Fame's Unforgiving Light Chapter 7

After shooting for the magazine, he immediately flew to another city to record a program. It was a popular talk show on the TV station where he had the accident before. The TV station invited Ethan Stone to be a guest in order to smooth over the relationship, and paid a very high appearance fee.

For a week, he was busy like a top and finally took a day off.

During this period, Guo Baozhen sent him messages many times and made two phone calls.

So when Ethan Stone had some free time and returned home, the first thing he did was to contact Director Guo.

"Teacher Zhuang, you are finally free. Look, I have asked a lawyer to draft the contract! Shall we go out to sign the contract? Where shall we meet?"

Ethan Stone was also polite to him: "Where do you live? If it's convenient, I know a club that's suitable for discussing business."

Club?

Guo Baozhen figured that the clubs that big stars go to must be expensive. There must be a minimum fee for discussing business in a private room.

He gritted his teeth and agreed: "Send me the address and I'll be there right away!"

Forty minutes later, Jack Reid drove his car to take Ethan Stone to his destination: "Brother Zhuang, how long will it take you? I'll find a place to park. Do you want me to accompany you?"

"No, it should be done soon. If you have anything to do, just go home."

"It's okay. I'll wait for you."

Ethan Stone said he was going to meet a director and didn't say anything else. Jack Reid didn't know whether he should report it to Sister Wen.

After entering the club, Ethan Stone called Guo Baozhen. This place was close to his university, the environment was quiet, and there was an outdoor courtyard, which was suitable for drinking tea. He had been here several times.

"Hey! Teacher Zhuang, here!" Just as he was talking on the phone and looking for a private room, the sliding door on the side suddenly opened, and a furry head poked out and waved at Ethan Stone stealthily.

"You are... Director Guo?"

Ethan Stone walked in, took off his sunglasses, and saw Guo Baozhen, who was now in a period of desolation.

Director Guo just turned 30 this year and is about to soar to fame after this film. Among the big directors, he is considered very, very young.

Moreover, his face looks very small. He is about 1.78 meters tall, with fair skin, big eyes, delicate facial features, and he wears round-framed glasses. He is dressed in a bookish style and has a straight body, which makes him look even younger.

The two shook hands first, and Guo Baozhen praised: "Teacher Zhuang is so handsome, I have admired him for a long time!"

Ethan Stone smiled and said, "I have heard of Director Guo's name for a long time."

"Hahaha."

The two laughed together, and Guo Baozhen invited enthusiastically: "Come on, don't be polite, let's sit down and talk! Have some tea!"

There was a Kung Fu tea set on the tea table. Guo Baozhen poured him a cup of hot tea. Ethan Stone thanked him and said, "I'll do it myself. I'm a loyal reader of XX Weekly. I like all the reports you wrote before."

"You know this?" He was very surprised. He was not famous and could not find these things on the Internet. How did Ethan Stone know?

"Well, I have read many of your non-fiction articles, such as "A Different Ji Chongen...

"You even know this?!" He was even more shocked. Now he no longer doubted what he had said before about appreciating his articles. He had finally arranged an interview with Mr. Ji several years ago. He flew to the United States specifically for this purpose and made four or five trips.

Twenty percent of what Ethan Stone said was fabricated.

Because he only read those reports after Guo Baozhen became famous, and many of them were about criminals.

As a journalist, Guo Baozhen has been tracking and investigating the truth in this industry for six years. He has a high level of education and started working at Xinhua News Agency right after graduation. Two years later, he changed his job and became a professional writer. However, he is no longer satisfied with recording reality with words, but wants to present his past reports in a real way.

During these three years, he first changed his career to become a screenwriter, but no producer or director wanted the scripts he wrote, so he simply took them and made them himself. They were several short films, about the infectious pneumonia in previous years, and also focused on the imams living in Washington after 9/11. There was only one complete film, two hours long, about an undertaker, but it was not released because it was too sensitive and did not make any splash.

So Ethan Stone was particularly interested in this matter: "Director Guo, is 'Hidden Heart' also adapted from real events?" This was information that he had not been able to find on the Internet in his previous life.

Director Guo took a sip of tea and smiled: "It's about 50 to 60 percent fiction, but some of it is real."

"The character of Enke is 70 to 80 percent restored. When I went to interview him... he talked about his past experiences abroad. In his memory, they were very beautiful, so a lot of artistic processing was done on the character of Jiang Zhuo. This article was not published at the time, so now I want to make it into a movie for people to watch."

