Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 194 Xia Yu and Wu Zhenyu
Everyone seemed to have no objection to the roles, only Ning Hao said with some concern: "In the play, Xiao Wei and Peirong have a lot of rival scenes. Peirong is Miss Zhou, can Fan Binbin handle it?"

Zhang Chen shrugged: "That's what I'm worried about, but this lineup is just my initial idea, we'll see when the time comes..."

Ning Hao nodded and continued to give advice: "The actors have been decided, but what about the behind-the-scenes lineup? The most important person for a film like this should be the art director, right? Who are you going to hire?"

Zhang Chen shook his head: "I just thought of this script. I haven't thought about the behind-the-scenes lineup at all."

"Then I'll recommend someone to you. His name is Li Miao. He just graduated from the Communication University of China, but he's very talented."

Zhang Chen happened to know this person. He was the art director of "Dying to Survive", "The Journey Home" and "The Lone Wanderer on the Moon". He also won many awards and was considered to have achieved great success, but he is still unknown now.

Ning Hao's vision is indeed sharp.

Dong Jianqiang said at the side: "I recommend Zhang Shuping."

He obviously felt that the newcomer recommended by Ning Hao was not very reliable, so he mentioned the name of the Best Art Director of the Academy Awards right away.

"Hu Weili can be used for the music arrangement."

Dong Jianqiang continued to recommend, and what he recommended were all the best, but the prices were definitely also the most expensive.

As the discussion continued, Chen Xi's phone suddenly rang.

"Oh, good, now that you're here, we'll be right there."

Everyone stopped discussing, and Chen Xi's tone clearly indicated that something was wrong.

Sure enough, after hanging up the phone, he said: "Wang Jinghua and Xia Yu are here~"

Everyone then remembered that they had made an appointment with Xia Yu to audition today.

"You guys go ahead and leave the script to me. I'll use it to expand the screenwriter team..."

Dong Jianqiang came to the screenwriter group with a piece of paper with the story outline written on it, and all the group members were very excited.

They get paid for expanding the script, and if the movie does well at the box office after its release, there are additional bonuses.

On the other side, Zhang Chen and Ning Hao followed Chen Xi to the reception room and saw Wang Jinghua and Xia Yu as soon as they entered.

"Sorry for keeping you waiting~" Zhang Chen hurriedly greeted them as he entered the room.

"Director Zhang~" Xia Yu was very polite.

Don't be fooled by his young age, he has already won the Venice, Golden Horse and Golden Rooster Awards, and is definitely a talented actor.

"Sister Hua, Xia Yu, I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting for so long. Let me introduce you, this is Director Ning Hao, also the director of "Stone" this time..."

Xia Yu immediately greeted Ning Hao again. After a while of greeting, Zhang Chen said, "I've read the audition script I sent you. Let's try it out~"

Generally, complete scripts are not sent out for auditions. Instead, some script excerpts of the audition role are sent out so that the actors can prepare in advance.

"Well, I've seen it, then I'll start~"

After saying that, Xia Yu took two steps back, and without asking for anyone to help him act, he just started.

Xia Yu, who had been very polite just now, suddenly changed his temperament.

He hurried over from a distance, bent down to check the non-existent car accident scene, and then turned to the opposite side and yelled: "Wow, this is high-tech, driverless, see? Don't touch me~~"

Xia Yu performed the scene where the car was hit. His Chongqing dialect was very standard, and there was a hint of humor in his arrogance.

Ning Hao nodded with satisfaction. Xia Yu had obviously practiced speaking Chongqing dialect and it seemed that he had made a lot of preparations.

"Have you prepared for the meeting with the curator later?"

"Have."

"Then give it a try~"

Ning Hao is now interested in Xia Yu. Xia Yu's performance this time is completely different from the original impression. However, the character of "Four Eyes" has two sides, and he wants to confirm it again.

"it is good."

Xia Yu returned to the original place again, stopped and adjusted his state.

Then he pretended to get out of the car, holding a non-existent briefcase in his hand, and strode over.

Zhang Chen spontaneously acted as his supporting role, playing the role of the curator.

When Xia Yu saw him, he came over with a smile and pulled Zhang Chen aside.

"Director, you definitely can't pay back the money. Our CEO Feng said that if you sign this contract, our accounts will be written off..."

"Okay, okay~" Ning Hao was very satisfied with Xia Yu, "The role of 'Four Eyes' is yours. I hope we can have a pleasant cooperation."

Xia Yu also stopped his performance, shook hands with Ning Hao and thanked him repeatedly. Wang Jinghua, who was standing next to him, also smiled happily when she saw this scene.

"Chen Xi, take them to sign the contract."

Zhang Chen had just finished giving his instructions when Wang Jinghua suddenly said, "Wait a minute~"

Then he took two steps forward and whispered, "Director Zhang, I'm in the process of cutting ties with Huayi recently. Can we sign this contract in two days?"

When Zhang Chen heard this, he immediately understood what was going on.

How could I forget this?

It seems that Wang Jinghua left Huayi in March and joined Orange Sky.

Because of this, Huayi and Chengtian became mortal enemies.

"Oh, congratulations in advance, Sister Hua."

Wang Jinghua waved her hand: "I'll need Director Zhang to take care of me and give me a good meal in the future." "Sister Hua, you're too polite. It's better for us to help each other."

