Zhang Ze didn't want to talk anymore. He looked up at the roof of the car, as if trying to figure out what was different about it from the others. He just couldn't stand this jerk. The props, like the bullets, alone cost 200 million, but why did he still deduct my pay?
Zhang Ze initially thought Fang Yang was willing to lower his salary to join because of a shortage of funds. He never expected that Fang Yang wasn't short of money at all, but simply unwilling to pay. And Zhang Ze couldn't say anything about it. What kind of trouble was he causing?
Seeing Zhang Zesheng staring blankly at the car roof, Fang Yang wanted to laugh but held it back. Actually, it wasn't just Zhang Zesheng; all the artists who wanted to join the crew had to lower their pay. It wasn't that Fang Yang was stingy with the pay, but rather that the official promotional video itself had the function of lowering pay. This time, Fang Yang had even raised the funds himself. If it were truly funded by the official channels, all the artists who appeared would receive zero pay, no matter how famous they were.
Zhang Ze most likely knew about this, so after wallowing in self-pity for a while, he cheered up. This was something that had been agreed upon beforehand: the higher the cost of props, the better the final film would be, and the greater Zhang Ze's chances of winning an award as the male lead. This was why Zhang Ze was willing to lower his salary to take on the lead role, even though there were certain risks involved.
"Mr. Fang, my fragile heart has been severely damaged this time. You must treat me to a good meal."
Fang Yang chuckled to himself, "That's no problem, but I suggest you eat more these next two days, because you'll be going to suffer for a while after that."
Zhang Ze sat bolt upright in fright. "There's still a period of suffering ahead? Mr. Fang, don't scare me. Wasn't I supposed to be able to go back after signing the agreement? Why are there other arrangements?"
Fang Yang glanced at Zhang Ze and said, "It wasn't arranged on the spur of the moment. This was decided a long time ago because it's a military film and needs to show the demeanor of soldiers. With your current posture, you don't sit or stand properly. Do you look like a soldier? So I talked to the Southeast Military Region and another film crew. You two will form a new recruit company and receive a two-week closed military training."
Zhang Ze's face fell. "This is exactly what I feared most. It feels like nothing good has happened since I boarded your ship. To make a movie, I have to go to the military for training. Brother, look at all these muscles I have, why would I need to go to military training?"
"If you don't accept training, you won't even be able to give a proper salute. Do you expect me to repeatedly correct your hand gestures later on?"
Zhang Ze, looking disheveled, listened to Fang Yang's incessant chatter, "Besides, can you even do many of the special forces' maneuvers? If your military skills as a special operations captain are inferior to those of a mere soldier, is that acceptable? Even if you're not as good as them to begin with, you should at least look a little bit better, right?"
Zhang Ze's face fell even more. His mother scolded him, "I'm not a special forces soldier, how can I compare to a regular special forces soldier? You might as well just slap me in the face."
"Most importantly, you probably don't know how to fire a gun, right? Even if you do, is your stance correct? Are you proficient in using various firearms? Can you use short weapons? Are you going to act as a special forces soldier with the fighting style of a street thug? Brother Zhang, it's okay if you don't know, but you can't pretend to know what you don't. Last-minute cramming is unacceptable!"
Zhang Ze was almost in tears. "Brother, I'll go, I'll go, okay?"
"Hey, that's right. What's wrong with a man suffering a little hardship? No pain, no gain. Don't look down on this small loss. Think about it: if you acted well this time, people will think of you first when there are related movies in the future, and your acting career will be broadened. Don't just focus on this small benefit. Think about how taking a step back can open up a whole new world. The future is yours. That's the key!"
Zhang Ze was completely overwhelmed, his brain buzzing. "Stop, stop, stop, brother, it's a loss for the pyramid scheme industry if you don't go into it. I didn't expect you to be so eloquent. I'm impressed, I'll do whatever you say."
Fang Yang's face stiffened, and after a pause, he said, "That's true. If the heavens hadn't given birth to me, Fang Yang, pyramid schemes would have been in eternal darkness! But I think it's more interesting to be in the entertainment industry. Don't you see the Yellow River flowing down from the sky? My thoughts, like springs, can reach the thirty-three heavens and connect to the eighteen levels of hell. Wherever my thoughts reach, that is my territory."
Zhang Ze rolled his eyes. After knowing Fang Yang for so long, this was the first time he had ever seen him so narcissistic. Just then, the car arrived at the hotel. Zhang Ze opened the car door and jumped out. "Mr. Fang, we've arrived at the hotel. I'll go in and check in first. We can talk about the rest tomorrow."
Watching Zhang Ze rush into the hotel in a panic, Fang Yang snapped his fingers, didn't get out of the car, arranged for the driver to take him back to the company, and ignored Zhang Ze. He wanted to treat Zhang Ze to a meal by himself, but couldn't he see that he was too busy to handle everything? It would be more appropriate to have a meal together after all the actors had arrived.
Back at the company, Tang Qiang had been waiting for a long time. As soon as Fang Yang entered, he immediately stepped forward and reported, "President Fang, the people I contacted for auditions will be arriving one after another today. When would you like to schedule the auditions?"
"Tomorrow, that'll be perfect. After the audition, we can arrange for you to go to the military base for two weeks of training. But the actor playing a pirate doesn't need to go. He just needs to practice how to fire a gun a little."
Tang Qiang hesitated slightly before asking, "Does the female lead also have to go to military training?"
Fang Yang rolled his eyes at Tang Qiang. "He's pretending to be a reporter. You're throwing him into the military camp? Are you afraid the camp isn't chaotic enough already?"
Tang Qiang blushed a little, "I thought all the actors had to go to military training!"
"There's no need for that. Only those playing soldiers need to go for military training. There's no need for anything else. If you throw everyone into the military camp for no reason, they won't be able to improve their movements quickly enough, and it will be obvious that they're fake. Isn't that just being too hasty?"
"Haha, I misunderstood. I heard that Zhang Ze plays the male lead. Has he arrived yet?"
"We just arrived. Tell your men to hurry up and get their uniforms ready so they can be on the move at any time. Their warships won't wait for us."
"Uh, Mr. Fang, as for the martial arts uniforms, we've already urged the clothing factory to expedite production. They should be ready for delivery within a week at most."
Tang Qiang wasn't in charge of the costumes, but as the assistant director, he did have supervisory responsibilities. This time, the entire crew of Yuewen Entertainment Media was busy on all fronts, and there was no one left to use. So, apart from Fang Yang, all the other staff members were brought in by Kyoto Film and Television. Fang Yang was happy to be free of any worries and left all the preparatory work to the staff of Kyoto Film and Television.
"After receiving it, don't do anything to it. Just keep it clean, but it shouldn't look brand new at first glance. Just keep it natural."
With all the work assigned to Tang Qiang, Fang Yang felt relieved. He took some time to arrange a time with Zhou Taowei to bring people to his place for military training. This was something that had already been applied for during the script review process, and then the Central Military Commission issued the order. He estimated that Zhou Taowei had already received the notification by now.
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