Huayu: Director started with art films

Chapter 91 [Too many actors from Hong Kong and Taiwan, too few actors from the mainland]

"very good."

Li Yishu clapped her hands and said, "Zhao Wenzhuo, the role of Jiang Asheng is yours. You will stay with the crew for a while. We will hire a teacher to teach you the most basic movements."

"Thank you Director Li, thank you Director Li!"

Zhao Wenzhuo's face lit up with joy. Just now in the dressing room backstage, he had roughly read a part of the script and knew that Jiang Asheng was the male lead. He didn't expect that he would actually pass the interview.

"Don't say thank you yet. Just perform well during the filming and don't let me scold you too much."

Li Yishu waved his hands. He knew without watching that Zhao Wenzhuo would definitely be scolded by him in the crew in the future, just because Zhao Wenzhuo had never acted in a play and didn't know how to move or perform.

"Haha, it's okay, Director Li, I'm used to being scolded." Zhao Wenzhuo smiled naively. He had practiced martial arts for so many years and had been scolded by his coach so many times that he had long been used to it.

"Ha ha--"

Gong Li couldn't help laughing out loud, and Xu Lu next to her was also at a loss whether to laugh or cry.

"Okay, go back first."

Li Yishu shook her head helplessly, and then asked someone to continue arranging the next actors to be interviewed.

Although most of them have been decided, Lee Yi-su will still replace them if the audition results are not good.

This is his first martial arts film. He doesn't pursue high box office, but at least it has to be exciting.

Soon, the next actor came on stage. She was the Taiwanese actress Yang Liqing, and the role she was auditioning for was Ye Zhanqing.

Compared to Chenghui's experience and Zhao Wenzhuo's immaturity, Yang Liqing, who has been filming in Hong Kong for several years, is more knowledgeable about the ways of the world. When she came out dressed as a female warrior, she shouted enthusiastically: "Director Li, Sister Xu, Miss Gong Li."

"Yeah." Xu Su smiled and introduced Li Yishu beside him: "Director Li, you may not know her very well. Among the most capable female stars in Hong Kong, Ah Qing is the most suitable candidate. She has previously starred in Gu Long's "The Legend of the Heroes of the Banner" and "Royal Sister 3". She is agile and smart."

Hearing this, Li Yishu suddenly realized. No wonder she felt that the other person looked very familiar when he came in just now, but she couldn't quite call out his name.

Now, after hearing Xu Lu's introduction, I realized that she was the female action star who replaced Yang Ziqiong to play the role of Royal Sister.

Li Yishu asked, "I've seen you play the role of Royal Sister, it was very well filmed, do you know martial arts?"

Yang Liqing replied: "I have learned a little. I mainly studied dance before. Later, after I started filming, I also learned Kung Fu from others for a few years."

"Well, this play is mainly based on swords. You should have seen your role. You have to act innocent and naive, but also cruel and ruthless. Can you do it?"

"I think I can give it a try!"

This person was chosen by Xu Lu, and he knows martial arts and has acted for several years, so Li Yishu naturally would not refuse.

Moreover, her appearance and temperament are quite suitable for playing the role of a female hero in ancient costume. At least she is much better than a certain curvy actress.

Li Yishu said, "Very good. The crew will have a training session during this period. It may take ten days or half a month. Do you have any questions?"

"I have no problem, Director Li." Yang Liqing's face lit up with joy. She actually had no worries about getting roles in Hong Kong. As the successor of Yang Ziqiong, many Kung Fu-related crews, whether they were urban dramas or costume dramas, would come to her to perform.

But Yang Liqing still attaches great importance to this collaboration with Li Yishu. On the one hand, the other party is a director who has won a European award. Secondly, the investor of this film is Xu Lu.

Xu Suo has extensive connections in the film circles of both Hong Kong and Taiwan. Yang Liqing was bullied before when she went to Hong Kong to film. If she could take this opportunity to get to know Xu Suo, then filming in Hong Kong would be much easier in the future.

"That's it, you go out first and arrange for the next person to come in."

"Thank you, Director Li. I'll be leaving first."

After Yang Liqing left, the next person to perform was Yuan Piao, who played Lei Bin.

Lee Yi-shu must have felt confident in choosing him for this role. He is one of the Seven Little Fortunes, has been a martial arts instructor for many years, and has starred in many kung fu films. His abilities and appearance are both very good.

After a round of interviews, except for three mainland actors, Gong Li, Yu Chenghui and Zhao Wenzhuo, the rest were all Hong Kong and Taiwan actors.

Li Yishu also realized it belatedly. He thought for a moment and said, "Sister Xu, I don't think Li Saifeng is suitable for the role of Xiyu."

"Ah? Why?" Xu Lu was slightly stunned. She felt that Moon Lee was quite suitable.

"figure."

