I’m a Director, I’m Not Bad

Chapter 417 415. Righteousness (Thanks to the leader of the "neither man nor ghost"!!)

On the morning of the 10th, Xu Xin watched the ordinary 2D version of "Avatar" by himself again.

It’s not that he knows how to save money. It's because he couldn't buy 3D tickets without notifying Wang Sicong.

After reviewing the plot, he discovered the artistic and powerful side of James Cameron's script.

He brought a very real issue to the fore.

When the inner moral bottom line of human beings is challenged, what kind of behavior is considered correct.

Betray your own race, help the Na'vi, and then watch your planet perish in that half-dead state?

Or just like the colonel who was the final villain, for the continuation of "humanity" itself, he started a crazy plunder to replenish himself.

The so-called "companies" and "superconductor mines" in this film are all misleading.

The core of the essence is a multiple-choice question about human nature.

Tsk…

Damn, that’s awesome.

This is the deepest thought in Xu Xin's heart.

But at the same time, he knew... that he might never be able to make this kind of work.

It’s not that I’m not capable enough…

Rather, it’s an understanding of the tone of the “industry.”

If this film is given to him, or to some domestic directors, it will be made. Then in the end it must be a story about the coexistence of the Na'vi and the people on Earth.

There is no second possibility.

The ending seems happy at first glance...but actually...it's quite satisfying.

After all, it has a guiding role.

But anyway... After watching "Avatar" twice more, and completely sorting out everything from the story to the plot to the technical means, he came to a conclusion.

This film...has a milestone significance for the film industry.

This is true both inside and outside the circle.

3D...

For no reason, he thought of a word:

“There’s a long way to go.”

…

"Xiao Xu."

"Hey, Aunt Zhao."

Chang'an Club, in private room No. 3.

Xu Xin looked at Zhao Xinyu who was pushing the door open and greeted him with a smile.

As a member, he arranged for people from three families to come here to chat today. His original intention was to have a simple room to receive guests and talk.

Originally, the room had been booked, but when he arrived, the waiter directly led him to this extra-large room overlooking Chang'an Avenue.

Xu Xin was a little surprised.

Obviously this was specially arranged by Zhao Xinyu.

After Zhao Xinyu arrived, she said to the middle-aged woman next to her who didn't know whether she was an assistant or a secretary:

"The people looking for Xiao Xu will arrive soon, just bring them over."

"Okay, Mr. Zhao."

"Well, you go out."

After letting the other party leave, Zhao Xinyu smiled and asked Xu Xin:

"I knew you were coming over from my subordinates. As soon as I heard that you wanted to arrange a place to receive guests, I directly opened this room for you. It's quiet and has a good view. Is that okay?"

"That's great."

Although Xu Xin didn't quite know the meaning of this room, which was larger than last time, he could tell by looking at the number.

001, 002, 003 are arranged like this.

It’s unclear to what extent the first two can be settled, but this 003 is definitely not open at will.

What a shame.

"sit down."

Pointing to the sofa by the window, Zhao Xinyu asked:

"Should we arrange a note taker for you later?"

"No, it's not that formal. It's just a few investors who want to invest in the movie. Let's talk about how to do it."

"Well, if you need anything, just tell them directly... Where is Daqiang? Is he in Yanjing?"

"No, I don't know where it is either."

"He's at leisure now. You two have made him worry-free, and he can live more comfortably. Where is Mimi?"

"I have my children at home. I wanted to come, but the two little ones just got vaccinated today and have to be observed, so they didn't come. When did you come back from Xiangjiang?"

Chatting, there are words coming and going.

You can't let people keep asking.

"I've been back for quite a while."

After hearing this, Xu Xin thought for a while and asked tentatively:

"Has Zhang Ziyi apologized to you? From your interview, her brother is quite incompetent."

Zhao Xinyu smiled:

"If this happened to you, would you accept an apology?"

"..."

Xu Xin's mouth twitched.

What does this mean?

Isn’t it over yet?

