The first protagonist of "Ghost Blowing the Lamp" is undoubtedly Hu Bayi, and even the original text is unfolded from Hu Bayi's own first perspective.
This character is very characteristic of the times. He is an educated youth, a self-employed person, a soldier, and finally becomes a contemporary gold-making captain.
Such a complicated experience gave Hu Bayi a psyche and ability far beyond ordinary people, and this is why he was able to escape dangerous situations many times.
The original book says that he dares to think, speak, do, break out, and revolution. In one sentence, he dares to rebel.
With his mastery of the dragon-seeking technique in half of "Sixteen-Character Yin-Yang Feng Shui Secrets", and his courage, he became the most popular person in the tomb robbing genre.
"Tomb Raiders", which is as famous as "Ghost Blowing the Lamp", the protagonists in it, whether Wu Xie or Zhang Qiling, may be very popular among fans, but in terms of public popularity, they are still half as good as Hu Ba.
Even in most of the film and television versions of "Tomb Raiders", Wu Xie and Zhang Qiling are somewhat deliberately tied together to "sell corruption".
Although it has attracted a large number of CP fans, it has also discouraged many ordinary viewers.
In fact, Shanhe finally chose "Ghost Blowing the Lamp" among two well-known tomb-robbery IPs because "Tomb Robbery Notes" has such a group of CP fans.
No matter how Shanhe is adapted, most of the attention of these CP fans will be on the interaction between the two characters.
Zuo Le does not discriminate against gender orientation, nor does he intend to criticize the trend of alternative culture such as Danmei becoming popular in China.
But as a straight man, he really has no intention of letting his subsidiary Shanhe produce film and television works with this theme.
Therefore, in the original competition between the two IPs, "Ghost Blowing the Lantern" gained a lot of points in this regard.
As for tomb robbing, the point is to divide the money and set the acupoint, and escape from death. There is no need to involve things that are not in line with the aesthetics of the general public...
This is Zuo Le's original words, and it is also an important reason why "Ghost Blowing the Lamp" finally won.
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Shanhe and well-known IP teamed up to create a storm in the entertainment industry.
Ever since Shanhe set up the project for "Ghost Blowing the Lamp", many people have been eyeing several of the leading actors, especially the male and female leads, Hu Bayi and Xue Li Yang.
Even though it was later revealed that the lead actor had to sign a long-term film contract, not many people were persuaded to quit.
What are you afraid of about a long-term contract?
For many artists who want to be popular almost crazy, as long as the "Ghost Blowing Lamp" series explodes and makes them famous, they are willing to sign a contract for 10 years, not just 6 years.
Besides, Shanhe has always been kind in controlling wages for long-term contracts.
Often when a certain series becomes popular, Sunward will take the initiative to increase the price and salary, and the terms are generous, so everyone is not afraid of being exploited and mistreated by Sunward in the future.
In the past, Zuo Le was very lenient in dealing with series dramas. Not only did he often increase the actors' remuneration, but he also added bonuses for any film that performed well.
The company originally thought that Zuo Le's purpose was to retain the original team, but they didn't expect that it would also have the effect of buying horse bones for thousands of dollars.
Now everyone in the industry knows that Shanhe is very particular about what he does, and his remuneration and bonuses are much higher. Only when his good reputation spreads, so many people are willing to come and support him.
When casting for "Ghost Blowing the Lamp", stars from all walks of life came to audition, including some A-list celebrities, and none of them raised any objections to the long-term contract.
If it were a film and television company with a poor reputation, not many people would dare to sign such a long film contract.
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Let's talk about the casting for "Ghost Blowing the Lamp". Because it spans multiple series, the crew is very cautious in the selection work.
In addition to Fatty Wang, who was decided early, the Audio-Technica even adopted a knockout format, with teams competing against each other before finally picking out the candidates.
First of all, Hu Bayi, there is a full platoon of celebrities who came to audition, including eight first-line male stars. Artists from Shanhe's internal company, Duan Long, Zhang Ze, Wu Jing, and Cen Kun also all signed up.
Zhang Ze was eliminated first and has not yet entered the top 16. The reason is that his temperament is a bit weak and he does not have the wildness of Hu Bayi.
Cen Kun entered the top 16, but because he was too handsome and too young, Xue Jun felt that it did not fit his vision of Hu Bayi and could not go further.
Wu Jing and Duan Long both entered the quarterfinals and had a chance to advance, but unfortunately they still failed for some reason.
Duan Long has a crime-themed movie in hand, which is very promising to win awards. The movie will take eight months to shoot, and the schedule is very close to that of "The Ancient City".
After much consideration, Duan Long was finally reluctant to part with the movie he had fancied for a long time and reluctantly quit.
Wu Jing is well recognized by director Xue Jun, and his martial arts skills can easily handle most action scenes.
