Entertainment: I just want to be the boss behind the scenes

Chapter 359 Signing a New Member
The script that Qin Wen adapted for Wang Jiawei is called "Fanghua", which mainly tells the story of Abao, a small man in Shanghai in the 90s, and his entrepreneurial growth in the wave of reform and opening up.

The original novel has won the "Five One Project" and the Mao Dun Literature Award. Wang Jiawei bought the adaptation rights of this novel as early as 2014. However, because he was not familiar with Shanghai in that era, he had been collecting information in the early stage, and only started to prepare it this year.

Although it has been prepared for four years, according to the tradition of King of Sunglasses, it will take at least two to three years for the filming to start, and another five to six years for the release.

The time span of a project is so long that even Meng Bai, who wrote his own script, cannot guarantee whether it will change, let alone Wang Jiawei, who is famous for not liking to shoot according to the script.

Meng Bai considered whether to invest in this project as well, but when he thought about Wang Jiawei's "bad record" against investors over the years, he felt that it was unnecessary.

ArcLight has been working on "The Wandering Earth" for more than four years, and it still doesn't know what the outcome will be. It really has no mood to invest in a project that will take longer.

If "The Wandering Earth" performs well after its release, I might consider it again.

Anyway, Wang Jiawei is slow to act, so it’s completely fine for him to wait another one or two years to “get on board”.

But then again, Meng Bai felt a little sad. Now even Wang Jiawei has started making TV dramas, which shows how much Hong Kong films have declined.

Speaking of which, since the decline of the Hong Kong film and television market and the rise of the mainland film and television market, those well-known Hong Kong film directors have chosen to move north in recent years.

In the beginning, the film and television companies and investors in mainland China were very respectful to these "big directors", giving them money, people and shares when they asked for them.

Most of these directors who move north are also very arrogant. They want to make blockbusters whenever they make a move. Regardless of how much profit they will make, their cost budgets are higher than the last, and they prefer to use actors from Hong Kong and Taiwan.

As for the films they make, some make money and some lose money, which is no different from those of mainland directors.

Slowly, the investors came to their senses. The returns were not guaranteed, the technology was not leading, the cost risk was higher, and they would often do bad things like "expensive straw hats". So why bother looking for these "outdated directors"?

As a result, capital began to retract its previous "gentle face" and began to show its true sharpness.

No matter how big or small a director you were in the past, if you can't make money, then just go away.

As a result, these directors who have moved north must either adapt to the market again, like Dante Lam and Chen Kexin; or simply transform themselves and reduce their dimension to make TV series or web series; those who cannot do any of these can only retreat to their own little piece of land.

Due to the loss of talent, the limited market size and the reluctance to let go of previous arrogance, the Hong Kong entertainment industry is now on its deathbed and can only rely on a few older generation movie stars to barely maintain its final scene.

After talking with Qin Wen, Meng Bai was completely fine in Shanghai. After a day of rest, he flew back to Blue Island.
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Blue Island, Bay Area seaside.

The beach, which was usually peaceful, was now bustling with people. A group of people gathered on the beach, each standing on tiptoe to look inside.

"Brother, what's going on over there?"

"I don't know. I just came here to watch the fun."

"Hey, I just heard from someone that someone seemed to have floated up from the sea, and the police are investigating."

"Fuck, this is so exciting! Is this true?"

"There's a cordon inside and a police car parked over there. It should be real."

"Haha, don't listen to their nonsense, what kind of police would set up cameras and various equipment when investigating a scene? It's obvious that there is a film crew shooting a movie."

"Damn, that scared me. They're just busy filming. But I have to say, the stuff on this crew is pretty realistic. It's much better than those sloppy TV shows."

"Who said it wasn't? I just don't know what it's called. You can check it out when it airs later."

"Just go back and search Arclight Films. Most of the criminal investigation dramas shot in Blue Island in recent years were shot by them."

"Really? Then I have to go back and search."

"..."

On the beach, Meng Bai glanced at the passers-by gathered on the embankment, and said to a plainclothes policeman beside him, "I'm sorry, Chief Li, I'm causing trouble for our police station again."

"Well, what's the big deal? You applied for the filming formally and didn't hinder anyone else. It's our responsibility to maintain order."

Chief Li waved his hand, then looked at the police tape with "Green Vine Police" printed on it not far away, and said with a smile: "Don't mention it. It's been a few years since we last met. Mr. Meng, you are becoming more and more formal now. I just took a look at the props on your set. Wow, we don't even have as many as you do."

Meng Bai smiled when he heard this: "After all, we have been shooting for so many years, there should be some improvement."

The policeman who was talking to Meng Bai was Captain Li, who came to the crew to investigate the "oolong case" when Arc Light was filming "Forensic Qin Ming" that year.

Just like Arc Light is no longer the small emerging team it once was, Team Li has also advanced in recent years and become the current "Li Institute".

Hearing Meng Bai's words, Li also said with emotion: "Yes, it has been two or three years in a flash. Speaking of which, we have watched a lot of your criminal investigation dramas in recent years."

"Oh, we are so honored to be recognized by professionals like you, Chief Li." Meng Bai said, "I always thought that the police didn't want to watch criminal investigation dramas."

Li Suo nodded: "That's true. A lot of bad dramas are so ridiculous that we feel upset when watching them, but yours are all okay."

"If Chief Li is not busy during this period, you can give me more guidance."

"No, no, I'm just talking nonsense. You guys are the professionals." Li waved his hand quickly: "Besides, you guys are filming criminal cases and the like. Most of the cases we deal with in our police station are trivial matters. There's nothing interesting."

"That may not be the case. The little things that happen in the police station can be quite interesting if we really treat them as stories, but there are not many films about them at the moment." Meng Bai said.

