170: Chapter 170 Three Top Female Stars Send Blessings

The opening ceremony was scheduled to take place in the courtyard of the resort hotel.

In the center of the courtyard stood a long table draped in red cloth, with a bronze incense burner and offering fruits placed on top.

Standing flower baskets were lined up on both sides.

Half a year ago, barely anyone in the industry recognized Jiang Fan's name.

But over the past six months, he had produced over a dozen hit songs and acted as the mastermind behind the champion of The Sound of Nature.

This brought several times more media outlets to the scene than Director Ning Yuan had estimated.

Although a forty-million-yuan budget was considered small-scale, and Director Ning Yuan wasn't the type of director who liked to use cheap gimmicks,

once the reporters scanned the names on the flower baskets, they knew their trip today hadn't been in vain.

On the leftmost basket, a card read: "Wishing Great Box Office Success." It was signed by Su Yuyan.

Right next to it was Tang Yingxue's, with a ribbon that read: "Wishing an Auspicious Start."

Xu Qingya had also sent one, which read: "Wishing Everything Goes Smoothly."

Looking further back, there were baskets from Mr. Zhang of Tencent Video, Director Fang of The Sound of Nature, representatives from Gucci...

As the reporters snapped photos of the flower baskets with their phones, they were already drafting their headlines:

"Three Divas Send Their Blessings as Xinghuo Media's New Film Starts Shooting."

—

At 10:00 AM, the ceremony officially began.

Jiang Fan, Director Ning Yuan, Shen Feng, and Sister Yue stood in front of the main table, with the rest of the cast and crew lined up behind them.

Each of them held three sticks of incense in their hands.

Li Cheng wore a new suit, looking unusually formal for once as he stood on stage acting as the master of ceremonies.

"Bow to the East—may the purple haze arrive from the east, and may the filming go smoothly!"

Everyone turned to the east and bowed in unison.

"Bow to the South—may the South Wind blow gently, and may the box office soar!"

"Bow to the West..."

After the final bow, the incense sticks were inserted into the bronze burner, and wisps of smoke began to curl upward.

The reporters below the stage raised their long lenses and cameras, the shutters clicking in a continuous chorus.

"Mr. Jiang, give us a smile!"

A photographer in the front row shouted.

Jiang Fan cooperatively looked at the lens, a slight smile playing on his lips.

Beside him, Director Ning Yuan maintained a deadpan expression the entire time with his hands behind his back, looking like he just wanted them to "hurry up and finish so I can get to work."

—

Once the ceremony concluded, it was time for the media interview segment.

The reporters swarmed forward, shoving their microphones in front of Director Ning's face first.

"Director Ning, you haven't directed a film in over a year. What was the catalyst for this collaboration with Xinghuo Media?"

Director Ning Yuan reached out and pushed the microphones back a couple of inches to give himself some breathing room.

"A good script. It's that simple. Once I read the script, I felt I absolutely had to direct it."

"Could you reveal the general direction of the story?"

"Comedy. Time travel theme," Director Ning Yuan paused. "But it's different from the ones on the market. As for how exactly it's different, you can see for yourselves when it's released."

Having said his piece, Director Ning Yuan took half a step back, yielding his position.

His meaning was clear: don't ask any more questions.

The reporters tactfully turned their microphones toward Jiang Fan.

"Mr. Jiang, as the investor and screenwriter, what is the total budget for this movie?"

"Including post-production and promotion, it's about seventy million yuan."

"And what are your box office expectations?"

Jiang Fan thought about it for a moment.

"Starting at one billion yuan."

The venue fell silent for a brief moment.

Someone in the back leaned forward with their recording pen, afraid they had misheard.

"One billion? For a film with a seventy-million budget, he boldly claimed one billion?"

A few veteran reporters exchanged looks.

Last year's comedy box office champion only made 1.2 billion.

And that was with an all-star cast, massive promotion, and a summer release slot.

A new company with an entirely amateur cast dared to claim one billion?

"Mr. Jiang is very confident," a female reporter smiled and pressed further. "I heard this film is also aiming for the Spring Festival slot?"

"That's right," Jiang Fan nodded. "Ticket prices are higher during the Spring Festival, which gives us a natural advantage in hitting the one billion mark. Secondly, it's the Chinese New Year; everyone needs a movie that can make the whole family laugh. Our film is made exactly for that."

The female reporter asked again, "Mr. Jiang, the cast of goodbye mr. loser doesn't seem to be star-studded at all; they're all fresh faces. What was your thought process behind the casting?"

