I’m a Director, I’m Not Bad

Chapter 71 069. Once upon a time, cars and horses, mail was very slow, and I only loved one person in my life.

After Xu Xin entered the restaurant, Zhang Wu happened to be ordering food.

Originally, the two of them wanted to finish it off with a bowl of wontons and a meatloaf, but now they must order a few dishes.

Seeing this, Xu Xin stood next to Zhang Wu and asked:

"Director Zhang, why don't we go back to the hotel and get a private room..."

"Why go to the hotel?"

Zhang Wu smiled and shook his head:

"Xiao Xu, the food in the hotel is the same. You have to find the taste of life in small local restaurants like this, understand? You may not understand it now...Young people can understand it. But when you get to our place I understood it when I got older. It doesn’t really matter what you eat, what matters is who you eat with..."

"That's...ok."

Xu Xin nodded as if he understood, and then Zhang Wu ordered two cold dishes, four hot dishes, and a bottle of Jinhua's local Jinhuafu rice wine, and took Xu Xin into the small private room.

"Lao Shang, we won't drink much today. The three of us will just have a bottle of rice wine and drink slowly while chatting, okay?"

Shang Jing nodded:

"No problem... You really can't drink too much. My stomach has been bad these days. I still have a stomachache today... It's good to drink some rice wine to nourish my stomach. Speaking of which, if it wasn't for the stomachache that made me late to pick up my luggage, I guess Xiao Xu You won’t get the wrong luggage, and we can’t touch it.”

While Xu Xin was pouring tea, Zhang Wu laughed when he heard this:

"Haha, I asked Xiao Xu to offer me a drink at that moment. This is the fate he brought about."

Xu Xin smiled politely and quickly shook his head:

"No, no, no, I was too reckless this time."

"Eh~"

Zhang Wu waved his hand:

"As I said, good things come hard... Lao Shang, let me tell you."

Pointing at Xu Xin, he said:

"Don't look at Xiao Xu because he is young, but he has brains. At present, when we are screening the designs for the Olympic torch, this guy's design has already entered the re-evaluation. Think about it, there are hundreds of copies, and only ten of them can enter the re-evaluation, and he is one of them. one."

"Oh~"

Shang Jing's face was full of surprise:

"Okay. Are the results available?"

"not yet."

Xu Xin quickly shook his head:

"Director Shang, don't listen to Director Zhang's praise of me... In fact, it was Director Zhang and the others who found the right idea, and I figured it out. If it weren't for Director Zhang's creativity, I would have done it on my own. It’s basically impossible to come out like this.”

"Hahahaha~"

Zhang Wu smiled even happier and said to Shang Jing:

"How about it, what I said just now is right, this child can talk."

After speaking, he turned and looked at Xu Xin:

"However, Xiao Xu, you can't be so polite in everything. Young people must be energetic and enterprising, understand? You must show your confidence."

"Well……"

Hearing this, Xu Xin suddenly nodded:

"Well, I'm really awesome!"

"...Hahahahahaha~ you kid~"

Zhang Wu smiled even happier.

At this time, the cold dishes were served, along with the bottle of Jinhua wine.

Xu Xin stood up, studied the wine bottle, opened the lid with some fiddling, and started pouring wine for the three of them.

Three glasses of Oriental whiskey quickly filled the entire private room with the aroma of wine.

Zhang Wu took a glass of his own and asked curiously:

"Lao Shang, why did you come to Hengdian this time?"

Shang Jing did not hide it, but suddenly sighed:

"well……"

Zhang Wu was stunned:

"what happened?"

"I'm here to attract investment."

He shook his head and pointed at the script he put aside:

"Invite investment in this drama."

Zhang Wu didn’t say he wanted to read the script, but he was just a little confused:

"You are a national first-class director, and you still want to attract investment? Don't mention anything else, just the "Story of the Cooking Class" is enough, right?"

When Xu Xin heard this...

Good guy.

First-level director?

etc……

"The Story of the Cooking Class"?

Xu Xin's eyes widened as he realized who this was.

It's him! ?

"The Story of the Cooking Class", have you seen it?

I must have seen it.

Xiao Mao, Shuai Hu, Squad Leader Hong, Da Zhou, Xiao Jiang, Lao Gao...

He can name these people easily.

All kinds of fun pictures also appear in my mind like a quick glance at the flowers.

This movie is fun and amusing, and it is the first military-themed sitcom. Xu Xin was watching it at the beginning.

And the director appeared in front of him at this moment?

