1991: The Era of Hong Kong Dramas

Since the remaining roles weren't so crucial to the survival of the production team, everyone relaxed considerably.

They picked and chose casually, mostly selecting TVB actors.

For example, Yammie Lam, who played Law Wai-ling, and Amy Kwok, the newly crowned Miss Hong Kong, who played Lung Kei-man...

It can only be said that the production team has a lot of power.

Especially for producers, if they can win over both the director and the screenwriter, they can even decide the entire cast on their own, leaving no room for any sponsors to speak up. This is unimaginable in other regions.

Of course, if a project flops, the producer also bears primary responsibility. But with this power, those child actors would probably have to treat them like second parents.

Huo Sheng was not enthusiastic about other casting choices.

He has already taken Fang Zhanbo's spot, so the other actors should respect the opinions of the other three. After all, everyone has two or three friends!

But he wasn't idle either; he started flipping through actors' profiles with great interest.

Unlike previous experiences, everything is very convenient under the TVB production system.

Even the casting process was like flipping through a menu. Everyone had a complete profile with internal comments, and there were thousands of forms for each person.

At the very top of the list, of course, is the one with the highest status.

Alex Man was originally on the first page, but he has now been removed and replaced by Leon Lai, Deric Wan, and Maggie Siu.

Those ranked lower are not in good condition in all aspects, but there are also some potential stars - for example, Wayne Lai is still playing a minor role in "No Regrets in This Life", Bobby Au-yeung can't even see housewives, and Ada Choi was just selected as the second runner-up in Miss Hong Kong this year.

These are all actors who will become very popular in the future. Huo Sheng made a special note of them and was very interested in becoming a treasure hunter.

He was playing the talent scout game over there, while the other three weren't idle either.

Soon, the audition candidates for the four Ding brothers and the three Fang sisters were all selected. They were just waiting for the person in charge of artist management to call and ask if the other party was interested and if their schedule was suitable.

Only the character Ruan Mei remains.

Wei Jiahui and the others exchanged glances, their expressions subtly changing, and none of them spoke first.

Ruan Mei is a female character who only appears in the sixth episode. Because of her family's poverty and her thrifty nature, she is nicknamed "Little Jew".

She is quiet and gentle, kind-hearted, and not scheming, but she has been in poor health since childhood, has a heart condition, is easily frightened, and cannot withstand much stress.

She was Fang Zhanbo's neighbor, and after going through various events, she gradually fell in love with him.

When Fong Chin-bo was down on his luck, although she was frugal and stingy, she still took out all her savings to help him. When Fong Chin-bo went to Taiwan to seek refuge, she stayed by his side and waited for him in Hong Kong. Later, when the Fong family suffered misfortune, she always stayed by his side, asking for nothing but him and her.

However, just as the two were about to have a happy ending, Xiao Youyi suffered a heart attack and died in Fang Zhanbo's arms.

Such a character—

My virtuous wife helped me achieve my lofty ambitions; she was stingy yet willing to give her all; she was beautiful and devoted; and the ending left me with a lingering sense of injustice.

It can be said that it has all the elements that audiences love.

Anyone familiar with television production can confidently say that Little Jew is absolutely the most outstanding and beloved character in the entire "The Greed of Man" series!

Therefore, deciding who to cast became a major problem.

They all knew this, and fell silent as one.

After a while, Lin Yufen looked up and asked, "Does this Ruan Mei have any requests?"

Yuan Yingming rubbed his forehead, struggling to put it, and said, "I can't quite put my finger on it. It looks simple, but it also feels quite difficult..."

Wei Jiahui was also at a loss. He glanced at Huo Sheng and asked, "What do you think?"

Huo Sheng pondered for a moment and said, "The role of Ruan Mei is very important. It's best not to cast an ordinary beauty; she has to be at least a... goddess, you understand?"

The three of them were taken aback and shook their heads.

"She not only has to be beautiful, but also aspire to be admired. She has to make all the male viewers envy Fong Chin-bo and hate that they were born at the wrong time after watching the TV series."

