I’m a Director, I’m Not Bad

Chapter 715 712. Absurd

"Xu, are you still a human being!?"

Yang Mi covered her face with a bath towel, looking ashamed and angry.

Looking at my husband, I feel like I am looking at another scumbag who refuses to recognize anyone even if he puts on his pants.

"..."

Xu Xin looked innocent.

"What's wrong with me? Isn't this a surprise for you?"

"You didn't broadcast such a big event live with me! You actually gave me a surprise!?"

The more Yang Mi looked at her husband, the more she discovered...

This guy is so different.

no.

How could you do this?

This is such a big deal between Lao Wang and Seventh Brother, and you didn’t even reveal it at all! ?

You actually managed to hold it in until you were done, and then you told me! ?

Pooh!

You are a scumbag!

Stinking rogue! ! !

My aunt has been waiting for you just now!

Her eyes were full of indignation! Then……

Sitting cross-legged on the bed:

"Then what? Then what? Are these two people together?"

A scumbag one second.

Talk about gossip the next second.

That face change is so fast.

"No, it's probably just a close call."

"...Then why don't you take a stab at it?"

"Am I sick? This is a matter between the two of us."

Xu Xin rolled his eyes.

"..."

At this time, Yang Mi was speechless.

"How is Lao Wang's performance?"

"Well... to be honest. Lao Wang is actually a love brain, really. I think as long as Brother Qi smiles at him, his brain will dry up."

"If he didn't have a love brain, he wouldn't be able to do this with Wang Ying... So what do you think of these two people getting together?"

"What do you think?"

"my words……"

Yang Mi looked thoughtful.

After a moment, he shook his head slightly:

"I can't say it, but Brother Qi has a pretty good character. Besides... Lao Wang also takes advantage."

Xu Xin was a little puzzled:

"How do you say this?"

"You are stupid. If Brother Qi finds another girlfriend, what kind of magical life will Lao Wang live?"

"...???"

Everyone in Xu Xin was dumbfounded.

My heart said, sister...what are you talking about?

Are you speaking in human language?

Perhaps because her husband's expression was full of absurdity, Yang Mi showed a very casual look:

"You're stupid, think about it, a girl is lying on the left side of Brother Qi, and Lao Wang is lying on the right side of Brother Qi. Brother Qi says: You are all my wings~ Then Lao Wang shyly kisses the girl opposite. Talk to each other...or three people kiss together...oh~~~~~"

You blush like a bubble teapot! ! !

Xu Xin was stunned.

Do you think you wouldn’t even dare to write a novel like this?

I thought it was too much to think of the image of Lao Wang pouting, but I didn’t expect you to be dirtier than me...

"Why are you so playful?"

After hearing her lover's complaints, Yang Mi still maintained her "no worries" attitude. She took off her bath towel and put on a set of loose clothes for home:

"We have to pay close attention to this matter, and we must be the first to eat melons... Okay, get up quickly. Our dad will be back soon. Nuannuan and Yangyang miss you too~"

"...I'll lie down for a while."

After arriving home, he felt a little lazy.

Seeing this, Yang Mi didn't care.

"Then I'll go roll out the noodles..."

She walked all the way to the bedroom door, but when she walked out of the door, she suddenly turned her head again:

"I'm just so-so today, I'll try my best again tonight."

"Okay."

"Hehe~"

Looking at her husband's "Leave it to me" expression, the young woman bared her white teeth and walked out of the house happily.

Xu Xin let out a long sigh of relief and snuggled into the bed comfortably.

This is a new home, but not a new home either.

It's strange, yet very familiar.

However, it is true that living here is more comfortable than living in Dahu Mansion.

He raised the pillow to a comfortable height. Now feeling relieved, he picked up his cell phone that had been set to silent mode, intending to check Weibo for a while until his son and daughter came back.

As a result, I saw several missed calls and messages.

They were all called by Qi Lei.

WeChat was also sent by him:

"Are you home yet?"

"Get some rest and call me back."

"But there's no rush."

Seeing this, he dialed directly.

"Dudu... hello. Have you rested?"

After listening to Qi Lei's words, Xu Xin responded lazily:

"Well, I took a nap after I got back and just woke up."

"Are you free this afternoon? Let's meet?"

"Are you in Yanjing?"

"right."

"Hmm...is there anything important? If not, I want to stay at home to spend time with my child in the afternoon."

"It can't be said to be important. The director named Diao Yinan made an appointment with me in the afternoon and wanted to show me the script. I thought you were coming back just now, so I came over to take a look."

