Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 189 The Beautiful Queen
After a day's rest, Cao Yang called together several crew leaders, who had already worked out a detailed shooting process and plan based on the on-site conditions.

Cao Yang did not change the plan. After meeting with a few people, he asked someone to take him to conduct an on-site inspection.

This area, which was previously used for racial segregation, is very large, with low and dilapidated buildings and an environment... let's not talk about it. Dirty and messy is just the literal meaning, and it's probably not enough to describe this area.

Now it is a veritable slum.

As for public security, there is no public security in the slums.

It is said that the public security has been really good these past two days, of course, after the military and police took control.

Next, Cao Yang's crew filmed here and everything went smoothly.

When extras are needed, there are plenty of locals readily available at low prices.

When asking for weapons, Yang Ke brought in a large number of real weapons for filming.

There are shots of helicopters being used in the movie. Columbia originally wanted to rent one locally, but when Yang Ke heard about it, he directly dispatched three armed helicopters for filming, which was much better than renting a helicopter.

There are even some scenes in the movie where armed men gather. Yang Ke even brought in more than a hundred soldiers, and after they changed into the costumes provided by the crew, they looked much more intimidating than extras.

Cheng Jianye said that there are many gangs in the large slums here, and they carry guns. If Colombia did not have a good relationship with a local force, they would not dare to come in.

This was also the reason why Cao Yang had concerns before. Bullets don’t have eyes. No matter if you are a big director or an ordinary person, you will die if you are hit by one.

He was certain that his achievements in life would go far beyond this.

A gentleman does not build a dangerous wall. If it weren't for Mandela's promise, he would never have come to a dangerous place.

Mandela's personal promise was very effective.

No matter how the outside world or future history evaluates him, having been in power for so many years and having reached his position, he has nothing else to pursue and must value his personal reputation more than anything else.

Private commitments are more useful than official ones.

Therefore, during the twenty days of filming in Caoyang, no gang members were seen at all, and the crew did not encounter any trouble. It can even be said that they got whatever they wanted.

The shooting went extremely smoothly.

After finishing the filming in South Africa, the crew had nothing else to do, so they decided to book flights back home.

Cao Yang had been thinking about calling Mandela tomorrow to express his gratitude - the president of a country, even a former president, cannot be met just by meeting him.

They have helped me a lot, so out of courtesy I still have to call them.

Just then, Charlize Theron called and said that she had returned from the United States. Mandela had prepared a simple dinner and wanted to invite her and Cao Yang to come over in the evening.

Cao Yang finally understood that Charlize Theron came all the way from the United States specifically for this dinner.

This may be a bit of an exaggeration, but Mandela and Cao Yang are definitely the main reasons why Charlize Theron returned from the United States.

Maybe Cao Yang's proportion is even larger.

Charlize Theron came to find Cao Yang first, and the two of them took Yang Ke's car to Mandela.

In "District 9", Theron only made a cameo appearance, with very few scenes and only a few parts.

All her scenes were filmed in just one afternoon.

"When will the film be finished? I heard that most of your scenes were shot in China and here. Do you still need to go to the United States to shoot?"

Theron gathered her long golden hair and asked.

Cao Yang glanced at Charlize Theron. It is almost a consensus that foreigners, especially white women, mature early and have a short shelf life.

Generally, white women appear very mature when they are thirteen or fourteen years old, but once they are over thirty, they begin to age faster and become like two different people compared to before thirty.

Just look at Russian girls and you will understand this.

Before the age of 30, they were all beautiful, with great figures and good looks. But after the age of 30, many of them became Russian aunties.

But Theron is an exception.

She is now 29 years old. She has recovered her figure very well, her skin is tight and fair, and her appearance conforms to the oriental aesthetic. It is said that this is the last "glory" of white women.

But eight or nine years later, she was still stunningly charming as the evil stepmother queen in "Snow White and the Huntsman".

In "Prometheus", her cool and elegant temperament as a female executive is fully displayed, and she doesn't look like a white woman in her late 40s at all.

Even after more than a decade, she still plays the powerful evil queen Ravenna in "The Huntsman: Winter's War". She seems to have completely defeated the heroine in terms of aura and appearance.

She was already in her forties at that time, and there were not many white people in their forties who looked like her.

"All the filming has been completed, and this is the final shooting location." Cao Yang said with a smile.

"So fast?"

Theron was surprised. "Didn't they say that the filming was scheduled to last until mid-August?"

"The actors performed well, so the progress was advanced a little."

Cao Yang explained with a smile, and then asked: "What are you busy with recently?"

Speaking of this, Theron was visibly more excited.

"There is a movie adapted from an animated film called Aeon Flux, which has an investment of more than 60 million. I am in the United States this time to compete for the leading female role Aeon Flux."

Looking at Charlize Theron's expression, Cao Yang knew that she had succeeded. The Oscar-winning actress was a huge bonus for her. This movie can be considered a commercial film with a female lead.

However, such movies have a very obvious characteristic, which is that they can easily be seen as a touchstone of box office appeal.

If it goes viral, Theron should be able to join the 20 million club like Angelina Jolie.

If it fails, you can either go back to the art film field or be seen as a vase.

The two were not very familiar with each other, so Cao Yang did not bother to talk too much.

"Congratulations, you got the female lead."

Charlize Theron smoothed her blonde hair again and replied with a smile, "Thank you."

Then he shook his head and smiled bitterly, “However, this movie has a lot of action scenes, and the director asked me to train for at least four months.

The disciplines include gymnastics, trampoline, karate, judo, the Brazilian martial art Keipola and the Israeli martial art Krav Maga, all of which are designed to improve flexibility and increase strength. It’s a headache just to think about it.”

"Ha, if you change your mindset, maybe things will become clearer."

"what?"

"Just think of it as a necessary exercise to stay in shape. This way you'll be more motivated and won't find it so hard."

Charlize Theron thought about it seriously, then nodded and said, "You're right, Director. Thinking this way will indeed make me more passionate."

Mandela said he prepared a simple dinner, but it was actually not simple.

Although it was a private dinner and only Cao Yang and Charlize Theron were invited, the food was still very exquisite.

During this period, Mandela was very enthusiastic about Cao Yang and said many times that he hoped Cao Yang could come to South Africa to make movies in the future and that he hoped Cao Yang could promote South Africa more.

Cao Yang understood what Mandela meant. To promote South Africa? What was there to promote about South Africa?
Apartheid was lifted and a massacre was avoided; perhaps this was the biggest publicity point.

And the person who executor all this is Mandela.

(End of this chapter)