Huayu Entertainment: Starting with Exorcising Evil from a Film Queen

Inside a conference room in Beijing.

Zhou Xun was arguing with several people.

This is the set of "The Message," and she is discussing casting choices with the director and producer.

"Since that Taiwanese actor doesn't want to act, then just replace him. We're a vast country with abundant resources; if we don't have anything else, surely we have actors better than him!"

"I previously recommended a young actor to audition, but because you wanted to cast this Taiwanese actor, I haven't been able to get back to him yet. Now that he's not coming, the role of Bai Xiaonian will be put out for the taking, and everyone can compete for it based on their abilities!"

Although Zhou Xun's words were cold, they carried an undisguised impatience, completely disregarding the darkening expression on the face of director Chen Fuguo beside her.

He was responsible for contacting the actor who played Bai Xiaonian, thinking that since we are all compatriots, we should look out for each other.

Who would have thought that after agreeing so readily and promising to make time for the project, they would suddenly act like divas and say that the pay was too low and they wouldn't come!

This is a slap in the face to oneself!

Zhou Xun's words were undoubtedly a slap in his face.

However, it's not surprising that Zhou Xun acted this way.

The production team has already wasted a lot of time on the casting stage.

The character of Bai Xiaonian alone has been going on and on for more than half a month, and there is still no conclusion.

Gao Shuqun glanced at Chen Fuguo, whose face was dark, and then at Zhou Xun, who looked impatient. A wry smile appeared on his face.

Director Gao explained, "Xiao Xun, don't worry. Young actors are easy to find, and actors with good acting skills are also easy to find, but actors who are both famous and talented are hard to find."

The more crucial reason was not stated directly by Director Gao.

Even if there are actors who perfectly meet the requirements, they are all artists from other large companies.

Huayi is already being generous by not actively suppressing others; would they really spend money and effort to cultivate a competitor for themselves?

Since Wong Jinghua left, taking a large number of core actors with her, Huayi Brothers' strength has been greatly diminished, and it has yet to recover its vitality.

At this critical juncture, all resources must be used wisely and absolutely not allowed to benefit outsiders.

They had also reviewed the information about the young man Zhou Xun recommended.

They were actually quite interested, but judging from Zhou Xun's current behavior, it's very likely they want him to play Bai Xiaonian.

That won't do.

This movie didn't have many main characters to begin with, and giving a minor supporting role to a young actor was already a favor to Zhou Xun.

Bai Xiaonian is a very outstanding character; young people can't quite grasp this kind of role.

Zhou Xun felt that these people were simply unreasonable.

Huayi Brothers is practically falling apart internally. Instead of focusing on releasing new works to stabilize the company, they're still preoccupied with messing around and seniority-based promotions.

No wonder Huayi Brothers' popularity has been declining year by year.

Zhou Xun couldn't help but regret collaborating with Huayi Brothers.

From now on, we must carefully consider any films produced by Huayi Brothers!

The meeting ultimately yielded no results.

After leaving the conference room, Zhou Xun sat in the van, rubbing her temples with a headache.

This is the third meeting held this month regarding this matter.

Zhou Xun originally planned to have Zhang Zelai play an ordinary supporting role in "The Message," but because of a Taiwanese actor, the role of Bai Xiaonian was left vacant, so she naturally had to try to get it for Zhang Zelai.

Unexpectedly, it turned out to be this troublesome.

This matter has been delayed for so long.

But who is she?

She is Zhou Xun, a film queen.

She felt that she wouldn't be able to get anyone out of a film crew.

However, there were no suitable roles for Zhang Ze in other production teams. The key issue was that she was just an actress. She had some say in the production teams she participated in, but she couldn't manage other production teams at all.

For a moment, she had other thoughts.

Should I invest in making my own movie?

The thought only flashed through her mind before she shook her head and dismissed it.

She lacks the talent to be a director, and her network of contacts is also somewhat lacking.

I should find an opportunity to learn it systematically first.

Even if I were to actually become my own boss and make a movie, that would be several years from now.

Thinking of this, Zhou Xun sighed, stopped thinking about these troublesome things, and turned to look at her assistant.

What's the latest news in the industry?

As someone working in the entertainment industry, Zhou Xun has a good habit: she tries her best not to become out of touch with the mainstream.

Especially on film sets, even if they stay for more than half a year, they will still read about everything that happened in the industry during that time after they come back.

She especially likes to learn about and even study some outstanding TV series and movies.

Actors not only need to act well, but also need to keep learning.

The assistant leaned over and whispered something.

"Sister Xun, there's a really popular TV series called 'Chinese Paladin 3' online recently. It's a sequel to 'Chinese Paladin'."

Zhou Xun closed her eyes to rest, showing no surprise at all upon hearing this.

She knew about the TV series "Chinese Paladin" and even watched the whole series back then. Although the script had been changed, it was still pretty good overall, and the actors were amazing. It was a good show.

"The Legend of Sword and Fairy was well-made, especially with the popularity of Hu Ge, a rising star, and Liu Yifei, a fairy-like actress. It's normal for the sequel to be a hit."

However, the assistant continued to speak in a low voice.

"Sister Xun, the cast for 'Chinese Paladin 3' has changed. Liu Yifei is no longer in the show, and the most popular male actor right now isn't Hu Ge, but a newcomer named Zhang Ze."

Zhou Xun suddenly opened her eyes and looked straight at her assistant.

"What did you say that actor's name was?"

The assistant was startled by her reaction and quickly repeated it again.

"His name is Zhang Ze. I heard he was originally an extra in Hengdian, but somehow he got into the cast of 'Chinese Paladin 3'. He played Xu Changqing very well and is also handsome, so he became popular online overnight."

As the assistant spoke, she took out her phone, quickly brought up a webpage, and handed it to Zhou Xun.

Zhou Xun took the phone; the webpage was flooded with news about one person.

The man in the photo is dressed in white, looking as ethereal as snow.

She recognized him at a glance.

It was Zhang Ze.

Looking at the news headlines and comments below, Zhou Xun suddenly smiled.

She never expected that after just a few days of not paying attention to things online, Zhang Ze would quietly create such a big stir online.

But this is just right.

Didn't they say before that this movie needed to be starred by a famous and talented male actor?

She wanted to see what they had to say now.

So Zhou Xun handed the phone back to her assistant and spoke directly to the driver in front of her.

"I'm not going home yet, I'm turning back to the meeting room."

……

The promotional schedule for Chinese Paladin 3 is very tight.

Zhang Ze's life has completely changed from its previous leisurely pace to one where he is constantly on the go.

I never stay in any city for more than 24 hours. Sometimes I'm in Shanghai in the morning attending a fan meeting, and by the afternoon I've already flown to Guangzhou to prepare for an evening TV interview.

The relentless workload was taking a toll on the entire publicity team.

Even during such a tiring journey, Zhang Ze would still have in-depth and easy-to-understand conversations with Tang Yan, who was traveling with him, at night.