2001 Media Godfather

Chapter 22: Disband on the spot, reorganize in place

Each person received a copy of the script, allowing everyone to make their own judgments and choices.

Of course, if that's all, it might not be quite there yet.

Chu An pondered how to make a decisive move and stabilize the emotions of those still remaining in Ningyuan.

After thinking for a moment, he suddenly said to Ma Lan, who was driving, "Sister Lan, let's find a bank on the way in Yangcheng."

Ma Lan was confused. "Bank? You want to withdraw money?"

……

The film crew used the meeting room of the Ningyuan Agricultural Machinery Factory union to gather all their staff.

It was 11:30 p.m. The meeting room was filled with smoke, and under the lights were nearly a hundred faces, some tired and some indignant.

Xu Shu stood alone by the window, gently covering her nose. Her delicate face carried an aloofness that kept strangers at bay. She quietly looked out at the dilapidated factory buildings.

Several production assistants squatted in the corner smoking, listening to the camera crew next door whispering and discussing what they knew about the film crew's progress.

Xu Shu's assistant, Zhang Yuan, ignored her celebrity and was huddled with Jia Chenglin and others, sarcastically complaining that "half a month had been wasted."

With a gentle old man's smile, Jia Chenglin looked at Li Chunhua and said, "I don't know what you've gathered everyone here for. Well..." He glanced at the group of people from the production system and said, "I've ordered all our people to come as well."

Li Chunhua took out a cigarette, and Zhang Yuan quickly lit it for him. "Producer Li, tell us, what exactly is Lu Mingze trying to do?"

Feeling flattered by everyone, Li Chunhua finally spoke up, "I heard that Director Lu went back to Shengjing to sell houses and met with a few small investors. I wonder if he can get the funds."

He didn't lower his voice, and many people nearby heard him.

The crew finally broke their silence. "Why don't we leave too? We've already been paid anyway."

The day before yesterday, those young girls from the makeup team ran away. I heard that Jia Chenglin arranged for them to join the cast of the new drama "Deep Palace Lock Jade" in Tiandu.

"Let's go see Director Jia and see if we can..."

While they were still discussing it, the lighting team had already started taking action.

"No problem, no problem!" Jia Chenglin readily agreed, shouting, "As you all know, Tiandu opens more than a dozen teams a year, which will definitely provide everyone with a livelihood!"

These words caused an even greater stir in the conference room, with many eager to try their luck.

Li Chunhua then stepped in to smooth things over, saying, "Everyone doesn't need to feel guilty. Director Lu did start this film rather hastily, and the preparations in all aspects were insufficient, which led to today's situation. It is indeed a bit of a pity."

"When Director Lu comes back, I'll try to persuade him. If he can't keep doing it, he shouldn't! It's not like we're without any projects to film. As long as Director Lu gives up, I'll find everyone another production team right away!"

The words were well-spoken, but the underlying purpose was very clear: to break up the film crew.

"That's right!" Although Zhang Yuan was just an artist's assistant, she was, after all, the assistant of a top star and had a certain status in the crew.

Moreover, a few people know that this assistant is no ordinary assistant.

Zhang Yuan: "They don't film profitable movies, but insist on filming such terrible scripts. Our Xiao Shu said that she has never filmed such a bad script in all these years."

Everyone nodded in agreement with these words, which also caused Xu Shuyu's delicate forehead to furrow slightly.

It wasn't what Zhang Yuan said that upset her, but rather...

From her perspective, she could see a somewhat familiar face peering through the door and windows at the diverse characters inside the conference room.

The one named Chu An, they're back.

Clang.

The sound of the door opening brought all the noise to a sudden halt, and everyone's eyes were focused on the doorway.

See
Then they saw Chu An, the actor who played Wang Xiaoshuai, leading...
Indeed, Chu An strode ahead, followed by Lu Mingze, each dragging a large suitcase, as if they hadn't even gone back to their rooms before arriving here.

