After their collaboration on "Beijing Events", Jiang Se and Lin Xiwen rarely contacted each other. Except for the New Year and other festivals, she would send messages to wish him a happy new year, but they rarely met in private.
Everyone was very busy. Lin Xiwen was running a company and filming a movie at the same time. Not to mention Jiang Se, who had to take care of both study and work, so naturally they became distant.
After the promotion period of "Peking Events" was over, when Jiang Se occasionally met Lin Xiwen at work events, he would just say hello at most. Jiang Se didn't expect that Lin Xiwen would call him at this moment.
Although she was confused, she still took the call from Mo Anqi:
"Director Lin, I'm Jiang Se."
"Sese, I haven't congratulated you on the big hit of "Devil" and the record-breaking box office." Lin Xiwen heard Jiang Se call out his identity as soon as he answered the phone, and his tone was gentle, without any airs, and a smile was revealed in his voice:
"She was also nominated for the 'Best Actress' award at the 'French Film Festival', which is really amazing."
"Thank you Director Lin for the compliment." Jiang Se smiled and then asked:
"You called me, what's the matter?"
Lin Xiwen had worked with her for a while and knew her personality. She did not take her outspoken approach to heart and was relieved:
"There is indeed something I want to discuss with you. Do you have time recently?" When he said this, he was actually worried whether Jiang Se would agree to meet him.
After all, times have changed. Jiang Se's status and position are different from when she filmed "Beijing Events". After "Devil", Jiang Se has established a firm foothold with the role of "Zhang Yuqin". She has also worked with Liu Ye and endorsed Federer's watches. She has become one of China's top actresses, and her schedule should be very full.
If I want to make an appointment with her at the last minute, she may not agree.
Jiang Se picked up his schedule and took a look, "It should be."
When Lin Xiwen heard this, the heart that had been in his throat was put back, and he said happily:
"Then let's meet tomorrow afternoon and talk about it."
Jiang Se hung up the phone after agreeing to meet at a cafe near Century Galaxy at three o'clock tomorrow afternoon.
Mo Anqi was a little surprised:
"Why did Lin Xiwen suddenly call you to ask you to meet?"
Xia Chaoqun sorted out the documents on the desk and thought for a moment:
"I guess they want to find you to make a movie." She looked at Jiang Se, "Lin Xiwen's new movie was released a few days ago. I think you should still have some impression of this movie."
Xia Chaoqun curled his lips:
"Erlang Shen: Calming Down the Chaos on Earth." When she spoke, Mo Anqi started laughing, and several staff members couldn't help laughing:
"It is said that this movie was criticized by not only the critics but also the audience. Feng did not say anything and even posted on his social networking site that the soul of Lin Xiwen, who was able to make "Beijing Event", was dead, which was why he made such a farce as "Erlang Shen"."
Jiang Se has been very busy recently and hasn't paid much attention to any newly released movies, but she does have an impression of "Erlang Shen Quells the Rebellion on Earth".
When Gu Jiaer introduced her to Lin Xiwen's Shangjia Company, one of the options Lin Xiwen gave her happened to be this movie.
But later, Jiang Se did not take a fancy to this movie in which Lin Xiwen said that she could play the leading role and the remuneration was good for a newcomer. Instead, she took a fancy to "Beijing Events" which was written by Hou Xiling. She gradually became famous with "Beijing Events" and later won the first trophy of her life at the China Film Festival for her role as "Doukou".
She didn't expect that the film "Erlang Shen Quells the Rebellion in the Human World" that she gave up at that time would be delayed for several years before being released this year.
"Not only did the film have a bad reputation, but its box office was also not impressive. Lin Xiwen obviously suffered a Waterloo, and the usual publicity methods did not show the advantages they should have."
Lin Xiwen chose a bad time. The release date of "Erlang Shen: The Great Ruler" was delayed again and again. It was originally scheduled to be released in March this year, but there were already two good movies released in March this year.
One is "Accident" directed by Ning Zhanping and starring Tao Cen, and the other is "Devil" starring Jiang Se and Liu Ye. Both films not only have eye-catching casts, but also participated in the French Film Festival. "Devil" even won two awards in a row, causing a great sensation in the country.
Lin Xiwen also knew the content of his movie at that time. His usual approach would not work at this time and would not make any waves. It was even very likely that the movie would be sandwiched between two movies and crushed at the box office, so he postponed the release date of the movie.
