Chapter 277: A Glimmer of Hope

Fengmang Film and Television was not large in scale now, but it had inherited the assets of the previous Xinyao Film and Television, including the “River and Mountain Order” which had been invested with 20 million in filming but had not yet passed the review, as well as five signed artists with good potential.

The general manager was the former general manager of Zijin Teng Culture Media Company. She was somewhat famous in the film and television production industry. With her in charge, the development of Fengmang Film and Television was on the right track.

There was also Zhao Guoqing, an old senior in the film and television circle, as the company’s consultant, which could avoid many detours for the company.

So, the current Fengmang Film and Television could not be considered a rookie company with no qualifications. Its establishment was not known to everyone in the domestic film and television circle, but at least some film and television companies in Xiuzhou were paying close attention to it.

Many people in the circle knew about Fengmang Company’s intention to resubmit “River and Mountain Order” for review. Fengmang Company did not deliberately hide it. After all, this was not a shameful thing, but rather a very open and aboveboard one.

The company’s senior management had been watching this costume idol drama with an investment of 20 million for the past few days. Chen Feng spent a day, most of the time fast-forwarding, and finally finished watching the drama.

After a little aftertaste, this TV series still had some commendable points. At least the costumes, makeup, and props were very exquisite, and the plot design was also relatively reasonable.

After he finished watching it so quickly, there were also many commendable points.

Of course, this was just his personal feeling. Others might not think so.

To be fair, the production of this TV series was still relatively excellent. The actors’ acting skills, martial arts design, costumes, props, photography, art, soundtrack, and dubbing were all very attentive, and the quality was very high.

The most important thing was the two pretty boys, who undoubtedly hit the current popular costume idol drama market and could attract countless female fans. If it could be successfully broadcast online, it would definitely make countless female fans lick the screen.

The reason why this drama failed to pass the review before was largely because it was adapted from a controversial novel. Even if the content was modified and re-edited a lot, it was actually very different from the original novel, but it was still inevitable that people would associate it with the content of the original novel.

This should be the main reason why it failed to pass the review several times.

After others had watched this TV series, they had also seen this point after studying and discussing with each other.

If they were to delete and modify it again, this TV series would be unwatchable, and it would definitely not be able to be sold.

In fact, Xinyao Film and Television had already made drastic deletions and modifications to a lot of content before. Especially the last version, which almost deleted all the controversial and ambiguous parts of the two male protagonists. The number of episodes was also reduced from the original 46 to 32, but it was still useless and still failed to pass the review.

It was precisely because this last drastic cut version did not pass that Chen Xinyao completely gave up. Otherwise, he might not have sold Xinyao Film and Television.

After the company’s senior management collectively studied it, they decided to still make a review version based on the original edited version. Some “classic shots” of this TV series should not be deleted if possible. Otherwise, even if it passed the review, it would not be able to sell for a good price.

In this regard, Lu Sijia and Zhao Guoqing personally checked it, and it was handed over to the post-production team of the film and television production department for re-modification, editing, and production.

Now that this TV series was taken over by Fengmang Film and Television, the producer, distributor, and subtitles of the post-production would definitely have to be modified to a certain extent.

Thus, Fengmang Film and Television spent about a week, and the post-production team worked overtime every day. The first version was finally released.

This version was actually mainly based on the first version submitted for review by Xinyao Film and Television. At least two-thirds of the content was the same. As for the number of episodes, it was two more than before, from 46 to 48. The main reason was the addition of the previously deleted Mary Sue clips.

Otherwise, the selling point of this drama would be gone. Even if it could be sold, it would not have a good price.

So, instead of crippling oneself and making large-scale deletions, it was better to do more work on the review. If it shouldn’t pass, it still couldn’t pass. If it should pass, there was no need to make too many deletions and modifications.

In the past few days, Zhao Guoqing and Lu Sijia had also used their relevant connections and relationships to ask people to intercede. For this, Chen Feng generously allocated one million in public relations fees. If it was not enough, he would continue to add.

After a few days, there were still some results. First of all, they found out who the supervisor who had been blocking this TV series from passing was, and then they also successfully asked someone to intercede with this supervisor.

Unfortunately, the result they got for the time being was that the supervisor of this review department was very stubborn and had a deep prejudice against the TV series “River and Mountain Order”. He would not make an exception just because this drama was now taken over by Fengmang Film and Television.

This was of course not good news.

However, it was not without good news in the past few days. That was that the person in charge of the TV series review was not just one supervisor. The review was sometimes very subjective. The same film in the hands of different reviewers would often have very different results.

