: Casting of "The Legend of Sword and Fairy" and Being Blocked at the Airport

Chapter 86: Casting for "The Legend of Sword and Fairy" and Being Blocked at the Airport (Second Update)

"You," she shook her head, "you look so young, but you have more cunning than anyone else."

He Yi'an smiled but offered no explanation.

After seeing the film distributors off, Han Sanping's expression turned serious: "Anwa, the copyright issue is settled. Now, let's talk about 'A Separation,' shall we?"

"Uncle Han, don't worry, I'm already preparing for this film. Filming will start in January, it won't be delayed."

"What about the investment?" This was actually what Han Sanping was concerned about. "How do you plan to allocate it?"

"China Film Group will contribute two million, and I will contribute three million," He Yi'an said. "The total cost is five or six million, which should be enough. If Enlight Media wants to join, this collaboration is acceptable, and we can continue to have them participate."

"If they're not willing, I can film it myself."

Han Sanping frowned: "Five or six million? What about Gong Li and Zhang Yimou's salaries?"

"Gong Li only received 500,000 yuan," He Yi'an said. "We haven't discussed it with Director Yi Mou yet."

"Five hundred thousand? RMB?" Han Sanping's eyes widened. "Gong Li only accepted five hundred thousand?"

There were some inside stories that He Yi'an couldn't reveal, so he could only continue to lie: "She said she liked the script and was willing to act in it for a low price."

Han Sanping was silent for a moment, then laughed: "You kid, you're really lucky."

He Yi'an certainly didn't completely admit to the role of luck. He earnestly argued, "It's because the script was good, plus Director Yi Mou's recommendation. Only a good script can attract good actors."

Some things need to have a complete and consistent output standard from the very beginning.

Otherwise, if things are inconsistent, and someone does some research and verification, it will be obvious that it's fake.

Of course, even if someone guesses the truth by then, He Yi'an will not admit it.

Gong Li agreed to star in the film because the script was good, and Zhang Yimou's involvement was just a coincidence. Moreover, all of this happened after Venice, when He Yi'an offered to do so out of gratitude.

Mmm~ What a touching scene!

A hymn of gratitude that can never be fully expressed!

Han Sanping, being an old hand, naturally realized that there was something fishy going on.

But he didn't care about that at all. Instead, he felt that He Yi'an's insistence on saying so was a sign of trustworthiness. So he looked at him and nodded with satisfaction: "Okay, it's settled then. I'll have someone draft the contract when we get back, and we'll wait for you to sign it."

"it is good."

The three of them walked out of the business center; the sun was shining brightly.

He Yi'an felt much more relaxed.

My trip to Venice has finally come to a perfect end.

The next morning, He Yi'an, Han Sanping, Yu Feihong, and two other staff members from China Film Group boarded a plane back to China.

The plane transited in Munich and then flew directly to Beijing.

During the long flight, He Yi'an leaned back in his seat, closed his eyes to rest, but his mind was already thinking about what he needed to do next.

"Fireworks in the Human World" is still showing in theaters. Although its box office performance is good, it is mainly due to the guidance of public opinion. Moreover, the initial hot topics and insults about it have gradually subsided with the efforts of the three major internet portals.

Those who were the most vocal before are either confined to certain small circles or have been directly targeted by keywords and are unable to post any comments about the serious injury to He Yi'an.

However, such methods are certainly only treating the symptoms, not the root cause.

This time, they were suppressed by He Yi'an's methods, just like before, and were completely stunned.

However, He Yi'an does not believe that some of these people cannot find a way to deal with it.

After all, every circle has its talented people, some of whom can still wield considerable influence even twenty years later.

They could even orchestrate an entire prison—such an extremely abstract act of provocation.

This shows that they have a lot of power.

He Yi'an's desire for a permanent solution is simply unrealistic.

"We still need to find an opportunity to personally make an example of them, because some people only understand this kind of talk!"

He Yi'an pondered his target. Lu Chuan was certainly an option, but at this stage, Lu Chuan, although disgusting, was still too small.

To put it bluntly, the portion size was insufficient.

Besides, He Yi'an already had a way to control him, so this little thing was nothing to worry about.

He needs to be used as an example to deter others, so the amount must be substantial.

Having not yet found a suitable target, He Yi'an could only wait and continue to monitor the domestic film box office situation.

Although the focus of the publicity has shifted from He Yi'an to promoting the movie and the actors, He Yi'an estimates that even with more resources invested and continuous promotion, there is still a limit to what can be achieved.

The idea of ​​someone being reborn and making a movie that grosses over 100 million is basically impossible.

It's not that the current market can't generate hundreds of millions in box office revenue.

After all, if we waited another three months, the fact that "Hero" grossed 2.5 million yuan after its release would be a record that no one dared to dream of before.

This demonstrates that domestic cinemas at this stage can generate box office revenue of over 100 million yuan.

