Chapter 106 Hairstyle [VIP]
Chapter Summary: I accepted without hesitation.
The next day, in the evening.
Mu Zhi and her staff went to meet Director Xu Kuan.
As I pushed open the door, I saw Director Xu Kuan and Producer Wang sitting in the private room, along with two familiar assistants.
Of the four directors I'm currently working with, Mu Zhi and Xu Kuan have the most interaction.
Although filming for "Back to 17" has been completed for over a year, the subsequent dubbing involved a two-week roadshow with the main creative team in February.
The last time we met was in June, at the Golden Performance Awards ceremony.
So this time, we won't feel awkward meeting again.
However, Mu Zhi was still somewhat surprised.
Director Xu Kuan's signature long, smooth hair has been replaced with dreadlocks. His once slender face has become a bit fuller, and he's grown a beard. The artistic youth has transformed into a decadent rock youth.
Mu Zhi's thoughts wandered: Could it be that Director Xu Kuan recently started a rap show or is preparing to make a high-energy movie about dancing to youth?
"Teacher Mu, you've become even more beautiful since I last saw you a few months ago."
"It's no wonder that being popular makes you look better and better. You have the presence of a top-tier celebrity as soon as you walk in."
Mu Zhi's lips twitched when she heard the compliment from the producer, Wang, who was known for his ability to thrive when he encountered water.
At the same time, the thought that had just popped into my head about whether Director Xu Kuan was going to make some kind of rap show was immediately dismissed.
Producer Wang was also there; he was teaming up with director Xu Kuan again, so it was clear they were going to collaborate on a film project.
Director Xu Kuan greeted Mu Zhi briefly.
He explained his outfit: "I've been busy with a very challenging and interesting film project lately, and on a whim, I changed my personal style."
Mu Zhi's focus is on: challenging and interesting film projects?
When asked about the new project in preparation, director Xu Kuan excitedly introduced it.
"This is my second film after 'Back to 17.' Actually, I initially wanted to make this film, but unfortunately, as a new director without any representative works, I couldn't attract investment..."
He glanced at Producer Wang to the side with a lingering look.
Producer Wang: "..." Don't look at me, your film is not your average project to attract investment, and it's already struggling!
Xu Kuan continued speaking.
He said the success of "Back to 17" allowed him to finally restart the project.
For the past year or so, I've been busy preparing for this movie.
"The script is adapted from a popular infinite flow novel called 'Escape from the Game,' which was not serialized online but published as a physical book, consisting of 6 volumes."
The film only covered the content of the first volume; the plan is to develop it into a film series, with a second and third installment.
Ask Mu Zhi if she has read this novel.
Mu Zhi shook her head.
Xu Kuan immediately stood up and called to his assistant, asking him to bring over the things that were placed on the chair next to him.
When the assistant handed the items to Xu Kuan, the weight of the contents of the cloth bag revealed its outline at the bottom, indicating that it contained several books.
"This contains the complete set of 6 volumes of 'Escape from the Game.' I thought it would take two or three days for the books to arrive since you ordered them online. I bought the whole set online three days ago, brand new, and gave it to you. Take it home and read it at your leisure."
Mu Zhi's inner thoughts: ...Director, could you please give me a detailed introduction to the story of the movie we're going to make, and the role you've invited me to play?
The key points haven't been covered yet, but the book has already been delivered.
He said "thank you," accepted the book, and asked his assistant to put it aside.
Next, Director Xu Kuan began explaining the screenplay for the film "Escape from the Game" to Mu Zhi...
Producer Wang chimed in, "Ms. Mu, Director Xu and I are in complete agreement. We both believe that you are the only one who can play this role. There is simply no other actress in the industry who can take on the part besides you."
Xu Kuan also talked about the current preparation status of the film.
"Actually, when we met at the awards ceremony last time, I wanted to talk to you about this movie."
There was no chance.
On the day of the awards ceremony, Mu Zhi was going to have dinner with her team after receiving the award.
I flew back to Lhasa the next day.