However, the aftereffect of "Devil" continued until April because of Jiang Se's promotional activities during his return to China. In addition, Jiang Se's endorsement of Federer watches dominated the headlines in the entertainment industry. So Lin Xiwen had no choice but to postpone the release of "Erlang Shen Quells the Rebellion on Earth" to May, but the result was still terrible.
"This movie was released just as The Devil was leaving theaters." The film had a longer release date because of its outstanding box office performance. "But even on the last day before it was taken off the screen, the box office figures were not as good as those of The Erlang God: The Legend of Mir 2."
In addition, the more Lin Xiwen's film was promoted, the more it was advertised as "another masterpiece by Lin Xiwen after "Beijing Events", so many viewers went to see the film because of the quality slogan of "Beijing Events", and naturally became very annoyed after watching it. The deceived and angry masses cursed the film on the Internet.
As soon as Xia Chaoqun finished speaking, Mo Anqi continued:
"On the movie database, this movie only has a score of 21, and many people criticize it." When she said this, she selected a comment to show Jiang Se. A netizen with the ID 'Bighead Fish' left an indignant message saying:
"The movie is so bad that it's outrageous. Lin Xiwen is going to lose all the goodwill he had accumulated with "Beijing Grand Event". The so-called "Erlang Shen Quells the Rebellion on Earth" is so noisy that it makes people's brains hurt. The male lead is estimated to be no more than 1.6 meters tall in his thick-soled boots, and the Xiaotian Dog is a head taller than him when he stands up..."
A Cup of Yogurt: Not only is the male lead short, the plot is also inexplicable, Chang'e and the seven fairies are all chasing Erlang Shen, and there are several extremely restrictive scenes in it. If the movie is rated, A represents ethics, B represents violence, C represents bad movies, D represents eroticism, and E represents magic... I think this movie can stand at the peak of ABCDEFG...
Say I Love You Tenderly: Rubbish director, he turned Erlang Shen into a deformed alien.
…
Jiang Se couldn't help but laugh and cry when he saw these comments. They were all cursing, and everyone was shouting, "Lin Xiwen should stop making movies and retire as soon as possible." Many people even left messages in anger saying, "I will never believe in Lin Xiwen's movies again. They are too bad. I won't watch his new movies."
Xia Chaoqun saw Mo Anqi and others laughing while commenting, and couldn't help but say:
"Lin Xiwen probably doesn't care about this movie." No matter how much netizens criticize this movie, it shouldn't make a loss.
It was originally a low-budget production, and the actors hired were mostly newcomers signed by Shangjia Company, so the cost was very low. Although the performance after its release is not good, the cost should be saved, and Lin Xiwen may have even made a small profit.
However, the consequence of doing so is to damage his reputation, and not everyone may be willing to buy his next movie.
"It would be fine if it was just generally bad, but the movie Erlang Shen has already caused the stock price of Shangjia Company, which he invested in, to fall, and Lin Xiwen can hardly sit still." Xia Chaoqun analyzed, "In order to make the audience go to the theater and pay for his movie again after being fooled by him once, he has to think of a better way."
When Xia Chaoqun said this, Jiang Se understood what she meant.
At this moment, Jiang Se is famous, has a high status, and her acting skills are guaranteed. Lin Xiwen came to her to save her.
With the previous film "Erlang Shen Quells the Rebellion on Earth", no matter what the subject of his next film is, it is inevitable that it will be criticized by the audience, and not necessarily the audience will buy it.
Generally, star actors who do not have sufficient status may be affected by Lin Xiwen's fame, resulting in a decline in their reputation. If they are not careful, they may be criticized and labeled as box office poison, which will affect their future film resources.
But it would be different if a star like Jiang Se who has high box office appeal starred in the film.
Since Jiang Se made his debut, every movie he has starred in has been of high quality, with good reputation and box office.
Even the performances in the few movies in which she played supporting roles at that time were remarkable. The first time she took the lead in "About I Love You" also achieved very good results. After "Devil", in the hearts of most Chinese audiences, Jiang Se may be the well-deserved box office queen, and the box office of even a single movie has surpassed Tao Cen.
Jiang Se can help Lin Xiwen regain his lost reputation, but the risk is also great because if the quality of the film is too poor, it is very likely that Jiang Se will be implicated.
The higher the audience's expectations of her are now, and the better the movie does at the box office, the more harsh they will be on her later on.
