In the entertainment industry, everyone has been reborn, but who will be their servant?

Chapter 114 Switching Roles
The film industry in Shanghai is currently very weak, and it's very difficult for their actors to get a role in a movie.

You have to rely on people from the Beijing and Hong Kong film circles to get roles here, so from God's perspective, Shanghai stars are the least prestigious.

Their stars are inherently inferior to those in the Hong Kong and Beijing entertainment circles, which has always been a sore point for the Shanghai entertainment circle.

There's nothing we can do about it. After all, their movies are weak and they have few resources, but their television shows are strong and they have a large audience, which is true, but it doesn't translate into box office success or prestige.

Talent and idol status seem to be inherently opposed.

Do you think Hu Ge and his ilk don't want to act in movies? Nobody's mentoring them, and their circle lacks film production talent and top directors, so this is the only way they can do it.

For decades, I've been working in television. Even when I act in movies, I'm relegated to the sidelines, and the lead roles go to others, no matter how famous I am.

Qin Xuan not only gave them one lead role this time, but also brought along a large group of Shanghai celebrities, which made Ren Zhonglun happy.

When you're happy like this, things become much easier to discuss regarding investments.

"What about the investment?" Qin Xuan asked tentatively.

“No problem, you decide how much Director Zhou invests, and Shanghai Film Group will cover the rest.” Ren Zhonglun readily agreed.

The main reason was that Qin Xuan offered many benefits, and also because they wanted a big-name director to lend his support. Everyone knew that Director Xuan didn't get along with the Beijing film circle, and even China Film Group didn't invest in him, so Shanghai Film Group would definitely give him their full support.

What the Beijing circle doesn't want, the Shanghai circle should seize!

Ye Ning relaxed. She hadn't expected this person to be so capable; he had hit the nail on the head with just a few words.

Of course, he knew it was a mutually beneficial arrangement.

Zhou Li, a middle-aged woman, smiled slightly and said, "I want to invest more, but that's not allowed."

“You can invest. If you invest more, I’ll invest less; if you invest less, I’ll invest more. We can discuss it.” Ren Zhonglun was quite familiar with her, since they lived close by and had dealings with each other.

It doesn't really matter how much he invests; what he wants is to boost the Shanghai entertainment circle and prevent people from looking down on him.

Having been humiliated by "Lust, Caution" before, he specifically reviewed the script this time to make sure there were no problems!
"It's not much. Ten million for the film fund, ten million for Jiangnan Broadcasting, and twenty million for you!" Zhou Li said, looking at Ren Zhonglun.

“No problem, Shanghai Film Group will contribute 20 million.” Ren Zhonglun turned to Qin Xuan and asked, “Do you have any shortfall?”

He had previously heard that the budget was 80 million.

"That's enough, thank you both for your support. I'll host a banquet for you another day." Qin Xuan clasped his hands in a fist salute.

Although he doesn't like the drinking culture, it's necessary anyway, that's what the investors are talking about.

"No need for dinner. Just focus on making this movie well. If it does a good job and gets high box office returns, we'll treat you to a meal," Ren Zhonglun said.

"Those executives need to prepare in advance," Qin Xuan said with a smile.

"Haha, I love this confidence in young people!"

After discussing the investment, the conversation became much more lively with other topics.

Currently, Wanda has 30 million, Enlight Media has 10 million, the Film Fund has 10 million, Jiangnan Broadcasting has 10 million, and Shanghai Film Group has 20 million, totaling 80 million.

These companies also need to provide corresponding resources: Wanda will provide cinema chains to help with overall coordination; Enlight Media will provide publicity and distribution resources; Jiangnan Media will provide local cinema chains and cultural resources; and Shanghai Film Group will provide local cinema chains and help build filming locations.

The new force's team provides the creative work, while all investors and related parties perform their respective duties.

I must say, this configuration is pretty powerful!
The news of Shanghai Film Group's investment in "Nanjing Photo Studio" naturally reached the ears of the two Wangs of Huayi Brothers, Zuo Shandiao of China Film Group, and Fatty Yu of Bona Film Group, as well as some people in the Hong Kong entertainment circle.

