Chapter 295
The first script reading of Ru Meng Ling
In mid-July, Ru Meng Ling organized its first script reading.
In the past, script readings were held with several main creators gathered around a table, and the readings were usually completed within two hours. However, the leading actors of "Ru Meng Ling" were notified that the reading time would be a whole day, and the crew would provide meals during the reading.
Wu Huahan knew that the list of leading actors was very long, and he thought the reading would take place in a large conference room, but unexpectedly the staff took him to a small room.
He looked at the table in front of him. There were only six seats. Who could sit there? There are not enough seats for the leading actors, let alone the directors and screenwriters.
The staff explained to him: "Teacher Wu, our script reading this time is conducted in groups. The character you play has a lot of intersections with Yun Zheng, so you will be here first, and then we will change groups a few more times according to the plot."
"There was no screenwriter or director involved in the first reading. We hoped that the actors could think freely and not set limits on the characters' imagination."
Oh, so that's what it is.
Wu Huahan nodded. Since this was a round table, it didn't matter where the "main seat" was, so he just picked a seat and sat down.
Not long after he sat down, Ling Sui came.
"Teacher Wu." Ling Suisui greeted him first, "I'm sorry, I was stuck in traffic and kept you waiting."
"It's okay, I just got here too."
Wu Huahan picked up the teapot on the table and poured her a cup of tea. "This is probably freshly boiled water. Be careful of the heat."
Ling Sui thanked him. As far as she could remember, she and Teacher Wu had known each other for ten years.
The first time she met Teacher Wu was on a lifestyle variety show that Tang Bing brought her to. Later, Teacher Wu introduced her to the role of "Ding Feng Bo", and she had the opportunity to leave a deep impression on the audience as Qin Xian.
When casting for "Ru Meng Ling" this time, Ling Sui thought of Teacher Wu. Teacher Wu was originally planning to retire, but she forced him to play the "male lead". In terms of the ranking and number of scenes among male characters, he was ranked first.
Wu Huahan complained that young people nowadays do not allow the elderly to enjoy life. His old friends exposed him expressionlessly, saying that he must be secretly happy that he was still invited by the younger generation to play such an important role at his age.
As the other actors had not arrived yet, they did not rush to discuss the script, but instead chatted about their recent developments.
Wu Huahan: "Congratulations, Xiao Ling. No, you can't call me Xiao Ling, you have to call me Teacher Ling. You are now a billionaire actress, and your box office is far ahead. If we convert US dollars into RMB, is this the highest-grossing Chinese actor?"
It is the highest among actresses, but if we talk about the entire Chinese-speaking world, it is indeed not up to par.
The global box office of "Beauty and the Beast" is now growing steadily, and the latest box office estimate has risen to 1.6 billion US dollars. If the final situation is in line with expectations, Ling Sui's "The First" will have a cumulative global box office of about 20 billion RMB, which will allow it to rank second, but it will still be several billion away from the first.
"It's okay." Wu Huahan said, "Don't you have a Warner movie? Hollywood movies will be sold all over the world. Their distribution channels are really powerful. When that movie is released, it will be number one. The young are really formidable. You are going to leave all of us old-timers on the beach."
"You're kidding me again. I'm just going to wait for me here all the time. Why don't you make a new movie?"
Ling Suisui smiled and said, "Compared to my predecessors, I just took advantage of the rising prices and more expensive movie tickets. If you want to flatter me like this, then I will call you Wu the Movie Emperor in the crew from now on. Let's see if you can bear it."
Wu Huahan shook off the goose bumps on his body. It was indeed strange.
He asked, "What are your plans after filming Ru Meng Ling? I have a few friends who want to ask about your schedule."
He observed Ling Sui's expression and said, "Oh, it seems that I asked too late. Many people have said the same thing. It's okay. I just helped them find out. I didn't promise to do it."
Ling Suisui answered: "Indeed, there are plans, but they are still in the confidentiality stage and cannot be made public. At least there will be no schedule next year."
Hearing that it had to be kept confidential, Wu Huahan did not ask any further questions. He knew that many film studios at home and abroad were vying for Ling Suisui, and that Ling Suisui might not be interested in the resources that his old friends could provide.
He has very well-informed information channels in the circle. If there is no movement in China, it must be a foreign project.
This is normal. Think about it, what does 1.6 billion US dollars mean?
With 1.6 billion, it has basically secured the title of this year's global box office champion, and there is also a chance to break into the top ten of the total box office list. Although this is just an estimate, it is enough to drive the film industry crazy. How could Hollywood let Ling Sui go?
Judging from her tone, the deal has probably been made. I just don’t know which film studio offered such an attractive offer.
Although Ling Suisui was not his student, Wu Huahan was still very pleased and proud of her to see that the young bird he had helped had grown into a soaring female eagle and had firmly established herself as an "international superstar."
After a while, the remaining four actors arrived.
Everyone took out their own scripts and discussed the intersecting events in the scripts. The reason for saying this is that, except for Ling Suisui, the scripts each actor received were fragmentary and only contained the perspective of his or her own character.
This not only refers to the character's language and actions, but also includes the stories that the character should know in the plot. As for the parts that you shouldn’t know due to limited perspective, there is no relevant content.
"It feels like playing an immersive script-killing game." An actor joked, "My character is very interesting. He consumes information from both sides. He has to listen to Yun Zheng, and the prime minister played by Teacher Wu also has to get involved. I can't tell whether he is a good guy or a bad guy."
