Chapter 243: Revolutionary Project
Translator: BeetleBarker Editor: Tennesh
Fang Zhao studied that area once more. There were mountains and valleys, but it suffered from low rainfall and had a desert climate. The surrounding were all sand and rocks, and there were very few species living there. Because of this, the entire area emanated an aura of death, unlike other regions. Even without personally heading over, he could tell just from looking at the map.
Looking at the time, Fang Zhao contacted Huo Yi.
As Fang Zhao had been among the first batch of investors and had contributed greatly to the film entertainment cultural base, Huo Yi gave Fang Zhao special treatment and let Fang Zhao contact him directly for any important matters.
Recently, Huo Yi had been very pleased, and it was written on his beaming face in the video call. "Fang Zhao? What's up? Don't tell you are looking to invest somewhere?"
Fang Zhao selected that area on the map and showed it to Huo Yi. "Are you selling this plot of land?"
The area was slightly larger, and Fang Zhao did not have sufficient funds on hand to purchase it. His funds had been invested in the film entertainment cultural base and would not return so quickly. However, a loan was possible. He just wanted to make inquiries as to the price of this piece of land first.
Huo Yi was stunned for a moment when he saw the area Fang Zhao had brought up. Afterward, patting the back of his own head, Huo Yi said, "I almost forgot! That map has not yet been updated. You can forget about that area; somebody has already bought it. Previously, I was so busy I forgot to update the map. I'll get somebody to update the information in a bit and show the areas that have already been purchased. Just wait a moment, let me send you the newest version."
Upon receiving the new map Huo Yi sent over, Fang Zhao was even more astonished when he saw that area on the map. Not only was the area he wanted to buy taken, a large part of the surrounding areas had also been encircled. The entire area claimed was three times larger than the amount of land of every investor of the film entertainment cultural base put together.
Fang Zhao was curious. "The entire thing was bought by somebody? The entire thing? Who?" It was reasonable to think that nobody would have noticed the area on the map. Right now, all planet Wai investors were looking for scenic locations and pleasant places. Exactly what sort of person would set their eyes on this sort of area?
When Huo Yi heard Fang Zhao's questions, he fell silent for a few seconds, and then he said, "The Interplanetary Fund."
Only a big player like the Interplanetary Fund had the power to claim such a huge expanse of land right when planet Wai's land prices were rising.
"Is it for building a city?" Fang Zhao asked.
"I have no idea why the Fund purchased such a large expanse of land, but it definitely isn't for a city. We have signed a confidentiality agreement regarding that area. In the future, regardless of whatever is built there, no questions will be asked. However, what I can confirm is that there are no immigration policy plans."
Huo Yi scanned through the map, feeling puzzled deep down. They were so many good areas on planet Wai. Whether it was for commercial or residential purposes, there were many better choices. Why did they view this area as important?
The Interplanetary Fund seemed to be up to something mysterious. It was as though they did not want anybody to know what was going on there, and they had already assigned an engineering team to begin constructing a perimeter wall, preventing anyone from looking inside. If it had been anyone else, Huo Yi would have long ago punched them in the face. Trying to put on airs? How can any area on planet Wai be out of Daddy's control?!
However, when the buying party was the Interplanetary Fund, Huo Yi was terrified.
He had climbed to the high position he now held with support from the Interplanetary Fund. Now he could not go against them. Besides, the Interplanetary Fund had said that his status on planet Wai would not change. As long as the Interplanetary fund did not do anything that harmed Wai, Huo Yi would not ask any questions.
"Forget about that area. How about you pick another location," Huo Yi suggested.
Fang Zhao pointed to a body of water near the polar regions. "Are you selling this area?"
"Polar waters? They can be purchased, but what do you intend to do there?" Huo Yi asked.
"I'm asking on behalf of someone." Fang Zhao sent over a series of files regarding krill cultivation. "Earth no longer permits cultivation at the polar regions, so he can only look for other alternatives. The waters at these areas of Wai are similar to the ones back on Earth, and he wishes to purchase an area to cultivate krill."
Huo Yi browsed through the files that were sent over and noticed a brief mention that the purpose was to improve nutritional doses. This made Huo Yi's heart skip a beat.
That company manufactured nutritional doses, and that was something the base also needed. However, Huo Yi did not immediately agree to it. Instead, he said, "The auditing process for krill cultivation is even more stringent."
"The information and resources are in order."
"Let me take a look first. If there are no issues, the area will be available to purchase."
Fang Zhao sent all the required information as well as audit reports to Huo Yi. Huo Yi then got specialists to verify it and confirm that it would not bring about any serious negative impacts to planet Wai's bodies of water before returning Fang Zhao's call.
With Fang Zhao's mediation, Denzel finally discussed terms and signed a contract regarding the purchase of a body of water on planet Wai. However, this time, Huo Yi did not personally attend to it. He left it to the relevant parties to handle.