Another reason: "This film requires building a lot of sets, and the post-production special effects will also cost a considerable amount. The investment is large, the money is spent, and the risk of breaking even is high. It's not easy to attract investment, and I've always been unsure if it can even be made. Now..."
Before he could finish speaking, Producer Wang interrupted him with a smile, saying, "Don't worry about the funding; we've almost secured it."
He stretched out his thumb and forefinger to make a heart shape.
"Just a little bit more, just a little bit more."
Xu Kuan cast Mu Zhi as the female lead because he valued her suitability for the role.
Producer Wang valued Mu Zhi because she had just finished filming the lead role in director Wan Zhou's movie and was now a popular actress in the industry. Moreover, every work she did brought in more revenue than expected. People in the industry now privately call Mu Zhi a "lucky star".
If Mu Zhi is cast as the female lead in "Escape from the Game," there's no worry about attracting investment.
Once the movie starring the big-name director is released and becomes a box office hit, "Escape from the Game" will follow, and its box office will definitely be quite impressive as well.
With Mu Zhi joining the project, the movie is already half done.
Director Xu Kuan also had a staff member print out a copy of the script and brought it over. He gave the script to Mu Zhi on the spot and put it in a cloth bag.
He said to Mu Zhi, "I'm confident that once you've read the script, you'll agree to take on the role."
The film's start date has been revealed; filming is expected to begin at the end of March.
That means it will be about four months before it's turned on.
It will not affect Mu Zhi's next project, the patriotic film "Role Model of the Times".
After listening to Director Xu Kuan's synopsis of "Escape from the Game" and the character design of the female lead, Mu Zhi found the subject matter novel and something she had never filmed before.
I'm quite interested in this movie.
Just now, when Director Xu Kuan introduced the project's preparation, he only mentioned the production team and did not mention the cast.
They then inquired about the cast.
Producer Wang, who was drinking water, choked a little. He grabbed a few tissues, covered his mouth, coughed lightly, and explained with a smile, "The tea is a bit hot."
Xu Kuan, oblivious to Producer Wang's cough as a hint, stated bluntly, "We have actors tentatively invited for the main roles, but..."
Producer Wang quickly replied, "But the female lead is the most important. We'll decide on the actresses for the other roles after we've cast the female lead."
Mu Zhi: "..." I understand. That means the other roles haven't been decided yet.
Perhaps the other actors who were considered for the role are still observing the situation and are not very confident about the subject matter of the project. It is normal for them to have concerns since the male and female leads have not yet been decided.
Mu Zhi didn't care much about this and said she would go back and look at the script first, and then give Director Xu an answer.
That same evening, I returned home.
Mu Zhi read the entire script for the movie "Escape from the Game" in one go.
I briefly told my agent that I would be meeting with director Xu Kuan and that I had received an offer to play the female lead in the infinite flow movie "Escape from the Game".
Have the agent conduct a background check on the published novel to see if there are any problems.
There were no work commitments scheduled for the next day.
Mu Zhi spent a morning reading the first volume of "Escape from the Game". Since she doesn't have much free time lately, she only searched online for synopses and reviews of volumes 2 through 6.
I now have a general idea of the entire story of this novel.
Novel adaptations inevitably involve changes, and the screenplay for "Escape from the Game" underwent significant alterations from the original novel.
Fortunately, director Xu Kuan explained that the adaptation was done in collaboration with the original author of the novel and the screenwriting team, so it wasn't drastically altered, and the essence and highlights were preserved.
I personally think Mu Zhi's adaptation was quite successful; the story has a tight pace, and the characters are more fully developed.
The female lead role she was invited to play is mysterious, intelligent, aloof, and has maximum fighting skills.
In the early stages, the female lead is ambiguous, seemingly both righteous and wicked. She initially appears as a mysterious messenger delivering a letter to the male lead, then joins him in the game, pretending not to know him; her identity remains shrouded in mystery...
After reading the script and the novel, the agent replied with the results of the background check: no problems.
Mu Zhi decided to accept.
afternoon.
Mu Zhi came to the company and told her agent about her decision. She also brought the script and the first volume of the novel so that her agent and team could take a look and give it their approval.
