A great director who grew up happily

Chapter 326 I Treat You as a Brother, But You Want to Be My Father

"The Wandering Earth?" Chen Jinnian asked back.

Guo Xing was not particularly surprised. The project preparation for "The Wandering Earth" was very early. Preparations had already begun when he founded his own company two years ago. It was no secret to people in the industry.

"Yes, the male lead of the movie, Liu Qi"

He looked at Wu Jing behind him and slowly shook his head, "I'm sorry, Director, I don't think I'm qualified for such an important role."

This was of course his excuse for refusal. The real reason was that he did not want to play the role of Wu Jing's son. The other party was still holding a grudge against him for the emoticon incident last year and had been waiting for an opportunity for revenge. If he agreed to Guo Xing's request now, he would definitely have another father immediately.

Seeing that he was rejected, Guo Xun did not give up. He turned around and gave Zhao Jinmai a wink.

The heroine of the movie is the younger sister Han Duoduo, who is set as a high school student, around 15 years old, so there are not many actors who meet the requirements, and there are only two who are popular and recognizable with the audience. Therefore, Zhao Jinmai was confirmed by the crew very early, and Guo Fan brought her with him because of the need to play a role together.

The crew has been auditioning for the role of Liu Qi in recent days, but after searching for a long time, they haven't found a suitable candidate.

After receiving the director's gaze, Zhao Jinmai immediately said, "Brother, why are you not suitable? I saw your movie last year, and I feel that Liu Qi and Luo Xiaoyi have the same personality, the same unruly and rebellious stubbornness, but Liu Qi is a bit more cynical, while Luo Xiaoyi is more hot-blooded."

"More importantly, you have two sisters, so you're perfect to play the older brother."

"Where did I get two sisters?" Chen Jinnian's brain suddenly short-circuited and he asked subconsciously. He remembered that he only had one sister. When he saw Zhao Jinmai's unfriendly face, he suddenly remembered that he had another one. He immediately changed his words and said, "Yes, yes, I have two sisters. How could I forget Xuanyue?"

Xuanyue, I'm sorry, please take another stab for your brother.

"Hmph." Zhao Jinmai snorted and gave him a look that said, "You're smart."

When Guo Meng saw that Chen Jinnian's tone had softened, he and his partner Gong Geer immediately began to narrate the plot of the movie to him and persuade him to audition for the role.

The role of Liu Qi has certain appearance requirements. Guo Xun wants an actor with a typical masculine style, so young actors with a milky or feminine style are not considered. At the same time, the character's arc has great requirements on the actor's acting skills. If he plays it well, he will be a young man who grew up in rebellion. If he plays it badly, he will be a little gangster who fights on the streets.

Wu Jing, who was standing next to them, was originally waiting for them to finish talking before going out for a drink. However, after listening to Guo Xun's narration of the script and learning that it was a romantic story about wandering around the Earth, he gradually became drawn in.

Especially after hearing the ending about Jupiter being set on fire, he immediately exclaimed: "This movie is great. Is there anyone who can play Liu Peiqiang? If no one does, let me play the role. I haven't even flown a spaceship yet."

Guo Xun was overjoyed and immediately grabbed the other person's hand excitedly.

"That would be great! If Mr. Wu could make a cameo appearance, that would be even better. However, the crew is short on funds, and most of the budget has been spent on special effects, so the salary is not enough."

"It's okay if there's no money. Damn, I can light Jupiter on fire. Just thinking about it is more exciting than driving a tank." Wu Jing said generously. He also knew that the other crew was short of money, which was almost exactly the same as his situation last year, so he didn't make any demands in this regard.

Chen Jinnian spread his hands and leaned back on the seat back. It was over. What he feared came true.

Wu Jing stood up and patted his shoulder with a smile on his face. "How about this? Let's join forces this time, father and son, to break out of Africa and save the earth."

"Get lost! I treat you as a brother, but you want to be my father."

Chen Jinnian rolled his eyes in anger. It was the first time he suffered a loss because of his age.

"Hey, kid, being my son is unfair to you. I'm more than 20 years older than you, so I'm definitely qualified in terms of age." Wu Jing said proudly, then looked at Zhao Jinmai: "Do you think I can play your father?"

Zhao Jinmai nodded smoothly without any hesitation. She debuted as a child star and is a professional daughter actor. She has played girls in many dramas.

"Look at him, and then look at you. Can you still be a good actor?" Wu Jing pushed Chen Jinnian's head in disdain, then said to Guo Xing, "I've made the decision for my son. He's accepted the role after the audition."

Chen Jinnian is already a well-known actor, especially as a director, he is more famous than as an actor. In this case, as long as he comes to audition for the role, Guo Xing's crew will not let him make a wasted trip.

"Go away." He reached out and pushed the mischievous Wu Jing aside.

"Director Guo, I have five questions I'd like to raise. These are just my personal feelings. If I'm wrong, just ignore me."

"First, there's something wrong with Liu Qi's character. Running away from home is understandable, but stealing trucks and gangsters' property is problematic. After all, he's an adult who grew up in the apocalypse, so why does he act like a middle school student? Doesn't he know the consequences? Stealing a truck could cost his grandfather his job, and stealing gangsters' property could expose his sister to retaliation. This is something a brother would do."

"Second, regarding the issue of Liu Qi and Grandpa, why are you all so moved by the fact that Liu Qi still calls Grandpa 'old thing' when they're separated by death? I'm not moved. I even want to slap him. You're spending tens of millions to make a movie about left-behind orphans, and I have no objection. But you can't spend hundreds of millions to make another story about a street thug saving the world, right?"

"Third, regarding the issue between Liu Qi and Han Duoduo, have you made many revisions? I feel like you want to show the affection between them, a kind of brother-sister love in the end times. It just doesn't feel right to me. Besides, Han Duoduo is underage. Are you sure it can pass the review? Although the film is led by China Film Group, they won't let you mess around."

"Fourth, the film is very much an ensemble piece, with Liu Qi as the lead and the driving force behind the story. The approach is correct, but the length is problematic. There are too many characters involved. I estimate that if you shoot everything you mentioned, it will take at least three hours, plus editing and adjustments. I feel like you will waste a lot of pre-made special effects shots, so no matter how much the initial budget is, you will definitely go over budget."

"Fifth, you guys have frozen the storyline. What are you going to do with the sequels? There are still many stories to tell."

After Chen Jinnian finished expressing his thoughts, he saw that everyone was silent, so he continued, "Of course, I'm just looking at this from a bystander's perspective. I haven't actually encountered any of these difficulties, so I'm just talking nonsense."

Guo Yun considered it carefully after listening to it. "No, the questions you raise are valuable, but we have our own opinions on the first four questions."

Then he changed his tone and explained with a wry smile: "As for the fifth question, I think it's good enough to finish filming the first part. I haven't considered a sequel at all."

"What are you afraid to think of? Last year's Legend of the Gods was so bad, they filmed two parts at the same time, but the post-production of the second part was not done. Now it seems that the second part will never be made." Chen Jinnian said with a smile.

Guo Yun echoed this, saying, "Actually, the problem with that film lies in Hong Kong's positioning. They insisted on incorporating Western themes into a Chinese story to cater to the overseas market, and then hired a foreigner as the visual effects supervisor. It was a mistake from the start. They tried to please both sides, but ended up pleasing neither."

"Yes, so you should decide which group you want to please. If you want to make a Chinese science fiction movie, I suggest you re-invent the relationship between Liu Qi and his grandfather, and between Liu Qi and Han Duoduo based on the original novel."

Chen Jinnian insisted that the movie was very good, but he did not like the current Liu Qi.