Chapter 698: New Year's Eve Chief Planner: Luo Mo

Ning Dan and Xu Guan are both highly efficient.

Following Luo Mo's Requirement, they found suitable dancers and have already made contact with the Provincial Museum.

The Provincial Museum side is actually quite pleased.

Originally, given the past popularity of Octopus TV's galas, the benefits it could bring to the museum were not particularly significant.

But once they heard that Luo Mo would be assisting, it was a different story.

As for the dancers selected by Ning Dan, they are even more incredibly excited, one and all.

Among these girls, there are quite a few fans of Luo Mo.

Upon hearing that they would have to specifically perform Dancing for Luo Mo during rehearsals, they became even more thrilled.

This way, who knows, they might even be able to get an autograph or take a group photo!

As for Luo Mo, due to the unique nature of this dance, in a sense, watching them dance is actually like obtaining an Experience Card for an ancient emperor.

"Let's experience the joy of an emperor for a wave," Luo Mo thought to himself.

Luo Mo personally places extremely high importance on this dance stage.

You must know, on Earth, the Spring Festival Gala of that year on Henan TV relied on this very stage to push its total online views past 2 billion!

………

………

Time moved forward by one week.

The filming process for the entire crew of Let the Bullets Fly has gradually entered a smooth state.

At the beginning, when Xu Gangsheng and the others were eating with Luo Mo, they all sincerely expressed that Director Luo should not feel constrained, and if there was any place where the acting was not right, he should feel free to criticize.

They appreciate Luo Mo's talent and also know that he is a director with immense capability.

But after all, everyone is of a higher seniority.

You must know, for some young directors, inviting a big-name star is not necessarily a good thing.

Some directors might even be overshadowed by the Actor.

In the end, the king of the set might instead become that big-name star.

However, after filming for one day, Xu Gangsheng and the others realized—we were overthinking it.

Luo Mo is indeed very respectful toward them, calling them "Teacher" or "Brother Sheng" at every turn.

But often, what followed was: "Brother Sheng, this take won't do, let's shoot another one."

"Teacher Zhao, I feel the expression just now was still lacking a bit of meaning."

"Teacher Chen, the tone is wrong. That line you just said: 'Damn it,' I feel it still lacks a bit of flavor. Come, recite it with me: 'Damn it!'"

Chen Zuhe, who plays Zhang Mazi, never dreamed that one day he would encounter a "dialogue teacher" more than twenty years his junior.

And this dialogue teacher's highest Requirement was actually—"Damn it."

Consequently, on the set, one could see a dashing, handsome young man sitting opposite a middle-aged person with a powerful aura, both of them repeatedly reciting: "Damn it!"

You must know, on Earth, Jiang Wen is the ambassador for national profanity, the absolute Brand Spokesperson for national profanity.

Many foreign big-name stars have been personally coached by him in Huaxia profanity...

After these few days of getting along, the three big shots and Luo Mo have gradually become familiar, and they have developed a sense of friendship across generations in private.

This young man seems to possess a kind of magic; the more you spend time with him, the more you appreciate him.

The night scene to be filmed today is the first night in Goose City for the bandit Zhang Mazi, who is impersonating the County Magistrate, and the so-called County Magistrate's Wife.

A scene—of "driving."

Chen Zuhe, who plays Zhang Mazi, and Yue Hong, who plays the County Magistrate's Wife, are old acquaintances.

Everyone had collaborated on two films before.

On Earth, the actress who played the County Magistrate's Wife was Liu Jialing.

But Luo Mo personally feels that in this film, she was slightly overshadowed by Zhou Yun.

I have to say, Jiang Wen is truly an Ox when it comes to filming his wife, Zhou Yun.

In his lens, Zhou Yun possesses a unique beauty.

At this moment, the bandit Zhang Mazi has impersonated the County Magistrate, and after arriving in Goose City, he naturally has to share a room with the County Magistrate's Wife.

On the bed, Zhang Mazi and the County Magistrate's Wife are sitting opposite each other.

"Madam, brother here... only seeks wealth, not beauty."

He blinked his eyes rapidly a few times and said: "Sharing a bed, but not entering the body."

"I have a gun here, if I, your brother, have any offensive actions toward you, Madam."

"You can finish me off at any time."

As he spoke, the camera gradually gave the two a full shot.

It could be seen that Zhang Mazi said this heartfelt speech while touching the County Magistrate's Wife's big conscience.

Good heavens, if your hand weren't placed right there, I would have almost believed your nonsense.

Zhang Mazi leaned over and placed the gun on the bedside table on the County Magistrate's Wife's side.

While leaning over, he even switched hands to continue touching her conscience.

As he switched hands to perform the CPR-like compressions, the expression of the County Magistrate's Wife also had a subtle change.

"If Madam has any Requirement, I, your brother... will absolutely not refuse," Zhang Mazi continued.

The County Magistrate's Wife thrust her body forward; from beginning to end, she did not say a word, yet every gesture revealed charm.

"Sleep." Zhang Mazi began to cover himself with the quilt.

He and the Madam slept at opposite ends of the bed.

