Lin Qi's actions in the U.S. were all instructed by Jiang Cheng from behind the scenes. When Lin Qi left, Jiang Cheng gave Zheng Hai $5 million to use for purchasing the company and for the regular operations of both companies. After repaying his debts, Lin Qi didn't have much money left and invested what was left into the company. However, his funds alone weren't sufficient to support a film company; he still needed support from Jiang Cheng. But they believed that once the film was released, the company would be much better off.
After the establishment of Miracle City Films, Lin Qi was the chairman in name, but he only owned 30% of the shares, with the remaining 70% belonging to Jiang Cheng. However, he wasn't at a loss; he earned the administrative rights to a significant company and 20% of the shares of Apex Films Studio without spending much, almost like getting something for nothing.
John Webber was hired as the CEO of the company. Although he was the head of X-Lin Company, he wasn't a professional in the digital field. He had a background in finance and later met and bonded with Lin Junhao over shared interests, co-founding the X-Lin special effects company. After Miracle City Films was established, X-Lin became its first subsidiary. After evaluating John Webber, Lin Qi and Zheng Hai found that he was very knowledgeable about running a film company and had mature views on the film market's future.
When asked, "If you were the CEO of the company, how would you develop it?" John Webber's answers were excellent. He spoke about expanding the company's influence, starting with small investments and eventually moving to bigger productions, emphasizing the importance of special effects, developing their own media channels, focusing on merchandising for additional revenue, and more. Lin Qi and Zheng Hai were impressed by his professional approach. John acknowledged that these plans would require substantial funding, either from Lin Qi and Jiang or by creating a blockbuster like Jiang's "Eternity." Lin Qi assured him that while he didn't have "Eternity," he had "The Man from Earth," another script from Jiang, and believed it would be just as successful. They shook hands on their collaboration, with Jiang Cheng also expressing his support.
John Webber became the CEO of Miracle City Films, signing a formal contract with a yearly salary of $200,000, the highest in the company. His first task was to develop the company's "film library" for the future "online cinema" plan. Layton Scott, a professional in the digital field and a veteran of the company, took over X-Lin, bringing his business acumen and previously proposed technology for 3D rendering.
After Miracle City Films was on the right track, Jiang Cheng refocused on his own endeavors. After the fifteen-day long New Year holiday, people returned to their work and studies, and the "High School Musical" crew regathered the day after the Lantern Festival to resume filming. They had already shot a significant portion of the film without dance scenes before the New Year, but the remaining parts, which included dance scenes, were challenging due to their scale and the requirement for everyone to have a certain level of dance skill.
Jiang Cheng first tried a scene with Zhang Jun and Liu Chen competing in basketball while singing and dancing. The scene required fewer people and was relatively simple, but the results weren't great. The main issues arose with Jiang Cheng and Hu Ge, the leads, whose dance levels hadn't reached the standard. Despite practicing hard over the holiday, their lack of formal training was apparent, and they needed further training under Mr. Chen Shizheng.
Jiang Cheng decided to shoot the non-dance scenes first, then move on to the dance scenes after completing all the non-dance footage. However, even the non-dance scenes weren't easy, especially the confrontational scenes between the main actors, which often required several takes to get right due to their inexperience and lack of chemistry. However, their performances and mutual understanding gradually improved over time.
The four male leads, likely due to spending so much time together, developed significant chemistry. Initially, their performances were stiff due to not fully immersing in their roles, but as they understood their characters better, their acting became more lively and coordinated.
In contrast, the three female leads struggled initially due to not knowing each other well and having to portray complex relationships. It took them some time to find the right emotions, with Han Xue showing the quickest improvement due to her acting background. Liu Yifei and Jin Sha, though hardworking and talented, still showed noticeable rawness compared to Han Xue.
However, Jiang Cheng realized the issue wasn't with the actors but with his own expectations. By demanding perfection, he inadvertently put a lot of pressure on them, causing them to lose their naturalness and become overly cautious. This was particularly true for the new actors who, unlike Hu Ge and the others who were used to Jiang Cheng's personality, were too focused on delivering perfect performances. They needed to relax and be themselves, especially since the film's theme was about youthful energy and freedom. Reducing the restrictions allowed the actors to perform more freely and naturally, significantly speeding up the production process.
The Chinese version of "High School Musical" that Jiang Cheng modified differed significantly from the original American version, mainly in the complete removal of the romantic plot between the leads. While there were still scenes with just the two of them, they were more about mutual encouragement, with no hint of romantic interest. This was to avoid offending censors, even though it made the portrayal of their friendship somewhat awkward.
By mid-March, all non-dance scenes were completed, and filming for the dance scenes began.