Fifty thousand to invite Elder Tang of the Research Association to play the third male lead!
Upon hearing the invitation and price from Gao Fei, Jin Qiqi, who was standing by, was stunned.
Who was Tang Lingyun?
This was an elder greatly respected in the literary and academic circles, with disciples everywhere, possessing extraordinary status and position.
Previously, influential figures in the industry had extended high-priced invitations for Elder Tang to participate in TV dramas and movies.
However, the result was that the influential figures who extended the invitations couldn't even get a word in, let alone arrange a meeting.
Jin Qiqi still remembered that because they couldn't secure his participation, some of these influential figures privately accused Elder Tang of being pretentious.
In the end, those influential figures and their companies were all thrown into a dog cage, and they haven't reappeared since.
Now, not only was Gao Fei inviting Elder Tang to act, but he was also offering a salary of fifty thousand, which was less than a fraction of the salary of even the lowest-paid actors.
Gao Fei was probably the only one in the entire entertainment industry who dared to do this.
President Tang, who had intended to discuss publishing matters, did not expect Gao Fei to suddenly invite him to act.
“Little Gao, why don't we decide on the poems for publication in the office first, and then talk about acting later?”
President Tang neither accepted nor refused, his focus still on the publishing matter.
“Alright, President, let’s discuss publishing first!”
Gao Fei and President Tang walked into the office one after another and closed the door. Jin Qiqi was left outside.
About ten minutes later.
Just as Jin Qiqi was contacting actors, Gao Fei suddenly emerged from the office and whispered, “Sister Jin, quickly ask Director Liu what roles are still missing in the crew.”
“Boss, have you found a way to contact actors?”
“Let’s keep it a secret for now. Just send me the list on my phone after you ask!”
With that, Gao Fei turned and went back into the office.
Jin Qiqi, as instructed, called Director Liu to inquire about the remaining roles the crew was short of.
Not long after, she sent Gao Fei a list of eight characters.
Among these eight roles, only the third male lead, ‘Mr. Fu’, was relatively important; the others were insignificant minor characters.
Although they were minor roles, they appeared many times in later filming.
Originally, these roles did not require exceptional acting skills and could have been filled by any extras.
However, during Jin Qiqi’s call with Director Liu, she received some news.
Not only had the salaries of actors who weren't blacklisted soared, but the prices for extras had also skyrocketed.
Extras who used to cost two hundred yuan a day were now charging five thousand yuan a day.
In the film "Double Faced Man," the previous extras were not affected by the price hike because they had signed contracts.
But for the seven minor roles that were still missing, after contact and a synopsis of their scenes by the assistant director, the other party directly quoted an exorbitant price of fifty thousand each.
Seven roles, fifty thousand each, would amount to three hundred and fifty thousand in salaries.
For Feihe Pictures, with an investment of only forty million, this was a considerable expenditure.
What’s more, it was the post-production phase of the film, and the available funds in the crew’s account were already stretched thin.
Upon learning that there was a way to find actors, Director Liu simply reported all eight missing roles.
Shortly after Jin Qiqi sent the list, a reply came via text message.
When she saw President Tang’s name on the list, and that he would be playing the third male lead, ‘Mr. Fu’, for fifty thousand, she was instantly stunned.
“My heavens, Elder Tang actually agreed to participate!
What kind of charm potion did Boss give Elder Tang for him to agree, and at the same price as the extras!”
Recovering her senses, Jin Qiqi continued to read.
When she saw the names of the seven actors below, she was stunned again, holding her phone.
Among the seven, four were vice-presidents of the Poetry Research Association, and three were directors from the Kyoto Film Academy.
With this lineup, any of them would have been excellent candidates for leading roles from the third male lead to the male lead in any crew.
Furthermore, each of them was quoting only eighty thousand Dragon Country currency, which was five times cheaper than the current market price.
While Jin Qiqi was in a daze, Gao Fei and President Tang walked out of the office, chatting and laughing.
“Little Gao, get the remaining twenty poems of yours finalized quickly. I’m waiting for your poetry collection to shine in the literary world!”
“Don’t worry, President Tang, I’ll start writing as soon as I get back. I definitely won’t disappoint you!”
Gao Fei continued, walking beside him, “President, about the filming… can you bring the people over to the set tomorrow?”
“Old Lu and the others are fine. The three working at the academy are all my students; one phone call will get them here!”
“Thank you for your support, President!”
“We’re all family, no need to be so polite!”
After a few pleasantries, Gao Fei left with Jin Qiqi.
Downstairs, Jin Qiqi couldn't wait to ask, “Boss, what exactly did you promise President Tang for him to agree to act in the movie?
And also to get four vice-presidents from the Research Association to help, and even invite three famous teachers from the Film Academy to assist you.”
“Trade secret, I cannot disclose it!”
Gao Fei playfully withheld the answer, not revealing the conditions.
The real reason was that while discussing publishing matters with President Tang, he deliberately wrote a piece of classical prose from his previous life.
He intentionally stopped writing halfway, piquing President Tang’s curiosity, before he began discussing the actors and terms for filming.
Gao Fei had evolved his strategy from “shearing the sheep” to “playing hard to get.”
