Chinese Entertainment Intelligence King

Chapter 112 What a coincidence, we both died on the same day
"Fortune Star Pig Bajie" is the sequel to "The Legend of the White Snake" which became popular a few years ago.

The investment is not low and the cast is also quite good.

The male lead Huang Haibo became famous after "The Passionate Years", and Fan Xiaopang is even more famous, she can be regarded as a second-tier actress.

Others such as Hu Ke, Yang Ruoxi, and Zhang Yanmin all have a certain influence. Huang Haibing also came to guest-star as the Jade Emperor. After Yan Li quit playing the Bull Demon King, Gao Xin was quickly invited to save the day.

Gao Xin is Erhao in "My Fair Princess".

Two years ago, he was considered a rising star, but after "My Fair Princess", his development was average.

Fan Xiaotian had used him in a movie called "Angry Butterfly" and they had a good relationship. It just so happened that the master had no roles to play, so he came over as soon as he was called.

Gao Xin came to the crew and greeted Yan Li specifically. Although it was Yan Li who gave up the role, he came to save the situation, not to steal the role.

But Yan Li is not an ordinary actor after all, and Gao Xin doesn't want to offend him.

Gao Xin didn't expect that although he just came to say hello out of caution and politeness, he was still spotted by Yan Li.

But it’s not a bad thing, it’s a good thing!

Yan Li felt that Gao Xin had a good image and was somewhat famous, and his job was good and not expensive, so he could be a good candidate to be one of the Seven Fairies' partners.

At present, half of the seven fairies in "The Seven Fairies" have been found.

Yan Li plays Jin Zha, the heavenly warrior who is paired with the three fairies.

For the fourth brother’s pairing, the inventor Yu Ri, director Chen Yongge recommended Wu Yue, the male lead of “The Untold Story”.

For the boss’s matchmaking with the God of Cookery, Chen Yongge recommended Wu Jian, the male lead of “The Knight-errant”.

How should I put it, this buddy Lao Chen really likes to use people he knows!

However, Yan Li agreed with Chen Yongge's recommendation. He was famous but not too popular. He did a good job and was not expensive, and he had a good image.

Like Gao Xin, they are both practical actors, and Yan Li likes this kind of actor.

Yan Li and Er Wu, that's three of them. Yan Li thinks Zhou Yiwei's image is also pretty good, he can step up and play a role, such as the cold-faced constable paired with the second brother.

Among the remaining three people, Yan Li also has a preference for the candidate that Lao Liu wants to pair with, and that is Qiao Zhenyu from "Snow Goddess Dragon".

As the distributor of "Snow Goddess Dragon", Yan Li is very familiar with the audience feedback of this drama.

The female lead Dong Xuan has received the most attention so far, followed by Ouyang Mingri played by Qiao Zhenyu. As for the male lead Ren Tianye and the actual second male lead played by Suen Yaowei, neither of them has made much splash.

Yan Li boldly predicted that once "Snow Goddess Dragon" was released, Qiao Zhenyu would have a chance to become a bit of a star, so signing him now would be a bargain.

Moreover, Qiao Zhenyu's image is really good. The Sixth Fairy's partner is a scholar who needs a bookish air, and he is just the right person for the job.

If Gao Xin participates in the show, Yan Li prefers him to play the role of Lao Wu, who is set to be a rich second-generation, an ancient version of Erhao, Gao Xin's forte.

As for the last one, and the nominal male protagonist Dong Yong, Yan Li plans to find someone with a slightly greater fame.

By then, with him leading the way, and Gao Xin, Qiao Zhenyu and the two Wus, it can be called an All-Star lineup.

But he has never found a suitable one. It’s not because he lacks actors, but because Yan Li looks down on those with less fame, and he thinks those with greater fame ask for too high a price.

For example, Su Youpeng, Yan Li was the first one to find, and he left after asking the price.

Too damn expensive!
After the "My Fair Princess" series, "Romance in the Rain" and "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber", this actor is a hot first-line actor in the circle. In addition, the pay of Hong Kong and Taiwan actors is generally higher than that of mainland actors. In the end, the other party offered a price of 8 per episode.

Dong Yong's role is at least 30 episodes long, and if he does it all at once, it will cost 1/10 of the crew's production costs, which Yan Li cannot afford.

However, although Dong Yong is nowhere to be seen now, Gao Xin's matter is basically settled.

The investment in "The Seven Fairies" was not low. Although he played a supporting role, he had a lot of screen time. The key point was that Gao Xin had never played the male lead before.

He was the third male lead in "Romance in the Rain" and he played supporting roles in the following dramas. People like Wu Jian and Wu Yue who had played the male lead in Jin Yong's dramas were well received. He was a supporting role in a Qiong Yao drama and didn't have that many scenes.

Most of the seven leading roles have been confirmed, and the other supporting roles will be easier to find.

Yan Li calculated that after he returned to Beijing, he would make some arrangements. The filming of "The Seven Fairies" could start by January next year at the latest.

...

Although he was thinking about "The Seven Fairies", it did not delay Yan Li's filming.

The scene with the Sky-Swallowing Rat was actually very easy to film.

