Chapter 655 The Complex Casting

Liu Teli asked Lu Yanhe, "How long will it take to film this movie?"

"It will probably take about a winter break, because we can only film when Huang Feng is on winter break," Lu Yanhe explained. "It might also be during the Spring Festival this year; we have to keep filming and can't stop."

After Lu Yanhe finished speaking, he felt that the possibility of Liu Teli agreeing to film the movie was even lower.

Liu Teli nodded and said, "I need to think about this script some more, so I can't give you an answer right away."

“Okay, no problem. However, Mr. Liu, please give us a reply as soon as possible, because the start date for filming is not far away,” Hu Siwei said.

"Okay, I'll give you an answer in the next couple of days." Liu Teli smiled after saying that. "I'll go and prepare the pork knuckle and start stewing it. It'll take a while. We'll talk again later."

Lu Yanhe asked, "Shall I go and help you out?"

"What's there to assist with? It's a very simple job," Liu Teli waved his hand.

Chen Qiang said with a smile, "You guys shouldn't help him. He makes sure no one gets involved in making his braised pork knuckle from start to finish. Otherwise, if the taste is a little off, it'll be your fault."

Liu Teli: "The previous times it wasn't quite right, it was because you messed around with it when I wasn't looking. I'm not accusing you wrongly."

Chen Qiang gently rolled her eyelids upwards.

Lu Yanhe and the others laughed.

-

"I heard that Jiang Yuqian is the female lead for 'Doomsday'?"

As soon as Chen Pinhe returned home, Zhang Yuezhen came downstairs wearing a long, soft dress.

Her question surprised Chen Pinhe.

“I haven’t heard of it, but it’s not surprising that they’re looking for Jiang Yuqian. She’s one of the most famous Chinese actresses in the world right now.”

“Jiang Yuqian—” Zhang Yuezhen hesitated slightly, seemingly not wanting to see Jiang Yuqian act in this movie with Chen Pinhe.

Chen Pinhe: "If Parameter wants to cast Jiang Yuqian in this movie, it's not something we can control, as it's not a domestic film company."

“What if Parameter had a better option?” Zhang Yuezhen said. “For Parameter, one Chinese actor like you is enough, isn’t it? Why use two Chinese actors?”

Chen Pinhe asked, "Yuezhen, why don't you want Jiang Yuqian to act in this movie? She has a high level of fame and popularity worldwide because of 'The Squid Game,' and her participation would be beneficial to this movie."

“Because I don’t want you to work with her,” Zhang Yuezhen said. “You know, I hate it when you have intimate scenes with those pretty actresses.”

Chen Pinhe's brow relaxed as if he had breathed a sigh of relief. He smiled and said, "Are you trying to convince Parameter to cast an unattractive actress?"

“If it were a foreign actress, you wouldn’t have many opportunities to interact with her, so I’d be less jealous.” Zhang Yuezhen looked up at Chen Pinhe. “You promised me you wouldn’t make me jealous.”

Chen Pinhe: "Yuezhen, how could Jiang Yuqian and I possibly have anything going on?"

“I don’t care.” Zhang Yuezhen hugged Chen Pinhe’s arm. “Anyway, I will find a way, and you have to support me.”

Chen Pinhe laughed and said, "I'm fine with anything, but we put a lot of effort into getting the role in 'Doomsday,' so let's not lose out on something bigger than this."

“Of course not. Given my relationship with Nicole, she will definitely make sure you get a role in ‘Destruction Day’,” Zhang Yuezhen said.

-

After Lu Yanhe and his group left Liu Teli's house, Chen Yin asked, "Do you think Liu Teli will agree to act in this movie?"

"It's hard to say." Lu Yanhe shook his head. "To be honest, from any perspective, there's no reason why Mr. Liu Teli would have to take this role. He's not the kind of actor who's very prolific, and he's not the kind of actor who would take any role he can get."

“Sigh, you’re right.” Chen Yin sighed. “Although Liu Teli and his wife were very enthusiastic just now, it was clearly because of you, not because of this movie.”

“If Mr. Liu Teli really doesn’t want to act in the end, there’s nothing we can do.” Lu Yanhe shook his head. “These things can’t be forced. We can only contact other actors.”

"Actually, if we look in the same direction as Mr. Liu Teli, there are still many actors we haven't contacted before, but they may not be as suitable as Mr. Liu Teli in terms of various aspects."

In the acting world, very few middle-aged actors have gradually built up the audience appeal that Liu Teli has achieved. Basically, to maintain such audience appeal and influence at Liu Teli's age, one must either be a long-established superstar with enduring popularity, or someone who rose to fame in middle age and hasn't been famous for very long.

