CHAPTER 102: RESHOOTS

Wen Nuan wasn’t unintelligent, but she was somewhat surprised.

It wasn’t far from December now; would there be enough time for reshoots?

Furthermore, she still had to rush her scenes for "Princess Qinglian." And, everyone knew that Bai Xiowen was the female lead in the promotions for "Beauty Unparalleled." If she were suddenly replaced, Tang’s Group would have to spend a fortune on new publicity.

Besides, Bai Xiowen’s reputation had already damaged the film. Even with Lin Ning’s support, the box office probably wouldn’t be very good. Wasn’t she just going to be cannon fodder?

Director Zhang also looked at Lin Ning in surprise. "You mean, let Wen Nuan film ’Beauty Unparalleled’?"

"You got it right. I already disliked Bai Xiowen in this film. All her minor scenes were cut by me, and there aren’t many major ones left. Now I plan to bring those scenes back. Anyway, everyone else has already filmed their parts well, so just let Wen Nuan re-film them, and then it’ll be ready for editing." Lin Ning said. He had been considering this for a few days, and after discussing it with Tang Shuwen, they decided to go ahead with it.

Lin Ning glanced at Wen Nuan. "I think we might as well change the name too, to ’Fatal Beauty’."

Wen Nuan was baffled by his smiling gaze. What had she done now?

What Wen Nuan didn’t know was that Tang Shuwen had almost fought with Ye Feimo over this film. "Beauty Unparalleled" was jointly invested in and produced by Tang’s Group and several other investment companies, with Tang Shuwen as the main investor.

This film had a huge budget, and the initial promotions were almost complete.

Ye Feimo, in an effort to get even for Wen Nuan, had actually ruined Bai Xiowen’s career without a word of warning. Tang Shuwen had originally cast Bai Xiowen out of a favor, and didn’t have any special care for her.

Ye Feimo ruining her was one thing, but the crucial point was that "Beauty Unparalleled" hadn’t even been released yet! His performance for the second half of the year depended on this film. Ye Feimo had utterly disgraced the female lead; who would still pay to go to the cinema to watch this film?

Even with Lin Ning, the big name, supporting it, a lot of money would still be lost. This film would not only fail to achieve its projected revenue but would also incur losses, which made Tang Shuwen desperately want to crush Ye Feimo.

’You want to get even for your woman? Fine, no problem. But at least wait until the movie has finished its theatrical run before you ruin her!’

Lin Ning had long been dissatisfied with Bai Xiowen. He was also furious that a perfectly good film was ruined by a wooden beauty, so he decided to act as a mediator. The final result was that Ye Feimo would pay an additional 100 million, replace the actress, and reshoot Bai Xiowen’s scenes within a month. Since everyone else’s scenes were already filmed, only Wen Nuan needed to reshoot Bai Xiowen’s parts.

The film could be made to appear authentic from multiple angles, side shots, and actions. The final result would certainly feature Wen Nuan as the lead, with some shots using Bai Xiowen’s body and back, making her at best a stunt double for Wen Nuan.

Ye Feimo would pay for the new promotions.

Lin Ning was a demanding director and wouldn’t allow Bai Xiowen to ruin his film, so he preferred to cut out the female lead’s scenes. He almost cut her down to a mere extra. Now that Bai Xiowen had gotten into trouble, he was even more eager to find someone to replace her. Once they decided to reshoot Wen Nuan’s scenes, Lin Ning immediately dug out all of Bai Xiowen’s previously cut fragmented and major scenes, happily deciding to let Wen Nuan fill them in.

Today, he happened to be at the film and television city and decided to check on the progress of the "Princess Qinglian" crew. He also needed to say hello before taking someone away. Fortunately, he and Director Zhang had a strong friendship and shared similar interests, making it easy to talk.

Director Zhang smiled meaningfully. "Your New Year’s film promotions are almost done, right? Changing the lead now? Who’s going to pay for the new promotions?"

Whoever paid for the promotions would be known as Wen Nuan’s supporter.

They were all astute individuals who saw through such matters very clearly.

"Don’t misunderstand," Lin Ning winked, chuckling softly. "It’s a perfectly legal relationship: husband supporting his wife. When can she free up some time? For the next two days, you finish shooting her scenes, then I’ll use her for two days and return her to you. We’ll alternate like this, so no one delays anyone."

When the crew members heard that Wen Nuan was going to star in "Beauty Unparalleled," their eyes widened. This New Year’s film was the most anticipated blockbuster of the year! After the original female lead was ruined, Lin Ning immediately decided to completely revamp it, even changing the name. New promotions were already out, and the only thing missing was someone to fill the female lead’s role. Many actors were incredibly envious that Wen Nuan could get such a good opportunity. Why her?

If this project was confirmed for filming, she would surely become famous overnight.

A newcomer replacing a former A-list actress like Bai Xiowen—that’s a topic.

Wen Nuan, spokesperson for the 5203 jewelry series, starring in Director Lin’s masterpiece "Beauty Unparalleled"—also a topic.

"Princess Xiangxiang" from "Princess Qinglian" transforming into "Beauty Unparalleled"—also a topic.

...

Everyone was incredibly envious. Han Bi, however, didn’t feel envious or jealous. Her status and position were already established, so she naturally wouldn’t be jealous over such a minor matter, although it was indeed a good opportunity for Wen Nuan.

She was simply unconvinced.

She thought of the hardships she faced when she first debuted, constantly hitting walls in the entertainment industry, getting battered and bruised, with no one to care for her, only people who would add insult to injury. Anything she wanted, she had to pay for with precious things.

She didn’t want to, yet she had no choice. In this industry, one was not in control of oneself.

If you don’t want it, if you don’t desire it, there are plenty of others who do. So she was very jealous of Wen Nuan’s good fortune.

From the moment she debuted, she didn’t have to take any detours.

She had a versatile manager accompanying and guiding her, and Ye Feimo spared no expense to promote and help her. Even Lin Ning personally came to invite her to star in his film. She had been in the entertainment industry for so many years and had never seen any artist receive such treatment.

Treatment that even A-list actresses didn’t receive.

Director Zhang frowned upon hearing this. "She still has many scenes left. You know, my film is also urgent; it’s scheduled to air on television next year, and the time slots are already set. Can’t you find someone else?"

Lin Ning raised an eyebrow. "Isn’t she just a supporting female lead? What kind of scenes does she have? Are you making the female lead just a pretty face? Change the script, change the script! Let her come to my film."

"No way!" Director Zhang flatly refused. He rarely cut Wen Nuan’s scenes.

"Two days, we’ll alternate two days. It’s decided. I’m more urgent than you are," Lin Ning said, waving his hand nonchalantly. Director Zhang glared at him, but Lin Ning disregarded it, maintaining his usual strong-willed demeanor. "Two days are mine, two days are yours. Wen Nuan will just have to work harder, day and night. For the jewelry advertisement, I’ll talk to Director Gu and temporarily postpone it; it’s not urgent anyway. I hope she can finish Bai Xiowen’s scenes within half a month."