Chapter 2390 - 2383: Why Isn’t It Popular
The release date was initially scheduled with the cinema, and if it gets postponed, there’ll be compensation for the cinema’s losses.
Moreover, this production is already half a month behind schedule, and if it gets delayed a few more days...
"The wires were deliberately damaged, probably when everyone was at lunch," a staff member explained.
Not far away, a cold smile appeared at the corner of Chen Xiang’s mouth.
"No wires, let’s see how you shoot the action scenes!"
It’s well-known that wires play a crucial role in action scenes; without them, those scenes can’t be shot.
Wang Dadong’s martial arts are impressive, but is he good enough to not need wires?
"What? The wires are damaged? That’s bad news." Amidst the chaos of the crew, a mocking voice sounded.
"Chen Xiang, it’s you, you damaged the wire equipment!" Director Wei pointed at Chen Xiang, furiously.
"Director Wei, don’t make baseless accusations. You’re blaming me for damaging the wire equipment, do you have any proof? If not, I could sue you for slander," Chen Xiang mockingly replied.
"You..." Director Wei was trembling with anger but helpless against Chen Xiang.
Generally, no one would do such self-detrimental things, but Chen Xiang, a third-tier, nearing second-tier star, actually did this.
But without evidence, there’s nothing to be done.
"Wei Hua, do you know why your company Hua Chen can’t produce a top-tier star? It’s because you’re too lenient with your actresses. Banning this and banning that, how will they ever become popular?"
Clearly, Chen Xiang’s words targeted Liu Yan.
She wouldn’t even film a kissing scene without a double, nor allow negative news for publicity; reaching second-tier was already a stroke of luck.
Aiming for the top-tier? Impossible.
These days, which actress doesn’t stir up some scandal before getting famous? After drawing enough attention, simply spend money to clean up the reputation.
Whether the scandal is genuine or fabricated doesn’t matter at all.
Wei Hua knew this as well, although he managed one second-tier star, it hasn’t brought significant benefits to Hua Chen.
The main issue is that Liu Yan is too reserved, with numerous restrictions in shooting; she won’t film overly revealing scenes or take on overly bold roles— at most, she films a kissing scene, and even then, with a double.
In the past year or two, having Liu Yan has basically been a losing investment.
Recently, the fantasy market has been booming, and they hoped to make a comeback with this production, only to be hit with such trouble.
Having a female artist is supposed to generate revenue. If they’re not making money, why keep them?
Wei Hua, too, has considerable grievances against Liu Yan. But nurturing a female artist is challenging, and he’s reluctant to give up after bringing Liu Yan to second-tier.
However, if this production fails, he might seriously consider letting Liu Yan go.
The company could simply package another female artist.
As long as she’s willing to shed and open up, another artist can soon surpass or even exceed Liu Yan.
"Director Wei, good luck then." Chen Xiang shook his head playfully and left with a swagger.
The entire crew was engulfed in sighs and complaints.
Truth is, everyone knows the difficulty of this production catching on.
The possibility of losing money is high.
There’s no choice, especially with the tight production budget.
Now they’re facing these shooting challenges, even Wei Hua is losing confidence.
Particularly losing faith in Liu Yan.
Admittedly, Liu Yan’s appearance is truly outstanding.
Across Huaxia, very few female stars outshine Liu Yan in terms of physique.
Yet, there’s no helping it, Liu Yan is too conservative; she doesn’t even want to wear slightly revealing costumes.
It’s like having a raw jewel covered by a rag.
Privately, Wei Hua has spoken to Liu Yan about this many times, but she stubbornly adheres to her principles.
She’d rather have low box office returns than go against her will.
While her conservatism is somewhat excessive.
But it’s not entirely her fault, mainly because...
Without the wires, filming is essentially on hold.
Everyone was frowning, especially Liu Yan, who was under immense psychological pressure.
Although none spoke out, she could see the blame in their eyes.
The most carefree person in the crew was Wang Dadong.
Since this production originally had nothing to do with him, he was just here by chance.
Whether it proceeded or not had no impact on him.
"Director Wei, say something. We can’t just let this go!"
"Yes, Director Wei, everyone’s been working hard for over three months!"
"..."
Everyone eagerly looked at Wei Hua, hoping he’d come up with a solution.
Wei Hua sighed deeply, "We’ll repurchase the wires, then set up the scene. Everyone will put in extra hours, striving to minimize the impact."
At the moment, this was the only viable option.
Everyone started taking action.
"Excuse me, everyone, I only have time today," Wang Dadong suddenly commented.
He had no time to wait around for a few days.
His remark left the crew somewhat stunned; if he shrugged off his role, the production might really come to a halt.
After all, finding an actor with a similar appearance to Chen Xiang, who also knows martial arts, won’t be easy and might take even longer.
At this moment, Liu Yan also stepped over, looking at Wang Dadong expectantly, with hands clasped in a pleading gesture, "Please, please."
Seeing Liu Yan’s lovely, pleading eyes, Wang Dadong finally softened a little, saying to Wei Hua, "Get ready to start filming."
"Start filming? Now?" Wei Hua was a bit taken aback.
"What else?" Wang Dadong shrugged.
"But there are no wires."
"Then we don’t use them!"
Wang Dadong’s words left everyone stunned.
Without wires, some scenes can be shot but are extremely dangerous, risking broken ribs or even fatal falls.
Some stars won’t perform certain actions even with safety ropes, fearing accidents.
It’s the first time anyone’s insisted on shooting without wires.
"Brother, you must understand, if there’s an accident, we can’t bear the responsibility," Wei Hua said gravely.
"When did I ever ask you to bear responsibility? Are we filming or not? Don’t be so wishy-washy," Wang Dadong was growing impatient.
While he’s not a professional actor, he’s definitely a skilled fighter; as for wire safety ropes, they’re entirely unnecessary.
Falling from ten floors up wouldn’t kill him.
Since someone was willing to take the risk, Wei Hua wasn’t keen on stopping them.
Yet, Liu Yan looked anxiously at Wang Dadong, wanting to say something but hesitating.
Actually, she really wanted to stop Wang Dadong, since shooting without safety ropes is very dangerous, but she couldn’t bring herself to speak.