Entertainment News: I'm Not a Scumbag After Rebirth!

"Tang Yan, I am Yuan Tao, Li Jun's partner."

His voice came through the phone, crisp and businesslike, but not offensive.

"I've read the script and learned about the production team. They're above average, and it's a good stepping stone for you at this stage. My advice is to take the job."

Tang Yan was somewhat surprised:

"Mr. Yuan, do you really think I can do it? I studied acting, but I've never actually acted in a TV series."

"The core of performance is the same."

Yuan Tao said:

"If you can captivate audiences on the big screen, you can do the same on the small screen."

The difference is only in the technical aspects, which you'll naturally learn once you join the team.

The key is that you need quality work and sustained exposure to solidify the attention generated by "Love is Not Blind." Otherwise, once the hype dies down, it will be difficult to get similar opportunities again.

He paused, his tone softening slightly:

"Of course, the final decision is yours."

If you feel that this role is not suitable, or if you want to wait for a better film opportunity, that's fine too.

But the entertainment industry moves very fast, and waiting sometimes means losing.

Li Jun asked me to take good care of you. My advice is to seize this opportunity and perform it well. This is the first step in your career; if you take it steadily, the road ahead will be much wider.

Tang Yan held the microphone, remaining silent for a long time.

Yuan Tao's words were realistic, even somewhat cold, but every word made sense.

She remembered Li Jun saying, "This is your path, you walk it yourself."

Yes, she can't always rely on his judgment. She needs to take that step herself.

"Thank you, Mr. Yuan."

She finally spoke, her voice soft but clear:

"I'll take it. Could you please help me finalize the details with the production team?"

Yuan Taoli immediately agreed:

"I'll have Linda handle the contract and follow-up arrangements for you. Prepare well, Tang Yan. You've got a good start; don't waste it."

After hanging up the phone, Tang Yan looked out the window at the gloomy sky over Chengdu, feeling a strange sense of peace.

The fear was still there, but once the decision was made, I felt at ease.

She opened the script and once again immersed herself in the fate of that female student from the Republican era.

While new chapters were unfolding in both Beijing and Chengdu, Li Jun was already in the south.

The plane flew smoothly at an altitude of nine thousand meters, with a thick, boundless sea of ​​clouds outside the window, edged with a cold, hard gold by the afternoon sun.

The cabin was filled with a drowsy, oppressive atmosphere, occasionally punctuated by the soft rustling of magazines being turned.

Li Jun sat by the window, closing his eyes to rest, still going over the initial plans for his trip to Hong Kong in his mind.

The seat next to him remained empty until about half an hour after the plane took off, when a faint and unique fragrance quietly entered his senses.

A cool, woody scent with a hint of white flowers; expensive, distinctive, and with a distinct aggressiveness.

Then came the soft rustling of fabric as someone sat down at the next table.

He didn't open his eyes immediately, until a voice, clearly delivered amidst the roar of the engine, reached his ear, its pronunciation deliberately soft:

"Excuse me... are you Director Li Jun?"

Li Jun opened his eyes and turned his head.

The first thing that catches the eye is a pair of brown gradient sunglasses that almost cover half of the face, with delicately drawn eyeliner faintly visible behind the lenses.

Her chestnut-brown long curly hair was neatly draped over her shoulders. Her off-white Max Mara cashmere trench coat was of excellent quality and was casually open, revealing a black silk shirt underneath. The neckline was not high, but the curve was just right.

She was like a piece of exquisite porcelain just taken out of a shop window, every inch of her exuding a preciousness that had been carefully nurtured.

It's Fan Bingbing.

The radiant face on Huayi's poster is now right in front of me.

It has less of the aggressiveness found in heavily edited photos and more of a scrutinizing, inquisitive quality.

"Miss Fan."

Li Jun nodded, his tone flat, showing neither surprise nor enthusiasm, as if recognizing her was merely based on basic social common sense.

He noticed that she was holding the latest issue of Chinese Vogue, and the cover featured a photo of her and Li Bingbing together.

Fan Bingbing seemed a little surprised by his calm reaction, her slender eyebrows twitching almost imperceptibly.

She took off her sunglasses, revealing a pair of standard, slightly upturned phoenix eyes. Her makeup was perfect, but her gaze wasn't as icy as it appeared in the photos.

"What a coincidence." She parted her red lips slightly and uttered two words, her gaze never leaving Li Jun's face:

"Director Li, are you going to Guangzhou on a business trip?" She proactively explained her itinerary: "I have a guy to film."

"I need to take care of something."

Li Jun's answer was brief and without details, his gaze calmly meeting her scrutiny.

