Chapter 166 Director, do you want the female lead? Feng Xiaoning was really anxious this time. He called Xu Kun right after the meeting and told him that the crew was going to start filming early and had chosen him to play the leading role of Zhu Yuanzhang. Xu Kun was also a man of swift and decisive actions. He directly pulled the vice president of Lao Baigan from the celebration banquet to Feng Xiaoning. After a brief three-party meeting, the actor contract and the sponsorship contract were signed together. This style immediately won Feng Xiaoning's favor. As a director who is good at making war films, his preference for people with bold personalities is simply engraved in his bones. For this reason, Feng Xiaoning not only gave up some supporting roles to the "sponsor", but also let Xu Kun participate in the subsequent actor selection. Of course, he is just a bystander, and the only one who can make the final decision is Feng Xiaoning. After all, Feng Xiaoning is not Liu Haibo. Not to mention that Xu Kun only raised 600 million in sponsorship, even if all the funds were raised by him, he would not give up the dominant position. After Xu Kun joined the crew, the first role he interviewed for was the heroine Ma Xiuying. However, Ju Xue eventually withdrew from the crew due to schedule reasons. Because the male lead was replaced by Xu Kun, Feng Xiaoning felt that the actress for the female lead could not be too old, otherwise the gap between them would be too big. But she can't be too young. Letting Xu Kun play Zhu Yuanzhang was already a certain risk, so of course we had to find a female lead who could stabilize the situation.
So he temporarily limited the age range to 70-75, which is between 29 and 34 years old. It would be best if you can find a suitable one. If you really can't find one, it's not too late to expand further. Originally, Xu Kun was thinking about letting Lv Liping give it a try. After all, she had played the role in "The Big-footed Empress Ma" before, so she was familiar with the role. But the age limit set by director Feng Xiaoning directly excluded Lv Liping, and Lv Liping didn't really want to work in the same crew with Xu Kun. Apart from being dissatisfied with Sun Haiying's health and missionary work, she was relatively satisfied with him in other aspects, so she did not want their affairs to be exposed. Moreover, the time they have been spending together recently has obviously been less. Even when they meet, they just chat and talk, and their initial passion has vaguely turned into a family relationship. Let’s not talk about Lv Liping. Facts have proved that director Feng Xiaoning has quite good appeal. Xu Kun met several celebrities on the day of the audition. Among them are: Cao Ying [74], the CCTV's top anchor who currently surpasses Dong Qing; Jiang Qinqin [75], who has gotten rid of the name "Shui Ling"; and Luo Haiqiong [73], who became famous for starring in "Like Fog, Like Rain and Like Wind". as well as…… The one sitting in the corner, looking rustic, distraught, out of place, and stupid, seems to be Tong Xiangyu in "Wulin Waijiao", right? The reason why Xu Kun could recognize the somewhat rustic Yan Ni among so many famous and unknown actors at a glance is actually very simple. "Wulin Wai Zhuan" is a costume sitcom that preaches some profound truths in each episode. It is a perfect show tailor-made for prison screening rooms and is replayed in prisons almost every year. Therefore, Xu Kun's impression of the actors in the play is so deep that it even exceeds that of most of the Spring Festival Gala regulars. Come to think of it, "Wulin Waijia" seems to have been broadcast in the past two years. If she is brought into the crew of "Zhu Yuanzhang", can she take advantage of the popularity of "Wulin Waijia"? The idea is good, but unfortunately Xu Kun does not have enough say in the crew, and it is not easy to reveal things about the future, and the performance of "Tong Zhanggui" is not really outstanding. During this period, Yan Ni's husband had just cheated on her and was about to leave the house. The reason why Yan Ni came out for the audition was mainly because she couldn't stay at home, her emotions were unstable, and her performance was naturally average. In the end, the one Feng Xiaoning fell in love with was little Tao Hong. Tao Hong, who had just married Xu Zheng, exuded the spirit of a good wife and mother. It was precisely because of this spirit that Feng Xiaoning chose her. Unfortunately, things did not go as planned. Just when the two parties were about to sign the contract, Tao Hong missed the role due to some problems with his elders in the family. When Feng Xiaoning contacted Cao Ying and Luo Haiqiong again, they had already given their schedule to other people. As a result of a series of twists and turns, by September 9, the female lead had not yet been decided. Feng Xiaoning was so anxious that her mouth was bubbling and her voice was hoarse.
