This time, it wasn't the assistant calling, but Director Xu himself.
Director Xu told Wei Changfeng over the phone that he had cast Wei Changfeng as the male lead in his new film.
Zhao Hui and Wei Changfeng were overjoyed, but there was another piece of unexpected news: the female lead had been changed from the rumored Shi Xinxin to Du Shuang.
"Huh, why?" Zhao Hui asked Wei Changfeng, puzzled, after putting down his phone.
Although Du Shuang has a powerful background, Shi Xinxin's qualifications are also extraordinary.
Moreover, given Du Shuang's personality, she wouldn't fight for a role that's already widely known in the industry, making everyone lose face.
"There must be some reason, we just don't know it." After studying it for a while and still not figuring it out, the two decided to stop worrying about it.
Because besides one's own acting skills, the co-stars are also very important. In terms of acting, it's often the case that you perform better against stronger opponents; if your co-star is too weak, it will affect your own performance to some extent, and vice versa.
Fortunately, both Shi Xinxin and Du Shuang have acting skills and images that can withstand the test, which is why they have been able to gain a foothold on the big screen.
The only problem Wei Changfeng is facing now is the extent of his leg injury recovery.
Director Xu has completed the script and requires the main actors to join the crew in early April.
Both the male and female leads have some action scenes. In the early stages, dangerous stunts can be performed by stunt doubles. However, once Wei Changfeng's leg injury has healed, the director still suggested that he perform the stunts himself, provided his physical condition allows.
Zhao Hui and Wei Changfeng didn't dare to delay rehabilitation at all, even if it wasn't for Director Xu's new film, there was still a series of tasks waiting for them.
So as soon as he returned to China, his agency contacted the best hospitals and most renowned specialists for him. The advice from the domestic specialists was consistent with that of the French doctors: a two- to three-month recovery period with active rehabilitation.
Fortunately, Wei Changfeng has always been in good physical condition. Apart from this accidental injury, he rarely goes to the hospital, so his recovery is going very well.
By mid-March, he was able to walk on his own. He went to Jishuitan Hospital, the best orthopedic hospital in Beijing, for an X-ray. The doctor said that the bone injury was healing very well and remarked that he was young and recovered quickly from his injury.
The contract had already been signed, and the complete script was sent along with it, allowing him to familiarize himself with the role in advance.
The movie features action scenes and gunfights. Although Wei Changfeng's leg injury had just healed and he was not yet suitable for physical training, he had Zhao Hui take him to a shooting range in Beijing to experience live-fire shooting a few times, which somewhat made up for it.
In early April, Wei Changfeng finally joined the crew and immediately became very busy.
Arriving at the Hengdian film set after a long absence made him very happy, as he had been staying at home for the past two or three months.
He ran among the various antique-style buildings, like a caged bird finally seeing the sky where it could roam freely.
"Hey, brother, slow down, slow down! Watch your legs!" Xiao Hao, worried, followed closely behind, muttering anxiously.
Having prepared for over a month, the actors had thoroughly mastered the script and lines, and with the patient guidance of Director Xu and his assistant, they adapted quickly.
In addition, Wei Changfeng and Du Shuang were already very familiar with each other, so the interaction between the male and female leads went very smoothly.
The story takes place in Shanghai before liberation. Hengdian was chosen as the filming location because it has complete replicas of ancient buildings from various eras, with a particularly large number of realistic buildings from the Republican era.
The Republic of China City and the Bund alone are enough to meet most of the scene requirements for this shoot.
In particular, Dream Bund features classic elements such as Shanghai's famous international architecture, the Paramount Ballroom, old Shanghai street scenes, trams, and Broadway dance halls, making it almost indistinguishable from the real thing.
In addition to the two young leads, Xu's new film also features several veteran actors, all of whom are highly respected seniors in the industry. Wei Changfeng especially admires one of them.
Because when he was just starting out in his acting career, he played a small role in a serious drama that only appeared in the cast list. He was bossed around by the people on set, but he still carefully studied the role in a corner.
When the senior colleague saw this, he gave him a lot of encouragement, saying, "Young man, keep up this enthusiasm and focus, and you will definitely succeed."
Sure enough, three years later, Wei Changfeng achieved great success and rose to prominence.
Whenever he encountered difficulties, he would recall the words that senior colleague had spoken to him and those caring and encouraging eyes. Unexpectedly, the two would meet again on the film set a few years later.
Wei Changfeng brought up the events of that year and expressed his gratitude to his senior, saying that without his senior's encouragement and affirmation, he might not be where he is today.
The senior seemed unable to recall, though he may have encouraged many young people. He smiled and said, "Oh, that's your own achievement. No matter what stage of life you're in, as long as you don't forget your original aspirations, you'll succeed sooner or later."
The senior colleague continued, "It's just that some people didn't persevere. Perhaps the success they expected came too slowly, so they gave up. Everyone says that our industry relies on looks and youth, so if you don't succeed when you're young, it's hard to keep going."
But look at my face. I've always looked like this since I was young, and kids would give me their seats on the bus. I still look like this now. And yet I've become famous, which shows that looks aren't the deciding factor.
Seeing that his senior could so magnanimously joke about his not-so-handsome or young face with the younger generation, Wei Changfeng felt even more admiration for him.
He felt a little ashamed. As an actor, acting skills are certainly much more important than appearance, but he often valued his face more than his acting skills.
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