"I, I have no filming, come here to find some opportunities, my family is almost in trouble. If the company didn't provide free accommodation, I wouldn't be able to pay the rent now."
It was a rare encounter with Fang Jing, and Xiao Zan complained for a while. When he signed the contract, he agreed that the male lead would write songs and release an album, and then he came.
Fang Jing arranged a variety show for him and wrote a few songs for him. The beginning was good, but the rest... there was no rest.
It was said that he was asked to do business acting first and start from the bottom slowly. After several years, he could hardly get up from the bottom.
"Mr. Fang, you told me to calm down before, but I have been doing this for a long time, and I will lose my temper if I continue to do so. Now no one invites me to the real estate opening."
Xiao Zan was joking when he said he couldn't expose the blame. He still has a deposit of seven to eight million, but without the support of exposure and works, his popularity has dropped sharply.
When Fang Jing wrote songs for him before, he was considered a second-tier artist, but now he is a third-tier artist, and the appearance fee is not as high as before, less than half.
"Oops!" Fang Jing patted his head and felt annoyed, "Why didn't you tell me earlier? I was so busy that I forgot about it."
I've said it hundreds of times, I've reported it countless times, and it either says it can't be accommodated at the moment or that I have to wait in line.
"Mr. Fang, so I have a chance to play the leading role?"
"Yes, that's necessary. Didn't I promise you back then? But your image is a bit fat now and you're not photogenic. Find a personal trainer and you'll be able to lose weight."
Xiao Zan had a dark face and a frozen smile. He was quite happy in the first half of the sentence, but completely collapsed in the second half. He knew that the moment he heard the word "but" it was the turning point.
Do you think he's fat? Fang Jing is obviously just perfunctory, but perfunctory is perfunctory. Anyway, he is determined to complete the drama today. Don't you want me to lose weight? Then I will lose weight.
"Mr. Fang, tell me how much weight is appropriate for me to lose. I will come to you after the weight loss is over."
The fight was on, and he would keep pestering Fang Jing until he got the drama.
"Um..." After looking at Xiao Zan, Fang Jing touched his chin and thought, "How much do you weigh now?"
"One hundred and forty-eight."
Xiao Zan is 1.82 meters tall, weighs 148 and is not fat, and his appearance is very even. He often goes to the gym to exercise.
"I'm a bit fat. I'm 148. I think it will look like 160 when taken on camera." Fang Jing said seriously: "Let's reduce it to 130 first."
Xiao Zan didn't make movies or TV dramas before, and he took the route of being a singer. He is not so strict about his weight. I understand Fang Jing's height and weight comparison.
"Okay, Mr. Fang, give me a month, and I can reduce it in one month."
As long as I can film and be a leading male, losing 18 pounds in a month is still acceptable.
Fang Jing sweated profusely, why is this guy so tough? "It's okay, you can reduce it slowly, don't be in a hurry, it will be no problem in two to three months, three to four months, I'll wait for you."
There are only a few idle directors in the company, and there are a lot of assistant directors, but not many of them can carry a crew alone.
Nanjing is not short of money, nor is it short of actors. In the past few months, a large number of investors, screenwriters and actors have approached them to cooperate, including many first-line artists, movie kings, and TV stars.
Many are willing to reduce their pay.
But what Fang Jing lacks is directors, and he only has four or five that he can produce. He has to take a break after every film, so Nan Jing can shoot four or five films a year, which is pretty good.
The problem now is that there are not enough directors, otherwise popular dramas like Ode to Joy would not work with Midday.
Fang Jing didn't deliberately leave Xiao Zan in the dark, he was just waiting for the director's schedule. Everyone wanted to be the male lead and the female lead, and the director had to make it happen.
"That won't work!" Xiao Zan shook his head and said seriously: "I can endure hardship. One month is enough. By the way, which director will I find if I reduce my weight?"
I don't know which director to look for, and I don't even have any film crew.
"Ahem!" Fang Jing hooked Xiao Zan's shoulder and pulled him aside, "It's not that the company doesn't want to help you, it's just that we don't have enough directors and don't have time."
"I understand all of this, I just...that's not right, isn't Director Luo idle?"
"He is idle, but after directing The Master, he worked non-stop to help me on the Flash Girls crew. He didn't take a day off. It's been half a year and I haven't seen my wife and children. How can you bear to let your children not see their father?"
"This..." Xiao Zan was a little embarrassed. He didn't want to disturb Luo Yongchang, but his own affairs were also important. "Can't other directors do the same?"
"It's OK, but I'm not sure about the skills of those assistant directors. I'm worried that after investing 70 to 80 million to make a bad movie, the company will lose money and you will get a bad reputation. There is no need."
"I still need an experienced director to check me before I dare to let go. This is also the company's purpose of striving for excellence."
Seeing that Xiao Zan's expression was uncertain, and fearing what he might have in mind, Fang Jing comforted him: "If it doesn't work, we can only outsource it to other companies, and let's work together."
When outsourcing to others, it basically means that Fang Jing pays part of the money and the male lead, and others have the final say, and there is no way to control the quality.
If you meet a good team, that's it. If you meet a bad team, the filming will look like shit. The audience will be disgusted after seeing it, and you will be disgusted too.
Patting Xiao Zan on the shoulder, Fang Jing sighed, "Think about it for yourself. I will keep the drama for you. If you are willing to wait, then wait for three to five months. If you don't want us to find other companies to cooperate with you, we will film it for you."
The male lead was what Fang Jing promised Xiao Zan in the first place, and this will not change. Although he didn't say when the filming would take place, I felt a little embarrassed that he had been left out for so long.
If Xiao Zan agrees, he can also cooperate with other companies to film the drama.
"You don't have to rush to answer me about this. Go back and think about it carefully. But before I go there, I'll show you a variety show and I'll give you the interest."
"Don't compete with newcomers for things like actor training classes. It's not easy for people to get an opportunity."
"Thank you, Mr. Fang." Xiao Zan looked happy. Fang Jing personally led him to do variety shows. It would be unreasonable for him not to be popular. The effect is no worse than filming a drama.
After saying yes, Fang Jing said nothing. He left Xiao Zan and walked around the crowd. Ying Haoming, Zhang Mingen, Yang Zi, Yang Chaoyue and others were all picked out by him and were not allowed to participate in the internal training class.
A group of newcomers looked at me gratefully.
God knows how happy they were when their manager informed them of this training class. As a low-level artist in a company, they need resources but not resources, connections but not connections, and popularity but not popularity.
The only chance to get ahead is this training class. In addition to learning things in the class, as long as you perform well, you will also be valued.
But when Xiao Zan, Yang Chaoyue, Yang Zi and others joined, buckets of cold water were poured on their heads.
Why are these big guys here to join in the fun? Yang Zi is already here, what else can they do?
Resources are limited!
Calling Yang Chaoyue and others to the office, Fang Jing said angrily: "What are you doing here?"
"The agent asked me to come," Yang Chaoyue said straightforwardly, "I said that I have done a lot of variety shows and am popular enough. I can try to develop into an actor in the future."