Huayu: The Big Players Behind the Scenes

"It's not easy, Director Zhuang, you finally remembered about graduation certificates?"

"Oh? A young man in ancient style?" Wang Hongwei was amused by him. "You're full of heroic spirit, my disciple."

Zhuang Huai'an chuckled and walked over to hand him the cigarettes.

"Weren't you busy with the auditions for Red Cliff? What brings you here?"

"Hey, I'm not the director, let Zhang Yimou handle this kind of thing."

The two walked to the sofa and sat down. Zhuang Huai'an smiled and said, "Teacher, on another note, I enrolled in 01 and just graduated this year. So, am I considered part of the class of 05 or 06?"

"Then you must be from the class of 05. Your situation is special," Wang Hongwei glared at him. "What, you want to switch sects?"

"Hehe, how could that be?"

Seeing his mentor's displeasure, Zhuang Huai'an quickly reassured him, "If it weren't for your approval back then, I would still be just an ordinary student. Of course, it's not that being a student is bad, but becoming a famous director and making movies would open up a much wider world for me and for the Beijing Film Academy."

Even in matters of human relationships, there is a hierarchy of first come, first served.

He was first and foremost a directing student, and only then a "saint" of the Beijing Film Academy. Moreover, if it weren't for Lao Wang's help at the beginning, Zhuang Huai'an might have succeeded as well, but his journey wouldn't have been so smooth.

The two complement each other and achieve mutual success.

After drinking several pots of tea and receiving his blue-covered graduation certificate, Zhuang Huai'an strolled downstairs. Although the certificate was of little use to him, it could still serve as a souvenir, since he was the first college student in the Zhuang family.

Chuanzi: He bought it! He bought it!

Back at the company, the lobby on the first floor was packed with artists who had come to audition.

Seeing that things were not going well, Zhuang Huai'an quickly went around to the back door before being discovered, took the private elevator back to his office on the top floor, and pondered the TV series he was going to film next, as well as the songs he was going to pair with the singers.

...

Another day,

Zhang Yimou, accompanied by Zhuge Liang and Pang Tong, arrived at his office with the newly released cast list.

"Huai'an, that's about it. Take a look."

"OK."

Zhuang Huai'an stood up and took the document. The four of them walked to the tea table. After Wang Zhiyong made tea, he lowered his head and began to peruse the document.

This version of "Red Cliff" has not been drastically altered, and there are only three core characters: Zhou Yu and Liang Qichao, plus Cao Cao.

The supporting characters, each with their own highlights, include Guan Yu at Huarong Road, Zhang Fei at Dangyang Bridge, Zhao Yun at Changban Slope, Lu Su who acts as a lubricant between Liu Bei and Sun Quan, Pang Tong who devises the "Phoenix Chick" strategy, Huang Gai who uses the "bitter flesh" ruse to feign surrender, and Jiang Gan, the clown who steals letters across the river.

The other characters were relatively evenly represented. Even Da Bao Bei had very short screen time because, according to the original novel, he did not appear on the main battlefield of Chibi, but was instead at Fankou, where he held back other Cao army units.

Zhang Yimou is known for his talent in selecting and training actors, so Zhuang Huai'an trusted his judgment and just needed to keep him out of the way when it came to the script.

The casting for Cao Cao is Chen Baoguo, whose abilities are beyond doubt. Whether it's his portrayal of the middle-aged and elderly Emperor Wu of Han or the later Emperor Daojun, he shares many similarities with the character of Cao Cao, making him a very reliable choice.

Guan Yu and Zhao Yun were played by Yu Rongguang and Nie Yuan respectively, and these two were very suitable. In the new Three Kingdoms, which was heavily criticized, Nie Yuan's portrayal of Zhao Yun received the least amount of criticism.

Yu Rongguang is the complete opposite; almost every line he utters becomes a meme.

To be fair, if it were just Yu Rongguang acting like this, then that actor would be terrible. But if the entire cast and crew are like this, then it has almost nothing to do with the individual actor's performance.

Otherwise, Yu Hewei wouldn't have chosen to give up.

Coincidentally, he also plays the role of Dai Baobei in "Red Cliff".

