This director lacks vision.

Chapter 267: Taking the Head Start
Just as Jiang Yifeng had suspected, Han Sanping was very interested in Oriental Legend Company.

The three parties had a very pleasant conversation, and the general framework for cooperation was quickly agreed upon.

Oriental Legend Film Company was established with a joint investment of 3000 million US dollars from Fengxing Media, Huaying Group and Legendary Pictures.

The company is headquartered on Hong Kong Island and aims to target the global film market.

The final shareholding structure is 40% for Fengxing Media, 30% for Huaying Group and 30% for Legendary Pictures.

The first movie produced after the company was founded was John Wick.

With the help of Legendary Pictures, preparations for John Wick went much more smoothly.

Jiang Yifeng then focused more of his energy on filming Youth With You.

Filming for this idol drama was completed and wrapped up smoothly on February 6th, the Lantern Festival.

Jiang Yifeng spent a week sorting out and arranging the company's work schedule so that he could fly directly from Beijing to Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, on February 13.

After the plane landed, producer Li Shaowei and his team came to greet them.

"President Jiang, it's getting late. Let's rest in Prague for the night and then take a car to Český Krumlov tomorrow."

"Okay, thank you for your hard work."

Li Shaowei is a producer newly recruited before the company went public, and he is currently in charge of producing "Stranger Things" and "John Wick".

Despite his lack of fame, he has an excellent resume.

He has served as executive producer on numerous domestic and international films, including The Emperor and the Assassin, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero, The Forbidden Kingdom, Tomb Raider, and The Dark Knight.

Many film producers are nominal producers, mainly using their connections and resources; the ones who actually work on the set are the executive producers.

Li Shaowei is very capable and has experience working with foreign film companies. Fengxing Media recruited him mainly to be in charge of overseas film and television production.

This is also a great opportunity for Li Shaowei himself.

He previously lacked connections and resources, and worked as an executive producer. After joining Fengxing Media, he began serving as the chief producer, and he was full of enthusiasm.

Besides the four women—Very Sweet, Gao Yuanyuan, and Jiang Yifeng—who were on vacation, there were also a group of bodyguards and assistants, as well as some crew members from Fengxing Media. The team was quite large, and Li Shaowei called a bus to pick them up.

After getting on the bus, Li Shaowei introduced, "Prague is the center of Europe and a place of four wars, having experienced the rule of different countries."

Therefore, the city has buildings of different styles left over from various historical periods, among which the Baroque and Gothic styles are the most popular.

This place is also known as the City of a Thousand Cities and the City of Culture.

Soon our car will be driving through Prague, including the famous Prague Square.

Prague's architecture is very distinctive, especially the rooftops, which are painted in a variety of colors.

It was 5:30 pm, and the sun was about to set.

The afterglow of the setting sun shines on Prague's colorful buildings, making them look like an oil painting.

As the bus drove into the city, it felt like a fairy tale had come to life. Jiang Yifeng thought it was beautiful, let alone the four beautiful women who were there for tourism.

Liu Yifei was the most enthusiastic; she sat by the window taking pictures non-stop.

Shu Chang complained, "Let me take the photos. Your photography skills are terrible. You're wasting such a beautiful view."

Liu Yifei was not convinced.

"A scholar should be looked at with new eyes after three days' absence! I learned photography from Lao Jiang, and now I'm a photography expert!"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yifeng quickly clarified, "No, I'm not your photography teacher. Don't try to claim we're related. I can't afford to lose face like that."

Liu Yifei: "..."

Seeing Liu Yifei's speechless expression, the car erupted in laughter.

Jiang Yifeng then joked, "God is fair; he opens the door to beauty for you, but closes another door."

Jing Tian asked curiously, "What door?"

Jiang Yifeng said, "The shutter of the photo!"

"Hahahaha!"

The laughter in the car grew even louder.

Liu Yifei's photography skills are so bad that everyone can see it.

Amidst laughter and cheerful conversation, the car arrived at the hotel.

Jing Tian tried to run away again tonight, but Gao Yuanyuan stopped her.

Four women sat around a table and started playing mahjong.

