Divine Lucky Star
Chapter 283 - Chapter 283 283

Chapter 283: 283 Chapter 283: 283 After the two finished drinking, Director Yang continued to introduce Wang Hao, this time to a middle-aged man in his fifties, “This is our coordinator, Mr. Chen Li. The coordinator’s role is crucial, mainly responsible for specific arrangements within the crew. He’s essentially the general manager, organizing the crew’s shooting schedule and making announcements. For instance, what time does each day start? Where are we shooting? Which scenes? Which actors are involved? How many extras are needed? It’s a demanding job, but a good coordinator can really save the crew a lot of money. Our Mr. Chen Li here is quite skilled at it!”

Another key figure, Wang Hao quickly picked up his glass, “Hello, Mr. Chen!”

Once they had drunk, Yang Shoulin continued, “This is our life producer of the crew, Mr. Zhang Qiang. His main task is to manage the daily logistics for the crew. What everyone eats for three meals a day, refueling the cars, arranging hotel rooms for everyone, and so forth are all organized by the life producer.”

Another core member, Wang Hao quickly offered a toast, “Mr. Zhang.”

“Sure thing,” Zhang Qiang, a cheerful and portly man who seemed easy to talk to, responded, “Little Wang, just let me know if you need anything. I’m also old friends with Mr. Ren, so don’t be shy.”

“That’s great!” The two clinked glasses.

The next few people introduced were relatively less significant members of the crew, including the crew manager, Li Chuang, makeup artist Liu Hong, and so on.

Now that the introductions were complete and the dishes had all been served, everyone started drinking.

That’s why they say you can’t get anything done in the Heavenly People’s Republic without drinking. Several rounds of drinks later, everyone started opening up.

“Ah, bro,” Boss Ren lamented while drinking, “the way you revised that script, brilliant! Meng Zenan’s previous script was so boring and uninteresting! But after you explained yours to me, it was just two words–so refreshing!”

“Exactly, so refreshing!” “This script definitely has no problems!”

Everyone around responded in agreement; at this point, Director Yang Shoulin added, “It’s good that we changed the script, but it’s a pity we can’t use the footage we already shot.”

At this, everyone sighed in unison–

“Right? We shot for more than half a month, and all those scenes and camera work have been wasted.”

“Indeed, just those things cost at least two hundred million, right?”

Hearing this, Wang Hao suddenly exclaimed, “That much? Two hundred million in half a month, averaging over one hundred thousand a day?”

“That’s right,” Yang Shoulin nodded, “And that was when we weren’t using any top-tier celebrities. Even a second-tier minor star nowadays costs around fifty thousand a day.”

At this point, the crew manager, Li Chuang, chimed in, “Filming is just a money pit everywhere. Even just a nail, when you add up everything, isn’t cheap. Take a set we rented before, in the film studio city, renting that space cost eight thousand a day, the filming equipment ten thousand a day, a simple sword at least a hundred, and then you have a big crew, even normal worn-out clothes cost more than NIKE in the stores!”

Wang Hao: “That exaggerated?”

“No choice,” Li Chuang took a sip of his drink, “That’s just the way it is now. Where else can you find suitable clothes? All made new then aged. The cost of one piece of clothing being around a thousand eight hundred is pretty normal. Like for the Martial Heroes movie we’re shooting? Those new Jianghu costumes, if they look too new, they just won’t do. So, we need to age them, and that’s why they’re so pricey.”

Wang Hao: “…”

Indeed, this was a rather sad topic to discuss. In filming, money always comes first; without it, nothing moves forward.

“Alright, let’s not talk about that now. My brother arrived today, let’s have a good drink, to everyone’s health!” Boss Ren was visibly elated, “We’ll talk about money later. I definitely won’t let my brothers suffer! Besides, Teacher Tong has gone to negotiate, right? I believe in her capability!”

“Right, right, right, with Teacher Tong there, there definitely won’t be a problem!”