But Zuo Le felt that his temperament was too tough, not like Hu Bayi, who was clever and good at talking, and he always felt that Wu Jing was a bit short.
Wu Jing happened to have a military drama in his hands, and he seemed to be quite interested in it. After realizing that he had little hope, he took the initiative to quit.
Then he followed Zuo Le's path and happily went to the army to experience life.
After Wu Jing withdrew, Shanhe Artists all lost the election for the male lead Hu Bayi in "Ghost Blowing the Lamp".
The two finalists were actor Pan Ming and first-line actor Jin Shumao.
Pan Ming, looking back more than ten years ago, was a popular young star in the entertainment industry, nicknamed Nai Pan. He won the Golden Dragon Award for Best Newcomer when he debuted, and his future was bright.
But later, as he grew older, got married and had children, he started his own transformation path, from a young boy to a tough guy, but failed miserably.
Afterwards, Pan Ming suffered another marriage change, became a frequent guest on entertainment news, and his career took a turn for the worse.
Nowadays, this former popular boy is not even as popular as the second tier. Not long ago, he played the male lead's father in a school play, which shocked countless fans. It is a pity that time is like a butcher's knife.
If Pan Ming's career line was at the peak of his debut and then turned from prosperity to decline, then Jin Shu's career development was a late bloomer.
He debuted a few years later than Pan Ming. When Pan Ming became popular, he was just an ordinary artist. Although he attracted many female fans with his handsome face and became somewhat famous, he still did not achieve real fame.
It wasn't until he was nearly 40 years old that he suddenly became famous thanks to his character as an elite and handsome man. From then on, he became unstoppable and became one of the top celebrities. He has a large number of fans of young girls, young women and even middle-aged women.
A frustrated third-tier artist and a popular first-tier actor.
Almost everyone thought that Jin Mathematics would win, but in the end, it was a shocking upset.
The crew of "Ghost Blowing the Lamp" chose Pan Ming to play Hu Bayi.
This result shocked everyone, including Pan Ming himself.
To be honest, when he first came to audition for "Ghost Blowing the Lamp", he didn't dare to think that he could win the male lead Hu Bayi.
Even at the beginning, he was aiming to get an important supporting role in the second season. It was his agent who encouraged him to sign up to audition for Hu Bayi.
Unexpectedly, after his audition, he went from the initial preliminary round to the finals like a cheater.
He thought it was finally over, but he didn't expect that God would be so kind to him and allow him to pick up such a big piece of pie.
Afterwards, Pan Ming joined the team. During the filming, he roughly learned from the producer and several assistant directors how he won over Jin Mao.
It turns out that at that time, most of the people in charge of the audition supported Jin Mathematics, after all, he was very talented.
But director Xue Jun took a fancy to him and felt that Pan Ming was willing to endure hardships, had hard work, and had agile acting skills.
Both sides insisted on their own opinions, so the lawsuit was brought to Zuo Lena.
Therefore, Zuo Le specially added two more live-action scenes as the final assessment for selecting the finals, and Pan Ming performed well in these two scenes.
As for Jin Shu, I guess he usually plays a lot of elite roles, so he unconsciously acted a little too pretentious in his performance, and he had an air of aloofness for no reason.
Of course, this does not mean that Jin Shumao's performance is wrong. Everyone has a different understanding of the role, and the original Hu Bayi did have his own arrogance.
But the key is that directors Xue Jun and Zuo Le understand Hu Bayi differently from Jin Shumao. Instead, they are more inclined to Pan Ming. They portray Hu Bayi's relaxed and experienced indifference, which is very poignant to Zuo and Xue Liang.
Human point.
I can't say who is better, but Pan Ming and Zuo Le and Xue Jun, who have the power to decide on the casting, have a brainwave match.
Jin Mathematics can only regretfully quit.
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Pan Ming, who has been out of fashion for many years, won the male lead in "Ghost Blows Out the Lamp". Soon after the news broke, it immediately topped the hot search list for scarves.
Many people don't understand Shanhe's casting choice.
Pan Ming's image is no longer that of a naughty boy back then. His appearance is far from excellent, and he even has the greasy look of a middle-aged man.
As for acting, Pan Ming became famous based on his appearance. Although he has practiced a lot over the years and lost his reputation as an idol, he still doesn't have any outstanding acting masterpieces.
As for Pan Ming's fame, as mentioned before, he is now wandering around in the third line. It has been a long time since he has appeared as a male protagonist in a film or television drama. Most of them are supporting roles.
No appearance, no acting skills, no fame!
With such conditions, let alone comparing with Jin Maoshu, he would be at the bottom of the top eight.
If Shanhe's brand hadn't been here for so many years, the outside world would have exploded.
However, although no one directly attacked Shanhe due to concerns about Shanhe's slap in the face, there are still endless doubts about Pan Ming on the Internet.
