Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 218 Out!

Zhang Meng is indeed very fierce.

The budget for "The Piano in a Factory" was 600 million, but he dared to start filming after raising only 100 million.

The money was used up before the May Day holiday, under the pretext of giving the crew a holiday, and then they went around soliciting investment together with the producer.

Of course, a movie like "The Piano in a Factory" encountered many setbacks, but people who work in the film and television industry have more or less some literary and artistic complex. Cao Ping liked "The Piano in a Factory" very much and even went to the crew to watch it. The conditions were very difficult, but they agreed to give him 200 million yuan and agreed to transfer the money on the first working day after the holiday.

With the money, the crew can survive, and Zhang Meng doesn't have to spend so much time and energy.

But now he received a notice saying that he wanted to talk about "The Piano in a Factory" again, and he suddenly became nervous.

Could it be that he regrets not paying?

Zhang Meng came to Autumn Pictures again with trepidation.

Cao Ping is here, and Li Qiutang is here too.

Only then did he realize that the real boss of Autumn Pictures was Li Qiutang.

He was worrying too much. Li Qiutang didn't refuse to pay him. Instead, she asked him, "Does the crew have any other difficulties that I can help you solve?"

Zhang Meng did not ask for any more money, saying that the 200 million sponsorship was enough to solve the crew's urgent needs and he had no other requests.

Li Qiutang likes "The Piano in a Factory" very much. He is from Northeast China and has a special feeling for this kind of subject matter.

Many people think that movies like "The Piano in a Factory" and "Big Ears Bring Good Luck" exaggerate suffering, but Li Qiutang would say that real life is even more cruel than in the movies.

His own mother was one of the laid-off workers. If his father was not a teacher and not a worker, his family would have gone bankrupt. Not only his mother, but many of his elders had gone through this. At that time, Li Qiutang was already a teenager and sensible, so he remembered it clearly.

Li Qiutang has personally witnessed husbands riding bicycles to take their wives to engage in the sex trade.

Li Qiutang saw with her own eyes that her uncle and aunt were desperate, and the whole family contributed 30 or 50 yuan bit by bit to help her uncle get through the cold winter.

Li Qiutang even knew that some families would make poisonous dumplings on New Year’s Eve and the three of them would bid farewell to the world together.

When Li Qiutang thinks back on her childhood now, she feels that the happiest time was when both her mother and her husband were working before she was laid off.

Li Qiutang and Zhang Meng did not talk about the movie, but instead talked a lot about some things that happened in the past.

"Is 200 million enough? If not, tell me later." Li Qiutang said.

"Be economical and use enough."

Li Qiutang makes genre films, starts a business and opens a company in pursuit of profit, but that doesn't mean he is profit-driven.

"The Piano in a Factory" will definitely not make any money, but he will still support Zhang Meng with real money.

Finally, Li Qiutang added another 100 million and let him take away a check for 300 million.

After Zhang Meng left, Li Qiutang and Cao Ping talked about some company matters.

It’s mainly about projects and management.

Li Qiutang cares a lot about "The Legend of Zhen Huan". After all, this is the company's largest investment project, and the cost of 8000 million is considered a big deal in the field of TV dramas.

Cao Ping's main energy is now focused on this drama: "It's very troublesome. The author of the novel strongly supports Cai Shaofen and says that she must play the role of the queen. We talked for a long time and finally agreed to her decision."

"There are too many characters in this play, and casting is difficult."

But the more troublesome it is, the more cautious you have to be. Li Qiutang reminded: "There are many actresses in this play, be careful and don't cause any trouble."

Cao Ping knew what Li Qiutang was talking about and said that she would manage the crew of "The Legend of Zhen Huan" well: "Are you really not going to film this year?"

"I'm still filming?" Li Qiutang said, "I can say that I'm the most hardworking director in the industry in recent years."

"Don't you write and draw often?" Li Qiutang would also write down his ideas in the company. "Those were all unformed ideas."