Xu Xin was stunned:

"He contacted you?"

"Yes, we made an appointment to meet today."

"That's it...that's okay."

After much thought, he agreed to Qi Lei:

"Where will we meet this afternoon?"

"old place?"

"Qinchuan Yashe?"

"right."

"good."

He nodded and agreed directly. After hanging up the phone, he had to get dressed and went all the way to the kitchen.

At this moment, the well-deserved No. 1 born in 1985 is wearing an apron, with his hands dipped in flour, holding a rolling pin and skillfully rolling a large piece of dough.

That... gentle aura with a bit of pyrotechnics instantly enveloped him.

Unable to help himself, he hugged his wife from behind.

"what?"

Yang Mi took it for granted and asked while rolling the dough:

"Why don't you come to the kitchen if you don't just lie down and rest?"

"Brother Qi called me just now. Do you know who Diao Yinan is?"

"I know, the director of "Night Train"...and "The Shower", "Night Train", I met him last time when I went to Cannes for you."

"Yo?"

Xu Xin was really surprised now.

Yang Mi let out a proud chuckle and scraped the back with her fingertips, leaving a white mark of flour on her husband's face.

"I have a very good memory!"

"Yes, yes, our baby is the most powerful~"

He couldn't help but nibble on his wife's neck.

Yang Mi also stopped what she was doing, enjoying this moment of tenderness between husband and wife.

But soon, when she felt something, she quickly regained consciousness:

"Okay, stop making trouble, our dad is coming back soon... What's the matter with him?"

"Tsk."

Xu Xin, who left a lot of drool on his wife's neck, felt a little regretful and told the whole story of what happened with Jiang Kui in Cannes.

Then……

Yang Mi was unhappy.

He picked up the rolling pin, turned around, and pointed the tip of the rolling pin at my husband’s nose:

"The surname is Xu!"

"...What are you doing?"

Xu Xin subconsciously took a step back.

"Don't mess around!"

"Why are you still messing with me? So many things happened to you in Cannes, why are you telling me now!?"

"You didn't even ask."

"I didn't ask?"

Yang Mi’s nose started to become crooked:

"Every day I call you and ask you if there's anything new. How do you answer? No! No! Or damn nothing!"

"..."

Xu Xin was speechless for a while, then tentatively said:

"Look, is this really a surprise?"

"Smelly poor!"

Yang Mi pretended to fight.

Xu Xin quickly ran away with his head in his arms.

Then he started to beat the rhythm in his mouth:

"Clang, clang, clang, clang, clang..."

Yang Mi was speechless for a moment, but she still swung the rolling pin in her hand.

I wiped my husband’s scalp and danced, and then with a bit of helplessness, my husband and I started playing "Sanchakou" in the small space of the kitchen...

"Qiang Qiang Qiang..."

"Oh you can do it!"

Seeing that he was about to come to the second section after a period of rapid wind, Yang Mi sighed helplessly and continued to accompany him there while asking:

"So, you're going to start poaching the Beijing Circle?"

"I'm from Wollongong, Sandandi, huh huh~"

"Oh, yes, yes, okay, okay, your breath is wrong... Just say it quickly, I'm still rolling out the noodles!"

"Last night~in the palace~drinking wine~~~~~"

"Yes, yes, you are a real dragon descending to heaven. Brother, please accept your magical powers. What happened? Is this Diao Yinan Li Mi or Wang Bodang?"

"Uncle Wang~~~When...ahem...vomit..."

"..."

Yang Mi was really speechless.

He looked down at the rolling pin in his hand.

My heart said that I was still hesitating whether to stab your throat, but you vomited first...

This is the first time in my life that I have seen someone singing Peking Opera with a high voice and making himself retching...

So, she simply didn't care.

Turn around and continue rolling the noodles.

are you crazy……

Xu Xin, who had finished singing, also knew that he really couldn't sing. He shook his head with regret, lowered his voice a few octaves, and hummed:

"Wrong guarantee~ Then~ Wuyi Di Wang Angang..."

Yang Mi didn't answer the question at all.

I just waited for my husband to finish moaning and then said:

"So...this Diao Yinan wants to perform a double-double act with you?"

"That's not the case. It's fate between him and me. After we talked with my second brother, I let him give it a try. If it works, it will be the West Film Studio's move to leverage the Beijing circle and attack those wallflowers. It’s more like a symbolic sign. It attracts more people to vote.”

Following his train of thought, Yang Mi blurted out:

"If he goes back, will you release this news and create an image of great pride?"