Perhaps because his expression was interesting, Zhao Xinyu smiled and said:

"What? Do you think I'm too stingy?"

As soon as these words came out, it was directly equivalent to admitting from the side that the whole thing was done by her.

But Xu Xin pretended not to hear it and said with a smile:

"If it were me, I wouldn't accept it either."

"That's right. To use a line from the movie...how do you say that? If an apology is useful, then what else should the police do?"

"This is a famous line."

"Haha~"

Zhao Xinyu looked very happy, and then said:

"Either I say you are a smart kid... But don't worry, there are some things that I am not right about. Once the matter is resolved, it will be fine."

Xu Xin listened... followed her words and finished it in his mind for her:

"If the matter is not resolved, it will continue."

Is that what it means?

Not finished yet?

Be good.

Zhang Ziyi, it’s not good for you to offend anyone. You must offend her...

Xu Xin sighed in his heart.

And Zhao Xinyu didn't stay long.

After sitting there for about ten minutes, I left directly. Before leaving, I didn't forget to remind Xu Xin that when the auditions for "The Voice" will begin, remember to inform her.

Although Xu Xin has received the guarantee of direct blind selection.

But she seems...still hoping that her daughter will participate in the audition?

He didn't think much about it. After Zhao Xinyu left, while he was smoking a cigarette, Qi Lei arrived first.

He also took two people with him.

"Director Xu, this is Chen Wei, Mr. Chen, and producer Gao Manju from the Yindu Distribution Department."

Chen Wei's name sounds quite majestic, but he is actually a somewhat balding middle-aged man with a rather kind smile.

As soon as I opened my mouth, there was a strong sense of Hong Kong.

Gao Manju, who seemed to be about the same age as Chen Wei, was a relatively taciturn type. After saying hello to Xu Xin, he sat aside with a tea cup and basically didn't speak much during the greeting stage between Xu Xin and Chen Wei.

Then, Xue Haifeng, Chen Minji, the deputy director of the distribution department whom he met last time at the Golf Manor, and Dong Qun, the head of Shanghai Film Production Company, also arrived.

On the 9th, Xu Xin had already told Qi Lei about the situation at Shanghai Film Studio.

Qi Lei has also been busy in the factory these two days with the same thing.

Therefore, the arrival of Xue Haifeng, Chen Minji, and Dong Qun this time was not a surprise to several waves of people.

We are all buddies from the Sixth University. Although we usually live far apart from each other, we have all met each other in meetings and the like.

At least it seems that Qi Lei, Xue Haifeng and Dong Qun are quite familiar with each other.

Several people were sitting in front of the guest sofa, each holding a cup of tea and chatting about the recent ecology of the industry. The topic was endless.

After waiting for less than fifteen minutes, the door was knocked and pushed open again.

Wang Jiawei and Xu Haofeng, who were wearing sunglasses, and Zhou Jingzhi, whom Xu Xin had only heard of before but met for the first time, walked in together.

After Wang Jiawei walked in, he looked very polite when he saw these visitors.

The first sentence is:

"Sorry, we're late."

There are less than ten minutes left before the agreed time of 2:30, so there is nothing to say about coming early or coming late.

After Xue Haifeng heard this, he smiled and said:

"No, the time hasn't come yet. I mean, doesn't Director Xu arrange this here so that everyone doesn't have to be so restrictive? Director Wang can't be too restrictive, otherwise he will lose Director Xu's good intentions, haha~"

In one sentence, he named the people who organized the game today.

Xu Xin smiled after hearing this and proactively extended his hand to Wang Jiawei:

"Hello, Director Wang. My name is Xu Xin."

"Hello, Director Xu!"

Wang Jiawei shook his hand vigorously:

"Old Xu talks about you a lot...Thank you, thank you for your hard work."

After understanding what he meant, Xu Xin smiled and waved his hand:

"Too polite……"

"Come on, let's sit down and talk."

Xue Haifeng answered in time.

"The Grandmaster" is still the copyright of Shanghai Film Studio, so although it is Xu Xin's team today, Xue Haifeng is still in charge.

