Violence supervision in Conan

Chapter 785 Casting Choices, "Kung Fu Emperor" Joins

"Mr. Li, it's an honor to meet you!"

Ono Takeshi politely shook hands with the short man in front of him.

The latter seemed slightly nervous: "Nice to meet you, Mr. Onino."

Oni Takeshi secretly examined the face in front of him, which looked youthful and vigorous, a world apart from his decrepit appearance in later generations.

This is the spirited, dashing, and handsome "Master Huang" I remember!

While Ono Takeshi was sighing inwardly, Li Lianjie was also quietly observing the man in front of him who looked more like a villain than the villains in his movies.

Although the other person looked a bit older than his own baby face, Li Lianjie had checked the information and found that the other person was actually several years younger than him.

It's hard to believe that such a young man is actually Takeshi Ono, a world-renowned top director!
Hollywood, which she had always dreamed of entering, had repeatedly failed in the hands of this man.

Fighting against a world-dominating film industry all by himself!

Thinking of this, a look of admiration flashed in Li Lianjie's eyes, along with an irrepressible surge of excitement.

When Li Lianjie was first surprised that Ono Takeshi had contacted him through someone else, he was immediately excited after learning the other party's purpose.

“Mr. Li, I’ve already stated my purpose over the phone: I hope to invite you to play a role in my new movie.”

Having seen enough of his idols from his previous life, Ono Takeshi quickly regained his composure. He was already used to these well-known stars from his past life and treated them with a normal attitude, directly stating the purpose of his meeting with Li Lianjie.

Li Lianjie perked up upon hearing this.

Even though he already knew the other party's purpose, he still couldn't help but get excited after hearing the invitation to play the role from Ono Takeshi.

Who is this man in front of me? Takeshi Oni, Asia's number one director!
Although he has become famous throughout mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and even the whole of Asia with films such as "Once Upon a Time in China" and "Fong Sai-yuk", he is still a nobody compared to Takeshi Oni.

Moreover, rumors have been circulating in the industry for some time that Takeshi Oni's new movie will be a blockbuster co-produced by Hong Kong, Japan, and mainland China!

The news caused a sensation throughout the Asian entertainment industry, with countless celebrities and actors vying for a spot in the production.

Although Jet Li was a popular action star, he wasn't confident he could win the favor of Takeshi Ono, since there was another "international superstar" named Fang Shilong who was even more famous than him.

Therefore, I was quite flattered when I received the call.

I quickly booked the fastest flight from Hong Kong Island to Beijing.

Upon hearing Oni Takeshi's invitation, Li Lianjie, disregarding his excitement, immediately agreed without hesitation:

“No problem. After receiving Mr. Guiye’s call, I immediately turned down three film offers and cleared my schedule.”

Upon hearing this, Ono Takeshi was slightly taken aback, sensing the importance the other party placed on him, and smiled: "I believe this role will certainly not disappoint Mr. Li's trust."

The two smiled at each other.

Without further ado, and witnessed by Han Sanping, Li Lianjie signed the contract and officially joined the cast and crew of "The Wandering Earth".

After dropping Jet Li back at his hotel, Lau approached him curiously and asked, "Director Guiye, do you really think Jet Li is suitable to play Liu Peiqiang?"

"Of course!"

Ono Takeshi answered with an affirmative tone.

Da Liu nodded and said nothing more.

Although he is the original author, he trusts Takeshi Ono's eye for casting more.

In fact, no one would question this point, including those in Hollywood who dislike Takeshi Onino.

Takeshi Ono's incredibly accurate eye for casting has been a topic of much discussion in the industry and is something that makes him truly admirable.

Liu Cixin is self-aware and knows that Takeshi Ono is the expert in film, so he naturally won't blindly point fingers.

Getting back to the main point. After Jet Li signed the contract, one of the lead actors for "The Wandering Earth" was confirmed.

That's right, Takeshi Oni invited Jet Li to play Liu Peiqiang.

In other words, in his previous life, Wu Jin was tricked into joining the film crew under the guise of a cameo role, but ended up playing the lead role.

Wu Jin acted very well in his previous life and was a good fit for the role of Liu Peiqiang. Unfortunately, the current Wu Jin is just a young man who has just won the national martial arts competition elite tournament in spear and sparring.

In his previous life, he didn't make his acting debut until next year, 1995, with the film "Kung Fu Kid," thus entering the entertainment industry.

He became known to audiences in 1998 for starring in the period drama "Tai Chi Master".

A 20-year-old Wolf Warrior certainly couldn't play a mature and steady role like Liu Peiqiang.

After searching around, Ono Takeshi finally fixed his gaze on Li Lianjie.

At that time, Jet Li had already become a sensation across Asia with his role as "Wong Fei-hung," and had deeply impressed people with the character.

Huang Feihong happens to give people the impression of being calm, dignified, and imposing.

In this respect, it coincides with Liu Peiqiang's role.

Furthermore, Jet Li has also played the role of a kind father with a cold exterior but a warm heart and a fatherly love as deep as a mountain in movies such as "Letter to Dad" and "The New Legend of Shaolin".

I believe Li Lianjie can portray the father-son relationship between Liu Peiqiang and his son Liu Qi, which is characterized by estrangement yet mutual concern and care.

Although he was an action actor, Jet Li's acting skills were by no means mediocre. He could play righteous characters with awe-inspiring integrity and villains with a chilling aura. He was definitely a skilled actor, and it was not difficult for him to portray the character of Liu Peiqiang.

Based on the above considerations, Ono Takeshi ultimately decided that Li Lianjie would replace Wu Jin in the role of Liu Peiqiang.

Of course, the fame of the "Kung Fu Emperor" is also one of the reasons.

As one of the few Asian actors to break into Hollywood, Jet Li has proven his worth, attracting not only Eastern audiences but also gaining recognition from Western audiences.

However, the happiest person must be Jet Li himself. He has almost reached the top in Asia and is preparing to enter Hollywood. But with his image and identity as an Asian, how easy is it to break into the exclusive Hollywood?

So far, only Bruce Lee and Fang Shilong have actually managed to get in.

Of course, Jet Li wanted to be the third person. As an action star, who wouldn't want to become an international superstar like Fang Shilong?

As we all know, who brought about Fang Shilong's success?

Oninotake!
Now that such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity is before him, how could Li Lianjie not be overwhelmed with excitement?
This is also why he turned down all film offers.

I had already made up my mind that I must put in my utmost effort to play this role well!

Ono Takeshi could sense Li Lianjie's attitude. It was all the better that the other party had such awareness, which proved that he had not chosen the wrong person.

Having secured Jet Li, Takeshi Ono began selecting other actors.

Although Liu Qi is the male lead in "The Wandering Earth", Liu Peiqiang's role is also very important. In addition, another important role is the rebel leader.

In Takeshi Ono's version, after some changes, the rebel leader is no longer a minor, dispensable character; his role takes up almost half of the film's runtime.

The role of Wang Lei, the rescue team leader and another important character in the previous movie, was also largely transferred to the rebel leader.

Therefore, this is undoubtedly an important supporting role.

Almost as good as Liu Peiqiang!

Choosing a character who didn't exist in his previous life was quite difficult, and it even gave Takeshi Ono a bit of a headache.

Until one day, Han Sanping came to his door, followed by a rugged-looking young man.

"Hello, Coach Onino, my name is Jiang Wen!"

(End of this chapter)