I’m a Director, I’m Not Bad

Chapter 515 513 If you don’t accumulate small steps, you won’t reach a thousand miles.

Chapter 515 513. If you don’t accumulate small steps, you won’t reach a thousand miles.

People, you can't drink.

It’s easy to be impulsive after drinking alcohol.

And impulse often brings some unpredictable consequences.

After Xu Xin finished the phone call, he went to the bathroom and took a shower.

The rushing hot water flowed over his body, and the comfort of open capillaries made his brain's thoughts seem to be... more active.

The brain is the engine, and reason is like the accelerator that is maintained at 120 miles.

And alcohol is like a "no speed limit on the road" lifting the ban.

When I saw this sign, my rationality gradually began to collapse.

And the hot water that accelerated the blood circulation in his body and made him even more drunk was the turbo boost that built the last piece of the puzzle.

Although he simply rinsed his body, he felt that many thoughts in his mind were running like crazy, and they had a... not clear, but definitely not vague route.

Then, among the sound of rushing water, an inaudible murmur sounded.

"It's difficult..."

A night of silence.

…

The next day, he dialed a number.

After getting through, the other party called himself Zhou, and his tone was very polite, not friendly, but not distant either.

Xu Xin called "Brother Zhou" and originally asked him to have tea with him.

But Brother Zhou said directly:

"No, Director Xu, I'm actually working here. I may have to leave before noon. If it's convenient, let's find a place to meet. You can just give me the things, so I can give them to the leader. Send it over.”

Xu Xin had no way of knowing whether the other party was avoiding suspicion or something else.

But since people have said so, he is not forcing it.

Because Xu Xin was not very familiar with Nanjing, the two finally made an appointment to meet at the entrance of an elevated bridge not far from his hotel.

According to Brother Zhou, after taking the formalities, he can return to the unit by turning around and heading over the bridge without delaying his work.

So, Xu Xin personally drove the business car arranged by Su Meng and followed the navigation guidance to the agreed location.

After seeing the bridge entrance, he parked the car on the side of the road and activated double flash.

After waiting for less than 20 minutes, a white Volkswagen Bora parked in front of his car.

Xu Xin got out of the car wearing a mask and saw a man wearing glasses, about 30 years old, wearing a white shirt walking down.

"Brother Zhou?"

"Hey, Director Xu, hello, Zhou Xiao."

The two shook hands.

"Xu Xin."

After exchanging pleasantries, Zhou Xiao walked to the trunk of Bora and opened it:

"It's my first time meeting Director Xu, and I'm quite embarrassed to be in such a hurry. Director Xu, if you don't mind it...this is our Nanjing specialty..."

To be honest, Xu Xin was a little confused at first.

No, brother.

Are our positions reversed?

Shouldn't I be the one receiving the gift?

Su Meng prepared four bottles of Maotai Si Tiao Zhonghua, which were placed in the back seat of the car.

Make sure that Xu Xin can get it by opening the rear door on the same side after getting out of the car and chatting with others.

The bag is not Maotai's own bag, but a very ordinary gift bag prepared by the tobacco shop.

Since the old man was running away, he didn't need to worry about the gifts.

But you can't let your people run an errand in vain.

Besides, it is definitely not appropriate to come empty-handed when meeting for the first time.

This has been flowing on this land for thousands of years, and some... can be regarded as established rules.

This is what he prepared.

Not expensive. A bottle of Maotai is more than 800, and cigarettes are 600.

Unexpectedly, Zhou Xiao was more polite than him...

Looking at the two boxes handed over, Xu Xin knew what the other party gave him.

Nanjing Yunjin.

and Nanjing Yuhua Tea.

They are indeed Nanjing specialties. And if you think about it, you won’t have to stuff a few gold bars into this Yunjin...

In this way, Xu Xin felt that his three views would definitely collapse.

However, seeing that Zhou Xiao had already taken it out, he didn't show any pretense. He accepted it politely and said:

"It cost Brother Zhou a lot of money."

Zhou Xiao smiled and shook his head:

"A little thought, as long as Director Xu likes it."

