This director is so innocent.

Chapter 105 Thoughts from All Sides

Huayi Building.

Artist Management Department.

A sophisticated urban woman stared at the invitation before her, speechless for a long time.

Her name is Li Xue, the vice president of Huayi Artists Management Department, Li Lianhua's younger sister, her biological sister, and also her agent.

It can be said that Li Lianhua's rise to a top-tier celebrity owes half the credit to Li Xue.

To put it extremely, it's probably true.

Ta-da!

A young girl knocked on the door and entered, saying, "Sister Xue, we've found out. Jianmu Media did indeed send Zhou Xun an audition invitation; it wasn't a publicity stunt."

"I understand, you can go out now!" Li Xue said calmly, and she picked up her phone to make a call.

"Xiaoxue, what's up? You've called me several times."

"Sis, I've received an audition offer. The investment is quite high, 2000 million US dollars."

Li Lianhua perked up, got up, walked to a secluded corner, and asked, "Which company is it from? Who's the director? What genre is it?"

"A newly established company called Jianmu Media. You should have heard of the director, Su Jin, the Cannes Jury Prize winner. The genre is a new one, an Eastern fantasy, and the title is 'Painted Skin'."

1

As for Wuershan, she selectively forgot about him. He was just a guy who filmed GG. Why would she remember him?

"Him? I know him, he's a very handsome kid."

"Can't you focus on the important points?" Li Xue was exasperated. She was in her thirties, yet she acted like a child.

"Now I'm focusing on the important thing: he's really handsome." Li Lianhua joked for a moment, then became serious. "Is 'Painted Skin' based on a story from 'Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio'? Is he planning to make it into a horror film?"

"It shouldn't be. With a $2000 million investment and a new theme, Su Jin should be able to come up with something innovative."

"I see! So, do you think you should accept the call?"

"Yes, they also sent an invitation to Zhou Xun."

"But I'm in Dunhuang, I don't have time to go back for auditions."

"Can't you get time off?"

"I can't get permission. Minkoff is very strict when filming; he won't let anyone take leave unless you have a high fever. Besides, Fang Shilong and Li Lianjie are both here, so it's not appropriate for me to ask for leave!"

Li Xue thought for a moment and said, "Okay, you take the pictures first, and I'll go and inquire about it."

"Okay, we'll try if we can, and if we can't, then so be it." Li Lianhua wasn't too concerned. He didn't have much confidence in Su Jin, a novice director, making a blockbuster.

"How can that be? What if Zhou Xun agrees and the show becomes a hit? What will you do then? CEO Wang will definitely allocate resources to her."

"Alright, alright! I'm not talking to you anymore, I have to film."

At the same time, in Yunnan.

The crew of "Li Mi's Conjecture" sent Zhou Xun's agent, Yu Guangzhao, all the way from Beijing to this location.

Filming for this movie started in early July. Zhou Xun plays the female lead, Li Mi. She came here directly after finishing filming "Sheep Without a Shepherd".

Originally, this drama was supposed to be starring Xu Guangtou's wife, Xiao Taohong.

She watched a news report on the program "Face to Face" about the true story of a taxi driver being kidnapped by two robbers. She liked it very much and recommended it to director Cao Baoping.

Xiao Taohong and Cao Baoping had previously collaborated on the TV series "The Other Side of the Sun" and agreed to work together again in the future.

A movie.

Then there is no more.

When the film project was first proposed, Yu Guangzhao found out about it and told Zhou Xun. Zhou Xun immediately took a liking to the script and refused to let go of it.

At first, Cao Baoping tried to struggle, not wanting to break his promise, but Huayi gave too much, providing both money and manpower, and played the three cards: Zhang Hanyu, Deng Chao, and Wang Baoqiang.

"My goodness, the situation is so dire, how can you still be in the mood to cut your nails?!" Yu Guangzhao was furious when he saw his artist leisurely cutting his nails.

The key point is that he can't get angry at her.

What a fucked-up life.

"What's wrong?" Zhou Xun looked up slightly, looking at her manager with an innocent expression.

"What else? Do you remember the offer Su Jin sent you for 'Painted Skin'? Now he's sent Li Lianhua another audition offer."

"Let them release it, anyway, I'm not acting, it's pointless."

"My dear aunt, can we consider the bigger picture and stop doing things just because we like?"

Look at Li Lianhua, a supporting actress with a $7000 million salary. Her status will definitely skyrocket when "The Forbidden Kingdom" is released next year. Do you prefer to watch others enjoy the limelight?

Also, if "Painted Skin" doesn't become a hit, fine, but what if it does? Her status could directly surpass yours.

What will you have to compete with her then?

Are you going to take your two Best Actress awards?

Yes, two Golden Horse Award winners are awesome, but what's the use?

Investors are looking at the ability to withstand box office losses.

