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

Chapter 257 Chu Xuan Benxuan
"Card!"

Li Boda stood up, holding a megaphone: "I hereby announce that filming for 'I Am Not a Medicine God' has wrapped!"

After more than two months of filming, "Dying to Survive" has officially wrapped up.

Although it was in South Korea, the wrap party was still very lively.

Besides the cast and crew of "Dying to Survive," many South Korean celebrities also attended the wrap party.

Li Boda naturally welcomes these beautiful girl group members, female celebrities, and female artists.

If it weren't for the fact that Li Boda was about to fly to the United States to film "Infinite Terror 5", he really wouldn't mind staying in South Korea for a few more days.

After all, although most people in South Korea have had plastic surgery, they are indeed quite beautiful regardless of whether they have or not. It can only be said that South Korea is truly remarkable in the field of plastic surgery, regardless of other factors.

The next day, Li Boda took a plane back to Shanghai, handed over the film of "Dying to Survive" to the editing team, and explained his shooting ideas to the editors. After conveying the film's shooting concept and other details, Li Boda did not linger and flew directly to the United States.

Upon arriving at the set of "Infinite Terror," Li Boda, Zhao Liying, Yan Kuan, and others were warmly welcomed by the director, Xu Shanzheng.

After all, whether it's director Xu Shanzheng, or Zhao Liying and Yan Kuan, the reason they've gotten to where they are today is because of the opportunities given to them by Li Boda.

Yan Kuan, in particular, was genuinely grateful to Li Boda. After all, although Li Boda had a certain degree of fame in mainland China, he mainly acted in TV dramas, and usually played the second or third male lead. His salary, while not low, was certainly not high either. He could earn a few million yuan a year, which was about the maximum he could make.

But now, his salary for a single movie is ten to twenty million US dollars. At the same time, he only accepts leading roles now. He doesn't even need to consider roles that aren't leading roles.

The difference between a second-tier domestic movie star and an international superstar is astounding, and all of this was brought to him by Li Boda.

And most importantly, he and Li Boda had absolutely no prior relationship.

Take Zhao Liying, for example. She's a contracted artist with Li Boda's company. As for him, according to Li Boda, when Li Boda was working as an extra, he inadvertently helped him out. It wasn't a big favor, but Li Boda brought him such a big opportunity.

Yan Kuan sometimes feels uneasy just thinking about it.

Therefore, Yan Kuan was truly grateful to Li Boda. He even considered joining Li Boda's company as an artist after his current contract expired, so that he could feel more at ease.

Although Li Boda verbally criticized Xu Shanxiang for going too far by bringing him back by practically halting the entire production, he was undoubtedly quite pleased inside. After all, everyone has a bit of vanity.

After Li Boda arrived at the film crew, Xu Shanzheng did not rush to arrange scenes for Li Boda or have him start filming immediately.

Xu Shanzheng's main point was that Li Boda needed to adjust to the time difference after flying halfway around the world to the United States. Or rather, any normal person would need to adjust to the time difference after flying that far.

Although Li Boda himself didn't feel anything, he was happy to accept Xu Shanzheng's good intentions.

After all, Li Boda might not care about respect, but Xu Shanzheng couldn't refuse to give it.

For the first two days after arriving at the set of "Infinite Terror 5", Li Boda had no scenes to film.

However, in the past two days, Li Boda also watched some of the scenes that Xu Shanzheng had filmed before, and he was quite satisfied with the content that Xu Shanzheng had filmed.

Although Xu Shanzheng's use of camera angles is still somewhat raw, the overall quality of the filming is not bad. This makes sense, considering Xu Shanzheng previously served as assistant director on "Infinite Terror 4," working throughout the entire project. He's quite familiar with the "Infinite Terror" series, so it's unlikely he'll ruin "Infinite Terror 5" as director.

Then Li Boda selected some questions and spoke to Xu Shanzheng privately during a break.

Xu Shanzheng listened very carefully to Li Boda's suggestions and even asked Li Boda for advice on many filming issues.

Xu Shanzheng was grateful that Li Boda pointed out his problems when he returned home to rest at night, rather than during filming or in front of others.

After all, even though he only took on the role of director after Li Boda gave his approval, a director is a director, and his authority is indeed very important on set.

If Li Boda directly points out his problems in front of other actors and crew members, it will affect his authority as director on set, and may even affect the overall quality of the filming.

Xu Shanzheng was naturally even more grateful to Li Boda for considering his needs.

In fact, Li Boda did this after considering these issues as well.

Even before Li Boda came to the film crew, he had already made a decision that he would never have any disputes with Xu Shanxiang on set during filming. Even if there were any disagreements, they would be resolved privately rather than directly confronting Xu Shanxiang. After all, a director is a director, and no matter what his reasons were for becoming a director, his authority as a director does not allow for any choice. This is the foundation for making an excellent film.

Of course, after Li Boda arrived at the film crew, in addition to watching the footage that Xu Shanxiang had previously filmed and pointing out some problems, he also got along well with Fan Bingbing, Zhao Liying and the others.

