The next day, when Ye Zhou got up to go to the dining room for breakfast, he found that Jiang Tingyuan had already started eating before him.
Ye Zhou greeted him very naturally, sat down across from him, and started eating his own breakfast. Other than exchanging good mornings, there was no other interaction between them. Neither of them brought up the somewhat inexplicable kiss from last night, as if it had never happened.
In the huge dining room, apart from the occasional light clinking of cutlery, there was no other sound. The silence was somewhat eerie.
Ye Zhou thought this silence would continue until breakfast ended, but unexpectedly… Just as he had spread jam on his toast and was about to put it in his mouth, Jiang Tingyuan suddenly asked, “What are your plans after leaving the crew?”
Ye Zhou stopped his actions and thought for a moment before replying: “I plan to organize the works I bought at the auction these next two days first.”
“Teacher Sun came by last night and has already agreed to help revise the script,” said Ye Zhou. Blinking, he sincerely added, “Thank you, Yuan-ge.”
As Jiang Tingyuan listened, he used the wet wipes prepared by the dining table to wipe his slender, fair hands.
“Have you made a preliminary budget?” he asked unhurriedly.
“I haven’t had time to make a detailed budget yet, but…” Ye Zhou thought for two seconds before continuing, “After a rough estimate, around 20 million should be about right.”
This was not a blind guess by Ye Zhou. After all, having been a director in his past life for so many years, he had some experience after getting the script. The plot of ‘A Farce’ was simple, without any spectacular special effects or famous celebrities needed. Aside from filming, the more costly areas would likely be crew expenses and later promotions.
Hearing the price he quoted, Jiang Tingyuan nodded. “Since you’re not shooting ‘The Pursuit’, ask someone to withdraw the funds there. You can use the withdrawn funds first.”
“If it’s not enough, ask me for more.”
Upon hearing this, Ye Zhou was immediately delighted, looking at Jiang Tingyuan as if he had just seen the God of Wealth. His eyes shone incredibly as he wished he could pounce over and give the rich boss a passionate kiss.
What kind of fairy boss is this? He is so happy!
The only regret was that the crew members he had cooperated with in his past life had not followed over, so everything had to restart from scratch.
Sun Hanbai deserved his reputation as a top scriptwriter. The script’s progress went very smoothly, with the revised copy handed to Ye Zhou in less than two months.
The two then discussed the script details several times, finally tentatively confirming the final product, with the rest to be adjusted during actual filming.
After that, Ye Zhou’s previously leisurely life came to an end. He became busy, leaving home early every morning and not returning until late at night. Aside from preparing the crew, he also had to watch many audition tapes to select suitable actors.
Jiang Tingyuan had originally suggested Ye Zhou could directly hire Jingzhe’s team, but Ye Zhou declined. It wasn’t that he was unappreciative, but the stimulation from “The Pursuit” crew had been too great. He really could not bear to experience that again.
He couldn’t take it, really.
Speaking of “The Pursuit”, some recent entertainment news had to be mentioned. First, the female lead, Liu Yunlan, was exposed meeting a mysterious boyfriend at a hotel late at night. Then netizens dug up the identity of this mystery man, shockingly finding he was a married man. Romantic freedom and being a third party were completely different concepts.
This turned what could only be considered gossip into a full-blown scandal. Before Liu Yunlan’s scandal could die down, there was news of the director Ye Zhou resigning, with assistant director Wang Hong temporarily taking over.
This seemed insignificant but caused huge waves internally. People had seen cast changes before, but never a direct switch of the director!
Just as the waves from “The Pursuit” were ongoing, it was announced that its biggest investor, Jingzhe Pictures, was suddenly withdrawing funds. The whole crew was thrown into chaos, nearly collapsing entirely.
Assistant Director Wang Hong kept contacting investors, trying to find someone who could fill the hole. He succeeded, with Liu Yunlan’s lover Zheng Hao, the one who had approached Ye Zhou previously, stepping in.
Reportedly, Zheng Hao had already completed divorce procedures and asset division with his ex-wife. He suddenly took out this large sum, basically investing his entire net worth into the film. From a certain perspective, his feelings for Liu Yunlan could be considered deep affection.
