Regarding the casting of "Painted Skin", it lasted from November to December. Various actors and actresses frequently resorted to tricks. The crew of "Painted Skin" deliberately spread the heat and had a warm and ambiguous attitude.

During the hottest period, several companies even exposed each other's dirty information. Tianya and Tieba were all crazy about it, eating everything to the fullest.

But no matter how lively it is, it will eventually end one day.

"Painted Skin" publicly stated that Zhao and Li Bingbing did not fit the roles of the crew, and they withdrew from the campaign.

Hong Kong and Taiwanese actresses such as Zhang Yunv were recruited from the beginning, and it was impossible to compete for roles among artists under Fanxing. Sun Niangniang, Xu Qing and others had limited spots for famous celebrities, so they were basically just accompanying them.

So after a fierce battle, although some people were still hyping other actors, some media and gossip experts in the industry basically selected a few final candidates.

Hu Jing, Fan Xiaopang, Gao Yuanyuan, Zhou Gongzi and Jiji Zhang.

Hu Jing doesn’t need to say much, there are even rumors that one of the two female leads has already been decided, and the rest are just competing for one of them.

Fan Xiaopang is a strong contender for the first sister of Fanxing. She has previously played the female lead in "New World" and "Xiu Chun Dao 2", so "Painted Skin" is very likely to be a joint performance of the two generations of first sister of Fanxing.

Gao Yuanyuan is also a star star. Although she is not as good as the first two, she can still be regarded as an A-list actress. She has also had the experience of starring in star movies, so she may have the opportunity to make a counterattack.

But soon, Yinghuang announced that Cheng Long's new film "Baby Project" will feature Gao Yuanyuan as the first female lead...

Although this does not mean that Gao Yuanyuan is out, the chance is definitely much smaller.

As these three artists under Fanxing, according to Cao Xuan's habit of giving priority to his own people, the outside world is more optimistic about their promotion.

But Mr. Zhou and International Zhang still have many people supporting them, and they also have their own advantages.

Cao Xuan has always admired Zhou Gongzi's acting skills and once publicly stated that he considers Zhou Gongzi to be the business benchmark for actresses of the same age.

Afterwards, Cao Tianwang was almost "domestic-violated" by two actresses who did not want to be named...

More importantly, Mr. Zhou and Cao Xuan have been friends for many years. They have been very good friends since 1999. They have also been involved in scandals, been photographed at private gatherings, etc., and they always support each other and speak out whenever anything happens.

[Master Zhou] This nickname also came from Cao Xuan.

The original time and space Mr. Zhou got this nickname because in the movie "Flying Swords of Dragon Gate", a woman disguised herself as a man and had quite a temperament, and then she was slowly called away.

Cao Xuan used to call Zhou Xun Mr. Zhou, and he once let it slip in the media. He later explained that he felt that Zhou Xun's character was heroic and bold, but his appearance was also beautiful and agile. When the two were combined, he had the chic and handsome look of an ancient prince.

So I call her Mr. Zhou.

Mr. Zhou himself liked this nickname very much.

She feels that "gongzi" is not a gender, but a summary of personal temperament. She particularly likes the feeling of being unrestrained and unfazed by honor and disgrace in the word "gongzi".

The family was happy, so under the leadership of Cao Xuan, friends gradually started calling him out, and even his fans used it as a nickname.

The same thing happened to Fan Xiaopang, although she was not fat at that time, not even plump, and a little thin.

However, due to his large frame, he sometimes looks a little "strong" in the camera. Once on the set of "Xiu Chun Knife 2", Cao Xuan teased Fan Xiaopang.

However, Fan Xiaopang didn't like this nickname very much, but she didn't dare to refute the boss's words, so she could only hold back and lose weight.

But Fan Xiaopang’s fans like this nickname quite a lot, and think it’s a bit cute. It also avoids the conflicting words between “Bingbing” and another one. Now fans’ comments on her blog often read “My little fat guy”.

Of course, there are also some black fans who like to use two nicknames to attack Master Zhou as a "fake man" and Fan Xiaopang as "obese".

