Becoming a Movie Star, System Only Finished Loading After Ten Years
Chapter 86 - 85: It’s Simply Not an Act (Requesting Monthly Tickets)

Chapter 86: Chapter 85: It’s Simply Not an Act (Requesting Monthly Tickets)

"What are you afraid of? If you’re upright, you won’t fear a crooked shadow."

Ye Weimin was amused by Qi Hao’s sneaky appearance.

"You came to find me in the middle of the night, how upright can you be."

Qi Hao was speechless, this guy had messed up today’s training opportunity.

This week he could only enjoy three sessions of eight hours each.

Are people from Xiangjiang all so impatient?

Well, you can make a movie in a week or two; it seems the more developed the economy, the faster the pace.

Of course, Xiangjiang’s economy has been slowing down these past few years.

"Isn’t it just because I’m worried? You’re like a scumbag, neither rejecting nor accepting me, making me feel quite uncomfortable."

Ye Weimin felt it wasn’t his fault.

"Damn." Qi Hao was trembling with anger at this messy analogy.

"Hey, I gave you the script yesterday, have you finished reading it? Hurry up and make a decision. To be blunt, if you’re really not interested, let me quickly find someone else to try."

Ye Weimin didn’t believe he couldn’t find investors.

Even if Chen Kexin didn’t help, he had some connections.

At most, he’d face some interference during production.

"I finished reading the script, it’s not bad, just has a few minor issues."

Qi Hao has a photographic memory, going through a script is a half-hour task.

Ye Weimin’s Spring Festival script was created with Wen Jun and a group of young writers.

Wen Jun is an experienced producer and planner, another major agent besides Chen Kexin.

"Sunny Days" was something he helped find funding for.

He was involved in producing and writing for "Triad," "Hero of China," among others.

Compared to Chen Kexin, he specializes in making films with relatively little money.

Ye Weimin said if Qi Hao couldn’t invest, he might look for others, namely Wen Jun.

"What’s the issue?"

Ye Weimin was not worried at all; he was confident in the script.

He didn’t see any problems, and Qi Hao, as an actor, would likely only find some trivial issues.

"I think it’s too similar to several foreign films, ’Have a Smooth Journey,’ ’Due Date,’ ’True Love in Adversity,’ and maybe others, but my exposure is somewhat limited."

Qi Hao was straightforward, not holding back at all.

He was implying the script had plagiarism concerns.

In the eyes of seasoned veterans, such plagiarism didn’t count as much, but Qi Hao was still a rookie and found it hard to accept.

"Haha, your exposure isn’t limited at all, it’s just borrowed from these three."

Ye Weimin chuckled.

"Seems like quite a bit of borrowing."

Qi Hao mumbled.

"Don’t worry, I’ll get the writers to revise it so the crew won’t face a plagiarism lawsuit."

Ye Weimin was a bit annoyed, but understood Qi Hao’s youthful vigor.

He could only pressure the writers further.

"Thank you, best to finish revisions before the funds come through."

Qi Hao had acted in plagiarized films before and didn’t have such high moral scruples; he just didn’t want trouble.

The higher one climbs, the more one cherishes their reputation.

"Alright, alright, but the traces of borrowing can’t be completely erased; you know how it is in our industry."

If Ye Weimin said it could be completely removed, that would be deception indeed.

Hmm, if making guarantees to ordinary coal bosses, he might dare to fool them.

Of course, ordinary coal bosses wouldn’t notice the plagiarism.

"There’s another thing: the script is written too intricately. In my experience, it definitely can’t be edited so much."

But, as they say, unpleasant truths should be told ahead.

Qi Hao’s current role was exactly that, which was also his value to the coal bosses.

Lengthiness means high costs.

Editing three hours down to ninety minutes would be somewhat wasteful.

Moreover, the script Ye Weimin gave him seemed to be able to make a film over five hours.

Some Xiangjiang filmmakers enjoy doing this.

Directors can cut two completely different films.

Ye Weimin was taken aback; he was a professional director but hadn’t considered this issue.

He was focused on preparations at this stage.

Damn, Qi Hao isn’t simple.

From now on, he wouldn’t underestimate Qi Hao.

He sincerely said, "Don’t worry about the script, I’ll have them revise it quickly for you to see."

"By the way, who do you plan to cast?" Qi Hao wasn’t overly proud.

It seemed like the person who impressed Ye Weimin wasn’t himself.

"You!"

Upon hearing the question, Ye Weimin didn’t hesitate to answer.

The other reason for reaching out to Qi Hao was that he wanted Qi Hao to star.

The four young actors, once again an emperor, now backed by capital, suddenly had both money and people all in place.

"What about the two leads?"

