Chapter 121: Casting Gets Slammed and Becomes a Top Headline
The casting for the thieves was basically carried out simultaneously by Chiyou Films and Rongchen Film and Television.
Rongchen Film and Television held the audition for the male lead (Macau Park) first today.
Li Chen put the auditions for the third and fourth male roles later.
In this film, among the Chinese actors, the most important role was actually the male lead, followed by the second male role.
As for the female lead and second female lead, Li Chen left it to Wu Bin to 'choose'.
Today, many big-name celebrities came to audition for the male lead.
Some were selected through resume screening, and some were actively invited by Li Chen to audition.
In the spacious audition room, Li Chen sat in the center, Zhou Xun sat on his left, and Wu Bin sat on his right.
Yang Mi and Tang Yan, the two artists from the company, could only stand behind the three to observe and learn.
Li Chen specifically brought Yang Mi and Tang Yan along, as such a learning opportunity today was rare.
While the auditioning actors were in the waiting room familiarizing themselves with the audition script.
Yang Mi joked, "Senior, can Tangtang and I not have a seat?"
Li Chen replied without looking back, "When you can be like Zhou Xun, with a Silver Lion or Silver Bear under your belt, you'll be qualified to sit down."
Zhou Xun turned her head and smiled, "Mi Mi, how about I give you my seat?"
"To be honest, I'm a bit nervous sitting here too. Several of the people auditioning today, if I met them normally, I wouldn't dare to act big."
Wu Bin also smiled, "Mi Mi, Director Li is doing this for your own good. You and Tangtang can stand behind and learn."
"But if you were to sit here today, it would only break the rules and make people laugh."
Yang Mi stuck out her tongue, linked arms with Tangtang, and smiled, "Got it, Director Wu. I was just saying, I didn't really mean to sit."
"I'm already very happy to have such a learning opportunity. Several girls in our dorm wanted to come but didn't get the chance."
Just as they were talking, the first person to come in for the audition was Zhang Hanyu.
As soon as Zhang Hanyu entered, he nodded to Li Chen and Wu Bin.
"Director Li, Director Wu, I am Zhang Hanyu, here to audition for the male lead role," Zhang Hanyu said without any unnecessary words.
The two had met several times before, the earliest being at the Premiere of a world without thieves.
At that time, Li Chen had left a deep impression on Zhang Hanyu.
He hadn't expected that in just two short years, Li Chen had transformed into a dragon, orchestrating such a grand production.
He submitted his resume himself, as Feng Xiaogang disagreed, believing it would be useless.
But Zhang Hanyu insisted on submitting it, and Feng Xiaogang didn't stop him.
He had a premonition that Li Chen wasn't as worldly as others in the industry. What if he succeeded? Even if he wasn't chosen, it didn't matter.
He didn't have any idol baggage or star status.
He hadn't expected to actually get an audition opportunity.
Many of the people auditioning for the male lead with him today were acquaintances.
Andy Lau, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Hu Jun, and so on.
But their star power was much higher than his, a supporting actor from Feng Xiaogang's studio, which could be seen from their respective cars.
Li Chen nodded and said, "Mr. Zhang, you've seen the audition script. If you're ready, let's begin."
This audition script was a dialogue between Popeye and Macau Park in the elevator at the end of the film.
Li Chen's assistant played Popeye, portrayed by Lee Jung-jae, to feed lines to Zhang Hanyu.
"Alright, let's start."
The camera was already on, and Zhang Hanyu and the director's assistant stood in the center of the set.
"Start."
With Li Chen's command to start, the director's assistant and Zhang Hanyu began to wrestle.
As they wrestled, they also kept talking. Zhang Hanyu exerted all his strength and finally subdued the other person.
His emotions had now reached a climax: "Why? Why did you cut the rope! Why!"
Yang Mi and Tangtang watched from behind Li Chen and the other two, thoroughly enjoying it.
They also felt inferior. It wasn't hard to have tears in their eyes; both of them could do it easily.
But to have red eyes and still be able to quickly show a mix of incomprehension, resentment, grievance, and humiliation in a short time.
They were truly far behind at the moment.
"Stop."
At Li Chen's command to stop, Zhang Hanyu immediately released the director's assistant's collar and came out of character.
However, his eyes were still red.
"Mr. Zhang's emotional control is very precise, and his performance is very powerful. The audition is over, you can go back and wait for news," Li Chen said with a smile.
"Alright, then I'll be going, Director Li."
Zhang Hanyu greeted Zhou Xun and Wu Bin and then left.
"Director Li, I think Zhang Hanyu is very suitable for this role," Zhou Xun said.
She had read the script, and Macau Park was an introverted character, which matched Zhang Hanyu's first impression of him very well.
Moreover, Zhang Hanyu's lines were very good.
