Literary Master: Starting with Refusing to Be a Child Star

Chapter 75 Starting a Company, The First Employee

During the filming of "The Hidden Corner".

The film crew settled in Guangdong. This small southern city is hot and humid in the summer, with the sun shining brightly on the asphalt roads, and the air is always filled with the smell of the sea and the sweetness of bougainvillea. What Director Qin wanted was precisely this "bright to the point of being blinding" sense of guilt—all the evil happens in broad daylight, without cold filters or deliberate dark corners.

The crew's efforts extend beyond just the actors; the staff members also contribute silently in every aspect.

The art team was the first to arrive. Xin Shuang personally chose the color for the green wall in Zhu Chaoyang's house—a light green commonly found in old residential buildings from the 1980s and 90s. The wall should be mottled, and there should be dark water stains near the baseboard.

The props team brought back an old-fashioned refrigerator and a Little Swan washing machine from the flea market. They even aged the unfinished apples on the coffee table by adding brown spots to the peels.

The story is set in 2005. In the script, Zhu Chaoyang is listening to Jay Chou's "Seven Mile Fragrance" and there is a copy of the then-popular "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" on the table.

The children were all pre-selected, while the adults were chosen one by one by the casting director.

Like the actor who played Zhang Dongsheng, Lao Yan called his agent after reading three pages of the script: "I must act in this play."

When filming the scene where Zhang Dongsheng pushes his parents-in-law down the mountain, he fell more than thirty times.

That scene was actually filmed on flat ground, with thick foam mats on the ground and a blue screen behind it. The cliff was added in post-production. His expression was different every time he fell. Director Qin then said from behind the monitor, "We'll keep this one."

The veteran actor who played Zhu Chaoyang's father barely ate the day before filming the scene where Zhu Yongping eats wontons. He was portraying a father who had just lost his daughter, sitting in her usual spot, facing a bowl of wontons, trying to swallow what belonged to his daughter. The scene was filmed five times, and in each take, the veteran actor's eyes welled up with tears, but the tears only fell when he took the first bite of the wonton.

When filming the scene where Pu Pu writes her farewell letter at McDonald's, Gu Yanxi was alone in the bathroom set, and her superb acting skills made Luo Jinnian feel ashamed.

With her as the strongest child star, it seems unlikely that Luo Jinnian will ever be chosen. It's like the saying, "Why did Heaven create both Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang?"

Despite his thoughts, Luo Jinnian actually really enjoyed the competitive atmosphere; it wouldn't be fun if it were just him dominating the game.

Gu Yanxi took a sip of mineral water and glanced strangely at the grinning boy beside her. "How many shows of this caliber do you think I need to act in to surpass my father's achievements?"

"0 films. You're not even in the same league. No matter how well you do as a child star, you'll only ever be the number one child star. Your father is a middle-aged actor. You two won't be compared."

Gu Yanxi sighed after hearing this. The boy was right. She had been thinking about surpassing that man from the beginning.

Old Yan walked over and joked, "You two good-looking young leads are together again?"

Luo Jinnian looked up at Lao Yan, then glanced at Gu Yanxi and a smile unconsciously crept onto his lips: "I have an idea."

The girl's beautiful eyes flashed.

"What are your thoughts?"

"This idea requires Uncle Yan's help. Uncle Yan, haven't you signed with a company yet?"

Uncle Yan was unaware of the boy's intentions. "When my agent left my old company, he took me with him. Although I didn't sign a contract, my agent still takes care of me."

"Then let's meet your agent this afternoon."

When Uncle Yan left still clueless, Gu Yanxi felt she had guessed something: "Are you going to help Uncle Yan deal with my father?"

"Not only that, I also want to establish my own entertainment company."

Luo Jinnian's next step is to reach an agreement with Director Qin. He wants to invest in the script himself and take the lion's share, while also getting Director Qin to invest and get a piece of the pie, and at the same time, he can balance the company's interests.

After hearing this idea, Director Qin pondered for a moment and then agreed that he also wanted to bring Director Mo along.

He frankly stated that if he were the only external force, the entertainment company would only be affected by the Qin family in the future. Only by bringing Director Mo in could a balance be achieved.

These words deeply moved Luo Jinnian. Director Qin made a phone call to Director Mo, who agreed without hesitation, all because of his trust in the young man's talent.

Currently, Luo Jinnian's conception has formed a three-body framework: with his scripts and works IP as the core, Director Qin directing commercial films and some high-quality web series in the future, Director Mo directing online movies and some films that combine art and commerce yet to be determined.

"Let's have a drink this afternoon to celebrate."

Luo Jinnian then proposed that he meet with Lao Yan's agent, and Director Qin immediately agreed to go together.

Upon learning that Luo Jinnian intended to train Lao Yan as a leading middle-aged actor, Director Qin was shocked. He pondered that there were no suitable middle-aged actors for the roles of young actors.

"Then I'll write more. I can write a high-quality script in two or three weeks."

In the afternoon in Zhanjiang, the sun was so scorching it felt like it would melt you. The film crew wrapped up early, and the two young lead actors changed out of their costumes and went with Director Qin to the hotel where Lao Yan's agent was staying temporarily.

Yan Zhengming, affectionately known as "Old Yan" in the industry, is a man in his early forties with solid acting skills and a face suited for serious roles. He has been acting for over a decade, playing a wide variety of characters—police officers, villains, ordinary citizens, rural cadres—but his roles and personal life have never made him a household name, leaving him perpetually a third-tier actor. His agent, Zhou He, is someone he met years ago while filming a military drama. The two have worked together for almost ten years and have a brotherly relationship.

Zhou He was a shrewd middle-aged man, wearing glasses, a linen shirt, and cloth shoes, looking like a cultured person. He was waiting in the hotel lobby when he saw Director Qin leading two children over, and he was taken aback—he thought it was Director Qin who had made the appointment with him, but he didn't expect there to be two little kids as well.

"Brother Zhou, come inside and let's talk." Director Qin patted him on the shoulder.

The group sat down in the room. Luo Jinnian didn't speak immediately, but first gave Director Qin a wink. Director Qin understood, cleared his throat, and began, "Brother Zhou, I'll keep it short—you know my level after working with Lao Yan for over a month. Once this show airs, Lao Yan will definitely see a rise in popularity. But the problem is, his current management contract is unsecured, right?"

Zhou He adjusted his glasses and didn't deny it: "Yes. Lao Yan and I have a verbal agreement right now. I'll help him negotiate for roles, but it's not a hard and fast deal. To be honest, with his status, big companies wouldn't be interested, and we don't want to sign him with small companies either."

"What if a company wanted to sign a middle-aged actor like him who is good at acting but not famous?" Luo Jinnian suddenly asked.

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