Chapter 714
The Moon is Beautiful Tonight
"Well done!"
Sui Lingfang warmly welcomed these wealthy (simply put) people eager to give her money.
Sui Lingfang continued, "Besides that, did he say anything else?"
Jinli shook her head: "No, he just wants me to accept 5% of the box office revenue. If I don't accept it, he won't feel at ease."
Sui Lingfang thought for a moment and said, "As expected of an internationally renowned director, his methods of winning people over are truly sophisticated."
Jinli asked with great interest, "How so?"
Sui Lingfang: "I haven't read the script for Dawn II yet, but you have. Judging from your attitude, you must appreciate it quite a bit."
The contract they sent you promised you the treatment of an absolute female lead, so starting from the second installment, you were completely replaced as the female lead.
Dawn is a film series, and since it has released a first and a second installment, it will certainly be able to release a third, a fourth, and even more.
So who can be the absolute protagonist of the film series?
Jinli was taken aback.
She pondered for a moment, then said uncertainly, "The person you're referring to is me?"
Sui Lingfang said with certainty, "It's definitely you. Only you can bear the weight of a film series. He's betting on your continued success."
So Director Chu wants to give you a share of the film's profits because he wants you to have a positive impression of the Dawn series, so that you'll be willing to join and act in the third and fourth installments.
Jinli said, "Director Chu didn't mention anything about a third installment to me."
Sui Lingfang: "But if you've read the script for the second part, you might have noticed that the third part can be completely developed based on the story of the second part, and you will still play the absolutely core role."
Jinli answered quickly this time: "On the surface, yes, but it depends on how the script is written. As long as the screenwriter is skilled, it's okay to change the screenwriter halfway through."
She was replaced in the same way.
Sui Lingfang shook her head: "They might change the male lead, but you will definitely not be replaced."
Since Director Chu is willing to give you 5% of the box office revenue, he must be playing a much bigger game; he wants you to continue playing the female lead in the Dawn series.
Jinli seemed to be deep in thought.
"I have a good feeling about the Dawn series. If I have the opportunity, I would like to continue playing the female lead. But it depends on the script. If the script is not good, I will not continue to act in it."
Sui Lingfang smiled and said, "Look, you've already said that."
If the script is suitable in the future, you will definitely take the role. Wouldn't Director Chu's efforts to win you over have been worthwhile?
Moreover, you are different from other stars in the industry. Other stars may withdraw from a film series due to conflicting interests, but you are different.
Your concept of money is different. As long as the monetary value isn't too outrageous, Director Chu can keep you.
She thought for a moment and continued, "However, the script for the second part has only been finalized, and the location and props are not ready yet. Even if we were to start filming, it would be next year."
It's too far off to talk about a third installment now. I estimate that Director Chu will bring it up with you when the second installment is being filmed.
Prepare yourself mentally beforehand; know what you can and cannot say.
Jinli hummed in agreement.
Morning Light Entertainment reviewed the contract very quickly, mainly because Director Chu's contract terms were very generous.
Even if Chenxi Entertainment wanted to add something more, they felt helpless.
So they quickly sent the contract to Jinli.
After looking at it once, Jinli signed her name.
With this addition, her schedule for next year includes filming "Dawn 2: Apocalypse".
-
On the other hand, He Wuyou's resignation from Yiyi Media finally brought about subsequent consequences.
His resignation came without warning, in line with the quick and decisive style of contemporary young people.
The manager felt that everything was fine at work yesterday, so how did he receive He Wuyou's resignation letter today?
Since he hadn't been with the company for even a month and his social security information hadn't been entered into his account, he could simply leave.
As for his workstation, there was nothing of his own; it was all company documents.
It doesn't matter whether we clean it up or not, the company will send someone to clean it up anyway.
So He Wuyou simply left.
At first, the manager thought he was joking and that it was April Fool's Day.
The day after receiving his resignation letter, he needed to communicate with He Wuyou about something, but couldn't find him anywhere. That's when he remembered the resignation letter He Wuyou had sent on WeChat.
He actually resigned and left without a trace of regret!
Could something have happened that made He Wuyou unable to bear it any longer, so he ran away?
The manager's heart skipped a beat. Instead of immediately informing the company's senior management, he first contacted the mentor who had trained He Wuyou to find out what had happened.
Even the veteran screenwriter who was involved with He Wuyou didn't know what was going on.