Li Chen also agreed with Zhou Xun's view. Originally, he was more inclined towards Andy Lau for this role.
But seeing Zhang Hanyu's performance today, he was pleasantly surprised.
"Hmm, we'll talk after all the auditions are complete," Li Chen replied simply.
The assistant came in to report that the second person to audition for the male lead was Tony Leung Ka-fai.
Among all of Tony Leung Ka-fai's films, Li Chen liked his The Lover the most.
This versatile actor portrayed everything with great depth.
However, Tony Leung Ka-fai was not very suitable for the role of Macau Park.
As soon as the audition was over, Li Chen said directly, "Brother Fai, how about you try out for the second male role?"
Tony Leung Ka-fai could completely handle Simon Yam's role.
They were both team leaders, and with Brother D playing it, there wouldn't be a problem.
Tony Leung Ka-fai was a sensible person and had known Li Chen for quite some time.
He had also starred in Li Chen's new world. Hearing Li Chen say that, he understood that the male lead role was not for him.
"Alright," Tony Leung Ka-fai said simply.
Actually, he didn't accept every script, but he trusted Li Chen's scripts.
Next was Andy Lau. As soon as Andy Lau finished his audition, Li Chen had an idea.
Compared to Zhang Hanyu, Andy Lau's disadvantage was his appearance, which was too distinctive.
Macau Park was a thief, and an ordinary or mediocre appearance was what he should have.
"Brother Hua, we're so familiar, so I'll tell you the result directly. Zhang Hanyu is more suitable for this role than you."
"Haha, alright. It's good to have a definite answer, saves me from worrying," Andy Lau said with a laugh.
"There will be other opportunities next time. Let's get together tonight and discuss our collaboration."
"Alright, then I'll wait for your call."
Andy Lau waved to Zhou Xun and the others and then left.
After Andy Lau left, Yang Mi couldn't help but say, "Senior, you're too direct, but Brother Hua doesn't seem to mind."
Zhou Xun smiled, "Mi Mi, you're too naive. Who wouldn't care about such a role? It's just that Brother Hua's acting is so good that you can't tell."
Tangtang also nodded, "Since the boss and Brother Hua are so familiar, it's better to speak directly."
"That's true," Yang Mi realized.
For stars of Andy Lau and Tony Leung Ka-fai's caliber, when you invite them to audition.
Don't keep them hanging after the audition; tell them the result directly, even if they fail, it's no big deal.
The auditions lasted for a week, and entertainment reporters inquired about the audition results from all sides daily.
Throughout the week, the entertainment sections of portal websites were filled with news about the thieves auditions.
Various headlines and rumors flew everywhere.
"Second Female Lead Goes to Orange Sky Entertainment Shiba Culture, Who Will Have the Last Laugh Between Liu Jialing and Rosamund Kwan?"
"First Female Lead Suspected to Be Internally Decided as Liu Yifei, Shu Chang and Others Are Just a Smokescreen."
"Andy Lau Dines with Li Chen After Audition and They Have a Great Time, Is the Male Lead Locked for Andy Lau?"
In Wang Jinghua's office at Shiba Culture.
Tony Leung Ka-fai, Liu Jialing, and Rosamund Kwan were all there.
"Is the male lead really locked for Hua Zai?" Wang Jinghua asked curiously.
Tony Leung Ka-fai took a sip of tea and smiled, "Probably not. Hua Zai told me that day that the male lead wasn't him."
"It's not me either. Director Li said that my image as Qiao Daxia is deeply ingrained, and playing a thief would be too distracting," Hu Jun said with a laugh when Wang Jinghua looked at him.
Wang Jinghua had already learned from Yang Siwei that the second male lead would definitely be Tony Leung Ka-fai.
And as the internet said, the second female lead was indeed a choice between Liu and Guan.
Compared to Liu Jialing's calm demeanor, Rosamund Kwan seemed a bit anxious and worried about gains and losses.
Last year's Head to Head suffered a double collapse in both box office and critical acclaim, leaving investors with heavy losses.
Now her acting offers were becoming fewer and her roles narrower.
Wang Jinghua naturally knew what Rosamund Kwan was thinking, but she couldn't control Rongchen Film and Television's casting decisions.
The casting caused a huge stir, and it wasn't until Li An won the Oscar for Best Director that the heat of the thieves auditions was finally suppressed.
When Zhang Hanyu received the call from Rongchen Film and Television, he simply couldn't believe his ears.
Like the netizens, he had thought the male lead was locked for Andy Lau.
He was certainly disappointed, but he had nothing to say about losing to Andy Lau.
After all, Andy Lau had been famous for a long time, and his acting skills were also excellent.
But he hadn't expected such a turn of events; this jackpot had actually fallen on him.