Before Wang Jiawei took his seat, he said hello to Chen Wei and Gao Manju.

Moreover, when he called Gao Manju, he turned out to be "Brother Ju".

Gao Manju called him "Awei".

I don’t know what the relationship between the two is.

Then, everyone sat down, and Xu Xin also greeted Lao Xu with a smile.

After everyone sat on the sofa, Wang Jiawei looked at the environment of Private Room No. 3 and said:

"This is my first time to come to Chang'an Club. I've only heard of it before... the scenery is really good."

"Haha, it's all arranged by Director Xu~"

Xu Xin smiled slightly:

"Mr. Xue's words are too polite. I just want to find a quiet place to sit with everyone."

With that said, he pressed the service bell.

Soon, the waiter at the door came in with a drink order in his hand.

No one drinks.

After everyone ordered something to drink, Xue Haifeng took advantage of the preparation time to talk about the general situation of "The Grandmaster".

Mainly talking to Wang Jiawei.

It's nothing more than "difficulties in the factory".

Due to high financial pressure or the like, cooperation must be terminated as a last resort. But this time things took a turn for the better.

Wang Jiawei also knows the specific situation.

Yindu must have finished communicating with him.

Otherwise he wouldn't have come today.

After everyone's drinks were served, the meeting got down to business.

In fact, to put it bluntly, it is nothing more than the amount of investment and shooting time.

There’s nothing specific to say.

Not counting publicity and distribution costs, Wang Jiawei requires 150 million in filming funds.

In addition to the initial trial shooting cost of more than 60 million.

The cost of this drama has reached 210 to 220 million.

It's the overall budget, including actors' remuneration.

Since the four families can sit here today, they must agree with this number.

The main thing is to set the investment amount.

Shanghai Film Studio has given a budget of 90 million, which means that it will invest another 30 million in the future. Xiying Film Studio and Yindu jointly invested 90 million.

It is not specified who will pay how much.

But the entire amount has already been decided.

The remaining 30 million came from Xu Xin's side.

He didn't mention Shuangwei and Nifeng.

These words are not spoken now.

But the 30 million investment definitely didn’t go away.

After the investment is confirmed, the next thing is the actors.

The leading actors Liang Chaowei and Yang Mi, and the supporting actors Zhang Zhen and Zhang Jin are already confirmed "stars". But there are still many supporting roles in this drama, and several candidates such as Ding Lianshan and Gong Yutian are currently under discussion.

As for the four companies sending their own producers...

Quite unexpectedly, he agreed happily.

But before agreeing, he just asked:

"As long as you don't rush me, let me take the picture slowly, okay?"

It's a very realistic question.

Just like a fledgling director...

And when he asked this question, he was mainly looking at Xue Haifeng.

But this time Xue Haifeng’s words were quite heartwarming:

"no problem."

"good."

In one sentence, the two settled the matter.

The cooperation was officially concluded.

Then, Wang Jiawei began to throw out difficult questions:

"I looked at several film and television bases for the old train station in this drama but was not satisfied with it. I wanted a real train station, an old train station with the flavor of the Republic of China. If I couldn't find one, I would have to build one. "

"There are schedule conflicts with several actors whom I feel quite passionate about."

"Can the length of the script be extended? I am reluctant to make any cuts in this story."

"The casting of Ding Lianshan is currently a difficulty. Some of the veteran actors are not up to par. The people I like have already rejected this movie."...

One question after another was thrown out.

What to do next?

Solve it.

There were no other issues, but when it came to casting, Qi Lei, Xue Haifeng, and Chen Wei all looked at Xu Xin.

Xu Xinxin said it’s useless for you to look at me.

I don’t know as many actors as you do.

However, Xu Haofeng knew Xu Xin better and asked directly:

"Xiao Xu, do you have anyone who fits the role of Ding Lianshan?"

"..."

Ding Lianshan.

Ghost of Kanto.

Gong Yutian's senior brother.

