In fact, this was indeed the case. This director named Zhuang Hongyi was a highly influential director in the industry, exceptionally skilled at making commercial films, and one of the earliest directors to achieve the milestone of ten billion box office revenue.
His works weren't necessarily good films, but they were definitely films that could earn money and box office success.
Even though some people had previously criticized him for only creating mediocre six-out-of-ten films, when faced with his over two billion box office numbers, they ultimately fell silent and admitted defeat.
One could say that judging from Director Zhuang's filmography, he was absolutely not the type of director who stubbornly pursued masterpieces with lofty artistic ideals. He was more like a sharp-eyed businessman who knew exactly how to make profitable films, understood what genres were currently most popular with the masses, and could quickly grasp trends to cater to audience preferences.
Although many directors in the industry looked down on him, they had to admit that he was indeed very good at generating box office revenue.
From capital's perspective, a director who could generate box office revenue was a good director.
And as cinema films developed more rapidly in recent years, Zhuang Hongyi's ambitions gradually expanded.
So finally at the beginning of this year, he proposed his plan to create an original "universe series," preparing to establish a unique cinematic universe with its own world background.
And the script Xiao He currently held in his hands was the first installment.
Xiao He carefully read through the script and found it quite interesting.
The script was titled "The Phantom Thief Alliance," an action comedy film. It mainly told the story of Lu Xiaokong, a recent college graduate who couldn't find suitable work and went to the neighboring White Elephant Country to seek help from his uncle Shi Ji, hoping to find some work and a relatively suitable job.
But completely unexpectedly, this legendary uncle of his who supposedly drove luxury cars and wore expensive watches wasn't doing well abroad either, making a living through scams and deception every day, and had even been arrested and jailed for theft at one point.
And the jobs his uncle recommended to him naturally weren't good jobs either - either helping with smuggling as a lookout, or participating in pyramid schemes and fraud, and even more directly, robbery or theft - staking out slightly busy red-light districts where one could "earn" tens of thousands of RMB in a single night.
Of course, according to Uncle Shi Ji's words, if Lu Xiaokong was willing, standing on the street might actually earn more money, though it might require paying a certain price - and this wasn't something just anyone could do! Even Shi Ji himself couldn't do it! Making a living with your looks wasn't something to be ashamed of!
As expected, the unlucky kid Lu Xiaokong, who had been tricked into a difficult situation and almost lost even his underwear, completely broke down mentally. He returned to his accommodation wanting to pack up and go home.
But the misfortunes didn't end there. The dishonest Shi Ji had apparently stolen something from some big shot in the red-light district and resold it, causing the other party to send a group of assassins after them.
So Lu Xiaokong, who failed to return home, was forced to flee with Shi Ji, trying to figure out how to steal back the item for the big shot before getting killed, to prove their innocence.
This was how the story unfolded.
There were two main protagonists - the unlucky Lu Xiaokong and the unreliable Shi Ji. One was responsible for thinking through problems and planning theft schemes; the other was responsible for executing plans, fleeing, and fighting, while incidentally screwing over his nephew along the way. These two went from not getting along to still not getting along, creating many comedic situations during the process. Many plot points were somewhat absurd but made people laugh just reading them.
Finally, because the big shot's item had been resold to another powerful family in White Elephant Country, the uncle-nephew duo was forced to "return to their old trade," figuring out how to infiltrate and steal back the big shot's lost item. Accidentally, they became famous because of this, making a name for themselves in both legal and underground circles, becoming a somewhat renowned phantom thief duo in their circle.
And the role Xiao He needed to make a cameo appearance as was the hacker sent by the big shot's side, monitoring these two people's every move in real time to ensure they weren't escaping but were seriously helping the big shot steal back his item.
This hacker was actually a master thief himself, but he was more advanced. Unlike the two "foolish" small-time thieves who were the protagonists, he was a globally ranked divine thief who had been invited to White Country specifically to help this big shot steal a certain item.
Unexpectedly, the two protagonists appeared halfway through, disrupting his plans.
But it worked out quite well. Watching the two protagonists complete the task he was supposed to do, the hacker was quite content to just observe from the sidelines, only helping them disable surveillance cameras when they encountered critical moments.
This role wasn't very important, probably appearing on screen for less than five minutes in the movie, just sitting in front of a computer typing away the whole time. But the character image was quite good, and if performed well, it could actually leave a deep impression on the audience.
Xiao He thought this role was quite good.
"If you want to take this role, you can go film it anytime in the next few days. It won't take too much time," Liu Rulan said. "This film crew is rushing for next year's Spring Festival Slot. Besides some minor reshoots, the overall work has already entered the post-production stage."
"Ah?" Xiao He was shocked. "Since they've already finished filming, why would they still be looking for cameo roles at this time?"
Liu Rulan explained: "This role was originally deleted because they never found a suitable candidate, but I have some connections there. I had the production company submit your resume, and Director Zhuang thought your character image was quite suitable, plus you happen to be a computer science graduate with built-in topic heat, so he agreed to reserve this role opportunity for you."
This meant that if Xiao He went, then this role would exist, but if Xiao He didn't go, then there would be no such role.
Xiao He clicked his tongue in surprise: "So this is possible?"
"Post-production reshoots are very normal. Your role has limited screen time, and filming separately won't affect others, so it's completely possible to arrange reshoot invitations," Liu Rulan said, crossing her arms. "So if you want to go, I'll help you make arrangements now. If you don't want to go, I'll just inform the production company."
Wow, Sister Liu's connections are really impressive...
But Xiao He still had some questions: "Since it's just a dispensable cameo role with less than five minutes of screen time, why would the director have such high requirements? Couldn't he just get any actor for a cameo?"
So high that in the end they couldn't find anyone and chose to delete the role entirely.
"This brings us back to the role itself," Liu Rulan said meaningfully. "As you know, this director wants to create an 'original universe,' meaning he's building a completely independent cinematic universe. So while on the surface this might just be a minor role with a few minutes of screen time now, in the next story, he could very well become an important supporting character, or even half of the main cast."
Xiao He understood: "So actually, Sister Liu has her eyes on the subsequent series films?"
Liu Rulan nodded: "Director Zhuang has good skills and solid foundations. After the first installment is released, there's a high probability the second installment will follow. The chances of him building his own original universe later are quite high. And if you join them now, your subsequent roles will have more presence and influence."
These things required getting in early. They were betting that the film would be a huge hit, while the film crew was betting that Xiao He could maintain his traffic and continue leveling up.
Neither side would miss such a good opportunity.