Chapter 143 Candidates

"Brother, Director Gu Wei has chosen Zhou Xun."

"confirmed?"

"Well, Li Xue just got the news and told me immediately."

Wang Zhonglei smoked a cigar and continued, "I was originally planning to recommend Li Binbin to give it a try, but I didn't expect the other party to directly decide on Zhou Xun."

His tone sounded a bit regretful. Compared to Zhou Xun, Wang Zhonglei valued Li Binbin more. Ever since Fan Binbin left Huayi Company and set up his own studio, people's hearts have been floating, and many people have had other ideas. Zhou Xun is one of them.

"As long as I can get the role, how is the contact with Deng Chao going?"

Wang Zhongjun sat on the sofa and asked in a flat tone.

Huayi Company is secretly competing fiercely with several other companies. Current popular young actors Deng Chao, Lu Yi and Chen Kun are all competitors. As for Huang Xiaoming, he had already signed with Huayi in April this year.

"We are still in talks. They have contacted many companies, but they have not relented."

"Okay, you decide. Sign it as soon as possible to avoid any accidents."

Wang Zhongjun instructed calmly.

...

The investors of Painted Skin have been announced.

After the news of the joint investment by Xingchen Films, China Film, Wanda Films and Guangguang came out, other artists in the circle also realized that with the participation of these companies, as long as the movie is not too bad, the box office will not be too bad.

Suddenly, many more people came to inquire about the role.

The list of people invited for interviews has been sent out, and the confirmation and signing of actors are being carried out simultaneously.

When Huang Xiaoming arrived at Xingchen Film and Television, the employees looked at him as if he were a celebrity.

The leader has become extremely popular in the past two years, playing Xu Wenqiang in "The Emperor of Han Dynasty", "The Return of the Condor Heroes" and the recent "The Bund". The TV series he starred in have had high ratings.

But to be honest, the leader's acting skills have always been up and down, but as long as he is not playing the role of a domineering president, he will not lose out even when competing with veteran actors.

"I'm here to see Director Gu. We made an appointment in advance."

Huang Xiaoming said to the front desk staff.

"Okay, I'll take you to the office."

After staying on the first floor for a while, signing a lot of autographs and taking photos, Huang Xiaoming followed the employees to the office.

"Gu Wei is inside, please come in."

"Thank you."

...

"Dong dong."

"Please come in."

There was a knock on the door and Gu Wei shouted.

"Director Gu."

After Huang Xiaoming came into the office, he quickly greeted everyone, and then saw there was another person in the room.

"This is Director Wu Ershan."

Gu Wei made an introduction.

"Hello, Director Wu, I'm Huang Xiaoming, nice to meet you."

The leader had a good grasp of the ways of the world. After hearing what Gu Wei said, he quickly walked up to Wuershan and said something.

"Hello, I'm Wu Ershan."

Wuershan stood up and stretched out his hand, and the two shook hands.

"Everyone, take a seat."

Gu Wei, who was sitting at the desk, walked up to the two of them and said something.

"Director Gu, what's the good news you called me over for?"

Huang Xiaoming smiled and asked first.

"That's a good thing. Is your schedule full recently?"

"I'm free, Director Gu. After the filming of New Shanghai Bund ended, I haven't accepted any other acting offers."

The leader's eyes were full of surprise, and it was exactly as he had guessed.

"Okay, the director of this movie is Director Wu. I discussed it with him and he thinks you are quite suitable for the role of the male lead."

Gu Wei also knew about Huang Xiaoming's contact with Huayi Company, but he did not mention it. It was normal for such things to happen in the circle.

"Thank you, Director Gu."

"Thank you, Director Wu."

"Haha, the college recommended Chen Kun before, but I still thought of you."

Wuershan said this with a smile, which also meant to remind Huang Xiaoming.

Sure enough, after the leader heard this, his expression suddenly became serious.

"Thank you Director Wu, I will definitely cooperate with you to the best of my ability."

They chatted for a while and then went to the conference room. Huang Xiaoming called his assistant over and signed the contract on the spot.

As for the film remuneration, the company paid according to the market price, and Gu Wei had no intention of reducing the amount of the remuneration. Since he had decided to hire him, there was no need to take advantage of this small advantage.

...

"Brother Xun."

After signing the contract, Huang Xiaoming just walked out of the company and was about to get in the car when he saw Zhou Xun and his assistant coming to the company door.

"Xiao Ming, did you pass the audition?"

Zhou Xun looked at Assistant Huang Xiaoming holding the file bag and asked.

"Yeah, I just signed the contract."

The leader did not hide it. The two had a good relationship, so he admitted it directly.

"Are you here for an audition too?"

"Director Gu didn't arrange an audition, he just booked me and I came here today to sign the contract."

Zhou Xun is also a straightforward person and spoke carelessly.

"The heroine?"

