Chapter 323: Wei Jin Blacklists, the Industry Boils Over

Xiangshan Film and Television City, training base for *The Four*.

Following the initial training phase, the production crew had reached the final stage of actor choreography practice.

Because of her period, Bai Bin arrived a little late for training today; seeing that everyone was waiting for her, she hurriedly apologized.

"I am truly sorry for keeping everyone waiting, my apologies."

The lead actors and martial arts instructors, who had been slightly annoyed, didn't say anything after seeing Bai Bin's sincere attitude, but Huang Laogou, who had been waiting impatiently, spoke up with a sneer.

"If you can't handle this kind of hardship, you shouldn't snatch other people's roles. Wouldn't it be better to just honestly film television dramas?"

Huang Laogou's words were somewhat mean-spirited, especially since Wan Qian had already explained the reason earlier. Zhou Zhaolong, standing to the side, couldn't bear to watch; he patted him, then nodded to Bai Bin to signal an apology.

"."

Bai Bin was in the wrong for being late and didn't want to cause trouble, so she offered a strained smile and signaled to the martial arts instructor that she was ready.

But Huang Laogou held himself in high regard and felt that Bai Bin was ignoring him, a senior. Thinking of the friction between Mainland China and Hong Kong over the past two days, his expression suddenly soured, and he let out a cold snort.

"Not much talent, but quite a temper. Can't even take a couple of words? Who are you putting on a long face for?"

Bai Bin had a soft, gentle nature and didn't intend to talk back, but Wan Qian couldn't stand it anymore.

After all, having spent this time together, she truly liked this young girl who was several years her junior, so she spoke up to defend her.

"What are you saying? How did this young girl offend you? You're being relentless, acting like a bully because of your seniority..."

These words made Huang Laogou explode; in a fit of rage, he blurted out:

"What? Can't even say a couple of words? You're no better yourself, two Mainland girls who climbed up by taking off your pants..."

As soon as Huang Laogou said this, Zhou Zhaolong's brows furrowed tightly, Bai Bin's face turned ugly, and Wan Qian glared with wide eyes, demanding an explanation.

"What did you say?"

Huang Laogou's heart skipped a beat, realizing he had crossed the line, but as a grown man, having reached this point, how could he back down?

"What? Dare to do it but not admit it? Aren't you just relying on sleeping with men to get your roles? What are you pretending for?"

"What are you saying? You're no longer a child, bullying a young girl, are you?"

Deng Chao couldn't stand it any longer; he rushed over and shoved Huang Laogou. The latter was both shocked and furious—since when did Mainland actors dare to lay hands on a Hong Kong artist? "What's it to you? Are you having an affair with them too?"

"Damn it, I'll kill you today."

Hearing this, Deng Chao erupted and kicked out, and the two quickly began brawling.

The few assistants and other actors nearby hadn't expected the situation to escalate so quickly and hurriedly tried to break up the fight.

But the Hong Kong crew was used to being bossy; two martial arts instructors who were on good terms with Huang Laogou joined in, and the attempt to stop the fight turned into a melee.

Wan Qian and Bai Bin's assistants were both young girls; although they were scared, they still stepped forward to shield the two women.

Someone in the crew with a quick mind had already called the director.

Before long, Chen Jiashang rushed over, immediately locked down the set, and quickly brought the situation under control.

After understanding what had happened, Chen Jiashang's face turned livid. He glared at Huang Laogou, noticing that the latter's face was covered in bruises.

Just as Chen Jiashang was about to say something, Huang Laogou let out a cold snort and flicked his sleeves, leaving with a hostile expression, showing no respect at all.

Suppressing his anger, Chen Jiashang turned to Bai Bin and Wan Qian and said in a conciliatory tone.

"Ladies, please don't be angry. He was just confused for a moment; I will definitely make him apologize to you later."

"No need, Director Chen. Our boss will seek justice for us."

Watching Chen Jiashang, who was intent on downplaying the incident, Wan Qian took a deep breath, pulled Bai Bin into the van, and immediately took out her phone.

"Hello, Director Zhang."

On the other side, Chen Jiashang watched Bai Bin and Wan Qian leave with a gloomy expression. He knew this matter could not be settled easily and was no longer something he could handle. He immediately took out his phone and called Wang Changtian.

"Chairman Wang, something big has happened."

Fiber Headquarters.

After hanging up the phone, Wang Changtian felt completely numb. He knew very well how protective Wei Jin was. This time, he hadn't earned any favors and had instead offended someone.

Just as he was thinking, the phone rang. Wang Changtian jumped and answered it.

"Brother Wei."

"Chairman Wang, regarding this matter, Fiber needs to give me an explanation."

Hearing Wei Jin's emotionless voice on the other end, Wang Changtian knew that this usually smiling brother was truly angry, so he hurriedly spoke.

