This director loves making friends.

As for how to become a far-sighted and visionary "wise man," Qin Keqing's task is actually quite simple.

One approach is to leverage the connections of the "Second Princess" in Hong Kong to publish an article with a "macro-level vision" in important newspapers and magazines. This article only needs to "foresee" the trends in film and television technology development and provide "reminders" for Hong Kong films.

Of course, that's not enough. To solidify his "foresight" status, he also needed to leverage his connections in Cannes to publish similar articles in important European newspapers and magazines.

There's no way around it; too many people these days are superstitious about Europe and America, as if Europe and America represent authority.

Secondly, based on the first point, publish another article "predicting" that "Jurassic Park," which uses digital special effects technology, will sweep the globe, highlighting places like Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan.

With these two articles, Qin Keqing will most likely be able to gain fame, especially after the "death" of Hong Kong cinema, he will become a great director with strategic vision.

They will also become directors who receive high-level attention, unlike big directors who only make award-winning or box-office films. Even their words will carry more weight. A big director with a forward-looking strategic vision and a clear understanding of industry development is definitely a country's most scarce and valuable talent.

The phrase "strategic vision" will become his protective shield and talisman.

Qin Keqing did not want to work within the system.

Having an identity that is considered by the higher-ups to have "strategic vision" means that even without entering the system, one is basically not afraid of being manipulated by capital or certain individuals.

While writing articles, Qin Keqing also began preparations for "Uncle".

The male lead was still Lin Guobin. Qin Keqing was the first to call him, and he agreed without hesitation. He even voluntarily cut the publicly quoted price of 100 million in half.

That's quite sensible of them.

There are seven important characters in "The Man from Nowhere": the male protagonist, the little girl Zheng Xiaomi who is considered the female protagonist, the two villainous brothers who manufacture drugs and sell human organs, their most capable henchman, the little girl's mother, and the police officer in charge of the investigation.

When it came to choosing the actress for the role of Zheng Xiaomi, Qin Keqing first thought of the little girl he had chosen last year when filming "King of Beggars," who jokingly wanted to recognize him as her godfather.

Yang Xiaomi seems to have been born in 86, and is a little over 7 years old this year, which meets the requirements.

Furthermore, Qin Keqing plans to make this film a co-production, shooting some indoor scenes in mainland China. This is because both labor costs and studio space are cheaper. Most importantly, Qin Keqing wants to take this opportunity to discuss the release of "Sweet Life".

After all, "A Bittersweet Life" won two awards at Cannes and is considered a Hong Kong film, so the background of the film is definitely Hong Kong, and there shouldn't be any problem with its release.

Qin Keqing doesn't care how much box office "A Sweet Life" will achieve in mainland China, since it's all pure profit anyway.

Furthermore, with the film's wide release in mainland China, he wanted to know how his parents would feel about it, and he was even a little excited.

He took a leave of absence without pay, which angered his father, who then made some harsh remarks.

In addition, Qin Keqing hadn't seen He Qing for a while and missed her terribly.

We'll ask her about the situation then, and if she's willing, we'll let her play the little girl's mother.

When faced with two villainous brothers, Qin Keqing suddenly thought of Zeng Zhiwei as the choice for the older brother, feeling that he was very suitable for the role.

Think about it, what do the two villainous brothers do? Besides manufacturing drugs, they also traffic organs...

It seems that Zeng once endorsed the behind-the-scenes boss of a certain Southeast Asian industrial park.

Thinking about it this way, Zeng is indeed suitable for this role.

Of course, dozens of celebrities, both big and small, from mainland China have also recorded birthday wishes for that person.

It was quite "foresight" of him to have played such a role.

The only concern is that although Zeng Zhiwei's status is not as high as Huang Baiming's, he is still considered a big shot in the film and television industry. He has directed many blockbuster movies, is a well-known star, and has his own film company, UFO Filmmakers Production Co., Ltd.

It won't be easy to invite him.

Qin Keqing only budgeted 600 million yuan for "The Uncle", so it was impossible for him to offer high salaries.

Try it.

Zeng Zhiwei is a very contradictory person.

