Chapter 121: Casting was criticized and made headlines

The casting for "The Thieves" was basically carried out simultaneously by Chiyou Pictures and Rongchen Pictures.

Rongchen Films first conducted auditions for the male lead (Macau Park) today.

Li Chen put the auditions for the third and fourth male candidates together at the end.

In this play, among the Chinese actors, the most important ones are actually the No. 1 male lead and the No. 2 male lead.

As for the first and second female lead, Li Chen let Wu Bin choose.

The stars who came to audition for the male lead today are all big names.

Some of them were selected through resume screening, and some were actively invited by Li Chen to audition.

In the spacious audition room, Li Chen sat in the middle, with Zhou Xun sitting on his left and Wu Bin sitting on his right.

Artists from the same company, Yang Mi and Tang Yan, could only stand behind the three of them and watch and learn.

Li Chen specially brought Yang Mi and Tang Yan here, as such a learning opportunity today is rare.

While the auditioning actors are waiting, familiarize themselves with the audition script.

Yang Mi joked, "Senior, can't Tangtang and I have a seat?"

Li Chen said without even turning his head: "When you can be like Zhou Xun and have a silver lion or silver bear by your side, you will be qualified to sit down."

Zhou Xun turned around and said with a smile: "Mi Mi, how about I give up my seat to you?"

"To be honest, I'm a little nervous sitting here. I've seen many of the people who came to audition today before, so I don't dare to take any big shots."

Wu Bin also smiled and said, "Mi Mi, Director Li is doing this for your own good. You and Tang Tang can stand in the back and learn."

“But if I sit here today, it will only break the rules and make people laugh.”

Yang Mi stuck out her tongue, took Tang Yan's arm and said with a smile, "I see, Director Wu, I just said that, I didn't really plan to sit down."

"I am very happy to have this opportunity to study. Several girls in my dormitory want to come but have never had the chance."

As he was speaking, the first person who came in for the audition was Zhang Hanyu.

As soon as Zhang Hanyu came in, he nodded to Li Chen and Wu Bin.

"Director Li, Director Wu, I'm Zhang Hanyu, and I'm here to audition for the male lead role." Zhang Hanyu didn't say any extra words.

The two had met several times before, the first being at the premiere of "A World Without Thieves".

At that time, Li Chen left a deep impression on Zhang Hanyu.

Unexpectedly, in just two years, Li Chen has transformed from a fish into a dragon and is able to organize such a big event.

Feng Xiaogang disagreed with submitting his resume himself, thinking it would be useless.

But Zhang Hanyu insisted on voting, and Feng Xiaogang did not stop him.

He had a hunch that Li Chen was not as worldly-wise as those people in the circle. What if he succeeded? Even if he was not selected, it didn't matter.

He doesn't have any idol baggage or status.

I didn't expect that I would actually get an audition opportunity.

Many of the people who auditioned with him for the male lead role today were his acquaintances.

Liu Dehua, Liang Jiahui, Hu Jun and so on.

But their status is much higher than that of a supporting actor in Feng Xiaogang's studio, which can be seen from the cars they drive.

Li Chen nodded and said, "Mr. Zhang, you have read the audition script. If you are ready, let's start."

This audition script is a dialogue between Popeye and Macau Park in the elevator at the end of the film.

Lee Chen's assistant plays the role of Popeye played by Lee Jung Jae and feeds Zhang Hanyu the role.

"Okay, let's get started."

The camera was already on, and Zhang Hanyu and the assistant director were standing in the center of the scene.

"start."

As Li Chen shouted, the assistant director and Zhang Hanyu started to wrestle with each other.

The two men kept fighting and arguing with each other. Zhang Hanyu took great pains and finally subdued the other party.

Emotions were brewing at this point: "Why? Why did you cut the rope? Why!"

Yang Mi and Tang Yan were watching from behind Li Chen and the other two and were enjoying it so much.

The two of them felt inferior to them. It was not difficult to have tears in their eyes; they could do it easily.

However, the red eyes can also flash through a variety of emotions such as confusion, resentment, grievance, and humiliation in a short period of time.

They are really far behind at the moment.

"stop."

As soon as Li Chen shouted "stop", Zhang Hanyu immediately let go of the assistant director's collar and left the scene.

But the eyes are still red.

"Mr. Zhang, you have captured the emotions very well and your performance was very dynamic. The audition is over. You can go back and wait for news." Li Chen said with a smile.

"Okay then, I'll leave first, Director Li."

Zhang Hanyu, Zhou Xun and Wu Bin said hello and left.

"Director Li, I think Zhang Hanyu is very suitable for this role." Zhou Xun said.

She read the script and found that Aomen Pu was an introverted character, which matched her first impression of Zhang Hanyu.

