Chapter 268: Nazha is 18; One Rejection After Another

The first-day box office for *Du Lala* exceeded ten million, and it looks like there is a high chance for this film's box office to surpass one hundred million.

For a female director, this result is considered quite dazzling; for a time, Xu Cairen's persona as a talented woman became even more solidified, and it also counted as closing the gap with the other few big-name actresses.

In a certain sense, she has even transcended the category of the Four Dan Double Bing.

One must know that the other big-name actresses are merely actors; no matter how popular they are, they have almost no autonomy in the face of capital, but a director's status is different, basically counting as the career ceiling in the entertainment industry, and big directors can even stand up to capital.

Xu Cairen is riding high on success and has changed her usual low-key demeanor, frequently accepting interviews; she is truly "like a great roc rising with the wind, soaring ninety thousand li upward."

Just as happy as her is Han Sanping; after nearly four months, China Film Group finally has a film that is making money.

However, Gao Yuanyuan is not very happy; at thirty years old, she has her mouth pouted high.

"Yuan Yuanjie, why don't you learn from Yu Shijie and become a director?"

Wei Jin's face carries a hint of teasing; Gao Yuanyuan has a lazy temperament and is usually satisfied with tidying up her flower shop and listening to crosstalk, so she likely has no interest.

Sure enough, at the thought of Yu Feihong spending seven or eight years on a single film, and even mortgaging her house, Gao Yuanyuan couldn't help but shiver and hurriedly refused.

"I don't want to; Feihong is still paying off debts now, the risk in the directing profession is just too great."

After a pause, as if remembering something, Gao Yuanyuan continued.

"By the way, she called me on set and invited us to visit; do you have time?"

*Zhen Huan Zhuan* started filming at the beginning of the month, and Yu Feihong has many scenes playing the Empress; Shanhe Media was also very generous with her salary, and Wei Jin guesses she probably wants to thank him in person.

"Not for now; let's wait until I finish the project on hand; this show won't be finished in a short while anyway."

This show has too much plot, and filming it is very troublesome; with a filming cycle of at least four or five months, there is no rush in terms of time.

It is worth mentioning that due to the original author's strong recommendation, Cai Shaofen from Hong Kong was added to the cast list; it is said that the character Zhen Huan was created with her as the prototype.

However, since it is produced by Shanhe Media now, it is naturally impossible to let her play Zhen Huan, not to mention that her Hong Kong-accented Mandarin really doesn't resemble "Huanhuan."

Whether it was out of respect for the original author or because she had a friendly collaboration with Cai Shaofen in the past, Jiang Xuerou gave her the role of Consort Duan.

Regarding this, Wei Jin has no objections; although Cai Shaofen was once Liu Daxiong's canary, who doesn't have a past they can't bear to look back on? Moreover, judging from everything after her marriage, her reputation is considered quite good.

"Hmm, then I'll go find her to play by myself."

"Yuan Yuanjie, you'd better keep me company first; after all, it was for your sake that I let her be cast."

"You, you really are a little rascal"—Emperor Group's efficiency is very high; a few days after Wei Jin sent the script over, Boss Yang held a press conference.

Facing the reporters' questions about box office expectations, Boss Yang was very confident and boldly declared that the box office would break three hundred million.

Wei Jin completely believes this; after all, the market volume today is completely different.

Moreover, after the baptism of the first two installments, the audience and fans have very high expectations for *Ip Man 3*; breaking three hundred million at the box office is truly not a problem at all, and it might even bring greater surprises.

The promotion for *Brotherhood of Blades 2* has entered the final stage; Lu Yang hasn't missed a single one of the popular variety shows that count in the country.

This makes many small production companies envious to the point of red eyes; one must know that not every crew can have such treatment, and many crews have to pull strings with television stations just to get on a variety show.

These days, Wei Jin has been thinking about casting; *The Thieves* is a commercial film and wins on plot, so the choice of actors is very important.

This time he intends to use big-name actors; Liu Tianwang, Cheng Long, and other big stars are all within his consideration.

However, the schedule is a problem; one must know that for stars of their caliber, schedules are generally packed, not to mention that these few are all famous workaholics.

Thinking of it, he did it; Wei Jin made his first call to Cheng Long; the two had already exchanged phone numbers on the set of *The Forbidden Kingdom*.

"Hello, Wei Jin?"

"Yes, Big Brother, it's me; do you have any openings in your schedule recently?"

"Haha, it's rare for you, Director Wei, to call, so I definitely have time; what is the script? I'm afraid I can't handle a sci-fi film."

Big Brother was very happy on the phone; this is the first time Wei Jin has issued an invitation, but he also knows his own strengths and didn't overpromise.

"A crime film with a treasure-hunting theme."

Hanging up the phone, Wei Jin shook his head; Big Brother hasn't agreed yet, only saying he needs to consider it.

Wei Jin knows that at Cheng Long's level, appearing in a film cannot be based solely on his own preferences; there are too many factors to consider, and he still has to make backup plans.

