I really don't want to make bad movies!

"See you after the New Year, Pacific Rim!"

"One month later, thunder will rise again!"

As soon as Xia Ming woke up, he checked news about Pacific Rim on his phone.

There is only one month left until the release of Pacific Rim 2.

During this period, Universal Pictures increased its promotional efforts and began streaming content on various platforms.

Although the reduced size of the mechs was already hinted at in the trailer, most viewers still have high expectations for this critically acclaimed film.

Many people have expressed that they "owe Pacific Rim a movie ticket" and are ready to make up for it when the second movie is released.

This is also Xia Ming's best chance to ride the wave of popularity.

If they manage to snatch the rights a week before the release of "Pacific Rim 2," they can capture a large share of the traffic from bandwagon fans.

From filming to release, there are only about three weeks left.

It's virtually impossible to finish a movie in three weeks.

But three weeks is still a bit too much time for Atlantic Rim 2!

There was no blocking, no rehearsal, no acting instructions or guidance, and no reshoots or staging.

People come and we take pictures; it only takes one take.

Xia Ming can shoot hundreds of shots a day!

By the fifth day, he had enough material to make up the length of a movie.

When Wang Yuan excitedly approached Xia Ming, eagerly asking, "Director Xia, when do we start filming the mecha scenes?" Xia Ming, holding a megaphone, loudly replied, "Congratulations everyone, we've wrapped up filming!"

Wang Yuan was stunned, and his agent Guo Hong was also stunned.

Everyone in the crew was stunned.

Filming wrapped up?

It's only been five days since Director Xia returned to normal filming, right?

Filming wrapped up in just five days?

"Director Xia, this isn't right, is it?"

Guo Hong rushed to Xia Ming, holding the script and demanding, "There's still so much content in this script that hasn't been filmed yet! How can you say it's finished?"

He had thought Xia Ming was the kind of director who shot tens of thousands of scenes and then selected the footage one by one, but as the word "filming wrapped" came out, he realized that things were not as he had thought.

Xia Ming directed the staff to pack up the equipment, casually replying, "The rest is just post-production special effects; the actors' filming is already finished."

Guo Hong angrily retorted, "Director Xia, this is a problem with your work attitude!"

"The camera work isn't carefully considered, the actors aren't given any direction, and everything is filmed in one take—isn't that ridiculous!"

"Instructing on the scene? What's there to explain?" Xia Ming laughed as he removed the camera lens. "Your artists won't even do close-ups, and you expect me to instruct them on the scene?"

Guo Hong then adopted his usual sly demeanor: "I already told you, Wang Yuan's skin hasn't been looking good lately, can't you understand?"

"Your artist's skin wasn't in good condition, yet I still gave him a chance to appear on screen. You should be thanking me."

"Xia Ming, don't forget you're just a director!"

Upon hearing this, KIKI, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but chuckle twice.

Looking at Guo Hong, who was still completely unaware of the situation, Xia Ming smiled calmly and said, "Director Guo, actors can be replaced at any time. With just one phone call from me, Wang Yuan can become Wang Junkai or Yi Yangqianxi. After all, this is a ten million yuan salary."

"If you have objections to my artistic creations, why don't you just fund and produce your own film?"

This is exactly what Guo Hong said a few days ago.

This change in perspective immediately enraged Guo Hong.

He took out his phone to call Yang Xianghua, but KIKI stopped him.

"What are you doing?!"

KIKI sneered, "Forget it, rival. Director Xia is now the top investor and producer. He's the most powerful person in the entire crew. I advise you not to humiliate yourself."

Guo Hong was dumbfounded.

"The primary investor and producer?"

"He was doing this for those few days he disappeared?" He pondered those words repeatedly, then a chill ran down his spine: "Then the post-production editing work must have been..."

KIKI rolled her eyes: "Yes, he ran the entire crew, and we were all played."

Xia Ming packed up the movie projector, pushed the box away, and said, "It's been a pleasure working with you both."

"If you want to have a celebratory feast, you can stay and eat with us later."

"Eat my ass!"

Guo Hong was a little panicked. He knew his artist's level well. If that raspy voice were shown on the big screen exactly as it was, how many haters would be created out of thin air?

Even setting aside interference with the editing, shouldn't they at least hire a million-dollar sound engineer to cover it up?

He quickly looked at KIKI beside him: "Are you just going to let them take advantage of you like this? Ju Jingyi is all green, aren't you afraid of losing fans?"

KIKI chuckled and coldly stared at Xia Ming's retreating figure: "You've found me such a troublesome director. I'll settle accounts with Yang Xianghua later."

"Let's not talk about Yang Xianghua anymore. Let's think about how to deal with the current situation first!" Guo Hong bit his nails, his brows furrowed.

"The contract is right there in black and white, what can I do?"

"Is there absolutely nothing we can do? Nothing can stop the movie's release?"

"This is a movie released by iQiyi, you can't stop it." KIKI rolled her eyes at him. "If you want to find a way, it will have to be after the movie is released."

Guo Hong's eyebrows relaxed, as if he had grasped at a straw: "What method?"

"Director Xia doesn't want to make a good film. The quality of the movie is a pile of garbage. Do you think the audience will buy it? Our two families won't promote it, so the movie will naturally flop after its release. Without any viewership, we don't need to worry too much about public opinion."

Guo Hong nodded slightly as he listened: "That makes some sense."

"When the attendance rate plummets, we can get the theaters to pull the movie from theaters, and then we can turn public opinion in favor of Director Xia."

"He got a budget of tens of millions and produced such a terrible movie. If he doesn't take the blame, who will?"

"In addition to the box office failure, those investors who supported him will naturally avoid him. If we seize the right opportunity to add fuel to the fire, his reputation in the industry will be ruined."

"We can be disgusting, but we must pay the price."

Guo Hong listened and found it increasingly reasonable, then burst into laughter, saying, "I thought you'd really conspired with Director Xia to make an award-winning film since you haven't said a word these past few days! Turns out you're full of wicked ideas!"

KIKI accepted his praise with a cold laugh: "We've all worked our way up in the entertainment industry, do you think we can be controlled by a junior like him in the film world?"

The two initially had some friction on set, but now that they had a common enemy, they found themselves getting along better and better.

……

After finishing the wrap party and settling the team's wages with the finance department, Xia Ming rushed to the largest post-production color grading studio in Jinghai.

Filming wrapped up in five days, and the set construction and props cost almost nothing, so his budget was still quite sufficient.

I hired a post-production team to edit the final cut within a week, and to add some cheap special effects.

After all, the film is advertised as a sci-fi mecha movie, so this element still needs to be included in the final product; otherwise, the film bureau will force it to be taken down for alleged advertising fraud.

Now he only has one thing to consider: how to promote it.

If he can make a fortune from this bankruptcy reorganization project, his name will become a legend in the film industry.

With its high return on investment and solid box office performance, he will become a hot commodity in the eyes of investors.

Only by gaining the favor of investors can one obtain the status of a producer and have full control over their own film crew.

An incident like the one involving the "Arrival" crew will not happen again.

He also wants to use film production as a springboard to gradually move closer to the realm of capital.

Xia Ming came up with several publicity plans and wrote them down on paper, intending to use them depending on the situation.

While Xia Ming was discussing editing ideas with the post-production team, his phone suddenly rang.

Upon closer inspection, it was Huang Xuke.

"Xia, your plan is a hit!"

"What plan?"

"The 2nd Annual Creative Innovation Competition!"