Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 276 A true gentleman, let Ning Hao handle it.

Beijing, July.

Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the curtains, falling like a thin golden thread onto Wu Chen's face, warm and gentle.

A clean, woody scent wafted through the room, mingling with the faint morning breeze and floral fragrance, creating a perfectly balanced atmosphere of life.

Wu Chen turned slightly to the side, his nose twitching gently, and a familiar, refreshing fragrance wafted towards him.

He slightly opened his eyes, his gaze falling on Liu Yifei's serene profile.

Her hair was a little messy, which made her look even more languid, and her fair arms were still tightly holding Wu Chen's arms.

Wu Chen smiled, but looked at the blanket and felt something was off.

Because today the blanket actually covered both of them properly, instead of kicking it to one side and only hugging a corner as usual.

"woke up?"

Wu Chen tilted his head, his hand, which was reaching for the bed, abruptly stopped. Instead, he raised his hand and used his finger to brush her lips together. "Get up!"

Liu Yifei remained motionless, seemingly still fast asleep, but Wu Chen clearly saw her eyelids tremble slightly.

Wu Chen chuckled inwardly and leaned closer.

Their cheeks touched lightly, and the tightly closed eyes snapped open, revealing bright smiles.

"How did you know I was awake?" Liu Yifei asked back, and then lightly touched Wu Chen's lips.

"What do you think?" Wu Chen gestured with his eyes towards the neatly covered blanket.

"Okay, hehe, junior brother was very well-behaved today, didn't make any inappropriate moves." Liu Yifei, who had just enjoyed a good morning kiss, slightly curled the corners of her mouth and sat up with a hum.

"Of course, I'm a gentleman. Get up quickly, I'll go buy some breakfast." Wu Chen got up quickly.

Liu Yifei couldn't help but glare at Wu Chen reproachfully. "Is this supposed to be a gentleman?"
He always liked to put his hands on her legs and would always massage her calves under the guise of giving a massage.

"Oh right, my mom wants us to go out for lunch. She said she bought a little extra groceries today," Liu Yifei said, standing up, picking up her phone, and speaking to Wu Chen, who was coming downstairs.

"it is good!"

Wu Chen responded as he changed his shoes.

Transformers was released on Thursday, but unfortunately, the box office figures for Black Peony on Tuesday hadn't been tallied by then.

While eating breakfast, Liu Yifei was still muttering to herself.

"If yesterday's box office was three or four million, the cumulative total would be close to 85 million. With today's gap, it could reach close to 90 million, and in the remaining half month, it has a chance to reach 100 million."
I wonder if a movie like Transformers will be a huge hit in the country!

"A huge explosion is inevitable!" Wu Chen said confidently, poking at the porridge in his bowl.

Liu Yifei raised her eyes: "Hmm?"

“The summer movie season is all about special effects blockbusters. Audiences love excitement and want to see something new and thrilling.” Before Wu Chen could finish speaking, his phone on the table suddenly rang.

Wu Chen recognized the North American area code immediately; he knew it was a call from James Wan.

As soon as the call connected, there was a lot of noise on the other end. James Wan immediately brought good news: filming for "Lurking" had wrapped up.

"So fast?" Wu Chen calculated the time; including preparation and filming, it was less than three months at most.

"Horror films are a genre that Hollywood produces hundreds of every year, and the production process is already very mature. As long as you have a script and a crew, you can start filming, and post-production is also simple."

James Wan smiled and replied, "By the way, Lionsgate people have come to visit the set several times."

"Okay, I'll talk to them when the later stages are almost finished."

Wu Chen nodded in agreement.

At noon, the sun shines brightly.

The box office figures for "Black Peony" have finally been released. Although it declined slightly compared to Monday, it still managed to record over three million, bringing its cumulative box office to nearly 8500 million.

Han Sanping was even more annoyed when he saw this result. If Transformers had been released a couple of days later, it would have easily broken 100 million. Now that things have changed, there is still a lot of suspense.

Transformers is indeed a formidable force, with 20 cinemas from four different theater chains in Beijing participating in tomorrow's midnight premiere, and each chain all allocating nearly 5% of the screenings to it.

The entrances of some large cinemas were exceptionally lively, with various "Transformers" models set up for movie fans to take photos, creating an atmosphere like a carnival.

At the same time, discussions within the industry were in full swing.

Major media outlets published headlines on their pages, each more sensational than the last, as if trying to ignite this box office battle into a raging inferno.

[Art-house film box office dark horse! "Black Peony" is coming on strong against "Transformers," with breaking 100 million yuan a suspenseful question!]

[Black Peony's box office is approaching 8500 million! Can it withstand the box office impact of Transformers?] [Summer blockbuster showdown: Art films vs. special effects blockbusters, who will have the last laugh?]

