This top guy is crazy!

Two months have passed in a flash.

Over the past two months, under the watchful eyes of the entire nation, Myth has completed a massive casting process, the whole of which can be described as grueling.

In the first round, Myth Company conducted a massive initial screening, filtering out approximately 30 resumes that clearly did not meet the basic requirements.

In the second round, group reviews were conducted. The remaining tens of thousands of documents were grouped according to role type and reviewed by a special review panel in multiple rounds of viewing, scoring, and discussion.

The third round, an online re-examination, involved multi-faceted online video interviews with thousands of shortlisted candidates to further assess their versatility, understanding of the role, and suitability.

Finally, there was the fourth round of offline auditions. A dozen or so candidates were shortlisted for each role, and Cheng Cheng, Beret, and others conducted the final auditions to determine the final cast.

Every step is like taking the college entrance exam, with thousands of people competing for one role, and you can be eliminated if you're not careful!

After fierce competition, the final cast list has been finalized:
Tang Sanzang: Kong Xiu

Sun Wukong: Zhang Xiaoyan

Pigsy (Zhu Bajie): Zou Weitao

Sha Wujing: Xiong Jing

White Dragon Horse: Xu Xuan
Guanyin: Fang Jing

Buddha: Ma Chen

Jade Emperor: Li Zhijie
Queen Mother: Long Xue

Apart from a few veteran actors, most of the people on this list, such as the actors playing the five characters of Tang Sanzang and his disciples, were all newcomers with no acting experience. Tang Sanzang, in particular, was actually a real monk! This was something that no one expected!
Is this the kind of casting mythology would dare to do?
However, the remaining list of female characters is quite impressive!
It's so gorgeous it's unbelievable!
Chang'e: Yan Gou'er
Queen of the Women's Kingdom: Wen Lian
Scorpion Demon: Wang Hong
Jade Rabbit Spirit: Nilukezi
Princess Peacock: Jiang Nan

Golden-nosed, white-haired rat spirit: Su Yun
Princess Iron Fan: Zhong Meng (who played Bai Suzhen in the TV series)
White Bone Demon: Qu Yihe (the actress who played Xiaoqing in the TV series)
Princess Wansheng: Lu Ming

Gao Cuilan: Lin Yin (played by Wan Yu)
Princess Baihuaxiu: Ji Meilian (played by Nuolan)
Empress Jin Sheng: Xu Lin (Queen of Song, Masked Singer, Cocoon Person)

This is more than just glamorous; it's practically a collection of the top beauties in the Chinese entertainment industry! Each and every one of them is a top-tier female star who can stand on her own and has a huge fan base.

There are so many first-tier and even super-first-tier brands here!

Besides, the Seven Fairies, the Seven Spider Spirits, and even the fairy maidens and demonesses with only a few lines were all played by first- or second-tier actresses in the Chinese entertainment industry. In fact, these roles were ones that they fought over to get!
Just as Cheng Cheng said, he wanted to choose the most beautiful girl in the country, without any compromise!
Everyone was stunned when they saw this list!
"Holy crap, this is a dream team of beauties from all three realms!"

"That's incredible! Other TV dramas can't even get a single actor to work with them, but 'Journey to the West' managed to get them all?"

"Isn't this the Olympics of the film industry?"

"It's true! This is a super-super-mega-production with Cheng Cheng's work, 41 directors co-directing, and a guaranteed minimum of 25 billion! Even the Olympics weren't this extravagant!"

"I'm starting to worry! With so many top beauties together, who am I supposed to look at?"

"Seriously, only mythology could pull off something like this."

"The fees for hiring these female celebrities alone must be astronomical, right?"

"Believe it or not, they'd be scrambling to act in a mythical project without spending a single penny! Just being able to participate in such an epic project is a status symbol in itself!"

"I think this is really great! The main characters are almost all newcomers, which keeps them a mystery, while the supporting roles are all-stars, which ensures the brilliance of the lineup. Frog Bro is so good at balancing things!" At the same time, other preparations were also progressing in the same way during these two months.

A list of directors from three generations—old, middle-aged, and young—has been finalized, and they have now begun writing the script. Among them is Lü Zhuofeng, who had already made an appointment with Cheng Cheng.

The episode he was in charge of was "Little Western Paradise".

This is one of the most exciting and intense parts of the entire Journey to the West. Lü Zhuofeng was very satisfied. When he read Journey to the West, his favorite part was the Little Western Paradise, which had great potential for philosophical speculation and visual spectacle!

In addition, concept design and art direction have also been fully launched.

Since Cheng Cheng is recreating a Journey to the West, the 86 version of Journey to the West has no reference value except for the plot and a few costumes and props. Most of the costumes, props, sets, art design and special effects all have to be scrapped and started from scratch!
September, inside a digital film studio.

Chang Hsiao-yen wore a black special effects suit covered with sensor dots.

Cheng Cheng stared at the camera.

The motion capture director said, "Ms. Zhang Xiaoyan, please perform T-pose calibration first."

Zhang Xiaoyan stood with her arms outstretched, allowing the system to build a basic skeletal model.

Director of motion capture: "We will now begin dynamic calibration. Please complete the basic movements of walking, running, and jumping in sequence."

Following the instructions, Zhang Xiaoyan began walking, running, and jumping.

When walking, he hunches his back and bends his knees, displaying the alertness and agility of a monkey; when running, he leans forward, moving with remarkable lightness; when jumping, he leaps with clean, decisive movements, naturally curling his body in mid-air, yet landing as steadily as a rock.

Every movement perfectly balances the monkey's nature with the human form, while retaining the spirit of the Monkey King.

Cheng Cheng nodded. This was why he chose Zhang Xiaoyan; she really looked like Liu Xiao Ling Tong when he was young.

"Very good, Ms. Zhang Xiaoyan, you did a great job. Now we will move on to the motion database."

Next, the motion capture director started having Zhang Xiaoyan do more movements, which were designed by Cheng Cheng and the action director, and a large part of them were based on the 86 version of Journey to the West.

However, it also incorporates a violent aesthetic that is more in line with modern tastes.

For example, using a stick as the core:
Stick flower (quickly rotating the stick with one hand), stick chop (slashing down from top to bottom), stick sweep, stick thrust, smash, stick shrinking/extending (chanting a spell to instantly shorten or extend the golden cudgel), stick support jump, stick standing.

Body techniques and fighting moves: flying kicks, somersaults and jumps, leaping into the air (somersault cloud), dodging and teleportation.

Spell-assisted actions: pluck a hair to create a clone, cast spells with fiery eyes, chant incantations and hand gestures, grow/shrink, freeze.

In addition, there are other forms such as standing with a stick on one's back and flying with a stick on one's back.

Sometimes, when Zhang Xiaoyan's technique was not up to standard, Cheng Cheng would step in to demonstrate.

Soon, night fell and darkness descended. Zhang Xiaoyan took off his sweat-soaked motion capture suit; his work for the day was over. However, that was all—just the end of his work for the day.

He has only completed one-third of the motion capture; there are still more refined and demanding combos and face capture to come.

The reason for investing so much manpower, time, and money in such a large-scale motion capture and surface capture is not just for special effects, but because Cheng Cheng has another ambition:
He plans to also develop a AAA game based on "Journey to the West" while he's at it! (End of Chapter)