After all, they were keeping a close eye on President Xuan's movements and that movie, yet they automatically categorized Qin Xuan as part of the Shanghai circle.

"This kid's made it into the Shanghai circle," Zuo Shandiao sighed. He didn't know if it was a good thing or a bad thing, but he still thought highly of Qin Xuan's abilities.

After all, it's not something an ordinary person could do to put on such a large show in such a short time.

“Actually, we should have realized earlier that he was going to work for the Shanghai film industry. The Shanghai film industry lacks film production capabilities, and his presence would complement the Shanghai film industry perfectly. But we don’t need to worry, we have the Beijing and Hong Kong film industries, so the advantage is on our side,” Fatty Yu said to the boss.

"I'm just worried that 'Nanjing Nanjing' won't be able to beat him." Zuo Shandiao was quite worried that Lu Taro wouldn't be a match for Xuan Zong, which would be a bit embarrassing.

Not to mention that China Film Group lost to Shanghai Film Group. Where would he put his face then? He knows exactly what kind of movie that is.

"City of Life and Death" is primarily controlled by China Film Group, which means that China Film Group is going to compete with Shanghai Film Group again.

There used to be a lot of competition between the two sides.

"It's okay, we still have 'The Founding of a Republic,' that's the real trump card." Fatty Yu was optimistic; they held an absolute advantage in resources.

Zuo Shandiao didn't say anything. According to the development strategy, it was only natural for Xuanzong to invest in the Shanghai circle. There were conflicts between the Beijing circle and the new forces, but not between the Shanghai circle.

We can only wait and see how things develop; nothing is clear at the moment.

In fact, they all misjudged the situation. Qin Xuan was unlikely to invest in Shanghai Film Studio. He wouldn't get too involved in the circles that could have caused the Wong Kar-wai recording scandal; he would only cooperate to a limited extent to maintain his independence.

Basically, if you don't want me, I'll help the other side, so you can both find fault with each other.

During this period, in addition to overseeing the construction of the set, Qin Xuan was also selecting actors, and the initial main actors were starting to take shape.

Wang Chuanjun played the role of Achang. He was quite surprised when he received the invitation at home, and he was very excited after reading the script once.

He always had the script in his hands, even while eating, and he wouldn't sleep. He would just hold the script and think about how to play the role.

He knew this was an opportunity for him; who wants to joke around with people every day?

Qin Xuan approached Hao Lei for the role of Gao Ye. Hao Lei is considered an artistic goddess. She had heard of the movie and readily agreed after reading the script.

This person doesn't care about your circle or not; they can play whoever they want, and have nothing to do with the Beijing circle.

In addition, He Lin plays the wife of the photographer; the Japanese actor, Tsukagoshi Hirotaka, plays the role of a Japanese specialist, who is also Japanese.

Other Japanese characters don't appear much; they either use relatively unknown actors or have Qin Xuan and others make cameo appearances. Famous actors rarely play Japanese characters in movies, for fear of audiences getting too attached to them. The other notable roles are the photo studio owner and Wang Guanghai.

Wang Guanghai is a traitor. Zhang Songwen agreed to play the role because he felt it was complex and challenging, so he agreed immediately, regardless of any restrictions imposed by the Beijing entertainment circle. The circle only offered him some supporting roles, not a single lead role.

Xuan Zong immediately tackles big-budget productions and even stars in them.

As for the role of the photo studio owner, Qin Xuan preferred Fan Wei to play it, but Fan Wei has not yet responded.

Qin Xuan called Fan Wei, and Fan Wei's signature tone came through the phone: "Hey, Little Qin!"

"I'm telling you, it's been over half a month, you should at least give me an answer on whether you agree to the role or not!" Qin Xuan said.

"Oh dear, I can't quite grasp this role!" Fan Wei said, looking troubled.

"There's something you can't handle?" Qin Xuan asked in surprise, feeling like he was being teased.

The role isn't complicated, just a bit heavy. It's not as complicated as the role of a traitor, so it's a piece of cake for Fan Wei.

“I think I can handle the role of the traitor Wang Guanghai quite well. Why don’t you give me the role?” Fan Wei said, chuckling twice.