Zang Jinsheng, who plays Zhang Fei, also played Lu Zhishen in "Water Margin," so there's no problem with his image.

His good friend Ding Haifeng, who plays Wu Song, will also play "Zhang Babai".

Not daring to spend a single penny, Zhao Dehan, the son of a farmer, plays Lu Su.

Knowing full well the answer, Mr. Yu Hai, the master of Mantis Boxing, plays the veteran general Huang Gai.

Yu Entai, the most highly educated actor in the entertainment industry, plays the role of the clown Jiang Gan.

Pang Tong's name was marked with two parentheses: one for Fu Dalong and the other for Duan Yihong.

Zhuang Huai'an pointed and asked, "Senior brother, these two aren't ugly either?"

"Sigh~ Makeup can be done, but acting skills can't."

"That makes sense, but why are there two people?"

Zhang Yimou became interested and explained, "During yesterday's auditions, both of their acting skills impressed me; they're definitely veteran actors! I'm having a really hard time choosing. I brought the recordings; would you like to see who I want to cast?"

"No need," Zhuang Huai'an waved his hand in refusal. He imagined the two actors' performance styles in his mind and said, "Let's use Fu Dalong. Although it might sound a bit hurtful, his image is indeed more suitable for the role."

Duan Long: ? Is it my fault that I'm handsome?

"You've decided, that's fine." Zhang Yimou nodded, indicating that he should continue reading.

Zhuang Huai'an turned the page again, his gaze sharpening. "Senior brother, Luo Jin is alright as Sun Quan, and with your guidance and his appearance fitting the role of Yan Kuan as Zhou Yu, I'm not worried about him."

But could you please explain what it means to say that Zhuang Huai'an is playing Zhuge Liang?

He pointed to his nose, frowning slightly. "Me? Playing Zhuge Liang?"

"hey-hey…"

Zhang Yimou chuckled and complained bitterly, "Brother, you weren't on set yesterday, so you don't know. We've had all the eligible male actors from across the mainland come, but none of them met my standards."

Lu Yi lacks charisma, Xiao Ming is too wicked, Deng Chao's image is not good enough, and Tong Dawei is even worse—with his baby fat and small eyes, would you dare to let him play Zhuge Liang?

"After the audition, I was really worried. There wasn't a single suitable candidate in the entire entertainment industry."

"And then?" Zhuang Huai'an glanced at him expressionlessly. "You just went and arrested me?"

"Using the word 'grab' sounds rude; 'please' is better."

The old strategist's smile carried a hint of flattery, while the fly rubbed his hands together and said coaxingly, "Look, what is the description of Zhuge Liang in the book?"

Standing eight feet tall, with a magnificent appearance, handsome and tall—that's exactly you, my brother!

Moreover, your handsomeness is the rarest kind in the industry—a ruggedness tempered with gentleness, and a vibrant energy that cannot be suppressed within your good looks.

The most important thing is your demeanor; you seem to see everyone as trash... well, anyway, that kind of attitude is exactly the same as Zhuge Liang, the wise and cunning strategist who debated with a group of scholars!

This long speech made Zhuang Huai'an laugh.

"Senior brother, I need to apologize to you first."

"What's wrong?"

"In Chapter 180, I always thought that your acceptance speech on the Cannes podium was written by someone else. But today it seems that you came up with it yourself."

"Then you don't need to apologize, it was indeed me who copied it."

"Really?"

"Really," Zhang Yimou chuckled and nodded in acknowledgment, "that definition of love was something I saw in Kai's notebook. I couldn't have written something so poetic."

Okay, okay, so Kai is your white moonlight too, right?

Seeing the strange look in Zhuang Huai'an's eyes, Zhang Yimou instantly understood and quickly steered the conversation back on track.

"So, are you going to play Zhuge Liang or not?"

"play!"

Zhuang Huai'an laughed and said, "Just because you made me feel so comfortable taking those pictures earlier, I have to give you face, but..."

He paused deliberately, and Zhang Yimou followed up with the question: "But what?"

"Senior, you said you could win an Best Actor award for playing a farmer naturally, so what chance do I have if I play Zhuge Liang naturally?"

"Hard to say!"