CDJMM – Volume 4 – Chapter 33 Filming in the Interstellar Era (33)

Le Jing hadn’t expected Song Minghan to make such a proposal.

Shooting one film and producing two?

Le Jing knew that on 21st-century Earth, some documentaries used footage from films as material, and some even invited actors to reenact historical scenes. That was exactly what Song Minghan was aiming for.

Le Jing’s new movie is told from the perspective of an imperial palace hound watching Empress Wu Zetian’s fifteen-year reign. The viewpoint is fresh, unique, and more objective and impartial.

In a sense, The Empress’s Imperial Hound is a documentary-styled film.

Thinking of it that way, it wasn’t surprising that Song Minghan wanted to use the movie footage to produce a related documentary.

Le Jing’s new movie is aiming for the Spring Festival release slot, while the documentary Song Minghan is preparing is also planned to air on CCTV during the Spring Festival. By then, it would undoubtedly boost the publicity and traffic for The Empress’s Imperial Hound. Many viewers who grew curious after watching the documentary would go to the theaters, increasing the film’s box office.

Conversely, fans who enjoyed The Empress’s Imperial Hound would also watch the related documentary, increasing its popularity and ratings.

No matter how you look at it, it was a win-win deal.

Le Jing considered carefully and replied: “If we really do it this way, it could indeed resolve the release-schedule conflict. But the specific execution still needs discussion. When are you free? We should meet and talk properly.”

Song Minghan thought for a few seconds. “This Friday. Friday morning around eight or nine. Come to my office. We’ll sit down and discuss it thoroughly.”

It was Tuesday now, three days before Friday.

Le Jing said, “Alright, I understand. I’ll spend the next few days polishing the script, and I’ll bring it to you then.”

After a few more polite exchanges, the call ended.

Le Jing had already completed most of the script for The Empress’s Imperial Hound. All he needed now was to refine the details over the next few days.

Just as he was thinking, he suddenly sensed something flicker in his peripheral vision. He sharply raised his head and saw a mechanical bird hovering in midair, staring straight at him.

Le Jing: … Damn paparazzi!

He had forgotten to close the curtains!

He rushed forward, quickly pulled the curtains shut, then carefully checked every window in the apartment, making sure they were all tightly closed before he finally relaxed.

It was clearly midday, yet the room was now dim as dusk, and he had to turn on the lights even in broad daylight.

Le Jing never imagined that as a director, he would one day become the target of relentless paparazzi ambushes and covert surveillance.

Republican Era Literary Giants was a show with a popular plot but not-so-popular actors, so paparazzi weren’t very interested in their crew—at most lingering outside to take a few candid shots.

But everything changed after Le Jing won the Red Peony Award and the Starry Sky Award.

At only 24 years old, he had won Best Director for both the Red Peony and Starry Sky Awards, breaking the record for the youngest winner. Overnight, Le Jing was thrown into the spotlight and became a favorite target of the paparazzi.

These days, the moment he stepped downstairs, he would be swarmed by robotic paparazzi. Even if he stayed home, as long as the curtains weren’t fully drawn, mechanical birds would fly up to spy on him.

Before this—even when Republican Era Literary Giants earned him more than a billion—he never considered moving. He continued renting.

First, because he and Sister Zhang were longtime acquaintances. She had a reliable character, and since they worked in the same crew, communication was convenient. Second, he had grown used to living here, and moving was too troublesome, so he never thought about it.

But now, it seemed he simply had to move.

Sister Zhang’s place was just an ordinary residential building with poor privacy, making it easy for paparazzi to dig into their personal lives. Le Jing was now seriously considering moving to a high-end apartment with tight security.

He told Sister Zhang about the idea, and she fully supported him.

“You should have moved long ago,” Zhang Yanfang sighed. “Living here has caused a lot of inconvenience for the neighbors. It’s the right time to move.”

Le Jing was surprised. “Sister Zhang, you’re moving too?”

She smiled warmly. “What, you don’t welcome your new neighbor?”

Le Jing grinned from ear to ear. “Of course I do! I can’t wait!”

Sister Zhang sighed again and said, “Not only moving—Zhang Ting has to transfer schools. He’s been gawked at like a monkey every day. He’s complained to me several times. I’m planning to transfer him to an arts school, then he can go straight to the Film Academy later.”

Le Jing nodded. “From the way Xiao Ting talks, he clearly wants to continue developing in the entertainment industry. It’s good for him to prepare early.”

Sister Zhang lowered her gaze with a bitter smile. “With how naive he is… I really don’t want him in the entertainment circle.”

