Along with Huang Qianshi's Weibo, the official Weibo of the movie "Darkest Decision" in which he starred was also under siege by public opinion. The second trailer for the film was officially released at 8 o'clock last night, and the accompanying copy of the trailer was still hot: "Invite you to witness the Darkest Decision together."
The most-liked comment was: "No more, no more [goodbye]", followed by a row of neatly lit candles, which seemed to add a touch of irony.
Luomeng Media - the "unlucky" film producer and largest investor in the eyes of tens of millions of netizens - was kept silent from top to bottom, waiting for the latest instructions from the company's top management.
"I'm coming." The girl in charge of the reception saw the figure flashing outside the door and quickly nudged the person sitting next to her with her elbow. The girl who was browsing the hot topics on Weibo put down her phone immediately after hearing this.
The induction door slowly opened, and two receptionists stood up in a well-trained manner: "Mr. Cao."
The man who entered the sensor door replied perfunctorily. He was about 25 or 26 years old, with his hair a little messy from the wind. He was wearing a baggy dark blue hoodie and black ripped jeans. His steps were full of the air of an unsettled young man, and there was no trace of "general" in his body.
"Has Ryan Zeng arrived?" Ethan Cao walked over, swiping his finger across the pad screen at the front desk, looking through the morning visitor registration record.
"We've been here for half an hour," the receptionist said, "We're waiting for you in the conference room."
"Well, where's Adrian Xu?"
"Also in the conference room, came here at 7am..."
"Okay, you're just in time." Ethan Cao turned to leave, and the two receptionists looked at each other. Before they could make eye contact, there was a "pop" sound, and both of them were startled. Ethan Cao turned back and put his palm heavily on the marble table at the front desk.
"Hey, what's going on?" He was a head taller than them, his palms resting on the table, leaning slightly to look at them, "You're so depressed, when I first came in, I thought the company was going to go bankrupt. Cheer up, ok?"
Both girls were stunned, then nodded hesitantly.
Ethan Cao didn't give up yet, staring at them and said, "Come on, smile."
The two girls looked up and saw that the expression on Ethan Cao's face was half joking and half serious. It was difficult to tell what the mood of this young and energetic boss was at the moment. One of them pulled the corner of her mouth and forced a smile.
"You." Ethan Cao raised his chin and signaled another receptionist.
The other person also forced a smile.
Ethan Cao then left contentedly, leaving behind a sentence: "Hey, this is the right way."
Derek Cheng, the director of the publicity and distribution department of Luomeng Media, was leaning on the edge of his desk. He was looking down at the public opinion report just sent by his subordinates. He was full of worry and was about to sigh to the sky when he saw Ethan Cao's figure out of the corner of his eye. He hurriedly trotted over to greet him: "Finally you're here. You're really patient!"
"Didn't the police just issue a notice?" Ethan Cao walked towards the meeting room without stopping. "How is it? Has the notice about the replacement of the cast and reshooting been issued?"
"It has been sent. I asked someone to prepare the text at midnight last night. All I have to do is wait for the official announcement to come out and click send. This is the latest public opinion report. Would you like to take a look at it?" Derek Cheng said, handing the phone to him.
Ethan Cao waved his hand and said lazily: "I'm too lazy to read the words, just say it."
"It's nothing, except that we were blind before and now it's a good idea to change. Many people are speculating which actor will be the replacement... By the way, I don't know which grandson leaked the 1 billion bet agreement, so a group of people came out to light candles for us."
Hearing this, Ethan Cao's face changed slightly and his brows frowned: "Who leaked it?"
"We've asked someone to investigate the source of the news, but there's no news yet." Derek Cheng had worked with Ethan Cao for two years and had figured out his bottom line of tolerance early on.
As they talked, the two walked to the door of the conference room.
Through the glass door, one could feel the smoke in the conference room. Less than an hour had passed, and the ashtray on the table was already filled with several cigarette B*tts and ashes. The two people sitting in the room were anxious, and when they saw Ethan Cao coming over, they both stood up.
"Come in and join the meeting." Ethan Cao held the door handle and pushed the door open, saying to Derek Cheng. Before he even stepped in, Adrian Xu had already rushed over, grabbed his arm, and began to pour out his regrets: "Mr. Cao, this is all my fault. I blamed myself for recommending Huang Qianshi to play this role. I only thought that Huang Qianshi had good acting skills and was popular with the audience. Who would have thought that this would happen after the filming was completed..."
Ethan Cao was overwhelmed by his nagging, but he still stopped patiently and stood at the door to listen to him finish his mental journey. At the end, he looked at him with a smile and asked leisurely: "So Producer Xu is planning to make up for his mistakes and help me make up for the 1 billion gambling gap, right?"
Adrian Xu stopped talking immediately and looked at Ethan Cao in a daze. Ethan Cao's face was not angry, and there seemed to be a teasing smile in the corner of his eyes. Adrian Xu smiled awkwardly: "You are joking, how can I afford it..."
