Entertainment: Who still wants to fall in love when there are cheats?

Chapter 239 [Infinite Terror 3]?
"As you should know, the important characters in the [Infinite Terror] series have mostly been decided. The male characters are fine, there will still be some outstanding characters later on, but the female characters are almost set. Even if there are some characters later on, they will be minor supporting roles." Li Boda looked Jing Tian up and down and said to the person in charge of Wanda Cinemas.

"Of course we know that, but perhaps we can coordinate a bit. After all, in the [Infinite Terror] series, only Zhao Liying is one of your people, and the rest—" The Wanda Cinema manager didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was already very clear.

They wanted Li Boda to switch roles midway through the project.

Actually, this kind of period is quite common.

It is quite common both domestically and internationally.

Let's not even talk about domestic ones, they're too common. If a movie becomes a hit, and they make a sequel, they'll probably want to replace all the main characters in the sequel.

When filming a TV series, if the first season is a hit, some roles are immediately replaced in the second season.

And overseas, putting everything else aside, just take the Hulk for example. The lead actor for the first and second Hulk movies was changed. And that black guy in the Iron Man series, what was his name again, Patriot or something? Tony's best black friend, the actor who played him in the first movie and the actors who played him in later ones were also changed.

There may be other reasons, but changing players midway through a season is quite common.

So it's quite normal for the person in charge of Wanda Cinemas to approach Li Boda, wanting to secure a good role for Jing Tian to replace someone else.

Li Boda couldn't help but glance again at Jing Tian beside him, whose big eyes looked clear and foolish.

"Which role have you set your sights on?" Li Boda asked directly.

"The role of Zhao Yingkong is quite good. Jing Tian is a dancer by training. She has been practicing dance since she was a child, so filming action scenes is very easy for her. I think the role of Zhao Yingkong is very suitable for Jing Tian."

"But Zhao Yingkong has already been handed over to Liu Yifei."

"I know Liu Yifei, but her situation isn't too good right now. She's offended most of the entertainment industry in mainland China, so she can't get any good resources. And the movies she makes have almost never had high box office returns. She doesn't have much box office appeal..." The Wanda Pictures executive spoke eloquently, almost making Liu Yifei sound completely worthless, although what he said was indeed the truth.

"I'm sorry, I have no intention of changing roles midway through the project. Unless there are very special circumstances, I hope that one person can play the role from beginning to end. Ms. Jing Tian is very beautiful, but unfortunately, she is late. Of course, if Ms. Jing Tian wants to play some less prominent supporting roles, I have no objection." Li Boda shook his head, his attitude very decisive.

Putting aside the fact that changing actors midway through a film will more or less affect the viewing experience for some viewers.

Given the relationship between Li Boda and Liu Yifei, it's impossible for Li Boda to replace Liu Yifei's character halfway through the story. Even though Liu Yifei didn't call him "Dad" once.

The Wanda Cinema manager looked surprised. In fact, he had already inquired beforehand about how he helped Jing Tian choose the role of Zhao Yingkong. He knew very well that there was no deep relationship between Li Boda and Liu Yifei.

Unlike Zhao Liying, who is Li Boda's person, and unlike Liu Shishi, who seems to have had in-depth exchanges with Li Boda.

As for Shu Chang, her relationship with Li Boda seems cleaner, but the role of Luo Li played by Shu Chang had fewer scenes and wasn't particularly outstanding.

Therefore, considering all these reasons, he chose the role of Zhao Yingkong, intending to replace Liu Yifei.

Unexpectedly, Li Boda's answer was so straightforward.

"Director Li, look, Wanda Cinemas has invested quite a bit of money in this film—"

“Wanda Pictures wants to withdraw? Although our two previous collaborations were indeed very pleasant, I would be very disappointed if Wanda Pictures wanted to withdraw. However, if you insist, I will have no objection,” Li Boda said with a regretful expression.

When the head of Wanda Pictures heard Li Boda's words, his face turned green.

The "Infinite Terror" series is something many people would kill to invest in, and he doesn't want Wanda Pictures to withdraw because of Jing Tian's situation.

It's not that the [Infinite Terror] project is particularly profitable—well, it is indeed quite profitable.

The main reason is that the "Infinite Terror" project is big enough that Wanda Pictures can continue to invest in the "Infinite Terror" series. Gradually, Wanda Pictures' brand will be established, and even its prestige will be elevated.

It's important to understand that while Wanda Pictures controls a large number of cinema chains, few people in the industry are willing to work with them, or rather, most people are extremely wary of Wanda Pictures.