"I like it, of course I do. Brother Zhou, wait a moment, I'll give you something."

"okay."

Xu Xin quickly walked to the rear door. After opening the door, two ordinary-looking gift bags rested quietly on the car seat. On top of one of the gift bags, the folded portfolio that Chen Tiao took was placed on top.

Very abrupt.

But it’s easy to distinguish what is a gift and what is a “thing”.

Putting the brocade and tea leaves on the trunk, he came down with two gift boxes and said with a smile:

"This is a hard trip for Brother Zhou. Today is indeed the wrong time for me to come here, but Director Zhang's "Jinling" is about to start filming, and I will have to come here by then. I owe Brother Zhou this meal, Be sure to show off next time."

As he spoke, he handed over the gift box.

Zhou Xiao didn't refuse. After seeing the file bag, he took it out with a smile.

But the gift was confiscated, and he said to Xu Xin:

"The driver will leave in a moment. I accept your wishes. Director Xu is so polite... If I don't go on a business trip, I will definitely treat Director Xu to a casual meal at noon... Next time, next time Director Xu comes to Nanjing, let's It’s never too late to make an appointment.”

"Well, okay. Brother Zhou's work is important."

Seeing that he refused to accept it, Xu Xin didn't force it.

This is actually not the same as asking someone to do something. You have to grasp the specific criteria yourself.

Watch what people say, watch what comes from the pot.

So, after hearing Xu Xin's words, Zhou Xiao stretched out his hand again:

"It's not too late, I'll take care of Director Xu's matters first."

"Well! Next time, Brother Zhou, let's make an appointment!"

"good."

It took less than three minutes in total.

After Xu Xin watched Zhou Xiao leave, he got back into the car with two boxes of undelivered gifts.

The other party goes first, then turns left and makes a U-turn. Xu Xin turned right and walked directly to Yinhai Art School.

When I arrived at the art school, I happened to see the crew packing their things and getting into the car.

Seeing this, he walked to Zhao Xiaoding who was standing aside and handed over a cigarette:

"Director Zhao, is this...?"

"You came back just in time, Xiao Xu. You will come with me later."

As Zhao Xiaoding spoke, he lowered his head and waited for Xu Xin to light the cigarette for him, then continued:

"Yimou didn't call you, saying that you were busy with something. He has already gone to Shi Qiu's place and asked you to come and have a look."

"Well, okay."

Xu Xin responded.

"Let's go together?"

"Yes, after they finish installing this new batch of equipment, we will go directly. Follow the crew's car all the way there."

"……good."

Xu Xin responded.

The two of them waited there for a while, and after almost all the equipment was loaded, they got into the car directly.

Soon, several JAC commercial vehicles with huge space drove out from the school and headed for Shiqiu.

On the way, Xu Xin was chatting with Zhao Xiaoding:

"Director Zhao, how much investment has been spent on this play so far?"

"I don't know about that. But it probably doesn't cost much. The equipment and everything are ready-made."

As he drove, he pointed to the back:

"I brought them all from New Pictures. Originally, Yimou said that he wanted to try 3D production this time, but Weiping didn't agree. I feel that this is not a science fiction film like "Avatar", so there is no need for 3D... tsk."

Speaking of this, Zhao Xiaoding curled his lips in displeasure.

He muttered:

"It's okay if I don't worry about technology. I really don't want to go there now, you know, Xiao Xu. It's a mess..."

As Zhang Yimou's official photographer, he is also a member of the visual team for the Olympic opening ceremony. Although the relationship between the two is not particularly close, it is not bad.

And he is one of the core members of Zhang Yimou's team who is very determined, and he also knows Yimou's preference for Xu Xin.

So Xu Xin was not treated as an outsider.

Xu Xin heard the meaning of these words.

If someone said something to him, he would definitely pretend to be stupid, and words like "That's for sure, the construction site is a mess" would just come out of his mouth.

But when Zhao Xiaoding said this, he didn't pretend to be stupid, he just asked:

"What's wrong?"

