Chapter 9 - The Movie Queen's Domineering Fan (9)

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Qiao Zixin liked the script. Xu Zifan was not afraid of it not performing. After discussing the specifics, the two began to divide their work. Qiao Zixin had spent five years in the entertainment circle, shooting good films and making contacts with good teams. Now, it was just the question of how they go about finding some reliable staff to join the group? It all depended on whether they were willing to be involved with her, she who had not yet turned a new leaf.

However, Xu Zifan immediately contacted the website to discuss the purchase of the copyright for the novel. The novel did not perform well on the website because it’s plot was rather depressing. It did not conform to the mainstream preferences of the website’s readers, and did not earn much money. He felt that there would be no problems in buying the movie and television rights.

The copyright editor of the website quickly contacted the author of the novel, Lan Gui. Lan Gui’s response was unexpected. Instead of being excited, she replied doubtfully: [Is this kind of story really movie material? Can it pass a state review? May I ask which actor is starring? Will they sell the copyright back when the stock doesn’t see the light of day? And if the buyer is in the name of an individual, not a company, will there be any problems?]

The copyright editor replied: [I was a little worried about individual buyers before, but the legal department will help with the review, there should be no problems. I think this person is sincere and should be a new Director. Most new Directors have this kind of impulse and would not consider too many complicated factors. Maybe they can really film it. Okay, I’ll give your contact information to the other party. You can get in touch with each other if you have any questions. Do you think this is all right?] (please support us by reading at Translateindo)

[That’s great, thank you!] Selling of copyrights were suppressed when there was too much at stake. If it couldn’t be made well, Lan Gui would rather not sell it, so she could revise the novel to improve it’s quality.

After Xu Zifan contacted Lan Gui, he explained his situation properly. First of all, the film would definitely be shot, and it would also start very soon. It would be released at the end of the year. Secondly, he would look for professionals to check for any problems it could have with the state. He would not shoot anything out of line. If he looked at the content of this story, he thought he should be able to do it as long as they didn’t get involved in politics. Finally, there was the issue of the leading role. The story only had one leading role. The others were all supporting roles. Those roles were not significant. It was fine to find an excellent group performers or students from the Film and Television Institute. Even if Lan Gui had recommendations, as long as the acting skills were acceptable, they could play the role. However, the leading role must be Qiao Zixin. That was his only requirement.

Xu Zifan knew Qiao Zixin had an awkward position in the entertainment circle right now. She was afraid to act in any movies, for fear that the public would not buy it and the box office would not give it an opening chance. Qiao Zixin was allowed to act in ordinary movies, and the pay was only a little lower. After all, she had won three movie awards, they couldn’t go too low. He didn’t know what the author of this novel felt about Qiao Zixin, so he tried to put it mildly and sent Lan Gui a video of Qiao Zixin’s acting.

He looked at the computer screen and wondered how he would convince the other party, what if Lan Gui didn’t like Qiao Zixin? After all, this was the most suitable script and he had to win it. But Lan Gui responded to Qiao Zixin’s name as soon as she saw it!

[This is a script for Xin Bao Er? Is it Xin Bao Er’s next movie?]

Anyone who would call Qiao Zixin ‘Xin Bao Er’ could only be a fan of Qiao Zixin. Xu Zifan felt his heart relax and immediately replied: [Yes, if there is no problem with the script, we will start shooting immediately.]

[Then I have no problem, I can sign the contract immediately! I am a big fan of Xin Bao Er. You can call me if you need any changes to the script or help with production. Please make sure you take good pictures and give a full shot of Xin Bao Er’s acting skills so those who taunt her will know they were blind!] (please support us by reading at Translateindo)

Xu Zifan didn’t expect things to go so smoothly. They turned out to be a fan of Qiao Zixin, which was a pleasant surprise. He opened Lan Gui’s column and read it. Lan Gui had been writing for more than four years. The novel he took a fancy to was the first novel written by Lan Gui. It had a good conception and a good set of characters, but her style of writing was somewhat immature. After that, Lan Gui seemed to have changed her mood, her writing relaxed and she wrote happy short stories instead of depressing stories. However, her writing style was obviously improving steadily, which was now very different from four years ago.

Xu Zifan’s fingers gently tapped on the desk, and an idea gradually took shape in his mind. He pondered carefully for a moment, and after making sure that there would not be any disturbances, he sent a message to Lan Gui: [Are you interested in being a screenwriter?]

Lan Gui immediately replied: [Very interested! I will definitely meet all the requirements of the Director and Xin Bao Er in the script. Please make sure I get into the group. I also want to contribute to Xin Bao Er’s comeback!]

Xu Zifan smiled, opened Qiao Zixin’s fan group chat and sent a message: [Zixin is going to make a movie. Is there anything you guys are good at that can help? If you have any relevant skills, message me privately.]

