Chapter 125 Mischief [VIP]

Chapter Summary: This move exploited a time difference.

The press conference announcing the release date of the movie "Countdown" has officially begun.

The host first invited director Wan Zhou to the stage to talk about his original intention in directing the film and some behind-the-scenes stories of the filming process.

Next, please welcome the male and female leads to the stage.

Mu Zhi calmly got up and walked towards the stage with Tai Feng.

As she stepped onto the stairs, to avoid tripping over her floor-length skirt, Mu Zhi bent down slightly and lifted the hem of her skirt. When she straightened up, she saw Tai Feng gentlemanly extend his arm, silently indicating that he could lend her his hand.

"Thank you, I can manage on my own." Mu Zhi smiled slightly at her.

She stepped steadily up the stairs in her silver high heels, one step at a time, and stood on the stage. She let down her skirt and walked gracefully toward the director.

Tai Feng paused for a second, then strode onto the stage.

Mu Zhi stepped aside, leaving a space between her and Director Wan Zhou.

Leave it to Tai Feng.

Tai Feng, who had walked over, raised his hand to signal Mu Zhi to move to the middle, and Director Wan Zhou also waved for Mu Zhi to come over.

Mu Zhi then didn't stand on ceremony and stood gracefully between the director and Tai Feng.

"Welcome, Professor Tai and Professor Mu. Please say hello to everyone."

Tai Feng and Mu Zhi took the microphone from the host and greeted the media reporters, movie fans, and fans in the audience.

After exchanging greetings, the host asked Tai Feng and Mu Zhi to introduce the roles they played in the movie.

That is, Tai Feng introduces Mu Zhi, and Mu Zhi, in turn, introduces Tai Feng's role.

Tai Feng glanced at Mu Zhi and replied, "A-Sang is a lively, cheerful, kind, lovely, sunny, and strong girl."

The host followed up, "Does Professor Tai think she resembles Professor Mu in person?"

Tai Feng shook his head without hesitation: "Teacher Mu is very quiet on set."

When it was Mu Zhi's turn to answer, she said, "Teacher Tai's character, 'Youqu,' is a mysterious man who appears decadent and melancholic, reserved and silent, and who harbors secrets and has a story."

The host posed the same question, asking if Youqu and Taifeng were similar.

Mu Zhi had very limited knowledge of Tai Feng. She smiled slightly and said tactfully, "Teacher Tai and I don't have much daily communication on set except for things related to filming. My impression of him is that he is quite mysterious, just like Tai Feng."

This question wasn't difficult for either of them. Judging from their answers, although the show was filmed a year ago, they were quite familiar with the show and their respective characters, but they didn't seem to know the actors themselves very well.

Next, the host asked director Wan Zhou a question that many people in the audience and netizens online were very curious about.

"Director Wan, what was the opportunity that led you to cast Teacher Mu as 'A-Sang'?"

Director Wan Zhou pondered for a moment and answered frankly, "I've seen Mu Zhi's movies. Her acting is very natural and makes it easy for people to empathize with her."

The fans in the audience were quite surprised to hear this answer; they didn't expect that the famous director had seen their idol's movies!

Director Wan Zhou continued, "At first, I was actually a little worried that Mu Zhi couldn't play such a lively and cheerful character as Asang. After the audition, I found that she has a wide range of roles and a strong tenacity in her bones, which is very similar to Asang."

After filming began, Mu Zhi's performance in the movie exceeded my expectations; she portrayed the character very well.

When asked about her experience working with director Wan Zhou and Tai Feng, Mu Zhi replied...

One is a renowned director, and the other is a movie star.

Mu Zhi's response was naturally full of praise, and it was a heartfelt compliment from the bottom of her heart.

"The biggest impression I got from working with director Wan Zhou was that he is a very capable leader. When filming in Tibet, the entire crew had to overcome many difficulties, but with Director Wan there, he was able to handle them all, allowing the actors to focus on filming."

It was also briefly mentioned that director Wan Zhou, despite suffering from altitude sickness at a filming location at an altitude of over 4,000 meters, continued filming while inhaling oxygen, which was very dedicated and admirable.

When talking about his experience working with Tai Feng, his eyes were filled with admiration.

"Teacher Tai seems to be the only one among all of us actors who did not experience altitude sickness throughout the entire process; he's like a god."

Tai Feng: "..."

Mu Zhi's praise was not a clichéd, deliberate flattery; it sounded quite sincere.

Subsequently, several big-name celebrities who made special appearances at the press conference were invited onto the stage...

Next, we moved on to the Q&A session with the media.

