Huayu: The Big Players Behind the Scenes

After Cannes, Zhuang Huai'an went directly to Hong Kong.

The project "Detachment" has been delayed again and again. Although neither the investment companies nor Leon Lai have urged him, he himself is a little embarrassed.

According to his plan, he was originally going to use "Detachment" to compete in Cannes, but things didn't go as planned, so he had to hurry up and test the waters in Berlin.

He certainly won't win the gold medal, but giving Leon Lai a Berlin Film Festival Best Actor award can be considered as repaying part of the "sugar pill" kindness for the children in the mountains.

Upon his triumphant return, Boss Yang hosted another welcome banquet. However, this time he was smarter and only invited some prominent artists from outside the company, in addition to the artists under Yinghuang.

In the banquet hall, Zhuang Huai'an looked around and nodded in satisfaction.

Without bedbugs, I'm naturally in a better mood.

"director."

A somewhat weak voice came from behind him. Zhuang Huai'an turned his head and was immediately stunned.

The once dashing Li Ming has lost a lot of weight, his cheeks are sunken, he has a stubble on his chin, and his eyes reveal a deep melancholy.

"Brother Li Ming," Zhuang Huai'an looked him over for a long time, his tone wistful, "you've made it in this film."

"Really? That's good." Li Ming's face was pale, but he forced a smile.

At first, after reading the script for "Detachment", he, who had played idol roles for decades, was somewhat insecure. He was unsure whether he could play the role of "Li Buyan" well.

So during this period, he stayed at home in seclusion, immersing himself in the role and constantly trying to understand the inner world of "Li Buyan".

But the role was so captivating that it caused Li Ming to almost break down. It wasn't that he deliberately lost weight, but rather that he genuinely couldn't eat or sleep.

Zhuang Huai'an looked at Li Tianwang with a complicated expression. He really lived up to his reputation as a ruthless person who dared to wrap steel bars around his neck. He was too damn ruthless!

The artists present were shocked to see Lai Ming in such a state. Those who were close to him stepped forward to check on him. When Leung Ka-fai saw that Lai Ming was trembling a bit while standing, he quickly helped him to sit down to the side.

Boss Yang walked over with Huo Wenxi, his tone filled with emotion, "Damn, the older generation of artists were truly dedicated!"

Hearing Boss Yang's comments, Zhuang Huai'an couldn't help but tease, "Judging from your tone, I thought Jiang Wen had arrived."

The two laughed for a while, and then Boss Yang began to report on the progress. Zhuang Huai'an did not interfere with the casting of the movie "Detachment", after all, the social phenomena in the movie could not be portrayed by mainland actors.

Because I haven't experienced it!

Aside from the male lead, Li Ming, the other main characters include Liang Jiahui as the head of the teaching department, Chen Huilin as the female lead teacher, Liu Jialing as the psychology teacher, and Hui Yinghong as the principal.

The chubby girl is Zheng Xinyi, the daughter of Zheng Shaoqiu and Shen Dianxia. She is 16 years old this year, and her figure is also quite suitable. According to Boss Yang, her mother used connections to get her in.

The young girl was played by one of their own artists, Wan Qian.

What's most surprising is that for the role of the grandfather, Mr. Yang invited Chu Yuan, a director from the same era as Wang Jing's father, Wang Tianlin. His most memorable screen role is the Buddha in the TVB version.

After the dinner, Zhuang Huai'an returned to the Yinghuang Hotel.

"Why are you here?"

Seeing Liu Yifei and Wan Qian sitting on the sofa in the living room, Zhuang Huai'an was quite surprised. He had been exchanging text messages with the girl all along, but he had never heard that she would come to Hong Kong.

"I came here with Sister Wan Qian to learn from her," Liu Yifei said matter-of-factly. "She hasn't seen you make any movies yet."

That's really true.

Sometimes Zhuang Huai'an felt helpless. He had been in the industry for two years, and apart from the first two movies which he actively wanted to make, all the other movies or company schedules seemed to be done by something pushing him.

