Huayu 05, our science fiction movie universe

Chapter 608 Big Gossip and "Hello Mr. Billionaire"

Generally speaking, in the entertainment industry, news about the works of celebrities is never as popular as gossip news.

Whether it's celebrity scandals, artist scandals, or various power struggles, they all attract the most attention and tend to leave a deeper impression because they involve satisfying the public's voyeuristic desires.

Further back in time, there were various female celebrities in Hong Kong vying to marry into wealthy families.

In Hong Kong, it goes without saying that, as is well known, with the development of the internet in mainland China, people can also get fresh gossip and scandals almost every few days.

Countless similar incidents have occurred, and the general public enjoys discussing them. Often, an event can spark widespread discussion on platforms such as Baidu Tieba, QQ groups, and Weibo, giving rise to all sorts of strange and unusual versions.

If an event combines scandals, gossip, and celebrity scandals, it's enough to make countless netizens who love gossip and following rumors feel like it's a holiday.

On January 1, 2018, a gossip event broke out in the entertainment industry that met both of these conditions.

Of course, saying that the news broke on January 1, 2018 is not quite accurate; it should be said that the influence of this "big news" reached its peak on that day.

In fact, many rumors had already been leaked before January 1st and quickly spread.

However, the information that was revealed at the time was not comprehensive, and was even somewhat confusing, leaving everyone with mixed feelings of belief and doubt.

Moreover, the person involved quickly came forward to respond to the online public opinion.

This left everyone somewhat confused, unsure whether the news was true or false.

But does it matter whether the news is true or false?

It's not that important, really.

Because news like this satisfies the public's "gossip" mentality; right and wrong, truth and falsehood are not important, what matters most is that it's entertaining to watch.

Moreover, many things are not just wild speculations by the public. As the saying goes, there is no smoke without fire. Some inconspicuous information was quickly dug up by netizens and linked to the current events to corroborate each other.

At the same time, some of the past scandals and works of a certain party were also exposed, causing their reputation to plummet rapidly. They went from being the most popular star last summer to becoming a pariah.

With public trust significantly diminished, it further confirms that the previous gossip was not unfounded.

Incidentally, his personal behavior was also brought to the forefront by the entire community, further reinforcing the already negative perception of this niche circle. This also caused the commercial value of a new music variety show that had become a hit last year to be halved.

It can be said that the negative impact of this incident was sensational, and the future careers of all parties involved were directly shrouded in gloom.

But the fact that such a big scandal broke on the very first day of 2018 may indicate that the entertainment industry this year will definitely not be peaceful.

Wang Hao had heard about this in his previous life, so when Jing Tian, ​​who was just watching the drama unfold, excitedly shared the news with him, Wang Hao simply said "Oh," showing that he wasn't very interested.

When Jing Tian asked him if the matter was true and if he had any inside information, Wang Hao couldn't give a specific answer.

He's a big shot in the entertainment industry, not some gossipmonger. Besides, it would be beneath Wang Hao's dignity to inquire about this kind of gossip.

However, it doesn't matter if he doesn't inquire. As Wang Hao's wife and the boss's wife of Xinghe Group, Jing Tian has certain connections in the industry.

Seeing that she couldn't get anything out of Wang Hao, she took out her phone, opened a WeChat group, and quickly started chatting, occasionally showing an expression of someone who had just heard something interesting.

Wang Hao was quite helpless about his wife's childish behavior. However, she had always been pampered and relied on her family before, and now she relies on her husband. It was normal for her to be a little childish. Moreover, Wang Hao loved her pure personality. The couple didn't have much scheming between them, which was good.

The scandal of the affair has escalated online, and as it unfolds, more related people and events have been exposed.

For example, a sisterhood, little deer...

Everyone on the internet is thoroughly enjoying the gossip, but in reality, the incident hasn't had that much of an impact. After taking a day off for New Year's Day, Wang Hao returned to the set of "The Martian" the next day to continue filming and production.

The filming of the exterior scenes has been completed, including all the exterior shots of the entire Mars base.

Not long ago, the Mars rover, which was used as a prop, was dragged into the studio. With the help of a green screen, the scenes of the male lead in "The Martian" inside the rover were basically completed.

So what they're filming now is basically the crucial scene of growing potatoes indoors at the Mars base.

Growing potatoes on Mars!
In fact, Wang Hao and the public believe that only Chinese astronauts can do this kind of thing, as it embodies that unique romantic sentiment.