He's about to retire, so he won't be as dedicated to teaching anymore.
However, the script this young man holds is a key project for the company next year, so the veteran screenwriter won't slack off too much.
Simply put, we teach what should be taught and don't teach what shouldn't be taught.
After hearing the manager's purpose, the veteran screenwriter guessed, "After all, he's still very young. Could it be that he couldn't handle the pressure and ran away?"
The manager was taken aback. "They ran away?"
The veteran screenwriter said calmly, "Yes, they ran away. Isn't that normal?"
"The script he has is the company's key project for next year, with an investment of up to tens of millions. If the script he writes is not good, it will cause the company to lose money."
How many years would it take to pay off tens of millions?
Young people can't handle the pressure, so they run away.
The veteran screenwriter also said, "It's not right to put such a big project on the shoulders of a young person."
The company overvalues newcomers, thinking they have exceptional talent, but I didn't sense it when I mentored them.
His adaptations are just so-so; they lack a central theme and don't follow the most popular formulas or templates. He always tries to come up with something new.
But is originality something a new screenwriter can handle?
"I'm afraid that once it's released, this supposedly novel plot will actually just be a tired old story, and it'll only get criticized by netizens."
The manager understood. "So you think he ran away because he couldn't handle the pressure?"
Veteran screenwriter: "That's probably true nine times out of ten."
The manager asked again, "Could it be that you had some kind of argument with him when you were training him, and he ran away because he was dissatisfied?"
The old screenwriter glared at the manager. "That's not right of you. I'm almost retired. Why would I argue with him? Peace brings wealth!"
The manager said sheepishly, "That's true, I misunderstood."
Because He Wuyou ran away, the "Invisible Secret" project could not proceed for the time being.
The manager racked his brains trying to figure out how to salvage the situation, and made two contingency plans before reporting the matter to higher management.
The first step is to continue to discover promising new screenwriters, by looking at those scripts that have been bought out in the past.
As a new screenwriter's first practice piece, the fact that it was valued by the company's previous bunch of incompetent people shows that I have some talent.
Being a good-for-nothing isn't something you can just do on a whim.
You need an impressive resume, relevant work experience, and experience working in a large company; that will impress people.
So their vision is still intact.
Even scripts selected by incompetent shills must have their merits; otherwise, the company wouldn't have started filming them.
Another plan was to turn the tables and report back to senior management, saying that the new screenwriter, He Wuyou, was unruly and stubborn.
He wouldn't listen to the veteran screenwriter's advice, clashed with the company's philosophy, and left the company directly.
The manager made preparations before reporting He Wuyou's departure to senior management.
His direct contact is General Manager Yang.
When General Manager Yang heard from the manager that a new screenwriter had resigned, he didn't seem to care.
They recruited nearly ten new screenwriters to train this time, and only one left, so it's not a big deal.
It wasn't until the manager mentioned that the new screenwriter was the screenwriter of "The Invisible Secret" that General Manager Yang's expression changed slightly, and his brows furrowed.
"They ran away? How did they run away? Why did they run away?"
The manager said, "The newcomer couldn't handle hardship, was stubborn, and thought the old screenwriter's ideas were outdated and didn't fit our style, so he just sent a resignation letter and left."
Mr. Yang asked, "When did he resign?"
Manager: "Three days ago."
She paused, then added, "After I resigned, I tried to contact him, but I couldn't reach him. He blocked my number."
This is true, not made up.
The manager also came to the conclusion that He Wuyou was too arrogant because of this incident.
Mr. Yang frowned: "He's gone, so how are we going to move the script forward?"
The manager tentatively asked, "Should we find another screenwriter to write it? If this script needs a new screenwriter to come up with inspiration, then we'll find some talented new screenwriters to adapt it."
Mr. Yang rubbed his temples and sighed deeply.
"It's not as simple as you think. Jinli is determined to have this screenwriter. But if He Wuyou resigns, it's not our responsibility, and there's nothing we can do about it."
Seeing that there was no way to salvage the situation, and that President Yang didn't want an arrogant new screenwriter, He Wuyou decided not to try to keep him.
If this collaboration with Jinli hadn't been so important, he wouldn't have wanted to hand over the script to a new screenwriter for adaptation.
He looked puzzled. Why did Jinli choose to watch the drama "The Invisible Secret"?
