novelslam Chapter 176 I'll Definitely Stand Up for You
Chapter 176 I'll Definitely Stand Up for You
With the project finalized, Vision Entertainment, this money-printing machine, immediately began operating at full capacity.
Script submitted for review?
That's something others worry about. Given Gu Heng's current honeymoon period with China Film Group, submitting this script is practically like going through a green channel, getting all the green lights.
The setup of the film crew was also completed swiftly and efficiently.
Next comes the most crucial step: casting.
The male and female leads, Huang Xiaoming and Liu Yifei, are already in place.
Gu Heng pondered for a long time, stroking his chin, about the second male lead, the doctor who secretly controlled the cyclical machine.
This role has few scenes but is extremely crucial, so it needs a veteran actor who can anchor the entire film.
Alright, let's go find Teacher Li Xuejian!
I've already helped once anyway.
It's not too much to ask your senior uncle to help out his junior nephew, is it?
The role of the second female lead was directly given to Tang Yan.
That is, the female passenger sitting opposite the male protagonist when he wakes up on the train, her screen time is only about ten or twenty minutes.
As for who to give the villainous bomber role to, that was a problem for Gu Heng.
There are quite a few ruthless characters in the industry who portray villains with remarkable depth and realism.
But this is a suspenseful sci-fi film!
There is a fatal flaw in current domestic films: they like to cast actors who specialize in playing villains.
Once the audience buys a ticket and enters the venue, they see that face standing there and know that guy is definitely the murderer!
End!
Where's the suspense and anticipation from now?
After much thought, a highly recognizable and extremely wronged face flashed through Gu Heng's mind.
Zhang Yi!
Yup!
This guy is incredibly skilled, has a great reputation among the public, and most importantly, he has an innocent-looking face that seems ready to bravely sacrifice himself at any moment.
Who the hell would have thought that Sergeant Shi, the kind-hearted guy in "Soldiers Sortie," would be a ruthless terrorist who bombed a train?
Haha, once the movie is released, let those audience members be completely bewildered in the theater!
The remaining roles were all played by artists from Vision Entertainment.
Release the rest.
With the actors resolved, the remaining challenge was the most difficult one: special effects.
Since he had made up his mind to make a science fiction film made by Chinese people, Gu Heng didn't even glance at the Hollywood technical team, and all foreign companies were sidelined.
We must use an all-Chinese team!
However, the current level of domestic special effects companies... is really not up to par.
No single company could handle the workload of a sci-fi film; they would definitely falter if they went it alone.
There was no other way but to stitch it up.
Gu Heng called Su Qing into his office and tossed her a list: "Go, contact the owners of these special effects companies and tell them I have a big deal to work with."
Su Qing, wearing high heels, glanced down: China Film Hualong and Beijing Tiangong. These two are well-established domestic brands, but what about Tianyi below them?
Seeing the doubt on Su Qing's face, Gu Heng chuckled.
Don't say Su Qing didn't know; he only found out the details when he was drinking tea and listening to gossip with Grandpa Tian Zhuangzhuang.
It turns out a senior from the Beijing Film Academy secretly ran this company and even took on some of the special effects work for films like *Painted Skin* and *Metallic Attraction: Kung Fu Cyborg*. (Seriously, and their skills are pretty good.)
The old man was drinking tea at the time, and the meaning behind his words was all too clear: if you have meat to eat, think more about your fellow apprentices.
The next morning.
In the conference room of Vision Entertainment, the CEOs of several special effects companies gathered together.
Gu Heng almost strained his back when he pushed the door open and went in.
Sitting in the main seat, leisurely blowing on the tea leaves while holding a teacup, who else could it be but Han Sanping, the head of China Film Group!
Gu Heng's lips twitched.
That makes sense. He directly called the CEO of Hualong, the son of China Film Group, to a meeting. How could Third Master, with his keen hearing, not hear what was going on?
Upon hearing that Gu Heng had just returned to the country and was already preparing to make a big move, Han Sanping came over without any prior notice.
"Alright, Xiao Gu, stop glaring at me and take it out." Third Master put down his teacup and stretched out his hand.
Gu Heng quickly handed over the script for "Original Code" along with the detailed storyboard he had drawn himself.
Not only was it given to Han Sanping, but each of the special effects bosses present also received a copy.
After turning the last page of the storyboard, Han Sanping took a deep breath, slammed the script heavily on the conference table, his eyes filled with shock and admiration.
This kid went to Hollywood, and his thinking and perspective are completely different!
Play the most mind-bending high-concept games in the most extreme scenarios.
"Little Gu, are you planning something big this time?"
Han Sanping stood up, his gaze sweeping over the group of special effects bosses who were still staring at the storyboards and swallowing hard:
"Regardless of the outcome this time, just because you want to create your own Chinese science fiction, China Film Group will definitely lend a hand!"
When Third Master spoke, setting the tone, the eyes of those below instantly turned red, and they almost burst into tears.
We've been suffering from terrible special effects in China for far too long!
While those people in Hollywood are making a killing, the rest of us in China are just taking on odd jobs in martial arts and fantasy dramas, barely scraping by, and constantly being pressured by production companies to lower our prices.
Is it that they don't want to do it? They don't have the money or the resources to learn!
It's incredible that someone is willing to spend real money to make a pure domestic science fiction film; they're like a second parent!
The special effects in "Source Code" are not actually extremely grand; they mainly focus on the train explosion, the construction of the external environment, and the metallic texture of the protagonist's sealed space capsule.
Gu Heng acted swiftly and decisively, quickly dividing the task into three separate sections, with each of the three companies fulfilling their respective roles and working together to tackle the challenges.
Seeing these bosses, who usually fight tooth and nail over projects, now gathered together harmoniously like a family, studying storyboards, Gu Heng, holding a thermos, leaned back in the boss's chair and sighed for a while.
That's really great!
As long as we want to do it, as long as we are willing to invest money and learn, there is no special effect in this world that we Chinese cannot create!
As soon as the atmosphere was right, Gu Heng couldn't help but joke, "Seriously, if Hualong weren't a subsidiary of China Film Group, I would have bought and merged all three of you out of my own pocket."
The speaker has no intention, the listener has the heart.
Han Sanping, who was happily sipping his tea, was startled by these words and his eyes widened instantly.
Merger?!
Yeah! How the hell could I not have thought of that?!
If China Film Group takes the lead and integrates these top visual effects companies, they could create a national-level visual effects behemoth...
"It's a promise, double happiness!"
If these three companies merge, wouldn't that be the domestic Light & Magic?!
This is truly a groundbreaking and significant achievement! As for the question of Hualong's ownership and merger?
There's a growing push for the integration of the cultural industry right now!
Seeing the old man suddenly fall into a state of frenzied excitement, Gu Heng was stunned and immediately facepalmed.
I was just joking, how could you, a high-ranking leader, take it so seriously?
But the special effects bosses below looked at each other, their fervor barely concealed.
Of course, as exciting as it may seem, such a large-scale integration involving the assets, equity, and even personnel of multiple companies is not something that Third Master can handle in a day or two with just a snap of his fingers; there will be a long and drawn-out process of wrangling and negotiation.
But for the current "Source Code", the special effects team's problems have been completely solved.
After agreeing on all the initial cooperation intentions, these old guys were all like they'd been injected with chicken blood, and the meeting ended in a flurry of activity as they went back to find people to get to work.
……
I don't know why I got a fever today, so I went to the hospital and had several IV drips.
I'm really not in the right frame of mind; I've been thinking for ages but can't come up with a plot.
I'll add it all tomorrow.