Of course he knew about "Love in the Windy City," knew that she and Li Bingbing were Wang Zhonglei's current rising stars, and also knew that the film used "Take Me Away," which he had taken from him.

These factors imbue this encounter with a subtle layer of meaning.

"I've heard about Director Li's recent big spending spree."

Fan Bingbing tilted her body slightly towards him at a small angle, making the cool fragrance even clearer.

She spoke in a low voice, making sure only the two of them could hear her.

It was impossible to tell whether the tone was flattery or something else:

"The Super Girl champion, and a movie broadcast on television, have stirred up a huge commotion. Even our CEO, Mr. Wang..."

She paused at the opportune moment, leaving a meaningful blank space, and a smile that was neither a smile nor a frown curved her lips.

"They all left a deep impression on me."

"luck."

Li Jun replied with two words, without showing any emotion.

Fan Bingbing repeated softly, shook her head, and a strand of curly hair fell to her cheek. She casually tucked it behind her ear, revealing her beautifully shaped neck and a sparkling diamond earring.

"To be able to disrupt Huayi's plans and get someone as arrogant as Yuan Tao to leave and go solo with you, this is more than just luck."

Her words were like feathers, gently scratching at the hidden boundaries.

"Director Li is a smart and capable man. There aren't many smart people in this industry, and even fewer smart people who are capable."

"Miss Fan, you flatter me."

Li Jun remained calm, his gaze sweeping over her hands resting on the armrest.

Her fingers were slender and long, her nails were a clean nude color, and she wore a Jaeger-LeCoultre Reverso watch on her wrist, exuding understated luxury.

Every detail emphasizes her value.

"I enjoy dealing with intelligent people."

Fan Bingbing seemed not to hear his perfunctory reply and continued talking to herself.

She took a business card out of her small Birkin bag.

It wasn't a company business card; it was a personal one. On the plain white cardstock, there were only the three words "Fan Bingbing" printed in handwriting, along with a mobile phone number.

She held the business card between two fingers and handed it to Li Jun with an elegant gesture.

Her words began to jump around, but the meaning was clear:

"Huayi is a large company, but it's not just one path. If Director Li encounters any interesting projects in Hong Kong, or Beijing, or anywhere else in the future, or needs any 'small' help, perhaps we can talk."

She pronounced the word "small" very softly, but her eyes seemed to be hooked.

"Having more friends always means having more options. Especially in this circle, don't you think?"

Her implication was quite explicit.

The definition of a friend is broad, the kind of help one can provide can be very specific, and there are many other occasions for conversation.

This is not just a business card; it's more like an option she unilaterally offered, full of temptation and risk.

She wanted to find a balance, or even a connection that might bring additional benefits, between Huayi and Li Jun, a clearly promising and resourceful disruptor.

Betting on both sides and profiting from both is a common survival strategy used by shrewd players.

Li Jun looked at the business card she handed him but didn't immediately reach for it.

The light from the cabin overhead light fell on the plain white card, its edges reflecting a cold gleam.

He could feel Fan Bingbing's gaze fixed on his reaction, filled with expectation, and perhaps even a deeply hidden longing.

The air seemed to freeze for a few seconds. Even the sound of engines seemed distant.

Finally, Li Jun made a move.

He reached out his hand, not to take the business card, but to gently press the end of the card closest to him with the pads of his index and middle fingers.

This action avoids direct finger contact, making it appear distant.

Then he picked up the business card completely, his gaze lingering on it for about a second, as if he were really trying to memorize the number.

He casually slipped the business card into the breast pocket of his shirt, causing the fabric to sag slightly.

His movements were natural, his expression remained unchanged—no surprise, no disgust, and no wavering in the face of temptation.

There was neither agreement nor refusal.

Fan Bingbing didn't seem disappointed by his reaction; on the contrary, it was as if she had confirmed something.

She put her sunglasses back on, concealing any emotion that might flash in her eyes, leaned back in her seat, and her perfect profile returned to a slightly tired calm.

She picked up the copy of "VOGUE," flipped through it, and didn't look at Li Jun again.

Li Jun also turned back and looked at the sea of ​​clouds outside the window again.

The business card on my chest, even through the thin fabric of my shirt, felt slightly stiff to the touch.

The plane continued forward, passing through a stable airflow zone, and bumped slightly.

The brief and subtle encounter with Fan Bingbing on the flight to Guangzhou was like a fleeting cloud outside the airplane window, leaving a trace but not changing the course of the journey.

Li Jun put the business card away without giving it much thought.

The entertainment industry has a complex and intertwined network of relationships. Having an extra, albeit subtle, connection is not necessarily a bad thing, but there's no need to immediately assign it too much meaning.