Perhaps it would be more in line with their cultural traditions for other countries to make such movies, flying spaceships to other planets and aliens to collect taxes.

To film this scene, the production team specially built half of a Mars base in a huge studio to shoot the indoor scenes of the base.

Furthermore, Liu Ye, who played the lead role, also put in a lot of effort to get into character.

Because this part of the story takes place a considerable amount of time after Zhang Beihai is stranded on Mars, and considering the issues of food and survival, Zhang Beihai carefully calculates the daily nutritional needs of the human body and strictly controls the consumption of resources. Therefore, his weight and overall condition will experience a significant decline.

To demonstrate this, Liu Ye also controlled his diet during filming, and he lost weight rapidly, becoming visibly haggard and irritable, which made the crew somewhat worried about his condition.

But the final result was perfect, which gave the crew a new appreciation for his dedication.

However, with the approach of the Spring Festival holiday, Wang Hao, as the chairman of Xinghe Group, inevitably had more and more company affairs to attend to, and the filming schedule of the movie crew was inevitably disrupted.

In early February, Wang Hao, who was so busy that he couldn't spare a moment, simply waved his hand and gave the crew a half-month break so that the crew members could also have a proper reunion for the New Year.

As for himself, one can only say that the capable are often overworked, and he is still busy with various affairs of the group.

The only good news is that because Douyin sponsored the Spring Festival Gala this year, the group doesn't plan to hold its own gala, so as not to steal the spotlight from the Gala.

Moreover, Wang Hao doesn't have any movies released during this year's Spring Festival, so he doesn't need to travel all over the country for promotion, which is another piece of great news.

Of course, he also took a day off before the Lunar New Year to attend a preview screening of another movie with his wife and children.

After all, Galaxy Pictures definitely has movies to release during such an important period as the Spring Festival.

However, this year's Spring Festival film season will not feature any works from the Galaxy Cinematic Universe, but rather a comedy film called "Hello Mr. Billionaire" starring the longtime duo Shen Teng and Ma Li.

In recent years, apart from the special effects blockbusters produced by Galaxy Group, comedy films have been the most successful genre in the domestic film industry. After all, this type of film is suitable for all ages and families, offering the potential for high returns on a small investment.

When it comes to comedy films, the domestic film market has always been characterized by competition between the North and the South.

In the North, Feng Xiaogang's Lunar New Year comedies reign supreme, while in the South, Chow Yun-fat's comedies from Hong Kong dominate.

After the turn of the millennium, Chow's comedies began to decline, and the Lunar New Year comedies didn't fare much better.

Until Ning Hao's "Crazy Stone" was released, Xu Zheng and Huang Bo were brought to prominence. A new era of comedy films, which focused on the urban underclass and petty bourgeoisie as their main narrative subjects, began to rise. Xu Zheng, Huang Bo, and Wang Baoqiang became the comedy trio of this era.

However, comedy is, by its very nature, an art form that offends oneself to please the audience.

When celebrities rise to stardom, their comedies often become less funny because the actors become less relaxed.

As a result, the leading domestic comedy film has shifted from the "comedy trio" of Xu, Huang, and Wang to the "Shen-Ma (Shen Teng + Ma Li)" duo, who recently gained fame with the huge success of "Goodbye Mr. Loser".

During this Spring Festival season, they continued to bring a lot of joy to the audience by starring in the comedy film "Hello Mr. Billionaire," produced and distributed by Galaxy Pictures.

"Honey, have you seen this movie beforehand?"

In the pitch-black screening room, Jing Tian asked Wang Hao in a low voice.

“The company invests in so many film projects, it’s impossible for me to have seen them all,” Wang Hao replied with a smile. “Besides, this is just a comedy, with no special effects scenes, so whether I’m supervising it or not doesn’t make much difference.”

Wang Hao's words were actually half true and half false. He hadn't seen the movie "Hello Mr. Billionaire," but he had seen it in his previous life.

However, the female lead in the movie "Hello Mr. Billionaire" that he had watched was played by Vivian Sung from Taiwan.

To be honest, that Taiwanese actress is really not suitable for this comedy film.

From Wang Hao's current professional perspective, there was absolutely no chemistry between the other actor and the rest of the film, which made some of the comedic moments in the movie feel awkward.