No matter what good projects there are in the industry, no one wants to share a piece of the pie with Wanda Pictures.

After all, Wanda Pictures already controls such a large cinema chain. If it expands into other areas, how can others compete?

Therefore, for the sake of the cinemas, some movies might even give the female lead to Jing Tian, ​​but they would absolutely not allow Wanda Pictures to invest in them.

They could exchange roles for Wanda Pictures, but they would absolutely not want Wanda Pictures for film and television investments.

So despite having a very strong background, a lot of money, and even controlling a large number of cinema chains, Wanda Pictures is currently unable to obtain good resources.

If such a great resource as [Infinite Terror] is kicked out because of a change in casting, the person in charge should pack his bags and get out of here immediately.

"No, no, no, no, we at Wanda Pictures have had such a great time working with Director Li, how could we not want to continue? Actually, we just wanted to have a deeper collaboration with Director Li, but since there's no opportunity, then so be it." The Wanda Pictures representative quickly explained, afraid that Li Boda would really kick Wanda Pictures out of the picture.

Finally, the Wanda Pictures representatives, along with Jing Tian, ​​slunk away.

As he left, Jing Tian stared intently at Li Boda with his large eyes, his gaze filled with curiosity.

Jing Tian didn't seem angry at all because Li Boda refused to let her play the role of Zhao Yingkong, nor did she harbor any hostility towards Li Boda because of it.

However, Li Boda ran into Jing Tian again the next day.

No, it seems that Jing Tian was deliberately waiting for Li Boda.

This time, however, Li Boda only saw Jing Tian; the person in charge of Wanda Pictures did not appear.

"Ms. Jing Tian? I'm so sorry, the roles in the [Infinite Terror] series have almost all been decided, and there really aren't any suitable roles left," Li Boda said regretfully to Jing Tian.

"I know, I didn't want to fight for any role. Actually, before, they just told me that they could get me a good role. I didn't really want to compete with anyone for any role." Jing Tian's eyes were as clear as ever, well, clear-eyed foolishness.

"Oh, I see." Li Boda looked as if he had just realized something.

"You don't believe me?" Jing Tian asked, looking at Li Boda's expression.

“I believe you, of course I believe you. Miss Jing Tian is such a kind person, she wouldn’t lie about something like this.” Li Boda said with a smile.

"...I have a feeling what you're saying isn't exactly nice! Actually, I didn't have any objections when they helped me get the role before, after all, the Zhao Yingkong role was really good, it would be great if I could get it, but there's nothing I can do if I can't. But I do really like [Infinite Terror]. You said before that there were only some less important supporting roles left, are there any suitable ones for me?" Jing Tian asked Li Boda with his big eyes.

“Ms. Jing Tian, ​​you’ve always played leading roles before. It’s not appropriate for you to play a minor supporting role now, is it?” Li Boda asked instead.

"What do you mean by suitable or unsuitable? I've played leading roles all these years, but I haven't really made a name for myself. Almost no one knows I even exist in the entertainment industry. If a supporting role could help people get to know me, that would actually be pretty good." Jing Tian spoke frankly and directly about his situation without any attempt to hide anything or show any concern.

"..." Li Boda was a little unsure how to evaluate Jing Tian. After so many years in the entertainment industry, it's really not easy to still have this kind of personality.

In Li Boda's opinion, in the entertainment industry, the only one who seems to be completely untainted, like Jing Tian, ​​is probably Liu Yifei.

"A minor supporting role, are you really okay with that?" Li Boda asked again.

“Of course I can. Although I’ve always played leading roles, it doesn’t mean I can’t play minor supporting roles. It’s just that I haven’t had many opportunities before.” Jing Tian nodded.

Jing Tian's words were both laughable and pathetic.

What do you mean by 'I've never had many opportunities to play minor supporting roles before'?

Everyone else never gets a chance to play a lead role, but she always gets to play the lead and never gets a minor supporting role.

"If you're really willing to play a minor role, the script for [Infinite Terror 3] isn't finished yet, but based on the novel's setting, there are roughly a few minor characters. One of them is a newcomer from the Central Plains team, a newcomer named Qin Zhuiyu, who is also a beautiful female celebrity. However, her screen time is indeed quite limited, and she dies rather quickly. Another character is a woman created by the main god, a woman named Lan, created by Xiao Honglu, one of the main characters. She's a nurse, and naturally, her screen time is also quite limited." Li Boda offered these two roles.