He is a complete lunatic. At most, he shows some humanity when facing his sister Jinmaoshu. Sometimes he will say some soft words to coax her. The rest of the time, he just eats, eats, eats.

In the plot, the Sky-Swallowing Rat is suppressed in the Demon-Subduing Tower because of its natural gluttony and inability to control itself, which endangers all living beings.

The Golden-Haired Rat, played by Fan Xiaopang, couldn't bear to see his brother suffer and was deceived by him, so he tried every means to steal the Sun-Shooting Bow, shot open the Demon-Subduing Tower, and released the Sky-Swallowing Rat.

The Sky-Swallowing Rat had been imprisoned for too long and became increasingly insane, and started eating like crazy once it was released.

At first, he only ate grains and vegetables, but later he ate up all the food in the city and even the city walls. Then, he ignored the obstruction of the Golden-Haired Rat and began to eat monsters and humans. He also targeted the two gods who came to the earth, Heng Ha and Er Jiang.

In the forest, the two generals Heng and Ha were tied together, blaming and bickering with each other, when suddenly they felt a chill and their hair stood on end.

"Old Hum, why are you so sinister all of a sudden?"

"Lao Ha, I also feel something is wrong."

At this moment, a black shadow suddenly appeared in front of the two of them, with a large hood half hidden and half visible. Yan Li, with pale skin, stared at the two of them with scarlet eyes, drooling, and his voice was hoarse.

"smell good?"

The two generals Heng and Ha felt something was wrong, and they stepped back unconsciously, shouting in fear.

"What do you want to do? We are gods."

"immortal?"

Yan Li tilted his neck forward in surprise, licked the blood from the corner of his mouth, and spoke excitedly.

"The gods are good, I haven't eaten any yet."

After saying that, he spread out his black robe and pounced on General Heng Er with his miserable cries.

Director Meng Ji shouted "Cut" and Yan Li stood up, looking somewhat uninterested.

"Is that all? Do you want to film some details, like me chewing on a severed hand, or a child seeing it and screaming and running away? I'll add a snack or something."

Meng Ji: “…”

What kind of materials do your teachers at Beijing Film Academy usually show you?

"Cough cough."

Even Fan Xiaotian, who had suggested that Yan Li play the Sky-Swallowing Rat, was a little nervous: "After all, our show is mainly a comedy. Something too scary wouldn't be appropriate. We can use animation to cut scenes when the time comes."

Yan Li was stunned: "Can we play it like this?"

He thinks quickly, so not only can such scenes avoid horror, but those unimportant large-scale fighting scenes can also be replaced by animation.

Save a lot of money!
Fan Xiaotian is indeed a senior in the industry. He has a lot of experience in cutting corners... and being thrifty, so he still has a lot to learn.

Although Yan Li felt that it was not very satisfying, he did not force it, but just asked Meng Ji about his performance just now.

"Do you think I need to make some adjustments? Do you think I should act more brutally?"

Meng Ji pondered for a moment: "No need, it was good just now. Of course, it's better to restrain it a little, it's a bit creepy."

Yan Li: “…” However, at Meng Ji’s suggestion, he watched the replay and had to admit that it was indeed a little scary.

Afterwards, the crew moved to another clearing in the woods to film the scene where Yan Li died.

That’s right, Yan Li died again in this drama.

Due to the numerous sins committed by the Sky-Swallowing Rat, Manjushri Bodhisattva came down to earth to destroy the demon. Since it was the Golden-Haired Rat who released her brother, he asked her to atone for her sins and lead her brother into the Demon-Subduing Tower. However, in doing so, the Golden-Haired Rat might also die.

Zhu Bajie liked the Golden-Haired Rat and wanted to be bait for her, but the Golden-Haired Rat guessed his intention and got there first.

The Golden-Haired Rat turned into Zhu Bajie. After the Sky-Swallowing Rat ate the two generals Heng and Ha, it became very fond of the taste of the gods and chased the Golden-Haired Rat into the Demon-Subduing Tower.

According to the script, the Demon Subduing Pagoda was engulfed in thunder and fire, so Yan Li knelt down on the ground in pain, rolled a few times, and then turned to ashes.

Of course, the scene of everything being reduced to ashes required the help of post-production special effects. Yan Li completed the action by himself with a miserable howl, and the filming was completed.

Afterwards, Yan Li did not leave either. He crossed his arms and watched the Jinmaoshu and Zhu Bajie, played by Fan Xiaopang, say goodbye.

Fatty Fan looked at the pig-headed monster not far away with tears in his eyes: "Bajie, goodbye."

Meng Ji also explained to Yan Li that the post-production special effects eliminated Fan Xiaopang from bottom to top, and the Golden-Haired Rat also turned into ashes.

"..."

Yan Li expressed his understanding of the villains’ lack of human rights, but still couldn’t help but complain.

This demon-subduing tower is really too smart.

When the Sky-Swallowing Rat died, it was struck by lightning and fire, while the Golden-Haired Rat just cried sweetly twice and that was it. At least it was struck by two lightning bolts.

...

After finishing this scene, we called it a day. Huang Hai had a mask on his thin face, so he was slow to remove his makeup, so he basically left first after finishing work.

