A grand feast for the Chinese entertainment industry

Chapter 164 Jue Jue Zi

The director of "Heaven Has Tears" is Li Ping, a native of Hunan, and a director at Hunan TV.

So in fact, what Qiong Yao and He Xiuqiong said before was correct. They were indeed working hard to promote in-depth cooperation with mainland TV drama producers and mainland TV stations. Previously, the public channels had not been very good. This time, they went all out and simply made mainland people the main body from the producer to the director to the crew. They only kept Qiong Yao's script and investment, and added He Xiuqiong as a producer. This time it should work, right?
After her amazing pounce, Ada Chia appeared unusually shy, barely saying a word except for clinging to Lin Chien-lu's arm with a flushed face.

As the hostess, He Xiuqiong took the initiative to introduce the place to everyone.

In fact, Lin Jianluren hardly needs to be introduced if he is standing here, especially since people in this industry rarely don't recognize his face, regardless of whether they are from mainland China, Taiwan, or Hong Kong. So the main purpose is to introduce the crew members.

Director Li Ping was also very polite, and took the initiative to extend both hands to shake hands.

The male lead is Tuo Chung-hua, a fairly well-known actor in Taiwan. The second male lead is Chiao En-chun—yes, I recognize him. Whenever you list the most handsome men in the Hong Kong and Taiwan entertainment industry, he's almost always on the list.

Moreover, this guy has a rather tragic problem – despite being so handsome, famous, and earning a lot of money, and being honest, family-oriented, and not promiscuous, his wife still cheated on him and they got divorced.

It's... pretty confusing.

Of course, what will happen in the future does not affect his current status as one of the most promising young actors in the entire Taiwan region. He has been cast as the male lead in the upcoming Qiong Yao drama "Princess Pearl".

It was agreed by both parties that the female lead and the second female lead could be considered as having been selected and designated by Lin Jianlu, so Lin Jianlu could no longer interfere with the other actors and roles.

So basically, He Xiuqiong was in charge of the selection, and Qiong Yao made the final decision.

The female lead, Ziwei, is played by Jiang Qinqin, who is from mainland China. Therefore, the two actors closely associated with her must be Taiwanese actors. The male lead, Erkang, is played by Jiao Enjun.

Ziwei's maid, Jin Suo, must also be a Taiwanese actress.

Well, it's not decided yet. I heard that several candidates have already been chosen, but in any case, I, Bingbing, have no chance.

Conversely, since the second female lead, Xiao Yanzi, was chosen to be played by Jia Jingwen, who is from Taiwan, the actor closely associated with her, the Fifth Prince, must be a mainland actor. According to Brigitte Lin, Huang Lei and two male students from the 96 class of the Beijing Film Academy, Chen Kun and Huang Xiaoming, are currently on the shortlist.

Not long ago, when Lin Jianlu returned to the capital, Huang Lei specially invited Jiang Wu to take him to Lin Jianlu's house. He hesitated and didn't say it out loud. Later, Jiang Wu whispered that Huang Lei really wanted to get this Qiong Yao drama. He knew that this drama was a project jointly produced by Forbidden City Film and Qiong Yao. Lin Jianlu was one of the producers, and Lin Qingxia was one of the producers, so... well.

At the time, Lin Jianlu was very busy and didn't have time to deal with such matters. She just casually told Lin Qingxia: "We won't interfere with this kind of casting, but if He Xiuqiong is hesitant, she can offer a couple of biased opinions." — That was already quite helpful.

In short, this is Qiong Yao's casting strategy—Lin Jianlu was just a pure audience member in his previous life. He was indifferent to these things. Ordinary people just watch a drama or a movie and don't pay attention to these things at all. But when it was his turn to shoot a music video, he actually did it subconsciously.

A balanced staff composition, taking into account various markets, is one aspect. The key is to ensure that the products are well-coordinated so that people don't nitpick and find fault with them based on their own perspectives. This kind of thing is always around and everywhere. Regardless of the quality of the product, getting involved in this kind of thing is unpleasant for anyone.

Oh, by the way, the second female lead in "Heaven Has Tears" is actually Zhu Yin—it was the first time I saw her in person, and she's so dark-skinned!
Putting everything else aside, although Lin Jianlu wouldn't call herself a die-hard fan of Stephen Chow, she does like many of his movies. She doesn't particularly admire "A Chinese Odyssey," but she has still watched it carefully. Stephen Chow portrayed Zhu Yin in the film so beautifully and ethereally that seeing her in person was a huge disappointment!
I did see an unexpected acquaintance.

One of the older women, Deng Jie.

