Becoming a Movie Star, System Only Finished Loading After Ten Years

"What scandalous girlfriend? We're just friends..." Qi Hao said, feeling very innocent.

"How many good sisters do you have, and why does each sister look so forlorn..."

An Feng hummed a song while organizing the data.

"Are you mocking me?" Qi Hao suspected she was making an innuendo about him, and quite a dirty one, but he had no proof.

"You're the one reading into it." An Feng rolled her eyes at him.

"Would you like to sing when the movie has an interlude?"

Qi Hao wisely decided to change the subject, not wanting to argue with the young lady.

The song is of the sweet and cute type, not quite suitable for Zhang Liangying.

If An Feng sang it, it would have quite the buzz.

Hmm, also would be economical since they wouldn't have to pay her.

"I'll give it a try when the time comes..."

An Feng didn't refuse. Having released albums, she wasn't the type to get stage fright.

The two continued to verify the costs of each stage of the production.

With the script fee included, the total budget for the movie is around ten million, mainly considering the possibility of overspending.

As a new director, Qi Hao not controlling the budget overspend was quite reasonable.

The budget was made generously, and if not overspent, it could be used for promotion.

"Why are you shooting two endings?"

An Feng couldn't quite grasp Qi Hao's thought process; you can't release both versions.

"Oh right, what kind of ending do you like?"

Qi Hao wanted to hear his partner's suggestions.

"Obviously a happy ending, where lovers go through trials and tribulations to finally live happily ever after. That's probably the most beautiful thing in the world."

An Feng gave her answer without hesitation.

Though she liked reading, she wasn't overly artsy or melodramatic.

"Uh...If that's the case, wouldn't you think it's unrealistic? In reality, many people's first loves end without a resolution."

Shooting two versions isn't a must.

Film isn't cheap.

You don't realize the cost of living until you're in charge, and now Qi Hao was the one in charge.

"Reality is already bitter enough; movies should bring the audience emotion and hope." An Feng argued passionately, believing that whether it's a first love or any love, one should strive for it fully.

Happiness won't fall from the sky.

"You make a good point." Qi Hao nodded.

Since he was young, he knew there was no need to argue with women, no matter who wins or loses.

"You've asked about so many people today, what about yourself? Did you like anyone in middle school?"

An Feng didn't ask about high school; those who know, understand.

"I quite liked our English teacher..." Qi Hao stated very candidly.

"Huh?" An Feng was shocked.

No wonder you portrayed Yang Guo so well; you must have liked your teacher. You've been practicing this skill since you were young.

"Unfortunately, she got married quickly."

Qi Hao was sad for a few days; afterward, he let it go and now hardly remembers what his middle school English teacher looked like.

"And what about afterward? Did she, uh, get divorced?"

An Feng sounded like someone eager to hear gossip.

"She's doing well; what kind of chaos are you hoping for?"

How did the once adorable girl grow up to have a mind full of clutter?

"You must have hoped instead. When your English teacher got married, did you hope her husband wasn't good to her, abused her, leading you to rescue her from the lion's den..."

An Feng had a slew of theories.

"No." Qi Hao felt helpless.

"You could be straightforward with her husband, saying, well, to be honest, I actually like your wife."

An Feng enjoyed teasing, happy with her antics.

"What books are you reading lately?" Qi Hao couldn't imagine such a melodramatic story.

"Nothing much." An Feng mumbled.

"Good thing your mom keeps you in line; otherwise, who knows how you'd let loose."

Qi Hao stubbornly refused to admit he ever had such thoughts.

He hesitated, wondering if he should educate Ms. Liu's daughter about speaking carelessly.

"Qi Hao," An Feng called him, then asked, "Did my mom ever talk to you about anything?"

"Why are you asking?" Qi Hao was quite surprised.

Generally speaking, a girl's beauty and intelligence are inversely proportional, so someone like Chang'an Feng shouldn't have many brain cells.

"Really? What did she say?"

An Feng originally just suspected, now she sniffed out Qi Hao, unexpectedly hitting a truth.

"To help you more, teach you how to act."

That's it? An Feng didn't believe it.

In the days that followed, Qi Hao mainly focused on preparing for the new movie and also took the opportunity to promote "Wait and See."

Besides online marketing, the rest mainly consisted of tours.

Including actors, directors, and several creators holding discussions at major universities about movie production.

Due to the limited budget, a nationwide tour wasn't feasible.

This film only had an investment of two million from Little Fatty Sheep, and Qi Hao didn't expect it to achieve any huge box office success.

The best outcome would be to win an award.

Compared to the time of "Heavenly Dog," Qi Hao's acting had improved quite a bit after undergoing training in the training space.

Li Dawei once said that according to the original plan, if Qi Hao didn't act, he would find Wenzhang.

In terms of acting, Qi Hao's skills were definitely better than Wenzhang's.

Originally, Qi Hao's acting was better than Wenzhang's, and after the training space, that gap widened.

