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

The next day, Shen Qing and his two companions continued to scout locations, spending the entire day at Chedun Film and Television City.

After having dinner out in the evening and returning to the hotel, Shen Qing discovered an unread text message on her phone.

"Director Shen, hello. I'm Wan Qian. During my last interview, you introduced the character, and even though we only exchanged a few words, the image of Su Mengdie immediately came to mind. After learning that you are the screenwriter, I felt even more admiration. Since then, I've only had one feeling: how lucky I am to have met such a talented director like you before even graduating. I love and cherish the character of Su Mengdie immensely. I've done some character sketches privately, but I'm also worried that my understanding of the character might not be thorough enough. I apologize for bothering you, but I wonder if I could have the honor of receiving your private guidance? Regardless of the outcome, it will be an invaluable learning experience for me. Thank you, Director Shen!"

Shen Qing smiled, fully sensing Wan Qian's eagerness to improve herself.

"So this is what it feels like!"

In his past life, when Shen was young and impetuous, he often sent long messages to girls he liked, but they would usually only reply with a few words.

So this is what it feels like to read someone else's long text message.

He quickly edited a text message and replied, "You're one of the more suitable candidates for the role. Don't overthink it, just wait patiently."

Shen Qing wasn't a haughty person. If he only had one chance in his life to have private contact with a woman of Wan Qian's caliber, he definitely wouldn't let it go.

But with the cheat code at his disposal, he became surprisingly calm.

Calmness comes from confidence.

……

Three days later, Shen Qing and his two companions finished their location scouting and flew back to Beijing.

Over the next few days, Shen Qing, Zhao Hongwei, Wang Damin, and others met with Ni Dahong, Shen Teng, and Zhang Songwen at Dingxin Film and Television, and the roles for the three were initially decided.

A week later, Zhao Hongwei happily informed Shen Qing that Liu Yifei had been confirmed to play the role of Nightingale.

Around the same time, the film's review results came out, and it was naturally approved.

The film's main creative team then rushed to Shanghai, including producer Zhao Hongwei, production manager Wang Damin, director Shen Qing, chief art director Lu Peng, and director of photography Jia Haijun.

After arriving in Shanghai, Guo Jingfei, Lei Jiayin, Wan Qian, Hang Haoyu and others were called in for a formal audition.

The audition went smoothly, and Zhao Hongwei was very satisfied with all four of them. He then arranged for Wang Damin to formally discuss their salaries with them.

To be honest, the pay was a bit low, but everyone valued the opportunity to play the lead role more, so they all signed the contract without hesitation.

At this point, all the main actors except Qi Leshan have been confirmed.

The highest paid actress is definitely Liu Yifei. The agreed-upon price is a 66,000 yuan red envelope from the production team, considered a friendly appearance, and her availability is limited to no more than 2 days.

Both Ni Dahong and Shen Teng received a salary of 1 yuan per film.

Zhang Songwen, Yang Haoyu, Guo Jingfei, Lei Jiayin, and Wan Qian all earned 5.

The total is 111,000.

Including other minor actors and extras, the total number will not exceed 15.

Then one night, Shen Qing went into Zhao Hongwei's guest room and confessed to him for the first time his idea of ​​personally playing the role of Qi Leshan.

Zhao Hongwei had some doubts, worried that Shen Qing would be too busy and that his distraction would affect the final quality of the film.

Shen Qing's explanation was that even if you hire an actor for the role of Qi Leshan for hundreds of thousands of yuan, the effect might not be as good as his free performance.

After hesitating for a while, Zhao Hongwei finally decided to trust the people he employed.

With this, the main cast of "Making a Name for Oneself" has been finalized.

The production team then officially rented a studio and villa in the Chedun Film and Television Base. The prop master busied himself making props, and the set set crew began setting up the set.

The official start date for filming is set for mid-January, and the filming period is expected to span the New Year, which is common in film and television production.

Many film and television professionals are unable to return to their hometowns for the Lunar New Year year-round.