No wonder Hua Zai didn't seem very enthusiastic that day; it seemed he already knew he had failed the audition.
His first leading role in a movie, and it was also the first Sino-American co-production—no, it wasn't really a Sino-American co-production.
It only had Chinese investment and actors participating and was not filmed in mainland China.
Zhang Hanyu felt a surge of emotion, his blood rushing to his head.
He didn't even know when the person from Rongchen Film and Television had hung up the phone.
After quickly tidying up, he immediately rushed to Splendid Diamond.
Arriving at Splendid Diamond, he met Yang Siwei.
Yang Siwei smiled and said, “Mr. Zhang, congratulations! This is the complete script, and it must be kept confidential.”
“The boss wants you to thoroughly understand the script. The male lead role runs through the entire film, and later he will study the script with you and the other main actors.”
Zhang Hanyu took the document bag with both hands, feeling its weight.
“Thank you. Have the other roles been cast as well?” Zhang Hanyu asked casually.
“They have been cast. The company will announce it soon, Mr. Zhang. You’ll know when you see the news,” Yang Siwei said with a smile.
The news of Zhang Hanyu getting the role made Feng Xiaogang’s expression quite something.
Li Chen really gave such an important role to an actor like Zhang Hanyu, who could barely be considered second-tier?
An actor who had always played supporting roles in his films?
How headstrong!
However, Feng Xiaogang’s wife, Xu Fan, was very happy for Zhang Hanyu.
“What’s with that expression? That young man Li Chen is much more open-minded than you old guys.”
“Baoqiang, Hanyu being valued by Li Chen brings honor to us too!” Xu Fan pushed the silent Feng Xiaogang and said.
The Oscar being awarded to Li An was not surprising.
But the casting announcement for the thieves truly made jaws drop.
News came back from Hollywood Chiyou Films.
the thieves had completed all its casting recently.
The twelve main actors are: Charlize Theron (Jeon Ji-hyun)
Antonio Banderas (Lee Jung-jae)
Monica Bellucci
Jennifer Tilly
Dan Stevens (Kim Soo-hyun)
Tony Leung Ka-fai
Zhang Hanyu
Wang Qianyuan
Luo Jin
Liu Yifei
Liu Jialing (female con artist)
Li Xuejian (Wei Hong)
When the news reached China, the industry was in an uproar.
Netizens exploded.
“Who are Zhang Hanyu and Wang Qianyuan? Didn’t they say Andy Lau was already confirmed?”
“Is Li Chen blind or has his brain gone bad?”
“Did that son of a bitch Li Chen take money?”
“He’s crazy. Those two aren’t female stars or handsome guys, who would pay to promote them?!”
No one expected that Andy Lau, who had the highest public support, would be defeated by the unknown Zhang Hanyu.
Many people didn’t even know who Wang Qianyuan was.
Upon checking, they found out he had previously worked with Gong Li on Sun Zhou’s Pretty Mama, but he still wasn’t memorable.
If it weren’t for the thieves’ casting, who would know who Wang Qianyuan was?
This was an $85 million Hollywood blockbuster.
Charlize Theron, Tony Leung Ka-fai, Li Xuejian – which of these people hasn't won awards?
No matter how they cast, the male lead role shouldn’t have gone to Zhang Hanyu, who had never played a male lead.
All those competing with him for the male lead were big stars.
The first to explode were Andy Lau’s fans and netizens from Hong Kong.
They vehemently cursed Rongchen Film and Television, claiming there was foul play in the casting, otherwise how could Andy Lau lose to Zhang Hanyu?
How could two Hong Kong film emperors lose to a supporting actor from the mainland!
Andy Lau’s fans in the mainland also joined in the cursing.
Immediately after, Tony Leung Ka-fai’s fans also joined the fray.
Although Tony Leung Ka-fai secured the second male lead, fans knew that he was initially aiming for the male lead.
Li Chen was quickly cursed onto the front page of entertainment news.
In Li Chen’s office at Splendid Diamond, Yang Siwei and Wu Bin stood before his desk.
Li Chen comfortably sipped his tea, secretly thinking that if Sina Weibo existed now, he would at least be in the top three.
At least seven or eight trending topics would be related to him.
“Boss, you’re too ambitious. Hua Ge’s fans are almost cursing you out of the atmosphere,” Yang Siwei said with some urgency.
“It’s fine. Hua Ge just called me, repeatedly apologizing. He will speak out. Besides, is there any director in the entertainment industry who hasn’t been cursed at?”
Wu Bin nodded: “That’s truly the truth.”
Yang Siwei couldn’t help but laugh, thinking how profound her boss’s words were.
Not to mention Zhang Yimou’s several blockbusters that received a lot of criticism.
Even that Director Chen recently was cursed into oblivion, wasn’t he?
