Chapter 648: Chapter 639: Picking Up a Bargain
"Buddy, buddy, are you okay? Quick, drink some water!"
"Little Su, donāt scare me. If Shen Yi finds out I wore you out, I canāt afford to compensate!"
One poured him water, while the other patted his back to help him breathe.
Earlier, the two were whispering, but then they noticed Su Qingās breathing getting heavier, his hands even starting to tremble, his expression as if heād eaten something disgusting, with his temples throbbing.
Even though neither of them were doctors, they could tell he was on the verge of blowing up, fearing heād faint.
Weāre here to discuss projects, we should be happy, sending someone to the hospital would just be a joke, wouldnāt it?
Seeing his odd expression, the two quickly stood up to interrupt him, trying to bring him back to his senses, as heās their cash cow right now; they canāt let anything go wrong.
Gulp, gulp, gulp.
After drinking a glass of water, Su Qing finally felt alive again. After going through a few scripts, his blood pressure had noticeably risen, his face heated.
The term āanger making oneās hair stand upā was true, he confirmed it.
Seeing him come around, Wang Fan asked him with a smile:
"Whatās the matter, buddy? Are those scripts not to your liking? If not, Iāll just reject them for you, they arenāt worth it, really not worth it. Tell me, how come I never noticed you had such a temper before?"
"Exactly, if you donāt like it, we just wonāt invest. Iām scared youāll get angry to death. Is it necessary? Let me see what scripts they are."
The one behind him, Tang Nan, also chimed in, grabbing the scripts he had read for a quick glance:
"Not bad, youth idol love drama, evergreen popular theme, e-sports web series, creative enough with elements of love, youth pain literature movie, also very popular, just like the movie āYou Are the Apple of My Eyeā from a few years back, it should be a hit too. Oh, and a palace intrigue drama, now thatās a big production."
Flipping through the scripts he had read, just from the creative standpoint, though not stunning, they were commendable, at least they were currently trendy topics, with successful cases.
The only downside might be the classic anti-Japanese drama remake that she found unworthy, not because the theme was bad, but because remakes havenāt been popular in recent years, especially classic remakes.
Now itās not like 2010, when theyād remake the Eagle Shooting Hero trilogy, and itād be a hit. Nowadays, apart from original scripts, adaptations of online novels are all the rage.
Like Wang Fanās āWandering Earthā, which also exploded in popularity as an adaptation of the same-titled novel?
"You... you two... know nothing," Su Qing said weakly as he hammered his own chest.
If he only read the scripts, of course he wouldnāt see anything wrong. The scripts are written so fancifully, claiming small investments with big returns, even bigger returns with more investment, along with past successful cases, giving a feeling that even if the project doesnāt explode, it could earn a small profit.
Plus, these directors are all masters of creating illusions. If it werenāt for the hints, he wouldāve been almost swayed.
For a script, it didnāt give hints right away when he held it; he needed to check the director and actor lineup, the story outline, and briefly flip through the script for confirmation.
With this set, even if he was focused, it took almost twenty minutes to finish one script.
The reason why he could give hints immediately for Wang Fanās script back then was because Wang Fan, the director, was right in front of him, and the actor lineup was already set, half of it had been shot, naturally it was simple.
But these scripts were different, some had just started, some didnāt even have a crew yet, which added to the variables. Without enough information, he couldnāt even trigger the hints.
Listening to the evaluations through the hints, after all the hard work, this is the answer I get?
If there were just one or two, itād be fine, but now, he didnāt even see a single project that wouldnāt lose money after investment.
Heās an investor, not an actor or director. Whether the film becomes a hit or not, they get paid either way; at most they risk their popularity, but his loss is real money.
"How can I not understand? Iāve directed these types of dramas myself," Tang Nan said unconcernedly.
Hearing this, Su Qing recalled Tang Nanās works, finding that indeed most were lousy films. No wonder she liked variety shows, though there were some outstanding roles, not many, and the overall ratings of her works were certainly not high.
Thinking of this, he couldnāt help but show some sympathy in his gaze toward Tang Nan.
"Hey, what kind of look is that? What do you mean?"
To which, Su Qing shook his head: "No, youāre great, really great, keep it up!"
After two hours, he had only gone through seven scripts, it seemed he had a lot of work ahead.
Seeing this, Wang Fan was also a bit embarrassed; though Su Qing didnāt say it outright, he couldnāt ignore that Su Qing was quite dissatisfied with these scripts.
But there wasnāt much he could do; even disregarding the directorās capabilities, finding a good script itself is rare, let alone the actor variables affecting them, so creating a good piece is a stroke of luck.
Plus, many directors have to compromise to the market, to investors, some lesser-known directors even get bullied by star actors.
Not every director wields absolute power in the production, fortunately, Wang Fan should be able to reach that level now.
At least, when he films āWandering Earth 2ā next, despite the massive investment, heāll have the absolute say on set, thatās the confidence success brings.
"Is it the scripts I brought over that arenāt good?" Wang Fan said awkwardly.
Hearing his words, Su Qing naturally saw through his emotions, waved his hand and smiled: "Itās my problem. Besides, brother, youāre also a director, you know how rare good scripts are. At least, the ones Iāve seen are indeed not good, thereās an 80% chance of losing money if I invest. If I were a director or actor, of course I wouldnāt care; as long as I make money, itās fine. But Iām an investor."
"Hmm, thatās true, our perspectives are different," Wang Fan nodded.
"Alright, Tang Nan, is there any good place nearby? Letās have a meal, brother, Iāll take the scripts back to look over, and can probably give you an update by tomorrow. If thereās something worth it, Iāll let you know tomorrow!" Su Qing rubbed his eyebrows and smiled.
"Sure, no rush, take your time, Iām not busy these days anyway!"
Tang Nan chimed in: "Okay, Iāll arrange a place, letās have dinner together tonight!"
To this, the two had no objections and both nodded in agreement.
At 8 oāclock in the evening, Su Qing and Tang Nan returned home, Su Qing sitting on the sofa flipping through scripts, searching for a profitable project, while Tang Nan was video calling with Shen Yi.
"Xiao Yi, your man is something now, isnāt he? Heās looking more and more like a capitalist, even starts to disdain the stuff I used to act in."
Hearing this, Shen Yi on the other end covered her mouth and laughed: "Is that so? To be honest, we really are on the same wavelength. I also thought most of your past works were quite brainless, haha!"
"What? You..."
"Donāt misunderstand, Iām not saying your roles were bad, but the entire projects you participated in werenāt great!"
Tang Nan: (ā¬ļæ£ēæļæ£)
Just as they were chatting, Su Qing, who sat on the sofa, suddenly exclaimed:
"Got it!"
The sudden outburst startled the two, Tang Nan was taken aback, then rushed over to ask: "Whatās up? Whatās up? Found a good script? Show me, which one is it!"
Hearing this, Su Qing smiled and nodded: "Finally found a strong script, at least itās not a complete loss, weāre in business."
Saying that, Tang Nan snatched the script from his hand, took a close look, and saw four bold characters
"In the Eye of the Beholder"
...