It's reasonable for me to be a three-time Golden Horse Award-winning director and an all-around

Chapter 232 One by one, the great Tang Dynasty poets take the stage; Lü Rui: Are you teaching me how to do things? (Seeking monthly votes)
“Brother Lü Rui, my mom asked me to tell you that I have time to make a cameo appearance as ‘Little Xing Fei’. I can bring my textbooks to the set and do my homework while filming.”

On the phone, Zhao Jinmai called him "brother" in a particularly sweet voice, her tone full of joy, which unconsciously brought her even closer to Lü Rui.

“Okay.” Lü Rui replied with a smile, “Please tell your mother for me that she thanks you for letting you make a cameo appearance.”

"My mom said you're welcome..."

Five- or six-year-old girls don't understand social etiquette yet, and in most cases, adults guide them in their speech and actions.

Clearly, Zhao Jinmai's parents have made up their minds to let their daughter officially embark on the path of a "child star".

With some connections in the family and my daughter being quite capable, I figured I might as well avoid the detours of "studying".

After all, as the old saying goes, all roads lead to Rome.

Moreover, the entertainment industry is a place where things change at an exceptionally fast pace.

Since there is an opportunity to venture out, we should seize it firmly; otherwise, it will be forgotten in no time.

Become famous as early as possible, and make money as early as possible!

Many child stars in the industry choose this path, but only a handful actually succeed.

In Lü Rui's memory, Zhao Jinmai was definitely one of the best examples of a child star who successfully rose to fame after growing up.

Unlike some child stars who were quite cute when they were young, but suddenly and inexplicably grew up to be less attractive and gradually faded from the audience's view...

After communicating with Zhao Jinmai, Lü Rui then chatted briefly with Chen Baoguo and Yu Hewei, who had come to sign the contract.

Chen Baoguo began acting in stage plays as early as 1978 after graduating from the Central Academy of Drama.

In 1980, he successfully starred in his first film, "The Dadu River," and later won the Best Actor Award at the first China TV Golden Eagle Awards.

After that, he went on to play Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhi, in "Wu Zetian", as well as many other classic works such as "Emperor Wu of Han", "Ming Dynasty 1566", and "The Grand Mansion Gate".

His early fame and portrayal of numerous emperors and rulers have given him an inherent air of "righteous indignation."

Wearing a military uniform and standing there, he would be perfectly suited to play a "ministerial-level" leader.

“Teacher Baoguo, I’m giving you the script today. Please think about this character more when you get back. I don’t have high requirements, but he needs to have that kind of leadership and the presence of someone who can hold down the fort.”

"Don't worry." Chen Baoguo laughed. "I may not be good at playing other roles, but I'm absolutely fine with this kind of character."

"Okay, then I'll wait and see."

"Look at it."

Compared to Chen Baoguo's nonchalant attitude, Yu Hewei appeared somewhat nervous.

After all, at this point, although he had acted in many TV series and some movies, he mostly appeared as a supporting actor.

Although the role he will be playing in "Pacific Rim" is also a supporting one.

How can a supporting role in a top-tier $2 million project be compared to a supporting role in a low-budget drama?
To be honest, even after seeing Lü Rui in person and sitting down to chat with him for a while, Yu Hewei still felt somewhat dazed.

The main reason was that this "pie" that fell from the sky was so big that he was really flattered!

He knew that he was competing with many people, after all, they were middle-aged male actors in the 35-40 age range in the entire Chinese entertainment industry!
But to everyone's surprise, this unknown nobody actually managed to rise to the top.

This is absolutely fantastical!

"The character you play is outgoing and carefree, but essentially a fanatical 'monster fan,' filled with curiosity and enthusiasm for monsters, and may even unintentionally offend others because of this love..."

At the same time, they are very bold and willing to try new research methods, such as proposing to connect the brains of humans and monsters through the synesthesia between the mechs and the pilots to obtain information..."

As Lü Rui analyzed the character, Yu Hewei nodded, taking every word to heart.

After all, this was the biggest opportunity he had ever had since entering the acting industry, and he secretly resolved to seize it!

"By the way, how's your English?"

Lu Rui suddenly remembered that Yu Hewei's partner was also a foreign PhD, who would be played by a foreign actor.

When filming, we'll definitely need to make arrangements for communication in English.

"Normal communication is no problem, it's just that I have a bit of an accent. But don't worry, Director Lü, I'll find a professional teacher to train me when I get back today, and try to meet the filming requirements before filming starts."

