Rebirth: I'm filming extra scenes on the set

I will be responsible for the actor auditions after Chapter 126.

"Oh, Director Han, there's something I forgot to mention."

When Director Han left, Chen Cheng called Han Sanping and said, "You can invest in Huayi's Assembly Number."

This made Han Sanping very strange: "Didn't you choose not to gather the numbers?"

"I just said that I don't like Director Feng, but I don't think this movie is bad. From a box office perspective, I think this movie can still make money."

"What about The Warlords? How much can it earn?"

"It's a pledge of allegiance."

Chen Cheng touched his head and said, "Maybe I can't make any money."

"You mean it will be a loss?"

Chen Cheng did not answer.

Han Sanping laughed, "I really don't understand you. You don't make a profitable movie. You want to make a movie that you think will lose money. What do you want me to do now? If The Warlords loses money, will China Film still invest in it? If we don't invest, how can you be the first assistant director?"

"That's all I analyzed. As for whether to invest or not, and how to invest, it's up to you, Director Han. Of course, I don't have to make this film."

Chen Cheng didn't want to embarrass Han Sanping, so he said.

"You really gave me a difficult problem."

Han Sanping had a headache.

A few days later, Director Han sent a message: "The script of The Warlords has been finalized, and you are the first assistant director."

Chen Cheng was somewhat surprised and asked, "China Film Group invested?"

"Correct."

"Didn't I say that there might be a loss?"

“How should I put it? Sometimes, even if some films lose money, we still have to invest in them.”

"Ok."

Chen Cheng was not in Han Sanping's position, so he had no way of knowing what Han Sanping was considering.

But Han Sanping wouldn't say that.

His most important consideration was still Chen Cheng.

……

"Classmates, after this class, I have to join the crew."

At the Beijing Film Academy’s director training class, Chen Cheng gave his last class to a group of students.

Although it was only a few short weeks, all the students were very impressed with Chen Cheng.

When the classmates heard that Chen Cheng was leaving, they were reluctant to let him go and asked, "Director Chen, which crew are you going to join?"

"A co-production with Hong Kong."

Chen Cheng did not reveal much.

However, when it comes to co-productions, everyone says, "There are too many directors and actors in Hong Kong. When will our mainland directors be able to come to the fore?"

This statement was recognized by everyone.

Although the mainland market is gradually rising, overall, it is still dominated by co-productions.

There are also some top directors in the mainland such as Zhang Yimou, Feng Xiaogang, and Chen Kaige.

But apart from them, the new generation of mainland directors has very little chance of coming to the fore.

However, Chen Cheng, who knew the future development path, said: "Don't be so discouraged. If the market is always here, then sooner or later, more and more big directors will emerge in our mainland. As for the so-called producers in Hong Kong, although they will also compete with us, this is our home turf."

Seeing that everyone was confused, Chen Cheng continued, "Perhaps everyone still doesn't quite understand what home court means. Home court doesn't necessarily mean we will have more resources, nor does it necessarily mean we will get more support from the media and audiences. Our home court advantage is our understanding and grasp of our mainland audiences. Although Hong Kong was once glorious, it has gradually declined. Even if they want to compete with us in the mainland, they can't completely grasp the psychology of our mainland audiences."

Hong Kong director Wang Jing once said something.

He asked why Hong Kong directors can no longer produce high-grossing films.

Why there is an explosion in the popularity of mainland movies.

It’s not that Hong Kong directors are no longer good.

Rather, people in Hong Kong are unable to share common emotions with people in the mainland.

In other words, resonance is impossible.

What Hong Kong people like may not be liked by people in the mainland.

What people in the mainland like may not be understood by Hong Kong directors.

of course.

Chen Cheng’s words are not so easy to understand.

At least many people still can't understand it now.

But it is not important.

As the time slowly comes, Chen Cheng believes that all the students in the class, including a number of directors from the mainland, will understand it.

"Don't see me off, we'll see you later."

The next day.

Chen Cheng prepared to go to the crew.

Upon learning that Chen Cheng was leaving, students from two classes of advanced training classes.

All the classmates who were still staying in the school came to see him off.

Wait until Chen Cheng boarded the plane.

The others then started discussing.

"I heard Director Chen has taken on another film."

"Well, it's said to be a co-production, but I don't know which one it is."

"I have a little news. The book Chen Cheng got might be Chen Kexin's The Warlords."

"Fuck, that movie that Jet Li is going to shoot?"

"Yes, it is said that Jet Li received 1 million yuan just for the film's financing."

"It's terrifying. This is a big production, and the investment is probably even bigger than The Banquet."

"That's right... Besides Jet Li, there are also top stars like Andy Lau and Takeshi Kaneshiro."

"What is Director Chen's position?"

"First Assistant Director."

"I go……"

Everyone secretly smacked their lips.

The first assistant director's authority is second only to that of the director.

As the first assistant director in such a large crew, I believe it won’t be long before Chen Cheng becomes the chief director.

even.

As long as Chen Cheng becomes independent, the investment in the films he takes over will definitely not be small.

……

"Director Chen, you are finally here."

The crew of The Warlords.

At this time, the crew had just been formed, and except for a few important actors who had been confirmed, some other actors had not been confirmed.

The entire behind-the-scenes work is still in preparation.

Seeing Chen Cheng coming to the crew, director Chen Kexin called Chen Cheng to the office and held a meeting.

"The next task is to audition for other roles. There are quite a few actor profiles here, half of them are from the mainland and half from Hong Kong. What do you think?"

Chen Kexin's Mandarin is not standard, but it is more or less understandable.

After taking the information, Chen Cheng looked at it and said, "Director Chen, I have an opinion. I suggest that for the remaining actors, more mainland actors should be used."