"Brother Wei, don't worry, I will definitely make him apologize and compensate the two ladies for their mental..."

Hearing Wang Changtian's proposed solution, Wei Jin interrupted him directly.

"Chairman Wang, you don't understand what I mean. While *The Four* hasn't started filming yet, there is still time to replace the cast."

Hanging up the phone, Wang Changtian felt a splitting headache. What the hell was this? Replacing the cast now would seriously delay the filming schedule, but looking at Wei Jin's attitude, nothing less would appease his fury. What should he do?

For a moment, Wang Changtian was caught in a dilemma.

After much hesitation, the old Wang picked up the phone.

"Director Chen, the one surnamed Huang and those two Hong Kong martial arts instructors, replace them all."

"But Chairman Wang..."

"Didn't you understand me? I said, replace them all!" — "Director Chen, with our relationship of so many years, do you really want me to leave the crew?"

Huang Laogou looked incredulous. He considered himself to have a very good relationship with Chen Jiashang; the two had collaborated on *Beast Cop* in 1998.

Relying on that film, he had won the Hong Kong Film Awards Best Actor, and the latter had won Best Director.

Therefore, they had always collaborated very happily. This time, upon receiving Chen Jiashang's invitation, he had rushed over from *White Vengeance* without a second thought to participate in training.

Huang Laogou asked himself, he had done a good job, but this incident was merely a verbal jab at a few Mainland actors, not even worth mentioning.

As for the fighting, he wasn't the one who started it, and besides, he was injured too. Was it necessary to escalate it to this level? "It's not that I want you to leave, nor is it Chairman Wang who wants you to leave; it's the people behind those two actresses. Tell me, why did you have to target them for no reason?"

"You're still saying that? Wasn't I standing up for you?"

Looking at Huang Laogou's red-faced and neck-thick appearance, Chen Jiashang finally remembered that when they were chatting, he had complained and grumbled about the quota for Hong Kong actresses being taken.

Thinking of this, Chen Jiashang wished he could give himself a slap in the face; what the hell kind of situation was this?

"Anthony, I've let you down this time. If there's a chance in the future, I will compensate you."

Seeing Chen Jiashang's sincere attitude, Huang Laogou's anger had mostly dissipated, and he nodded, tacitly accepting this result.

For one, the production crew hadn't said they would claw back his salary, so his own interests weren't affected; for another, they wouldn't publicly claim he was fired, so he at least retained some face.

Seeing that Huang Laogou's attitude was decent, Chen Jiashang deliberated before putting forward his final requirement. "Additionally, you must publicly apologize to those two actors in the media."

Just as Chen Jiashang expected, once these words were out, Huang Laogou, who had been calm just a moment ago, immediately bristled.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible!"

Huang Laogou jumped up as if he had been stung by Bees.

"Kicking me off the production crew is one thing, but you want me to admit my mistake and apologize? If I agree to this, how will I ever hold my head up in the circle again? Don't even think about it. If he, Wei Jin, has the ability, let him blacklist me."

After saying this, Huang Laogou slammed the door and left in a rage—nearly a month later, Zhao Liying entered Zhang Xu's office once again.

"Director Zhang, you were looking for me?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Xu stopped his work and said in a gentle tone.

"How is it? Are you getting used to the company?"

"It's quite good, thank you, Director Zhang."

Zhao Liying was truly satisfied. She had spent five years at Huayi without ever having a dedicated Agent or Assistant, but at Starry Sky Culture, the company not only equipped her with a specialized artist team but also thoughtfully prepared an artist apartment, the conditions of which were far better than the place she had been renting herself.

For such treatment, she was truly grateful to the company and felt incredibly fortunate for her decision.

"Mm, that's good. I called you over this time because the company is about to start a costume drama. A few popular female artists have scheduling conflicts, so we plan to use a newcomer for the female lead. I recommended you to Director Jiang, but the specifics will depend on your internal audition against a few other newcomers. Do you understand?"

"I understand, thank you, Director Zhang, thank you!"

Zhao Liying was pleasantly surprised. Just a few days ago, she had been envying that girl from the Shanghai Theatre Academy, but she never expected that good fortune would fall upon her in the blink of an eye.

Although it was only a trial audition, she was already quite satisfied to have the opportunity to play the female lead, and then she asked with some curiosity.

"Director Zhang, may I know what the drama is?"

"A big-female-lead costume drama with an 80 million investment. The male lead has already been confirmed as Qiao Zhenyu."

Zhao Liying only felt a "boom" in her brain, as if it had crashed. Only the three keywords—80 million, big-female-lead, and co-starring with Qiao Zhenyu—swirled in her mind, lingering for a long time.

Watching the girl's dazed and silly expression, Zhang Xu revealed a fatherly smile on his face, then pushed the prepared script toward her.