Even before "Ghost Blowing the Lamp - Jingjue Ancient City" was launched, he was dubbed "The Worst Hu Bayi in History".
The overwhelming negative public opinion outside put great pressure on Pan Ming during the filming.
In the end, Pan Ming was stunned to turn off all network signals and isolate himself, and then he managed to stabilize his mentality and complete the filming of "The Ancient City".
Compared with the precarious Hu Bayi, Shirley Yang's casting work was relatively smooth.
The crew quickly came up with the casting company. They were between 25 and 35 years old. It doesn't matter if they are a little more or less. They should have a cold and cool appearance, and they should have a good figure and they should be good at acting.
Once these requirements came out, coupled with the six-year long contract, the number of good prospects who finally came to the crew to audition was very limited, at least not as exaggerated as Hu Bayi's elimination rounds.
Three candidates were included in the final list.
Shanhe artist Song Jia, Zhang Shuang, known as the "domineering vixen" in the entertainment industry, and Taiwanese idol drama queen Qiaoen.
There is no doubt that the popular Song Jia is the most popular candidate, and Zhang Shuang did not give in. During the audition, this beautiful lady stunned the entire director team by wearing a neat leather jacket.
In comparison, Jon is more like a make-up. She has a sweet temperament and has a Taiwanese accent. She is the least suitable for the role of Shirley Yang among the three.
If she hadn't played the role of a domineering queen before and scored a lot of impression points, she probably wouldn't have made it to the finals.
But after entering the finals, Qiao also came to an end.
With her tinny Taiwanese accent, she was inherently inferior in the eyes of the Mountain and River crew who always advocated original sound filming.
In the subsequent competition between Song Jia and Zhang Shuang, unexpectedly Song Jia failed to defeat Zhang Shuang.
Although Zhang Shuang is well-known in the entertainment industry, his reputation has never been very high and he barely ranks among the second tier.
Therefore, in Zhang Shuang's mind, "Ghost Blowing the Lamp" is an excellent opportunity for her to become famous, and she must seize it.
This woman is a ruthless woman who can endure any hardships as long as she is determined. During the audition process, she requested a few additional live audition scenes, and they were difficult scenes.
During the audition, I crawled and rolled in the quagmire and river without saying a word. I held two greasy live snakes in my hands with an expressionless face. I hung on the 20-meter wire for half an hour, and my spirit showed no signs of slacking off.
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The ferocity in Zhang Shuang's eyes made the directors and directors feel terrified.
Song Jia is actually a ruthless person. A few years ago, she would have been even more ruthless than Zhang Shuang.
But after all, she is no longer the little star Song Jia she was a few years ago who was bent on climbing the ladder. Song Jia has become famous, and her fierceness has dissipated a lot.
If she shoots normally, she can endure some hardships, but she really can't be as stunning as Zhang Shuang.
Although ruthlessness does not mean everything, Song Jia has a good background, and it is not impossible to use some means to turn things around, but after seeing Zhang Shuang's audition video, Song Jia thought about it for a while and chose to voluntarily admit defeat.
With her current status and abundant resources, there is no need to fight with Zhang Shuang.
Even if Song Jia wins, if she joins the team in the future and is deeply impressed by Zhang Shuang, the directing team will probably compare her with Zhang Shuang in everything. It is her duty to do the same, and she will be blamed if she fails to do so.
It can be said that Zhang Shuang drove herself to a dead end and put Song Jia on the fire.
Those who are barefoot and not afraid of wearing shoes are willing to cut themselves off and dare to pull the emperor off his horse.
Song Jia saw Zhang Shuang's plan and took the initiative to give in. However, this time the relationship between the two was sealed. Song Jia planned to find someone on the crew of "Ghost Blowing the Lamp" to keep an eye on Zhang Shuang.
If Zhang Shuang does what he says, and his words and deeds are consistent during the audition and after joining the group, then that's all. If he just fools people with his business, she, Song Jia, is not a little white flower who can be manipulated by others.
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After performing many great dramas, the first season of "Ghost Blowing the Lamp" "The Ancient City" has been fully cast and started filming.
The 20-episode series took only a little over two months to shoot, and the bulk of the entire show was still in the pre-production and post-production of special effects.
Fortunately, everything went smoothly.
In May, "Shameful Iron Fist" and "Jingwei Reclamation" were launched one after another.
In late June, the crew of "Sewing Machine Band", which created a rock town at the Changqing Film and Television Base, started filming.
In the same month, Wang Qian’s new work, the short web drama "Unkillable", was announced to be launched on Penguin Video during the summer season.
Immediately afterwards, Xue Jun also announced that "Ghost Blowing the Lantern - Jingjue Ancient City" will be broadcast on Penguin Video on July 20.
