Chapter 7
Chapter 7
In a spacious conference room.
A character relationship diagram is posted on the white wall, and the shooting plan for each stage is written in marker on the blackboard on the other side.
There are also several mobile whiteboards in the corner for recording inspiration at any time.
The long solid wood tables were arranged into a rectangle with each table connected end to end, and each table had a nameplate with its name printed on it.
The director, screenwriter and main actors are all present.
The sunlight filtered through the dusty glass windows, casting shadows in the shape of Venetian blinds.
Cheng Cheng pushed the door open and saw a few people sitting in the conference room.
She recognized that the person in the center was director Miao Hongzhi, and the assistant director and several screenwriters had already arrived next to him.
This drama has four screenwriters, and the chief screenwriter is Bai Shasha, who has participated in many hit dramas. The lineup is luxurious.
When Miao Hongzhi saw Cheng Cheng coming in, he greeted her politely: "Cheng Cheng arrived really early, quite dedicated."
Cheng Cheng glanced at the half-drunk tea on the director's desk without leaving a trace:...I don't know about yin and yang.
Including the audition, this was only her second meeting with the director, so why did he speak like an old friend?
Cheng Cheng was a little confused, but she had to give the director face, so she immediately put on an expression of being flattered.
She exchanged a few words with everyone present. Since Cheng Cheng was the second female lead and not a small role in the crew, everyone was very friendly. Only the assistant director looked at Cheng Cheng with a strange look in his eyes.
Cheng Cheng:........I always feel chilly.
Soon, almost everyone was present.
The positions are arranged as follows: with the director at the center, on both sides are the heroine and hero, the second female lead and the second male lead, and so on.
Cheng Cheng sat next to Tong Ziqian on the right, and Jiang Wantong's seat on the left was always empty.
This is the first time Cheng Cheng and Tong Ziqian meet since their last unpleasant parting.
Tong Ziqian's face no longer had the previous smugness on it. When she saw Cheng Cheng, she avoided his gaze and did not say hello.
On the contrary, Cheng Cheng was very open and seemed to have forgotten the unpleasantness that had occurred before. He took the initiative to extend his right hand: "We are from the same company. We should take care of each other on the crew and work together as a team. I hope we can have a pleasant cooperation."
Tong Ziqian was stunned for a moment, then reached out her hand to shake his: "Yeah."
The two of them have officially reconciled. Cheng Cheng doesn't care what Tong Ziqian thinks, as long as Tong Ziqian doesn't cause her trouble in the next few months.
Cheng Cheng just wanted to complete the job well, didn't want to cause trouble, and didn't want to provoke disputes with others.
The reading is scheduled to start at 10 o'clock.
Twenty minutes later, Jiang Wantong finally arrived.
Cheng Cheng looked towards the door curiously. Jiang Wantong debuted as a child star at the age of fifteen. She has appeared in many well-known works and has always been a hot topic. She has always been the center of bloody storms. Her fans are also very strong, and she is a well-deserved traffic flower.
Jiang Wantong is indeed beautiful in person, but she is thinner than she looks on TV.
Her makeup was exquisite, even her hair exuded fragrance, and her long bright red diamond-studded nails were particularly eye-catching.
Jiang Wantong was late but did not look apologetic at all. She just nodded to the director and sat down in her seat without looking around.
......
Wow, this is quite a show of force, Cheng Cheng raised his eyebrows.
.......It seems that the rumors in the tabloids are not false.
Jiang Wantong has a bad temper and is not easy to mess with.
Cheng Cheng suddenly felt fortunate that he didn't have many scenes with her.
She plays the second female lead Qingyao, Ling Xiao's fiancée, and has many scenes with the male lead.
Cheng Cheng lowered his eyes and thought: Zi Yan is Yue Li's good friend. Judging from Jiang Wantong's temper, Tong Ziqian will have a hard time in the next few months.
Haha, thinking of this, she felt a lot more relaxed.
After Jiang Wantong sat down with a swagger, no one spoke, expressing their dissatisfaction with silence, and the atmosphere was a little stagnant for a moment.
