Chapter 606: 【The 10 Billion Box Office Plan】Version 2.0

Time flies like an arrow, the sun and moon like a shuttle.

Days without being able to show off always pass very quickly.

The post-production work for the film "Manslaughter" has been completely finished, and it has reached the stage where it can be submitted for review.

The filming for "The Bad Kids" has also reached its final stage.

Over these past few days, the grand finale of the main plot has been filming.

As for the subtext, that is left for the audience to imagine for themselves.

The director's job is to express all the truth in a subtle way.

To hide all the secrets in—the Corner!

Luo Mo has always felt that this web series, adapted from "Bad Kids," has a very good title.

"What is the Corner?" Luo Mo thought to himself.

"It is the peak of Liufeng Mountain, the attic of the Shaoniangong, the pitch-black Factory, the dark side of human nature, and also the secret that cannot be told!"

………

………

Today is the wrap-up day for "The Bad Kids."

The female Psychologist does not know why, but she is actually a bit reluctant to leave.

She does not know that her expensive daily fee is one of the driving forces for Luo Mo to rush the filming.

"Too expensive, this woman's service fee is too expensive!" Luo Mo's heart is bleeding.

However, looking at it now, Ye Mei's professional ability is indeed beyond reproach.

During breaks on set, the three young Actors have long since become close, living carefree lives.

Even Wen Lin, who looks a bit aloof, does not look so much like a little adult anymore during this period, having gained a bit more childishness, whether it is because of having a few more little companions or because of Ye Mei's credit.

These children may not be able to understand for the time being just how lucky they are right now.

Being able to be the leads in Luo Mo's web series, and having a group of film-level Actors teaching them how to act and imparting techniques and experience on the spot, are things that countless people in the industry are incredibly envious of.

Of course, this is also because the three children are indeed very talented and have a lot of spirit, which is why everyone is willing to teach and enjoys teaching them.

It is said that rotten wood cannot be carved; if one really cannot teach them, it can drive a teacher to death—for details, see parents who tutor their children with homework.

"Cut!" With Luo Mo's order, it signifies that the entire crew of "The Bad Kids" has wrapped up!

Which is to say, the people who are supposed to die in the show... are basically all dead!

Luo Mo smiled as he glanced at the three young Actors and let out a long sigh of relief.

The little girl playing Pupu is fine; she hasn't grown too tall.

But the two boys playing Zhu Chaoyang and Yan Liang are in their puberty.

Many children nowadays develop early and grow very fast!

These realistic factors also led to Luo Mo having to proceed with the filming in a tight and intense manner.

If the height difference between the beginning and the end is too obvious, it will be a bit difficult to edit in many places.

After all, when filming, it is not done in the exact order of the timeline in the script; it would be so uncomfortable to watch if the young Actors' heights were suddenly high and then low.

Luo Mo instructed the studio staff to give out wrap-up red envelopes to everyone in the crew. Then, he took a red envelope himself and walked toward Ye Mei with a smile.

"Here, a little red envelope for good luck," Luo Mo said with a smile.

"Then I thank Director Luo," Ye Mei also said with a smile as she took it.

After spending this time together, the two have become a bit more familiar.

Ye Mei can tell that although Luo Mo always maintains a sense of distance from her, he really cares about the mental health of these children.

This makes her feel that Luo Mo is different from many men.

In her view, in the hearts of many men, a girlfriend's best friend can be equated to a Kind sister-in-law.

In the field of psychology, there is also relevant research proving that some of a man's thoughts have a Trajectory that can be traced.

The female Psychologist looked at Luo Mo and asked, "Luo Mo, can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead," Luo Mo said.

"Why do you value this child's mental health so much? As far as I know, there are indeed some crews that will hire a Psychologist to be on standby, but they wouldn't hire someone at my level," she said directly.

It is not that she is being humble or arrogant here.

She is very clear about the gap in fees in her industry.

"Filming is just work, but personal physical and mental health can determine their future life Trajectory," Luo Mo said. "What's more, many crews these days dump their money into the Actors' salaries and don't have much spare cash. My situation is okay, so the budget for other areas can be a bit higher."

He does indeed feel that this fee is very expensive, but he would absolutely not save money in this regard.

Since they have signed with his studio, he must be responsible for them.

They are just children, after all; they have infinite possibilities in the future and are worth the investment.

Upon hearing this, Ye Mei nodded and did not say anything more.

At night, at the wrap-up banquet, Ye Mei, who had always been interested in Luo Mo, originally wanted to toast him a few more times and then fish for information to explore the secrets deep in Luo Mo's heart.

But after witnessing his alcohol tolerance, Ye Mei immediately dismissed this idea.

She didn't want to end up lying dead drunk while he was only slightly tipsy...

Ning Dan is someone with an alcohol addiction, and as her drinking buddy, it would be strange if Luo Mo's alcohol tolerance were poor after the repeated special training from Run Jie.

………

………

The next day, Luo Mo originally planned to take a flight back to Shanghai.

