The next few days were peaceful. Luo Huai's friend didn't have time to audition until three days later, and he didn't see his other colleagues again. Maybe Aunt Yang and the others lived somewhere else before filming started.
Luo Huai couldn't even see Director Zhong who lived in the villa. He heard that Director Zhong was working day and night to revise the script, and his sleep and rest schedule was reversed.
The only proof of Director Zhong's existence is the three meals a day that are placed on the table on time. Luo Huai cannot see the chef, he only knows that there will be meals at the restaurant at 7 o'clock, 12 o'clock and 18 o'clock every day. He doesn't know whether they are cooked by Director Zhong or Aunt Yang.
Director Zhong gave Luo Huai a revised script. The character's personality remained basically the same, but the interaction with other actors was greatly changed. Luo Huai familiarized himself with the script and exercised during the day to keep in shape, and slept well at night.
Every night when it was quiet, he would hear strange, regular sounds. Luo Huai couldn't tell what the sounds were until one night when he turned on the TV to watch a period drama. He discovered that the regular sounds every night were very similar to the sound of a sewing machine.
Along with the sound of sewing machines, there were faint and shrill cries, as if the textile workers were complaining about the injustice of the capitalists.
Ever since he went out in the middle of the night and saw Aunt Yang auditioning, Luo Huai has learned not to go out if he hears strange noises at night in this villa.
It’s not that he was afraid of encountering ghosts, but as an actor, it would be very embarrassing if he was scared into unconsciousness by his colleagues’ acting skills. Luo Huai was tactful enough not to disturb his colleagues’ practice.
When Luo Huai's friend came for the audition, Qian Duoqun also brought a photographer and two other actresses to the crew. This photographer had been an assistant before, and was probably considered an apprentice in the circle. This was his first time as the main photographer, and it was a chance for him to practice, so the fee was not high.
The other two actresses were not famous and were newcomers in the film and television industry. Their pay was not high, but much higher than Luo Huai's. After all, it was not easy to find an actress as beautiful and cheap as Luo Huai.
As for other staff, unless they are very professional, the director will do all the trivial work that he can do. When the director is too busy, Qian Duoqun will do it for him. When professionals are really needed, they will only be hired for one or two days to save money.
In general, the salary of all the people added up to only 300,000 or 400,000 yuan. Although the villa is luxurious, the rent is not high under the premise of being haunted. Especially since this villa is not only a filming location, but also a place for everyone to stay, the rent is quite cost-effective.
Half of the crew didn’t need to eat, so food expenses were greatly saved. All the props we rented were worn out, and a batch of costumes were returned, so the rental fees for various props were not high.
All in all, the initial cost should be between 1 million and 1.2 million, leaving 800,000 to 900,000 for post-production, editing, special effects, music, art...
It probably isn't enough.
Qian Duoqun was so worried about money that his head was bald. He found an opportunity to ask Zhong Jiu, "With such tight funds, what are we going to do in the future? Can't you find a way to get some more sponsorship?"
Zhong Jiudao thought for a moment and said, "My connections are not very suitable for the film and television industry, but I can find someone to do the editing for free."
"Free? Is the relationship so close? Is it professional?" Qian Duoqun asked.
Taoist Master Zhong Jiu sighed and said, "It's my family's connections."
The editor is a cousin of his.
The Zhong family is a family of Taoist priests, and any young people in the family who have some talent must concentrate on studying the law.
My cousin Zhong Jiudao scored over 600 points in the college entrance examination and could have applied to a very good 985 or 211 university, but he was forced by his family to return home to concentrate on studying Taoism and did not continue his studies.
My cousin was unwilling to accept the fate imposed on him by his family. In addition to learning magic and exorcism, he also used his free time to teach himself video editing. Now he is also a well-known up-host.
From a professional perspective, Zhong Jiudao believes that his cousin is quite talented, and many post-production teams have invited him to join them. Unfortunately, his cousin has become a quasi-celestial master and cannot take on such work, so he can only post videos privately and anonymously.
Although the Zhong family asked everyone not to support Zhong Jiudao financially, his cousin's editing work had nothing to do with the family and had never been discovered by the family elders, so he could help Zhong Jiudao secretly.
Zhong Jiudao spread out his left hand, and a gel pen appeared in his palm.
This unusual pen seemed to be telling Zhong Jiudao that times had changed and the Zhong family needed to change.
After entering the peaceful era, the resentment of ghosts and monsters has become weaker and weaker, the magic power of the Taoist priests has also become lower and lower, and the entire industry has been going downhill.
However, in order to maintain the family business, the elders of the family have intensified their efforts to suppress the development of the younger generation. Many young people have given up their dreams, dropped out of school to practice, and stifled their original talents.