[The miracle of "Black Peony" continues! Its path to surpassing 100 million yuan in box office revenue is blocked by "Transformers"!]

【.】

Amidst this commotion, the movements of top domestic directors have once again drawn the attention of people both inside and outside the industry.

Outside the studio of Beijing Film Studio, a bright red banner stood out prominently: "Wishing the film crew a successful start and smooth filming!"

Under the banner, Chen Kaige's "Mei Lanfang" production team officially announced the start of filming. The opening ceremony was complete with incense tables, cannons, and flowers, creating a lively and festive atmosphere.

Meanwhile, the crew of Ning Hao's "Crazy Racer" hung up another banner in Lujiang – "Congratulations on wrapping up filming! A complete success!"

Wu Chen brought Liu Yifei to Ning Hao's studio for a visit, and the atmosphere among them was relaxed and pleasant.

Ning Hao lay comfortably on the sofa, his hands behind his head, and squinted as he sighed, "It's still so comfortable in familiar places."

"Sister, was filming 'Racing' very difficult?" Liu Yifei asked Xing Aina with a puzzled look and curiosity in her eyes.

Xing Aina laughed upon hearing this: "Don't mind him. That's just how he is. He filmed for less than three months, and it was still in Lujiang. He acted as if he had gone to our Western Regions desert to film. As soon as he got home, he just lay down."

His tone was teasing.

Ning Hao didn't refute this, but waved his hand and muttered to himself with half-closed eyes:

"You know what, after the six months we lived in the Western Regions, I still think that place is particularly suitable for shooting road movie. It's just that I haven't figured out how to approach it yet."

Wu Chen knew that Ning Hao wanted to make a film called "No Man's Land".

This is indeed a good movie, but unfortunately it was released at the wrong time, and the subject matter happened to be in a sensitive area.

"By the way, senior brother, have you been busy for the past six months to a year?" Wu Chen suddenly asked.

"Nothing much to do." Ning Hao raised an eyebrow and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I have an idea that I think would be quite suitable for you, senior brother. Would you like to consider it?" Wu Chen smiled, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Hmm? What are your thoughts?" Ning Hao became interested and sat up straighter.

Xing Aina also looked at Wu Chen curiously.

Wu Chen then proceeded to elaborate on the story concept of "Bad Genius":
A mainland immigrant girl born in Hong Kong, she attends an elite secondary school on a scholarship. She is a genius with strong logical reasoning skills, calm and collected, and reserved and aloof.

He came from a poor family; his father was a taxi driver.

Initially, it was just to help a friend get into a test-taking program through connections and earn some living expenses.
"Hong Kong girl, elite high school, scholarship, high IQ cheating," Ning Hao repeated, his brows gradually relaxing, but his eyes growing brighter, before a hint of doubt appeared on his face. "You mean cheating using time differences? How exactly does that work?"

Wu Chen, unhurriedly, reached for a notepad on the coffee table, picked up a pen, and quickly wrote a few lines: SAT Hong Kong test time: 8:00 AM, UTC+8.

“We just need to find a region in UTC+11 or 12, finish the exam in advance, and then send the answers to Hong Kong using existing transmission methods,” he said, chuckling softly.

Xing Aina's eyes flickered slightly: "Australia? New Zealand?"

"Sister Na is really good at geography!" Wu Chen exclaimed. "Yes, Sydney, Australia, observes daylight saving time at UTC+11."

New Zealand is an hour or two ahead of Sydney, which is theoretically ideal, but if the goal is to create a sense of urgency in the film, Sydney, Australia, would be the most suitable.

"This is an interesting subject matter. Is the movie made for Iphie?"

Ning Hao pondered for a moment, feeling that it had great potential, and that Hong Kong was suitable for filming this kind of subject matter. He felt that he was also suitable for this style, so he asked with a smile.

Wu Chen smiled slightly, remaining silent in tacit agreement.

"What, is Yifei not qualified to star in your movie?" Xing Aina said with a laugh, holding Liu Yifei's hand.

“Sister Na.” Liu Yifei smiled, her cheeks slightly flushed.

Ning Hao couldn't help but laugh: "Yifei is definitely fine, but her rivals are the problem. Fortunately, judging from your description, it seems to be a female-centric movie, so it's not a big deal."

"Yifei, once this movie gets out, other actresses will be green with envy," Xing Aina joked. At this moment, Ning Hao spoke up.

"What's wrong with that? The resources that can be filmed are definitely for our own people."

"Yes, yes, so your movies are always the same few awful characters." Xing Aina also started to complain at this point.

"Yifei, you have no idea. During my two months in Lujiang, I saw so many people on the film crew. It was such a headache. There wasn't a single good-looking person. They were all just young people with strong personalities and middle-aged people."

Upon hearing this, the group burst into laughter.

(End of this chapter)