Chapter 425 Young Candidates

Every year in late February, when the Oscar nominations are announced and the awards ceremony is held, Hollywood enters its carnival season.

Behind countless cocktail parties and public relations evenings, there are a lot of money and PY transactions.

As a member of the Oscar jury, Gu Wei received many invitations to cocktail parties even though he was in China.

Unfortunately, Gu Wei was busy with casting at the moment and couldn't leave, so Reid had to represent the company.

In the largest studio of China Film Corporation, as "The Wandering Earth" has passed the review, the special effects engineers and filming crew of Xingchen Film and Television Company have entered here in advance and started making preliminary preparations.

Song Ge and Chen Guofu have been staying at the China Film Base these days, organizing various tasks and personnel arrangements.

After all, "The Wandering Earth" is a true blockbuster. Not only in terms of investment, there are dozens of named characters.

The number of crew members naturally increased exponentially. If a crew of a thousand people did not properly arrange the middle and senior backbones, it would be a headache when filming. It is better to arrange it now than to jump up and down and curse when the time comes.

As Huayi's former gold medal producer, Chen Guofu is very experienced in crew deployment. He was in charge of almost the entire process. Seeing this, Song Ge coordinated the whole thing from the side, enjoying his leisure time.

In fact, it is not only the people from Xingchen Film and Television Company who are busy. Han Sanping, Wang Changtian, Ye Ning, Yu Dong and others are also involved in the formation of the crew.

Even though they had agreed beforehand not to interfere with Gu Wei's directorial creation, it was a tacit agreement to insert a few of their own people. After all, the money had been spent, so at least one had to have some idea of ​​where it was spent.

In the meantime, Gu Wei took some time out and came over with Han Sanping and others. Seeing the staff working in an orderly manner and building various models, Han Sanping nodded slightly.

Afterwards, several people came to the lounge and started chatting.

Most of the conversation was about the preparations for "The Wandering Earth". After about half an hour, Han Sanping changed the subject.

"By the way, Xingchen Films hasn't started its plans to go public yet?"

“Not yet, we are not considering going public for the time being.

By the way, how is China Film's listing going now? "

When Han Sanping heard this, he smiled brightly: "A few days ago, the IDU Environmental Protection Bureau made an environmental protection announcement for China Film Co., Ltd. If all goes well, China Film Co., Ltd. may be listed within half a year."

But then he paused. "If things don't go well, it's hard to say.

My wish is to see China Film Group go public before I retire, so that all my hard work will not be in vain.”

Unlike the listing of private enterprises such as Huayi Film Group, Bona Film Group, and Guangguang Film Group, China Film Group’s listing journey is long, involving many aspects and some sensitive issues.

"There should be a chance."

Gu Wei replied nonchalantly that if he remembered correctly, China Film Corporation should have been listed in 2016. So it seemed that Han Sanping really did not wait until China Film Corporation was listed. It had to be said that this was a pity.

.........

On the Internet, Feng Xiaogang’s "Revisiting 1942" ran into trouble and suddenly a big piece of news was revealed.

What went wrong was not Feng Xiaogang's movie, but the actors he chose.

Zhang Guoli took the lead in apologizing, which shocked the circle for a while.

At this stage, Zhang Guoli still has a great influence in the circle, and many well-known filmmakers in the circle have also spoken out.

To sum up, the child is ignorant and I hope everyone can forgive him.

Jiang Wen also muttered a few words and cursed a few times, and even called Gu Wei to complain about the matter.

"Old Jiang, I advise you not to get involved in this matter."

Gu Wei thought about it and reminded.

"I know this. I guess the higher-ups also have zero tolerance."

Just when this matter was making headlines, Star Films released the trailer for the 3D remake of "Titanic".

One stone caused a thousand waves!

In an instant, the attention of industry media reporters turned to this movie.

"Fuck, I forgot there was such a movie!"

This was the first reaction of netizens after seeing the trailer.

Soon after, China Film Group also announced the release date of the film, April 4, a date that was somewhat puzzling to everyone.

After all, March and April every year are the off-season for the film market. The Spring Festival period has just passed, and the May Day period is still some time away.

Could it be that there is some special meaning? Later, a careful reporter checked and found that this time was exactly the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic.

After the trailer came out, Xingchen Films cooperated with China Film Group and Wanda Films to carry out the "100th Anniversary" publicity and promotion work.

For a time, the popularity of the upcoming re-release of "Titanic" set off a craze in the entertainment industry.

The crew of "1942".

Feng Xiaogang hasn't looked well these past few days.

Now that this has happened, the higher-ups are intending to impose severe punishment, which might even affect the film industry.

But as the popularity of "Titanic" dominated the headlines, the number of people paying attention to it dropped significantly.

Feng Xiaogang did not expect this result.

.........

"The Wandering Earth", directed by Gu Wei, is still in the intense casting process!
At noon that day, a young man wearing a black down jacket, carrying a backpack and listening to music with headphones on came downstairs of the building where Xingchen Film and Television Company was located.

He looked around before walking through the door and arriving at the front desk of Xingchen Film and Television.