Le Jing comforted her. “It’s alright, Sister Zhang. You still have us, don’t you? We may not be able to guarantee a smooth road for him, but at least we can make sure he has the courage to get back up after he falls.”

Meeting the young man’s calm expression, Zhang Yanfang suddenly burst out laughing. “You’re not even that much older than Zhang Ting, yet you talk so old-fashionedly. Anyone hearing you would think you’re his father!”

Le Jing: …

After she finished laughing, she said, “Alright, I’ll stop teasing you. I know you’re busy, and you probably don’t have time to look for apartments. Leave that to me. I’ll find us a place we’ll both be happy with. You just focus on the script and casting.”

Le Jing was delighted. “Sister Zhang, you’re amazing! Then I’ll shamelessly trouble you. Another day, I’ll treat you. Pick any restaurant in the whole country!”

He did not mention Song Minghan’s collaboration proposal to Sister Zhang. After all, nothing was finalized yet. If something changed later, it would only create unnecessary expectations. Better to wait until the contract was signed.

They chatted for a while longer before Zhang Yanfang suddenly remembered something.

“Right, there’s something I’ve been meaning to ask you. I kept forgetting these past few busy days.”

“What is it?”

“Have you spoken with the theater chain yet? When are you planning to have ‘The Young Marquis Who Pacified the Wolves at Juxu’ converted into a holographic film for release?”

In this era where personal light-brains have already become commonplace, holographic films are the foundation of movie theater profits. Holographic films use the sensory-immersion technology of holographic online games. By wearing a special helmet, viewers can step into the movie world, personally touch every scene and object from the perspective of a bystander, and feel the characters’ joys, sorrows, loves, and hates.

This is also the cinema’s unique advantage in the interstellar age.

As an AI-generated movie, “The Young Marquis Who Pacified the Wolves at Juxu” had previously only circulated online. Now that the film has won the Starry Sky Award and gained popularity, naturally it should be made into a holographic film and released in theaters for profit.

Le Jing: “I signed a contract with Qijiang Video Network back then. Qijiang holds the full copyright agency rights for ‘Young Marquis.’ So I handed this matter over to them to handle.” He rubbed his chin, thoughtful. “It’s been two or three days since I won the award. They should have made some progress by now.”

Le Jing guessed correctly.

Early the next morning, he received a call from Editor-in-Chief Xu Yan, asking when he was available. She wanted to come by in person to discuss matters related to broadcast rights.

Le Jing sighed helplessly: “There are paparazzi robots all over outside my building. Don’t come here. Let’s find a more private place to talk.”

In the end, they arranged to meet at an afternoon-tea café in the suburbs. It had private rooms that could block the prying eyes of gossip seekers—perfect for their discussion.

His conversation with Xu Yan that afternoon went very smoothly.

Xu Yan brought up two matters.

The first was that “Young Marquis” had won first prize in Qijiang Video Network’s Youth Theme Competition, along with a bonus of one million, plus the opportunity to sign with a well-known entertainment company for further promotion.

Naturally, Le Jing automatically ignored the latter.

He wasn’t short of money now, but no one would complain about having more.

The second matter was the adaptation of “The Young Marquis Who Pacified the Wolves at Juxu” into a holographic film for theatrical release.

With the halo of the Starry Sky Award, many companies had sent in offers for Le Jing’s film. The most attractive offer came from a newly established entertainment company.

Coincidentally, this company—Baitian Entertainment—was a newly founded subsidiary under Baii Energy Group.

The huge profits from “Records of the Republic-era Literary Giants” had given this energy giant, newly stepping into entertainment, a sweet first taste of success. Ambitious to expand further, they established Baitian Entertainment.

Baitian Entertainment was not only interested in Le Jing’s award-winning “The Young Marquis Who Pacified the Wolves at Juxu,” but also the five art films the original body had filmed. They offered a generous bundle deal, planning to bring all six films to the big screen at once.

After deducting the theater and chain percentages, the standard distributor’s share is usually 10%–20% of box office revenue. To show sincerity—and because it was six films total—the Bai Energy Group offered to take only 10%, including promotional costs. As the director, Le Jing could receive nearly 40% of the box office.

Many producers only get about 30%. Getting 40% was exceptional treatment.

Editor Xu said, “Their proposal is to hold a special feature series for your films across the theater chain. They hope you’ll participate in a number of offline promotional events.”

This request wasn’t unreasonable.

Besides, they were even willing to bring the original body’s films to theaters, which could be considered a comfort to the departed soul.

