Chapter 303: The Script is Unreasonable? The Divergent Path of the Beauty in Green

On the last day of December, Teacher Xue called; *Love is Not Blind* had wrapped up.

"Teacher Xue, you certainly filmed fast this time."

Wei Jin couldn't help but tease; the film took less than fifty days in total, which was indeed fast for Teacher Xue.

"Hehe, the casting was more suitable this time. After the initial adjustment period, the shooting speed was actually faster than I imagined."

Xue Xiaolu couldn't help but laugh; the previous film, *Ocean Heaven*, had really dragged on for too long.

"Since it's wrapped, Teacher Xue, you might as well take a good two-day rest. There's no rush for the post-production."

"Mm, after the New Year's Day, I'll stay at the school to edit. It should be quite fast."

"Hmm?"

Hearing this, Wei Jin was stunned for a moment and hurriedly asked:

"Are you not coming to Shanhe Ink to do it?"

"Forget it, I have classes at school. I can edit slowly during my spare time, and it saves me from occupying your resources here."

Wei Jin nodded slowly upon hearing this; that made sense. Although the equipment at Beijing Film Academy was old, it was perfectly sufficient for a low-budget urban film without any special effects, so he stopped insisting.

"Alright then. I plan to schedule this film for November 11th next year. The schedule is very generous, so Teacher Xue, you don't need to rush."

Teacher Xue was stunned for a moment, then pondered it and caught the meaning.

"*Love is Not Blind*, November 11, 2011. You chose this release date well; it fits the theme perfectly, haha." — As time entered the New Year, a fierce battle was still playing out in the film market, except that the "tiger" Feng Dapao had been firmly suppressed by the "dragon" Jiang Wen.

After being in theaters for over half a month, *Let the Bullets Fly* was actually crushing *If You Are The One 2* by a wide margin in daily box office.

People in the circle found it somewhat hard to accept. Once upon a time, Feng Dapao's films were the hallmark of the New Year Slot, but now, he had been taken down by a director like Jiang Wen, who had transitioned from art-house films to commercial films? The media naturally wouldn't let such material go, and all sorts of clickbait and sensationalist news emerged one after another.

"Comedy master director Feng Xiaogang loses his New Year Slot stronghold!"

"Shocking! The new king of the New Year Slot, Jiang Wen ascends the throne!"

"Did Director Feng lose Jingzhou through carelessness, or has his talent finally run dry?"

Just after the New Year holiday, Wei Jin brought the materials to China Film Group. On one hand, he needed to confirm the release dates for several films; on the other, it was time to start the new project.

Inside the China Film Group office, Wei Jin and Han Sanping sat opposite each other.

"Not waiting any longer on the release dates? There are still many that haven't been set yet."

Han Sanping took a sip from his teacup and offered a reminder.

"Chairman Han, I've set mine, so others can set theirs easily, haha."

Wei Jin's words were a bit pretentious, but that was the reality.

"So, have you decided?"

"Mm, let's go with these dates."

Wei Jin stood up and returned the schedule with the circled dates to Han Sanping.

This time, Shanhe Media's related works had almost swept up all the major release slots.

"Whoa, good fellow. *Ip Man 3*, *The Piano Tuner*, *Mojin: The Lost Legend*, *The Raid*, *Thieves*, *Love is Not Blind*—you're releasing six films at once. I'm afraid the industry will be wailing again, haha."

Han Sanping teased while looking at the schedule in his hand, though he felt a bit shocked inside.

"I've already set the dates in advance, what else can I do? I can't just cripple my own martial arts, right?"

Wei Jin shrugged. Future competition would only become more intense; letting these peers feel the pressure in advance could be considered helping them train their ability to take a beating.

"I was just saying."

Han Sanping understood this logic as well. As long as it wasn't malicious competition, even if Wei Jin occupied the entire year's schedule, he couldn't do anything about it.

Putting the schedule back into the drawer, Han Sanping stared at Wei Jin with piercing eyes.

"Since you're here, it's time to talk about the new project, right?"

"Heh, I knew you were in a hurry. Old rules: look at the script first, then we'll talk."

Wei Jin didn't beat around the bush and handed the script over directly. Han Sanping, with tacit understanding, stopped speaking and lowered his head to flip through it.

A few minutes later, Han Sanping closed the script, his tone filled with emotion.

"Not bad. A space disaster film, transitioning from outward exploration to inward return. It has a touch of artistic flair within the science fiction; a very good concept."

Wei Jin's version of *Gravity* had almost no adjustments to the plot, except for setting the story background in Huaxia in the year 2030.