A reporter asked Tai Feng if he knew about Mu Zhi before filming began. The reporter mentioned that Tai Feng had worked with many well-known actresses and nominated three actresses, including Mu Zhi. The reporter asked what the different feelings were about working with these four actresses, including Mu Zhi.

"I received an award on the same stage as Teacher Mu at the event."

Hearing this answer, Mu Zhi was a little surprised: Tai Feng probably didn't know her before the audition.

Tai Feng gave her a cold feeling. He had the right to be himself and didn't need to care about other people's opinions or maintain a superficial peace.

Was his statement a way of giving her face?

In response to the second question, Tai Feng said, "Every female artist is unique. They are all excellent, so there's no need to compare them."

Mu Zhi had seen some gossip about Tai Feng online. It was said that ever since he had a romantic affair with a new actress he had worked with, and that woman later became his sister-in-law, he had been hurt by a woman and would deliberately keep his distance from actresses he worked with, becoming a misogynist.

Judging from the questions just now, Tai Feng was not led astray by the media reporters' questions and compared the female artists he had worked with, which shows that he respects women.

A reporter asked Mu Zhi:

"When you were filming 'Countdown' last year, you were hospitalized due to altitude sickness. Could you tell us more about what happened?"

Mu Zhi explained, "It suddenly rained the day before filming. I got caught in the rain and developed altitude sickness, which caused a fever. I took some medicine and went to bed early to rest. The next day, I felt fine and thought I could continue filming, but then it rained again later on."

Back at the hotel, I found that my condition had become a bit serious. The staff took me to the hospital, where I was diagnosed with pulmonary edema. I stayed for two days and was then discharged.

Living on the plains, a minor cold might get better in two or three days, but getting sick at high altitudes requires careful attention; if it leads to pulmonary edema, it can be quite serious...

When talking about his illness and hospitalization, he attributed it to his failure to take his cold seriously.

There was no mention of "persisting in filming to avoid affecting the filming schedule," so as not to give malicious people a reason to make a fuss about it, or to make fans feel sorry for the production team and think that they were being inhumane.

He added, "If you catch a cold while traveling in high-altitude areas, it's best to go to the hospital as soon as possible and wait until you're better before continuing your journey."

The production team did not focus on portraying the hardships and difficulties of filming in Tibet at this press conference. Instead, they emphasized the core message of the road movie, the meaning of the journey, and the natural scenery and local customs of Tibet.

A local Tibetan who made a cameo appearance in the film was invited to the event to share his experiences on set, discuss Tibetan customs and culture, and welcome everyone to visit Tibet...

At the end of the event, there was an interactive session with fans.

Generally, the guests invited are fans of the director or fans of the lead actor.

The competition for film promotion is fierce now, and online promotion plays a very important role, especially short video platforms with the highest daily active users, which are highly valued by film producers.

So they invited two bloggers from short video platforms, one with over 10 million followers and the other with several million. After interacting with the main actors and taking photos with them on stage, they will release videos to help promote the show.

At the end of the press conference announcing the film's release date, the main creative team members each said a few words to wish the film great box office success upon its August 9th release...

After the event, Mu Zhi said goodbye to director Wan Zhou, Tai Feng, and others.

After arriving at the lounge with her team, she took a sip of water while the makeup artist touched up her makeup. After resting for a few minutes, she began her first interview with a reporter from the media.

At 2 p.m., after finishing their work schedule, Mu Zhi and her team rushed to the airport.

We still have to film tonight.

At 6 p.m., the plane arrived at Shashi Airport.

After Mu Zhi and her group disembarked from the plane, they walked out of the jet bridge and followed the signs to the domestic arrivals exit. After passing through a waiting hall, they found themselves in a waiting area.

Mu Zhi glanced casually through the glass door and saw a man pushing a suitcase and standing on the phone. He looked somewhat familiar.

Noticing that Mu Zhi had slowed down, Minmin asked, "Sister Zhizhi, what's wrong?"

"That person seems to be an actor who joined the crew a few days ago, surnamed Jia."

Minmin followed Muzhi's gaze and saw that the man had just finished his call and was pushing his suitcase away.

I didn't see what it looked like.

You might be able to recognize him by his face, but I only saw his back.

Naturally, it's impossible to tell whether it's one of the actors in the production crew.

"If they really are members of the film crew, they probably took a plane and left after filming, right? Is there a problem?"

Mu Zhi: "I remember this person has two scenes, which will be filmed the day after tomorrow."

During the two days she was away from the group, she kept an eye on the daily announcements posted in the group chat, but there were no changes.

