He first took Chu Meibo to get her makeup done, and then he found the producer.
The producer was on the phone with someone and looked very angry. Shen Huai waited for him to finish before going over.
The producer still had a hint of anger on his face, but when he saw Shen Huai, he forced a smile: "Little Shen, you've arrived?"
Shen Huai didn't rush to inquire; he simply communicated with the producer about the follow-up publicity, and after receiving a reply, he prepared to leave.
To his surprise, the producer hesitated for a moment, then called him back and stammered for a long time before explaining the reason.
Actress Weng Tian, who had previously failed an audition, colluded with a marketing account to imply that Chu Meibo had obtained the role of Cheng Yanxin through improper means. Fu Cheng then fueled the fire, plunging Chu Meibo and Guo Wenyuan into a scandal.
The media dared not bother Guo Wenyuan, so in the end Chu Meibo bore the brunt of the consequences. Fortunately, Chu Meibo handled the situation well, and Guo Wenyuan quickly found Fu Cheng, the mastermind behind it all, which helped to suppress the matter.
Even so, there were still many rumors and gossip. In a fit of anger, Director Xie decided to hold a casting press conference ahead of schedule, partly to finalize the roles and partly to clear the names of Chu Meibo and Guo Wenyuan.
Although Fu Cheng didn't know that Guo Wenyuan had uncovered the truth, he felt somewhat guilty and dared not cause any more trouble. The producer also thought that he had calmed down. However, this morning, Fu Cheng's agent called the producer and asked that Fu Cheng be seated in the center position during the interview.
The entertainment industry has always had a battle for top billing. Celebrities use all sorts of tactics to secure top billing, not only in terms of posters, press conferences, and the order in which names are mentioned on Weibo.
Fu Cheng is currently very famous, while Chu Meibo is just a newcomer. In the other party's opinion, it is only right for Chu Meibo to give up the center position.
The producer was almost laughing in exasperation.
The movie is called "Red Actress". It is obvious who the protagonist is. Although Fu Chengan was given the title of male lead, in the end, he was just a supporting actor for Chu Meibo. Why should he sit in the center position?
The producer had a big argument with the other party, but after hanging up the phone, the producer still hesitated.
Although he was very unhappy with Fu Cheng, the most important thing at the moment was to prevent any trouble from happening at the press conference. That's why he thought of discussing with Shen Huai about having Chu Meibo give way to Fu Cheng. After all, it was just a matter of position, and everyone knew who the main character of this movie was.
However, Shen Huai, who is usually easy to talk to, refused outright on this issue.
The producer panicked: "Xiao Shen, listen to me..."
"No need to say anything more!" A voice tinged with anger interrupted the producer.
"Thank you, Director Xie?!"
Director Xie strode over. He had overheard their conversation when he arrived. If Fu Cheng hadn't secretly sabotaged things before, Director Xie might have felt a little uncomfortable, but he would still have agreed to Fu Cheng's agent's request.
But now, it's impossible!
The producer grew anxious: "Director Xie, this isn't the time to be stubborn. Fu Cheng is, after all, Guan Rui..."
Just then, another voice chimed in: "Oh? What's wrong with Guanrui?"
Guo Wenyuan, accompanied by his assistant, walked slowly toward them with a smile on his face.
☆, Chapter 107
The producer slapped his forehead; he had only remembered that Fu Cheng was Guanrui's artist and almost forgot that the real sugar daddy was still here.
The producer, like a wronged child seeing a relative, immediately relayed Fu Cheng's agent's request to Guo Wenyuan, subtly adding a compliment: "Even as an investor, President Guo didn't demand to sit in the center position, so why should he..."
Guo Wenyuan snorted coldly: "Your acting skills haven't improved much, but you've learned these messy things very quickly!"
Producer: "Exactly, exactly."
Even Director Xie couldn't stand his fawning manner, so he simply covered his face and stood aside to chat with Shen Huai.
Guo Wenyuan said directly, "Ignore him. If he keeps nagging, tell him to come find me directly."
The producer nodded excitedly, "Thank you, Mr. Guo."
With the backing of a major investor, the producer felt emboldened and immediately made a phone call, ruthlessly rejecting Fu Cheng's agent's request.
Director Xie shook his head helplessly: "I don't know when this bad habit of fighting for top billing started. The actors aren't focused on acting anymore. They're arguing and fighting all day long, making the crew a mess."
Guo Wenyuan laughed and said, "Don't worry, Director Xie, such a thing will definitely not happen in our crew. If anyone tries to do anything underhanded, just say the word and we'll kick them out of the crew. If they don't want to act, there are plenty of people who are willing!"
Although Guo Wenyuan said this, everyone knew that he was referring to Fu Cheng.
The producer nodded quickly and flattered Guo Wenyuan again: "That's right, with President Guo in our crew, what is there to worry about!"
Guo Wenyuan nodded reservedly, for the first time not criticizing the old Guo in his heart, after all, the identity of an investor is really quite useful.
Meanwhile, Fu Cheng's manager was both angry and anxious, complaining to Fu Cheng: "What was Producer Yin thinking! You are the most famous person in this movie, and the movie relies on you for promotion. It's already frustrating enough that you gave a supporting role to an unknown newcomer. What's wrong with letting you sit in the center during the interview!"