In the script, faced with the provocation of the Japanese ronin, Miya Yuda originally planned to pay with blood. As a result, Ding Lianshan stopped him and asked him, "Which is more difficult, governing a sect or killing a few Japanese?"

Gong Yutian's answer was "It must be more difficult to manage a sect."

Then, Ding Lianshan took over the task of attacking and killing Japanese ronin.

In his words, leave the simple things to me, Senior Brother.

So, he attacked and killed the ronin, fled the Northeast, and became a "ghost".

This role actually doesn't have many roles, but it is quite interesting.

But when it comes to actors...Xu Xin really didn't have a clue for a while.

After thinking for a while, he asked:

"Who did Director Wang originally plan to cast?"

"I wanted to invite Zhao Benshan. But... when I extended the invitation to him, he happened to be undergoing cerebrovascular surgery and clearly rejected me."

"Teacher Motoyama?"

Xu Xin was stunned...

Subconsciously, he began to deconstruct the character of Ding Lianshan in his mind, and then combined it with the image of Zhao Benshan.

After thinking about it for a while, I found that it was quite suitable.

"Then... let me ask Teacher Motoyama again. Teacher Motoyama was indeed ill at the beginning of the year. The last time he made a cameo in Director Zhang's play, his health was actually a bit worse. But I will try my best."

He gave a guarantee that he would try his best to pull the strings.

"Thank you for your hard work, Director Xu."

Hearing Wang Jiawei's words, Xu Xin shook his head:

"It should."

Next, we talked for a long time about casting, filming preparations, crew preparations, etc.

In the evening, everyone got together again and had a meal in the club.

While eating, Zhao Xinyu brought a bottle of red wine.

A serious Lafite born in 1982.

It gave Xu Xin enough face.

It was delivered personally by the general manager of the hotel, stating that "Mr. Zhao from the club heard that Director Xu was having dinner here, so he specially came to deliver a bottle of red wine."

Naturally, these people will not be unclear about the composition of Changan Club.

As soon as the identity of "Mr. Zhao" appeared, the weight of the wine had obviously increased.

During this period, Xu Xin finally figured out the relationship between Gao Manju and Wang Jiawei.

It turns out that he is the brother of Gao Mankai, the producer of "The School of Hell", Wang Jiawei's most successful work as a screenwriter.

The two have known each other for 20 years.

…

After the meal, everything was discussed.

Because he had been drinking, Xu Xin simply left his car here after parting ways with everyone.

Anyway, it's very close to home.

From here, walk three to four hundred meters to Dongdan North Street, all the way towards Union Hospital.

Just past Union Hospital is Shijia Hutong.

It couldn't be any closer.

While walking home, he was thinking about today's events.

The east wind of "The Grandmaster" has arrived, and what is left is the preparation period after the year.

It is expected that after one to two months of preparations are completed, the filming phase will begin directly.

The first thing he had to solve was the character of Ding Lianshan.

After thinking for a while, he took out his phone and found Zhao Benshan's phone number.

"Dudu..."

The call was connected quickly, and a burst of hearty laughter rang out:

"Hahaha, Xiao Xu, calling me at this time is new. What's wrong? I can't digest the nightlife of you young people."

"Haha~ Teacher Motoyama, let's go to the disco."

"Hahahaha~"

It can be heard that Zhao Benshan is really smiling happily.

"If you want to go to a disco, you can take Shen Xiaoyang and the others there, but I won't go. I'm old, and my blood pressure won't go up when I go there? Why don't you come directly to the Northeast? Our duo is no worse than a bar, and Fun and lively.”

"Hey, there's a chance... Teacher Motoyama, it's like this. I'm calling you today because of something..."

"Say it. It's very rare for your kid to open Chrysostom."

"No, no, no, no, I can't bear your words."

Although he knew he was joking, Xu Xin quickly said politely and then said:

"Teacher Motoyama, where are you?"

"It's Liaoning. I'm going to Yanjing the day after tomorrow for the rehearsal of the Spring Festival Gala sketch. What do you want to say first? If you're in a hurry, I'll leave tomorrow."

