The film and television city starts from the courtyard

A few days later, Zhao Shucheng called Luo Shuquan to help Amy move.

Amy and her friends have already bought houses, all fully furnished and ready to move in, and Xiaoxue and Mo Xiaomin have already moved in.

Today is Amy's move. Unlike Xiaoxue and Mo Xiaomin, who didn't have much stuff, Amy needed Zhao Shucheng's help to move all her new belongings over, so Luo Shuquan was pulled in by Zhao Shucheng to be a laborer.

They arrived at Amy's door and rang the doorbell. After a while, Amy opened the door and stood in the doorway.

"coming!"

"Yes, Amy, have you packed everything?"

Amy said, "I almost finished tidying up last night, come in and talk!"

Upon entering the room, one would see dozens of cardboard boxes piled up in layers.

Upon seeing this, Luo Shuquan glanced at Zhao Shucheng in horror and grabbed him tightly.

Zhao Shucheng was surprised that Amy had so much stuff. When Xiaoxue and Mo Xiaomin moved, they only had a few suitcases and maybe a few cardboard boxes.

Zhao Shucheng could take it with his own car, so he figured Amy's car would be about the same and drove over himself.

"Have some coffee, my coffee machine is in the box, so I can only offer you instant coffee."

Luo Shuquan said, "Great, you even have a coffee machine, that's really high-class." He then wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.

Amy said, "I was tricked into buying it a few years ago, but I found out it's pretty much the same as instant coffee, so I haven't used it much. I can't bear to throw it away, so it's just been collecting dust. But I've found a place in the new house where I can put it in the kitchen. I think I'll need it someday."

Zhao Shucheng nodded and said, "That's true. It's a pleasure to brew coffee in my spare time. By the way, I didn't know you had so much stuff to move. You should call a moving company and have them send a truck over."

Amy said, "I've called the moving company, but they won't be here for a while."

"That's good. By the way, have all the paperwork been completed on the landlord's side?"

Amy nodded and said, "Yes, the bills have been settled, the water and electricity bills have been paid, and the deposit has been returned to me."

"That's good. We'll definitely have a big celebration after we move."

"That's right! Xiao Min and Xiao Xue will celebrate moving together then. But after that, would you like to live in the same neighborhood as us?"

"I'll pass, I sometimes write novels and it's not certain how late it is, my days and nights are reversed, so you guys should come see me. Of course, I'll come see you often too."

"That's okay too!"

Just then, a husky darted out from the inner room, and almost the next second, Luo Shuquan jumped up and screamed, rushing out the door like a whirlwind.

"What's up with him?"

Zhao Shucheng sighed and said, "Looks like Shuquan is afraid of dogs. But why didn't you tell me before that you kept a dog?"

"Didn't I say that?"

"Of course not. If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have brought him."

Amy picked up the husky helplessly and said, "What do we do now?"

"I can only leave him outside, or you can hold the puppy while I go with the moving company."

Amy sighed and said, "That's all we can do. And it looks like the party can't be at my house. We'll have to go to Xiao Min's or Xiao Xue's place."

"It's okay, it doesn't matter whose place we go to, it's just a celebration anyway."

Amy said, "But you have to cook today!"

"you sure?"

"Of course, don't think we don't know you're a great cook, you're just too lazy to cook normally. But on such a special day, can't you just cook for us?"

"No problem at all!"

After a long and difficult move, Zhao Shucheng and his group went to Mo Xiaomin's house next door for dinner because Amy's family had just moved in and hadn't unpacked many things yet.

Seeing that Mo Xiaomin and the others were all surrounding Zhao Shucheng, Luo Shuquan felt out of place, so he said something and left.

When Zhao Shucheng found out, he saw the women sitting next to him, smiled, and thought it wasn't so bad.

Time flies.

That day, after Zhao Shucheng and Mo Xiaomin got up, he noticed that Mo Xiaomin wasn't getting ready for filming as usual, and asked curiously, "Xiaomin, I've noticed you're spending more time at home lately. Aren't you busy with work?"