Now that the golden statue has been completed, Gao Di needs to take a break for a while after filming "Detachment"!

"You can learn that at school too, and besides, aren't you going to join the Legend of Sword and Fairy drama crew?" Zhuang Huai'an took off his suit jacket, and Ge You lay down on the sofa.

I don't know what Hong Kong people are like, but it's only May and the air conditioning is already blowing cold air everywhere, and the temperature is still very low. Can you stand it?

"School let out for break early," Liu Yifei blinked her big, innocent eyes, looking a little unhappy. "Don't you want me to come?"

"No way!"

Zhuang Huai'an was startled but remained calm. "If I weren't in a hurry here, I would have gone back to the capital to find you long ago. It's been a while since I've heard you chattering in my ear, and I'm really not used to it."

Liu Yifei blushed inexplicably and retorted weakly, "What chirping? I'm not a little bird."

Wan Qian and Zhang Lu, standing to the side, watched them with doting smiles. This was Hong Kong; it seemed like a good place to be.

"Sometimes," Zhuang Huai'an smiled, then asked, "Did you come alone? Where's Aunt Liu?"

Liu Yifei shook her head and said without hesitation, "Mom didn't come. She said she felt at ease with me being with you."

What does Aunt Liu mean by that?

Zhuang Huai'an looked at him strangely. He shook his head, not wanting to think about it further. "Alright, if you need anything, just ask Sister Zhang Lu. She's a celebrity now, don't go out and play by yourself."

At the beginning of the year, "The Story of a Noble Family" was broadcast on CCTV-8 and became a nationwide sensation. Liu Yifei's portrayal of Bai Xiuzhu, with her spoiled and willful young lady who dared to love and hate, won the hearts of many viewers.

When she was in the capital, she was recognized by many people when she went out.

"I understand," Liu Yifei said sweetly as she stepped forward and took Zhang Lu's arm, then affectionately pressed her cheek against hers, looking every bit like best friends.

Zhang Lu smiled like an aunt, patted Liu Yifei's little head, and then seemed to remember something.

"Oh, right, Brother Zhuang, Du Hua is here too."

"Come on, where is she?"

"Yinghuang's Mani just asked her out."

Well, two strong women have met up.

"Alright, let her handle the socializing for me."

Zhuang Huai'an nodded, then looked at Wan Qian, "This role is quite interesting, but also very challenging. How are your preparations going?"

"I feel that I have a good grasp of the general direction, but you'll need to take a look at the specifics once the machine is turned on."

Wan Qian is very confident. Her personality is naturally calm with a touch of madness, which fits the role of someone who has fallen and then been redeemed.

"Yes," Zhuang Huai'an advised, "Once you're on set, you can learn a lot from the other actors. Although the artists here haven't received systematic acting training, they are very good at observing life, so they portray all sorts of ordinary people vividly."

Many actors in Hong Kong earn very low wages. They film when there are roles available, and when there are no roles, they have to find other jobs to support their families. Therefore, they have a real understanding of life at the bottom of society.

"Guo'er, I know."

Seeing that Wan Qian understood, Zhuang Huai'an didn't say anything more. After chatting for a while, the group went back to their rooms to rest.

Early the next morning,

Boss Yang personally took the group to the headquarters of Yinghuang Company and, in accordance with the traditional customs of Hong Kong film crews, held a blessing ceremony to start filming.

Zhuang Huai'an had never held such a ceremony in mainland China, but he was not opposed to it, after all, it was best to adapt to local conditions.

Hong Kong people really believe in feng shui, and Boss Yang even specially invited a feng shui master to come. Zhuang Huai'an was delighted when he heard the other party speak.

These are truly genuine Hakka people.

Upon inquiring, it turned out to be a fellow villager, also from Qianzhou, but from the neighboring county, known as the number one village in terms of feng shui.

Boss Yang went to great lengths to boost the company's reputation, inviting almost all the media in Hong Kong to the scene. Zhuang Huai'an could only act as a mascot, posing for photos.

With everything ready, filming for "Detachment" has begun!