Chapter 29: The Entire Northwest Shanxi Is in Total Chaos

Page 1/3

“By the way, regarding the ‘Love Apartment’ project you mentioned, I’ve already contacted the investor, Lianfan Technology. From what I understand, the total investment is around five million, and they hold all the copyrights.”

“It wrapped up shooting in late October last year. The finished film is ready, but they haven’t found a buyer yet. I made some initial contacts, but they’re reluctant to negotiate.”

Tang Sheng had no idea how Xu Ming came across such a niche project. His role was simply to carry out orders without question.

That said, Lianfan Technology wasn’t foolish.

Originally, ‘Love Apartment’ was just an advertisement meant to promote the dating website of the same name, with an initial investment of only 600,000.

But after filming, the director showed the finished product to about 500 viewers, and the feedback was very positive, which led to an additional investment exceeding four million.

“If they’re unwilling to budge, then forget it. But...”

Xu Ming suddenly had an idea. “You should get in touch with the main cast of the series. If they don’t have any management contracts, sign them up. If necessary, you can reveal my identity and wave the banner of Benshan Media.”

If they couldn’t get a piece of the ‘Love Apartment’ cake, at least they could hitch a ride, right?

Given the fame ‘Love Apartment’ had brought to its stars, their commercial value could have been much higher, but their resources were truly poor.

It wasn’t until a decade later that each found their own path.

Lv Ziqiao landed a role in a film by Master Zhang, Guan Gu took on movies with investments exceeding one hundred million, and Auntie Xiao won dual supporting actress awards at the Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers. Later, she even won the Huading Award for Best Actress.

As for Zeng Xiaoxian, his path in variety shows became irreversible, while Hu Yifei and Chen Meijia both ventured into live streaming sales.

Their differing fortunes made audiences outside the industry sigh.

Diligence in one’s craft—or the lack thereof—makes all the difference.

Of course, no matter how down and out these folks seemed, they weren’t comparable to ordinary people. Wang Chuanjun once said that at his poorest, he had only one million in his bank account and didn’t dare to go out.

“I understand. I think we can push Lianfan Technology a bit more. After all, they’re an internet company, unlikely to bet everything. They might be willing to part with partial rights.”

Internet companies are very concerned about return on investment. If they can recoup most of the costs early, Tang Sheng guessed Lianfan Technology probably wouldn’t refuse.

“All right, try to make further contact. The budget is four million, with a bottom line of thirty percent of the rights, preferably leaning more towards online platforms.”

“The more rights you secure, the bigger your bonus will be.”

Xu Ming still harbored some desire for a piece of the ‘Love Apartment’ cake.

If there’s no chance, so be it; but if there is, one should try to grab a share.

In the future, these rights would be worth hundreds of millions or even over a billion.

Page 2/3

...

The next day.

Xu Ming’s scathing remarks about ‘Love Is Not Blind 33 Days’ quickly spread across major media and websites.

Originally, March was uneventful, and everyone was bored. Having someone like Xu Ming, whose popularity was sky-high, step forward to stir up controversy instantly ignited everyone’s enthusiasm.

Many seriously examined recent films and found, just as Xu Ming said, that at least one lead actor was from Hong Kong or Taiwan.

This was still with mainland investment backing; if it were capital from Hong Kong or Taiwan, mainland actors would be relegated to supporting roles.

This stirred up a hornet’s nest, and complaints flooded both online and offline.

These voices naturally reached Huayi.

Wang Zhongjun and Wang Zhonglei, the two brothers, were stunned when they heard the news.

To them, since they had publicly vowed to blacklist Xu Ming, he shouldn’t have been making such a fuss in front of them anytime soon.

Yet, surprisingly, Xu Ming was making even more noise.

“Teng Huatao isn’t our signed director?” Wang Zhongjun asked.

His implication was clear: their own director was directing films for Xu Ming and Orange Sky Entertainment, which was a slap in the face.

“Teng finished ‘Dwelling Narrowness’ and then left. He doesn’t have much work right now, and besides, he prefers to venture into big-screen films again,” Wang Zhonglei explained.

Their company wasn’t investing, so they couldn’t stop him from working on films financed by others.

After all, Teng Huatao wasn’t an outsider.

Strictly speaking, their relationship was cooperative rather than hierarchical.

“In fact, we shouldn’t see this only negatively. There are benefits as well. Their investment helps us train directors. If it fails, we lose nothing, and if Teng succeeds, he’s still on our side.”

“As for Xu Ming, he’s just a jumping clown trying to get attention as the film starts shooting. We let him have his moment; we’ll get the heat anyway. We just won’t appear on the front lines. Our people will respond when the time comes.”

Wang Zhonglei was almost hoping Xu Ming would insult even more, since it was free media coverage.

The media liked it, the audience liked it, and they gained exposure—a win-win-win situation.

Page 3/3

Thinking this over, he even felt some admiration for Xu Ming—such a pity he wasn’t one of their actors.

“True enough. If we want to expand influence, it’s boring if it’s just us. Didn’t he also lash out at the Hong Kong-Taiwan circle? Let’s drag them all into the mix and stir the waters.”

Wang Zhongjun snapped out of his anger and quickly considered decisions that would benefit them.

With this realization, Huayi swiftly held a press conference to respond.

First, they clarified that their film was not called ‘Robot Hero,’ but ‘The Message,’ and they accepted Xu Ming’s challenge.

Second, they accused the Hong Kong-Taiwan side of indeed going too far, not giving mainland newcomers room to grow.

In the past, they couldn’t compete, but now, many young actors in Hong Kong and Taiwan had been severely damaged by the ‘photo scandal.’

Meanwhile, young mainland actors like Huang Xiaoming, Tong Dawei, and Deng Chao were stepping up enthusiastically, and naturally, they must fight for their place.

LeTV immediately declared that ‘Robot Hero’ was theirs, deciding to take on both ‘Love Is Not Blind 33 Days’ and ‘The Message’ simultaneously.

The whole northwest Shanxi region instantly became chaotic, with more and more mainland companies and actors speaking out.

With the domestic film and television market visibly growing, if they wanted a bigger piece of the cake, they’d have to reduce the share for the Hong Kong-Taiwan circle. Riding on the wave of Xu Ming’s initiated public opinion offensive, a collective attack ensued.

The Hong Kong-Taiwan circle was bewildered.

“We don’t even know who Xu Ming is, and he hits us out of nowhere.”

No past grievances, but now there was suddenly animosity.

[Wang Jing: Our casting has always been impartial. Mainland actors weren’t chosen simply because they can’t match the box office appeal of Hong Kong actors.]

[Wu Baige: I suspect Xu Ming is deliberately stirring up disputes among the three regions. I will never hire an actor like him.]

[Xie Tingfeng: Who is Xu Ming? I don’t know him. Also, please stop asking about my relationship with Chen Guanxi. I’m very close to Bai Zhi.]

The outside world was in turmoil, but Xu Ming retreated to his small building in Chengyitong, quietly filming without making appearances.

He had already achieved the attention he wanted. No matter how much more hype there was later, he, as the instigator, would get his share.

The remaining media space was left to his peers.

One must know contentment; otherwise, if the spotlight grows too intense, the one being attacked by the crowd could easily become him.