I really don't want to be the top streamer anymore

Chapter 313: It’s late at night, of course not playing chess

As early as when the project of "The Hidden Corner" was launched, Xu Kong expected to complete the entire drama at a relatively fast speed.

Of course, the quality of the drama must be guaranteed.

The main issue is with Changyun Film and Television. Now it is no longer just a personal grudge between him and Zhu Changyun. It is almost impossible to reconcile between Feng Ge and Changyun Film and Television.

Moreover, from the very beginning, Xu Kong had experienced Zhu Changyun's arrogance and his attitude of looking down on others from a high position.

This made him feel very unhappy.

If there is a chance to target the other party, he certainly won't let it go.

……

But in fact, only in "The Hidden Corner", a drama directed by Xu Kong himself, was he confident that he could complete the filming of the entire drama in a short time.

Like several other dramas and movies that started shooting at the same time, Xu Kong did not have any special arrangements in terms of time.

The final quality of the film is the first consideration.

But unexpectedly, perhaps because Xu Kong himself starred in the film, or perhaps because it was filmed in the same city as "The Bad Kids".

Anyway, in the end, I finished filming the last scene of "The Beginning", a drama that was easier to shoot, before my own "The Bad Kids".

But it doesn’t seem to matter.

I heard that the drama that Changyun Film and Television plans to broadcast during the summer vacation has a large investment scale.

If we change to the low-budget drama "The Beginning", if all the data in the end directly crush the opponent in all aspects, it will be more able to hit the opponent.

……

Because Xu Kong had experienced the huge success of "The Beginning" in his previous life, he was not worried at all about the final commercial performance of this drama.

But Su Meng, the real director, is not so confident.

Of course she is aware of the quality of the entire drama.

The biggest advantage of this drama is that the script written by Xu Kong definitely has enough dramatic tension to attract the audience to eagerly explore the subsequent truth.

In addition, the male and female protagonist lineup of Xu Kong and Song Youyou, the two of them partnered together for the third time. Just based on Xu Kong's current popularity and traffic, it is estimated that even without much publicity, the attention to this drama will be quite high.

But even with these advantages, Su Meng still couldn't be completely sure that this drama would be a hit.

Because that's how the market works.

You can never come up with an exact rule. Sometimes a drama suddenly becomes popular even though it was not considered by the production crew at all.

Her first youth campus drama was similar. In fact, she just wanted to make a profit so that she could continue on the path of being a director.

Who knew it would suddenly become popular.

……

"Director Xu, regarding the subsequent post-production editing..."

The wrap party was successfully held. Before Su Meng took most of the crew back to Beijing, she couldn't help but ask a question.

"How about you take a break for a couple of days, Director Su? My new drama will be finished in a week or two, less than half a month..."

Xu Kong spoke.

However, Su Meng was not unhappy. Instead, she felt completely relieved after hearing Xu Kong's words.

There is no way. The shooting rhythm of "The Beginning" this time is completely different from Su Meng's usual time.

Although Xu Kong is only the male lead, in fact, during the entire filming process, it can be said that she relied on Xu Kong's guidance to complete the entire drama in such a short time.

Including post-production editing, she now has a lot of ideas and thoughts.

But I had no idea at all.

Especially if Xu Kong was absent and left to make the decision on her own, Su Meng would feel even more at a loss as to where to start.

……

In fact, regarding some specific ideas about editing, the detailed storyboard in the script that Xu Kong gave to the other party could be considered a relatively perfect answer.

But after all, this was the first time they worked together, and Xu Kong himself was actually not very reassured.

It is a safer option to follow Su Meng to complete the post-production of the entire drama.

Of course, this cooperation with Su Meng was not without gain.

At least Su Meng, a female director who is quite famous, now almost unconditionally believes in his ideas.

At the same time, Su Meng himself has made quite obvious progress.

Some of the bad habits I developed when I was taking photos in the past have also been mostly corrected.

If Xu Kong gives the other party a new script in the future, it is estimated that it will go much smoother than this time.

