MTLNOVEL Chapter 244 Naughty Ghost Studio (Requesting Monthly Tickets)
Qi Hao was waiting for someone for dinner in the restaurant.
While waiting, he browsed through the messages on his phone, feeling an immense pressure. This Best Director award feels a bit overwhelming.
It's foreseeable that when "First Love, This Little Thing" is released, a bunch of people will definitely criticize it.
As the Golden Horse Best Director, what kind of thing is this that you've made?
Which Golden Horse Best Director is as reckless as you?
But the movie's already been made; it can't just not be released.
Moreover, Qi Hao doesn't accept others' definitions of him, and he never intended to just keep making art films to win trophies.
To achieve greatness, both art films and commercial films need to be in one's repertoire.
Just like Zhang Yimou.
However, the person he's meeting today isn't Zhang Yimou, but Li Xuejian.
In 1997, Qi Hao went to "Jing Ke Stabs the King of Qin" set as an extra, but he didn't get to know Chen Kaige.
Chen Kaige was a literati, quite proud.
But he did get to know several big shots on set through drinking.
Jiang Wen, Wang Zhiwen, Li Xuejian, Huang Jianxin, Zhao Fei, Zhou Xun…
These big shots didn't immediately help him, but in the years that followed, Qi Hao gradually wove a network of connections.
Many of his resources were obtained through a combination of personal connections and auditions.
If you have no interpersonal relationships whatsoever, even if you pass an audition, it may not be secured; others can easily replace you, even if you've already joined the crew.
Qi Hao and Li Xuejian have had drinks twice.
However, Li Xuejian was quickly diagnosed with nasopharyngeal cancer, for which he recuperated for two or three years; by the time he returned, Qi Hao had already become a popular star.
Now Li Xuejian no longer drinks alcohol.
He's dining with Qi Hao not only because they indeed know each other, and Qi Hao is skilled in acting, having already won Best Actor at the Golden Rooster Awards, but also because he has a son.
Having a son truly becomes a weakness.
Whether it's Chenbao Country or Li Xuejian, for their sons, they're always willing to endure a little.
Li Xuejian's son graduated this year from Beijing Language University, majoring in Japanese, and the career prospects are quite bleak; he still hasn't secured a job yet.
After much thought, he decided to enter the entertainment industry, to leverage the network his father has built for him.
Currently preparing to apply for the graduate directing program at Beijing Film Academy next year.
Since his son's path is now clear, Qi Hao, as an emerging capital figure, has become a very valuable connection.
"Mr. Li, what have you been busy with lately, is your health better?"
Qi Hao politely poured him tea, using tea instead of alcohol was perfectly fine.
"Much better, much better, how come you have the time to look for this old man? I heard you won the Golden Horse Best Director, congratulations."
Li Xuejian politely gestured at Qi Hao.
"It's been a while since we last met, and I didn't get to see you at the Golden Rooster Awards, so I thought I'd invite Mr. Li for a meal while I had some free time."
Qi Hao actually intended to capture something from him.
His new task of learning foreign languages was nearly complete; going deeper might require hiring experts from abroad to learn obscure and esoteric professional knowledge.
That just wouldn't be cost-effective.
Qi Hao still needs to catch up to the timeline and doesn't want to waste more time, so he plans to wrap up the task in the next few days.
At this point, training NPCs becomes quite particular.
A few days ago, he attended the Golden Horse Awards, where he met many famous actors and directors, but since he was a hot commodity at the event, many newcomer rookies approached him for exchanges, making it hard for him to determine which NPCs he could actually capture.
So he simply came up with an idea and decided to artificially influence the result.
Invite the people he wants to capture to dinner!
If I spend two hours with you discussing various acting skills, I refuse to believe I can't have you participate as an alternate.
"Thank you very much!"
Li Xuejian chuckled; although he didn't know why Qi Hao was seeking him out, he felt a lot more comfortable.
Back when his cancer was diagnosed, many people thought he was done for, that his era was over.
People hadn't even left, yet the tea had gone cold.
Qi Hao had brought fruit specifically to visit, showing remarkable tact in interpersonal relationships.
"Don't thank me just yet; this meal doesn't come for free."
Qi Hao invited him to start eating; he had been dieting lately but took a polite amount today.
"Whatever you need, feel free to ask."
Li Xuejian speculated that Qi Hao either wanted to join the Film Association council or needed him for a supporting role in his next film.
Neither of these were an issue.
The Film Association has over 7,000 members, with more than a hundred people in the council; someone like Qi Hao, although relatively new, who has won both the Golden Rooster Best Actor and Golden Horse Best Director, fully meets the criteria.
Playing a supporting role was no problem either.
Li Xuejian often plays supporting roles now, being a background character in various films.
He even collaborated with Huang Xiaoming, Sun Li, and Huang Haibo a couple of years ago, portraying Feng Jingyao in "New Shanghai Beach."