After all, the audience's liking and attention are limited. There aren't that many stars that can truly make them like them for so long; love has its limits.

Chen Yin said, "If all else fails, there's another approach."

"What's the idea?" Lu Yanhe asked.

"Try using popular male actors like Liu Zefan and Huang Kairen. Since the characters can be made older or younger, let these popular male actors with good acting skills play this type of role that they have never played before."

“Then the movie might lose some of its childlike innocence, and it might also cause a misalignment in people’s impression of the movie,” Lu Yanhe said. “If it were Liu Teli leading one of the actors, making it an old-and-young combination, it might be better. But if both of them are popular young actors, and it’s a family comedy, people’s impression of the movie might be a bit vague.”

"I still hope that the focus of this movie will remain on the child. If the audience's attention is drawn to the two bumbling thieves, the movie's effect will be diminished."

Lu Yanhe never objected to using stars in a film; on the contrary, he understood the role of stars very well. However, to say that a film can achieve good box office results simply by using a few big-name stars is absolute nonsense.

You need to use celebrities in the right places to achieve a synergistic effect where one plus one is greater than two.

This is a subject of study.

Even though Shen Teng starred in a crime thriller, the box office still plummeted (in fact, it still managed to gross over 100 million yuan, which shows how much box office appeal he has).

Chen Yin himself quickly realized how unreliable his suggestion was, and after Lu Yanhe spoke about it, he never mentioned it again.

On the way back, Lu Yanhe kept thinking about who else could play these two bumbling thieves and create a good chemistry between them.

I thought and thought, and I almost broke my scalp from exhaustion.

“Actually… it’s quite interesting that Li Zhibai plays a bumbling, stupid thief.” Chen Yin suddenly said, “That kind of character who looks smart but is actually incredibly stupid… it contrasts with his image, but it doesn’t feel unrealistic to the audience.”

In everyone's mind, Li Zhibai is actually a rather reckless and troublesome person, not that shrewd, and not the elite type.

Lu Yanhe thought to himself, "That's true."

However, if Li Zhibai were to play one of the bumbling thieves, unless Liu Teli could play another, no one else could overshadow Li Zhibai. A veteran actor without the corresponding fame and status couldn't "lead" Li Zhibai in the film. This is similar to how no actress could be pursued by Lu Yanhe as an "ordinary high school boy" in "You Are the Apple of My Eye."

Ultimately, the key to this movie's two bumbling thieves lies in the "mastermind" thief. Once the actor for this thief is chosen, the other actor can be anyone. He can be a simpleton, an impulsive person, or even someone a little eccentric.

At this moment, Chen Ziyan messaged him: Have the actors for the two bumbling thieves in "Home Alone" been cast yet? Many people are contacting me and sending me their resumes.

Lu Yanhe explained the situation to her.

Chen Ziyan: This is such a headache.

Lu Yanhe: Sigh, when I first started writing this script, I thought it didn't matter which actor played the role, and that the script didn't depend on the actors. But as it turns out, I was naive.

Chen Ziyan: If all else fails, you can do it yourself. You can play one of the bumbling thieves, and the other actor can be a middle-aged actor who has worked with you before and played your elder. That will also work. With you, the main cast is enough.

Lu Yanhe: I... I have to be on the Spring Festival Gala and film "Friends", how could I possibly film this movie as well?

Chen Ziyan: If you really need to film, the schedule can be coordinated. The two days you filmed "Friends" can be used to film the scenes with the wasp and the other bumbling thief. Your script also has many solo scenes, so there aren't that many scenes with other actors. As for the Spring Festival Gala, we only need to attend three rehearsals. Fortunately, your status has risen, and you are veteran actors of the Spring Festival Gala, so you don't need to attend every rehearsal.

Lu Yanhe: What you're saying makes me... it's tempting me to try it.

Chen Ziyan: The subject matter of "Home Alone" actually has the potential to be a box office hit worldwide. If you act in it, it will also help the film's sales overseas.

Lu Yanhe: But can I pull off that kind of effect?

Chen Ziyan: Don't worry. With the subject matter of "Home Alone," as long as you put aside your airs as an actor and act with a playful attitude, you will definitely be able to do a good job. This movie is all about a cheerful and exaggerated style.

-

Lu Yanhe never imagined he could act in "Home Alone".

First, the main character of this movie is Wasp; second, he had a preconceived notion that the two bumbling thieves were middle-aged.