He stayed in Guangzhou for a few days, mainly to get an expedited travel permit to Hong Kong and Macau.

The procedures went more smoothly than expected. While waiting, he didn't sit idle. Through some accumulated, albeit subtle, connections, he roughly got a feel for the current state of the Hong Kong film industry.

The feedback received was fairly consistent:

The golden age of Hong Kong films has passed, the local market has shrunk, and there has been a serious brain drain to the mainland. However, even a weakened giant is still a giant, especially in terms of the foundation of the film industry, professional behind-the-scenes technical teams, mature genre film shooting processes, and internationally aligned production experience. These foundations are still there, just somewhat scattered and await integration.

Instead of flying directly to Hong Kong, he bought a direct bus ticket from Guangzhou to Hong Kong.

The car passed through the Shenzhen Bay Port, slowly clearing customs, and then drove onto the winding road.

The scenery outside the car window gradually changed, and more and more signs with traditional Chinese characters appeared. The vehicles were traveling in the opposite direction, and a sense of familiarity mixed with strangeness washed over me.

This is Hong Kong, but it's not the more international Hong Kong I remember. It still retains a unique atmosphere from the late 1990s, a mix of busyness and nostalgia.

He found an ordinary hotel in the Tsim Sha Tsui area of ​​Kowloon to stay in.

The room wasn't large, but you could see a corner of Victoria Harbour from the window, where the seawater shimmered with a grayish-green light in the afternoon sun.

After putting down his simple luggage, he made a phone call at the pre-arranged time.

The person who answered the phone was surnamed Chen and named Chen Yongren, but of course, not the one from the movie.

He was a Hong Kong film producer whom Yuan Tao met in his early years through music copyright transactions. He had been in the industry for many years, had extensive connections, and was well-informed. He was the kind of "local bigwig" who could connect with anyone but didn't usually show his face.

Yuan Tao had given him prior notice.

"Mr. Li? You've arrived in Hong Kong?"

The voice on the other end of the phone was cheerful and had a strong Cantonese accent:

"Mr. Yuan has told me many of your impressive stories. You're quite the young man! Want to grab some tea sometime?"

"Mr. Chen, you're too kind. I'm new to your place and have a lot to ask you."

Li Jun also tries his best to incorporate a Cantonese accent into his Mandarin, which is a polite way of adapting to local customs.

It was at an old-fashioned tea restaurant in Jordan.

Chen Yongren is in his fifties, slightly overweight, wearing a polo shirt, with a friendly smile but shrewd eyes.

After exchanging pleasantries, Li Jun went straight to the point:

I want to systematically understand and learn about the operation of the Hong Kong film industry, especially the production process of large-scale action and drama films, from pre-production and on-site shooting management to post-production special effects and sound effects. I want to see and learn all of these.

"Is Mr. Lee planning to make a big-budget production?"

Chen Yongren took a sip of milk tea and asked with a smile.

"I have this idea. But the mainland currently lacks mature experience in this area, so I want to come and learn from them."

Li Jun spoke frankly.

Chen Yongren nodded, not delving into the matter further:

"I understand. There's a talent gap in Hong Kong right now. The older generation of directors, action choreographers, and cinematographers are still around, but opportunities are scarce. The younger generation either has to go up north to make a living or switch careers. However, Mr. Li thinks it's still possible to make arrangements."

He counted on his fingers:

"The Shaw Brothers studio is mainly rented out now for filming TV series and movies. I can arrange for you to visit the filming locations of 'The Storm Riders' and 'Chinese Hero.' Friend, if you want to see the filming on location, there's a police and gangster movie currently building sets in Yuen Long Industrial Park. I know the director well, so I can put in a word and let you go and follow along for a few days. But be discreet, or you'll affect their work."

Li Jun wrote them down one by one.

Chen Yongren lowered his voice:

"If Mr. Li is really interested in collaborating, I know a few people with the same action design team. They used to work with Tsui Hark and Ching Siu-tung, so they have a lot of experience, and their prices are negotiable now. They have experts in art direction and costume design."

Li Jun's heart stirred.

Talent is the most valuable asset. A mature industry is not only reflected in its processes, but also in the skilled craftsmen who possess exceptional expertise.

"Then I'd like to trouble Mr. Chen to help arrange the visit and on-site learning."

Li Jun raised his glass in a toast, using tea instead of wine:

"As for the team I'll work with, we can discuss that in more detail once I've learned more about them."

"no problem!"

Chen Yongren clinked glasses heartily:

"Mr. Li, you're a straightforward person! I'll arrange it for you right away. In Hong Kong, opportunities always favor the prepared and decisive. I have high hopes for you!"