Two days later, Fang Zhao received news from Denzel that Denzel had purchased the expanse of water he had been looking at. Soon, Denzel was going to bring along a batch of company workers and head for planet Wai to begin krill cultivation. He would also make some of the special feed for Fang Zhao's hybrid sea slug, so Fang Zhao could get someone to collect it.
On that day, Duan Qianji came over to Outpost 23.
As Hong Lou was part of Baiji military district, Duan Qianji was considered a family member and could live in the family district. However, as a boss, Duan Qianji was rather busy and frequently shuttled between Earth, Wai, and Baiji.
Every time Duan Qianji came, she also brought along some lifestyle accessories and higher quality foodstuffs for Fang Zhao. Fang Zhao did not keep them solely for himself, though, and called people from the outpost to share them.
Although Duan Qianji could contact Fang Zhao through his communications device, she chose to visit him personally every time. Fang Zhao had helped Hong Lou, and Silver Wing had invested in the Wai film studio complex becaused Fang Zhao had roped them in. It could be said that, compared to Yanzhou's other companies, Silver Wing had taken the first foray into the global film scene, and Fang Zhao's contributions could not go unnoticed. Visiting him personally was something Duan Qianji ought to do.
Dun Qianji discussed matters about the newly constructed housing street over at the film entertainment cultural base. Duan Qianji regarded Fang Zhao's opinions and design plans highly and recorded everything down. In addition, certain details in the drama series that had gone unnoticed were spotted by Fang Zhao, and she recorded them down so as to prevent making the same mistakes in the new drama series.
Duan Qianji did not stay at the outpost for too long. After finishing their discussion, as she was preparing to leave, she asked Fang Zhao, "Are there any other problems?"
"Yes."
Under Duan Qianji's puzzled gaze, Fang Zhao asked, "The revolutionary film project that kept being shelved, are they going to restart it?"
On the global scale, there were only a few film projects that could be termed "revolutionary." As for continuously being shelved, there was only one.
Back when Fang Zhao had only been in the virtual projects department for a short while, Fang Zhao had heard Rodney, Song Miao, and the others mentioning this, a film project regarding many important characters from the Period of Destruction. The project had been raised many years ago but had kept getting shelved.
That was a genuine blockbuster that would involve the film circles of all the twelve continents and all the respective aristocratic families, a revolutionary, groundbreaking film project!
Duan Qianji's face changed and her smile faded. With a grave expression, she said, "What news have you heard? Frankly speaking, I received information early on saying that the revolutionary film project might be restarted within the next few years, but that is all I know."
"A few days back, I took fancy to an area on planet Wai and felt that it was suitable for scenes of the Period of Destruction. I originally wanted to purchase the land and build something like a Period of Destruction cultural park in the future. As you all know, I have an interest in all things regarding the Period of Destruction, but little did I expect that the area had already been bought."
"Who?"
Fang Zhao opened up a map and pointed to an area much larger than the film entertainment complex. "The Interplanetary Fund. This whole area was purchased by them."
According to convention, for this sort of revolutionary film project, there was a very high possibility that the Interplanetary Fund would invest in it, and now they had bought that large area. Fang Zhao had asked Huo Yi and a few researchers on planet Wai and found out that there were no valuable minerals there and that didn't have as much scientific value as other areas when it came to conducting experiments. As for planet Wai's two distinguishing characteristics, one was the Ark plan—resurrection of stored seeds—and the other was film culture. Since the former was unlikely, what about the latter?
Therefore, Fang Zhao had surmised that perhaps somebody also wanted to develop the area into a landscape similar to the Period of Destruction and use it for other stuff, such as filming?
To get a better understanding of whether the situation was as he had guessed, Fang Zhao had asked Duan Qianji this question.
Duan Qianji did not doubt what Fang Zhao had said. She fell silent for a bit before nodding her head. "If that area was really made into a landscape from the Period of Destruction suitable for filming, then there is a high possibility of what you just said happening. That revolutionary film project might just be restarted!"
Many people had their eyes on this revolutionary project. When she had heard that the project could be rebooted in the coming few years, Duan Qianji had already starting making plans and rushed to generate a few films and series that could capture the eyes of global audiences and promote the film stars in her own company.
Choosing historical dramas could be considered a strategy. Regardless of the genre of any film, as long as their reputation and fame was put forward, that was good enough. If one series was no good, then two or three!
For such a revolutionary film project, forget about the company's A-list film stars, even their S-rank first-rate superstars might not be able to snag a satisfactory role!
As for other people, if they did not have enough fame or sufficient ability, they would not even be able to get a significant supporting role!
Duan Qianji left hastily. She wanted to go over to planet Wai and scout out the situation.
Fang Zhao browsed through entertainment news from every continent. Upon closer inspection, he realized that competition in the global film circles had escalated. Now, film companies from every continent were churning out large-scale productions in quick succession in order to tussle for viewership and popularity. It was probably as Duan Qianji had said. When everyone had gotten the news, they had rushed to promote their own company's celebrities and make them more noticeable so when the time came, they would have even more firepower when it came to vying for roles in the revolutionary project.