Zhang Wu and Shang Jing didn't know Xu Xin's surprise, but Shang Jing smiled bitterly after hearing Zhang Wu's question:

"After the filming of "City" and "Healthy Express" were completed, the results were not very good. When the investors I knew heard that I was going to create a martial arts melodrama, it would be a Zhanghui type... They were not willing to continue casting, so they asked me to send the script and read it. After they found that it was different from the kind of martial arts masters and heroes they thought, they felt that the risk was too high... After all, those two dramas... They all lost money. So I don’t want to invest anymore.”

As he spoke, he put his hand on the wine glass:

"No, I asked a few more people. There was a film and television company here in Hengdian who wanted to take a look, so I came over."

Zhang Wu's brows also wrinkled.

In the film and television industry, investment has always been the most important part.

There is no doubt about this.

Every investment means risks, and at the same time, these risks also mean high returns or no gains.

If we want to talk about these things in detail, there will be a lot to say.

Not to mention anything else, even Zhang Yimou's films were ignored, let alone other people's films.

It can be said that every investment is a big gamble, especially in the film and television industry. Hundreds or tens of millions of investments can easily be made. If you are not careful, it may be in vain. Therefore, a director in the investment industry starts from It's actually very common to be high-spirited and end up being ignored after a few consecutive hits.

For ordinary people, it is not difficult to remember a director.

Just remember the work for which he became famous.

Moreover, as long as the other party's work enters their hearts, the audience's tolerance for the director will be very high.

As long as you're not the kind of person who starts raking in money after becoming famous, then it doesn't matter even if one or two movies are poorly received at the box office.

Once it's filmed, the audience will buy it.

Because I like the things the other person has photographed.

But investing is different.

Investors are much stricter in reviewing a director's investment requirements.

They are not like the audience, who have a very high tolerance for a certain director and think it doesn't matter if they lose one film or two.

Just kidding?

Invest tens of millions and let you fool around with the money?

impossible things.

One failure may be okay, but two failures are basically the limit of tolerance.

Three failures... As the saying goes, three times is not enough.

In fact, you can hear it from Shang Jing's words.

He is obviously the great director who made "Story of the Cooking Class", but after experiencing the disastrous investment failure of two sitcoms, the investors who were originally close to him have now closed their doors to him.

After hearing his words, before Zhang Wu opened his mouth, Shang Jing seemed to have started talking and continued:

"But I really feel that..."City" and "Healthy Express" are like two proposition compositions. More and more people are filming sitcoms now, and the quality is also plummeting... Although last year's "Home" "Having Children" is very popular, but looking at the entire industry, we can all see that this industry is about to be ruined. The value is about to be squeezed out...

Therefore, it is normal for investors not to recognize it. But in the final analysis, we are all old friends. They did not approve of my script for "Wulin Gaiden". Instead, they wanted me to remake the second part of "The Story of the Cooking Class". They can vote for that one, but they won’t vote for this one...I’m quite angry..."

Speaking of this, Shang Jing suddenly stopped talking.

He raised his head, looked at Zhang Wu and said with a forced smile:

"Haha, look at me... Today is not the right time to talk about this... Come on, Lao Zhang, we haven't seen each other in a few years, let's go first and then start using chopsticks, right?"

"……good."

Zhang Wu nodded, understood what his old classmate meant, and also raised his cup:

"But let's agree first, let's just have this bottle to reminisce about old times. It's not that I can't bear to part with this wine, but your stomach and intestines are not feeling well today, and I have to get up early to get busy tomorrow..."

"It's okay, I understand. It doesn't matter how much you drink. I'm happy to meet you here. Come on."

"Come on, come on, Xiao Xu."

"Hey, okay, Director Shang, please~"

Xu Xin picked up the cup, held it very low, touched the two of them, and took a sip of the mellow rice wine, but his eyes fell on the script placed on the table next to him.

After thinking for a while, he tentatively said:

"Director Shang...can I read this story? Don't worry, I just want to read it..."

"fine."

If it were anyone else, Shang Jing would definitely disagree.

But Zhang Wu's admiration for this young man in his words just now was beyond words.

I must give face to my old classmates.

What's more... he also felt that this young man was quite down-to-earth.

So after handing over the script, he said:

"Look, we are chatting."

"well, thanks."

Xu Xin took it politely and turned to the first page of the script.

"Chapter 1: Heroine Guo angrily smashes up Tongfu Store, shopkeeper Tong makes a clever trick and gets lost."...

…

"It's hard to do well in the industry now. Lao Zhang."

