"Hey, Sister An!"
"Li Tang, what's the reason for the noise over there?"
"Oh, I'm filming on the street."
"We are filming. Let me make a long story short. I have made an appointment for you for an exclusive interview. I asked the reporter to come directly to Yulin to come to you and say hello to you in advance."
"Exclusive interview? Sister An, please don't do it. I'm busy here."
Li Tang now gets a headache when he hears about exclusive interviews. Since filming "The Swordsman", he has received many invitations for exclusive interviews from the media. Although an actor's popularity cannot be separated from the media's praise, but too much seems to be too much. Especially those interviews with gossip entertainment tabloids, to be honest, it is easy to lower your standards.
"It's an exclusive interview with "Southern Weekend". It's really hard to avoid asking someone to come to me. Besides, I asked Xiao Zeng to accompany them, so you can get to know each other."
"That's okay."
When he heard it was "Southern Weekend", Li Tang's attitude took a 180-degree turn. This is a major newspaper in the south, covering a wide range of areas. He often buys a copy and reads it when he has nothing to do.
The main difference between this newspaper and most newspapers nowadays is that it is rare to see shoddy reports that praise virtues. It focuses more on exposing some sensitive events and speaking out for disadvantaged groups. It is a bit like CCTV's "Oriental News" a few years ago. Time and Space” and “Focus Interview”. It feels like a breath of fresh air among the many media in this era.
As for Xiao Zeng mentioned by Nai'an, he was an executive broker found by the company for him. After all, Nai'an was about to give birth, and Nai'an could feel Li Tang's anxiety from her last communication with Li Tang, so she moved quickly. This is not only to retain Li Tang, but also a responsible attitude.
It is said that Xiao Zeng just graduated from college this year and had worked in Rong Xinda for several months as a publicity planner. Maybe it was because the salary offered by Nai'an was relatively high, or maybe the position of Li Tang, a celebrity executive agent, was more attractive and training people, so Xiao Zeng decisively jumped ship.
"This time I asked Xiao Zeng to help you with the check. She has done publicity planning and has experience in this area. Don't always keep your mouth shut, and don't quarrel with others..."
Naian was talking on the phone and giving instructions.
The reason why Li Tang doesn't know what to say is actually because he is too honest. For example, a reporter once asked him why he was filming? He replied at that time: "Look at what you are asking, I am an actor and filming is my job."
Then the reporter immediately asked: "Can it be understood that you are filming just to make money?"
He knew that this question was a trap, but he still answered frankly: "Yes, of course I work to make money!"
Well, this sentence caused quite a stir.
He was still very depressed at that time, couldn't he tell the truth? As an actor, it is natural to make money by filming, so why do you have to sing such false and empty high-pitched words as "for ideals and for art"?
As for quarreling with reporters, that touched his bottom line, because a reporter went to his hometown to investigate, and actually found out about Lao Li's cigarette trafficking, and asked him face to face what he thought?
He was angry at that time. If someone hadn't stopped him, he would have wanted to beat the other person, let alone a quarrel.
Nai'an had a headache because of this, but she had a big belly and couldn't follow Li Tang all day long, so this time she specifically helped him find an execution agent because of this consideration.
"Li Tang, I'm waiting for you, hurry up!"
Just then Director Xiao Teng ran out to urge them, and he quickly interrupted Nai'an's babble: "Sister An, that's it, I have to film. When they come, call in advance and I'll ask the crew to arrange someone to pick them up."
After saying that, he hurriedly hung up the phone and trotted into the ticket hall of the bus station.
This is a bus station in the old city of Yulin. Because it is very old, it is full of the style of the 1980s. There is a clear division of labor between Public An Zhang and Public Security Li, played by him. Public Security Li is the veteran policeman responsible for leading the team and carrying guns, while he is responsible for the logistics work. The funds for handling the case of both of them are in his pocket.
Today he went out to buy a ticket, but the ticket was stolen without any money. A policeman had money stolen from him. He chased the thief for a long time but still couldn't catch it. He was so impatient and ashamed that he went to the local police station to report the crime. Then he walked alone under the street lights with a depressed expression.
"Cut! Okay, passed."
The streets of Yulin were particularly cold at night, with a few drops of light rain falling today.
Li Tang, who was wearing thin clothes, heard the director finally shouting and quickly got into the van parked on the roadside. He quickly wrapped himself in the down jacket handed over by Xiao Teng, shivering.
"Hey, take a sip to keep yourself warm." Director Xiao Teng handed over another flat wine flask wrapped in leather.
Li Tang opened the lid and smelled it. There was a smell of whiskey, so he took a sip with confidence, smacked his lips and said, "Johnnie Walker, not bad!"
Director Xiao Teng raised his thumb in surprise: "How come you know everything?"