After all, it's a reunion after a long separation!

Especially Fan Bingbing, dressed in an angel outfit and holding a Cupid's heart-shaped bow, was indeed quite exciting.

……

"The wisdom of mortals!" Li Boda pushed up his glasses, his eyes cold and devoid of any emotion.

"Cut! That's a wrap! That scene is a wrap! Brother Da, awesome, absolutely awesome! You really brought Chu Xuan to life, you *are* Chu Xuan himself! If I didn't know you were an actor, I would have thought you were Chu Xuan straight out of the movie." Xu Shanzheng clapped his hands excitedly and gave Li Boda two thumbs up.

Upon hearing this, Li Boda took off his glasses and revealed a faint smile.

He truly accepted Xu Shanzheng's praise without reservation.

Because this time, Li Boda's portrayal of Chu Xuan is truly, truly Chu Xuan himself.

Li Boda could even proudly say that no one in the world understands Chu Xuan better than him.

After all, Li Boda had personally experienced Chu Xuan's birth, growth, journey to the Main God Space, and even his death at the hands of Kayako.

Li Boda had personally experienced Chu Xuan's emotionless demeanor, that feeling of being locked in a dark room. No one but Li Boda could truly understand what that meant.

So when Li Boda played Chu Xuan this time, he was truly possessed by Chu Xuan. Every move he made, every word he said, every line he uttered, and even every subtle action he took were all those of Chu Xuan himself.

That's why Xu Shanzheng kept praising Li Boda's performance.

Li Boda's performance not only captivated Xu Shanzheng, but also the other members of the crew. Domestically, needless to say, they all regarded Li Boda as a god.

The foreigners and foreign actors in the crew were also captivated by Li Boda's performance.

Even during breaks from filming, many people came to Li Boda to ask if he was Chu Xuan and whether he possessed Chu Xuan's extraordinary wisdom.

Some people even came to Li Boda with math problems, wanting to ask him if he could solve them.

Especially after they learned that Li Boda was very capable and had created products with high-tech features such as the Rubik's Cube phone, some people even brought props and asked Li Boda if he could make them, such as the Green Devil flying skateboard.

Anyway, it feels kind of ridiculous.

……

"Brother Da, thank you for giving me the opportunity to direct 'Infinite Terror 5'." Xu Shanzheng thanked Li Boda again.

"Huh? Why are you bringing this up again?" Li Boda couldn't help but ask Xu Shanzheng.

"Hehehe, I just heard that director Zhang Yi's movie 'The Great Wall' has been released." Xu Shanzheng chuckled. "Hasn't 'The Great Wall' been released for a while now?" Li Boda said nonchalantly.

Li Boda paid almost no attention to Zhang Yimou's film "The Great Wall".

When "The Great Wall" was released, Li Boda was filming in South Korea and had no time or energy to pay attention to the movie. After finishing filming, Li Boda flew to the United States to film "Infinite Terror 5".

I was already quite lucky to have heard of the movie "The Great Wall," but I've never actually seen it in theaters and have no idea what it's about.

At most, Li Boda had only heard that the movie "The Great Wall" was a Sino-foreign co-production, just like the "Infinite Terror" series and "The Holy Grail War".

"It's been in theaters for a while now, and it's already off the screens. Do you know how much 'The Great Wall' grossed, Brother Da?" Xu Shanzheng asked with a chuckle.

"I really don't know about that; I haven't been following him," Li Boda shook his head.

"Only you, Brother Da, don't even pay attention to Director Zhang Yimou's movies. The global box office of 'The Great Wall' is only 300 million US dollars, only 300 million US dollars!" Xu Shanzheng excitedly held up three fingers.

"...Three hundred million US dollars, for a domestic film, that's not a low box office, is it?"

“Well, three hundred million US dollars at the box office is indeed not a small amount, but it depends on who you compare it to. Before, many people in China compared director Zhang Yimou with you. Didn’t many people say that Zhang Yimou’s ‘The Great Wall’ would definitely surpass your ‘Holy Grail War’ at the box office, and would at least reach a billion US dollars? Now that the three hundred million US dollar figure has been released, many people in China have fallen silent.” Xu Shanzheng chuckled.

Li Boda also smiled.

Although Li Boda didn't care too much about some of the voices in China, he was still somewhat bothered by being compared to Zhang Yimou for so long. This is why Li Boda suddenly wanted to make an art film and compete for awards.

Now, Zhang Yimou's big-budget Sino-foreign co-production film only costs 300 million US dollars. Li Boda was actually quite happy to hear this, especially after Xu Shanzheng said that many of the people who were originally making noise in China had fallen silent.

However, Li Boda looked at Xu Shanzheng's sly grin and his shifty eyes, and couldn't help but tease him: "I say, you're so happy, it's not because you're now the director of [Infinite Terror 5], and you think your movie will surpass Zhang Yimou's at the box office, that's why you're so happy, is it?"

"Uh, is it that obvious?" Xu Shanzheng subconsciously touched his face.

