Chapter 74 Smashing the Waist [VIP]

Chapter Summary: The goal is to replicate the success of "The Bell Ringer's Record"

"Teacher Mu, congratulations on wrapping up filming."

Mu Zhi accepted the flowers prepared by the crew from the assistant director. "Thank you."

Because her character died early in the drama, the production crew prepared a red envelope and a large cake as a wrap-up gift, according to the custom of filming.

After taking a group photo with the entire crew and cutting the cake,

Mu Zhi bid farewell to the director, producer, and fellow actors, but readily agreed to autograph requests from the crew's staff and graciously posed for photos with the extras.

From autumn to winter, we spent three months together, day and night.

We've just started to develop feelings for each other, and now we have to part ways.

The crew members all expressed their reluctance to see Mu Zhi leave the set after filming wrapped.

"Everyone, focus on filming, bye-bye!"

Mu Zhi waved and left with her team members.

Her solo scenes have wrapped up, but the crew still has about another month of filming to go.

The entire crew finished filming a week before the Spring Festival.

Over the past three months, Mu Zhi, who plays the female lead, has had many scenes filmed in nightclubs. In total, about a third of her scenes were night scenes, including many long night scenes.

Minmin touched her skin, which had become a bit rough recently, and said with emotion, "Sister Zhizhi, we can finally adjust our sleep schedules."

These days have been so chaotic, I'm exhausted.

"Yes, everyone has worked hard."

Working the night shift, they don't actually have much to do on set as staff. They wear thick coats and have heating appliances, so they don't get cold. They also don't get much work during their daytime rest.

The filming of Mu Zhi was arduous. In the dead of winter, she was sometimes only wearing a thin cheongsam, and her teeth were chattering from the cold.

After filming one scene, we were so frozen we were practically frozen solid.

But he didn't utter a single complaint.

Standing in front of the camera, they instantly get into character and always manage to present the best version of the role.

Minmin sighed inwardly: Not everyone can be an actor.

After filming wrapped on the spy drama "The Edge of the Blade," Mu Zhi and her group flew back to Beicheng from Shanghai.

A month before the New Year, Mu Zhi still had a lot of work to do.

The first task was to do voice acting for the movie "Back to 17".

The release date has been set for February 14th, Valentine's Day.

That evening, I returned to my rented apartment in Beicheng.

After taking the clothes out of her suitcase and organizing them, Mu Zhi opened the drawer of her dressing table, found the script for "Back to 17" to review, as she was going to do voice-over work for the movie tomorrow...

The following morning.

On my way to do voice-over work.

Regarding the release date, Minmin exclaimed again, "(The release date) went by so fast!"

That's really fast.

From filming to release, it took more than half a year, less than a year.

Mu Zhi originally thought it would be released during the May Day or summer holiday season.

However, youth films are usually edited very quickly in post-production.

Minmin also knows a little about scheduling.

"This release period can be described as a dangerously unpopular period. I hope the movies in the Spring Festival season won't be too competitive!"

Mu Zhi hadn't had time to check which movies were going to be released during this year's Spring Festival.

January 21st is the first day of the Lunar New Year. After the Spring Festival movies are released, there is less than a month until Valentine's Day on February 14th.

Movies that choose to be released during the Spring Festival season are generally top-notch in terms of publicity and film quality. Those with good word-of-mouth can have a long run and earn billions of yuan in box office revenue.

"Back to 17" is scheduled to be released on February 14th. If it clashes with several films with strong long-tail effects during the Spring Festival season, it is very likely to become cannon fodder and only have a one-day run.

However, "Back to 17" is the final installment of Guangying Media's youth film series, and the production company attaches great importance to this film, showing their experience in choosing the release date.

The production company and director must be very confident in this movie, right?

We arrived at the dubbing studio.

Mu Zhi greeted Director Xu Kuan and Producer Wang as usual.

Producer Wang had some concerns: Mu Zhihong might start putting on airs in front of them, but fortunately, the young lady is a steady person.

Producer Wang beamed and clasped his hands in a fist salute: "Ms. Mu Zhi, congratulations! Your rise to fame is definitely a very good omen for our film. I believe 'Back to 17' will be a box office and critical success!"

While a movie relies on the support of its audience, the support of fans is only a drop in the ocean.

However, compared to her previous status as a newcomer, Mu Zhi now has a certain box office appeal.

Producer Wang has paid special attention to the data of these popular young actresses and actors. Mu Zhi and Du Qianqian are already on par; they've become famous so quickly.

What a good omen! What a wonderful omen!

