After filming "Anna Doraemon," Qingping Entertainment's top female star returned to the company and spent half a day talking with the CEO in the top-floor office.
As for the content of the conversation, only a small number of core members of Ye Chu's team and the boss's confidants knew a little about it. Most people could only understand what they saw with their own eyes—the next day, the top female executive rushed to Fengyang to do a roadshow.
Most theatrical films have their lead actors doing promotional tours a week in advance. "Happy Street" is no exception.
The main characters of "Happiness Street" consist of five people: Xiao Ye, a weak but shrewd bookworm; Zhang Pangzi, a muscular but brainless and irritable man; Hong Jie, an introverted and cowardly otaku; and Lingling, a sassy housewife; and Lingling, a little girl with a stutter.
Zhang Shan, who plays Fatty Zhang, is a middle-aged actor who has been playing minor roles for many years. Years of reading people's faces have honed his smooth-talking nature. Playing a timid, introverted man is a piece of cake for him.
The actress who plays Hongjie is about the same age as Zhang Shan. Her name is very poetic, Mei Yaohong. Unfortunately, perhaps because the pronunciation of her name is unlucky, despite her decent acting skills and good looks, she hasn't made a splash in the entertainment industry over the years.
The role of the muscular, brainless, and irritable man was originally intended for an artist surnamed Chen from the company. Even the character was renamed Chen Yeren (meaning "Chen the Wild Man"), taking his surname. However, the actor surnamed Chen was not a good actor, and his actions were overly exaggerated. Therefore, Gu Wenhua was not satisfied. But among the eligible actors at Qingping Entertainment, only his physique met the "fat-covered muscle" requirement, so they reluctantly chose him.
Later, one day, Shang Yechu had something to discuss with Gu Wenhua and went to the casting call. At that time, the auditions were for some cannon fodder and extras in the movie.
Even for such a minor role, a large number of aspiring actors came to audition. Surrounded by bodyguards and assistants, Shang Yechu passed by the casting room and happened to overhear an actor introducing himself.
Shang Yechu stopped in her tracks.
What a small world! The actor being auditioned at that moment turned out to be an old acquaintance of Shang Yechu.
Although this old acquaintance may not remember Shang Yechu.
In the audition room, an actor introduced himself: "Hello, director, my name is Huang Feizhang..."
Later, while chatting with Gu Wenhua, Shang Yechu casually asked, "Among the people interviewing cannon fodder and pedestrian street merchants, wasn't there someone named Huang Feizhang?"
With so many actors auditioning, Gu Wenhua couldn't possibly remember this one. After searching through the electronic application form, he said, "Yes, how did you know?"
Shang Yechu did not answer, but said, "You can give it a try and let him play the role of the muscular man."
Gu Wenhua was very curious: "Why?"
"His name sounds a lot like Wong Fei-hung, which I find quite interesting. It could be used as a joke in the movie, fitting both the comedic and emotional moments." Shang Yechu casually picked up a form from the table. "Isn't it perfect that you weren't too satisfied with Chen Yeren's acting?"
“The role of the muscular man isn’t particularly difficult in terms of acting skills, but it does require a good physique.” Gu Wenhua frowned in disapproval. “Do you know this Huang Feizhang? What’s his physique like?”
"I don't know him. You can interview him first. If he's not a good fit, just pretend I never said that," Shang Yechu said calmly.
It wasn't worth upsetting Shang Yechu over such a minor character, so Gu Wenhua readily agreed: "Okay!"
Gu Wenhua initially thought Shang Yechu was just making a whim because of the name, but after interviewing Huang Feizhang, he was surprised to find that the other party's acting skills were really quite suitable. To be precise, Huang Feizhang's acting skills were only 70 points when playing other roles; but when playing a hot-tempered, muscular, brainless man, his acting skills were close to those of a Golden Dome Award Best Actor!
Gu Wenhua then had Huang Feizhang strip naked and carefully examined his physique. He was overjoyed to find that the physique was also a perfect fit! Broad shoulders and a thick waist, rough skin, a combination of fat and muscle. He perfectly embodied the image of a hoodlum who did manual labor.
Gu Wenhua was overjoyed and immediately replaced Chen Yeren with Huang Feizhang, even cleverly adding a few Huang Feihong references to the script. The muscular Chen Yeren thus became the muscular Huang Feizhang. At the time, "Rules Street" was about to start filming, and this last-minute casting change resulted in the production team paying a small penalty to Chen Yeren's actor. However, Gu Wenhua felt it was well worth it.
Afterwards, Gu Wenhua specifically thanked Shang Yechu, praising her for her discerning eye, saying that she could pick out an actor from the script with just a casual gesture.
Huang Feizhang himself was quite puzzled by this incident and later sought advice from director Gu Wenhua. Gu Wenhua, of course, wouldn't steal credit from Shang Yechu and explained the whole story in detail. As for Huang Feizhang regarding Yechu as his mentor and being extremely grateful to him, that's another story.
Two or three years ago, Shang Yechu entered Hengshi Film City for the first time, and the first role he played was a soldier who replaced Huang Feizhang.
Less than three years have passed, and Huang Feizhang is still playing minor roles, while Shang Yechu can now decide his fate with a single sentence.
The entertainment industry is truly a magical place.
Of the five main actors, the little girl Lingling is still at home doing her winter vacation homework and cannot participate in the promotion of "Happy Street". Apart from Shang Yechu, the other three are all unknowns in the industry, following behind Shang Yechu and accompanying her on promotional tours all over the country.
With the addition of director Gu Wenhua, the promotional team for "Happy Street" was complete.
The first stop of the roadshow is Fengyang City, the capital of Fengyang Province. As one of the most populous provinces, Fengyang is a major box office market for theatrical films. After the premiere, Shang Yechu will lead the interaction with fans.
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