The plot was the same: an aerospace team executing a mission encounters satellite debris, then begins self-rescue, and finally finds the decommissioned Tiangong-3.

"Has the project budget been calculated?"

"For the production cost alone, I initially estimate it to be around 300 million. Adding the actors' salaries, I'm afraid it will be 400 million. I'll need to do a detailed budget to know for sure."

"Hmm? The actors' salaries are that high? Who are you planning to find?"

Han Sanping was a bit surprised. He had no intention of interfering with the casting, but the salary was too high, wasn't it? There were only a few actors in the script. The previous *Thieves* had so many actors, and the total salary was only 40 million.

"If the schedule is suitable, I'd like to invite Cheng Long to join. It might help with the overseas box office."

The previous *The Martian* and *Passengers* relied almost entirely on Wei Jin's own appeal, and the global box office wasn't particularly outstanding.

This time, Wei Jin intended to try using a big-name cast, or at least actors with a certain level of global appeal. Currently, in terms of male actors, Cheng Long and Li Lianjie were the only candidates.

It's just that because of the *The Sorcerer and the White Snake* incident, the probability of collaborating with Li Lianjie was very low. Plus, with the nationality issue, Wei Jin didn't want to use him, so Cheng Long was the first choice.

"His age is suitable, but the second half of your script is entirely the female lead's scenes. Can Cheng Long agree to that?"

Han Sanping knew that Cheng Long had rejected *Thieves* partly because of the ensemble cast.

"It's nothing more than money. If I offer 10 million USD, I believe Big Brother won't refuse, right?"

Wei Jin's tone was certain. Currently, Cheng Long's salary quote in Hollywood was roughly 10-15 million USD, fluctuating slightly depending on the project, but he definitely couldn't get that price domestically.

Although the male actor's scenes in *Gravity* weren't many, from the perspective of billing, he was undoubtedly the male lead. Moreover, being able to get a Hollywood-level salary, Wei Jin was certain he wouldn't refuse.

"Fine, I won't ask about the specific details. How do you plan to handle the investment shares?"

Seeing that Wei Jin had a plan, Han Sanping stopped talking and turned his attention to the most core issue.

"Aerospace Science and Industry is definitely a must, and let's add Wanda. The four of us are enough. For the specifics, let's talk in detail once the budget is out."

The reason *Passengers* fiber optics could get on board was due to the goodwill from *The Martian* being the first to voice support; now that resources are severely imbalanced and the favors have been repaid, Wei Jin has no way to continue looking after Old Wang. "Fine, then when do you plan to start?"

Han Sanping had no objections; fiber optics indeed provided no help to the project, and Wei Jin's approach was the rational one.

"Starting preparations now, expected around April; I'll have to trouble you to submit the script for review."

"Alright." — Wei Jin personally contacted Aerospace Science and Industry and brought along the script and relevant materials for *Gravity*.

Unexpectedly, the engineer's first question left Wei Jin stunned.

"Director Wei, your script has loopholes. From a physics perspective, after a satellite is shattered, its mass changes, and its orbital path in space will also change."

"Satellite debris should spiral outward, eventually stabilizing in an orbit consistent with the mass of the debris."

"In this process, if it encounters other objects and collisions occur again, the mass changes once more, and its orbit will continue to change, so this setup of yours with multiple impacts is problematic."

After a moment of thought, Wei Jin understood the point, but since he needed to create dramatic conflict, these collisions were indispensable, so he couldn't help but ask.

"Uh, Li Shi, the average audience shouldn't think of this, right? Or, do you see any way to smooth it over?"

"Haha, Director Wei, I'm just saying; I don't know anything about scriptwriting. Besides, isn't it said that scripts require appropriate artistic license? A script that is completely logical probably doesn't exist, right? Haha."

Li Shi's words were reasonable, so Wei Jin stopped dwelling on the matter; movies themselves are inherently unreasonable.

In action movies, the protagonist is about to die but can still get up and go all out—is that reasonable?

In drama films, the villain has already gained a huge advantage but still blabbers on, giving the hero a chance for a comeback—is that reasonable?

"Then Li Shi, could you take a look at these things I've set up and see if you can provide simulation data?"

The Hubble Telescope and space stations are things currently unavailable domestically, and Wei Jin only hoped that Aerospace Science and Industry had relevant research.

"Hmm, these are no problem. We were already doing related research. Although it cannot be realized in reality yet, as for virtual data on a computer, that can be provided."

For two full hours, Wei Jin asked many technical questions and received answers to every one of them.

Additionally, including the small portion of the cabin interior and space station scenes that required live-action filming, Aerospace Science and Industry also provided a design timeline of about two weeks. — Wei Jin thought that being willing to spend 10 million USD to hire Cheng Long to appear in the movie was already very extravagant, but he didn't expect Zhang Weiping to have even greater audacity.

