A widower's entertainment

Xinghua Hutong, Beijing.

Lin Youcheng recommended Leslie Cheung to play the male lead Lin Qi in "Strange Tales of the Human World". After Li An talked with Leslie Cheung, he had no objection to the recommendation, so it was settled. As for the specific remuneration, that would naturally be discussed later and a contract would be signed.

Leslie Cheung was naturally very grateful to Lin Youcheng.

"Brother Lin, thank you."

Upon hearing Leslie Cheung's words, Lam Yau-shing smiled and waved his hand, saying, "No need to say that, you're very suitable for the role of Lin Qi."

Leslie Cheung smiled, knowing that some things didn't need to be said, and that it was enough for him to understand. He said, "I really liked the novel 'Strange Tales of the Human World' before, and I've read it several times. I will definitely do my best to play the role of Lin Qi in the future."

Lin Youcheng smiled when he heard Leslie Cheung's words. He knew that Leslie Cheung's acting was always excellent, and it could even be said that acting was paramount. Otherwise, he would have studied Peking Opera for so long for the role of Farewell My Concubine. This is the quality of a professional actor.

"Shufen, she told me that you also have a movie offer from Wong Kar-wai. If you take on the role in 'Strange Tales of the Human World,' it might not be a good idea—"

Before Lin Youcheng could finish speaking, Zhang Guorong immediately said, "I haven't agreed to Wang Jiawei's film yet, and I will also decline this one. Don't worry, I won't be working on two film sets at the same time."

Leslie Cheung was well aware that this was his first time working with Li An, and it was impossible for them to film at the same time, otherwise the director would have objections. In fact, he had intended to turn down Wang Jiawei's invitation before coming to Beijing, but Sister Fen thought that they should wait until the film "Human Tales" was finalized before making a decision, so he did not refuse outright.

Chen Shufen was well aware of this, and quickly said, "Don't worry, I'll get back to Wang Jiawei."

Chen Shufen certainly knew that a big director like Li An would not accept an actor running two film crews at the same time. She knew very well that since this film was invested in by Columbia Pictures, it was not just going to the Chinese film market, but to the international film market. This was an excellent opportunity for Leslie Cheung, far better than Wang Jiawei's film with a special subject matter.

Especially since Lin Youcheng had said those words to her earlier, after hesitating for a moment, Chen Shufen looked at Leslie Cheung and said directly, "Leslie, Brother Lin mentioned this earlier. You're taking on this kind of role too directly, and it might affect your life later. Gossip newspapers will definitely report on your news one after another. Even if you don't act in 'Human Wonders,' you should think about it carefully."

Upon hearing this, Leslie Cheung couldn't help but look at Lin Youcheng, feeling somewhat silent. He knew that his views on love were wrong in the eyes of some people.

Lin Youcheng looked at Leslie Cheung, smiled, and seemed to know what Leslie Cheung was thinking, and said, "There's no need to care too much about what other people think."

Lin Youcheng didn't dwell on the topic, but instead said, "By the way, my daughter Zhaohuan really likes your songs. How about you sign an autograph for her on the back?"

This is also the truth of Lin Youcheng's words. Songs from Hong Kong and Taiwan are very popular in mainland China now. His daughter, Lin Zhaohuan, is studying music, so she will naturally be exposed to songs from Hong Kong and listen to Leslie Cheung's songs. Knowing that Leslie Cheung was coming, she asked Lin Youcheng to help her get an autograph.

Leslie Cheung was taken aback when Lin Youcheng suddenly brought this up, and quickly replied, "Of course, no problem."

Chen Shufen quickly added, "When we have time later, I'd like to invite you and your family to Hong Kong to see Leslie's concert."

Lin Youcheng smiled and said, "If there's an opportunity later, I'll have to trouble you."

Chen Shufen naturally didn't see any trouble. For example, Lin Youcheng's daughter liked Leslie Cheung's songs, which was naturally a good thing.

Because Li An was still busy with preparations for his film, he didn't stay in Beijing for long. He also had to cast the female lead. Since Li An was the director, Lin Youcheng naturally considered Li An's ideas and didn't immediately decide on the female lead.