Now it seems that Xu Kong feels that he really should thank Zhu Changyun for taking away Feng Ge’s very famous directors.

This leaves behind directors like Su Meng and Guo Jiayu, who have strong professional abilities but whose career development has not been smooth.

This directly made Xu Kong's cooperation with these people much smoother.

Of course, it was a surprise that Duan Xuan withdrew directly halfway and has not yet terminated his contract with Feng Ge but is nowhere to be seen.

That guy does have some personality issues, and I guess few companies would be willing to take the risk to sign him.

He said before that he was planning to raise investment for the filming himself, but I don’t know what the current progress is.

……

At the same time, in a small hotel in a provincial capital city in the south.

Duan Xuan was squeezed into a double room with his assistant director.

"Director Duan, how about we go back and apologize to Mr. Xu?"

Duan Xuan remained silent.

During this period of time, he has almost traveled to most parts of the country.

I originally thought that as long as I came up with the script, those company bosses would invest money without hesitation.

Who knew it wasn't like that at all, and most of the time, I couldn't even see the person in person.

Duan Xuan, the so-called well-known first-line director in the country, has no face at all.

"I heard that Director Su, Director Yao and others have been filming their projects for a while now..."

The assistant director also had a hard time expressing his grievances.

I myself am not a person with any background or connections.

Except for Duan Xuan, if he went to other crews, he would probably only be an executive director at the lowest level.

But following Duan Xuan all the time, his stubborn character is really unbearable.

He had followed the other party across the country, but there was still no progress.

Although Duan Xuan directly reimbursed him for the travel expenses and so on, this was not a solution.

……

"That guy wants to change my script! No, he's planning to change my script directly!"

"I surrender to him?"

"No way!"

Duan Xuan has a hot temper and is very extreme.

But actually he is not a fool.

Of course he knew that he was not well-received in the industry.

So at that time he just said that he was raising investment, not leaving Fengge directly.

Is it that he doesn't want to leave?
No, it’s because no company is willing to sign him.

If he was really so popular, why didn't Zhu Changyun take him with him when he left?

He knew everything, but he was just reluctant to accept this reality.

……

"actually……"

"You haven't even read the script written by Mr. Xu. Maybe... it's not bad?"

The assistant director reminded him tactfully. In fact, no one would question Xu Kong's talent.

From his debut to now, he has only appeared in three dramas and one movie.

But almost all of them are the type that are both critically acclaimed and commercially successful.

How bad can a script written by the other party himself be?

Moreover, some of the views and opinions that Xu Kong put forward to Duan Xuan's script at that time, regarding the flaws in it, were not groundless.

The reason why Duan Xuan reacted so strongly was simply because Xu Kong was young.

Moreover, it was Feng Ge who suddenly became the Vice President and started to give orders about his projects, which made him feel a little embarrassed.

But now, some other colleagues including Su Meng have accepted Xu Kong's new script without any resistance, and the filming has been going on for some time.

It can be seen that Xu Kong really does not want to target these old people.

People like Yao Guanyu who are taciturn and have their own ideas have accepted Xu Kong's new script, which means that the quality will not be too bad.

……

"Then, I'll go back and take a look at the script he gave me?"

In fact, Duan Xuan had already been shaken in his heart.

But I just haven't said it yet.

This time he failed to attract investment for his project again, and the assistant director's words gave him an opportunity to step down.

"Well, it won't hurt to take a look first."

The assistant director noticed Duan Xuan's transformation and suddenly felt happy.

These torturous days are finally over.

In fact, he also knew that if he asked Duan Xuan to go back and apologize to Xu Kong, the other party would definitely not be able to accept it.

So I didn’t mention these things now, I just said I would go back and take a look at the script written by Xu Kong.

As for Duan Xuan and Xu Kong, their relationship has become so strained because of their last quarrel. It is absolutely impossible for Xu Kong to give the script to himself directly when he returns, and let Duan Xuan be the director. It is obviously impossible.

But Duan Xuan has already had the initial transformation, which is a good thing.

At that time, we will discuss how to apologize to Xu Kong, bow our heads, ease the relationship and so on.

