In the hotel, Cao Xuan killed the last villain with one shot. Liu Tianxian broke away from the "dead body" and rushed towards him with tears in his eyes.
"elder brother!"
Cao Xuan held a gun in his right hand and pointed at the door warily, while his left hand caressed the hair of his frightened sister.
"Brother is here, it's okay."
"good!"
Behind the monitor, Lin Chaoxian shouted and announced with a bright smile that the film was finished. All the actors and staff from Japan and China cheered.
Afterwards, a wedding banquet was held as usual. Cao Xuan showed his face and hurried back to the hotel to pack their luggage.
Liu Tianxian and his daughter, who planned to take a private jet back to China, were a little confused. They had finally finished filming and had no other work. Even if they didn't stay in Japan for a few days, there was no need to rush back.
When Cao Xuan heard this, he shook his head and smiled bitterly: "If you don't go back, we will start a fight."
Liu Tianxian was stunned. His teacher was pregnant, and someone would die in the Shura field at this time.
As soon as Cao Xuan saw her worried expression, he knew that he was thinking wrong.
Zeng Li's pregnancy was a top secret, and few people knew about it. Fanxing's entire company was only known by two hands. Except for a few close friends such as Yuan Quan, the rest of the circle didn't know much about it.
Liu Tianxian is considered to be the only insider in Class 02 of Chinese Opera, and one of the few people who has gone to see Zeng Li. She knows the pros and cons and is very tight-lipped. Even Liu's mother doesn't know.
Seeing this, Cao Xuan hurriedly explained, otherwise he would be afraid of this girl nurse, so he would first hit the big Mi Mi in the East Palace.
"The choice of Zhuge Liang has been undecided for a long time. There is quite a quarrel within the crew. I will go back and take charge of the overall situation."
"You haven't decided yet?"
Liu Ma muttered that although she was not a qualified agent, she still had at least some information channels. Tianya, Blog, and Shijiang.com also had relevant news.
As far as she knew, this had been debated for almost a month, and it still hadn't been decided yet.
"Not only is it undecided, but it's getting more and more noisy."
Cao Xuan gets a headache when he mentions this. The character Zhuge Liang is too charming. Everyone has their own preconceptions and opinions about each other.
If we had just cut the knot with a sharp knife before, dissatisfaction was just dissatisfaction, and there was nothing we could do to change it.
But because I wanted to find one that was relatively suitable, this hesitation gave everyone room to argue, and everyone was tearing up the piece.
Not to mention the outside world, there are many hills within the crew alone.
Jiao Enjun is an artist from Fanxing, so he naturally receives strong support from Fanxing. The producers and the company's related teams are all his supporters.
Chen Kexin, one of the directors of Jincheng Wu You, strongly supported it and also won the support of many Hong Kong and Taiwan personnel within the crew.
The China Film Group also feels that the five members of Jincheng are the most popular, and their attitude toward box office growth is relatively ambiguous.
Huang Haibing and Xin Baiqing are both good because of their excellent costumes and good acting skills and temperament. They also have some supporters, but considering their fame, they are obviously inferior to the first two.
There are also those who feel that none of these four are suitable and want to propose other candidates. Everyone has their own wishes, and several relevant meetings have made it really popular.
Let's put it this way, Cao Xuan listened to the reports of several confidants and felt that even if he dragged Tang Guoqiang from 1994, he would be criticized by these people for being useless.
It is precisely because of this that Cao Xuan decided to vote as a relatively fair method.
The voting staff, including himself, three directors, some main creators, some staff leaders, and some investment shareholders, each has a different number of votes based on their right to speak on the crew of "Three Kingdoms·Red Cliff", but the cumulative total of them is almost 300
Open your head.
When Cao Xuan returned home in a hurry this time, he was just there to suppress the situation.
As the first person in charge of the crew and the biggest box office guarantee, Cao Xuan is a well-deserved position in the crew of "Three Kingdoms·Red Cliff", and Mr. Han will be ranked behind him.
It was precisely because of waiting for him that Zhuge Liang's vote was delayed for less than half a month.
It's almost too late now, and Cao Xuan has just finished filming, so he hastily returned to China to complete the voting, otherwise the crew will have to fight within the crew before filming begins.
………
After flying back to the capital, Cao Xuan didn't even go to the Empress of the West Palace. He rushed directly to Fanxing Building and directly called for a vote for Zhuge Liang's casting in "Three Kingdoms·Red Cliff".
All those who are eligible to vote will come, and those who cannot make it will join the meeting by phone.
