2001 Media Godfather

Chapter 13 No choice
Chu An's choice of "The Best of Us" was made after careful consideration.

Once Tiandu Culture makes a move, Lu Mingze will be able to get the script and quickly start filming with the original cast.

The original actor contracts and the crew's preparations can all be used.

This was the crew's lifeline.
.
……

Over the next few days, Chu An helped out on set during the day, cultivating good relationships with the crew. He spent his evenings engrossed in writing the script, keeping himself very busy.

As filming progressed, Director Lu finally began to realize what was going on.

This script is awful, it has some serious problems!
Previously, the people in Tiandu had been enthusiastically recommending this script to him, praising it to the skies, saying it was unparalleled and unmatched, as if if Director Lu didn't make it, another great director would snatch it away from him.

But as I said before, written expression and visual expression are two different concepts.

It's no wonder that Director Lu misjudged the situation. After all, he's an expert at filming palace dramas. The scheming among the students in the script, and Liu Xia's desperate struggle during her pregnancy and abortion, are exactly the kind of scenes that Director Lu excels at.

He even felt that some scenes were more vivid and compelling than the palace intrigue dramas he had filmed before.

For example, the scene where Liu Xia cleverly resolves the situation with the villainous second female lead is ingeniously designed and truly amazing.

The only thing overlooked is that this is a campus drama.

Those brilliant dramatic conflicts, placed in a campus drama, now seem out of place; the more they're filmed, the more awkward it feels.

The stereotypical mother of Liu Xia, the two-faced Liu Xia, the vicious second female lead, and the idiotic second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth male leads...

What is all this stuff?!

This made Lu Mingze increasingly irritable, and his desire to change the script and the female lead's character grew stronger.

Unfortunately, Jia Chenglin kept him firmly in check, nipping his desire to change the script in the bud every time.

Finally, one afternoon, the two had a heated argument on set.

"Jia Chenglin!! What the hell are you trying to do?"

Old Master Jia, on the other hand, said slowly, "Director Lu, calm down. Everything is done according to the contract. There's no room for negotiation."

Lu Mingze was already sick of hearing this, and he went hysterical, "You'll ruin this show! You'll ruin everyone's hard work!"

Jia Chenglin laughed, a laugh that sent a chill down Lu Mingze's spine. "No one forced you to film this; you insisted on filming it yourself!"

Lu Mingze, "..."

After a long pause, he glared at Jia Chenglin with murderous intent and said, "I'll call the company and replace you!"

Jia Chenglin took it as a joke and said, "Go ahead!"

In the end, Lu Mingze really went to Tiandu to complain, but of course, things didn't go as Director Lu wished, and Tiandu played coy.

Even when Director Lu asked the producer to come to the set and personally review the script, Tian Du politely declined.

It's obvious: I don't want the money, I just want to make sure you can't continue filming.

It wasn't until this moment that Lu Mingze finally sensed something was wrong; he finally got it.

He stopped arguing with Jia Chenglin and stopped insisting on revising the script, and quietly filmed for two days.

Until he simply couldn't stand the idiotic plot and dialogue anymore.

Then, he gradually gave up, casually handing over the filming work to the cameraman and Ma Lan, and hid in his hotel room, disappearing without a trace.

The entire crew was in a state of panic. Everyone was confused. What was wrong with Director Lu, who was always so passionate? Could something have gone wrong?

On this day, Lu Mingze did not come to the scene again, and the area behind his monitoring camera was completely empty.

The atmosphere in the group was extremely oppressive. Almost no one spoke, and everyone remained silent in their respective positions like machines. Even someone as easygoing as Tong Meng started to get restless and went to the kitchen to whisper to Chu An.

"Brother, what should we do? At this rate, the filming won't even be finished before we have to break up!"

Chu An sneered inwardly, thinking, "Breaking up is actually the best outcome!"

After all, filming had only been going on for a few days. Breaking up now to cut losses in time means Director Lu can still get back some of the money he invested.

It's a pity. Tiandu Culture won't let Lu Mingze get away so easily. Do you think Tiandu has run out of tricks?

Still early!
Out of the blue, he blurted out, "Someone's coming from heaven."

Tong Meng was still complaining when she suddenly heard this and was immediately stunned. "What are they coming for? Weren't they not coming?"

Everyone knows that Director Lu asked the producer to come and negotiate.

Chu An said, "The reason I didn't come before was because I didn't want to communicate. Now that I'm here, it means there's no need to communicate anymore."

"Huh?" Tong Meng didn't understand.

Just as I was about to ask, Jia Chenglin's voice rang out from outside the kitchen.

"Director Lu has been having health problems these days, which has caused filming to be delayed. Everyone, please don't let your guard down."

"I also reported the situation to the company. In order to give everyone enough confidence, the company decided that the Tiandu representatives, led by Producer Li, will go to Ningyuan this afternoon."

"The first thing we'll do after landing is to pay everyone's full fees and salaries according to the contracts!"

The money was paid out before filming even started, which is indeed a good way to boost morale.

Everyone was immediately invigorated and cheered.

No matter when, whoever pays the most is the boss, and who cares whether you can actually make the film?
Tong Meng stared intently through the kitchen door, afraid of missing a single word.

After Jia Chenglin finished speaking, he looked at Chu An in horror, "Amazing! How did you know that someone from Tiandu would come!?"

Chu An smiled. He not only knew that people from Tianhui would be coming, but he also knew that Tianhui would give everyone money in advance.

He even knew that it wasn't just about the actors' salaries and the crew's wages; Tian Du would be bringing a professional auditing and finance team to spend all the money that could be spent, and to audit every penny that Lu Mingze spent three times over.