You can take your time.

In comparison, although those things seemed difficult to the assistant director, they were better than continuing to run around outside and failing to attract investment.

Given Duan Xuan's temper, it is impossible for him to beg for investment in him in a humble manner.

On the contrary, you looked like you had read the script the whole time, and you could actually resist not voting?

It is incomprehensible that such an attitude can attract investment.

……

Although "The Beginning" has officially wrapped up, for Xu Kong, the daily workload has not actually decreased much.

"The Bad Kids" has recently reached the final stage, and many of the scenes being filmed are of the more important kind.

And the main character is the second male lead in the play, Zhu Chaoyang.

It can be said that the entire drama has nothing to do with Zhang Dongsheng, the apparent male protagonist, but Zhu Chaoyang who met by chance.

But in fact, the two are inextricably linked in all aspects.

The biggest challenge, naturally, is the young actor who plays Zhu Chaoyang, who really needs more subtle guidance.

In this regard, Xu Kong also did it with the help of the movie emperor Chen Shuang.

Although the process was not particularly difficult, it did take quite a bit of time.

Fortunately, the young actor does have both understanding and talent, and the final effect is very satisfying.

……

In addition, after finishing the filming, Youyou did not leave Lecheng, but moved directly to Xu Kong's crew.

On the surface, of course, it was in the name of visiting the set.

But in fact, she had no intention of leaving. She was going to wait until Xu Kong's drama was officially finished before returning to Beijing with him.

Although Sister Hong has become much more relaxed towards her now.

But opportunities like this to be alone for a long period of time are indeed rare.

For Youyou, there was nothing else to do as she returned to the capital alone.

She just likes acting, and is actually not interested in some of the commercial activities or glamorous public occasions that a star needs to attend.

In comparison, staying with Xu Kong seems to be a choice that can be made without hesitation.

……

"Brother Xu Kong, is there no role suitable for me?"

I have to say, Youyou really loves performing.

After reading the script of "The Bad Kids" out of boredom, she began to want to act in it again.

However, the roles of the drama itself were decided long before filming began.

It's almost over now and most of the scenes have been filmed, so it's impossible to change actors.

And considering Youyou's age, there is really no role that is suitable for her in this drama.

For an actor, there is definitely a comfort zone for his own role.

But at the same time, there are still great restrictions on the selection of roles.

Especially due to the age factor, many older actors may still be able to play the roles of students in their teens or twenties due to their appearance and other factors.

But as I get older and my appearance deteriorates, there is definitely a sense of incongruity.

Young actors, on the other hand, seem to have relatively more choices.

But when it comes to acting older, it is indeed a natural disadvantage.

The difficulty is much greater than the former.

……

"Be good, if there is a suitable role in the next play, I will definitely show you the script first."

Xu Kong made the promise.

After hearing this, Youyou felt happy and didn't feel too bothered.

The main reason is that she really likes the plot of this drama.

Unlike some other types of suspense dramas, the main focus of "The Bad Kids" is not on the case, because the murderer is exposed to the audience from the very beginning.

More importantly, it explores the deepest and darkest parts of the hearts of the various characters.

Although she also liked the previous "Beginning".

But in comparison, the characters in the two dramas, "The Bad Kids" do have more points worth exploring.

However, after reading the script, she realized that this drama was indeed not suitable for her.

The main reason was because of Xu Kong's promise. Although she knew that this was not good, it was impossible for Youyou to be unhappy about the different treatment given to her by Xu Kong.

……

Perhaps because the filming was busy, Youyou moved directly into the crew of "The Bad Kids".

But in fact, most of the time, she just stayed quietly beside Xu Kong.

Of course, this was only during the day, and it gave people the feeling that the two of them were really good friends, and she was really just here to visit the set.

But at night, things changed.

Youyou always attacks Xu Kong late at night, leaving him completely unprepared most of the time.

Of course, you have to ask what he was doing in Xu Kong's room in the middle of the night.

Anyway, we are not playing chess together.

……

(End of this chapter)