"What did you say?"

"Hehehehe." Xu Shanzheng couldn't help but chuckle mischievously again, his face full of pride.

……

Li Boda's time on the set of "Infinite Terror 5" was not long, only a month. His scenes were almost finished, and then he flew back to China.

The reason why Li Boda only stayed in the "Infinite Terror 5" crew for one month before filming all his scenes was because...

On the one hand, Chu Xuan's role in "Infinite Terror 5" was not very large. On the other hand, Xu Shanzheng intentionally concentrated Li Boda's scenes for filming, so that Li Boda could finish filming Chu Xuan's scenes earlier.

This wasn't something Li Boda requested; rather, Xu Shanzheng did it on his own initiative.

The reason for this is naturally because Li Boda himself has too much say in the production team of "Infinite Terror 5".

Even though Li Boda doesn't usually get involved in the affairs of the film crew, he simply acts as an actor.

However, even if Li Boda was only like that, he was in the crew of "Infinite Terror 5," and unknowingly, he became the center of the crew.

Who can blame them? Li Boda was the initiator of the "Infinite Terror" film series, the mastermind behind the series, and one of the biggest investors.

Therefore, as long as Li Boda was in the crew, everyone else in the crew subconsciously felt that Li Boda was the most important person.

Under such circumstances, Xu Shanzheng also felt uncomfortable. Li Boda clearly had no intention of vying for power with him, but Li Boda's very existence was already a power grab.

Unfortunately, Li Boda had already done a pretty good job, so Xu Shanzheng couldn't say anything. What could be done?
Naturally, the goal is to finish filming Li Boda's scenes as quickly as possible, and then get rid of him as soon as possible.

Therefore, Li Boda's scenes were filmed in a concentrated manner. Although Li Boda's scenes were deliberately postponed, the crew had not yet wrapped up filming even after Li Boda's scenes were finished.

Li Boda was well aware of this.

After all, he's so outstanding, and it's good that he finishes filming sooner and leaves the crew sooner.

After returning to China, Li Boda's first task was to check on the editing of "Dying to Survive". Once he confirmed that the editing was nearly complete, he would then consider the dubbing process.

For the film "Dying to Survive," Li Boda had to do two versions of the dubbing: one in Chinese and one in Korean.

As for the English version, and other language versions, the dubbing work for these versions is handled by the country where the film will be released, before the film's official release.

When the film "Dying to Survive" was in production, Li Boda was already considering which awards the film should aim for.

Of course, in reality, there isn't much of a choice.

Of the three major international film festivals, only the Venice International Film Festival remains for the film "Dying to Survive".

Since the Berlin Film Festival was already held in February, "Dying to Survive" will have to wait until next year to participate.

The same goes for the Cannes Film Festival, which was just held not long ago, and now only the Venice International Film Festival remains to be held.

Therefore, after the post-production of "Dying to Survive" was completed, Li Boda immediately submitted the film to the Venice International Film Festival.

As for the film "Dying to Survive," whether it can win an award at the Venice International Film Festival, to be honest, Li Boda thinks the chances are quite high, or rather, it's 100% certain that it will win an award; it's just a matter of what kind of award it will receive.

In Li Boda's view, the movie "Dying to Survive" was quite successful. Although it had a certain commercial aspect, it also reflected social issues and had a strong artistic quality.

Li Boda did not disclose any information regarding the application of the film "Dying to Survive" to the Venice International Film Festival.

The main issue is that if the news of "Dying to Survive" being submitted to the Venice International Film Festival is released, it will certainly excite and excite some movie fans, but it will also definitely make many movie fans ridicule Li Boda, and many people will even say that Li Boda is overestimating himself.

Li Boda is indeed very confident in "Dying to Survive," but there is still a long time before the Venice International Film Festival. As long as the results are not announced, there will definitely be people using this to attack Li Boda.

Li Boda is not a masochist, and at the same time, he doesn't need to use the Venice International Film Festival to promote his films.

So it's better to say nothing and wait until the Venice International Film Festival starts and the official list is released before announcing it.

Li Boda never intended to channel his energy into any kind of online novel, where he would first suppress his feelings, then be ridiculed, first be criticized, and then experience a reversal and a slap in the face.

This arrangement in the novel is quite enjoyable to read, after all, the initial repression followed by the release creates a very satisfying rhythm.

But in reality, aside from those with a masochistic streak, who the hell would willingly let others criticize them for months just to be proven wrong in a final remake? Would they really find that satisfying?

Novels are for readers, while reality is something you experience firsthand; these are two completely different feelings.

In addition, the movie "Infinite Terror 5" has finished filming, and the editing work is almost done. Then Li Boda got entangled with Xu Shanzheng.

"Brother Da, bro, why don't you lend a hand and take charge of the special effects work for [Infinite Terror 5]? You're just sitting around doing nothing anyway..." Just like Xu Ke before him, Xu Shanzheng wanted Li Boda to personally do the special effects for the movie.

(End of this chapter)