Chapter 159: [The Casting of

March 20, 2007.

The night before, Chen Nuo did not stay at the accommodation provided by the Sheshan Villa; instead, he secretly booked a nice hotel suite himself and spent the night with Xia Xia Yehe, enjoying a second round of intimacy.

Boss Chen could finally afford a little luxury now.

However, it could only be a little.

"Crazy Stone" had finished its theatrical run.

The final box office tally stopped at the figure of 76.8 million.

This result not only solidified Ning Hao's position as the top commercial director of the new generation but also brought Chen Nuo's studio over 20 million in after-tax profit.

At the same time, every character in this film became a massive hit.

Especially Fan Fan Fan Binbing, who was already very popular.

Chen Nuo had fulfilled the promise of "the sky is the limit" he made when he poached Fan Fan Fan Binbing.

Consequently, with it only being March of 2007, Fan Fan Fan Binbing had already signed on for over 10 endorsements.

Just for the Qumei weight loss product, the annual endorsement fee was over 1 million, and there was no shortage of international big names like Panasonic Audio-Visual; various fashion invitations were lined up from the beginning of the year to the end.

Things like LV, Prada, Dior, Chanel... even the schedules for the Milan and Paris Spring/Summer Fashion Weeks in September and October were already arranged.

The future "money-making queen" who would declare "I am my own wealthy family" was already showing signs of her potential.

This also brought generous commission income to Chen Nuo's studio.

When she was at Poly Huayi, Fan Fan Fan Binbing earned 15 million a year.

After switching agencies, just as this year began, and with March not even over yet, Fan Fan Fan Binbing had already earned nearly that much.

Plus Chen Nuo's own endorsement fees and previous acting salary...

Unknowingly, there was already over 60 million in the studio's account.

Of course, this did not count the house purchase funds from his father.

But once the budget for "The Message" was calculated, without considering acting salaries, it would require at least 50 million to meet all the requirements Chen Nuo proposed at the production meeting.

He discussed it with Qi Yuntian, gritted his teeth, and decided to go all in.

He set a budget of 70 million for "The Message," while claiming 90 million to the outside world.

Why claim that? Chen Nuo didn't know either; in short, it was an industry rule.

And this time, it was definitely a high-stakes gamble.

If Chen Nuo lost, it could be said that two years of hard work would be wiped out in an instant, returning to the state before liberation.

Out of this 70 million, only 10 million was prepared for the actors' and director's salaries.

The other 60 million would all be used for the film's quality.

For this film, the Poly Huayi of the previous life claimed to have invested a total of 80 million.

But Poly Huayi was also just "claiming," and they weren't as stingy as Chen Nuo when it came to salaries.

In terms of investment outside of salaries, Poly Huayi couldn't have exceeded 50 million.

And Chen Nuo's philosophy as a producer was: actors don't have to be famous, but when it's time to fight a war or have the Japanese invaders swarm through, don't just use a handful of people and try to trick the audience into believing our extras are one against a thousand.

Too shameless.

While generous in other areas, Chen Nuo was truly too stingy when it came to salaries.

He gave the two directors a total of 800,000.

That was fine, though.

After all, the directing fees for Feng Feng Xiaogang and Jiang Wen at this time were only 800,000 to 1 million. Ning Hao and Gao Qunshu should be satisfied.

He was also quite generous with the two female leads.

Fan Fan Fan Binbing and Liu Qi Yifei both had salaries of 2 million.

Although Liu Qi Yifei kept her 2 million entirely to herself, Fan Fan Fan Binbing had to give 40% of her 2 million to Chen Nuo's studio.

Fan Fan Fan Binbing knew about this, but she didn't say a word.

Because she knew Liu Qi Yifei would soon be signed to the studio as well.

This 2 million salary was equivalent to including Liu Qi Yifei's signing fee with the studio.

Counting that, didn't she, Fan, cost Boss Chen several million in contract termination fees back then?

Chen Nuo gave Huang Bo a salary of 200,000.

Although if he had offered 100,000, Brother Bo wouldn't have dared to show any attitude at this time.

But Chen Nuo felt that, after all, he was part of the original "Crazy Stone" crew, so he shouldn't be too ruthless.

That took 5 million, and logically there was still 5 million available, which wasn't a small amount.

But then Chen Nuo's stinginess performance began.

First, he signed a stage actor who graduated from the Central Academy of Drama.

This person had just played small roles in one or two films and a supporting role in a military drama.

The films weren't big productions, and that military drama didn't look like it would go anywhere.

A pure men's drama, called something like "Assault."

The lead was that "Silly Root" from "A World Without Thieves," who had absolutely no draw for ratings.

The other characters weren't famous either.

And it wouldn't air until May.

Naturally, this actor had no leverage; even though he thought highly of himself, he only dared to ask for 200,000, and Qi Yuntian, at Chen Nuo's signal, countered with 100,000.