"My opponent. No matter what, you won't suffer any loss."

"...Tsk."

Yang Mi couldn't help but shook her head:

"It has to be you, Xu Sanjin."

Her words sounded like praise or criticism, but Xu Xin showed a proud smile, shook his head and looked at his wife's skillful noodle rolling action, and hummed:

"I built the Sanxian Mansion for you ~ I gave up a lot of wealth for you ~ slave ~!"

Knowing that he would definitely not be able to pull off such a high-pitched accent, Yang Mi rolled out the noodles and spoke in a low-pitched voice:

"Slave~~~"

"Wow."

There was a noise at the door.

Xu Xin, who was just about to hum "Arrows flying everywhere, leaving corpses with nowhere to bury", ran out like a husky:

"Baby girl~Smash it~~~"

"Dad~~~~"

Listening to the noise outside, Yang Mi smiled and shook her head, humming an excerpt that her husband could never sing:

"It doesn't matter if you are a lord or a clown, I can stop millions of soldiers with just one sword..."

…

Although children over one year old are still confused sometimes, they have learned basic emotional expressions.

No, the old father's heart has never left his legs during this lunch meal.

It's sad to sit angrily in my mother's arms and cry.

After eating and putting the two children to sleep, Xu Xin drove to Qinchuan Yashe when it was almost time.

When Zhong arrived at 2:30, he found that Qi Lei had already arrived.

"Coming."

"Um."

Xu Xin nodded, took out a cigarette and threw one over.

"When did you arrive?"

"Just arrived."

Or maybe the two of them can play together.

The same punctuality, the same dislike of others waiting for you.

After lighting the cigarette and taking the tea, Xu Xin heard the other party say:

"The promotion will start in two days."

"Um."

Xu Xin nodded indifferently.

"33 Days Out" has no direct competitors in Beijing this time. It seems that after learning that "33 Days" was shortlisted for Cannes, the Beijing circle chose to avoid the spotlight for the time being.

Quite smart.

But it also gave Xu Xin a lot of peace of mind.

"How are the preparations for the film festival going?"

"There are many people who have submitted their resumes, and they are still being screened. However, the collection of works will begin in early June."

“How many people responded on the publisher’s side?”

"a lot of."

Mentioning this, Qi Lei's face showed a hint of joy:

"The prospects are more optimistic than we expected. Basically, we sent invitations and 80% of them accepted."

"so much?"

Xu Xin was a little surprised.

The purpose of the Silk Road Film Festival is to deliver excellent films to the public and create a fair, just, timely and credible film festival.

But for a film festival to operate successfully, the credibility of the awards is on the one hand, and the commercial value on the other.

How to attract investors and how to sell the film.

Only with an excellent commercial landscape in this area can we attract more independent filmmakers.

Only the scripts in the hands of these filmmakers can be transformed into excellent works, forming a virtuous cycle.

Therefore, business planning is a very important part.

Originally, everyone was actually quite worried, fearing that fewer people would come. Therefore, the factory has also made plans to increase investment in this area.

In the past few years...both "The Voice" and Xu Xin's movies have made the factory's wallets bulge.

Although the cash reserves of several hundred million cannot be said to be excessive, considering the scale of the first film festival, it is definitely enough.

Even Headwind takes this matter quite seriously.

The brothers have already discussed it in the group. Even if they spend money, they can't lose Xu Xin's face.

But...when he heard from Qi Lei that the business prospects were optimistic, he couldn't help but breathed a sigh of relief.

"That's fine... I'm afraid no one will respond..."

"But this is only the first step. I'm afraid the market feedback will not be good..."

"This has to be done step by step."

Xu Xin smiled and waved his hands:

"We can't forcefully raise the audience's aesthetics, that's unrealistic. But... if we don't deliver these excellent works, then no one will really do this. It will definitely be difficult at the beginning, but I believe it will become more and more popular in the future. good."

"Um……"

The two chatted for a while.

Suddenly, there was a knock on the teahouse door.

"Enter."

Following Qi Lei's words, the waiter opened the door.

A thin middle-aged man with a side-parted comb walked in.

Diao Yinan, here we are. (Note 1)

He was wearing a very ordinary black T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers.

There is no watch on the hand, nor any decoration.

Xu Xin even keenly noticed the contrast between the whiteness of his upper arm and forearm.

The first impression is...this person should work outdoors a lot.

Just as he was thinking about it, Diao Yinan also walked into the room.