Jiang Yifeng was in the middle, responsible for distributing chips. He would give chips to whoever won, keeping him very busy.

Gao Yuanyuan and her three friends were tourists. According to their itinerary, they would first spend three days in Prague, and then go to other places to visit.

Jiang Yifeng, on the other hand, is busy filming.

We need to split into two groups.

The four women had bodyguards and assistants with them, and they didn't go to any dangerous places, so their safety was guaranteed.

The next morning, while the four beauties were still catching up on sleep, Jiang Yifeng took a car to Český Krumlov.

This small town is located in southern Bohemia, and it has churches, castles, and the Vltava River flowing through it.

Every evening or morning, the riverbanks are shrouded in mist, and the churches and castles are shrouded in the mist, creating a wonderfully mysterious atmosphere.

In addition, Český Krumlov boasts castle galleries, painted walls, and dense forests, making it a suitable location for Stranger Things.

Jiang Yifeng fell in love with the place after he arrived.

What came to his mind was not inspiration for filming Strange Things, but rather scenes of high-speed chases.

Especially after seeing the church, Jiang Yifeng wanted to combine the church's solemnity with the gang's bloody fighting, and film a violent scene of killing with a long knife in the cathedral.

Blood was splattered in the solemn church, as if a ritual of hell and devil's sacrifice was taking place inside the church, creating a strong sense of contrast and tension.

When Jiang Yifeng entered the film crew, Hastings was already there.

Netflix's stock price is still at the bottom, and the company's business transformation is still facing much skepticism.

Hastings pinned his hopes on his two self-produced shows, "Stranger Things" and "House of Cards".

He took "Stranger Things" very seriously and personally participated in the entire production process.

Upon seeing Jiang Yifeng, Hastings first gave him a warm hug, then said with a smile, "Jiang, let me introduce you to the actors in the crew."

This is Winona Ryder, a well-known Hollywood actress.

Hastings first introduced Winona Ryder, the biggest star in the Stranger Things cast.

This actress has many representative works, has been nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress, and is both famous and a good actress. Crucially, her salary is not high, making her very cost-effective. In the series, she plays Will's mother, Joyce, a key figure in the middle-aged cast.

Stranger Things is a multi-narrative series, and the characters can be divided into three groups.

One group is the junior group, consisting of children around ten years old; the other group is the youth group, consisting of older children.

The last group is the middle-aged group, centered around Joyce and police officer Jim.

The three separate narratives better showcase the different reactions of the townspeople after the monster's appearance, while also increasing the suspense of the story.

After introducing Winona, Hastings said with a smile, "These are D'Addario and Sidney. I carefully selected them according to your requirements."

They are all very attractive and have experience acting in fantasy dramas.

As a commercial film director, Jiang Yifeng has a good habit of adding elements that audiences like to his films, such as busty women and good figures, to increase the appeal.

Therefore, his requirements for actresses in the youth group are that they have good figures and are beautiful.
The requirement for the junior group is to find child actors with acting experience, preferably those who have acted in fantasy or thriller dramas, so that it will be easier to work together.

Unexpectedly, Hastings gave him another surprise, finding a large husky named Daddario and a Sydney girl named Sidney.

Although Sidney was only 14 years old, he had already acted in fantasy thrillers such as "Zombie Destruction" and "Pleasant Dojo"; Daddario also acted in the fantasy film "The Lightning Thief".

Their appearance and work experience perfectly matched Jiang Yifeng's requirements.

It's no surprise that Hastings found them by following the clues.

"Hello Director Jiang, I'm Daddario!"

At the time, D'Addario was 25 years old. Although she was very beautiful and had a great figure, she was not famous. Stranger Things was a rare opportunity for her.

She knew she had to perform well, especially in front of Jiang Yifeng, the producer and director.

So she even learned this Chinese phrase in advance.

Although it sounded a bit strange, at least she got it all out, showing her sincerity and attitude.

Sidney, on the other hand, was less proactive; teenage girls tend to be more easygoing.

She gave a perfunctory greeting and then fell silent.

Jiang Yifeng didn't pay any attention to it.

