Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 367 Unbelievable News
The evening breeze in Chaidan Town carried dry sand and gravel across the makeshift tent area set up by the film crew. The filming of "The Martian" went smoothly, and the local weather cooperated by not raining.

The topic of "Bad Genius" continues to generate buzz these days, and then a rumor has surfaced.

"The script for 'Bad Genius' was specially tailored for Liu Yifei by the writing team."

The news quickly caused a new wave of turmoil in industry forums and group chats.

Such information is not uncommon in the past, but this time it's different.

This is because it's not "participation in creation," but rather "targeted development around a specific actor."

It's important to know that the screenwriting team is no ordinary group; it includes currently popular creators such as Wu Chen, Ning Hao, Xing Aina, and Yue Xiaojun.

Aside from Wu Chen, all the screenwriters in the film are exclusive screenwriters from Ning Hao's team, and they are all screenwriting teams for projects worth hundreds of millions of yuan.

Many actresses, initially shocked, were unwilling to believe it, and thus voiced their doubts and resentment within their respective circles:
"Surely not? A script specifically written for Liu Yifei? That's Ning Hao's exclusive screenwriting team."

“I believe you that the script was inspired by her image, and I believe you that she participated in the creation, but it’s an exaggeration to say that a team spent several months polishing the script just for her.”

"There are still people in the industry who receive this kind of treatment? Impossible, this..."

"."

Although everyone was reluctant to admit it, after looking at the list of screenwriters and thinking about it carefully, they felt a bit exhausted.

Because the efficiency of the script's initiation and approval process, as well as the casting schedule and announcement method, all seemed too "coordinated," even giving the impression of being "tailor-made for her."

With her starring role and Wu Chen making a special appearance, this level of collaboration made many actors realize that this was not just hearsay.

But a bitter feeling had already quietly crept over her lips and teeth.

What's even more sour is that actresses of similar age and in their prime are now the subject of much discussion.

In contrast, neither Wu Chen nor Ning Hao paid much attention to it, after all, it wasn't a big deal, and besides, it was indeed true.

Meanwhile, the entire industry's attention has gradually shifted to the upcoming Cannes Film Festival.

In the media editing room, as the Cannes reporting team was preparing their articles, someone suddenly mentioned:
"By the way, wasn't 'Mei Lanfang' supposed to be competing at Cannes this year?"

"Oh, they've changed their tune now, saying they can't make it to the later stages."

"real or fake?"

"It's true, the production team even issued a statement yesterday saying that they had never officially announced that they would be participating in Cannes."

As soon as the news broke, a barely audible chuckle filled the entire editorial office.

Everyone in the industry knows that Chen Kaige made the bold statement at the press conference for the start of filming of "Mei Lanfang" last year, saying that he would "break off another golden palm."

At this time, many people in the industry were secretly laughing.

As one of the most watched directors in China, he has many people who are jealous of him, both openly and secretly, especially within the industry.
However, the production team wasn't entirely inactive.

Just the next day, "Mei Lanfang" announced new sales results: the film's rights to the Japanese and South Korean regions had been sold for a high price, with sales in the Japanese market alone exceeding one million US dollars.

This can be considered a dignified way of "changing the subject".

It's not that we failed, it's just that we chose a different path.

Meanwhile, in Chaidan Town, upon hearing the news, Jiang Wen, while studying the script in a small tent behind the sand dunes, commented with a smile:
"Chen Kaige is a typical example of someone who suffers for the sake of saving face."

"Keep your voice down!" Wu Chen heard this and glanced around. Luckily, there was no one around, otherwise tomorrow would be Wu Chen and Jiang Wen's "The Martian" set commentary on Chen Kaige: "So concerned about saving face."
If this gets out, I'll be so embarrassed I'll want to scratch my toes.

"Director, we just had someone check the potato planting experiment chamber, and it's about to sprout!" a crew member suddenly shouted from behind.

"When will it sprout?" Wu Chen leaned back in his chair, flipping through the filming schedule.

"It takes seven days to germinate at room temperature, but if we artificially induce germination at a constant temperature, we can speed it up by three to four days."

"Seven days, that's about right. No need to pre-germinate it. Just leave it like this. Find someone to keep an eye on it and have a camera take continuous, timed shots of it."

"Filming all day?"

"Keep an eye on it around the clock and record continuously. Once it sprouts, just insert the material directly."

"it is good."

The potato planting scene is one of the core scenes in the film, and it's also the scene that truly embodies the "belief in the continuation of human civilization," so Wu Chen dared not be careless.

The crew immediately set up the camera, carefully covered a RED EPIC high-format camera lens with a humidifier, started timed continuous shooting, and arranged for a night shift assistant to watch over and record the data.

"Speaking of which, what if we kill this thing by planting it?" Jiang Wen asked rather inappropriately.

"You have a sharp tongue. You'll stay and keep watch tonight until the seedlings survive."

Everyone burst into laughter upon hearing this.

While "The Martian" was still being filmed, Huayi Brothers excitedly announced at an evening press conference that "The Forbidden Kingdom" had grossed over 1.5 million yuan at the Chinese box office and nearly 7000 million US dollars worldwide.

“We had a secret agreement beforehand that if the film’s global box office was less than 4000 million, it would be considered a failed investment, and the second collaboration would be shelved.”
If the box office reaches 5000 million, one of the two Js will appear; if the box office recoups the 7000 million US dollar cost within two weeks, the two Js will continue to work together on a sequel.

"A sequel is confirmed, and Li Binbin has been confirmed to stay on as a cast member."

When Michael Burns called Wu Chen to discuss Now You See Me 2, Wu Chen also inquired about it.

“A sequel?” Burns paused for a moment.

Wu Chen immediately understood Lionsgate's plan. Huayi Brothers was probably still immersed in its own world, and of course, they also took the opportunity to use this news to boost the domestic box office, which was in a slump.

"Wu, if only you had directed 'The Forbidden Kingdom' back then."

Michael Burns was a bit annoyed, mainly because "The Forbidden Kingdom" really didn't deserve to be made like this. How could the collaboration between Jackie Chan and Jet Li be so bad? It can only be said that hiring Rob Minkoff was one of the biggest mistakes.

Wu Chen smiled, didn't respond, and turned back to the main topic.

"Crystal won't be making a cameo appearance. I looked into it, and the storyline isn't really suitable for her, so let's just forget about it."

"Oh, okay, that's a pity. Let's reassess who would be a better fit."

"."

Meanwhile, Liu Yifei had already returned from attending Scarlett Johansson's engagement party. Although there weren't many photos of her, several portal websites had already published brief pictorial reports in their entertainment sections.

That evening, Wu Chen asked with a smile, "How was it?"

"Hehe, the two are very sweet. Scarlett said she plans to get married after she finishes filming 'Now You See Me 2,' which should be in September."

"."

(End of this chapter)