This was a senior. Xu Xin stood up immediately and reached out his hand:

"Hello, Director Diao. My name is Xu Xin. It's our first time meeting you. Please take good care of me."

Diao Yinan, who originally had a strange and reserved look on his face, quickly took a step forward after hearing this:

"Hey, Director Xu, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Diao Yinan."

After the two shook hands, Qi Lei smiled and extended his hand.

After the three got to know each other, Qi Lei, as the "host", invited Diao Yinan to sit down.

We exchanged simple greetings, such as how did you get here? After chatting for a few words about whether there was a traffic jam or not, Xu Xin glanced at Qi Lei and took the initiative to take over the topic:

"Director Diao, have you brought the script?"

"Bring it."

Diao Yinan nodded and took out two scripts from his handbag that were not too thick, but not too thin either.

They were handed to Xu Xin and Qi Lei respectively.

After Xu Xin took it, he opened it and watched it.

But Qi Lei continued to talk to Diao Yinan:

"Director Diao has been preparing this film for a long time?"

"Yes...it's been five or six years. The inspiration came from the case of a male and female corpse dismembered in Harbin in the 1990s."

When Diao Yinan spoke, he seemed to have not lost his restraint.

Xu Xin looked at the name of the script: "Fireworks in the Day" and nodded slightly:

"Well, the name is pretty good."

As for Qi Lei, he learned about the general situation, such as whether he created the script independently, and then told him about Xiying Studio's requirements for investing in the script:

"Our requirements for scripts are actually very broad, but there is one bottom line, which is that it must not violate mainstream values. I hope Director Diao can understand this. If the portrayal of the story involves some bottom line, this must be changed... …”

"I understand this."

Diao Yinan nodded.

He is an old screenwriter, so naturally he will not be unclear about the meaning of Qi Lei's words.

Seeing that he understood, Qi Lei stopped talking and finally opened the script.

Next, it’s time to read in silence.

To be honest, Diao Yinan's emotions were very subtle as he watched the two of them reading the script.

On the one hand...he feels a little guilty.

Especially on the way here, I was afraid that some acquaintances would know that I was here.

However, considering that this place seems to be a designated place specially used for receptions at Xiying Film Studio, I feel more at ease.

At least the chance of running into an acquaintance is not that high.

On the other hand, it is the efficiency of these two people...

He has met many investors for this script.

The habit of many investors is not to give too much patience to the script.

They are more accustomed to hearing the story told by themselves.

After all, this script... not counting the script, the storyline and storyboard alone are 30,000 to 40,000 words long.

It seems quite time consuming.

And you can’t look at it yet. You have to think about it and imagine it in your head while looking at it.

He has seen too many investors' "my time is precious" mentality.

I have also met many people whose social attributes are greater than their movie attributes.

Everyone wants to hear him talk about market prospects and box office estimates more than to read a script and story in a down-to-earth manner.

From this point of view... the second-in-command of the West Film Studio in front of me, and Director Xu, who is called the "Loyal Dog of the Northwest Circle" by others in the circle, seem to be different.

but……

Diao Yinan felt very comfortable in his heart.

I think this is what you should do as an investor.

Whether a movie does well at the box office or its estimated revenue is not the director's business at all.

It's the producer's business and the investor's business.

The director only cares about making movies, but what use are the box office profits?

He was thinking about it, and then he noticed that Xu Xin's hands were groping on the table like a "reptile".

Ben Ben looked up and saw the prince of the Northwest Circle staring at the script intently...

Finally, my hand fumbled for the cigarette case.

He seemed to have remembered something, and quickly took out a brand new package of soft Chinese that had already been opened, and picked up the lighter:

"Director Xu, come."

"Huh?...Oh, okay, thank you, Director Diao."

Xu Xin took the cigarette he handed over and put it close to his hand. After the other party lit it for himself, he nodded politely and then looked at the script again.

What follows...is half an hour of silence.

Half an hour later, Xu Xin turned over the last page of the script.

Then he breathed a sigh of relief.

Diao Yinan, who had been "suffering" for half an hour, thought he had finished reading and was about to speak.

Suddenly, Xu Xin looked around, then picked up a pen on the table.

Then……

Frowning slightly, he turned the script back to the first page and began to think deeply.

Diao Yinan was slightly nervous.

Xu Xin also meditated for a long time this time, about five or six minutes, always with his eyes half-open and half-closed.

On the contrary, it was Qi Lei who had finished reading.