After he set his sights on Liu Teli, he suddenly realized that the age setting of the bumbling thief could actually be changed.

Because age is not the main setting for these two bumbling thieves; the main setting is their personality traits.

If he were to play the role, he definitely couldn't portray the simple-minded one.

The audience didn't feel involved.

A young genius who got into Zhenhua High School with his raw college entrance exam score and has become a leading figure in Chinese film and television over the years, is playing a fool?

However, if he were to play the "leader," the other "subject" certainly couldn't be an actor older than him. In the cultural atmosphere of "respecting the elderly and caring for the young" in Chinese society, if the audience wants to laugh easily and without burden, it is necessary to reduce these inherent moral burdens.

So how do we team up?

A young man who is born with a brain fart?

A pair of brain-dead brothers?

Various thoughts kept popping into Lu Yanhe's mind.

-

"Cai Na?" Chen Ziyan looked at Lu Qingzhen with some surprise. "She received an audition invitation for 'Destruction Day'?"

“Yes.” Lu Qingzhen nodded. “Didn’t you tell me that Yan He was originally going to play the male lead in this movie?”

“Yes, it was changed to Chen Pinhe later,” Chen Ziyan said. “Caina…does she have an agent in Hollywood?”

“No.” Lu Qingzhen shook her head. “It was her agency in Thailand that received an audition invitation from Parameter. As far as I know, Parameter has sent audition invitations to several famous actresses in Asia, including Jiang Yuqian.”

Chen Ziyan looked puzzled.

"Didn't they look for Chen Bige?"

“As far as I know, there isn’t any,” Lu Qingzhen said. “It’s also possible that they’ve been contacted.”

Chen Ziyan immediately called Chen Bige to confirm the news.

Chen Bige said, "It seems they came to ask. My agent in the United States discussed it with me and helped me turn it down. It was just a minor supporting role with very few scenes, and some intimate scenes, which I didn't want to do."

“I knew it. This movie sent audition invitations to several Asian actresses. Logically, you should have been their first choice,” Chen Ziyan said.

Chen Bige is definitely the most internationally renowned Chinese actress.

Especially in the film industry.

Even though Jiang Yuqian became very popular internationally because of "The Squid Game", in the eyes of film companies, if they really had to choose one of them to act in their movies, all other things being equal, it would definitely still be Chen Bige.

Chen Bige said, "Since the release of 'The Mist' starring Yan He, I have indeed received more Hollywood scripts, but the quality is not very good. They all want to ride the wave of the Asian topic and cater to the so-called diverse cast."

"You really don't need to act in these ordinary movies anymore."

“My agent in the US is helping me negotiate a film, a spy film. If things go smoothly, I should be able to act in it next year,” Chen Bige said. “She also thinks the film has a very good chance of success, so she doesn’t recommend that I act in ‘Doomsday’.”

"I haven't read the script for 'Doomsday' yet. Did they show you the script when they contacted you?"

“They arranged for someone to send it to me to read,” Chen Bige said. “It was really tough. They only gave it to me for 24 hours, and there was someone specifically supervising it to make sure the script didn’t leave her sight. It was actually just a very ordinary commercial film script labeled as science fiction and disaster, and it was still the same old formula.”

“Hollywood blockbusters always follow the same formula,” Chen Ziyan said. “I think I know that now.”

This film is definitely a huge opportunity for Jiang Yuqian and Cai Na, one that can help them rise to stardom.

Chen Ziyan hesitated, wondering whether she should help Cai Na compete for the role.

Chen Ziyan hesitated for two reasons. First, Cai Na's overseas management contract was not in her hands, so she had no obligation to do this. Second, one of the main actors in this movie was Chen Pinhe, and emotionally, Chen Ziyan did not want to have anything to do with Chen Pinhe.

The further away Linghe and Shihuo are from Chen Pinhe, the better.

However, to be fair, if Shi Huo can help Cai Na win the role in this movie, it means that Shi Huo's future cooperation with Cai Na can be further deepened.

Chen Ziyan will not limit her vision to her immediate area just because she has only signed Cai Na's agency in China.

After thinking for a long time, Chen Ziyan decided to have a good talk with Lu Yanhe about this matter.

She and Lu Yanhe still need to reach an agreement on the matter with Chen Pinhe.

So, Chen Ziyan arranged to meet Lu Yanhe at his house an hour later and hurriedly went downstairs.

-

I recommend the older entertainment-themed book, "I Became the Leading Lady of a Scandal Overnight."

(End of this chapter)