Anyway, there are advantages and disadvantages. Everything has two sides, just like Liu Tianxian. Her nickname originally meant ridicule, but later it became a synonym for immortality and a nickname.

Cao Xuan's own nicknames such as Cao Daguanren, Cao Ma, Cao Thief, and Ba Bai Zhan also have multiple purposes such as ridicule, endearment by fans, and ridicule.

There are various indications that Cao Xuan and Mr. Zhou have a very good personal relationship, and there have been rumors on the Internet that Mr. Zhou may join Fanxing, although the rumors were later refuted by both parties.

But there is an emotional basis here. Many people think that although Mr. Zhou is not a star artist, he still has great advantages.

The situation with international chapters is more complicated.

At the end of November, "Memories of a Geisha" starring International Chapter, Gong Li, and Yang Ziqiong, three major Chinese actresses, was released in the United States, and the box office results were pretty good.

Jiujiazhang became famous in one battle, and with the accumulation of previous movies, she has established a firm foothold in Hollywood. The nickname Jijizhang,

It is worthy of its name.

Of course, it did well at the box office, but the movie was badly criticized in Asia.

Domestic people think that three Chinese actresses, including two pure Chinese (Gong Li did not change her nationality in 2005), play Japanese women.

Hurt national sentiments.

The Japanese side was even more scolding. They were angry about why the Japanese wanted a group of Chinese to act, and many details in the movie were completely inconsistent with the facts. This is actually not surprising. The movie "Memoirs of a Geisha" was adapted from an American man.

The original book and movie are full of Western men's obsessive thoughts about certain things. To a certain extent, they can be regarded as an alternative version of "Miss Saigon". It would be strange if Japanese people find it enjoyable.

Fortunately, Kokusai Chapter played a Japanese geisha this time. Although she was scolded, she was not punished to death. If the film had been set in China, the consequences would have been even more serious.

It is no exaggeration to say that if there is a domestic version of "Miss Saigon", the actor will be nailed to the pillar of shame for the rest of his life.

Especially in the current tense environment between the East and the West, it is better to consider changing careers as soon as possible.

But it's hard to say that the later "Squinting Eyes Boy" still went against the trend and committed crimes. Not only did it gross 250 million at the box office, but it also scored 8.3 points on Douban, making it the highest-scoring Chinese movie in 2021.

It is difficult for ordinary people to imagine the integrity of capital and the lower limits of certain people, so a certain platform deserves to be rectified...

But no matter what, the box office and performance of "Memoirs of a Geisha" are here. International Zhang is also the only Chinese actress who is expected to take over 100 million U.S. dollars in box office.

Not to mention, last year she won the Golden Rooster Best Actress, and this year she won the Golden Rooster Best Actress again for "2042".

Combining her popularity, achievements, influence and awards, she is well-deserved to be number one at her age, and has faintly surpassed a certain Zhao to become the number one little flower in China.

Even if it weren't for the mediocre national popularity and word-of-mouth reputation, she would already be the number one little girl in China.

Under such circumstances, Huayi was under pressure to invite International Chapter to participate in "The Banquet". Although the outside world was not optimistic about it, they did not dare to remove International Chapter from the candidate list of "Painted Skin".

But don’t forget, International Zhang is Hu Jing’s college classmate and “best friend”. A lot of things can change if the pillow blows.

The outside world has made a lot of noise, but in fact, it is December and the crew of "Painted Skin" has basically already decided on the relevant starring roles.

Cao Xuan plays Wang Sheng, Hu Jing plays Pei Rong, and Xiao Wei is played by Mr. Zhou.

In the original version, the role of Sun Niangniang was too redundant, so it was deleted. The role of Zhen Bullet is still there, and it has been combined with Sun Niangniang's role to resemble a demon-conqueror like Yan Chixia.

But there is no emotional drama between this demon-conqueror and Pei Rong. He just came to conquer demons and eliminate demons just to eat people's hearts.

