This Star Only Wants More Money - Chapter 43

What a good question!

Xu Feng thought to himself—this wasn’t about whether he wanted to enter the acting circle; it was that his line of work inherently involved the entire entertainment industry. His most pressing goal was to accumulate a substantial amount of wealth as quickly as possible, including works that could provide a sustainable income and skills that could serve him well.

As long as the skills weren’t temporary abilities given by the system, any other proficiency levels would have a permanent effect.

Xu Feng didn’t look at Yan Wei but instead asked a more specific question, “What’s the scene they’re shooting that’s caused this delay?”

Yan Wei, who was part of the scene but not directly involved in the stalled segment, was relatively relaxed and explained in detail, “Well, our… uh, the protagonist group goes to challenge another martial arts school’s territory, and things go poorly. Director Song wants to emphasize this sense of falling into a low point through various small details, not just plain narration.”

“The protagonist group has to discuss something in a coffee shop. I and another supporting actor are just talking at a table on the side and don’t participate in the confrontation, but the male lead is having a rough time. It’s such a simple shot, but Director Song isn’t satisfied no matter how they film it. They’ve changed three or four extras by now.”

Xu Feng’s eyes stayed on the set, and he said, “Director Song’s standards for shot quality are quite high?”

He was a little worried that if the director’s standards were too high but the payment for the guest’s appearance was not sufficient, the system might not provide enough temporary abilities to complete the assignment.

“Definitely,” Yan Wei said with a hint of pride, gulping down about a third of her milk tea in one go. “You could say Director Song’s work might not be visually stunning, the box office might not be that impressive, and he might not be very famous… but purely in terms of the quality of each shot, he won’t be inferior to those big-name productions! Our director has a great reputation, and our whole crew has high expectations for this show, Gallant Heart!“

“Hehe, who knows, we might just become famous overnight with this show!”

While they were chatting, the set had gone through the scene once more, but Director Song still wasn’t satisfied.

He dismissed the extra playing the role and wandered around the set for a bit, starting to feel like giving up.

The crew had already confirmed that the actor they had arranged couldn’t make it to the set because of a typhoon and a grounded flight, so maybe they really could only find a random person who wouldn’t cause too much trouble for this scene.

They couldn’t aim for perfection this time…

Just when the director was feeling a bit dejected, a voice suddenly came from nearby, “Director Song, how about I give it a try?”

Song Shi turned his head sharply, his eyes sweeping over to Xu Feng, who was sitting with Yan Wei and watching the scene unfold, looking a little surprised.

Even Yan Wei, who had been absentmindedly sipping on her milk tea, was now staring with a confused expression—”Teacher Xu Feng, I was just making a casual comment. Did you take it seriously?”

A person with no foundational acting skills stepping up for the role—wasn’t this going to be a joke?

While Xu Feng might not be viewed through the same lens as a traffic idol due to his past work, after all, acting and singing are different skills. How could someone with no professional training deliver a good performance?

Even if the role only required a brief appearance of ten-odd seconds.

Director Song gestured to the rest of the crew to quiet down. His face remained smiling, but his tone turned serious, “Xu Feng, this is a very serious matter. Are you sure you’re not joking?”

Xu Feng earnestly nodded, “I really want to give it a shot.”

“Okay.” Surprisingly, Song Shi didn’t say much more. He nodded, “You can ‘guest star’ in the role, but regarding the quality of the film, whether or not your footage will be used will depend on your final performance.”

So, he still thinks I’m just here to “guest star for fun,” huh…

Xu Feng realized that he had used the bit of reputation he had accumulated to earn himself a chance, so naturally, he wasn’t going to back down now, “Rest assured, Director Song, I won’t cause trouble for the crew.”

“Alright, then I’ll need you for half an afternoon.” Song Shi glanced at his watch, quick to action, “Given your current status, we can’t pay you the same rate as a regular extra, so… for half an afternoon, how about a thousand yuan?”

It’s like asking someone with no acting value to play a role; you can’t pay them like a college student extra. This is an unspoken rule in the industry that everyone follows—even if the footage isn’t used in the end, the money still has to be paid.

Offering a thousand yuan to hire a creator of the end credits music who was already getting some fame to guest star in a ten-second role was a price that could not be criticized—neither too high nor too low.

Of course, this doesn’t mean Xu Feng or those big bosses can keep freeloading off the crew like this in the future—the director only lets them guest star for fun. Unless it’s a work specifically tailored for a major sponsor, they could never let them play a significant role.

“That’s really too generous… Just give me your requirements,” Xu Feng replied.

Upon hearing the amount, Xu Feng’s heart stirred. He had initially thought that taking on this kind of commission wouldn’t earn him much more than a student extra’s pay.

But a payment of one thousand yuan for a role with only ten seconds of screen time—the temporary ability the system would provide to match the commission’s complexity would definitely not be low!

Song Shi chuckled, “So you weren’t joking when you said on your livestream that you’d do anything for the right price? Young people these days are impressive!”

The rest of the crew laughed along.

“Teacher Xu Feng is really something!”

“Trust first, trust again!”

They knew Xu Feng’s comment on the livestream was mainly to criticize and ridicule the program group, but bringing it up now lightened the mood on the set.

Xu Feng internally commented that he really hadn’t been joking and said to Song Shi, “Shall we start now? The goal is to create as much hatred as possible, right?”

As soon as the commission was accepted, the system provided specific prompts:

[Commission detected]

[Song Shi commissions the host to play an obnoxious, brief-appearance extra (approximately 15 seconds of screen time) for 1,000 yuan cash value… Calculating…]

[Based on the value, the host gains +60 to “Acting Skills” and +60 to “Line Memory” buffs.]

“You’re summarizing too briefly; the script will have more detailed descriptions,” Song Shi paused, “Would you like the staff to guide you through the set or have Yan Wei show you the basics of acting?”

Xu Feng dusted off his clothes, walked forward, and smiled, “Learning from paper always feels shallow.”

“I quite agree!” Song Shi nodded and then called to Yan Wei, who was still squatting and looking bewildered, “Yan Wei, go grab the lines and script, and help our new colleague get familiar with his character and lines as soon as possible!”