It's reasonable for me, a stuntman, to live a crazy life, right?

Chapter 894: Reaching the top by stepping on the four Dans and two Bings?

In a blink of an eye, mid-April is already halfway through.

On the 16th, an imported blockbuster from Walt Disney, "The Jungle Book", successfully achieved the highest single-day box office record in April with a box office of 7812.1 million.

Also released on the same day was an action and crime film "Ice River Pursuit" starring Liang Jiahui, Tong Dawei and Zhou Dongyu.

Unfortunately, however, the first-day box office of "Ice River Pursuit" was only 902.6 million, and the market response was really poor.

"I don't know why, but if Liang Jiahui plays the leading role in a movie, the box office performance always fluctuates dramatically. It either sells well or plummets badly..."

Huo Qigang called and expressed his concerns about "Chasing the Dragon".

After all, this movie is starred by Liang Jiahui and Liu Dehua, and the box office appeal of these two is always mixed, which often confuses investors.

"Don't worry, just do the normal publicity and marketing. Although their box office appeal does fluctuate a bit, if they both work together, the chances of success are still quite high."

The competition during the May Day period was not fierce. The only popular films released at the same time as "Chasing the Dragon" were "The Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons Strike Back" starring Huang Xiaoming and "Dream Partners" starring Yao Chen and Tang Yan.

Chen Fei was still quite confident.

In his opinion, the lineup of Liang Jiahui and Liu Dehua is already quite eye-catching, and "Chasing the Dragon" is a classic theme, which will definitely attract many fans to show their support.

"The premiere will be held in the capital on the 25th of this month. If you have time, please come and support us."

"alright, I got it."

Chen Fei responded and hung up the phone.

He received quite a lot of premiere invitations this month. In addition to "Chasing the Dragon", the premiere invitation for "The Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons Strike Back" starring Huang Xiaoming has also been sent.

Fortunately, the latter's premiere is on the 26th. It would be embarrassing if it was on the 25th.

As for the premiere of "Dream Partners", he definitely won't go.

One is Yao Dazui, the other is Zhou Dongyu... He really has no good feelings towards these two people.

……

After ending the call, Chen Fei immediately logged onto Weibo and began to check news reports about the new Cannes International Film Festival.

This year marks the 69th Cannes International Film Festival. The chairman of the jury chose George Miller, an Australian director who directed the "Mad Max" series of films.

The old man is 71 years old this year and is a standard and typical "Hollywood" old white man.

Under his leadership, there was not a single Chinese-language film at this year's Cannes International Film Festival, from the "Main Competition Unit" to the "Parallel Competition Unit" to the "Screening Unit"!

The internet is in an uproar right now. After all, since the Cannes International Film Festival officially entered the Chinese-language film industry, it has never been as bad as this year!

In the past, even if Chinese-language films could not win major awards at the Cannes International Film Festival, they would still receive one or two nominations.

But this year, there was not even a single nomination. Isn't that a bit too much? !
Many netizens and filmmakers expressed their dissatisfaction, but Chen Fei was not too surprised.

Because in this year's Cannes International Film Festival jury, from the jury chairman to the jury members, there is not a single domestic director or actor.

Under such circumstances, who will compete for fame and fortune for Chinese-language films?

After silently putting down his phone, Chen Fei once again threw himself into the filming of "La La Land".

Starting from today until the day after tomorrow, he, the male lead, will not appear in the camera. The crew will focus on filming the song and dance scenes between the female lead and her three female roommates.

Therefore, in the next few days, he will have to shoulder the heavy responsibilities of a director.

In addition to the heroine Liu Yifei, the three female roommates will be guest-starred by Shu Chang, Jing Tian and Zhao Liying respectively.

As early as the beginning of the film's preparations, producer Liu Yifei greeted the three of them and specifically asked them to learn some dance moves in advance.

Dancing is not a difficult task for female stars, so after systematic training, the three of them had already mastered very good dancing skills when they joined the group.

After carefully checking the scene, Fade Chen immediately raised the megaphone and shouted to Liu Yifei, Jing Tian, ​​Shu Chang, and Zhao Liying in the scene: "You four stop chatting. Are you all ready?"

The four of them answered in unison: "We're ready!"

Soon, the shooting officially began.

As the leading actress, Liu Yifei is the well-deserved "red flower" among the four-member group, while the other three have to appear on the screen as "green leaves".

However, because the four people have different styles and their own unique beauty, we must strike a good balance when shooting.

After a few shots, Chen Fei stood up from the director's chair, walked in front of the four people, and emphasized: "You guys, control your movement."

As he spoke, his eyes swept over Shu Chang, Jing Tian, ​​and Zhao Liying: "Have you memorized the scenes to be filmed next? Don't forget the dance moves. You have to revolve around Liu Yifei. Always remember that she is the center of this dance..."

Jing Tian and Zhao Liying both nodded slightly, somewhat afraid to look Chen Fei in the eye.

After all, they were all "trained" by Chen Fei when they debuted, and there were even scenes where they were scolded and cried by him. That scene was so scary that it was hard to describe.

Jing Tian, ​​in particular, had so many problems with her acting that she was very nervous every time she worked with Chen Fei.