Members of the group immediately began to boil, some said they could be cameramen, some said they could do make up, some could edit, some could do sound, some could do lighting, and many said they could run errands. The members in this group were all strictly screened and were definitely diehard fans of Qiao Zixin. They were wholeheartedly devoted to Qiao Zixin. At this moment, they were united in their efforts. When they heard that Qiao Zixin needed help, they all tried their best to do their part.

This was only possible because of Xu Zifan and thanks to Lan Gui. Qiao Zixin fell down too fast before because of her unstable foundation and no people of her own. In the end, no one offered to help. He could now be an agent, a director, and even a leading actor to accompany Qiao Zixin in her performances. But making movies was, after all, a team effort, and any mistake made was no small matter. So, why didn’t he just build his own team? A team that wholeheartedly hoped for Qiao Zixin’s come back? Recruiting members from this fan group was the best choice.

Lan Gui sat in her small study, and watched the news that the members of the group responded very quickly to, and compared the content from the group’s ‘Guardian’ to Director Xu Zifan. She noticed the tone, habits and punctuation marks, and undoubtedly thought they were the same person! Even if she; as an author, was not necessarily good at other things, with everyone working together they would surely be able to protect their idol, which made her feel more relieved. Qiao Zixin’s ability to get rid of the whole scandal was due to ‘Guardian’. She believed in the ‘Guardian’.

(TNote: His account name in the chat group is ‘Guardian’, I think he is the admin too… heh… fitting… XD) (please support us by reading at Translateindo)

She sent a message to Xu Zifan: [I am ‘Hu Die Lan’ in the group. Everyone loves Xin Bao Er very much and will definitely become the strongest and most reliable team. We can do it!]

Her eyes rested on the right side of the computer, and she picked up a photo frame. The photo was one she took with Qiao Zixin, four and a half years ago, at Qiao Zixin’s meet and greet. She never chased after stars. That day, she had only wondered why Qiao Zixin, who was 18 years old like her, had been so successful. So, she took a look. As a result, when they met she found that Qiao Zixin was very nice. Perhaps Qiao Zixin noticed that she was unhappy and gently said a few words of encouragement to her, hoping that she would be happy. She also said to her; as long as you work hard, you can make your life better.

She was greatly touched that day. After returning home, she registered an account and turned her diary into a story and posted it on the Internet. After taking the first step, she found that it was not so difficult to forget her troubles and live a good life. It so happened that Qiao Zixin had made two comedies one after the other, both of which were especially good. She also decided to write a relaxed and happy story in the future, share her happy feelings with everyone, and really embark on the journey of writing. Now she was very happy, relaxed and free. It could be said that without Qiao Zixin, she would not be what she was today. She was definitely a loyal fan of Qiao Zixin. (No, seriously.. why are you reading it here?)

After Qiao Zixin’s scandal, she spent many days and nights on the internet, typing out paragraphs and paragraphs of explanations for Qiao Zixin with her fast hands. Arguing with others, even taking time off from writing novels. However, the other water army was too strong, and her strength alone was negligible. The more justifications she put out, the more she was ridiculed by the water army. Fortunately, there was the ‘Guardian’. As a loyal fan for many years, she was among the first to be drawn into his group. After that, under the leadership of ‘Guardian’, they fought for a beautiful turnaround. All the microblogs posted by her fans were written by her, she carefully choose the words, full of pride and love for Qiao Zixin.

She thought, no matter the reason other fans liked Qiao Zixin, their feelings would be the same as hers. They must have seen some bright part of Qiao Zixin or had been moved by her words or deeds. Now that the Guardian wanted to unite them into a team, a team that guarded Qiao Zixin, then they must be prepared to do their best, just like her!

Many fans reacted as excited and spirited as Lan Gui. Xu Zifan’s small team, was set up much faster than expected. Nearly half of the members of the group, 30 members, were confirmed in one day. Although the others were not particularly good at anything, the team had many things that ordinary people can do. Xu Zifan pondered for a moment and felt that more than 60 people could join the team. Those who were too busy because of school or work could do some publicity and public relations work online, and other relatively free people could come and gather.

The website successfully signed the contract to sell the copyright. Although Lan Gui repeatedly expressed that it would be fine if he lowered the price, Xu Zifan still paid 2 million yuan, which was a reasonable price for a novel. Lan Gui lived in Yanjing. When Xu Zifan met up with her and explained the script requirements to her when signing the contract, Lan Gui immediately began to change the script. Other people also came one after another. Xu Zifan arranged accommodations for them and assigned them tasks. If there was something that needed to be done, no one had the time to feel embarrassment when newly meeting someone, and they only focused with full of enthusiasm to work as a team.

Qiao Zixin also contacted a stylist, a makeup artist, a sound recording artist, a field service and a stunt instructor who were willing to come. The few people she had found had worked with her before and were all professionals with strong abilities. With their participation, the team would be more stable.

Xu Zifan dug out a Director from the fan base as the deputy director of the film. He and Lan Gui went to the Film and Television Academy to start an audition for actors. In no time, Qiao Zixin’s new film had already begun to be prepared in earnest.