167: CANNON FODDER
“What international cooperation film? Don’t be caught by that gimmick! Who didn’t know the Chinese rarely appear in Hollywood blockbuster films?”
Inside GuangShi Group, Director Wang’s face was distorted as he hit the table with his fist. The ground was a mess, scattered with folders and broken glass pieces.
The secretary didn’t dare persuade him and hid far away.
Director Wang continued to growl, “It’s just for three minutes, a character who shows his face then dies. Is that really rare?”
On the computer screen, the stock price of Star Entertainment has been in the red, dropping as soon as the stock market resumed its activities.
The plan to take the opportunity to acquire more shares in Star Entertainment has been ruined.
Those holding the shares and negotiated with Director Wang in advance turned their backs when he sent some people.
An internationally produced film couldn’t save a company, but a movie that the government was highly concerned about was not the same.
Outside the office, 《Black Bamboo》’s third male lead Tan Liang was smoking cigarettes in depression. He didn’t want to go in and get scolded while Director Wang was in a fit of anger.
In fact, Tan Liang felt that this situation might not be that bad. 10% of Star Entertainment’s shares are still in his hands, so what’s with the panicking! A well-made film won’t be released until three or five years later. There would be variables in the middle. With the ups and downs in the entertainment circle, who would have a smooth sailing career and never have bad luck?
Tan Liang was thinking in his mind when he suddenly saw his agent approach with a black face.
With his understanding of the agent, Tan Liang’s heart slowly sank. It’s probably bad news.
“That cast and crew……that damn no-name drama cast and crew released some news during an interview saying there are six character roles available in total. People from Guangshi Administration accompanied the screening, but Li Fei won more than a default role, he also has a say in the casting! How can this be? What did he do?”
More than the agent who was clutching his hair, Tan Liang also had the same doubts. Is there something that they didn’t know about Li Fei?
Guangshi Group was contradictory to Star Entertainment, so how could they not know the other’s bad habits and their background? Everyone knew it. Li Fei was so famous, isn’t it because of Star Entertainment’s CEO Liang Jun?
If Liang Jun was out of the way, Li Fei’s status in Star Entertainment should plummet. The newly appointed CEO would be busy stabilizing his position and taking advantage of loopholes in the company policy to get benefits for himself. Under this gap, with Director Wang’s ambitious means, Li Fei would certainly not endure it. At that time, the news of “Li Fei refused to sign with his old company, and the new studio is already under preparation” would come out. Then Star Entertainment’s stock price would fall again.
Director Wang wanted to annex Star Entertainment.
Tan Liang just thought he could relax.
Whether it’s Star Entertainment or Guangshi Group, he has no good feelings for both.
Before the Abandoned World, Tan Liang was in the bottleneck stage of his acting career.
He had some acting skills and had been in the circle for many years, but had never received a male lead role from a big movie. Would he always play the supporting role for a lifetime? Even while mixing among the second-rate artists in Guangshi Group, he had to find a way to find more opportunities to climb up every day. His face was not new to the audience, so some young people who just entered the industry could take his position. Because for the crew, new artists’ fees were low and they’re better to handle. The fans of veteran artists had a significant effect on promotion, but the crew had to consider many things. If the artist’s value were not so high that the crew was willing to endure their temperament, then with the same conditions, they would instead recruit new people.
Tan Liang felt its unfair. He always wanted to find a place to vent, so in the 《Black Bamboo》 crew, he always targeted the supporting actors.
That supporting actor, Xiao Tianwang, has highly valued fans. His singing was better, but he had no experience in filming, so Tan Liang could succeed in the beginning.
Later 《Black Bamboo》 had a new gossip. The film emperor’s stuntman made an exceptional performance and suspected to be a newcomer about to launch. This year, when the newcomer debuted, how could he dare not cause trouble, ah? Tan Liang instantly disliked Jian Hua. Besides, he was an artist of Guangshi Group, and the company’s top management also instructed him to sabotage him.
The result was that the relationship between the “newcomer” and Li Fei was a little mysterious. Tan Liang thought that this was because Li Fei was too deep, so wanting to see the Film Emperor become a joke was not easy.
But the movie was only half filmed. 《Black Bamboo》 was a commercial piece that included a treasure hunt, followed by wild fighting scenes, but they encountered an incident at that time.
At that time, Tan Liang never dreamed that his life this year would be like this.
He escaped from his apartment and cowered in fear as he followed the crowd to hide. He lined up for relief items, listened to many terrible news every day, not sure which one was true…… Tan Liang didn’t want to recall it at all.
“You said that last year’s New Year’s Eve shooting incident might be related to Li Fei?” Tan Liang asked his agent.
If Li Fei has a background that insiders didn’t know, then the target of the gunman might not be Star Entertainment’s CEO.
“He survived the disaster without any injury, and now Guangshi Administration named him to take part in a movie…… what did Li Fei do? Also, when we filmed 《Black Bamboo》, a body suddenly appeared in the studio! This might be Li Fei’s work!” Tan Liang said gloomily, “What method can we use to find out the connection between these things?”