Mo Xiaomin said, "I'm not as busy as before. I don't know why, but the print ads, TV dramas, and other offers that came my way have all suddenly disappeared. The company is trying to get in touch with me, but they are all special contracts, so I'm not working for the time being."

Zhao Shucheng was surprised that Mo Xiaomin suddenly had so little work, and asked curiously, "Your agent hasn't been contacting you for work. Even if your popularity has dropped, you shouldn't suddenly have no jobs coming your way."

"I don't know either. The agent said that there are fewer job offers coming in, and the company needs to contact them again, which will take time."

Zhao Shucheng said, "It seems I need to step in."

"You? What can you do? You're not an investor, and your script hasn't been filmed. It should be difficult for you to find connections, right?"

"You look down on me, don't you? Let me tell you, you're wrong. Even if others can't find you a job, I can assemble my own production team and give you work, allowing you to regain your popularity."

"Forget it, I don't really believe you're assembling a film crew. You've been staying home for so many days, and besides, you were just an assistant director before. A director's job isn't as simple as you think. As for investment, if your company wanted to invest in your film, they wouldn't have waited until now." Zhao Shucheng smiled and said, "That's true, but I can raise investment myself. As long as the script is good, there will definitely be people who appreciate it."

Zhao Shucheng's decision wasn't just a whim; he genuinely wanted to produce a TV series himself to hone his skills and hopefully achieve something significant.

Mo Xiaomin leaned against Zhao Shucheng and said, "If we weren't on good terms, I would have suspected that you said something to someone that got me blacklisted."

Zhao Shucheng said, "That's definitely not me. Although I also have a strong possessive streak, I can still distinguish between work and life. Besides, I'm just a director with no works and a second-rate screenwriter right now. Even if I wanted to blacklist you, no one else would listen to me."

Mo Xiaomin laughed and said, "Of course I know it wasn't you, but all those jobs suddenly disappeared, it's hard not to suspect I've been blacklisted. But I haven't offended anyone."

Zhao Shucheng said, "Then you're wrong. Since you've entered the entertainment industry to make a living, it's normal to offend people. For example, if you get an advertisement, it might be one that someone has been eyeing for a long time, and you've already offended someone without even realizing it. Not to mention, if you become famous, then other people who were already famous will face competition from you, and naturally they will treat you as an enemy."

"These are just the enemies you might encounter in the workplace. There are also those who want to pursue you but are rejected by you. They will also be hostile towards you and want to see you fall from grace so that they will grovel before them."

Upon hearing this, Mo Xiaomin asked, "Then what do I do now?"

"It just means your company isn't doing enough to help you solve your current problems, so we have to start looking for our own way and can't wait for the company to arrange work for us."

Amy happened to be visiting Zhao Shucheng and overheard his conversation with Mo Xiaomin. She said, "Xiaomin, why didn't you say so sooner? I have a regular customer who works in independent films. Maybe we could talk to her and ask if she knows of any suitable roles for you. Then you won't have to worry about finding work."

"Does it fit?"

“There’s nothing wrong with it. Actually, Xiaobai can give it a try. She makes independent films, and you don’t necessarily have to make TV series. Movies are also an option. Maybe she’ll see your script and invest in you?”

Zhao Shucheng knew who Amy was talking about; it was Shanli, who ended up with Gu Xiaobai in the original story.

With a try-it-and-see attitude, Zhao Shucheng thought he could have Amy contact this Shanli.

Amy asked with some concern, "Xiaobai, are you serious? We know your novels are good and have many readers online, but they are all long works, which are not suitable for film adaptation, right? Besides, you've always done freelance work, mostly sitcom scripts. Can you handle an independent film? That requires an original script, and it's probably too late to prepare one now, isn't it?"

Zhao Shucheng smiled and said, "If you question my directing ability, I can say that I am a newcomer, but you cannot question the script in the slightest."

Zhao Shucheng was quite confident in this regard. After all, even though he had never written a movie script before, he had seen quite a few movies. Moreover, both Left Ear and Search were worlds he had personally experienced.