"I've recently taken on a movie called 'Hello! Mr. Tree.' Since it's very different from my personal image, I've been dieting to lose thirty pounds and also wanted to ask you some questions."
Qi Hao used "Hello! Mr. Tree" as an excuse.
Well, it wasn't exactly an excuse.
He genuinely wanted to get some advice from Li Xuejian.
"Well, you're really hardworking..."
Li Xuejian looked at Qi Hao with fresh eyes.
In 1990, when he was shooting the film "Jiao Yulu," to match Jiao Yulu's slim figure, he only drank cabbage soup for over a month to lose weight.
He also won the Best Actor award at the 11th China Film Golden Rooster Awards and the 14th Public Film Hundred Flowers Awards for this film.
"I really wanted to portray this character well. Let me tell you about this movie..."
The two of them chatted while eating.
Unknowingly, it stretched into the afternoon, and they even skipped dinner.
Qi Hao gained a lot, and on the way back, he took the opportunity to wrap up the task.
This time, the task would reward a special effects company.
Qi Hao didn't have many demands, as long as it was usable. He currently had a lot of projects to feed to the special effects company.
A special effects company, if not short of projects and not dragged into chaotic revisions, can easily develop better and better.
The biggest fear for a special effects company is the producer's relentless chaotic changes.
They don't describe things clearly, are dissatisfied with the result, and make repeated changes.
Worst of all is modifying without additional payment.
Costs can easily exceed the budget.
You can't increase the budget either, because of fierce industry competition. If your budget is high, you can't get the projects in the first place.
A few rounds of this and a special effects company can go bankrupt.
If Qi Hao has a special effects company, at least he wouldn't have to worry about animation studios messing around excessively.
True, you're the client, but my father is your client.
[Task 27 completed, awarded Driving Skills +10, script "Crazy Stone," Special Effects Company]
[Task completed, earn a training opportunity]
[Training NPC - Choose one: Li Xuejian / Tian Yu / Zeng Li]
[Now starting a new task]
[Task 28: As everyone knows, the director is the soul of a film, the one with the most authority in a crew, the absolute leader. Every actor who's been in a film wonders what it's like to be a director. We hope the host can create a short film or movie and make it public. Task difficulty: 4 stars, Time limit: 730 days]
[Task completion reward: Deceit +10, script "I Am Legend (Richard Matheson)," 8 million shares of BYD stock]
First, look at the special effects company.
The system provided enough information this time.
Evil Ghost (Hopgoblin) Studio is a special effects company established in Hollywood in 2003, mainly engaged in film, TV, and advertising special effects business.
It participated in a lot of blockbuster special effects work, although just in smaller roles.
Initially, the company developed quite well.
The number of employees grew from the initial 30 to more than 120 at its peak.
It already had the ability to independently handle special effects work for low-budget films.
Additionally, they have a software called Hopgoblin developed by founder Daniel Kingsley, which is used by many companies in the special effects industry, earning a considerable amount of "rent" annually.
In early 2005, Daniel Kingsley was shot dead in a convenience store.
Evil Ghost met its doom and couldn't withstand it.
His wife took over the company.
However, this woman really didn't understand management, and within more than half a year, she led the company down the road to bankruptcy.
Back then, Evil Ghost Studio took on some special effects work for "The Return of the Condor Heroes" as external support Zhang Jizhong hired from Hollywood.
At the time, everyone liked to hype about this.
Whether the hire was a first-rate company or a third-rate company was another matter entirely.
After all, the audience wouldn't understand these things.
While their people were working here, the other side declared bankruptcy, which seemed oddly amusing.
Qi Hao paid to take over this special effects company.
He renamed Evil Ghost Studio to Naughty Ghost Studio, also known as Hobgoblin. In Western culture, "Naughty Ghosts" refers to friendly little elves like Brownies and Bogles.
These elves mostly live alone, kind and friendly, but sometimes pull some pranks.
Hobgoblin also carries the connotation of mischief.
The mischievous elf Puck described by Shakespeare in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" is a typical Hobgoblin.
After the acquisition, Qi Hao moved Naughty Ghost Studio to Xiangjiang.
The office location moved from Los Angeles to Xiangjiang, and about half of the employees left.
Currently, only 20 to 30 of the early employees remain.
They've been replaced by many Asian staff hired later, with the current numbers holding at around 80.
Over the past few years, except for the initial investment, Qi Hao hasn't taken a penny from the special effects company, instead using it all to sustain the studio's operations.
In addition, he introduced special effects business for "Oath of Allegiance," "Future Policeman," "Chinese Paladin 3," etc.
They occasionally pick up some smaller tasks from Hollywood to train their team and stay in touch with mainstream special effects technologies.
Within Asia, Naughty Ghost Studio has a certain reputation.
Many businesses including film and TV, advertising, games, and anime seek them out proactively.
Because Qi Hao doesn't seek profit, the studio thrives. They not only have spacious office space and good benefits but can even bring pets to work, under the guise of modeling research.
Qi Hao is very pleased with this system reward.
At least it's not a complete mess.