Artists under the Rebirth of the Coal Boss

Chapter 230 Cast Replacement!
Hong Kong, Tsim Sha Tsui, is currently film production company.

This company's office is practically a dream bedroom for someone with severe obsessive-compulsive disorder.

All the ceiling lights in the corridor were purchased from the same batch.

If any bulb fails, the entire batch will be replaced to ensure that all bulbs are in the same lifespan and color temperature condition.

The snacks in the break room have all their labels facing out and are arranged in order of their expiration date.

The office filing cabinets are filled with folders labeled with sticky notes that are all the same color, font, size, and horizontal line.

The company's whiteboard displays "Sixty Hours of an Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Patient" from Peng Haoxiang's essay collection "Underground Education of Hate" as the company's employee procedure guidelines.

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This is Peng Haoxiang's trip to mainland China in 2005 to attract investment for a film project called "Women Who Know How to Flirt Are the Luckiest".

Ultimately, investment negotiations failed, and the project remains frozen to this day.

On the way back, Peng Haoxiang asked his assistant to provide a detailed account of his 60-hour journey from the mainland to Hong Kong, down to the minute.

A total of 337 itinerary items were arranged.

例如：08：00抵达机场、08:15过安检……09:45买咖啡、09：48上厕所……10:15MP3听歌、10:17要空乘毛毯保暖……

The most outrageous thing is that Peng Haoxiang followed this schedule exactly, without missing a single detail!!

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Based on this experience, Peng Haoxiang wrote "Sixty Hours of an Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Patient," which was published in the supplement "Wenhuiyuan" of the Hong Kong Wen Wei Po.

It can only be said that the group in the entertainment industry ranges from investors, producers, and directors to actors, extras, and bit players.

They all have some quirks and mental disorders...

Of course, according to the paper in The Lancet, the most common patients in the entertainment industry are addicts.

…………

dong dong dong...

The sound of cutting boards and knives clattering could be heard continuously coming from the company's break room!
Peng Haoxiang is cutting a red-fleshed watermelon.

The cut apples and pears were already piled up like a mountain next to it.

In the corner of the tea room, there were cardboard boxes labeled "Yau Ma Tei Fruit Market," which contained a large quantity of fruits such as pineapples, melons, and apples.

…………

When Leung Kai-yuen, the company's partner and producer of "Love in a Puff," saw his old partner like this, he knew that something must be on his mind.

Whenever he encounters something frustrating, Peng Haoxiang will spend two or three hours cutting fruit in the break room.

Liang Qiyuan stepped forward and asked, "Have you seen Xingzhuo's audition footage?"

While placing a damp towel under the cutting board to prevent slipping, Peng Haoxiang said, "I've seen it..."

Liang Qiyuan said, "I would believe it if you said he had been smoking for forty or fifty years, based on the scene of him smoking."

“His actions of lighting and offering cigarettes were natural and unpretentious, and you could feel that he was a part of himself who had not been completely disciplined by society.”

"Ah Le is deliberately trying to look cool and stylish..."

Peng Haoxiang used a knife perpendicular to the melon rind and cut it off forcefully, saying, "A-Le has been a bit obsessed with his fashion brand lately. I've mentioned it to him several times."

Liang Qiyuan picked up a piece of apple peel and pear slice from the pile next to him, chewed it, and said:

"Also, when he was delivering his lines, Lin Xingzhuo's Cantonese pronunciation reminded me of Leslie Cheung in 'Days of Being Wild'."

"His voice has a unique nasal quality, with a clear sense of melancholy and detachment."

"If what Lin Xingzhuo said at the meeting is true, then using the original Cantonese audio with subtitles is indeed a viable approach..."

Peng Haoxiang cut the watermelon into several equal strips and said:

“I know all of this. If it weren’t for the contract that was signed with Yu Wenle’s company long ago, it would have been more appropriate to have Lin Xingzhuo play Zhang Zhiming.”

Liang Qiyuan chewed on an apple slice and said, "So, you're cutting fruit here because you're struggling with the matter of replacing Yu Wenle?"

Peng Haoxiang put down the fruit knife in his hand and sighed: "Replace Yu Wenle? You're being far too optimistic!"

"The problem now is, is Lin Xingzhuo even going to lose his position as the second male lead?"

Liang Qiyuan took a tissue and wiped his mouth, saying, "Is the Crown Prince here to cause trouble because he lost face at that meeting?"

"I'll talk to him!!"

"We had an agreement with Gold Typhoon beforehand that Prince Kei would come to enhance his resume and wouldn't interfere with the filming!"

Peng Haoxiang said, "I don't care about Prince Ji at all, it's mainly because his dad called!!"

Liang Qiyuan was speechless and said, "Are you kidding me? He beats people up all the time, and his dad cleans up his messes! But when the young people argue, his dad has to come out and protect him?"

Peng Haoxiang said, "Now there are two choices."

Liang Qiyuan said worriedly, "Two choices? Do we have to make Lin Xingzhuo admit his mistake?"