It's just that for various reasons, it's impossible for you to achieve that.

Most people would probably think that the most important issue is piracy, and indeed, piracy is a major problem.

One of the most important reasons for the box office success of "Hero" was its effective anti-theft measures.

But the more important reason is that this time the cinemas did not conceal or omit the box office figures, nor did they pocket the box office revenue themselves.

After all, this is the livelihood of millions of workers, and it was common practice for cinemas to withhold most of it in order to maintain their operations.

People need to make a living too, after all.

However, this is very unfriendly to the production company. Firstly, the current profit sharing ratio is already low, only about 35%, and it is constantly being concealed and stolen, so making a movie is basically a loss.

That's why "Hero" was created.

This film not only gave commercial films a boost, but also showed cinemas that the film market can be profitable as long as it continues to develop, giving cinemas the confidence to continue developing.

At the same time, Zhang Weiping managed to forcefully take a 5% cut of the film's revenue, which was a great gift to all the production companies.

This is a win-win situation, achieving multiple benefits in one fell swoop.

That's why the authorities gave this film strong support, providing comprehensive assistance and extending its run, which led to what appears to be a strong box office miracle.

But He Yi'an's films weren't so lucky.

Zhang Weiping is probably busy negotiating with major cinema chains right now, so there's no way he'll get any support.

According to He Yi'an's estimate, the pirated version should be available in two more days at most.

This kind of thing is unavoidable now.

Other big-budget commercial films, with their grand scenes, might attract some people to the cinema even if they are pirated, but art films are unlikely to do so.

Chinese people still prefer big scenes when they go to the cinema. Unless they're going to pick up girls or have some fun, what guy wants to watch an art film?

That's simply inhumane.

He Yi'an was an audience member in his past life, and he is well aware of this.

He was somewhat surprised and quite satisfied that his film generated such public buzz and boosted its box office.

Although I wasn't happy about being targeted and criticized before, the popularity was undeniable.

Just like Zhu Yu, who was criticized a while ago, although the criticism was fierce, only the actors and investors suffered the most.

The actors were so criticized that they didn't dare to show their faces.

But the platform made a huge profit, a massive profit, because the traffic exploded and completely broke out of its niche.

Another benefit was that it completely brought down Huayi.

Already barely surviving, they, as the main investors, were hoping to recoup some losses, but instead, they were directly wiped out.

This is a very happy occasion!

One more thing: even after the official stance was taken, there were still people trying to defend this show.

To criticize it further, saying that "Zhu Yu" is just an ancient costume drama with no profound meaning and shouldn't be blown out of proportion.

But according to He Yi'an, it is incredibly profound.

The character 璋 represents jade, the nation is predominantly associated with jade, the pursuit of jade, the female protagonist slaughtering pigs, the soldiers dressed as Qing Dynasty soldiers, the massacre of the city, and the breaching of the dikes are all rationalized—this is all profound.

Forget it, I'm not going to complain anymore.

Returning to He Yi'an's film, given the current trend, even if pirated copies are released, breaking ten million, or even twenty million, should not be difficult.

Such results are not particularly good, but even the domestic box office will not result in a loss for the investment; in fact, it may even be a huge profit.

This is very important.

It's worth noting that apart from those few classic art films by renowned directors, none of the art films made by directors from the fifth and sixth generations have truly achieved this.

He Yi'an has finally made it this time.

Just like Xu Wan said, he really made a name for himself.

Normally, after making such a big splash, one has to think carefully about the next movie, and be extremely cautious.

Otherwise, it's hard to say whether they'll show their face or their butt.

But He Yi'an has no such worries. His next movie has already been decided, and if it were to be announced now, it would probably cause a huge uproar.

"They just won an award, and immediately announced that Gong Li will star in the next film. It's a bit too hasty—it would be better to wait a few months for the hype to die down, or try a different marketing strategy—"

He Yi'an is not the kind of person who would criticize the cook after eating, or curse the cook after eating.

Gong Li's strong support for him and awarding him the prize had already sparked public debate. If she doesn't pay attention at this point, it could really put her in a dilemma.

After thinking it over, He Yi'an decided to remind Han Sanping not to go back and spread the word everywhere, and to wait until at least December before doing so.

There's no need to worry about my own mother or Gong Li and Zhang Yimou.

Whether it's Gong Li or Zhang Yimou, they'd probably rather not publicize their upcoming film collaboration.

Especially Zhang Yimou, now that He Yi'an was no longer interfering and he had calmed down completely, he regretted every time he thought about it why he had agreed to act with He Yi'an.

He had no idea that once this got out, his old buddies would gossip about him.

I regret it!

He Yi'an, of course, had no idea what Zhang Yimou was thinking at that moment. If he did know, he would probably be happy, since this could be considered getting into character ahead of time.

