Chapter 371 Xu Kong’s name has almost become his nightmare
For Xiang Tianlei, it was indeed a great surprise that Xu Kong could call out his name and let him stay alone.

He subconsciously thought that it was likely that he had made Xu Kong acquainted with him before.

It was mainly because of his performance just now. No matter how arrogant Xiang Tianlei was, he didn’t have the confidence that Xu Kong called him out because of his performance.

Of course, Xiang Tianlei actually guessed it right.

Xu Kong had indeed heard of Xiang Tianlei’s name before.

However, contrary to what he expected, what Xu Kong heard were not the so-called words of praise for him, but instead the words of that famous troublemaker.

……

Xu Kong had heard of Xiang Tianlei’s name as early as the time when Zhu Changyun had just left Fengge.

Strictly speaking, the other party is indeed a newcomer with relatively great potential.

This was mainly because Feng Ge had given him all kinds of resources for free.

With a bunch of newcomers left in the company, Xiang Tianlei is already considered to be one of the most outstanding ones.

Who knew that Xiang Tianlei would be the first to complain.

Even without any deliberate attempt to gather information, the news that Xiang Tianlei was taking the lead in preparing to terminate the contract had already spread.

If it wasn’t for the fact that the company was in a relatively turbulent period at that time.

It is estimated that Xiang Tianlei had already been unilaterally terminated.

But even so, Xu Kong did not say that he would directly cut off all the other party’s opportunities.

As long as he performs well, he can still audition for roles in all other new dramas, including his.

However, Xiang Tianlei seemed determined to leave. In any case, he did not even participate in most of the previous auditions.

……

“Director Xu, I…”

Xiang Tianlei subconsciously panicked.

Although in private people almost always called Xu Kong by his name, and even looked down on him.

Now that he had really seen the real person, Xiang Tianlei was still subconsciously frightened by Xu Kong’s aura.

“Forget it. We are not a company that intentionally embarrasses our artists.”

“Since you don’t want to stay in Zao Fengge anymore, just go if you want to.”

“You don’t have to pay for termination fees or liquidated damages.”

……

Xu Kong said calmly.

To be honest, judging from Xiang Tianlei’s audition performance today, Xu Kong was indeed quite disappointed.

The main reason is that the other party was an outstanding graduate when he was studying at the Beijing Film Academy.

In Xu Kong’s impression, the people he knew from the Beijing Film Academy, such as Song Youyou or Feng Ziyan, were definitely rare talented players, regardless of whether they were good or bad at acting.

Although not everyone can compare to these two people.

But Xiang Tianlei’s acting skills really didn’t even meet the basic standards.

……

“Director Xu, I hope you can give me another chance!”

I don’t know where the courage came from, or why I suddenly changed my mind.

After Xu Kong finished speaking, Xiang Tianlei spoke anxiously.

“Chance?”

Now it was Xu Kong’s turn to feel puzzled.

The main thing is that everything Xiang Tianlei showed before didn’t seem like he wanted to stay in Fengge any longer.

Xu Kong also looked down on the other party’s termination fee and liquidated damages.

It would be better to release actors like Xiang Tianlei.

There is no loss anyway, and it is a good thing that Xiang Tianlei left.

At least it won’t affect the mentality and ideas of other newcomers within the company.

……

“You mean you don’t want to leave now?”

After hearing Xu Kong’s words, Xiang Tianlei was at a loss for words for a moment.

The main reason was that after meeting Liu Yue just now, his thoughts had changed unconsciously.

Although Xiang Tianlei is no longer as arrogant as before, he is still confident in his abilities.

In short, it feels like a sudden awakening.

But leaving Feng Ge was definitely not what he wanted to see.

Although he complained, he knew that even if he went outside, his opportunities would only get fewer and fewer.

In comparison, Fengge’s current casting can be considered relatively transparent and fair.

Although he didn’t get the audition for this drama, it’s hard to say for sure about his next one.

……

Xu Kong glanced at Su Meng, but Su Meng didn’t give any advice.

She was quite clear about her identity.

The reason why Xu Kong was able to say this on the spot.

That’s because the other party is the boss of the company.