After the County Magistrate's Wife lay down, she let out a huff.

Here, during post-production dubbing, subtle sounds of a Cat will be added.

The Cat sounds here are actually the finishing touch to this scene.

——A hundred claws scratching at the heart.

Seeing the County Magistrate's Wife lying flat, Zhang Mazi understood her meaning immediately after she spoke a single sentence and began to crawl under the covers.

"A day as husband and wife brings a hundred days of grace," the County Magistrate's Wife said.

This line, and "good Romance is just three meals a day," actually have a similar effect.

After speaking, a smile appeared on her face.

While smiling, she also toyed with her slender fingers.

Zhang Mazi immediately faced her and began doing... a plank.

Looking at the man in front of her, the County Magistrate's Wife laughed a few times and said, "Anyway, I just want to be the County Magistrate's Wife; who the County Magistrate is, I don't care."

She said the second half of the sentence right into Zhang Mazi's ear.

After speaking, she raised her hand and patted Zhang Mazi's face lightly, saying, "Brother, don't be so formal."

"Am I being formal?" Zhang Mazi lowered his voice and asked.

"You are."

"This counts as formal?"

"You're being too formal!"

"How can I not be formal?"

Then, the County Magistrate's Wife had him take away the gun and began to take out all sorts of things one by one to show him.

For example, a rolling pin, a carpenter's tools, opium-smoking paraphernalia, scissors, jade ornaments, a magnifying glass, and so on.

The more Zhang Mazi looked, the more dumbfounded he became.

Perhaps he was thinking, could these all be the keepsakes of the widow's previous husbands?

The entire atmosphere was destroyed because of this.

"Cut! This take is a wrap!" Luo Mo shouted.

This left Chen Zuhe a bit dumbfounded.

How did this scene pass in just one take?

Weren't the previous ones all about striving for perfection?

Is there no striving for perfection here?

It wasn't that he wanted to touch someone else's conscience a few more times.

It was mainly because other scenes had been filmed several times, and this one passing in a single take made him look a bit too professional.

Another week passed.

Luo Mo was mainly busy filming now, and when he had free time, he would arrange the song list for the New Year's Eve Gala.

With so many Singing stages, they certainly wouldn't all be new songs.

Some popular old songs can often achieve very good results as well.

"Of course, it wouldn't be good to turn Octopus TV's New Year's Eve Gala into our studio's and Xinyu's annual meeting," Luo Mo thought with a smile. "Still need to invite some other Singers."

The proportion of people under his command wasn't that large, just a mere eighty percent.

Alright, it still looked like his own company's annual meeting.

Outsiders, after all, were just invited guests.

On Blue Star, the New Year's Eve Gala is different from the Spring Festival Gala; CCTV still has several rounds of rehearsals, but unless there are special reasons, the programs in the rehearsals are generally not deleted or replaced.

As for the regional satellite channels, it was even more impossible to have so many rounds of rehearsals.

A few days ago, CCTV announced the list of people in charge of this year's New Year's Eve Gala.

In it, there was not only the General Director Li Dongliang, but also positions like Chief Planner, and of course, the host team was also announced one by one.

It must be said that apart from Li Dongliang's ability to direct the gala being open to question, the rest of the people were pretty much a Spring Festival Gala-level lineup.

Regarding this, many netizens still expressed anticipation.

Everyone just hoped that Director Li Dongliang could play to his strengths and avoid his weaknesses.

Many of the shots he filmed were indeed extremely aesthetic.

In some large scenes, Li Dongliang's standard was extremely high.

But when this person filmed movies, he just wouldn't speak like a normal person and wouldn't tell a story that everyone could understand properly.

Netizens were just afraid he would bring this style into the gala.

And after CCTV announced the list of these people, the Four Great Satellite Channels immediately followed suit.

Their Chief Planners, as well as other people in charge and the host teams, were basically consistent with previous years.

It must be said that when everyone announced their respective gala's General Director a few days ago, the explosive news of Ning Dan joining Octopus TV did indeed put some pressure on the Four Great Satellite Channels.

After all, Ning Dan's variety shows were very popular, and she herself was quite popular too.

In the past, the Four Great Satellite Channels didn't take other satellite channels seriously at all; apart from the four of us, everyone else is trash.

And no one expected that this year's Octopus TV would seem so tough.

They actually chose to announce their list on the same day as the Four Great Satellite Channels.

Originally, everyone wouldn't have paid much attention to this.

Even the people in the province where Octopus TV was located didn't have much curiosity about it.

"We were scared to death just getting a big shot like Ning Dan."

"It's already promising enough; we don't expect anything else."

"It's probably the same group of people."

It wasn't until one name appeared that everyone was incredibly shocked, with many even suspecting it might be someone with the same name.

——【Chief Planner】: Luo Mo!

In an instant, the internet exploded.

"Holy crap, it really is Luo Mo!?"

"No way, is it just someone with the same name?"

"The probability of someone having his name and it being the same person is actually quite low."

"Shocking, is my little Octopus TV this Ox this time?"

You have to know, the last time Luo Mo and Ning Dan teamed up like this was for the acclaimed variety show *Classics of China*.

