Huayu: The director just wants to save money

Chapter 13: I made dumplings just for this plate of vinegar

June 6th, xx Hotel.

Zhou Mo stood in front of the hotel gate, not quite understanding how a small celebration party turned into a large banquet that attracted the participation of bosses, directors, and actors.

At first, Da Tiantian said she wanted to hold a celebration banquet, and he agreed.

After the crew members learned about this, they asked if they could invite some friends to participate, and he agreed.

Then, the number of participants in the banquet could not be controlled.

You can never imagine what kind of complicated network of relationships is behind an old actor with an unprepossessing appearance.

I looked at Da Tiantian who was dressed "gorgeously" beside me:
"Tiantian, is it that serious?"

"You know nothing." Da Tiantian rolled her eyes at him and said, "Do you believe that the moment I go in, a group of people will come over?"

"Do you still need to care about these?"

Da Tiantian was very clear-headed: "I don't need to care about those, but there are still a group of female stars, all dressed up gorgeously, I can't lose the limelight."

Zhou Mo complained: "Forget about you guys trying to steal the spotlight, but why are you dragging me into this?"

"You are very popular now."

Last week, the box office of "Love Is Not Blind" was finally set at 33 million yuan.

Zhou Mo, Da Tiantian, and Lei Jiayin were directly hailed by the media as the rising stars of domestic films. Countless media flocked to the scene, wishing that he could be interviewed every day.

As soon as the two entered the house, the situation was exactly as Tiantian said, and a group of people surrounded them.

Da Tiantian left Zhou Mo with a beautiful back view and went to compete with female stars for beauty.

And Zhou Mo had been surrounded.

"Brother, you are here at last."

The person speaking was Marco, who also participated in the filming of "Love Is Not Blind" and played a cameo role in it.

"Love Is Not Blind" earned 4 million at the box office, and he was proud of it.

After all, he has more scenes in "Love Is Not Blind" than in "Bullets Fly".

So when he heard that the crew was going to hold a celebration party, he insisted on making the party grander and was even willing to pay for it out of his own pocket, putting a lot of thought into it.

The reason was that Zhou Mo helped him save money.

So now that he has the opportunity, he wants to let the whole world know that his little brother is a big director.

"My dear brother, today is your big day. I will introduce some friends to you."

Zhou Mo took a quick look and found that they were all familiar faces.

As the man behind Jiang Wen, Marco has a very rich network of relationships.

The first to appear were several bosses of film and television companies.

Huayi, Fiber Optics, Shanghai Film Group, Bona...

It was obvious that these people were here to see him.

Several bosses were also very direct. After a few polite words, they explained their purpose:
"Come to my place, the company needs talents like you."

Only the boss of Wanda did not express the intention to sign a contract, he just said he wanted to get to know him.

Only then did Zhou Mo understand the specific meaning of Da Tiantian's words "a hot commodity".

It feels great to be admired by others.

Zhou Mo finally felt the happiness that some great directors in his previous life talked about.

But he did not agree immediately and just said he would think about it.

Seeing that the topic was almost heated, the bosses stopped asking questions and turned to discussing film and television related topics.

"Xiaogang said that Earthquake could hit 600 million."

“Let the Bullets Fly is similar.”

"The film and television industry is developing very fast. In the next five years, the box office should be able to expand to the billion level."

Zhou Mo listened to their discussion without saying anything.

To be honest, no matter what kind of character the bosses have, their level of ability is still there, and their predictions about the box office are also logical.

The problem is that reality doesn't follow logic.

Who could have imagined that a bald fat man with no movies to shoot would rake in 1.2 billion yuan at the box office during the Spring Festival with a small-budget drama movie "Lost in Thailand", opening the door to box office expansion in the Chinese-language film industry.

After him, "Journey to the West", "The Mermaid", "Wolf Warrior 2" and "Detective Chinatown" were released one after another.

Breaking records time and time again, the box office revenue has directly reached tens of billions.

After several bosses left, Da Tiantian walked slowly to Zhou Mo's side.

She glanced at the business card in his hand, with a slight smile on her face.

"How about it? Compare the prices offered by several bosses to you. Do you know how good I am to you?"

Zhou Mo nodded, what Da Tiantian said was true.

Just now, several bosses had already put forward the conditions when they invited him.

Zhou Mo compared them all and found that neither of them could match the conditions offered by Da Tiantian in terms of funding or support.

What’s even more outrageous is that the price Da Tiantian gave him was quoted before the filming of “Love Is Not Blind”.

Zhou Mo asked: "Tiantian, this is the fundamental reason why you held the celebration banquet this time, right?"