However, many people had not expected that the Wai Film Entertainment Cultural Base was going to pop up this year and result in historical works becoming highly popular. This time, Silver Wing's stars had successfully raised their global fame.
Fang Zhao opened his own notebook and flipped to the last page. On it were plans he had recorded. Picking up his pen, he added a line to it.
Who set the rule that only renowned actors could vie for roles in the revolutionary film project?
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After Duan Qianji left the outpost, she changed the course of her journey. Originally, she had intended to return to Earth, but now she decided to head to planet Wai to make discreet inquiries as to the situation.
Following which, Duan Qianji gathered the company's few top film stars and agents for a meeting.
As a second-tier actor in the company, Ji Polun did not have the qualifications to be called for that meeting. After completing "Beauties," he had successfully managed to squeeze into a role for "Warring States." Originally, Ji Polun had been rather satisfied. Although that role might be a little effeminate, it was still an important supporting role, wasn't it? He had already acted as a eunuch, would he still be afraid of this? How many even wanted this role but could not get it!?
But after the few big names had been called over by the boss for a meeting, Ji Polun discovered that their attitudes had changed completely. Their acting had always been very professional, but now, this bunch had a change in attitude, as though a fire had been lit in their bellies.
Previously, Ji Polun had heard a few first-rate actors grumble during their mealtimes that the film schedule was too pressing and how they were exhausted and missed their homes and could not wait to return and rest. Now, though, even outside filming, even when they were extremely tired, these people seemed to have an inner fire. Ji Polun never heard them mention "returning and resting" ever again.
Intuition told Ji Polun that he could not take it easy!
Actors and actresses of a higher tier, even first-rate superstars, were all so hardworking. As a second-tier actor, how could he have the cheek to slack off? Furthermore, watching this bunch act up a storm, Ji Polun felt his own blood surging. What a great opportunity to learn!
The changes on the set of "Warring States" did not capture the attention of too many people.
There were now many production teams in the bustling film studio complex. Hoteliers here were making a windfall.
Because there were many people and identities were all confusing, it gave an opportunity for people to take advantage.
With his own superior disguises and the gift of gab, Wang Tie had successfully infiltrated the film studio complex.
However, just as he was about to step into the palace grounds, he saw the tablet beside the gates. When he caught sight of Fang Zhao's name, he had no time to even think as his balls shrank.
After making some inquiries, he felt that the name shown on the stone tablet had a high likelihood of being the same one as his greatest fear.
Making careful considerations, Wang Tie decided to avoid Silver Wing's sets and turned around. He headed over to other sets for a look. Every day, before he started work, he would first head online to check whether channel S5 had any live broadcasts and whether Fang Zhao had appeared in them. Only after confirming that Fang Zhao was still on planet Baiji would he set about his job in peace.
On Channel S4, today's live broadcast was Woo Tianhao instructing martial arts... to a bunch of tiger-eared monkeys.
These animals would not hurt people on purpose because they did not have a hostile nature. Woo Tianhao's uncle had said that the mountains needed some live animals so the scenes would have more vitality. Since Woo Tianhao's mountain was not used for filming, a few of these animals had been released there.
Woo Tianhao had proposed it, and the breeders had been more than happy to agree. On the second day, a group of tiger-eared monkeys had been sent over. At the start, these tiger-eared monkeys had still been quite guarded and had stayed away from humans, but gradually, they had discovered that getting closers to humans granted them even more delectable goodies. There was no need to worry about food and water here, and the food was much better than what the breeders had fed them. Now they wouldn't budge even if you chased them away.
On a certain day, when Woo Tianhao was practicing his martial arts, a tiger-eared monkey had imitated Woo Tianhao's actions and movements. Woo Tianhao had found this rather amusing and had not chased it away. Who could have known that two days later his Dojo would have a larger group of monkeys.
Never in Woo Tianhao's wildest dreams had he expected that his first batch of disciples would be a bunch of alien monkeys!
After the broadcast ended, Woo Tianhao received a call from his uncle.
"What's up? Wanna trick me into acting in a film again?"
Hearing his uncle approaching him to act in a new drama series, Woo Tianhao had prepared to reject him, but the following words made Woo Tianhao halt.
Excitement ran across Woo Tianhao's face as he asked, "That project, is it certain that it will be rebooted?"
"Around 80% probability that it will be rebooted. Filming will probably begin next year, latest by the following year. How about that, do you wish to strive for it?"
"You don't say! Of course I do!"
On another mountain.
Zaro's agent had just ended a call. He mulled it over for a bit before turning to gaze at Zaro who was bragging to some people at the moment. The assistant beside him felt that it was the sort of look a breeder gave a swine as he pondered how to fetch the best price for it.