The only sun in Huayu

Chapter 153 The Cast of "Lost in..." Takes Place (78)

With New Year's Day approaching, the chill of late December is becoming increasingly biting.

Upon boarding the flight again, Shen Shandeng noticed Li Xiaolu sitting next to him.

This time, she didn't even bother to hide it, and waved her boarding pass with a smile.

After the plane reached cruising altitude, Li Xiaolu volunteered, "Director Shen, can I play the role of Li Chenggong's mistress in your movie 'Lost in Thailand'?"

Shen Shandeng was slightly surprised and turned to look at her: "That role doesn't have many scenes, and the image isn't very positive. You're a Golden Horse Award-winning actress, aren't you afraid it will affect your image?"

Li Xiaolu was much more generous than he had imagined, waving her hand and saying, "Acting is just work. In 'Paradise Lost,' I still played a prostitute. There are no big or small roles; as long as you perform well, that's enough."

Li Xiaolu added with a hint of pride, "When it comes to acting, even Mimi would have to call me 'senior sister'."

This statement subtly implies a comparison with Yang Mi.

Shen Shandeng smiled but didn't respond to that question. Instead, he joked, "Looks like you're a seasoned veteran actor."

Seeing that Shen Shandeng did not respond, Li Xiaolu felt disheartened.

But it was quite natural to steer the conversation back to his music.

“Director Shen, I have studied it carefully, and I think ‘Goodbye Qingdao’ should be a turning point in your creative career.”

Li Xiaolu spoke eloquently, her eyes shining: "Before this, your style was unrestrained, you could easily switch between pop, rap, rock, and folk, and even had hardcore rock with an industrial and agricultural feel like 'Black Oil' and 'Farmland,' which was particularly interesting."

Shen Shandeng was genuinely surprised this time: "Oh? These songs are relatively obscure, you've heard them all?"

"Of course!"

Li Xiaolu seemed to have received tremendous affirmation, and excitedly said, "I love your rock and rap from this period the most! Especially 'Gu' and 'Zombie,' the perspective is so unique!"

"One story is about the Gu worm breeder from the perspective of the Gu worms of southern Xinjiang, and the other is about the tomb raider from the perspective of a zombie. Brilliant!"

"The inspiration came from reading novels," Shen Shandeng explained.

This girl has a strong imagination and helped him refine his creative process.

Li Xiaolu was amused by his perfunctory answer, feeling that this famous director had a good sense of humor in private.

"Then, starting with 'Goodbye Qingdao,' you clearly shifted to folk music, focusing more on melody and narrative. 'Anhe Bridge,' 'Miss Dong,' 'Sky City,' 'Qingdao,' and 'BJ Girl,' are these three phases?"

"From pop music to diverse explorations, and finally to folk music as a foundation."

Shen Shandeng pondered for a moment, then nodded in agreement: "Yes, your summary does make some sense."

He was happy to see someone help him justify his plagiarism.

Feeling that the atmosphere was quite right, Li Xiaolu revealed her true intentions, her eyes filled with anticipation, and began to build rapport: "Director Shen, you've never officially released an album or held a concert."

"I'll forgo the pay for this role; just sing me a song, and that'll be it, okay?"

The plane lands.

Shen Shandeng basically tacitly agreed that Li Xiaolu would play the role of the mistress.

Even if Shen Shandeng doesn't care about the Golden Horse Award for Best Actress, it does boost the film's publicity and perceived quality.

The original scene of a random passerby selling cell phones at the train station has been replaced with this beautiful and somewhat intriguing mistress, which adds even more dramatic tension.

Upon arriving at the hotel, Li Xiaolu brought up the old matter again.

Shen Shandeng took out his MP3 player: "Which song do you want to hear? I can only play the instrumental version now."

Li Xiaolu smiled slyly: "Keep it for now. Next time I buy a guitar, you have to play and sing 'Goodbye Qingdao' for me yourself."

She knew when to stop and left herself an excuse for the next meeting.

Shen Shandeng found the "bad girl" tactic of playing hard to get quite interesting.

