Chapter 359 Signing a Newcomer
The script that Qin Wen adapted for Wang Jiawei is called "Flower Blossoms". It mainly tells the story of A Bao, a small figure in Shanghai in the 1990s, who started a business and grew up in the wave of reform and opening up.
The original novel has won the "Five One Project" and the Mao Dun Literature Award. Wang Jiawei bought the adaptation rights of this novel as early as 2014. However, because he was not familiar with Shanghai in that era, he had been collecting information in the early stage, and only started to prepare it this year.
Although it has been prepared for four years, according to the tradition of the Sunglass King, it will take at least two or three years to start filming, and it will take five or six years to be released.
The time span of a project is so large that even Meng Bai, who wrote his own script, dare not guarantee whether it will change, let alone Wang Jiawei, who is famous for not liking to shoot according to the script.
Meng Bai considered whether to invest in this project, but when he thought about Wang Jiawei's "bad record" towards investors over the years, he felt that it was unnecessary.
Arclight has been working on "The Wandering Earth" for more than four years, and it is still unknown what the result will be. It is really not in the mood to invest in a longer project.
If the performance of "The Wandering Earth" is good after its release, it can be considered again.
Anyway, Wang Jiawei is slow, and it is completely in time to wait for another year or two to "get on the train".
But then again, Meng Bai sighed a little. Now even Wang Jiawei has started to make TV series, which shows how badly Hong Kong films have declined.
Speaking of which, since the decline of the Hong Kong film and television market and the rise of the mainland film and television market, those well-known Hong Kong film directors have chosen to go north in recent years.
At the beginning, the film and television companies and capital parties on the mainland were very respectful to these "big directors", and they gave them money, people and shares.
Most of these directors who went north were also very arrogant. They wanted to make big movies. Regardless of how much profit they made, the cost budget was higher than the other, and they also preferred to use the actors from Hong Kong and Taiwan.
As for the films they made, there were losses and gains, which was no different from the directors in the mainland.
Slowly, the investors came to their senses. The income is not guaranteed, the technology is not leading, the cost risk is higher, and they often do bad work like "sky-high straw hats". Why bother looking for these "outdated directors"?
So the capital began to take back the previous "gentle face" and began to show its true sharpness.
No matter whether you were a big director or not, as long as you can't make money, just stay where you are.
In this way, these directors who went north can either adapt to the market again, such as Lin Chaoxian and Chen Kexin; or simply transform and reduce the dimension to make TV series or web series; those who can't do these can only return to their own little land.
With the loss of talent and the limited market size, and the reluctance to let go of the previous airs, the Hong Kong circle can be said to be dying now, and can only rely on a few old-generation movie stars to barely maintain the last scene.
After talking with Qin Wen, Meng Bai was completely fine in Shanghai. After a day of rest, he flew back to Blue Island.
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Blue Island, the seaside of the Bay Area.
The beach, which was usually peaceful, was now bustling with people. A group of people gathered on the beach, each standing on tiptoe to look inside.
"Hey, bro, what's going on over there?"
"I don't know, I just came over to watch the fun."
"Hey, I just heard from others that it seems like someone floated up from the sea, and the police are investigating."
"Fuck, so exciting! Is it true?"
"There's a cordon inside and a police car parked over there, it should be true."
"Haha, brother, don't listen to their nonsense, what kind of police would set up cameras and various equipment to investigate the scene? It's obvious that a crew is filming a movie."
"Damn, that scared me, they are in a hurry to film a movie. But I have to say, the stuff of this crew is quite realistic, much better than those stupid dramas on TV."
"Who said it's not, I just don't know what it's called, you can check it out when it airs later."
"Just go back and search Arc Light Films. Most of the criminal investigation dramas shot in Blue Island in recent years are shot by them."
"Really? Then I have to go back and search."
"..."
On the beach, Meng Bai glanced at the passers-by gathered on the embankment, and said to a plainclothes policeman beside him: "Sorry, Chief Li, I'm causing trouble for our police station again."
"Well, what's the matter. You applied for the filming formally, and you didn't hinder others. It's our duty to maintain order."
Chief Li waved his hand, then looked at the cordon printed with "Green Vine Public Security" not far away, and said with a smile: "Don't say it, I haven't seen you for a few years. Mr. Meng, you are getting more and more formal now. I just took a look at the props on your shooting scene. My goodness, we don't have as complete as you."
Meng Bai smiled when he heard it: "After all, we have been shooting for so many years, there should be some progress, right?"
The policeman who was talking to Meng Bai was Captain Li who came to the crew to investigate because of the "oolong case" when Arc Light was shooting "Forensic Qin Ming".
Just like Arc Light is no longer the new small team it was at the beginning, Captain Li has also been promoted in the past few years and has become the current "Captain Li".
Hearing Meng Bai's words, Chief Li also sighed: "Yeah, it's been two or three years. Speaking of which, we have watched a lot of criminal investigation dramas starring you, Chief Meng, in recent years."
"Oh, we are so honored to be recognized by professionals like you, Chief Li." Meng Bai said: "I always thought that the police don't like to watch criminal investigation dramas." Chief
Li nodded: "That's true, a lot of bad dramas are too ridiculous, and we are upset to watch them, but yours are all okay."
"If Chief Li is not busy during this period, can you give me more guidance?"
"No, no, I'm just talking nonsense, you are professionals." Chief Li waved his hands hurriedly: "Besides, you are filming criminal cases and the like. Most of the things we deal with in our police station are trivial matters, which are not interesting."
"That may not be the case. The trivial matters in the police station are really interesting if you watch them as stories, but there are not many of them filmed at the moment." Meng Bai said.