Ji Binghe was not surprised by Mu Zhi's efficient decision to accept the role after meeting with the director last night.
This is very much in line with Mu Zhi's style.
However, I'm still quite curious, "Is the script for this movie really that amazing?"
In fact, the other film scripts that Mu Zhi has received are all directed by well-known directors with several representative films. The production teams they have worked with are better than the new film that Director Xu Kuan is preparing, and the cast is strong, with many big-name actors joining the project.
The pay for the historical romance drama is very high, comparable to the pay for making two movies.
However, this did not spark Mu Zhi's interest in taking on roles; she prioritized the script and the character.
"The subject matter is novel, the story is good, and I like the character design."
It's rare to come across a script and role that I like, so I accepted it without hesitation.
Ji Binghe casually asked about the cast of the movie.
Upon learning that only Mu Zhi had been confirmed so far, a thought suddenly occurred to him.
In front of Mu Zhi, he frankly said, "Zhi Zhi, everyone in the industry is saying that you're very lucky, and all the scripts you choose are hits. I know very well that you've always been cautious about accepting roles, and you'd rather take a break for a few months than settle for something if you don't have a satisfactory script."
If Mu Zhi is confirmed to star in director Xu Kuan's new film, according to what Mu Zhi learned from the director and producer about the current preparation status, the funding has not yet been secured.
The company has profited from the dramas that Mu Zhi starred in before, and will consider investing in them again this time.
She asked Mu Zhi, "Would you mind if I recommended a suitable male actor from our company to compete for a role in this movie?"
Ji Binghe was the first to ask for clarification.
Mu Zhi shook her head: "No."
If the director decides that an actor is suitable for a particular role after the audition, then the role is cast.
As long as the actor has no scandals and it won't affect the film's release, she has no objection.
The agent gave prior notice, which shows respect for the artist.
It's likely that her agent had spoken to Yin Xiuran beforehand about securing the audition opportunity for her in "The Edge of the Blade."
Putting herself in his shoes, Mu Zhi had no objection even if she was paired with a newcomer from the company.
After agreeing to take on "Escape from the Game".
Mu Zhi handed over the follow-up work with Director Xu Kuan to her agent and team.
Her next focus is on preparing for joining the cast of "Role Models of the Times".
I'll be joining the film crew in a little over two weeks.
The character is based on a real person, and Mu Zhi has recently been looking at related materials to help her understand the character better. She's also watching films and documentaries on the same subject, trying to capture the character's spirit and temperament, and to get closer to the role...
Mid-December.
Mu Zhi undergoes a makeup test for the role.
Director Hong Yan explained the reason for inviting Mu Zhi to play this role: "I have seen the youth film you starred in, where you played a teacher. You have a very scholarly air about you."
Mu Zhi was quite happy to hear that a director she admired had watched the movie she starred in.
She was indeed puzzled when director Hong Yan invited her to play the role of the prototype character, and now she knows why.
After Mu Zhi changed into her character's clothes, the next thing to do was to style her hair.
She had searched for pictures of the real person, who had short hair. One of the records she read said that he initially had two braids, but later cut his hair short after returning to his hometown to teach for a period of time in order to save time on hair care.
In order to recreate the image of the original character, two styles were designed for the character played by Mu Zhi. The first style was two thick braids, and the second style was short hair.
The hairstylist prepared several short hair wigs, each with different lengths and bangs, and tried them on Muzhi one by one to see the effect.
Director Hong Yan watched from the side without saying a word.
I've tried out all five types of headgear I prepared.
Director Hong Yan spoke up: "Even though it's a wig made of real hair, it still looks a bit out of place on Mu Zhi. There's an important scene in the movie where Teacher Zhou Rong jumps into the river to save someone, and she gets completely soaked. We need to film a close-up of her face."
He turned to Mu Zhi and asked her if she could cut her long hair short.
[Author's Note]
I just corrected the timeline for chapters 104 and 106. "The Edge of the Blade" premiered in early November and aired its finale on December 2nd. Zhi Bao's next project is scheduled to start filming in early January, and her movie hasn't even started filming yet. (laughing emoji)
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