Huayu Entertainment: Tianxian really wants to improve

Chapter 289 The Casting Meeting of Gravity
Gu Bei got into the company car and adjusted to the time difference after a day.

The next day, he came to Han Sanpin's office again, naturally for the audition for Gravity.

"It's coming!"

Han Sanpin looked up and glanced at Gu Bei.
Seeing Gu Bei sit down skillfully, and without even needing to be invited, she started making tea on her own.
He couldn't help but say, "You really know this place like the back of your hand, it's like your own office!"

"That's true!"

Gu Bei smiled and said, "I'm not as familiar with my own office as I am with yours, Chairman Han!"

"Didn't you say you wanted to keep a low profile? Why did you suddenly give an interview yesterday? Are you preparing to create a big news story?"

Han Sanpin sat down opposite Gu Bei and gestured with his chin towards the newspaper on the coffee table.

Gu Bei looked down and...
I found several newspapers that I had read before.

The expanded section reported exactly the news of him being caught by Zhuo Wei yesterday.

"Let me see."

Gu Bei took it and glanced at it.
Then I couldn't help but laugh.

Zhuo Wei is truly a hypocrite; he repeatedly emphasizes that he is not a paparazzi, but when faced with news, he still can't help but go in the direction that generates the most traffic.

The news article begins with Gu Bei omitting his inquiry about the scandal:
"The relationship between a famous director and a female star is always a topic of great public interest. When I asked Director Gu about the rumors between him and Liu Yifei,..."
He simply smiled without answering, and did not directly answer my question.

What a wonderful silence!
This kind of implicit writing style, where the words are left unsaid yet seem to have been said, is a subtle and euphemistic approach

It is indeed an essential skill for every entertainment news reporter.

Next came the report on gravity, while Zhuo Wei himself didn't write about La La Land at all, focusing entirely on the more attention-grabbing topic of gravity.

"I didn't intend to make any big news, but I was always worried that the project wouldn't go through, so I decided to keep a low profile."

Gu Bei said with a smile, "Now that the project is ready to launch, there's no need to hide it any longer. The sooner we start promoting it, the better!"

Overexposure will diminish the public's sense of novelty.
Therefore, even though Gu Bei surpassed Red Cliff during the summer season, it did not make extensive use of that popularity.

Now, the focus is on revealing the film's core high-concept, using it to attract a core audience.
This core audience will eagerly await the film's release. They will be the main force at the film's premiere and midnight screenings, as well as free promoters and one of the key focuses of the film's pre-release publicity.

"I knew it! A blockbuster needs a blockbuster's promotional efforts; the more people who know about this movie, the better."

Han Sanpin, as always, enjoys large-scale publicity.

Gu Bei knew that Han Sanpin's method had indeed worked.

In fact, Han Sanpin's strategy for producing domestic blockbusters is similar to that of Hollywood's high-concept films. Both use marketing to guide creativity, meaning that the market takes precedence over content.

They all use big-name directors and stars, the stories are so simple they can be summarized in a single sentence, and they all have a single marketing theme that can be repeated.

This marketing strategy has indeed drawn many Chinese people to the cinema.

However, the excessive focus on marketing also sowed the seeds of many problems for the future film market, which was still deeply influenced by the blockbuster strategy.

Gu Bei, on the other hand, focused more on the content: "The main thing is to keep things quiet. If we had announced the gravity project a year ago, I doubt the project would have progressed so smoothly."

"Ever since Gravity passed censorship..."
People have been coming to me non-stop to inquire about this project!

Upon hearing this, Han Sanpin said somewhat helplessly, "They can't influence you, so they can only come to China Film Group for help. I'm getting annoyed by them!"

"Hahaha!"

Gu Bei was somewhat gloating.

This is the advantage of having your own capital.

Without needing to raise external funds

The gravity project can be kept strictly confidential between Gu Bei and Han Sanpin.
By the time outsiders find out, the project has already been approved, and it's too late to get involved.

Gu Bei and Han Sanpin chatted in the office for a while.

After a while,
The assistant knocked on the door: "Chairman Han, the people from the Aerospace Science and Technology Group have arrived."

Han Sanpin stood up and glanced at Gu Bei: "Then let's set off."

"can."

Gu Bei nodded.

