dognovel Chapter 290 The Halftime Show
Chapter 290 The Halftime Show
Bai Li looked at the relaxed expressions of the investors, smiled slightly, and gently tapped her fingertips on her raised knees.
Although she was capable of covering all the costs of investing in "The Craftsman" on her own, doing so was still too high-profile and made her vulnerable to being targeted by the industry.
These investors were all carefully selected by her; they not only provide positive support for "Tian Gong," but also wield significant influence in film and television investment both domestically and internationally.
Mr. Li, the general manager of Longtao Entertainment, is not only close to me, but is also one of the most respected senior figures in the industry.
The other invited guests were also representatives of top film and television investment companies, ranking among the top ten in the industry.
After learning about the case involving Rockex Pharmaceuticals, Bai Li deeply realized what it means to be "the bigger the tree, the more the wind blows".
If a tree occupies an open space all by itself, it is too conspicuous and has a higher risk of being struck by lightning.
Therefore, gathering a dozen or so trees to form a forest not only spreads the risks but also allows the forest to successfully integrate into the larger "forest" environment, making it difficult to be shaken no matter how strong the storm is.
The same principle applies to investing.
Although one person can capture all the profits from an investment.
But Bai Li has already made a fortune, and Xiao Hao gives her 1 million yuan in cashback every day.
A movie can only make a profit of a little over 10 billion yuan at most. Whether she earns a lot or a little, it no longer matters to her.
In Bai Li's view, it would be better to give up some of the benefits and distribute the risks to avoid encountering similar retaliation as Luo's.
Therefore, bringing these investors into the market is a necessary means for Bai Li to seek safety and stability.
One of the purposes of today's visit is to instill positive expectations in them regarding their investments.
From this perspective, today's set visit was a great success.
As for the other purpose of today's visit...
Thinking of this, Bai Li slowly took out her phone, swiped her finger across the screen, and opened the photo album.
The album contains photos I just took on set.
Her keen senses told her it was time to give "Tiangong" a boost.
During a break on set, Bai Li selected four pictures.
When she made her selection, she tilted her head slightly to examine the composition before tapping her finger and sending it to her social media account.
[Image 1: In the wide-angle view, the distant horizon features rolling golden sand dunes, with a faint white glimmer visible in the lower right corner, its edges shimmering.]
[Image 2: In the barren sand, a strangely shaped plant seems to be growing. Its metallic texture bursts forth from the soil, with slivers of leaves peeking through the edge of the image. It's a translucent, fluorescent crystal that refracts a cold halo of light under the sun. Although only two branches are visible in the photo, its wild, untamed growth is still evident from its shape.]
[Image 3: Shadows are cast under the cobalt blue canopies, and a group of figures are busy moving against the light.]
[Image 4: A macro close-up of a fiber optic duct. At the crack in the middle, there appear to be some luminous flashes, forming a hazy patch of light—as if some energy is about to overflow from the broken crack.]
These four pictures may seem random, but they are actually carefully selected by Bai Li and are the most "stream of consciousness" pictures.
The animated captions are also very concise:
—"Today's set visit diary".
Unfortunately, the signal on set was really bad.
If it were just text, that would be fine, but Shirai would send a full four pictures.
The upload progress in the background is extremely slow, almost like a "turtle crawl".
At that moment, Bai Li really wanted to hold her phone up high, trying to speed up the upload process.
But reason pulled her back.
That wouldn't make her faster; instead, it would make her look silly.
She could only click her tongue almost inaudibly in the end, muttering to herself:
I don't know when these four pictures will be uploaded.
If all else fails, I'll have to go back and post the update again.
This unstable network severely hinders the performance of a top-notch operations master!
On set, the script supervisor's voice rang out again: "Scene 1323, ready! Actors, in position! Lights, in position! Camera, in position!"
The ten-minute break ends here.
Seeing that the pictures hadn't been uploaded yet, Bai Li grumbled as she put away her phone and turned her attention back to the film set.
"Action!"
After Director Saiweng gave the order, the second scene of the day officially began filming.
-----------------------------
After defeating the mechanical life guardians, Lin Qiu (played by Yu Dong) and Renault (played by Aidan) finally got a chance to catch their breath.
The scene being filmed this time is their conversation as they enter the safe zone.