Anyway, Cao Xuan, who had suffered enough from procrastination, said, this matter must be done today.
After the relevant personnel were almost all present, and those who were not present were put through the phone, Cao Xuan, who presided over the meeting, nodded to Mr. Han and several senior consultants, and then spoke.
"During this period, I have been busy filming in Japan, and the crew has worked hard on the preparations."
Everyone hurriedly gave way and exchanged a few pleasantries, and Cao Xuan also brought the topic to business.
"I have also read some of the opinions discussed by everyone. Some of them are indeed meaningful, and some are unrealistic. I will not discuss them one by one here.
Zhuge Liang is a historical celebrity. It is impossible for any actor to perfectly recreate Zhuge Liang. What can be done is to make up for and optimize it as much as possible in the subsequent filming..."
Cao Xuan said a lot because he knew that no matter who won the bid in the end, some people would be dissatisfied, so he was taking precautions.
Anyway, the rules were explained in advance, and even more than half a month was set aside for canvassing votes.
The person with the highest number of votes wins, and his words are true.
Be happy when you win, and don't be reluctant to give up if you lose.
This is also the reason why we have to wait until Cao Xuan comes back to settle the matter. Once the decision is made, it will not be changed. The absence of Cao Xuan, the decision-maker, represents uncertainty. Even if they vote, everyone will feel guilty, fearing that Cao Xuan will be dissatisfied when he returns home.
overthrow.
But today Cao Xuan is here, and the consultants, directors, investors, screenwriters, and producers are basically all present, and there are even videos. It is impossible for them to go back on their word and slap themselves in the face later, which means that the result of this vote will become a foregone conclusion.
There was no anonymity. After writing the votes, they went directly to the producer Ding Ying, who counted and counted the votes. The votes were checked on the spot and announced on the spot.
Cao Xuan had the largest number of votes, with 10 in total, 5 of which were given to Jiao Enjun. After all, he was his own artist and the boss could not take the initiative to cause trouble. The remaining 5 were given to Xin Baiqing, who was personally the most optimistic.
But Cao Xuan knew in his heart that Xin Baiqing's chances of ascending to the throne were too small.
"Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff" was able to ignore the Hong Kong and Taiwanese artists and use a large number of mainland actors. On the one hand, the stars have risen in the past two years, and their brands have accumulated a lot of reputation. There are also a group of stars who are not weak in popularity. On the other hand, it all depends on Cao Cao.
Xuan held on.
As the only mainland star who has just broken the box office record in film history and whose cumulative box office of starring movies exceeds 1 billion, Cao Xuan is now the number one Chinese-speaking person in terms of box office appeal.
In contrast, he alone can withstand the combined efforts of Liang Chaowei, Jincheng Wu, Chang Chen and Zhao in the original "Red Cliff".
After all, although Liang Chaowei has a high status in the film industry, his box office appeal has never been strong, and it is actually difficult for Kim Sung Oh to compare with top-tier movie stars.
Not to mention Zhang Zhen, who may still be somewhat famous in the literary and art circles, but not many people knew him before the commercial films "The Grandmaster" and "Embroidered Spring Knife".
Zhao is very popular and well-known, but in terms of his achievements in movies, he has to be reflected after "Painted Skin".
"Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff" may not be the top lineup of Chinese-language films, but it is definitely a big production that can be counted.
The combination of Cao Xuan + Lao Mouzi alone can make countless people flock to it, coupled with an investment of 300 to 500 million, and many popular mainland artists supporting/guest roles.
I dare not say that we can completely ignore the big names from Hong Kong and Taiwan, but from a business perspective, "Three Kingdoms·Red Cliff" has the confidence to refuse.
In fact, although the previous "Night Banquet" had a mediocre reputation, its box office was really not bad.
And this movie is one of the few major productions that does not have a high proportion of big names from Hong Kong and Taiwan. The only actor from Hong Kong in the starring role is Wu Yanzu. He can barely count as a third actor in the movie, ranking behind International Chapter and Uncle Ge. Even Mr. Zhou is vaguely better than him.
.
The box office success of "The Banquet" actually proves that a big production doesn't have to include big names from Hong Kong and Taiwan.
No matter how you evaluate Feng Xiaogang, among the early commercial directors in the Mainland, he did use relatively few big names from Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Except for "A World Without Thieves", among many other movies, the only big name from Hong Kong and Taiwan who can really talk about male and female protagonists is Shu Qi from "If You Are the One".
Nowadays, in addition to "The Night Banquet", there is also "Painted Skin" with a box office of over 500 million, as well as the previous "Xiu Chun Knife" series, which basically all have purely mainland actors.
