Huayu: Starting with Hijacking from "The Story of a Noble Family"

Chapter 96: Shu Chang's Discovery, the Casting "Farce" Comes to an End

After Zhou Xun withdrew from the role of Little Dragon Girl, the media immediately contacted the investor of "The Return of the Condor Heroes," Wenlian Audio-Visual, but were told to ask Zhang Dahuzi about the matter.

The media contacted Zhang Dahuzi again, and Zhang Dahuzi only replied, "Just wait and see."

A reporter also contacted Liu Yifei's agent, Liu Yonghui, who said that Liu Yifei is not short of acting opportunities and has already tried to get the role of Xiaolongnu. She will not actively try to get it again, but she will consider it if the production team invites her.

Jiang Qinqin's agent also stated that Jiang Qinqin suffered a lot of grievances during the entire casting process and hoped that it would end as soon as possible.

As for Xu, he was naturally unaffected and continued to carry out the film's post-production work in an orderly manner.

If nothing else is going on, Liu Yifei will still come to school for classes.

"I feel like something's off with you lately!"

In the school cafeteria, looking at her friend across from her, Shu Chang finally couldn't help but say something.

Liu Yifei is a junior in college. Her three roommates and most of her classmates are filming outside, so she has been meeting up with Shu Chang for meals more and more frequently lately.

Furthermore, Shu Chang didn't just recently discover that something was wrong with her friend; she had noticed it long ago.

To be more precise, it was discovered during the filming of Xu's movie.

"What's wrong?"

Liu Yifei looked puzzled.

What do you think?

Shu Chang hummed softly.

My friend always seems happy, it's obvious she has something good to say about her.

Since he goes to see Xu every noon, do I need to tell you what the happy event is?

"How should I know!"

Liu Yifei immediately denied it.

But how could she not know what "friend" meant!

Shu Chang hummed softly again, but she wouldn't force her friend if she didn't want to talk.

Besides, whether we say it or not makes no difference; some things are common knowledge.

After lunch, Liu Yifei sent Xu Heng a text message.

She then asked Shu Chang if she wanted to come along, but Shu Chang naturally didn't want to be a third wheel, so Liu Yifei had to go find Xu herself.

Don't get me wrong, she just wanted Xu Heng, the original composer, to teach her how to sing the song well.

There is absolutely nothing between her and Xu that is not true!

Two days later, on September 11, the 61st Venice International Film Festival closed, with Jia Zhangke's "The World" and Hou Hsiao-hsien's "Café Lumière" failing to win any awards.

On the same day, the production team of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" held a casting meeting in Beijing.

Before the meeting, Zhang Dahuzi said that this was likely the last casting meeting, which meant that the final choices for Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu would probably be decided today.

Currently, the only strong contenders for Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu's affections are Huang Xiaoming and Liu Yifei.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, these two will be the final candidates, and the main purpose of this meeting is to vote on them.

The meeting lasted for more than three hours, and several media outlets reported on it the next day. The meeting still did not determine the final candidates, and the specific details of the meeting were also revealed.

It is said that a vote was held first to decide whether Huang Xiaoming was suitable to play Yang Guo. Zhang Dahuzi and director Yu Min each had one vote, while Wenlian Audio-Visual, as the full investor, had three votes.

As a result, Zhang Dahuzi and Yu Min both voted in favor, but the Literary and Art Federation Audio-Visual Association cast 3 votes against, stating that Huang Xiaoming was not suitable to play Yang Guo.

Zhang Dahuzi also stated that Huang Xiaoming could act for a low fee, but the Literary and Art Federation Audio-Visual Association still disagreed.

After some debate, Zhang Dahuzi, unable to convince the other party, decided to put aside the choice of Yang Guo and start voting to decide whether Liu Yifei was suitable to play Xiaolongnu.

The voting results were the same as Huang Xiaoming's: Zhang Dahuzi and Yu Min agreed, while the Literary and Art Federation Audio-Visual Association had 3 votes against, on the grounds that Liu Yifei's salary was too high.

Zhang Dahuzi continued to lobby, stating that Liu Yifei's current popularity meant her requested salary was not high at all.

However, the reasons given by the Literary and Art Association are also quite valid. Liu Yifei is currently very popular and her several dramas have achieved good results, but popularity is superficial. Liu Yifei has never been able to prove her own appeal on her own.

In other words, Liu Yifei filmed several of her dramas with Xu Heng, so it's hard to say whether her success was due to Liu Yifei or Xu Heng.

Finally, having no other choice, Zhang Dahuzi directly asked the Literary and Art Federation Audio-Visual Company who they wanted to cast. The Literary and Art Federation Audio-Visual Company suggested that they should invite Xu Heng to play the role, or at least invite him to audition.

Zhang Dahuzi said that Xu's salary was too high and the current budget was simply not enough.

The Federation of Literary and Art Circles Audio-Visual Publishing House continued, saying that they would invite the actors to audition first, and if the actor was deemed suitable, they would invest more money.

Having said all that, Zhang Da Huzi had no choice.

Besides, if Xu Heng plays Yang Guo, then Liu Yifei playing Xiaolongnu is definitely not a problem either, and the salary shouldn't be an issue either.

Meanwhile, these media outlets also contacted Liu Yifei's agent.

Liu Yonghui stated that Liu Yifei did receive another audition invitation from the "Condor Heroes" production team, but he did not know whether Xu Heng had received an audition invitation.

These reports have once again caused an uproar on various forums and communities!

"Is this still a publicity stunt?"

"After all that fuss, they still want to get Xu Heng to act!"

"Xu Heng is so popular right now, and he's truly talented, has acting skills, a solid body of work, a good reputation, and is handsome enough. If it weren't for the issue of his salary, who wouldn't want to cast him?"

