Chasing the Light

Chapter 58: debate

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Xia, the CEO of Shield Pictures, the producer of the film "72 Hours", had a gloomy face and questioned Zhao Pinlin, the CEO of the production company: "Why did things develop to this point? Is your PR team just there to eat and work?"

President Zhao glanced at Director Chen opposite him with resentment, and said innocently: "Since we decided to cast Su Ran as the leading actress, we could have foreseen today's situation. Su Ran's acting skills are impeccable, but she has a stain after all. If she hadn't made a comeback to star in a mainstream film like this, or just played a small supporting role, perhaps everyone's resistance would not be so strong. But she happened to be the leading actress of this mainstream movie, so she must have exploded!"

"We wanted to help her clear her name, but what happened? The more you try to clear her name, the more people will blacken her name. If you don't do anything about it, people will think you're in the wrong. There's no way this can be fixed."

Shen Ming clicked his tongue: "The public outrage is overwhelming! Look, in just five days, this boycott post has already received responses from more than 300,000 netizens, and the hot searches are all about Su Ran's negative information. Several of us investors have also discussed this matter. To be honest, we didn't think about how much money we would make when investing in this film. It doesn't matter if we lose a little. We can make a contribution to purifying the film market and promoting national integrity. But you can't let our investors lose all their money!"

"That's right. The public's resistance is already so strong now. Will anyone still watch the movie when it's released?" another investor echoed.

"The boycott is not just online. In the past few days, some people have come to our offline cinemas to protest with signs. If you continue to use Su Ran, we can't distribute the film." Ms. Huang, a representative of the distributor, expressed her attitude.

President Xia sighed and looked at Director Chen: "Old Chen, say something."

Director Chen was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "Su Ran's first movie was Silent Witness, which I directed. I have never seen a child with such a talent for acting and who works so hard. The movie was very successful, and Su Ran became famous overnight. Others who became popular were busy making money, taking any movie, as long as the money was enough, and doing all kinds of endorsements and commercial performances. But Su Ran was not like that. She was able to calm down and hone her acting skills, study further, and act in dramas. She is very picky about the roles she takes, and has a unique vision. She only makes one or two movies a year, and each one is a masterpiece. She is a real actor, an actor who truly loves acting."

There was disdain on everyone's faces. There was no point in saying these things. What they needed were actors who could make them money.

"So, I don't believe that an actress with such artistic ethics as her would do something like fraudulent donations."

"Director Chen, the problem is that even if we all believe her, it's useless because netizens don't believe her." Shen Ming said slowly.

Director Chen nodded and said, "I chose Su Ran as the leading actress of this film for two reasons. The first reason is what I just said. I don't want a good actress to ruin her career because of being criticized. I want to give her this opportunity. The second reason is that apart from Su Ran, I really can't think of anyone else in the same age group who can play the role of Chen Jin."

"Although Chen Jin's role is not important, she is an important figure in the play and can be said to be the key to the success or failure of this film. The changes in this character's identity and inner changes are very complicated. The innocence and sweetness of the passionate love period, the grief of losing her lover, the decision to go undercover to complete her lover's unfinished business, and then to become the cold and ruthless drug appraiser of the drug lord Patton. She was in the tiger's den and lost contact with the organization for three years. She could only fight alone. The pain of seeing her comrades being killed but unable to help, and finally the relief when she sacrificed to cover the special forces to rescue the hostages, she was ready to die and got what she wanted..."

"There aren't many lines, so I can only rely on very delicate performances to interpret the character's complex psychology. I wonder who else besides Su Ran can play this role?"

"Director Chen, Su Ran is not irreplaceable. There are still young and excellent actresses! Even if her acting skills are slightly inferior to Su Ran's, you can talk to her more about the play. If it doesn't work once, you can do it a few more times until you are satisfied, isn't that enough?" Mr. Zhao laughed and said leisurely.

Shen Ming asked in cooperation: "Who does Mr. Zhao think is more suitable?"

Mr. Zhao deliberately frowned and said thoughtfully, "I think Lin Ying is quite suitable. She has a good image and temperament, is capable and has traffic. She has been ranked in the top three of the celebrity power rankings for three consecutive years."

"Lin Ying is fine, but she's a bit expensive. I heard that her minimum pay for a movie is 30 million." Shen Ming said.

Mr. Zhao smiled and said, "I have discussed this with Lin Ying. She knows that our budget is limited, and she really wants to star in this film, so she is willing to reduce her salary by half."

"15 million should be within the budget, so there will be no problem. The reality is before us. If we use Su Ran, the film will basically fail. If we use Lin Ying, it might become a big hit." Shen Ming knocked on the table, and his voice rose a degree.

Ms. Huang nodded: "If Lin Ying plays the leading female role, the box office will be guaranteed."

President Xia was in a dilemma: "Old Chen, I promised you before that as long as you come to direct this film, you can decide the leading actress and leading actor, and we will never interfere. But the problem is that we can't afford to lose if we use Su Ran."

Director Chen sighed in his heart, knowing that he could not do anything alone. What a pity. He wanted to help Su Ran, that child, with such a good opportunity.

President Xia said, "Then it's decided. Pinlin, you should liaise with Lin Ying and finalize it as soon as possible."

At this moment, Mr. Xia's assistant brought a mobile phone and whispered something in Mr. Xia's ear. Mr. Xia's face changed, he took the phone, stood up and walked to the window.

"Minister... Minister... Yes, we are discussing... ah? Yes, yes, yes..."

President Xia answered the phone tremblingly, wiped the sweat from his forehead, returned to his seat, coughed twice, adjusted his mood, and said: "I just received a call from the leader. I will relay the leader's original words. The leading actress must be Su Ran. If the producer has any objections, the producer can be replaced. If the investor has any objections, the investment can be withdrawn. If the distributor has any objections, the distributor can be replaced. If the director has any objections, the director can be replaced. In short, anyone can be replaced, except Su Ran. That's it. You can consider it and give me an answer as soon as possible."

Everyone was stunned. Did they hear it right? Was Su Ran's background so powerful? This was going to be amazing.

Director Chen immediately expressed his attitude: "I have no objection."

What a sudden surprise.

Mr. Xia's assistant came over again: "Mr. Xia, phone call."

President Xia felt sympathetic: "Who?"

"Vice President Jiang."

President Xia breathed a sigh of relief. After listening to a few words from the other end of the phone, he immediately smiled and said, "Okay, make an appointment with her and I'll talk to her in person."

President Xia hung up the phone and laughed: "Someone just came to us and is willing to invest 300 million yuan. The condition is that Su Ran must be the leading actress."

Shen Ming and others on the opposite side turned pale.

What is going on? Just now, the top leader called and asked Su Ran to play the leading female role, and immediately someone was willing to spend 300 million to support Su Ran.

Thank you Garfield II and Rebellion for your rewards. The first update is here:)

(End of this chapter)