Chinese entertainment director starts with filmmaking

Chapter 88: Hijacking, a Laughingstock

With the racing deal finalized, not only Ning Hao but also Gu Qing felt much more at ease.

After the script was revised and submitted for review, Ning Hao hurriedly gathered a group of brothers and prepared to go to Taiwan to film.

Before leaving, Ning Hao pulled Gu Qing aside and asked him to play a cameo role in the movie.

"Forget it, Hao-ge, I already have an image to maintain."

"Haha, you little rascal, you've got your hands on me, but you won't let me use it, huh?"

Gu Qing politely declined Ning Hao's offer, as she genuinely didn't want to participate in the film herself.

Even in "The Original Code," when Gu Qing acted as the original owner and made an appearance, it was only after much persuasion and advice from others.

He's already so talented, why would he become an actor? Wouldn't that be taking away the livelihoods of other male actors in the Chinese entertainment industry?

"Haha, bro, you're so funny. If you were an actor, your acting skills might not even be as good as mine."

Upon hearing this news, Jing Tian was already lying in bed, laughing so hard she could barely breathe.

"Sweetie, do you even understand the value of being a director? If I can't act, how can I teach you, or anyone else, to act?"

Gu Qing was furious. He had actually been questioned. If Jing Tian hadn't been away, he would have taught the other person a lesson!

"Hehe, do you know Zhao Kuo, who talked about war on paper? Didn't he also boast about his strength? He's been despised for thousands of years."

"You should take a look at who his opponent is. He's a general that your area produces only once in a thousand years. If it were anyone else, they might not have done as well as him."

"Look at Zhang Yimou and Jiang Wen, besides being directors, their acting is also superb."

Gu Qing said bluntly, "If a director doesn't have some skills, how can he convince the actors?"

"I don't want to hear it. Anyway, you don't have any works to show for it, so it's up to you to decide how good your acting is."

Jing Tian is being unreasonable, fully utilizing her female privileges.

"Then tell me, how am I supposed to prove myself?"

"Unless you act in a movie with me."

"Okay, so you were waiting for me here, weren't you?"

Gu Qing realized that Jing Tian's map of Yan was too short.

However, if the co-star is Sweetie, then it's not out of the question.

"Good brother, please say yes, I really like you."

Jing Tian pleaded in a high-pitched voice, her voice filled with genuine sincerity.

"Let me collect some interest when you come back."

Hearing Jing Tian's mournful and plaintive voice, Gu Qing couldn't help but shudder, feeling as if a kitten had scratched her heart.

He had never seen Jing Tian acting coquettishly before, and he had to make her beg him in person.

"Hehe, brother, I'll be going back to Beijing at the end of the month. Let's go see the opening ceremony together then."

"Okay, I'll wait for you."

"Brother, I miss you."

On the other end of the phone, Jing Tian lowered her voice, also expressing her longing.

I miss you so much, so very much.

After chatting for a while, Gu Qing sighed and hung up the phone.

Before she knew it, Jing Tian had been home for half a month and suddenly had a craving for rice cakes.

With the other party's teasing that evening, Gu Qing felt refreshed and wide awake.

Oh no, I won't be able to sleep tonight again.

The following day, Gu Qing arranged to meet Li Xue in the morning, hoping she could make a connection so he could meet Mr. Cai, the CEO of Tangren.

"Does Mr. Gu also plan to invest in TV dramas, or does he want to use artists from Tangren Media?"

Li Xue was quite surprised by this, as Huayi Brothers also had a TV drama business, and in terms of artists, they were far superior.

However, in the field of TV dramas, Tangren is still second to none, and its recent drama "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" was also well received.

"Yes, there are some investment matters that I need Mr. Li's help with."

Gu Qing nodded in agreement, but didn't speak too bluntly.

He could actually approach the other party himself, but what he needed to do was use his power to intimidate them and take a piece of meat from their mouths, naturally the more substantial the better.

Li Xue nodded and didn't ask any more questions.

Tang Ren has a bad reputation in the industry; he's known for being a loner. Gu Qing is likely to suffer a crushing defeat this time.

The two drove together to Tangren Media Company, where they unsurprisingly met Cai Yinong.

The fact that the two came to the company was undoubtedly a bombshell for Tangren Media.

"They want to invest in my TV series? And replace one of the actors?"

Inside the meeting room, Cai Yinong had a strange expression, but she did not directly refuse.

She usually handles her own projects, but she's open to considering projects if someone offers a higher price.

"I want to invest in 'Chinese Paladin 3', and I also want the role of Xuejian. Tangren Media can participate in the investment of my next film."

Gu Qing said without a doubt, "The stronger the momentum, the greater the chance of success."

Li Xue was surprised. She hadn't spoken since entering the room, and she hadn't expected Gu Qing to be so generous.

Just kidding. How much could Cai Yinong invest in Tangren Media? She went bankrupt making her own TV dramas.