The director chuckled dryly, as if he was already used to Jiang Wantong's behavior. He said good-naturedly, "Now that everyone is here, let's get started."
Cheng Cheng flipped open the script he'd brought with him, which was covered in markings made with various colored highlighters. Director Miao glanced at it and nodded inwardly.
Having been immersed in the circle for many years, he has a special way of dealing with people who are forced in through connections.
He didn't have high expectations for Cheng Cheng, as long as Cheng Cheng performed well, he would consider it a pass.
If it can be above the average level, it will be a pleasant surprise.
Under the director's guidance, the reading officially began.
.........
Finally, there is a free discussion session where the creators can freely express their opinions.
As the leading actress, everyone turned to look at Jiang Wantong, assuming that she was the first to propose.
She also took the lead, opened her beautiful red lips, and opened the notebook, which was covered with her handwriting and scribbles.
Jiang Wantong has very clear ideas, and the suggestions she puts forward are not fanciful but highly practical, and she has made modifications to some inappropriate details in the play.
Cheng Cheng: Although Jiang Wantong has a weird temper and is arrogant, she is indeed capable.
At the end, Jiang Wantong shook her long wavy hair and made one last suggestion.
"Director, I think this plot is unreasonable." Jiang Wantong said in a strong voice.
"On her way to escape, Yue Li kindly saved Ling Xiao, whose life was hanging by a thread..."
Jiang Wantong frowned, puzzled, and asked, "Yue Li was being chased from the Immortal Realm to the Mortal Realm. She's in a time of intense anxiety and extreme vigilance. How could she have so blindly rushed forward to rescue a man on the street?"
"Isn't she afraid that this is a trap set by her enemies? Isn't she afraid that this person will expose himself?"
"This paragraph is unreasonable and needs to be changed." Jiang Wantong said firmly.
"Uh, this..." The screenwriters looked at each other.
No one answered Jiang Wantong's question.
Chief screenwriters Bai Shasha and Jiang Wantong explained, "Wantong, we wrote this scene mainly to highlight Yueli's kindness and to set the stage for Ling Xiao to fall in love with her later on. Just ask yourself: Who could refuse a kind-hearted woman who risked her life to save them?"
“?” Jiang Wantong couldn’t understand.
She frowned and retorted, "First, kindness isn't enough to make others fall in love with you; ability is. Second, Yueli's underlying character isn't blind kindness, but resilience and wisdom. Rather than forcibly lowering her intelligence in order to establish a connection between Yueli and Lingxiao, the logic and integrity of her character are more important."
Bai Shasha advised: "Nowadays, audiences love to watch emotional dramas. Occasionally sacrificing logic will not be noticed. As long as it is sweet, no one will pay attention to those details."
"Sister Bai, I remember that this is a drama with a strong female lead. If the female lead's character can't even stand up, how can this drama still be watched?" Jiang Wantong was a little angry.
“........”
"Okay," Bai Shasha gave in, "How do you want to change it?"
"It could be changed to the story where Ling Xiao meets Yue Li and recognizes her extraordinaryness from the Yue Jue jade pendant she wears. He uses up the last bit of his spiritual power to cast a blood curse on her. From then on, the two of them share life and death. To protect herself, Yue Li is forced to save Ling Xiao, and the two embark on a journey of escape together, gradually developing feelings for each other as they spend time together."
After finishing speaking, Jiang Wantong shrugged: "Of course, this is just something I came up with on the spur of the moment. It may not be perfect. If you have any better suggestions, feel free to speak up."
Cheng Cheng now understood: the screenwriter wanted to force in mindless love scenes. There were too many love scenes between Yueli and Lingxiao, and Yueli's role as the heroine was weakened accordingly. Jiang Wantong wanted to protect her own interests, so she naturally disagreed.
This is why the argument just now happened.
Fortunately, the screenwriter compromised in the end, otherwise I really don’t know how to continue.
After Jiang Wantong finished speaking, it was Zhang Weizi's turn to speak.