……

In early January, Shen Qing organized a script reading in Shanghai. All the lead actors were present except for Liu Yifei.

During the reading aloud, Shen Qing naturally read Qi Leshan's lines.

Wan Qian privately inquired with Shen Qing about why Qi Leshan's actors hadn't come. Firstly, she was genuinely curious, and secondly, she wanted to find a way to get closer to Shen Qing.

When Wan Qian learned that Shen Qing was the actor who played Qi Leshan, she was slightly surprised.

She already knew that Shen Qing was the director and screenwriter, but she never expected that he would play an important role in the movie.

"Wow, Director, you're amazing! You can write, direct, and act—you're a true all-rounder! I'd love to learn more from you sometime."

"It's just a last resort."

Shen Qing didn't dwell on this issue too much. If there were a more suitable candidate, he really didn't want to play Qi Leshan himself.

But he has Zhang Yimou's acting skills, so the result is that spending hundreds of thousands to hire actors may not be as effective as hiring someone for free. Under such circumstances, he always feels awkward about spending a lot of money to hire others.

They thought about casting students from the Shanghai Theatre Academy, but then they felt that ordinary people might not be able to portray Qi Leshan well.

There's no other way but to do it myself.

Another thing is...

Shen Teng had noticed that Shen Qing was paying attention to him when he auditioned at Dingxin a while ago. After the script reading, they had been in contact even more frequently, so he was certain of it.

Director Shen did indeed give him some special treatment.

Putting everything else aside, whenever their eyes met unintentionally, Director Shen would often nod slightly to him in acknowledgment.

"It seems my performance during the audition completely won over the director, otherwise why would he be so extra polite to me?"

After considering many possibilities, Shen Teng ultimately felt that the story of a talented horse meeting a discerning eye was the most plausible.

……

After the script reading that day, Shen Qing glanced at Shen Teng again, seemingly unintentionally.

The Lunar New Year hasn't passed yet, but the Gregorian calendar has officially entered 2004, which means he can take photos with people again.

There are only four opportunities in total to obtain 99% of the professional competence of the person you are taking a photo with. Each one is extremely precious and must be taken very, very carefully.

In China, comedy films are an essential piece of the puzzle.

In China, comedies are often the ones that create box office miracles.

After all, it's a family-friendly occasion.

Therefore, comedy must have a place in the four group photo opportunities.

Shen Teng is the most bankable comedy actor in the Chinese entertainment industry after Zhou Xingchi.

Shen Teng's comedic talent hasn't been fully developed yet, so we definitely can't take a photo with him this year. What about in the future?

Should we choose him?

During this period, Shen Qing often drifted off into thinking about this matter.

Although Shen Teng was quickly excluded from the group photo, he was still one of the candidates. A candidate right in front of him would naturally make Shen Qing pay more attention to him.

Aside from Shen Teng, the only other comedians worth considering in China are Zhao Benshan and Zhou Xingchi.

Zhao Benshan's strength lies in his versatility in comedy and his top-notch acting skills. However, it seems that none of the films he starred in were particularly successful at the box office.

"Getting Home" received excellent reviews, but its box office performance was only average.

But you can't blame Zhao Benshan for this. After all, he played a 50-year-old man when he was only in his 20s. He looked like he had never been young and was not handsome at all. In Song Dandan's words, he had a pig's kidney-shaped face.

Their inherent qualities are not suited to box office success.

No one knows whether Zhao Benshan's comedies would be successful if he were a pretty boy like Tang Guoqiang.

Stephen Chow's strength lies in his profound directing skills and his blockbuster films. His weakness is whether his comedic talent can adapt to non-slapstick comedy films.

How can one take a photo with Chow Sing-chi and gain 99% of his abilities? If so, will Chow Sing-chi's comedic talent be of great use when Shen Qing acts in non-slapstick comedy films like "Goodbye Mr. Loser" in the future?

As we move into mid-January, filming for the movie "Making a Name for Oneself" will officially begin.

Shen Qing put away all those random thoughts and focused on making the current film well first.

He can think about the group photo slowly over the next year.