Besides, even if Zhao Shucheng can't shoot those special effects blockbusters, he has watched a lot of urban dramas or martial arts movies, and he has also studied directing techniques recently. It shouldn't be too difficult for him to shoot some of the movies he has seen before.

However, Zhao Shucheng is also well aware that independently produced films are not commercial films in the conventional sense. They are characterized by low-budget production and a high degree of creative freedom for the director. Moreover, most independent films are not distributed through cinemas, but rather through non-traditional channels such as film festivals or copyright transactions.

Of course, Zhao Shucheng didn't mind that his debut film was an independent production. After all, he was well aware that he had no fame at the moment, and it was unrealistic to expect audiences to come to the theaters to see his work. It would be better to make a film with the potential to win awards, increase his visibility, and then move on to commercial films.

To win an award, one must consider the subject matter: suspense, realistic themes, historical biographies, fantasy, or art films.

After much hesitation, Zhao Shucheng decided to stick with the script written by Gu Xiaobai in the original storyline. He reasoned that the established patterns of this world would ensure the work's success and save him from many pitfalls. However, if he tried to test the waters with films and television shows from other worlds, he might suffer a major setback.

With that in mind, Zhao Shucheng went straight to the computer and began writing his script.

Mo Xiaomin and Amy sat down curiously next to Zhao Shucheng and asked, "Xiaobai, what kind of script are you planning to write?"

"A story about an entire family dying."

After Zhao Shucheng briefly recounted the story, Amy asked, "Xiaobai, isn't this person's situation too tragic?"

"Art originates from life, but it also transcends life. Since we are making an independent film, we must prepare for awards. Films that highlight humanity are more likely to move the judges and gain more attention."

"Okay, hopefully Shanli won't refuse to invest because she's too miserable."

"Don't worry, since she's in this industry, she'll naturally know the value of this script."

Zhao Shucheng did not finish writing the script in one go; he only wrote a few chapters and prepared to meet Shanli with the outline.

Although Amy helped contact Shanli, she didn't accompany Zhao Shucheng to meet her because she didn't want Shanli to invest in Zhao Shucheng because of her. She was also worried that if she were there, Shanli might reject Zhao Shucheng's script, which would embarrass him.

Zhao Shucheng didn't care about that. He was just trying to attract investment. Even if it didn't work out with Shanli, he could invest himself. The only problem was that after filming was completed, he would need to find someone to help with distribution or find channels to participate in film festivals.

Zhao Shucheng arrived at the coffee shop where Amy and Shanli had arranged to meet, and saw her as soon as he entered.

It wasn't that Zhao Shucheng had seen Shanli's photos before, but rather that she was clearly an acquaintance and had been his goddess in his youth.

Shanli also saw Zhao Shucheng, and her eyes lit up as soon as they met.

"Hello, Ms. Shanli, hello, I am Gu Xiaobai, I was introduced by Amy."

"Hello."

After sitting down, Shanli looked at Zhao Shucheng and asked, "Mr. Gu, what do you usually do?"

Zhao Shucheng smiled and said, "It's about writing scripts for hundreds of episodes of sitcoms. A whole bunch of people write together, and I'm one of them. I don't know what the future holds. It seems like whether it's good or bad doesn't really concern me. As long as I get paid, that's fine. Of course, I also occasionally write novels and publish them online."

"I see. May I ask what your relationship is with Amy?"

Zhao Shucheng smiled and said, "There's nothing wrong with asking. Amy is my girlfriend."

"Have you ever thought about creating some works independently, or developing your own project?"

Zhao Shucheng nodded and said, "Of course I've thought about it. I even considered adapting all my previous novels into TV series, but as a newcomer, no company is willing to invest in me. Besides, I'm not willing to hand over my child to just anyone, so the project is still nowhere in sight."

As he spoke, Zhao Shucheng looked at Shanli and said, "I've come here to ask for your help. I hope to make an independent film to gain some fame in the entertainment industry, which will then help my work be adapted into films and television series."

"Are you so confident I'll agree?" Shanli looked at Zhao Shucheng curiously. (End of Chapter)