Naturally, Le Jing signed the contract without hesitation.

…

At 8 p.m., Luo Bao was shocked to find that the long-silent Old-Time Scenery account on Xingbo had actually posted an update!

【Old-Time Scenery: My six films—‘The Young Marquis Who Pacified the Wolves at Juxu,’ ‘Wolf Girl,’ ‘Underground Boxing Ring,’ ‘The Long-Legged Uncle Next Door,’ ‘The Castrated Man,’ and ‘Twilight Years’—have signed with Baitian Entertainment. They will be converted into holographic films and meet everyone around the end of the year. Please support them in theaters~】

Luo Bao: ????

Holy crap holy crap!!!

Aaaaaaaah, he could finally watch his idol’s films in the theater! He could finally contribute to his idol’s box office!

All these days, he had seen every bit of the controversy and conspiracy theories swirling around Shi Jing after winning his award—rich-sugar-mama nonsense, trading favors, secret illegitimate-son rumors—filthy and degrading beyond belief. Luo Bao had been fuming.

His Director Shi was a serious filmmaker—no hype, no scandals, quietly and honestly making movies. Winning an award because of exceptional talent was the most natural thing in the world. How had it become something so dirty in the eyes of these jealous haters?

Even though most netizens acknowledged Shi Jing’s ability and praised him as young and promising, one malicious comment could cancel out dozens of positive reviews. Even knowing these were shameless clickbait accounts spouting baseless slander, Luo Bao couldn’t help being upset.

So now that he suddenly learned Shi Jing’s films would be turned into holographic releases in theaters, he was beyond ecstatic. The chance to slap faces with box office numbers had finally arrived!

The comments under the post also showed how happy the fans were:

【Black Cat Knight: Awooo!! I will definitely go contribute to the box office!】

【Lalala: Facts speak louder than words. Let’s use the box office to counter all rumors!】

【Don’t Move: Ugh, I have to wait two more months? I’m dying here!】

【The King’s Woman: Wow! I just watched ‘The Young Marquis Who Pacified the Wolves at Juxu’ on Qijiang yesterday and was regretting it wasn’t holographic. Didn’t expect my wish to come true so soon! I’ll drag my whole family to support it!】

【Explosion Is Art: Honestly, ‘The Young Marquis Who Pacified the Wolves at Juxu’ was average for me. But ‘The Castrated Man’—that was the best movie I’ve seen this year. I can’t wait to revisit it at the theater.】

Being able to watch all six Old-Time Scenery films in theaters at the end of the year—just imagining it made Luo Bao feel breathlessly happy. He had never fully understood those art films before, but this time he could carefully ponder their deeper meaning on the big screen!

…

At 8:30 Friday morning, Le Jing arrived at the entrance of CCTV. Song Minghan had already arranged for the front desk to let him in, so Le Jing smoothly rode the elevator up to the sixth floor and entered Song Minghan’s office.

But when he opened the door, he was surprised to find another man inside.

Short and round with a big belly and a beaming smile—he looked like a Maitreya Buddha.

When he saw Le Jing, the “Maitreya Buddha’s” eyes lit up, his whole face glowing. He extended his right hand: “You must be Shi Jing? A pleasure, truly a pleasure. Such a talented young man!”

As they shook hands, Le Jing asked, “And you are?”

“I’m Liu Yangxu, an old friend of Song Minghan’s. I’m a program planner for the Science & Education Channel. This old geezer here wanted to hide you away. If I hadn’t badgered him nonstop, I wouldn’t have met you today.”

Le Jing: “?”

Song Minghan shook his head helplessly and gestured at him. “Let him explain it himself.”

Liu Yangxu’s smile disappeared. He looked at Le Jing seriously, eyes sharp, and got straight to the point: “I watched your ‘Small Figures in Ancient Earth’s History’ on the light-brain. The concept is novel, the message profound, and even more impressive is how you built a complete narrative arc within just over ten minutes. I haven’t seen such an excellent educational yet entertaining documentary in years. Qijiang is too small—your work deserves more.”

“So? Interested in bringing this series to our Science & Education Channel? Then the whole nation—no, the whole world—can appreciate your work!”

Song Minghan immediately blew up: “Don’t listen to his nonsense! ‘Small Figures’ is a documentary—of course it belongs on our Documentary Channel. Shi Jing, I contacted you first. There has to be an order to things, right?”

Le Jing: … What sort of battlefield is this? Wasn’t I here today to talk about ‘The Empress’s Imperial Hound’?