Huayu: Just started as a stagehand, but the director's comeback system

On November 12, 2003, filming of Crazy Stone officially wrapped up.

The wrap party was a bit rushed. After toasting everyone, Jiang Huai didn't stay at the hotel for dinner, but instead had the producer sent by China Film Group wait there to settle the bill.

The other party had been relatively low-profile, since Jiang Huai was the main producer of the film. He was only there to prevent Jiang Huai from using the crew's money for any outrageous high-end spending.

Jiang Huai left the hotel and immediately took the film negatives to find Fu Lulu.

One of the casting directors no longer needs to stay with the "House of Flying Daggers" crew, so he can come and help out in Jianghuai.

"Hurry up and get in the car, Auntie. Taxi drivers charge extra for waiting passengers."

"What's the rush? Let me put on some lipstick first."

After dawdling for half an hour, Jiang Huai called another taxi and arrived at the editing company that Fu Lulu had found.

Although Jiang Huai oversaw the editing process throughout, he didn't interfere too much. Professional tasks should be left to professionals, as long as his ideas were followed.

The editing company provided a rest room, so Jiang Huai stayed at the editing company for four days. During that time, the actors who came to do the sound work noticed the dark circles under Jiang Huai's eyes and wanted to persuade him to take a break.

On November 17th, after Jianghuai completed the acceptance process, they rushed over with the master tapes as agreed with China Film Group.

This time, Han Sanping personally received them and brought several professional film critics to the screening room.

Jiang Huai had already seen the edited version of Crazy Stone, so he wasn't interested in watching it again. He was more interested in observing the expressions of the film critics present.

At first, a few people were talking quietly, but later they were all immersed in the movie. Listening to the occasional laughter, even though this was just a screening organized by China Film Group, Jiang Huai felt that it was probably a sure thing.

Jianghuai doesn't need to worry about the follow-up matters; China Film Group will take full responsibility for things like labeling.

As planned, there were no major issues, and Han Sanping and Jiang Huai confirmed that the film would be released on February 2nd next year.

However, he also subtly mentioned that Jiang Huai's film was a personal investment, and he would have to pay the highest taxes in the future. Even if he set up a company now, China Film Group would not allow him to take advantage of loopholes.

At the time, Jiang Huai didn't quite understand the ins and outs of a movie after its release, but now there's nothing he can do but learn from his mistakes.

[Ding! Mission One is complete. The reward—a movie manuscript and a firework—is being distributed.]

Jiang Huai, who was talking to Han Sanping, was stunned for a moment because two wrinkles suddenly appeared on his head. Han Sanping thought that the other party was worried about the taxes that would have to be paid after the profit sharing.

After watching the movie, Han Sanping believed that it would make some money no matter what, and he had also seen the news that Jiang Huai had been involved in, including Xu Zheng and Zhang Ziyi, which had attracted a lot of attention.

"Xiao Jiang, you're still young, don't do anything wrong."

"What are you saying, Chairman Han? I firmly support the laws of the country."

When Jiang Huai came to his senses and heard that the other party had so openly pointed out his patriotism, he quickly expressed his patriotism.

Han Sanping felt relieved to hear him say that. At worst, he could have someone check Jiang Huai's tax records later. He couldn't control how others in the entertainment industry behaved, but Jiang Huai's investment this time was his decision, and he couldn't let the other party affect him.

After discussing some familiar topics, Han Sanping glanced at his watch and then let Jiang Huai leave on his own.

Just as I stepped out of the China Film Group building, the system's voice rang out again.

Although it's unclear what methods you used, your collusion with the retired chairman of China Film Group has ensured the film's normal release. However, be careful of the film director Ning Hao's revenge.

Task 2 prerequisite Task 1 has been released: Own your own filming crew (Your infamous reputation makes it difficult to hire a renowned cinematographer even with extra money. To shed your reputation as a flop director, you need to have your own filming crew as soon as possible, but please refrain from using coercion or other illegal activities.)

Reward for prerequisite task one: Genius-level cinematic visual language.

After pausing for two seconds, Jiang Huai understood the system's meaning. He wasn't in a hurry for this task; he could wait until Crazy Stone's profits were distributed so he could set up a company and handle it together.

However, he did not expect that Ning Hao was the original director of Crazy Stone. His film "Thursday, Wednesday" was indeed an excellent movie.

The same multi-narrative structure, coupled with the unintentional dark humor, does indeed feel like a microcosm of Crazy Stone.

He remembered that Ning Hao and Huang Bo had a good relationship. Huang Bo had mentioned to him when they were on set that Ning Hao had recently made an award-winning film called "Incense".

It's unclear whether the other party has signed with any company yet, but if they haven't, Jiang Huai is determined to bring them in.

After all, Jiang Huai, whose brain now has several more wrinkles, can see that Crazy Stone is far superior to his own Dad Tian Da Hua. He doesn't believe that the other party has lost his touch after Crazy Stone, and he's sure to make a profit from this.

Jiang Huai never likes to procrastinate, because the longer it takes, the more variables there are. Although he hasn't started a company yet, he can make a verbal agreement with the other party first.

Jiang Huai figured Huang Bo wouldn't be in any trouble at midday, so he made the call directly.

"Hey, Brother Long, what's up?"

"Feng, I remember you know Ning Hao, right? Introduce him to me."

There was some noise around Huang Bo, and Jiang Huai didn't know what the other party was doing, so he didn't bother to beat around the bush and just explained the situation clearly.

"What a coincidence, Haozi, Director Jiang is on the phone. You two thought of the same thing."

Huang Bo, who was on the other end of the phone, had drunk quite a bit, and his voice was slurred. He was currently celebrating with Ning Hao that the other's film had won the Best Feature Film award in Ginza, Tokyo.

I just told Ning Hao about the general script for my film "Crazy Stone," and he even mentioned wanting to meet Jiang Huai.

"Hello, is this Director Ning Hao?"

Jiang Huai listened to the silence on the other end of the phone for a while, and figured that Ning Hao must have received the call, so he asked first.

"It's me, Director Jiang. What can I do for you?"

Ning Hao was a little curious as to why Jiang Huai was contacting him now. Although his film "Incense" had won an award in Tokyo, it hadn't made any noise in China, so the other party probably didn't know either.

"This is something that can't be explained over the phone. Let me treat Director Ning to a meal another day, and we can talk about it in person."

Even over the phone, Jiang Huai could sense that the other person was drinking and it certainly wasn't the right time to talk. Luckily, Zhang Ziyi's membership card still had a balance, so why not use it?

"That's perfect, I'd also like to meet Director Jiang. The script for Crazy Stone is really good, so I wish Director Jiang great success at the box office in advance."

"Then I'll take your good wishes to heart."

After Ning Hao smiled and agreed, the two exchanged a few more polite words before Jiang Huai hung up the phone first.