2001 Media Godfather

Chapter 12 Fight him! Whoever backs down is a coward.
Chu An discovered that Lu Mingze was a rather adorable person, in a silly and adorable way.

Perhaps in Director Lu's mind, Tian Du would never have betrayed him, and he had never even considered that possibility. Therefore, even though Chu An had practically made his intentions clear, he remained immersed in the joy of having unexpectedly achieved a masterpiece.

But there's no need to rush. Chu An believes that Director Lu will soon realize the true nature of this terrible drama as he films it, and then he'll understand.

In the afternoon, the crew continued filming. Chu An didn't have any scenes, but she stayed on set to help with odd jobs.

Perhaps it was because of his different mindset from his previous life, Chu An found himself increasingly enjoying staying here, doing what he could to improve his standing, and enjoying the experience while also building goodwill.

Around 3 o'clock, Sister Lan nudged Chu An from behind, telling him to come downstairs because Grandpa Jia wanted to see him.

Chu An's heart tightened. "What? Director Jia is so well-informed? Did he find out about reminding Director Lu at noon?"

As I went downstairs with my questions in mind, I saw Grandpa Jia standing under the tree with his hands behind his back.

"Uncle Jia" is the crew's respectful title for him. His real name is Jia Chenglin, and he is a veteran employee of Tiandu Culture.

Chu An quickly walked over and asked, "Grandpa Jia, you were looking for me?"

The old man wore his signature smile. "It's nothing. I just found you a rather interesting kid, so I chatted for a bit, by the way."

He flipped his hand and handed a bunch of keys to Chu An. “Ma Lan told me yesterday that your family wanted to rent a shop. Just now, their logistics director, that guy named Ma Guoyou, came to deliver the keys, so I took them.”

Chu An's heart skipped a beat again; Jia Chenglin's words revealed several key pieces of information.

It's not surprising that Sister Lan talked to him about renting a shop; after all, she's the director, and this matter had to go through Jia Chenglin.

But what follows is worth pondering.

First, he mentioned Ma Guoyou. Logically, he shouldn't have. Just like Sister Lan wouldn't tell Chu An who she got involved in this matter or what connections she used; there's no need for that.

However, Jia Chenglin specifically mentioned Ma Guoyou's name, indicating that he most likely knew about the relationship between Chu Anjia and Ma Guoyou.

Then how did he know?
He probably saw it when he was arguing with Ma Guoyou yesterday, since it was not far downstairs.

It's also possible that Ma Guoyou was gossiping about him.

Moreover, Chu An leans more towards the second assessment.

It's also unusual that Ma Guoyou came to deliver the keys. Think about it, the higher-ups pressured him, and suddenly the shop that his brother-in-law was almost in his hands was given to the film crew.

Yesterday, Chu An mentioned he was looking for a film crew. How infuriating is that? And then he personally delivered the keys.

If he wasn't up to any bad intentions and was simply hardworking, Chu An certainly didn't believe it.

In just a moment, Chu An went through all the possibilities in his mind, and with a sense of confidence, he calmly asked, "Grandpa Jia, do you have any instructions?"

This surprised Jia Chenglin, who looked at Chu An carefully. "Ma Lan and Director Lu both think highly of you. I originally thought it was because you're good at handling things. Now it seems they're just looking out for your talent."

As people age, they become more shrewd, and Jia Chenglin's insight is far more discerning than that of Lu Mingze and Ma Lan.

Chu An was not modest. First, there was no need to pretend; second, one should speak human language to humans and curse ghosts to ghosts.

"You're praising me so much I don't dare accept it." As she spoke, she glanced at the set of store keys, seemingly casually.

Grandpa Jia's wrinkles deepened as he smiled, concluding that this was a clever child, even more so than many adults.

Without further ado, he said, "If your family is having difficulties, it's only right that the crew helps out as much as they can. I also fully support Ma Lan's suggestion that your family runs a shop and lend it to the crew."

Chu An said, "With your words, I am relieved! If my Chu family can turn things around, we will never forget you."

"Turn things around?" Jia Chenglin said confidently. "With someone like you around, your family is bound to be successful."

Then, changing the subject, she said, "But don't get too excited yet, I haven't finished speaking."

Chu Anxin thought to himself, "Just as I expected!"

"Go ahead and speak, I'm listening."

Jia Chenglin: "The production team absolutely supports renting the shop space, but the production team also has its own rules."

"The shop lease contract can't be signed with your family for now; it has to be signed under the film crew's name. I'll transfer the contract to you after filming is finished."

Fearing that Chu An might overthink things, he continued, "This is for your own good. Does your family have any conflicts with that Ma Guoyou? If you sign with the production team, he won't be able to cause you any trouble."

"Besides, the production team follows normal accounting procedures, which saves me the trouble of explaining things to the company. Can you understand?"

Chu An remained expressionless, showing neither joy nor sorrow. "You've thought things through perfectly, we'll do as you say."

Looking up at Jia Chenglin, he asked, "Do you have any other instructions?"

"I have two things to say," Jia Chenglin said with a smile as he walked into the building, "The film crew has a heavy shooting schedule, and Director Lu has a strong creative drive..."

Chu An didn't wait for him to finish speaking, "I understand, there has to be a choice between the two."

