Chapter 144: It’s Not Perfect Without This Background Music; How Can You Be Dropping Punchlines Even on a Livestream? (1 of 3 updates)

June.

For Zhang Huaimou, building the production crew entered its busiest phase.

Once the core team was formed, the focus shifted to securing shooting locations and designing the sets, which included assembling the post-production team, art directors, and music supervisors.

After all, a film is a comprehensive synthesis of art, far more complex than just pointing a camera and shooting.

Music was also a crucial component of Goodbye Mr. Loser.

However, based on Su Mu's knowledge, the songs featured in the original film seemingly did not exist in this world.

Moreover, he had never drawn any related musical scores from his mystery boxes.

Therefore, he would likely have to resort to the old method and trouble Liu Yadong to help him transcribe and arrange these tracks.

Aside from these operational details, an even more critical task was the auditioning of supporting actors.

Usually, finding actors was not a difficult task for Zhang Huaimou; crowds of people were eager to star in his films, shifting the pressure mostly onto the actors themselves.

However, for a comedy, the situation was precisely the reverse: the pressure of casting fell squarely on the director's shoulders.

There was no helping it; every single character archetype described in the script possessed distinct and quirky traits.

If the casting missed the mark, the unique charm of the characters would likely be lost.

Thus, meticulous selection was imperative, conducted through a wide casting net.

The moment this news leaked, it signaled that the subject matter of Su Mu's upcoming New Year's blockbuster would soon be made public.

Ever since the phenomenal success of Candle in the Tomb, many people had been eagerly awaiting news from Su Mu's camp.

Prior to this, numerous speculations had circulated, with rumors suggesting that Su Mu would likely bring the film adaptation of Candle in the Tomb to the silver screen by the end of the year.

After all, the probability of this was exceptionally high.

The success of Candle in the Tomb established that a film adaptation would undoubtedly command a massive audience, serving as a solid guarantee for the box office.

Whether it could reach the height of five hundred million was uncertain, but at the very least, the results wouldn't be too shabby.

Consequently, some people boldly guessed that Su Mu would, in all likelihood, choose to continue filming Candle in the Tomb to retaliate against Lin Haoming's Elegy for Love.

Yet, just as certain individuals were preparing to seize upon this narrative to accuse Su Mu of opportunism, several public media accounts successively broke insider news regarding the formation of Su Mu and Zhang Huaimou's production crew.

The account Black Material Monarch, now operating as a covert chess piece within Su Mu's operations department, naturally broke the story the earliest.

This was immediately followed by several media outlets authorized by Zhang Huaimou's side.

[Black Material Monarch V: Deep dive into Su Mu, installment nine: No more nonsense, dropping heavy intel straight away!
Just one point: Su Mu and Zhang Huaimou collaborating once again to gear up for the New Year holiday season!]

[Star Melon Egg V: Su Mu is about to make his move, gearing up for the New Year season. According to relevant leaks, Zhang Huaimou is currently holding actor auditions. Could it be a comedy???]

[Entertainment Gossip V: Insiders have already revealed that the genre for this collaboration between Zhang Huaimou and Su Mu is undoubtedly a comedy! Su Mu is preparing to try his hand at comedy! Are you looking forward to it?]

As soon as these posts from major media accounts went live, they instantly detonated the entire internet once again.

The craze for tomb-raiding sparked by Candle in the Tomb had not yet subsided, and now a second wave of hype arrived seamlessly right on its heels.

Just as Su Mu had anticipated beforehand, upon learning that he was going to change his style and shoot a comedy, aside from the staunch support and anticipation of his fans, the online controversy was genuinely substantial.

[Comments:
Su Mu is going to shoot a comedy? Good grief, can he really abandon that tall, rich, and handsome persona of his?
Can't a tall, rich, and handsome guy act in comedies? He even played a villain in The Knockout before; collaborating with Zhang Huaimou this time, how bad could it possibly be?
The person above clearly doesn't understand. Su Mu's acting path and persona have long been set in stone. Trying to cross over into the comedy genre is the hardest thing to do!
I thought he would continue with Candle in the Tomb. I just want to say Su Mu is very courageous for using this genre to respond to Lin Haoming, but I still have a feeling it'll be hard for him to pull it off well. An idol's baggage isn't something you can just drop on a whim.
I'm really looking forward to it, but I'm also so afraid that Brother Su Mu won't act well and will lose! Ah! So conflicted!]

A multitude of diverse voices echoed across the internet.

The majority of people remained fixated on the core question of whether Su Mu could actually be funny acting in a comedy.

Many onlookers did not believe Su Mu possessed any profound comedic mastery.

After all, over the years, it wasn't as if actors hadn't tried to break free from their established acting paths to test out new styles.

