally don't have that much energy and time, so in the future, I will ask other directors to direct the Infinite Terror series of movies."

"Director Li, did you give up directing 'Infinite Terror 3' because you realized your abilities were insufficient?"

"I believe I have some ability, after all, both 'Infinite Terror 1' and 'Infinite Terror 2' were quite successful."

"Director Li..."

Most of the reporters who came here were there because of Li Boda. They asked all sorts of questions, almost all of them aimed at Li Boda. Some reporters asked questions about the movie, while others were directed at Li Boda. Some were good, and some were bad.

The good things weren't necessarily for Li Boda's benefit, and the bad things weren't really intended to do anything malicious. In reality, it was all for the sake of generating buzz and popularity.

Li Boda remained calm and composed when facing these reporters.

Rong Zishan, who was only six or seven years old, showed some fear when facing the reporter's questions. After being asked a few times, her eyes reddened and she burst into tears.

When Rong Zishan started crying, most of the people present couldn't help but laugh.

After the press conference for the start of filming, the crew of "Chu Xuan" officially began shooting their first scene.

And this scene was naturally performed by Li Boda himself.

Xu Shanzheng sat behind the monitor, a hat perched atop his bald head.

"Shanzheng, you're a big director who's made over a billion yuan at the box office now. Instead of thinking about making your own next movie, you've come to my crew as the executive director. You're really something," Li Boda said to Xu Shanzheng with a smile.

"Hey, I know my own limitations. To be honest, when 'Lost in Thailand' raked in 1.3 billion at the box office, I was completely stunned. If I rushed into filming the next movie, I might just reveal my true colors. Then some people might criticize me for just getting lucky with 'Lost in Thailand.' So, I need to calm down and reflect. I'll take this opportunity to learn from our crew." Xu Shanzheng chuckled.

“Actually, your skill level isn’t bad either, but it’s good to take some time to mature.” Li Boda nodded, feeling that Xu Shanzheng was aware of the situation.

Xu Shanzheng did indeed become arrogant and overconfident after "Lost in Thailand" grossed 1.3 billion yuan.

Many people even approached Xu Shanzheng, intending to invest in his new film and allow him to continue directing.

However, after Xu Shanzheng's film "Lost in Thailand" grossed 1.3 billion yuan, the public's evaluation of him was not very high, especially from Feng Gangpao and Chen Kaige. In front of the media, they criticized Xu Shanzheng harshly, saying that he just got lucky and had no talent at all, and that "Lost in Thailand" was a bad movie. They couldn't understand why audiences would pay money to watch a bad movie.

They specifically targeted Xu Shanzheng, hurling the most vicious insults at him in the media, as if he were their father's killer.

Of course, this is not unusual. In fact, after Li Boda's movies achieved good box office results, Feng Gangpao and his group also targeted Li Boda.

However, after Li Boda's "Infinite Terror" was released and grossed $400 million at the box office, they shut up.

Now Xu Shanzheng has jumped out, and he's even more outrageous than Li Boda was back then.

Li Boda's first film only grossed 60 million yuan at the box office. Xu Shanzheng's first film, on the other hand, directly raked in 1.3 billion yuan, surpassing all other directors in China except Li Boda.

One after another, other directors surpassed them at the box office, which naturally made Feng Gangpao and Chen Kaige very angry, especially Xu Shanxiang, a director with no foundation who had a disastrous first film.

Of course, Xu Shanzheng would get angry if they just insulted him, but he wouldn't take their words too seriously.

However, right after that, Li Boda's "Infinite Terror 2" directly grossed 650 million US dollars worldwide, which is equivalent to 4.4 billion RMB.

Li Boda's box office figures immediately woke Xu Shanzheng up.

After regaining his senses, Xu Shanzheng realized that although he had some ability, to be honest, he was indeed quite far behind Feng Gangpao and Chen Kaige, not to mention Zhang Yimou and Li Boda.

So Xu Shanzheng went directly to Li Boda's side, intending to learn more from Li Boda.

Of course, Xu Shanzheng's reason for becoming the executive director of Li Boda's film "Chu Xuan" also had another purpose, or rather, this purpose was the most important one. That is, Xu Shanzheng hoped to direct the "Infinite Terror" series of films in the future and become the director of the "Infinite Terror" series of films.

Tsui Hark became the director of Infinite Terror 3 after working as an assistant director on the set of Infinite Terror 2.