The shock this variety show brought to everyone was unparalleled.

Now, Luo Mo is actually acting as the 【Chief Planner】 for a New Year's Eve Gala?

This is truly too unexpected.

Never mind Octopus TV, even if you went and asked the Four Great Satellite Channels, could they invite Luo Mo?

"Luo Mo, do you have some kind of dirt on you held by Octopus TV?"

"Could it be to repay the favor of Octopus TV buying his drama when he first started filming?"

"It wouldn't go as far as a favor; he was already a Top Traffic then, and dramas by a Top Traffic don't worry about selling, it's just a matter of price. Besides, everyone was fighting for his subsequent *Nirvana in Fire*, didn't he sell that to Octopus TV too?"

"This collaboration really scared me."

Honestly, never mind the netizens being confused, the industry exploded immediately.

Especially the Four Great Satellite Channels, who felt an unprecedented sense of crisis.

In the past, they considered themselves invincible below CCTV.

As for this throne of second in the world, the four of us might not take turns sitting on it, but at least we've all sat on it.

Ning Dan's appearance is equivalent to an extra bomb in Octopus TV's hand.

But Luo Mo is different; this is a King-bomb level!

Even if Octopus TV's historical ratings foundation is weak, and their audience base is weak, so what?

Wherever Luo Mo is, the audience will go!

He wouldn't possibly be the 【Chief Planner】 at Octopus TV and then run off to CCTV to go Singing, right?

This is equivalent to indirectly announcing that he is this year's New Year's Eve guest for Octopus TV!

It's just absurd that: "There has never been a precedent of a Chief Planner performing on stage before..."

"How do we deal with this?"

"Why does Xu Guan get to reap such a huge benefit!"

"This makes no sense!"

The Four Great Satellite Channels only felt a chill down their spines; their sense of security was leaking out!

Little did they know that Luo Mo didn't even consider them opponents at all.

Their many inner dramas were actually all a bit redundant.

Luo Mo's goal, from beginning to end, has only been one, and that is CCTV!

Ranking first among satellite channels is just a side effect.

It's like saying my goal is to win the world championship, and I'll take the national championship along the way.

Of course, table tennis doesn't count.

And over at CCTV, things had also exploded at this moment.

Li Dongliang's entire team entered a state of panic.

It's absurd; all of this is just because this young man's name appeared on Octopus TV's list.

Even though he had never been the Chief Planner for any gala before, his name alone makes people feel fear and immense pressure.

——There is a kind of oppression called Luo Mo!

At this moment, after learning this news, Li Dongliang was immediately called to the office by Director Chen.

After the two sat down, they didn't know how to talk about this topic for a while.

Finally, Li Dongliang spoke up: "Director, is this Luo Mo helping Ning Dan in an alternative way?"

He rejected CCTV's invitation, so he probably wouldn't dare to be a guest for Octopus TV either; wouldn't that be a direct slap in the face?

So, he retreated behind the scenes this time to be a Chief Planner?

Luo Mo has no experience in this area; he has never done a gala, so whether the effect is good or not is still an unknown.

It's just, why do I feel so unconfident when I say these things?

Director Chen stared straight at Li Dongliang, making Li Dongliang unable to help but swallow his saliva.

Honestly, looking back at Luo Mo's past experiences, what kind of daring things hasn't he done?

During the talent show, he dared to go head-to-head with Wang Shisong of Mango, choosing directly not to sign the Contract and not to debut as a group.

A few days ago, he even wrote a poem to scold the Fan Hua Award.

So, what about now?

"But, this is CCTV!" Li Dongliang felt the world was too crazy.

Director Chen looked at Li Dongliang and said: "If Luo Mo not only becomes the Chief Planner, but also goes on stage to perform Singing himself, and even brings the Singers under him along, then... Director Li, do you have the confidence to beat him on a music-based stage?"

Li Dongliang opened his mouth, but in the end, he couldn't say anything boastful.

For so many years, Luo Mo has proven with countless facts that he is the King of the music scene!

Even the former top singer Chen Luo was beaten into submission.

Even if Luo Mo and the group of Singers under him didn't sing new songs, they would still be slaughtering the competition on any music-themed stage.

Furthermore, it was impossible for a CCTV gala to consist entirely of pop songs; it would inevitably include many songs of other natures.

But as for the regional satellite television stations, they didn't necessarily have to do these things.

Li Dongliang felt a deep sense of powerlessness at this moment.

"I'm just a filmmaker, what the hell do I know about Singing!"

At this moment, Director Chen could be said to be a mix of Anger and reason.

He felt Anger that Luo Mo actually dared to reject his invitation and openly stand with Ning Dan.

Yet reason told him that with Luo Mo, Octopus TV was invincible on music-themed stages, and no matter how he pressured Li Dongliang, it would be like making unreasonable demands.

In the end, he took a deep breath.

"Since that's the case, Director Li must put more effort into the language-based programs, dance-based programs, and these other categories," Director Chen said.

If they couldn't win on the music-themed stage, then they would crush them in every aspect across all other types of stages!

(End of chapter)