Chapter 293: Popularity Before Filming

"Sing the theme song?" Tang Shikuan agreed after only a moment's hesitation, saying that he would definitely convince Gao Zhiyuan.

Gao Zhiyuan had no objection to this issue. He had heard Hu Xiaoxiao's singing and his voice was indeed unique and he could definitely handle the theme song.

The salary that Tang Shikuan paid to Hu Xiaoxiao was also very high, almost the highest salary among female stars, only slightly lower than that of the best actor.

This salary exceeded the budget. He originally planned to pay the heroine less than that, but the other party was Hu Xiaoxiao, and it could attract investors, so no matter how much he gave, it was worth it.

With the promotion of Tang Shikuan, the movie "Cheng Zhaofeng" became popular before it was even filmed. Everyone inside and outside the circle knew about Hu Xiaoxiao's new work. Although it attracted a lot of investment, those who were keeping an eye on Hu Xiaoxiao also knew about it.

Hu Xiaoxiao's single-minded focus on filming a good film is that once she receives a script, she meticulously studies it. She feels no pressure with the action scenes, but only with the drama, which is her weakness. This weakness is never apparent in her films because she devotes considerable time and effort to studying the drama after receiving each script. Through constant scrutiny and refinement, she overcomes this weakness with her dedication.

Of course, one of the reasons is that she knows her own strengths and weaknesses and does not take on art films that test her acting skills.

For the literary scenes in the play, Hu Xiaoxiao faced the mirror and tried over and over again which performance was more suitable for the role and how to control his facial expressions more appropriately.

Not long after, Hu Xiaoxiao also got the theme song.

She likes this song very much. He is worthy of being a famous director. He has so many good things and extensive resources. Other small companies and small directors cannot get such good songs.

Both the melody and the lyrics of the song were very much to her liking, which was a pleasant surprise for her.

Hu Xiaoxiao devoted herself to singing practice again, trying to sing with her unique melody.

A good movie can last forever, and so can a good song. A good song can even spread faster and wider than a good movie.

Hu Xiaoxiao cherishes this good song very much and wants to make it one of her representative works.

"Cheng Zhaofeng" will start filming soon.

On the day of worship, Hu Xiaoxiao was invited to cut the roast pig with the producer and director, which shows how much the crew valued her.

Hu Xiaoxiao specially gave herself a piece of roasted pork with alternating fat and lean meat. She had participated in countless opening ceremonies and had eaten roasted suckling pig countless times, but every time she smelled the aroma of roasted suckling pig, she couldn't help but want to eat it.

After packing up her own portion of roast pork, Xiong Caiwei carried hers and presented it to Hu Xiaoxiao, "Principal, I'll give you mine too."

Hu Xiaoxiao looked up and saw Xiong Caiwei's eyes filled with the admiration of an idol. She smiled and said, "This is a good omen. Take it back and enjoy it yourself. I hope your future career will be as prosperous as the red skin of a roasted pig, with great luck and success, and you will become a superstar."

"Thank you, Principal. I hope I can be blessed by you." Xiong Caiwei said happily, "Principal, I admire you the most. Whether it's your TV series or movies, as long as there is a new work, I will definitely go to see it, and watch it several times."

Not only had she read all of Hu Xiaoxiao's works several times, she also knew a lot about his experiences, some of which she had learned after entering the circle, as the school used Hu Xiaoxiao as a role model for publicity.

Xiong Caiwei knows a lot about how difficult it has been for Hu Xiaoxiao to get to where she is today. She relies not on her beauty, but on her hard work and by not missing any opportunity.

Because these deeds left a deep impression on Xiong Caiwei, when Gao Zhiyuan was selecting the heroine, she still came boldly even though she knew she did not meet the selection criteria.

The result pleasantly surprised her. Although she didn't land the lead role, she landed the much-coveted supporting role. While her role wasn't large, it was a film directed by renowned director Gao Zhiyuan, so simply being a part of it was a huge boost for her. Furthermore, the lead actor was her idol, and she felt like she was living in a dream every day.

Xiong Caiwei was like Hu Xiaoxiao's little follower, following behind Hu Xiaoxiao, helping him when he was busy, and chatting with her when he was free. She was very busy and very happy.

As the focus of the opening ceremony, Hu Xiaoxiao attracted a lot of attention.

"Is she Hu Xiaoxiao? She's really beautiful in person, much prettier than in the movie. What a shame," martial arts instructor Yu Cong said to actor Wan Jiapeng, who played the villain, beside him. "It's a shame she offended the wrong person."

Wan Jiapeng's eyes also showed regret, and he said hesitantly, "Master, if we go too far, I'm afraid I won't be able to survive in this industry."

Yu Cong asked him, "Do you want to be like her and offend someone you shouldn't offend?"

Wan Jiapeng quickly shook his head, withdrawing his sympathy. If you offend someone you shouldn't, it's not a matter of survival, but of life itself. He could only apologize to Hu Xiaoxiao. She had brought this upon herself; she couldn't blame anyone else.

After the filming of "Cheng Zhaofeng" started, the shooting work began immediately.

A major scene started filming the next day.

This was Gao Zhiyuan's habit: he would shoot the main scenes first. If the actors performed well, that was great, and everything else would go smoothly. If they didn't perform well, he would immediately replace them, cutting losses quickly and saving the crew a lot of money.

This is also the solution Gao Zhiyuan came up with after frequently overspending. There is only so much money, and he can't waste so much money and time on one person.

"Cheng Zhaofeng" was to be released before the Spring Festival. The film company positioned it as a New Year's film and was rushed to produce.

To shoot well under a tight deadline, the requirements for the actors are very high.

Hu Xiaoxiao arrived at the crew early and changed into his costume.

Her costume was designed based on the one she wore for her audition. That day, Hu Xiaoxiao, dressed in a white suit, looked so elegant and relaxed that he stunned the three interviewers.

Therefore, after the crew had sufficient funds, Gao Zhiyuan immediately asked the producer to come up with some money to redesign the costumes for Hu Xiaoxiao for this scene.

The white suit and the dark red background of the Chinese-style lobby make the fighting look very visually appealing.

After Hu Xiaoxiao changed into her costume, she looked at the long row of white suits in front of her, all of which were designed exactly the same as the one she was wearing.

The crew made thirty identical suits of the same style.

The costume crew explained to Hu Xiaoxiao, "There are a lot of NGs in the martial arts scenes, and white gets dirty easily during the fights. To look good on camera, you have to change it immediately if it gets dirty."

Hu Xiaoxiao nodded to show that he understood.

She used to rarely wear pure white when filming martial arts scenes because she was afraid it would get dirty, as it would affect the audience's experience. Therefore, she used to choose colors that were more resistant to staining for her martial arts costumes in order to save on clothing costs.

This time, they prepared thirty identical sets for her at once, which shows that the crew had sufficient funds.