Huayu: The Big Players Behind the Scenes

Company 91

Zhuang Huai'an took out paper and pen and began to take notes.

Since the protagonist has already decided not to associate with Boss Yang, he doesn't need to be fixated on Jackie Chan, especially since the latter is about to be abandoned by the Hollywood market.

This kind of big-budget production is guaranteed to make anyone a star. It would be better to let the good older brother Jiang Wen have it. His spoken English is even better, so the two versions with the original audio won't sound awkward.

Since "The Martian" is a co-production and aimed at the international market, the mainstream version still has to be in English, which is unavoidable.

The filming location was set in Mangya City, Haixi Prefecture, Qinghai Province. This place is extremely arid with zero vegetation. The Yardang landforms, eroded by wind over millions of years, have almost no light pollution, and the starry night sky is visible to the naked eye. It is known as the most Mars-like place on Earth.

Having a large home is great; you can find any kind of terrain except for fjords.

In addition to providing technical support and assisting in the construction of the Mars base, Academician Qi also promised to replicate Mr. Yang's spacesuit at a 1:1 scale and design three different styles corresponding to China, the United States, and Russia.

With AVIC involved, there's no need to worry about logistics and equipment; Zhuang Huai'an just needs to provide the funding.

The male lead is Jiang Wen.

Among the main roles, the female captain is played by Gong Li. If the effect is good, there is another movie waiting for her, and the two movies can be connected, which can also be considered as repaying her for the favor.

The main driver was originally a male supporting character, but Zhuang Huai'an planned to bring Liu Yifei along. The conversation between the three of them was conducted in Chinese, which could be considered as a way of subtly incorporating his personal motives.

In this drastically modified temporary organization, Han Sanping first decided on the role of the head of the China Aviation Administration. To have some fun, Lao Han is really going all out, and he's been practicing his spoken English like crazy lately.

It's that spicy hot pot accent that's so funny it's hard not to laugh.

The project manager and NASA administrator should be foreigners, while the public relations spokesperson should be Chinese. One wants to save the project, the other is conflicted, and the other is a bureaucrat. This is how to create conflict.

The spokesperson role is very appealing; it needs to have a grand and elegant presence. 91 Company doesn't have a suitable candidate, so this role will be put on hold for now.

Suddenly, Zhuang Huai'an's eyes lit up. How could he have forgotten about her?

Aunt Liu is awesome!

Write this down first, and we'll discuss it later.

The other roles aren't that important; just cram in the three high school students and pick a few Hollywood actors to fill the gaps.

Since it's a big production, it should look like one. Although the company's behind-the-scenes production system is very mature, it still lacks a top expert to oversee it.

The first thing to consider is the cameraman, and that person has to be Gu Changwei, the top cameraman in China.

For art direction, Huo Tingxiao is definitely the one. He's Zhang Yimou's go-to guy, a professor at the Beijing Film Academy, and he's a true Chinese!

After thinking it over, Zhuang Huai'an took out his phone and first called Jiang Wen to ask him to come over. Then he dialed Huo Tingxiao's number. The group had exchanged phone numbers at the Golden Rooster Awards a while ago.

After explaining the situation, Huo Tingxiao readily agreed and promised to be available whenever needed. Only a fool would refuse such a big production.

Gu Changwei, however, is stuck here. He has just finished filming his first movie, "Peacock," and is busy with post-production, planning to compete in Berlin next February.

"Senior brother, there's plenty of time. My movie won't start filming until March next year, so you just need to make time for me."

"Then what else is there to say, Huai'an? Okay, I'll leave it blank for you."

After hanging up the phone, Zhuang Huai'an breathed a sigh of relief. With these two joining the project, half of the scenes for "The Martian" were complete.

Berlin?

Zhuang Huai'an frowned slightly. He still had a list of nominees for the Berlin Film Festival, which he originally intended to use as bait to lure Huayi Brothers. It just so happened that they had a film called "A World Without Thieves" coming out this year, and the film barely met the requirements for Berlin.

Should we give them to them?

Just as I was struggling with this decision, my good brother barged into the office with a thuggish air about him.

"Where's the script? Are you really going to let me act in it?"

Seeing that Jiang Wen was a little out of breath, Zhuang Huai'an chuckled, "You didn't run all the way here, did you?"

What do you think?

Jiang Wen responded irritably, walked to the tea table, and poured herself a glass of water to moisten her throat.

"Although I'm not someone who cares about fame and fortune, this film is, strictly speaking, the first big-budget film in China, so I'm definitely eager to get involved."

Besides, I still owe you money. You've made such a big fuss; your pay must be pretty high, right?

Zhuang Huai'an teased him, "Others certainly don't pay less, but you'll have to make three films for me to offset your debt."

"You're like Huang Shiren!" Jiang Wen glared. "Even Yang Bailao wasn't as miserable as me!"

"I was just kidding, why are you getting so worked up?"

Zhuang Huai'an walked to the tea table, handed over a cigarette, and said, "One thing at a time. Debts must be paid, and the pay can't be reduced. Is this even worth discussing between us? Just leave it to the agent to handle."

Jiang Wen paused, looking embarrassed, "Well, my manager, that's your sister-in-law, the one we had dinner with last time."

"Who? Zhou Yun?"

"Hmm."

Zhuang Huai'an was so envious of Jill that he turned purple. That bastard Jiang Wen still hasn't divorced Sandrine yet!

However, this doesn't mean he was two-timing. The two of them were already separated for long periods of time, and neither was willing to give up their careers to compromise with the other. So, during the Spring Festival after the kidnapping incident, he filed for divorce from Sandrine.

Because divorce proceedings are more complicated in transnational marriages, and because in France, various procedures and verifications are done in batches rather than all at once, this is one of the reasons why France has a low divorce rate.

"Hey buddy, how can you bear to let someone do this?"

"You don't understand, this is love."

"I love... never mind, whatever makes you happy." Zhuang Huai'an quickly retracted a "mmp" and got up to get him the script.

When it comes to cursing, he really can't compare to Jiang Wen. Others just throw in a few swear words among a lot of language, while Jiang Wen manages to get the point across while spewing a lot of swear words.

Jiang Wen took the script and asked, "When are you planning to film it? I'd like to coordinate the schedule."

"We were just about to talk about that. The exact timeframe is still unclear; we have to wait for the props from the China National Aviation Administration. But they said that if all goes well, it should be ready after the New Year."

Zhuang Huai'an handed him a cup of tea. "I'm thinking of starting filming on March 1st. After all, we'll be shooting for three or four months, and it's too hot to wear a spacesuit in this weather."

"Okay." Jiang Wen nodded. "I'll arrange the time."

Zhuang Huai'an added, "Also, you have to be with the team the whole time. Time is tight, so we need to get this over with quickly. The main thing is not to waste the experts' time; people are here to do big things."

"I know what I'm doing; you just need to arrange the procedures."

Jiang Wen sat for a while, then picked up his script and left. According to him, he needed to go home and find a secluded space to test his skills.

Zhuang Huai'an wasn't afraid of Jiang Wen interfering with the director's work at all, even though he had chosen Jiang Wen as the lead actor.

The Martian involves so much astronomical knowledge that even Zhuang Huai'an, with the original materials in his head, sometimes gets confused. If Jiang Wen can reasonably overturn the script and Academician Qi's character settings during this period, it will be even more difficult.

He accepted it!