Fan Xiaopang was not in a hurry and even went to the monitor to check his performance just now.

She was quite satisfied with herself and turned to ask Yan Li: "What do you think of my performance?"

"pretty good."

Yan Li praised casually, but Fan Xiaopang heard his perfunctory tone and continued to ask questions.

"Don't just praise me, give me some suggestions so I can improve. That way, when we film 'The Seven Fairies', we can make progress."

Yan Li was persuaded by Fan Xiaopang.

He really looked down on Fan Xiaopang's acting skills. He was quite talented when filming quirky and cute scenes, but when it came to such a major drama of life and death, he was a little bit not up to par.

Putting aside other things, just looking at Fan Xiaopang's crying scene, Qin Lan could have defeated her even with 50% of her strength.

Yan Li exerted all his strength, immersed himself in the fight, and relied on his instincts to easily defeat Fan Xiaopang.

Anyway, as for the role of the Seven Fairies that Yan Li interviewed himself, Fan Xiaopang has a lot of acting experience, but his actual level is just above average. Considering the interests of the crew, he sincerely hopes that the other party can hone his acting skills.

Of course, Yan Li still has some emotional intelligence. Although he gives suggestions, he expresses them in a tactful way.

"It's quite good overall, but it feels a bit lacking in heart. The performances are superficial, and the body movements are... a bit monotonous."

"I see."

Fat Fan nodded in agreement, but the smile on his face disappeared unconsciously.

Yan Li was helpless. He could only praise himself, but when he insisted on making suggestions, he became unhappy.

Oh, woman!

However, remembering that the contract had not been officially signed yet, Yan Li still tried to make up for it.

"Acting skills can be practiced slowly. With this beautiful face, you are already better than 99% of actresses."

Oh, I'm gorgeous again?!

Fatty Fan saw through Yan Li's expression and curled his lips, saying, "You talk so nicely, but you're just a vase, aren't you?"

"What's wrong with being a vase? There are so many actors who want to be a vase but are not qualified."

Yan Li disagreed with her statement and sternly refuted: "Can a vase become a talented actress? Can a talented actress become a vase? If you ask me, don't force yourself to squeeze into the talented ones. Leave some space for other actresses."

"Tch, glib."

Although Fan Xiaopang expressed disgust, his cheeks were slightly hot. He felt happy but also a little emotional.

If Yan Li wasn't such a mean guy and didn't use sweet words to coax her every day, she would have regarded him as her life confidant long ago.

As they were talking, the assistant director came over and gave each of them a red envelope to calm them down.

Yan Li was fine, at least he lay on the ground screaming a few times, with the mentality of filming his death.

Fat Fan just stood there crying. When he saw the red envelope, he was stunned for two seconds before realizing that he had just "died".

"Hey, I remember that last time in 'Cornucopia' we both died on the same day. This time, not only did we die on the same day, we also perished together."

Yan Li was not surprised by the red envelope, but when he saw it, he remembered the scene in "Cornucopia" when he was peeling sugar-roasted chestnuts and watching Fatty Fan being hacked to death.

Including this drama, Yan Li has filmed five serious dramas since his debut.

In two of the dramas, he worked with Fan Xiaopang and had many rival scenes with him.

One is about a pursuer and the pursued, the other is about brother and sister, and they both "died" on the same day. It is indeed a great fate.

Fan Xiaopang was reminded by Yan Li and thought of the scene that day, but compared to the fate of the two plays, she was more curious about one thing.

"Did you wash the blood-stained clothes?"

At the beginning, she had never been able to defeat Yan Li in the crew of "Cornucopia", and she was also angry that Yan Li saw her being "killed". So she wore a bloody costume to rub Yan Li's clothes after he took off his makeup and changed his clothes. She finally won back at the end of the filming.

"They were all covered in blood. I had to persuade the dry cleaner to clean them. It cost 40 yuan for two pieces, which I will deduct from your salary later."

If Fat Fan hadn't mentioned Yan Li, he would have forgotten that this little girl still owed him money.

"I'll keep track of even these little details."

Fan Xiaopang snorted disdainfully, opened the red envelope, and found that it contained only 50 yuan, which he gave directly to Yan Li.

"No need to give me change. Any extra will be charged interest."

Yan Li didn't hesitate and stuffed it into his pocket. Then he opened the red envelope and took out the red banknotes and shook them. "Boss Fan, this crew is really generous. They even have whole bills."

Generally, red envelopes given to appease someone are just a few dollars as a token of appreciation. 10 dollars is considered a lot, and a 100-yuan red note is the first time Yan Li has seen one.

"no?"

Fatty Fan looked at the money in Yan Li's hand and said unconvincedly, "We both died in the play, so why should I get 50 and you get 100?"

"What do you say?"

Yan Li asked back with a smile, then stuffed the empty red envelope into her hand, motioning her to throw away the garbage, turned around and left with his hands behind his back, leaving behind a sentence.

"Young comrade, work hard."

Fatty Fan crushed the red envelope, looked at Yan Li's back and hesitated again and again, but still didn't dare to rush up and kick that arrogant bastard...

(End of this chapter)