Moreover, Zhang Hanyu has a very good command of lines.

Li Chen also agreed with Zhou Xun's point of view. He originally preferred Andy Lau for this role.

But after seeing Zhang Hanyu's performance today, he was enlightened again.

"Well, let's finish all the auditions first." Li Chen replied simply.

The assistant came in to report that the second person to audition for the male lead was Leung Ka Fai.

Of all the films by Leung Ka Fai, Li Chen likes his The Lover the most.

This actor with many faces can play any role to perfection.

However, Leung Ka Fai is not very suitable for the role of Macau Park.

After the audition, Li Chen said bluntly: "Brother Hui, how about you try the second male lead?"

Liang Jiahui is fully capable of playing the role of Ren Dahua.

They are all team leaders, so it’s not a big problem for Big D to play the role.

Liang Jiahui is a smart man and has known Li Chen for quite some time.

He also starred in Li Chen's "New World". After hearing what Li Chen said, he realized that he would not be able to play the leading male role.

"Okay," Liang Jiahui said straightforwardly.

In fact, he doesn't accept every script, but he believes in Li Chen's scripts.

Next was Liu Dehua. As soon as Liu Dehua finished the audition, Li Chen had an idea in his mind.

Compared to Zhang Hanyu, Liu Dehua's disadvantage is his appearance, which is too distinctive.

And Macau Park is a thief, and a mediocre or average appearance is what he should have.

"Brother Hua, since we are already so familiar with each other, I will tell you the result directly. Zhang Hanyu is more suitable for this role than you."

"Haha, okay, it's good to have a definite answer, so that I don't have to worry." Liu Dehua said with a smile.

"There will be another chance next time. Let's sit down and talk about cooperation in the evening."

"Okay, then I'll wait for your call."

Liu Dehua and Zhou Xun waved goodbye and left.

After Liu Dehua left, Yang Mi couldn't help but say, "Senior, you are too direct, but Brother Hua doesn't seem to care."

Zhou Xun laughed and said, "Mi Mi, you are too naive. Who wouldn't care about this kind of role? It's just that Brother Hua is a good actor and you can't see it."

Tang Yan also nodded: "The boss and Brother Hua are so familiar with each other, it would be better to speak directly if you have anything to say."

"That's true." Yang Mi came to her senses.

For celebrities like Andy Lau and Tony Leung, you invite them to audition.

Don't keep people hanging after the audition, just tell them the result directly. It's okay even if they failed.

The audition lasted for a week, and entertainment reporters were trying to find out the results from various sources every day.

All week long, the entertainment section of the portal website was filled with audition news for "Thieves Gate."

Headlines and rumors were flying everywhere.

"The second female lead went to Orange Sky 18 Culture. Between Liu Jialing and Guan Zhilin, who will have the last laugh?"

"The female lead is suspected to be Liu Yifei, and Shu Chang and others will play a trick."

"After the audition, Liu Dehua and Li Chen had a great dinner together and had a great chat. Is Liu Dehua the male lead?"

The office of Wang Jingjian of Shiba Culture.

Leung Ka Fai, Lau Ka Ling and Rosamund Kwan were all there.

"Has Andy Lau really been chosen for the male lead?" Wang Jingyan asked curiously.

Liang Jiahui took a sip of tea and smiled: "It shouldn't be. Hua Zai told me when he came out that day that he is not the male lead."

"It's not me. Director Li said that my image of the hero Qiao is deeply rooted in people's hearts, and playing a thief would be too distracting." Hu Jun smiled when he saw Wang Jingyan looking at him.

Wang Jingyan has already learned from Yang Siwei that the second male lead must be Liang Jiahui.

The second female lead is indeed just as what is said online, that is, she has to choose between Liu and Guan.

Compared to Liu Jialing's calmness, Guan Zhilin seems to be a little worried.

Last year's "Hairdressing" collapsed in both box office and reputation, leaving investors with nothing.

Now she has fewer and fewer acting offers, and her acting range is becoming narrower and narrower.

Wang Jingyan certainly knew what Guan Zhilin was thinking, but she could not influence the casting of Rongchen Pictures.

The casting was a hot topic until Li An won the Oscar for Best Director, and the popularity of the auditions for "Thieves" was barely suppressed.

Zhang Hanyu couldn't believe his ears when he received the call from Rongchen Pictures.

Like many other netizens, he thought that Liu Dehua would play the leading male role.

He was definitely disappointed, but he had nothing to say about losing to Liu Dehua.

After all, Liu Dehua has been famous for a long time and his acting skills are also online.

But unexpectedly, the first prize actually fell on my head.

No wonder Andy seemed to be in a bad mood that day. It seemed that he knew he had failed the audition that day.

