Chapter 42 She Just Praises Him
When Lin Ruoyan brought Feng Qiang into the private room, not only Dai Qiu, but also the project proposer, the well-known young director and another screenwriter were all stunned.
This Boss Lin was surprisingly young and beautiful, with a figure and looks that rivaled even those of a popular actress. This made Dai Qiu wonder, was Boss Lin willing to invest in a film just to play the lead role? Her looks were definitely enough.
Once they started chatting, everyone felt relieved.
Lin Ruoyan invested in a film, but she had no plans to act in it herself. Acting is so tiring, and since she wasn't a professional, it would be great if she could just spend that time enjoying herself. Of course, she could find time to visit the set during filming, to see what the handsome men and beautiful women were like on and off stage, satisfying a curiosity that couldn't be fulfilled in the real world.
Crucially, this project, mentioned briefly in the original book, was actually made into a successful film, winning the annual domestic film award upon its release. As the second male lead in the film, Wei Xu also gained recognition for his acting prowess, receiving numerous film offers.
Under the indirect prodding of the others, Lin Ruoyan came clean: "You guys take care of the professional stuff, I'll just pay the bills."
Dai Qiu was a little skeptical and asked hurriedly, "What about advertising?"
Lin Ruoyan couldn't just think about herself. She immediately thought of her brother's group company, which had many industrial products. So she nodded and said, "Our Lin Group has many products. It would be great if we could incorporate some of them into the play. I've had someone make a product catalog for you to take a look at. If you can add them based on the plot needs, I won't force it."
This request is perfectly normal. The screenwriter had already left plenty of holes in the script for soft and hard advertising insertions. As long as the sponsor didn't interfere with the plot, the material advertisements that appeared in the scenes could certainly be cleverly inserted.
The director asked nervously again, "What about choosing roles?"
Lin Ruoyan thought to herself that she had finally waited for the other party to ask this question. It would not have been enough for her to just ask it herself. The other party was eager to ask and was waiting for her to speak. This feeling was really good.
When the director asked about casting, Wei Xu was the most nervous, aside from Dai Qiu, who had to support a whole crew of artists. That evening, when they chatted, Lin Ruoyan only asked about project details and said she wanted to invest in the project, but she never mentioned the actors.
Wei Xu felt that with his resume, having only appeared in obscure TV series, he probably wouldn't be able to land a major role. But as long as Boss Dai insisted, he would definitely be able to join the crew. He should find more roles during auditions. Since this drama wasn't suitable for a group of supporting roles, he could try other roles. He could play any actor, young or old.
Unexpectedly, Lin Ruoyan smiled slightly and said seriously, "Boss Dai is an expert in such a professional matter as casting, and the people under his company are good. Especially Wei Xu, his acting skills are worthy of the main role in this project."
Dai Qiu glanced at Wei Xu meaningfully, feeling a deep emotion. Sure enough, that night hadn't been in vain. Wei Xu had learned to curry favor with his financial backer. Boss Lin, clearly an amateur, must have invested in a film just to promote him. She'd made it clear that Wei Xu was guaranteed a second male lead role.
With Wei Xu's acting skills, he was definitely worthy of the role of the male lead. Dai Qiu then praised Wei Xu profusely and confirmed with the director on the spot that the male lead role would be given to Wei Xu.
Wei Xu's heart trembled, and every cell in his body wanted to cheer for joy. Although he liked the role of the second male lead when he read the script, and felt that some aspects of the setting were very similar to his own experience, he would definitely be able to play it well. But that was the second male lead in this play, and he thought it was unlikely that he would reach that level.
Could it be that Lin Ruoyan had already seen that he wanted to play this role? Was she willing to invest in this project for him? Then why didn't she tell him directly?
Lin Ruoyan didn't directly mention giving the male lead role to Wei Xu, knowing that Wei Xu wasn't a well-known actor yet. This film definitely needed well-known actors and actresses to lead the film in order to gain market share. Otherwise, the project budget wouldn't have to be so high, as most of that would be to pay for the well-known actors.
Because Lin Ruoyan is not a professional in the industry, she spoke very modestly. After emphasizing the key points, the focus of the conversation became how much funding was needed.
The director had already laid out the project's requirements, and having hit a wall numerous times before, he'd been forced to repeatedly lower the budget. When he tremblingly presented a 30 million yuan budget, he was prepared for it to be chopped in half. However, if someone could invest 10 or 20 million yuan, he could sell his car and house, borrow money, fill the gap, sign a few well-known actors, and then, once word got out, find more investment to keep the project afloat.
He was very optimistic about this movie and had a strong premonition that as long as the movie was filmed according to his idea, it would definitely be a hit, and box office and awards would not be a problem.
Lin Ruoyan vaguely remembered that the book said the film's production cost was over 50 million yuan, so why did the director only list a budget of 30 million? Perhaps that was just the initial cost, as the cost of hiring the actors depended on their bids, so that wasn't factored in yet?
She pretended to understand and nodded, "Then I'll give you 30 million this month. If it's not enough, come to me with a list of additional items."
Unlike real estate, she didn't dare to add money casually. After all, she really didn't understand it. She was more cautious and followed the director's instructions.
I didn't expect that not even bargaining was quite generous. The director suddenly felt that the heavy burden that had been weighing on his heart for so many days had been lifted by Miss Lin, and his future looked bright. Thirty million was so easy to get, and if it wasn't enough, he could pay more?
Miss Lin is simply a living Bodhisattva!
Isn't it just that Wei Xu is designated as the male second? A handsome man who has played in so many TV dramas and graduated from a professional school, just looking at his face is enough, and a little acting skills is the icing on the cake.
The prodigal system was now completely impressed: "Host, you're amazing! You gave Wei Xu thirty million with a simple gesture. And if it's not enough, you can add more? Doesn't this give us a stable way to spend money from now on?"
Lin Ruoyan said happily, "Of course. Look, Wei Xu accepted the huge sum of money I spent on him right away, right? He can't stop. At least until the filming is finished, he will still think well of me. I have a certain control over this project. If I want to visit the set later, it can be arranged at will. I have more reasons to contact him again."
She was just saying this on a whim to appease the prodigal system, but the prodigal system had already imagined that the vicious female supporting character would use this as an excuse to harass Wei Xu in the name of visiting the set. The system was so excited that it had great trust and admiration for its host.
Before lunch arrived, the real business was settled. No one had expected things to go so smoothly, and since no one had brought their contracts, they agreed to go to Boss Dai's company nearby after lunch and sign the contracts on the spot, so that everyone could truly feel at ease.
Lin Ruoyan also thought about transferring the 30 million immediately after signing the contract in the afternoon. Together with other miscellaneous expenses, one third of this month's target would be completed.
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