As soon as Chen Cheng finished speaking, one of the assistant directors said directly: "Director Chen, you can't be from the mainland and you should be biased towards the mainland actors. I think it's fair to give half to Hong Kong and half to the mainland."

Chen Cheng glanced at the other person.

The Warlords has more assistant directors than any other crew.

There are 8 in total.

It’s not that the crew has a lot of money that they have so many assistant directors.

In fact, if we really want to shoot it, 8 assistant directors may not be enough.

After all, the drama "The Warlords" has many big scenes, whether it is literary or martial arts.

This also requires cooperation between the assistant directors and the director.

"Director Ye, I'm not thinking about fairness or not. I'm thinking about the box office of our movie The Warlords. As you all know, our investment in The Warlords is huge. I believe Director Chen knows the exact amount. The mainland box office plays an important role in how to recoup the cost. The three leading actors of The Warlords are already top stars in Hong Kong. If the whole movie still has so many Hong Kong actors, I'm afraid the mainland box office will not be very beneficial."

However, the assistant director shook his head and said, "I don't think so. As long as the film is well made, everyone will recognize it, whether in Hong Kong or in the Mainland."

Chen Cheng said nothing more. He didn't want to engage in meaningless arguments.

The suggestions have been made, it all depends on what the director means.

Chief Director Chen Kexin said, "What Director Chen said makes sense. You will be responsible for the auditions of other actors later."

"no problem."

Chen Cheng nodded.

……

"Dear students, the crew has a lot of actors available for auditions recently. Anyone who is free can come."

Since I am responsible for the subsequent auditions.

Chen Cheng also thought of his classmates at Beijing Film Academy, so he sent out the audition information for the crew.

Chen Cheng also knew it.

Not all students may be able to get these auditions.

But how will you know if you don’t try?

and.

This is also an opportunity for all the students.

Many times, the reason why people cannot succeed is not because of poor acting skills or because they simply do not have a chance.

"Fuck, this is really a token of allegiance."

"Brother Cheng, you are awesome, please accept my knee."

"Brother Cheng, I'll be at the crew soon. Do you have a script?"

After seeing the message, all the students were very excited.

"There is a script, but for confidentiality, only part of it is available. You can take a look first. If you think you are suitable for a role, you can come and audition. However, I have to tell you something. You can audition, but I can't guarantee that you will get the role."

"Brother Cheng, what are you talking about? We are extremely grateful that you can give us a chance. Brother Cheng, you are busy, so we will not disturb you. Let's read the script first."

The students in the class are very smart.

They didn't insist on any role.

they know.

Keeping a calm mind will allow their relationship with Chen Cheng to go further.

The next step is the audition.

Because the main actors had already been confirmed, the chief director Chen Kexin did not come.

There were three people who auditioned, namely Ye Weimin, Chen Cheng, and Zhang Jinzhan.

Ye Weimin and Zhang Jinzhan are both assistant directors, ranking second assistant director and third assistant director respectively.

However, although there are three people, Chen Cheng is still the main one.

Because it was passed at the previous meeting, basically all the Hong Kong actors were eliminated by Chen Cheng.

Unless you are really outstanding.

Overall, Chen Cheng still mainly uses mainland actors.

Especially for three court officials, namely Mr. Chen, Mr. Di, and Mr. Jiang.

These three are all references to three big names in history.

I won’t say who it specifically refers to.

Anyway, although these three characters are supporting roles, they play a key role in the drama.

Chen Cheng attaches great importance to these three roles.

finally.

After a round of auditions, Chen Cheng selected three candidates for court officials.

They are "Wang Kuirong" who plays Jiang Gong.

"Gu Baoming" plays Di Gong.

"Wei Zongbao" plays Mr. Chen.

All three actors are well-known veteran actors with strong aura, and Chen Cheng is quite satisfied with this.

In addition, there is another important character, that is He Kui in the play.

He Kui is the boss of the Kui Camp.

He had previously betrayed the male protagonist Pang Qingyun, which led to the annihilation of Pang Qingyun's entire army as soon as he appeared on the stage.

However, later on, Pang Qingyun took advantage of He Kui's dissatisfaction with being below one of the three highest officials for a long time, borrowed food and grass from He Kui, and tricked him.

There is a lot of tension in this role.

Although he is not the most important actor, his performance is still outstanding.

There is another character, Xiaogouzi, who was given by Chen Cheng to his classmate Zhu Xiaohua.

It is impossible to say that there is no friendship between classmates in the character of Zhu Xiaohua.

but.

Zhu Xiaohua’s acting skills are indeed pretty good.

In addition, his age and personality were similar to the character of Xiaogouzi, so Chen Cheng also gave his classmate a chance.

of course.

The reason why Chen Cheng takes such good care of mainland actors.

Box office is just one of the reasons.

More importantly.

After Chen Cheng joined the crew of The Warlords, he clearly felt the pressure from a group of Hong Kong producers.

For example, the assistant director Ye Weimin who attended the meeting on the first day was also one of the assistant directors for this audition.

Ye Weimin said he was an assistant director, but he is actually also a well-known director in Hong Kong.

He has directed Stephen Chow's "The King of Comedy" and "Young and Dangerous".

Such directors usually serve as chief directors in other crews.

But in the crew of The Warlords, he was only the deputy director, and his position was behind Chen Cheng.

On the one hand, this shows the excellence of the production team of The Warlords, and on the other hand, it also shows how fierce the competition was among the crew of The Warlords.

Chen Cheng is the only assistant director from the mainland.

In front of a group of Hong Kong producers, he must cultivate his own team in the crew.

These mainland actors are the capital for Chen Cheng's counterattack.

(End of this chapter)