"But I heard Zhong Chuting mention Lin Xingzhuo's visit to the set of 'Reign of Assassins,' and that kind of person is unlikely to back down."

Peng Haoxiang lit a mint-flavored green Lucky Strike cigarette and said, "This isn't an apology or an admission of wrongdoing!"

"Gold Typhoon is giving us two choices, otherwise they'll withdraw their investment..."

"One is that we removed all the smoking scenes from the script, modified the profanity, and adjusted the film to be rated R-3!"

"There's one more option: replace the second male lead!" Liang Qiyuan said. "Damn! That means there's no other choice! We have to eliminate them all!"

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The movie "Love in a Puff" is set against the backdrop of Hong Kong's implementation of a comprehensive indoor smoking ban in 07.

Smokers from different backgrounds were forced to leave their offices, and the back alleys became their social gathering places.

This is where the story of this series begins...

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Zhiming's act of lighting Chun Jiao's cigarette marked the beginning of their attraction;
Regularly getting together for a smoke helps strengthen the bond between friends;
Two people were chased by a health officer while smoking indoors; they ran hand in hand.
Finally, the tobacco tax was increased, smokers rushed to hoard cigarettes, and the two men in the Cold War met again.
Smoking is a core element of this play, profoundly influencing the characters' encounters, acquaintances, and emotional development, and is fully integrated into the fabric of the story.

There's no way to change it!
…………

What a pity! Lin Xingzhuo's smoking was so captivating, and the original Cantonese audio was amazing...

These two elements are absolute game-changers for art-house films!!

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Speaking of which, Hong Kong directors really like scenes of smoking.

In an interview with Sight & Sound magazine, Wang Mojing mentioned the cinematic language of smoking.

"When you are in a high-pressure environment, you will find an impossible triangle."

"No bad habits such as excessive drinking, smoking, or irregular sleep patterns; maintains a clean lifestyle; high income..."

"It's not just in the entertainment industry. Go and look at many kitchens and staff rest rooms with high intensity of work, and you'll see plenty of people smoking."

"In electronics factories in Foshan, mainland China, there are even temporary couples."

"And during the Shanghai Film Festival charity fundraiser, I heard Han Hong mention that left-behind children in rural areas are glued to their phones all day—it's the same principle."

"The nature of tobacco, alcohol, games, and movies determines this."

"Whether in mainland China, Hong Kong, or Taipei, this is the cheapest form of instant entertainment that ordinary people living under high pressure can find."

"After all, not everyone can be like Tony Leung, who spends tens of thousands of dollars to buy a plane ticket to London to feed pigeons when he's feeling down, or like Liu Cixin, who buys several properties and keeps beautiful women."

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Of all the Chinese-language entertainment industries, Hong Kong has the most oppressive environment...

In her previous life, when Lin Xingzhuo was preparing to exchange information, all she knew was that the house she lived in was small.

When I finally arrived in Hong Kong in this life, I discovered that the city was filled with an atmosphere of overcrowding, cramped living resources, and intense, oppressive conditions…

Restaurants outside have tables that are about the size of an iPad for each person, and the restaurants are packed with people eating in cramped conditions.

The subway is packed with people, the beach is packed with people, the streets are packed with people, and there are just as many people during rush hour.

I was looking for a spacious, sparsely populated place to relax, but I couldn't find one at all!
Even supermarkets are crammed into every available space in the building, making shopping feel like a guerrilla war...

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In this situation, Lin Xingzhuo recalled the line spoken by Zhang Jicong that he couldn't understand when he was reviewing "Anti-Corruption Storm 4" in his previous life.

Now it all makes sense...

Go to jail!

This is the only way out for young people in Hong Kong!

........................

Hong Kong, Yau Tsim Mong District, Kowloon, Woosung Street, Jordan, Wing Fat Food Stall.

The loudspeaker at the food stall was playing Hacken Lee's "Red Sun".

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Even if fate is turbulent
Even if fate is full of twists and turns
Even if fate threatens you, life is meaningless.
…………

Lin Xingzhuo sat at a two-person table in the corner of a food stall, sipping a salted lemon soda while waiting for someone.

Ding-dong!
My phone received an email notification.

I opened my QQ email and saw an email from director Peng Haoxiang with a new script attached.

The email was politely worded, and it stated that a more suitable candidate had been found for the second male lead, Jiahao, and that the production team currently had a vacant extra role.

The male protagonist Zhang Zhiming's smoking friend, his father-in-law.

This character had very few lines in the first "Love in a Puff" movie; the document was only two pages long and could be read in a few swipes on a mobile phone.

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Lin Xingzhuo also did not expect that he would successfully complete all of them, including "Dwelling Narrowness", "Reign of Assassins", "Beauty's Rival in Palace" and "Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame".

It's either a promotion and increased screen time! Or it's an invisible lead role!!

How could a low-budget film like "Love in a Puff" actually flop?!

Lin Xingzhuo was thinking about his next move.

Just then, a girl's voice came: "Lin Sheng, I'm sorry I'm late..."

(End of this chapter)