Yu Hewei maintained a very proper attitude.

It's mid-August now, and the crew will officially start filming in September. There's still more than half a month left, which is enough time for him to work on his English accent.

"Okay, thank you for your hard work."

Lü Rui nodded with great satisfaction.

This is the kind of good actor he admires, unlike the artists from Hong Kong who can't even speak Mandarin fluently.

Why can't they find a teacher to train them, like Liu Dehua, Liang Jiahui, and Jackie Chan?
The answer is of course yes, but deep down they still look down on the mainland market and only want others to accommodate them.

The end result was that at the audition for "Pacific Rim," every Hong Kong star who came was rejected.

There are quite a few Hong Kong and Taiwanese stars in "The Forbidden Kingdom," but Lu Rui can't control that; let them do whatever they want.

Just yesterday, Li Lianjie's name was revealed by Huayi Brothers, and he is none other than one of the two male leads!

The buzz within the industry intensified, with many speculating about who the other male lead would be.

Jackie Chan, Hung Ching-po... even Chow Yun-fat's name was mentioned repeatedly.

As for Stephen Chow, the other member of the "Double Chow and Jackie Chan" trio, he is not among the people being speculated about because he is currently preparing for his new film "CJ7".

In fact, many mainland netizens would like one of the male leads to be played by a mainland action actor.

Unfortunately, among the action male actors in mainland China, there is almost none who are qualified to form a "dual male lead" relationship with Li Lianjie.

Just as Lü Rui saw Yu Hewei off, he saw Shen Ao walking quickly from the elevator entrance, his brows slightly furrowed.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"Brother Rui, the audition for the male lead might have to be postponed by a day."

"why?"

"Hugo was in a car accident..."

As one of the most popular young actors in mainland China right now, Hu Ge is naturally a candidate for the male lead in "Pacific Rim".

His current situation will inevitably have some impact on casting.

"Is he alright?" A memory suddenly flooded into Lu Rui's mind.

He remembered that Hugo had indeed suffered such a calamity in his previous life, and it seemed that he had even been disfigured!

It was from then on that he embarked on the path of transforming from a young heartthrob into a serious actor.

"He himself is not in any life-threatening danger and has already been taken to the hospital. It's just a pity for his assistant, who died on the spot."

"Ugh."

Lu Rui sighed and said nothing more.

A person's fate is predetermined by heaven, and unexpected disasters are often unavoidable; they can happen at any time.

Faced with this situation, there is no choice but to accept the situation and move on.

"Arrange for someone to visit him in the hospital. Postpone the male lead's audition for a few days and arrange for the female supporting actress and other supporting actors to audition first."

"it is good."

Shen Ao responded and turned to leave.

Lu Rui then returned to his office and went online. He saw that almost all the major portal websites and social media platforms were filled with news about Hu Ge's car accident.

Media outlets have reported that the person suffered serious injuries, especially multiple fractures in the face, which may have resulted in disfigurement.

Fans of "Chinese Paladin" found it very difficult to accept and flooded social media with prayers for their idols to be safe and sound.

Cai Yinong had no choice but to step forward and give a media interview.

The sudden misfortune of the company's top executive is undoubtedly a major blow to Tangren Media.

After all, the company's top-earning salesperson is unable to work, and if they don't recover later, there's a high chance they won't be able to earn any more money...

Even so, she maintained a composed expression and spoke righteously to the camera:
"Tangren will absolutely not give up on Hu Ge, and his current projects will not be recast. Instead, filming will be suspended until he recovers and then resumes..."

In this respect, Cai Yinong is quite loyal and has won unanimous praise from the entire internet.

However, Lü Rui keenly noticed a young-looking girl following behind her in the photos and videos circulating online.

She looks somewhat similar to Liu Yifei, especially in terms of makeup and styling; it's as if they were created by the same makeup artist.

As expected, the last of the "Poet Immortals of the Tang Dynasty" will soon make his appearance.

To Lü Rui's surprise, just one day later, the "Yahoo Search Star" national talent show, which Yahoo Search invested 3000 million yuan in and partnered with Hunan TV, came to a close with its final competition.

Zhao Liying won the championship in Feng Xiaogang's group, Ailijiang Kurban won the championship in Chen Kaige's group, and He Zhuoyan won the championship in Zhang Jizhong's group.

Three ordinary people from humble backgrounds became famous overnight.

Huayi held a high-profile signing ceremony for the three and provided them with ample resources.