Fu Cheng didn't speak, but his expression was somewhat somber.
The agent was still complaining: "If they're already so disrespectful now, what will happen when we have to cut more of your scenes during filming? That will make it even more impossible."
Fu Cheng paused, then suddenly asked, "Why did Producer Yin's attitude change so quickly? Wasn't his attitude softened during your previous phone call?"
The agent was also stunned, then realized what was going on: "Producer Yin is always very diplomatic. Even if he refused, he wouldn't be this firm, unless..."
The two of them thought of another important figure in the film crew—General Manager Guo.
The agent looked rather grim: "Could it be that Mr. Guo also wants to steal the center position?"
But Fu Cheng shook his head: "It shouldn't be that bad. If he really cared about that, he wouldn't have played Yokota in the first place. Wouldn't it have been more appropriate for him to steal my male lead role?"
Agent: "Then..."
Fu Cheng: "President Guo seems to have a good relationship with Director Xie, maybe he's just standing up for Director Xie."
At this point, Fu Cheng's face darkened again. He had been suppressed by Guo Wenyuan's acting skills before, and originally wanted to use Chu Meibo's matter to expose Guo Wenyuan as well. At that time, the public would be indignant and put pressure on Guan Rui, who would definitely stop Guo Wenyuan from making trouble.
Fu Cheng couldn't explain why, but he instinctively disliked Guo Wenyuan whenever he saw him, which is why he tried to get him kicked out of the crew.
However, Fu Cheng did not expect that despite his meticulous planning, avoiding Guan Rui's people, avoiding people related to Director Xie, and even using the connections left to him by Du Yuping, he would be discovered so soon.
Fu Cheng felt increasingly uncomfortable thinking about Director Xie's phone call, which was half warning and half admonition.
The agent, unaware of this, was still plotting for him: "...Even if it's President Guo, it doesn't matter. You're on President Hou's side. Guo Wenyuan is just a spoiled brat who doesn't care about anything, while President Hou is the executive director of Guanrui..."
"So what?" Fu Cheng interrupted his manager with a gloomy face. "In front of him, we are still just small fry. He can crush us anytime he wants."
Fu Cheng gripped the mineral water bottle tightly in his hand. What he wanted was not just his current status as a movie star. He wanted greater fame and influence. He wanted to become like Guo Wenyuan and Hou Zhang, high above others, able to control their destinies.
The agent looked at his expression, seemingly wanting to say something, when just then his phone rang. The caller was none other than President Hou, whom they had just mentioned.
The agent immediately forgot about Fu Cheng and quickly answered the phone, bowing and scraping as he spoke for a while, revealing a look of surprise: "You're back in the country?... Okay, okay, I know, don't worry."
After he hung up the phone, Fu Cheng frowned: "What's wrong?"
The agent quickly said, "Mr. Hou said he will also be at the press conference. He's almost here. Let's go down and greet him."
-
Guo Wenyuan and Director Xie were chatting and laughing as they walked toward the press conference, but they ran into someone in the corridor.
The leader was a fat man who was 160 cm tall and 160 cm wide. His whole body looked like a small ball on a big ball. His eyes were squeezed into slits, and two sparse strands of hair hung down on top of his head.
He took up most of the corridor by himself, and Fu Cheng and the others had to follow behind him.
Upon seeing Guo Wenyuan, he gave a forced smile: "Oh, it's Xiao Guo. I haven't seen you in the gossip magazines lately. I thought you'd reformed and stopped causing trouble. I didn't expect you to be causing trouble on set."
Guo Wenyuan's smile immediately vanished.
...For so many years, no one has dared to say I'm young anymore!
Guo Wenyuan and Hou Zhang are both major shareholders of Guanrui and members of the board of directors, but their relationship has always been extremely hostile.
The internal structure of Guanrui is very complex. Chairman Sheng Jiang has married two wives and had two sons. The eldest son, Sheng Qi, is surnamed Guo, and Guo Wenyuan is Sheng Qi's cousin. The second son, Sheng Zhen, is surnamed Hou, and Hou Zhang is Sheng Zhen's uncle.
With the two sons of the Sheng family vying for power, it was natural that Guo Wenyuan and Hou Zhang would not have a good relationship.
The Guo family is powerful, and Guo Wenyuan holds far more shares than Hou Zhang. However, Guo Wenyuan doesn't usually pay much attention to company affairs, while Hou Zhang takes the initiative to work in the company and is highly appreciated by Chairman Sheng.
However, that was all in the past. For Guo Wenyuan now, the main reason he hates Hou Zhang is that it was Hou Zhang who poached Fu Cheng, suppressed Yixing, and tried to seize Yixing's copyright library.
However, since Guo Wenyuan's rebirth, Hou Zhang has been abroad, and this is the first time the two have met.
Guo Wenyuan knew about the discord between the two, so he didn't bother to hide his disgust and said directly, "We're in a hurry to hold a press conference, what are you doing blocking the way here! Are you trying to stop us from going anywhere?"
Hou Zhang: "..."