Huayu: Starting from joining the mainstream entertainment industry in 96

Chapter 219, Section 217: First Encounter with Shuang Bing

The period from the end of February to the beginning of March 1999.

For Wang Sheng, it was time to relax and do nothing again.

Sheng Ying Media and Enlight Media have established a stable new home in the Jingxin Building. Each department operates smoothly on its own track like a fine gear, emitting a low but efficient hum.

A team of hundreds of screenwriters continues to produce scripts, the TV and film division maintains a stable supply of "Weekend Cinema" content, and the three major business lines of wedding video recording extend into urban and rural areas, bringing in a stable cash flow.

Wang Changtian is busy expanding his department; there are too many projects to launch.

The television market of this era was severely lacking in high-quality entertainment programs; basically, whatever program was launched would attract viewers.

Cai Yinong and Li Guoli are immersed in the increasingly detailed preparations for "The Legendary Twins".

After a series of sweeping adjustments and strategic moves, Wang Sheng, the mastermind, found himself with a brief respite.

He still arrives at the office on time every day to review documents, listen to Li Tingting's summary reports, and occasionally hold short meetings with the heads of various business lines.

However, there were indeed far fewer major issues requiring his immediate decision-making and personal involvement. This leisure time allowed him more time to reflect, examine the course of the company, and pay attention to emerging projects.

In the film industry, his personally led "theatrical film" business has achieved successive successes with "30 Days" and "The Pursuit of Happyness," so his next project is naturally attracting much attention both inside and outside the industry.

But Wang Sheng was not in a hurry to launch the project.

He has several scripts in development, but they are all still in the polishing stage. The only one that he is confirmed to direct personally is the patriotic TV movie "Red Flag" that he just handed over.

Zhou Fang, the leader of the historical drama team, was very efficient. He led his team members to visit the veteran engineers and craftsmen who were still alive and had participated in the preparations for the founding ceremony of the People's Republic of China. They also reviewed a large number of long-forgotten archival materials.

A few days later, he returned to Wang Sheng's office with a more detailed story outline and character biographies.

"General Manager Wang, we have consulted a lot of materials and found a fragment of the memoirs of an old comrade who was in charge of logistics support at the Beiping Military Control Commission back then."

Zhou Fang adjusted his glasses, his tone carrying the certainty of thorough research: "Our initial protagonist is a young technical backbone from Yancheng named Lin Heng. He is proficient in mechanics, but he is not quite used to the big city of Beiping and the complex circle of old-time technical personnel. His mission is to ensure the electric flag-raising device works flawlessly, but he discovers that the blueprints are incomplete, key parts are in short supply, and some people even have doubts about the new technology..."

Wang Sheng carefully reviewed the outline while listening to Zhou Fang's explanation.

Based on the framework of "The Eve", the story is more in line with the narrative habits and historical materials of this era, highlighting the details of technological breakthroughs and the establishment of trust between people.

"Yes, this direction is fine."

Wang Sha nodded in agreement: "The key is the character of Lin Heng, his stubbornness, his technical confidence, and how he unites those seemingly undisciplined but actually highly skilled craftsmen from the old era."

Emotions should be restrained, but they must be able to burst forth at crucial moments. For example, the silent excitement of working through the night to solve a technical challenge, or the moment of final success.

“Understood, Mr. Wang. We will emphasize these details in the script.” Zhou Fang took careful notes.

"Get the first draft of the script out as soon as possible," Wang Sheng instructed. "For the 'Red Flag' project, speed is not the priority; stability and accuracy are paramount. We need to capture that spirit and essence."

"Yes!"

After seeing Zhou Fang off, Wang Sheng's thoughts turned to the field of television dramas.

The company currently has two feature-length TV series in intensive preparation.

One is the Gu Long martial arts drama "The Legendary Twins", directed by Cai Yinong and Li Guoli.

The other one is "Liu Laogen," a rural-themed comedy that was just fully funded and directed and starred by Zhao Benshan.

He Qingkui's revised script has been officially submitted for filing.

Zhao Benshan is full of energy. He has already started scouting locations in Northeast China with the core members of his newly formed "Zhao Family Troupe" to find actors for other roles in the play, such as "Medicine Box" and "Dingxiang".