Regarding the female lead, Lin Youcheng and Li An were still considering it together. In fact, if Zhou Xun weren't so young, Lin Youcheng would naturally have recommended her as well. After all, this was a rare opportunity for Zhou Xun to work with a great director like Li An. Moreover, Li An had seen Lin Zhaomei's performance in the short film "Destiny" at the Berlin Film Festival and greatly admired Zhou Xun's performance. He had even specifically asked Lin Zhaomei about the female lead.

However, Zhou Xun is too young, and it would definitely be inappropriate for her to play lovers with Leslie Cheung now.

Because Lin Youcheng is collaborating with director Li An from Taiwan to adapt and film the novel "Strange Tales of the Human World," this news has attracted considerable attention within the industry, especially after it was revealed that Leslie Cheung would be the male lead, which made the news even more credible.

This naturally attracted the interest of some actors. For example, Pan Hong, upon learning of this news, contacted Lin Youcheng, hoping to win the lead role in "Strange Tales of the Human World".

Lin Youcheng naturally introduced Pan Hong to Li An. As for the outcome, it depends on director Li An's ideas. There is no need to worry about Pan Hong's acting skills. After all, she won the Best Actress award at the Berlin Film Festival for her role in "The Reader," so her acting skills are undeniably good.

However, Li An preferred Zhang Manyu and even considered finding another new actress. Lin Youcheng thought Li An's idea was good, since Zhang Manyu's acting skills were beyond question. She had also worked with Leslie Cheung in "Days of Being Wild" before, so they were acquaintances.

However, Lin Youcheng was somewhat worried about Zhang Manyu's Mandarin. Zhang Guorong had thoroughly studied Mandarin in Beijing after filming "Farewell My Concubine," and although he practiced extensively afterward, it still carried a strong Cantonese accent, lacking the distinct Beijing accent, and he even used dubbing. But this story didn't take place in Beijing, and two years prior, Zhang Guorong and Wu Qian had spent a considerable amount of time learning Mandarin again while filming "Midnight Song." In particular, they studied lines under Sun Fengqin, the actress who played the Old Mother of Lishan in the 1982 version of "Journey to the West," who served as Zhang Guorong's dialogue teacher for four months—a truly devoted and respectful approach. Since then, Zhang Guorong's Mandarin level has improved significantly, especially his pronunciation of retroflex and alveolar consonants, which is now very standard.

Lin Youcheng's point naturally made Li An take it into consideration. Indeed, Zhang Manyu's Mandarin might be a problem. Of course, the specifics still need to be discussed in person.

Now that the news of Lin Youcheng's collaboration with Li An has spread, Lin Youcheng has received quite a few calls from actors.

"Gong Li also has her own ideas?"

Xie Shuhua noticed Lin Youcheng and Gong Li had finished their phone call and couldn't help but ask curiously. Lin Youcheng nodded; indeed, Gong Li had also heard the news and had her own thoughts, so she naturally brought it up with Lin Youcheng. They had previously worked together on the film "Atonement," so they had some prior contact.

It's safe to say that everyone knows that a film co-produced by Li An and Lin Youcheng is bound to be good.

"Chen Aige also recommended Cheng Hong for the role."

Now that Chen Aige is with Cheng Hong, he has no objection to Li An's adaptation and filming of "Strange Tales of the Human World". However, he has contacted Lin Youcheng, wanting to recommend Cheng Hong for the female lead role in "Strange Tales of the Human World".

Hearing Lin Youcheng's words, Xie Shuhua smiled and said, "It seems that everyone wants to play this role."

"you do not say!"

Besides Pan Hong, Gong Li, and Cheng Hong, there are also other people in the industry who want to participate. Even if they don't get the lead role, they still want to act in the show. For example, Jiang Wenli, the lead actress in the currently popular drama "The Great Song Dynasty Forensic Examiner," is also interested. After all, this opportunity is very rare. She has worked with Lin Youcheng twice before, and even if she can't get the lead role, she hopes to act in "Strange Tales of the Human World."

Now, these actors are all very clear that "Human Wonders" is a good movie, but with Lin Youcheng and Li An in the cast, and Leslie Cheung in the lead role, it will definitely be sent to the three major film festivals. With Columbia Pictures investing in it, it may also be released in the United States, so they are all very eager to participate.

