Internet moguls are being held hostage by the entertainment system!

Chapter 233 Popular celebrities have little effect on movies

Oriental Movie Metropolis, the location of the film crew of "The Wandering Earth".

With a scruffy beard and dark circles under his eyes from staying up all night, Guo Fan arrived excitedly at the screenwriter's office where the film crew was located. He slammed the door open, waking everyone who was dozing off at their desks inside.

"Old Guo, what's wrong with you?"

"Director Guo, did you manage to collect any donations today?"

"Brother Fan, I've got a great idea! What do you think about having Han Duoduo give a speech via global broadcast at the end, like a live stream?"

"..."

Everyone chimed in with their own opinions, some complaining, some joking, some offering suggestions—all sorts of ideas converging in this narrow, smoke-filled office.

"Clap clap clap!"

Guo Fan clapped his hands a few times to quell the discussion, then looked at everyone with undiminished excitement.

"Jingjing, that idea you mentioned for the speech is good. Write it down, and we'll discuss how to add it later."

The script for "The Wandering Earth" has been approved. The current revisions are simply to refine the details without altering the general plot.

After finishing his work, Guo Fan straightened his expression and said, "I have some good news to announce to everyone."

"What?" *N
After glancing at the bewildered crowd, Guo Fan chuckled twice, first whetting their appetites.

"Let me ask you a question: Who is the biggest investor in our production team?"

"China Film Group?"

"Okay, who is our second largest investor?"

"Wanda?"

"Besides Wanda, is there another company with the same investment share as Wanda?"

"Datang Pictures!"

Shen Jingjing, the only female editor in the Little Broken Ball crew who just suggested to Guo Fan that Han Duoduo do a radio speech and who holds multiple positions, revealed the answer.

Guo Fan clapped twice more, and feeling that it was enough, he announced, "Chen Xiu, the chairman of Datang Pictures, the second largest investor in our production, is here at Oriental Movie Metropolis to film a new project. He will be visiting the 'Wandering Earth' production team today, so let's get ready!"

"WoW~"

The crowd cheered insincerely, but the reaction wasn't very strong.

Guo Fan smacked his lips and announced again, "I'm going to ask him for alms again!!"

"W~ow~~, okay!!"

"Bah bang bang!!"

Thunderous applause erupted in the small office!
Everyone wore a smile that was now considered normal.

Guo Fan touched his nose, feeling that his authority as a director had been completely worn away in the process of getting along well with his colleagues.

Just as everyone was cheering, Guo Fan's good friend, Gong Ge'er, who was also one of the screenwriters in the crew, suddenly said, "Old Guo, why don't you bring President Chen over to play the male lead!"

"That's a good idea!"

Ye Junce, one of the screenwriters who was tricked by Guo Fan, echoed this sentiment. He was originally a special effects teacher at Peking University.

Looking at his brothers and sisters who were making it harder for him to beg for alms, Guo Fan pursed his lips and said, "I'll try my best. I promise everyone, I will definitely try my best!"

After saying that, he turned and walked towards the entrance of the photography studio.

……

"You two had a map, but you still got lost?"

Looking at Meng Ziyi's clear eyes and Chen Duling's flushed face, Chen Xiu felt speechless and thought to herself: "I already told you I'd send someone to pick you up, but you insisted on finding your own way, and then you were so incompetent..."

Meng Ziyi blinked his bright eyes and chuckled, "All the studios here look the same. We got completely disoriented after walking around for a while. It's normal to get lost, okay?"

"Hmm~~, where did the original map come from?"

"I asked someone else for it..."

Chen Duling raised her hand guiltily. She was the one who volunteered to lead the team, and ended up leading herself, Meng Ziyi, and their assistants—a total of four people—astray.

"You want it?"

Chen Xiu looked at her uncertainly.

Thinking about how she obtained the map, Chen Duling's guilty conscience deepened, but she still insisted, "Yes! I need it."

"Fine! Why don't you guys stay on set and wait for me to come back? I'm visiting someone on set and checking on their progress, not going out to play."

"Since you're going, I definitely have to go with you!"

"The literal meaning is gone, I can't just stay on set alone, can I?"

Chen Xiu looked left and right, and could only nod silently and walk forward.

Meng Ziyi quickly followed, but after taking two steps, he remembered to turn back and check if Chen Duling had followed.

And so, the three of them walked through five film studios and finally arrived at the location where the "Wandering Earth" crew was located.

Looking at the sign in front of her, Chen Duling silently took two steps back, then took out her phone to look at the hand-drawn map saved in the photos.

Wow?! It really is here!
Chen Duling shouted in her heart.

Just as she was wondering whether to open the recruitment app and check the information, a smiling, somewhat tired and haggard-looking young man suddenly walked out of the photography studio.

"Director Guo, it's been a long time!"

Hearing Chen Xiu's address and seeing him step forward to shake hands with the other person, Chen Duling immediately threw her phone into her pocket, no longer daring to look at it. Guo Fan looked at Chen Xiu with excitement, as if he were looking at a wealthy and easy-going person.

"Mr. Chen, it's been a long time. And who are these two?"

