I am a Big Player
Chapter 540 - 534. Road of Life and Death, Embarking Again (Second Update)_1

Chapter 540: 534. Road of Life and Death, Embarking Again (Second Update)_1

Since Zhang Ming had chosen Chen Da to play the role once portrayed by Guo Tao as Bao Shihong, Ren He stopped worrying about this matter.

Regarding whether he still needed to attend classes during the shooting period, Chen Da expressed evasively, "Society itself is a big school, isn’t attending school all about preparing to enter the real world? Now that I have the opportunity to accumulate experience in this larger school, there is no need to return to the campus for now, but I will have to go back after filming."

Ren He wasn’t brimming with overconfidence either, respecting one’s teachers is important, after all. He consistently referred to them as Mr. Chen and even gave Li Shuaizhen and others meaningful glances. If not now, then when was the right time to curry favor?

Li Shuaizhen felt a little emotional as well. Damn, he used to be so envious of Sun Yu, that guy had the chance to approach all the teachers every day, running to their offices all the time. It was foreseeable that if there were any opportunities in the future, Sun Yu would be the first in line.

If there was any opportunity at Central Academy of Drama, it could potentially be life-changing.

Now, everything was fine, the three of them were in one film crew with the department head through Ren He. Why worry about school matters anymore?

And as for so-called life opportunities, they had already seized them.

At this time, the only important roles left to cast were the gang leader Dao played by Liu Hua and the role of Heipi played by Huang Bo, which had not been confirmed yet. Regarding the role of Dao, Zhang Ming stated that he had already found the right person for it, so Ren He needn’t worry. The moment Zhang Ming saw the character design drawn by Ren He, he had decided on the actor.

It was only the role of Heipi that still lacked a suitable actor.

Watching the actors’ group within Qinghe Film and Television slowly take shape, Ren He felt a sense of accomplishment.

A stable combination always worked more smoothly and was easier to promote collectively.

In the previous life, in "Surgeons," the combination of Wu Yanzu, Liu QingYun, and Louis Koo was an example of such a team, though it was a temporary one.

More evident were the studios, such as the actors from Yang Mi’s Jaywalk Studio.

Another clear example was a team that went from "Inheritors" to "Ghost Blowing Lights: The Ancient City of Jingjue" to "Surgeons," the familiar faces being those actors, which represented a very clear collaborative team.

The Qinghe team was also starting to take shape.

The filming team would be Liu Erbao and his crew. When Zhang Ming learned of Knight Ren He’s identity, he had guessed that he would be working with the most prestigious filming team in the industry. With Knight, how could Erbao be absent?

In fact, Ren He had told Zhang Ming that morning that originally Qinghe Film and Television owned 84% of the shares, of which 17% were once again transferred to Liu Erbao’s team. This was because Liu Erbao’s team’s fees did not match Qinghe Film and Television’s principle of small-scale production, and secondly, because Liu Erbao shamelessly would rather forego a salary than miss out on a secure, lifetime gig. So this partnership was already set.

At this point, Zhang Ming realized that Ren He had an almost obsessive-compulsive pursuit for controlling shares, not at all like an experienced business person.

Many veterans of the business world had long since taken a more relaxed view of control over shares. For one, there were external pressures in the business world one couldn’t control, and secondly, almost anything could be traded if the profit was right.

However, Ren He flatly refused such a model. He wasn’t short on cash; he just didn’t want to deal with the kind of stock battles commonly encountered in the business realm in the future—there was no need for that.

Maintaining more than two-thirds of the shares to avoid dilution was Ren He’s principle: Qinghe Group was his foundation for a stable life and peace in retirement, even if it meant earning less. He didn’t want to be troubled by such matters when he got old.

After taking care of these affairs, that same morning, Liu Erbao was to meet with Zhang Ming before filming to align with each other. From then on, they would collaborate. Outside of filming, they were shareholders, but during filming, everyone had to be committed to the goal of making a good film.

This was the original intention and an unquestionable principle of Qinghe Film and Television.

Once the two parties had connected, Liu Erbao and the others were set to follow Ren He to the skydiving base in Shijiazhuang, Hebei. The daredevilry would begin the moment they reached the base, and Liu Erbao could hardly wait.

Upon arriving at the base, Liu Erbao, all smiles and without a hint of shame, asked, "Are there any female stars here?"

Ren He’s face darkened immediately, "Go have your fun somewhere else. This place needs to be clean, so that many capable actors are willing to work with us."

"Haha, I’m just joking, you know me," Liu Erbao was completely unfazed by whatever Ren He said, he was a shameless mixer, shameless even when networking, completely unabashed...

Out of the blue, Zhang Ming, who was standing nearby, caught a brainwave and pulled Ren He aside to whisper, "Don’t you think he’s quite suitable for..."

Ren He was taken aback and ventured a guess, "Black Skin?"

Zhang Ming nodded, smiling yet silent, leaving Liu Erbao puzzled, "What’s Black Skin?"

Liu Erbao hadn’t yet read the script, and at this moment, Ren He was frantically considering the possibility of Liu Erbao playing Black Skin. Zhang Ming had a reason to bring up this idea!

Black Skin, played by Huang Bo, is a bumbling thief who, desperate with hunger at the end of the movie, is caught eating stolen bread while being chased by a chef with a hammer...

One could say that Black Skin is one of the most innocent characters in the film. No one knows how he ended up on the wrong path, but once he did, it was hard to turn back, thus ending with his bread theft.

In the film, Black Skin’s innocence, his impetuous recklessness, are all vital character traits. As a member of a group of thieves, he also needs to have a bit of a mix-up side.

And all these...they really do seem quite fitting for Liu Erbao...

"He’s never played a character," Ren He voiced his concern.

"No problem, I’ll train him," Zhang Ming said affably.

Since Zhang Ming had the confidence to make such a claim, Ren He didn’t say much more. After all, Zhang Ming had decades of experience directing, and it was natural for him to be confident, as long as he was willing to devote the time.

Then both men looked towards Liu Erbao with a mysterious smile, while Liu Erbao himself was completely baffled, not realizing that his fate was already being rewritten. A Liu Erbao who dreamed of becoming a singer saw his dreams shattered in middle school, only to become an outstanding commercial photographer, then bizarrely fulfilled his dream, and now, just as mysteriously, was about to become an actor...

But Ren He had no intention of telling Liu Erbao just yet. He figured he’d let Zhang Ming train him slowly after they got back. After all, the guy was a shareholder and didn’t need to be paid, saving even more money...

Ridiculously, even though they were all wealthy, inside Qinghe Film and Television, they would still begrudge every penny as if to split it in two, but on reflection, Ren He found it quite amusing!

Zhang Ming too had not felt this way in a long time—the pure struggle with finances purely for the sake of film. He found it very enjoyable!

With everything arranged, a convoy of off-road vehicles headed towards the skydiving base in Shijiazhuang, Hebei, embarking once again on a daredevil journey!

...

Just got back to the hotel, the second Chapter is guaranteed delivery, uh, as I said, two Chapters a day won’t be less. If it’s less, I will make up for it later.