In the smoke-filled box, Shang Jing lit a cigarette and sighed:

"I don't know why, but the salaries of even slightly famous actors are ridiculously high now. Think about it, how much was the investment in "Story of the Cooking Class"? One million! 30 episodes of the TV series, only one million investment It just came down... Although it was inseparable from the support of our army, I actually filmed it with only one million. In 2002, one million. But now? How many years have passed? I got this script. After that, I asked someone to make an estimate... including the venue rental, costumes, props, etc., including the full remuneration of the actors I selected, it came to tens of thousands, don't you think it's scary?"

"The "Cooking Class" was equipment provided by the army at that time, so you must have spent less."

"But my "City" and "Health" only cost a few million. Now if I ask... the cost of any indoor studio is ridiculously high... That's it, let me tell you, Sha Yi Their salaries are very low... They also understand my difficulties. If it were based on the normal market price and no one else mentioned it, I would have to give Sha Yi at least 4,000 to 5,000 per episode. They asked for two thousand..."

In fact, many people here have a misunderstanding. They think that the reason why filming movies and TV series is so expensive is mainly because of actors' remuneration and so on.

Not actually accurate.

Why is the production of a film and television work called "burning money"? The main reason is that as long as the crew starts filming, its expenses will continue to be incurred.

It costs money to build the scenery, make props, make up and bags, and rent the venue, which is a huge expense.

Add in the crew's eating, drinking and eating... Let's take the simplest example.

Filming a martial arts scene.

Regardless of the actor's salary, he came to the set alone and put on makeup first.

The price of a makeup artist is the most common and common, ranging from 150 to 200 per day. This is still the lowest level of makeup artist.

There are well-known ones that make one thousand, two thousand, or even tens of thousands a day.

I put on my makeup and started getting dressed.

An ordinary piece of ancient clothing, the most common type of clothing worn by extras, would cost one or two hundred pieces, while clothing with a little bit of uniqueness could easily cost thousands.

Then there are the props that actors need, such as weapons.

Ordinary swords are fine and can be rented. But those made individually cost thousands of dollars.

In other words, when an actor arrives on the set and hasn't started yet, he may have already spent thousands or even thousands of dollars on these three things.

And this money is just for one person.

What about the extras?

With an extra cast of eighty, does your protagonist want to walk on the street? Do we need any guards, handymen, maids, etc. in the mansion?

There may not be any specific scenes in the camera, and the audience may not even care, but they are real people.

Just count.

One person, including lunch and clothing rental, plus the supplementary salary, is worth at least 150 yuan.

Ten people are one thousand and five.

One thousand and five thousand for one scene, plus the actors’ gadgets, that’s two to three thousand that may be gone.

What if we add scenery?

For example, in an inn scene, a table might cost 500 to 600 yuan, and a wine jar, several props and fake dishes would cost 100 yuan to rent.

If the set is not a ready-made set, it would be more expensive to build it.

Construction requires workers, materials, and decoration... Even in rural areas, it costs tens of thousands to build a new house.

Adding to the decoration and the like, it might cost tens of thousands to go out.

Therefore, at first glance, you can’t imagine where the money is spent in the movie, but when you pay careful attention, every minute and every second in the shot smells like money.

This is what Shang Jing can't adapt to now.

It's not that the money was too low, but when he laid out the script of the martial arts melodrama that Xu Xin had been watching for a long time, he realized that he needed to build a background, and the construction cost of an inn with a solid wood main structure was an astronomical figure.

Then Fu Hua said, the wages of the team members, the actors' remuneration, the rental of the venue, the wear and tear of lighting and equipment... and the estimated shooting time...

Inside and out, the budget suddenly reached eight figures, which made him, a director who shot a sitcom with only one million, a little bit unacceptable.

In addition to the fact that people didn't approve of him when he took this investment out, in addition to reminiscing about old times at the beginning, when he turned to matters within the industry again, he couldn't help but vomit his bitterness.

In contrast, people like Zhang Wu who use state resources to shoot don't have so much to worry about.

Everything he arranges is approved by the state, and the people he hires are all handled by the higher authorities. As a director, all he needs to do is shoot.

He has been in the system all his life, so although he comforts his old classmate and is worried about him in his heart, he is actually unable to experience it personally and empathize with it.

I want to help, but I can't.

After all, he doesn’t even have 10 million...

In the end there was only a bowl of wontons and a meatloaf.

After drinking all the wine, together with Xu Xin who returned the script to Shang Jing, the three of them finished their meals and walked back at the same time.

And along the way, Xu Xin was replaying the plots of the episodes he just watched over and over again in his mind.