It was the first movie in which he starred, and it was also the first Sino-US co-production. No, it wasn’t really a Sino-US co-production.

It was just a Chinese investment and actors film, but it was not shot in the mainland. Zhang Hanyu just felt his heart surge, and his blood rushed to his head.

He didn't even know when the person from Rongchen Film Company hung up the phone.

After packing up briefly, he headed straight for Jinxiu Mingzuan.

When I arrived at Jinxiu Mingzuan, I met Yang Siwei.

Yang Siwei smiled and said, "Mr. Zhang, congratulations. This is the complete script. It must be kept confidential."

"The boss asked you to study the script thoroughly. The male lead role will run through the entire movie. He will study the script with you leading actors later."

Zhang Hanyu took the file bag with both hands and felt it was heavy.

"Thank you. Have the other roles been decided?" Zhang Hanyu asked casually.

"It's decided. The company will announce it soon. You will know when you read the news, Mr. Zhang." Yang Siwei said with a smile.

When Feng Xiaogang heard that Zhang Hanyu got the role, his expression was very interesting.

Did Li Chen really give such an important role to Zhang Hanyu, a second-tier actor?

An actor who always plays minor roles in his own movies?

How willful!
However, Feng Xiaogang's wife Xu Fan was very happy for Zhang Hanyu.

"What's that expression on your face? Young man Li Chen is much more open-minded than you old guys."

"Bao Qiang, it's an honor for us that Hanyu is valued by Li Chen!" Xu Fan pushed Feng Xiaogang, who was silent, and said.

It's no surprise that the Oscar was awarded to Li An.

But when the casting of "Thieves" was announced, it really made people drop their jaws.

News from Chiyou Pictures in Hollywood.

The casting for "Thieves" has been completed a few days ago.

The twelve main actors are: Charlize Theron (Jeon Ji-hyun)

Antonio Banderas (Lee Jung-jae)

Monica Bellucci
Jennifer Tilly
Dan Stevens (Kim Soo Hyun)
Leung Ka Fai

Zhang Hanyu

Wang Qianyuan

罗缙
Liu Yifei

Liu Jialing (female liar)
Li Xuejian (Wei Hong)

When the news reached China, there was an uproar in the circle.

Netizens were furious.

"Who are Zhang Hanyu and Wang Qianyuan? Didn't they say that Hua Zai has been confirmed?"

"Is Li Chen blind or is his brain broken?"

"Did that damn Li Chen take the money?"

"You're mentally ill. They're not celebrities or handsome guys. Who would pay them to support them?"

No one expected that Liu Dehua, who had the highest popularity, would be defeated by the unknown Zhang Hanyu.

Many people don't even know who Wang Qianyuan is.

After checking, I found out that I had previously worked with Gong Li in Sun Zhou's "Pretty Mom", but there was nothing memorable about it.

If it weren’t for the casting of “The Thieves”, who would know who Wang Qianyuan is.

This is a Hollywood blockbuster production costing $8500 million.

Charlize Theron, Leonard Leung, and Li Xuejian are all winners of awards.

No matter how we choose, the male lead role will not go to Zhang Hanyu who has never played a male lead before.

All those who compete with him for the male lead are big names.

The first people to go crazy were Andy Lau's fans and netizens in Hong Kong.

They all cursed Rongchen Pictures for the shady casting, otherwise how could Liu Dehua lose to Zhang Hanyu?

How could two movie kings from Hong Kong lose to a minor actor from the mainland!
Liu Dehua's fans in mainland China also joined in the criticism.

Soon after, fans of Leung Ka Fai also joined the battle.

Although Leung Ka-fai won the second male lead role, movie fans all know that Leung Ka-fai was aiming for the first male lead from the beginning.

Li Chen was scolded and made the headlines of the entertainment section.

In Jinxiu Mingzuan Li Chen's office, Yang Siwei and Wu Bin stood in front of Li Chen's desk.

Li Chen took a sip of tea comfortably and smiled to himself that if there was Weibo now, he would at least be ranked in the top three.

At least seven or eight of them are related to you.

"Boss, you are too careless. You are almost scolded to death by Brother Hua's fans." Yang Siwei was a little anxious.

"It's okay. Brother Hua just called me and apologized again and again. He will speak out. Besides, is there any director in the entertainment industry who has never been scolded?"

Wu Bin nodded: "That's the truth."

Yang Siwei couldn't help laughing, thinking that what his boss said was very meaningful.

Not to mention that Zhang Yimou's several blockbuster films have received a lot of criticism.

Just recently, wasn’t that great director Chen also criticized and disappeared without a trace?

I heard that he has gone to Yunnan to scout locations for "The Promise 2".