In fact, these two roles are indeed suitable.

Although the third installment of "Infinite Terror" is a team battle story featuring the Indian team, which includes female characters who are important supporting roles, Li Boda wanted an actor from the Indian team to play the role, as this would be more faithful to the original work.

The novel clearly states that it's the Indian team, the Indian team. Having a group of Chinese people play the Indians on the Indian team just looks awkward and inappropriate.

"They really are minor supporting roles!" Jing Tian couldn't help but say when he heard the two roles Li Boda had given him.

“You’re right about minor supporting roles,” Li Boda shrugged.

“Okay, then I’ll play Lan. Although it’s a minor supporting role with very few scenes, I feel the character design is better than Qin Zhuiyu’s.” Jing Tian nodded and said.

“Okay, no problem, this role is yours.” Li Boda nodded immediately and agreed. After all, it doesn’t matter who gets such a minor supporting role!

Moreover, Jing Tian, ​​this girl, actually gives people a pretty good impression. At least Li Boda doesn't have a bad feeling about her. After all, girls with this kind of personality are not unpleasant.

In fact, quite a few people have come to Li Boda. Even though "Infinite Terror 2" hasn't been released yet, no, it hasn't even been completed yet, there's already a large group of people who want to star in "Infinite Terror 3".

However, just like the reason Li Boda rejected Jing Tian before, he had no intention of changing people halfway through.

If the cast isn't changed, the only important new character in [Infinite Terror 3] is actually Zhang Heng.

So this time, a large group of people are competing for this role.

As for female roles, needless to say, there are no suitable ones, no suitable ones, no suitable ones.

Even though Yang Mi ultimately sacrificed herself to feed the tiger and became a puff, Li Boda only gave her a minor role as Qin Zhuiyu.

The main problem is that there really aren't any suitable roles available.

Zhang Heng is a relatively important character, and he is also the only one—well, it seems he's not the only one, there's also Xiao Honglu.

However, Xiao Honglu is only a twelve-year-old boy, and obviously it is not easy to find child actors of this age, mainly because the competition is not so fierce.

Therefore, most people focus on the character Zhang Heng, even though Zhang Heng is not a very likable character. He is too cowardly, which led to his girlfriend Ming Yanwei being sexually assaulted by a group of people.

However, because the competition was so fierce, Li Boda didn't immediately decide on the role. He simply threw out the role of Zhang Heng and let everyone compete for it. In any case, the fiercer the competition, the more benefits Li Boda would gain in the end.

On the contrary, for the role of Xiao Honglu, Li Boda initially wanted to find a suitable actor from among a group of existing child stars.

But before Li Boda could even search for her, Fan Bingbing appeared.

Fan Bingbing came specifically for the role of Xiao Honglu, and even went to great lengths to try and soften Li Boda.

Since Fan Bingbing was so sincere, Li Boda naturally relented.

Then Fan Bingbing brought her younger brother, Fan Chengcheng.

A little boy who was fairly good-looking.

However, when Li Boda asked him to perform and wanted to see how good his acting skills were, Fan Chengcheng's performance left Li Boda speechless.

“No, Bingbing, does our little brother have to be an actor? I mean, does he absolutely have to be an actor? Perhaps you could try to train him and let him sing. Becoming a pop star wouldn't be bad either,” Li Boda said to Fan Bingbing with a smile.

"...What do you mean? Although my brother's acting is indeed a bit cringeworthy, as a big director, don't you know how to train actors? Can't you train him a bit?" Fan Bingbing knew that her brother's performance was indeed quite cringeworthy, but since he was her brother, she could only stick her neck out.

"This isn't about training or not. You're an actor, you know that talent is actually quite important sometimes, right?" Li Boda said helplessly.

Actually, it wouldn't matter if Fan Chengcheng's acting skills were a little lacking, the key issue is that he lacks any kind of spirituality.

Given the huge investment in the "Infinite Terror" series, the casting process was naturally very rigorous. After all, Li Boda intended to make the "Infinite Terror" series a masterpiece, and he simply couldn't accept Fan Chengcheng's performance.

"...Actually, my younger brother is quite talented." Fan Bingbing said this with a hint of unease.

“…How about this? If we really want to film ‘Infinite Terror 3,’ it won’t start until next year at the earliest. We still have about a year. In this year, you can find your brother a teacher or enroll him in an acting training class so he can study properly for a year. If his acting improves after a year, the role of Xiao Honglu will be his. If his acting doesn’t improve, then forget it.” Li Boda decided to give Fan Chengcheng another chance.