Just now, when Jiang Wantong was arguing with the screenwriter, Zhang Weizi kept holding his chin and didn't say anything.
Who would have thought that his words would sound somewhat provocative?
Zhang Weizi has an angular appearance, which is exquisite yet dignified. His face is just right for photogenic ancient costume styling. At this moment, he said with a smile: "In that case, I also want to add some scenes... Uh, no, I also have a small opinion." He also stretched out his hand and gestured.
Cheng Cheng lowered his head to hide his expression, not daring to breathe: Is this guy... trying to compete with Jiang Wantong?
"...This part was too bland. What was the word? The logic behind their relationship wasn't complete."
"So I suggest adding a scene where Yueli is in danger and I rescue her heroically."
"Yue Li, as a tough, intelligent heroine—" Zhang Weizhi said in an exaggerated tone, "how could she fall in love with Ling Xiao for no reason? That's why adding more scenes is absolutely necessary."
"......What do the directors think?" Zhang Weizi crossed his legs, spread his hands and looked around.
Everyone:........
Before the director made any statement, Jiang Wantong became famous.
"I don't agree!" She slammed the script on the table.
The conference room suddenly became quiet.
Even Tong Ziqian, who was not on good terms with Cheng Cheng, forgot about the holiday and couldn't help but look at Cheng Cheng. The two exchanged a vague look.
As if to say: ....No way, they are starting to tear it apart already? ? ? ?
"Why don't you agree? I added my scenes and didn't change yours. Besides, didn't you change the scenes too?" Zhang Weizi was dissatisfied.
Jiang Wantong: "I was thinking about the overall situation, not to highlight myself. Hero saving the damsel in distress? What era are you still playing that game in? If you don't understand, just listen and stop pointing fingers."
"Jiang Wantong! Don't think you're great just because you have a few fans."
"Who do you think you are? You dare to teach me a lesson?" Jiang Wantong was furious. Zhang Weizi was a newcomer who had just entered the circle and had only played background roles in a few big screen films, but he dared to deliberately provoke her?
Seeing the situation about to get out of control, the director quickly reached out and said, "Everyone calm down! If you have anything to say, talk it over nicely. You can discuss it with Zhang Weizhi. And be careful with your words."
"Okay." Seeing the director trying to stop the fight, Zhang Weizhi, who had just stood up, returned to his seat and sat down lazily: "Anyway, I have to change my part. She changes hers and I change mine. We won't interfere with each other."
"I don't agree!" Jiang Wantong screamed and rushed out of her seat. She grabbed Zhang Weizi's revised page and tore it in half, and the pieces of paper fell to the ground.
A piece of scrap of paper fell on Cheng Cheng's head.
Cheng Cheng widened his eyes in surprise: ...Although it was Zhang Weizi who provoked her first, Jiang Wantong's emotions are too unstable. Doesn't she really need to see a doctor?
"How about... everyone calm down..." Cheng Cheng also tried to persuade them to stop fighting in a low voice. He wanted to reach out to pull Jiang Wantong, while using his other hand to secretly remove the scraps of paper from her head.
"............" Unfortunately, no one paid attention to her. Okay, Cheng Cheng withdrew her hand and pretended nothing happened.
Zhang Weizhi slammed the table and stood up: "Are you fucking sick?"
"Anyway, I don't agree with him adding more scenes, otherwise I won't act." Jiang Wantong said this, threw down the script and left.
Some people chased after him, while others stayed to comfort Zhang Weizi.
"I've never seen anyone so domineering. I thought the crew was run by her family." Zhang Weizi muttered.
"After such a quarrel, can we still start work the next day?" Cheng Cheng and Tong Ziqian looked at each other, feeling a little worried, as she still had scenes to shoot tomorrow.
Return to the hotel to rest at night.
Xiao Xia, who had gone out to get some information, came back and said, "I heard that the producer consulted with Jiang Wantong, and in the end, the two of them reached an agreement to each contribute their own share and not interfere with each other."
"This..." Cheng Cheng felt something was wrong.
On the eve of the first filming, Cheng Cheng still suffered from insomnia.
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