During my years at China Entertainment

Chapter 405 New Script ByteDance Competes
Shanhe Building, in the chairman's office.

Wei Jin looked at the script that Lu Yang had chosen, with a strange expression on his face.

"This is what you carefully selected? Why this?"

This guy agreed to rest for two days, but ended up lying down for more than ten days. The script he chose was also completely beyond Wei Jin's expectations.

"Brother, you know, I have always had a dream of being a martial artist."

"But this has nothing to do with martial arts, right? Even if it's called "One Man's Martial Arts World"."

To be honest, Wei Jin really didn't expect Lu Yang to choose this script.

This was one of the many scripts he wrote when he first came to this world. He was afraid that he would not be able to remember anything, and he did not care about the box office or word of mouth. It has been gathering dust in the script library for all these years.

What can I say about this movie? In Wei Jin's impression, Wang Baoqiang is very cool, the fighting scenes are great, and Bai Bin is very smooth. As for the box office and stuff, he has no idea.

"Brother, traditional costume martial arts movies are really not popular nowadays. Your movie about modern martial arts is quite interesting. If the villain Feng Yuxiu were in ancient times, he would definitely be a martial arts fanatic of the master level. The line 'It determines the superiority and inferiority, and also decides life and death' is so interesting."

When talking about this topic, Lu Yang talked incessantly, and it was obvious that he really liked it.

"Okay, okay, if you like it, let's shoot it, but there are still some problems with this script, so we need to revise it."

Today, after seven or eight years of further study, Wei Jin dare not say that he is really a gold medal screenwriter, but he still has some vision. This initial original script still has some flaws.

"Hey, Brother, thank you for your concern."

Looking at this kid's reckless attitude, Wei Jin didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Okay, I'll take some time to work on it. You have time to think about the role."

"Well, Brother, do you have any suggestions?"

"For Feng Yuxiu, I think Wang Baoqiang is good. As for Junior Sister, Bai Bin is the right one. You can think about the rest."

Hearing this, Lu Yang pondered for a moment. Bai Bin was Wei Jin's assistant and also an artist in the company. His image was quite suitable. As for Wang Baoqiang, he had never worked with him before.

"Does Wang Baoqiang have any martial arts skills?"

"Hey, you still have the nerve to say you're a martial arts fan? Even the action actors in the industry don't know. Ren Baoqiang studied in Shaolin for 6 years. I can't say if he has real kung fu skills, but he's still fine for action movies."

Lu Yang scratched his head and said, "Okay, I'll think about the rest. I'll leave the script to you, Senior Brother?"

"Well, that's it, get out of here now"

Waving Lu Yang away, Wei Jin picked up the script on the table and began to read it.

Wei Jin soon began to make revisions, and this time he focused on the plot structure.

While ensuring clarity and a strong storyline, the original character characteristics must be maintained to avoid situations where the characters cannot stand out, become top-heavy, or have unreasonable motivations.

Because it was a revision, the progress was quite fast. After a morning, Wei Jin looked at the freshly finished script in his hand and nodded with satisfaction.

Putting down the script, Wei Jin fell into deep thought.

This year's Golden Harvest project has not been finalized yet, and because of the subject matter, this script has to be filmed in Hong Kong, so it can be handed over to Shi Nansheng.

Thinking of this, Wei Jin picked up the phone and dialed.
As Wei Jin had expected, even though the producer had been changed, the film "Special Identity" still ran into trouble.

The crew issued an announcement a few days ago.

"Since the filming of the movie started, Mr. Zhao Wenzhuo and the crew had different creative concepts. After several days of talks and friendly negotiations, both parties decided to terminate their cooperation."

But the news did not attract much attention in the mainland at that time. After all, the Stab-in-the-Back Cult incident was very popular, and even Zhao Wenzhuo himself did not make any comments.

Until these two days, the Hong Kong media seemed to have completed the investigation, reached a final conclusion, and started reporting on the case on a large scale.

"Mainland actor Zhao Wenzhuo acted like a big shot on the set, bringing 7 assistants with him and demanding to stay in the presidential suite"

"Zhao Wenzhuo has no professional ethics. He joined the crew for more than ten days, but he only worked a few days, which slowed down the filming progress and caused heavy losses."

Faced with this situation, Zhao Wenzhuo could no longer sit still and held a press conference in Beijing with his lawyers.

He and his lawyer refuted the "crimes" reported by the media one by one.

