After Cao Xuan got the script of "In the Name of the People", he studied it carefully and even read the original work.
Frankly speaking, there are some differences between the original work and the TV series. The former is more explicit and straightforward, while the latter has a certain amount of artistic rendering to fit the public perception.
This is normal. Although the original novel "In the Name of the People" is also a popular novel, there is still a reading threshold, and the TV series has a wider audience, so the plot and presentation techniques must be adapted accordingly.
Another point is that the script is obviously a little watery. Based on Cao Xuan's experience, it can be completed in 40 to 45 episodes, and the number of scripted episodes is a full 55.
This is also related to the current film and television environment.
As a certain bureau officially issued the "one drama, two stars" rule, a TV series can only be broadcast on two satellite TV stations at the same time.
As soon as this regulation came out, the entire TV drama market was greatly affected.
Not to mention the TV station, for the producers, there are both advantages and disadvantages. Some companies have taken advantage of this to skyrocket, and some may even be forced to go bankrupt.
Industry giants like Fanxing are relatively less affected, but they are not aware of the changes.
Because the days of multiple simulcasts are gone, competition among major first-tier TV stations has become more intense. Coupled with a bunch of online platforms that want to be on top, all parties are throwing money at each other as if competing for money, and film and television companies are making crazy money.
Not to mention shoddy production, because TV series are sold based on the number of episodes, so almost all the crew, including Fanxing, added more or less water to the script.
Some crews insist on themselves, and online platforms and TV stations even require you to sign up. If you don’t sign up, they won’t buy it.
Because you can make more money by adding water, and other platforms can attract more viewers and earn advertising money. Anyway, the wool comes from the sheep.
As time goes by, even the audience has become accustomed to liking long-form dramas, and people don’t want to watch them if they are less than 30 or 40 episodes long.
The platform, the film's PUA audience, and the audience formed concepts, which in turn affected the market. It wasn't until some viewers got tired of it and complained, leading to regulations from above, that this vicious cycle was broken.
The general trend is such that Fanxing is less affected. After all, the golden sign is here and he has his own confidence. However, some TV series have still made certain additions.
Cao Xuan also turned a blind eye, because Fanxing's project income was related to everyone's performance, and it was really unstoppable.
Don’t be crazy, don’t be deaf, don’t be a family man!
The script of "In the Name of the People" created in this environment naturally has the same problem.
However, as long as other projects are not excessive, Cao Xuan can pretend to be deaf and dumb, but "In the Name of the People" is a mission drama, and Cao Xuan himself participates, there is no need to do this anymore.
Cao Xuan picked out some unnecessary and useless plots, mainly based on Huang Mao, and cut them down. It is estimated that the final number of episodes will be around 42.
As for the actors, many actors in the original version performed very well, and Cao Xuan did not want to change too much.
If he is willing, he can bring over Chen Daoming, Chen Baoguo and others, even superstars from Hong Kong and Taiwan.
But it turned into a celebrity show, not a super important and typical tribute drama. If it were like this, everyone would just count the stars, and no one would watch the TV series.
Of course, for some characters who don't appear much, Cao Xuan thought that he could also find people to make guest appearances.
As for the main creative, Xingwei can be more low-key and focus on his acting skills.
Besides, Cao Xuan and Hu Jing are starring in person, and the lineup is full. No matter how other combinations are performed, there will be no lack of topicality.
Cao Xuan plans to use the original cast of actors Sha, Gao, Li, Ji, and Chen. Cao Xuan even plans to bring in the master to play Zhao Lichun, who did not appear in the original version.
However, this person's level was too high, and Cao Xuan couldn't guarantee whether he would be able to film it, so he had to negotiate.
The young role was easy, many actors could be cast, and Cao Xuan didn't interfere. He only settled on Zhao Donglai.
It must be——Ding Haifeng!
He, Ximen Qing, wants to be Wu Song's boss no matter what, but it's a pity that he is the villain this time, otherwise he would really like to play Li Dakang and give this guy a good beating.
As for Hou Liangping, Cao Xuan actually thought of one candidate before, and that was Erkang Zhoujie in "Huanzhugege".
Although many people's impression of him is an emoji with flaring nostrils, this actor's acting skills are actually very good in the Mesozoic era. If it hadn't been for an accident, he might even have become one of the leading figures in the mainland entertainment industry.
