Chapter 334 - Toxicity in the Box Office! (1/2)

“Achoo!”

On the way out of Fei Huang Workspace, Pei Qian sneezed.

“Why do I suddenly have a bad feeling…?

“Did something go wrong with one of the businesses? Should I check?

“…Forget it.”

For a split second, Pei Qian wanted to check on the various companies and see if anything had gone wrong. However, it was not long before he pushed the idea out of his mind.

He would not be able to detect any problems anyway! At the moment, Pei Qian had too many businesses to take care of. It would be extremely difficult to check on all of them. After some thought, Pei Qian decided that he had been overthinking. He decided to focus on the tasks on hand instead. It was then that he decided to call Zhang Zuting.

Zhang Zuting picked up almost immediately Both of them exchanged a couple of pleasantries; they were on quite good terms.

Although starring in Bloody Battle Song’s advertisement had brought Zhang Zuting many worries, it had also brought him considerable fame.

The success of Bloody Battle Song’s mobile game had quashed many people’s impression of the game being ‘filed with paywalls’, ‘a scam’, and ‘meant for stupid, rich folks’. At the same time, many people went from being haters of Zhang Zuting to his fans.

The once-outdated Zhang Zuting was now much more popular!

For that reason, Zhang Zuting still felt grateful towards Boss Pei.

“Mr. Zhang, are you available to film over the next few months? I am producing a movie that I would like to invite you to star in.

“We worked together before. You don’t have to worry about the remuneration. We won’t shortchange you for sure.”

Zhang Zuting was obviously stunned.

Star in a movie? Wasn’t Boss Pei’s company a games company? Why was he producing a movie?

Was he venturing into another industry?

Zhang Zuting did not ask too many questions. After all, many large companies were now looking to venture into the film industry. Even coal bosses and rich second-generation heirs were trying their hand at it. There was no need for Zhang Zuting to make a mountain out of a molehill.

Furthermore, Boss Pei was already managing a high-end restaurant; there was nothing strange about him wanting to produce a movie, right?

Zhang Zuting answered, “No problem, Boss Pei. Coincidentally, I’ll be free over the next few months. We’re quite familiar with each other’s working style, and we can negotiate further on the remuneration. I can quote you a good price since we’re friends, but could you let me read the script first?”

Pei Qian remained silent for a few seconds. “I’ll pass on the discount, but could you not ask me for the script?”

Again, Zhang Zuting was stunned. He laughed and said, “Boss Pei, you’re really humorous. Has the script not been completed? Let’s not talk about it for now, then. In any case, I’ll do this on your account. I’ll make the necessary arrangements and come down to Jingzhou soon.”

“Alright, I’ll give you the director’s contact details. You can liaise with him directly. Oh, there’s another thing. We need to look for a young, male actor to star as the male protagonist in this film. Do you have anyone to recommend?” Pei Qian asked.

Zhang Zuting pondered for a moment and said, “There are many young, male actors out there. Do you have any specific requests?” Without thinking, Pei Qian instantly replied, “The more expensive, the better.” Zhang Zuting scoffed. “Expensive? I don’t know any expensive actors. I’m just an outdated actor; how would I know the hot, young celebrities? Boss Pei, since that’s your only requirement and there aren’t many expensive young male actors in Jingzhou, you could just ask them one by one.”

Pei Qian nodded. “That’s true. I’ll look again, then.”

Coincidentally, just as Pei Qian hung up, he arrived at Tengda.

Pei Qian alighted from the car and returned to his own office. Then, he searched for young, male actors who were particularly popular at the moment on Qiandu.

Many things were different in this world. For instance, the development of smartphones and the mobile game industry was three or four years faster than Pei Qian remembered.

The filming industry was also different from his memory. As Pei Qian recalled, the first movie that depended purely on the cast’s fanbase and not their acting skills premiered in 2011. The trend started picking up in 2013 and reached its peak in 2014 or 2015. After that, they went downhill.

It was slightly different in this world. The trend had started earlier than Pei Qian remembered.

Pei Qian guessed that it was influenced by the earlier development of cell phones and information and communications technology (ICT).

All in all, such movies were already becoming increasingly popular at this time in this world. Many young and popular idols were asking for much higher pay. Their prices were becoming increasingly ridiculous. Of course, apart from those young idols, male superstars did not come cheap either.

Pei Qian felt conflicted.

Who should he hire to star as the male protagonist?

If he hired a relatively unknown actor, he would not be able to spend much.

What if he hired a male superstar? He would be able to spend much more, but the superstar’s acting skills would be guaranteed. Furthermore, the latter could influence large crowds that just wanted to watch him perform to buy tickets.

What if Pei Qian hired the younger, popular idols instead?

It would be better in many aspects, but Pei Qian was quite disgusted by such ‘idols’. He could spend the money through other means, and choosing younger, popular idols would be giving them an unfair advantage. Furthermore, he would be contributing to the culture of favoring looks over skills.

That did not make Pei Qian feel good.

As Pei Qian tried to suppress his fickle-mindedness, he continued searching the Internet for more resources, hoping that luck would allow him to find a suitable candidate.

All of a sudden, he spotted a key phrase.

Toxicity in the Box Office!’

“En?”

This piqued Pei Qian’s interest at once. It was a hot post in one of the forums, which was titled ‘Lu Zhiyao is absolute toxicity in the box office!’

The post was quite popular. Many netizens had commented on it.