Li was immediately interested when he heard this: "You know what? Many of the small cases we receive are not as exciting as criminal cases, but they are definitely not less exciting."

"Really? Then I have to find an opportunity so we can have a good chat. Maybe we can make a drama with the police station as the theme later."

"Haha, that's great. Don't worry, if you can really take pictures, feel free to contact me if you have any questions. As long as it's not confidential information, I can tell you and just mention our institute later."

"No problem. We will definitely put 'Thanks to the Blue Island Coast Police Station for their strong support' at the end of the film." After a few half-joking words, Chief Li said he had something else to do and had to leave first.

He was just passing by and heard the police officers below report that there was a crowd gathering here, so he came over to check out the situation. Unexpectedly, he saw Meng Bai, an "acquaintance".

Watching Li Suo leave, Meng Bai turned around and returned to the crew of "Hunting Crime Picture Book".

The filming of this drama started at the beginning of the month, but Meng Bai was delayed by various things, so it took more than half a month for him to arrive at the scene for the first time.

"Old Dai."

Meng Bai walked over to the director's group, sat next to Dai Mo, and pointed at Zhang Xincheng and Chen Xingxu who were preparing for filming: "How are these guys doing?"

"Not bad. After all, they are graduates of professional schools and are no longer newcomers. Among young actors of similar age, they are considered okay." Dai Mo nodded with satisfaction.

"is it?"

Meng Bai replied without comment, but he didn't say anything else. Just as the next shot was about to start, he sat behind the director's viewfinder and observed for a while.

Not to mention, Dai Mo wasn't praising them blindly, the acting skills of these two people are indeed pretty good.

Meng Bai was of course not just standing there watching casually, he was thinking that if the right person was available, he could sign the person to Arc Light.

For a long time, the cast of Arc Light has been "more female than male". There are a lot of female actors, but there are only three or four male actors, including Wang Yang who signed at the beginning of the year. There are only two young actors, Zhang Ruoyun and Bai Yu.

It’s the same at Taiyang Chuanhe. There are a lot of female actors, but the male actors are mostly middle-aged.

So Meng Bai has been thinking about whether there is any suitable candidate who can supplement the male actor lineup of Arc Light.

It just so happened that the filming of "Hunting Crime" had just started and they had found two new leading actors, so he wanted to take a look.

In fact, Zhang Xincheng's acting skills are better among these two. Although Chen Xingxu started out as a child star, this is only his second time to officially star in a movie, including The Legend of the Condor Heroes, so it is inevitable that there will be some awkwardness in his performance.

Zhang Xincheng previously starred in "Hello, Old Times", a collaboration between Arc Light and Xiaotangren Culture, so relatively speaking, Meng Bai is more familiar with him.

The only problem is that his agency contract has been signed with Tianyu, and it is still several years away from expiration.

Obviously, although his performance is still good, it is not enough for Arc Light to pay too much to dig him over.

So in comparison, Meng Bai pays more attention to Chen Xingxu. Although he has less experience, he has good talent. His appearance is also very orthodox, and he can adapt to many roles and has a wide range of acting skills.

Similar to other child stars, his junior brother has not signed a company yet, and his management team is managed by his family. So if he wants to sign a contract, the cost-effectiveness will be much higher.

According to Meng Bai's previous style, he usually would not rush to tell the other party, but would pay attention to it for a while and then mention it to the other party when the filming was completed.

But now it’s different, he still has a lot of things to do, and he doesn’t have that much time to stay on the crew. So after observing the crew for two days and feeling that there was no problem, I directly mentioned the signing to him.

"Hello, Mr. Meng."

Looking at Meng Bai in front of him, Chen Xingxu stood up and greeted him a little stiffly.

"It's okay, just sit down." Meng Bai waved his hand downwards, "We are all from the Central Academy of Drama, just call me Senior Brother."

"Hello, senior brother." The young man immediately changed his tone.

Meng Bai smiled: "You don't have an agency now, right? Is your team managed by your family?"

"Yes, I don't have a company yet. I just graduated this year, so I haven't been in a hurry to confirm it before."

Chen Xingxu was obviously a smart man. He naturally understood what Meng Bai meant by asking this question, and his heart suddenly became excited.

Arclight Films is the most powerful company among the emerging forces in the film and television industry. When he was selected to star in Arclight's new "Green Ivy Series" during the audition, he had thought about whether he would have the opportunity to join Arclight.

I didn't expect that my dream would come true so soon.

Meng Bai nodded and asked straight to the point: "Are you interested in coming to our Arclight?"

Chen Xingxu's expression moved, and he wanted to agree on the spot. However, he still tried to hold back his impulse and said slowly: "Meng, uh, Senior Brother, can I think about it again?"

"Of course." Meng Bai said, "Well, I'll ask the management team to contact you later to discuss the specific contract benefits and so on. Give me a definite news before the filming is finished."

"Okay, Senior Brother, I will definitely consider it seriously."

Chen Xingxu's face was serious and he spoke solemnly.

Although this "junior brother" did not agree directly, judging from his expression, there should be no problem.

The plan went smoothly. Although it was not a big deal, Meng Bai was still in a good mood.

But as I said before, he did have a lot of things on hand, so he only stayed in Blue Island for a week before returning to Beijing North.

In late June, all college entrance examinations, high school entrance examinations, and final examinations are over, and summer vacation officially begins.

Along with the summer vacation comes the most important summer season for the film and television market every year.

Unlike previous years, an online movie unexpectedly appeared in the list of films for this summer's movie season.

"Soul Ferry: Huangquan", which has been long awaited by many fans and audiences of Arc Light Films, was released at the beginning of the summer vacation.

(End of this chapter)