What are you doing on this film set?

"Why can't I be there? I'll find work, of course I'll take on any role!"

However, she then added, "Your husband recommended me!" Lin Jianlu was a little confused. Who was his husband? Deng Jie couldn't help but laugh when she saw Lin Jianlu's expression. "When Guoli and I went to the Forbidden City Film Studio to settle accounts, we chatted with Sister Qingxia for a bit. Sister Qingxia asked me if I wanted to play a small role in a Qiong Yao drama that was going to be filmed. I immediately agreed."

"Oh……"

That makes sense.

Lin Qingxia is not only one of the producers of "My Fair Princess", but she has also had a good relationship with Qiong Yao. Recently, she has been in frequent contact with Qiong Yao regarding the preparation of the series, and she seems to be quite close to He Xiuqiong as well.

He's a seasoned veteran, very good at handling people, and will definitely give favors when it's convenient.

Yes, Deng Jie is also quite dark-skinned, and she and Zhu Yin are a perfect match.

Alyssa Chia was already quite fair-skinned, but when she stood next to the two of them, wow, she was practically glowing!
…………

While I was visiting the set, filming continued as normal.

Especially for Qiong Yao dramas, the budget has always been tight, and the production and filming dates have always been strictly controlled. Director Li Ping did not dare to delay. After exchanging pleasantries for a while, which was only about ten minutes, he frequently looked at producer Gong Ruofei. So Gong Ruofei suggested that they have dinner together in the evening to talk again.

Despite her reluctance, Alyssa Chia still had to go back to filming.

This time, Li Ping couldn't scold her anymore and was more patient. He didn't know what he said to her, but in any case, Jia Jingwen slowly started to calm down and at least started to get into character again.

The production crew brought over two chairs, and Lin Jianlu and He Xiuqiong sat outside, watching the filming inside and chatting idly. When the next shot went smoothly, she laughed, "What a lovely and adorable girl! And so smart! Jianlu, your taste in girlfriends is truly top-notch!"

She shook her head. "They are all so beautiful, so wonderful!"

Lin Jianlu smiled, "Who have you taken a fancy to?"

He Xiuqiong laughed and said, "No, our company can't afford to use your people anymore! But if there's a chance to make a new movie in the future, I would really like to hope that Ms. Yu Feihong can come and play a cameo role for me. My mother also admires her very much, saying that she has a rare kind of spirit, especially her eyes, which are really beautiful and expressive—she is actually quite suitable to play the role of a big sister-in-law in Hong Kong movies!"

Lin Jianlu nodded, "A cameo is fine. As for the movie... we'll see! The Hong Kong film industry has been criticizing me a lot lately!"

She smiled. "I heard. Are you alright?"

Lin Jianlu shrugged. "What problem could I possibly have?"

She laughed again, staring intently at Lin Jianlu's profile for a long while before sighing, then suddenly looking somewhat sentimental, "My mother says that A-Lu is a remarkable person! The more we meet, the more I have to admit, you really are very attractive, not just to girls! You're so manly! Your words always carry weight!"

"You flatter me!"

"Oh, right, Mom told me to show you some photos and help you choose one!"

As she spoke, she opened her bag, took out a stack of photos, and handed them to Lin Jianlu. Lin Jianlu took them casually, and the first photo that caught her eye was a somewhat familiar face. "Me, choose? Isn't that inappropriate? I've already decided on two female leads. It's agreed that you can choose the rest."

He Xiuqiong said, "It's okay. Whichever of these people you choose, Mom and I both think it's fine. It's actually us who haven't made up our minds yet. Let's hear your opinion."

Since she said that, Lin Jianlu didn't hold back.

Scrolling through photos.

Four girls from Taiwan and six boys from mainland China.

I know almost everyone.

Some facial features have changed, but after thinking about it for a moment, I can't quite remember the name, though I still have some impression of it.

Lin Chih-ling, Hsu Hsi-yuan, Hou Pei-tsen, and the "S" in S.H.E.—look at the back, oh, her name is Ren Chia-hsuan.

Huang Lei, Bao Jianfeng, Chen Kun, Huang Xiaoming, Fu Dalong, Ren Quan.

Thinking back to that version of "Princess Pearl" that has already been proven successful in reality, the actor who played the Fifth Prince, Alec Su, has a rather handsome appearance. I haven't watched the show, so I have no way of knowing what his character was like. However, as the second male lead, he certainly couldn't overshadow the male lead's brilliance and sharpness.

So, I guess I'll just do you a favor.

"This, this is for reference only!"

