Chapter 708 - I Won’t Conceal Anymore And Come Clean With You
Chapter 708: I Won’t Conceal Anymore And Come Clean With You
On such an occasion where the cameras were all on them, everyone had to behave in a friendlier manner. Therefore, all the beautiful girls started clapping and cheering for Meiyue. “Do your best!” “Don’t cry!” “Meiyue, good luck!”
With the coach’s consolation, the entire scene looked harmonious and friendly.
Those who did not know better would think that this was an emotional program.
Or… A show to see who was more tragic.
Under everyone’s comfort, Meiyue gradually stopped crying. Then, she showed her coach the performance she had prepared.
Then, the video stopped at that point.
Su Yang retracted his gaze and looked at the emptiness before him. Then, he asked Little Deeny, “Is this a video of that show Meiyue is participating in?”
Little Deeny replied by Su Yang’s ear, “Yes, Master.”
Su Yang suddenly remembered that a few days ago, his receptionist had mentioned that “Produce 101” was going to be broadcasted the next day. However, he had been busy those few days, hence he had forgotten about it.
Then, Su Yang asked Little Deeny, “What happened to Meiyue after that?”
Little Deeny said, “She’s quite outstanding. Penguin Pictures has also given Meiyue enough screen time according to our agreement. Her friendliness, as well as her silly yet cute demeanor have all been shown.
“This video clip was posted by a UP Master at Station B. It’s very popular, even reaching the headlines in fact. This shows how everyone likes Meiyue, the little cutie.”
When she said that, Little Deeny felt like laughing. “However, the bullet comments are filled with denunciations of you, Master.”
Su Yang was confused. “They’re denouncing me? Why?”
Little Deeny said, “Because everyone thinks that you’ve given this cute girl too much pressure to make her break down like that. Furthermore, they feel that you’re purposely trying to seduce her with the goal of pushing her into the show.
“Right now, you’re synonymous with being a black-hearted boss.”
Su Yang was speechless.
‘I’ve actually become a black-hearted boss?
‘He really thought that Meiyue would become an A-list celebrity! After all, Little Hus could tell that Meiyue’s potential was not inferior to Han Yi’s!
‘I feel so wrongly accused!
‘I, the good boss who has supported the development of my employee, has actually been accused of being a black-hearted boss. Then… What would some other people be then?’
Perhaps Little Deeny had “seen through” Su Yang’s gloominess, she sniggered. “Master, they won’t be able to see your foresight right now. When Meiyue becomes famous, they will definitely realize just how far you’ve seen into the future.”
Su Yang pursed his lips. “Who knows how long that will take?”
Even though he said that, Su Yang did not really care about the public opinion. Hence, he changed the topic and asked, “Oh, by the way, since Meiyue is so likable, what’s her ranking like?”
Previously, the program team had already distributed the competition rules and regulations to the various partners. Therefore, Su Yang knew that this program divided the trainees into four groups, A, B, C and D, while Group A’s 11 people were the final spots to debut. On the other hand, Group B had 20, Group C with 30 and Group D with 40 people. The farther behind the ranking, the harder it would be for the female contestant to debut.
At this point, Little Deeny was at a loss for words. She stammered for a long time before saying to Su Yang, “Erm… It isn’t very ideal.”
Su Yang asked, “No. 11?”
Su Yang actually felt that it would not have been ideal for Meiyue to be the last member of the debut group. After all, it was a very dangerous position to be in which could easily be overtaken.
However, Little Deeny cleared her throat. “Hmm… Lower.”
Su Yang was surprised. “She didn’t make it to the debut group? Could she be in Group B then?”
Little Deeny. “Master… It’s lower than that.”
Su Yang was speechless.
‘Even lower than that?
‘Out of the 101 people, there are 11 people in Group A, 20 people in Group B, 30 people in Group C, and 40 in Group D. There are already 30 people in Group B, making it very difficult to make a debut already… Could she be in Group C?’
At that thought, Su Yang asked, “Surely not Group C?”
Little Deeny stopped beating around the bush. “She’s in Group D.”
Su Yang was speechless.
‘Group D!?
‘The worst group?
‘If she wants to make her debut, it’s going to be harder than ascending to the heavens now!
‘Even if she’s the first in Group D, there are still 60 people more to beat before can reach the debut group.
‘If this group is defined as a pyramid, she would be right at the bottom.’
As he thought about how Meiyue had to climb from the bottom to the top just to stand amongst the 11 people up there, Su Yang felt a little hopeless…
‘Would this be possible?
‘Especially when Meiyue’s so weak psychologically!
‘From the way I see it, it’s completely impossible!’
With that thought in mind, Su Yang said to Little Deeny, “Come, show me this season’s episodes. I’ll take a look at it.”
“Yes, Master.”
Little Deeny was now operating very fast. In just a few seconds, a screen appeared before Su Yang’s face.