"Ah."

"Haha, then we can have a good cooperation for once."

After a few pleasantries, Zhou Xun brought his assistant into the company.

Compared to the leader, there are more male employees in the company. When they saw Zhou Xun coming in, they all came forward to take photos with him.

"Don't you have to work?"

Wang Chen shouted loudly with a very serious expression.

When the others saw Wang Chen getting angry, they all dispersed.

"Teacher Zhou, Director Gu is in the conference room. Let's go in."

"Ok."

That afternoon, the news that Zhou Xun and Huang Xiaoming had signed the contract was announced. The artists under Huayi Company got two leading roles, which attracted the attention of netizens.

"Fuck, the male and female lead are from Huayi Company, they are going to make a fortune this time."

"It's okay, Zhou Xun's acting has always been good, I support him!"

"The leader shouldn't try to be cool now."

...

Huang Xiaoming's fans are the happiest. This kind of big-budget movie, even if it is not directed by Director Gu himself, is much more impressive than those TV series.

With Zhou Xun, Huang Xiaoming and Su Chang on the list, half of the main characters of the movie have been confirmed.

...

Reports on the Venice Film Festival are increasing day by day, after all, it’s not long before its opening.

Li An's "Lust, Caution" declined the invitation to be the opening film of the film festival. It is probably because some clips are indeed not suitable to be broadcast in front of everyone.

Wang Xiaoshuai's film "Left and Right" was previously rumored to be moved to Venice together with "The Sun Also Rises", but the final result was that it unexpectedly missed the qualification for competition.

The media reported that the film gave up this opportunity because "dubbing, music and post-editing were not completed."

At this year's Shanghai Film Festival, Fan Binbin wore a bohemian-style leopard print long skirt. It was obvious that she put some thought into it and it was truly unique.

In comparison, Gong Li's outfit was more bold, with a black and yellow low-cut backless dress that attracted all the photographers' attention.

In addition, many celebrities including Chen Kaige, Jackie Chan, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Aaron Kwok and others attended the award ceremony that night.

The Best Actor and Best Actress awards were once again won by European movie stars. The German film "A Perfect Plan" won the highest award of the film festival - the "Golden Goblet Award", becoming the biggest winner.

The Internet has already started to criticize this. "So, to keep up with the international standards means to reserve important awards for foreign films?"

"No wonder I can't get out. I always get into trouble."

This year's Shanghai Film Festival was indeed excessive. I heard that leaders of relevant departments are dissatisfied, and reform is imperative.

Gu Wei was invited to the film festival, but he ignored it and replied that he had something to do and couldn't go, and directly refused.

.........

Auditions for other roles in "Painted Skin" are scheduled to be held at Xingchen Film and Television Company. Actors and artists who have received audition invitations have arrived to compete for the remaining roles.

In addition to the invited actors, Tangren's Liu Shishi and the star-studded Jing Tian also came to the scene.

"The Forbidden Kingdom is over?"

Looking at Jing Tian in front of him, Gu Wei asked with a frown.

"Director Gu, the crew's filming is coming to an end, and I took a special leave to come here."

Jingtian explained, a little nervously.

"Let's forget about it this time. We can work together again if we have a chance in the future."

Gu Wei directly rejected Jing Tian, ​​and the other party's expression became visibly disappointed, but he quickly adjusted himself afterwards.

"Thank you Director Gu, Director Wu. I'll be leaving now."

Jingtian stood up and spoke to the two of them.

"Ah."

Gu Wei nodded.

"Director Gu, wouldn't you consider this? The leading actress in the Forbidden Kingdom crew is quite a gimmick."

Wu Ershan didn't quite understand Gu Wei's actions.

"There are some issues with her acting, it doesn't fit the role."

Gu Wei said this lightly and signaled his assistant to call the next audition actor in.

The next actress to come in was Liu Shishi from the Tang Dynasty. Her performance was average and her facial expression was very stiff. Even Wuershan shook his head to express his disapproval.

"That's it. We may have a chance to cooperate again in the future."

Compared with Jingtian, this person's sense of loss was directly expressed on his face. He just said thank you and left the meeting room.

...

"Director Gu, Director Wu."

Speaking of bravery, the person who impressed Gu Wei the most was Li Jingfei, who played Zhang Fei in the old version of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms. He portrayed the image of a reckless man to the fullest, being reckless yet also a bit meticulous. He was much better than other actors who played Zhang Sanye in later generations.

"This role is considered a supporting role, and the number of scenes is not too large. I think the schedule should be ok."

Looking at Chen Minghao who came to the meeting room, Gu Wei said directly.

"No, I've been performing in a play recently, so I have plenty of time."

"Okay, here's the script. Go back and think about it carefully. I'll let you know the start time in advance."

Gu Wei handed over a script as he spoke. The man was quite sturdy and looked like he had been on a battlefield.

