The director starts by learning from the abilities of renowned directors.

On September 5, Spielberg arrived in Beijing. Shen Qing first met with Zhang Yimou, and then went with Zhang Yimou to see Spielberg, and accompanied him to CCTV.

When Zhang Yimou introduced Shen Qing to Spielberg, he emphasized the film "Taken," which was currently showing in North America, and frankly mentioned that "Taken" had performed better at the North American box office than his film "Hero."

Although Spielberg hadn't seen "Taken," he was familiar with the film, as it had indeed performed quite well in North America as a Chinese-language movie.

To Shen Qing's great surprise, the old man had actually seen his film "Fame and Fortune" and not only gave it high praise, but also said that many of the techniques in the film were actually very similar to those in Zhang Yimou's films.

Shen Qing immediately said that she was indeed intentionally learning some of Zhang Yimou's film techniques, while thinking to herself, "Maybe in the future you will think that the techniques I used in a certain film are very similar to yours."

After successfully taking the group photo, Shen Qing returned home and took out the photo to examine it carefully. As expected, the photo shattered into countless starlight fragments, which then flew into his mind.

He then activated the system, and sure enough, a brand new group photo appeared on the system panel.

At this point, a total of 3 group photos have been uploaded to the panel:

A photo of him with director Zhang Yimou in 03.

A photo of me with Jackie Chan in 04.

A photo of him with Spielberg in 05.

That night, Shen Qing lay in bed, sensing Spielberg's abilities, and thought that perhaps he should officially start a film that could fully utilize Spielberg's abilities.

What was Spielberg's breakthrough film again? Was it Jaws?

Why not just make a movie called "The Shallows"?

"Jaws" and "The Shallows" are quite a good match.

Who should be chosen for the female lead?

In short, you must have a good figure!

……

"The Shallows" is currently just a concept, and it will definitely be released after "Ip Man". Moreover, this film is a low-budget production, and even if you include the cost of computer-generated special effects in post-production, it will most likely still be a low-budget film.

It's not exactly a main dish in Shen Qing's filmography; it's somewhat similar to "Nightclub," which he filmed out of boredom, but it's a bit higher in quality than "Nightclub." That's roughly its positioning.

Shen Qing's most pressing task right now is casting for "Ip Man".

In the "Ip Man" project, Shen Qing's own company held a 5% stake, and he was also the screenwriter, lead actor, and director, which resulted in him having an unusually large say.

However, no matter how much power one has, one cannot be too autocratic. The producer has invested money, so they should not be unable to express their opinions.

Among the producers, Han Sanping of China Film Group was the most dedicated to casting, and he specially invited Shen Qing to China Film Group for this purpose.

"What do you think of Hou Yong's role as Zhou Qingquan?" Han Sanping asked.

Shen Qing immediately thought of the TV series "The Grand Dyeing Workshop" starring Hou Yong, and he guessed that the reason why President Han recommended Hou Yong was probably because Hou Yong had acted in "The Grand Dyeing Workshop".

In terms of character setting, Zhou Qingquan is Ip Man's good friend. He is also the owner of a cotton mill. He is responsible and has a strong sense of duty. After the Japanese invasion, he insisted on running the factory to support the workers.

That's how it is for actors; once you've played a memorable role, all the roles that come your way are similar.

Tao Hong once said, "If you've ever played an eggplant, then all the purples will come knocking on your door."

"What do you think of Huang Xiaoming's portrayal of Li Zhao?" Han Sanping asked after discussing Hou Yong.

Shen Qing was a little curious as to why President Han would push Brother Xiaoming. What connection did these two have?

Li Zhao plays a police officer in "Ip Man," a complex character who serves as a translator for the Japanese while retaining his conscience. He is a small figure constantly struggling between the pressures of survival and national integrity.

Xiaoming might not be incapable, but the risk of messing things up is probably still higher.

Moreover, given his status and position, he might not be willing to take on this kind of role!

"Does He Wei seem like a better fit?"

His portrayal of Wan Gubei in "The Sky of History" was so convincing that it made viewers grit their teeth in hatred, and his role as Wu Guo, a lowly civil servant in "Years," was both pitiful and hateful due to his outwardly fierce but inwardly cowardly character.

"Years" was filmed long ago, but it has been shelved due to its sensitive subject matter, so Shen Qing only mentioned the character Wan Gubei.

Han Sanping thought about it and decided that he could give it a try.

In "Ip Man 1", there is another very important supporting character named "Jin Shan Zhao". The original version of this character was played by Fan Shaohuang, but in fact Fan Shaohuang was not the first choice for the role.

Jin Shanzhao is supposed to be a Northern boxing master, and the production team initially looked for Chen Zhihui, who was proficient in Shaobei boxing.

Chen Zhihui played a number of roles in the CCTV version of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms", including Bao Xin, Taishi Ci, Xu Chu, and Liao Hua. He also played Wang Jin and Yang Xiong in the CCTV version of "Water Margin". He also played Qin Ye in the Li Lianjie version of "Huo Yuanjia".

Later, because they couldn't agree on the price, Chen Zhihui turned down the role of Ip Man. The production team then found Fan Shaohuang, who looked and had the build of a burly man from northern China, to play Jin Shan Zhao.

But a new problem arose: the martial arts team for the "Ip Man" production was entirely composed of Southern-style martial artists, none of whom understood Northern-style boxing, making it difficult to film the movie.

Finally, Sammo Hung personally called Chan Chi-wai and invited him back. However, since the role had already been given to Fan Siu-wong, Chan Chi-wai ended up playing Master Liao, who had even fewer scenes.

That's right, it's Master Liao who ate at Ip Man's house.

The action sequences for Fan Shaohuang in the movie were designed with the help of Chen Zhihui.

Shen Qing went through all the actors who could fight in his mind, including Wu Yue, Wu Jing, Zhao Wenzhuo, Kou Zhanwen, and so on. He even thought of Zhen Zidan, but he rejected all of these ideas in the end and decided to give priority to Chen Zhihui.

The original actor who was supposed to play Master Liao has gone on to play Jin Shan Zhao, so who should be cast to play Master Liao now?

Finally, Shen Qing focused her attention on the actor in the movie "Kung Fu Hustle" who could wield the Eight Trigrams Staff.

This man is named Dong Zhihua, and he is also the husband of Wang Jinghua, the world's number one agent.

There is another character named Wu Chi Lin, originally played by Coolie Qiang from the movie "Kung Fu Hustle", but Shen Qing prefers to try out Wu Yue first.

With little communication with Han Sanping, one actor after another was suggested, until finally the two began to seriously discuss the selection of the female lead.

"The female lead in this movie is basically just a pretty face with not much room for her to shine. What's needed is to be beautiful, gentle and reserved, and have the temperament of a classical lady from a wealthy family. It seems like a lot of requirements, but actually, this kind of role should be easy to find."

"You can decide for yourself how to handle it; I trust your judgment. The main reason I called you here today is because I have high hopes for this film and want to help you solve any difficulties you might encounter."

"Thank you, Mr. Han. With your support, the crew and I feel much more confident."

……

As Shen Qing left China Film Group, images of actresses flashed through her mind.

Lynn Hung, Chen Hao, Qin Lan, Yan Danchen, Dong Xuan, Chen Shu, Li Xiaoran...

Lynn Hung plays Zhang Yongcheng, the wife of Ip Man in the original version, which gives her a special advantage. Yan Danchen has an outstanding classical temperament, and Shen Qing is quite popular. Chen Hao in "Li Wei the Magistrate" is also very stunning.

Shen Qing was overwhelmed by the choices and found it difficult to make a decision. She might end up meeting with all the actors.