After all, crosstalk requires a straight man and a funny man; it's really impossible for Shen Teng to carry the show on his own.

But this time, "Hello Mr. Billionaire" is different. At least the investors are not from Taiwan, so the role of Xia Zhu is naturally played by Ma Li, an old acquaintance who has worked with Shen Teng many times.

Of course, with a different actor, the character's background and identity also need to be adjusted.

The movie soon began showing, with Shen Teng playing the male lead, Wang Duoyu, the team's goalkeeper. He was bribed with money at the beginning and asked to throw the football match in the following game.

If you only watch this part, you might think that Wang Duoyu plays a very important role in the team.

However, the situation reversed in the next second. Wang Duoyu lost the game because of his own strength. He failed to stop any of the opponent's goals, which ultimately led to his team losing the game 0-5.

Now, even if they didn't fix the match, they're being accused of fixing it.

Worried that the disheartened Wang Duoyu might do something foolish, his good friend Zhuang Qiang ran to his house and broke down the door. He discovered that Wang Duoyu had a strong heart. Even though his life was a mess, living in a dilapidated apartment building in Xihong City, with no fixed income, and having been kicked out of the team, he still lived on strongly.

And here, the film's female lead, Xia Meili, also makes an appearance.

When Zhuang Qiang drew back the only curtain in Wang Duoyu's house, preparing to let the sunlight in, what appeared on the big screen was Ma Li's face.

She was wearing old-fashioned floral pajamas, brushing her teeth with foam all over her mouth, and looking at Zhuang Qiang in front of her with a completely bewildered expression.

However, upon seeing Wang Duoyu behind Zhuang Qiang, Xia Meili, who had been somewhat stunned, immediately raised her eyebrows, slammed her toothbrush cup on the windowsill, and shouted at the top of her lungs:
"Wang Duoyu! You still haven't paid back the instant noodles you bought on credit last month, and this month you've taken two packs of cigarettes from me for free. Do you think I'm a charity?!"

It turns out that Xia Meili is the owner of the convenience store downstairs. Wang Duoyu had previously owed her a lot of money, which naturally made Xia Meili dislike him and look down on him.

Wang Duoyu, who had just lost the game, was naturally in a very bad mood. Gone was his usual fawning attitude when he bought things on credit at the convenience store. He immediately retorted and started arguing with Xia Meili through the window.

"Your run-down little shop charges 50 cents for hot water? I think you're desperate for money!"

"I may be poorer than you, but you're a stingy old man who only knows how to take advantage of me."

Did you try to trick me when you bought the beer last week?

"You bought a 3-yuan beer, and insisted you didn't have any change, so you gave me 20 yuan. I gave you 17 yuan back, and then you bought a pack of cigarettes for 7 yuan, saying you had 10 yuan and didn't need the change, but then you took the 20 yuan back..."

Xia Meili counted on her fingers, getting more and more excited as she talked, but in the end she came to the magical conclusion that she still owed Wang Duoyu 5 yuan.

The two of them kept bringing up each other's past hurts, which amused the movie audience.

Meanwhile, the characters of the male and female protagonists were initially established during this argument.

Xia Meili's fiery personality and not-so-bright mind formed a stark contrast.

Wang Duoyu's downfall and his slick but incompetent personality left a deep impression on the audience.

But movies always need dramatic conflict.

Mr. Jin, who had previously tried to bribe Wang Duoyu, suddenly approached him after he was kicked out of the team and told him some extremely unexpected news.

It turns out that Wang Duoyu's long-lost second uncle passed away in Taipei, leaving behind a 30 billion yuan estate.

However, the conditions for inheriting the estate are extremely strict: he needs to legally spend 1 billion RMB within a month, and this money can only be used for his own consumption, not for charity, nor can he leave any assets, and he must keep it a secret from others.

Of course, Wang Duoyu could also choose to give up inheriting the estate and take the ten million directly.

For Wang Duoyu, who was penniless, this was a huge fortune enough to last a lifetime, which was better than failing the challenge and continuing to live a hard life.

But the daring Wang Duoyu ultimately chose to accept the challenge and asked his good brother Zhuang Qiang to help him manage his assets. He also asked Xia Meili, who often made mistakes in the accounts downstairs, to be his accountant.

With these two "hidden dragons and phoenix chicks" assisting him, Wang Duoyu was full of confidence. A mere billion was nothing; he could definitely spend it all in a month.

(End of this chapter)