This director is so innocent.

A spacious courtyard with a square table set up.

There were thirteen plates on the table, with chicken, duck, fish, shrimp, fruits and vegetables, a balanced nutritional combination, and the presentation was also very exquisite.

There was also a bottle of Moutai and a bottle of beverage next to it.

Upon seeing this, Liu Ye's eyes widened in astonishment, his mouth agape, and he blurted out, "Holy crap, this is too decadent!"

He had never seen such lavish meals on other film sets before; those were usually just boxed lunches, or at most, a special meal prepared for him.

"It is indeed a bit corrupt." Yu Nan nodded in agreement. She had only ever filmed art films before and had never received such good treatment.

Just then, Su Jin, Zhang Guoli, and Sister Xia walked in.

Su Jin asked疑惑地问道, "What corruption?"

"It's nothing," Liu Ye laughed it off.

Seeing that they didn't say anything, Su Jin didn't take it to heart and said, "Sit down! After you finish eating, rest for an hour, and we'll start work at 1:30 pm."

It's winter now, so it gets dark early. An hour and a half of rest time is enough.

In the summer, we would definitely start work at 2 o'clock.

After Liu Ye sat down, he glanced at the Moutai on the table and couldn't help but ask, "Director, our crew can drink alcohol?"

"Those who have performances in the afternoon and evening cannot drink, others can drink as they please, but not too much," Su Jin replied with a smile.

"That's great." Liu Ye happily opened the Moutai and poured half a glass for himself and Guo Tao. The two of them hadn't had any plans all day.

"Sister Nan, would you like some?"

"I don't want that, I'll just have a beverage."

"Where's Shishi?!"

Just as Liu Shishi was about to say no, she heard Yu Nan, who was sitting next to her, say, "Liu Ye, you drunkard, just drink by yourself, don't drag Shishi into it."

"I just enjoy a little drink, does that make me an alcoholic?"

Seeing this, Guo Tao laughed and patted Liu Ye on the shoulder, "Come on, everyone knows how much you can drink! You always get drunk every time you drink."

Liu Ye rolled her eyes at him and said, "Who said that? I'm not getting drunk today."

Yu Nan snorted and said, "Keep bragging! You'll be completely lost in a minute."

Liu Ye ignored them, turned to Su Jin, and asked, "Director, do you believe I won't get drunk today?"

Su Jin smiled and said, "I believe you, but you should still drink less! You have filming to do tomorrow."

"Don't worry, Director, I know what I'm doing."

The two joked around, adding a touch of joy to the meal.

Halfway through the meal, we started talking about the movie "A Battle of Wits," which had just been released yesterday.

"Su Jin, why is the opening day box office for 'A Battle of Wits' so low?" Zhang Guoli asked, puzzled.

"Yeah! I heard the production cost was 1500 million US dollars, with stars from China, Japan and South Korea joining the cast, so it should cost more than 400 million!" Liu Ye was also very puzzled.

"They chose the wrong subject matter. The Mohist school isn't a popular subject, and I heard the film doesn't have any highlights. 400 million on the first day is already pretty good," Su Jin replied casually.

The story of "A Battle of Wits" is good; it is adapted from Hideki Mori's manga of the same name.

According to later evaluations, this was a sincere work, but unfortunately it was somewhat thin overall, with many abrupt plots and a lack of foreshadowing. The characters' rough and tattered clothes, the miserable and oppressive atmosphere of the battlefield, made it impossible for it to attract audiences.

Ultimately, the film grossed 6700 million yuan in mainland China and 1500 million yuan in Hong Kong, far below expectations.

From then on, director Zhang Zhiliang went astray and gradually became mediocre. Apart from one ordinary art film, "The Ticket," his two big-budget films, "Shoulder Butterfly" and "The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom," were so bad that they were unwatchable.

At the same time, "A Battle of Wits" also proved that Andy Lau alone cannot carry the box office.

Otherwise, even if the subject matter is mediocre, the opening day box office would not have been only 400 million; it should have doubled at least!

Feng Xiaogang's "The Banquet" grossed 1200 million yuan on its opening day and 5500 million yuan in its opening week.

Andy Lau's "A World Without Thieves," released two years ago, grossed 510 million on its opening day.

"Actually, if the subject matter of the Mohist school were changed to the Three Kingdoms period, and with a budget of 1500 million US dollars, the opening day box office would definitely not be so low," Yang Qing suddenly said.

Upon hearing this, Su Jin's eyes lit up, and she began to ponder it carefully.

Yang Qing's words make a lot of sense.

Currently, the Three Kingdoms theme has been hyped up by the "Red Cliff" production team, and everyone is eagerly anticipating "Red Cliff".

If it were based on the Three Kingdoms period, the box office might not have been so low.

He figured he wasn't trying to get involved in "Red Cliff"—he couldn't get involved anyway, since the "Red Cliff" production team was already assembled with as many as 15 investors.

Eleven of them are from mainland China, including China Film Group, Shanghai Film Group, Emperor Group, Polybona Film Group, Taiwan Central Group, Beijing Radio & Television, and Chengtian Group...

The other three are Lion Rock from the US, Avex from Japan, and Showbox from Korea.

The initial cost was $6000 million, with an additional $1500 million added during filming.

Huayi Brothers didn't get involved because others were producing "The Forbidden Kingdom," which also had a substantial investment of 7000 million US dollars.

His idea was to unite several companies and secretly establish a film company to make a film about Red Cliff.

If we can keep the cost under 20 million and release it before "Red Cliff," and given that the film's quality is not bad, making 60 to 70 million at the box office should not be a problem.

Su Jin thought about it more and more and felt that it was a good opportunity. She planned to make a good plan after filming "The Coffin in the Mountain". Anyway, "Red Cliff" will not be released until the year after next, so there is still a long time.

As for using the name Jianmu Media openly and legitimately, they certainly wouldn't dare.

He's not brain-dead. Just look at those 15 investors; none of them are pushovers.

If these companies joined forces, even Huayi Brothers, the dominant force in the film and television industry, would be overwhelmed, let alone his small company, which would be wiped out in no time.

……

It was 1:30 PM.

After the crew finished their rest, they started working again.

At this point, the staff had already set up the scene, and filming could begin as soon as the lead actors arrived.

The filming was still taking place at the village chief's house. Su Jin planned to film all the scenes at the village chief's house so that she wouldn't have to go through the hassle of changing locations later.

The scene we're about to film is Xiao Zongyao returning home from the county town.

Therefore, Su Jin handed over the director's chair to Yang Qing and went to get her makeup done and start filming.

His face was too pale, and although his skin was fine, he didn't look like a country boy, so he had to tone down his skin tone a bit.

Half an hour later, after finishing my makeup and changing my clothes.

Su Jin stood at the gate of the yard, leaning on a scooter, while behind him, Du Jie carried a camera facing his back.

The early shots of Xiao Zongyao were mostly shot handheld.

"All departments, prepare."

"Action".

Su Jin pushed her scooter into the yard, exchanged a glance with Zhang Guoli, who was repairing the pigsty, and then turned her head away.

Zhang Guoli slowly straightened up, staring at Su Jin's back as she parked her car.

His lips moved slightly as if he wanted to say something, but he held back.

At this moment, Du Jie had moved from behind Su Jin to face Su Jin and was filming Zhang Guoli.

The film begins to explain the discord in the father-son relationship from this point, foreshadowing the development of the film later.

Su Jin parked her scooter, carried a bag in her hand, and walked into the living room, calling out, "Mom, I'm home."

Hearing the sound, Xi Meijuan came out of the room with a rag in her hand and a smile on her face, saying, "Zong Yao, why are you back at this time?"