Jiang Fan glanced at Shen Feng and the others standing behind him.

"Director Ning and I only look at whether an actor fits the role, not their star status."

He paused for a beat.

"Besides, these actors are all outstanding. Don't look down on them just because they aren't famous right now. I dare say that once this movie is released, if any of you here want to interview them, you'll have to book an appointment in advance."

Standing in the back, Shen Feng felt his nose tingle with emotion upon hearing this. He clenched his jaw tightly to hold back his tears.

Sister Yue turned to glance at him and whispered, "Don't cry, the reporters are still filming."

"Who's crying?" Shen Feng rubbed his eyes hard. "I'm building up my emotions to use for filming this afternoon."

Lun Zi chimed in from the side, "Bro, you're building up your emotions way too early."

Shen Feng reached back to smack his head but was stopped by Sister Yue.

Another male reporter raised his hand: "Mr. Jiang, I'd like to ask, while your songwriting is universally recognized as outstanding, a movie script is a different field after all. Do you think the audience will buy into it?"

Jiang Fan didn't get angry; he simply smiled.

"Everyone will see for themselves once it's released. You might not believe whatever I say right now anyway. Let's wait and see."

"Mr. Jiang, one more question," the male reporter pressed. "I noticed that all three divas sent flower baskets. What is your relationship with them?"

"It's simply a professional relationship."

Jiang Fan took a step back and waved his hand.

"Alright, don't just keep grilling me. There are so many people in the crew; go interview someone else."

—

The reporters tacitly skipped Director Ning Yuan.

With the attitude he had just shown, asking him would only result in a cold shoulder.

The microphones were turned toward Shen Feng.

"Mr. Shen Feng, you come from a theater background. How do you feel about playing the male lead in a movie for the first time?"

Shen Feng cleared his throat. "My feeling is—a stage play is only performed for eighty people a night, but a movie release means being responsible to tens of millions of viewers. The pressure has multiplied by several orders of magnitude."

The reporter smiled. "Then what are your expectations for the box office?"

Shen Feng rubbed his hands together. "I won't compare myself to Mr. Jiang. I just hope—we do justice to the audience's ticket money. Just don't have them cursing us when they walk out of the theater."

Another wave of laughter erupted below the stage.

The microphone was handed to Sister Yue.

"Sister Yue, I heard you are playing the female lead, Ma Dongmei, in the film?"

Sister Yue put her hands on her hips. "Yes."

"Could you describe this character?"

"A woman who gives her all for her husband, only for him to turn out to be a disappointment." Sister Yue paused, pointing at Shen Feng beside her. "Isn't that just him?"

Shen Feng: "...Could you show some mercy with your words?"

The entire room burst into laughter.

Near the end of the interview process, a reporter handed the microphone to Lu Wanqing, who was standing in the corner.

"Miss Lu Wanqing, you've been debuted for less than a year and don't have any representative works yet. I heard the competition for the role of Qiu Ya was very fierce this time—what do you think got you selected?"

Lu Wanqing clenched her hands tightly against her skirt.

She opened her mouth, but her nervousness turned her prepared response into mush.

Her lips parted slightly, but not a single word came out.

Agent Zhou was so anxious beside her that she was about to step forward.

"Because she is the most suitable."

A voice came from the side.

Jiang Fan walked over and stood beside Lu Wanqing.

"As I just said, we don't look at star status when casting. Out of dozens of candidates, Director Ning and I unanimously agreed that she was the most suitable for the role of Qiu Ya. As for the reason—"

Jiang Fan glanced at Lu Wanqing.

"Once the movie is released, the audience will provide the answer themselves."

The reporter pressed, "Then what are your expectations for her?"

"I expect her to act well. She doesn't need to worry about anything else."

Standing beside him, Lu Wanqing's heart was pounding wildly.

She turned her head to look at Jiang Fan. He was looking toward the reporters, his expression relaxed and natural.

"Thank you, Mr. Jiang," Lu Wanqing's voice was very soft.

Jiang Fan turned his head, gave her a nod, and walked away.

—

Once the morning schedule was finished, the cast and crew had a working lunch.

At 1:30 PM, Director Ning Yuan clapped his hands.

"Everyone get ready! We start the first scene at 2:00 PM!"

The crew members began moving the equipment.

The hotel cooperated by clearing out an entire floor, transforming the corridors and banquet halls into filming sets.

The first scene—the wedding scene—was finally about to begin.