Yet the vast majority of those attempts fell short of expectations.

Consequently, many felt that Su Mu's venture into comedy this time was somewhat risky.

After all, the impression Su Mu left on most people was far from being a clownish goofball.

He was the memorable villain in The Knockout, the male lead who could remain drop-dead gorgeous for an entire period romance drama, and above all, the most flawless Xin Qiji in everyone's hearts.

And then, out of nowhere, you're telling people he's going to flip his style and play a total goof?

The problem is, when women look at him, their eyes glaze over and they flush all over; as for how men look at him, the less said, the better.

So, where is this sense of comedic charm supposed to come from?

It has to originate from somewhere, doesn't it?

Most people require a catalyst or a gradual process for the public to accept such a transition—like frequently displaying humor, acting silly on regular occasions, or playing the fool in variety shows.

Over time, the public accepts their comedic flair and acknowledges their humorous persona. Whenever they act silly again afterward, it doesn't feel awkward; instead, people feel that's how it's supposed to be funny.

To liberate one's nature abruptly in front of a crowd carries a ninety-nine percent probability of resulting in awkward failure.

Fortunately, however, after days of attempting to unleash his inner nature, Su Mu had grasped this very point.

...

Children's Day had just passed.

Traffic on the streets of Beijing grew congested once more, forcing cars to crawl at a snail's pace.

Qian Jida glanced outside. "Master Zhu, once we pass this traffic bottleneck, drive a bit faster. We'd better not be late for our scheduled appointment over there."

Master Zhu replied, "Understood."

Su Mu said, "Teacher Yadong and I aren't strangers; being a little late won't make him say anything."

Qian Jida countered, "You're going there to discuss a business collaboration this time."

Su Mu retorted, "He's already agreed to serve as the music director for my film."

Qian Jida shot Su Mu a suspicious look. "Did you promise him some other demand? Otherwise, why would he agree so readily?"

Su Mu smiled. "Nothing much. I just mentioned that I wrote some new songs for this film, and after hearing them, he got interested, so he agreed."

Qian Jida nodded. If that was the case, it was entirely justifiable.

"The controversy surrounding you online right now is quite significant. Most of it seems to be questioning whether you can let go of your image baggage to be funny."

Su Mu smiled. "No worries, I'll just drop the baggage when the time comes."

Qian Jida: "..."

An hour later, the group arrived at Yadong Records.

Su Mu had visited the year before, so many of the record company's employees still remembered him. Upon seeing him arrive, they greeted him warmly.

Heading into the recording studio inside, they found Liu Yadong currently live-streaming while cradling a baby and feeding it milk.

Many musicians treated live-streaming as a side hustle; after all, a musician's work could hardly compare to that of a trending actor like Su Mu.

Seeing Su Mu arrive, Liu Yadong was overjoyed and proceeded to introduce the little baby in his arms, reportedly just born to him and his ex-wife.

"Su Mu, hurry up. Let me see what kind of song you've made this time."

Su Mu said, "There's a song called 'A Spray of Plum Blossoms'. But Teacher Yadong, let's stick to the old method: I'll sing it for you, you help me transcribe and arrange it, and by the way, make a complete version. We'll bill all of this to the production crew's account."

Liu Yadong's rates for producing a song were not cheap. If it were just a demo, it would cost tens of thousands of yuan, but a fully polished, high-end production complete with recording would range between one hundred and two hundred thousand yuan.

Liu Yadong smiled. "That's all easy to talk about. We're so familiar with each other, let's skip the formalities and get straight to it. I'm quite looking forward to what kind of song you've created this time."

"Alright, you two get to work. I'll go help you look after the kid," Qian Jida offered.

He was quite experienced; when they visited last time, Su Mu and Liu Yadong had tinkered for hours.

And this time, Su Mu might be making demos for multiple songs, with no telling how long it would take. Since he couldn't be of much help here, he might as well find something else to do.

Su Mu pondered for a moment and arranged the sequence of the songs he had prepared. Since it was rare to make a trip here, he planned to produce several tracks. Aside from the few required for Goodbye Mr. Loser, he would also record the instrumental accompaniments for the tracks he had previously drawn from the mystery boxes.

That way, whenever he needed them in the future, the original accompaniments would be readily available at a moment's notice.

"Teacher Yadong, for our first track, please help me transcribe 'A Spray of Plum Blossoms'."

Liu Yadong looked bewildered. "A Spray of What? What kind of song title is that?"

Su Mu smiled, picked up a pen, and wrote it down: "A Spray of Plum Blossoms."

Liu Yadong frowned and savored the name. "Hmm... Su Mu, you really manage to surprise me every time. This title is quite... unique."

