China Entertainment: Been working as a director since 03

Chapter 538: The Story of a Fish Killer

"Everyone is very motivated. We have already filmed the fourth episode in a blink of an eye. Director Cao, are you trying to emulate Wang Jing?"

Li Yu raised his eyebrows slightly and said a joke.

"Director Li, how can I be as fast as Director Wang? My speed is perfectly normal."

Cao Qing didn't dare to accept it. He didn't dare to call himself a quick shooter, let alone compare himself with a quick shooter like Wang Jing.

During Li Yu's flight to Western Province, in addition to visiting the crew and traveling around to relax, he also planned to urge Cao Qing to finish filming "Kunlun Temple" as soon as possible while ensuring quality.

He wanted Cao Qing to be his right-hand man and assist him in filming his next new movie.

Originally, Li Yu had not decided whether his next work would be a movie or a TV series.

After sending Da Tiantian away that day, a teacher from the school called him and said that the national directors had begun to support the actors of Beijing Film Academy, and he, a director with a formal background in directing plays, could not betray them.

The above is a rather exaggerated statement.

In fact, the teacher was very friendly and just asked him to consider students from Beijing Film Academy first when there was a suitable role.

Don't even say it.

The teacher's words provided inspiration for Li Yu's next work.

He seemed to have thought of what his next film should be.

The filming of the movie is not going to be done for the time being, as Li Yu already has a movie called "Ready Player One" waiting to be released.

After the cheating competitor of "Wolf Warrior 2" is released, unless it can combine the right time, place and people like "Wolf Warrior 2", it will be almost impossible to beat "Wolf Warrior 2" at the box office.

Since it is difficult to get first place by making movies, Li Yu thought he might as well continue making TV dramas for fun.

Li Yu suddenly remembered a good drama that could make several Beijing Film Academy students famous at one time.

Even the director, who had always been ridiculed for preferring to use actors from the Central Academy of Drama, chose a Mou Girl from the Beijing Film Academy for the first time.

As a director with a solid background from the directing department of Beijing Film Academy, how could he be compared to the national master?

After spending a day in the crew, Li Yu, who appeared as a bystander, was quite satisfied with the performance of Cao Qing and the leading actors.

In the evening, Cao Qing and others took Li Yu to a restaurant with strong Western Province characteristics, intending to let Li Yu taste the flavor of Western Province.

After a while, dishes such as curry lamb chops, yak stewed with grains, roasted pork, hand-pulled lamb, and blood sausage were all served.

Li Yu glanced at the steaming dishes on the table and couldn't help but sigh: "They are all hard dishes."

"Director Li, this is the food culture here. The altitude in Western Province is very high, the oxygen is thin, and the temperature difference between day and night is very large.

In order to cope with the harsh natural environment, people here eat food that is particularly high in calories.

It’s also related to the climate here. People eat high-calorie foods, but there are very few fat people.”

Pan Yueming came from a scholarly family and had a wealth of knowledge. He acted as a tour guide and explained the local customs and practices to Li Yu.

Look at the way he talks, he really has some of Hu Bayi's flavor.

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that he starred in several Ghost Blows Out the Light series in a row.

Cao Qing cast a curious look at Li Yu's face: "Director Li, your "The Disguiser" has finished filming, what is your next project?"

What Li Yu promised at the beginning was that after the first four films in the Ghost Blows Out the Light series were broadcast and the performance was within expectations, the company would invest money to make a big movie.

The second part hasn’t even been aired yet, and the big movie is still a long way off.

He tentatively asked Li Yu whether he planned to go back and serve as Li Yu's golden assistant after finishing filming "Kunlun Temple".

Filming with Li Yu was more challenging than filming Ghost Blows Out the Light, but also more fulfilling. Li Yu took his time, picking up a piece of yak meat and putting it into his mouth.

Yak beef has a firm texture and coarse fibers. It is not as delicate as ordinary beef and has a strong taste. People who try it for the first time may not be able to accept it.

Li Yu is one of those people who cannot accept it.

However, in the spirit of saving food, he chewed the meat for a while and swallowed it.

After putting down his chopsticks, Li Yufang answered in an orderly manner: "It's a TV series, a crime drama, you can catch up. I will write the script when I go back in a few days, and then I will do the casting and preparatory work. We will start shooting when you come back."

This script is a bit crazy.

That’s right, the protagonist of this script is called Gao Qiqiang.

A story about a fishmonger.

Cao Qing immediately became motivated: "It will take me at least another month and a half to finish the filming."

Li Yu said calmly, "Don't worry. My new drama won't start shooting for a month and a half. Although it's not a costume drama, there is a lot of preparation work to be done in the early stages in order to pursue details and reflect the sense of the times."

The original version of Gao Qiqiang was a large-scale production. It was said that more than 6500 costumes were used, there were over 600 cast and crew members, more than 100 extras, and more than filming locations.

The original version claimed that the investment reached 7 million yuan.

However, the actors' pay for the entire drama alone is no less than 2.8 million.

The main reason is that the actors' pay was very high at the time when the original version was produced, and complex factors such as inflation have to be taken into account, so 7 million is not outrageous.

If Li Yu were to shoot the film now, he wouldn't need 7 million yuan, 5 million yuan would be enough.

Another way to save money is that everyone can check Li Yu's reputation as a famous director and his glorious record of making anyone he supports become famous.

Actors like Zhang Songwen and Gao Ye, whose careers are mediocre, are definitely willing to reduce their pay to act in Li Yu's dramas.

If it is a role with a lot of scenes like the male lead, there are many people who want to play it even for no pay.

Of course, Li Yu wouldn't be so mean as not to pay people a penny for the film.

After spending two days in the crew, Li Yu flew back to Beijing and spent about ten days writing the script.

After writing the script, Li Yu contacted the school teachers and asked the school to help contact Beijing Film Academy graduates such as Zhang Songwen, Gao Ye, and Lin Jiachuan.

Many people know Zhang Songwen and Gao Ye, one is Gao Qiqiang and the other is the eldest sister-in-law.

You may be unfamiliar with the name Lin Jiachuan. He is the actor who played Tang Xiaolong and is also an actor from Beijing Film Academy.

The teachers at the school were overjoyed and appreciated Li Yu's way of taking care of his younger classmates.

Li Yu reminded: "Teacher Gao, I want to correct you a little bit. You said Gao Ye and Lin Jiachuan are my juniors, and I admit it. But Zhang Songwen entered school earlier than me."

Zhang Songwen graduated from the 2000 vocational class of the Performance Department of Beijing Film Academy. After graduation, he stayed at the school as an assistant teacher for eight years.

I heard that he encountered many challenges on his acting career and was rejected by film crews more than 840 times.

Even though he was rejected so many times and encountered so many setbacks, Zhang Songwen still insisted on his dream of becoming an actor and always had a passion and persistence for performing arts.

His never-give-up spirit in pursuing his dreams is very admirable.

If it were someone else who had been rejected so many times, he would have probably lost his temper and quit the circle long ago.

However, Zhang Songwen was able to devote himself to honing his acting skills, and eventually waited for an opportunity that made him become an overnight sensation. It can be said that hard work pays off.

(End of this chapter)