Entertainment Era: Starting with Teaching Sister Meng to Sing

Fumino! ?

Wang Xiaozhou knew all too well who this person was.

In his past life, there was a realistic film called "Dying to Survive," which Wang Xiaozhou particularly liked. He watched it three times in a row and even looked up who the director was—it was Wen Ye!

Wang Xiaozhou even looked up his personal biography at the time. 12 years ago was when he was studying at the Beijing Film Academy and had not yet graduated.

This person would be perfect as an assistant director. We could even inspire him during the collaboration and see if we could bring forward the release of "Dying to Survive".

Wang Xiaozhou got Wenye's phone number from Song Shihui so she could contact them first, while he and his friends went out to rent a house.

The real estate agents in Shanghai are quite professional. Wang Xiaozhou and his team quickly secured a two-bedroom apartment and a studio apartment, all for short-term rental, for a total of 7,000 yuan per month.

There wasn't much to pack for the group of young men, and Mao Xiaotong was all alone, so she could just clean up and move in. Wang Xiaozhou then took them to a shopping mall to stroll around, and when it was time to eat, they found a restaurant to have some food.

Halfway through the meal, the phone rang. It was an unfamiliar number, and the caller ID showed Kyoto.

Wang Xiaozhou already knew who the caller was, but he didn't expect the voice on the other end to be so polite after the call was connected.

"Is this Director Wang? Miss Song just contacted me, saying you want to shoot a short film and need an assistant director."

Wang Xiaozhou told everyone to continue eating, then found a corner to take the phone call: "Yes, our production team is very small. If you come, you'll have to handle everything from costumes and props to location and staff recruitment. Can you manage that?"

Fumino on the other end of the phone seemed to be nodding: "Yes, I've been working on set since my freshman year. I'm very skilled at these tasks. I was originally thinking of making a short film myself after the New Year to practice, but I didn't expect to have this opportunity."

"Then buy your plane ticket to Shanghai now. I'll reimburse you when you get there. I've already rented a dorm room. You can start working right away when you arrive. We'll try to finish all the scripts before the New Year."

After hanging up the phone, Wang Xiaozhou had a much better appetite when he went back to eat. He didn't expect the job search to go so smoothly. He didn't know what Song Shihui had said to Wen Ye, but it seemed like Wen Ye thought making a short film with him was a good opportunity.

"Eat quickly, then come with me to the airport to pick someone up."

Mao Xiaotong asked, somewhat puzzled, "Who are you going to pick up? Do you have acquaintances in Shanghai?"

Wang Xiaozhou said mysteriously, "As for the assistant director, we found someone who does odd jobs. We artists need to be focused and can't let those trivial things bother us."

This means he's going to become a hands-off manager.

Mao Xiaotong felt somewhat helpless upon hearing this, and had even less hope for the short film.

I don't even know what I was thinking. He's only eighteen years old. Although he can write some songs, writing songs and making short films are two completely different things. How could I have believed that he came to Shanghai with me?

Oh well, I'll just play along for a while. Even if the short film fails in the end, the song he wrote can still make me famous.

Mao Xiaotong forced herself to think about things in a somewhat pragmatic way.

After finishing their meal, Huang Mao and the others went back to their rented apartment to tidy up, while Wang Xiaozhou took Mao Xiaotong to the airport to pick up someone.

When Mao Xiaotong saw Wang Xiaozhou shake hands and greet the young man who looked like a student across from her, her anxiety finally subsided.

I thought I could find a middle-aged man in his thirties or forties to help with the work, but the person who came was a young man who looked like a student. What kind of help could he possibly provide?

"The dormitory is a two-bedroom apartment. Conditions are quite tough in the early stages of our business, so please bear with us."

In the taxi, Wang Xiaozhou and Wen Ye exchanged pleasantries before he spoke.

Fumino smiled shyly: "It's okay, it's normal to be out working. I've even slept in a rural shack in Kyoto for 300 yuan a month."

Successful people don't necessarily have a tough start to their business, but being able to endure hardship is definitely one of the key factors for success. At least young people like Wenye are very hardworking.

Mao Xiaotong hadn't intended to speak, but upon hearing Wang Xiaozhou suggest Wenye stay in the dorm, she couldn't help but ask, "Our rented apartment has two bedrooms and a living room. Huang Mao and Lao San share one room, Liu Guangwei and Wenye share another. Where will you stay?"

Checking the system, Wang Xiaozhou saw that Mao Xiaotong's current favorability rating was 23%, so he didn't dare to be too rash and waved his hand dismissively: "I'll just sleep in the living room."

Upon hearing this, Wenye patted his chest and said, "No, brother, I'll sleep in the living room. I'm still young. I slept on the floor when I was a freshman in college."

Wang Xiaozhou: "I'm eighteen..."

Fumino: "..."

Mao Xiaotong covered her forehead as she listened to the two being polite and courteous all the way. When the taxi stopped, she quickly ran back to her apartment to tidy up.

Wang Xiaozhou led Wen Ye towards the dormitory, and said with a smile, "It's normal that the female lead of the short film thinks our crew is a bit rudimentary."

Wenye nodded in agreement: "That's normal. They're laymen, they don't understand. What matters most to a production crew is not how high-end things are, but how great the content is and how great the editing is."

This one sentence made Wang Xiaozhou look at him with new respect; artists are indeed pure!

"Then I'll leave all the crew matters to you. Try to get the theater sorted out by tomorrow and recruit the extras. We have limited funds, so I hope to start filming as soon as possible."

After entering the room and greeting Huang Mao and the others, Wen Ye asked in a low voice, "If you're recruiting extras, Director Wang, could you please let me take a look at the script first so I can find some suitable actors?"

Wang Xiaozhou patted Wen Ye on the shoulder: "I'm already writing it."

Fumino: "..."

One more member of the team who felt the filming was unreliable.

The next day, Fumino got up early to get busy with things at the theater.

Wang Xiaozhou only gave one requirement: he wanted to film a period drama, with temple exterior scenes, and Wenye could decide on the location himself.

So Wenye could only visit various film studios in Shanghai, comparing prices as much as possible to find the cheapest one to sell.

Wang Xiaozhou, of course, was not idle at home. After thinking it over, he decided that he should be more cautious about his first short film, focusing on the plot rather than special effects, and on the characters rather than the details.

Actually, the main problem was money. With only 100,000 yuan in his pocket, Wang Xiaozhou could only focus on polishing the plot.

As for the script, Wang Xiaozhou had already thought it through. Before his time travel, there was an animated film called "Liaozhai Lanruo Temple". One of the stories, the story of Lu Gong's daughter, received high praise in later generations. In Wang Xiaozhou's opinion, this story was very suitable to be made into a short film.

Thinking it through and acting on it, Wang Xiaozhou wrote the entire script in just one morning, requiring only minor modifications to the details during filming.

In the afternoon, Wenye called to say that the theater had been arranged and the extras were all ready, and they were just waiting for Wang Xiaozhou to come to the site to finalize the arrangements.

Everyone says Wenye will be successful in the future; his efficiency is simply amazing. Wang Xiaozhou took the script and led Huang Mao and the others directly to the location that Wenye had sent.

As for Mao Xiaotong, she stayed in her room the whole time. Today was the premiere of "Singer," and she had given up hope for the short film. She just wanted to learn more about Wang Xiaozhou's songwriting talent.