novellhall Chapter 26: Actor Recruitment
Chapter 26: Actor Recruitment
After showing off his cooking skills to Jing Tian, Gu Qing was in a good mood.
Of course, this only applies to some home-style dishes.
Although it couldn't compare to the dishes meticulously prepared by the housekeeper at home, it had a unique, homely charm that made Jing Tian eat two large bowls.
"Brother Qing, could you please send me your sketchbook of that short film?"
After dinner, the two lay on the sofa together, chatting idly.
A meal is always the best way to bring people closer together; after a good meal, you feel a sense of satisfaction.
"What sketchbook? That's called a storyboard."
"Okay, give me that manuscript of yours."
"Sure, take it if you want it. It's in my drawer."
Gu Qing glanced at the other person but did not correct their grammatical errors.
He plans to carefully preserve any scripts or storyboards, so that he can look them up later as a way to reminisce about the past.
Even if his career declines, he can still make a comeback with these.
However, if Jing Tian asked him for it, he naturally couldn't refuse.
"Huh? You're just giving it to me like this?"
"Otherwise, I'll ask Uncle Lu to make a copy for me. I'll just take the copy."
Seeing that Gu Qing was so sensible, Jing Tian felt a little embarrassed.
She had seen the manuscript she had been longing for at Gu Qing's place before, and was immediately filled with excitement.
After Gu Qing rebound and repaired it, it was also extremely beautiful.
In addition, this serves as a testament to their friendship, and there are also some ulterior motives involved.
"Why do you need a copy? Just take the original. I don't really need it right now."
"What's our relationship? You're my brother!"
Gu Qing patted his chest and said with great pride.
After having dinner at home and digesting their food for a while, the two of them went out for a stroll.
One of them is a freelancer, and the other hasn't started school yet, so they both have time to wander around Beijing.
However, Jing Tian was a little shy, so she made a phone call and called out her fellow townsman and classmate, Chai Biyun.
Sister, why did you call me out when you were enjoying your time alone?
When Chai Biyun saw Gu Qing, she was overjoyed. After getting his autograph and taking a photo, she realized that she might have come at the wrong time.
"You've come at the perfect time! If you hadn't come, our brotherhood would have been ruined!"
Jing Tian, pulling Chai Biyun along, plunged headlong into the department store. Aside from genuinely needing a shopping companion, she also intended to use Chai Biyun as a shield.
A man and a woman shopping together is too ambiguous. Although she believes they are just friends, she can't help but wonder what others will think. Two women and one man, it looks much better that way.
Gu Qing wasn't bothered by the fact that he had gone from being a playmate to a bag carrier. Not only was the time not right, but he also had no interest in it right now.
The film "Triangle" had a budget of nine million. Apart from the four million from China Film Group, he himself invested more than three million, and the rest was invested by Ning Hao.
This money represented all his savings. If he ruined the movie, he would really be reduced to begging and would have to live off women from now on.
The script is complete, so all that's left is the actors.
This film has relatively few characters: three women, three men, and a child. However, the female lead is undoubtedly the main character of the film, occupying nearly 80% of the screen time.
Therefore, one must be careful when making a choice.
In today's entertainment industry, among the younger generation of actors, the most popular and lively group is undoubtedly the "Four Dan and Two Bing" (referring to four top actresses and two top actresses, respectively).
Although Huayi Brothers artificially inflated the status of "Double Bing" (Four Bingbing) to the point of being associated with the four actresses, isn't that also a form of marketing?
Then there's Zhang Ziyi, who rose to fame overnight in Zhang Yimou's film, and then starred in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon," after which she began her long and successful career.
Although her subsequent actions damaged her public image, she is now undoubtedly the most famous film actress besides Gong Li.
To be honest, Gu Qing originally wanted to invite the other party, but unfortunately, the budget was insufficient, and the other party might not even be interested in his script.
That leaves us with only four actresses and two actresses from the "Four Dan and Two Bing" group. Xu Cainu has already transitioned into a producer and director, and he's not too keen on using Zhao.
After much deliberation, Gu Qing decided to stop considering it and simply issue invitations to all heroes.
It would be quite awkward if he submitted the contract first and it was rejected by the other party.
Gu Qing also asked China Film Group for help with this matter.
He only has one studio, which is clearly insufficient in terms of both size and interview space.
However, he underestimated his current fame, or perhaps he underestimated the importance of movies for actors.
The movie offer had barely been sent out when Gu Qing received more than thirty faxed resumes.
Although it's just a new director's work with an investment of nine million, with Ning Hao's masterpiece preceding it, who would dare to truly regard Gu Qing as a new director?
Yan Danchen, Dong Xuan, Zeng Li, Song Jia, Gao Yuanyuan...
There are students from Beijing Film Academy, Central Academy of Drama, and Shanghai Theatre Academy, and a couple of them as well.
"Were all of these delivered today?"
"No, only paper copies; some were also sent directly to my email. There are probably about fifty copies."
The staff member's reply also shocked Gu Qing.
Limited resources within the industry mean that information is only disseminated and known to a small circle, making it difficult for new actors to break through.
Even Ning Hao, he still chose someone he knew well.
As for someone as headstrong as Gu Qing, who sends out invitations to heroes indiscriminately, it's extremely rare, if not nonexistent.
"Director Gu, this is your first time making a film. You'll get used to it gradually."
"Hmm, I really didn't expect that. Let's stop for now and stop collecting resumes."
Gu Qing looked at the stack of resumes in his hand, confirmed that the actors he wanted were all there, and then informed China Film Group.
It doesn't matter who's on the list, what matters is who they are.
Gu Qing also carefully selected some resumes.
The following day, at the Star City International Hotel, celebrities who had received phone calls inviting them to audition arrived one after another.
Why did you choose our production team?
"Isn't your film crew currently recruiting?"
Gu Qing watched from outside the door for a while, and her expression began to tense up.
No, are people from China Film Group really this abstract?
Because of the large number of applicants, it would be exhausting for him to personally interview each one, so the assistant director was responsible for the less important interviews.
"Director Gu, didn't we agree that I'd be in your next movie?"
"Binbin, I'm really sorry, but this film also has investment from China Film Group, and I was just following the rules."
"I personally recommend you, but as you know, the movie only has a budget of nine million, so the actor's salary can't be too high."
Gu Qing looked troubled and sighed.
"No problem, Director Gu, we can discuss the payment again."
Sure enough, when the topic of salary came up, Fan Binbin's scrutinizing gaze became hesitant.
Actors' salaries are generally regulated. If you lower your salary, it's fine if the movie is a hit, but if it loses money, your status will also be lowered.
Jackie Chan had a tough time in Hollywood for a long time, receiving high salaries but having no roles to play.
Why? Is it because you don't want to act? That's because if you lower your salary and the movie doesn't do well, your status will drop too. It's a thankless task.
Fortunately, there was no rush in choosing actors. The two only got to know each other briefly before Fan Binbin left with the script.
After seeing off several more celebrities, Gu Qing met Huang Xiaoming. She thought he was just going through the motions, but to her surprise, he was extremely interested in the script after reading it.