I'm not mentally ill, I'm a master of a thousand faces!

Chapter 156, screen time reduced.

At this moment, the audition results have been finalized.

But it didn't actually go as smoothly as I had imagined.

No one truly believed that Li Yun could act well. Ye Jiunian's attitude was rather ambiguous; he wanted to take a gamble on Li Yun.

Even Yu Mingsheng himself was rather ambiguous about his attitude. As for whether he thought Li Yun could handle the role, he personally felt that he could.

But being able to handle it doesn't mean it's the best choice.

In terms of acting skills and star power, Jiao Junen should be the best choice.

If Jiao Jun'en is not available, Li Yun would also be a good choice.

But now we have Jiao Jun'en.

The decision to choose Li Yun was indeed influenced by some external factors. Zhang Dahuzi personally offered to do him a favor, which implied an exchange of benefits.

Yu Mingsheng still had to give him face—provided that Liu Yehong's background prevented him from speaking up.

Li Mo is considered a respected veteran artist in the industry, so she wouldn't ask for auditions.

With Ye Jiunian's support, the role was finalized.

However, producer Zhang Xingda was quite dissatisfied with this decision. There has been a lot of heated discussion about this matter in the past few days.

Finally, a compromise was reached.

If you've already said you'd choose Li Yun, then cut his screen time.

The screen time for Erlang Shen has been reduced.

Add more scenes for Liu Yehong's Little White Dragon.

Yes, although Liu Yehong was not chosen to play Erlang Shen, he still got the role of Xiaobailong, which is considered the third male lead.

However, if his role is expanded, he will no longer be the third male lead, but rather the second male lead in the main cast, and it is even considered that he will be positioned as one of the two male leads in the main cast.

Yu Mingsheng accepted the proposal.

The Lotus Lantern is aimed at teenagers and focuses on building the main characters, which is actually aimed at young viewers.

It's relatively easy to get gold coins for young men, unlike those picky young people. So let's cut Yang Jian's role and reduce the screen time of the Heavenly Court faction.

Ye Jiunian felt somewhat helpless about this, but still accepted the result.

"Brother Jiu Nian, you're really going to challenge me. It feels like you're determined to prove that Li Yun is capable of this role," Yu Mingsheng said, somewhat amused and exasperated. This was the result of weighing the pros and cons.

With his screen time drastically reduced, there wasn't even enough space for Arc Light.

This was something Yu Mingsheng had considered for a long time. In fact, he had thought a lot about the role of Erlang Shen. If Jiao Jun'en were to play the role, then the story could proceed normally. But even if it wasn't him...

Then let's give the main characters more screen time.

It focuses more on young viewers, making them pay attention to Chenxiang's adventure story.

Splitting the mountain to save his mother—such a positive story!

A young man's triumphant rise to power—how inspiring!

That's possible too.

As for the favor of selling the big beard to Erlang Shen, as long as he can deliver a satisfactory performance, that's enough.

Ye Jiunian is different; what he craves is a character arc, the ultimate expression of a character in their most perfect state.

What can be done about someone who would only have a tiny chance of appearing on the screen as a third-tier actor, now that their role has been drastically cut?

"Let's take a look."

Ye Jiunian didn't actually have much confidence.

But as a creator who sees his work as his child.

Even if it's minuscule, I want it to have the best effect.

He certainly wanted to hire truly top-tier talent.

The problem is that top-tier actors with suitable looks wouldn't bother with the cast of "The Lotus Lantern." For example, Jiao Jun'en wouldn't have ended up auditioning for "The Lotus Lantern" if his status hadn't plummeted due to his divorce.

……

I got the role, and the agreed-upon fee was 10 yuan for the whole film.

This price is quite good.

Although the production team of "Lotus Lantern" had differing opinions on whether Li Yun got the role, in the end Li Yun got the role.

He successfully became Erlang Shen in the "Lotus Lantern" production team, and filming is expected to begin after the new year.

Li Yun still had time to ponder the unity of opposites between the divinity and humanity in the character.

The problem is not big.

During the Chinese New Year period, "The World's Number One" quietly arrived, while Wang Pangzi's "Eight Great Heroes" and "The Three Heroes of the Red Dust" were released in advance.

Wang Pangzi does have some talent; he filmed three martial arts-themed TV series at the same time, and then they were released.

It can be said that he was very confident in himself, and he filmed three movies on the same subject. Among them, the most ambitious one was "Eight Heroes", which contained almost all the essence of the Hong Kong film circle. It can be said that "Eight Heroes" is the true work of Fatty Wong.

"The World's Number One" spans the most diverse circles, with involvement from the central, Hong Kong, and Taiwanese circles, making it a big production. However, no one knows whether Fatty Wang will pay more attention to the team members who are purely from his own circle.

According to industry insiders...

When "Eight Heroes" is released, its performance will be a good indicator of whether "The World's Finest" will be successful.

It's also possible that Wang Jing's style isn't suitable for modern martial arts films, and this time, all three genres might flop.

It's still an original IP.