His agent stopped him with an ugly face, “This is not related to the entertainment industry. Even if you find out the truth, Guangshi Group won’t dare release it! Are you crazy, knowing the dangers, but still wanting to get involved?”
Tan Liang stopped talking. He weighed it for a long time, then finally left the building with the agent.
——Director Wang probably had no hope.
After entering the elevator, Tan Liang casually asked, “What about Xiao YaQin? Does she know the news?”
“Don’t mention it. She already squeezed herself into the audition list through a relationship.” The agent said with no anger.
Tan Liang swore every vulgar word he knew, and his face became uglier.
On the day of the interview, because of the news, many artists had come over.
The reporters made follow-up reports. Such big news is the first heavy news after the entertainment industry was restored. Under the camera flashes, many celebrities came to the building where the interview was held. Even if they have no chance, they must show their faces. Many artists relied on their fans to eat. If they’re forgotten by the public, they would have no other way to eat.
This was after the disaster. For the first time, the audience saw their idols in a live broadcast.
The artists who participated in the audition selection were not stupid. Why would they drive a luxury car and wear a brand-name luxury bag? Of course, the dresses of each one are in an ordinary and straightforward style but still looked good and eye-catching. It won’t make people feel that their value has fallen. This is part of the job, after all.
Fortunately, everyone became thin after the disaster. However, they only wore two pieces of clothing, so they trembled in the cold wind, but still kept smiling. They would occasionally stop to accept a few interviews and express that they really wanted to get the job while thinking about their deceased relatives and surviving family.
Everyone played the emotional card. Everyone couldn’t tell if what they’re saying came from their heart or from habitual acting.
——but their sadness was real. Life has not been easy, and that was the truth.
Jian Hua stopped, standing in a corridor of a twenty-story building and looking at the crowd below. The staff around him were busy coming and going until he felt a familiar atmosphere stand behind him.
“The people of Guangshi Administration took the reporters upstairs, so we need to change places.”
Li Fei didn’t want Jian Hua to be exposed to the camera. In fact, he is not very optimistic about this movie.
An international cooperation like this has language barriers. They also have to satisfy the political figures of all countries. Even if Li Fei was an actor who didn’t care about what the film will be like, he also didn’t think that now that the abilities have disappeared, he’s completely safe and that no one would want to kill Flame Demon.
Filming while avoiding the people in the crew who’s trying to kill him, this kind of adventure was really exciting.
Also, to protect Li Fei’s human rights to perform, the nation’s elite special forces were also mixed among the crew. They waited for an opportunity to deal with assassins and spies from various countries. Isn’t this more exciting than the movie?
“Colonel Lu said that all your parts can be taken in China. If there are scenes that can’t be made here, they should solve it with special effects.” Jian Hua took out his phone and handed it to Li Fei for him to see.
In this message, the United States has also finalized its starring roles.
The American hero protagonist was tall and handsome, a man with a leader’s charm——even if Johnson wanted to play it and the US also agreed with Johnson’s character, the hardware was not up to standard. Johnson Brown was not at all in line with the heroic image of a hero in the concept of the public.
“Can you guess who it’ll be?”
“An ordinary person.” Li Fei thought about it then explained, “The protagonist would go to various countries to film and should not be worried about his personal safety. This could also reduce international disputes.”
He said it jokingly, but Jian Hua couldn’t smile.
He turned his head, signaling Li Fei to watch the crowd downstairs.
“Should there really be so many people in the interview?”
“No, only 50 people would be interviewed, and one in every ten people would probably get a role.”
Li Fei was the default and the role of the spatial ability holder was almost fixed. In fact, the people that came to the interview today could only fight for the remaining four roles.
People who had nothing to do with the interview would just go through the motions, just like getting an Oscar invitation and taking the chance to walk on the red carpet. They’d just pretend to be eligible for the interview and act like they’re already part of the cast.
The third and second floor of the building was full of people. A few minutes ago, they vowed to win a role with a smile. Now they’re huddling to inquire how many quotas were available and who was the person in charge.
The more interested people looked for a corner, took out a mirror and retouched their makeup, prepared to wait for a time then “leave frustrated.”
There was a buzz in the hall. Xiao YaQin stepped on high heels, proudly took out some documents, and entered the elevator with her assistant.
She left, and whispers immediately broke out among the crowd, because the artists of Guangshi Group, including Xiao YaQin, did not get an interview quota. What did Xiao YaQin do? Is she really related to Li Fei?
Xiao YaQin’s smile has been maintained until she entered the casting room.
In the room were two famous domestic directors, a renowned screenwriter, a stranger wearing a military uniform, and also the leaders of Guangshi Administration…… the rumored Li Fei, one of the judges, had disappeared.
The director holding the audition requested with a straight face, “The sixth role doesn’t require a gender. It’s about a person who saw a part of themselves being eaten by an ogre. You can start performing.”
Xiao YaQin stood there, her eyes looking straight ahead.
Isn’t this a cannon fodder role?
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