That's the feeling.

"..."

Poverty, thrift, purity, beauty, gentleness...

These words aren't enough; now we need to add "goddess."

If a character is described with a multitude of beautiful adjectives, the range of choices becomes much smaller.

So small that only one person meets the standard.

At the same time, a figure appeared in everyone's mind—

Vivian Chow.

In 1991, she was undoubtedly the most popular star in Hong Kong, reaching the pinnacle of her career in all four fields, becoming a top Asian idol, so popular that everyone knew her and everyone imitated her.

She will play the role...

Wai Ka-fai and Yuen Ying-ming exchanged a glance, both feeling that the role was suitable, strangely so.

The two chuckled and teased, "Ah Sheng, this character of yours was practically written based on Vivian Chow, wasn't it?"

Lin Yufen immediately understood and smiled as well.

She is now a wildly popular "Jade Girl" in Hong Kong, so it's perfectly normal for her to capture the heart of a 19-year-old boy like Huo Sheng. Not only do the other two not object, but they even seem to want to play matchmaker.

Huo Sheng opened his mouth, wanting to refute, but couldn't utter a single word.

The original character of Little Jew was specifically designed for Vivian Chow.

She comes from a single-parent family and was raised by her mother who did odd jobs. Her family was poor, which fostered her frugal habits. People in the industry call her "Frugal Girl". She is a rare female artist who does not like to wear designer brands and has a simple lifestyle.

In addition, her gentle personality and the title of "pure and innocent girl" perfectly match the criteria, and her casting would surely attract the audience's favor.

In short, this is a fact.

Huo Sheng fell silent for a moment, picked up his coffee and took a sip, pretending he hadn't heard anything.

Wai Ka-fai smiled and made the decision: "Vivian Chow is the perfect choice to play Little Jew."

I'll contact PolyGram later. We've worked together many times, so getting a role shouldn't be a problem.

But Yuan Yingming closed his notebook, mentally estimated the salary, compared it with the budget, and sensed something was wrong. He asked Wei Jiahui:

"Jiahui, how much money did Mr. Shao approve for us?"

Wai Ka-fai paused, then said with a wry smile, "Eight million."

At TVB, production teams do not have the authority to solicit sponsorships. All funding is fully allocated by the station, and the amount depends on whether Run Run Shaw approves of the project.

In Huo Sheng's memory, the original budget for "The Great Era" was 1000 million.

Clearly, Run Run Shaw did not have high hopes for his new screenwriter. The butterfly effect caused the budget to be reduced by two million.

Eight million, that sounds like a lot.

However, for a drama like "The Greed of Man" that involves more than a dozen key characters and has about 40 episodes, it is really a bit of a stretch.

Yuan Yingming sighed, "Then we'll have to be more careful with the budget."

"yes."

Wai Ka-fai nodded and pondered, "If the important roles are confirmed to be played by Adam Cheng and Vivian Chow, it will be a considerable expense."

For other roles, we'll try to cast our own actors as much as possible, and keep their salaries low.

He really had no better options; even a skilled cook can't cook without rice. Since he had decided to spend the money on important roles, he had to say goodbye to the other well-known actors.

During auditions, as long as the acting skills are about the same, whoever can lower their salary will be cast.

Assistant director Lin Yufen, however, was a confident optimist and laughed, "Don't be like that. The script is very interesting, the characters are very charming, Producer Wei is capable, and Director Yuan can also make it good. There will definitely be no problem."

Wai Ka-fai smiled and said, "Then let's work together and overcome these difficulties!"

Several people nodded.

This production meeting, which lasted for more than four hours, finally came to an end.

Wai Ka-fai tapped the table and laughed, "Then let's end the production meeting here for today. Regarding casting, what we see on paper is ultimately not convincing. We shouldn't be afraid of trouble, but we should be afraid of making the wrong choice."

Once the audition time is confirmed, we'll see how it goes.