The more I look at it, the more I like it.

But he didn't have much to say about himself, such as "I want to star" or something like that.

First, he is a director, not an actor.

Second, the Olympic Games is obviously much more important than a TV series.

The final result was that the two drunk people ended up in the same room.

Obviously, the reminiscing between classmates is not over yet.

After Xu Xin returned to his house, he sent a message to Yang Mi:

"Back to the hotel?"

Ten minutes ago, Yang Mi sent him a message, telling him "It's over! I didn't eat at night and I'm very hungry.".

Therefore, when she came out of the restaurant, Xu Xin packed two Nanma meat patties for her.

Warm, now in front of him.

…

On the minibus.

The girl who hadn't had time to take off her makeup looked tired.

He rested his head on the glass of the minibus and ignored the buzzing vibrations in his head. Instead, he yawned loudly.

She is very tired.

My knees are sore.

Still very hungry.

I probably won’t be able to eat millet porridge tonight.

Because now she just wants to go back to the hotel, cook some seafood batter, and then go to sleep.

I have long lost the energy I had during dinner time in the evening.

At this time, she felt the vibration of her mobile phone in her pocket, and took it out to take a look...

If it had been anyone else, she might not have replied.

But after discovering that it was Xu Xin, her mood recovered a little.

"Ha~~Hmm."

She covered her mouth and yawned again. After seeing this message, she typed a reply:

"Well, in the car. By the way, are you very free today?"

After sending it, she put down her phone and yawned lazily again.

She likes chatting with Xu Xin.

It’s not that the other person is so rich, wants to cling to the other person, or anything else.

But it is purely a feeling.

One kind makes you feel particularly relaxed and comfortable when chatting with the other person. I particularly like that feeling.

First of all, the opponent is of the opposite sex, so there is no defensive strategy to steal the role and intrigue.

Secondly, if the other party is rich, they won’t do anything for themselves.

Besides...he is very handsome.

Who stipulates that only men can like beautiful women and women can't like handsome men?

I just haven't discovered it before.

In the past, she really thought Xu Xin was quite tacky, but ever since he changed his hairstyle to a simple short haircut, she found his clean appearance particularly pleasing to her eyes.

If they are pleasing to the eye, the relationship will be close.

This is especially true when you come to Hengdian, where you are unfamiliar with your life, and your soul needs a place of sustenance.

And, most importantly...

She thinks Xu Xin is a person who has his own ideas.

She can get a lot of inspiration from each other.

For example, my current understanding of the role of Guo Xiang... Didn't Guo Degang say, something... People who are surrounded by virtuous people should be proud of themselves.

That's probably what it means.

Isn't it normal to have such a friend who is extremely comfortable to get along with and who can also get a lot of inspiration from each other... I contact him every day.

right?

Therefore, she likes chatting with each other.

Even if the two of them only called once or twice... text messages would often take a long time to be answered.

But Yang Mi felt that it was precisely this way of communication that would only respond after a while. After gradually getting used to it, she suddenly fell in love with it.

When she was in junior high school, she read a poem in a girl's magazine written by her classmates.

It was written by a poet named "Mu Xin".

It's called "Once Upon a Time Slow."

There is a passage in it that she particularly likes:

“The sun used to become slower,

Cars, horses, and mail are all slow,

There is only enough time to love one person in a lifetime. "

At that time, she was fascinated by the emotion revealed between the lines of the poet's words.

I even imitated it myself.

The Audition's ID "ㄟщμLove Slowly" was also chosen because of this poem.

She even tried to have pen pals in high school.

It's a pity...the other party's letter was too ugly to read.

Not having a "slow" pen pal became a pity in her youth.

But now I suddenly found that feeling.

If I send you a message, you may not reply immediately because you are busy.

But you are done, as long as you see my letter, you will definitely reply.

Cars and horses are slow, letters are slow, it doesn’t matter.

The important thing is that no matter how slow he is, he will reply.

enough.

Why does it have to be fast?

Can't you take your time?

Therefore, the expectation before the other party replies has become a very beautiful expectation and adjustment in work and life.

She was very happy.

And the occasional continuous chat is like that distant friend suddenly coming to visit your home.

The trust of being able to speak freely without worrying about being ashamed to say certain words or having her secrets leaked gave her an invisible sense of security.

I like it more and more.

"Buzz."

At this time, the vibration interrupted her thoughts.

"It's very leisurely."

"Are you done with work?"

"No, let's take a break... Can I tell you a secret?"