It was said that he had already retreated to Yunnan to scout locations for The Promise 2.
His wife, Chen Hong, was finally cornered by entertainment reporters at the Beijing Film Academy factory gate but had a disclaimer.
She refused to mention The Promise, only talking about her life as a producer.
Li Chen took out several prepared document bags from the cabinet and placed them on the table.
“Director Wu, have someone take these scripts for filing.”
“Keep the china partner one inside. The one film a year I promised you is this one, and you will direct it.”
“However, you should first contact Xu Xiaoping of New Oriental to get his support, then take it for filing.”
“New Oriental? Xu Xiaoping?”
For people of Wu Bin’s generation, New Oriental was very well known.
Back then, for university students of his generation, whether they were going abroad to take IELTS/TOEFL, learning English, or learning to be a chef, New Oriental was definitely the first choice.
How does that saying go? Those who get into university go to New Oriental to learn English; those who don’t get into university go to the New Oriental Culinary School next to Shandong Lanxiang to learn to be a chef.
Li Chen crossed his hands and smiled at Wu Bin.
Actually, this script didn't entirely require the consent of the three New Oriental founders.
But it was still good to go through the motions, to avoid being too abrupt.
This was also a win-win situation; Xu Xiaoping would definitely agree.
“This script is based on the New Oriental Three Musketeers. They are seeking to list in the United States, and Xu Xiaoping will definitely agree after reading the script.”
“Films produced by our company have a huge GG effect!” Li Chen said with a confident smile.
When Chen Kexin filmed this movie back then, he sought out Xu Xiaoping.
Xu Xiaoping was to persuade the other two, hoping to get first-hand information from them.
But Old Yu ignored Chen Kexin and Huang Xiaoming’s requests to meet.
Later, the character Cheng Dongqing that was filmed made Old Yu complain that those two deliberately made fun of him!
Wu Bin smiled broadly: “It seems Director Li is going to launch another satellite this time. I’ve never seen a film and television company file so many scripts at once.”
“Alright, I’ll go meet this big shot in the education industry.”
Yang Siwei quickly scanned the four scripts: “Boss, once the filing announcement is released, Director Wu and I won’t have any peace again.”
Li Chen smiled, stood up, picked up his jacket, and walked out: “When you sit in my position someday, you can choose to turn off your phone!”
Yang Siwei mumbled softly: “I can also choose to leave early!”
Wu Bin burst out laughing.
Zhang Hanyu ignored the external doubts about him, rejected all work after getting the script, and focused on studying it.
He even hired an American to teach him English. Li Chen called him and specifically emphasized a few things.
There were still a few months, and it would be best if he could deliver the English lines without a Chinese accent.
Otherwise, he would have to find a voice actor.
Zhang Hanyu came from a voice acting background, so he certainly wouldn’t allow his first starring film to be dubbed by someone else.
Wang Qianyuan was also working in seclusion.
He thought about how many films he had acted in, and never expected that the reason for his eventual fame would be the casting of the thieves.
It truly caught him off guard and felt quite comical.
Twelve years of acting, unknown; one casting, known throughout the world!
Less than a day later, Andy Lau spoke out.
“Thank you, fans, for your love. However, Hanyu’s acting is also very good. I lost to Hanyu because Hanyu is more suitable for this role than I am.”
“To quote Director Li, I lost because of my looks, not my acting. With this face, who would go be a ‘thief’?”
As soon as Andy Lau posted on his blog, half of the fans’ anger was extinguished.
“This reason is acceptable. Li Chen finally said something sensible. It’s indeed unreasonable for Hua Zai’s good looks to be a thief.”
“Then what about a world without thieves?”
“Li Chen isn’t Feng Xiaogang; he doesn’t care about big names or not! Why must he choose your Hua Zai?”
Unlike the netizens’ indignation, Rongchen Film and Television’s casting gave hope to artists in the industry, especially those below the second tier who lacked resources and connections.
At least Rongchen Film and Television’s casting was fair and just.
There weren’t so many unspoken rules and quid pro quo deals.
Many veteran artists who had worked with Zhang Hanyu and Wang Qianyuan stood up to speak for these two mainland actors.
For a time, Rongchen Film and Television’s reputation soared.
Even Tian Zhuangzhuang called to praise him on behalf of the school.
Although the several investors were a bit uneasy, after all, real money had been invested.
Could such casting truly support this blockbuster production?
However, the leading big brothers, China Film Group Corporation and Shanghai Film Group, did not raise any objections, so the other several private enterprises could only feign ignorance.
In fact, Han Sanping had called, but Li Chen retorted with one sentence.
“Han Dong, if you regret it, you can withdraw your investment now.”
Han Sanping was about to curse, but Li Chen hung up the phone directly, almost causing Han Sanping to suffer internal injuries from anger.