Therefore, Xu Shanzheng, as a director, also hopes to become the director of "Infinite Terror 4" or "Infinite Terror 5".

If he could acquire just one of them, Xu Shanzheng would be able to ascend to immortality.

It can be said that Xu Shanzheng came to the [Chu Xuan] crew with a learning attitude, but more importantly, he still hoped to catch Li Boda's eye and become the director of the [Infinite Terror] series.

This was Xu Shanzheng's scheme.

However, Li Boda was aware of Xu Shanzheng's scheme, and he didn't even have any objections to it.

After all, every capable person has some ambition.

Moreover, Xu Shanzheng's ambition did not harm Li Boda. In fact, Li Boda did hope that other directors would direct the "Infinite Terror" series of films in the future.

Even without Xu Shanzheng, Li Boda would have gone to find other directors.

If Xu Shanzheng's abilities are indeed up to par, Li Boda wouldn't mind handing over the directorship of the "Infinite Terror" film series to Xu Shanzheng.

After all, Li Boda and Xu Shanzheng actually have a pretty good relationship. Having collaborated with Xu Shanzheng so many times before, continuing to work together would be a good thing.

……

Once everything was ready and the actors were in place, give the order!
“Exxon!” Li Boda’s face was calm, his eyes as still as a stagnant pool, filled with deathly silence, as if a storm would not stir up the slightest ripple.

Although Li Boda is very handsome, his gaze makes those around him feel cold and hesitant to approach them.

Li Boda gently pushed up his glasses: "The wisdom of mortals."

"Card!"

After filming, Li Boda went behind the monitor and watched the scene with Xu Shanzheng.

"Shan Zheng, the angle of this scene is a bit off, look here..."

Li Boda discussed the shots with Xu Shanzheng, pointed out some problems, and told Xu Shanzheng how to use the camera and why.

Xu Shanzheng listened to what Li Boda was saying with a serious expression, and sometimes even took out his notes.

Xu Shanzheng came to the "Chu Xuan" crew as the executive director. Although he had all sorts of calculations in his heart, he did learn a lot after arriving at the crew. Li Boda was very generous and taught Xu Shanzheng a lot.

Xu Shanzheng himself was like a sponge, quickly absorbing the knowledge that Li Boda passed on to him, and his directing ability was also growing rapidly at a visible speed.

……

"Wenzhang, Bingbing, are you ready?" Li Boda asked Wenzhang and Fan Bingbing.

"Director, we're ready."

"Ready."

"As long as you're ready, that's fine. Hey, you extras, watch yourselves while we're filming. Don't try to take advantage of me during filming. I know all your names and where you're from. If you try anything funny during filming, I'll make sure you're imprisoned for at least a few years, understand?" Li Boda said sternly to the extras.

Li Boda's warning was absolutely necessary, because there are all kinds of people among the extras; some have no bad intentions, while others are full of evil schemes.

Taking advantage of actresses during filming is a common occurrence in many production crews.

So later on, when filming similar scenes, the production team would register the actors carefully to avoid any serious incidents from happening.

Although doing so can sometimes affect the extras' performance, making them feel restricted and causing frequent retakes.

However, having to do a few takes is always better than having the actor take advantage of the extras.

The extras nodded repeatedly after hearing Li Boda's words.

After everything is ready—

"Exon!"

In a slightly secluded alley, Wenzhang and Fan Bingbing walked happily into the camera's view. Wenzhang was talking to himself with a grin, gesturing occasionally. Fan Bingbing looked at Wenzhang with tenderness, her eyes filled with sweetness and love.

Just then, six or seven thugs appeared and surrounded Wen Zhang and Fan Bingbing.

"What... what do you want to do?" Herald's smile froze instantly, and then his expression naturally turned to fear. His voice trembled, and his legs even shook slightly.

"What do we want to do? What do you think? Is this girl your girlfriend? She's really pretty."

"Yeah, I've never been with a girl this pretty before."

"Kid, your girlfriend is so pretty, let her play with us for a bit, and we'll let you go."

Wen Zhang's face showed an angry expression, but the next moment, the anger turned into extreme fear, because he saw a knife appear in the hand of the thug in front of him.

"Kid—"

"Ah!!!" Emblem couldn't help but scream, then turned and ran, disappearing from the camera's view in the blink of an eye.

Fan Bingbing, who was left behind, stared wide-eyed, her face filled with disbelief.

