Entertainment: The Path to Best Actor for Talented Actors

"The film is titled 'Ip Man: The Final Fight,' and the director is Qiu Litao," Huang Yu's voice came from the other end.

To be honest, Zhang Ze is quite familiar with Hong Kong films, but he doesn't really pay much attention to the directors.

The only familiar names are Wong Jing, Stephen Chow, and a few others.

As for why he is so familiar with director Wong Jing, Zhang Ze couldn't say, because it was a rather dark period in his youth.

Zhang Ze was pleasantly surprised to receive the film offer.

He's been in the industry for three years, and apart from playing minor roles in movies when he was an extra, he hasn't officially acted in a movie yet!

"Okay, I'll head over for the audition right away. Send me the address!" Zhang Ze's tone was cheerful, and you could tell he was in a good mood.

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Ze kissed Zeng Lai on the forehead and said happily.

"Haha, I'm so happy! Your man is going to enter the movie industry!"

Zeng Lai pretended to be very happy, saying things like "You're so great" and "You're so amazing" to deceive her boyfriend.

But deep down, he had little interest in it.

She thought to herself, "Hmph, the film industry is all stuff I've already mastered!"

Just thinking about my achievements in the film industry makes me blush a little!

Thinking back to his first movie in 2002, Zhang Ze was just a little kid who had just graduated from elementary school!

Zeng Lai looked shy and said, "It's really awesome!"

After saying goodbye to Zeng Lai, Zhang Ze, wearing a mask, went downstairs.

As I left the building, I nervously peered outside for a long time.

I thought to myself, "There shouldn't be any paparazzi outside! It's so hard to meet female celebrities in secret!"

Then she thought, "I'm not some kind of idol star, and Zeng Lai and I are just third or fourth-tier actors, so there shouldn't be any big problems!"

"Yeah, if paparazzi followed a righteous celebrity like myself, they'd probably go broke." Zhang Ze had a good opinion of his character.

He considers himself a breath of fresh air in the entertainment industry, relying neither on unspoken rules nor on connections. He believes he's gotten this far solely through luck!

Zhang Ze hunched his shoulders, pulled his collar high, and wore a black baseball cap. He quickly stepped out of the elevator and ran to his car.

Fortunately, this is a resettlement community, so cars can drive in.

This reduced his risk of exposure from prolonged contact with people across the community.

It's so difficult to have a secret rendezvous with a female celebrity!

But it smells so good!

Zhang Ze arrived at the car and saw Xu Qing lying there, half asleep.

Open the car door and get in.

The sound of the door slamming shut woke Xu Qing from her sleep.

"Ah! Brother, why are you downstairs so early!"

"What? So early? It's been two hours!"

"I told you to keep watch down there for paparazzi, how come you fell asleep!"

"Dude, are you paranoid? I've been watching down there for an hour and haven't seen any paparazzi following me! I'm getting sleepy!"

"Uh, really? It's my first time in a female celebrity's house, so safety is the priority! You can't sleep here again, understand?"

Zhang Ze also thought he might be making a mountain out of a molehill, but he still lectured Xu Qing with a serious expression.

He is meticulous and reliable, and the label of a steady and dependable elder brother must not be lost!

What's wrong with being reserved when visiting a female celebrity's house for the first time?

Zhang Ze wondered if it would be better to change it to the evening next time!

Following the address given by Huang Yu, we arrived at a hotel, which was the preparation office for the "Ip Man: The Final Fight" film crew in Beijing.

Half an hour later, Zhang Ze walked out somewhat disappointed.

It wasn't that he failed the audition, but rather that his role in the film was very small.

Director Qiu Litao was very friendly to Zhang Ze, saying nice things like, "Zhang Sheng! You really have acting talent. Among the people of your age that I know, your acting skills are definitely among the best."

However, when it came to assigning roles, the director was not generous at all, and stingily assigned him the role of Ip Chun.

Ip Chun is the son of Ip Man. He lived in mainland China for a period of time until his mother passed away in 1961. He went to Hong Kong to live with his father when he was in his thirties.

Ip Chun has a small role in this film; he is just an unimportant supporting character.

Although I felt some regret, I wasn't too frustrated.

Having no prior experience in filmmaking and being a newcomer, I'm already grateful to have a role to play.

Zhang Ze's first offer for a film was also announced: 300,000.

This price is quite reasonable. Firstly, actors in TV dramas receive lower pay when filming movies. Secondly, the role is too small, and it can be filmed in less than five days.

"A daily appearance fee of 60,000 isn't a bad deal!"

Zhang Ze muttered something to himself.

His agent, Huang Yu, rolled her eyes at him. "You're not even at a disadvantage. Do you know that if it weren't for the Hong Kong production team wanting the film to be shown in mainland China, you wouldn't even have gotten this small role!"

"The Hong Kong film market has been sluggish for several years. Only a few films are produced each year, and every bit of resources is fiercely contested."

"If the production team hadn't been giving up spots to mainland actors, even the most famous Hong Kong actors in the 80s and 90s would have been scrambling for this role."

Zhang Ze agreed with Huang Yu's words.

The Hong Kong entertainment circle is actually quite xenophobic. If it weren't for its covetousness of the mainland market, it would never have shared its profits with other countries.

It's not just the Hong Kong entertainment circle; the same applies to the Shanghai and Beijing entertainment circles.

Strictly speaking, Zhang Ze should be considered part of the Beijing elite circle.

Because his employer is Huayi Brothers, but as a small actor, he can't compete for top-tier resources.

Cross-circle collaboration is relatively easy, since each circle is relatively closed but not completely uncooperative.

The preparation for a film is even more complicated than that for a TV series; it is common for a film to take ten years to complete.

Although the roles were finalized, actual filming did not take place for three months.

In the past three months, Zhang Ze has participated in the filming of another modern urban drama series.

This drama is called "The Next Miracle" and is adapted from the true story of Liang Kaien, the "Asian Super Speaker".

It is a mainland-invested drama starring Hong Kong actors Tse Ting-fung and Cheung Wai-kin, and it is a youth inspirational drama.

This marks the second collaboration between Xie Tingfeng and Zhang Weijian after "The Little Fish and the Flower Without Flaws," where they once again play close brothers.

Zhang Ze plays the fourth male lead. Besides the big-name leads, the rest of the cast is also very strong.

The cast includes Zhang Zhixi, Hai Qing, Li Guangjie, Lin Yongjian, Wang Ou, Wu Xiubo, and others.

The series is co-directed by renowned Taiwanese director Liang Hsiu-shen and mainland Chinese director Meng Ji, boasting a strong cast and crew. The series attracted considerable attention in the market as soon as filming began.

At the end of October 2012, the drama held its opening ceremony in Beijing, with Xie Tingfeng and Zhang Weijian leading everyone in burning incense and praying to Buddha.

This is Zhang Ze's second collaboration with artists from Hong Kong, and it went quite well.