Now, with actor salaries skyrocketing like the stock market, he had no choice but to find alternative ways to recruit suitable actors for the crew.
...
The next day, President Tang and the other eight arrived at the set as scheduled.
When Director Liu and the others saw the actors invited by President Gao, they were instantly startled.
Elder Tang and the four vice-presidents from the Research Association were, of course, titans of the Dragon Country literary world.
The other three were not only directors at the Film Academy but also teachers to many famous actors in the Dragon Country.
Everyone had assumed that the actors Gao Fei invited would be some obscure minor artists.
But no one had expected that the people President Gao invited would be five titans of the literary world and three mentors of the performing arts.
Given their status and position, this lineup was comparable to any top star in the market.
Upon learning the salaries, everyone in the crew admired President Gao and gave him a thumbs-up.
One hundred and twenty thousand to invite five titans and three mentors.
Only Gao Fei could achieve this in the entire entertainment industry.
While other crews were troubled by the soaring salaries of actors,
The film "Double Faced Man" crew was also ready to start shooting after the arrival of the eight influential figures.
The three renowned mentors were from the Film Academy, and their acting skills were beyond doubt.
Gao Fei and Director Liu were concerned about the acting skills of President Tang and the four vice-presidents.
However, upon learning that President Tang and the five titans had a background in drama, their worries vanished, and they immediately began filming.
After three days of shooting, President Tang and the four vice-presidents, transitioning from drama to the literary world, impressed everyone on set with their acting.
With just a simple explanation of their roles and after reviewing the script, the five titans brought their characters to life with ease.
President Tang also portrayed the role of ‘Mr. Fu’ with great skill.
With a pair of gold-rimmed glasses and his design for the character, he embodied the phrase “cultured scoundrel” with incredible authenticity.
While the crew marveled at the talent of the five titans, they were even more astonished by Gao Fei's acting.
Even the three mentors from the Film Academy suspected that Gao Fei had formal training, as his acting skills were on par with any seasoned actor in the industry.
Gao Fei explained that he had always enjoyed movies and used to imitate movie scenes.
Coupled with his recent intensive study of acting knowledge and his deep understanding of the lead characters, he was able to perfectly perform his scenes.
After hearing this, the eight influential figures summed it up in two words: genius!
Upon learning that he was also the author of the novel "Double Faced Man," they again concluded: a prodigy!
In short, after President Tang and the others joined the set, Gao Fei’s various performances used up all their astonishment for the year.
...
The salary hike triggered by the blacklist had become a hot topic in the industry.
Therefore, paparazzi were paying close attention to every film crew, constantly breaking news about which fourth-tier celebrity was joining a crew with tens of millions in salary.
Each exposé would attract a large number of curious netizens, generating considerable buzz.
Netizens following the reports even offered suggestions to the paparazzi, urging them to investigate the "Double Faced Man" crew, as Gao Fei was the lead actor and a major internet celebrity.
As a result, while the "Double Faced Man" crew was rushing to finish filming, they also received significant attention from paparazzi.
When it was revealed that apart from Gao Fei, a major internet celebrity, the "Double Faced Man" crew did not have any well-known actors,
Apart from his fans and the netizens who supported Gao Fei, the public's anticipation for the movie continued to decline.
In the eyes of netizens, Gao Fei was only good at composing and singing songs.
They did not have much expectation for the movies he starred in.
After all, compared to professional actors, he was merely a novice who had just entered the entertainment industry.
Gao Fei's popularity eventually hovered between ninth and tenth place.
However, the movie he was filming did spark curiosity among netizens, with its trending topic ranking fifth.
To this day, the public was aware of what kind of movies many crews were filming.
But the movies Gao Fei and his company were producing remained a mystery.
There were various speculations online, with some guessing it was a romance film, others a horror film, and so on...
Gao Fei had no time to pay attention to the various trending news and rumors online.
On March 23rd, the film "Double Faced Man" wrapped up production.
According to the usual practice, after wrapping up, the crew would host a celebratory dinner for the actors and others.
However, with the deadline for submitting the rough cut fast approaching, the crew only had a simple gathering before commencing post-production.
While editing the rough cut, Gao Fei personally took charge of recording the theme song and insert songs for the movie.
Within a single day, both songs were recorded.
On March 24th.
As he was preparing to integrate the theme song and insert songs into the edited rough cut, he was not satisfied with the rough cut edited by the crew.
“President Gao, we edited it according to your requirements. Did we make a mistake somewhere?” Assistant Director Yu Zehui asked curiously.
The rough cut had been reviewed and approved by Director Liu, Wang He, and others.
Unexpectedly, after President Gao watched it, he felt it was not good enough, leaving the editing team and the assistant director quite puzzled.
“No, no, it’s not that your editing is bad, it’s just that this rough cut is missing something!
Let me think about what’s missing!”
Gao Fei pressed the play button and continued to watch the rough cut.
The assistant director and the editing team looked on in surprise.
There were only a little over twenty hours left until the submission deadline.
President Gao said it was missing something?
Could it be that a scene was missed during filming?
Just as everyone was feeling bewildered, Gao Fei had already identified what was missing from the rough cut.
He took out his phone, found a Kyoto number, and dialed it.