Chapter 734

"Desperate Counterattack" is a doomsday film, and the protagonist and the team he assembled are all very powerful, which is why they can survive in an environment full of various natural disasters and mutated animals and plants.

This also destined this drama to be a group-oriented one; the male lead has scenes, but he cannot occupy the absolute majority of the screen time.

Even though both Jin Li and he were very busy on set, they still found an afternoon when neither had to film, intending to get together to chat and rest.

Gu Cheng went to find Jin Li with the script; it just so happened that he also had some doubts he wanted to ask Jin Li about, to see how she understood them.

Originally, Gu Cheng planned to ask about the script first, and after that was done, chat with Jin Li about life, about what plans she had after finishing this drama, and where she planned to go for the New Year.

Unexpectedly, once they started talking about the script, the two of them became engrossed in it.

Instead, they spent the entire afternoon talking about the script.

When the two were talking about the script, they didn't avoid others; they just talked in the pavilion near the set.

So, many actors passed by along the way and heard their conversation, secretly marveling: the two of them are too professional!

Even when there's no filming, they're still talking about the script.

What's going on? These two are more famous than them, have better acting skills than them, and yet they are even more professional than them.

This world is truly too cruel to ordinary people!

Soon, even Director Zheng, who was filming, knew that Gu Cheng and Jin Li had used their afternoon break to discuss the script and were very attentive to this drama, which made him feel very gratified.

In private, Director Zheng chatted with the screenwriter about this matter.

Director Zheng sighed, "I really didn't misjudge the person back then; the investors gave me several candidates for the male lead, but I took a fancy to Gu Cheng at a glance."

The screenwriter asked curiously, "Why choose Gu Cheng? The male leads given by the investors were all very mature in acting. Although their popularity couldn't compare to Gu Cheng's, their main focus areas were different.

Gu Cheng's popularity is relatively high among young people, while those candidates have many supporters in the youth and middle-aged strata. Choosing them could also guarantee the box office and attract netizens who truly love movies.

After all, the fans of those candidates are the type of people who often watch movies, and the famous works of those candidates were also established by appearing in movies."

Director Zheng said, "That's why I considered it for a long time at the time, and finally thought that 'Desperate Counterattack' is a very large IP.

The original novel is already famous enough; relying on the popularity of the novel, many people know about it, so it doesn't need to rely on actors to drive traffic at all.

Then I only need to combine the character setting of the male lead to pick an actor who better fits the image of the male lead.

When I confirmed this idea, the image of Gu Cheng jumped into my mind.

In terms of youth and being unruly, Gu Cheng's image is the most suitable, but what made me hesitate was that his acting skills indeed still needed polishing."

Zheng Chengxin recalled the sleepless nights during casting, and it still felt like yesterday.

"I specifically entrusted many friends to inquire, and at the time, I even reached out to the directors of works Gu Cheng had performed in, asking them about their feelings when working with Gu Cheng.

Those directors' evaluations of Gu Cheng were not consistent; some thought his acting was very good and that he was very suitable for youth films.

And some thought his acting was average, but he had one advantage: he was willing to listen to advice.

They said that although Gu Cheng looked cold and aloof, he was very cooperative with the director's requirements on set.

I asked several directors, and their evaluations of Gu Cheng's acting were not the same, but their approval of Gu Cheng's character was unanimous."

Director Zheng slapped his thigh: "At that time, I thought, since this actor is willing to cooperate with the crew and his character is fine, then it's him!

Now it seems I bet correctly. I'm not afraid of an actor having poor acting skills; I'm afraid of him not being attentive to the role and just going through the motions.

As long as he is willing to study hard, acting skills can be polished slowly. I am confident that his acting in the dramas he films later will get better and better!"

The screenwriter listened for a long while and finally understood one thing.

That is, the director felt very happy and satisfied that Gu Cheng and Jin Li discussed the script for an entire afternoon today.

It even extended to having a good impression of these two people, and even his memories were tinged with a filter.

The screenwriter still remembered that when Zheng Chengxin confirmed Gu Cheng as the male lead, he was still very uneasy and asked him for several days in a row: Is Gu Cheng really okay as the male lead?

The screenwriter thought to himself: You've already signed the contract, and you're coming to ask me if it's okay? I actually want to ask you if *you* are okay!

Thinking about it now, it makes sense.

How could it not be pleasant to have the work you filmed so painstakingly treated with such care by the actors?