This cannot go on. If the younger generation cannot move forward, the family will only become increasingly impoverished.
Zhong Jiudao clenched the pen in his left hand. He clearly realized that this was his mission.
He wanted to be a director and make popular films to show his family that this most talented person in hundreds of years could also work in other industries. As a leader of the younger generation of Tianshi, he wanted to show his younger brothers and sisters who were still students that they could pursue their dreams!
This is probably the significance of this signature pen.
Therefore, no matter how difficult it is, even if he has to use a fierce ghost as an actor, Zhong Jiudao must hand in a satisfactory work to open his way to the film and television industry.
Seeing Zhong Jiudao's resolute expression, Qian Duoqun was also infected. It was the first time he met Zhong Jiudao and saw his polite speech and manners. He knew that this person must have received a good education in speech etiquette since childhood to have such manners and temperament.
But Zhong Jiudao was able to completely break free from his family's control. He worked hard on the set to learn more knowledge, and now he is even haggling over a few thousand yuan of funds.
From Zhong Jiudao, Qian Duoqun saw the thing called dream that he had long discarded, so he decided to help Zhong Jiudao. It was both a dream come true and an investment.
Qian Duoqun gets a share of the movie pay, what if he makes a profit
While Qian Duoqun was fantasizing about becoming a well-known producer in the future and having countless investors come to him with money to ask him to be a producer, Luo Huai finally waited for his friend Pang Xinhao.
Pang Xinhao and Luo Huai are classmates. Pang Xinhao’s appearance is not as good as Luo Huai’s, but his luck is completely different.
When he was a freshman, he auditioned for a low-budget web drama and was chosen to play the male No. 3. This low-budget drama was not well received at first, but it became a hit due to the times, and the actors who participated in it also became very popular and received a lot of resources in an instant.
Although Pang Xinhao is a professional actor, he started acting before receiving systematic training. The character setting in the low-budget web dramas matched his personality and he performed well. But when he took on more dramas, his lack of learning was exposed, and he contributed all kinds of horrible acting skills. He disappeared after filming two dramas, leaving the audience with only a bunch of emoticons.
He returned to school and wanted to study hard, but unfortunately he had missed too many courses and became restless and irritable. He couldn't study well and even couldn't get back his original mindset. His acting skills became worse and worse.
Pang Xinhao made a lot of money when he was popular in the past few years. He is not short of money, but his reputation is too bad. No one wants him to film. He can only take on some platform activities in small cities, such as performing at the opening of large shopping malls. If this continues, Jinshan will be emptied out.
He urgently needed to improve his acting skills, so after Luo Huai assured him that everyone in the crew was an excellent actor and the director was particularly good at teaching, he came with half belief and half doubt.
Pang Xinhao had a car and followed the location provided by Luo Huaifa all the way here. The further he walked, the more he felt something was wrong. It was clearly the afternoon in the hottest days of summer, but as he approached the villa, he felt an eerie feeling.
After finally passing through the dilapidated and dilapidated road, they arrived at the gate of the villa. Before Pang Xinhao could call Luo Huai to pick them up, the gate creaked open by itself.
Pang Xinhao drove the car into the yard, parked it on the flat ground outside the villa, and got out of the car.
The sky above the villa is covered by trees all around, and only the center of the entire yard can get a little sunlight.
In the garden, there was a gardener wearing a heavy straw hat, plowing the land and sowing seeds. He would squat down from time to time and say to the seeds, "Grow up quickly. When you grow up, I can eat you, hehehe."
Pang Xinhao was so frightened by the sinister gardener that he wanted to get in the car and run away. At this time, Luo Huai, who had received the news, came out and called him: "You are here, hurry up and audition, everyone is waiting for you. We have all the actors, and after we confirm you, we can start filming tomorrow!"
Pang Xinhao grabbed Luo Huai, pointed at the gardener and whispered, "Is that man mentally ill?"
Luo Huai hit him and said, "What are you talking about? He is our assistant farm manager. He is in charge of our meals and grows natural, pollution-free organic vegetables for us. In two or three weeks, we will be able to eat the eggplants, cucumbers, tomatoes, and Chinese cabbages he grows. For now, we have to make do with what we buy at the market."
"The crew...don't they provide us with boxed lunches?" Pang Xinhao asked in surprise.
"Boxed lunches are unhygienic and don't taste good. It's better to cook by yourself. Director Zhong's cooking is delicious." Luo Huai said.
"Director Zhong? Does the director of this crew cook for you personally? Are you being deceived..."