After Guo Baozhen asked the parties involved and sought their consent, he and his screenwriter friend made appropriate adaptations. For example, the original events took place in France, but because he, as a director and investor, had no money, he moved the filming to a small city in Thailand. The products were extremely cheap and good, with durian costing only eight yuan a pound!

"To be honest, I have been looking for a suitable actor for a while. I don't like the bad ones, and I can't afford someone like you who is too good. It's a dilemma!" Guo Baozhen said, taking out a contract from his bag, "This is the contract I asked a lawyer to draw up. Teacher Zhuang, please take a look."

Ethan Stone nodded and asked casually, "Have you found the role for Jiang Zhuo?"

"We're still selecting people." He dressed like a student on purpose today, intending to sneak into the film academy and look for someone else. The role of the killer requires a man in his thirties or forties, so it has to be played by a mature man, and it's not easy to find one among the students.

Ethan Stone read the contract very carefully, and after a moment he said, "I've read it, no problem." He signed his name readily and asked one more question, "Director Guo, I wonder how you plan to cast the role? Do you have a suitable candidate in mind?"

He quickly put away the contract, and with a wry smile, he named several big movie stars who were famous for their acting skills: "I think each of them is very suitable, but I really can't afford it. I asked a friend to send the script to them, but there was no response. I wonder if Mr. Zhuang has any friends in the industry... who can recommend anyone?"

Ethan Stone shook his head, thinking that this movie seemed to have started shooting this summer - and it won an award the following year, so it could only be this year.

He was so curious, how did Oliver Scott get the chance to work on Guo Baozhen's film?

Guo Baozhen sighed heavily: "Besides, this is a gay film. After reading my script... many people rejected it."

After working hard on the film but still getting no money, and finally not being able to release it, of course no one would take the risk to take it. The most crucial reason is that the film is not famous enough to attract good actors.

He was still very puzzled about Ethan Stone's motives: "Does your agent know that you took my role?"

"I don't know yet. It doesn't matter. It's written in my contract with the company that I have the right to choose the script independently."

"That's good. Have you finished reading the script? Do you know the plot?"

"all know."

"Then..." Director Guo's expression became a little strange, "Do you have any opinions?" For example, bed scenes or K!ssing scenes?

Ethan Stone shook his head: "I don't have any major objections..." He vaguely felt that something was wrong.

This is different from what you imagined? Guo Baozhen carefully observed his expression and said, "It's okay. If you have any opinions, please feel free to give them. There is room for change in the script."

"Not yet... Oh, by the way, I forgot my script abroad, do you still have it?"

"Yes, yes!" He quickly took out a stack of scripts and took out a complete one and gave it to Ethan Stone.

Ethan Stone saw that there were ten identical books in his bag and couldn't help but smack his lips: "Why are the scripts in your bag so thin?"

Director Guo said confidently: "Do you think I give the full script to everyone I meet? I only give one-third of the script to others."

Ethan Stone nodded to show his understanding. The leak of the script was a very serious matter. For someone like Guo Baozhen who stuffed scripts all over the campus, it would be impossible for him to just give the complete version to actors he was not familiar with.

After saying goodbye to Director Guo, Ethan Stone went out with the script, and Jack Reid drove outside to pick him up.

He leaned over to look at the director who had escorted Ethan Stone out. He looked very unfamiliar.

"Brother Zhuang...who is that director? How come I have never seen him before?"

"His name is Guo Baozhen."

"Oh, it seems... I haven't heard of him. Has he filmed anything?" He was worried. Seeing that the director was very young, was he reliable? Would Zhuang take random roles?

Ethan Stone patiently explained: "Director Guo used to be a reporter and worked at Xinhua News Agency. I guess you haven't seen the movies he made, but this movie will definitely be a hit. Do you trust my eye for selecting movies?"

"Of course I believe it, but..." He still sounded doubtful. Glancing at the script on his lap, which read "Hidden Heart", Jack Reid speculated, "Is this a romantic movie?"

"It can be considered as such," Ethan Stone mused, "a homoS3xual film."

"Same S3x---" he exclaimed in surprise, "How can you accept such a thing? Sister Wen will never agree to it!"

"Well, I know she won't agree, so please keep it a secret for me for now." Ethan Stone didn't tell him that he had added a new agreement to his contract with the company, so he could choose the films freely.

"Is it for the sake of winning an award?" Jack Reid was worried, "But taking on a film like this will have an impact on your reputation."

"What impact can it have? Don't worry, this drama doesn't have what you think, there's no K!ssing scene." Ethan Stone opened the window to get some fresh air, his eyes fixed on a faraway place, "Besides, I'm not gay, who cares about public opinion? It's just acting, it's impossible to make it real."