The Rise of Chinese Entertainment in 2008

With the investment settled, the rest is much simpler.

Liu Sanxi was in charge of assembling the film crew, which wasn't difficult; the third and fourth-year students from the Beijing Film Academy were readily available.

Moreover, these people are very cheap; they can work without being paid or having meals provided.

The Beijing Film Academy is the only film school in the world that has the capability to produce and distribute a film.

The only weak point is the acting department; the other departments are among the world's top in the film industry.

Don't underestimate these people just because they are students. Many of them have experience interning on film crews, so it's not difficult for them to set up a film crew.

Furthermore, they can invite one or two teachers from each department to oversee the filming of a road comedy, which is more than enough.

Even the equipment doesn't need to be rented from outside; it can be rented directly from Qingying Studio at a cheaper price.

Gu Ning told Liu Sanxi about the requirements, while she herself was busy drawing storyboards and communicating with Tian Yusheng about the script's progress.

He originally didn't plan to film it now and wasn't in a hurry about the script.

The plans have changed, and we're still waiting for the script to be submitted for review.

Liu Sanxi went around recruiting people to form a film crew, and soon the news that Gu Ning was going to shoot a movie spread.

It's not surprising that a photography student wants to become a director.

As is well known, the Beijing Film Academy has two traditions: a cinematographer who doesn't aspire to be a director is not a good cinematographer.

Another reason is that they prefer to use actors from the Central Academy of Drama.

However, only a few teachers knew that Gu Ning had filmed the short film; none of the students knew about it yet.

Therefore, in the eyes of others, Gu Ning, who has never made any works before, is aiming too high for a theatrical film.

Of course, this didn't stop them from signing up to join the crew.

For those working behind the scenes, experience is the most important thing; box office performance is not important.

No matter how high a movie's box office is, the credit goes to the director and actors.

They interned on other film sets, doing odd jobs, but now they're doing it themselves.

Gu Ning was drawing storyboards in her dormitory when some classmates came to her door.

This forced him to temporarily move to Liu Sanxi's house.

That day, Gu Ning was drawing storyboards when Teacher Xu called.

After Gu Ning answered the call, she said a few words, tidied up, and went out.

The elevator stopped a short distance from its descent, and two girls walked into it, chatting and laughing.

"Senior Brother Gu? You live here too?" Jing Tian asked in surprise.

"Jing Tian?"

Gu Ning was also surprised to see Jing Tian, ​​but upon closer inspection, it made sense.

This is currently the best residential area near Nortel.

"My friend lives here, so I came to visit."

"oh."

Jing Tian asked, "Is Senior Brother Gu going back to school?"

"Yes, I have something to do back at school." Gu Ning nodded.

"Me and Hao Hao too."

Jing Tian smiled and said, "Would you like to come along, Senior Brother Gu?"

"OK."

Gu Ning did not refuse upon hearing this, and the three of them exited the elevator when it reached the first floor.

"I heard that Senior Brother Gu is going to make a movie. I wonder if there are any suitable roles for us?" Jing Tian asked.

"The female characters in this drama don't have many scenes, and you're all too old for the role. There are some minor roles, but I'm afraid you might not be interested in them," Gu Ning said.

"Our teacher always says that there are no big or small roles, and it doesn't matter how many scenes you have. As long as Senior Brother Gu gives me a chance, that's good enough," Jing Tian said.

"Okay, I'll call you when filming starts," Gu Ning said.

He and Jing Tian knew each other; Gu Ning usually liked to play basketball.

In March of this year, Jing Tian's classmates arranged a match with the vocational college class, and she was dragged by her classmates to watch the match.

He missed the pass and the ball hit Jing Tian, ​​but Gu Ning, who was passing by, intercepted it.

Jing Tian treated him to a meal to express her gratitude, and that's when they exchanged contact information.

However, the two have not been in contact since then.

"Thank you, Senior Brother Gu," Jing Tian said with a smile.

The current Jing Tianyuan is not as bright and glamorous as she looks later. Her smile gives people the feeling of a girl next door, and she is very innocent.

After leaving the residential area, I hailed a taxi and arrived at the school in less than ten minutes.

Gu Ning paid the fare and got out of the car.