There are only two investors in Gravity.

One is China Film Group, and the other is Rose Pictures.

However, as the technical support provider and one of the reviewers of future film content, the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation can be said to hold the key to whether a film can be released in mainland China.

As long as they nod.

It's perfectly fine for the movie to be even more extreme.

Of course, there's not much to review about the content on Gravity, and almost nothing risks going over the line.

However, the casting for Gravity

The opinions of all three parties will still be the primary reference.

Jackie Chan was chosen for the male lead almost without controversy.
Although he can't make it in Hollywood now,
But that's only because the public is tired of his performance style; it doesn't mean the public hates him.

On the contrary, Jackie Chan still enjoys very high public goodwill abroad, but his films are no longer commercially successful.

Jackie Chan's role in Gravity is similar to his role in The Karate Kid; he can serve as a promotional point to attract moviegoers' attention to the film, and that's enough.

In contrast,

Another kung fu king, Jet Li,

He is much weaker in this respect, and his image is not as good as Jackie Chan's.

As for Tony Leung, there's even less to say. He's already screwed over several Hollywood studios and hasn't left any market presence overseas.

The main topic of discussion at this tripartite meeting was the selection of the female lead.

"Forester!"

Gu Bei greeted Lin Tianyi, the representative from the Aerospace Science and Technology Group.

During the initial preparations, they had met several times and were already very familiar with each other.

After a while,
Ouyang Baoping walked in from outside.

She was the casting director for Gravity, a Sino-US co-production that had to comply with both domestic co-production rules and the rules of foreign labor unions.

"Hello everyone!"

Ouyang Baoping's Chinese is quite good. "Our casting team has contacted all the actresses on the shortlist and screened them based on the audition videos they sent."
Next, I will show you the candidates who have advanced to the next round of auditions.

After a pause,

She turned on the projector: "The first one is Zhang Ziyi, the actress most recommended by our casting team."

She has extensive acting experience and perfectly embodies the resilient character of the female lead. Furthermore, due to her roles in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Rush Hour, she already enjoys a certain level of international recognition, aligning with the film's marketing strategy.

At the same time, she showed Zhang Ziyi's audition video.

In the audition video

Zhang Ziyi performed a series of survival-oriented expressions in front of the camera.

The audition video content was a question that Gu Bei gave to everyone equally. Since "Gravity" was filmed by shooting the actors' facial expressions and then merging them with their bodies in post-production, it required a very high level of facial performance.

Han Sanpin nodded: "I think it's good."

Lin Tianyi agreed, saying, "I think it's a good idea too."

The first round of auditions was relatively simple.
The final result will depend on the actual footage, specifically the effect captured directly using film cameras.
Only then can we truly see how well the actors and the film suit each other.

With Zhang Ziyi's international reputation,
It's practically a guaranteed pass.

"I don't think so!"

Gu Bei frowned and spoke.

He hadn't expected the casting team to put Zhang Ziyi first, but thinking about it carefully, it made sense; Zhang Ziyi's international reputation was indeed very useful lately.

But starting next year...
This was the turning point in Zhang Ziyi's fate.
The beach incident occurred early next year, which damaged Zhang Ziyi's image.

Although this wasn't fatal, at least the box office of "Very Perfect" during the summer season wasn't greatly affected, but Fan Bingbing's willingness to publicly criticize Zhang Ziyi was probably partly due to this.

The most fatal event will be the triple scandal that occurs between the end of next year and the beginning of next year.

Ink-splashing incident, fraudulent donation incident, seduction incident,

Each subject is better than the last.

This practically shattered Zhang Ziyi's public image.
As for the release date of Gravity...
This was exactly six months after the Triple Gate incident.

After a pause, Gu Bei said to the puzzled Han Sanpin and Lin Tianyi, "I think using Zhang Ziyi is too risky. She is not suitable as the female lead in the movie."

On stage, Ouyang Baoping realized that it was Gu Bei who spoke up and rejected Zhang Ziyi.

She was slightly startled.
According to Zhang Ziyi's Hollywood WME agent,
When I told her, I mentioned that Zhang Ziyi and Gu Bei had a very good personal relationship, which led her to move Zhang Ziyi from second to first place.

Unexpectedly... the only one to reject Zhang Ziyi was Gu Bei.