"Director Gu, you have decided on it right away. Are you not considering anyone else?"

Watching Chen Minghao's departing back, Wuershan flipped through his resume, which also saw the names of Hu Jun and Hong Kong man Zhen Zidan.

"The role doesn't have many scenes, so I guess Hu Jun won't come because he's currently filming Red Cliff and won't be able to make it."

As for Zhen Zidan, he was not within Gu Wei's consideration. He was not tall enough, so how could he perform the aura of the former general?

When Chen Minghao came out with the script, he attracted the attention of others.

"Old Chen, did it work?"

"Well, Director Gu decided it directly."

After saying that, he raised the script in his hand.

"Congratulations."

Yuan Quan and Zeng Li said from the bottom of their hearts that they were classmates and they knew Chen Minghao's acting skills, but he had no one to support him, so he could only act in dramas.

"Come on, you two. I'm going to go back and read the script first."

After saying goodbye to the two people, he left the company directly. The other actors who came for the audition looked at Chen Minghao's back, and some of them kept whispering with envious expressions.

"Next one, Yuan Quan."

The assistant shouted from the door of the meeting room.

"Come on, Quan'er."

Zeng Li said to Yuan Quan.

Hearing this, Yuan Quan nodded, took a deep breath and walked in.

...

Class of 96, Central Academy of Drama. Gu Wei has always believed that the person in front of him has the best temperament. No one, including Zhang Ziyi, can compare to Yuan Quan.

"Director Gu, Director Wu."

When Yuan Quan came in, he saw the two people sitting on the chairs and greeted them politely.

Gu Wei and Wu Ershan were very satisfied with the results of the audition. They looked at each other and nodded from time to time.

Yuan Quan’s temperament is very much that of the character “Pei Rong”, and his appearance may be slightly lacking, but it does not have a big impact.

"Very good, I will inform you of the specific results in the next two days."

It was also the first time that Gu Wei met Yuan Quan. He did not make a decision right away and planned to wait and see what other people auditioned later.

"Okay, thank you Director Gu, Director Wu."

There was no sign of disappointment on Yuan Quan's face, and he left the office directly after the performance.

Jiao Enjun, Zeng Li, Yuan Quan, Lu Yi, Jing Tian, ​​Liu Shishi, Sha Yi and others were photographed by the media going to Gu Wei's company one after another, not including Huang Xiaoming and Zhou Xun.

Media reporters boldly speculated that "Painted Skin" has completed the casting of the main actors.

"Director Gu, the sketch and some props are ready. Take a look first. If you are not satisfied, you can modify it at any time."

The head of the logistics team placed the props on the table, and Gu Wei and Wu Ershan picked up the finished products in front of them and looked at them.

"Not bad, you can see that you put in a lot of effort."

The team studied the style of the Han Dynasty and the weapon design was very authentic.

As for the costumes, they are also full of beauty, directly referencing the unearthed Han tombs and the female corpses in Mawangdui, which look very real...

"Very professional."

Wuershan looked at all the trial products and couldn't help but give a thumbs up.

"Just make it according to this, hurry up."

The filming of the movie is scheduled for the end of August, which leaves little time for the logistics team, so they need to speed up the work.

The logistics staff included not only those from Xingchen Films but also some employees from China Film Group, which involved a large number of costumes and props, as China Film Group had experience in this area.

For the role of "Pei Rong", Gu Wei finally chose Yuan Quan, and Wu Ershan also thought she was the most suitable one.

As for the second male lead "Pang Yong", Wuershan fell in love with Jiao Enjun at first sight. He is no joke as the most handsome "Erlang Shen", but it would be even more perfect if he didn't speak his hometown dialect.

"I've decided to choose him. He's a little too handsome."

Gu Wei was afraid that he would transform and knock down the fox demon.

However, most of the roles in this movie were decided by him directly, and he planned to let Wuershan decide on the second male lead, Gu Wei.

"He's the one. Both his temperament and acting skills are fine. He can change his look with makeup later on."

"alright."

In later generations, Huang Xiaoming also played "Erlang Shen". Gu Wei was quite looking forward to seeing two generations of "God of Justice" participating in a movie.

...

The power transfer was officially completed within China Film Corporation. After Han Sanping finished the tedious handover matters, he took the time to call Gu Wei.

"There is a very important meeting this month. All the major directors in the industry will come. The higher authorities will increase support for the domestic film and television industry. Favorable policies are coming."

Since Han Sanping announced China Film Group’s subsequent policies in April, some applications have passed the review.

"Director Han, can you not go? We still have a lot of things to do on Painted Skin."

Gu Wei didn't want to participate and said directly.

"Nonsense, everyone else is here, but you're not. Are you asking for special treatment? Set aside some time in the next two days and come directly when the time comes."

Han Sanping said without question.

"alright."

...

(End of this chapter)