As for her, she can still have a say in casting matters, but deciding whether the company’s artists stay or go is the job of the artist department.

So I just played dumb and continued to look down at the actor information on the table.

……

“Then stay for now.”

Xu Kong didn’t care too much.

After all, it is true that Xiang Tianlei has talent, but his talent is not to such an abnormal level.

The most we can say is that it is worth cultivating.

In addition, if you really compare the other party with Liu Yue of the same period.

Although Liu Yue is a little older, it is his energy that Xu Kongfa admires from the bottom of his heart.

If there really is a character who has to choose between the two.

He would also choose Liu Yue, who is more down-to-earth and reliable.

This is the case when the two’s business capabilities are not much different, otherwise Xiang Tianlei is not even qualified to be compared with Liu Yue.

……

The first audition for “Ghost Blows Out the Light” ended like this.

Many actors appeared later, and in fact some of them were suitable for the role of Hu Bayi in terms of appearance and temperament.

But the final performance was not very satisfying.

After much deliberation, it turns out that Liu Yue, who has worked hard for the role for more than a month and has changed a lot, is still the best candidate for Xu Kong and Su Meng.

“That’s settled for now then.”

“As for other roles, I will try to finalize them within this month.”

Su Meng spoke.

Instead, Xu Kong smiled and said:
“I’m not that anxious.”

Although the investment in the drama “Ghost Blows Out the Light” is huge, and the investment in the first season alone is estimated to exceed 200 million, even approaching 300 million.

But in terms of the production cycle, Xu Kong did not make too many requirements.

Especially the most important first part, quality is still the main focus.

Moreover, since this drama will most likely be filmed for many seasons, it is unlikely that the cast will be replaced in the middle, so of course it is better to choose the most suitable one from the beginning.

……

As for Su Meng at this time, she couldn’t help but sigh that Liu Yue was so lucky.

No, it should be said that the other party did get this role based on his own strength.

It is estimated that Liu Yue himself may not have thought that the role of Hu Bayi could even become a stable job later on.

Acting in eight films at once, and there is a high probability that the first one will be a big hit.

It can be said that after playing one role, it is likely to be enough for Liu Yue to live on for the rest of his life.

Although this sentence is not a good thing for Liu Yue who is on the rise.

But countless actors are extremely jealous of such an opportunity. Of course, Su Meng thinks that her luck is pretty good.

When he was young, he barely became a so-called first-line director by relying on a few youth campus dramas.

After that, we have been living off our past capital almost all the time.

If Zhu Changyun hadn’t done such a weird thing and suddenly ran out to work on his own.

I guess her career as a director will probably decline like this.

If this is the case, it seems that Zhu Changyun did not invite him to the new company, but she should thank him instead.

……

The public audition for “Ghost Blows Out the Light” did cause quite a stir in the outside world.

The main reason is that Su Meng and Xu Kong are not too high-profile.

There isn’t even any propaganda.

But there is still a constant stream of people coming to audition, especially some artists outside Fengge.

Even some big companies, such as those under Huayuan Film and Television, came to participate.

This is indeed the most surprising point.

It’s just that Xu Kong’s recent performance is a bit too impressive.

This led to the fact that when people heard that the script was still written by Xu Kong himself and that it was a huge investment, many people did not want to miss such an opportunity.

Of course, the most ironic thing is that artists from Changyun Film and Television also came to audition.

And it seems that once he was chosen, he would turn to the light, immediately terminate his contract with Changyun Film and Television, and then return to Fengge’s arms.

……

“Terminate the contract!”

“Who asked him to go?”

“This is a serious dereliction of duty on the part of the artist department. Don’t they even have this basic common sense?”

The angriest person at this moment was Zhu Changyun himself.

In fact, to him, the people who went there were all unknown.

Even if they were really poached by Feng Ge, they would not lose anything.

But the key point is that this kind of thing is indeed a bit too embarrassing.

His relationship with Feng Ge and Xu Kong has now spread almost everywhere in and outside the industry.

So to be honest, when a situation like this occurs, it is really hard to be nervous.

He ran away from Fengge, but now the newcomers in the company have taken the initiative to go back and want to participate in Fengge’s drama.