He pulled up another number and dialed it; it was answered in a dozen seconds.

"Hello, Hua Ge, it's me, Wei Jin; it's like this..."

After hearing Wei Jin's description, Liu Tianwang felt a bit troubled.

"Director Wei, I don't know when filming starts? I have already accepted a film..."

Hanging up the phone, Wei Jin felt a bit helpless; it seems there is no fate this time.

The film Liu Tianwang mentioned is *Wo Zhi Nu Ren Xin*, jointly produced by Bona, China Film Group, and Paramount; it will be very difficult to coordinate the schedule, and he cannot wait for him.

With two consecutive calls yielding no results, Wei Jin simply stopped worrying.

"Zixuan, there is a female thief in the script who uses her body to get ahead, and the role is quite substantial; do you want to try it?"

The Assistant, who was working hard underneath him, paused at these words and looked up.

"Boss, I can't; I have no acting experience, and I'm afraid I'll mess it up; you should let someone else do it..."

Wang Zixuan is actually very conflicted inside; to say she doesn't want to act in a film would be a lie, and as for acting skills, she also believes her boss can coach and guide her.

The real reason she doesn't want to appear in it is that once she does, it means she has debuted, becoming like Liu Yan and Bai Bin, former assistants.

Although the two look very glamorous, their status in the circle really isn't necessarily better than the current Wang Zixuan.

What's more, as a personal assistant, she can enjoy the boss's nourishment from time to time; life couldn't be happier.

So from a certain perspective, Wang Zixuan's refusal is also full of wisdom.

"Then as you wish; tell me when you want to act."

Although a bit surprised, Wei Jin still respected his assistant's thoughts; at worst, he would just hold public auditions.

"However, you can refuse the film role, but you cannot refuse the current office role..."

He reached out and pulled the assistant underneath him up, casually unbuttoning her shirt and playing with her.

"Boss, let me go close the door first."

Quickly locking the office door, Wang Zixuan obediently lay down on the desk, taking the opportunity to lift her tight skirt, ready for action.

"Oh." That day, Wei Jin accompanied Jing Tian to the Beijing Film Academy; today was the day of her graduation defense.

"Then, Brother, I'll head to the classroom first. Come over quickly after you finish your business; I'm the ninth one to defend."

Seeming afraid that Wei Jin might miss the time, Jing Tian specifically urged him when she got out of the car.

"Rest assured, I'm just going to deliver something, it won't be delayed."

Wei Jin walked toward the direction of the school history museum, while Zhu Wei followed carrying a box containing replicas of the Little Golden Man; Teacher Jiang had urged him several times already.

Along the way, many students were pleasantly surprised to see Wei Jin; after all, it was very rare for him to appear on campus.

"Hello, Senior Brother Wei." Greetings came one after another, but Wei Jin felt somewhat unfamiliar with them.

"Hello, Boss."

Suddenly, a different form of address appeared, and Wei Jin immediately saw a pretty figure walking toward him.

"Nazha, why are you back? How is your father's situation?"

Wei Jin unobtrusively pulled the young girl to the side and asked.

During the Spring Festival, Zhang Xu reported a matter: Nazha's father had been hospitalized with heart disease, and the young girl, having no money, had drawn one million from him.

Wei Jin knew that heart disease could not be delayed, so he helped them arrange for specialists at the Mayo Clinic and even used a private jet to send her family to North America.

"I was quite lucky; I waited for a matching donor very quickly, and the surgery was also very successful. After observing for half a month in North America, the doctor said the situation was stable, so we came back."

A smile was on Nazha's face; these years of her father's illness had almost dragged down what was originally a fairly well-off family, but now the clouds had finally cleared.

"That's good, but regarding your father's condition, you still need to pay close attention to his lifestyle habits."

"Mm, I will. The doctor gave many instructions. Boss, although I know that gratitude isn't very useful, I still have to thank you."

Seeming to think of everything Wei Jin had done for her, the young girl gathered her courage, stood on tiptoe, and whispered in his ear.

"I'll be 18 next month." After saying goodbye to Nazha, Wei Jin familiarly arrived at the school history museum and handed the two replicas of the Oscar Little Golden Man to the school.

Amidst the admiration of the registration teacher, Wei Jin left dashingly and headed straight for the defense venue.

The graduation defense for the acting department was held in a large classroom; it had already started, so Wei Jin could only quietly slip in through the back door.

Zhu Yilong, who was sitting in the back, was startled by the person who suddenly appeared beside him. After seeing clearly that it was Wei Jin, he immediately became a bit nervous.

"Hello, President Wei."

"Mm, don't be nervous. I came to the school to handle some business and stopped by to take a look."

While speaking, Wei Jin looked at Gao Ye, who was defending on stage, feeling a bit surprised.

Usually, Gao Ye looked dull and silly, but right now, his thinking was clear and his speech was fluent.