In the past few days, they had also successfully contacted another person in charge of the review department, and it just so happened that he was Zhao Guoqing’s former colleague and peer. The two of them had similar experiences before. They had both been screenwriters and directors. It was just that this colleague of Old Zhao had now come ashore and was one of the people in charge of the TV series review department.

With Old Zhao’s face and connections, he had greeted them in advance. According to the process, as long as the majority of the review committee passed, “River and Mountain Order” would not necessarily fail. After all, although that supervisor who blocked the film had the greatest power in the department, he could not act arbitrarily.

Fengmang Film and Television had greeted them in advance, and then “River and Mountain Order” was submitted for review again.

This film had also attracted the attention of many people in the same industry before. First of all, it was adapted from a popular novel. As long as it was broadcast, it could generally achieve good results.

After the film was submitted for review, it would take at least 20 to 30 days, and the regulation was within two months.

So, for the time being, they could only patiently wait for the result on the surface. And in private, they still had to find the connections they should find. With the help of Old Zhao’s former colleague, the connections were relatively easy to find. The main problem was whether to pass it or not.

The company handed over this matter to Zhao Guoqing, this consultant, to follow up. The whole company fully cooperated, giving money and people as needed.

A few days later, Old Zhao’s former colleague sent a message that this film was once again blocked by their department supervisor and was requested to be sent back. He had to put his old face on the line to ask this supervisor out. He acted as an intermediary and let Fengmang Film and Television bring people over to meet with this supervisor and ask about the specific situation. This was also considered giving Fengmang Film and Television and “River and Mountain Order” a chance.

After Zhao Guoqing, Chen Feng, and Lu Sijia knew about this, they went to the appointment together.

Old Zhao’s former colleague was the deputy director, named Zhang Zhaoqiang, and that supervisor was the director, named Li Shengping. The director of the review department was the only one, but there were several deputy directors. So, basically, if the director wanted to block a TV series, this drama would definitely not pass. After all, he had to sign it in the end and be responsible for it.

The place they met was a teahouse, the kind that was very common on the roadside. Obviously, the other party did not give them a chance to be corrupt. In this kind of teahouse, the most expensive pot of tea on the menu was only a few hundred yuan.

And when Chen Feng and the others came over, the two of them had already arrived. It was not that Chen Feng and the others were late, but that their unit was nearby. The two of them had made an appointment to drink tea here, and then they contacted Chen Feng’s side.

Zhang Zhaoqiang was bald, wore glasses, was of medium build, and was in his fifties. He had the temperament of an old administrator.

And Li Shengping looked younger. He wore black-rimmed glasses, had a square face, and was imposing without being angry. He was about 1.8 meters tall, and his figure was still well-maintained, not fat or thin. He looked to be in his fifties, and his overall temperament was like a school leader.

After the two sides introduced each other, the three of them, Chen Feng, Zhao Guoqing, and Lu Sijia, sat down opposite them. The waiter came over. The two people opposite had already ordered tea. After Chen Feng asked Zhao Guoqing and Lu Sijia for their opinions, he casually ordered a pot of Longjing.

Zhang Zhaoqiang smiled and started to liven up the atmosphere, “The people in our unit often patronize this teahouse. The quality of their tea is quite good, and the price is affordable. I’ve been drinking it for several years, and I like their Tieguanyin the most.”

Zhao Guoqing smiled and said, “You’re still the same, you just like to drink Tieguanyin. I drink all kinds of tea.”

Zhang Zhaoqiang said playfully, “Aren’t you the same, drinking peony like a cow?”

The two of them looked at each other and laughed. They had been colleagues for several years before, and their friendship was quite good.

Chen Feng was wondering how to start a conversation with Li Shengping, but Li Shengping suddenly asked him, “Your name is Chen Feng, right? Did you save someone last year?”

Chen Feng was stunned. The others also looked stunned, not knowing why Li Shengping suddenly asked this.

After thinking for a while, Chen Feng asked back, “Director Li, I don’t know what you’re referring to? I don’t quite understand.”

Li Shengping stared at him and said, “In November last year, I had a car accident on a road not far from the East Lake. I was unconscious at that time, and my thigh was injured and bleeding profusely. I was in a critical condition. As a result, I was stuck in the back seat of the car. The ambulance arrived but couldn’t get me out of the car for a while. A passer-by who happened to be passing by took the initiative to climb into the car and used a crowbar to rescue me from the back seat.