Ethan Cao laughed, but his tone was not polite: "Then your words are meaningless." He pulled his arm out of Adrian Xu's hand, walked to the round table, held the back of the chair and turned it half a circle, and sat on it: "Okay, if you have this ability to predict the future, why do you want to be a producer? Go to Mount Wutai to be a great immortal and tell fortunes for people." After saying this, he looked up and saw Ryan Zeng also looking embarrassed, looking at him with hesitation. Ethan Cao pointed at him and warned, "Don't complain."
Ryan Zeng is the director of "Darkest Choice". He started out as an underground filmmaker. He became a bit famous a few years ago because of a CULT film. He was praised by fans as the Quentin of the new generation of domestic directors. Of course, this title has brought him a lot of criticism. He has a dull personality and is always quiet. It seems that he has released all his passion into the film. At this moment, he sat back and said, "But this morning, the three invitations from Producer Xu have all been rejected..."
Ethan Cao had a hangover last night, and this morning Derek Cheng called him again, and he felt his brain was so stiff that he couldn't think straight. He leaned back in his chair, took out a cigarette from the table, and without asking who it belonged to, he took one out and put it in his mouth. Hearing this, he looked up at Ryan Zeng and asked vaguely: "Huh? Who did you meet?"
Adrian Xu took out his lighter and leaned in to light it for him: "I have asked everyone I can think of, but only three people have replied, and all of them were rejection letters."
Ethan Cao took a deep puff of his cigarette, exhaled the smoke and smiled: "You are quite efficient. I thought you were just grumbling all morning, but I didn't expect that the film contract has already been sent out. Tell me, who are the three people who sent the rejection letters now?"
"Let me start with the most promising one," Adrian Xu dragged a swivel chair and sat next to Ethan Cao, reporting to him the results of the morning's work, "Zhao Qian is quite interested in this film, but his agent said that he will start filming a TV series next week, and it will take at least half a year after the filming is finished. Director Zeng made this film to win an award, and if we wait for him, we will have to wait until the year after next to participate in the competition, and our strategy of winning the award first and then releasing the film will probably be disrupted."
"No," Ethan Cao denied flatly, "He is not suitable."
"Oh my god," Adrian Xu saw his unyielding attitude, guessed what he was thinking, and coaxed him like a child, "You have to lower your expectations. Although Zhao Qian focuses on TV dramas, he has a good audience base and has won the Best Actor Award. With this qualification, he can already be listed in the first tier of candidates."
Ethan Cao asked with little interest: "Who else?"
"Yan Jia, is this guy suitable? He is a Hong Kong star like Huang Qianshi, and was nominated for Best Actor last year. His age is also suitable...but his agent rejected him completely, so there is no chance."
"How did you refuse?"
"The wording is quite euphemistic, but the general meaning is that Yan Jia has been offered many film contracts now, so there is no need for him to pick up this leftover..."
Ethan Cao sneered: "That's not what his agent said when he tried to get Echo last year."
"Who said it wasn't?" Adrian Xu agreed helplessly.
"What about the other one? Didn't you just say you sent out three invitations? Since we'll start with the one with the greatest hope, let's also talk about the one with the least hope."
"There was another person we asked out with the idea of giving it a try, and as expected, he was also rejected," Adrian Xu said, "Liam Liang."
"Huh? Liam Liang?" Ethan Cao laughed when he heard it. "You guys are really bold and daring." He paused thoughtfully, and raised one eyebrow slightly. "It's not surprising that he refused. Yan Jia's excuse should be used by him."
"It should be said that it was his agent Xu Yunchu who rejected it," Adrian Xu added.
Ethan Cao didn't take this seriously: "What's the difference?"
"It's a big difference," Adrian Xu pulled the swivel chair closer to Ethan Cao, "Everyone in the circle knows that although Xu Yunchu is Liam Liang's agent, she can't make decisions for Liam Liang. I was thinking, why don't we try to bypass Xu Yunchu and send the script directly to Liam Liang? I heard that he pays great attention to the script and the role when choosing a movie. Our role is relatively rare in the domestic market. Maybe he will be interested. But Liam Liang and I are not close friends, and he may not read the script even if we send it to him. Otherwise, you..."
Ethan Cao smiled and shook his head before he finished listening. He flicked the ash off his cigarette and looked at Adrian Xu: "Let me ask you, even Yan Jia would ask in return, why did he come to pick up this leftover? Liam Liang has so many Best Actor awards, why would he consider this backup supporting role?"
"You can't say that. After all, your father has been very kind to him... If you communicate with him directly, I'm sure he will still give you this face. At least he will take a look at the script, right? Maybe..."
"Oh, so you want to take advantage of my father," Ethan Cao refused succinctly, "No way."