Is this what you mean by having a good relationship?

"Director Gu, what kind of risk are you referring to?"

Lin Tianyi asked curiously.

"The main issue is donations. Last year, Zhang Ziyi raised funds in Cannes, but the donation process in North America is very complicated and requires issues such as establishing a foundation."

We might be able to understand, but once the outside world finds out about this, her image will be damaged.

Gu Bei thought for a moment and gave a reason.

Actually, all three of these cases have somewhat wronged Zhang Ziyi.

Otherwise, she would have no way to salvage her image.

However, there are indeed risks involved. Even if Liu Yifei is not selected, Gu Bei is more inclined to choose Gong Li rather than Zhang Ziyi.

"So that's how it is!"

Upon hearing this, Lin Tianyi immediately changed his mind, "Then I also change my opinion; this is indeed a risk!"

As someone within the system, Lin Tianyi understood that things could be done poorly, but they absolutely could not be botched.

Even though Zhang Ziyi is a suitable candidate, there are other options available, so it's natural to eliminate those who pose a risk first.

The key is,

What if, in the end, no one is satisfactory?
So it's still possible to go back and choose Zhang Ziyi again.
At that time, it was a choice made out of necessity, and the risk to him disappeared.

"Since everyone disagrees, I can't be a loner, so I'll also choose to disagree!"

Han Sanpin also quickly changed direction.

He glanced at Gu Bei meaningfully, wondering if Gu Bei's rejection of Zhang Ziyi was partly motivated by personal reasons.

After all, he knew about Gu Bei and Liu Yifei's relationship. Among domestic actresses, only Gong Li and Zhang Ziyi were the most promising. Now that Zhang Ziyi was excluded, it was like clearing a landmine for Liu Yifei.

However, we'll have to wait and see how things unfold.

that's it,
Zhang Ziyi ranked first.
From the initial quick two-vote approval,

After Gu Bei's words, it became three votes against.

"Uh……"

Ouyang Baoping was somewhat embarrassed.

The casting director's top pick was rejected by the client with three votes.

This is a very rare occurrence in her career.

After a pause, she quickly realized: "From the perspective of role suitability, Ms. Zhang Ziyi is indeed very good, but from a commercial point of view, she is not very suitable."

After a while,
The screen then panned to the next person.
Ouyang Baoping continued, "This is the second actress, and also one that the casting team highly recommends: Gong Li."

After her recent setback, she spoke with less confidence when introducing Gong Li: "Gong Li is a famous actress from China. Her acting skills are highly praised by film critics, and she has achieved considerable commercial success in China. Her disadvantage is that she has not achieved commercial success overseas."

This time,
Neither Han Sanpin nor Lin Tianyi spoke immediately.
Instead, he turned to look at Gu Bei, wanting to see how Gu Bei would behave.

"Cough cough!"

Gu Bei coughed twice.

He knew perfectly well that these two weren't following his lead.
Instead, one should consider whether there is any possibility of using public office for private gain.

However, Gu Bei was not flustered at all.

Every judgment he makes is without any personal bias; it is simply a prediction based on the future.

“Gong Li is a fantastic actress, and I agree that she should advance to the next round,” Gu Bei said calmly. “Also, your information needs to be updated; she is now a foreign citizen.”

"Understood, I will check it out."

Ouyang Baoping nodded.

"I agree."

Lin Tianyi naturally had no objections.
Who in their generation doesn't know Gong Li?
"I agree."

Han Sanpin looked at Gu Bei, "Director Gu, it seems you have indeed put in enough effort; I didn't even know about this!"

Gu Bei replied with a smile, "Chairman Han, it's normal that you don't know. I only found out by chance. You may have to wait until entertainment reporters break the news."

Gong Li acquired foreign citizenship this year.
The timing was even incredibly coincidentally just two weeks prior.

Her citizenship oath was originally scheduled for the end of August, but she couldn't attend due to other commitments, so she took the oath in November, which was then revealed by the media.

Next up were several other actresses.

There were applicants from Taiwan Province, but they were rejected by three people.

There are also actresses from North America and Hong Kong.
When it was Liu Yifei's turn to appear, she was exactly ninth.

This ranking sounds high, but there's only one lead actress position, so it's already quite low.

(End of this chapter)