Li Yishu shook her head and said, "Li Saifeng's figure is a little too petite. The script says that it only changes a person's appearance, and it is impossible to make a person taller."

Li Saifeng is only 1.6 meters tall, while Gong Li is 1.69 meters tall. The former is petite, while the latter is relatively more mature.

Xu Suo thought about it and nodded, "Is that so? I'll take a look later..." "I do have a candidate."

"Who?"

"A sister from my hometown doesn't have a big problem with her height. She studied Peking Opera and has a certain foundation in Peking Opera. She can dance with spears and sticks without any problem."

"no problem."

When she heard that it was Li Yishu's sister from her hometown, Xu Lu nodded and agreed without hesitation. She didn't think it was nepotism. If she really wanted to show nepotism, she should have raised it directly before.

Li Yishu said, "Then please trouble Sister Xu to apologize to Miss Li."

"It's okay. It's normal to fail the audition. I will talk to her about it."

Xu Xu nodded. If it was a normal situation, it would be fine if she failed the audition, but she was the only one who failed the role she auditioned for this time. If she didn't explain it clearly, people would think that the director was targeting her on purpose.

Moreover, Li Saifeng has no worries about not having any roles to play. She is now one of the famous female action stars in Hong Kong. Although she has a petite figure and face, she is still quite capable in action scenes.

All the choices had been made, and Li Yishu did not stay long. Just as she was about to retreat to the props group of Beijing Film Studio to see how the props were prepared, she saw Gong Li catching up with her.

Gong Li couldn't help but ask curiously, "You didn't let Li Saifeng act just now, don't you like her?"

When Li Saifeng was interviewing before, Li Yishu had a satisfied expression on her face. Why did she suddenly change her mind later?
“There are too few mainland actors.”

Facing Gong Li, Lee Yi-su spoke frankly:

"There are only three of you, Yu Chenghui, and Zhao Wenzhuo in the entire crew, out of more than a dozen important roles."

"Then we must replace the actors with mainland actors. We can't have a movie with only Hong Kong and Taiwan actors' faces."

"It just so happens that I have a younger sister in my hometown who has always loved filming. She has a very good image and temperament. It's a good idea to let her play Xiyu, who only has a few minutes of screen time."

"Oh, I see." Gong Li nodded slightly, as if she understood something.

Li Yishu smiled and said, "Sister Gong Li, when you went to Hong Kong to film, you should have been able to sense the difference in treatment between the two places, right?"

"Yes, a little bit. When I first went there to film God of Gamblers 2, the lunch boxes were pretty good, but when I accidentally saw Zhou Xingchi's, I realized how shabby my lunch boxes were."

Thinking of this, Gong Li was filled with anger. It was only later that she found out that the treatment of actors from both places by the crew in Hong Kong was completely different.

Although Zhou Xingchi was the leading actor at the time, Gong Li was also the female leading actor. Even the leading actors were treated differently, not to mention the supporting actors.

I guess only the extras are treated similarly, because there are no lunch boxes cheaper than those of the extras.

Gong Li was angry, not because she was fighting for the lunch, but because she was angry at the other party's unequal treatment.

"So, Sister Gong Li, the crew should have more mainland actors."

Li Yishu smiled and said that the crews in Hong Kong and Taiwan were not too excessive at the moment, because those who were able to film in Hong Kong and Taiwan were basically the most popular people in the mainland, such as Li Lianjie, Gong Li and others.

It was not until after 95 that Hong Kong films began to decline rapidly, and a large number of crews went north to film. At that time, in order to highlight their status as big stars from Hong Kong Island, not only were the lunch boxes divided into different grades, but the dressing rooms were also divided into different grades. Mainland actors shared one, while big stars from Hong Kong and Taiwan each had one.

After the millennium, things went even further. Under the pretext of filming a movie, they openly beat Xiao Bailong on the set.

Gong Li asked curiously, "Okay, what you said makes sense, but what did you say you were going to Japan for?"

"Toho held a grand celebration party to celebrate the 1000 million moviegoers for Love Letter and invited me to the party. Plus, I have some other things to do, so I have to stay there for a few days."

Lee Yi-su did not expect that "Love Letter" would be so popular in Japan.

It was released on February 2th and ran until May 13th, a full three months, and the number of viewers exceeded 5 million.

Originally, the film could have been taken off the screen by the end of March when it had exceeded 3 million viewers, but this film, like "That Mountain, That Man, That Dog", is a long-term success, and Toho has also arranged for some theaters to screen it at midnight.

Who would have thought that after hesitating for a month and a half, he could earn more than one million.

In addition to the huge success of the movie, Li Yishu's original novel also sold like hot cakes in Japan, selling more than 500 million copies in three months.

It's truly a phenomenal film.

Dongbao was naturally very happy too. Not only did they hold a celebration banquet, they also sincerely invited Li Yishu with a check.

(End of this chapter)