Chapter 28

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“Mufei, you can’t always do this.”

As soon as Mufei walked into the Merton Café, he was stopped by the owner, “This is a café, not your office.”

Due to the cramped and shabby studio, after hiring most of the positions, Mufei held the first production meeting of the crew at Merton Café. However, the frequent interviews in recent times had already made the owner quite disgruntled, and he was now clearly unhappy with Mufei’s actions.

“Lingqi, every time we come here, we order coffee.”

Stopping in his tracks, Mufei looked at the mixed-race old man leaning against the counter, “We’ve never shortchanged you on the price of coffee.”

The old man named Lingqi, who had dealt with Mufei before and knew how stubborn he could be, turned to look at Jessica Chastain standing to the side, his gaze lingering on her striking red hair, “This beautiful lady, you’ve accompanied Mufei, this scoundrel, many times. You should know that no matter how many people come, he only orders two cups of coffee and occupies a booth for hours!”

By this point, his eyes were wide open, and when he turned to Mufei, it seemed as if he wanted to kill him with his gaze.

It was morning, and there were no customers in the café. Old Lingqi, without any reservations, stood with his hands on his hips, blocking Mufei and Jessica Chastain’s path.

Mufei’s eyes darted around, and he walked over, lowering his voice, “Do you know what I do? Do you know what I’m doing here today?”

Lingqi said indifferently, “I know you’re a miser, and that’s enough.”

Jessica Chastain almost burst out laughing, fully agreeing with Lingqi’s words. She had accompanied Mufei to many interviews, watching him trick free interns and try every means to lower the salaries of his hires, always trying to save money wherever possible...

Ignoring Old Lingqi’s attitude, Mufei raised his hand and lightly patted his arm, pointing to himself, “I’m a film director. I think your café is very special and very suitable for my shooting requirements, so I’ve chosen to hold the production meeting here to discuss the feasibility of the shoot.”

Hearing that his café might appear in a movie, Old Lingqi unconsciously dropped his hands from his hips, “Are you serious?”

Mufei nodded, “Of course, when have I ever lied to you?”

“More people will see my café that way...” Old Lingqi muttered, immediately putting on a smile, “Alright! Alright! No problem, I’ll do whatever I can to help you.”

He made a gesture to invite them in, leading the way to the largest booth. Seemingly remembering something, he quickly turned back and asked, “You won’t charge me for advertising, right? I won’t do it if you charge me.”

Glancing at Old Lingqi, Mufei seriously considered it for a moment before saying, “Lingqi, we’re old friends, how could I charge you?”

Old Lingqi’s face lit up with a smile.

Jessica Chastain, standing at the back, stared curiously at Mufei’s back, muttering to herself, “Not charging? How is that possible? Has he changed his ways?”

“Talking about money between us would be too formal.”

To Jessica Chastain’s surprise, Mufei continued, “You just need to provide us with coffee and meals while we’re shooting here.”

This seemed like a significant concession.

Old Lingqi pondered for a moment and then patted his chest, “No problem, I’ll take care of everything.”

Leading Mufei and Jessica to the largest booth, Old Lingqi seemed like a different person, “I’ll have someone prepare coffee for you, please take a seat.”

Although the booth was large, it wouldn’t fit everyone. Mufei pointed to the surrounding aisle, “Can you have a few more chairs brought in? I have about ten more people coming.”

“I’ll have it done right away!” Old Lingqi agreed and walked back to the counter.

Seeing Old Lingqi walk away, Mufei lightly tapped the table, reminding the person opposite him, “Jessica, remember to sign a formal contract with him, including everything I just said.”

“Sure.” Jessica Chastain nodded seriously.

She could see through Mufei’s plan. He had probably been eyeing this café for a while. Not only did he get a free shooting location, but the café also provided coffee and meals, saving at least a thousand dollars.

Despite not being optimistic about the project, she sometimes had to admire the abilities of this guy who had a background as a hustler. They were truly exceptional.

Not long after Old Lingqi delivered the coffee and left, Mufei’s hired personnel started to arrive. His lawyer, Robert, would also serve as the legal advisor for the crew, handling contracts and any legal disputes that might arise.