After explaining my purpose to the front desk staff, the pretty lady said politely, "Sir, if you want to audition, you can leave your information. After we send it to them, if they approve it, we will notify you to come for an audition within three days!"

The young man smiled and said, "Beauty, I'm an artist under the 18th Company. Sister Hua asked me to come and see Director Gu. We've already made an appointment. Could you please take me there?"

The lady at the front desk's eyes lit up and asked, "How old are you this year?"

The young man smiled shyly and said, "I'm 92, which means I'm 20 in lunar age!"

The female receptionist immediately said, "Then give me the information and I'll ask for you!"

The young man hurriedly took out the prepared documents from his bag and handed them to the receptionist, saying, "Thank you, thank you beautiful lady! Thank you very much."

The girl at the front desk was very pleased to be called beautiful and pretty, and then she smiled sweetly and said, "You're welcome."

However, not long after the female receptionist came up, she handed the boy's information to assistant Gu Wei.

Gu Wei usually has two assistants, one is responsible for work and the other is responsible for life. This assistant is a female college student who has just graduated. She has performed well in the company's administrative department and was transferred to Gu Wei by Song Ge to be responsible for handling some daily affairs.

She took the information and flipped through it, then looked at the girl at the front desk and said with a smile, "You came up so enthusiastically, did he give you any benefits?"

The female receptionist said hurriedly, "No, I just saw that the kid meets the requirements and was introduced by Sister Hua. I was thinking that if Director Gu finds him suitable after the audition, I came to tell you."

The assistant smiled and said, "You, tell the kid to wait for a while. I'll send the information to Director Gu."

The female receptionist hurriedly clasped her hands together and shook them, saying with a smile, "Then I'll leave it to you!" Then she went downstairs happily.

After the female receptionist left, the assistant flipped through the information and saw that the date of birth was 92 and the height was 182. He chuckled, put the information away, walked to Gu Wei's office door, knocked on it and entered.

Gu Wei was looking at the information of the auditioners sent by several companies. When he saw his assistant coming in, he asked, "What's up?" The assistant put the information on the desk and said, "Boss, the front desk sent it up. They said there's a guy who came to the company to audition for The Wandering Earth. He was recommended by Sister Hua. She thought he had good qualifications, so she handed the information to me!"

Hearing this, Gu Wei's heart moved. Wang Jinghua did recommend someone to him, but the other party did not directly say who it was?
He immediately picked up the information on the table, opened it and looked at the name inside. His eyes lit up and he thought to himself, "It's him. He seems to meet the requirements."

The name on the information clearly read: Han Dongjun.

In the original time and space, in the first part of "The Wandering Earth", the role of Liu Peiqiang was a special role played by Wu Jing and could not be considered the male lead.

The character Liu Qi has the most screen time, and he and the character played by Zhao Jinmai are considered the main actors.

Now, after Gu Wei revised the script, the role of Liu Qi was weakened, Liu Peiqiang was made the male lead, and a female lead role was added to play the partner with Liu Peiqiang.

But in order to select the role of Liu Qi, Gu Wei also read a lot of audition materials that were submitted.

There are really not many people who meet the age requirement and have good acting skills. He originally planned to try Zhang Yishan, but now with the appearance of Han Dongjun, Gu Wei has some hope.

Speaking of Han Dongjun, most people's first reaction is: Master Wuxin!

As a new generation actor born in the 90s, Han Dongjun is indeed far behind the popular young actors in terms of fame.

But in terms of acting skills and attitude towards work, he is far ahead of those people.

In the Republic of China supernatural web drama "Wuxin: The Monster Killer", Han Dongjun plays the immortal wizard Wuxin who has lived for an unknown number of years.

This requires the actor to perform a sense of vicissitudes of life under a young appearance, but he, who was born in 92, did it and even brought the character to life.

What is even more admirable is his professional attitude. When filming Wu Xin: The Monster Killer, there was a scene where they had to jump into a well in winter. The crew heated the pool for half a day but the water temperature still could not be raised. In order to meet the filming schedule, he volunteered to jump into the cold water pool. As a result, after finishing the filming and getting out of the water, he was almost frozen numb.

Based on these two points, Gu Wei felt that this person had great potential. Unfortunately, although Han Dongjun was dedicated and had good acting skills, he still could not become famous.

Because his agency, Tangren Film and Television, is training him to be the "second Hu Ge", which is simply a waste of a good seedling.

After flipping through the information, Gu Wei said to the assistant beside him: "Okay, go and bring that person up.

By the way, call Manager Chen over and tell him that an actor is here for an audition."

The assistant responded and went out, and found Han Dongjun talking to the receptionist at the front desk.

Upon learning that Gu Wei wanted to see him, Han Dongjun became nervous instead of relaxed like he was when he was chatting with the front desk just now.

Following the assistant all the way to Gu Wei's office, as soon as he arrived at the office, Han Dongjun saw Gu Wei behind the boss chair and a middle-aged man sitting on the sofa.

"Hello, Director Gu, I'm Han Dongjun." Han Dongjun greeted him a little stiffly.

"Sit down!" Gu Wei asked, "Don't be nervous, are you still studying?"