She stopped and bowed apologetically to Jia Chenglin, saying, "I was out of line. I shouldn't have incited Sister Meng to change the script!"

Jia Chenglin nodded in satisfaction. "Good boy, come to Grandpa if you need anything. I'll definitely help if I can."

The old man and the young man entered the apartment building in a rather harmonious manner.

However, no one knows how many times Chu An cursed his mother in his heart.

……

If Chu An's previous methods against Tiandu Culture were based on guesswork from experience, now that the production manager has no shame whatsoever, what else is there to say?

Jia Chenglin's meaning was clear: Stop talking nonsense and just focus on filming! If you perform well, we'll give you the shop contract again.

It's a pity that in his previous life, even with a knife to his throat and Chu An left with only jumping off a building as his only option, he didn't back down, preferring to fight to the death.

Living life again, and I still have to learn to beg on my knees? Keep dreaming!

The afternoon and evening filming went smoothly, and the crew wrapped up early.

As soon as the film crew left, Chu Ning sneaked upstairs.

Well, now she acts like a thief when she goes back to her own home.

As soon as she entered the house, she looked worried. "Little brother, how about we wait until the film crew leaves before opening the shop? Otherwise, if we don't transfer the contract, won't we have wasted our money?" In the afternoon, Chu An called Chu Ning's workplace and explained the situation. Only then did she rush home to discuss what to do next.

Chu An dismissed this, saying, "Just drive normally. Don't worry, they won't."

"Alright!" Chu Ning didn't struggle much; she now completely trusted her younger brother.

"Then I'll go see my supervisor tomorrow to see if we can finalize the supply chain."

Chu An said, "Okay, you can make your own decision then, so don't ask me. I might be busy these next few days."

"Okay!" Chu Ning replied, thinking that Chu An was going to film a movie.

In fact, as soon as Chu Ning left, Chu An sat down at his desk.

After pondering for a while, I wrote the title on the manuscript paper:
Screenplay: The Best of Us

A youthful story about Geng Gengyu Huai.

Countless times, during sleepless nights, I've imagined what I should have done in the face of the crushing power of capital.

Countless times I regretted not being smarter; perhaps I could have avoided that catastrophe.

"I can only say that God has been kind to me!" Chu An exclaimed, giving him another chance to fight.

He wanted to see if his small, seventeen-year-old frame could carve out a bloody path through the fangs of capital.

Of course, it doesn't matter if we lose, since it's Lu Mingze who will die anyway.

"Achoo!!" On the other side of the city, Director Lu sneezed loudly, as if sensing a deep sense of malice.

In Chu An's view, Lu Mingze now only has two choices:

First, realize your mistake and cut your losses in time.

They just need to go to Tiandu Culture, kneel down, admit their mistakes, and call them "father."

That way, he might be able to get his investment back and then obediently go and film his period dramas.

But given Director Lu's temperament, it's probably unlikely.

That leaves only one other path:

They tried every means to separate Tiandu and allow him to create independently, bearing his own profits and losses.

As for the original terrible script, there was no point in trying to salvage it; it had to be scrapped and rewritten.

Chu An believes that Director Lu is most likely to choose this path, and also hopes that he will choose this path.

Let's fight them! Whoever backs down is a coward!

Hmm! Even if he can't beat him, it's not Chu An who'll be the grandson.

In short, besides money, what Director Lu needs most for his next step is a good script.

This Chu An can be of help.

"With You" is another excellent youth campus drama set in a different time period.

Although it's a web series, it can't escape the clichéd plot of a love triangle and everyone going their separate ways after graduation.

But don't forget, that was a 2016 production. If placed in 2001, when audience expectations and the level of television drama production were not high, it would have been a sure-fire hit if some of the era's symbols had been removed, and it might even have become a representative work of the genre.

It should be noted that Chu An's writing skills are not very good; at least not to the point where he can create literary works, except for screenplays.

For a cheater, the script doesn't require much writing skill.

Because this thing isn't meant for appreciation or admiration. It's just a tool, a way for the director, actors, and other crew members to know what they're supposed to do.

The dialogue does require a very high level of writing skill, but you can just copy the finished TV series from the previous life.

Apart from the dialogue, as long as professionals can understand it, it's a good script.

Let me give you an example:
Qi Lei stared blankly out the window, his gaze passing through the lush poplar grove and settling on a storefront outside the school—"Trendy Audio-Visual Store".

A faint, penetrating voice pierced through my ears.

Upon closer inspection, it's Jacky Cheung's "A Thousand Reasons to Be Sad".

"So trendy!"

This is a work of literature! If it were more popular, readers would be clamoring for monthly votes.

[Scene: Classroom]

[Background audio: "A Thousand Reasons to Be Sad"]

The male protagonist looks out the window.

[The camera pans out... a grove of trees. A record store. A sign that reads "Trendy Audio Store"... The camera pauses...]

[Dialogue: "So trendy!"]

This is the script!

As long as the director can reconstruct the specific scene in their mind through the text, it's considered acceptable.

Of course, it cannot be ruled out that some screenwriters create scripts that are highly readable and artistic.

But Chu Shikuai doesn't have that ability, does he? Understanding it is enough, what more do you need!

……

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I have to go out during the day, so the next update might be a little late. I'll try to return to Cangshan as early as possible.

(End of this chapter)