Not only Cao Xuan thinks so, but also Chen Daoming, who has worked with him, and even Cao Xuan's master Li Xuejian praised him.
Zhou Jie has an upright appearance and is very suitable for a positive role. He has an upright and unyielding temperament, but is not so stubborn that he would rather bend than bend. He has his own bottom line and smooth way of dealing with things.
In other words, he has a simple sense of justice that is recognized by the common people.
Bao Zheng, Ji Fa, and even Erkang played by Zhou Jie in the original space and time all have this kind of image, so they are liked, and the audience will think that he is a good person.
Even Zhou Jie's bearded version of Yang Kang, Cao Xuan felt that his handsomeness was inferior to other versions, but his image and scheming were deeper.
Only such an upright "face" can win the trust of many old people and make Mu Nianci devoted to him. If he really has a slick face, it will make people wary.
Even if Zhou Jie was asked to play Guo Jing, Cao Xuan felt that Zhou would perform better than Li.
This kind of "righteousness" can be regarded as the reward of the ancestor to a certain extent, just like Sun Honglei's gangster spirit.
Cao Xuan does not think he is suitable for a role like Hou Liangping because although he is handsome, he is not the kind of "good official" that people trust.
Of course, this can be made up for with acting skills, but Cao Xuan has no interest in this role.
Regardless of whether it is Zhou Jie or the original Lu Yi, they both look relatively upright, and they are suitable for such a straightforward male protagonist.
It's just that Lu Yi didn't perform well, and Cao Xuan hoped that Zhou Jie wouldn't let him down.
In August, before Cao Xuan was about to leave for the Middle East again, several of the main creators of "In the Name of the People" had a small meeting.
The actor who plays Gao Yuliang in the play raised a question to Cao Xuan.
"The level of the characters in the play is too high, how can we act realistically?"
"Read more news and biographies, and figure out the rest by yourself."
Cao Xuan didn't have a good idea, but he actually felt that this kind of role was actually easy to play.
If it's higher, you can't play it casually. If it's lower, ordinary people have more exposure and have their own general impressions.
Only in this middle and high stage, there are not so many restrictions, and everyone has less contact, so the actors have more room to perform. As long as they can capture some similarities and supplement them with characters, they will be inseparable.
This is not an unreasonable mistake. There was a drama called "County X Courtyard" in later generations, which had a good reputation, but it caused complaints in many aspects.
This is because most of us have been exposed to some positions and are familiar with many processes and rules. Many of us are even basic workers, so we should pick the right one when we find faults.
But "In the Name of the People" is different. There are no problems with the basic setting. Ordinary viewers don't understand many details. Those who do understand can't find faults. The crew and actors have more room to play.
Of course, the quality of "In the Name of the People" itself also stands the test, and the main plot of the showdown between good and evil is even more captivating to the audience.
A large part of the reason why "County
Cao Xuan felt that everyone was an old actor and had played big characters, so there was nothing to worry about.
For example, Zhang Zhijian, who plays Gao Yuliang, has played the role of Yan Shifan, the boss of the small cabinet, and is actually more powerful than the central government.
Sha Ruijin has also played Cao Cao, Dorgon, Li Shimin, and Li Dakang has played Wu Zixu.
Not to mention Lao Ji, the professional eunuchs, Governor Cao, Li Lianying, and Wu Liangfu, none of them were powerful eunuchs of the first generation, and at the end they were also great internal managers.
Strictly speaking, the level of these characters is higher than the characters in "In the Name of the People". Just calm down and act normally.
………
The crew of "In the Name of the People" will not start filming until the spring and summer of next year. Cao Xuan didn't pay much attention to it and went straight to the Middle East after a few days of rest.
Qatar, Dubai, Saudi Arabia, Abu Dhabi...
At this time, the reputation of the local tycoons in the Middle East has not yet begun to spread in China, but the luxury level of its cities is comparable to that of domestic first-tier cities, and some are even better.
After all, the big cities in China give priority to people's living and living, so these local tycoons are more comfortable. In addition to meeting the housing needs, the most outstanding thing about urban construction is the "inhumanity".
Of course, people are not really stupid that they have too much money and nothing to do with it. To a certain extent, it is also based on tourism development considerations.
After all, the tourism conditions in the Middle East are worse than those in Europe, East Asia, the United States, and Australia. The so-called desert scenery and Arabian elements alone cannot achieve distinctive features.