"What else can happen? Several of our directors, including Yimou, are all waiting in shifts. A group of advertisers who don't know where they come from are running here every day. This person today, that person tomorrow... all want to Advertising is placed here. Yimou doesn’t want to be disturbed in his creative thinking, but some people still insist on having someone from the crew accompany them to explain. Who do you think should be blamed for this?”

"……ha."

Xu Xin smiled and nodded:

"That's quite tiring. But... didn't Director Zhang give the order to refuse advertising placement?"

"is that useful?"

Zhao Xiaoding said sarcastically:

"Some people are desperately trying to make money... Hey, let me tell you this. About the day before yesterday, I accompanied a table of advertisers. Boy, I was stunned by that. I don't know where it came from. It is said that the local rich man runs some kind of pawn shop. I want to plant a store brand of their pawn shop in this movie. He opened his mouth and said three million... Think about it, this is just one. If you really open your mouth, Well, let me tell you, this drama has already paid its dues long ago, you know?"

The kind of mouth habit unique to Yanjing people, paired with that... tone that sounded like YYGQ, fully demonstrated Zhao Xiaoding's impatience.

In fact, it is normal for directors or crew to have dinner with investors and advertisers.

The relationship between the crew and the two is that the store bullies the customers, and the customers bully the store.

If you are a great director, others will have to beg you to nod. You nodded, and we will send you money.

But if you are an unknown director, then the opposite is true.

Although Xu Xin has never begged anyone...but he is aware of this ecological environment.

Zhao Xiaoding is very powerful.

But he is just a big shot in the photography industry.

In terms of the entire ecosystem, he is the King of Heaven in the small director's crew, and most people cannot afford to hire him. But to the old man, he is just the director of photography. As for some business activities held by the old man, he has to participate even if he is not willing to do so.

This is the friendship between the two parties that comes and goes, and the tacit understanding of being friends for many years.

And his displeasure was not directed at the old man.

Xu Xin understood, but his attention was elsewhere.

"Pawn shop?...Pawn shop?"

"right."

"..."

After thinking for a while, Xu Xin asked tentatively:

"Is it a company called..."Jinding Pawn Shop"?"

"Eh? Yes, yes, that's the one, how did you know?"

"I was chatting with Director Zhang yesterday and talked about these product placements. They are more suitable to appear in movie scenes. After all, pawn shops existed at that time."

After Xu Xin gave an explanation, he said:

"But the price...is so high? Are you trying to fool people? Three million for one lens? I thought a few hundred thousand would be enough."

"...???"

Zhao Xiaoding was a little confused.

While driving, I turned to look at him:

"Xiao Xu...why do you sound so unprofessional when you say this? That's not true. If you say this out loud, if others find out, they won't laugh at you?"

"Why are you laughing at me?"

Xu Xin looked innocent:

"I've never done any product placement. My two movies didn't have any product placement. I really don't understand this stuff."

"Uh...that's right...that's not right. Didn't you solicit any investment during the production of "The Wind"?"

"No, the money was provided by the factory and myself. There was no need to recruit investors at all...Besides, I probably wasn't worth having advertisers come to my door at that time. Think about it, before "The Wind", I was nothing."

"Well……"

Although I always feel that what Xu Xin said is not quite right.

But Zhao Xiaoding didn’t think much about it and continued to explain:

"The hundreds of thousands you are talking about are for a small director and a small crew. The minimum starting price for our crew is two million... This is not what I said, it was Zhang Weiping who said it. The starting price is two million, two million They put names on the left and right. If there is a picture, it must be at least four million or more. So when the pawn shop asked for three million, he didn't even answer... Hahahaha... Not to mention, it's really funny."

Xu Xin continued to ask:

"Is the deal finally concluded?"

"Yimou didn't nod, so the negotiation couldn't be done. But the price was confirmed at the dinner table. Even with the set-up and two sets of lenses, it was four and a half million... Actually, to be honest, Zhang Weiping doesn't know how to do business. Do you know why he said that? ?”

"Why?"