This is to prepare for future disputes and lawsuits.

Of course, under normal circumstances, the pressure of losing all the money, the written contract, and Tiandu's flawless legal operation mean that in most cases, the matter will not go to court, and the parties involved will have to compromise.

In short, this is the means of capital.

You can't refuse to take the photos; you have to spend the money anyway, and you won't get a single penny back.

If Tian Du goes any further, they might even make Lu Mingze bear the liability for breach of contract and compensate for the losses!

Chu An was very familiar with this routine. He had been hit by just one of these combos back then, and was left with only a sliver of health.

After listening through the door for a while, and waiting for Jia Chenglin to finish speaking, Chu An looked at Tong Meng solemnly and said, "Sister, do me a favor."

Tong Meng: "Tell me!"

Chu An, "I want to see Director Lu!"

Tong Meng, “???” Tong Meng actually saw excitement and eagerness in Chu An’s eyes.

What is he doing?
……

In the evening, the Ningyuan government guesthouse gleamed with golden light in the afterglow of summer. The old elm tree in the small square in front of the guesthouse, said to be over a hundred years old, was already in its twilight years.

Lu Mingze stood wearily in the sunset, staring blankly at the sun, ignoring the stinging pain in his eyes.

He felt that he was the setting sun, that old elm tree.

His beloved career and his passionate creative spirit gradually sank into darkness with the setting sun.

Yes, Director Lu finally realized that the terrible script that Tian Du had so highly praised, the sharp words that had repeatedly tempted him to invest, and Jia Chenglin's almost undisguised mocking gaze.

If Director Lu still can't see through this, then he really has a problem with his intelligence.

During the few days he was away from the film set, Lu Mingze experienced both despair and resilience. He memorized every word of the script, trying to rearrange and reassemble it to create a successful work.

Unfortunately, he failed.

Last night, a phone call from the CEO of Tiandu completely shattered Lu Mingze's defenses.

"Old Lu, I didn't want things to escalate to this point."

……

"But you have to understand me. Tiandu is such a big business, with hundreds or even thousands of people waiting to make a living."

……

"Come back! I'll make the decision. I'll find you a good notebook, and we'll start over."

……

"The future is still bright. I believe that this failure will create an undefeated legend for a director of Qing Dynasty dramas!"

Even though a day had passed, Lu Mingze still wanted to laugh.

"I don't understand, how can a person be so shameless!"

"They destroyed everything, yet they still have the audacity to give alms. This world shouldn't be like this!"

Chu An, who was standing to the side with his hands behind his back and carrying a bag, listened quietly, thinking that there is good and evil in this world.

There are pure-hearted people like Lu Mingze, and there are also people whose minds are filled with all sorts of thoughts and evil deeds.

This is how the world is supposed to be!
But in the end, he didn't say it aloud. Destroying the beliefs of a pure person is perhaps the greatest evil.

It's actually quite good to let him keep that light in his heart.

He said, "The sun sets, but it will rise again eventually."

Lu Mingze snapped out of his reverie and gave a wry smile. "What does that have to do with me?"

Chu An: "Maybe it really is. What if we turn the tables?"

"Huh?" Lu Mingze was puzzled, clearly not understanding the meaning behind Chu An's words.

Chu An's request to see him through Tong Meng was something he couldn't quite understand.

"Xiao Chu, what brings you here today?"

Chu An turned around and faced Lu Mingze. "Director Lu, I came to ask you, do you believe me?"

Lu Mingze, "Believe in what?"

Chu An: "Believe me, I have a way. There's a chance to turn things around!"

Without even thinking, Director Lu blurted out, "I don't believe it!"

Are you kidding me? A seventeen-year-old is already swindling people? I don't believe you for a second!

Chu An smiled calmly, not at all surprised by the answer.

"It's right that you don't believe it; it means you still have reason, and that means there's still hope."

“However…” Chu An’s eyes gradually brightened, “It doesn’t matter whether you believe it or not, because you have no other choice.”

The seventeen-year-old boy's almost bizarre behavior left Lu Mingze at a loss.

But who the hell cares whether this moment is reasonable or not?
Given Director Lu's current state, even if a demon could help him turn things around, he would sell his soul without hesitation, let alone a living, breathing person.

Besides, "reasonableness" is something that bystanders need when watching a spectacle; they need their perception to match what they see.

The parties involved only care about the outcome.

Just as Chu An said, he had no other choice!

He stared blankly at Chu An, suddenly feeling a strange sense of anticipation. Perhaps he really hoped that this big boy could give him a surprise.

Then, Lu Mingze saw Chu An bring the bag in his hand to the front of him, take out a manuscript from it, and hand it to him.

Lu Mingze subconsciously took it, "What is this...?"

The sound stopped suddenly.

The Best of Us

A story about Geng Geng and Yu Huai's youth.
[Summary]:
Geng Geng, an ordinary student, unexpectedly gets into Zhenhua High School during the high school entrance exam, where she meets Yu Huai, a top student, by chance...

Episode 1:
One scene, one shot.

Time: Summer night.

Location: Outside the classroom.

With Yu Huai's help, Geng Geng climbed out of the window.
"Geng Geng. Yu Huai!?"

Lu Mingze shuddered, as if experiencing a sudden burst of energy before death.

As the script pages were turned, those dying eyes gradually brightened. Like the setting sun rising again, like an old, dying elm tree sprouting new buds in spring.

Director Lu is alive again!!

"This……"

Isn't this exactly the script he wanted to scrap and rewrite?
……

.

(End of this chapter)