Entertainment: The Era of the Cantonese Circle

"What's wrong with him?"

When Jing Tian introduced Zhang Yadong, she saw Chen Yunfan... Oh right, she was there to see him make a fool of himself, to see how he looked.

Chen Yunfan didn't answer but instead asked with a smile, "Do you want to hear the truth or a lie?"

"lie!"

"The lie is that he's quite good; he can work with the princess, and he can compose and write lyrics himself, so he can guarantee that he can arrange everything properly for you."

It was a rather ordinary lie, not much different from what she had just said.

"What's the truth?"

"Go listen to his songs, listen to the songs he produced for others."

When evaluating a music producer, one should consider their professional knowledge. But I'm sorry, I've never heard of any songs produced by this person, nor have I heard any songs that he wrote or composed himself.

He considers himself to have a wide range of musical tastes, having listened to even some poorly rated songs, such as "My Skateboard Shoes," but he has never heard any songs related to Zhang Yadong.

Wait a minute, he had actually heard them before. He had indeed heard Jing Tian's songs.

As for the quality, well, it definitely cost a lot of money.

"What does this have to do with telling the truth?" Jing Tian blinked, not understanding what Chen Yunfan meant.

Chen Yunfan sighed and shook his head slightly, "I'll call you Silly Girl from now on."

Jing Tian rolled her eyes at him. "How would I know what you're talking about? You're the one who didn't explain yourself clearly."

"I just told you about all the criticisms in the entertainment industry, and you didn't remember a single one? There's a word that perfectly describes the songs related to him: 'selling dog meat under the guise of mutton.'"

Jing Tian thought for a moment, "You don't seem to have used that word."

"No? Never mind then. Just remember this: whether it's the music industry or the film industry, there are many cases of false advertising. Some people boast about how great they are, but if you ask them to find a representative work, they might not be able to."

"It seems...so it is."

Jing Tian had never heard of Zhang Yadong's songs or any of his well-known representative works. She only knew that he was very impressive for having collaborated with the princess.

I'll definitely listen to his songs when I get back; if I don't like them, I won't look for him.

After discussing the songs, Jing Tian added, "In addition to planning my career as a singer, the company I signed with has also prepared a film career for me. I plan to go to Hong Kong to find a film company to work with."

Chen Yunfan had no choice but to shake his head.

This silly girl is about to fall into a trap again. Going to Hong Kong to find someone, it's obvious that your film career is going to start with making "Anaconda".

This movie shouldn't be called "Anaconda Horror," it should be called "Anaconda."

It's not a python that's a snake, but a python whose plot relies entirely on the python, a python that rises to prominence.

Or it could be called "Snake: I, a snake, will take the blame for this show."

There are more scenes of people scaring people than snakes; the snakes are just there to fill the gaps, appearing only a handful of times throughout the entire film.

This film, *Anaconda*, is a textbook example of a blatant lie.

Jing Tian recognized Chen Yunfan's expression; she had just seen him laughing at her. She looked at him with a pained expression and asked, puzzled, "What's the problem? Hong Kong films are so famous. Wouldn't it damage their reputation if Hong Kong film companies lied?"

Seeing her so naive, Chen Yunfan laughed, "From now on, I'll call you Silly Girl."

"You called me silly girl again. What's wrong? Speak up."

Chen Yunfan didn't explain at first, but instead asked, "What's wrong with using a hat worth tens of thousands of dollars when filming a movie?"

Although Jing Tian was puzzled by his sudden question, she still replied, "No, right? Some big brand hats do cost tens of thousands."

Chen Yunfan sighed inwardly, "She really is a girl from a wealthy family; you can tell at a glance that she has used or been exposed to such things."

Even a normal person could see the problem here: what kind of hat is this, and why is it so expensive?

"Hats used in movies and TV shows are props. Once things get chaotic on set, who cares if it's a brand?"

"Props are generally designed for quality, not brand. Even if it's a GG (Goblin) game, it's sponsored by GG. Spending tens of thousands of dollars on a hat is just a way to cheat on funding."

"This is a common tactic used by some film companies in Hong Kong, and they have various ways to prevent you from suspecting that they have spent too much money."

"As for the impact on the reputation of Hong Kong films? Some Hong Kong film companies don't care at all; they just want to make quick money."

Jing Tian could hardly believe it. "Really?"

"They're even more real than pearls. Many of them have made the news. I don't know about other places, but in Guangdong province, you can see all sorts of gossip news about Hong Kong every day."

