Chapter 43 Casting
"Not yet. Does Director Zhuang have a candidate?"

"I recommend Zhou Fa. He is the most suitable candidate for Ding Qing in my mind." Zhuang Wenqiang said without hesitation.

Zhou Mo shook his head: "Huang Silang is too expensive, I can't afford it."

Huang Silang's net worth has risen again recently after the success of "Bullet". It will be at least 50 million, and he also has to share the box office revenue.

Zhou Mo eliminated him without hesitation.

Zhuang Wenqiang was not surprised to hear this, as he also knew the market conditions.

"Then Ren Dahua?"

"I still can't afford it." Zhou Mo complained: "Brother Qiang, haven't we already set the cost at 60 million? Your male lead will cost tens of millions at any time. If you have more than a few, we won't be able to shoot the movie."

He added, "Besides, these two are a bit too old. We are going to shoot the elevator war. Do you think these two have the physique to fight?"

Zhuang Wenqiang's old face turned red.

The candidates he just recommended were all excellent actors in his mind, and for a moment he forgot that the person in front of him had high demands for remuneration.

As for age...

He said helplessly, "Director Zhou, the problem is that these two are the most suitable actors I can imagine. You also know that there are not many candidates in Xiangcheng who meet Ding Qing's conditions. The younger ones may not be able to meet your requirements."

Zhou Mo asked back: "Why do we have to find actors in Xiangcheng?"

Zhuang Wenqiang was stunned: "You mean..."

"Director Zhuang, although our drama has some influences from Infernal Affairs, the premiere will still be in mainland China. In this case, why don't we just use actors from the mainland?"

As soon as these words came out, Zhuang Wenqiang also suddenly reacted
Yes, why not use mainland actors?
"Since Director Zhou said so, I guess someone has already been chosen." Zhuang Wenqiang asked.

Zhou Mo smiled slightly and uttered a name.

“Sun Honglei.”

Before Zhuang Wenqiang could say anything, Da Tiantian asked in confusion: "Sun Honglei? Zhou Mo, why did you choose him?"

In this life, because of Zhou Mo's interception, Da Tiantian never collaborated with Sun Honglei to shoot the earth-shattering and soul-stirring "Warring States".

The two are not familiar with each other.

Zhou Mo spread his hands: "Is it strange? Sun Honglei's acting skills are guaranteed, and he has also played Liu Huaqiang. Ding Qing is not a gangster like Wang Zhiwen. He is full of foul language and even kicks his feet. Instead, he looks like a gangster. It is just right to give it to Liu Huaqiang."

The current Sun Honglei is not yet the handsome king he will be after filming "Go Fighting". That face makes people want to laugh whenever he appears on TV.

On the contrary, Sun Honglei had just finished filming "The Disguiser" two years ago. While the TV series was a huge success, he also won his own Grand Slam of Best Actor.

Whether it is acting skills or fame, he is the best choice.

"The most important thing is that Sun Honglei is cheap. Tiantian, do you know what Sun Honglei's current salary for filming a movie is?"

"How much?" Da Tiantian asked curiously.

"500W."

"So cheap." Da Tiantian was surprised.

“It’s just that cheap.”

Zhou Mo held up five fingers: "Five million won't buy you a loss, it won't buy you a scam. Five million can't even sign a second-tier actor in Hong Kong, but it can buy you a TV King Grand Slam in the mainland. It's too much money, okay?"

"Director Zhou is absolutely right."

Zhuang Wenqiang also lamented: "Before, I have always focused too much on Hong Kong actors and ignored the fact that there are such good actors in the mainland."

He has recalled the relevant information about Sun Honglei. To be honest, both Liu Huaqiang and Yu Zecheng's acting skills are indeed outstanding.

The key point is that there are many actors like Sun Honglei in the mainland.

Now that Ding Qing is selected, the rest will be easy.

Zhou Mo continued with the principle of saving as much as possible and began to select his generals.

"Li Xinyu, a female undercover agent, is responsible for contacting Section Chief Jiang and Li Zicheng. Leave it to Qiu Cixuan."

"Han Zhijing, Li Zicheng's wife, leave her to Liu Shishi. You don't even have to pay for it."

"Zhang Shouji, the second-in-command of the Kinmen Group, is a character who is sidelined but tries to turn the tables. Let's invite Mr. Ni Dahong to play this role. His image and acting skills are suitable."

"Finally, there are two characters who don't have a lot of plot, but they are very crucial to the plot, Section Chief Jiang and Li Zhongjiu."