"I refused to start work because the script provided by the crew was completely different from what was provided when I signed the contract. My role was greatly reduced. I protested several times, but to no avail. It was a script with two male protagonists, but I became a supporting role."

"As for the termination of the contract with the crew, I had no idea. The crew unilaterally notified me of the termination of the contract, and the reason was that the budget was seriously overspent."

"How can I be blamed for a movie with a 200 million investment that went seriously over budget? I can't afford to take that responsibility."

“As for whether there was an overspending, I think there should be, but where did the money go? Only the crew knows, and the investors may not know.”

Netizens have something to say about Zhao Wenzhuo’s words.

"You know what? With Juli Yangzi's behavior, maybe he's just bragging about 2 million again."

"Is there a possibility that Juli has no money and is looking for Zhao Wenzhuo to take the blame?"

"Yangzi is an idiot. All the crews have had problems. It's time to reflect on your own problems."

Looking at the netizens’ amazing guesses, Wei Jin was also confused.

In the previous life, the "Zhen Zhao dispute" became a Rashomon with no conclusion. This time with Juli taking over, it has become even more of a mess and can only be watched for fun.

There are quite a few movies released in early March, but almost all of them are low-budget movies.

Among all the films, "A Simple Life" was the best. In the first four days of the weekend, it earned 4100 million yuan at the box office, which has exceeded the total box office of all of Xu Anhua's films in mainland China.

The rest of the movie was horrible in comparison.

The promotion of the upcoming "Ex Machina" has also reached its final stage.

Guo Fan has participated in all the popular variety shows in China.

There is no way. Although the cost of "Ex Machina" was only 1000 million, the director was unknown, and the cast was mediocre, the resources of the two major producers, Shanhe Media and Fiber Optic, were so good that many small production companies were envious.

Wei Jin did not have high expectations for the box office of this movie, as it was just a practice work for Guo Fan.

In the outside world, the matter of "Special Identity" is still fermenting.

The crew also gave an explanation in response to Zhao Wenzhuo's various rebuttals.

"As the action director and producer of the crew, Mr. Donnie Yen believes that the crew's moderate modification of the action scenes is reasonable. As an actor, Mr. Zhao Wenzhuo must understand that everything is for the sake of the film, right? If he strikes on this ground, has he lost his basic professional ethics?"

There is nothing wrong with what he said, but not talking about the contract seems to be evading the point.

The casting for "Shendu Dragon King" has begun.

As the new work of a newly-crowned billion-dollar director and a project with an investment of over 10 million yuan, many people came to audition.

Wei Jin took some time to go and take a look at the scene, and unexpectedly ran into Wang Jinhua, who was followed by a slightly shy boy.

"Boss Wei, let me introduce you. This is my son. Bring him here for Director Xu to take a look and see if there is a suitable role for him."

Wang Jinhua introduced him with a smile, then looked at her son, who was staring at Wei Jin blankly. She tugged at his sleeve and said, "Boss Wei, this kid is a fan of yours, but he's a little rude."

Dong Zijian reacted instantly, his face flushed, "Hello, President Wei, you can call me Xiao Dong or Zijian."

"Well, hello, are you still studying?"

Faced with Wei Jin's questions, Dong Zijian behaved like a little lamb.

"Well, I'm a senior in high school this year."

"Well, okay, show your best later."

To be honest, Wei Jin had no idea what role Wang Jinhua brought him here for an audition. He was just a high school student with no acting skills at all. As long as Xu Ke was not a moron, he would never make things more difficult for himself.

However, there are quite a lot of minions who show up and have lines in "Dragon King of the Divine Capital", which is a good way for newcomers like Dong Zijian to improve their resume.

After chatting for a while, Wei Jin talked to a few familiar actors and turned away with his assistant.

Back in the office, Wei Jin smiled when he saw Huang Mengying hesitating to speak.

"What's wrong? Envy?"

"Boss, I'm not envious, I just feel that having a good background is so important."

Wei Jin nodded to show his understanding. He just heard from Wang Jinhua that her son had already won a contract for a movie called "Youth".

In comparison, Huang Mengying, who graduated from the Beijing Film Academy, had to take a roundabout route, so she naturally felt a little touched at this moment.

To be honest, although Wang Jinhua, the once gold medal agent, has fallen from grace, with the big names under her and the connections she has built up over the years, her resources in the circle are truly unmatched by ordinary people.

Apart from anything else, those big names have been guests at the Central Academy of Drama and Beijing Film Academy's art examinations for many years. As long as Dong Zijian wants, it will be almost no difficulty for him to enter the two major academies.