Zhao Liying played the female lead in the advertisement "Kneeling Tribe" directed by Feng Xiaogang, and also co-starred with Wang Gang, Ning Jing and Tang Yanqiang in the historical drama "King of Nanyue", playing the role of "Little Queen".

Ailijan Kurban, a 22-year-old boy from Xinjiang, became the spokesperson for Yahoo! Portal.

He Zhuoyan successfully joined the cast of "The Deer and the Cauldron" and landed the role of "Shuang'er," officially launching her acting career alongside Huang Xiaoming. The three of them had their paths to fame almost entirely transparent.

It would be no exaggeration to describe it as "rising to the top in one step".

After all, before entering the entertainment industry and gaining fame, they were just ordinary people who couldn't be more ordinary.

This situation has once again spurred the rapid development of Huayi Brothers' artist management business, with many college graduates from the three major art academies flocking to the company, hoping to seize an opportunity to become famous.

Zhao Liying's starting point was clearly not low.

She is now single-mindedly trying to curry favor with Feng Xiaogang in order to start a new chapter in her career.

However, while some people are determined to squeeze in, others just want to escape!

Fan Bingbing gave it her all at the audition for the role of Wei Meimei, the second female lead in "Pacific Rim".

In order to escape Huayi and to win the role, she strictly followed Lu Rui's advice to work out, and even developed muscles and abs!

The role required her to be cheerful, outgoing, lively, and bright, which perfectly matched her personality.

Now, with the added advantage of physical fitness, she immediately stood out from the crowd.

Yang Mi, who was waiting for the result, was completely dumbfounded.

Seeing Fan Bingbing demonstrate numerous skills such as "hard bridge" and "fighting" on the floor without hesitation for the sake of competing for a role, she admired her from the bottom of her heart!
Although she herself made a lot of preparations to compete for this role.

But compared to Fan Bingbing, she's nothing.

Moreover, the other party is a top star, whose fame, temperament, and ability far surpass his own.

Given this background, if she wants to compete with Fan Bingbing, unless Lü Rui personally selects her for the role, she has absolutely no chance of winning.

At the same time, Huo Siyan, who was waiting for her audition, was even considering turning around and leaving.

What's the point of even comparing these things?
What she prepared was less than a tenth of what Fan Bingbing showed today.

Rather than going up there and losing face, it's better to find an excuse to retreat.

As a result, after just one round of auditions, there was no need for a second round of auditions with makeup or a third round of auditions with CG effects. Fan Bingbing stood out directly, skipping all the other stages!

"Congratulations, you've passed the audition," Lu Rui said.

"Thank you, Director Lü, for giving me this opportunity. I will definitely perform well and live up to your expectations!"

Fan Bingbing bowed deeply and respectfully.

After putting away the contract and script, she had just stepped out of the Ruishijie gate when she called her agent to instruct him to report the situation to the company.

"I've successfully auditioned for the second female lead in Pacific Rim. If anyone tries to stop me from taking the role, they should talk to Director Lu themselves."

Recalling Wang Zhonglei's previous threats to blacklist her, and comparing it to her current successful audition, Fan Bingbing felt a sense of triumph!

"You really think I'm easily intimidated? You think you can just ban me like that? Come on! Try it."

Overjoyed, she silently grumbled to herself before immediately instructing the driver to head to Shunyi District.

She and Liu Yifei had made plans to go shopping together this afternoon.

Meanwhile, when the staff at Huayi Brokerage received the news, they immediately relayed it to Manager Li Xue.

Upon hearing the news that Fan Bingbing had successfully auditioned, Li Xue, Li Bingbing's younger sister, immediately turned pale.

Since Wang Jinghua left, the two sisters have been trying to suppress Fan Bingbing.

But to everyone's surprise, the more they were suppressed, the stronger the opponent's counterattack became!
It goes without saying that after the news of Fan Bingbing joining "Pacific Rim" was revealed, she will definitely usher in a new peak in her career!

Even if it's just a supporting role, it's still a supporting role in a $2 million project, so the support it provides is definitely substantial!

Then, considering that Li Bingbing had to give up the lead role in "The Forbidden Kingdom" and choose to play the second female lead due to company profit distribution issues...

Li Xue couldn't swallow this insult, so she immediately got up and went to find Wang Zhonglei.

Pushing open the office door, she first recounted Fan Bingbing's successful audition, then, with a somewhat helpless tone, began to stir up trouble:
"President Wang, you instructed me not to arrange any resources for Fan Bingbing, but she is very capable and hardworking, and she actually got a successful audition for a new drama. I really can't do anything about it, I can't stop her, and I can't control her..."

