When Lin Xiaoxiao returned, she immediately called He Yue and Wang Li. As for Zhang Erdai, who called to join Feiyang Entertainment, she decisively rejected him.
"There's an unexpected project coming up, so my vacation might have to be postponed."
Before Lin Xiaoxiao could finish speaking, He Yue said directly, "I do."
He Yue realized she had answered too quickly, her face flushed, and she clenched her hands together shyly. These past few days, apart from her colleagues who worked in the office all day, everyone else in the company had gone to an island, and their social media feeds were full of beaches, seafood, and blue skies with white clouds, making her incredibly envious.
However, only she and Wang Li were on vacation at the company. She was from out of town and thought she would never be able to buy a house in this city before coming to Feiyang Entertainment. But in less than a year, thanks to the high bonuses from her previous two films, she actually had enough for a down payment on a small house.
So, He Yue now owns a home, but she still needs to save money for home renovations, so she hasn't gone on a trip. He Yue is worried that an unexpected situation might require her to support the variety show "Escape," and she's afraid of missing this opportunity for a publicly funded trip.
Wang Li himself is still at the company because he has nothing to do. In addition, the huge success of the previous suspense drama has made him reflect every day. When he suddenly has a task, he has no resistance to it.
Lin Xiaoxiao didn't mind. As long as the two of them were willing, that was fine. If it really didn't work out, she would just have to go outside to find someone. Anyway, she was quite experienced in that area.
"You need to write a war comedy, about twenty episodes long, filmed on an island, mainly in the remaining areas of the island from 'Escape'. The content should focus on naval battles, but it's best to keep the budget under five million."
He Yue wrote down the request without question.
Wang Li, standing to the side, was once again utterly dumbfounded. He simply couldn't understand Director Lin's thought process. A naval battle? And a budget of less than five million? How was that possible? As for a war comedy, he was completely dumbfounded.
Wang Li's lips trembled, "Director Lin, isn't five million a bit too little?"
Lin Xiaoxiao paused for a moment, then thought for a second, "It is indeed a bit too much. Let's reduce it a bit, to three million. As for the actors, Sheng Yiyi is the host and narrator for 'Escape,' and the filming schedule can be coordinated. I'll think about the other actors. You guys should submit the script first, and the filming schedule will be the same as before."
Wang Li was completely stunned. How could the budget be reduced? He had clearly asked for less! "Director Lin, wouldn't you like to reconsider...?"
Full of confidence, He Yue interrupted Wang Li's persuasion, "Director Lin, don't worry, I guarantee the mission will be completed on time!"
With teammates and leaders like these, Director Lin was probably just lucky the first few times. Wang Li is once again thinking of giving up.
Wang Li returned to his office, staring blankly at the computer screen, seemingly oblivious to the clattering of the keyboard beside him.
Wang Li pondered for a whole day but still couldn't come up with an idea. Looking at He Yue, who was almost finished writing the outline, he finally couldn't help but speak up.
"He Yue, have you figured it out yet?"
He Yue snapped out of her daze, "Didn't Director Lin make it very clear? As long as we write according to Director Lin's requirements, isn't that enough?"
"Huh? Did Director Lin explain it very clearly?! I didn't quite understand?"
He Yue, knowing that the other party had just joined the company, patiently said, "You've just arrived, so you need to get used to Director Lin's pace and think carefully about what he says. Director Lin said he wants a war comedy, and the war genre is specifically defined as naval warfare, and the filming location is on an island. Do you understand what I'm saying?"
Wang Li was confused again. Wasn't this just repeating Director Lin's words? How could he possibly understand that?
He Yue thought that since it had been explained so clearly, why couldn't he figure it out? But she still guided Wang Li, "It's filming on an island, and it's a naval battle. The budget is limited, so the scope is very small. Of course, you should write about the navy."
Wang Li was confused. "I know it's about the navy, but then what?"
"Can't you figure it out at all?"
He Yue sighed, but still patiently explained, "If the navy were to write battle scenes, let alone whether they could borrow submarines, even if they could, the cost would definitely exceed the budget. Therefore, Director Lin's budget and requirements have already defined the main characters and scenes of the drama. The main characters are naval officers who are still studying at the naval academy and are about to graduate and go to the battlefield."
Following He Yue's train of thought, Wang Li suddenly realized and exclaimed, "So that's what Director Lin meant! The naval academy students' scenes are filmed in the buildings on the island, and the island has already been leased. The biggest expense will be on the actors. If you calculate it that way, three million is more than enough. Sister He, I'll need your guidance in the future; I'm really struggling to figure this out."
He Yue smiled kindly, "No problem, given enough time, you'll understand without me explaining. My outline is almost done, now let's break it down into parts and start writing. Let's finish it quickly so we can go to the island and have some fun, hehe."
Wang Li looked at He Yue with admiration, ignoring the fact that they were going out to play. He only wanted to learn more from He Yue so that he could save enough money to film a good suspense drama in the future.
On the other side, Lin Xiaoxiao, after receiving the script and the required actors, didn't look at the details about their personalities or traits, but instead chose to blindly select actors. However, after auditioning many actors, she felt that their acting skills were all too good.
The actor, with no background or props, portrayed a soldier sacrificing his life for his country, moving her to tears. But after the initial emotional impact, she immediately passed on him. Given that level of emotional impact, even if the script were utterly terrible, his acting could probably salvage it.
She watched for several days, and none of the actors were particularly bad. Even if she picked the best among the worst, she still couldn't find enough people to go around.
Just as Lin Xiaoxiao was at her wit's end, Secretary Zhao came in to report, "Director Lin, several popular young actors, including He Xiaohua, want a role, but I've turned them all down..."
Lin Xiaoxiao quickly interrupted, "Wait, leave the information for me to look at, don't rush to refuse."
But then she suddenly remembered that the salaries of popular young male and female actors were probably not low, and her happy mood plummeted again. "Are their salaries very expensive?"
Secretary Zhao paused for a moment, then pulled out a few documents from the file. "These individuals are willing to lower their fees to participate, but they require that they be the lead actors."
Lin Xiaoxiao took the information of these people. These people were very familiar. Weren't they the regulars of the bloggers who complained about her a while ago? This one is the representative of acting with exaggerated eyebrows and a blank expression. This one is the representative of acting greasy and trying to look cool. This one is even more amazing. His expression is stiff. He is the character who is more beautiful than the female lead in the drama.
That's really something. And look at these actresses who volunteered to lower their prices: some are juggling multiple projects, some have distorted features, and some can't even cry.
Who says these people in her team aren't good actors? They're all her hidden gems!
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