Aside from the chaos with “The Pursuit”, there were also rumors that the script for the protagonist’s 100 million blockbuster “Battle City 2” was undergoing heated revisions.
With the explosive box office of the first film, expectations for “Battle City 2” were still high. Since the rights were sold, the film topped trending searches every few days.
Jiang Yu had spent 100 million to acquire it, and he obviously planned to make a big move. It was uncertain whether it would be released in two to three years or four to five.
However, Ye Zhou heard that Jiang Yu received a large sum of money from Summit Entertainment for the co-production rights of “Battle City 2”.
Ye Zhou could understand Jiang Yu and Cheng Ran’s thinking. Although “Battle City 2” was a big IP, production costs were high, and filming periods were long. Before “Battle City 2”’s release, Jiang Yu and the protagonist shou still needed income. To acquire “Battle City 2”’s rights, Jiang Yu had used up all his savings and owed significant debts.
To quickly recoup losses and build fame for his newly established film and television company, nothing was more direct than delivering an actual work.
Ye Zhou’s guess was absolutely correct. While he was preparing for “A Farce”, Jiang Yu and Cheng Ran on the other side were also preparing for a movie.
#
After more than a month, Ye Zhou finally formed the creative team of “A Farce”. Though small, it was fully equipped.
The crew was set, the script was done, and the funds withdrawn from “The Pursuit” had arrived. Concerned it might not be enough for Ye Zhou, Jiang Tingyuan had given him an additional black card. With how dizzyingly busy Ye Zhou had been the past two days, he hadn’t checked the amount yet.
But whenever he felt tired from work, Ye Zhou would take out this black card and admire it briefly before suddenly becoming re-energized, enthusiastically diving into the next round of work. This showed how attractive the black card was to him.
In summary, the film’s progress had gone smoothly so far. There was only one most critical remaining issue left.
Selecting the cast.
During this period, Ye Zhou considered two suitable candidates and contacted them personally. Unfortunately, one declined due to scheduling conflicts. The other initially agreed, but less than a week later called back stammering that he could not do it.
Ye Zhou later found out this actor had a last-minute change of heart after being invited by Cheng Ran to play the second male lead in his movie.
Aside from those two, Ye Zhou had contacted several others, but the results were unsatisfactory—either not meeting his expectations or considering the pay too low.
Ye Zhou was quite helpless about this. It wasn’t that he lacked funds, but to offer high pay, the skills had to match the price. Otherwise, he would become the losing party.
Money was not an issue, but Ye Zhou absolutely refused to waste it this way. It was better to spend it on filming. Therefore, the crew held a small meeting and unanimously proposed simply holding auditions. Those interested would naturally be more enthusiastic about their film. With some luck, they might discover hidden gems.
Ye Zhou readily agreed with the idea. He had no issues with new actors and actually quite liked them. Talented newcomers were like uncarved jade—inexperienced but full of potential.
After deciding to hold auditions, the crew publicly announced them.
The audition was scheduled for the end of the month. Ye Zhou originally thought that not many people would come to the audition of their unknown small crew.
Unexpectedly, on the day of the audition, there were far more people than everyone expected. There were more than 20 people in total.
But most of them were little-known 18th-tier stars and newcomers.
The most famous was veteran actor Liu Ruihua in his forties. Audiences would find him vaguely familiar from his constant appearances in various films and dramas, though only in forgettable supporting roles. As such, people recognized his face but not his name.
Aside from him, one other person’s presence greatly surprised Ye Zhou.
This man looked around 28 or 29 years old with handsome features. His individual features were perhaps not good-looking, but combined gave him an indescribable aura. His attire was very formal—a light gray suit that looked to be of excellent quality and neatly polished camel leather shoes.
However, the seemingly expensive suit appeared to be the wrong size. The sleeves barely reached his wrist bones, and the pants were also a bit short, exposing the man’s fair calf skin.
His appearance was contradictory. The material quality indicated no lack of money, but the size showed some…awkwardness.
Others might find this puzzling, but Ye Zhou clearly knew this was the most presentable outfit this gentleman currently owned.
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