So what if I work with celebrities?

The casting for "Dream of the Red Chamber" began quickly, and naturally, such a good thing had to be done within the Shaoxing family.

According to Li Hanxiang's script, besides Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu, and Xue Baochai, the important characters include Jia Zheng, Wang Xifeng, and Zijuan...

After the internal announcement from Shao's company was issued, many people rushed to the casting call, hoping to get a role.

Xu Zan, as the producer, sat on one side to oversee the process, while Huang Jiaxi, the supervisor, sat on the other side.

Many people believe that casting decisions involve unspoken rules, with beautiful women and handsome men being taken to a dark room by directors to be instructed on their acting skills.

In reality, this process is relatively fair; the director will select suitable actors based on the script and roles. After all, this is a large investment, ranging from at least seven or eight hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars to over a million Hong Kong dollars.

If a director is controlled by his own mind, it will be very difficult for him to achieve anything in the film industry.

Xu Zan's relationship was a free love affair, but he usually had several women at the same time. As for "unspoken rules," I originally wanted to give "Consort" a role, but unfortunately, that girl didn't join.

"Dream of the Red Chamber" is a classic long novel, and when it is adapted into a movie, only a part of the plot can be cut out. Li Hanxiang chose key plots such as Daiyu entering the Jia family, Baoyu smashing the jade, Daiyu burying flowers, Baoyu being beaten, and Daiyu writing "Autumn Window, Wind and Rain Evening".

Acting in period dramas is not about truly recreating the ancient people, but about capturing their essence while maintaining a close resemblance in costumes, makeup, and props.

While acting can never be absolutely realistic, it can create a sense of realism for the audience through actions and props.

Li Hanxiang's requirements were very clear: first, the actor must have extensive experience in period dramas. Don't underestimate this seemingly simple sentence; it actually encompasses the character's movements—walking, standing, sitting, lying down, and speaking.

"行" means walking. The characters in "Dream of the Red Chamber" are all rich and noble, so their clothes must be luxurious and complicated, and they cannot walk like modern people.

Li Hanxiang had all the actors from Shao's company change into ancient costumes and walk around the house; without comparison, there would be no harm.

Yue Hua walks like a refined scholar, while Luo Lie looks like a chivalrous knight.

"Xiao Xu, the key to walking is in your feet. The size, direction, and force of your steps will affect the posture of your thighs and waist," Li Hanxiang said with a smile, pointing to the actor spinning around and explaining the trick.

When he got excited, Li Hanxiang walked out of the judges' table, pretending to be dressed in ancient costume. He took a few steps in front of the table, kicked his legs, waved his hands, and struck a pose with his head held high and his eyes looking straight ahead.

"Director Li, you're amazing!" Xu Zan was very impressed. He only knew how to walk, but he hadn't specifically practiced the basics.

After the male actors left, Li Hanxiang wrote down a few names in his notebook, and then it was the female stars' turn to appear.

In his previous life, Xu Zan had seen the portraits of beauties from the Shao family, all of whom were popular actresses in the 1970s and 80s, such as He Lili, Li Jing, Ye Lingzhi, Tian Ni, Tian Niu, Wang Ping, Betty...

(Warning: Multiple images included; images are at the end)

The main issue is that these stars' salaries were relatively low... In the late 1970s, their salaries were only ten or twenty thousand Hong Kong dollars...

"Xiao Xu, which one have you taken a fancy to?" Li Hanxiang asked jokingly.

"Director Li, don't tease me." Xu Zan knew that Li Hanxiang, who was from Liaoning, loved to joke.

However, he also saw a beautiful girl, Deborah, a former Miss Asia. She was exquisitely beautiful, but lacked distinctive features, which was a disadvantage in the film industry.

Surprisingly, Hui Yinghong was also there. She looked to be about sixteen or seventeen years old. She wasn't exactly beautiful, but she was definitely not ugly either. The way she walked was very graceful. Xu Zan looked at her resume and saw that she had worked as a lead dancer in a nightclub.

After the female celebrity left, the male celebrity came in again. Each of them walked from the door to a spot two meters in front of the judges' table and then began to read their lines.

Li Hanxiang barely looked up, constantly calling out, "Next!"

This left the celebrities completely confused, wondering whether they had passed or failed. Xu Zan saw him writing down the scores for each actor in his notebook.

He scores candidates based on their appearance, posture, energy, and delivery of lines. Those who score 90 or above will be ticked off.

After a hectic morning, casting was finally completed. Li Hanxiang showed the list to Xu Zan and said with a smile, "Director Xu, is there anything you'd like to change?"

Xu Zan took it and glanced at it. He had already secured several leading roles and it was impossible for him to cancel Shao's casting.

The names on the list are basically actors from the previous version of "The Dream of the Red Chamber," such as Yue Hua, Hu Jin, Deborah, Tian Qing, Guo Youhua...