Plus, the subject matter was good; winning an award wasn't out of the question.

No one would complain about winning too many Best Actor awards.

Currently, Qi Hao only had one Golden Rooster Best Actor award.

There were quite a few in the entertainment industry and media who were pessimistic about Qi Hao, thinking he was similar to Xia Yu, who didn't make waves after winning a Best Actor award.

In fact, other young actors hoped this would be the case.

If Qi Hao only won one Golden Rooster Best Actor award, it could be said he was just lucky like Xia Yu, but if he won Best Actor again and again, then it couldn't just be explained as luck.

People aren't afraid of young actors, nor Best Actor winners, but they're afraid of young actors winning Best Actor.

Both "Wait and See" and "Steel Piano" were movies with a great chance of winning awards.

Moreover, if "Wait and See" released on April 24th and "Steel Piano" on May 29th, these two films would likely be competitors for awards.

Suddenly, Qi Hao felt a bit sorry for Li Dawei.

Although Li Dawei had directed many TV dramas, he was also touching upon movies for the first time.

This meant Li Dawei's goal was also the Best New Director award.

It can only be said that in the world, sometimes things are beyond one's control.

Of course, Qi Hao wasn't arrogant enough to think that his "Steel Piano" would definitely win more awards than Li Dawei's "Wait and See."

He was from a well-connected family, with better connections than Qi Hao.

Besides preparing a new film and promoting the upcoming movie releases, Qi Hao didn't forget to review some coursework.

They say sixty points is enough, any more and it's a waste.

For self-study exams, as long as you score sixty, it's considered passing.

However, as someone who had always been bad at exams since childhood, after getting Sven Glasses, Qi Hao dared to face his childhood fears.

He felt that if he went back to the middle school exam room now, he could punch through Beihai Kindergarten and sweep away all the little kids.

Qi Hao was eager to try.

Beijing Film Academy wasn't entirely unresponsive either.

The department head even organized a meeting with the performing arts faculty to discuss this matter.

Beijing Film Academy wasn't that low.

Many sessions of the Four Young Actors award had been held, and many had come out of Beijing Film Academy.

Among the Four Major Dans, two were from Beijing Film Academy.

At the beginning of this year, with Penguin Network joining hands with hundreds of mainstream industry media, and millions of citizens participating, nearly a hundred entertainment reporters voted to officially select the "Four Major Dans" as recognized by CCTV in the "80s New Generation Entertainment Stars Activity."

Among them, Huang Shengyi, An Feng, Yang Mi, and Wang Luodan were selected for the "Four Major Dans" title.

And all of these Four Major Dans are from Beijing Film Academy!

Beijing Film Academy doesn't lack Best Actor winners, one could even say they have plenty.

Qi Hao was nothing special at Beijing Film Academy.

However, even if you're nothing special, you're still one of the Four Young Actors + a Best Actor winner. Why are you applying for our self-study specialist course?

The self-study specialist course was even less prestigious than vocational or training programs.

Very few students chose self-study each year, and the outside world knew almost nothing about it.

After all, these people don't attend classes, nor are they recognized by alumni.

If it were used for promotion, it wouldn't look good.

Only in an inconspicuous corner of the school's website is a list published after these people complete their self-study.

"Does he want to create some hype or something?"

"He probably just wants to drag down our school's reputation; his fans would surely say our school is blind or something."

"He's a middle school graduate who can't take the college entrance exam, what's it to do with us."

"He could first go for a vocational diploma, then an associate degree, and later a master's..."

"Self-study is generally a stopgap for those employed with insufficient education, does he have any need for a degree?"

"Could it be that he wants to take the civil service exam, but he's not from Shandong."

"Actually, I don't think there's a need to overthink it; maybe he simply wants to improve his education without spending too much time on it."

Hu Qiang thought everyone was getting more and more off-topic in discussion, so he shared his view.

"Qi Hao is quite down-to-earth; he hasn't engaged in too much hyped-up publicity over the years."

Wang Jinsong agreed with Hu Qiang's perspective.

Actors like Zhou Xun and Qi Hao, who are not formally trained but do well, unavoidably highlight the incompetence of professionally trained actors.

Especially in recent years, the three major academies have been facing severe employment pressure among graduates.

However, it's true that Qi Hao rarely actively markets himself in this regard.

"His acting is quite good, I think we could be gracious and invite him to serve as a guest lecturer at our school."

Cui Xinqin, a professional acting teacher who had handled the class of '96, seemed to appreciate Qi Hao's performance.

"I think it's possible; his enrolling in our self-study program shows that he still acknowledges our school."

Wang Jinsong spoke truthfully.

"That's not impossible, but we'd have to wait for him to finish his self-study and obtain an associate degree, it would make things less controversial."

A group of people couldn't quite understand Qi Hao's peculiar actions, yet this didn't stop them from getting things rolling.