Seeming to be attracted by the sound Zhu Yilong had just made, Jing Tian turned her head, saw Wei Jin, and a smile appeared on her face.

Gao Ye on stage finished his thesis defense, and several teachers gave good evaluations; the score would likely be very high.

Zhu Yilong also went on stage; his thesis was very solid. Perhaps his talent wasn't high, but he excelled in diligence.

"Next, Jing Tian."

The young girl stood up and walked onto the stage, her smile filled with sweetness and happiness.

Teacher Cui seemed to have sensed something; he turned around and discovered Wei Jin sitting in the back.

"Hello, teachers. My thesis topic is 'On the Relationship Between Actor Performance Creation and the Script'."

As one of the Four Dan Actresses, Jing Tian did not rely on marketing; she truly had works and achievements.

Standing on the stage at this moment, the young girl radiated incomparable confidence. She could quickly answer every question, smiling at the teachers and also at Wei Jin. — There are no secrets in the entertainment industry; the news that Wei Jin was going to start a new film spread like wildfire.

"According to reliable sources, Oscar Director Wei Jin's new film is currently undergoing script review."

Many companies in the industry came to inquire if the news was true, and Shanhe Media did not hide it, directly confirming the matter on their official Weibo.

Now, whether within the circle or online, there was even more attention and discussion.

Wei Jin had no time to pay attention to the online discussions; he was in his office pondering the cast.

Chen Xi knocked on the door and walked into the office; she was now almost Wei Jin's designated Producer.

"Has there been a reply from Big Brother?"

Wei Jin put down the script in his hand, on which several names had already been written.

"After consultation, Cheng Long's team feels that the protagonist in the ensemble cast is not very prominent, which might affect Big Brother's status in the industry. Moreover, they feel that taking a share of the domestic box office is too risky, so..."

Chen Xi shook her head with some regret. In fact, Shanhe Media had been very sincere; 20% of the domestic distributable box office was not low.

But Cheng Long's team also had their own considerations. Based on Wei Jin's best result of 668 million, the salary would only be 50 million, which was a huge gap from their psychological price point. Furthermore, it was floating income, and the risk was not small.

Regarding this result, Wei Jin was a bit surprised. It seemed that everyone was not particularly optimistic about the domestic box office market.

Just at this moment, his phone rang.

"Hello, Big Brother?"

"Director Wei, I have to explain this matter to you. Personally, I am very willing to take this role, but you know, when the team is large, there are many things to coordinate and consider. There is really no way, so we can only wait for next time. But I still want to thank you for thinking of me."

Big Brother explained for a long time on the phone. He was worthy of being an old hand in the business, deeply understanding the principle that even if a deal doesn't go through, the friendship remains. He also took the opportunity to recommend his son, saying that regardless of the size of the role, as long as it was suitable, he asked Wei Jin to give him a chance to audition.

Hanging up the phone, Wei Jin shook his head. Big Brother was someone he could cooperate with, but his son could forget it.

However, Cheng Long's refusal made things difficult for him regarding the actors; the two most preferred candidates for the captain role needed to be re-planned.

"Boss, why not consider Li Tianwang?"

Chen Xi's words made Wei Jin's eyes light up. This was a case of being too close to the situation to see it clearly; it was just that this heavenly king had relatively few works and was too low-key.

But low-key or not, this person also had extremely high popularity in the Japan and South Korea regions, which made him a very suitable choice.

After pondering for a while, a name suddenly popped into Wei Jin's mind; he had a gentleman's agreement with him back then.

"Chen Xi, send invitations to Li Tianwang and Liang Jiahui."

As long as the schedules for these two were suitable, there was no need for auditions at all. Wei Jin could foresee the situation on the filming set just by imagining it; it would absolutely be no problem.

"After these two are confirmed, send audition notices to the industry for the remaining roles." — In the office, Wei Jin looked at the resumes in his email; these were sent from South Korea, and they attached great importance to this role.

Looking at the various sexy photos that were clearly carefully prepared, Wei Jin sighed at the aesthetics of the South Korean chaebols.

In the original film, the person who played this role was Quan Zhixian, and she is also on the recommendation list this time.

However, Wei Jin did not have much interest in this "sassy girlfriend" who took Asia by storm.

Instead, a female artist who is currently unknown but has a super hot figure caught his eye.

Although she is only 24 years old, she already possesses the qualities of a mature woman; I believe that if she plays a sexy and glamorous female thief, she will definitely attract the attention of many perverts.

This woman's figure is truly too overbearing; Wei Jin can already imagine the male audience in the cinema swallowing their saliva when she wears a tight suit to carry out a mission.

Even so, the role will not be finalized yet; she still has to compete with domestic actresses.

"Chen Xi, notify the South Korea side: the actresses Clara, Quan Zhixian, Han Chae-young, and Lim Ji-hye are to come to China for auditions after May Day."

After looking through the profiles of these few, Chen Xi was a bit speechless; the boss really does like them big.

"Understood, President Wei."

First update of the day.

(End of this chapter)