"Li Zhongjiu has some characteristics of a smiling tiger, so let's choose Wang Zhifei."

"As for Section Chief Jiang..."

Before Zhou Mo finished speaking, Zhuang Wenqiang interrupted and said, "You can let Hua Zai play the role. He happens to be a black character in the white world. Hua Zai was played very well by Liu Jianming at the time."

Zhou Mo thought about it and felt that it made sense.

In "Infernal Affairs", Liu Jianming himself is a complicated character. As an undercover agent planted by the underworld in the White Square, he is in the dark but his heart is towards the light.

If Andy could play Section Chief Jiang, he could even promote the setting of "Chen Jianming's other path". "But Andy's pay..."

"Andy Lau and I are friends, and he also told me that he wanted to get to know Director Zhou, so there shouldn't be any problem with a guest appearance." Zhuang Wenqiang said he could guarantee it.

Zhou Mo then let him do it with confidence.

Even if Andy Lau fails, he still has Mr. Nicholas Tse as a backup.

The way tall plants handle this role is to sprinkle water.

"The last one is Li Zicheng's choice..."

Taking into account the acting skills required for the role of Li Zicheng and the fame of the male lead in the movie, Zhou Mo set his sights on the "Four Little Freshmen".

"Deng Chao, Huang Xiaoming, Chen Kun, Liu Huohua..."

These four in 2011 can be said to be the well-deserved hotties and the undisputed first choice talents for the leading male role in film and television works.

Among them, Deng Chao's status is slightly lower because he started later.

The remaining three have all played leading roles in movies and TV series more than once, and have even won many awards.

Of course, some people will question Huang Xiaoming's level, thinking that he is greasy, his acting skills are poor, and he is ugly.

This is purely because of the backlash from starring in too many bad movies after he became famous, and marrying that unlucky wife, which completely ruined his popularity among the public.

Zhou Mo thinks it’s OK to say that the leader is greasy or that his acting skills fluctuate greatly. After all, every time he makes a good movie, he rewards himself by playing the role of a domineering boss.

It’s okay to be a little oily.

But if you say he is ugly, I suggest you look for his photos on the Internet. He is the only student who has been officially identified by Zhou Mo’s alma mater as the only one who “passed the interview by showing his face”.

After deciding on the candidate, Zhou Mo started making phone calls.

The previous selections went smoothly, but problems arose when it came to deciding on Li Zicheng as an actor.

All of the four people he selected were unavailable.

He thought that by selecting four backups at once, there would always be one that was idle. However, after contacting them all, he found that all four were very busy.

Brother Kun went to play Yu Huatian, the one who executed first and reported later, with special permission from the emperor.

Huang Xiaoming's is "The Orphan of Zhao".

Liu Ye is in "Great Cause".

Deng Chao is the only special one, he participated in a play that was supposed to start filming next year——

"Ten Years of Love".

The play itself is not special, what is special is the two actors who filmed it.

White Lotus and Wang Keun Suk.

"Why are they all so popular?" Zhou Mo was helpless.

"Who told you to suddenly come up with the idea of ​​making a movie? Not only did you write the script in three days, but you're also planning to release it during the summer vacation." Da Tiantian suggested, "Why not change the actor as soon as possible?"

Zhou Mo sighed.

It’s not that he didn’t think about changing actors. Although Li Zicheng’s role is complicated, there are indeed actors in the market who can play the role of “positive first, then evil” well.

'Zhang Songwen, Xu Yajun (Qi Tongwei), Liao Fan..."

The problem is that the acting skills of these three are good enough, but they are far too far apart in fame to support the box office.

Xu Yajun is not of the right age, Liao Fan is still in the process of settling down, and as for Zhang Songwen, he is still a young Kara-mi and cannot carry the box office at all.

Seeing this, Zhuang Wenqiang tried to test him: "How about adding some money? I know Xie Tingfeng..."

"No, I can't increase the money. I won't increase the money in this lifetime." Zhou Mo was firm in his attitude.

It is harder to take money from a miser's mouth than to take his life.

On the side, Da Tiantian suddenly had an idea: "By the way, I do have a candidate."

"Who?"

"you."

Da Tiantian pointed at Zhou Mo.

　Thanks to book friend Yang Zichen for the monthly ticket.

　　Today is the fifth day of the Chinese New Year. I wish you all a happy new year and all the best.

　　Please continue reading, thank you everyone.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)