Chapter 401 Bite Me
"Who did it? Who did it?" Once Director Jiao's fiery temper flares up, no one can control him.
The crew members, who were woken up in the middle of the night for a meeting, fell silent, none of them daring to be the first to speak out and bear the anger that was not their responsibility.
The assistant director and several other senior executives of the production team exchanged glances and sighed in unison.
No wonder Director Jiao was so angry. TV dramas produced by official channels have absolutely no worries from filming to release.
Therefore, from the very beginning, their production team was very laid-back, neither promoting nor hyping anything.
If Ye Wanxi hadn't been targeted when she released promotional photos last time, the production team wouldn't have been so mischievous as to jump out and support her.
For this reason, the production team did not open the filming to the public at all, whether it was the start of filming or leaked footage. They mainly relied on their own cinematographers to film the scenes, and only released some behind-the-scenes footage after the show aired.
Now look what's happened! The crew's schedule has been photographed, and someone with ulterior motives has managed to push it onto the trending topics, smearing Ye Wanxi while also taking a jab at the entire crew. Can Director Jiao tolerate this?
"Judging from the shooting angle, the person shooting should be relatively far away, and the image quality doesn't look like something that could be shot with a professional camera."
Before the assistant director could finish speaking, Director Jiao's face darkened even more: "You mean, this thing might not have been taken by paparazzi, but by someone in our crew?"
"It's just a possibility. Don't get excited or anxious. We can't easily let go of the person who's been causing trouble right under our noses, but at the same time, we can't wrong any innocent person based on our own speculation. This matter certainly needs to be investigated thoroughly, but the most urgent task is to clarify the situation."
"What's so difficult about that?"
As the head of the makeup and costume department for the film crew, Sister Yao shouldn't have been dragged into this matter today.
But Director Jiao, perhaps out of sheer anger, suddenly called out everyone he could.
Waking up in the middle of the night, Yao Jie, who was so sleepy that she could barely keep her eyes open, was also furious. With a dark face, she said, "Since these idiots think that the crew has mistreated Master Wang and are standing up for him, let Master Wang stand up and tell them whether he has been mistreated or wronged."
"As for the fact that there are two martial arts instructors in the crew, who says that a crew can only have one martial arts instructor? Don't tell me that after watching their fight today, you're not even a little bit envious of their cool and beautiful fight scenes? If that's the case, what's wrong with making it real?"
When Director Jiao heard her say that, he felt enlightened. That's right. Before this, he was still struggling with how to persuade her to take on the role of action director for the crew. Now, isn't this a ready-made reason?
Director Jiao almost couldn't help but laugh, but he still pretended to be serious and said, "Isn't that a bad idea? It makes us look like villains taking advantage of others in distress, which is immoral."
Sister Yao: "...Before you say that, stop laughing. Your mouth is practically stretched to the back of your ears."
Director Jiao: "..."
After some discussion, the matter was finally settled. Some people contacted Wang Chongwu, while others contacted Ye Wanxi's agent.
Not long after making the call, Wang Chongwu was the first to jump out, using his rather limited vocabulary to praise Ye Wanxi's superb skills. He also clarified that he sought out Ye Wanxi not because he was dissatisfied with the fact that there were two martial arts instructors in the crew, but because he had watched Ye Wanxi's variety show and was certain that she was a real martial arts expert. Out of curiosity, he went to find her to spar with her.
Even after this clarification was released, many people still chose not to believe it, thinking that the production team must have heard about what happened online and was helping the perpetrators to put pressure on the victims.
Wang Chongwu's clarification, issued amidst the malicious harassment of some individuals, only further fueled the indignation of onlookers.
On the contrary, those fans who had followed Wang Chongwu all the way and knew him well were finally relieved after seeing his clarification and started to speak up for Ye Wanxi.
[The person who said my brother was threatened and forced to compromise by the production crew is ridiculous. They're making it sound like they witnessed it themselves. Before spreading rumors, please find out what kind of person my brother is. If you dare threaten him, he'll quit in a heartbeat, and believe me, he might even cause you some big trouble before he leaves!]
[It's also because our big brother is getting old; the younger generation doesn't really know how famous he was back then. When this rumor first started circulating, I found it strange. Which production team would hire our big brother as a martial arts choreographer and then dare to mistreat him? They must have a death wish! I've never seen anything like it!]
[I don't believe the older brother was overshadowed by a female celebrity, but I do believe him that he went to find someone to spar with out of curiosity. Those who don't believe me can look at his previous social media posts; you'll find that he was either sparring with someone or on his way to find someone to spar with.]
[My brother really loves challenging people to duels. Last time he went to the martial arts gym next door to challenge them and got a tooth knocked out and his opponent's leg broken. We were all thinking they'd become enemies. But they were perfectly fine, and as soon as they recovered, they went out for some barbecue.]
With the help of longtime fans, some newcomers belatedly realized that they had been blindly following rumors and hadn't even figured out what kind of person the victim was before starting to feel sorry for them, forgetting that the victim might not even need their sympathy.
Upon investigation, they were shocked by Wang Chongwu's past experience.
Although Wang Chongwu didn't make many films when he was young, he mostly collaborated with big names in the industry.
In addition, his conduct and interpersonal relationships were a topic of much discussion both inside and outside the industry at the time.
From the moment he entered the industry, he has been a very individualistic person. He will do his best for the scripts, crews, and directors he likes, and he has never complained even when it is very hard.
But if he encounters a director with a perfunctory attitude or a production crew that fawns on the powerful and belittles the weak, he won't tolerate it and will definitely not complain much about those he can get his hands on.
Therefore, based on the information they found, Wang Chongwu's reputation in the industry is almost polarized. Those who love him regard him as an idol and a hero, while those who hate him wish they could tear him apart.
Would someone like that really compromise just because of pressure from the production crew?
Some people become more reserved as they get older, but that doesn't mean they've lost their former spirit.
With the help of Wang Chongwu's fans, online public opinion is no longer one-sided.
At this point, Director Jiao simply went on his official account and directly confronted the media outlet that broke the news.
"Old Jiao [V]: I have the money to hire two action choreographers, what's it to you! Male actors need action choreographers, but female actors don't? I like hiring two at a time, what are you going to do about it?"
(End of this chapter)
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