Without the intense fight scenes, the camera focuses on the faces of the two main actors.
This scene is even more demanding on the actors' skills than the previous one.
Yu Dong remained remarkably composed. Her character, Lin Qiu, adjusted her breathing, quickly regaining her composure as a scientist, rapidly checking the data on her wrist device while issuing commands:
"Renault, check the entrance to the three o'clock position to make sure there are no tracking signals. We need five minutes to repair 'Little Circle's' communication module."
The monitor footage revealed Yu Dong's subtle facial expressions in great detail, with even the fine hairs on his skin clearly visible.
All her expressions and reactions were perfectly executed, without a doubt.
Director Saiweng kept his eyes glued to the monitor and didn't yell "Cut," clearly quite satisfied with the performance of this segment.
The scene cuts to Reno, played by foreign actor Aidan.
His tall frame leaned slightly against the wall covered with "symbiote" crystals. A few strands of his blond hair were damp with sweat and stuck to his forehead. He was still breathing heavily because he had just finished a high-intensity battle, but his eyes were as sharp as an eagle's.
As he deftly inspected the futuristic-looking gun's energy magazine, he replied in fluent, heavily accented Chinese, "Roger that, Doctor. The passage is secure. However..."
He looked up at Lin Qiu and grinned with a wild and charming smile.
"Next time, could you please not let those metal lumps get so close to my face? They almost ruined my livelihood."
He pointed to his sharply defined jawline.
Aidan delivered this slightly sarcastic line perfectly, showcasing the character's relaxation and confidence after teetering on the brink of death, while also exuding a touch of the roguish charm unique to mercenaries.
This dialogue not only eased the tension left by the fierce battle, but also instantly made the character of Renault more vivid and three-dimensional.
Director Saiweng did not yell "Cut" during this performance either.
Behind the monitor, Bai Li's eyes shone even brighter.
This foreign actor not only has top-notch "hardware" (physical attributes), but also excellent "software" (mental qualities)!
The delivery of the lines was spot-on, and the emotional transitions were natural.
Yu Dong's performance was of a very high standard, but Ai Dan was equally impressive, and their on-screen chemistry was perfectly matched, with Ai Dan holding her own in every way.
Although he is a foreign actor, he has worked hard to learn Chinese.
It is no easy feat to speak Chinese lines so fluently in such a short time.
Although there is an accent, it's not a big problem; it can be compensated for with dubbing later.
They are indeed actors carefully selected from overseas.
Although not very famous, he has good acting skills, a positive attitude, and an appearance that fits the aesthetic standards of Eastern people.
She subconsciously glanced again at Aidan's sharply defined face, his well-defined chest and arms under his tight combat suit, and her inner voice was frantically sending hearts through her.
So handsome...
No!
That was a really good performance!
Xiao Hao seemed to have heard Bai Li's thoughts and popped up at that moment to remind her: "Host, that guy's looks score is up to par, you can gain favorability points."
Bai Li already knew this information when Aidan's resume came to her after the interview.
Aidan's current favorability rating towards him is 10 points, which means they have just met. His understanding of her is probably limited to her being the producer and investor of "Tian Gong".
This is a normal value.
After all, they didn't really know each other.
This is the first time Bai Li has met Aidan in person.
Aidan had never actually met Bai Li; he had only heard of the production company's name.
Most eligible men who have never met Bai Li but have only heard of her identity will not have a preference level of more than 10 for her.
Aidan's favorability rating is already considered high among these cases.
It's not that Bai Li doesn't want to gain more favor from him, but rather that the cost-effectiveness is not high.
Aidan can only contribute another 10-30 points of favorability to her at most.
However, getting to know someone requires finding ways to make contact, introduce yourself, and find topics to talk about.
These steps all require time and effort, and Bai Li was too lazy to put in that effort just to gain a few dozen points of favorability.
What she really wants to do is increase sales volume.
After all, she has a total favorability rating KPI to carry on her shoulders.
Instead of spending time gaining another 30 favor points from Aidan alone, she might as well find three more people who can contribute 10 favor points each.
Not only is it easier to obtain, but there's also little psychological burden associated with buying white pears.
As the mission objectives changed, Bai Li's strategies also evolved accordingly.