But at 10:30 in the morning, he received a phone call that forced him to change his itinerary and fly to Beijing instead.

The call was from Team Leader Zhong Lin of the Review Department.

It is already November now, and the New Year is not far off.

Therefore, it is time for next year's 【Hundred Billion Box Office Plan】 list to be released.

The Review Department has actively learned from this year's lessons, feeling that placing the 【Hundred Billion Box Office Plan】 in the second half of the year is not good; instead, it should be implemented from the beginning of the year to extend the time span.

The best slot in the second half of the year is the Shuji Dang, and because of this, films would become too clustered and affect one another.

With films clustered like this, one of the benefits of the 【Hundred Billion Box Office Plan】, the 【Guaranteed Screenings】, becomes a double-edged sword.

At the same time, if the time span is extended, the strongest slot, the Spring Festival slot, will also be included.

On the phone, Zhong Lin did not get straight to business, but first exchanged pleasantries with Luo Mo.

"Director Luo, have you been busy lately?" Zhong Lin asked.

"Just finished, the web drama 'Corner' wrapped up yesterday," Luo Mo replied.

"Is that so? Then this call of mine really came at a coincidental time," Zhong Lin said with a smile upon hearing this.

Luo Mo thought to himself: "It is quite coincidental."

Or rather, in his view, this call from Zhong Lin was a good opportunity.

After the two chatted for a few more moments, Zhong Lin began to steer the topic toward film.

"Director Luo, what is the current progress of the project 'Sheepsha'? I saw reports earlier saying it had wrapped up early?" Zhong Lin asked with concern.

"Team Leader Zhong, although 'Sheepsha' wrapped up relatively early, I have been very busy lately, so the progress of the post-production work is quite slow; it will still be a while before it can be submitted for review," Luo Mo replied.

In reality, 'Sheepsha' had already reached the stage where it could be submitted for review.

Heh, but I just won't submit it!

He was waiting, waiting for the Review Department to make their stance known first.

"I see," Zhong Lin pondered for a moment.

After hesitating for a while, she spoke directly: "I'll be blunt, Director Luo. Your film 'Sheepsha' has been officially included in next year's 【Hundred Billion Box Office Plan】 list."

"Is that so? That is truly great news!" Luo Mo said.

This was the news Luo Mo had been waiting for.

If he enters the list first and then submits for review, the difficulty of passing the review might decrease somewhat.

After all, it is a key supported project!

Wang Rong is well-informed; he had previously told Luo Mo that he heard next year's 【Hundred Billion Box Office Plan】 would be very different from this year's.

This year, they selected 5 veteran directors, 5 up-and-coming directors, and Luo Mo, this... Newcomer director.

Next year, they will only select films, not people.

They will first pick half from films that have already passed review.

Then, they will pick the other half from films that are still in the filming stage but have high buzz and audience anticipation.

The former are mostly released at the beginning of the year; those films aiming for the Spring Festival slot have certainly already been filmed, almost all have been reviewed, and some are even in the promotional stage.

As for the latter, they will certainly be released in slots after the Spring Festival, such as the Shuji Dang.

If Luo Mo had submitted 'Sheepsha' for review early, then 'Sheepsha' would have been among the former.

But he wanted 'Sheepsha' to be among the latter.

On the phone, Zhong Lin continued: "By the way, didn't I ask Director Luo earlier if you had any opinions regarding next year's Hundred Billion Box Office Plan?"

"Ahem, not opinions, but suggestions," Luo Mo corrected.

"Yes, yes, yes, you said suggestions," Zhong Lin said with a smile: "We have indeed carefully considered the suggestions Director Luo mentioned and even held a special meeting."

Upon hearing this, Luo Mo immediately perked up.

Zhong Lin continued: "This year's plan was a complete success, and next year we must certainly increase the difficulty; after all, the whole industry should be brave enough to take on challenges."

"Therefore, a total of 11 films participated in the Hundred Billion Box Office Plan this year, and next year, it will be reduced to 8," Zhong Lin said: "Director Luo, this is quite a significant challenge."

Upon hearing this, Luo Mo's first reaction was: "Too many."

Eight films is still too many.

And if others were to hear what Zhong Lin said next, they would likely fall into a long-lasting state of shock.

"Oh right, there is one more thing to tell Director Luo: 'Nezha: Birth of the Demon Child', which you co-directed with Director He Yuanguang, is also on next year's plan list."

"Also, 'Be Famous', for which you serve as 【Screenwriter】 and 【Producer】, is also under key consideration, though there is still internal disagreement between this film and another, so we have not yet decided which film will participate in the plan."

"We will be able to provide a result by tomorrow at the latest."

"We will notify you separately when the time comes," Zhong Lin said with a touch of Kindness.

The fact that she could say these things actually indicated her own stance; she was supporting 'Be Famous'.

'Sheepsha', 'Nezha', 'Be Famous'—if all of them were selected...

In an instant, waves surged in Luo Mo's heart!

(PS: First update, wishing everyone a peaceful and healthy Dragon Boat Festival.)

(End of chapter)