So it turns out this guy wanted to play a traitor!
"You... someone has already agreed to act in this, and they've already agreed." Qin Xuan said with a hint of helplessness.

“You could give him the role of the photo studio owner, and I’ll play the traitor. We’d switch roles,” Fan Wei suggested.

"This puts me in a difficult position. I just don't understand why you like playing traitors?" Qin Xuan asked, puzzled.

"I want to challenge my weakness," Fan Wei said, laughing at himself.

"Well, okay, I'll talk to him." Qin Xuan could only try to communicate with Zhang Songwen to see if he was willing.

"Don't make it so difficult. If it doesn't work out, just call me again and I'll think about it." Fan Wei knew that this was putting people in a difficult position.

But they also left themselves a way out: if the other party disagreed, they would discuss it again. The two had worked together on a film and knew each other's temperaments quite well, so they knew that President Xuan would definitely give him a role.

Qin Xuan knew that Fan Wei would take any role that suited him, but he preferred traitors.

Normal people don't act, they just have to play traitors!

After hanging up the phone, Qin Xuan had no choice but to call Zhang Songwen and tell him, "Songwen, I'm sorry, your role as a traitor has been taken by someone else."

"Ah?!" Zhang Songwen was terrified, his heart sinking into an ice cave. He stammered, "Then President Xuan... I..."

"I'm really sorry, I can only apologize to you," Qin Xuan said apologetically.

I had made a reservation with them, but now it's canceled.

"It's alright, President Xuan, I understand. This... please contact me again if you have a good role. It's okay." Although Zhang Songwen's tone was very disappointed, he did not forget to comfort her.

He assumed his role had been taken by some powerful entity, not realizing there were other reasons.

Qin Xuan could only hear the disappointment in his tone, but she didn't know his current mood, so she asked, "Would you be willing to switch to another role?"

"Another role?" Zhang Songwen seemed to have a renewed sense of hope.

“Yes, the photo studio owner is also a main character. I think he’s a good fit for you,” Qin Xuan said.

"Is that alright?" Zhang Songwen asked.

"Of course, if you don't mind, you can play this role." Qin Xuan also felt that there was nothing wrong with this switch.

They are all highly skilled actors, and they are all suitable for the role.

“Sure, sure, I can act.” Zhang Songwen went from hell to heaven again.

When I first heard from President Xuan that her role had been snatched away, I was quite disappointed and felt really disheartened. I thought that even President Xuan couldn't withstand the power of capital.

Unexpectedly, I even reserved a role for myself.

It's not that complicated; Fan Wei just wanted to challenge his own weaknesses.

"Then it's settled. Take some time to study the script, and come to Shanghai at the end of the month." Qin Xuan said and then hung up the phone.

The main roles were all secured, and the supporting roles were filled by any actors from the Shanghai entertainment circle.

They flock to investments of this level.

Just as Qin Xuan was preparing to film "Nanjing Photo Studio", June once again became a turning point in the global financial crisis.

On June 9, Lehman Brothers released a financial report showing a loss of $28 billion in the second quarter, marking the company's first loss.

The market reaction has been muted so far, after all, there isn't much money available, and every company is losing money in this environment.

However, on the 12th, Lehman Brothers' chief CEO was dismissed and a new CEO was appointed, causing a shock to the management team and the stock price fell by 4.42% that day.

On the 16th, it was revealed that total assets had decreased from $700 billion to $550 billion, a reduction of $147 billion.

In late June, a series of events involving Lehman Brothers triggered a sharp decline in the stock market and a collapse in market confidence.

When Qin Xuan spoke with Liu Xiaoli again at the end of the month, Qin Xuan told her that she must sell the product by June 27th, as for the reason...

Lehman Brothers will undergo a wave of asset divestitures, which will lead to a rebound, but it won't be able to bounce back up. They'll exit and then re-enter.

In other words, Qin Xuan needs to withdraw the money first, and then short it again on the 28th. This time, the shorting will be diversified, not just shorting Lehman Brothers, but also Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and other major events. The financial crisis will break out between July and September.

Qin Xuan's move is aimed at benefiting everyone equally!

(End of this chapter)