"Little Xu Station Chief, you’ve really helped out this ti!"
Director Luo handed over a cup of tea with both hands, sweat still glistening on his forehead. "With such a big film project, if sothing goes wrong with the actors, all our work would be for nothing!"
Xu Ying took the tea and smiled a bit sheepishly, "You’re being too polite. This is what I should do."
"That Zhang Chenyi is really out of control."
Director Luo shook his head with a sigh, then his eyes lit up. "Right, do you have any ti to work part-ti with our crew? Be a guide director for these animal actors."
"Guide director?" Xu Ying blinked in confusion.
Director Luo quickly explained, "Yes, just guide these little animals in acting."
"I believe with your guidance, these animal actors can give even more stunning performances."
He gestured enthusiastically with his hands, eyes shining with anticipation.
"Guiding little animals to act..." Xu Ying looked down in thought, absentmindedly twisting the corner of her clothes. "But I’m already very busy with my work at the rescue station, I really can’t spare that much ti. Besides...
She looked up, showing a troubled expression, "I’m not even an actor myself, how can I guide them?"
"It’s very simple!"
Director Luo pointed excitedly at the script. "For example, for the falcon Lightning, you just need to tell it where to fly from and to, and what poses to strike. It’s all detailed in the script."
Seeing Xu Ying still hesitating, Director Luo continued to persuade, "Right now, animal actors in our crew require the trainer to train for a long ti, and different animals need different trainers, which is too costly."
"Many parts are just a few words for you, but a trainer would need a week or more to train."
Xu Ying scratched her head, a look of hesitation crossing her face.
At this point, Director Luo revealed his trump card: "How about I tell you about the salary market for animal actors?"
In the following conversation, Xu Ying learned about the salary rates for animal actors, and couldn’t help but widen her eyes.
"Ordinary dostic animals earn between five hundred to two thousand a day, professionally trained dogs can get three thousand to ten thousand a day."
Director Luo rattled off, "The Akita in ’Hachiko’ costs over ten thousand a day!"
Xu Ying couldn’t help but ask, "Then which animal has the highest pay among the animal actors?"
"The more special, the more expensive!" Director Luo’s eyes glead, "Tigers and lions have a base pay of fifty to one hundred thousand a day, and risky actions like pouncing or chasing add over 30% more."
"Dolphins and whales are even pricier, I’ve seen them go for two hundred thousand a day! Because it requires professional transportation and equipnt!"
"Oh my God." Xu Ying gasped, "Can’t you use special effects instead?"
"Do you know the tiger in ’Life of Pi’?" Director Luo asked mysteriously, "The CGI cost ten thousand per second."
Xu Ying covered her mouth in shock, "That’s real ’burning money’!"
"And only international directors can assemble top-notch special effects teams."
Director Luo shrugged helplessly.
"Many crews choose special effects, but nowadays the special effects are less reliable. Sotis bad effects can ruin an entire show."
He leaned in and lowered his voice, "The cost of special effect synthesis is so high, it could feed a bird of prey for a year! Plus, special effects are outsourced in layers, and the final result is often a disaster," he said, making an exaggerated disdainful face.
"This money is better spent on capable individuals," Director Luo said sincerely.
Then he looked eagerly at Xu Ying, "If you can’t co to the set, remote guidance is fine too! These little animals listen to you."
Xu Ying blinked and glanced at Jiang Mo beside her.
At this point, Jiang Mo t Xu Ying’s gaze, "I think it’s worth a try."
He turned to Xu Ying, with encouragent in his eyes, "Besides, doesn’t your Fox Sansan love the cara?"
Xu Ying suddenly realized, this was an opportunity to make money!
Doing part-ti work with the crew ant earning two salaries, it was like having the God of Wealth visiting!
"Alright, I’ll give it a try," Xu Ying finally relented, "See if there are any ’debut-ready’ little actors."
Director Luo imdiately bead with joy, "Great! Little Xu Station Chief, we’ll leave everything to your arrangent. We absolutely respect the animals’ wishes."
"You can also help recruit so animals with a desire to perform and easy to cooperate as actors. Right now, in the film industry, animal actors that fit script requirents are really scarce, and they’re also popular in the advertising industry."
Xu Ying nodded, "Alright, I’ll go back and issue a recruitnt notice."
With the biggest hidden danger of the crew removed, Xu Ying, serving as Jiang Mo’s "security assistant," could clock out from work.
*
After ’Desert Blade’ crew wrapped up, inside Jiang Mo’s babysitter van.
Jiang Mo took a checkbook from his inner pocket, and with nimble fingers signed a check, gently sliding it in front of Xu Ying.
Wow, the boss pays up so quickly!
Xu Ying wanted to politely thank him verbally, but her hand had already stretched out to grab the check—seven digits!
"The pay hasn’t all been received yet."
Jiang Mo tapped the check with his fingertips, his tone calm, "The rest will be given to you after settlent."
Only then did Xu Ying learn from Jiang Mo about the paynt terms for actors’ salaries.
It turns out the industry standard is installnt paynts: 30% upon signing the contract, 30% when filming starts, another 30% halfway through filming, and the final 10% is paid only after all scenes are completed.
Actors like Jiang Mo, who are top-tier, also get additional bonuses, earning a share based on viewership ratings and clicks after the show airs.
"’Desert Blade’ will air on CCTV," Jiang Mo explained, absentmindedly tapping his fingers on the table. "Because of its high comrcial value, the pay is lower than platform-produced dramas."
He detailed his pay structure: one million per episode, expected forty episodes, with a pre-tax total inco of forty million.
After deductions for company shares and taxes, the actual take-ho pay is about nineteen million.
When Xu Ying saw the number "5,714,000" on the check, her breath caught.
This was half of Jiang Mo’s settled salary after tax!
She quickly did the math in her head, with 40% still unpaid, which ant she could ultimately receive... nine million, five hundred twenty thousand!
"Rounding up..." she murmured, then shook her head in self-mockery, "No, can’t round this up, missing forty-eight thousand!"
The check trembled slightly in her hand.
Xu Ying unconsciously brought it closer to sniff, as if to confirm the paper’s authenticity. The fresh scent of ink mixed with the unique sll of paper wafted to her nose. Her eyes reddened, her head buzzed, and she felt light as if she were about to float away.
"Is... is this real?" Her voice fluttered, fingers clutching the edge of the check tightly.
Jiang Mo was amused by her deanor, his eyes slightly crinkling with a smile, "It’s real, it’s yours."
"You just... gave it to like this?"
Xu Ying still couldn’t believe it, her voice changing pitch.
She secretly thought Jiang Mo was being too straightforward. He could have waited for all the paynt to be received before transferring, as even the interest alone would be a significant amount.
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