Adrian Xu wanted to say something, but he saw Derek Cheng on the opposite side giving him a look, and then he saw Ethan Cao's usually nonchalant expression become more serious. He immediately realized that he might have said something wrong, so he kept silent.
The conference room fell silent for a moment. Derek Cheng was about to speak to ease the atmosphere when he heard Ethan Cao speak. Compared with his previous lazy tone, he seemed to be a different person: "Producer Xu, I think you may have some misunderstandings. My father may have a great favor to Liam Liang, but that has nothing to do with me."
Adrian Xu was obviously not used to Ethan Cao's serious talk. He was startled at first, and then sweat oozed from the tip of his nose. He cursed himself for his carelessness. He was a veteran in this circle. He started as an artist assistant and climbed all the way to the position of a well-known producer in the industry. He relied on his ability to read people's expressions. He didn't expect to fall in front of this unscrupulous Mr. Cao.
His scalp was a little numb, and he was about to open his mouth to smooth things over, but Ethan Cao unexpectedly gave him a way out first. He leaned forward, propped his elbows on his thighs, and resumed his unruly tone: "Besides, such a big star just casually came to be a substitute, and a supporting role that was suppressed. Do you think he doesn't care about his face?"
Adrian Xu immediately followed suit and nodded quickly, "Yes, yes."
Ethan Cao pondered for a moment, then turned his gaze to Ryan Zeng, who had remained silent, and asked, "Who does Director Zeng have his eye on?"
Ryan Zeng was worrying about the reshoots, with his head down and a little distracted. When he heard Ethan Cao mention him, he looked up and was stunned for a moment.
Ethan Cao did not rush him, but waited patiently for him to speak. He had seen the preview of "Darkest Choice" and had a good impression of Ryan Zeng.
Ryan Zeng was distracted at an inopportune moment, and didn't realize that Adrian Xu had been sweating coldly. He only vaguely heard them mention Liam Liang, but didn't pay much attention to the specific content of the conversation, and it was inconvenient for him to say that he had just been distracted.
Ethan Cao thought he had an idea but didn't dare to speak it out, so he slowed down his tone and gently encouraged him: "Director Zeng, if you have any ideas, just tell me. I will try my best to satisfy you."
Ryan Zeng raised his hand and rubbed the tip of his nose, as if he was a little embarrassed. He hesitated for a moment before hesitating and said, "I would love for Liam Liang to come and reshoot."
The corner of Adrian Xu's mouth twitched, and he thought that Director Zeng was really bad at reading people's expressions. Even after saying this, he still dared to mention Liam Liang. He was afraid that Ethan Cao's face would become even uglier.
Unexpectedly, Ethan Cao laughed out loud this time, shaking his head as he laughed, and stopped laughing after a long while. He said in a teasing tone again: "Please ask Liam Liang to come over to do the supporting role for the reshoot... Director Xiao Zeng, you guys are really bold."
That's the role that the famous director Cao Xiuyuan holds in his heart.
When he laughed, Ryan Zeng also laughed. He just regarded the joke as a daydream.
Ethan Cao dragged over the ashtray and put out his cigarette, then stood up, raised his arms and stretched: "Think about it again, there is no rush. Derek Cheng, you should ask the whole company to work together and select a few people."
Derek Cheng responded with "OK".
"This conference room is reserved for you today. I have to go to a meeting with several other investors. If I don't go, they will dig up my ancestral graves. Director Zeng, please come with me. You know more about the reshoots than I do."
"Oh, okay." Ryan Zeng stood up and followed Ethan Cao out.
"By the way, Derek Cheng, Huang Qianshi," Ethan Cao walked out of the meeting room, closed the door, and poked his head back in to say, "Remember to ask the legal department to be tougher. Pay as much as you should. Don't be lenient."
"I know," Derek Cheng made a gesture of understanding, "I know what's going on."
As soon as Ethan Cao left, Adrian Xu breathed a sigh of relief and asked Derek Cheng in a low voice, "What's going on? You just scared me into a cold sweat."
Derek Cheng looked at him and smiled: "Can't you see? You've touched my reverse scale."
"What's a weak spot? Mr. Cao is always laughing and joking. I don't see any weak spot in him."
"Really? But he only has two weak spots on his body, Cao Xiuyuan and Liam Liang. You have touched all of them."
Adrian Xu was immediately curious: "Does Mr. Cao have a feud with Liam Liang? Have they worked together?"
"If you ask me about this, I can't explain it clearly. As far as I know, they probably haven't cooperated before. As for the holidays, I'm just guessing. Don't take it too seriously. You know Ethan Cao. He will forget about it and won't take it to heart."
Hearing him say this, Adrian Xu nodded, felt relieved a little, and said nothing more.
"Let's get down to business first," Derek Cheng picked up his phone, "I'll call a few people over and have a meeting this morning."
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