Huayu: Everyone's been reborn, who's still going to be an actor?

Chapter 131: Face blindness, unaware of Yi Feimei (29/40)

Inspired by Liu Yifei?

The reporter glanced at Cheng Yuan, then at Liu Yifei.

Liu Yifei's "Fairy Sister" label is indeed well-known, and her overall temperament is indeed that "ethereal".

The story of "The Witch" is currently poorly understood, making it difficult to speculate. However, the title itself suggests a stark contrast to Liu Yifei's own image.

Cheng Yuan's casting choices may have been somewhat nepotistic, but no one doubted that the actors he chose were unsuitable for the roles.

Didn't you see him even using actors from Huayi Brothers Entertainment?

When Cheng Yuan was casting, he prioritized actors he knew among the suitable ones.

The inspiration came from Liu Yifei, so it was only natural that Liu Yifei would play the female lead; there was no other reason.

But would those media reporters be so willing to accept that?

Liu Yifei was able to have a scandal even after starring in "Taken". Now that she is starring in a commercial blockbuster tailored for her by Cheng Yuan, wouldn't it be a disservice to the eagerly waiting gossip-loving public if she didn't have some scandals?

"Director Cheng, there's a rumor that the girl you mentioned on the Cannes podium was Liu Yifei. Is that true?"

A reporter directly cited this rumor.

Although the hype surrounding this rumor has subsided somewhat, it remains quite high.

Many media outlets are asking who it is, but Cheng Yuan refuses to say, and they can't do anything about it.

"There's also a rumor that the girl is Zhu Yawen," Cheng Yuan said with a sneer. "It's just a rumor, and you actually believe it?"

Zhu Yawen?

There is indeed such a rumor.

When Cheng Yuan brought up Zhu Yawen, the reporters realized that asking any more questions would be pointless.

"Director Cheng, you and Liu Yifei have been classmates for several years. She's so beautiful, have you ever been attracted to her?"

A reporter asked a question, which made many people look at Cheng Yuan with curiosity.

Although most people know that Cheng Yuan and Liu Yifei are already dating.

But the two clearly have no intention of making it public.

So how would Cheng Yuan answer?

"Is Yifei pretty?" Cheng Yuan asked in surprise. "Sorry, I have face blindness, so I can't tell if she's pretty or not."

When Cheng Yuan said this, everyone present was stunned, and then they frantically suppressed their laughter.

Even Han Sanping and others were like this.

Face blindness?

You're a director, and you say you're face-blind, unable to even tell if an actress is pretty or not.

Anyone who lies through their teeth is a coward in front of you.

The media were not angry at Cheng Yuan's perfunctory attitude; on the contrary, they were excited.

This is how the topic came about.

"Cheng Yuan is face-blind and doesn't know that Yi Fei is beautiful."

This topic is absolutely explosive.

Liu Yifei's beauty is well-known. Although she is not as "god-like" as Zhang Bozhi and Fan Shuangbing and is adored by countless people, no one can deny her beauty.

Many people even believe that Liu Yifei is the most beautiful among all the actresses.

But Cheng Yuan actually said he didn't know.

You're kidding me.

"Yifei, Director Cheng said he doesn't know if you're pretty or not. Is there anything you'd like to say to him about that?"

Once the reporter came to their senses, they immediately asked Liu Yifei a question.

Saying to someone's face that you don't know if they're pretty or not is fine if there's nothing between you two, but if there is, then things could get really messy.

Liu Yifei's reaction might reveal some clues.

Come on, prove your beauty.

"I'm not pretty," Liu Yifei said. "I'm the ugliest one in my family."

Those present were stunned upon hearing this, and then frantically tried to suppress the upward curve of their lips.

Not pretty?

You call this not pretty?

Aren't you just as face-blind as Cheng Yuan, so face-blind that you don't even know if you're pretty or not?

Knowing that the two of them were together, Zhou Yun and the others couldn't help but have a thought: Could this be the case of "birds of a feather flock together"?

As for Liu Yifei being the ugliest in their family?

That's not modesty at all; you're just like Verdun.

You're already so beautiful, yet you're still the ugliest? Just how beautiful are the rest of your family?

Many people subconsciously glanced at Liu Xiaoli not far away and had to admit that Liu Yifei's family genes were indeed exceptional.

Some people actually think that Liu Yifei is not as pretty as her mother now.

"Director Cheng, what are your expectations for the box office of 'The Witch'? Shall we set a small goal?"

"The Witch" is a commercial film, so it's naturally aimed at the box office, not awards.

"I'm not really looking forward to it yet," Cheng Yuan said, shaking his head. "I'll start looking forward to it once the movie is finished."

Looking forward to it?

Cheng Yuan had never thought of that.

He wasn't nearly as amazing as people said; he had no idea how to predict box office numbers.

He never made an accurate prediction.

As for those accurate predictions, it's because he knew the box office figures in his previous life.

However, his "small goal" was so sensational that many people subconsciously assumed he had a strong ability to predict film box office success.

After the press conference ended, Cheng Yuan immediately started filming.

Han Sanping and the others also left one after another.

They came to the launch event purely to make an appearance.

Cheng Yuan's new film has garnered a lot of attention, and there have been numerous reports about the press conference for its launch.

However, to everyone's surprise, the topic generated an astonishing amount of buzz and even boosted the domestic box office of "Taken".

The topic was just a bit ridiculous.

"Cheng Yuan is face-blind and doesn't know that Yi Fei is beautiful."

"Yifei isn't pretty, she's the ugliest in the family."

This topic has not only been repeatedly reported by the media, but has also been the subject of countless online jokes.

Netizens who saw this topic couldn't help but laugh.

Cheng Yuan stopped paying attention to the box office of "Taken". After being released for so long, its box office potential is already quite clear.

However, Taken's endurance both domestically and internationally has been much better than expected.

Cheng Yuan is now focusing all his energy on filming "The Witch".

Liu Yifei took this movie very seriously, studying her role early on, and Cheng Yuan gave her extra coaching before filming began.

She does have acting skills and can act with Zhou Yang and others without any problems, but when she acts opposite actors of the caliber of Leung Ka-fai and Kara Hui, she feels somewhat overshadowed.

She's the female lead, and this movie is a female-centric film, with all the focus on her; that's clearly not going to work.

However, this girl has good talent and is willing to work hard. Liang Jiahui and the others, whether out of respect for Cheng Yuan or because they thought Liu Yifei was good, taught her quite a bit.

Liu Yifei's acting skills have really improved a lot. She can still get through some scenes after a few takes.

But it's a bit difficult to pull off some character twists and turns; it just doesn't quite feel right.

Cheng Yuan had to adjust the filming schedule, putting the difficult scenes last.

The dramatic scenes really gave Cheng Yuan a headache, but the action scenes surprised him.

By mid-August, a month after its release, "Taken" had already broken the box office record of "Let the Bullets Fly" in China, and was only a few million short of the record set by "Titanic".

However, with the film now having secured the extension key, breaking the box office record of "Titanic" is no longer in doubt. The only question is whether it can surpass 400 million in box office revenue.

That seems a bit risky.

The film's box office in North America has already broken the record set by "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" for Chinese-language films, reaching over 170 million, almost the equivalent of one "Hero".

This film was released almost a week later than its domestic release.

It's doubtful that the final North American box office will break $200 million, but it's still possible that it will reach $190 million.

The global box office has already exceeded $300 million.

In Europe, Southeast Asia, and other international and regional markets, the cumulative box office is not lower than that in North America.

This film is expected to gross over $400 million worldwide.

Cheng Yuan became famous overnight.

After all, the cost of Taken was less than 30 million US dollars.