Zhang Chen suddenly thought of Fan Jiuyi. It turned out that Fan Jiuyi did not follow Wang Jinghua, thinking that he could become the number one actress if he stayed in Huayi. Unexpectedly, Li Lianhua also stayed, and the number one actress never got her wish.

I wonder if she will be the same this time?
"What about Binbin? Is she with Sister Hua? Or is she staying at Huayi?"

Zhang Chen mentioned it casually, but he didn't expect Wang Jinghua to look at him in surprise.

"Director Zhang, don't you know?"

"what do you know?"

"Binbin neither left with me nor stayed at Huayi. She was going to set up her own studio. Didn't she tell you?"

"Uh……"

After seeing off Wang Jinghua and Xia Yu, Zhang Chen immediately called Fan Jiuyi.

"You want to set up a studio?"

"Yeah, didn't you suggest that I do this?"

"Yes, but I said, I have conditions..."

"I know. I've been discussing the tax payment with Huayi these past two days. They're not happy, but who cares? I'm just notifying them anyway..."

"Aren't you afraid of offending people?"

"Afraid? Of course I am. But don't I have you? You said that if I set up my own studio, you would invest in it and take care of me..."

Zhang Chen suddenly laughed. Sister Jiuyi sounded relaxed, but she must be worried to death.

He could feel that Sister Jiuyi was just gambling, betting that Zhang Chen would not stand by and watch her die.

This woman is really willing to take risks~
"Of course I keep my word. As long as you take care of all that, I will invest in your personal studio and take 30% of the shares..."

Zhang Chen had a hunch that although Xingchen Entertainment claimed that it did not engage in artist management business, it was probably about to have its first artist.

Well, strictly speaking it is cooperation.

Zhang Chen doesn't like to do artist management business because artist management is inherently contradictory to production.

From the producer's perspective, the most suitable actors should be chosen, and their pay should not be too high.

But the artist management business is just the opposite. They pursue high pay, and the higher the artist's pay, the better.

Zhang Chen has always believed that if Xingchen Entertainment also engages in artist management business, the final result will definitely be that it will be kidnapped by itself. It will no longer choose the most suitable role, but can only choose from its own artists.

Actually, if you think about Sister Jiuyi, she is really courageous.

In her previous life, she was the first person in the country to set up her own studio.

In this life, in order to be able to bind himself early, he would rather offend Huayi and cut off ties clearly. This kind of courage is not something that ordinary people can have.

You know, Huayi is still the largest private film and television company in China.

The price of falling out with Huayi is not easy.

As soon as Zhang Chen hung up the phone, he saw Chen Xi coming towards him with a happy face.

"What are you so happy about?"

"Golden Harvest has contacted Wu Zhenyu, and he has agreed to play the role of Mike. He will take a flight tomorrow afternoon. Now, the cast of Stone is finally complete..."

It is indeed good news that the last two roles were decided in one day.

The next day, Chen Xi and Ning Hao went to the airport to pick up Wu Zhenyu in person.

By the way, King Liu did not accept the role of Mike because he did not want to offend anyone.

Isn’t Wu Zhenyu afraid of offending people?
The answer is: Don’t be afraid!
Because he had already offended everyone.

In 2002, "Infernal Affairs" came out of nowhere. It was sandwiched between the mainland blockbuster "Hero" and the European and American blockbuster "Harry Potter". It took it two weeks to gross 3000 million Hong Kong dollars.

At that time, everyone in Hong Kong said that Infernal Affairs was the savior of Hong Kong;
At that time, every Hong Kong citizen believed that after "Infernal Affairs", Hong Kong films would once again usher in glory.

At the end of October 2003, "Infernal Affairs II" was released amid great anticipation. It did not feature Andy Lau or Tony Leung Chiu-wai, but only two young men.

Unfortunately, "Infernal Affairs II" failed to save the future of Hong Kong films.

Instead, it was Francis Ng who saved Infernal Affairs II.

Many professional film critics pointed out that if it weren't for Francis Ng, "Infernal Affairs II" would just be a poor imitation of the original.

In the film, Wu Zhenyu plays Ni Yongxiao, who is calm, reserved, gentle, and ruthless, and different from the image of the big and strong gangsters in the past. With just a few phone calls, he subdued the gangsters who wanted to rebel.

Acting tough and cool is, of course, not a hall-level performance. Wu Zhenyu's Ni Yongxiao also has a sense of "helplessness", which is the "fate" of the people in the underworld in Gu Long's novels. His father was killed, his brothers and sisters were useless, and Ni Yongxiao was ordered to take on the task alone to fight against the four major families to protect his father's industry. In the end, he was killed by Han Chen, and his entire family died. It's a pity that he failed at the last moment.

In 2004, at the 23rd Hong Kong Film Awards, Francis Ng, Andy Lau, Simon Yam, Jacky Cheung and Lau Ching-Wan competed for the Best Actor award.

That year, everyone thought that the Best Actor award would definitely go to Francis Ng, because the character Ni Yongxiao he played was so amazing, so amazing that even professional actors had to admire him.

Who would have thought that the final result was that Wu Zhenyu lost to Andy Lau.

Afterwards, Wu Zhenyu said in an interview unwillingly: "In the Hong Kong entertainment industry, luck, connections, and audience popularity are important, but strength is not important. Strength is placed at the back."

Then, because of this sentence, he offended the entire entertainment industry and had almost no films to shoot.

So as soon as Stone invited him, he agreed.

(End of this chapter)