"Meng Ziyi, an artist from my company, came with me. Hey? The one standing a little further away is Chen Duling, also a friend of mine."

"Oh, hello."

Guo Fan greeted her with a smile, but for some reason, he felt that Chen Duling's gaze was somewhat evasive.

How's the film crew doing now?

Chen Xiu asked, indicating that he was paying attention to the "Wandering Earth" production team and knew that Guo Fan had been busy with set construction, prop making, and script improvement for the past year.

Upon hearing the client's question, Guo Fan stopped thinking about Chen Duling's unusual reaction.

“Weta Workshop has made five costumes according to our requirements, and we have also designed a moving transport vehicle.”

Five sets of costumes? But only one transport vehicle?

"Uh, right, I plan to film all the cockpit interior scenes designed for the movie in that car. It's good to use resources where they're most needed!"

"……Thanks for your hard work."

Besides this, Chen Xiu didn't know what else to say.

After all, Guo Fan's frugality is also a way of being responsible for the investors' money.

Chen Xiu thought that Guo Fan was so frugal that if she asked him about the preparations and asked him to explain in detail, she would feel a little embarrassed. So she simply kept quiet and decided to go into the studio to see the preparations of The Wandering Earth firsthand.

Unexpectedly, Guo Fan became addicted to playing the victim, and even when Chen Xiu didn't ask, he started to reveal the situation of the film crew to her.

"Mr. Chen, all the screens used in the production crew were bought by the art director from the second-hand market in Qingdao, by weight."

"That should be a great deal."

"Yes, the art teacher also went to a local electronics store and moved the owner so much that he came over to help the crew repair a lot of equipment and even provided some props."

"There are still such good people..."

"The props and set construction issues are relatively easy to resolve; the problem now is finding actors!"

"What's wrong with actors now?"

Chen Xiu looked at Guo Fan with a scrutinizing gaze. For some reason, he felt that this director, who looked like an IT guy, was intentionally guiding and manipulating him.

Meng Ziyi and Chen Duling were also watching Guo Fan. Their thoughts were simple: This film crew is too poor. Xiu Ge'er (Chen Xiu) is not a stingy person! Why is this director begging for alms everywhere?

Guo Fan breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that he had laid so much groundwork to finally bring Chen Xiu to this issue.

"Mr. Chen, according to the script, the male lead is a 19-year-old young man, and the female lead is a 15-year-old girl."

"This doesn't seem hard to find."

"The female lead is relatively easy to find, but for the male lead, I want to find an actor who can bring popularity and attention to the film, but such actors are very expensive, and our budget is limited."

What is your budget?

Guo Fan gave an awkward but polite smile, then slowly raised his hand and extended one finger.

Seeing this, Chen Xiu guessed why Guo Fan wanted to talk to her about actors and began to think about it.

He remained silent, but Meng Ziyi, who had been holding back for a long time, couldn't help but start guessing the riddle.

"A 1000 million yuan salary?"

In this era of soaring actor salaries, 1000 million is really not much.

However, Guo Fan calmly shook his head.

Meng Ziyi looked at Guo Fan warily. Knowing how poor the Little Broken Ball crew was, she naturally didn't think she had guessed too little; it could only be that she had guessed too much.

"It can't be a million, can it?"

"Hehe, our budget for the male lead is 10."

Upon hearing this number, Meng Ziyi almost popped his eyes out, thinking: This production team is too stingy. Just how much money did Xiu Ge invest in them?

Looking at Guo Fan, who had finished his buildup, Chen Xiu raised his hand and patted him on the shoulder, saying calmly, "I feel that you've misunderstood something."

"Huh? What?"

"Traffic stars have no effect on movies. The National Day release of 'L.O.R.D.: Legend of Ravaging Dynasties' and the release of 'The Great Wall' two weeks ago have fully demonstrated this point. The traffic stars in these two movies combined are close to the total market value. And what is the result? In our film market, there is no such thing as actors' box office appeal. As long as you make a good movie, it will not be buried."

"..."

Guo Fan stared at Chen Xiu with his mouth slightly agape, unsure of what to do.

Meng Ziyi and Chen Duling were also surprised by these remarks, but out of habit, they still felt that Chen Xiu must have a reason for saying that.

Meeting Guo Fan's surprised gaze, Chen Xiu said, "What's the point of choosing a popular star as the male lead? Avatar is the world's highest-grossing film. Who cares who the male lead is? Everyone only remembers James Cameron. Even if he cast a third-rate star as the male lead, the audience wouldn't care!"

"I was willing to invest in 'The Wandering Earth' because I saw in your project proposal a group of people who were serious about their work, I saw your ideals and determination, and I saw your real efforts to achieve this goal."

"So……"

Chen Xiu stopped and looked at Guo Fan expressionlessly.

Realizing that Chen Xiu had something important to say, Guo Fan subconsciously straightened his chest and met his gaze.

Chen Xiu stared at Guo Fan for two seconds, then reached out and picked up the name tag hanging around his neck. She said solemnly, "Guo Fan, are you determined to become China's James Cameron, the one who leads science fiction films to a breakthrough?"

(End of this chapter)