Chapter 292 It’s Amazing
Hu Xiaoxiao stunned the three interviewers the moment she entered the room. She walked calmly to the chair in front of them and sat down, naturally crossing her legs. Then she removed the triangular handkerchief from her suit's breast pocket, shook it, unfolded it, and wiped her hands elegantly. She glared at the three interviewers with a hint of defiance in her eyes.
"Hu Xiaoxiao?" Gao Zhiyuan was the first to recognize Hu Xiaoxiao, stunned with shock. "Why, why did you cut your hair short? And why, why don't you look like yourself? Like, like..."
Like Cheng Zhaofeng.
Hu Xiaoxiao's eyebrows were drawn thicker and bolder like Cheng Zhaofeng's, and the corners of her eyes were slightly modified with eyeliner, making her eyebrows and eyes somewhat similar to Cheng Zhaofeng's.
As for her lips, she used lip liner to outline a lip shape similar to Cheng Zhaofeng in the photo, and put on the glasses that Cheng Zhaofeng once wore. At first glance, Hu Xiaoxiao now didn't see her real self, but only saw the shadow of Cheng Zhaofeng herself.
Gao Zhiyuan couldn't help but stand up, walked in front of Hu Xiaoxiao, and walked around Hu Xiaoxiao. His eyes seemed to be the camera, and his mind was the screen, after putting Hu Xiaoxiao into Cheng Zhaofeng, he played it in his mind.
That’s right, this is the heroine he wants.
Although Hu Xiaoxiao's appearance is still much more beautiful than Cheng Zhaofeng herself, her temperament and spirit are exactly like Cheng Zhaofeng herself.
"How did you do that?" Gao Zhiyuan couldn't help but ask. It was really amazing.
Hu Xiaoxiao put his legs down and said modestly, "Director Gao said earlier that my image wasn't suitable. I went back and reflected for several days. What exactly was wrong? I studied Ms. Cheng Zhaofeng's information more than a dozen times, and learned about her past, her ideals, and her pursuits. The more I learned, the more I admired Ms. Cheng Zhaofeng's greatness in that era. With this in mind, I reshaped my image. Today, I came here specifically to have Director Gao review it to see if my understanding of Ms. Cheng Zhaofeng is correct."
Roger had already walked over and expressed his strong agreement with Hu Xiaoxiao: "That's absolutely right, that's right, that's it. Apart from Miss Hu, I don't think anyone else is suitable for the female lead. Director Gao, choose Miss Hu, choose her!"
While speaking, he winked at Gao Zhiyuan behind Hu Xiaoxiao's back, asking Gao Zhiyuan to agree quickly.
Gao Zhiyuan had previously rejected Hu Xiaoxiao, and he'd accidentally told Roger about it. Roger had immediately wanted to call Gao Zhiyuan a fool for not wanting to earn his fortune. Hu Xiaoxiao was currently a star, with the highest box office appeal among all the actresses. Plus, she was both a fighter and an actress, making her the perfect fit. Too beautiful? Is being beautiful a sin?
In addition to her box office appeal, Hu Xiaoxiao is also very capital-absorbing and very popular with advertisers. If she can join, there will be no worries about attracting investment for the film.
The success stories of Zhijin Huoluo Oil and Shixunwei have long been praised by the advertising industry.
But Gao Zhiyuan had already rejected her, so Roger could only feel sorry for her. Now Hu Xiaoxiao had come to audition for the female lead, and her image was a perfect match, more suitable than the dozens of actresses they had interviewed today. If Gao Zhiyuan dared to refuse—
Roger secretly decided that if Gao Zhiyuan dared to drive away the God of Wealth, he would conspire with the producer to replace the director.
Gao Zhiyuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He had been working with Roger for so many years, how could he not know his thinking? He was a man who put the work first. He had previously thought that Hu Xiaoxiao's image didn't fit, and he wouldn't have considered it even if Hu Xiaoxiao was very lucrative.
Now that he has determined that Hu Xiaoxiao is the protagonist he wants, even if Hu Xiaoxiao doesn't want to act, he will pester her until she agrees.
"Ms. Hu, are you interested in playing the role of Cheng Zhaofeng?" Gao Zhiyuan extended his hand and formally invited Hu Xiaoxiao.
Hu Xiaoxiao stood up, his eyes shining like stars, and shook hands with Gao Zhiyuan. "It's a pleasure to work with you, Director Gao."
Hu Xiaoxiao officially joined "Cheng Zhaofeng", and Roger reported the matter to producer Tang Shikuan as soon as possible.
Producer Tang Shikuan is responsible for the investment promotion and distribution of "Cheng Zhaofeng", and is also the person who finds investment for "Cheng Zhaofeng".
Given Gao Zhiyuan's fame, finding investment wasn't difficult. However, the challenge lay in his high standards, often exceeding budgets. Several films even failed to recoup their costs after release due to significant cost overruns.
Therefore, a director’s fame is not everything in the eyes of investors. No matter how famous you are, if you can’t make money, they will still despise you.
Gao Zhiyuan wanted to shoot big scenes in "Cheng Zhao Feng," which required a large investment. But where would the money come from? This was a headache for Tang Shikuan. After scraping together the funds here and there, he still couldn't afford to let his guard down, as Gao Zhiyuan's films often went over budget.
He was racking his brains over how to persuade Gao Zhiyuan to manage the budget properly and not to add scenes or create extra scenes on a whim. When he heard that Hu Xiaoxiao had joined as the female lead, he immediately thought of "The Hitman's Bodyguard".
Everyone in the industry knew that Luo Cheng only invested one million yuan in "The Hitman's Bodyguard," but Hu Xiaoxiao leveraged her fame to secure huge advertising fees from advertisers, ultimately making the film a first-rate film. This story has become legendary.
Therefore, in order to attract investment for "Cheng Zhaofeng", Tang Shikuan immediately released the news and increased publicity, hoping to attract more investment by using Hu Xiaoxiao's name.
Things turned out just as Tang Shikuan expected. Hu Xiaoxiao's joining of "Cheng Zhaofeng" attracted the attention of many advertisers. The quick-witted advertisers immediately called Tang Shikuan and wanted to insert advertisements.
"No!" Gao Zhiyuan strongly objected to the product placement in the film after learning about this. "'Cheng Zhaofeng' is set in the early years of the Republic of China. Inserting current advertising products into it is simply confusing time and space. I won't allow anyone to mess with my film."
Tang Shikuan snorted coldly and said, "You keep talking about big scenes. Without money, how can you shoot the big scenes in 'Cheng Zhaofeng'? You only talk about ideals, but do you know that ideals cost money? How can you realize ideals without money?"
"I would rather have fewer grand scenes and not allow advertisements." Gao Zhiyuan remained firm and uncompromising.
Tang Shikuan was used to his temper and had to give up the opportunity to make money easily through product placement. Fortunately, Hu Xiaoxiao's name was really useful. When an investor who originally didn't want to invest in "Cheng Zhaofeng" heard that Hu Xiaoxiao would be the leading actor, he actually agreed to invest in it.
Tang Shikuan was so happy that he called Hu Xiaoxiao to invite her to dinner.
When Hu Xiaoxiao heard about this, she thought that since she had helped the crew so much, the crew should help her in return.
"Mr. Tang, Director Gao's films all have excellent music. I wonder which master composed the music for 'Cheng Zhao Feng'? I have no problem singing the theme song or interludes with my voice, so why not let me sing the songs in the film?"
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