"You know Wong Kar-wai, right? He's the most notorious money-grubber in Hong Kong. Someone in Hong Kong wanted to kill him; it even made the news. If it weren't for his films winning awards to salvage his reputation, he would have been killed in the street long ago."

Chen Yunfan shattered Jing Tian's perception.

How terrifying! It's absolutely terrifying that such a famous director would do something like this, and almost get attacked.

"Which film company would be better for making movies and TV series?"

"A Hong Kong film company!"

As soon as Chen Yunfan finished speaking, Jing Tian shook her head and looked at him sideways, "Are you kidding me? You say it's so bad here, but you say it's good there."

"I'm saying some Hong Kong film companies are no good, not all of them."

Hong Kong's film companies have many problems, but there are also some formidable ones among them.

Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many mainland film companies wanting to collaborate with Hong Kong film companies. At present, the overall level of mainland films is still somewhat behind that of Hong Kong films, and it will take some time to catch up.

Chen Yunfan offered a recommendation, "You can look for Wang Jing."

"He's a bit lecherous, a bit snobbish, and has a loose tongue that's gotten him beaten up, but he's also notorious for ripping people off."

Jing Tian wondered if she was hallucinating. "What are you saying?"

"Because Wang Jing is good at ripping people off, but while he's ripping you off, he manages to make sure the movie doesn't lose money and can even make a profit. He's also known for being fast and efficient, so wouldn't you say he's easy to rip off?"

"He also frequently criticizes people who cheat people out of money. He has criticized Wang Jiawei for cheating people out of money many times."

Jing Tian felt something was off. It seemed like Wang Jing was indeed capable, but there was something wrong with him.

Before he could think further, Chen Yunfan stood up. After chatting for so long, the two of them should go back.

Jing Tian still had many questions to ask, but she could only pick out the key ones and ask them as they walked, such as what would be a suitable career path for her in the future.

Chen Yunfan gave her five words of advice: Do whatever you want, but do your research first, don't go looking for random people, choose the right ones to do, if you have connections, be assertive, if you don't, be timid.

Jing Tian was completely bewildered by this so-called five-word mantra. Was it just a random punctuation for the sake of sounding good?

When the two returned to the private room, Jing Tian's uncle saw them and gave Chen Jianhua an amused smile.

When they went out, they were one in front of the other, completely strangers.

When they came back, the two walked side by side, chatting and laughing. Things are progressing pretty fast!

Chen Jianhua was speechless. He should have known better than to say something.

Every time he chatted with Jing Tian's uncle, he would mention Chen Yunfan to some extent, and now he had piqued the other party's interest.

Oh well, let it be. They might not even meet again next time.

.......

A day later, the investment budget for "Monkey King: Hero Is Back" was released, and the three parties discussed the matter in the China Film Group's conference room.

"1.5 million? Such a high investment? Where is it all invested?"

When faced with Chen Yunfan's question, a production manager from China Film Group responded with documents: "A special effects company has budgeted for the special effects of 'CJ7,' and it costs 60 to 70 million yuan."

"The special effects in 'Monkey King: Hero Is Back' are no less than those in 'CJ7,' and the company allocated a budget of 80 to 90 million for the special effects."

Chen Yunfan has seen "CJ7" before. How many special effects scenes were there? Did those special effects cost so much money?

Which company will do the special effects?

"The special effects for CJ7 were originally intended to be done by a Hong Kong company, and the same company was also planned to do the special effects for Monkey King: Hero Is Back."

No wonder, Hong Kong special effects companies are expensive just for their labor costs. Chen Yunfan thought for a moment, "Let's replace them!"

"Replace them?" The production manager from China Film Group looked at Han Sanping, who remained silent. He then explained, "But their special effects capabilities are very strong, domestically..."

Before he could finish speaking, Chen Yunfan interrupted, "But it's expensive!"

"Many special effects companies in mainland China have developed to the point where they are no less than those in Hong Kong. For example, Tiangong Yicai and Base FX, which were established last year, have already gained some fame this year, and some of their special effects are no worse than those of top-tier special effects companies."

"This is a film co-produced by China Film Group and Stephen Chow. Don't they want to use this opportunity for publicity? We could easily ask them for a 10% or even 20% discount, saving them ten or twenty million."

"We can also save a lot of money on set construction."

"Guangdong Province wants to build a large film and television city in Guangzhou. I have discussed it with them. They can build the scenery we want, and they will not charge us any money. We just need to put it under the name of a joint production and do some publicity."

Seeing how decisively Chen Yunfan spoke, Han Sanping and Zhou Xingci both looked at him.

He did his homework beforehand and even managed to get sponsorship; this kid's got guts.