Then, Su Yang adjusted his sitting posture and looked at the first episode of “Produce 101”.
‘I must say, As expected of Penguin Pictures who have spent 6 billion yuan on this show, which they claim to be their best… This whole show, be it their dance scene, staging, camera, or props, they are all the most outstanding stuff in terms of all variety shows on the Internet. In fact, this is far more popular than the other variety shows.’
Su Yang watched the entire episode as he lamented.
Soon, Su Yang fell into deep thought after watching the first episode.
Outsiders would be watching the show for fun, but those within the industry would be watching to look at opportunities.
Even though Su Yang was not considered an expert in the film industry, he had a few companies under him that were related to it. Hence, Su Yang gradually understood some of the rules within the film industry.
For example, if it was a variety program, even if it was a competition or talent show program, the ranking and the outcome were not that important.
There was only one criterion for this type of variety show… How outstanding the contestant was.
What did it mean by being outstanding?
It would be the amount of screentime a contestant or trainee would have or how well they exhibited their characteristics.
Then, if they’re able to exhibit their characteristics and make the audience think that they were interesting or silly, the contestant or trainee would have successfully made themselves seem outstanding.
After watching this episode, Su Yang realized that although Meiyue’s performance was terrible and she was a laughingstock, looked down upon by both the other trainees and the coaches. However, she was obviously the most outstanding trainee in the program.
Then, Su Yang analyzed Meiyue’s performance for the entire episode. Although he wasn’t clear about Meiyue’s actual performance, he could tell from the editing that the program team was trying to create a Cinderella persona for Meiyue, the girl-next-door. They wanted her to improve step by step and successfully make her debut.
The path of variety shows was actually always the same. They would rely on the special guests to make the show popular and then use the show to make the audiences be interested in them.
On top of that, Meiyue’s persona would also be able to manipulate fans easily. The fans would all get to know and support Meiyue before she became popular. Hence, they would effectively be watching her develop herself (as her ranking increases), when they do, they would have been hit with a positive impact and be even more in love with this idol of theirs.
This was exactly the biggest selling point of variety shows with the intention of developing a certain person.
Therefore, after watching the variety show, Su Yang was relieved.
‘This arrangement is more in line with Meiyue’s character than I’ve imagined. It seems like there’s a very capable person behind this program.’
As he lamented, Su Yang turned off the screen and continued to practice his acting skills. Even if his actors were going to be popular, he still had to work hard!
Soon, the morning passed. Su Yang called Pan Zhaodi to the villa for a meal in the afternoon and asked her to drive him to the filming location.
The film crew was at a film studio in Shanghai, which was just one of the filming locations for “Wandering Planet” since the movie itself was too huge. Other than Shanghai, there were filming locations in Qingdao and Hengdian as well. This was mainly because there were some ready-made scenes that could be filmed there.
Other scenes that did not exist and needed to be used in real life were all on Qingdao.
Actually, there was no other reason to do so than it being… Cheap.
Qingdao was the latest movie capital in China. The policies there were tilted and the price was relatively low.
When they arrived at the film studio in Shanghai, Su Yang asked Pan Zhaodi to follow the address Guo Fan gave him.
When they arrived, Wu Feng was standing at the door making a phone call.
When he saw Su Yang getting out of the car, Wu Feng waved to Su Yang and ended the call after a quick conversation.
Then, Su Yang walked over and asked, “What’s the matter? Are you especially here to welcome me?”
Wu Feng smiled and punched Su Yang’s shoulder. “Stop being narcissistic. Can’t you see that I’m on the phone?”
Then, he explained, “We’re almost done with the sequel. I found an action choreographer from Hollywood who was in charge of “The Matrix”, so he’s very impressive. It’s already settled. After I finish filming here, I’ll proceed with the preliminary prep work.”
Su Yang said, “You’re extremely efficient in your work, too efficient in fact. Not only do you film every day, you even have the time to come work for the production team. You must have very good time management.”
Wu Feng smiled and gave Su Yang another punch. “Keep shooting me with your insults as you like.”
After that, the two chatted as they walked in.
When Su Yang arrived at the studio, he saw Guo Fan filming a special effects scene.
The actor was squirming around in front of the green screen. There was clearly nothing there, but the actor acted as if he was dodging some kind of imminent threat.
Su Yang nodded when he saw this. ‘This actor’s acting skills seem to be quite good.’
Wu Feng sighed and said, “With the development of technology, movies are becoming more and more different. In the past, we had to actually shoot our own scenes. Only by genuinely acting it out were we able to get actual scenes.
“At that time, the Meisner Technique was just one of the methods for us to train our acting skills.
“Yet, now that we have this green screen… This technique has become a must. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have been able to film the special effects.”
Su Yang smiled. “This is quite good already. In the future, there might come the day when all you might need to film a perfect movie would be just your face.”
Wu Feng looked at Su Yang and asked in confusion, “AI Face Changer?”