By then, will anyone still want you to act in blockbuster movies?

"Zhang Ziyi, can you still catch up with her?"

Yu Guangzhao became more and more agitated as he spoke, wishing he could tie Zhou Xun up and take her back right now.

Zhou Xun remained silent, staring at the ants moving on the ground, lost in thought.

"Grandma, say something! Can you please grant my request?"

One second, two seconds, three seconds —

Zhou Xun remained silent.

"Fine, do whatever you want. I can't control you. I'm quitting. I'm going to train new people."

Yu Guangzhao turned and left angrily.

Zhou Xun sighed, finally breaking her silence. She raised her head and said softly, "I agree."

Upon hearing this, Yu Guangzhao's expression changed drastically. He grinned and laughed, as if he hadn't been the one who was furious just moments before.

"That's right! If we want to move up in the industry, we can't just keep making art films and serious movies. We need to make some commercial blockbusters occasionally too."

He looks down on art films. He thinks it's enough to make one or two and win awards, but you can't keep making them. Talking about GG's endorsement is completely useless.

Actually, Zhou Xun agreed not only because Yu Guangzhao was a gossip, but also because of the persuasion of her good friend Chen Kun.

Before Yu Guangzhao arrived, Chen Kun had called her.

On the other side, in a building in Chaoyang District.

Fan Xiaopang's contract with Huayi expired at the end of January this year.

Instead of renewing his contract or signing with another film and television company, he opened the first celebrity studio in China.

The studio is located on the 27th floor of this building.

At this moment, there were three people sitting in the office: one man and two women.

Mu Xiaoguang is the head of Fan Xiaopang Studio.

He was also the man behind Fan Xiaopang, and he put himself in jail for Fan Xiaopang's sake.

Shi Man, Fan Xiaopang's agent.

And Fan Xiaopang himself.

The three of them were sitting there, naturally discussing the audition invitation that Huang Jiaqiang had sent to Fan Xiaopang.

There's really not much to discuss.

After leaving Huayi Brothers, Fan Xiaopang's resources have declined significantly.

Look at the other four members of the "Four Dan and Two Bing" (referring to four top actresses and two top actresses in China), they've all gone to make movies, while Fan Bingbing is still working in television.

Even when making movies, I often play supporting roles. For example, I played a supporting role to Seo Jae-in in "Shinjuku Incident" and to Lau Nai-cha in "The Ghost Inside".

If she hadn't used the red carpet to gain attention, her status would definitely have been far behind the other five.

"Bingbing, if I have no further questions, I'll agree to Jianmu's offer," Shiman said.

"Hmm." Fan Xiaopang nodded, then suddenly seemed to remember something and said, "Ask Su Jin if he has time, and if so, ask him to have dinner with me."

Upon hearing this, Shi Man turned her head slightly to look at Mu Xiaoguang, who laughed and said, "Why are you looking at me? It's just a meal, it's none of my business."

Shi Man chuckled inwardly. What a load of rubbish. Everyone knows you two are having an affair. If you don't look at me, who will you look at?

Unaware of the storm raging outside, Su Jin was at the company discussing the script for "The Invisible Guest" with Gong Li.

Gong Ligang had just returned from abroad, and as soon as he got back, he was called back to the company from Zhou Xiaoou's place.

She loved the script so much that she made the difficult decision to travel all the way back from abroad.

It was supposed to be a discussion, but actually it was Gong Li asking questions and Su Jin answering.

He talked until his throat was dry, discussing issues such as the lawyer's persona, motives, and why he wrote it that way.

If he hadn't written the script himself and even studied it carefully, he would have been exposed.

Gong Li was also very serious, just like a student, taking notes and writing down all the key points Su Jin mentioned.

After talking for forty or fifty minutes, the discussion finally came to an end.

Gong Li closed her notebook and asked, "Who are you planning to cast as the male lead?"

Although Su Jin already had someone in mind, out of respect for this big shot, she still asked in return, "Sister Li, do you have any actors you would recommend?"

"No, it's up to you. Just don't make me promote newcomers, and your acting skills have to be good too."

"Of course not, I'm even planning to win an award for this movie."

Su Jin pretended to think for a moment before saying, "What do you think of Sun Honglei? He'd be perfect for a second round with you."

Sun Honglei and Gong Li starred in "Zhou Yu's Train", which also featured Leung Ka-fai.

He thought about it many times, but couldn't think of anyone more suitable than Sun Honglei.

Look at the male lead's character: high intelligence, meticulous mind, domineering CEO, strong aura, otherwise acting opposite Gong Li would be uncoordinated and feel disconnected.

For example, Han Geng's Guan Yu, who was as thin as a rake.

"Okay, Sun Honglei it is!" Gong Li mentally compared the male lead to Sun Honglei and thought it looked pretty good.

