052 'Little Li Fei Dao' and 'The True Color of Criminal Police'
There were quite a few film crews who came to see Cao Xuan. Putting aside the grass-stage crew who made up the numbers, there were also five or six regular film crews.
However, compared to Ren Xianqi directly playing the male lead, most of the crews who came to Cao Xuan were second and third-tier cast members, and the crews from Hong Kong and Taiwan were even lower.
This is also understandable.
It's not that Cao Xuan is not as popular as Ren Xianqi, it's mainly that mainland artists are inferior to Hong Kong and Taiwan these days, especially male actors. Mainland actors can't compete with those Hong Kong and Taiwan male stars.
What's more important is that Ren Xianqi is backed by a company, has strong network resources, and may even directly participate in the investment of the crew.
In contrast, Cao Xuan opened his own studio and worked alone, with weak film and television connections and resources. Even if the crew and producers took a fancy to his popularity, they would definitely give priority to promoting their own artists.
Cao Xuan had already anticipated this situation, otherwise he would not have chosen a singer to start.
Starting as a singer, relying on the popularity accumulated in the music industry, he can also break through the barriers in the film and television industry, and gradually rise from second to third supporting roles.
If you only rely on Ximen Qing to become famous in the film and television industry, the difficulty level will be ten times higher.
Unless he is willing to stay with a rich woman or sell his butt...
Cao Xuan and his manager Jiang Yue had previously discussed that for now, the focus of his career is still on the music scene, to further consolidate his fame and status, and to constantly seek breakthroughs.
As for film and television, I advocate playing it slow and steady, not rushing to be the male lead, but focusing on building your reputation and increasing your reputation first.
Once Cao Xuan slowly built up his reputation and qualifications, coupled with his rising popularity in the music industry, the role of the male lead came naturally.
Even at that time, without the support of a big company, Cao Xuan was still marginalized by the film and television industry and could not get a leading role.
But after several years of accumulation, Cao Xuan almost had independent capital by then, and at the worst he could start his own business.
But now that he is still young, Cao Xuan can only serve as a matchmaker for others honestly.
In fact, personally speaking, Cao Xuan doesn't care too much about the role and the role. He cares more about whether the character is good or not.
Just like his previous role as Ximen Qing, his role in "Water Margin" was not even ranked in the top twenty, but his level of excellence was definitely among the top.
But in the world of martial arts, people can't help themselves.
Sometimes what artists compete for is not the role, but the status in the crew or even the entire entertainment industry.
Especially artists who are on the rise or currently popular are not allowed to retreat. Even if they know that the protagonist is not suitable for them, they still have to grit their teeth and act.
If Cao Xuan wants to break out of this weird circle and play roles as he pleases, he has to wait until his fame and celebrity status are completely established.
………
Because film and television resources are limited, Cao Xuan is very careful when choosing, and strives to be practical at every step.
Cao Xuan carefully read through the many scripts Jiang Yue brought to Luzhou from the capital, and finally chose two roles.
Luo Yang in the mainland criminal investigation drama "The True Colors of a Detective" and Jing Wuming in the Taiwanese martial arts drama "Xiao Li Fei Dao".
The roles of these two roles are not heavy, but what Cao Xuan values is the influence of these two dramas. A supporting role in a popular drama is far more rewarding than playing the second male lead in an ordinary TV drama.
"The True Colors of a Detective" is adapted from the novel "The Devil and the Tao of Heaven", directed by director Zhang Jiandong, and produced by a private advertising company, China Film Cooperation Company and the Hui Provincial Public Security Department.
The male protagonist of this drama is none other than Wang Zhiwen, who is now a hit because of "Enjoyable", and the main villain is Li Youbin, the future leader of "Bright Sword".
Luo Yang, played by Cao Xuan, is barely considered the fourth male lead in the film. His role is average, but he has a whole character line.
He was originally a harmless and motivated young man who set up a stall to do business in order to bear the burden of the family. As a result, he was repeatedly bullied by the local evil forces and turned into a black man and embarked on a path of no return. He became a murderer who killed without blinking an eye and was eventually punished.
This is a villain with tragic elements, and the charm of the character is not even weaker than that of several leading actors.
Coupled with the excellent quality of the script of "The Detective", Cao Xuan made it his first choice without much hesitation.
The second drama "Little Li Flying Knife" is the masterpiece of martial arts master Gu Long and is also relatively well-known in later generations.
Li Xunhuan also staged a famous scene that can be called the source of all evil, while holding two beauties, Yu Feihong and Alyssa Chia, he was simply Cao Xuan's idol in life.
But having said that, that famous scene was actually edited. In fact, Sun Xiaohong played by Alyssa Chia was Li Xunhuan's sister in the play.
So this is not a dragon and two phoenixes, but a brother, sister-in-law and a sister.
If given the choice, Cao Xuan would definitely prefer to play Li Xunhuan. With his good looks, he is very confident that he can support Xiao Li's success.
However, "Little Lee Flying Knives" is produced by Taiwan's China Television, so we must give priority to Jiao Enjun, one of our own.
Not to mention the male lead Li Xunhuan, even the second male lead Ah Fei, Cao Xuan couldn't win.
Because one of the co-directors of "Little Li Flying Knife" is Yuan Baye, and Wu Jing, who plays Ah Fei, is the one whom Yuan Baye highly praises, and even Jiao Enjun cannot replace him.
Speaking of which, Cao Xuan was able to act in this drama because of his enthusiasm for the last "Water Margin", and Yuan Baye recommended him to the producer of "Little Li Fei Dao".
Of course, Cao Xuan's current popularity is also an important reason.
The role of Jing Wuming is regarded as the sixth male role in "Little Li's Flying Knife". The roles before him, Long Xiaoyun, Shangguan Jinhong and Long Xiaoyun, were not suitable for Cao Xuan because of age differences.
In the Gu Long martial arts universe, Jing Wuming has a strong presence and has appeared in many works, and the setting is quite interesting.
A left-handed swordsman, his martial arts is among the best in the world, and his hidden right hand is faster than his left hand. He is very loyal to Shangguan Jinhong, almost treating him as the light of his own life, and even has a vague Electra complex.
As a popular film and television drama, "Little Li Flying Knives" is not as complicated as the original work.
Jing Wuming is still Shangguan Jinhong's subordinate, but he is an undercover agent. His family was killed by Shangguan Jinhong, so he lurks in the Money Gang to prepare for revenge. In the end, he was killed by Shangguan Jinhong when he confronted Shangguan Jinhong.
Compared with the original work, the charm of this character in the film and television version has been weakened too much.
If "Little Li Fei Dao" was not expected to be a hit, Cao Xuan would not have agreed to star in it.
For this reason, Cao Xuan specifically requested the screenwriter's phone number through the producer, hoping that the other party could change Jing Wuming's setting in the script, for example, to be closer to the cold-blooded killer like the original.
No matter how you say it, Cao Xuan can be considered a famous singer.
He was willing to "condescend" to play such a small role and only made such a request, which was not too excessive. After discussion, the crew of "Little Li Fei Knife" felt that he could agree to it.
After that, Cao Xuan successively finalized contracts with the two crews of "The Detective" and "Little Li Fei Dao".
The salary for a single episode of "The True Colors of a Detective" is 15,000 yuan. The entire show Cao Xuan has almost ten episodes, with a total salary of 150,000 yuan.
"Little Li Fei Dao" did not calculate the single episode remuneration, but packaged it to 400,000, which included in addition to the remuneration the cost of purchasing a theme song from Cao Xuan.
According to Cao Xuan’s current position in the music and film circles, the 400,000-mile salary obviously does not account for the majority...