Han Dongjun hurriedly said: "I went to high school in Vancouver and have already graduated."

Gu Wei smiled and asked, "Which school did you apply to?"

"I applied to the Vancouver Film School and got the acceptance letter. But if I want to enter the entertainment industry, domestic schools will be better. So this time I came back to China, I wanted to sign up for a cram school and take the art exam and college entrance examination next year."

Gu Wei only knew that this actor was from the class of 2012 at the Shanghai Theatre Academy. He later played the male lead "Laosan" in the drama "Under the Hawthorn Tree" before being spotted by Tangren and starring in "Wuxin: The Monster Killer".

"Have you studied acting before? Do you have any works?"

Han Dongjun took a deep breath and slowly said, "I didn't have any systematic training, but I participated in the movie "Vancouver Soy Sauce Band" this year and played a role."

Gu Wei's eyes were burning as he smiled faintly. As for the movie the other party was talking about, he had never even heard of it. "Looking at your information, you just returned to China not long ago. When did you sign with the 18th Company?"

"Well, I just signed the contract three days ago, but I haven't told my family about it yet." Han Dongjun smiled shyly, scratching his head and said.

"Uh, three days ago." This answer stunned Gu Wei, and he didn't know what to say for a moment.

"Han Dongjun, right?" Chen Guofu on the side glanced at the other party and said.

"Well, yes." Han Dongjun said a little nervously, mainly because he didn't know the origin of the person in front of him, but since he could be with Director Gu, who was very famous in the circle, he must be a big shot.

"Don't be nervous, my name is Chen Guofu, and I'm the manager of Xingchen Film and Television Company." Chen Guofu was amused by the appearance of the young man in front of him and said casually.

"Here are a few lines. Take a look at them first, and then perform them according to the requirements in five minutes." Chen Guofu handed the other party a document, and Han Dongjun immediately stood up and took it.

Then, the meeting room fell silent.

Han Dongjun memorized the lines carefully.

Chen Guofu glanced at Gu Wei, then at Han Dongjun, meaning, is this young man okay?
Gu Wei signaled to Chen Guofu with his eyes to be patient and wait and see.

Five minutes passed quickly, yet also felt very long; Han Dongjun had a deep understanding of this.

When the time came, Chen Guofu said, "Let's start."

Then Han Dongjun put down the documents and performed hard.

I have to say, compared to when he played Wu Xin, Han Dongjun is still very immature at this moment.

"Well, that's all for today. I'll get back to you within three days."

After Gu Wei said this, Han Dongjun also left Xingchen Film and Television Company in a daze.

After walking out of the company gate, Han Dongjun was still thinking about what had happened in the past few days.

When he wanted to be an actor, his family's first reaction was naturally opposition.

The reason for opposition is simple. After studying abroad for a few years, a lot of money has been spent and the road to the future has been paved.

But he decided to come back to be an actor and take the college entrance examination in China, which made his family very worried.

Han Dongjun was bored at home these days, so he came to the capital to relax. Suddenly he remembered that the crew of "The Wandering Earth" was still recruiting actors, so he came here to give it a try.

But he was smart and knew that without connections, he might not even be able to get into the door of Xingchen Film and Television Company, so he went to the 18th Company for an interview first. As a result, he passed the interview. Not only did he pass the interview, he was also persuaded by Wang Jinghua to sign with the company and got the other party's recommendation.

...

"How about it?"

"Well, the image is good, but the acting is still a little immature. Why don't we take a look? There should be someone more suitable in the circle."

"After reading so much information, those who are big enough are not of the right age, those who are of the right age have poor acting skills, and those who have good acting skills still have to consider their image." Gu Wei said word by word.

"So Director Gu means that he thinks Han Dongjun is a good fit and wants to sign him right away?" Chen Guofu has been in the entertainment industry for so many years, and his ability to read people's expressions has become perfect. When he heard Gu Wei's words, he understood what the other party meant.

"Haha, let me think about it. Isn't there still time?"

When casting for film and television works, if the character's appearance is not clear, the audience actually has no specific idea of ​​what the character looks like.

But if the artistic image has long been fixed and agreed upon in the minds of the audience, we should try to choose one based on similar appearance.

For example, Guan Yu in "The Romance of the Three Kingdoms". Thanks to the early Three Kingdoms storytelling, when people mention Guan Yu, everyone knows that he has "drooping eyebrows, phoenix eyes, and a face as red as a jujube."

The characteristic of phoenix eyes is that the tail of the eye is tilted upwards, while the tail of ordinary people's eyes is slightly downwards. In order to play the role of phoenix eyes, Lu Shuming in the old version of "Three Kingdoms" glued his eyes up with tape every day, which made him cry so hard that his eyes gradually narrowed into a slit that tilted upwards.

In addition, he practiced Guan Yu's expression and movements every day, and practiced staring at things to make his eyes shine. Only then did his Guan Yu come alive and vivid, winning unanimous recognition.

Of course, Han Dongjun has not reached this step yet, but it is undeniable that he has the basic conditions to become popular.

.........

(End of this chapter)