In an instant, the girl became energetic:

"What secret? Tell me!"

"Actually, I'm in Hengdian, right at the entrance of the Guomao Building, waiting to bring you to your room with red dates and millet porridge."

"???? Do you think I'm a fool?"

The girl couldn't help laughing.

Still in Hengdian?

Are you not flying?

Then I saw the other party’s reply:

"No, I'm really at the Hengdian International Trade Center."

"Brother, that's called Guomao Building. If you were in front of my hotel, would you misunderstand that word?"

"Oh, yes, it's the China World Tower."

"Oh, I'm so touched~ Did you come here to express my condolences because you saw how hard I was working?"

"Yes, I made porridge for you and prepared food for you."

"That's it. I've just gotten off the plane and arrived in Yanjing."

"...Are you fooling me? It was after six o'clock and you said you were on the set. Did you take the Sky Monkey back to Yanjing?"

"Then you fooled a fool? You said you were working during the day, and now you tell me you are in Hengdian? If I didn't tell you the name of the hotel, you wouldn't even be able to tell me where I live!"

"..."

Seeing the row of "dots" in the other party's reply, Yang Mi felt even happier.

"I'm in Yanjing, what should I do? Why don't you come to the airport to pick me up."

"Do you think I would believe you were at the airport?"

"Then do you think I will believe that you are in Hengdian?"

"I'm really in Hengdian."

"Then I am really in Yanjing."

"I'm on the steps next to the guard box at the entrance of the Guomao Tower Hotel. I'm holding millet porridge cooked for you and two meatloaf waiting for you."

"Hahaha, then tell me, where does the gate of the guard box open?"

"...I just got here, and I can't tell the difference between north, south, east, and west. How do I know where to drive? Drive outward!"

"Hahahahaha~ Yes, yes, that's right, it opens outwards. Then just wait for me, I'll be there soon. Let's meet and chat later. Hahahaha~"

"Okay, keep your eyes open. Don't lose sight of me or miss me."

"Don't worry, our eyes add up to 3.0. Hahahaha~"

After replying to this message, Xu Xin did not reply to her again.

And looking at the prosperity of the urban area, the girl was also very happy. Although I know that the other party is lying to me again, it is very comfortable to be able to drive away fatigue with these joys at night.

Well, it’s decided.

I won’t eat instant noodles for a while.

When I got off the car, I went to buy two meat pies to eat!

Looking at the hotel getting closer and closer, the girl swallowed.

So hungry...

"Gu Gu Gu Gu~"

I'm so hungry that my stomach is growling.

Pass the penultimate traffic light intersection.

"Goooooooooo~"

Bear with it for a while, bear with it for a while... Well, I will buy some fried skewers later.

Passed the last intersection.

The minibus slowed down.

Arrived at the hotel entrance.

I didn't turn in. This was originally a shuttle bus for the crew. At this moment, other crew members were also back inside. It might not be easy to get out after entering the minibus.

I mean, you're not a big-name actor, so why should I put you on the reception desk of the hotel?

At the door, get off.

Yang Mi got out of the car followed by the crew members who also looked tired.

Then he had to rush to the other side of the road.

But just as she was about to leave, something happened, and she glanced at the hotel booth.

I don’t know if it’s because of Xu Xin’s text message or something else...

But after taking a look, she suddenly stopped in her tracks.

"...?"

When he saw clearly the man sitting on the steps, holding a stew pot in one hand and a plastic bag in the other, an idea suddenly came to his mind.

Why does this person... look so familiar?

Then he met a pair of extremely familiar eyes.

Those eyes were full of narrow smiles, as if a prank had been successfully played.

He motioned to himself with the stew pot in his hand.

He opened his mouth and said:

"Yo? Changed your hairstyle?...Hurry up, red date millet porridge, Nanma meat pie. I'll be bitten by mosquitoes while I wait for you!"

"...???"

Who was he talking to?

I?

Why does this person look so familiar?

It seems to be Xu Xin.

Why are they so similar...

How could it be Xu Xin?

impossible.

Isn't he in Yanjing?

How could it appear here?

The hallucination must be caused by hunger!

Instinctively, the girl closed her eyes, squeezed hard... and then opened them again.

But that person... is still sitting there.

He winked at himself with a smile on his face...

In an instant, a huge shock filled the girl's emotions, forcing her to say in a tone of surprise and disbelief:

"Xu Xin!????"

Why is he here! ! ! ! ! ! !

Shock, absurdity, joy, excitement... and a hint of shyness made her really unable to tell whether this was reality or a dream.