Ma Lan and Tong Meng followed at the back, carrying two stacks of scripts.

This formation appears to be led by Chu An, who is leading Director Lu and a group of others into the venue.

Xu Shu was somewhat surprised because Chu An had a very strong aura.

So strong that even Li Chunhua and his two companions, who were originally occupying the center of the conference room, had to give way to this group.

Li Chunhua felt she had lost face after giving up the center position. She threw away her cigarette butt, her eyes flashing with malice, and went to meet Lu Mingze.

"Director Lu, you're finally back!"

"Everyone's waiting for you. How did it go? Did you get the money?"

He started with some very pointed words, which really got everyone on the edge of their seats, and they all listened intently to the outcome.

Lu Mingze frowned, glaring silently at Li Chunhua, making no attempt to hide his contempt and anger towards him.

This not only failed to curb Li Chunhua's behavior, but instead aroused his perverse pleasure. "So, do you have money or not?"

Lu Mingze sneered, roaring inwardly: I've got plenty of money! I'll scare you to death!

That felt amazing! The feeling of making a comeback from the brink of defeat was fucking awesome!

Just as he was about to start showing off, Chu An preemptively turned to Ma Lan and asked, "Didn't Tiandu withdraw its investment?"

Malan: "That's right!"

Chu An: "Then what is he doing here?"

Ma Lan quickly distanced herself, saying, "I didn't inform him!"

Chu An yelled, "Then get the hell out of here!! What's it to you!?"

This startled Li Chunhua.

Everyone was confused and started fighting right away. How exciting!

Li Chunhua
He didn't even recognize Chu An, thinking to himself: Where did this brat come from?! Why is he so hot-tempered?
It wasn't until Jia Chenglin leaned over and whispered in his ear that he realized the actor was a nobody, not even a supporting role.

His face immediately contorted in pain. "You dare to do this?!"
He retorted, "Who are you? Who gives you the right to speak here..."

Before he could finish speaking, Lu Mingze interjected, "He's a shareholder in my studio and my agent! What he says represents what I say!"

Okay, Director Lu's agency contract is still with Tiandu, so we can only add the word "agent".

As for Chu Shikuai, he's so uncouth! He stole my thunder!
But a mascot should be aware of its own limitations!
Li Chunhua: "???"

My first thought was, is this brat a second or third-generation rich kid? Has Lu Mingze managed to curry favor with someone powerful?
He needs some time to process this.

Chu An didn't care about Lu Mingze and Li Chunhua's reactions. What the hell was the point of transmigrating? He had to take the lead in such a show-off moment! Besides, having lived two lives, Brother An didn't know what it meant to be low-key.

They shooed Li Chunhua away like they were sweeping up trash, yelling, "Get out! What are you, an outsider, showing off for?"

Li Chunhua was about to explode; this brat had gone too far!

However, I've seen all kinds of storms. I'm shameless and just won't leave. What can you do to me?
She changed her tune, saying, "I'm asking this for everyone's sake!"

Having found a breakthrough, they began to unite the masses, saying, "Come on, everyone, don't you agree?"

"Director Lu, tell me, it's been a month since filming started, right? How many days of actual shooting have we actually done?"

"Who wouldn't get anxious and frustrated in that situation?!"

This statement was immediately echoed by the crowd, with some even chiming in:

"Chu An, why are you everywhere? Don't say anything, let Director Lu say whether we're going to film this movie or not!"

Li Chunhua: "Yes!! Director Lu, you have to give everyone an explanation today. Can this movie still be filmed?"

Lu Mingze's eyes lit up. He'd been called on! He had to answer! He stepped forward, his mouth agape.

Chu An: "We can't take pictures."

Director Lu, "..."

Everyone, “???”

Li Chunhua, “?”

"No more filming!" Chu An declared loudly.

"If Tian Du finds this terrible script and then pulls this stunt of withdrawing funding at the last minute, how the hell are they going to make it?"

One sentence silenced everyone.