"It's better not to film it." Cao Ping smiled, "Filming is not as interesting as falling in love."

"Is it so obvious?" Li Qiutang was not afraid of others knowing.

"It's okay. Be nice to her. It's not easy for a young girl." Cao Ping also knew what Liu Yifei had experienced in the past few years.

On the other hand, when Liu Yifei was still struggling with how to choose actors for "The Beauty Inside", Xue Xiaolu took action before her and deleted Hu Ge.

Because she found a more suitable actor, Wu Yanzu.

Wu Yanzu has been very willing to take on acting jobs in the past two years. Maybe it’s because he’s married, and he needs to work harder after marriage.

Wu Yanzu was very willing to work with Liu Yifei. After hearing the story of "The Beauty Inside", he felt that the role was not difficult and would be easy to act, so he accepted it.

This saved Liu Yifei a lot of trouble. She was really not good at making such choices and decisions, so she simply didn't care and threw the casting problem entirely to Xue Xiaolu.

Hu Ge was a little disappointed because he lost the election.

But there is no way, the entertainment industry is so realistic. Facing Wu Yanzu, he really has no chance of winning.

He and Tang Ren are separated from the film industry by a thick wall.

But Cai Yinong hasn't given up yet.

She found out that "The Beauty Inside" is a new film produced by Autumn Pictures, and the leading actress is Liu Yifei!
Isn't this giving her marketing? !

She wanted to bring Hu Ge and Liu Yifei together again.

It doesn't matter if I can't play a role with a lot of scenes, can I play a supporting role? If not a supporting role, can I play a cameo role?
Cai Yinong knew Cao Ping, and Cao Ping had the final say in inviting Hugo to the crew for a guest appearance, but she still did not agree to Cai Yinong's offer.

Because she knew what Tang Ren had done to Liu Yifei, and Cai Yinong inserted Hu Ge in 90% for the purpose of hype and marketing later on, Cao Ping was a little reluctant.

Although it is a romance film, based on Cao Ping's understanding of Liu Yifei, Liu Yifei would not agree to discuss such a thing with anyone.

Not to mention that the girl has a boyfriend now.

Cao Ping rejected Cai Yinong on the grounds that it was inconvenient to interfere with the director team's creative work.

He also said: "He doesn't lack roles, so why bother to play a cameo? It's a thankless task and it will delay his own performance."

Actually, Cao Ping was right. It was just a cameo. There was really no need to make so much effort. Tang Ren was still a wealthy man now. His top star was invited by many people in the drama circle. Why would he make so much effort for a cameo in a movie?

"The Beauty Inside" is not a masterpiece by a famous director, and a cameo appearance will not gild the film.

There was no way around Cao Ping, and Cai Yinong didn't want to make this movie anymore, so there was really no need to worry too much about it.

She also comforted Hu Ge: "It's okay. It's a pity that you can't act, but it's not a big deal. The filming of "The Revolution of 1911" is about to start. I will try to find a good role for you in it."

She also taught Hu Ge: "When you have time, you can also contact Liu Yifei. Do you still need me to teach you how to do this kind of interpersonal communication?"

In fact, Cai Yinong is a hindsight person.

Most of the people on the crew are temporary colleagues who go their separate ways after the filming is finished, so it's not certain that they have a deep friendship.

It is normal that the male and female protagonists have been filming together for half a year but have no contact information with each other.

Hu Ge and Liu Yifei are not as familiar as the outside media say. Of course, they are not temporary colleagues who parted ways after the filming was completed. They are just ordinary friends.

Cai Yinong still cherishes Hu Ge very much: "Of course, I'm not saying how to flatter Liu Yifei, there's no need. Just maintain friendly exchanges. It's always good to have more friends. I'm not trying to gain anything from her."

"Okay, go ahead and shoot the movie. Don't worry about the movie. I'll help you take a look at it."

(End of this chapter)