The thugs were initially bewildered, but then they burst into laughter, surrounding Fan Bingbing.

"Cut! You guys loosen up a bit..."

Sure enough, because of Li Boda's warning during filming, these extras playing gangsters were a bit hesitant and couldn't let loose while filming.

However, Li Boda didn't scold them, because he knew very well why they were acting this way.

So, this one scene was rehearsed many times before it was finally passed smoothly.

The characters played by Wen Zhang, Zhang Heng, and Fan Bingbing, Ming Yanwei, had very few scenes; they were just guest stars in two scenes.

So they were able to leave the same day after filming.

However, after filming wrapped, only Wen Zhang left that day, while Fan Bingbing stayed.

……

After the wind and rain stopped, Fan Bingbing lay weakly in Li Boda's arms.

"You wouldn't let my brother play the role of Xiao Honglu, and now you won't let him play the role of Xiao Chuxuan either. Li Boda, you really went too far!" Fan Bingbing said in a soft voice.

"...No, I'm being unreasonable? Don't you have any idea what level your brother is at? Before the casting, didn't I ask you to bring your brother along? Didn't you see his performance?" Li Boda couldn't help but say.

"...My younger brother has also made great progress."

"...Perfect, you can stay on set for a couple more days and see how Rong Zishan acts. You'll understand why I chose Rong Zishan for the role of Xiao Chuxuan instead of your brother."

"Hmph, take a look if you want. He's just a little kid. How good can his acting be?"

……

Fan Bingbing stood off-camera, watching Rong Zishan, who wore glasses and had a calm expression, in front of the camera. She realized that Rong Zishan's acting skills were truly, truly amazing—

Well, it's not exactly great, but it's certainly decent enough. At least it's much better than her younger brother, Fan Chengcheng.

Although Rong Zishan couldn't quite portray that lifeless, stagnant gaze, the glasses she wore partially obscured her eyes, and the camera's adjustable lens made her performance look remarkably convincing.

"Cut! That scene is over. Zishan's performance was good. Everyone, take a half-hour break," Li Boda said with satisfaction.

Upon hearing that it was time to rest, Rong Zishan immediately ran to the side to find his mother.

Li Boda smiled and waved to Fan Bingbing.

After Fan Bingbing pouted and came to Li Boda's side, Li Boda asked directly, "How was it, Bingbing? What do you think of Rong Zishan's acting? If you had your younger brother, could he have performed at this level?"

"...Actually, my younger brother also has potential."

"It has potential, but it just can't be realized, right?" Li Boda chuckled.

Fan Bingbing couldn't help but roll her eyes: "Rong Zishan is better than my brother, okay? Seriously, what's the point of a little kid having such good acting skills?"

Hearing Fan Bingbing's mutterings, Li Boda couldn't help but laugh.

"It's not that Rong Zishan's acting skills are particularly good, but he is more talented in acting and easier to be trained."

"Tch! It's not like only those with good acting skills can succeed in the entertainment industry. I'll make my brother a star, let him sing and dance, and he'll still become a big star." Fan Bingbing said with a sneer.

“That’s the right way to think! From now on, let our brother sing and dance when he has free time. If necessary, let him act in idol dramas. With you protecting him, he will never lack resources.”

"..."

After spending two days on the set of "Chu Xuan," Fan Bingbing left with a belly full of—well, that's it.

After all, although Fan Bingbing only came to the "Chu Xuan" drama to play a guest role, in reality, as one of the most popular actresses, Fan Bingbing's work is still very busy. Whether it is filming or various activities, her time is completely filled.

It's already quite an achievement that Fan Bingbing was able to make a cameo appearance in the drama "Chu Xuan" and even stayed on set for two extra days after filming wrapped.

As for Fan Bingbing staying in Li Boda's room for two days during her stay on the set of "Chu Xuan", no one on the set said anything.

In reality, Li Boda's affairs with Fan Bingbing, and even with many other female stars, are not exactly secretive in the entertainment industry. There are quite a few news stories about Li Boda's romantic escapades in the entertainment circle. However, on the one hand, neither Li Boda nor the women have admitted to it, and on the other hand, no one has been able to produce any evidence. After all, given Li Boda's abilities, if he doesn't want anyone to obtain evidence, then absolutely no one will be able to.

So despite Li Boda's numerous scandals, he didn't cause much of a stir.

(End of this chapter)