Hu Jin is practically Li Hanxiang's go-to actress. She's starred in many erotic films and has a very feisty look. She also has a mole on her chin, and she can grab the audience's attention as soon as she appears on camera.

Li Hanxiang handpicked her to play Wang Xifeng, and I must say, she really has that fiery spirit. Although her appearance doesn't quite fit Xu Zan's aesthetic, the key to this drama lies in the love triangle between the main characters.

The other actors are just supporting roles; their purpose is simply to make the whole show look beautiful and vibrant.

Once the actors were selected, Li Hanxiang basically disappeared from the public eye. He would go to the clothing factory to keep an eye on things and make costumes that met his expectations.

Most of the investment in this film is in costumes, props, and sets, which are expected to cost HK$500,000. Wong Ka-hei repeatedly reminded Lee Hon-cheung that with such a large investment, it would be difficult to recoup the costs.

Brigitte Lin's salary was HK$100,000, not counting others; well-known actresses from Shaw Brothers earned at least HK$20,000. Sylvia Chang and Hu Huizhong earned relatively low salaries, only HK$30,000 each.

The actors alone cost 400,000 yuan, and the books alone cost nearly a million yuan. This doesn't even include photography, lighting, makeup, and other miscellaneous expenses, which would still amount to at least 200,000 yuan.

Adding in post-production costs, Huang Jiaxi estimated that the investment in this film would be at least between 1.2 million and 1.4 million.

This is all on the premise that Li Hanxiang does not exceed the budget.

So, for "Perfect Couple: Dream of the Red Chamber" to recoup its costs, it needs to gross at least 4 to 4.5 million at the box office.

"Director Xu, what do you think?" Huang Jiaxi had no choice but to seek outside help to persuade Li Hanxiang.

"As long as it's kept within limits, there shouldn't be any problems. We have ticket markets in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia, so we're sure to make money; it's just a matter of how much."

Xu Zan saw Xiao Hei drive back, and he and his men were carrying large and small packages into the office.

"Brother Zan, here are the herbal tea, fruit, and drinks you asked me to buy." Ke Shouliang opened the cardboard box and introduced them as if they were his own treasures.

"Brown sugar, ginger, and jujube tea. The shopkeeper says it warms the middle burner, dispels cold, and promotes sweating to relieve exterior symptoms. And it's served hot!"

"Coconut chicken soup is warming and invigorating, and it also moisturizes the skin. The coconut juice is sweet and the chicken soup is nourishing, making it suitable for all ages."

"Guava is also good, it's very soft, and it tastes very sweet, so you should eat it as soon as possible."

"Bananas, apples, pears, durians, and lychees are out of season, but I still find them acceptable."

"Okay, you're doing a good job. You're starting to look like a personal secretary."

Xu Zan nodded, looking at the items in the box. Xiao Hei had made great progress recently, no longer acting clumsily. Like before, when he was asked to buy a watermelon, Xiao Hei didn't pick and choose, just grabbed whatever he could find.

How can we entertain friends like this? The items we purchase for entertaining guests must be carefully selected, without any flaws, otherwise the guests will think Panda Entertainment is poor!

"Alright, Lao Huang, after Director Li selects the products, prepare the budget and supervise the entire process to ensure it doesn't exceed the budget!"

Xu Zan patted him on the shoulder, saying, "How can you get anything done if you're too calculating?"

You have to go all in; going all in is an art!

Huang Jiaxi sighed. This is the difference between an employee and a boss. A boss can be extravagant and wasteful at will, but he can't; he must have a good reason.

Otherwise, it won't get past Miss Fang's scrutiny; this budget will almost certainly be rejected by her.

However, since he could get tens of thousands of Hong Kong dollars from Xu Zan for each film, he naturally had to do his best. If Director Xu said so, then he had to do it. If Ms. Fang disagreed, he would try to communicate with her.

After Lao Huang left, Xu Zan selected her favorite soup from the cardboard box, poured it into a clean lunchbox, packed a box of fruit, and drove off.

……

30 Muk Oi Street, Kowloon City District.

Chunqiu Drama School, a Peking Opera training school.

In the courtyard, many students were practicing basic skills, several of them forming a circle and kicking a spear. Not far away, some were practicing "Reporting the Names of the Lanterns," reciting the lines with a strong sense of rhythm: "A harmonious lantern, two holy lanterns of harmony..."

Lin Qingxia and the others had just learned how to walk in a square, and they had walked around the yard countless times before finally being allowed to sit down and rest with the permission of Teacher Fen Juhua.

"A Mercedes is coming!" one of the children shouted at the top of his lungs.

A black Mercedes was parked outside the school. Lin Qingxia looked over when she heard the sound and saw a familiar figure. For some reason, she became a little nervous.

"Brother Zan, what brings you here?"

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