Chao Xukuan gave a thumbs up: "Director Xu, your vision is truly remarkable!"

Thanks to Xu Kuan's insistence on casting Mu Zhi, it's truly a matter of fate.

Everything happens for a reason.

Xu Kuan was naturally pleased with the popularity of Mu Zhi's new drama after its premiere, as this was a good thing for the film.

The person who was most surprised was Song Yuanliang.

When he worked with Mu Zhi, he knew that Mu Zhi was a good actress and that her future was not to be underestimated, but he never expected that she would become famous with her first drama.

She went from being an unknown figure in the film and television industry to a rising star in terms of popularity overnight.

He used to feel superior to Mu Zhi, but now that sense of superiority is gone.

It's rare for an actor to be recognized by the audience for a role in a drama and have a representative work.

It is extremely rare for an actor to gain recognition for starring in a drama, have a representative work, and thus gain the love and support of a group of fans, acquire traffic, and exchange traffic for endorsements, thereby gaining commercial value.

These are all things that Song Yuanliang particularly wanted to obtain.

Mu Zhi got it so easily, and he was so jealous he was practically bursting with envy.

The movie "Back to 17" has a total runtime of 112 minutes, which is about 2 hours.

It's much faster than dubbing dozens of episodes of a TV series.

In addition, Mu Zhi had already reviewed the script last night, so today's dubbing work was completed smoothly and efficiently.

During the dubbing process, she saw part of the movie's plot and, judging from the director's storytelling ability, the film's editing, and the cinematography, the film's quality was quite good.

This raised Mu Zhi's expectations for the movie.

The dubbing is over.

Director Xu Kuan and Mu Zhi confirmed the promotional schedule for "Back to 17" in person.

"The plan is to start the roadshow promotion after the Spring Festival holiday and in early February. The promotion will also continue during the first week of the film's release, which will add up to more than half a month of promotion."

Mu Zhi and her agent had already discussed the film's promotional tour.

He nodded in agreement on the spot.

"Okay, my schedule is fine."

Her next project has not yet been decided.

The entire schedule for February can be freed up.

As the female lead with the most screen time in the movie "Back to 17", she has an unshirkable responsibility to fully cooperate with the production company in promoting the film.

Two days later, Lanxing Media.

Mu Zhi arrived at the company to report for duty and discussed work arrangements before the end of the year with her agent.

I ran into Xia Xinyan at the elevator entrance on the first floor; she also seemed to have just arrived at the company.

"Long time no see, congratulations! I've been watching 'The Bell Ringer', it's really good, and you acted wonderfully."

"Thank you, and congratulations. Your performance in 'Chasing the Light 2' was very professional, and you were great."

Xia Xinyan was a little surprised that Mu Zhi had actually watched "Chasing the Light 2".

Deep down, she was a little jealous and wary of Mu Zhi. Instead of debuting as part of a group, she chose to become an actress, and she became famous as soon as her first drama aired.

In terms of popularity and fan base, as well as the sales of endorsements and magazines, Xia Xinyan currently outperforms Mu Zhi.

But Xia Xinyan knew very well that Mu Zhi had a better future as an actress.

The only thing I can do is adjust my mindset and tell myself that Mu Zhi and I are on different tracks, and there's no need to compare ourselves to each other.

I can't bring myself to dislike Mu Zhi either.

She was tasked by the company to promote Mu Zhi's new drama, and the wording of her repost was very official.

Mu Zhi helped promote her new song and cheered her on as a mentor on "Chasing the Light Girl 2". The message was brief, but it was clear that Mu Zhi wrote it herself, and it was very sincere.

Xia Xinyan actually envies Mu Zhi. She envies Mu Zhi's strong sense of conviction; if she didn't want to be in a group, she wouldn't be; if there was no future with her original company, she resolutely terminated her contract and switched companies; and she also learned from her agent that Mu Zhi had a lot of ideas about developing her solo acting career, and could go months without participating in any activities or having any public appearances in order to focus on acting...

It takes courage to be your own unique self, rather than a perfect robot.

Xia Xinyan's mind was racing, and she became quite engrossed in her thoughts.

"Xinyan, which floor are you going to?"

Mu Zhi had already entered the elevator, pressed the open button, and asked Xia Xinyan, who was in a daze.

"Oh? I'll go find Director Ji."

Xia Xinyan snapped out of her daze and hurriedly stepped into the elevator.

In return, I asked, "And you?"

Mu Zhi was originally supposed to go to the director's office as well, but Ji Binghe probably made an appointment with Xia Xinyan later, and she is still in the general manager's office.