It’s hard to say which camp this character belongs to, a more appropriate description would be a self-seeker. He will lean towards whichever side has more benefits. He is sincere when helping the protagonist and is also quite good at backstabbing.
But do you think he has any righteousness? Yes, in the script, Yun Zheng's evaluation of him is that they can share hardships in the most critical moments of the country, but when the situation improves a little, it becomes difficult to share wealth.
"There are no bad people in this room." Wu Huahan said leisurely, "Everyone present here is a pillar of the country and your Majesty's right-hand man and important minister. There is no way to distinguish between good and bad people."
This statement is very relevant - we are all involved in politics, and you can't get any real white cloth out of this big dye vat. Yun Zheng is the protagonist, so is she a good person? According to modern people's moral values, that certainly doesn't count.
This political struggle atmosphere of "everyone is imperfect, everything is for the benefit" makes the actors eager to try. Although Ling Suisui is the absolute protagonist in terms of the role, from the development of the plot, no one is a supporting role that exists only to set off her.
They each had their own stance, had provided her with help, had created obstacles, and the repeated transformations between allies and enemies happened in the blink of an eye due to favorable circumstances.
Wu Huahan was very satisfied with the role he was about to play. He also heard that another screenwriter was specially asked to write part of the script for the prime minister.
Ling Suisui: "Yes, it was specially requested by our screenwriter Tang. Especially in the later part where she and the heroine were at loggerheads and irreconcilable, she invited another screenwriter to co-write the story, and she discussed the story with the other party from the perspective of the prime minister throughout the whole process."
It was not until the manuscript was completed that another screenwriter realized that the protagonist of the play was Yun Zheng.
Tang Bao once said that there are usually only two reasons why a political conspiracy is not exciting: the protagonist is not smart, or the opponent is not smart.
She spent a lot of effort on Yun Zheng. When writing about the prime minister's actions, she couldn't help but subconsciously think, can Yun Zheng withstand it after he did this? When writing about Yun Zheng's actions, she was influenced by her own "perfect strategy" and it was difficult for her to think of the prime minister's powerful counterattack.
But this won’t work, because the excellence of the protagonist is actually tied to the excellence of the antagonist. If you defeat a genius, everyone will recognize you as a genius; if you defeat a three-year-old child, the ants on the roadside will not even bother to look at you.
Therefore, Tang Bao invited many screenwriters to brainstorm. If she didn't say it, reporters would interview the screenwriters one by one, and there would be many different opinions on the answer to the question "Who is the protagonist of Ru Meng Ling?"
This is the effect Tang Bao wanted to achieve, and Ling Suisui was happy to see it happen. For an ensemble drama to be interesting, every character must be wonderful.
The group reading session lasted for two hours. After everyone had some snacks to replenish their energy, Ling Suisui prepared to change the venue.
"Teachers, don't move for now." She said, "You can continue chatting, or you can take a break. Meals will be distributed around 12 o'clock, and you can eat earlier if you need. I have six group meetings today, so I'll go there first."
Six group meetings? Wu Huahan remembered that he had only seen four rooms along the way.
Oh, he remembered. When I came in, the staff told me that the script reading group would be reorganized based on the relationships between the characters.
He reminded: "You have used up a lot of energy. You need to eat more to replenish your energy."
Ling Suisui thanked the other party for his concern and went to the next room without stopping.
How can you not be tired? As the protagonist of the show, almost all the characters have rival scenes with her. If our efficiency is not high enough, we won’t be able to finish today’s reading session.
She was in meetings from nine in the morning until ten at night, and she ate a few bites of lunch and dinner while taking notes on the script.
After the last show was over and the other actors had left, Ling Sui put away his smile and slumped down in his office chair with an expressionless face.
Even superstars run out of energy sometimes, so let's just forgive this lazy guy who is in a state of emptiness.
Seeing Zhang Wen come in, Ling Sui closed his eyes in pain.
She knew that she must have come with an itinerary - and sure enough, she had several more tasks to do in the next few days, including shooting the promotional video for Magnolia.
Ling Suisui had the urge to go back on his word for a moment, but reason quickly prevailed. She nodded calmly to show that she understood.
Zhang Wen also shared the latest news with her. Tong Xiaoman had secured a higher box office share for her and Dilande for the new movie. This was only slightly away from what they had expected Dilande to accept.
This is not easy, and not everyone can achieve this in negotiations with Deland. Of course, the most important thing is that they think Ling Suisui is worthy.
"I originally thought they wouldn't rush to launch the Heroine project," Ling Suisui said. "The investment cost of superhero movies is very high. A new series means starting from scratch to create a new IP, which is much more difficult than a Marvel movie."
Therefore, even though DeLand is wealthy and good at developing new IPs to make money, he is very cautious and will shoot a film first to test the waters.
If it’s a box office success, it’s the start of a series, if it doesn’t live up to expectations, then it’s a standalone work.
"No one can match your charm." Zhang Wen said casually, "Go down, the car is waiting in front of the lobby. By the way, today's reading address has been leaked, and many fans are waiting. Do you want to wear a hat or a mask?"
When Zhang Wen mentioned this, Ling Sui was no longer sleepy.
She immediately opened her eyes, which were about to close due to heavy weight, and the tiredness on her face disappeared instantly. As she rode the elevator downstairs, she quickly touched up her lipstick in the makeup mirror.
It’s not a wasted trip. From the few steps out of the lobby to getting in the car, Ling Suisui was able to prepare several meals and remind them to be careful on the way back.
After all, Ling Suisui, who appears in front of the camera, is always a female star who is full of energy and in excellent working condition.
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