The male protagonist he created was always frowning and filled with regret.

If he knew, he would definitely praise Zhang Yimou for getting into character so quickly and understanding the role so well!

Filming for "A Separation" will begin in January, and pre-production can start now, even needs to be expedited. The crew should be assembled by the end of December.

Filming for "Full House" is almost finished, and post-production needs to catch up. I also need to find some time to meet with some TV station acquisition managers.

The casting for "Chinese Paladin" is about to begin, and the actors are being selected.

The role of the female lead, Zhao Ling'er, will definitely be played by Liu Yifei; there's almost no chance of anyone else being chosen.

This girl is the most suitable to play Zhao Ling'er. Her ethereal charm perfectly matches the character, and she was his white moonlight in his past life.

However, we need to have a good talk with Liu Xiaoli about the filming schedule and the subsequent arrangements.

"Sisi asked me to visit her on set of Tianlong, which is a good opportunity to negotiate with Liu Xiaoli."

Many people say that Chen Jingfei brought Liu Yifei the roles of Jin Fen, Tianlong, and Shen Diao. This statement has some merit, but it is not entirely accurate.

He definitely acted as the matchmaker, but the people who actually went to talk to him, apart from Jin Fen, were actually all Liu Xiaoli.

This point has been made quite clear in some memoirs written in later generations.

In particular, in the TV series "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils", Liu Xiaoli was always the main negotiator and decision-maker.

Liu Yifei's management contract has always been firmly in her hands. Unlike other exploitative mothers, Liu Xiaoli truly protects her daughter wholeheartedly.

Even when they offered shares in Red Starwood as a form of exchange, the shareholding was strictly controlled.

Knowing this, He Yi'an did not make any advance warnings or probes beforehand.

Because he knew that even if he did it, it would not yield any results, but would instead arouse vigilance and hostility.

But now it's time to start trying to get involved.

Be a petty person first, then a gentleman!

Besides Liu Yifei, who is confirmed, the rest of the cast for the Legend of Sword and Fairy series need to be carefully selected.

The original drama was produced by Tang Ren, so the actors they found were mostly from Hong Kong and Taiwan, and they were all newcomers, with only Liu Yifei being a well-known person.

Now that his company is making the film, it certainly can't be done like this.

Yan Danchen could try out for the role of Lin Yueru, but He Yi'an then thought that if Yan Danchen were to appear in a new drama, it would seem a bit inappropriate for her to continue playing the second female lead.

Although she herself may not care about this, she has signed with her company after all, so He Yi'an has to be responsible for her future plans.

Therefore, she cannot be used for this role; it is still pending, and we will see how it goes later.

And Shu Chang, she seems like a good choice to play Anu or Lin Yueru?

As for Li Xiaoyao—

After thinking for a moment, the first person that came to mind was Qiao Zhenyu.

He has a good image and decent acting skills. Most importantly, he is obedient and signed with his own company, just like Yan Danchen, for twelve years.

Once you sign with a company, they'll definitely provide you with resources.

The only point of contention is his age; he was born in 78, making him four years older than Hugo.

Therefore, He Yi'an also decided to wait and see.

As for the original Hu Ge?

Sorry, this drama is from his company now, and he has the final say on who gets chosen and who doesn't.

He has no need to help other companies promote their artists.

Of course, the premise for this drama to come about is that Liu Yifei is willing to accept the role.

Although Tang Rencai had to ask several times to bring in the original crew, and they were paid a lot of money, it was still a purely experimental production team, and it was unknown how the film would turn out.

So Liu Xiaoli had never wanted to take on the project, but now that she was doing it herself, they probably wouldn't be too opposed to it.

but----

Thinking that I made the decision so directly without discussing it or even consulting with the person involved, it seemed a bit disrespectful to Xixi's opinion.

"When you go to talk to her, you still need to tone down your chauvinistic attitude. At least make her feel respected and don't let her think that you've decided everything for her."

Having some understanding of Liu Yifei's personality, he knew all too well how stubborn she was.

She has always been a very opinionated person with her own ideas.

If we don't take any steps and just make a firm decision, it might make Liu Yifei furious.

But seeing her get all flustered doesn't seem so bad, does it?

He Yi'an couldn't help but laugh.

"What are you laughing at?" Yu Feihong asked curiously from the side.

"It's nothing," He Yi'an shook his head, "I was just thinking about some happy things."

Yu Feihong glanced at him but didn't ask any further questions.

The plane landed at Beijing Capital International Airport at 3 p.m.

He Yi'an dragged his suitcase out of the terminal. Before he could react, he was surrounded by a group of people who had been waiting for a long time, and his camera flashes went off everywhere.

P.S.: This chapter is 4500 words long~ The male lead in the Legend of Sword and Fairy series still has to go through some complicated relationships, don't worry, it won't be Hu Ge~

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