The photos were returned, and He Xiuqiong looked at them. "Oh, Huang Lei. My mom really likes him. She says he's perfect for playing the 'pretty boy' type, someone with a refined, gentle demeanor. And this one... oh, you think this girl is suitable for Jin Suo? Her name is Lin Zhiling. She's actually still a student, but before the Spring Festival, a friend of my mom's visited her and recommended this girl. She said she's studying in Canada and will be graduating soon. She's a model and has professional training... So, should we choose her?"

"This is just for reference! I'm not very familiar with Taiwanese actresses."

…………

They had only been chatting for about an hour when Lin Jianlu's phone suddenly started ringing.

Most of his friends in the record industry have already started getting up, probably listening to his new album one after another, so the phone has been ringing off the hook—and these are all people he considers to be very close to, people he has a good relationship with; if they weren't close enough, they wouldn't have called at all.

Lee Chung-sheng, Chang Kuo-jung, Richie Jen, Chang Yu-sheng, Chang Yu, Chow Wah-chien, and others.

Later, I received a call from Lin Yilian.

After the two phone calls, Lin Jianlu slipped away to answer the call outside. When she returned, she had already switched her phone to vibrate mode.

He kept calling until it was getting late, then he ate a boxed lunch with the film crew.

Well, when Alyssa Chia moved closer to him, others became too embarrassed to come over.

Not a single person in the crew knew that he had released a new album, and Jia Jingwen was completely unaware of it either, since there was no promotion. However, she had clearly been keeping an eye on Lin Jianlu's activities, so during dinner, she asked about Lin Jianlu's constant phone calls. Lin Jianlu casually replied, "You know, your boyfriend is a womanizer, and you have a lot of mortal enemies!"

She smiled shyly and said, "Then I want you to be my boyfriend too!"

Yes, I can feel it.

Otherwise, when He Xiuqiong said in the afternoon that she would book a large room for Lin Jianlu at the hotel in advance, Lin Jianlu would not have declined so directly—he planned to sleep in Jia Jingwen's room tonight.

…………

They filmed until after 9 p.m.

Even so, this already counts as leaving get off work early, because Lin Jianlu said she would treat everyone to a late-night snack.

When visiting someone on set, it's just a matter of politely inviting the guest to leave.

In mid-April, it was the perfect time to visit Yangzhou in the spring, with the weather neither too hot nor too cold. He Xiuqiong arranged for the crew to have a meal at a restaurant in advance. After filming wrapped up, three minibuses took them there, where everyone ate together, drank a little wine, and the atmosphere was quite pleasant.

At the dinner table, Jia Jingwen couldn't monopolize Lin Jianlu anymore, so she had the opportunity to chat with Gong Ruofei, the producer from Hunan TV. Hunan TV has recently undergone very sharp reforms. They want to learn from the advanced experiences of foreign countries and Hong Kong and Taiwan, and try to transform the entire TV station's style towards entertainment. Currently, the station is already conceiving and creating a variety show for domestic entertainment. In addition, they are also eager to produce more TV dramas.

Lin Jianlu was the most popular celebrity in mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong over the past year. His reputation as a major financial backer in the film and television industry in the capital has already spread to other regions, so there are plenty of opportunities for the two sides to cooperate.

That would be great.

Lin Jianlu currently has several TV series in hand, some of which have already finished filming, such as "Kangxi's Private Visits", some are being filmed, such as "Thunderstorm" and "A Romantic Affair", and others are in preparation and have been approved, such as "The Sunset of the Forbidden City", "Princess Pearl" and "Love Will Carry On". So, he certainly wouldn't mind discussing cooperation with another TV station - although as a partner, the Capital TV station is practically opening its doors to his dramas.

Eat, drink, and chat.

Just after 10:30, director Li Ping started calling and shooing people away, saying they had to get up early to film the next day!

So we simply paid the bill and left, heading back to the hotel together.

They had arranged for Gong Ruofei to go to the capital another day so they could sit down and continue chatting. They parted ways in the hotel corridor, and Lin Jianlu stopped trying to hide anything and went directly to Jia Jingwen's room.

She was a little shy; in fact, her face remained slightly flushed with embarrassment throughout the afternoon and evening, yet she also seemed quite impatient and excited. Well, like Chen Shuhua and Su Huilun, she was petite and delicate, a typical example of the so-called "frail but plump" type. She looked thin and small, but when she closed her eyes and let Lin Jianlu strip her naked, she felt plump and tender to the touch.

If we disregard height and only consider body proportions, he is absolutely stunning.

Slim waist, long legs, large and firm breasts.

(End of this chapter)