Ever since Wang Jinghua left Huayi, Wang Zhonglei has been particularly sensitive to the phrase "uncontrollable".

He would fly into a rage whenever he knew that someone in the company was disobedient!

In addition, Fan Bingbing had a previous "crime"—she had clashed with him multiple times and had shown signs of "defection," which made him very dissatisfied.

Huayi's internal blacklist has already been initiated.

All external resources, including brand business collaborations that proactively approached her, have now been cut off from her.

Even if he couldn't force her to comply, Wang Zhonglei still wanted to vent his anger!

But to his utter surprise, Fan Bingbing took an unconventional approach and successfully auditioned for "Pacific Rim"!
Isn't this a slap in the face?
If I let her play the role, wouldn't my authority in the company collapse?
He immediately picked up his phone and dialed Lü Rui's number in front of Li Xue.

"President Wang? Is something the matter?" Lu Rui's voice came through, tinged with doubt.

Wang Zhonglei was holding his breath at the moment, so he didn't exchange pleasantries and went straight to the point about Fan Bingbing's audition:
"Director Lü, there are so many actresses in the industry, why don't you find someone else? To be honest, this Fan Bingbing is too impetuous and unruly. I'm currently dealing with her..."

However, before he could finish speaking, Lü Rui interrupted him directly: "President Wang, are you trying to teach me how to do things?"

His tone was calm, but his words carried an undeniable forcefulness.

Wang Zhonglei was taken aback, clearly not expecting Lü Rui to be so disrespectful to him.

He frowned subconsciously, then put on airs: "Huayi is one of the project's investors, after all. Shouldn't they be able to offer some suggestions on casting?"

"No."

What does Director Lü mean by that?

"It's very simple. I make the decisions about my projects, and no one can interfere with the people I choose. That's my rule. If Mr. Wang is not satisfied, Huayi can withdraw its investment, and I will find other investors."

"..."

Wang Zhonglei gave an awkward smile, said a few conciliatory words, and then hung up the phone.

Withdrawal of investment?

Are you kidding me? !

Putting aside the extent of the loss, giving up a big production for Fan Bingbing is a bad deal no matter how you look at it.

Therefore, he could only suppress his anger.

Lu Rui's domineering attitude left him somewhat at a loss.

"You can go out now." Wang Zhonglei waved to Li Xue, forcibly hiding his embarrassment.

"What about Fan Bingbing..." Li Xue hadn't achieved her goal yet and didn't really want to leave.

"She can't cause any trouble. She's just a supporting character with not many scenes. She's not the female lead."

"..."

Li Xue was speechless.

She finally understood that Wang Zhonglei, who boasted all day about how amazing his methods were, was actually a coward who bullied the weak and feared the strong.

If nothing unexpected happens, this matter will most likely just end up being left unresolved.

At the same time, at the audition site, Lü Rui casually put his phone aside and continued to advance the auditions for other roles.

And you dare to interfere with movie casting?

Who exactly gave Wang Zhonglei the courage?

Even the roles recommended by Han Sanping and Ren Zhonglun were all rejected by Lü Rui without any mercy. What is Huayi compared to that?

They even said that Fan Bingbing is unruly?

He just chuckled.

It's clearly their own incompetence and inability to control others that's causing trouble, yet they blame others for being too unruly—it's utterly stupid.

Just then, the audition room door was suddenly pushed open, and Zhao Peng walked in excitedly to report, "Brother Rui, the actors you asked me to contact have all arrived."

"So fast?" Lu Rui raised an eyebrow slightly and immediately ordered, "Let them in."

"it is good."

A short while later, the audition room door was pushed open again, and three male actors with very different styles, but all with high spirits and charisma, walked in.

He Rundong, Jiao Enjun, Zhao Wenzhuo!

In the original Pacific Rim, the pilot of the "Crimson Typhoon" Jaeger was played by the "Wei Tang Brothers".

Lu Rui had originally thought that he might as well find triplets to play the role himself.

But looking at the entire Chinese entertainment industry, there simply aren't any suitable candidates.

So, after thinking it over, he decided that it would be better to find three "fierce generals" to operate the mechs.

Although they can't form triplets, the "three brothers from one family" concept can still be used, and they can be sorted by age.

So, these three men, recognized as "macho men" in the industry, appeared at the audition for "Pacific Rim" today...

(End of this chapter)