Da Tiantian: "Well, how did you know that?" "The person in charge of Wanda was just chatting with me. Everyone knows your relationship with Wanda." Zhou Mo curled his lips: "It's really that serious."

"You taught me this. The conditions are determined through comparison. If I don't let you look at the prices offered by other bosses, you can still continue to drag it out." Da Tiantian spoke with a hint of resentment.

Zhou Mo thought about it and realized that he seemed to be obsessed with the plan of Lizhan during this period and couldn't extricate himself.

Unexpectedly, Da Tiantian misunderstood.

I thought he was refusing by putting it on hold.

Seeing that Da Tiantian's pouting lips were almost big enough to hang a teapot, Zhou Mo said apologetically: "I'm sorry, Tiantian, I was delayed by other things some time ago."

Da Tiantian snorted twice: "It's good that you know you're wrong. I forgive you."

After solving the problem, Zhou Mo talked about the banquet.

"Today's game must have cost a lot."

Da Tiantian waved her hand and said, "I have money. I made this plate of dumplings today just for your vinegar."

She also let it go: "I know that it's not good for your future if you shoot around me alone. I allow you to shoot other people, but after you join the company, you still have to choose works and write scripts for me like in the past."

After saying that, she stared at Zhou Mo with her sparkling eyes.

Zhou Mo looked at the girl in front of him and knew that if he didn't agree, it would not be just a disagreement, but the two would go their separate ways from now on.

"Okay, okay, I'll sign it."

Da Tiantian smiled and gave a look to Marco in the distance.

Marco made a "yeah" gesture from a distance.

Miss Jing, I, Old Ma, can only help you up to this point.

The banquet entered the second half. After discussing and signing the contract, Da Tiantian left with peace of mind, and Zhou Mo was surrounded by people again.

This time, the people surrounding Zhou Mo were mainly actors.

A group of male and female stars and agents tried to get the next plan from Zhou Mo and recommend themselves at the same time.

"Director Zhou, this is my business card..."

"Director Zhou, I'm very cheap."

"Director Zhou, I don't need to be paid!"

As director Zhou Mo's reputation as a rising star spread, some of his practices on the set were gradually discovered.

Among them, the most concerning thing is Zhou Mo's consideration of costs during the directing process.

Not only did they choose actors with low pay, but they even took advantage of the school to buy equipment and venues, as if they were determined to reduce costs to the lowest possible level.

If there is something good on the top, it will be great on the bottom.

Countless celebrities spent a lot of money and after hearing about Zhou Mo's "stingy" style from various channels, they all showed off their "affordability" in this regard.

Among them, there are many first-line TV actors who want to break into the film industry and have set their sights on the fat piece of meat Zhou Mo.

To sum it up in one sentence:

"Take care of your brother."

But, after all, it's just acting for the blind.

Zhou Mo had no plans to make a movie next.

He is ready to change tracks.

"Thank you for your kindness, but I don't plan to make a movie next. I'd rather watch a TV series. Please go back."

After these words were spoken, there were fewer people around.

People admire Zhou Mo because of his good performance in movies, but they are not so enthusiastic about his TV series.

However, not everyone was like this. A few people stayed where they were and expressed to Zhou Mo their desire to act in a TV series and left their contact information.

Zhou Mo looked through it and actually found a few familiar names.

"Zhang Yi, Yu Hewei, Zhu Yilong, Zhao Xiaodao..."

Now it is 2010, and these people are all complete obscurities, the kind that can't even make a splash in the entertainment industry.

Zhou Mo decisively put them on the back burner and planned to contact them when he had the chance.

Just when Zhou Mo thought that today's banquet was over, someone suddenly came to the door -

Big Brother Dragon.

"Director Zhou, hello, I watched Love Is Not Blind, it's excellent."

Zhou Mo didn't know why Cheng Long came to him.

I clearly said that I would not make movies anymore, but Cheng Long has never made a TV series before.

Of course, except for "The Adventures of Xiaoyu".

But he still said politely: "Hello, Brother Long, I'm honored that you have come to my side today."

The eldest brother Long said a few polite words and then got to the point: "Director Zhou, I just heard that you want to shoot a TV series recently. I wonder if you will accept external scripts?"

Zhou Mo: "Brother Long, do you want to make a TV series?"

The eldest brother Long shook his head: "It's not me who's shooting it. I have a movie that I want to adapt into a TV series, and now I need a director."

Movie adaptation of TV series?
A name appeared in Zhou Mo's mind:
"myth".

(End of this chapter)