This guy seemed to be hyping up *The Flowers of War*; before the movie had even started filming, he took the initiative to reveal the male lead Bale's salary to the media.

The sky-high price of 20 million USD stunned the entire industry, and netizens were also discussing it fervently.

"According to the current exchange rate, the male lead's salary alone is nearly 130 million, which is almost the total investment cost of many domestic blockbusters. No wonder Zhang Weiping said he took out a loan of 600 million."

"Individual salary accounting for over twenty percent of the total investment—it always gives off the vibe of a bad movie. Could the National Master be failing again?"

"That Zhang Dapao, damn it, isn't he afraid he won't be able to recoup the costs?"

"Am I the only one who thinks that after deducting this hundred-plus million, he is still suspected of money laundering?"

"Inside scoop, not verified, but it's said that this guy initially intended to find Leonardo to act, but unfortunately, the 25 million USD plus 5% of global box office share requested by the other party scared the stingy Zhang Weiping away."

Looking at the news online, Wei Jin felt a sense of emotion; Zhang Weiping was truly courting his own destruction. — Beijing, Yanjiao Villa.

After the clouds dispersed and the rain stopped, Wei Jin held Ceng Li, leaning against the headboard.

At this moment, Li Jie, nourished by the intimacy, was truly stunning and moving; one could not tell at all that she was already 35 years old.

Caressing the beauty's delicate skin, Wei Jin asked softly:

"Li Jie, after resting for so long, do you have any thoughts about acting?"

For the female lead of *Gravity*, Wei Jin's first choice was Ceng Li, but he still had to respect the beauty's wishes.

"Why? Do you have a new project?"

Ceng Li was not surprised; if it were an ordinary project, Wei Jin would likely not let her participate, as her status as a Grand Slam Best Actress and Oscar Best Actress was at stake, and she had to cherish her reputation.

"Yes, I am currently preparing a sci-fi disaster film, and the female lead has a very heavy role."

While speaking, Wei Jin got up, went to the storage sofa, took the script out of his bag, and handed it to Ceng Li.

"Li Jie, take a look first and see if you like it."

Taking the script, Ceng Li stopped speaking and began to flip through it.

Ten minutes later, Ceng Li closed the script, her heart filled with emotion. This was more than just a heavy role; it was practically a female-led script. If word got out, those big and small starlets in the entertainment industry would probably fight to the death for it. But thinking of her own situation, Ceng Li hesitated again.

"But Xiao Jin, I haven't acted in almost five years. I'm afraid I'll hold you back."

Although Ceng Li was tempted, she always put her man's career first, and she was genuinely worried she wouldn't perform well.

"It's fine, Li Jie. This film isn't difficult, and there are still several months until filming starts; you have plenty of time to study the script."

Wei Jin held the female lead of traditional opera's pretty face in his hands and encouraged her gently.

"Li Jie, be more confident. You are a graduate of the Central Academy of Drama; this little scene won't stump you."

"Then... then alright, I'll listen to you."

Wei Jin reached out to put the script aside, a teasing look on his face as he joked:

"Li Jie, will you listen to me in everything? Tonight, I want to walk the 'unconventional path' of an Oscar Best Actress."

Wei Jin's eyes were glowing. Li Jie was perhaps relatively conservative and unable to accept these trendy ways of playing; over the years, the number of times she had cooperated with walking the 'unconventional path' could be counted on one hand.

But the more this was the case, the more Wei Jin felt the pleasure of Conquest.

"Pfft, Yuanyuan is right, Xiao Jin, you are truly rotten to the core."

Ceng Li's face flushed red, and she spat lightly.

"Oh? What else did Yuan Yuanjie say? It seems that when she returns, your husband will have to properly discipline you two."

Because of the huge success of *Passengers*, Gao Yuanyuan was in a great mood and accepted her team's suggestion to start running brand activities and announcements, keeping her extremely busy. Wei Jin hadn't injected capital into Yuan Yuanjie for a while.

"She also said you like playing dress-up games. What? Can't handle those two little girls?"

Ceng Li had a teasing look on her face; it was rare to see this man get stumped, and it was actually quite fun.

"Hehe, Li Jie, I might not be able to handle the little girls, but I won't let a great beauty like you go. Tonight, you must submit to me."

Wei Jin's hands began to exert force; how could a mature and sensitive woman resist? Soon, Ceng Li softened, letting the man do as he pleased.

"Mmm~~~ Xiao Jin, be gentle."

Second update of the day (End of chapter)