If I tell this to others, my colleagues in the industry will laugh at me for a long time.

……

“I see.”

“But because of this new drama, Feng Ge seems to have become more popular recently.”

Of course, Lu Hanwen mainly followed Zhu Changyun’s words.

In fact, he didn’t think it was a big deal.

What we need to pay more attention to are some of the things revealed behind this incident.

Back then, when they had just left Fengge, some people had predicted that Fengge could only last about five years at most under such circumstances.

And most of the time, the expenses are not enough to cover the income.

Who would have thought that less than a year had passed and Feng Ge was seeing that not only was there nothing wrong, but he was actually getting rid of the previous situation and was becoming more and more vigorous and positive.

Moreover, for the two consecutive hit dramas this time, although there is no specific contract, it is said that the copyright fee Xu Kong asked for is quite exaggerated, the only one in the industry.

The earnings from these two films are estimated to be equal to Fengge’s revenue for the past six months.

All thanks to Xu Kong, his fate was actually changed.

……

But the most important point is that such a small audition was able to attract so many actors to participate.

It can be said that they all went there on their own, without any support from the companies or agents behind these artists.

Lu Hanwen would never believe it.

From this aspect, it can be seen that Fengge’s reputation in the industry seems to have reversed a long time ago.

Many companies that had previously stopped cooperating with Fengge because of their departure are expected to return in the future.

In other words, Fengge not only lost a large number of once well-known actors and excellent directors and screenwriters.

It doesn’t seem to have much impact.

In terms of revenue, Xu Kong alone is enough to match their entire group.

In terms of resources, Feng Ge now seems to be even stronger than during his peak period.

After all, Xu Kong and Mango are so close, plus Tudou Video and Penguin Video have been rushing to cooperate with him, which is indeed a treatment he has never had before when he was in Fengge.

……

Of course, Lu Hanwen only dared to mutter these things in his heart.

Because he knew Zhu Changyun’s character well, he also knew that he would never say these words in front of him.

Otherwise, not only would it be useless, but Zhu Changyun would also use him as a punching bag.

“Xu Kong, Xu Kong, Xu Kong, why are you so busy now he’s everywhere!”

“This boy with a heroic spirit is so annoying!”

Zhu Changyun couldn’t help but yelled twice in anger.

He thought of the few times he had met Xu Kong, which were still unforgettable to him.

Even though he personally came forward to recruit him, he actually didn’t take this young man Xu Kong seriously.

At most, he is an artist with great “money prospects”.

In the final analysis, they just want the other party to become an artist under their own company.

But he didn’t expect that after the past six months, Xu Kong’s name had almost become his nightmare.

……

“Has the second episode of The Masked Singer aired yet?”

Xu Kong was stunned for a moment after hearing Su Zhi’s words.

He really didn’t have the energy to pay attention to these things during this period.

On the contrary, Su Zhi, who has entered vacation mode, has suddenly become interested in watching various popular variety shows and chasing TV series.

In the past, Su Zhi would also watch the works directed or starred by him.

But almost all of them have only one reason, and that is that it is related to him.

As for chasing TV series, Su Zhi never seemed to have much interest in them.

……

But now Xu Kong realized that it was not that Su Zhi was not interested.

It’s just that she is indeed a more self-disciplined singer.

Even when there are no announcements or performances, time is always allocated to music-related matters.

At most, it’s just releasing stress with Xu Kong or something.

But now that she is on vacation and putting work aside, Su Zhi gives Xu Kong the feeling that she is no different from a young girl who has just reached adulthood.

At most, his personality is a little cold.

Otherwise, she would be exactly the same as Youyou.

……

“I don’t quite understand…”

Seeing that Su Zhi had finished watching the latest episode of “The Bad Kids” with great interest, Xu Kong was waiting for her to ask him some questions.

But Su Zhi suddenly said this.

Sometimes Xu Kong had to admit that there was a reason why some idol dramas were popular.

A musically gifted singer like Su Zhi is more suitable for and likes some brainless idol dramas.

For her, brain-burning themes such as suspense are a bit beyond her scope.

……

(End of this chapter)