"The Three Heroes of the Wind and Dust" is actually the most promising one.

This is also the only one of the three works that has an IP.

Although the martial arts theme of the Three Heroes of the Dust, Hong Fu Nu, is quite niche and often appears in erotic films, at least everyone knows the name, which gives it IP value.

"How about we watch together to see who's the best in the world?"

"Sure, if I have time."

"It's okay if you're busy!"

At this moment, Gao Yuanyuan sent a message via QQ, inviting me to watch "The World's Number One" together.

Gao Yuanyuan also mentioned that Li Yapeng had invited her, but this guy with thick eyebrows and big eyes now has a girlfriend and isn't easy to get along with, so they ended up watching TV together.

Gao Yuanyuan is a bit of a gossip, though. Who is Li Yapeng's girlfriend?

Li Yun thought silently, "Of course it's pop diva Xiao Wang."

Their love story is truly epic.

However, Li Yun couldn't really criticize other people's love lives.

He was someone who lacked love.

How can you possibly understand other people's opinions?

It doesn't matter anymore.

"It's a promise, we'll watch 'The World's Number One' together. Of course, it's okay if you stand me up."

"OK."

At this moment, Gao Yuanyuan, who was at home, was still thinking about it.

If it were Song Qingshu, he wouldn't stand himself up.

He won't.

As the New Year approaches, many places are nearing the end of their year-end banquets, and the festivities have come to a close. It's New Year's Eve again, and it's time for the Spring Festival Gala once more.

During his first New Year in this world, Li Yun ate dumplings for several days straight, until he was so sick of them that he threw up.

This is the second New Year.

That's probably all there is to it.

After taking stock of some items and settling the final payment, Jiang Chenggang went back to his hometown for the Chinese New Year.

It seems that Lao Jiang is no longer single, as he's asking Li Yun if he's interested in watching any of this year's Spring Festival films.

Li Yun just wanted to say that he would go see the movie when he could finally play a lead role in a Spring Festival film.

Lunar New Year film season.

All the major events of the year are concentrated here.

A large-scale, big-budget commercial film.

Interestingly, Wang Baoqiang, even after all these years, still managed to land the role in "A World Without Thieves," and this simple-minded character was still chosen.

Although the pay was pitifully low, Jiang Chenggang still felt it was a rare opportunity.

That silly guy.

Wang Baoqiang is stupid enough.

Li Yun, on the other hand, asked Jiang Chenggang to help Wang Baoqiang keep an eye out for military dramas, as he was confident he could handle them.

Whether or not he heard what Li Yun said, Jiang Chenggang went back home for the New Year.

The entire capital city became desolate.

Rumble, rumble.

Li Yun leaned his head out of the window.

Large and small bags were tied to the motorcycles of migrant workers who had come to Beijing. These motorcycle warriors were going to travel thousands of miles back to their hometowns, some as close as Helan and others as far as the three northeastern provinces.

Those who couldn't buy tickets took motorcycles.

Many people who could buy tickets also took motorcycles.

Perhaps the carefree journey is a feeling that train travel can't provide.

Although it was tough and tiring.

But the thought of his hometown being so far away, and the money he could save from his work to buy things for his wife, children, and elderly parents, brought a smile to his face. Even though life might not be easy, having something to look forward to was a good thing.

I'm concerned about this thing.

At this moment, the phantom of the middle-aged scholar appeared beside him, and he spoke.

"And what about your concerns?"

Li Yun glanced at the middle-aged scholar beside him, closed the window, and stopped looking at the vast army returning home.

"My concerns are when I can become a Thousand-Faced Actor, when I can be cured of my mental illness and become a normal person, and when I can properly reach the pinnacle of life."

"My immediate concerns are when Kung Fu Hustle will be released and whether my performance will be recognized by the audience, the release of The First Under Heaven and whether I will be affirmed by the audience, and whether I can play Erlang Shen well in The Lotus Lantern."

"Who says I have no worries? I have tons of worries too! My whole body is covered in worries! Everything hanging here and here is covered in them."

"I only said one sentence, and you replied with such a long reply." At this moment, the middle-aged scholar smiled slightly at Li Yun, but remained calm and composed, saying, "Actually, there's no need for that."

Li Yun: "."

Li Yun suddenly realized that this guy wasn't so understanding after all.

"There are two kinds of concerns: things and people. You may have things you're concerned about, but do you really have people you're concerned about?"

Does it matter?

"Isn't it important?"

"It's not that important"

At this moment, Li Yun paused and said, "Once I buy a house and make a down payment next year, and settle down here, maybe the 'attachment' you mentioned will really come to me."

"Ha, so-called attachments are born from the place of residence. Little Li, you're getting attached to appearances."

"Shouldn't you be that majestic judicial god? Why have you become like a nagging, fussy monk?"

"Hahaha, who says the most talkative one can't be the most majestic and powerful one? That god?"

The middle-aged scholar laughed.

"Only those with compassion and benevolence in their hearts can govern all things."

(End of this chapter)