Cao Xuan has proven that he can still handle the box office without big names from Hong Kong and Taiwan, so China Film and its investors are willing to let him arrange the casting of "Three Kingdoms·Red Cliff" as he pleases.
It seems that the first selling point of this movie is the Three Kingdoms IP, and the second selling point is Cao Xuan, but in fact, the second selling point is the real core.
After all, anyone can develop the IP of the Three Kingdoms. Whether it can sell it or not, it still depends on Cao Xuan.
But even so, Zhuge Liang is the second protagonist after all, and there is a limit to his willfulness. Xin Baiqing's reputation is too low. Even if Cao Xuan fully supports it, I am afraid many people will not agree.
In contrast, Jiao Enjun has been participating in star-studded popular dramas in the past two years, such as Erlang Shen in "Lotus Lantern", Zhuo Yifan in "The Legend of the White-haired Witch", Yang Xiao in "Heaven and Dragon Sword", etc. Although his popularity and reputation are not out of the industry, he is
It can barely be considered a front line.
Even though the celebrity status is far from being tied with Cao Xuan, he is still qualified to be the protagonist.
More importantly, he is a star artist.
"Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff" is controlled by Fanxing, and more than 70% of the crew are Fanxing people. He has an advantage when it comes to voting.
It was already one of the favorites, and it also took advantage of the home vote, so the ending was as expected.
There were more than 300 votes, and Jiao Enjun won almost half of them, winning by a strong margin.
Some people may think that it is unfair because of the shady case, but there is no way, why did these people not join Fanxing? Several contestants have their own advantages, and Jiao Enjun's biggest advantage happens to be the Fanxing artist.
After the voting was over, Cao Xuan didn't waste any time and directly finalized the candidates. Some people were dissatisfied, but there was nothing they could do.
Cao Xuan took several senior executives and big bosses to his office to chat. The people below were doing their own thing, and the news of today's meeting spread quickly.
………
Suburbs of Beijing, the crew of "Magic Phone"
This drama is a crew invested by Guolan and created by the original cast of "Lotus Lantern", with Jiao Enjun playing the second male lead.
Originally, Jiao Enjun didn't want to take on this drama. In the past two years, his status as a celebrity has risen. He even played the male lead in the super popular Xiaopang Fan's "The Legend of the White-haired Witch", so he accepted many scripts.
However, he happened to owe a favor to the producer of this crew, and he couldn't resist several invitations, and most of the actors were acquaintances of "Lotus Lantern", so he finally accepted the script, just to repay the favor and catch up with his acquaintances.
Today's filming was about the flying man fighting the Bull Demon King. The person who played the role of the Bull Demon King was also an acquaintance, Chen Minghao from the 96th Class of China National Drama Theater.
His fame has skyrocketed since he starred in "Xiu Chun Dao 2". In the TV series "Zhu Yuanzhang" starring Hu Jun, he played the role of the general Tang He, and his role was still very important.
But he prefers drama. He used to think about getting ahead, and when he became famous and had a future, he started to think about pursuing his dream again.
If there is a role, I will shoot it. As long as the script is suitable, I don’t choose roles very much. If there is no role, I will go back to acting in dramas. My life is very comfortable.
He found the book "Magic Phone" interesting, and he knew the director and screenwriter. He didn't mind that the role was small, so he acted happily.
The other characters have also been changed. Sha Niu is still Shu Chang, and the Yellow Eyebrow King is still Roaring Dog. However, the male lead has been changed and he has become Qiao Zhenyu, a star artist.
It is precisely because of his presence that Jiao Enjun's management team does not care too much about rankings. It is not uncommon for artists within Fanxing to match each other.
Today, Jiao Enjun played the second male role for Qiao Zhenyu. Maybe one day Qiao Zhenyu will have to praise Jiao Enjun. As long as the two are not in direct competition, it will not be a loss of status.
Hanging the wires, several people played several rounds in the field until the director called the card and called for lunch. Several actors unloaded the wires, stretched their muscles, talked and laughed, and came to the rest area to prepare for dinner.
Before Jiao Enjun could sit down, he saw his assistant running over in a panic and almost falling over.
"Brother, Mr. Jiang's phone number."
"Which Mr. Jiang?"
"Our immediate boss is Jiang Yue."
Although Jiao Enjun has a good status in Fanxing, there are too many artists in Fanxing, so Jiao Enjun is not really outstanding.
Jiang Yue is in charge of the artist management business and is very busy at work. Except for the top few, it is difficult for others to make even one phone call a month.