Naturally, this nervousness would lead to mistakes, which would be followed by a scolding from Fade Chen.

As a director, he is truly a omnipotent figure in the crew!

Although Chen Fei does not have the title of "set tyrant" like Zhou Xingchi, he is not a good guy either, and he often curses at people.

Shu Chang was not as nervous as the other two. After all, she and Chen Fei were too familiar with each other, and she was very confident in her acting skills, so it was inevitable that she was a little careless.

Look, she has already started to mutter: "I know, Director Chen, we are all around your Yifei, we are just supporting roles, she is the red flower..."

Fade Chen gave her a glare and ignored her completely, sitting back in the director's chair.

"Good students" always have privileges, and Shu Chang is making a free guest appearance, so the crew doesn't have to pay her, so let her complain if she wants.

After three days of filming, this song and dance scene featuring the heroine's four best friends officially came to an end.

The next group to take the stage was the band led by Zhu Yawen.

The male protagonist played by Chen Fei accepted the invitation of Zhu Yawen, the lead singer of the band, to join his band and serve as the keyboardist after the female protagonist had a phone call with her mother.

After the filming officially began, the band started recording songs together in the set that was set up as a recording studio.

The lead singer Zhu Yawen took the C position, and Chen Fei, as the male lead, naturally stood next to him, while the other members of the band used background blur.

During the filming stage, Chen Fei was naturally much worse than those professional performers.

All he could do was just barely keep up with the tempo, but that was enough because the filming only had to make sure the playing was okay.

As for the music, just change it during post-production.

After a whole morning of shooting, Chen Fei rubbed his sore fingers, returned to the director's chair, and began to check all the filming content.

Zhu Yawen also came behind the monitor.

At first he watched the replay with great interest, but soon he joined in the discussion with Liu Yifei and others nearby.

When Chen Fei finished his inspection, he saw several people chatting enthusiastically about the new students in the acting department who had passed the art examinations of Beijing Film Academy and the Central Academy of Drama this year.

He interrupted with some curiosity: "The results of the art exam are out. Who is the first in the acting department?"

Zhu Yawen turned around and said with some emotion: "This year, the first place winners of the acting departments of Beijing Film Academy and the Central Academy of Drama are both actors who debuted as child stars, one is Guan Xiaotong and the other is Zhang Xueying. Oh, now that I think about it, it's better to become famous at a young age. When we were in college, we were still struggling to find crews and resources everywhere, but they didn't even go to college, but they were already famous."

Fade Chen raised his eyebrows and said jokingly, "You can also start training your daughter from now on. She can also debut as a child star by then."

"Forget it. I'm not interested in learning from our teacher Huang Lei. Look at what he has done with his daughter. She's so young..."

Zhu Yawen didn't say anything else, but Chen Fei understood.

He had met Huang Duoduo at the celebration dinner of "The Mermaid". How should I put it? She certainly didn't look like an ordinary little girl. She drank red wine even better than her father, and she kept saying all kinds of flattering words.

It’s not that this is bad, but it’s a bit uncomfortable to see a little girl who is not even an adult being raised like this.

Combined with Mr. Huang's doctrinaire personality, the weird feeling became even stronger.

……

The time soon came to late September.

On the morning of the 21st, under the "high attention of all", the costume, fantasy, suspense film "Legend of the Demon Cat", which was created by Brother Chen Kai over several years and had an audition period of one month, finally officially announced the casting list today!

However, when this casting list was announced, it caused an uproar in the mainland film industry.

Because the casting result is so puzzling, so unbelievable, and so hurtful to all the actresses in the mainland film industry!
"21st Century Shengkai Pictures released the latest announcement, the cast list for the movie "Legend of the Demon Cat" is as follows:
The male lead 'Bai Juyi' will be played by mainland actor Huang Xuan, the male lead 'Kukai' will be played by Japanese actor Sometani Shota, and the male lead 'Bai Long' will be played by Liu Haoran, a sophomore at the Central Academy of Drama...

The leading female role of the film, Chunqin, will be played by mainland actress Zhang Yuqi, and the second female role, Yang Guifei, who is known as one of the four great beauties in ancient times, will be played by Taiwanese actress Zhang Rongrong..."

If only a fixed-angle announcement was released, it would attract considerable attention, but it would not cause an uproar in public opinion.

The main reason is that along with the appearance of this notice, there is also an entertainment news report from Taiwanese media:
"It is reported that after failing to find an actress to play the role of Yang Guifei in the mainland, director Chen Kaige had no choice but to look outside the mainland.

At this time, young Taiwanese actress Zhang Rongrong appeared, and director Chen Kai was immediately stunned by her beauty!
After only one audition, Zhang Rongrong easily defeated a number of mainland actresses including Zhang Ziyi, Fan Bingbing, Li Bingbin, Gao Yuanyuan, Yang Mi, and Yang Ying, and successfully won the role of Yang Guifei in the movie "Legend of the Demon Cat". It is really a cause for celebration..."

As soon as this report with obvious intention of "provoking war" appeared, it immediately aroused indignation in the mainland film and television circles!

