Chapter 157: Scarlett

Wei Jin's version of *Now You See Me* does not differ much from the original, though he has laid some groundwork in the plot and planted some hooks for a sequel.

The producers of the original film never expected it to be a box-office hit, so the sequel was essentially rushed into production; aside from the special effects and magic tricks being quite good, the plot had some glaring flaws. Wei Jin naturally would not make such mistakes; he is preparing to build it into a series, and the subsequent scripts are already being refined.

Since arriving in North America two days ago, Wei Jin has also handled many matters. On the first day, he went to Digital Domain to check on the post-production status of *The Martian*.

In the post-production center of Digital Domain, a large number of machines and equipment were in operation, processing frame by frame, second by second.

Before sending it over, Wei Jin had already set the direction and standards for the details, and with the person in charge from Shanhe Ink keeping a constant eye on things, it was basically all mechanical work.

After inspecting the production results, Wei Jin was very gratified; so far, after more than a month, there had been no major deviations.

The only thing that made Wei Jin's heart tremble slightly was the high cost. Just at Digital Domain, it burned through 60,000 to 70,000 USD every day, sometimes even as high as 100,000; it was a well-deserved money-swallowing beast.

This only strengthened Wei Jin's determination to continue developing special effects technology; Shanhe Ink would sooner or later monopolize domestic special effects production.

Speaking of which, several domestic films that wrapped up this year, including *The Warlords* and *Assembly*, chose to have their post-production special effects done at Shanhe Ink, and the reputation has already been established.

On the second day, Wei Jin met with several magic consultants for the film, the most famous of whom was David Copperfield.

As the world's most famous magician, the most renowned magic tricks are surely familiar to any magic enthusiast, such as passing through the Great Wall, making the Statue of Liberty disappear, flying in the air, and so on.

Many of the magic tricks in the original film could have been completed using special effects or editing, without needing to use real magic.

But out of consideration for detail and logic, Wei Jin still brought these magicians in to help enrich the magic details from a professional perspective, making the film look more realistic and avoiding bugs that an insider would spot at a glance.

For the magic industry, revealing the secrets of magic is smashing the industry's rice bowl, and insiders are gnashing their teeth over it.

It just so happens that the main plot of *Now You See Me*, apart from acting on behalf of heaven, also has a bit of disdain for magic reveals; the villainous old man makes a living by revealing magic secrets and is eventually sanctioned.

Moreover, the film essentially serves as a promotion for magic, so many magicians are willing to come and help.

Aside from these consultants, for the sake of filming requirements, the crew also specifically invited two professional magicians and card flourish artists to guide the production on-set and potentially act as hand doubles when necessary.

After all, the two characters, the 【Magician】 and the 【Locksmith】, have quite a few card-handling scenes. To film them looking cool and dashing, professional technique is essential, and for this, the two actors have already been training for a period of time.

Of course, Wei Jin also made backup preparations; if the actors' techniques really didn't look good, he would rely on editing and use hand doubles. In short, there are always more solutions than difficulties. —— On the third day, Wei Jin brought Jing Tian to the set and met with several of the main creators; the scene was already mostly set up.

The actor playing the 【Magician】, Captain America, has handsome features, but he especially likes to grow a beard when not filming, looking just like a kiwi fruit.

Wei Jin specifically took a look at Captain America's buttocks; they were indeed very perky. It is said that his assets are not small either; photos that were accidentally leaked once caused people to exclaim "king oyster mushroom."

Regarding this, Wei Jin felt a sense of mutual appreciation; after all, his own "Eighteen Scholars" are nothing to sneeze at, and he has discovered that they have actually been growing in recent years, which is a bit terrifying. He fears that in the future, his name might become a bit of a misnomer.

The actor playing the 【Hypnotist】, Ryan, has deep eyes and an introverted personality. Although he has been in the industry for over a decade, he is still only a third-rate actor in Hollywood. Perhaps because he is not good at talking, he appears very quiet on set.

The actor playing the 【Locksmith】, Robert Pattinson, is no stranger to Wei Jin. The box-office success of *Twilight* has been a huge boost for him, and he has gained a large number of fans in the past few months.

Moreover, he has also received confirmed news that the second installment will be launched immediately. With a commercial series in his hands, Robert can already foresee that his days of flying high in Hollywood are not far off.

Therefore, as soon as Robert saw Wei Jin, he appeared very active. A while ago, Kristen was full of envy when she learned he could appear in Wei Jin's new film.

Daddario naturally possesses a sense of allure, and she is truly "large." According to Wei Jin's visual estimation, she could rival Liu Yan; foreign women really do have an innate advantage in this regard.

Wei Jin intends to have the stylist change her makeup to highlight her advantages, and the promotional posters will also have to showcase them. He believes it will attract quite a few "LSPs" to buy tickets to the theater.

As for the black villain, Wei Jin was a bit surprised. This person acted so fierce and irritable in *Doomsday Dictator*, but upon contact, he is actually a kind and honest person, very easy to talk to.

After some pleasantries, Wei Jin also introduced Jing Tian to everyone. The young girl was not stage-frightened and introduced herself in fluent English. —— "Ryan, why are you looking at me with that kind of look?"