These days, Chivas Regal 12-year-old is generally popular when drinking whiskey in China, but ordinary people may not know about Johnnie Walker. Director Xiao Teng loves to show off, and usually looks down on Fu Biao, who drinks from a bottle of white wine every day like a bottle of wine. He likes to smoke cigars, drink foreign wine, and also does some relatively niche domestic products. brand to show its unique taste.
However, he always failed in this way of pretending in front of Li Tang, which is why he likes to deal with Li Tang. The taste of Johnnie Walker was quite good. Li Tang took another sip before returning the flask to Xiao Teng and said, "I suggest you try the single malt Macallan 12 Years Old if you have the chance. This is a classic Sydney pear." !”
Well, Director Xiao Teng not only failed to pretend this time, but was actually faked by Li Tang.
What single malt, classic Sydney? He was completely confused.
After a while, the director, photographers, props and others got into the van together. There was no other way, so the poor crew only had two vehicles, a van to carry the machinery and a van to pull the people.
Qi Xin, although he is a small leader of the General Administration and the director of the crew, he has no airs and is very polite. He always speaks slowly and politely.
"Xiao Li, you worked hard today!"
After getting on the bus, he deliberately sat next to Li Tang and expressed his condolences.
"well enough."
Today was a whole day of filming, and in the afternoon for the scene of chasing the thief, he ran around in the alleys of the old street all afternoon. Fortunately, his physical fitness is excellent, and ordinary people really can't stand it.
Taking advantage of this opportunity, he told Qi Xin that "Southern Weekend" was going to do an exclusive interview in two days. The media would definitely greet the director when they came to the set. If it was inconvenient, the interview could only be arranged outside.
When Qi Xin heard that it was a big media like "Southern Weekend" coming to conduct an exclusive interview with Li Tang, his eyes suddenly lit up and he said hurriedly: "Xiao Li, when the time comes, you can ask the reporter comrade to take a closer look at the set, and mention this by the way when doing the interview. Mention our play.”
"of course."
Li Tang naturally agreed readily.
Qi Xin usually doesn't talk much. Even when everyone gets together to chat, all they talk about is drama. The two happened to be sitting together today, and Li Tang asked about the investment in the movie channel.
The film they are currently filming, "The Escort Story," is a joint production with the movie channel's investment of 700,000 yuan and Beijing Film Studio's 500,000 yuan. In fact, the 700,000 yuan invested by the movie channel can be regarded as an advance payment for the purchase of TV rights, and at the same time, it will also enjoy profits based on the proportion of investment, of course, if there are profits.
On the surface, it seems that the movie channel has taken a big advantage. With 700,000, it not only bought the TV rights of the movie, but also enjoyed a high proportion of the income. In fact, most of the movies invested by movie channels in the past were losses and there was no profit at all.
Of course, it is not easy to get investment from a movie channel. In addition to a good script, the most important thing is to have good relationships.
Li Tang didn't hide anything. He briefly introduced "The Third Man" that he and Cheng Er were working on to Qi Xin, and also told Qi Xin that he was going to win the HBF fund in January next year.
At first Qi Xin just listened and said nothing. As someone who has experienced it, he knows how difficult it is for a director to make a movie. To put it bluntly, he can fear this "Escort Story" this time because of his status in the General Administration and the fact that he has been responsible for film production, distribution, and investment in the General Administration over the years. The connections accumulated through the business.
When he heard Li Tang talk about this matter, Qi Xin felt very embarrassed. Logically speaking, he owed a favor to Li Tang for being able to star in his drama, but the requirements for this matter were too high. This favor is completely mismatched.
Just when Qi Xin was hesitating about what excuse to use to refuse, they heard Li Tang talking about their plans to apply for the HBF Fund of the Rotterdam International Film Festival.
He hesitated for a moment and then said: "Xiao Li, do you think this will work? If you can successfully get funding from the HBF Fund this time, then I can help you contact the movie channel."
The implication is that if you can get funding from the HBF Fund, it means that your script is excellent, and he has reason to open his mouth to the movie channel. Of course, whether it will succeed or not is another matter. But if he can't get it, then he has enough reasons to refuse.
Of course Li Tang knew it well, and his answer to Qi Xin was not surprising, and even a little surprising. Whether it is funding from the HBF Fund or seeking investment from movie channels, it is a matter of luck. Moreover, his biggest difficulty at present is the lack of someone who can help him connect with the movie channel. It would be best if they are willing to help.
"I understand, thank you, director! If I hadn't applied for funding from the HBF Fund this time, I guess this matter would have been a disaster."
Hearing that Li Tang was so understanding, Qi Xin nodded with relief and said, "I know Cheng Er, that young man's graduation film last year was quite good."
As he said that, he smiled and said: "Oh, I almost forgot, you acted in his graduation film. No wonder you two can work together. But don't be too confident. Even if it doesn't succeed this time, you can wait and see. If economic conditions in all aspects improve in the next two years, maybe there will be opportunities.”
First update!
(End of chapter)
