Chapter 482 Casting Controversy
Upon hearing the news, Su Yun immediately frowned.
"Why, do you think there is something wrong about this?" Seeing this, He Pingsi hurriedly asked.
Although a movie can undergo major changes before it is fully released, it is something that even laymen can understand that during this period when the casting process has just begun, several suitable candidates will be contacted at the same time.
To put it bluntly, it's like going out to buy groceries. Having more choices and comparisons is definitely better than only being able to choose from a certain store.
After all, no matter when or where, progress can only be achieved through competition.
But this is for normal situations, and these two people need to be treated differently for Su Yun - outsiders always gossip about the scandals surrounding Su Yun, and always look forward to when Su Yun will "start a fire in the backyard", causing those scandal targets who seem to have a tacit understanding to not meet each other to set off a big storm that will make the whole city eat melons...
As someone who received Western education and was influenced by Western concepts since childhood and whose family was truly a "big family", He Pingsi found it very easy to accept and understand Su Yun's situation: they had some affection for each other but it had not reached the most "simple" step of being boyfriend and girlfriend. As long as she protected herself, and there were only a few scandal objects, it wouldn't even be considered a big gossip.
Compared to those party queens in their wealthy circle, the number of Su Yun's scandal targets can even be called pitifully small!
That is to say, Su Yun is in the entertainment industry and also works part-time as an actor in front of the camera, so she gets so much more attention than others. Once there is any trace of suspicion, a large group of paparazzi will come.
"Now it seems that there is indeed no problem..." Su Yun spread her hands helplessly, "But there are some details that you know but are difficult to connect——"
"Let me put it this way. Although John and Lesley are both Golden Globe and Cannes Film Festival winners, and their looks, acting skills, and status seem similar, in fact, John's salary is much higher than Lesley's."
"You mean..." He Pingsi was always a smart person who could understand the meaning of music and immediately understood the real reason why Su Yun brought this up. "This can't be helped. Zhuang Long started in Hollywood, while Zhang Querong started in Hong Kong. Even if the numbers on their net worth are the same, the units behind them are definitely different."
After all, Hollywood is still the destination of entertainment, and anyone who can make a name for himself in Hollywood, even if he lives in Hong Kong for some reason, should be counted as having Hollywood value.
In particular, the contract that Zhuang Long actually signed was with CAA of Su Yun and Ovitz. The contract signed with Zhao in Hong Kong was just a "regional agent". Therefore, strictly speaking, Zhuang Long should actually be regarded as a Hollywood artist, not a Hong Kong artist.
The difference in production costs between Hong Kong and Hollywood films is obvious to anyone who knows a little bit about it.
"But I also heard that the production team's first choice was indeed Zhang Querong, but he has been too popular recently and has too many film contracts, so he really didn't have time, so he could only decline." He Ping thought for a moment and added, "And Zhuang Long had just finished filming his movie in Shanghai, so he happened to have time, and he felt that the story in the script was very similar to his childhood, so he took the initiative to lower his price a lot, hoping to play this role."
"It's impossible to lower your own value by too much. But if you lower it by a few hundred thousand dollars, the remaining value will be converted into Hong Kong dollars, which is close to a 'sky-high price' in Hong Kong." Su Yun shook her head.
As one of the management members of Zhao's studio and the bridge between Zhao and CAA, Su Yun is of course aware of Zhuang Long's current worth and film contract situation: as one of the few Eastern faces who can gain a foothold in Hollywood, there are undoubtedly endless production teams in Hong Kong who want to invite Zhuang Long to star in their own movies, but except for the big boss with black background, everyone else just shook their heads and ran away after asking the price.
This is not the era of sky-high film pay as it will be in the future. Based on the general production cost of Hong Kong films, Zhuang Long's net worth would directly account for half of the production funds or even more.
It could only be that big boss with a black background, because he really liked the image of the gang boss played by Zhuang Long in "My Three Dead Ex-Husbands", that he was so generous as to offer Zhuang Long several million US dollars in salary and invite him to Shanghai to shoot "Shanghai 1920".
Of course, the plot is nothing more than the Republic of China, and the characters are bound to be big bosses - ever since Zhuang Long's "big boss" image has been deeply rooted in the hearts of some people, the classic look of the top hat and long trench coat has directly influenced the dressing style impression from the entertainment industry to real life.
Just like after her master Lui Shao-lung became famous, all the kung fu scenes couldn’t help but pay tribute to his weird screams once or twice; Zhuang Long’s “big brother” image has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, not only providing a reference for the dress and style of big brothers in movies such as “A Better Tomorrow”, but also providing a reference for the dress and style of some big brothers in real life…
Thanks to the fact that Hong Kong has summer all year round, those big guys who follow the trend only wear such clothes occasionally to show off, and they won't risk their lives to fight the weather temperature.
"If there is a problem with the pay, then we can continue to discuss it or change the budget, or directly replace the leading actor. Isn't this the normal practice?" After He Pingsi knew that Su Yun was indeed worried about the pay, he said another sentence according to his own understanding.