At the script reading meeting before the start of filming, Wei Jin always felt that the way "Little Bitch" looked at him was a bit strange. Could this guy have an ambiguous sexual orientation? Unexpectedly, as soon as these words were spoken, not only did Ryan's expression become unnatural, but the other Hollywood actors also had strange looks on their faces.

For a moment, Wei Jin was left feeling confused.

"Ahem, Wei, could you come over here with me for a moment?"

On the crew, Robert is considered the most familiar with Wei Jin. Without waiting for Wei Jin's agreement, he pulled him to the side and, after confirming that others could not hear their conversation, he spoke:

"Wei, don't you know he is dating Scarlett?" "Ah? Sorry, I really didn't know. You know I rarely pay attention to Hollywood gossip."

Wei Jin really didn't know about this. In his past life, he only knew to focus on the Black Widow's figure; as for the rest, who the hell cares?

Then Ryan's gaze was not a problem. After all, the Black Widow had been developed by him to the point where her shape was fixed. As her current boyfriend, he should be surprised by his own ability, right?

"Is that so? We all thought you invited Ryan on purpose to humiliate him on set."

"Hey, buddy, Scarlett and I are just friends, at most we had a few friendly matches. I wouldn't make a joke out of my own film."

After understanding the cause, Wei Jin went directly to find Ryan and signaled for him to talk to the side.

At this moment, Ryan was very uneasy. His relationship with Scarlett was not favored by the outside world, for no other reason than the woman being strong and the man being weak.

Scarlett is already a well-known star in North America, while he is only a third-rate Hollywood actor; the two are completely unequal in status.

This time, he bit the bullet and participated in Wei Jin's film, even prepared to be targeted, all because he wanted to seize every opportunity to prove himself.

"Hey, buddy, relax. First of all, I want to offer my congratulations. Scarlett and I are good friends. When I first came to North America, she gave me a lot of help."

Sensing Ryan's nervousness, Wei Jin was quite deliberate with his words, though he did indeed think so. Scarlett is a qualified "gun rack," but she has the right to pursue happiness.

As a partner who has had deep exchanges, the only thing Wei Jin can do is offer his blessings.

"Also, don't worry. Choosing you is simply because I appreciate your acting skills, and you fit the character very well. I hope we can cooperate happily on set."

Wei Jin does not want the actors he selected to affect the film's quality and shooting progress because of messy things on set.

"Okay, Director, I understand. Thank you for your affirmation; I will put my heart into it."

Upon hearing this, Ryan's emotions were indeed eased. He paused and continued: "Also, thank you for your blessings. Scarlett actually mentions you often; she is very grateful for the song you gave her, which allowed her musical dream to be realized."

Wei Jin just nodded upon hearing this and said no more. At this moment, the two men seemed to have completed a handover ceremony. —— That afternoon, *Now You See Me* officially started filming in Los Angeles.

At the opening ceremony, several Hollywood actors looked at Wei Jin bowing respectfully to Guan Erye, all feeling quite curious.

"Sally, what is the director doing? Is it some kind of ritual?"

The slightly more active Robert turned to look at Jing Tian, making some guesses:

"Um, you can understand it as a prayer, hoping that the Eastern deities will bless us with a smooth shoot and a box-office hit."

Looking at the fries, burgers, and egg tarts placed on the table, Jing Tian couldn't help but laugh or cry. This was serving "foreign food" to Guan Erye; she didn't know if he liked it or not.

"Really? That's amazing, I want to pray too."

Several inexperienced Hollywood actors were full of excitement and followed Wei Jin's example, lighting incense and offering it.

This photo was, unsurprisingly, captured by the media, and subsequent reports were even more solemn:

"A Mysterious Eastern Sacrificial Ritual, the Winning Dharma Treasure of the Huaxia Oscar Director!"

For a time, many media outlets discussed it one after another, thinking they had discovered some incredible secret.

Even Matt Monda, who was in the middle of promoting *The Invisible Guest*, acknowledged the matter on social media:

"Director Wei Jin leads us in holding such a ceremony before filming begins. He told me that in the East, this signifies a prayer for smooth filming and a big box office success. I believe in this deeply." — Not long after *Now You See Me* officially entered production, *Brotherhood of Blades* also officially ended its theatrical run, with a domestic box office of 334 million, 57 million in Hong Kong, 68 million in Taiwan, and 145 million in Nanyang, for a cumulative Asian box office of 604 million.

Regarding copyright, it sold for 5 million USD in South Korea and 6 million USD in Japan. In North America, due to the negative impact brought by *The Promise*, even with Wei Jin's reputation, it only sold for 8 million USD, which made Wei Jin gnash his teeth at Chen Shiren.

According to the current domestic revenue-sharing model, the profit for Wei Jin Company from this film is about 100 million; adding in overseas copyrights, the profit is nearly 200 million. As for the 10 million in costs Wei Jin paid, that had long since been recouped through product placement advertisements, making it equivalent to a zero-cost business—it was simply profiteering.

The first update today. I earnestly request all readers to provide subscriptions, follow-up readings, and collections. You must flip to the last page for the follow-up reading, thank you everyone! (End of chapter)