Everyone stood up, those pouring drinks poured, those raising glasses raised, and altogether took a drink.

Wang Hao also drank a toast, then looked around–the table didn’t have anyone surnamed Tong…

“Why do they say as soon as you mention Cao Cao, Cao Cao arrives?” Just as he was talking about this, he heard the sound of high heels clicking from outside the private room.

The sound was rhythmic, not loud, yet very soothing to listen to.

Wang Hao was curious, when suddenly the door to the private room was pushed open, and an immaculately dressed woman walked in.

The woman was about five foot four, with an oval face, extremely fair skin, and an air about her that was very solemn and dignified. She wore black framed glasses and frequently surveyed her surroundings with an air of subtle arrogance that captivated everyone’s gaze.

As soon as the people, including Yang Shoulin, who were holding a meeting in this small room saw her, they all stood up. Yang Shoulin laughed loudly, “Haha, Director Tong is back! Director, how did the talks go?”

“Teacher Tong, how were the discussions?” After Tong Tong sat down, Boss Ren also asked, holding a glass of wine, “Is everything going smoothly?”

“Everything is going smoothly for now,” Tong Tong said, hanging her Gucci handbag on the chair and showing total lack of concern, “For the time being, we have only expected an investment plan of two million. I reckon we’ll have to go for more discussions, as this amount seems a bit too little for me.”

Two million!

Upon hearing this figure, everyone present was thrilled!

“Hahaha! Two million! Gosh, with this amount of investment, our production budget can be much less tight!”

“Exactly, with Director Tong leading, there can’t be any issues!”

“Worthy of being a Master of Economics, the impact is just different!”

Listening to the astonishment of those around her, Tong Tong showed no change in expression. She took a breath and said, “Speaking of which, how’s the script? I remember Miss Lan was not satisfied; how was it resolved?”

“It’s all fixed!” Mentioning the script, Yang Shoulin hurriedly introduced Wang Hao, “Wang Hao, I must formally introduce you to our production supervisor from Zhonghai University, master of economics, Tong Tong, Teacher Tong. Her main duty is to attract investment sponsors, and she is also responsible for recruiting the cast members. Even the minor roles and special appearances have to be approved by her signature to finalize the pay.”

Then he introduced Wang Hao to Tong Tong, “This is Wang Hao, the new scriptwriter in our crew. You know ‘Domestic Agent’? He helped revise that script, a very talented young man. He also revised our script, and changed the name to ‘Swordsmen of the Laughing River’, which is awesome! If it gets filmed, it’s sure to be a hit!”

Ah, this is a real person of authority!

Wang Hao quickly raised his glass, “Teacher Tong, nice to meet you.”

“Mm, nice to meet you,” Tong Tong nodded slightly as a form of greeting.

After formally meeting each other, Tong Tong casually took a bite of her food and said, “Director Yang, you handle the script matters, I won’t interfere. Send me the recent budget and scenes later, I’ll check if there are any issues.”

Hearing her say this, the people present looked at each other and nodded collectively, “Alright, let’s work on this today. Once everything’s done, we’ll start filming tomorrow!”

“Right, right, right, we can’t just sit idle, let’s discuss while we eat!”

“Absolutely, we can’t waste time with such a big crew.”

“Just as we hit the main topic,” Boss Ren patted Wang Hao’s shoulder and said, “Young brother, you see, our crew can’t be idle, right? How about we start with a small scene tomorrow?”

Boss Ren addressed a very practical issue–the crew comprised many people all paid daily.

Without filming for even a day, just the wages for such a big team amounts to 40,000 to 50,000 a day, and it’s no joking matter.

“Alright, no problem,” Wang Hao clearly understood the implication and smiled, “I’ll just suggest a couple of simple scenes to start with a few extras.”

“That’s exactly what I meant!” Boss Ren was delighted, “So, young brother, let’s hear it, which scenes?”