"If we follow the normal practice, then of course there will be no problem, but the problem is that some people just don't want to follow the normal path." Su Yun almost sneered when he thought of the impact caused by this casting controversy on the original track.
But it must be said that the producer, Ms. Xu Dong, who "fooled" everyone, is indeed an extraordinary woman.
As far as Su Yun knows, Xu Dong used to work in front of the camera, and she is both beautiful and talented. She won the Golden Horse Film Award at a young age. Later, she shifted her career focus to behind the scenes. She is not the kind of person who just wants to make quick money because the current film industry is easy to make money, but she really wants to make good movies...
The problem is, like Su Yun, they both have a business style of moving from the front to the backstage. Su Yun has a well-known good reputation in the circle. Anyone who is in this circle knows that as long as her sensitive spot is not touched, she will always leave a way out for herself so that they can meet again in the future, cooperate happily and separate peacefully. She will not comment on others casually when the cooperation fails, or use the method of throwing dirty water on others to stir up popularity.
Ms. Xu Dong, on the other hand, was on the same track as before, greedy for the other party's popularity, but on the other hand, she was reluctant to pay or dared not to take the risk. After the contract was signed and the leading actors were announced to the world, she turned hostile and accused the other party of being arrogant and difficult to please. She also took advantage of the difficulty of cross-border information transmission at that time to splash a bucket of dirty water and then clear herself of all charges, which directly and indirectly affected Zhuang Long's development path back to China.
After the hype died down, the original first choice Zhang Querong also had some time, so they could invite him back to participate, saving a lot of publicity costs and film remuneration.
Although this film is indeed a rare masterpiece, this practice almost ruined a person who had high hopes for the film and caused years of casting controversy and other controversies for another person who got the opportunity to perform. This has caused the storm to spread for many years, making people on both sides feel uncomfortable.
Even though the two people involved were not people she knew and had no deep relationship with, Su Yun still felt that what this lady did was really unkind.
"Since you have such a prediction, I will try my best to pay more attention to this situation." Hearing Su Yun's words, He Pingsi nodded seriously, indicating that he would pay close attention and report in time.
"Don't be too anxious. It looks like this movie won't be released for at least a year or two. Just try to pay attention to Ms. Xu's actions." This issue is just the beginning, so Su Yun is naturally not too nervous.
On the contrary, the second part of the "Kyushu Past" series and the post-production work of "Waterworld" are the two projects that she is currently most concerned about and worried about.
Especially the misfortune of Waterworld, where the large set that was finally built was blown away by a typhoon overnight. If Su Yun hadn’t confirmed that the news was true, she would have thought it was just a real-life magic joke…
And this real-life magical joke happened more than once!
After receiving the second serious opinion from "cost planning master" and "lucky guy" Su Yun, the production team, after several rounds of intense discussions, finally listened to Su Yun and changed the choice of filming location.
Previously, they were struggling between Australia and Hawaii as filming locations. The reason they later did not accept Su Yun's opinion was that it was still winter in Australia and Hawaii offered tax incentives. So between Australia, which was farther away and seemed to require hard filming, and Hawaii, which was closer, easier to film and could save some taxes, they chose the latter without thinking too much.
However, compared to Australia, which is in the middle of winter with cold seawater, Hawaii, which seems warm and peaceful, is in the hurricane season when tides and typhoons randomly act alone or simply join forces...
The large-scale scenery that was built with great difficulty was flooded from the edge to the main scenery, and was destroyed to the point that it had to be rebuilt before it could continue to be used. Su Yun's previous opinions had to be listened to and treated seriously again.
After hurriedly flying back from Hollywood, He Pingsi, who stayed in Hong Kong, reported the latest situation: "I received news that Zhuang Long has already negotiated with Xu Dong's production team. And because Zhuang Long is determined to play the role of 'Yu Ji' and has complicated feelings for it, he recently specially customized long hair and long skirt to practice at home. And after finishing a small part of the work in Hong Kong, he plans to officially go to the capital to learn from Peking Opera artists..."
Su Yun nodded and asked, "What about Lesley?"
"He has been busy shooting several movies that he had taken on previously. When some media asked about this, he was very polite and wished Zhuang Long a smooth filming... I have to say that they did a good job on the surface and didn't cause you any trouble." He Pingsi was used to and tired of those troublemakers in her family, so she was very pleased with Zhuang Long and Zhang Querong's "knowledge of appearances."
"In a few days, will Zhuang Long attend this year's Asia Pacific Film Festival with Ms. Xu?" Su Yun looked at the report and suddenly found a problem.
"Yes, that's right. Is there any problem here?" He Pingsi was a little confused.
Soon, while watching the live broadcast of the Asia Pacific Film Festival on TV at home in Hong Kong, He Pingsi immediately understood where Su Yun's worries came from.
In front of the entire audience, when Zhuang Long said very seriously, "The role of Yu Ji is mine," Xu Dong, who was present with him as an award presenter, replied with a smile in a joking tone, "Are you sure? This role is yours?"