Su Yang smiled and shook his head. “No. AI Head Changer.”
Wu Feng was confused. “What’s the difference?”
Su Yang sniggered. “Of course there’s a difference. What you’re referring to is indescribable content, but what I’m talking about is professionalism.”
Wu Feng was getting more and more confused by Su Yang’s words, so he decided to ignore Su Yang. In any case, he felt that this Brother Su of his would always say strange things.
When Wu Feng stopped talking, Su Yang did not just “let him off”. Instead, he took the initiative to say, “By the way, Brother Wu, there’s something I would like to discuss with you about.”
Wu Feng asked, “What is it?”
Su Yang looked around and said in a serious tone, “You and I are friends, so I won’t conceal myself anymore and come clean with you. Actually… My identity isn’t that simple.”
Wu Feng’s face instantly turned solemn.
He could not help but recall that his movie and Su Yang’s company were targeted by the Fengs last year, which quickly followed with the Fengs collapsing, an incident that had shocked Wu Feng greatly.
What kind of status did the Fengs have? They were a high-level family in the Zhaos, yet they ended up collapsing, just like that. If it weren’t for the higher-level members of the Zhaos who had done it, Wu Feng would never have believed the incident to have actually taken place.
However, Su Yang kept saying that it had nothing to do with him. Therefore, Wu Feng did not have any evidence and thought that it was just a coincidence.
Yet, Su Yang was finally revealing his cards, thus Wu Feng could not help but feel that Su Yang was being sincere about it and looked at him as he listened patiently.
Su Yang looked at the production team and said in a low voice, “I have some insider information. Something big might happen in our country next year.”
Wu Feng was shocked. ‘Something big?’
Su Yang said, “From what I know, the storyline for “Wolf Warriors 2″ is mainly about showing off the strength of our country, am I right?”
Wu Feng nodded. “That’s correct.”
Nodding his head, Su Yang hinted, “I suggest that this movie should be carefully crafted and not be released too early. In fact, I think a suitable timing for the release of this movie would be during the summer break.”
As he said that, Su Yang glanced at Wu Feng and nodded. “You understand what I’m saying, don’t you?”
With that, Su Yang stopped talking. He continued watching Guo Fan with his hands behind his back, leaving Wu Feng alone to think.
Wu Feng listened to Su Yang’s words quietly and his expression changed.
Actually, he was a straightforward person and did not like to drag things out. Therefore, he worked very hard and was very fast when filming movies.
His original plan was to finish filming as soon as possible, and then “Wolf Warriors 2” would take advantage of its predecessor’s popularity, making its release almost immediate.
On the other hand, the schedule of its release was supposed to be during the Spring Festival, coincidentally being a year and a month away from “Wolf Warriors”. Hence, when the popularity of the show was connected, it could also be used as a series.
Unexpectedly, Su Yang suddenly brought up this topic.
Wu Feng was a smart man and he knew how the situation in the country would affect the movie. Therefore, he knew that if something big really happened, the movie would definitely explode.
Even though Wu Feng felt that doing so would make him seem opportunistic, this movie of his was still a mainstream movie after all, plus a positive movie for that matter. Therefore, it was understandable to take advantage of some trending period. After all, it could also cultivate the pride of his countrymen.
However… Wu Feng’s only doubt was… ‘Is what Brother Su is saying true?
‘To be able to know about the country’s foreign policy a year in advance… Only someone in the upper echelons of the Zhaos would know about this, wouldn’t they?
‘In fact… Probably only…’
After that thought, Wu Feng dared not think further.
However, when he thought about how his Brother Su had acted since they met, Wu Feng suddenly felt that he should trust him!
‘Since the movie hasn’t been filmed, it would be easy to change its schedule.’ Hence, Wu Feng thought about it and came to a conclusion. ‘If I change the schedule and nothing happens, it would still not affect the movie’s box office sales and Su Yang would have a good impression of me. However, if something really does happen, the box office sales would skyrocket, and I would end up earning a lot!’
This was especially so when Wu Feng recalled that Su Yang was the main investor of “Wolf Warriors 2”. Hence, there was no way Su Yang would cheat him, thus making his decision immediately.
So, he whispered to Su Yang, “Brother Su, I’ve thought about it. I’m really worried about “Wandering Planet”, so I would like to help out.”
Su Yang looked at him and smiled. ‘My Platinum Mission is a success!’
Looking at Su Yang’s smile, Wu Feng made a decision in his heart. ‘It all depends on next year. If something big really does happen, Brother Su would be a top-tier member of the Zhaos!’
Hence… the two of them finished watching Guo Fan’s shoot with their own thoughts.
After filming a scene, Guo Fan made some arrangements and turned around to see the two of them.
Then, he smiled and greeted, “Mr. Su, you’re here. Are you ready?”
His words caught the attention of many on set and everyone turned to look at him.