"There is a war scene in the script. There is a scene where our troops are trapped on a small building. Finally, when the Japanese attack, we pull grenades and die together with the group of people. This scene does not require knowledgeable people. If you have some brains, you can change this scene from that unknown small building to what happened upstairs in that pawn shop. For this one change, I think I should give you 5 million at least, right? If there are more close-ups, add 1 million It’s not that difficult. In the end, he just... just messed around!"

Zhao Xiaoding's face was full of contempt.

But Xu Xin's eyes began to sparkle with a meaningful light.

It seems...

Found the place to lay the bait.

…

Shiqiu Film and Television Base.

A ruin.

It is a ruin in the true sense of the word.

Not only were there ruins everywhere, but when Xu Xin arrived, he saw workers using blowers to throw ladles and ladles of black powder at the buildings.

The entire scene immediately gave him a sense of déjà vu at his home mine.

The wind is particularly strong every spring in northern Shaanxi.

The coal piled up on the coal field was blown by the wind, good guy...

That's called a dusty mess.

Forget about a white shirt, just wear a gray shirt when you go out, and it will be black when you come back.

If you don't wear goggles, the soot will be blown by the wind and go into your eyeballs.

That was really uncomfortable.

The scene in front of him immediately made Xu Xin feel something.

When a scoop of black ash goes down, there will be traces of smoke on the cement building.

When the time comes, light a fire next to it, and the black smoke will slowly come out.

Nanjing City, a ruins stained by war, is considered complete.

And this dilapidated building actually has a very elegant name.

"Thirteen Hairpins Built of Gold"

The war ruins shooting location named after "Jinling" at Shiqiu Film and Television Base is experiencing the baptism of "fire of war" at this moment.

Zhang Yimou was wearing a mask and a baseball cap. When Xu Xin found him, he was arguing with Zhang Weiping.

Before he could reach the front, Xu Xin heard the old man's words:

"I'm telling you once, I won't do advertising! This is history! We must treat it carefully!"

"This is a movie!"

Zhang Weiping's eyes outside the mask were also filled with annoyance:

"My dear brother! Have you made a mistake? What we are shooting is not a documentary, but a movie! It is also a big-investment movie!...Can't you consider my difficulties? Just one Bell is worth tens of millions ! The filming hasn’t even started yet, and it’s already cost nearly 100 million. Can’t we get some blood back first? Now, don’t forget, why did Shi Qiu give you so many discounts? Don’t we have to return the favor?”

"You can return the favor next time. If you add product placement to this kind of subject matter, where can you put it in a way that makes sense?"

"Why can't you add the ones I told you? There were no pawn shops in Jinling in the past? No clothes sellers!? No snake grass water?"

"Okay, stop talking, I don't agree!"

"A conspiracy!"

"alright!"

"you……"

"Hey, hey, you two, you two."

Xu Xin quickened his pace and walked over from behind the two of them.

As he walked, he had a smile on his face:

"Keep your voice down, keep your voice down, people who don't know think we are quarreling here."

He came to be the "peacemaker".

Take out the cigarette and pass the cigarette.

The quarrel between the two ended abruptly after Xu Xin appeared.

Zhang Yimou turned to look at him.

The so-called same people have different faces.

In his opinion, Xu Xin, who is smiling and in a good mood, is the best evidence that something is done successfully.

Then, the frown on his face disappeared and turned into a smile:

"coming?"

"Yeah, yeah. I woke up late in the morning, otherwise I would have come here with you. But it's okay, I slept well, and my sleep was a great success, haha~"

At first glance it seemed like a joke, but he believed the old man could understand.

as expected.

As soon as these words came out, the smile on Zhang Yimou's face became more and more delighted.

But Zhang Weiping felt a little uncomfortable looking at it.

Somewhat sour.

Why are you so cold-tempered with me, and you smiled like this when Xiao Xu came?

But this was Zhang Yimou's attitude, and Xu Xin didn't say anything.

He couldn't find a place to vent, so he could only light the cigarette and said with a bit of anger:

"Let's talk."