He answered truthfully, "Director Ji asked me to go to the general manager's office to find her."

Xia Xinyan nodded knowingly and smiled, "My matter is not in a hurry. You two can talk slowly. I'll go to Director Ji's office and wait for her."

However, he looked somewhat disappointed as he stepped out of the elevator.

She hadn't been to the general manager's office in a long time; it had been almost three months since she'd seen the boss.

General Manager's Office.

He Zhiyue and Ji Binghe had just finished discussing work when Lu Ke led Mu Zhi in.

Before and after becoming famous, Mu Zhi's style of dressing did not change much.

Now that she had the means, she simply switched all her clothes to more comfortable brands.

Wearing a beret, with her long hair flowing down her back, and dressed in a khaki coat, carrying a black bag, she always manages to make everyday outfits look stylish and chic with her charisma. Walking in felt like stepping into a street style photoshoot.

He Zhiyue hadn't seen Mu Zhi for almost four months.

Of the 16 artists under the company, Mu Zhi is the one who is hardest to see.

He asked gently, "What would you like to drink?"

The car was parked in the underground garage, and it takes 3 minutes to walk to the company building. The weather is almost below freezing, and it's windy today.

Mu Zhi: "Coffee, thank you."

She is a little sensitive to the cold, and drinking something warm makes her feel more comfortable.

Ji Binghe gave her boss a strange look. She and the other employees had come to the boss's office for a meeting, and it was always Luke who asked what they wanted to drink.

The boss never asked a single question.

Was she overthinking it? She noticed that the boss was being unusually considerate towards Mu Zhi.

Before Luke brought in the coffee.

Mu Zhi briefly recounted her experience filming "The Edge of the Blade".

After the coffee was brought in.

The three then got down to business.

Mu Zhi's work schedule before the new year mainly involves participating in events related to her current endorsements, as well as the year-end gala event.

Compared to last year, Mu Zhi has been invited to many large-scale events with a star-studded lineup this year.

The treatment is completely different now.

Ji Binghe: "I'll also be attending this year's Green Apple Boiling Night..."

The grand event was like a company's year-end review party.

"The Bell Ringer" is a drama series that aired very well and achieved great success on the Green Apple platform this year.

At this year's Boiling Night awards ceremony, not only did the drama receive awards, but Mu Zhi, the lead actress, also won an award, which was relatively prestigious among the awards.

The boss, He Zhiyue, also attended today's meeting.

The reason is that Green Apple's drama series plan for next year includes a big-budget ancient costume fantasy drama called "Shan Hai Lu", an S+ project, and they want to invite Mu Zhi to star in it.

In an effort to put pressure on the artists, the president of Green Apple directly approached He Zhiyue, the boss, hoping that Mu Zhi would take on the role in the drama.

Ji Binghe: "The pay was very generous."

He reported a series of numbers to Mu Zhi.

The salary offered was equivalent to several of Mu Zhi's previous works in "The Bell Ringer," and doubled the salary for the spy drama that had just finished filming.

In the past three months, Mu Zhi has turned down countless ancient costume dramas.

This is an attempt to use money to force her to bend over backwards.

He Zhiyue said, "If you don't want to act, then don't accept the role."

Mu Zhi glanced at He Zhiyue and thought to herself that this boss had good judgment and wasn't just focused on immediate profits.

She replied, "Well, I just finished filming my new movie, I'll see."

Ji Binghe could tell that Mu Zhi didn't want to accept the offer.

Let Mu Zhi think of a polite way to refuse.

"After the Green Apple Grand Ceremony, there will be a celebratory banquet, a joint celebration for the top three drama production companies on the platform in terms of revenue this year."

It was also under the guise of celebrating a victory, but it was also an opportunity to have a private, direct conversation with the actors and discuss potential collaborations.

He Zhiyue pointed out incisively: "Green Apple wants to replicate the success of 'The Bell Ringer' and create another blockbuster, 'The Bell Ringer 2,' next year."

If it weren't for director Xu Tao's meticulous work and the excessively long pre-production time for a film, the platform would have wanted the screenwriter of "The Bell Ringer" to write a prequel, and then have the original cast and crew film "The Bell Ringer 2".

Mu Zhi chose not to join the group because she didn't want to become a platform-affiliated artist.

No matter how powerful the platform is, and no matter how big Lanxing Media is, it can't shield her from the storms outside. She can't let herself be tied to the platform and become its employee.

[Author's Note]

Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 23:54:04 on June 29, 2022 and 23:56:09 on June 30, 2022!

Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: Jiu 1 bottle;

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