"Investment is not a problem, but the role of Xuejian has already been chosen."

Cai Yinong's expression shifted slightly. She had always wanted to enter the film industry, but unfortunately, she had failed twice, which had also caused the company to incur a lot of debt. Now, she was genuinely interested.

"If Xuejian won't work, then Longkui will."

"This, Longkui... alright, Longkui it is!"

Cai Yinong wanted to bargain, but looking at Gu Qing's eyes, she could only grit her teeth and agree.

Xuejian still has great use for her, but Longkui is one of our own artists, so we'll just have to make do with her for now.

"How about this, I'll also reserve a role for the actress who plays Long Kui in my movie, so that people won't say I bullied her."

Gu Qing hesitated for a moment, then spoke, pretending to back down.

"Then it's a deal, Director Gu. I hope we can work together smoothly."

Cai Yinong was overjoyed. She got a chance to participate in the investment and even a role as the second female lead in a movie. This was a huge win for her.

"Director Gu, I came along, but I haven't been of any use at all."

In the car, Li Xue said with some regret that she had originally wanted to use Huayi Brothers' influence to put in a good word for them, but Gu Qing had managed to handle it all by himself.

"Haha, Mr. Li's presence here is a great help to me."

Gu Qing laughed heartily, feeling quite pleased. Although Li Xue didn't speak, Cai Yinong had clearly glanced at her several times during their conversation, and the fact that Li Xue was here already spoke volumes.

Although he compensated Liu Shishi by giving her a role after taking the role of Long Kui, it's hard to say who gained and who lost.

Cai Yinong may not know how terrifying "Chinese Paladin 3" is, but he certainly does know that it was the last glorious chapter of the fantasy drama genre.

Inside Tangren Company, just as Gu Qing and Li Xue left, several figures were moving around outside the conference room.

Although Tsai Yinong is the boss, she gets along quite well with the artists under her management and doesn't usually put on airs.

dong dong~

Hu Ge knocked on the door and then walked into the conference room first.

"Mr. Cai, was that Director Gu Qing just now? And the one next to him looks like Mr. Li from Huayi Brothers. Are they here to find actors?"

After his car accident, Hu Ge returned to the entertainment industry feeling somewhat inferior, and now is the time for him to eagerly make a comeback and regain his footing.

"No, it's about the Legend of Sword and Fairy project. Lao Hu, don't worry, as long as you're gone, Tangren will support you!"

Looking at her generals, Cai Yinong's eyes showed a rare hint of heartache.

"Thank you for your high regard, Mr. Cai. Rest assured, I will stay at Tangren for life."

Hu Ge was excited and grateful, and said so.

An artist's most important asset is their face, and Cai Yinong's gesture made him very grateful.

Later, everyone only knew that Cai Yinong was keeping her position because of the kindness she received, but wasn't it also Hu Ge repaying a debt of gratitude?

"Go and call Liu Shishi over. I have something to say to her."

Cai Yinong chatted with Hu Ge for a few more minutes before letting him leave.

"Liu Shishi? Okay, I'll go get her right now."

Hu Ge seemed to be deep in thought. Since they weren't there to make a movie, they must be there to snatch a role. He silently apologized and then called Liu Shishi over.

Liu Shishi felt uneasy, but since Cai Yinong had called her, she had no choice but to go.

……

Back at the company, Gu Qing immediately summoned Vice President Li Ping and asked him to draft two investment contracts, one for "Crazy Racer" and the other for "Chinese Paladin 3".

The investment in "Chinese Paladin 3" was 40 million. As for the share, Gu Qing could only invest a maximum of 5 million, but he didn't care much about the amount of the share.

The main reason is to get Jing Tian involved in this drama; spending five million is worthwhile.

In late July, after finishing everything, Gu Qing was finally able to take a long-awaited rest.

The editing of "Source Code" is almost finished. The editor is an acquaintance from "Triangle," so I didn't have to put too much effort into it.

The next step is to take it to Hollywood for post-production.

We'll be so grateful if it can be finished before the new year. It should be released during the Spring Festival, which can be considered as continuing the unfinished mission of "CJ7".

Opening up the new Lunar New Year film season!

Currently, there's only one Lunar New Year movie season that everyone's scrambling to get, while the summer movie season is generally reserved for imported blockbusters.

Therefore, whether or not Gu Qing can make good use of the traffic before and after the Spring Festival is a considerable challenge.

"CJ7" suffered from its subject matter; otherwise, it wouldn't have barely grossed over 200 million yuan at the box office, and it would still be the highest-grossing domestic film today.

However, this trend will soon be broken by "Red Cliff Part I". There's no way around it, even though it's a bad movie, it's not too difficult to boost the box office with its high promotion and high screenings.

China Film Group made two investments totaling $60 million. If it weren't for Wu Kebo of Orange Sky Entertainment taking over, this mess would probably have been impossible to get rid of.