The two of them had a normal personal relationship, and most of the work was handled directly by Jiao Enjun's agent. Out of the blue, Jiang Yue suddenly called.
Jiao Enjun thought about recent events, and his mood suddenly became hot, and at the same time he was so uncontrollably nervous that after he answered the phone, the first two syllables were slightly trembling.
"Hey, Mr. Jiang..."
"Okay, I understand, I will prepare well..."
"I understand, you have taken the trouble, and please thank the boss for my support..."
"Well, I'm waiting for your call..."
After hanging up the phone, the assistant looked at Jiao Enjun expectantly. He obviously knew the key to this call, otherwise he wouldn't have been so gaffey just now.
Jiao Enjun nodded to him, and his assistant immediately hugged him excitedly and raised his arms and shouted. The other people looked confused when they saw the movement. Only Qiao Zhenyu probably knew something.
"Brother Jiao, is it done?"
Jiao Enjun smiled reservedly and nodded gently. Qiao Zhenyu immediately raised his hand: "Congratulations, congratulations, you are going to treat me this time, and the quality will be high."
"It's easy to talk about."
Jiao Enjun was always in high spirits during happy events and would not refuse anyone who came. This time, other people also reacted. Although they didn't know the specific situation, they started to make fun of each other and have a meal first.
The few people who knew the inside story didn't say much. Although the matter has been decided, the crew has not officially announced it. They still want to keep a low profile to avoid any complications.
Looking at Jiao Enjun with a smile on his face, Qiao Zhenyu couldn't hide his envy.
"Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff" is such a large-scale production, which has greatly benefited the actors. Did you know that sister Zhiling, who was originally from "Red Cliff", went from a model outside the mainstream film and television industry to a well-known movie star, and then took on several roles?
Movie heroine.
In the same way, if Zhuge Liang plays the role well, he can directly elevate Jiao Enjun to the ranks of first-line movie stars.
Even if he doesn't have a financial backer and his film resources are limited, if he comes back to film TV series, his status as a celebrity will probably make a qualitative leap.
It was previously joked that Qiao Zhenyu would have the opportunity to play the role of Jiao Enjun in the future. Now it seems that it is not a joke, but it is very likely to become a reality.
As long as the performance of "Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff" is outstanding, even if Jiao Enjun cannot be Fanxing's first brother because of his age, he will definitely be a presence that cannot be ignored.
No one would envy this opportunity to reach the sky in one step and leap over the dragon's gate...
Of course, in the same competition, Jiao Enjun is happy, but others are sad.
Beijing, Mandarin dormitory
Xin Baiqing put down the phone in his hand, and his wife Zhu Yuanyuan looked over and asked, "What did you say?"
Before he could speak, he hurriedly added: "It's okay if it doesn't work out. It's good for us to just keep filming dramas."
In fact, the couple knew that they had the lowest chance of winning.
Zhu Yuanyuan still had some luck, while Xin Baiqing, who had a more stable personality, had no hope from the beginning to the end.
As the saying goes, the smaller the hope, the smaller the disappointment. Even though I am still a little disappointed, my overall mentality is pretty good.
"Zhuge Liang is out of action, but he was given the role of Gu Yong and there were a few scenes."
"Gu Yong, a famous prime minister of Soochow, that's not bad."
Zhu Yuanyuan comforted, and Xin Baiqing nodded: "I heard that Cao Xuan helped me win this role. It is said that he is very optimistic about me and has publicly supported me from beginning to end."
Although he couldn't get the role, he received strong recognition from an outstanding colleague, which made Xin Baiqing feel warm in his heart.
He and Cao Xuan rarely met each other on a daily basis. They only collaborated once in "The Golden Family". Unexpectedly, they were remembered until now. For Xin Baiqing, who is not well-known, it is still something worth being proud of.
Zhu Yuanyuan also nodded and called out the seniority of the characters in "The Golden Family": "Lao Qi is a good person. He is very loyal to his friends. Actors with good business are also willing to help. He will help if anything happens. In addition to the reputation,
, everyone in the circle admires him."
"But I'm also quite vindictive. I heard that someone recommended Lu Yi, but because I offended him before, I was rejected directly."
"What's this? If you don't have a good relationship with xx, will you lend him money? The seventh child spent his own money to set up the bureau. Why should his enemies benefit from it? This is not generosity, but a mental illness."
Zhu Yuanyuan had a good impression of Cao Xuan and defended him directly. Xin Baiqing thought about it and agreed with his wife.