Su Mu smiled inwardly; one had to respect the original work, after all, and this song was immensely important to a certain male character.

It could be said that without this BGM, the character 'Yuan Hua' in Goodbye Mr. Loser would simply be incomplete.

"Teacher Yadong, I'm starting."

Liu Yadong nodded. "Go ahead and sing."

Su Mu began: "True love is vast like the prairie ~ layers of wind and rain cannot block it. There is always a time when clouds clear and the sun rises... boundless sunshine ~ shines upon you and me..."

A few minutes later, Liu Yadong's eyes lit up with intrigue.

At first listen, Su Mu's composition felt antiquated in both structure and form, lacking any sense of novelty.

The catch, however, was why was it so relentlessly catchy?

As it turned out, with any song, you didn't need to fear it sounding folksy or rural; the only thing to fear was it getting stuck in someone's head.

Once it did that, it was formidable.

Liu Yadong requested, "Su Mu, give it to me one more time."

An hour later, Liu Yadong smoothly played out the entire melody, his eyes gleaming with excitement. "Is this about right?"

Su Mu frowned in thought. "Teacher Yadong, everything else is fine, but this intro needs some tweaking. It's best played with a flute, ideally a four-hole ocarina."

Liu Yadong was momentarily stunned, then walked over to the adjacent room and actually fished out the instrument. Being a music producer, his collection of instruments was naturally comprehensive.

Initially, he wondered why such an instrument was necessary for the intro, but the moment he blew the opening notes, he found himself unable to stop.

He couldn't quite describe the feeling.

Liu Yadong praised, "Not bad, Su Mu. It really fits like a glove."

Su Mu chuckled. Truth be told, he didn't quite understand it either.

However, he had heard the song, and throughout the film, every time Yuan Hua made an entrance, the intro of this song played as his BGM, making it a true classic.

The moment the ocarina's sound rang out, the character of Yuan Hua would be permanently etched into people's hearts.

It carried that specific vibe of being pathetic yet a complete goofball, and simultaneously leaving people torn between laughter and tears.

After revising it once more with Liu Yadong, they finally completed the demo for the song.

Immediately afterward, Su Mu moved on to the next one.

"This one is called 'Just Once'."

Liu Yadong squinted slightly. "You shouldn't give it a name like that. Once is never enough! When my ex-wife and I had our kid, we went for three hundred rounds."

Su Mu gave a thumbs-up with an exaggerated expression: "A~maezing! Just once ~ I'll take you to see the ends of the earth..."

For four solid hours, Su Mu had Liu Yadong produce demos for multiple tracks.

Aside from 'A Spray of Plum Blossoms' and 'Just Once', there were also the previously drawn tracks: 'The Most Dazzling Ethnic Style', 'Seventh Mile Aroma', and F4's classic 'Meteor Shower'.

Liu Yadong walked out with his jaw practically dropped.

From his professional perspective, any single one of these songs, if released independently, possessed the hit potential to ignite nationwide sing-alongs.

Especially 'A Spray of Plum Blossoms' and that 'Most Dazzling Ethnic Style'—as folksy as they were, they were also damnably catchy.

The melody was still echoing in his head.

Leaving the recording studio, the two men prepared to take a break.

Su Mu walked over to Qian Jida's side and watched as Qian Jida's motherly instincts flared up once again while he cradled the baby and fed it milk.

Seeing Su Mu approach, Qian Jida hurriedly stood up. "Right on time, help me hold him for a second, I need to use the restroom."

Su Mu took the baby and instinctively sat down.

Truth be told, this child didn't look much like Old Liu.

Suddenly, he noticed the baby smiling at him.

Su Mu instinctively began making exaggerated funny faces at him.

His proficiency in facial expressions was fast approaching the ceiling of Level 5, meaning if Su Mu could think of it, he could execute it.

Facing the infant, Su Mu performed a series of facial muscle controls he had never once displayed in any television drama.

The baby gurgled and giggled merrily.

[Facial Expression Proficiency +1]

[Sense of Humor Proficiency +1]

[Absurdity +1]

[Skill Point +0.01...]

Su Mu paused in surprise.

The increase in facial expression proficiency didn't surprise him, but what was this deal about a sense of humor?

Did an infant with incomplete mental faculties even possess that?

Su Mu felt something was amiss, and the moment he looked up...

A phone on the table was actively live-streaming—it was Liu Yadong's live broadcast channel.

Qian Jida had been playing with the baby in front of it the entire time.

Su Mu hadn't paid attention, and Qian Jida hadn't mentioned it either, but now—

The viewer count on the live stream displayed a staggering... one million plus!

(End of chapter)