This comedy master clearly intends to fully infuse the familiar Northeast black soil landscape and the performance style honed on stage into this TV series.

Wang Sheng welcomed this and granted the production department full autonomy, only requiring them to control the budget and monitor the progress.

……

March 1st.

Despite the lingering chill of early spring, a bustling scene unfolded in a rented old-style mansion on the outskirts of Beijing.

This is the main location for the closed training and script reading of the "Legendary Twins" production team. At 9:30 a.m., Wang Sheng's black Audi quietly pulled up outside the mansion gate.

He was wearing a dark casual jacket today and walked into the courtyard alone without any attendants.

Before even entering the main hall, one could hear the sounds of dialogue being delivered, interspersed with director Lee Kuo-li's steady explanations and occasional bursts of hearty laughter with a Taiwanese accent.

Without alerting anyone, Wang Sheng quietly walked to the carved wooden door of the main hall and looked inside.

A stove was burning inside, dispelling the chill of early spring.

The main actors, number twenty or thirty, and some behind-the-scenes creators sat in a large circle, each with a script in hand, clearly engaged in their daily script reading and character analysis.

His gaze was first drawn to two young men sitting near the head of the table.

One of them, wearing a loose hoodie and with slightly messy hair, was leaning to one side, with one leg casually resting on the edge of the chair, looking nonchalant.

He recited his lines with a slick tone and expressive face, occasionally adding small gestures, vividly portraying Xiaoyuer's cleverness, cunning, and even a bit of rascality.

Lin Zhiyin.

Wang Sheng silently recited it in his heart.

This image does indeed bear a striking resemblance to the mischievous and clever Xiaoyuer from my memory, only appearing a bit younger.

The other person sitting next to him had a completely different style. Dressed in white, with an upright posture and handsome face, he maintained an almost rigid elegance and aloofness even when reciting lines.

Su Youpeng.

Hua Wuque has the "form" but the "spirit" still needs to be honed.

Wang Sheng silently made his assessment.

His gaze continued to sweep across the area.

Fan Xiaopang sat diagonally opposite Su Youpeng, dressed in a simple martial arts uniform, holding a script and reciting Tie Xinlan's lines.

Her voice was lower than usual as she tried to portray the character's gentleness and resilience, but when she occasionally looked up at "Hua Wuque," a hint of her own indomitable spirit would still sneak out in her eyes.

It's clear she's putting in a lot of effort, trying to seize this opportunity as the "leading lady".

Gao Yuanyuan sat in a slightly more inconspicuous corner.

Her role as Su Ying is relatively late in the story, and at this moment she is mostly listening, her slender fingers unconsciously curling the corners of the script pages.

Her cool and ethereal temperament naturally matched Su Ying's intelligence and aloofness, saving a lot of effort in embellishment.

Just then, a slightly cold yet authoritative female voice rang out, reciting the lines of the Palace Mistress of Yaoyue.

Following the sound, Wang Sheng looked and saw a familiar yet slightly unfamiliar face in a relatively central position within the circle.

Li Bingbing.

She was wearing a simple black training outfit, her long hair was tied up, revealing her smooth forehead and slender neck.

Unlike Fan Xiaopang's bright and beautiful appearance and Gao Yuanyuan's pure and innocent charm, Li Bingbing's beauty carries a sense of heroism and aloofness.

At this moment, she frowned slightly, her eyes sharp, trying to grasp the complex emotions of the Palace Master of Yaoyue, who was domineering and filled with love turned to hate.

Her Mandarin is very standard, her delivery of lines is clearly more solid than the two Taiwanese male leads, and her voice has a cool, penetrating quality.

Both ice creams are here.

Wang Sheng sized up Li Bingbing.

He knew that Li Bingbing had signed with Enlight Media.

But this was the first time he had ever met Li Bingbing.

Wang Sheng had already heard from Cai Yinong that Li Bingbing was Li Xiuxiu's older sister. He hadn't expected that the young reporter was actually Li Xue, who suffered from "deep sister complex," except that Li Xiuxiu hadn't changed her name yet...

(End of this chapter)