"My husband, who are you planning to find?"

"Your husband?" Su Jin was slightly taken aback, then realized that Gong Li was referring to the female lead's husband, an engineer who could repair cars.

He already had someone in mind. He originally wanted to find Chen Daoming, but he was too expensive and a bit pretentious, so it was better to promote his own people.

"Sister Li, please sit for a while. I'll go and call him in so you can take a look."

The candidate was Ni Dahong, and he signed a contract with his company.

When he returned, he called Ni Dahong and asked him to come back to the company.

When Su Jin arrived at the office area, she saw Ni Dahong bragging to the young women in the company, telling dirty jokes that made them laugh out loud.

"Old Ni, come here."

When Ni Dahong realized that the important matter had arrived, he stopped bragging to the young girl and immediately got up and went over.

"Boss, I really want to act alongside Gong Li!"

"Yes, you even play her husband." Su Jin changed the subject, "However, you still need Gong Li's approval, otherwise if she insists on not having you, there's not much I can do."

"Don't worry, boss, I'll definitely get this role," Ni Dahong said confidently.

Su Jin smiled, said nothing, and led him into the office.

"Sister Li, this is the actor who plays your husband, Ni Dahong."

A veteran actor, in order to improve his acting skills, turned down outside acting offers and devoted himself to performing in a drama troupe for seven or eight years.

He's still an artist in my company.

Su Jin emphasized the word "artist" in her speech, reminding Gong Li not to take things too seriously and to just get by.

Ni Dahong was a little embarrassed. He wasn't trying to improve his acting skills; he was just struggling to make a living outside, and no one was offering him acting roles, so he had to work in a drama troupe to earn a living.

Gong Li secretly sized up the middle-aged man in front of her, a strange sense of familiarity welling up in her heart, but she couldn't remember where she had seen him before.

She frowned, trying hard to recall her past memories.

Suddenly, the image of that unfaithful man flashed into her mind, and she remembered where she had seen Ni Dahong before.

"Did you act in 'Curse of the Golden Flower'?" Gong Li asked tentatively.

"Yes, I played Imperial Physician Jiang in it." Ni Dahong nodded awkwardly. They were in the same crew and filmed for three or four months, but Gong Li didn't even remember him. What a failure!

"Old Ni, you also acted in 'Curse of the Golden Flower'?" Su Jin asked in surprise.

He genuinely didn't remember that Ni Dahong had acted in "Golden Breasts." After all, with so many big breasts on screen, who would pay attention to a middle-aged man?

Ni Dahong nodded slightly.

"Since you acted in 'Curse of the Golden Flower,' you can play the engineer!"

"Thank you, Ms. Gong Li."

"Why thank me? You should thank your boss; he's the one who recommended you to me."

"Thank you, boss."

With the cast confirmed, Gong Li then asked, "Su Jin, have you confirmed the start date for filming?"

"Yes, filming will probably begin in November, but the exact date is yet to be determined."

"OK." Gong Li nodded, stood up, and said, "If there's nothing else, I'll be going now. Contact me by phone if you need anything."

.

"Sister Li, let me see you off."

"No need, you go ahead with your work!"

"Yes, yes."

Gong Li smiled helplessly and let Su Jin see her downstairs.

But Su Jin, wanting to show his enthusiasm, escorted her all the way to the car.

Back at the company, he called Zhao Shan into his office; she was the producer of "The Invisible Guest."

"Gong Li has agreed to participate, and the production team can be assembled."

"Male lead, send an audition invitation to Sun Honglei for the role of the lover. Go sign a newcomer; the acting must have potential, not just be a pretty face, preferably a mature and elegant actress."

All the artists under his management are men; there isn't a single female artist. What a waste!

"Give the female lead's son to Luo Jin!"

Zhao Shan wrote everything down, feeling rather pleased.

She had been there for almost half a year and had figured out the company's promotion rules.

That is to become a producer.

As long as you do a good job as a producer, you will still receive a good position and bonuses.

After Zhao Shan left, Huang Jiaqiang came in again.

It's said that the two leading ladies for "Painted Skin" have already been secured, and that Fan Bingbing asked him if he was free so she could treat him to dinner.

Su Jin thought about it and agreed. It's already a hundred chapters, and it's time for Fan Xiaopang to make his appearance. Otherwise, the readers will say that I'm fooling them.

Fan Xiaopang was very particular about the restaurant he chose.

The famous rooftop restaurants in Beijing are places where you can eat while sitting at an altitude of one or two hundred meters.

I ate there once with Sister Xia, and the taste was just average, far inferior to the skills of a private restaurant.

But is it the food we're eating? It's the atmosphere.

Imagine drinking red wine, looking at the lights of thousands of homes, and having a beautiful female companion smiling rosyly across from you, a couple hundred meters in the air. Wouldn't that be the feeling?

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