Caught in Affairs with Superstar

Chapter 1505: Chapter 678: Accident (9,300 Words!)

Hou Mengjie said, ”Doesn’t a film sell at the box office without big-name actors?”

Yao Yuanfeng smiled and sighed, ”Actually, I understand how you feel, but in movies, it’s still the director who calls the shots. The director is the biggest creator of a film. However, there’s nothing we can do. This is how the movie market works now. Having big-name actors doesn’t guarantee high box office returns, but if you don’t have famous actors, the theaters won’t even schedule your film.”

Hou Mengjie said, ”I think it’s not like I can’t even get my film scheduled in theaters.”

”Yes, you’ve already made a name for yourself, and everyone will surely expect that your next film will also have high box office results. But if your next film has only new actors that nobody knows, the theater managers wouldn’t dare to schedule too many screenings. I’ve been in this industry for years, and on this point, I can assure you,” Yao Yuanfeng said, ”After all, movie celebrities are the biggest promotional signboards for films.”

Hou Mengjie didn’t like hearing that.

However, it was understandable for Yao Yuanfeng to say so.

Recently, thanks to ”Four Killers,” Hou Mengjie has become very popular, and major film companies are inviting him to collaborate on his next project.

The same goes for Yao Yuanfeng’s side.

Having worked with Yao Yuanfeng before, Hou Mengjie still trusts him quite a bit.

Hou Mengjie originally thought that he had demonstrated his capabilities to Yao Yuanfeng through the film ”Four Killers,” so Yao Yuanfeng should trust him.

”President Yao, do you still not trust my capability? Do we really need movie celebrities to get good box office results?”

Yao Yuanfeng thought to himself, ”Who do you think you are?” Outwardly, he smiled and said, ”Of course, I trust you. If I didn’t trust you, how did I get four big-name actors for our first collaboration on ’Four Killers’? I know you don’t like big-name actors, but from my perspective, think about it. Would I so easily provide such a good cast for a director?”

To be fair, no.

Yao Yuanfeng’s words smoothed over many of Hou Mengjie’s feelings.

He felt valued and given preferential treatment.

Yao Yuanfeng then said, ”What is the key here? The key is that it doesn’t just depend on what I say. If I had a say in the investors, the theater scheduling, you could choose any actors, and I would agree. That’s fine, I know you have the talent and ability to make a film great, but the key is that the film industry consists of many processes. It’s not just about finishing the film, like with ’Four Killers.’ Even if it wasn’t these four actors, and we used a group of newcomers, the film would definitely still be good, but the theaters wouldn’t buy it, wouldn’t schedule so many screenings, and those platforms and film industry luminaries wouldn’t buy it, might not even watch it. It wouldn’t generate a good word-of-mouth effect. Director Hou, I genuinely wanted to share with you the experience I’ve accumulated over many years. Sometimes, we need to follow the rules of this market. It’s not about compromise; it’s about letting others better see your talent. Just like ’Four Killers,’ just one film made the audience recognize you as a director, whereas with ’Kill Autumn,’ it only let those of us in the industry know you, because not enough audience watched it, so not many know you.”

Hou Mengjie sighed and said, ”Alright.”

Yao Yuanfeng said, ”It’s not a problem if we don’t shoot the second part of ’Four Killers’, but this film has many roles with much story potential left. Are you interested in doing a spin-off film?”

Hou Mengjie thought for a moment and said, ”It’s not that I’m not interested, but before that, I still want to shoot the crime film I’ve always wanted to make first.”

Upon hearing this, Yao Yuanfeng asked, ”You mean the script you showed me before?”

”Yes,” Hou Mengjie nodded, ”I’ve wanted to shoot that for a long time.”

”Great, then go for it,” Yao Yuanfeng said, ”I also really like that script. It’s very exciting.”

Hou Mengjie scratched his head a bit sheepishly.

”What’s wrong?”

Hou Mengjie said, ”President Yao, I’m planning to collaborate with Seapool to make this movie. President Chen over there has talked to me about it a long time ago, and I’m also very satisfied with the conditions they’ve offered.”

Yao Yuanfeng was taken aback, ”Wait, Mengjie, why the sudden change to collaborate with Chen Wenjun? Weren’t we working well together before?”