The main problem is that Fan Chengcheng's sister has caught Li Boda red-handed, so Li Boda has no choice but to give Fan Chengcheng another chance, otherwise Fan Bingbing would never have given in.

After much persuasion, we've decided to put this matter aside for now.

After resting for a while, Li Boda got busy again.

Because the post-production work for "Infinite Terror 2" is almost complete.

The editing is finished, and the voice-over and music are almost done. Now all that's left is the special effects.

So Li Boda, with the film "Infinite Terror 2", plunged headfirst into the "Cube Special Effects" company and began creating special effects for "Infinite Terror 2".

Li Boda is very serious about special effects.

After all, good 3D special effects are truly impressive. However, with the emergence of two 3D special effects blockbusters, Avatar and Infinite Terror, which both achieved such high box office returns, countless other films have started to follow suit and create their own 3D special effects movies.

However, 3D special effects movies are not so easy to make.

Then, a whole bunch of fake 3D movies appeared. They were called 3D, but the picture quality wasn't even as good as 2D movies.

The jarring red and green lighting, and the various flashy and dizzying 2.5D special effects.

The release of these movies one after another has tarnished the reputation of 3D special effects films, which were originally popularized by "Avatar" and "Infinite Terror".

Many viewers even feel disgusted or disgusted when they hear about 3D special effects movies.

Although Li Boda knew that those movies, which were advertised as 3D special effects movies, were actually fake 3D, with 2.5D special effects.

However, their actions have indeed tarnished the reputation of 3D filmmaking.

Therefore, Li Boda can only do his best to make the special effects of "Infinite Terror 2" as good as possible to avoid being implicated.

The best 3D special effects technology was in the hands of Li Boda, so in order to make the movie's special effects better, Li Boda had to take the lead.

So Li Boda really started getting busy. He didn't even leave the company unless he had something to do, and he ate and slept at the company.

It was only when filming for "Lost in Thailand" wrapped up that Li Boda received an invitation from Xu Shanzheng to attend the wrap party. Li Boda then temporarily left the "Magic Cube Special Effects" company to change his mood and relax.

At the wrap party for "Lost in Thailand," Li Boda immediately became the focus of attention.

Countless people tried every means to greet Li Boda and get close to him.

Many people want to play the role of Zhang Heng in "Infinite Terror 3".

Similarly, some people are trying to get the role of Xiao Honglu, even though he is just a child.

Eventually, Li Boda got a little annoyed and finally put on a cold, aloof expression, as if he didn't want to talk to anyone. Only then could he finally have some peace and quiet.

"Tsk tsk tsk, it's really enviable." Xu Shanzheng chuckled and moved closer to Li Boda.

"Envious? You won't need to envy me anymore after 'Lost in Thailand' is released. Countless people will be chasing after you then," Li Boda said casually.

"...I really hope so. But for the movie 'Lost in Thailand,' my expectation is just that it won't lose money. That's enough." Xu Shanzheng's smile was a bit forced; clearly, he was still somewhat uneasy.

"Don't worry, the script for 'Lost in Thailand' is well-written, and there weren't any problems during filming. The box office for 'Lost in Thailand' is almost there, so it's definitely not going to lose money. It's just a matter of how much it will make," Li Boda said, shaking his head.

"I hope so. I hope so! But, just in case, just in case 'Lost in Thailand' flops, Director Li, if it really does flops, could you let me play a role in your 'Infinite Terror 3'? That would make me feel better."

Li Boda looked at Xu Shanzheng and found that Xu Shanzheng's face gave off such a despicable feeling that it made people want to slap him a few times.

“Xu Shanzheng, this is not right of you. I wondered what you were up to. You sneaked over here trying to play the victim. Director Li, please don’t fall for Xu Shanzheng’s tricks. Let me tell you, if you let him act in your movie, he’s not as good as me. What do you think of me? Director Li, let me tell you, my acting skills are absolutely fine, at least better than Xu Shanzheng’s…” Huang Bo said to Li Boda in a Qingdao rich lady’s accent.

"Damn it, Huang Bo, you're sabotaging me!" Xu Shanzheng said, reaching out to grab Huang Bo's neck.

Watching the two of them playfully bickering, Li Boda smiled but didn't say anything.

Although the two of them seemed to be joking around, it was actually a test. If Li Boda agreed, wouldn't they have gained something?

As for not giving in, that's normal. They said it in a joking tone, so just take it as a joke.

(End of this chapter)