"His performance is not very stable. You can consider the specific situation after meeting with him tomorrow."
Xia Chaoqun said this and looked at the time. "I have a meeting at the company later. I will pick a few scripts for you. You can choose them yourself."
As soon as she stood up, assistant Zhang Chi and others packed up and prepared to go back.
Jiang Se searched for Lin Xiwen's new movies in the evening. He has several works after "Beijing Events", but none of them can catch up with the reputation of "Beijing Events", and the box office is much worse.
Many people even said: They would rather watch "Beijing Great Event" ten times than watch Lin Xiwen's new film once.
Especially "Erlang Shen", which has the worst reputation in Lin Xiwen's directorial career, and the box office is getting worse and worse. No wonder he called me for help.
When meeting Lin Xiwen, Jiang Se refused Mo Anqi's request to go with her.
In the coffee shop next to Century Galaxy in Shanghuan, when Jiang Se came over, the waiter who opened the door for her in the coffee shop opened the door and said with a sweet smile:
"Welcome..." Before she could utter the last word 'Lin', the girl with a baby face raised her head and saw that the person coming in was Jiang Se, and she screamed: "Ah... Jiang Se..."
There were not many people in the cafe in the afternoon. Soothing light music was playing. The relaxed guests were enjoying the air-conditioning, drinking coffee, and smelling the sweet aroma of pastries. At this leisurely moment, the waiter's scream suddenly woke up many people.
When the people in the cafe heard her shout, they all looked up.
Jiang Se wore a black one-shoulder knitted top, a hip skirt, and black lace-up high-heeled shoes. Her graceful figure immediately attracted everyone's attention.
The girl's scream attracted everyone's attention to Jiang Se. In the distance, Lin Xiwen stood up and waved. Jiang Se smiled and said:
"I have friends in there."
"Sese, I like you so much. You are so tall and thin, and your legs are even longer than they look on TV." The girl opened her sparkling eyes and spoke rapidly:
"Your voice is so nice, and your skin is so nice. How can you be so beautiful? I came here to work because I knew you were from Century Galaxy. I just wanted to meet you. I've been working here for half a year, and this is the first time I see you." She was so excited that her cheeks flushed. The manager of the coffee shop was also startled by her voice. He came out with an embarrassed look on his face and pulled her away, and kept bowing and apologizing to Jiang Se.
Jiang Se smiled bitterly and watched the girl being taken away reluctantly. Then he breathed a sigh of relief and walked towards Lin Xiwen. It seemed that he had been there for quite a while. He had flipped through most of the magazine in his hand. When he saw Jiang Se coming, he closed it and put it back on the shelf.
"Sorry for the long wait." Jiang Se sat down and Lin Xiwen shook his head:
"I came too early."
The two agreed to meet at three o'clock. Jiang Se arrived fifteen minutes earlier than the agreed time. This was her character. Before she became an adult, she had maintained the habit of arriving early. After becoming famous, she still maintained this good quality of being punctual, which undoubtedly made Lin Xiwen like her more.
He made a gesture and called the waiter to ask Jiang Se to take the order. This time it was a young boy. Although he did not shout like the girl at the beginning, when he came to Jiang Se, his face was still red and his hands were still shaking. From time to time, he secretly looked up at Jiang Se, and his face got redder with every glance.
After Jiang Se finished ordering the food, he was still a little reluctant to leave. It was not until Lin Xiwen looked at him several times that he walked away with a disappointed look on his face.
"Why didn't your assistant come?"
Lin Xiwen had seen the previous farce, and he was aware of Jiang Se's current popularity. He casually found a sentence to start the conversation, and Jiang Se looked at him meaningfully:
"It's a meeting with friends, not a business matter, so there's no need to bring an assistant with you."
As soon as she finished speaking, Lin Xiwen couldn't help but laugh bitterly:
"You still have the same personality. Sometimes you make people like you, but sometimes you make people hate you."
There was a briefcase next to where he sat, but Lin Xiwen had no intention of opening it immediately. Instead, he chatted with Jiang Se about family matters:
"The best decision I have ever made in my life was not to establish Shangjia Company, nor to make a lot of money, but to spend several years to find teacher Hou Xiling and write the script of "Beijing Events". I believed in teacher Hou's vision and chose you to be the 'Doukou' in "Beijing Events"." (To be continued)