"Mm, take the script back and prepare well."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Liying finally came back to her senses. After taking the script, she expressed her determination to Zhang Xu with a resolute face.

"Director Zhang, please rest assured, I will definitely not let down your expectations."

Then, Zhao Liying silently added in her heart that she was determined to get this role! — Regarding Huang Laogou, Wei Jin had always looked down on him.

It was just that this fellow hadn't yet exposed his biased stance, so he couldn't deliberately target him; at most, he would just not cooperate on projects under his banner.

Although he had provoked him this time, The Four was, after all, a project of Enlighten, so he still had to give Wang Changtian some face.

If Huang Laogou had truly admitted defeat, Wei Jin really wouldn't have been able to continue taking action; after all, one shouldn't kick a man when he's down.

But Wei Jin hadn't expected this Huang Laogou to be quite tough. Since that was the case, why not take the opportunity to finish him off? Thus, he immediately sent word through Shanhe Media and Golden Harvest to the industry:

"From now on, any film that Huang Qiusheng participates in will absolutely not be allowed to be screened on the Golden Harvest Cinema Line, even if he is only a guest star or an investor."

Once the news broke, the industry was shocked.

Although Wei Jin didn't explicitly say "blacklist" with this move, the effect was nearly the same.

One must know that although the Golden Harvest Cinema Line was only the thirteenth-ranked cinema line in Mainland China, it was a leading cinema line in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia, possessing nearly three hundred cinemas and thousands of large screens.

Unless the production company didn't care about the overseas market, they absolutely wouldn't dare to use Huang Laogou; this was equivalent to directly cutting off his retreat.

As for why he didn't mention the Shanhe Cinema Line, it was because the former was, after all, a Mainland cinema line that had to obey administrative orders. Since the General Administration hadn't blacklisted this person, Wei Jin naturally couldn't overstep.

But once Wei Jin said this, it was estimated that no production company in the Mainland would dare to risk offending Wei Jin just to use such a Hong Kong artist.

If you piss off Wei Jin, what if he just takes his films and competes directly against you? It was just that the media, the industry, and even netizens were all very curious: how exactly did Huang Laogou offend Wei Jin? Some resourceful media outlets obtained first-hand information from internal sources and exposed it directly.

"Hong Kong artist surnamed Huang speaks rudely, insults Starry Sky Culture female artist, refuses to apologize!"

"Hong Kong artist surnamed Huang hits someone on set, has been kicked out of The Four!"

Once the news broke, the Mainland entertainment circle boiled over.

The industry had long known that Wei Jin was protective of his own, but this was the first time such a powerful side had been revealed.

Although many people speculated that the insulted female artist must have an unusual relationship with Wei Jin, it didn't stop everyone from longing to admire such a protective boss.

Many female artists felt their hearts stir; women always appreciate the kind of man who stands up for them at critical moments, feeling a sense of security and peace of mind.

Wei Jin's performance was undoubtedly a huge plus.

Not to mention that Wei Jin was young, handsome, and wealthy, with fame, looks, and talent. He controlled a multi-billion group, had countless resources in his hands, and was so damn manly—he was simply perfect.

Some female artists directly expressed their love for Wei Jin on Weibo, without any concealment.

"For a top-tier man like Wei Jin, even if I have to be a bed-warming maid, this lady accepts it!"

This heaven-defying remark actually received unanimous approval from netizens, who one after another offered their blessings for her to get her wish soon.

Looking at the news online, the female artists of Starry Sky Culture were even more like they had been injected with adrenaline; with such a boss, what did it matter if it was just a one-night stand?

For a time, these female artists were all pondering how to get their boss into bed. — Regarding the love confessions of female stars and the restlessness of the artists under his banner, Wei Jin didn't take it to heart.

With his current status, if a woman wasn't top-tier, he wouldn't even look at her.

Not to mention that he was currently busy with the final scene of Dixing Yinxing.

After more than fifty days of filming, the movie finally reached its last indoor scene.

In the computer screen, Ceng Li was operating a fire extinguisher, adjusting her own orientation, and striving to head toward the Tiangong-3, which had stopped serving but had not yet "fallen."

With the coordination of the light box and the mobile camera equipment, this scene was soon finished.

"Cut."

Looking at the image presented on the computer, Wei Jin nodded with satisfaction and picked up the megaphone.

"That take is a wrap."

Immediately, Wei Jin beckoned to Guo Fan, who trotted over at once.

"Guo Fan, the indoor scenes are finished, and only the final exterior shot remains; it isn't very difficult, so I intend to hand it over to you."

A look of gratitude appeared on Guo Fan's face; he knew very well that this was an act of mentorship, and being able to film a shot meant that, at the very least, his name would appear on the list of assistant directors or Executive Director for Dixing Yinxing, which was simply a fantastic opportunity for a newcomer.

"Thank you, President Wei, I will give it my all."

(End of chapter)