As soon as he said these frank words, regardless of whether they were true or false, Xu Xin was really moved.

Don't worry about whether it's for the old man's sake or whatever.

By showing this attitude, you have already given yourself enough face.

"No, no, no, it's not about this. It's about the movie."

"……Movie?"

Zhao Benshan was stunned:

"Want me to play "The Hawthorn Tree"?"

"No, it's The Grandmaster, directed by Wang Jiawei. Didn't he come to you?"

"Wang Jiawei...oh~~~~You are talking about the martial arts movie of the Republic of China, right?"

He didn't seem to know what had happened in the past few days.

But it’s normal to think about it. Benshan Media is an entertainment company, not an investment company.

The news that "The Grandmaster" was looking for investors again a few days ago didn't reach him, so it's normal.

"Yes. I called you to invite you to star."

"Does this drama have anything to do with you?"

"Yes, Yang Mi will star, and then I will invest."

"Oh~~~"

Zhao Benshan made a long sound.

Then he said happily:

"That's okay, then let's act."

"……ah?"

Xu Xin was stunned.

Does your heart feel so happy?

It suddenly made him feel a little unreal.

Zhao Benshan, perhaps sensing his emotional fluctuations, smiled and said:

"When he came to me before, I was recovering from the surgery. During that time, I didn't want to move and rejected him directly. And don't we also have to be self-aware? Hong Kong and Taiwan movies like Wang Jiawei's are also different from my temperament. It doesn’t work, right? But since you invested this time, it shows that you have a good idea. Then I will take it. You said that this person is old and can still be in Wang Jiawei’s movie. Look at this. How interesting, right? Hahahaha~"

There were bursts of hearty laughter from his side.

After Xu Xin was stunned for a moment, he also became happy:

"Your words immediately made me feel at ease."

"Hi. What are you talking about, my family, why are you being so polite? I've accepted this role. Please let me know when you need me to join the team or do something else."

The remuneration was not even mentioned.

He agreed directly.

This friendship is very heavy with Xu Xin.

"...Okay, that's it, Teacher Motoyama, I'll contact Director Wang first, and then we can meet when you come, okay?"

"Okay~ Is there anything else?"

"……Gone."

"Then just wait for my call."

I took it over without any hesitation, no nonsense at all.

After Xu Xin hung up the phone, he blew out a breath in the cold wind.

Teacher Motoyama...

Recalling the words on the phone that were full of Jianghu atmosphere...

He was filled with emotion.

So generous!

Just like the kind of ancient heroes.

The leader owes 4 updates.

Thanks to the leader of "Neither Man nor Ghost" for the reward.

Then let me tell you, I originally planned to finish all 3 updates this month except this chapter. But after getting COVID-19, people's overall energy is very low, and there is also a bit of viral pneumonia. My wife and I are both. Although we are not contagious, we can only rely on our bodies to heal themselves.

I cough very badly every day, and my chest and brain will hurt after coughing for a long time. Twenty thousand words is still too difficult for me.

Pay off the debt as soon as your body recovers.

Then there is the plot of this chapter. This chapter is a collection of the unfinished plots mentioned in this chapter the day before yesterday. The following plot of "The Grandmaster" was filmed, and it has little to do with Xu Xin. That's Yang Mi's refreshing rhythm.

The thread about "Avatar" has also been buried. This plot has come to an end. There may be some descriptions later, but they are all in bits and pieces. I will also optimize the future plot of some things at the investor level after I recover from the illness.

This is not a spoiler, it is just an explanation for readers who are seriously dissatisfied with this big plot.

The poor writing is my fault, and I can’t blame others for my technical skills. So I am making adjustments, but the main content that should be highlighted still needs to be highlighted.

Including Zhao Benshan's thread buried at Zhang Weiping's family dinner, it was also for tonight's show.

I have tried my best to ignore, skip, and speed up. The content of this chapter is to directly compress and package what was originally intended to be expanded.

Please spray lightly, thank you.

Thank you all for your support.