Who would believe that this guy's favorite thing is investing in art films, even if it means losing money, and he's willing to act in them.

His company, Youhe Films, founded in the late 80s, followed an "artistic route," investing in many low-budget art films, but few of them made money and many lost money.

In the early 1990s, he once again became a major investor and founded UFO Filmmakers Production Co., Ltd., which continued to follow the route of "low-budget art films + lighthearted comedies".

This guy has invested in some decent art films such as "When the Banana Ripens", "Twin Cities Story", "The Money-Grubbing Couple", "He's a Woman, She's a Man", "Comrades: Almost a Love Story", "City of Glass", "The Rogue Doctor", and "Half a Cigarette".

Perhaps we could use this to our advantage and cast him as the main villain in "The Man from Nowhere".

There are many more actors who can be chosen to play the villain's younger brother, such as Wu Zhenyu, Wu Qihua, and Chen Xiaochun. They should all be able to portray that twisted character, and their current salaries are extremely low.

A very capable fighter, Qin Keqing is interested in Zhao Wenzhuo.

Although he starred in the fourth "Once Upon a Time in China" film, this film, which was released in the same period as "A Bittersweet Life," was "sucked up" by "A Bittersweet Life," and ultimately only grossed 700 million at the box office.

As a result, Zhao Wenzhuo's salary was not high, and it hardly increased at all. The quoted price was only 20.

This is partly due to the fact that "Once Upon a Time in China IV" did not meet box office expectations, and partly due to Zhao Wenzhuo's status as a mainland actor; otherwise, his salary would definitely have been more than 200,000 yuan.

Qin Keqing had another reason for wanting Zhao Wenzhuo to play this role.

The male lead in "The Man from Nowhere" has some of the most exciting fight scenes, all of which are against this character.

The showdown between Lam Kwok-ping and Zhao Wenzhuo, one being Anita Mui's ex-boyfriend and the other her later boyfriend, is quite a spectacle.

The role of the police officer investigating the incident had a decent amount of screen time, and Qin Keqing gave it to Lin Wei, who played the main villain in "Sweet Life".

As for the photographer, Qin Keqing invited Liu Weiqiang, who readily agreed. He was very interested in Qin Keqing's pioneering "new violent aesthetics" and liked this realistic style.

For the art director selection, Qin Keqing also invited Zhang Shuping, who is currently working as an art designer on Wang Jing's "Chasing Boys" set. Qin Keqing visited the "Chasing Boys" set a few days ago and met with Zhang Shuping.

"Chasing Boys" has almost finished filming, so Zhang Shuping can seamlessly transition to "The Mister".

In terms of action direction, Qin Keqing continued to use the same combination of Lu Huiguang, Yang Sheng and Lin Guobin. Since the style is being maintained, it is best to use the original team for action direction, as this makes it easier to understand Qin Keqing's intentions.

Regarding the actors, Qin Keqing was surprised that, besides Lin Guobin, the first one to agree was Zeng Zhiwei, who only accepted a symbolic 20 yuan as payment and was exceptionally polite to her.

Qin Keqing was initially puzzled as to why this guy agreed so readily, but then he remembered that during the peak of Cinema City, this guy was known as one of the Seven Eccentrics of Cinema City, along with Huang Baiming, Xu Ke, Shi Nansheng, and others. He had a very good relationship with Huang Baiming.

Furthermore, his father once served as the uniformed police commissioner of the Hong Kong Police Force, which is considered one of the highest positions a Chinese person can hold. Although he was later wanted by the police, his connections remained.

Zeng Zhiwei probably also heard some news that Qin Keqing and that "second princess" were good friends.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so polite to Qin Keqing.

Qin Keqing ultimately decided on Wu Zhenyu for the role of the villain's younger brother. Perhaps it was due to preconceived notions, but Qin Keqing always felt that Wu Zhenyu was truly a psychopath, and she would unconsciously recall the line, "I have a very bad temper..."

After considering it for two days, Zhao Wenzhuo agreed.

As a result, only the actresses for the little girl and her mother remain to be cast among the main characters.

Qin Keqing had a meal with Peng Jiesi, handed her the few pages of manuscript he had written, and then led the "main force" to the mainland.