Qi Hao reminded him.

"You’re asking like that, surely you have someone in mind to recommend, right?"

Ye Weimin’s eyes lit up, as this was exactly the problem they were currently fretting over.

There are plenty of comedy actors, and plenty of rural actors, but honestly not many who can play a rural youth in a comedy role.

He was even considering casting someone like Xiaoshenyang, an actor coming from a grassroots background in sketch comedy.

He hadn’t thought Qi Hao had the knack for casting before.

But now he wanted to hear Qi Hao’s opinion.

"How about Wang Baoqiang?" Of course, Qi Hao recommended his friend.

Around 2000 or so, Wang Baoqiang, similar to Qi Hao, also went to the capital at the age of 16 to make a career.

He later appeared in works like "Blind Shaft" and "There Are No Thieves in the World," and truly gained fame with "Soldier Assault."

However, Wang Baoqiang’s on-screen persona has always been that of an honest and simple type.

The audience loves to call him "Shagen."

Only Qi Hao knows he’s not foolish, otherwise, he wouldn’t qualify to be his friend.

He seldom befriends people more naive than himself.

"Wang Baoqiang? Shagen? He acts in comedies?" Of course, Ye Weimin knew Wang Baoqiang too.

"There Are No Thieves in the World" was quite a hit, and Wang Baoqiang’s portrayal of a fool in it was extremely convincing, as if it wasn’t an act.

Moreover, Wang Baoqiang also won the Best Newcomer award at the Golden Horse Awards through "Blind Shaft."

He was quite well-known around Xiangjiang as well.

Hmm, the character in "Blind Shaft," that was another example of playing a fool convincingly.

"I’m very familiar with him; I believe he is a rare comedy genius who won’t be buried."

Wang Baoqiang might appear a bit reserved and self-conscious around strangers.

But once he gets to know them well, he reveals a very wild side.

Especially when he’s had a bit too much to drink.

Alas, in the past two years, both Qi Hao and he have gained fame, with a pile of engagements to attend, leaving less and less chance for them to drink together.

"Alright, let’s give it a try then."

The investors wanted to insert people into the project, what could Ye Weimin say really.

Besides, he trusted that Qi Hao wouldn’t mess around.

After all, Qi Hao had secured the investment for this movie and needed to answer to the boss behind him.

"Don’t worry, I wouldn’t recommend an actor I’m not familiar with. You still haven’t mentioned how much money you need to shoot this film?" Qi Hao asked.

"You haven’t said how much salary you two want yet?"

Ye Weimin asked with a bitter smile.

Both are basically first-tier actors, and since "Soldier Assault", Wang Baoqiang wasn’t cheap anymore.

At most, they could give a friendship price.

Even so, even a friendship price would cost at least one or two million.

If estimating four million, then the movie’s cost might be around ten million.

With this kind of comedy film, Ye Weimin wasn’t confident about achieving a 30 million box office.

"How about this: Wang Baoqiang and I both won’t take any salary, just give us each 15% of the film shares, and for the remaining 70%, Little Fatty Sheep invests five million, can we get it made?"

Qi Hao, having been in the industry for ten years, was already a connoisseur.

Moreover, to get into the role of an investor, he had been reviewing a lot of relevant data recently.

"Roughly... of course, it can be done."

Ye Weimin originally planned to find one famous actor and one less famous, then lure them with lines like "help you transition."

The total budget was roughly around 7 million as well.

Now with 5 million making up 70%, it also approximates a total budget of 7 million.

Oh boy, that’s pretty accurately calculated, huh.

Ye Weimin found himself a bit helpless.

As expected, coal bosses are easy to deal with, but once they have a professional representative, there’s really no way around it.

The two then discussed various details and finalized the cooperation plan.

After Ye Weimin left, Qi Hao synchronized the information in the QQ group.

The proposals he gave while chatting with Ye Weimin just now obviously weren’t calculated by him alone.

There was a small but exceedingly professional team behind him.

Among them was his assistant Yang Liu.

Yang Liu had recently joined Qi Hao Studio, but she wasn’t excluded just because she was new.

This girl’s indomitable spirit won everyone’s respect.

In the group were old foxes like Old Tian, Zhanqi Laiden, and Yao Weihong, whether Yang Liu was genuine or deeply scheming had long been figured out.

During the accounting process of projects "Wait and See (The Tale of Two Donkeys)" and "Lost on Journey," she displayed quite impressive talent.

Old Tian seemed to have intentions to develop her towards being a producer.

By then, she might be asked to work as his assistant.

Qi Hao suspected that scoundrel had ulterior motives.

But he didn’t have any evidence.

Nonetheless, this also meant he would have to recruit a new assistant again.