"Huang Xiaoming is probably going to complain again, after all, he really put in a lot of effort for the role of Yang Guo, and even deliberately tanned himself like Louis Koo!"

"What does Huang Xiaoming have to complain about? If it's not suitable, it's not suitable, no matter how low the pay is. Besides, when Louis Koo played Yang Guo, he hadn't even gotten tanned yet!"

"Liu Yifei has indeed never proven herself on her own."

"I don't know how high Liu Yifei's salary is, but Li Yapeng and Zhou Xun's salaries were also not low when they filmed 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes'. Liu Yifei's salary is not higher than Li Yapeng and Zhou Xun's, right?"

"Liu Yifei's salary is unknown, but Xu Heng's salary will most likely exceed that of Li Yapeng and Zhou Xun at the time!"

"The investment in this 'The Return of the Condor Heroes' is similar to that of the previous 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes,' both around 3000 million yuan. However, 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes' had more main actors, yet this 'The Return of the Condor Heroes' requires additional investment. Obviously, this can only be because Xu Heng's salary is too high, possibly even exceeding the combined salaries of Li Yapeng and Zhou Xun!"

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Previously, in Zhang Dahuzi's "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", Li Yapeng and Zhou Xun were paid 80,000 yuan per episode, Zhou Jie, who played Yang Kang, was paid 70,000 yuan per episode, and Jiang Qinqin, who played Mu Nianci, was paid 60,000 yuan per episode. The total salary of the four of them exceeded 10 million yuan.

Liu Yifei's salary for this episode is 5 yuan per episode, so 40 episodes would be 200 million yuan.

However, Li Yapeng and others' salaries are pre-tax, while Liu Yifei's salary is post-tax. Calculated, it's slightly less than Li Yapeng and Zhou Xun's, but slightly more than Zhou Jie's.

The after-tax salary of 5 yuan per episode clearly exceeds Liu Yifei's current actual salary, after all, when she filmed "Chinese Paladin", Liu Yifei's salary was only 3 yuan per episode after tax.

Only half a year has passed, and Liu Yifei has not had any new works during this period.

This time, Chen Gandie and Liu Yifei's agent negotiated with Zhang Dahuzi on the condition that he would pay 150 million yuan for the role of Xiaolongnu. At the same time, Liu Yifei could not work for free, which is why Zhang Dahuzi gave Liu Yifei such a high salary.

Anyway, it's the investors who are paying for it, not Zhang the Beard!

Another day passed, and early in the morning, Xu arrived at the August First Film Studio, where he had previously auditioned for several roles in "The Return of the Condor Heroes".

When they arrived at the dressing room, they saw Liu Yifei already putting on makeup, with Liu Xiaoli and Liu Yifei's agent, Liu Yonghui, sitting next to her.

After greeting Liu Xiaoli and nodding to Liu Yonghui, Xu Heng sat down next to Liu Yifei and did her makeup together.

Liu Yifei turned her head, smiled at him, and even made a face.

Xu Heng returned the smile.

Liu Xiaoli completely ignored their little actions.

However, Liu Yonghui, as her agent, has always believed that Liu Yifei should not be too closely associated with Xu Heng, so as not to affect Liu Yifei's commercial value.

For example, the Federation of Literary and Art Circles Audio-Visual Publishing House questioned Liu Yifei's remuneration because of this point.

Liu Yifei's popularity will also definitely be affected as a result.

But Liu Yifei had never done this before, at least she wouldn't deliberately avoid cooperating with Xu, and now it's even more impossible!

However, Liu Yonghui also had to admit that Xu Heng was truly capable and talented.

Liu Yifei did indeed receive a great deal of benefit from Xu Heng —

It took nearly two hours to do their makeup and styling. The main problem was that Liu Yifei's Little Dragon Girl makeup was a bit complicated. Xu Heng and Liu Yifei then went to change their clothes separately.

Then, as they walked into the audition room together, Zhang Dahuzi instantly showed a helpless expression, and the director Yu Min next to him also smiled wryly.

The remaining three people from the Federation of Literary and Art Circles' audio-visual department, including its president Ma Zhongjun, all laughed, because there was no need to continue trying.

Looking at Xu and Liu Yifei entering the room, it was as if Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu from the book had come to life. At least, that's what they thought!

As for the pay, just pay it!

It's worth noting that Xu and Liu Yifei, this "screen couple," are not only very popular in mainland China, but also in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Spending a few million more is definitely worth it!

Liu Yifei's salary is a bit too high, and if possible, they would definitely want to negotiate a lower price.

Xu's after-tax salary of 10 yuan per episode is definitely not high at all!

That same afternoon, media outlets reported that Xu and Liu Yifei had auditioned for the roles of Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu together.

The report also claimed that both the investor, Wenlian Audio-Visual, and the producer, Zhang Dahuzi, were very satisfied with the audition results of Xu and Liu Yifei.

Another day later, on September 14th, Sina Entertainment and other media outlets officially reported that Ma Zhongjun, the producer of "The Return of the Condor Heroes," confirmed to the media that Xu and Liu Yifei had been confirmed to play Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu, and that contracts had been signed. The production team planned to officially start filming in Jiuzhaigou in mid-October.

In an interview, Zhang Dahuzi expressed his regret for not inviting Xu and Liu Yifei to audition together sooner, which would have reduced many setbacks.

Because as soon as they walked in on the day of the audition, everyone knew that they were Yang Guo and Xiaolongnu. Mr. Jin Yong was also very satisfied with the casting results.

Thus, this casting "farce" that lasted for nearly four months has finally come to a complete end!