The scene shifts back to the script discussion in the afternoon.

When Jin Li was reading the script, she had already vaguely sensed that Xiao Yue might not love Yan Chu as much as imagined.

Of course, she definitely liked Yan Chu, otherwise, she couldn't have died to save him.

But this liking was also mixed with other factors.

The biggest factor was that Xiao Yue had already seen through this doomsday, and she wanted to end it all.

So she chose to trade her own death for a more valuable life, using this way to end her own life.

Therefore, Xiao Yue's death was a self-chosen one.

It wasn't because of an accident or other factors that led to her death.

And Gu Cheng, while studying the script before, didn't see this point at first.

But when he truly substituted himself into the role of Yan Chu and filmed the scenes with Xiao Yue, he suddenly understood—

Xiao Yue loved him, but she didn't love him that much.

That's not the point; the point is—

How much does Yan Chu like Xiao Yue?

Gu Cheng said, "When I was reading the novel, the author repeatedly instilled a concept in the readers, which is that Xiao Yue is Yan Chu's 'white moonlight.'

The meaning of Yan Chu's existence is to find the medicinal herbs that can revive Xiao Yue's consciousness and bring her back to life; this has already become an obsession for the male lead.

But now that I'm filming, I can't help but have a thought: Does the male lead really love Xiao Yue that much?

There is definitely liking, but can he really keep a person in his heart for such a long, long time?"

Jin Li asked, "So what do you think?"

Gu Cheng pondered for a while and said, "The image of Xiao Yue in Yan Chu's mind is truly too good. 'White moonlight' refers to a feeling, a feeling related to beauty.

And this beauty is not only expressed in the person but also in a happy life. I feel that Yan Chu poured the kind of stable, beautiful life that existed before the apocalypse into Xiao Yue.

Whether in the novel or the script, whenever Yan Chu is with Xiao Yue, he always feels very at ease, as if he has returned to the time before the apocalypse."

Gu Cheng organized the thoughts in his mind and speculated:

"Xiao Yue died, which means the beautiful dream in Yan Chu's heart was shattered. He was dragged back to the cruel reality—the betrayal of relatives, the framing of the base, the rulers wanting to use him as a puppet...

These are all too cruel. It's not that Yan Chu doesn't know these things, but he has always chosen to escape.

Only by staying by Xiao Yue's side does he seem to be able to breathe and let himself stop for a moment.

Xiao Yue died, and he can no longer escape as he did in the past, because he will truly die, just like Xiao Yue, dying under powerful abilities and schemes.

Therefore, he has to force himself to grow up; this is also the reason why he seems like a different person as soon as Xiao Yue dies."

Jin Li nodded and agreed, "Yes, Xiao Yue's death also made Yan Chu grow up.

She used her death to tell Yan Chu the hard rules for surviving in the apocalypse: not only must one be powerful, but one must also have a strong team and a strong base; these can all become his strong backing.

I only read the early part of the novel, but I read reader comments: after Yan Chu became powerful, he didn't leave the current base, but went to build a base himself.

He must have understood this truth, so he thought about rebuilding a base and no longer being controlled by others."

Gu Cheng let out a long breath, "Now that I've figured out Yan Chu's thoughts, I know how to film many of the scenes."

He looked at Jin Li, a faint smile rising in his eyes, like shimmering gold in the light.

"With you helping me smooth out my thoughts, even if your scenes have wrapped, I don't have to worry about not keeping up with the crew's progress or failing to film the Yan Chu in the director's mind."

Jin Li said playfully, "It's your own aptitude; even if you didn't discuss it with me, you would have figured it out sooner or later."

Gu Cheng shook his head, "But by that time, it would have been too late."

They discussed for a long time, and by the time they came to their senses, it was already time to eat, so they went out together to have dinner.

And while Jin Li was filming.

Zhang Guang also told the news he had gathered to the senior management of Yajun Watches.

Of course, he wouldn't say bluntly: The reason Jin Li won't sign a revenue-sharing contract with you is that she thinks you won't be able to replicate a hit again, and to avoid being set up due to profit-sharing issues later, she simply gave up on sharing.

Instead, he said, "The reason she participated in the sales revenue sharing for the collaboration before was that Yajun Watches still needed to use her fame to open up the market, so she felt she could take that money.

Now that the fame of Yajun's women's watches has been established, even without her, it can gradually develop, so she is no longer that important, and she can just take the endorsement fee."