The old approach of actively befriending a handsome guy you see is no longer suitable for Bai Li.
Therefore, Bai Li's reaction to Xiao Hao's suggestion was somewhat indifferent: "We'll talk about it when there's an opportunity."
Meanwhile, director Sion kept his eyes glued to the monitor, occasionally issuing brief instructions over the walkie-talkie:
“Renault, tilt your head a little more so the sidelight shines on the wound…”
"Okay... Lin Qiu, slow down the equipment check by 0.5 seconds so the audience can see the details clearly."
"...Yes, keep it up..."
The filming proceeded smoothly.
Without the interference of the stunt doubles, the filming of this dialogue scene went much more smoothly. After a few takes, Director Saiweng called "Cut!"
"Pretty!"
Director Saiweng took off his headphones, a satisfied smile on his face.
"Both of you are in great shape! The emotion in this scene is spot on! The next segment is 1346. The props team is about to cut the scene. Everyone else, take a half-hour break."
The actors breathed a sigh of relief and went to their respective rest areas to touch up their makeup and drink water.
The investors around Bai Li began to whisper among themselves, naturally focusing on Ai Dan's outstanding performance.
"This foreign actor is quite good; he has a good image and his acting is natural."
"Yes, Director Sai has a sharp eye. Actors with both talent and distinctive characteristics are likely to become popular after the movie is released."
……
Severn readily accepted the compliment: "Aidan is indeed a surprise. His resume is solid in action films and science fiction, and his performance in the audition was very explosive. I'll call him over."
After speaking, he turned to his assistant who was following behind him and gave him a few instructions.
At this moment, Aidan was gently wiping the sweat from her forehead with a towel to prevent it from further ruining her makeup.
Upon receiving the notification from his assistant, he quickly wiped the sweat off his face with a towel, set it aside, and strode over.
After a brief introduction by director Seven, he leaned slightly forward, his tall figure subtly surveying the investors with a composed gaze, maintaining a respectful yet professional distance.
"Hello, I'm Aidan, who plays Reno."
Aidan's Chinese has a unique rhythm; although his pronunciation is not as fluent as his native language, each word is clear.
Led by director Saiweng and his assistant, Aidan got to know the various investors present.
Aidan's deep eyes swept over the investors in front of him one by one, and when his gaze landed on Bai Li, he paused for half a second.
Perhaps it was because I had heard of this young producer before, but I never imagined he would be so young.
The moment Aidan grasped Bai Li's hand, an unexpected notification sounded from backstage:
Aidan's favorability +5
Aidan's favorability rating: 15
Upon hearing the notification tone, Bai Li squinted and smiled, a smile that resembled that of a shrewd businessman.
Although gaining favor with someone is not very efficient.
But this kind of favorability that comes to you is also quite good.
Bai Li was in a good mood, and her words became more friendly: "Teacher Aidan, I've seen your audition video. The role of Reno seems tailor-made for you. We were all captivated by that scene just now. You must have put in a lot of effort to improve your Chinese dialogue skills, right?"
Aidan gently shook her hand and then let go. He shrugged and said, "I've suffered a lot. I hired a Chinese tutor specifically for the role, and I had to memorize vocabulary every day in addition to the script."
He spoke with a smile playing on his lips, exuding a wild charm with a touch of authenticity.
"However, when acting with Teacher Yu Dong, I still get so nervous that I forget my lines. Thankfully, she always manages to keep the rhythm."
Bai Li smiled and took a business card from her assistant, handing it over: "Teacher Aidan is too modest. This kind of cross-cultural performance tension is rare. There may be opportunities for collaboration in the future."
"Thank you for your trust, Mr. Bai." Aidan took the business card and carefully put it away. "It's an honor to work with 'Tiangong'."
Aidan's favorability +5
Aidan's favorability rating: 20
Upon hearing the notification tone again, Bai Li's smile deepened.
If everyone's favorability was this easy to increase, Bai Li would be willing to distribute her business cards all over the world, and the task of increasing favorability could probably be completed very quickly.
But such thoughts are best left unsaid; everyone has a different personality.
Only people with low psychological defenses can gain favor so easily.
Some people are more guarded, and their favorability will only increase by 1 or 2 points.
At that very moment, Wuhai, far away in North America, suddenly sneezed.