His wife Chen Hong was finally blocked by entertainment reporters at the gate of Beijing Film Studio, but she had made a promise in advance.

He never mentioned "The Promise" and just talked about his life as a producer.

Li Chen took out several prepared file bags from the cabinet and placed them on the table.

"Director Wu, have someone take these notebooks for record."

"Please keep the Chinese Partners movie in it. This is the movie I promised you to produce every year, and you will direct it."

"However, you should contact Xu Xiaoping of New Oriental first and seek his support before filing it."

"New Oriental? Xu Xiaoping?"

People like Wu Bin know New Oriental very well.

For college students of his generation, whether they were going abroad to take IELTS or TOEFL or to learn English or become a chef, New Oriental would definitely be their first choice.

There is a saying that goes, those who get into university go to New Oriental to learn English, and those who don’t get into university go to the New Oriental Cooking School next to Shandong Lanxiang to learn to be a chef.

Li Chen crossed his arms and looked at Wu Bin with a smile.

In fact, this book does not require the consent of the three people from New Oriental.

But I still pretended to do it so it wouldn't be too abrupt.

This is also a win-win situation, and Xu Xiaoping would definitely agree.

"This script is based on the three major companies of New Oriental. Aren't they seeking to go public in the United States? Xu Xiaoping will definitely agree to it after reading the script."

"The movies produced by our company have a huge advertising effect!" Li Chen smiled confidently.

When Chen Kexin was filming this drama, he found Xu Xiaoping.

Xu Xiaoping went to persuade the other two and wanted to obtain first-hand information from them.

But Lao Yu ignored Chen Kexin and Huang Xiaoming's requests for contact.

The photo of Cheng Dongqing that was later taken made Lao Yu complain that those two people were deliberately making fun of him!
Wu Bing was all smiles: "It seems Director Li is going to make a big move again this time. I've never seen a film and television company file so many scripts at once."

"Okay, I'll go meet this big boss in the education industry."

Yang Siwei glanced at the four notebooks and said, "Boss, once the filing notice is released, Director Wu and I will have trouble in peace again."

Li Chen smiled and stood up, picked up his coat and walked out: "When you sit in my seat one day, you can choose to turn off your phone!"

Yang Siwei muttered quietly: "I can still choose to leave early!"

Wu Bin laughed out loud.

Zhang Hanyu ignored the outside world's doubts about him. After getting the script, he turned down all work and concentrated on studying the script.

He also hired an American to learn English, and Li Chen called him to give him some special instructions.

There are still a few months left, and it would be best if I could speak the English lines in a way that doesn’t sound like they’re in Mandarin.

Otherwise, he will have no choice but to find a dubbing artist.

Zhang Hanyu started out as a dubbing artist, so he certainly wouldn’t allow someone else to do the dubbing for his first starring movie.

Another person who also worked behind closed doors was Wang Qianyuan.

Thinking about how I have acted in so many dramas, I never expected that the reason for my fame would be the casting of "The Thieves".

It really caught him off guard and made him feel ridiculous.

No one knew about his twelve years of acting experience, but his casting became famous all over the world!
Within a day, Liu Dehua spoke out.

"Thank you fans for your love, but Hanyu's acting is also very good. I lost to Hanyu because Hanyu is more suitable for this role than me."

"To paraphrase Director Li, I lost because of my appearance, not my acting skills. With this face, who would want to be a thief?"

Once Liu Dehua spoke out on his blog, the anger of the fans was half extinguished.

"This reason is acceptable. Li Chen finally said something sensible. It is really unacceptable for Hua Zai to be a thief with his looks."

"Then what does 'A World Without Thieves' say?"

"Li Chen is not Feng Xiaogang. He doesn't care about big names or small names! Why must he choose your Huazai?"

Unlike the indignation of netizens, Rongchen Pictures' casting has given hope to artists in the circle, especially those below the second-tier level who have no resources and background.

At least Rongchen Pictures’ casting is fair and just.

There aren’t so many unspoken rules and exchanges of interests.

Many veteran artists who have worked with Zhang Hanyu and Wang Qianyuan have spoken out for these two mainland actors.

For a time, the reputation of Rongchen Pictures skyrocketed.

Even Tian Zhuangzhuang called to praise him on behalf of the school.

Although several investors were a little nervous, after all, they had invested real money.

Can such casting really support this big production?
However, the leading companies China Film Group and Shanghai Film Group did not raise any questions, so the other private enterprises could only turn a deaf ear and remain dumb.

In fact, Han Saping did make a phone call, but Li Chen rejected it with just one sentence.

"Boss Han, if you regret it, you can withdraw your investment now."

Han Saping was about to curse, but Li Chen hung up the phone directly, which made Han Saping almost get internal injuries from anger.

(End of this chapter)