Therefore, artificially creating "spectacles", as well as creating gold-selling caves and symbols of luxury may not necessarily be a unique tourist route.
At least many rich people and people who want to show off their wealth want to come here to experience the so-called world's first seven-star hotel and the world's tallest building, Burj Khalifa.
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Dubai has even become synonymous with rich people, and places like Abu Dhabi and Qatar are now following suit.
Even Cao Xuan is not immune to this. Every time he comes here, he always tries a seven-star hotel.
Frankly speaking, there is nothing special. At least the normal suites are just like ordinary high-end hotels, not even comparable to several hotels that Cao Xuan stayed in in China.
Of course, they also have signature suites. Cao Xuan came across a presidential suite specially prepared for him in Abu Dhabi.
How to describe it?
Four words - magnificent!
The whole room is in a rich gold tone. The most outrageous thing is that there is real gold in it. The nightstand of the bed has pure gold patterns. The bathtub is said to be made of pure gold. What's even more outrageous is that the toilet is also gold.
of.
Really, I have seen Cao Xuan in many TV series, but this is the first time I have seen the golden toilet in reality.
It's not that he thinks luxury is valuable. With his wealth, it's okay to buy himself a gold house, but the key point is that this is too much of a waste, and it looks very... that.
And he was very curious as to why the staff prepared such a room for him. Was his temperament so vulgar?
Cao Xuan finally changed his room. Living in such a house made him dazzle.
Zhang Chong was very reluctant to part with it. He was particularly curious about whether the toilet was really made of pure gold, and whether it was plated with a layer of gold to cover them.
"Gold is soft, just pinch it and try."
"I pinched it, but it didn't move."
"It's probably not pure gold. There's something mixed in it. Your fingers aren't strong enough. Try biting it with your teeth. If you can bite it, it means there isn't much mixed in."
Zhang Chong hesitated for a moment, but still didn't dare to bet on whether anyone had used this thing, so he could only leave and expressed his anger.
"I guess that's what they have in mind. No one checks the authenticity, so it's just them who say it."
Cao Xuan felt that it might not be fake. If you have a certain amount of money, you really don't regard money as money. Although the golden toilet is absurd, there are even more outrageous things.
He knew an old Italian man who liked to collect walking sticks. He kept a walking stick in the warehouse at home, which was inlaid with various gemstones, including diamonds the size of fingernails, glass emeralds, emeralds, sapphires, and countless rubies.
After robbing the old man's warehouse, it is estimated that the international high-end gem market will suffer some fluctuations.
Every time he saw them, Cao Xuan had the urge to rob the rich and give to the poor, in order to do justice for heaven.
What? He is richer than them, so forget it...
Cao Xuan was quite happy at the concert in the Middle East. After work, the food, clothing, housing and transportation arrangements were very considerate. There were also a large group of wealthy fans chasing after him to give him gifts, even if he didn't want them.
In terms of wealth, few people in this group can compare with Cao Xuan, but when it comes to spending money, Cao Xuan is his younger brother.
There is no way, eight generations of poor farmers are afraid of poverty, and they will not enjoy it even if they have money. They have guarded the cornucopia of oil for generations, and they are really rich and powerful.
Cao Xuan made various excuses and rejected most of them. When he left, he still had a beachside villa, a small yacht, a small plane, two lions, a team of camels and various miscellaneous gifts.
After leaving the Middle East, Cao Xuan held farewell concerts in Africa and Australia.
It is worth noting that although several concerts have been held in Africa, the main fans are still mainly white people and Arabs.
There is no way around it. Cao Xuan doesn't mind going to countries with many black people to hold concerts, but the basic conditions are indeed insufficient, the people don't have much money, and they have little interest in concerts.
Cao Xuan held concerts to give back to his fans, but he also didn’t want to lose money and gain publicity, so he could only focus on these African countries with better economies.
Moreover, the concert is not without black fans. There are still some black fans in South Africa, and many wealthy people from other countries are willing to go to South Africa and Morocco, countries where the concert is held, if conditions permit.
Many anti-fans took advantage of this to make trouble, saying that Cao Xuan was just putting on a show, but in Africa, Cao Xuan's concerts were highly regarded.
After all, not many superstars come to Africa to hold concerts. Cao Xuan can come, which is a big plus in the eyes of Africans.
South African National Television even affectionately called Cao Xuan "a good friend of the African people" and thanked him for the wonderful performances and respect he provided to Africa.
