All-rounder Artist

“A commercial film?”

“You mean a superhero genre?”

“Xian Yu really wants to dip his toe in every film genre, huh? I thought he’d continue to make comedies, next thing you know, he went off making suspense dramas. When I thought he’d play around with extreme plot twists, he proceeded to make a drama film…”

“Maybe he enjoys challenging himself?”

“I never expected Xian Yu to take a leap and make a mainstream film this time. He probably wishes to achieve higher box office results. Although his previous themes attracted noteworthy box office, advancing further is exceedingly hard.”

“…”

Ol’ Zhou brought the script of “Spiderman” to the film department, and everyone began discussing soon after reviewing the script in a meeting. The atmosphere was rather positive as Xian Yu had gained the department’s trust through his previous successes.

“Speaking of which,”

The senior executive on Ol’ Zhou’s right chuckled, “All of Xian Yu’s films have some degree of commercial attributes. Even though ‘Hachiko’ does not strictly fall under arthouse films, it’s his relatively pure commercial route this time that surprised us.”

Ol’ Zhou knocked on the table, “I think it’s promising. The pacing of this film is excellent. The preservation and persistence of ordinary people towards the end is deeply touching. Additionally, the character has an origin-like growth, something most superhero movies tend to overlook.”

“It’s Xian Yu after all.”

The senior executive sitting in the back row laughed, “In my opinion, I wouldn’t agree with saying Spiderman is purely commercial. Even if Xian Yu is making a commercial film, he won’t completely abandon some profound elements. The line in the movie, ‘with great power comes great responsibility,’ struck a chord with me. This is something other superhero movies often neglect.”

“It’s the investment though…”

“It’s probably going to exceed a hundred million…”

“Most superhero movies have a budget that breaks a hundred million. If you want outstanding special effects, you’ve got to burn some cash. I believe that an investment exceeding one hundred million is paramount for a film’s success. If a superhero movie fails to deliver compelling visuals, even an excellent script is in vain.”

“…”

In the Blue Star film market, investments exceeding one hundred million are common. That’s why all of Xian Yu’s successful films come as such a shock. How can someone consistently push box office revenue into the billions using only tens of millions?

Is achieving high returns on small investments that easy?

This time, Xian Yu finally stopped his usual technique of achieving grand results from small inputs. This is the typical treatment for film production. If even a superhero movie incorporates minimal investment, even if Xian Yu has succeeded multiple times, people would naturally be skeptical.

“But we need to make sure we play it safe.”

Someone proposed, “We should budget it according to one hundred million, anything more than that is risky. Superhero movies bear distinctive traits — when successful, the box office can skyrocket into billions; yet when they fail, it’s as if they disappear into the void without a ripple.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

After the meeting, many matters reached a consensus, and ” Spiderman” quickly entered project initiation mode. Ol’ Zhou, with the results of the meeting, went looking for Lin Yuan and briefly explained the situation to him.

…

Lin Yuan has now gained a deep understanding of the film industry. When he learned that the budget for “Spiderman” would be around one hundred million, he felt that it was fairly reasonable, even though it’s considered on the lower end for superhero movies.

But there were some disagreements.

When Ol’ Zhou found out that Lin Yuan intended to cast a newcomer as Spiderman, he couldn’t help but express his concerns, “There are young and popular actors within the company. Why insist on casting an almost-graduate from a drama school?”

“Jian Yi is one of my best buddies.”

Lin Yuan responded as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Hearing this, Ol’ Zhou was taken aback before letting out a bitter smile. This answer was so typical of Lin Yuan. Sighing, he said, “Then we need to invest more efforts in casting the supporting roles. Plus, your friend needs to sign a contract with Starlight.”

“Mmm.”

Lin Yuan had no objections.

Starlight can’t simply help other companies boost their status for free. For a film with a budget of one hundred million, it’s only natural that the lead actor is one of their own. Furthermore, Jian Yi would likely be open to the idea of joining Starlight.

“Let’s have a better contract.”

Lin Yuan sought benefits for his friend.

Ol’ Zhou nodded, “I’ll see to it. Since you’ve said he’s one of your best friends, the artist department will definitely be more accommodating. As for the roles of director and producer, are we sticking with the previous team?”

“Mmm.”

With scriptwriters at the core of the crew, Lin Yuan was the soul of the film. In fact, his role even exceeded that of a conventional main scriptwriter — he had pre-designed even the film’s shots. These were additional perks provided after the System offered the script. Coupled with Lin Yuan’s exquisite artistic skills, he could easily recreate any image he desired, thus saving a lot of explanations. Director Yi Chenggong might lack innovative ideas that could aid Lin Yuan’s creation process, but his competency in replicating Lin Yuan’s instructions was commendable.

In a certain way,

Lin Yuan was both the director and screenwriter.

Having collaborated with Lin Yuan multiple times, Yi Chenggong has comprehended Lin Yuan’s mode of operation. As Lin Yuan’s executor of intentions, he rarely conflicts with Lin Yuan, unless he comes up with a particularly brilliant idea.

After saying goodbye to Ol’ Zhou,

Lin Yuan gave Jian Yi a call, “The new film is confirmed. You’re the leading man. It’s a superhero movie. I’ll send you the script right now. Study it on your own for now. Also, you need to come over. You have to sign an artist contract with Starlight.”

“Huh?”

Jian Yi on the other end of the phone seemed stunned, “Joining Starlight is a no-brainer for me, but didn’t you say last night that you haven’t decided what to shoot for the new movie? How do you have a script today?”

“Inspiration struck.”

“You’re so slick.”

Jian Yi didn’t say any words of gratitude.

The bond he shared with Lin Yuan and Xia Fan was deeply ingrained since childhood. Saying more at this point would only seem pretentious. Didn’t he long to play this lead role?

He absolutely did!

However, he wouldn’t use this relationship to compel Lin Yuan to make this decision. Now, Lin Yuan brought opportunities to his doorstep. Saying more could end up disappointing Lin Yuan. The best way to repay him is to take the shooting process seriously and cherish this opportunity that Lin Yuan provided.

“That’s it for now.”

Lin Yuan hung up the phone.

Lin Yuan turned on his computer and began searching for popular superhero films. This was a necessary task. After all, he needed to see how others had done it and ideally learn something useful from them.

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PS: There are too many Marvel movies, there’s no need to worry about directly entering the Marvel storyline. Conventional superhero attributes are too similar, basically carved from the same mold, it’s uninteresting to write about them without adding a refreshing twist. There’s no way our protagonist can film all of them. If we’re going to shoot anything in the future, it should be about the most unique character, or even the story of a major villain. I’m sure you’ve guessed who it might be.

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