The main highlights of the original version of "Painted Skin" are the special effects and the confusing human-male love triangle.

But I don’t know whether it was to make up for the running time or to praise the actors, but in addition to the three core actors, another hexagon was created.

The lizard spirit likes Xiao Wei.

The character of Zhen Bullet is Pei Rong licking the dog.

Sun Niangniang fell in love with Zhen Tuan again.

Talking about love in circles is a mess. It not only breaks the rhythm, but also adds a bit of blood to the movie.

The Starry version of "Painted Skin" retains the two major selling points of the original version, while cutting off some useless details and reducing the bloody settings.

The demon slayer is played by Duan Long, and the lizard spirit is also retained, but there is no emotional scene with Xiao Wei, he is just a tool for his younger brother.

He was once rescued by Xiao Wei and is loyal. At the same time, it is a metaphor that he may like Xiao Wei, but he has never confessed it. He is an invisible licking dog, played by Huang Bo.

These two are now the main actors of Stars and are committed to film development. They have participated in supporting roles in several Stars films, especially Huang Bo.

Now I feel like a clown.

However, for Huang Bo, it is great to be able to participate in a movie and get a role that is not weak. Moreover, even if the role is ugly, there is still room for excellence in the role.

In addition, the plots of other movies are roughly based on the original version, but there are also many detailed changes, trying to dig deeper into the "love" and "evil" selling points of "Painted Skin".

Although "Painted Skin 2" has an excellent box office, its reputation is too bad, so there is no way to make it. The story has been told, so it can only be fried. Except for the skin-heart exchange, it has some highlights. The rest is almost entirely supported by Mr. Zhou alone.

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Cao Xuan does not plan to make another "Painted Skin 2". He plans to work more on "Painted Skin" and strive to make it a classic.

The role has been decided, and Fanxing is already signing a contract with Mr. Zhou. In order to get this role, Mr. Zhou only has to pay a friendship price, and the total of all the conditions is only about 500,000.

The current market price of Zhou Gongzi's movies is 1.5 to 3 million. In most cases, there is nothing you can do if it is less than 2 million. Although she is a young actress, her box office value is average and she has no international influence. Her film projects are more wolf than meat, and the film salary is

Definitely weaker.

In fact, the salaries of domestic top-notch movies are mostly at this level. There are more and less, but almost none of them can break through the 5 million threshold.

Don't brag based on the press release. The cost of the movie is here, and most of the female leads are not one-shot. If the salary is really millions or tens of millions, the investors will have a lot of money.

At present, the salary ceiling for domestic female film actors is Gong Li, but it is only around 10 million to 20 million. This time the international film enters Hollywood, it is expected to rise.

Others without impressive box office results and international influence basically only have around 1 million to 2 million.

Of course, for some gray film crews or films that cannot attract stars, they can only spend money on them. It is hard to say how high the salary will be, and it can be exaggerated to increase it several times.

As for high-quality projects like "Painted Skin", many people are willing to pay low pay or even no pay to compete for roles.

For example, Li Bingbing bluntly stated that he did not want to be paid, and Zhao and Zhou Gongzi also significantly lowered their prices.

For an A-list actress like Zhou Gongzi, with at least a 2-month filming schedule, a 1-month publicity schedule, and other support, 500,000 yuan is definitely a bargain.

Xu Laoguai's directorial fee is 6 million, Hu Jing's salary is 2 million, Duan Long and Huang Bo are both paid 200,000, and Damimi, who plays the role of the little maid, is 50,000.

Because it is a joint venture, the artists from Fanxing did not take the internal price, but the market price, some of which were even higher.

For example, Damimi and Huang Bo, for a normal crew, the former would be paid 18,000 yuan, while the latter would definitely have to lower their price to less than 10,000 yuan.

Mr. Xu’s 6 million is not too much. After all, he is also a great director with two films worth over 100 million. In addition to this 6 million, there are also follow-up bonuses in the contract.

If the revenue and box office of "Painted Skin" reach a certain limit, it can easily earn tens of millions, or even more.
To be continued...