Back to 80: My literary life.

Chapter 754 It’s hard to find Chinese actors
"Not yet." Wu Tianmin put down his chopsticks and looked at Fang Minghua:
"As you know, it's easy to find adult actors but hard to find child actors. This movie, in particular, features children around ten years old as the protagonists. We need not just one but several, and it takes time to find the right ones."

"In fact, the main difficulty lies in the role of Ruifang, and it is even more difficult for a Chinese girl." Zhang Yimou continued:

"The US side intends to adjust the script and replace the Chinese girl with a British-American girl, which will make it less difficult."

"Yes, Mr. Michael Barnason discussed this issue with me privately." Wu Tianmin picked up the chopsticks and picked up the meat while saying, "But I haven't given in yet. How can you change the script before you find him?!"

Fang Minghua is aware that the filming mechanism in Hollywood is different from that in mainland China. It adopts a producer-centered system, in which the producer has great power and has greater control over the film than the director.

The producer controls the entire production process: arranging the budget of funds, negotiating and signing contracts with the main creative staff, approving the production budget, supervising the completion of the film, and the final profit distribution after sales, etc. The director is relegated to a secondary position.

"After we sign the contract with the US side tomorrow, we will immediately start preparing for the filming and will definitely discuss this issue," Wu Tianmin said finally.

It was almost seven o'clock when we finished eating hot pot. We wanted to go shopping some more, but Wu Tianmin was worried about the train back to Burbank, so he urged us to go back quickly.

"Why rush? You'll be here for several months anyway, so you have time to go shopping!"

The next morning, in the conference room on the 16th floor of the Warner Bros. headquarters building, the two sides held a brief signing ceremony. Tony, vice president of Warner Bros. Pictures, and Wu Tianmin, deputy general manager of Shengshi Pictures, signed their names on the contract on behalf of both parties, and warm applause rang out in the conference room.

Fang Minghua was also invited to attend the signing ceremony as the screenwriter of this film.

After the brief signing ceremony, the next step was to enter the specific work of filming, which was mainly discussed by the producers and directors of both parties, as well as Fang Minghua, who mainly provided some explanations and clarifications about the script.

Of course there are also Chinese translators.

"This movie involves many scenes of the magical world, including schools, castles, etc. We decided to solve it in the following three ways." The speaker is producer Michael Barnason, a middle-aged man wearing glasses and with slightly curly black hair.

"First, we can use miniature models and take advantage of architectural principles and illusions to achieve our goal."

"The second is the use of Computer Graphics, or CG for short, which has been widely used in Hollywood."

Michael Barnason said this, looking at the three Chinese people.

These things are already commonplace in Hollywood, and are mainly said to Chinese counterparts.

Wu Tianmin knows English, and the translation was mainly prepared for Zhang Yimou. Both of them listened very carefully.

"The third is real-life shooting, which is the most commonly used method. Gothic-style buildings described in the script also exist in the real world. Gloucester Cathedral and Durham Cathedral in England are both good filming locations. Of course, we will further confirm it based on the script, ensuring authenticity while considering the cost of filming."

Zhang Yimou and Wu Tianmin both nodded frequently.

As a film with a strong European and American style, these preliminary preparations were mainly done by the American side.

"The specific models and post-production CG will be made by the professionals of the team. We only need to test the production results. All right, gentlemen, let's discuss a more urgent matter, which is to choose the right actor." Michael Barnason said at last. "Ladies and gentlemen, I recommend a suitable young actor who can play the role of Harry Potter. His name is Haley Joel Osment," Spielberg said immediately.

"Haley Joel Osment? Is he the actor who played the young Forrest Gump in the movie Forrest Gump?" asked Michael Barnason.

"Yes, that's him. His performance in the film is eye-catching. Here is his information."

After saying that, he took out some documents from his briefcase and distributed them to everyone.

Fang Minghua took it and looked at it. It was all in English:
Haley Joel Osment was born on April 1988, 4 in Los Angeles, California, USA. In 10, he played the great-grandson of Edward Asner in the TV series "Thunder Alley". In 1992, he starred in his first film "Forrest Gump", for which he won the Young Star Award for Best Performance and the Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Film Under Ten Years Old.

In the information, Spielberg's evaluation of him is: Most child stars rely on being well-behaved to please the audience, but Haley Joel Osment is not like that. He relies on his feelings for the role and expresses his sincerity.

It seems to be highly evaluated.

"Right now, the focus is still on the character of Ruifang in the script." Spielberg continued: "It's hard to find Chinese child actors. As far as I know, there are none in the United States."

"There is no need to have child stars. We can also let little girls of this age who have acting talent come to audition. I have adopted this approach in several films shot in China." Zhang Yimou, who had been silent, spoke up.

Naturally, he still spoke in Chinese, and the translator next to him immediately translated it into English.

Spielberg glanced at the somewhat silent middle-aged man.

Although he looked down on his Chinese counterparts, this man was an exception.

He had to give some respect to this plain-looking man who looked like the legendary Chinese Terracotta Warriors.

He is the best director in China and has won many awards!
"Mr. Zhang, don't forget, this is America. Where can we find suitable Chinese girls with acting talent?!" Spielberg deliberately emphasized the word "Chinese".

"We can go back to China and look for it!" said Zhang Yimou.

"OK, I don't deny that there are girls like this in your country, but does she speak English? Can she deeply understand this script with a strong British and American style and the character of Ruifang? In addition, communicating with the other actors is also a big problem."

Zhang Yimou remained silent. This was indeed a problem.

An adult is ok, a child is.
"How about this, Michael Barnason, Mr. Spielberg," Wu Tianmin began to speak. He spoke fluent English but his pronunciation was a little awkward. "You guys are looking for it in the United States. Aren't we going back to China for the Spring Festival? We'll go back and look for it as well, and try to meet the script's requirements."

"OK! We will also advertise in the newspaper to recruit qualified young actors to audition, but I remind Mr. Wu and Mr. Zhang that time is limited. If we can't find a suitable Chinese girl in February, we will revise the script and replace the role of Ruifang with an English-American girl!

Michael Barnathan said finally.

(End of this chapter)