After that, he left.

"Uh...Teacher Zhang..."

Hearing Xu Xin's voice, he didn't look back, just waved his hand and left.

After he left, the smile on Zhang Yimou's face faded slightly, and he first asked:

"Passed it over?"

"Well, that's it. Just wait for the good news. Don't worry, nothing will go wrong."

"……Um!"

Zhang Yimou nodded vigorously and breathed a sigh of relief.

At this moment, Xu Xin asked:

"what happened again?"

"...What else can I do?"

The great director held his arms in his arms and said in a helpless tone:

"Pawn shops, cloth shops, Chinese medicine shops, any advertisements for snake plant toilet water... must be added. If I don't add them, he will quarrel with me like a child..."

Speaking of this, his tone was a bit harsh subconsciously:

"This movie...how can it be like this! How much money does he have to make before he gives up!"

"..."

After hearing his words, Xu Xin thought for a while and suddenly said:

"How about you compromise?"

"...???"

As soon as he said these words, Zhang Yimou was stunned and looked straight at Xiao Xu with a look of disbelief on his face.

Xu Xin shrugged:

"Don't look at me like that, I'm serious... It's not an option if this goes on, right? You said that you hate being disturbed by trivial matters during filming. But if he wants to go on like this, you still have Okay? Besides, you yourself said that the biggest contradiction is not these implants, but the plot of the sex scene between John Miller and Zhao Yumo... Otherwise, let’s catch the big ones and let the small ones go. What do you think?"

If anyone else had said this, Zhang Yimou would have been extremely angry.

But...

The person who said this was Xu Xin.

It's Xiao Xu.

"are you serious?"

he asked.

Is Xu Xin serious?

Not really.

But he won't say.

The old man is a very pure person.

I don’t understand commercialization and intrigue.

There is even a bit of social anxiety. It is sometimes difficult for me to handle interpersonal relationships even for such a big person.

But he has one greatest advantage.

That is to be patient and accepting.

Xu Xin came back from the Olympics, when all the plans were refuted, and when the conference room was in mourning, he was the only one who slammed the table and told everyone, "I just want to dance with shackles, and I want to dance awesomely." found in.

His compromises were never undecided vacillations.

He would compromise, only knowing that he had a greater goal in mind, waiting for him to achieve it.

Therefore, he needs to be patient and patient.

This is true for the Olympics.

Xu Xin thinks the same is true here.

He is a very pure person...

A pure person should have clean hands.

It cannot be touched or polluted, nor can it be contaminated.

so……

There are some things that he can't do, and Xu Xin doesn't want him to do them.

If he doesn't do it, who will?

Only "he" can do it.

Maybe a little despicable, but you can treat despicable people with the same despicable means.

It should... get everyone's permission, right?

He doesn't want to be a hero.

I don’t think I can be a hero either.

It's just that the road is uneven...

Someone always needs to step in.

The time it takes to take a shower is enough for him to make many decisions.

And the price paid in the end...

Just like what he said to the old man once.

"The worst thing is, I'll just go back and be that rich second generation who just hangs around and waits to die."

Others have no way out.

He has.

So he is more suitable to stand up.

Just like those astronauts over fifty years old... Huh?

What kind of joke is this?

The chaotic thoughts in my mind were temporarily relieved by this doubt.

However, Xu Xin didn't think much about it, and just looked at the old man calmly:

"Comparing the two evils, choose the lesser one. Rather than letting the two provinces of Cha and Sui suffer, it is better to pay for them with one province. Are you right?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yimou's first reaction was...

This ignorant child has actually read "Answer Book"?

I also wrote down the full text of the source of this sentence...it's not so ignorant.

And the second reaction...

It's silence.

There was silence until Xu Xin finished smoking a cigarette, and then he said:

"But I'm afraid that he will take advantage of it..."

"do not worry."

Xu Xin suddenly became happy.

He used his foot to stub out the cigarette butt, as if he were about to leave:

"Why don't you just take the blame? I'm good at it."

After saying that, he walked straight towards Zhang Weiping.