I really don't want to make bad movies!

Two days later, Xia Ming attended the interview program hosted by Kiwi as promised.

Following the script given to him by Xia Ming, the host asked, "Director Xia, we've all heard that you're currently preparing a science fiction film. How long has this project been in development?"

Xia Ming smiled at the camera: "To be honest, I've dreamed of making a science fiction movie since my past life."

"A past life?!"

The host exclaimed in surprise, "Director Xia even used the phrase 'past life' to describe it, which shows how much he values ​​film."

"Would you mind sharing a bit about the creative process behind your film?"

"To be honest, the creation of this film was very bumpy."

Xia Ming looked somewhat dejected, and his voice became low: "At the beginning, the entire film's start-up capital was only 500,000."

"My God, how can such a small amount of money be enough to make a movie?" the host exclaimed in perfect unison.

Xia Ming nodded: "That's right, so I've been running around trying to attract investment, but I've been hitting walls everywhere."

"I wrote more than a dozen versions of the script, revising it again and again according to the investors' requirements, before I could barely meet their demands."

As he spoke, he pulled out more than a dozen scripts, each one densely covered with writing.

"At the time, I was thinking about whether we could launch our own mecha movie and compete head-on with masterpieces like Pacific Rim, but all the proposals were rejected, and even the title couldn't pass the review."

The host covered his mouth, as if he could see Xia Ming's heartache and hardships.

"During this period, I filmed 'The Swindler,' which finally made me famous. I also made many compromises and finally got investment to officially launch the project."

"If all goes well, we'll be able to see an excellent domestic science fiction film in two months!"

The host, clutching his script, clapped and looked on expectantly: "Director Xia, is there any information you can reveal at this moment? I believe that many netizens are very interested in your sci-fi epic!"

Xia Ming smiled and reached out his hand.

The camera then shifts to a pillar-shaped table next to them, on which sits a computer.

"These are special effects shots from our movie. Please enjoy them first."

"To avoid spoilers, I can only show you this two-second shot for now."

"However, I can tell you all that this robot's name is Wawa."

In fact, Xia Ming wasn't trying to avoid spoilers, but rather because he only had two seconds of footage to shoot.

The movie, which was originally planned to be 120 minutes long, has only shown these two seconds so far—Wawa moves forward on the tracks and then raises his hand to wave.

This simple shot can be used in any script without wasting footage.

The two-second clip was only captured because Yang Xianghua used his connections to cut in line.

The production company is Tiangong Visual Effects, a domestic company with a sizable render farm, which enabled them to complete this high-precision special effects model in just two days.

Xia Ming had also figured out the subsequent publicity and promotion strategy.

If the special effects are completed on time, they will announce that "the entire team worked day and night to ensure the film's timely release."

If they can't finish in time, they'll claim, "Even with the team working tirelessly, the difficulty of creating special effects has exceeded our expectations. In order to present a better visual experience to the audience, we have no choice but to postpone the release date."

During this period, some gimmicks such as "innovative technological breakthroughs", "joint research and development at home and abroad", and "tens of thousands of lenses were eventually reduced to one thousand" are also mixed in.

But that's a story for another time.

At this moment, the host saw the adorable robot Wawa and couldn't help but wave and greet it, saying, "Wawa is so cute!"

The two chatted about the movie for a few more minutes, and as the time limit was approaching, Xia Ming took his laptop and walked in front of the camera.

"Wawa looks forward to meeting everyone!"

This sentence also signifies the end of filming, and the staff begin packing up the equipment.

The interview with iQiyi was not a live broadcast, but rather a filmed and edited segment. The full footage was posted on iQiyi's main website, while the more sensational parts were released on short video websites.

It's not just Green Fruit that's short-sighted; it also includes the Musical Notes platform.

The publicity budget is a full ten million, enough for Xia Ming to freely distribute information on social media.

After the interview, Xia Ming immediately contacted Huang Xuke.

Huang Xuke was in an online meeting in his office. Half an hour later, he finally had time to sit down with Xia Ming at the coffee table.

"What's wrong? Couldn't you just send a message on WeChat?"

Xia Ming cut to the chase: "Are all the staff from the 'Big Hornet' fan fiction competition team still around?"

"They're still there." Huang Xuke nodded. "Most of them have been transferred to the short video section and are working under me now."

"That's good. I think we can start the second Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition now."

Huang Xuke's eyes lit up: "You have an idea?"

The first Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition not only brought a huge number of new members to Kiwi, but also directly promoted him from the position of supervisor to the vice president of the region, which can be described as an indispensable contribution.

Upon hearing that Xia Ming was going to hold the second edition, he was naturally eager to do so.

"My new movie features a robot character that can be used as an open model for secondary rendering."

"A second creation competition, rendering? Isn't the threshold too high?" Huang Xuke remembered that Xia Ming had said before that in order to maximize the expansion of traffic, he should lower the threshold for participation.

"We can set up two tracks. One is a professional track for creating rendering videos or reusing and extending models. This track offers more generous rewards, and we can also collaborate with iQiyi in the future."

"The second track is the entertainment track, where you can interact with Wawa using AR projection. There are no restrictions on the content, and the rewards are the same as before."

Huang Xuke understood quickly. Looking at the model on Xia Ming's computer, he nodded: "That's possible, but the budget will be a bit high."

"Your boss gave you ten million."

Upon hearing this, Huang Xuke finally understood that the second creation competition was a means of promoting Xia Mingxin's new movie.

"You little brat!"

"I'll definitely help you with this. Give me a week, and I guarantee everything will be arranged perfectly."

He packed up the project documents, had some tea with Xia Ming, and chatted casually, "How's your movie project going?"

Xia Ming: "Which aspect are you referring to?"

"Regarding personnel, do you have people in mind for the actors and cinematographer?"

Xia Ming shook his head: "Yang Xianghua is the producer, and he is fully responsible for assembling the crew and finding people. I have no right to interfere."

"he?!"

Huang Xuke's eyebrows were raised high, and he couldn't even drink the tea that was almost in his mouth: "What does he know about movies? What will you do if he stuffs a bunch of people with connections into your crew?"

Xia Ming smiled and raised his teacup: "I didn't invest a single penny. He's the project manager, and nominally he invested 80 million. What can I do?"

"How did it become 80 million again?"

"The deal fell through with Ju Jingyi's studio; they're short 20 million."

Huang Xuke's raised eyebrows were lowered again: "It couldn't be that bastard Yang Xianghua..."

He stopped talking halfway through his sentence with hot tea.

I'm still at the company, so it's not appropriate to speculate.

But Xia Ming knew what he meant. The two clinked teacups together, understanding each other without saying a word.

After finishing his tea, Xia Ming did not linger.

Huang Xuke sent him out of the company and back to his own short video territory.

He clapped to get everyone's attention and shouted, "Get the work done, guys! We're working overtime tonight!"