After closing the script, he glanced at Xu Xin. He seemed to be used to it. He lit a cigarette and looked at Diao Yinan:

"Director Diao, can you tell me some of your requirements for this story? I heard from my second brother that you plan to direct it yourself?"

"Yes."

Diao Yinan nodded subconsciously, sat up slightly, and showed a firm attitude:

"I have been preparing for this story for too long... It's just like my children. I don't feel comfortable handing it over to others... It's not that I doubt the abilities of other directors..."

He seemed to remember Xu Xin's identity and added another sentence:

"It's just...this is my hard work and my persistence."

But before he finished speaking, Xu Xin suddenly started to read the script again.

Looks like I'm going to watch it again.

Then he suddenly drew a circle on a certain paragraph of the script.

Diao Yinan was a little confused...

what does this mean?

But after Qi Lei heard what he said, he thought about it and asked again:

"Where are the male and female protagonists? What do Director Diao think?"

"Huang Bo is very interested in this script."

Diao Yinan replied subconsciously, and then added:

"As for the heroine... I also have several candidates... I think the most suitable one is Liang Binning... but... I'm afraid I can't afford it..."

"Well……"

Hearing this, Qi Lei was also speechless.

Why do you feel like you are just staring at Bingbing?

However, the other party's concerns are not groundless.

If this play were cast by someone else.

With a budget of 20 million, I really can’t hire Bingbing.

But if it was invested in the factory...

It's better to say something.

At this time, Xu Xin drew a circle somewhere in the script.

But still no intention to participate in the discussion.

Qi Lei also continued to ask:

"Your budget is 20 million?"

"……right."

Diao Yinan nodded, but did not forget to add:

"Excluding publicity and distribution... 20 million is the filming budget of the movie."

"Does it count as remuneration?"

"It doesn't count."

Hearing this, Qi Lei frowned slightly:

"Director Diao... To be honest, your budget... is a bit high. Of course, it's not that we can't afford it, but... I'm very confused. The scenes in this drama are actually very monotonous. No matter how I watch it, I can't I don’t think there’s anything about it that’s worth spending 20 million on.”

But this time it was Diao Yinan's turn to frown.

Looking at Qi Lei...he hesitated to speak.

It seems that there are some things that I don’t know how to say.

However, he seemed to remember something and quickly took out his laptop from his bag:

"Mr. Qi, what is the WIFI password here?"

Qi Lei took a business card from the tea table and gave it to him.

Diao Yinan started to connect the computer to the Internet, but it could be seen that his laptop seemed to be stuck, and the response was quite slow during the first period of booting it up.

After operating it for a while, he handed the computer to Qi Lei:

"Mr. Qi, please take a look. This is the quotation I made before."

"good."

Qi Lei took one look at it and was instantly speechless.

Tilt the computer slightly and point to an item on the table:

"Director Diao, am I reading this correctly? The cost of renting an old train from the 1990s + platform is 1.5 million?"

"...?

At this time, even Xu Xin couldn't help but raise his head.

"Seize the young master?"

"One and a half million."

"...???"

Under Xu Xin's confused gaze, Diao Yinan was also confused:

"Is there a problem with the price...? The prop company I was looking for had a long negotiation, and it was only from two million to one and a half million. This includes the cost of train operation, ride filming, and designated train operation. In the platform scene There are four days and three nights, and a package of 1.5 million...is this a high cost?"

"..."

"..."

At this time, Xu Xin and Qi Lei were speechless.

Qi Lei turned to look at Xu Xin and asked:

"Director Wang filmed at Diaobingshan Railway Station for a month...how much did it cost?"

"Less than a hundred, right?...I remember it was like that."

"...?"

Following Xu Xin's answer, it was Diao Yinan's turn to have a big question mark rise on his head.

What are these two people talking about?

After Xu Xin gave a not very specific number, he turned to look at Diao Yinan:

"Director Diao, are you talking to the prop company?"

"That's right... I also waived the agency fee of 200,000 yuan..."

"...Agency fee?"

Xu Xin was stunned again.

"And there are agency fees?"

Qi Lei was also stunned.

"...Where did you find the prop company?"

"It's from Yanjing's side."

"..."

"...?"

"???"

The three people stared at each other.

Okay.

The question mark was spinning on the heads of the three people like playing a drum to spread flowers.

(Note 1: In fact, Diao Yinan was born in Xiying Film Studio, and his father was from the older generation of Xiying Film Studio. However, for the purpose of promoting the plot and the development of the subsequent plot, I have made magical changes. You don’t need to take it seriously.)