Returning to her office, Laila, as usual, first skimmed through the newspapers, dealt with company affairs, and then focused her energy on the storyboards and script for the new movie.
She had scheduled a meeting with Wen Jun at 2 p.m. By then, she thought she should be able to finish the script.
The original movie was considered a pinnacle of violent aesthetics. The dazzling action was one aspect, and the splendid backgrounds were another essential element. The film showcased many Japanese-style buildings and landscapes, such as the blacksmith's shop and the building with the Japanese garden during the final battle.
Laila believed that with a budget even more substantial than the original version, she might be able to enhance the already good parts and achieve an even better presentation. However, she worried that such changes might be unnecessary and counterproductive. After all, her exploration of violent aesthetics was purely out of interest, and she hadn't applied it to her work before. Of course, that was also due to a lack of opportunity.
Nevertheless, she didn't want this film to fail.
After the release of "Rush Hour," her fans should have gained some confidence in her action films. When "Kill Bill" was released, it would surely attract a lot of attention. Moreover, action films had a larger audience than horror films, even if they were both rated R. More people would go to the theaters for action films.
If this movie failed, it could potentially cause her reputation to plummet instantly and lead to the loss of some of her fans.
Some might argue that those who abandon their idols after one failure aren't true fans. Indeed, such people exist, and there might be many of them. Not everyone can support their idol no matter the unfavorable circumstances, like die-hard fans can.
However, Laila thought differently. She valued her die-hard fans, but she wouldn't abandon her regular fans either. Their presence meant box office numbers, and losing their support would be a considerable blow. After all, who in this world could hold a grudge against money?
"Laila, did you call for me?"
After lunch, Louise was summoned to the top-floor office.
"Yes." Laila handed her the script and storyboards. "The script for the new movie is ready. First, make a budget plan. Then, based on my requirements, start setting up the soundstage."
"No problem." Louise accepted the task with a smile. She welcomed Laila's scripts wholeheartedly, as each new script meant the company had another gold mine to explore. If only they could have a new movie every month, the company's development would become much smoother.
After a moment's thought, Laila added, "Regarding props and set design, when things are getting close to being ready, have them come over to discuss with me. I have some ideas I'd like to incorporate."
"Sure, I'll make a note of it."
After Louise left, Laila checked the time. The appointed time was rapidly approaching. She was about to stand up and take a stroll downstairs to check on the company's situation when her phone suddenly rang.
"Laila, come console my wounded heart. I've been heartbroken!"
A pained voice came from the other end of the line—it was Zeni.
"You got your heart broken?" Laila was puzzled. "Did you finally lose control and mess with the corpses you were examining?"
"What corpses? It's a woman! A beautiful, sexy, cute woman that can't be described with any number of wonderful words!" Kenny was exasperated. "Just because I'm a forensic scientist doesn't mean I have a fetish for corpses, okay?"
"Alright." Laila knew better than to take the joke too far, especially since she was genuinely curious about his love life. "What happened? Why did you get dumped?"
Zeni sighed, his voice sounding downcast. "It's not that I got dumped; it's that I initiated the breakup with her."
Laila was taken aback. "If you initiated it, then why do you sound like you got dumped? Shouldn't you be saying it serves you right? If you come over, I promise not to beat you up."
"No, you don't understand! She wasn't like this before. She changed, changed so much I don't even recognize her."
Laila was growing increasingly curious. "How did she change?"
"I don't know, but I just don't feel the same soul connection between us like before."
Laila almost dropped her phone. Soul connection... You're not dead; who are you having a soul connection with? Even if you're dead, it's hard to say if you even have a soul anymore, let alone a connection!
"If you don't have anything else to say, I'll hang up now." She felt that continuing the conversation would be a form of self-inflicted intellectual harm.
"Wait!" Zeni shouted. "I'm calling to let you know I'm almost at your place. I just got off the plane and I'm heading to your company now. Please arrange a room for me to stay, and I didn't bring any luggage, so have someone send over some clothes."
Laila's eye twitched twice. "Understood!" She then cut him off before he could say anything else, ending the call.
The relationship between Zeni's family and the Moran family was quite close. For generations, their families had been in the medical field, and their relationship had been strong since the time of Moran's grandfather. In her previous movies, Laila had consulted him on a lot of details related to death, and even though he was a bit eccentric, she couldn't just leave him outside without taking care of him.
Helplessly, she had to call Claire to get one of the guest rooms ready. As for clothes, Laila didn't want to bother. Zeni was a very image-conscious forensic scientist, and he was someone who didn't need to contribute to his family's finances. Every piece of clothing he wore was meticulously chosen and quite a hassle.
She didn't have the time to waste on helping him choose clothes, and even if she did, she wouldn't want to waste her money on that. If he had no clothes to wear, he could just buy some himself after arriving. If worse came to worst, he could just wrap himself in a bedsheet! After all, he dealt with dead bodies that didn't require clothes all day long. Whether he had clothes or not probably didn't matter to him!
"Boss, Mr. Wen, and Miss Shu have arrived," Demi entered and informed her.
"Got it." Laila finished her call with Claire. "Bring them in."
"Sure." Demi left to escort the guests inside.
Laila stood up, smiling as she approached them. "Welcome, please have a seat." She gestured to the sofa nearby for them to sit on.
"Hello, Director Moran." Wen Jun smiled and shook hands with her. "This is the one I mentioned, Shu Qi. You two have met before."
"Yes." Laila extended her hand with a smile.
"Hello, Director Moran," Shu Qi shook her hand calmly.
Laila sensed a slight dampness in her palm, suggesting that her composure was not as steady as she appeared. Good acting, Laila thought, giving her high marks for her performance.
"I'm not sure what you both would like to drink?" She offered as they sat down.
"Anything is fine."
Laila nodded. "Demi, bring in three cups of tea, using the tea leaves Jackie Chan sent over last time."
"Of course." Demi smiled at the three of them and exited the office.