"Actually... I, I just find the na pleasing to the eye," Mo Anna said with uncharacteristic coyness, her face flushing red.
"Pfft."
Xiao Zheng burst into laughter, "It seems that naming is also a profound science. Without a good na, you can’t get picked."
"Isn’t that the truth? Making movies isn’t that easy, and besides, you, a complete layman when it cos to film, how could you understand these tricks of the trade?"
Mo Anna chuckled.
"Haha, you’re right, I’m definitely a rookie in this area, there’s so much for to learn."
Xiao Zheng nodded in agreent.
Then Xiao Zheng noticed Mo Anna’s rosy cheeks and shimring eyes, and his heart stirred suddenly.
"Oops."
"You jerk."
Mo Anna gave Xiao Zheng a reproachful look, her eyes enchantingly alluring as if they were about to drip water.
"Then I’ll just do sothing a jerk would do," Xiao Zheng tossed aside a script.
...
After confirming the script, Xiao Zheng called for a eting the next day to decide on the male lead.
Attendees included Xiao Zheng, Ah Bai, Chu Xiaoran, Mu Yiqing, and a fad director signed with the Qianqiu Group.
This director, nad Wen Cheng, had made many classic art films and won countless awards in the international AAA film community. However, after he transitioned to comrcial films, he lost quite a bit of money on several projects and even led a company that invested in his films to bankruptcy. Thus, by now, no one was willing to hire him to make films.
But Qianqiu Entertainnt saw sothing in him.
Mainly because of Xiao Zheng. Xiao Zheng had watched a few of Wen Cheng’s comrcial films and noticed significant improvents in each one—in techniques, pacing, and conventions. He believed that given another chance, Wen Cheng could surely create a genuine box office hit!
Yet, no one else dared.
After all, the previous losses were too great.
But Xiao Zheng was willing to take that risk!
"The script, director, and leading actress are already determined," Xiao Zheng chaired the eting and was the first to speak, "The next major task is to determine the male lead. If you have any good suggestions, let’s hear them."
"I recomnd Park Eun-si. He starred in a TV series in South Korea and exploded in popularity all over Asia, and he’s now on the rise. Though it’s his first ti acting, he already has the potential to beco a super star.
Additionally, it’s said that he’s planning to co develop his career in Hua Country soon!
If we could get him for our movie, it would definitely be a huge help, even potentially breaking into markets outside of Asia. You should know that he’s also highly popular dostically," Ah Bai was the first to speak.
"Speaking of popularity, I actually prefer Yang Feng from within the country. He recently starred in several wildly successful fantasy TV series, and with that foundation, he aims to branch into film, only looking for big-budget productions!
The only issue is, he has never done a movie before, looks down on box office results, so no major director wants to cast him. He also has high popularity, and using him for our movie would be quite feasible," Mu Yiqing then recomnded another person.
Xiao Zheng frowned slightly upon hearing this and said, "Why are all the stars you’re recomnding just popular idols? These young fresh ats hardly have any acting skills. What’s the slogan of Qianqiu Entertainnt?
Quality production! If we choose only these young idols, how are we any different from other movie companies?"
Ah Bai couldn’t help but give a bitter smile and explained, "Mr. Xiao, you might not be too familiar with the current movie market. Talented actors are barely making a living. Even if they perform excellently, if there aren’t any of these idols with massive followings, nobody watches."
Chu Xiaoran also felt the sa and nodded in agreent, "Exactly. I used to despise these young fresh ats too, and I thought those companies in the film industry just wanted to make money, completely disregarding the quality of the films.
Only after looking into it more deeply did I realize that many people have no choice! Because the current audience only likes this kind of star. No matter how well you shoot, if people don’t buy tickets, it’s useless."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Zheng shook his head and looked at Wen Cheng, "What do you think?"
Having failed several tis before, this director now had a precious opportunity, and what he thought was to turn things around with this chance! Therefore, he didn’t dare to take too much risk and hesitated for a mont,
He said, "I think choosing popular idols isn’t bad. But if we were to choose, let’s go with Park Eun-si from South Korea. His acting skills are slightly better. Yang Feng has a poker face, and I’m afraid that I won’t be able to bring out any performance from him."
Xiao Zheng picked up on the subtext in Wen Cheng’s words, laughed heartily, and said, "It seems to that you, the director, must have soone else in mind, right? Don’t worry about it, just say it outright, feel free to speak your mind."
"Yeah exactly, director, we’re all layn here, you’re the real professional, your opinion is what matters most," Chu Xiaoran chid in with a nod.
Even though the nomination from the young lady had been turned down, she didn’t feel any anger at all.
Chu Xiaoran had great admiration for Wen Cheng!
This director was a genuinely dedicated filmmaker, and there was a story about him that circulated in the director’s circle. It’s said that to capture a shot of the blue sky perfectly, Wen Cheng carried the cara himself and waited in the wilderness for dozens of days!
He even suffered frostbite on his toes from standing too long and had to undergo surgery to have them amputated.
In Hua Country’s circle of directors, such dedicated individuals have beco rare, now mostly dominated by third-rate writers and actors who’ve switched careers to make a quick buck.
"If I were to make the recomndation... I would suggest a young dostic actor, Ma Hulai," Wen Cheng hesitated, then said.
"I’ve already gone through the script of ’My Beautiful CEO Wife,’ and
the selection is excellent, breaking free from the usual mold of youth films and presenting a different style.
However, this movie is not set in the present but in a past era. That sense of the era is hard for most actors to grasp; it requires excellent acting skills. Ma Hulai is a very good choice. I’ve been observing this actor for a long ti, he’s diligent, hardworking, and talented."
Upon hearing this, Xiao Zheng nodded and said, "Good, then let’s go with Ma Hulai."
Wen Cheng was moved, as he had not expected Xiao Zheng to trust him so much.
Ever since he had made several failed films, he had felt the fickleness of human relationships. With every film he made, people would interfere with his work, offering condescending advice, and hardly anyone would trust him.
They would completely rewrite the carefully planned scripts and even force him to cast actors with poor skills.
In fact, his failures in those comrcial films were not unrelated to the forceful interference of capital.
At this ti, Mu Yiqing expressed her concern, "Ma Hulai may be a good actor, but if we choose him, the higher-ups at Qianqiu Group might object. They already have a strong opposition to Qianqiu Entertainnt,
and if we go with Ma Hulai, it will give them an excuse to attack Qianqiu Entertainnt."
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