No wonder Han Sanping mispronounced the name at the premiere; how could he not be angry with those two big lumps?

Putting aside what she was doing, Gu Qing took Jing Tian to see a movie.

Jing Tian returned to Beijing a couple of days ago. He was busy at the time, but now that he's finished, he's agreed to spend time with her.

In his opinion, watching this is not as good as watching the animated film "Storm Riders," whose special effects and plot are also quite good.

It's such a pity that such a good film suffered an undeserved disaster.

The two traveled light, wearing sunglasses and hats, and sneaked into a movie theater to watch a film.

Watching movies is definitely more enjoyable on the big screen.

"Bro, people online say this movie is terrible. I want to see just how terrible it really is."

Jing Tian lowered the brim of her hat, her eyes filled with anticipation.

"Then you'd better be prepared. It'll probably be a little better than your movie."

Gu Qing shrugged and said with a smile.

"Brother, you're so annoying! Can you please stop bringing up things you don't want to talk about?"

Jing Tian's expression changed, and she looked distressed. If Gu Qing hadn't reminded her, she would have almost forgotten about her debut work.

Before the Lunar New Year, Hong Kong gave Lu Zheng the master tapes of "Anaconda," which was originally scheduled to be released in April.

However, Gu Qing stopped her, using the excuse that "Source Code" would be better as Jing Tian's debut work.

This can be considered as giving Lu Zheng and Jing Tian some face, not wanting to treat this film as a black mark on their history.

However, when the three of them watched it privately, they were so shocked that they never mentioned releasing the film again.

The total investment was only a few million, so it wasn't too bad. But if the film were released, even a few million wouldn't be enough to salvage the image.

Therefore, Jing Tian regarded this topic as a forbidden subject and strictly forbade Gu Qing from bringing it up again.

Jing Tian leaned against Gu Qing's shoulder, and couldn't help but pinch Gu Qing's arm.

"Alright, alright, that's enough. Let's focus on the movie."

Gu Qing laughed, lowered his head and kissed Jing Tian, ​​then sat down to watch the movie seriously.

The way women pinch soft flesh seems to be their nature. He and Jing Tian had never witnessed this before, but after they established a relationship, it was as if they had inexplicably awakened to it.

Holding Jing Tian's soft, squishy hand, Gu Qing watched the movie intently.

This movie isn't actually that bad. If you don't consider its background as the Three Kingdoms period, it's actually quite acceptable.

In terms of special effects, action sequences, and war scenes, it has undoubtedly surpassed "Hero".

However, the screenwriter clearly didn't put much effort into the script, and he strongly suspects that it was outsourced.

Lines like "I know a little bit," "Stop messing around," and "Cute, stand up!" should be kept to a minimum and not be too cheesy.

During an interview at the film's premiere, Zhang Fengyi mentioned the issue of dialogue, adding that screenwriters in Hong Kong are outdated.

John Woo was so moved that he burst into tears, saying that when he went to the cinema, he saw the audience laughing the whole time, and he didn't know what that meant.

His films are clearly anti-war in theme, and this is the theme of all the great commercial films in Hollywood.

Speaking of this, Gu Qing couldn't help but laugh. You take something from abroad and put it in China, how can it be the same? The plot is completely incompatible.

As a country with naval bases all over the world, the United States naturally promotes anti-war sentiments. "I'm going to your house, don't resist"—isn't that just ideological export?

But if you use war films based on the Three Kingdoms period to promote anti-war sentiment in China, isn't that just making things up?

Aside from the numerous negative comments from the mainland, people in Hong Kong are just as scathing when it comes to insulting others.

Lin Chi-ling's character, Xiao Qiao, is trampled by a horse, and Hong Kong media outlets even ran headlines like "A horse tramples a wave of the century." Gu Qing admires her for her naming skills.

It's hard to find a title that's so concise and vivid.

Jackie Chan angrily beats up his son, sending him flying five meters through the air.

Jay Chou was caught having sex with his new lover in a dark alley.

Huang Xiaoming and the artificial human.

However, we shouldn't imitate those who go to any lengths just to create a sensation; that's just inhumane.

"Bro, these lines are hilarious, hahaha."

"Hong Kong cinema is in decline, and it will be difficult for good movies to emerge in the future."

Gu Qing, watching the movie, couldn't help but chuckle as well.

Later, based on this film, Liu Zhenwei made "A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella," which was also a lighthearted movie.

Compared to Andy Lau's previous film, "Three Kingdoms: Resurrection of the Dragon," this one doesn't seem to be that bad either.

As expected, the lower limit is meant to be broken.

As the film's plot unfolded, John Woo was also embroiled in the controversy surrounding the exorbitantly priced straw hat.

This is all learned from Hollywood, taking the dross and discarding the essence.

However, since he wasn't implicated, there's no need for him to seek the limelight; this is actually standard practice in the industry.

However, with copyright as such a powerful weapon, Gu Qing wouldn't risk ruining his reputation for a little money.