He felt that other dramas were also quite good, such as fantasy dramas, martial arts dramas, and modern urban workplace dramas. The newly released scripts in these categories all had good plots and followed the formula for becoming a hit.
But Jinli just didn't like it.
After the manager left, General Manager Yang took the initiative to call Sui Lingfang.
He didn't have Jinli's private number, and even if he did, he probably wouldn't be able to get through.
Upon hearing the purpose of Mr. Yang's visit, Sui Lingfang calmly replied, "The screenwriter has left?"
"They're gone, it's alright. We've already found a screenwriter to adapt 'The Invisible Secret'."
Mr. Yang originally wanted to suggest changing to another script, or finding someone else to continue revising it, but unexpectedly, Sui Lingfang said that she had already found someone.
Mr. Yang asked one more question: "Could you reveal which screenwriter it is?"
Sui Lingfang declined, saying, "It's not convenient to reveal that, but you'll meet sooner or later."
Once the script is adapted, the screenwriter will be stationed on set and work alongside the crew.
General Manager Yang: "Okay!"
Now that Chenxi Entertainment has found a solution, Mr. Yang stopped pressing the issue and said sincerely:
"If you need any help from Yiyi Media, just ask. We have a lot of resources and connections in the industry that we can use."
Sui Lingfang: "Okay, I won't be polite."
-
Time flies, and January has arrived.
Jinli spent a lively New Year's Day on the Tsinghua and Peking University campuses. She and Gu Cheng participated in the school's New Year's Eve party, where they performed a duet.
On New Year's Day, many television stations invited them to participate in local New Year's Eve galas, but they declined them all.
Jinli and Gu Cheng felt that attending their alma mater's New Year's Eve party was more meaningful.
Other TV stations offer plenty of opportunities to participate in their New Year's Eve galas, but participating in my alma mater's gala is a rare opportunity, as each year it becomes one less chance to do so, making it all the more precious.
Before they knew it, they had been at school for a year and a half.
Once summer vacation is over this year, I will be a junior.
The two sang together at the Tsinghua and Peking University New Year's Eve Gala, and the video was posted on a student's blog, immediately becoming a trending topic.
So sweet!
This is the kind of love I longed for during my student days.
[I highly recommend the two of them film another college campus drama, a story about unrequited love turning into reality, it's so sweet!]
I want to see a story about childhood sweethearts (shy)
[Ah, am I the only one who wants to see forced play? I want to see Jin Li force Gu Cheng, making the aloof academic genius fall to earth!]
[The person upstairs has an amazing imagination, I'll vote for them!]
[+10010!]
……
Neither Jinli nor Gu Cheng anticipated that this trending topic would have such a powerful impact.
Surprisingly, many production teams shooting youth-themed dramas extended invitations to the two, wanting them to collaborate on a film about a college romance.
Jinli is busy with her studies and doesn't have time to look at it.
Gu Cheng read through all the scripts that were sent to him, but he was not satisfied with any of them.
When the two were resting that night, Gu Cheng hugged Jin Li and felt that current youth dramas were still very old-fashioned.
"The plot is always full of clichés, misunderstandings, and unexpected events, leading to separation. They meet again many years later, and the misunderstandings are finally resolved."
However, this kind of drama isn't exclusive to youth dramas; it could be applied to any workplace drama, so I don't really like it.
Jinli asked, "So what kind of drama do you want to film?"
Gu Cheng thought for a moment: "How about a fantasy rescue drama? There was a drama before where someone burned a photo from the past and then went back in time to save the male or female lead. It was a huge hit."
However, because the cast consisted entirely of new actors, the show became a massive hit. But the actors themselves are just average; they'll need to work hard for several more years to rise to stardom.
Jinli thought for a moment and nodded.
"The rescue plot related to youth is quite touching. If people could choose to go back to their youth, everyone would definitely want to make up for past regrets."
She smiled and said, "You can keep an eye out for this kind of subject matter, and tell me if you find anything good."
Gu Cheng raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you worried—"
Jinli asked, "What are you worried about?"
Gu Cheng chuckled: "Worried that I'll live off a woman?"
Jinli touched his handsome face and said arrogantly, "Is that so? Then your service doesn't even meet the standard of being a gigolo!"
Gu Cheng: "Then I'll try harder."
He didn't peel the pear; he simply took off his pajamas one by one in slow motion.
Jinli's throat moved involuntarily.
……
The night was deep.
The moon is beautiful tonight. (End of Chapter)