Everyone thought that Lu Mingze would have to struggle a bit and try to appease people.

After all, didn't they all go back to Shengjing to sell their houses?

After all, it's an investment of over ten million; they're definitely not willing to give up.

But he didn't follow the script; he just stopped filming right away!

While everyone was calming down, and ignoring Li Chunhua, Chu An took control of the meeting room, saying, "I know everyone is anxious because it's all for the sake of the show, so Director Lu rushed back overnight to gather everyone together."

"Actually, I just wanted to hear everyone's opinions: is it still necessary to continue filming 'My High School Days'?"

Upon hearing this, Li Chunhua's eyes lit up.

What's that old saying? "A young man with no beard is unreliable."
It's fine to want to control the situation, but you can't steer the conversation in a direction that benefits me!
He actually chimed in, "Right, right! Everyone, tell me, can this movie still be made?"

"What are we filming?" the head of the camera crew spoke first. "Director Lu must be confused, right? The script is also awkward, I think we should just give up."

"Awkward?" Chu An echoed, turning his gaze to Xu Shu by the window. "Xu, you're the lead actress, why don't you explain?"

A flicker of panic crossed Xu Shu's eyes, which she quickly concealed, glancing instinctively at Li Chunhua and Zhang Yuan.

Chu An raised an eyebrow. It was easy to understand why she was looking at Li Chunhua, since she was from Tiandu. But why was she looking at Zhang Yuan?
Chu An didn't have much of an impression of Zhang Yuan, because he had only met her once at the guesthouse and she didn't usually go to the film set.

Meanwhile, Li Chunhua felt that continuing the topic would be to her advantage, so she gave Xu Shu a look, telling her to speak freely.

Xu Shu lowered her head and thought for a long time before uttering the longest sentence Chu An had ever heard from her, aside from her lines.

"It's alright, it's just that the part about Liu Xia's abortion is a bit awkward."

"In addition, Liu Xia's character design is also problematic."

Once the camera crew and the female lead spoke first, everyone else started talking at once, pointing out various problems.

At this point, everyone subconsciously believed that the film would not be made, so it would be better to find a reason to break up!
"Since everyone thinks there are problems with this show, it will be difficult to present a good work."

After Chu An and the others finished their discussion, they immediately came to a conclusion: "Then, on behalf of Director Lu Mingze, I hereby announce that the 'My High School Days' project is suspended, and the crew is to be disbanded on the spot!"

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.

A production crew that invested 15 million and caused a huge stir has just disappeared. It leaves a bit of an emptiness in my heart.

The people in Tiandu almost burst out laughing.

It can only be said that Director Lu is pragmatic; he knew it was impossible and finally gave up.

Li Chunhua's face immediately lit up, and she moved closer to Lu Mingze, "Old Lu!! It's good to disband! The 'Deep Palace Locked Jade' crew is still in preparation, I'll submit the application to the company right away."

"You can immediately lead everyone to switch to 'The Palace Locked in Jade'!"

Then, Chu An finally managed to take his second deep breath!

"at the same time!!"

"I hereby announce that the production team of 'The Best of Us' has officially entered the project preparation stage."

Ga! ?

Li Chunhua couldn't catch her breath. What did she say? I didn't hear her clearly.

When asked, "You mean...the project has been approved?" Jia Chenglin replied, "You mean...the project has been approved?"

What is "The Best of Us" anyway?
At this moment, Ma Lan and Tong Meng distributed the script to everyone.

Everyone took the script in a daze, having never seen anything like it before. A film crew disbanded and a project was started on the spot – that would be quite a spectacle in the entertainment industry.
Looking down at the new script, I saw on the cover:

The Best of Us

Screenwriter: Chu An

Everyone stared at the name, dumbfounded.

While everyone was reading the script, Chu An had Lu Mingze open the suitcase he was dragging and kicked it over.

With a crash, a box of cash scattered all over the floor!
……

.

(End of this chapter)