It's safe to say that now that this news has spread, no one would want to miss out on participating.

After the news spread to Hong Kong and Taiwan, it caused a sensation. Many actors in Hong Kong were very interested. Even though it was rumored that Leslie Cheung had been cast as the male lead, some stars' agents still wanted to inquire and try to use their connections to meet with Li An.

This goes without saying that the female lead hasn't been decided yet. Even though the male lead will have a bigger role in "Strange Tales of the Human World," the novel has a huge influence in Hong Kong. Many people have read the novel and are very familiar with the love story between Lin Qi and Jiang Xi.

It can be said that "Strange Tales of the Human World," a series of incredible yet incredibly real human tales, was previously known as Lin Youcheng's four-part love story. This is because the love stories within are so moving that no one who reads to the end can help but be touched.

Zhang Manyu had naturally read the novel "Strange Tales of the Human World," and especially after learning that Li An planned to meet her and discuss the character Jiang Xi from the book, she was very interested. As she flipped through the novel, she was still deeply moved by the ending.

"...Jiang Xi looked at the boy before her, the one she had once loved, and who she still loved. Looking into his eyes, she asked, 'Do you remember me? I'm Jiang Xi.'"

The boy looked at him, not recognizing him at all, but said, "Jiangxi is a very nice name. My name is Lin Qi."

The boy, Lin Qi, looked into Jiang Xi's eyes, and she looked into Lin Qi's eyes as well. The two were reunited.

……

Eight-year-old Lynch said, "I feel like there are so many things I can't remember... It's like I once had my whole life, but I can't remember what it was like."

Six-year-old Lynch stood on the roof and said, "I can see everything. I can see the battlefield, where many people are buried. I can see the sea, and the ships. I can see..."

……

Jiang Xi took Lin Qi back to her home to take care of him. Lin Qi sat on the floor, rocking back and forth, staring into the distance, drooling, like a helpless old man. At that moment, Jiang Xi stopped and took out a handkerchief to wipe the drool from Lin Qi's chin.

The elderly Jiang Xi led three-year-old Lin Qi as they walked, and walked...

Then Lin Qi grew smaller and smaller, and began to toddle, almost unable to stand. Jiang Xi supported him from the side, afraid that he would fall...

……

As Zhang Manyu read the end of the novel, Lin Qi closed his eyes in Jiang Xi's arms, his eyes filled with tears. He looked up at his agent, Cheng Ziqiang, and said, "Brother Cheng, I want to act in this movie."

Cheng Ziqiang was well aware that the collaboration between Lin Youcheng and Li An was undoubtedly a great opportunity. Lin Youcheng, from the mainland, was an international bigwig in the Chinese film industry, with two Oscars and the opportunity to work with Hollywood. Hearing Zhang Manyu's words, he couldn't help but say, "You're still filming 'Sweet Honey' now, but I don't know when 'Strange Tales of the Human World' will start filming. And you know that this story takes place in the mainland and will be in Mandarin."

Hearing this, Zhang Manyu felt some pressure. Her current project, "Sweet Honey," was actually part of the pre-handover Hong Kong resurgence. Originally, they intended to cast Wang Fei as the female lead, as both Li Ming and Wang Fei were from mainland China and could better portray the characteristics of mainlanders. However, Wang Fei rejected the offer without even reading the script. Left with no other option, Chen Kexing approached her for the role. Initially, the screenwriter didn't agree because the character Li Qiao was originally set in Shanghai, while Zhang Manyu's Mandarin was poor. To ensure filming could proceed smoothly, the screenwriter changed Li Qiao to be from Guangdong province.

Despite some pressure, Zhang Manyu said, "I speak Mandarin quite well now, and I've improved. Plus, I can learn!"

Zhang Manyu really liked the story of "Human Wonders" and naturally didn't want to miss it. Just as Leslie Cheung could speak Mandarin well, she could too. Besides, "Comrades: Almost a Love Story" was also in Mandarin, so she didn't think she couldn't do it.

Cheng Ziqiang understood Zhang Manyu's meaning and said, "That depends on what Director Li An says. And if the schedule doesn't work out, we might have to miss out on this film."

Zhang Manyu nodded; she was naturally well aware of this as well. (End of Chapter)