"You're right."
The couple has limited expectations and will soon return to normal. Huang Haibing is similar to them. Although he is more famous, he is not as good as Jin and Jiao. He is not a star artist, so the chance of getting promoted is too small.
Only Jin Chengwu was extremely depressed. He was a big favorite and had great hopes that he could become one of the top celebrities through movies.
Kim Sung Oh himself was born in 1973, debuted in 1991, and starred in his first movie in 1993. Although his debut is not particularly early, he will not be classified as a new generation like Chef Xie.
His fame and popularity are not bad, but he has yet to make a large-scale appearance in the industry. It always makes people feel that he is still far away from top artists like the Four Heavenly Kings, and even slightly inferior to Zheng Yi Jian.
In 2003, "House of Flying Daggers" made him famous in the Mainland, and he increasingly wanted to participate in another big production and go one step further.
"Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff" is a big production that he has been working hard on for a long time, but unfortunately it failed in the end.
The internal competition in Xiangjiang is too great, with Liu Tianwang and several people at the top suppressing the competition, and there are also Chef Xie, Teacher Chen and others around.
This time it was rare for him to have a role of the right age, and the other party was not particularly interested in the role of a famous actor. This allowed him to show up as an artist in Hong Kong. It will be difficult for him to take such an opportunity next time.
………
Cao Xuan was unaware of the complex psychology of the actors. After presiding over the meeting, he went to the Changping villa of the Empress of the West Palace.
After two months apart, he thought about them both when he went to bed at night.
Of course, Cao Xuan did not forget about the Empress of the East Palace. Due to the presence of his mother-in-law, Cao Xuan once again lived a life of running back and forth between the East and West Palaces.
Fortunately, they are both in the capital, so it's not too far away. If they lived in two separate places, he would probably live on a private jet every day.
Before he could settle down for two days, he received bad news.
Grandma still didn't survive the winter, and passed away silently one night in early December.
Cao Xuan hurried back to his hometown, ignoring his grief, and helped his uncle and others arrange the funeral arrangements. Hu Jing accompanied him throughout the process. Even Zeng Li, who was inconvenient, quietly came over to pay homage, and was then sent off by Cao Xuan.
Return to the capital.
The old lady was nearly 70 years old when she passed away. Although I cannot say that she was free from illness and pain, compared to the serious diseases, she did not suffer much, so it was considered a happy death.
In addition, everyone was mentally prepared before, and the process was handled in a fairly orderly manner.
After bidding farewell to his uncle, Cao Xuan took his parents back to Beijing. Sun Lan took out a jade pig the size of his thumbnail from his pocket and gave it to Cao Xuan.
"Next year is the Year of the Pig. This is the jade your grandma asked your dad to buy from the coffin book. It was carved by the master at the collection. I plan to give it to your child as a meeting gift next year..."
At this point, Sun Lan burst into tears and choked back her throat, unable to speak any more. Cao Xuan didn't cry, but he felt very sour while holding the little pig.
His grandparents passed away relatively early when he was young, and the older generation he spent the most time with was actually his grandma.
Not being able to see him for the last time, not being able to let the old man see his great-grandson, will be Cao Xuan's eternal regret.
Grandma, and Mr. Huo a little earlier, two respected elders passed away one after another, which also had a great impact on Cao Xuan. Especially when he saw that his parents had a few white hairs on their heads and more wrinkles on their faces, he felt even more grateful for the years.
ruthless.
Although he usually screams like an old couple in his heart, in fact, in his heart, his parents have always been in their thirties, an age when they were still beating him to death with a broom.
However, now he suddenly realized that his parents had passed the age of knowing their destiny.
Even though they have been enjoying themselves in recent years, the suffering suffered by the couple in their early years cannot be easily made up for.
Cao Shuangguo worked hard as a young man and suffered from a bad back and a broken leg. The pain was severe when the weather was particularly cold.
It was said that Sun Lan had to work in the fields during confinement and suffered from sequelae. Moreover, Cao Xuan's family was poor when he was a child, so Sun Lan would only eat one or two meals a day, and the food was not good, so he always had stomach problems.
The death of his grandma made Cao Xuan feel that he had "grown up" a lot. He tried his best to take time to come back to visit her every few days, and also planned to find an opportunity to take his parents out for a few rounds.
Grandma's regrets could no longer be made up for, and he did not want to add new regrets.
ps: Friendly recommendation of the book "A Top-notch Life Starts from Fighting on the Street" by the master Chen Xinshu of the Southern Dynasty. If you are interested, you can check it out.