However, he can withstand the test!

The work in Xuzhou was once again facilitated in advance by China Film Group, and communication with the local authorities was exceptionally smooth.

Standing in Xuzhou, Shen Shandeng inexplicably recalled a classic line from the movie "The Great Battle".

"Xuzhou has been the site of more than fifty large-scale battles throughout history. The rights and wrongs are hard to say, but historians have all noticed that it was on this ancient battlefield that the rise and fall of countless dynasties were determined." The rich historical sense inherent in this land, if filmed well, can create a chemical reaction with the everyday life and vibrancy needed for "Lost in..."

Although Shen Shandeng was away, news about Beijing never stopped.

When Shen Shandeng went behind the scenes, it aroused the united hatred of China Film Group, Bona Film Group, Huayi Brothers, and Enlight Media.

Several companies joined forces and quickly uncovered the specific details and individuals involved in the "Jiajing" project.

In an instant, all sorts of reports and explanatory materials flew to the relevant departments like snowflakes.

The combined efforts of the entire industry, even those in small sectors, should not be underestimated.

As expected, the "Jiajing" project was quickly approved.

Tian Lili quickly followed up with a call, hoping that Shen Shandeng could return to take charge.

"He's confessed without being asked," Shen Shandeng said with a cold smile as he listened to the phone call.

Some people panicked, not expecting that someone as tough as Shen Shandeng would back down so quickly, and things escalated.

Putting aside the issue of "The Sinner," a film that grossed over 400 million yuan is the best proof of economic development.

The fact that people are willing to spend money shows that the situation is very good, doesn't it?
Especially when there are shadows in the international financial markets.

This up-and-coming director was forced to leave. Shen Shandeng's retreat was, in fact, a heavy blow.

Shen Shandeng declined, saying, "Teacher Tian, ​​you've gone to so much trouble. With Wu Jing and Zhou Qifeng overseeing 'Jiajing,' I'm at ease."

"My new film has just started, and there are so many things to do that I really can't leave. Just let everything proceed as planned."

Shen Shandeng will not give up easily, because if he gives up so easily, what will happen to the other people who support him?
What should I do?
Then let's just follow the rules!
Of course, what Shen Shandeng cares about most is the film itself.

With the project progressing smoothly, the cast for "Lost in Thailand" has been finalized.

Xu Zheng plays Li Chenggong, the owner of a toy factory.

Wang Baoqiang plays Niu Geng, a worker at a milk factory.

Chen Hao plays Li Chenggong's ex-wife, Meili.

Ma Li plays a female con artist, and Shen Teng plays her husband.

The latter is a new character, and Shen Shandeng has no intention of finding any romantic reasons for the conman.

They may have many grievances, but once they become criminals, they become enemies.

Having witnessed Western artistic standards, Shen Shandeng felt instinctively disgusted by this kind of character portrayal that failed to distinguish between friend and foe.

Li Xiaolu plays Lulu, Li Chenggong's lover.

Tangtang makes a cameo appearance as a strict security guard.

Yang Mi makes a cameo appearance as a passerby selling mobile phones at the train station.

Fan Bingbing makes a cameo appearance as a sexy woman who wanders into the wrong room.

Huang Xiaoming makes a cameo appearance as a narcissistic handsome man.

Da Mimi's classmates, Zhang Xiaofei, Yuan Shanshan, and others make cameo appearances as three female college students.

This cameo cast, viewed by today's standards, is nothing short of luxurious, encompassing almost all of the most sought-after middle-aged and new-generation stars in the entertainment industry, far more dazzling than the original film's main cast.

However, at present, the total salary of all actors is less than 500,000.

This is the price, it's that cheap!
You can't hire third-rate people from Hong Kong for 500,000, but you can put together a star-studded lineup on the mainland.

Shen Shandeng arranged for Xu Zheng to join the crew ahead of schedule, assigning him the roles of assistant producer and assistant director.

He works three jobs, but only gets paid one actor's salary.

Xu Zheng had to say thank you, because Shen Shandeng was showing him respect.

(End of this chapter)