There is nothing wrong with Zhang Yuqi playing the leading female role. After all, she is also a beneficiary of the 34 billion box office of "The Mermaid". Coupled with her figure, she naturally fits the image of the prosperous Tang Dynasty.

But why was the Taiwanese actress Zhang Rongrong chosen to play Yang Guifei?

She has no pretty face, no figure, and is of Chinese-French descent... How could she defeat the top female stars in the domestic entertainment industry, including Fan Bingbing, Li Bingbin, and Zhang Zihan?
"A shady story! There is definitely a shady story!"

"You don't need to guess, you know this is a backdoor deal, otherwise how could such a round face be worthy of the title of one of the four great beauties of ancient times?"

"So, is Brother Chen Kai's eyesight blurry? Why is the casting becoming more and more unorthodox?"

"Is there really no one from the mainland? They chose a Taiwanese Chinese-French hybrid to play Yang Guifei? How ridiculous."

"I predict that after this movie is released, it will probably be a complete failure just like the previous movie 'The Taoist Goes Down the Mountain'."

"Haha, it's fine if they just want to force a Taiwanese actress to the top, but they actually stepped on several big mainland actresses. Aren't you afraid of being laughed at?"

Times have long since changed, and the current mainland film and television circles are very proud, and netizens and fans have also changed their mindsets.

This practice of gaining fame by "forcing" mainland actors to advance has long been outdated.

For a time, the official Weibo of "Legend of the Demon Cat" and Chen Kai's Weibo were filled with a lot of doubts and protests.

Looking around, fans of almost every big mainland actress came over, and their words were full of dissatisfaction with Chen Kai's choice of Zhang Rongrong to play Yang Guifei.

Although those big actresses haven't spoken out, we all know that they will not give up!

"Do you believe it? Zhang Rongrong will never be able to develop in the mainland. Although she was lucky enough to get the opportunity to star in "Legend of the Demon Cat", those big actresses will never allow her to gain a foothold in the mainland."

Listening to Zhu Yawen's confident analysis, Chen Fei smiled. Although he did not speak in response, he agreed with this point of view in his heart.

At this time, actors from Hong Kong and Taiwan have all come to the mainland to beg for food.

If you just live a low-key life and try to make a living, maybe you will still have room to survive.

But if one enters the market as high-profile as Zhang Rongrong, the end result will definitely be short-lived.

Without any foundation or deep background, he was just like a duckweed... He actually stepped on the heads of those big stars right from the start. He was simply courting death!

……

"Does this Zhang Rongrong have any background?"

Looking at the news online, Zhang Ziyi felt inexplicably unhappy.

Although she has fallen into a low period recently, but as the old saying goes, a centipede is still alive even after it is dead!

A new actress from Taiwan actually took advantage of her as soon as she came to the mainland and wanted to step on her to get to the top. How courageous!

Hearing his boss' question, the assistant immediately responded, "I didn't find out about her background. I heard that the reason she was able to pass the audition was mainly because of the recommendation of Wang Huiling, the screenwriter of Legend of the Demon Cat."

"Then notify the PR and marketing department to put a dent in her prestige. Does she really think the mainland film industry is her backyard?"

The assistant immediately responded: "Okay, boss. I'll arrange it right away."

"Wait a moment!" Zhang Ziyi suddenly stopped the assistant and asked in a deep voice, "Director Wu Yu hasn't replied to your message yet?"

"No, Director Wu may have been a little busy recently, or maybe he forgot..." The assistant said in a low voice, fearing that he would anger Zhang Ziyi.

After the audition for "Legend of the Demon Cat", Zhang Ziyi went to Wu Yu's "The Chase" for a second audition.

However, it has been more than half a month since the audition ended, but there has been no news from there.

If nothing unexpected happens, I'm afraid it will be a failure!

This situation is not a good thing for Zhang Ziyi, who is in urgent need of a comeback.

As an actor, if you fail to produce high-quality works for a long time, the final result will be that you will fall to the bottom completely and never be able to recover.

And this is naturally not what Zhang Ziyi wants to see.

She couldn't imagine that while people like Fan Bingbing and Li Bingbin were becoming very popular, she was being ruthlessly left behind.

This is exactly like having a nightmare!
"Send someone out to find out what new film and television projects are ready to be launched. It seems that we have to take the initiative now. We won't be able to wait for projects to come to us if we stay here."

Hearing this, the female assistant nodded slightly.

However, just as she was about to leave the office, she suddenly thought of a key question: "Boss, do you only want the movie project, or do you also want news about the TV series project?"

Zhang Ziyi's expression suddenly darkened: "Of course I only want movies! Do you want me to lower my status and act in TV series?"

"Ok, I see."

The assistant fled out of the office and asked someone to arrange the work.

At this time, Zhang Ziyi, who was in the office, was feeling conflicted and struggling.

She knew very well that the pay for TV series was higher than that for movies, but now was the critical juncture for her comeback, and she really wanted a big-budget movie to lay the foundation.

If I choose to act in a TV series, I'm completely doomed.

You know, after starring in a TV series, it is absolutely as difficult as climbing to the sky to improve your status!
……

(ps: Second update, please vote for me!!!)
(End of this chapter)