29: Chapter 29 Applying Pressure, Terminating Cooperation!

"Director Guo, that group of reporters is here again."

On the filming set of 'The Wandering Earth', an assistant ran over and spoke to Director Guo Fan.

Since the public opinion storm involving Xu's Heavy Industry began, a large number of reporters have been surrounding the entrance of the filming set every day.

In the past few days, they have become even more arrogant.

Some have even started rushing into the filming site to take secret photos of movie scenes.

The crew hired many security guards, but it has been to no avail.

Driven away time and again, these reporters are like maggots on a bone, persistent and lingering.

"Have the security guards drive them away!!"

Guo Fan frowned, his expression looking quite poor.

During this period, the entire crew has been heavily affected because of the Xu's Heavy Industry incident.

Public opinion online has now begun to attack The Wandering Earth.

Even the current filming site is being intercepted and blocked by various media reporters.

"Guo Fan, continuing like this isn't a solution."

Actor Wu Jing, standing to the side, said with a frown.

"Has Chairman Xu's side not responded to this?"

"The public outcry is growing. If we let it keep fermenting, I'm afraid..."

As someone who stayed on set filming every day, he had also had enough of these reporters.

Furthermore,

He often followed the news online.

Under the The Wandering Earth topic, more and more netizens were starting to express their dissatisfaction.

If this continued long-term, he feared negative reviews would be overwhelming before the movie even hit theaters.

The other actors and staff filming on site also nodded in agreement, looking at Guo Fan with meaningful gazes.

The entire set seemed somewhat listless due to the public opinion storm brought by Xu's Heavy Industry.

Filming was already an exhausting task, and now they had to face the malicious rumors flying around online.

They were mentally and physically exhausted...

"I have been in constant contact with Chairman Xu. He said... they are cooperating with the official investigation and believes it will be resolved soon."

Guo Fan sighed and explained.

He was well aware that the negative publicity surrounding Xu's Heavy Industry was causing great trouble for the crew, but there was nothing he could do.

The online vitriol was directed at Xu's Heavy Industry; they could only be said to be caught in the crossfire.

To truly resolve this storm, the only way would be...

Thinking of that possibility, Guo Fan's frown deepened.

"Director Guo, Director Wu, the creative team and the investors are waiting for you in the lounge. They said... said they're holding a temporary meeting..."

At this moment, a staff member walked onto the set and spoke to the two of them.

Hearing this, Guo Fan nodded slightly. "Understood."

Guo Fan already had an idea of why the creative team and investors had come to the site at this time.

His heart grew increasingly worried.

"Let's go!"

Actor Wu Jing patted his shoulder and then walked helplessly toward the lounge.

He understood Guo Fan's difficulties, but the movie still had to be filmed.

The lounge.

The creative team and the investors, about a dozen people in total, were waiting in the lounge in a state of readiness.

Seeing Guo Fan and Actor Wu Jing enter, they immediately fixed their gazes on the two, especially on Guo Fan.

"Director Guo Fan, how is the filming going?"

Seeing that no one else was speaking, one of the investors crossed his arms and asked with a frown.

"It is proceeding in an orderly manner..."

Guo Fan pondered for a moment and answered, bracing himself.

"Orderly manner? I heard that several segments have been stalled for several days now?"

Guo Fan opened his mouth to explain, but several other investors spoke first:

"Exactly. If the filming is delayed, the subsequent progress will also be affected. You have to get this sorted out."

"In my view, the lag in filming is mostly due to the influence of Xu's Heavy Industry."

"That's right. Because of Xu's Heavy Industry, the filming has been affected, and even the movie itself has taken a significant hit. People have already started attacking it before its official release."

Several investors spoke one after another, and the creative team sitting on the other side couldn't help but nod.

Clearly, their purpose for coming today was aimed at Xu's Heavy Industry.

"This... although Xu's Heavy Industry has had some bad press recently, it hasn't seriously affected our movie yet, has it?"

Guo Fan countered.

After all, this was a partner company he had signed with; Guo Fan had his own principles.

"Hmph! Not seriously affected? Does the movie have to be ruined before it counts as an influence?"

"We can't go on like this. Terminate the contract with Xu's Heavy Industry. While there's still room to salvage the public opinion, otherwise, later on, there really won't be any way..."

"Right! Terminate the cooperation, recover the investment funds, minimize the losses, and then issue a statement to inform the public that we have completely severed ties with Xu's Heavy Industry."

Several investors directly stated their stance.

"Everyone, in the current situation, wouldn't it be inappropriate to terminate the cooperation with Xu's Heavy Industry?"

Guo Fan's brows were tightly knit as he looked at these investors.

"What's inappropriate about it? The fault lies with Xu's Heavy Industry; we are merely forced to terminate the cooperation."

"Exactly. If it weren't for the public opinion storm surrounding Xu's Heavy Industry, the filming wouldn't have been delayed. It would probably be almost finished by now..."

"We are the investors; we should have the right to say this! We must terminate the cooperation with Xu's Heavy Industry!!"

Aside from Actor Wu Jing, they were the main investors in this movie, having invested nearly seventy percent of the funds.

Therefore, they truly had a significant say in the matter.

Of course, they didn't necessarily want to make things difficult for Guo Fan.

It was just that the movie had been seriously affected by Xu's Heavy Industry during this time.

According to market investment surveys, if things continued this way, whether The Wandering Earth could even be released normally was still a question.

Even if it were released,

The box office results might not be optimistic due to this public opinion storm.

This was something they were unwilling to see.

Actor Wu Jing sat beside Guo Fan. Regarding the investors' words, he neither nodded in agreement nor spoke to refuse.

He just listened quietly without expressing an opinion.

"Xu's Heavy Industry is currently cooperating with the investigation by the Dragon Country Local Taxation Bureau. Let's give them a few more days? It will be resolved soon."

Guo Fan did not want to terminate the cooperation with Xu's Heavy Industry just like that, so he continued to plead on their behalf.

"Soon? How many days is 'soon'... three days? A week? Or a month? Do we still have time to wait for him to resolve it?"

"Say no more. Either we withdraw our investment early, or you immediately terminate the cooperation with Xu's Heavy Industry. You decide!!"

The investors directly threatened him.

Hearing this, Guo Fan's expression turned even more grim.

He hadn't expected the investors' attitude to be so resolute this time.

His face suddenly became dejected.

Alas, it had reached the worst-case scenario.

Was it really going to end like this?

Only...

He thought of the props made by Xu's Heavy Industry and felt it was a pity.

Those props were truly too perfect for The Wandering Earth.

But now... they would likely have no connection to the movie.

Seeing Guo Fan remain silent, the investors directly made the decision for him:

"It's decided then. Terminate the cooperation immediately, recover the funds, and issue a statement to restore the movie's reputation."

After speaking, several investors were about to get up and leave.

Just then, Guo Fan's assistant knocked on the door, walked in cautiously, and said to him:

"Director Guo, there are several police officers outside. They say... they're looking for you..."