Chapter 210 Male Protagonist
Because of the change of director, the shooting angle of "Pacific Rim 2" is also very different from the previous work.

In Pacific Rim 1, upward angles and close-up shots are mostly used.

For example, when saving a wanderer in danger from a fishing boat, from the perspective of the fishing boat, a "giant hand" descends from the sky and lifts him up.

There is also a battle-damaged version of the Dangerous Wanderer, which slowly walks from the sea to the shore. You can see that the entire screen cannot fit half of the Wanderer's legs. With the two humans next to it as reference, it perfectly embodies what an "iron giant" is.

But in "Ring 2", too many "horizontal shots" and "long shots" were used, including shots looking down from a helicopter, which made the mecha look even smaller and the sense of shock was gone.

This time, Jiang Heng naturally had to learn from these lessons. First, he would work on the plot, and second, he would work hard on the shocking effect of the pictures.

If you want super exciting visual effects, you naturally have to shoot super shocking mechas.

Taking into account the emotions of the Chinese people and box office issues, Jiang Heng plans to focus on building two types of mechas this time, one is China's "Storm Red" (upgraded version), and the other is the United States' "Challenger" (the latest model).

In terms of height, the two mechas increased from 79 meters and 76 meters to 109 and 107 meters respectively.

In terms of power, both are nuclear-powered mechas, and their main strength is comparable.

In terms of weapons, Storm Red has a weapon similar to the "Mo Dao", a level 1 monster like the "Sickle Head" in "Ring ", which can kill one kid with one sword.

Level 4 and 5 monsters can’t withstand being slashed a few more times.

The strength of the "Challenger" has been greatly improved compared to the "Dangerous Wanderer" in the previous game.

In addition, the mecha strength levels of Russia, Japan and Australia have all improved to varying degrees.

It is just slightly inferior to that of China and the United States.

After all, there are more and more powerful monsters in this play. If humans do not improve their strength, they will be beaten passively.

The real protagonist (mecha) has been designed, and the models needed for filming have also been made, but the nominal male lead of the film has not yet been decided.

The next day, a group of popular young actors in the Chinese entertainment industry went to iQiyi, Youku and Tencent Video for audition.

There are Huang Xiaoming, Nie Yuan, Lu Yi, Hu Chuan, Xie Tingfeng and others.

There were people in Hong Kong who recommended Teacher Chen, but he was directly rejected by Jiang Heng.

After the auditions, Jiang Heng favored Huang Xiaoming and Xie Tingfeng, but he was still a little difficult to decide who to choose.

Unexpectedly, I received a call from Chen Daoming in the evening.

Jiang Heng couldn't help but feel a little puzzled. He and Chen Daoming had interacted with each other when they were on the set of "Hero" and they had a good relationship.

Since we lived in the same capital, we were barely in the same circle and had drunk together at private gatherings.

But as for a one-on-one phone chat, that has never happened.

"Director Jiang, hello. I know this call was too presumptuous. You must be wondering why he called me. Is he trying to intercede for someone?"

Jiang Heng smiled, "Yes, a little, but I don't think you'll do that!"

Chen Daoming smiled, "I really don't like to plead for others. I'm calling you today because someone asked me to give you some advice. It's up to you whether you listen to it or not. It's just for your reference!"

Jiang Heng smiled, "You say!"

"Director Jiang, do you still remember the beating incident that happened on the set of 'Little Fish and Flowerless' last year?"

Jiang Heng was stunned when he heard this. He actually knew about this matter. It caused a huge uproar at the time.

The matter is very simple. Mainland actor Wang Bozhao plays the villain Jiang Biehe in the film. There is a scene in the film where Jiang Biehe is beaten up by Xiaoyuer and Hua Wuque.

As a result, Zhang Weijian and Xie Tingfeng really beat Wang Bozhao up and sent him to the hospital. Doctors examined Wang Bozhao and found that his injuries were very serious.

After the incident became a big deal, many mainland artists jointly spoke out, including Li Xingjian, Chen Daoming, Zhang Tielin, Wang Gang, Feng Xiaogang, Ge You, Chen Peisi, Teacher Liu, Zhang Fengyi, Zhang Guoli, etc., all of whom personally signed the joint statement.

The result is that after that incident, Zhang Weijian's "facts" were hidden, his mainland resources were greatly reduced, and Xie Tingfeng was also affected a lot. It can be seen that everyone is still very resistant.

"I do know about this, but I was busy filming at the time...!"

"I understand. Although Director Jiang was born in Hong Kong, he has always been oriented towards the mainland. He just can't speak out!"

Jiang Heng didn't say anything, and was indeed a little embarrassed.

Chen Daoming continued, "I'm not a troublemaker, and I didn't know Wang Bozhao before, but that incident was really too much. After so many people spoke out, they reluctantly apologized. The next year, Director Jiang, the male lead of your blockbuster movie...!"

Jiang Heng said hurriedly: "I understand. I might consider cooperating with him in the future, but not in the short term."

Chen Daoming smiled, "Director Jiang is so kind, we all appreciate your kindness!"

Jiang Heng said hurriedly: "You're welcome, I'm just doing my part!"

Chen Daoming: "Thank you very much. I will treat you to a drink later. I have a few bottles of fine wine in my collection at home. When you finish shooting this film, invite some good brothers to come and have a drink with you!"

"Okay, that's settled!"

After hanging up the phone, Jiang Heng was quite emotional. He had been so busy recently that he really forgot about this matter.

In fact, this kind of thing is very common. When Jet Li was filming "North and South Shaolin", he had a fierce conflict with Hong Kong director Liu Jialiang.

The most direct issue is the salary. For mainland actors, regardless of whether they are the protagonist or the supporting actor, all the staff are paid three yuan a day. For Hong Kong staff, they are paid 50 yuan a month, and even those who play corpses are paid yuan a day.

There are too many other issues like dietary problems and disrespect.

Jet Li almost retired from the film industry because of this movie, and he and Liu Jialiang never had any contact again, and he didn't even go to his funeral.

After the millennium, similar incidents occurred one after another after the Hong Kong film and television circles moved north.

"Wang Bozhao was beaten" should be the worst case, so much so that many big names in the mainland film and television circles who had little contact with him stood up to speak for him.

In this situation, it is indeed not useful to use Xie Tingfeng.

The next day, Jiang Heng directly instructed his assistant to ask Huang Xiaoming to come to the company to sign a contract to play the male lead in "Pacific Rim 2".

Huang Xiaoming, who had just received the news, was really surprised, and then he was ecstatic.

It has indeed been quite popular in the past two years and has a lot of fans.

But they are basically in the TV drama circle, and there are no outstanding achievements in the film industry.

The biggest movie he has ever made is "The Banquet" directed by Feng Xiaogang. Not only does he have a very small role in the film, but the film has not yet been released.

It can be said that he is just an unremarkable newcomer in the Chinese-language film industry at the moment.

Now, he has got the leading role in Jiang Heng’s special effects blockbuster, which is simply a step towards success!

Although the main highlights of this film are the mechas and monsters, and the shocking fighting scenes, the human male protagonist is just for the convenience of the audience to empathize with him, but he is still the male protagonist of a big production after all!

It can be said that Huang Xiaoming arrived at iQiyi, Youku and Tencent Pictures at the fastest speed and signed the contract to play the male lead.

(End of this chapter)