So it's a bit strange that this actor left with his suitcase tonight.

Perhaps she mistook someone for someone else.

Mu Zhi was filming a night scene tonight. After putting her luggage away at the hotel, she...

I arrived at the film set at 8 p.m.

It was a bit surprising to see Producer Wang there; he's rarely present when shooting night scenes.

When I greeted Director Xu Kuan and Producer Wang, I noticed that they were in low spirits, and the atmosphere on set seemed a bit off.

Mu Zhi arrived at the film set half an hour early, but the shooting scene was still being set up.

When asked, "During the two days I took leave, did anything happen on set?"

Bian Wu: "Teacher Mu, there is an actor named Jia Sheng who keeps having to do multiple takes during filming. Today, before he finished filming his scenes, he quit on the spot and left."

Jia Sheng is the actor that Mu Zhi saw at the airport.

We had a scene together before I took leave, and I remember it.

Mu Zhi was puzzled: Young actors usually cherish every opportunity to act, so why is Jia Sheng so emotionally unstable? Why is he so short-tempered? He doesn't even get the director to point out his poor acting? He just stormed off the set.

After such an embarrassing incident on set, if word gets out, which production team would dare to hire them in the future?

Jia Sheng's behavior suggests that he has someone protecting him and a way out, and that he is deliberately provoking others.

Shift the focus away from the actor.

This will at most make director Xu Kuan angry. Jia Sheng's role is a minor NPC in the game scenes filmed in Shashi, with very few scenes, so the two scenes Jia Sheng has already filmed will be cut.

A replacement actor can be contacted at any time and will be joining the crew tomorrow.

It has a slight impact on the filming schedule, but the impact is minor and not enough to disturb the emotions of the director and producer.

What's likely causing Producer Wang's bad mood is related to money, and it could very well be so serious as to affect the filming of the production.

Mu Zhi was about to go over and ask when she saw Producer Wang strolling over with a worried look on his face.

So he asked.

According to producer Wang, an investor withdrew their investment, and the funds that were supposed to arrive did not come through. Furthermore, rumors were circulating in the industry that the film's production quality was poor.

Other investors are taking a wait-and-see approach.

Producer Wang finished speaking with a frown, then realized he had spoken too much.

I shouldn't have told Mu Zhi these things.

She smiled at Mu Zhi and said, "I contacted President He, and he said he would find a way to ensure that the filming will not be affected. Don't worry, Teacher Mu."

I quickly made my escape.

Mu Zhi thought to herself: Is He Junzhi behind this? Does he not want this movie project to be completed smoothly?

The night shoot ended at 7 a.m. the next morning.

Mu Zhi woke up in the afternoon and remembered the investors withdrawing their funding, so she called her broker to ask about it.

"It was He Junzhi who was behind this."

"First, one of the company's shareholders withdrew. He Junzhi revealed this information to the investor, saying that although Lanxing Media seemed to be developing very well on the surface, it actually cost a huge amount of money to reach its current scale. It was a bottomless pit that could not be filled, so a major shareholder ran away."

They instigated the investors of "Escape from the Game" to abscond, believing that if Lanxing Media, as the film's third-largest investor, were to experience a break in its funding chain, it would also affect the film.

The investment is very likely to be a complete loss; we need to withdraw immediately.

"Lanxing Media has invested in the movie 'Countdown,' which will be released in a month. If the big director's movie does well at the box office, and you, Zhizhi, perform well as the female lead, it will also have a positive impact on the movie currently in production..."

He Junzhi's move was based on taking advantage of a time difference.

What's particularly insidious is that the film "Escape from the Game" is entering its final month of crucial filming. If the film is affected, the losses will be the greatest.

This is a series of interconnected steps, all aimed at achieving the ultimate goal of a failed bet.

So, Lanxing Media was handed over to others, and He Zhiyue was kicked out.

It seems that He Junzhi's position as vice president at the He Group doesn't really give him any real power, nor does he seem to be able to achieve anything significant.

The only way to make He Junzhi seem less bad is to keep a close eye on He Zhiyue and do everything possible to bring her down.

I heard my agent say on the phone, "You can focus on filming on set."

"The boss said he would handle it and there was no need to worry."

After ending the call.

Mu Zhi sat on the sofa, holding her phone, recalling her manager's last words: He Zhiyue said he would handle it, and that was probably the only way.

[Author's Note]

Haha, I can't make promises I can't keep (facepalm). Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 00:18:52 on August 20, 2022 and 00:28:00 on August 21, 2022!

Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Jiu and Ye Zhirou (1 bottle);

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!