1991: The Era of Hong Kong Dramas

In December, Hong Kong was sunny and clear, like early spring.

The audition was scheduled for 10:00 AM, and Huo Sheng, as usual, arrived early.

As soon as I arrived at the conference room door, I found two rows of people already waiting in front of it.

There were men and women, some familiar faces, and others whom they had never seen before. They sat together on both sides of the corridor, each holding an excerpt from a script that Huo Sheng had prepared in advance, and reading it attentively.

Hearing footsteps, someone looked up, saw Huo Sheng, assumed he was another actor auditioning, and then indifferently lowered their head again.

The remaining few gossipy individuals curiously took a few more glances.

"Ah Sheng—"

When Liu Qingyun saw Huo Sheng arrive, he stood up in surprise, but realized something was wrong as soon as he called out, and immediately stopped talking.

He cleared his throat, gave a slight bow, and his tone became more formal: "Director Huo, hello."

His voice caught the attention of the two rows of people. In the crew, there was only one kind of person who could be called a "key creator" and would be here—the key creator and screenwriter of "The Greed of Man".

All eyes turned to Huo Sheng.

So young!

Almost everyone sighed in agreement, and then, as if rehearsed, they all stood up in unison and greeted, "Director Huo, hello."

More than twenty people spoke at the same time, their voices echoing in the corridor.

Huo Sheng's eye twitched; he had never seen anything like this before.

Honestly, he had participated in many auditions in his past life, but the only place where he felt he had control over his fate as an actor was TVB.

After a moment of silence, Huo Sheng nodded, "Hello."

The actors didn't say anything more, nor did they sit down again, and Huo Sheng could only silently quicken his pace and walk through them.

The people auditioning this morning were all unknown, longtime extras, and all of them were contracted with TVB, relying on the TV station for their livelihood. There was a huge gap between them and the main creators and screenwriters of the production team, with a clear hierarchy. If it had been famous or experienced actors, things would probably be different.

Huo Sheng pushed open the door to the conference room, which was empty. He consciously chose the second seat on the right and sat down.

Logically speaking, the right side of the producer should be the position of the editor and the main screenwriter, but Huo Sheng is an oddball who does both jobs, leaving the chair next to him empty.

After waiting for about ten minutes, Wei Jiahui, Yuan Yingming, and Lin Yufen finally arrived.

"Shall we begin?"

Wei Jiahui glanced around the conference room.

"it is good."

The other three responded in unison, and then staff members began calling people inside.

When casting actors for Hong Kong dramas, the first requirement is that they resemble the character in spirit.

For example, to play a lawyer, one must be upright and serious; to play a gangster, one must be roguish and sinister. These are requirements in terms of temperament, which can be compensated for through acting skills.

First, the spirit must be similar, then the appearance must be similar. As long as the character setting is not particularly outrageous, the appearance is basically not an obstacle.

Therefore, TVB's workplace dramas have always had a good reputation.

Of course, physical resemblance is not without requirements. Whenever love scenes are involved, the production team will also take into account the audience's preferences, and both Xiao Youzi and Long Jiwen must be young and beautiful.

"Hello, producers! Hello, teachers!"

"My name is Tao Dayu!"

The first person to come in was Michael Tao, who had worked with Wai Ka-fai and Yuen Ying-ming in "Looking Back in Anger". His self-introduction was very familiar. This time, the audition was for Ting Hau-hai, the eldest son of the Ting family and the head of the Chung Ching Society.

He stopped and recited a line from a script.

"There are good guys and bad guys in the underworld. You should follow the good guys, not the bad guys!"

"A kind person is often bullied, and a good horse is often ridden."

Huo Sheng took the role of judge very seriously, even jotting down a few notes. After he left, Wei Jiahui asked for his opinion, "What do you guys think?"

Yuan Yingming touched his nose and thought for a moment, then hesitated and said, "I feel like something's missing. He doesn't have Ding Xiaoxie's domineering and strategic nature, but he does have a lot of drive."

"Ah Sheng, what about you?"

"He has a good appearance and solid acting skills, but his temperament is not quite right. He lacks Ding Xiaoxie's courage and resourcefulness, and he seems more suitable to play the second son, Ding Yixie."

"Ding Yi Crab?"

Wei Jiahui's eyes lit up. "I do have that feeling. Let him come back and try again!"

He values ​​the four sons of the Ding family highly and is willing to spend more time trying them out, which also shows respect for the screenwriter's judgment.

Immediately, a staff member went to call Tao Dayu back and handed him another copy of Ding Yixie's character biography and lines.

Michael Tao was very dedicated, or rather, he longed for a role in "The Greed of Man," even a supporting one. He didn't mind being replaced at all, so he mustered up his energy and did it again. Then he left somewhat nervously.

Auditions are actually very grueling; the feeling of waiting to be chosen and being rejected is extremely unpleasant.

"How was it this time?"

Wei Jiahui asked.

"That's fine now, let's leave Ding Yixie for now!" Yuan Yingming seemed quite satisfied and began to write in his notebook.

Following closely behind, one by one, the young actors came in and auditioned for their roles.

Whether it's suitable or not is all out in the open. The production team's views are mostly in agreement, except for a slight disagreement on the choice of Fang Ting, the second daughter of the Fang family.

Fang Ting is one of the more prominent characters among the three Fang sisters. Unlike her eldest sister Fang Fang, who is worn down by life and has become rough and irritable, she is also not as innocent and fragile as her youngest sister.

She was clean, well-mannered, and had self-respect, yet she fell in love with Ding Xiaoxie.

This is the classic "Romeo and Juliet" love story, carrying the love and hatred between the next generation of the Fang and Ding families, making it a very important and pivotal character.

The actresses who came to audition were Loletta Lee, Gigi Lai, and Fennie Yuen.

After they finished performing, Wai Ka-fai leaned back in his chair and asked, "How was it?"

"Li Lizhen is the best."

Yuan Yingming spoke frankly, but judging performances is subjective, and it's normal for different people to have different opinions. He then asked, "Jia Hui, who do you think is the most suitable among these three?"

"I also think Li Lizhen's performance was better, but her salary demands..."

Wai Ka-fai flipped through the actors' information, feeling somewhat conflicted.

If possible, he would certainly prefer to use the most suitable actors, but the tight budget reminds him that it is better to make choices.

"Is there a big difference?"

"Li Lizhen is an external actress, so her salary is not negotiable. Gigi Lai is our own full-contract artist and a newcomer, so the price can be half."

Yuan Yingming hesitated for a moment. He hoped to use Li Lizhen, whose acting skills were already mature and more similar to Li Lizhen's, but he couldn't ignore the producer's fate. The producer had to coordinate the expenses of the entire crew. If they overpaid here, the next thing they would have to save on would probably be the filming.

"Then let's choose Gigi Lai." He smiled. "They're not that different. We can easily work on her acting skills."

"Then it's decided."

Wai Ka-fai wasn't too insistent on it. Sometimes when filming, subjective factors have to give way to objective factors, and there's not much to say about that.

Huo Sheng didn't care. Li Lizhen was originally the actress who played Fang Ting in the original version of "The Greed of Man". Now that the budget was low, he didn't expect that she would be the first to be sacrificed.

However, Gigi Lai has great potential and won't be a disappointment. Choosing a cost-effective actress right now is wiser; otherwise, if too many actors take up too much budget, the overall quality will actually decline.

With several important supporting roles secured, the next step is to select the male lead, Fang Zhanbo.

This is even easier than the ones mentioned above.