This was North America, where lawyers were almost a standard necessity for any production or company.

Additionally, an accountant was also present at the production meeting.

Mufei always had a clear self-awareness, knowing that no one could be an expert in everything. He outsourced the crew’s salary distribution and financial expenditures to a small accounting firm, saving him a lot of time and allowing him to focus most of his energy on the film’s production rather than getting bogged down in miscellaneous tasks.

Besides the lawyer and accountant, and Mufei and Jessica Chastain, many others were present at the meeting, including makeup artists, prop masters, set designers, and lighting technicians, as well as three students from the California Institute of the Arts and the University of Southern California’s School of Cinematic Arts, who had been persuaded by Mufei to sign intern contracts.

Of course, this couldn’t be considered deception. Just like his cooperation with Old Lingqi, both parties were getting what they needed.

The meeting began with Mufei introducing everyone and having Jessica Chastain distribute the copied scripts to each person. The title on the script, which was also the name of the film project, was “Hard Candy.”

This title seemed unrelated to the story of a young girl and an older man, but those who followed the internet could guess the general content from the title.

On the internet, “Hard Candy” specifically referred to underage girls.

This type of production meeting wouldn’t last too long and wouldn’t have too much substantive content. The most important part was to get the crew members to know each other, establish a smooth communication channel, and ensure that everyone worked together as a team while handling their respective responsibilities.

Any film is a product of teamwork. Even great directors like James Cameron and Steven Spielberg need the support of a team.

Mufei was very clear that to successfully complete this project, he, as the director and producer, needed to make these Hollywood failures work closely together.

Currently, including himself and Jessica Chastain, there were twelve confirmed crew members.

The makeup artist, Jack Watson, had been in the industry for over five years but had no notable credentials. Mufei hired him mainly because he believed in his abilities and because he was cheap, with a weekly salary of only $350.

The lighting technician, Douglas, was the owner of a lighting equipment store and also worked part-time as a lighting technician for community theater. His salary was also low, with a weekly wage of only $400.

The prop master, Mia Suckley, was the most experienced among them, having worked on three films with budgets of $500,000. Mufei offered her a weekly salary of $500.

The set designer, a young woman named Sunny Clegg, had graduated from the California Institute of the Arts two years ago and had previously worked as an assistant. This was her first independent job, and Mufei deliberately offered her a lower price, giving her a weekly salary of only $300.

In short, this crew was a collection of inexperienced and failed individuals.

In total, excluding the lawyer and accountant, and including Mufei, who received no salary, no one in the crew had a weekly salary exceeding $1,000.

Moreover, none of these people were members of their respective industry unions, such as the Screen Actors Guild, the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, or the Makeup Artists and Hair Stylists Guild. These unions set minimum daily rates, which were generally over $100, and hiring union members would undoubtedly cost more.

In Los Angeles, some people did not join their respective industry unions. One reason was the entry barriers set by the Hollywood unions, which were not easy to join. The other reason was the fees required, which were a burden for low-income individuals.

There were also three unpaid interns...

In fact, Mufei wanted to find more such people, but not everyone was willing to work for free. Having three free laborers was already quite good.

According to his plan, the work contracts would start today and end when the film was completed, which would take at least ten to fifteen weeks. Even with the highest estimate, the total salary expenses could be kept within $50,000.

Don’t forget, this was just for the crew members. There were also expenses for actors, editors, and music.

Mufei did not plan to hire professional composers for the film and had not budgeted for this. He intended to use existing music or appropriate songs as the score.

North American copyright law was relatively well-established. After selecting the songs, he could legally use them by paying a fee to the relevant copyright agency.

There were also equipment rental costs. Like all Hollywood productions, Mufei planned to rent all the equipment, which was a significant expense. Renting a 35mm professional film camera was not cheap.

Then, there was the selection of the lead actors.

After the meeting, Mufei and Jessica Chastain went to the Actors Guild, where they spent some money to post a casting call for a 14-18-year-old female actor and a 22-35-year-old male actor.

Leaving the Actors Guild, they drove to the San Fernando Valley, where a detached house in the valley was available for rent.

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