Chief Li was immediately interested when he heard that: "You know what, a lot of the small cases we take on, although not as exciting as criminal cases, are definitely just as exciting."
"Really? Then I have to find a chance for us to have a good chat, maybe we can make a drama with the police station as the theme."
"Haha, that's great. Don't worry, if you can really shoot, feel free to contact me if you have any questions. As long as it's not confidential information, I can tell you about it, and just mention our station later."
"No problem, we will definitely put 'Thanks to the Blue Island Coast Police Station for its strong support' at the end of the film."
After a half-joking chat, Li said he had something to do and had to leave first.
He was just passing by and heard the police officers below report that there was a crowd gathering here. He just happened to come to see the situation. Unexpectedly, he saw Meng Bai, an "acquaintance".
Watching Li leave, Meng Bai turned around and returned to the crew of "Hunting Crime Picture Book". The
filming of this drama started at the beginning of the month, but Meng Bai was delayed by various things, so this was the first time he came to the scene after more than half a month.
"Old Dai."
Meng Bai walked to the director's team, sat next to Dai Mo, and pointed to Zhang Xincheng and Chen Xingxu who were preparing for filming: "How did these guys perform?"
"Not bad, after all, they all graduated from professional schools, and they are not newcomers. Among young actors of similar age, they are considered okay." Dai Mo nodded with satisfaction.
"Really?"
Meng Bai replied without comment, but didn't say anything else. Just when the next shot was about to start, he sat behind the director's viewfinder and observed.
Not to mention, Dai Mo didn't praise them blindly. The acting skills of these two were indeed pretty good.
Meng Bai is not just watching casually. He is thinking that if the right person is available, he can sign someone to Arclight.
Arclight's own actor configuration has always been "more female than male". There are a lot of female actors, and there are only three or four male actors, including Wang Yang who signed in at the beginning of the year. There are only two young people, Zhang Ruoyun and Bai Yu.
The same is true for Taiyang Chuanhe. There are many female actors, and the male actors are basically middle-aged.
So Meng Bai has been thinking about whether there are suitable candidates to supplement Arclight's male actor lineup.
It happened that the filming of "Hunting Crime Picture Book" started this time, and two new leading actors were found, so he wanted to take a look.
Speaking of which, Zhang Xincheng's acting skills are actually better among these two people. Although Chen Xingxu is a child star, this is only his second official appearance, including the previous "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", so it is inevitable that there will be some awkwardness in his performance.
Zhang Xincheng previously starred in "Hello, Old Times", a collaboration between Arclight and Xiaotangren Culture, so relatively speaking, Meng Bai is more familiar with him.
There is just one problem, that is, his agency contract has been signed with Tianyu, and it is still several years away from expiration.
Obviously, although his performance is still outstanding, it is not enough for Arc Light to pay too much to dig him over.
So in comparison, Meng Bai pays more attention to Chen Xingxu. Although he has less experience, he has good talent. His appearance is also very orthodox, and he is suitable for many roles and has a wide range of acting.
Similar to other child stars, his junior brother has not signed a company yet, and his agency team is managed by his family. So if you want to sign a contract, the cost performance will be much higher.
According to Meng Bai's previous style, he usually won't rush to tell the other party, but will pay attention to it for a while, and then mention it to the other party when the filming is finished.
But now it's different. He still has a lot of things to do, and he doesn't have so much time to stay in the crew. So after observing the crew for two days, I felt that there was no problem, so I directly mentioned the signing to him.
"Hello, Mr. Meng."
Looking at Meng Bai in front of him, Chen Xingxu stood up and greeted him with a little restraint.
"It's okay, just sit down." Meng Bai waved his hand downwards, "We are all from the Central Academy of Drama, just call me senior brother."
"Hello, senior brother." The young man immediately changed his words.
Meng Bai smiled: "You don't have an agency now, right? Is the team managed by your family?"
"Yes, I don't have a company yet. Because I just graduated this year, I haven't been in a hurry to confirm it before."
Chen Xingxu is obviously also a smart man. Naturally, he understands what Meng Bai meant by asking this, and his heart suddenly became excited.
Arclight Film and Television is the most powerful company among the emerging forces in the film and television industry. Before, he was selected to star in Arclight's new drama "Green Ivy Series" during the audition, and he had thought about whether he would have the opportunity to join Arclight.
Unexpectedly, the dream came true so soon.
Meng Bai nodded and asked straight to the point: "Are you interested in joining our Arclight?"
Chen Xingxu's expression moved, and he wanted to agree on the spot. However, he still tried to hold back his impulse and said slowly: "Meng, uh, Senior Brother, can I consider it again?"
"Of course." Meng Bai said: "Well, I will let the agency team contact you later, and we can discuss the specific contract treatment and so on. Give me a definite news before the filming is completed."
"Okay, Senior Brother, I will definitely consider it seriously."
Chen Xingxu said solemnly with a serious face.
Although this "junior brother" did not agree directly, judging from his expression, there should be no problem.
The plan went smoothly. Although it was not a big deal, Meng Bai was still in a good mood.
But as mentioned before, he did have a lot of things on hand. So he only stayed in Blue Island for a week and returned to Beijing North.
In late June, all kinds of college entrance examinations, middle school entrance examinations, and final exams were over, and the summer vacation officially began.
Along with the summer vacation, there is also the most important summer season in the film and television market every year.
Unlike previous years, this year's summer season list unexpectedly included an online movie.
Soul Ferry: Huangquan, which has been long awaited by many fans and audiences of Arclight Films, has been released just in time for the summer vacation.
(End of this chapter)
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