Hastings then introduced Harper, who plays the police officer, and Asa Butterfield, who plays the male lead, Mike.

After getting to know the creative team, Jiang Yifeng immediately got to work.

He first walked around the film set, looked at the set's "town" layout, and then checked the actors' makeup and costumes.

It has to be said that D'Addario, who didn't actively try to reduce his breast size, is truly amazing.

With her large, bright blue eyes, striking features, and stunning figure, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe her at this moment using a phrase that's been overused in the media: an embodiment of both angel and devil.

After carefully reviewing the makeup and styling of the lead actors, Jiang Yifeng offered his suggestions.

"The actors' makeup and styling are too dark, that won't do."

We can't start by creating a depressing atmosphere and keep the audience's emotions suppressed, as that would be detrimental to building suspense.

What I need is a small American town in the 80s, with some mundane things in life, but overall peaceful and happy.

The younger group can adopt the Beatles-style bowl cut or bob haircut, paired with a sporty headband to highlight their youthfulness and energy;

The youth group should at least have blonde curly hair and an afro, while female characters can try blue-green eyeshadow and fluorescent blush, which are classics of 80s rock and disco culture.

In terms of the environment, there must be a Star Court shopping mall, a disco ball skating rink, and an arcade. Advertisements for products such as Kellogg's waffles can also appear, all of which represent life in the 80s.

Furthermore, the interior decoration of this house requires more than just an old-fashioned television set; floral wallpaper and velvet sofas are also necessary. Attention to detail is crucial to creating a sense of history.

Hearing Jiang Yifeng's words, most people were shocked, and everyone felt that the crew's pre-production preparations were already very thorough.

I didn't expect Jiang Yifeng to offer so many suggestions just on the setting and character makeup.

Hastings asked, "Jiang, are you trying to perfectly recreate the life of a small-town America in the 80s?"

Actually, I think it's fine as long as it's roughly the same, since our small town setting is somewhat fictional.

This is a fantasy drama, so the storyline is more important; otherwise, they wouldn't have chosen to film it in the Czech Republic.

Jiang Yifeng shook his head and asked in return, "I wonder if you've ever seen a variety show I produced called 'Back to the Countryside'?"

"This really doesn't exist."

"The Longing for Life is very popular in China, reaching over 100 million viewers. The reason why people love to watch it is because they are tired of the fast-paced life in the city and yearn for the slow life in the countryside."

This logic applies to Stranger Things as well.

Many Americans are also tired of the fast pace and high cost of living in big cities, especially after the subprime mortgage crisis, their lives have become increasingly difficult.

At times like these, one might reminisce about the wonderful life in a small town in the 80s.

Therefore, our drama must achieve the best sense of period setting in order to stand out from the crowd.

We chose to film in the Czech Republic to create a sense of fantasy and suspense, but we also wanted to try our best to recreate the historical feel of the town.

At least some elements can be seamlessly integrated.

The success of Stranger Things is largely due to its effective portrayal of the era, which resonated with many Western audiences.

Upon hearing Jiang Yifeng's words, Hastings exclaimed, "Now I understand why you were able to succeed."

They have an exceptional market sense, a clear product positioning, and an admirable professional attitude!

If you don't succeed, who will?

Hastings was very pleased with Jiang Yifeng's various requests for improvement.

He wished Jiang Yifeng would be more meticulous and make more demands so that the drama could be filmed to its best.

Jiang Yifeng hadn't been coming to the set before, and communication had been done remotely, which had given Hastings some complaints.

He was worried that Jiang Yifeng would only show up for work but not actually put in the effort.

In retrospect, all my worries were unnecessary.

The improvement suggestions Jiang Yifeng just made show that he has done a lot of research on the United States and has a lot of knowledge before filming.

Not only Hastings was impressed, but the other creators were too.

Especially after everyone made improvements based on Jiang Yifeng's ideas, the effect was immediate, greatly enhancing the sense of nostalgia.

Everyone could clearly feel Jiang Yifeng's directing ability.

Jiang Yifeng made a strong first impression and established his prestige on the set, which will make the subsequent filming much smoother.

(End of this chapter)