I am a historical film director in the entertainment industry.

Chapter 7 Male and Female Lead Selection

Shortly after Feng Xiaogang and Zhang Weiping posted their messages, many directors and celebrities began criticizing Cheng Sheng.

These people have no confidence in Cheng Sheng at all, and even bluntly say that this movie is an epic disaster.

They even treated Cheng Sheng like a clown, bluntly stating that he could only make this one film in the future.

The news quickly reached Cheng Sheng's ears.

Cheng Sheng, who was busy preparing for the film shoot, dismissed this with disdain.

These people are just jealous, envious, and resentful of him.

However, he is also a vengeful person. He will remember those who have criticized him and settle scores with them one by one in the future.

A stack of resumes and photos lay on the table, which Cheng Sheng spent the entire morning looking at. Among them were many familiar faces from another memory.

For example: Bai Baihe, Shen Jiani, Yang Shuo, Tong Yao, Sun Jian, Wang Kai, Zhang Li, Tong Yaya, Wang Zhi, etc.

In another memory, these were all future first-, second-, and third-tier stars, and they were quite famous in the entertainment industry.

The Central Academy of Drama truly lives up to its reputation; it has so many talented people.

Unfortunately, my film is mostly male-dominated, with too few female characters.

The most important characters are the female lead, Empress Zhangsun, the second female lead, Pingyang Zhao, the third female lead, Empress Xiao, the concubines of Emperor Yang Guang, and the palace maids, but they only appear in a few scenes.

Cheng Sheng reviewed all the resumes for the role of Empress Zhangsun, but none of them were suitable.

The entertainment industry is not short of beautiful women, but there is a kind of beauty that cannot be concealed by any amount of dressing up or acting skills, and that is temperament.

Having seen another memory, Cheng Sheng knew that several actresses had played Empress Zhangsun.

But the truly outstanding performance was by Tong Ailing. Her portrayal of Empress Zhangsun in the 1994 TV series "Tang Taizong Li Shimin" was unforgettable and perfectly captured the character's temperament.

In the TV series, without even speaking, Tong Ailing gives people a sense of gentleness, elegance, kindness, and grace. But who would believe that Tong Ailing, who can so easily embody the aura of an empress, was only 21 years old back then?

Unfortunately, she is now too old to play the role of the young Empress Zhangsun.

If she were still 21 years old, Cheng Sheng would definitely choose her as the female lead immediately.

Besides Tong Ailing, there was another person, Empress Zhangsun, who was also very stunning and was also the person Cheng Sheng wanted to choose.

She is Su Chang. Su Chang has good acting skills, is a hardworking and excellent actress, has a great character, no scandals, is beautiful, and has a lot of audience appeal. She is absolutely the best choice for Empress Zhangsun.

The most important thing is that the age is right.

With this in mind, Cheng Sheng had already decided to cast Su Chang as Empress Zhangsun.

The female lead has been decided, and Cheng Sheng already has his own choices for the remaining two male leads.

They are Zheng Guolin and Fu Dalong, respectively.

According to another account, Zheng Guolin played Li Shimin in many film and television works, leaving a deep impression on the audience with his superb acting skills and outstanding character portrayal ability.

He played the role of Li Shimin in the 2003 TV series "Heroes of Sui and Tang Dynasties", the 2014 "Heroes of Sui and Tang Dynasties" series, and the 2017 TV series "Hot-Blooded Chang'an", and gave an outstanding performance.

He can be said to be a specialist in playing Li Shimin.

In addition, Zheng Guolin is not only handsome and charming, but also humble and low-key, friendly and kind. He is also passionate about acting and meticulously crafts each of his works.

His performances are delicate and pure, with a strong sense of immersion, ensuring that the audience is not pulled out of the story and has an excellent viewing experience.

As for Fu Dalong, his portrayal of Yang Guang in "Heroes of Sui and Tang Dynasties" is the most recognized by the audience, and the only one praised for bringing Yang Guang to life.

These two actors truly embody the characters of Li Shimin and Yang Guang. Having decided on the actors, Cheng Sheng took the list directly to Yang Chao, who then instructed him to contact Su Chang, Zheng Guolin, and Fu Dalong.

……

On the set of "Liancheng Jue".

Su Chang had just finished filming a scene and was about to take a break when her manager ran over excitedly, "Changchang, great news!"

"Sister Fang, you look so happy, did you find some money?" Su Chang joked.

"I'm happier than if I found money! You know Cheng Sheng, right? He's been all over the internet lately!" the agent said.

"A director who's worth 100 million, who doesn't know him? There are tons of people criticizing him online now," Su Chang said with a smile.

Although she's always filming, she still makes time to keep up with entertainment news.

How could she not know that Cheng Sheng had secured 100 million yuan in investment to make a historical film?

"The good news I'm talking about is Cheng Sheng. He just sent you a notification that you've auditioned for the lead female role. Changchang, you're really set for life now!" the agent said happily.

Su Chang didn't react much, but frowned and said, "Sister Fang, I also hope to be the female lead in a blockbuster, but everyone online says that Cheng Sheng is unreliable and that the movies he makes will definitely be terrible. If I become the female lead in this movie, will I be criticized to death?"

Regarding Su Chang's concerns, the agent scoffed, "Those are just sour grapes. Regardless of Cheng Sheng's abilities, don't you want to take the lead role in a film with an investment of over 100 million?"

Upon hearing this, Su Chang's eyes lit up, and she thought to herself: That's right! This is the female lead of a movie that costs over 100 million yuan. Others would never even dream of it, but now it's been delivered right to my door. Why should I refuse?
Even if the movie is bad, what does it have to do with her? She's just an actress.

If a movie is really that bad, shouldn't the director be the one getting the blame?

"Sister Fang, please reply for me. I agree to go to the audition," Su Chang said.

"Changchang, the audition is the day after tomorrow. What will happen to this drama if you leave?" her agent said worriedly.

Su Chang plays the female lead, Shui Sheng, in "Lian Cheng Bi". If she wants to leave, the director will definitely not agree.

"Don't worry, I'm only asking for a day off, the director should agree," Su Chang said nonchalantly.

"Okay, I'll go reply."

After the agent finished speaking, he turned and left.

Cheng Sheng soon received a call from Su Chang agreeing to audition, and then Zheng Guolin and Fu Dalong also agreed to come and audition.

Seeing that the three main characters had been dealt with, Cheng Sheng felt much more at ease.

Next up are the supporting characters.

Cheng Sheng has already selected suitable candidates, and the selection will be handed over to Teacher Yang Chao, as he still has many things to do.

The filming location was set up in Hengdian, and Cheng Sheng had people set it up well in advance.

Two days passed.

Su Chang, Fu Dalong, and Zheng Guolin passed the audition quickly. Cheng Sheng immediately took out a contract, had the three of them sign it, and then informed them of the filming date.

When Su Chang saw the date for joining the crew, she breathed a sigh of relief. The time was still relatively flexible, just enough for her to finish filming the drama "Lian Cheng Bi".

Once everything is ready.

Almost a month has passed.

The actors have been cast, the staff are ready to go, the script has been approved, the location has been set up, and filming can begin at any time.

(End of this chapter)