"I'm sorry to have troubled Senior Brother Gu with the expense."

Jing Tian felt embarrassed because there were two of them on her side, and she had even suggested traveling together, which seemed like she was taking advantage of the situation.

"We're all going the same way, it wouldn't matter if you weren't there."

Gu Ning said, "I have something to do, so I'll be leaving now."

"Okay, goodbye, Senior Brother Gu."

Watching Gu Ning leave, Hao Hao leaned close to Jing Tian's ear and teased, "You keep calling him 'Senior Brother,' you wouldn't happen to like Senior Brother Gu, would you?"

Jing Tian blushed and said, "No, don't you call him 'Senior Brother' too?"

"Then why did you ask Senior Brother Gu for a role?" Hao Hao looked at her with a half-smile.

"I did it all for someone. Since that person doesn't want it, I had no choice but to refuse when Senior Brother Gu contacted me," Jing Tian said, feigning regret.

"No, I was wrong."

Upon hearing this, Hao Hao immediately admitted defeat and quickly hugged Jing Tian's arm in a flattering manner: "Sweetie, you're the best."

"I like listening, tell me more," Jing Tian said with a smile.

…………

"Teacher Xu."

"Gu Ning is here, come and sit down!"

Xu Bing waved to Gu Ning as she entered through the door.

"Teacher Xu, what is it you wanted to talk to me about that you had to meet in person?" Gu Ning asked.

"You're making a theatrical film? Why didn't you tell the teachers? I only found out from other teachers," Xu Bing said, feigning displeasure.

Gu Ning laughed and said, "The script isn't finished yet. I plan to ask the teacher for help once the script is done, and try to get some investment from the school."

For the Beijing Film Academy, having students make films while on campus is the same as other college students starting their own businesses.

The school should at least provide some support, right?

He knew that investing in him was unlikely; the school's budget wasn't even enough for all the teachers, let alone a student.

Unless the script is exceptionally brilliant.

The script for "Human Embarrassment" is definitely doomed.

However, it's not a problem to ask the school to expedite the review process or help introduce publishing companies.

He just hadn't come over yet because the script wasn't finished.

"You've already secured investment before your script is even finished?" Xu Bing asked in surprise.

Is investing really that easy now?

"Liu Sanxi brought along a few of his friends to invest together," Gu Ning said.

Xu Bing was speechless upon hearing this; he naturally knew what Liu Sanxi's family did for a living.

It goes without saying what Liu Sanxi's friends did.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Xu Bing asked.

My students made a movie, so I should give them some support no matter what.

Moreover, given Gu Ning's creative abilities, the script shouldn't be too bad.

As long as the script is decent and you hire an experienced assistant director, the resulting film won't be too bad, no matter how bad it is.

Since he was already there, Xu Bing took the initiative to ask questions, and without any hesitation, he explained the problems he was currently facing.

After hearing this, Xu Bing agreed to help him find someone and expedite the script review process.

As for the distribution issue, once the film is completed, we can help contact the Central Motion Picture Corporation.

Whether China Film Group will accept the role depends on the quality of the film.

Gu Ning was very satisfied after hearing this.

…………

On October 10th, the script was finally completed. Gu Ning submitted the script for review and found Xu Bing with a backup copy.

Xu Bing told him to leave the script behind and wait for news.

Gu Ning called Liu Sanxi to inquire about the progress of the lead role.

"You're saying Xu Zheng doesn't want to take the job?"

Gu Ning frowned slightly when she heard that Wang Baoqiang had agreed, but Xu Zheng seemed reluctant to accept.

"It's not that he didn't want to take the role; he didn't refuse, saying he needed to consider it. I think he just wanted more money," Liu Sanxi said.

"How much did you offer him?"

One million.

"One million?"

Gu Ning knew that the salary was a bit low. With Xu Zheng's current fame, his normal salary should not be less than two million.

However, Xu Zheng's most popular works are all TV series, and there is an unspoken rule in the industry that actors like him have to lower their fees if they want to act in movies.

A price of one million is a bit low, but it's still reasonable.

However, Gu Ning is a newcomer with no works to her name, but she still needs to earn both fame and fortune.

"Give him an extra 200,000. If he doesn't want to, then forget it," Gu Ning said.