With Wang Jinhua paving the way, even if Dong Zijian is a pig, he will be able to take off. It can only be said that reincarnation is really important.

"Okay, don't feel sad. When you graduate, everything will be there."

Wei Jin reached out and held the girl on his lap. He had no plans to change his assistant in the short term.

"Well, I listen to the boss."

Huang Mengying naturally wouldn't worry about being treated unfairly. The examples of several predecessors were there for her to see. Think about it, it would only be about a year, so she could afford to wait.

Just as I was about to provide quality service to my boss, the phone suddenly rang.

Looking at the caller ID, Wei Jin's pupils shrank. It was Xiang Wenlong. Could it be?
"Hello, Wenlong?"

"Boss Wei, we have already negotiated with Zhang Yiming."

After hanging up the phone, a rare look of joy appeared on Wei Jin's face.

As a time traveler, Wei Jin naturally would not miss ByteDance, the super cash cow. As early as the year before last, he arranged for his investment company to contact Zhang Yiming.

But at that time, Zhang Yiming was still at 99fang and had no idea of ​​starting a business again.

It was not until the end of last year that Zhang Yiming resigned from 99fang and set up his own startup studio.

Before the New Year, the investment company contacted him again. After nearly two months of negotiations, it finally won 35% of the shares and obtained subsequent priority investment rights.

Speaking of which, investment companies have already invested in many industries in recent years, such as Jindong, Meituan, Zhihu, etc.

Among them, Jindong’s current valuation has exceeded 60 billion US dollars. Even after multiple rounds of financing dilution over the years, Kingkong Capital still holds more than 22% of the shares.

But compared to those that have little to do with the entertainment industry, ByteDance undoubtedly makes Wei Jin more excited.

After all, the attributes of ByteDance's new media matrix will provide a strong moat for Shanhe Media in the future, and Wei Jin's entertainment empire has completely secured the last piece of territory.

Thinking of this, Wei Jin became very excited. He reached out and pulled the assistant over, and started having sex in the office.
With the timely follow-up of the mainland media, the matter of "Special Identity" became more and more serious.

If it was previously a dispute between Zhao Wenzhuo and the crew, the fight began to escalate as the former posted a message directly pointing out the culprit behind the scenes.

"I want to say that the one who was really being a big shot wasn't me, but Zhen Zidan, who kept changing the script without asking for my opinion and kicked me out of the crew.

Zhen Zidan caused the crew to stop working for ten days and suffered a loss of tens of millions, but he shifted the blame onto me, damaging my reputation."

This is the first time Zhen Zidan has responded positively to this matter.

"I was the one who invited him in the beginning, but I didn't expect that he had such a bad character. I regret it now, but an actor like him who doesn't cooperate with the crew and has no professional ethics will definitely not be invited by any director to film in the future."

But no one expected that the slap in the face would come so quickly. In just a few hours, Liang Bojian, the director of "The Great Wudang" crew, strongly supported Zhao Wenzhuo on Weibo.

"Wen Zhuo's professionalism in 'Da Wu Dang' and his cooperative attitude with the crew are obvious to all."

As soon as the Weibo post came out, the mainland media were collectively excited. This was the first director in the circle to speak out, and he was a Hong Kong director at that. Does this mean that there are really a lot of unknown dirty tricks behind this matter?

For a time, the media was like a cat that smelled blood, digging and reporting frantically.

Zhao Wenzhuo is indeed very tough. He accepted all interviews from the media and presented one piece of evidence after another.

This includes notices after joining the crew, start and end times, the original script, the photographer's shooting schedule, etc., and he expressed it without any hesitation.

"I didn't go on strike. He violated the contract and arbitrarily edited my scenes. Other actors who were bullied on the set didn't dare to speak out for fear of being banned. I'm not afraid. At worst, I'll just quit this job."

Zhen Zidan then forwarded a netizen's comment, "There is indeed a reason why villains cannot achieve great things," and then added another sentence.

"I'm very disappointed and sad but I'm not shaken. I'll continue filming today and it will be better. I've been in the industry for so many years, what storms have I not seen?"

Seeing Zhen and Zhao competing against each other, the media was like it was Chinese New Year, and all the actors, artists, and crews who had worked with the two were blocked for interviews.

From then on, the incident began to expand rapidly, from the two parties involved to the crew, and then to the entire Hong Kong, Taiwan and mainland film and television circles.
(End of this chapter)