“When I woke up in the hospital, I knew what had happened, and I was very grateful to the passer-by who saved my life. For this, I later specially asked someone to check some surveillance videos there and finally got a relatively clear screenshot of his face.

“Unfortunately, I never knew who he was. After I was finally discharged from the hospital, because of my busy work, I didn’t find him in the first place. So I never had the chance to meet him.

“I didn’t expect to see you this time. I suddenly realized that you look very much like the passer-by who saved my life. Tell me the truth, are you that person?”

Hearing Li Shengping’s words, everyone looked shocked and then stared at Chen Feng.

Chen Feng was stunned. He never dreamed that the person he had saved by chance was the one in front of him. He really had no impression.

But on second thought, it was normal. At that time, this person’s face was covered in blood, and he was already unconscious. It was normal that Chen Feng didn’t know what he looked like and didn’t recognize him.

But he didn’t expect Li Shengping to recognize him at a glance. It could be seen that he had always been thinking about Chen Feng, his lifesaver.

If Li Shengping hadn’t mentioned the matter of saving people, Chen Feng would not have remembered it at all.

However, now that Li Shengping had mentioned it, of course there was no need for Chen Feng to deny it. Instead, he smiled frankly and said with emotion, “This… is really a coincidence. I never dreamed that the person I saved was Director Li. At that time, your face was covered in blood, and I didn’t remember what you looked like, let alone your identity.”

“It’s really you!” Li Shengping was suddenly excited. He stood up and extended his hands to Chen Feng, holding them tightly, and said with gratitude, “Chen Feng, if it weren’t for your help at that time, not to mention whether I could have survived, I would definitely have suffered a lot. I have always wanted to thank you in person, and now I finally can. Chen Feng, thank you so much! Let’s go! I’ll treat you to a good meal and a few glasses of wine.”

Li Shengping immediately pulled Chen Feng and was about to walk out, not allowing Chen Feng to refuse at all. The others could only watch them walk out in a daze. It was not until they were about to reach the stairs that they reacted and quickly got up to follow.

This dramatic scene was really unexpected by everyone.

Zhang Zhaoqiang smiled at Zhao Guoqing and said, “Old Zhao, your boss has great luck. I didn’t expect that the person he saved by chance would be our director. Hehe, you can go back and wait for the good news.”

Hearing this, Zhao Guoqing and Lu Sijia, who had been playing soy sauce, couldn’t help but show happy smiles on their faces.

Li Shengping was indeed very enthusiastic. He took Chen Feng to Fumanlou and ordered a full table of dishes. In the end, he even toasted Chen Feng three glasses of white wine in a row, full of gratitude. During the period, he talked and laughed with Chen Feng, and took the initiative to talk about many interesting things in the film and television circle.

And Zhang Zhaoqiang, Zhao Guoqing, and Lu Sijia also did a good job of being the supporting roles. The atmosphere at the table was very lively and harmonious, and both the host and the guests were happy.

In the end, Li Shengping paid the bill. This leader really paid for it, more than 20,000. Chen Feng was originally going to pay, but Li Shengping was anxious with him, so he had to give up.

Li Shengping had drunk a lot this time and was in a drunken daze. He could only find a designated driver and let the still sober Zhang Zhaoqiang send him home.

Before leaving, Li Shengping also pulled Chen Feng and talked a lot by the car. He even said that he could introduce his niece to him. During the dinner, he had already learned that Chen Feng was divorced and single. He also lamented that he had no daughter, otherwise he would have introduced her to him long ago. But he had a beautiful niece.

At that time, Li Shengping was still sober and did not say that he would introduce his beautiful niece to him, but in the end he still said it.

Chen Feng could only quickly say that he already had a girlfriend. Li Shengping immediately said with a drunken breath, “That’s really a pity. I mean, what if, what if you break up with your girlfriend in the future? A young talent like you can… can give yourself more choices, and… and also give other outstanding women a chance. It’s not that I’m bragging… bragging, my niece will definitely satisfy you. She… she graduated from Donghai University, and then studied in the United States, with a double degree from a famous university. Now she is a gold medal designer, with an annual salary of… millions.”

“Okay, okay, we’ll get to know each other next time we have a chance.” You can only go along with a drunk person, otherwise it will be even more endless.

“Okay… After I go back, I’ll introduce you to her…”

After coaxing for a long time, he finally got Li Shengping into the car. It was not until the car drove away that he breathed a big sigh of relief. It was finally settled.

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(End of chapter)