Seeing that the person in charge of Yajun Watches still had a puzzled look, brows furrowed, and didn't quite believe it.

Zhang Guang said again, "You should know that Jin Li's health was poor before, and the place she liked to go most was the Daoist temple, and the philosophy of the Daoist temple is 'let things take their own course.'

You first handed her an endorsement contract, and Jin Li had already made her choice at that time.

Even if you added a revenue-sharing contract later, she wouldn't change her mind and go back on her previous choice.

If you don't understand, just think about it from the perspective of Daoist thinking; everything is a choice of letting things take their own course. Don't think so much, just follow your heart."

Zhang Guang paused, "Just tell me, Jin Li chose the endorsement contract instead of the revenue-sharing contract; did you all breathe a sigh of relief?"

The person in charge hesitated for a long time and nodded.

Zhang Guang: "That's right, then you just need to accept this result, don't think so much."

The person in charge looked at Zhang Guang for a long time: "Why do I always feel like you're fooling me?"

Zhang Guang immediately said, "No, absolutely not; this is Jin Li's thinking."

The person in charge sighed, "Actually, if Jin Li wanted to sign a revenue-sharing contract, we could do it; we could accept it.

If she had signed for a share, I wouldn't have to struggle and hesitate for so long. It's precisely because she didn't sign that we suspected whether something went wrong inside our own company.

You also know, everyone in the circle knows that not a single project Jin Li has taken a fancy to has failed. Before, she only filmed, but this year she has also been involved in investment.

If she were willing to sign Yajun's revenue-sharing contract, this would be a form of investment, proving that this project has great feasibility and will make a lot of money, and she is also very optimistic about it.

But she just wouldn't sign for a share, and instead only took a fixed endorsement fee, which made some directors very uneasy!"

Zhang Guang thought to himself, sure enough, those who do business and mix in the business circle are all very smart.

They really didn't guess wrong; Jin Li just wasn't optimistic about their development in the next few years, thinking they wouldn't be able to make hit products comparable to the Zodiac series again, so she chose to take the fixed endorsement fee to avoid commercial disputes.

Zhang Guang said, "That's not how you put it. If Jin Li really wasn't optimistic about Yajun's future, she wouldn't have become Yajun's spokesperson at all.

Think about the brands Jin Li has endorsed; hasn't their development been getting better and better in the past few years?"

The person in charge was coaxed into being happy and said, "Alright, alright, Gu Cheng's Asia-Pacific region endorsement contract is already prepared; let's find a time to sign it online."

Zhang Guang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After he finished solving this, Dawn Entertainment soon received a reply from Yajun.

Yajun hopes to reach an endorsement contract with Jin Li as soon as possible and announce this matter before the Spring Festival.

There is less than half a month left until the Spring Festival, and time is still very tight.

And while Yajun's endorsement was advancing rapidly, good news also came from He Wuyou: he had finished the first draft of "Invisible Secrets"!

Once the draft is finished, they can start coordinating with One Billion Media.

After all, finding a director and renting the filming location are both the responsibility of One Billion Media.

And regarding the script, although Jin Li has absolute control, One Billion Media can also offer some opinions.

Dawn Entertainment will accept good opinions.

As for the bad ones, they'll just pretend they didn't hear them.

Regarding the selection of actors, the more important supporting roles were also decided by One Billion Media, but Jin Li has veto power.

If Jin Li is dissatisfied with the people recommended by One Billion Media, she can demand that One Billion Media change to other people for filming until she is satisfied.

As for the minor roles, One Billion Media doesn't want any of them, letting Jin Li decide for herself.

This is actually giving Dawn Entertainment a favor, allowing them to arrange for artists under their company to come and get some exposure.

I have to say, looking at the contract terms, One Billion Media doesn't look like the Party A, but more like the Party B.

They prioritize everything for Jin Li, and Jin Li's opinions can make them change direction at any time.

Since One Billion Media gave such great power, now that the first draft of the script is finished, Dawn Entertainment is also willing to let them take a look to see if they have any opinions.

After He Wuyou finished writing the script, he felt it could be polished further, but didn't know how to do it, so he sought help from Sui Lingfang.

As for taking the script to One Billion Media and communicating with them, He Wuyou didn't go in person, but handed it to his assistant.

Yes, as the only screenwriter at Dawn Entertainment.

He, too, has an assistant!