When they were discussing whether to expand the capacity, the crew suddenly received a call from Ning Jing, asking Feng Xiaoning if she needed a female lead. If so, she would fly back from the United States immediately. This finally solved Feng Xiaoning's urgent problem. Speaking of it afterwards, Feng Xiaoning couldn't help but sigh. Ning Jing, who was born in 72, became famous very early and was already the heroine of a movie in 90. In 95, she became famous all over the country with the movie "Sunny Days". The scene of Milan coming out of the swimming pool is unforgettable to many people. It was also because of this movie that Ning Jing, then 23 years old, fell in love with the talented Jiang Wen. Two years later, Jiang Wen fell in love with a French woman, Sandrine, and they got married in 97. Ning Jing was so angry that she married American actor Paul in the same year. The opportunity for her to meet Paul was while on the set of "Red River Valley" directed by Feng Xiaoning. "At the time, I actually wanted to persuade her, because she was obviously angry and had no emotional foundation with Paul. But at that time, young people would do anything to go abroad, and I thought she thought the same, so..." Feng Xiaoning shook her head helplessly when she got to this point. "It wasn't until more than a year later when we were filming Yellow River Love that I realized she was just being angry, and she wasn't having a good time there either - Paul was a nice guy, but his relatives and friends..." Having said that, Feng Xiaoning shook his head and sighed again. In any case, the problem of the heroine has been solved. Ning Jing's strength is obvious to all. She is at least not much inferior to Ju Xue, and her appearance and figure have been greatly improved. Ning Jing, who was 32 years old at the time, was undoubtedly at her peak. She could play the role of a young girl as well as perform the charm of a mature woman. At the same time, other extras were also added. Because many guest actors usually sign short-term contracts, it is relatively easy to adjust their schedules, so the overall framework is still maintained. Xu Kun only symbolically gave Li Yixiang and Gan Wei two roles, namely Zhu Yuanzhang's personal guard Erhu, and Erhu's wife, Empress Ma's personal maid Yu'er. These two characters have a lot of roles in the play - especially Yu'er, who often has to serve as the background for Queen Ma. She may not have that many lines, but if we count the number of times she appears, it is not an exaggeration to say that she is the second female lead. As for Bao Qiang... Firstly, there was really no role suitable for him in this drama, and secondly, after Xu Kun met "Tong Xiangyu", he suddenly thought of a role that was very suitable for Bao Qiang. Yan Xiaoliu from "Wulin Wai Zhuan"! This kind of silly, simple yet somewhat selfish comedy character is basically tailor-made for Baoqiang, and his performance will certainly not be worse than the original. After all, Bao Qiang has been traveling around with Xu Kun in the past two years, and has gained a lot more experience than in history. His acting skills are even better than when he later starred in "Soldier Assault". Coincidentally, Xu Kun asked someone and found out that "Wulin Waijia" had indeed been approved as a project, and the actors were being selected. It is expected to officially start filming in November. The leading actors had already been decided, and they were all Shang Jing's old colleagues in the Air Force Political Department - this was also the reason why Xu Kun did not expect to squeeze in. He had also watched "The Story of the Kitchen Team" several times, so he naturally knew that they had already been in power for a long time. Originally, Yan Xiaoliu's role had been tentatively confirmed as an actor from the Comrades Art Troupe, but they had not had time to sign the contract yet. At this time, Baoqiang, a little-known actor, came to the director on his own initiative. His image and acting skills were suitable for the role, and he also revealed his experience as the starring actor in "A World Without Thieves". Director Shang Jing was so happy that she couldn't wait to push him away. So when the crew of "Zhu Yuanzhang" started reading the script, Baoqiang had already been confirmed to play the role of "Yan Xiaoliu" in "Wulin Wai Zhuan". (End of this chapter)