Before Pang Xinhao could finish his words, he was dragged into the villa by Luo Huai. Although Luo Huai was stupid, he was not short and he also paid attention to fitness to keep in shape. He was very strong. Pang Xinhao, who relied on dieting to lose weight, had no power to resist Luo Huai.
After they entered the door, the gardener raised his head slightly, looked at their backs and said, "One cabbage, two cabbages, the cabbages can be harvested... Alas, Director Zhong won't let us harvest them."
Luo Huai, who was completely unaware of the danger in the dark, brought Pang Xinhao to Zhong Jiudao. At this time, Zhong Jiudao was walking around carrying props, setting the stage.
There's no way, the crew is poor, and the director can do the work himself, so there's no need to trouble others.
"Director Zhong, my friend is here, give him a chance!" Luo Huai said.
"He is the director?" Pang Xinhao looked at the bulging muscles on Zhong Jiudao's arms and always felt that he might have been tricked by Luo Huai.
Zhong Jiudao glanced at Pang Xinhao and saw that he looked good, so he asked, "How much do you expect to be paid?"
Luo Huai: "He doesn't want any pay!"
Although he didn't pay to join the crew as he said at the beginning, it was still a saving. Zhong Jiudao nodded and said, "Take him to Qian Producer to sign the contract."
"No, I didn't say I wanted to sign!" Pang Xinhao struggled.
Luo Huai: "You will make great progress if you film with Director Zhong. You will be lucky if you don't have to pay the tutoring fee. If Director Zhong hadn't started filming right away and hadn't found a suitable actor, this opportunity wouldn't have been yours. Let's go and sign the contract."
He dragged Pang Xinhao to a thin and haggard man and said, "Brother Qian, this is my friend. Director Zhong asked us to sign a contract."
"I've been waiting for you for a long time!" Qian Duoqun strode forward, grabbed Pang Xinhao's hand to prevent him from escaping, rummaged through the briefcase next to him, found the "0 pay" contract that had been printed long ago, put two copies in Pang Xinhao's hand, and said, "Sign it."
Pang Xinhao does not have an agency, so he can make his own decisions and only needs two contracts.
Luo Huai stuffed the pen into his hand and encouraged him to sign with a look of "You've made a profit".
Pang Xinhao signed the contract and put his fingerprints in a daze. Only then did he have time to look at this poor crew. He couldn't help but feel a little suspicious: "Have I been cheated?"
He believed that Luo Huai would not cheat him, but Luo Huai might be cheated! Why did he sign the contract without even reading it
This doubt continued until the opening ceremony. Looking at the crew whose number, from directors to actors to staff, could be counted on ten fingers, Pang Xinhao's doubts reached a peak.
He asked Luo Huai privately: "Didn't you say there are still ten veteran actors?"
"Director Zhong said that they will not attend the opening ceremony, but will come when filming starts. You will be able to see them then. I have seen them once before, and they are so good-looking!" said Luo Huai.
Pang Xinhao believed it reluctantly, thinking that since no one would ask him to film a movie, it wouldn't matter if he was delayed for two or three months.
But in the evening, after Director Zhong personally cooked eight dishes and two soups for the entire crew, Pang Xinhao was dumbfounded again. There was only one director, who was both the director and the props, and also had to be a part-time chef
The other two actresses were also full of doubts, but unlike Pang Xinhao, they had received equivalent pay, so no matter how unreasonable it was, they could pretend not to see it.
However, when the director assigned the rooms, the two actresses strongly requested to stay in a room with two people, and refused to stay in a single room. Their keen sixth sense told them that it was safer to stay in a room with two people.
"Do you want to share a room with me?" Luo Huai asked, "We can rehearse a play or something tonight."
"No, there are so many rooms to choose from, why should we two share a room?" Pang Xinhao felt that the only satisfying thing about this crew was the room, so how could he not enjoy it.
He always felt that Director Zhong looked like a charlatan who told fortunes and exorcised ghosts, so he carefully chose a room farthest away from Director Zhong, as the home theater on the third floor was upstairs.
The filming had already started, so there was no time to waste that evening. Zhong Jiudao gathered all the actors together so that everyone could meet and get to know each other.
In the hall at night, Zhong Jiudao turned off the lights in the villa, and the kerosene lamp on the wall suddenly lit up by itself.
A classical beauty wearing a white cheongsam and walking with a graceful figure slowly walked out of the darkness holding a candle and stood beside Zhong Jiudao.
"She" glanced at the four human actors with her sad and affectionate eyes, chuckled, and introduced herself: "Hello everyone, my name is Qi Wanlian, and I am the protagonist of this movie."
That’s right, in this movie, all four human actors are supporting roles, and only actors who don’t want to be paid can be the protagonists.
This is a movie where the main character is a ghost.