Duan Duan Yihong was afraid the other party would change their mind, so he agreed immediately.

200,000 was a matter of self-esteem; let alone 100,000, he would have done it for 50,000.

Not only was he in desperate need of work, but he also saw no hope of becoming famous.

Oh wait, the hope of becoming famous was in this very film.

This was a super-enhanced version of the original "Crazy Stone" team!

It was rumored in the industry that not only were Ning Hao, Fan Fan Fan Binbing, and Huang Bo involved, but Chen Nuo and Liu Qi Yifei were also participating.

At this time, the actors wanting to squeeze in could line up from Hengdian to Chedun; anyone haggling over salary was a fool.

He felt like he was in a dream just to have signed on for a role with lines and substance.

100,000 was a decent salary, and Duan Duan Yihong signed it resolutely.

Chen Nuo had originally been dissatisfied with the Bai Xiaonian played by Alec Su in the original version.

After switching to Duan Duan Yihong, he believed that beyond the effeminacy, this person would endow the character with more depth, rather than just being a sissy.

So Duan Duan Yihong went to play Bai Xiaonian, and the role of the minor traitor he was originally going to play—who had a few lines and then got shot in the head—was vacant again.

So Chen Nuo spent another 5,000 and signed a 30-something ugly man named Zhang Zhang Songwen.

Chen Nuo picked an unremarkable-looking actor from a vast sea of resumes, leaving everyone involved in the casting completely baffled.

After all, even if it was just a bit part?

With so many actor resumes submitted for our film, couldn't we slowly pick someone better-looking?

Ning Hao asked this question, puzzled.

Chen Nuo's reply was: "They're all from the Beijing Film Academy; I'll help one if I can."

When these words reached Zhang Zhang Songwen's ears, this sentimental man actually cried.

If Duan Duan Yihong still had self-esteem and dared to ask for 200,000.

Zhang Zhang Songwen felt like he had been hit by a pie from the sky, getting a guest role with screen time and lines in a film of this caliber.

He never thought Chen Nuo and the others would even pay him.

Upon hearing that the production team had thoughtfully prepared 5,000 for travel expenses, Teacher Zhang decided he would keep this kindness in his heart for the rest of his life.

Even if this role only had one minute of screen time, he would definitely give 120% of his acting ability and write a whole character biography for it.

In the meantime, Chen Nuo received another call from Gao Gao Yuanyuan's agent, saying that after he left, Gao Gao Yuanyuan's performance had improved significantly compared to before, and in this film of Chen Laoshi's, they must arrange a friendly cameo for Gao Yuanyuan no matter what.

They didn't want anything here; they would even pay their own travel expenses.

Alright then, it was hard to refuse such kindness, so let Miss Gao play a dance hall girl or something; that would be acceptable.

Afterward, Chen Nuo felt a bit addicted to casting, so he picked a little old man named Ni Ni Dahong to play Sixth Master, as well as a thin-browed, small-eyed actor recommended by Duan Duan Yihong named Zhang Yi to play a Japanese officer.

With casting up to this point, among the main characters, Wang Wang Tianxiang, originally played by Wang Wang Zhiwen, and Jin Jin Shenghuo, played by Ying Da, were not yet confirmed.

But Mai Jia and Ning Hao were already stunned by Chen Nuo's swift and decisive style.

Their script was only half-written, so how were most of the roles already cast?

However, Mai Jia now felt that Boss Chen hadn't lied to him.

These people signed were indeed all "nobodies."

He had seen enough of "nobodies."

On the afternoon of March 20, Chen Nuo was finally going to meet the big shots.

Chen Nuo didn't know how to describe this so-called East Asian Film Gala sponsored by the Sheshan Villa.

It was clearly a bootleg event that wasn't worth a damn.

But he had accepted their 1 million appearance fee, rode in the stretch Lincoln they provided, and even enjoyed the kneeling service of a pair of truly stunning twins while sitting inside.

This level was higher than Cannes.

Although the service was just pouring wine and nothing else, he had truly never seen twins who looked so good before.

Arriving at the destination, a receptionist wearing a high-slit cheongsam, revealing long, beautiful legs and looking as beautiful as a flower, led him onto the neat and bright red carpet.

He went through the baptism of camera flashes with ease and then walked to the interview area to sign his name on the display board.

After taking photos for a while, he finally walked into the luxurious venue prepared for them by the Sheshan Villa.

The process was incredibly smooth, truly more comfortable than Cannes or the Golden Horse Awards. It was called a venue, but in reality, someone had taken a top-tier luxury model villa and provided it for them to use for free.

The first floor of the villa had been converted into a cocktail party-style gathering space; it wasn't large, but it was extremely exquisite.

Wang the Sunglasses was actually standing at the entrance. Seeing him approach, he grinned, seemingly in a good mood.

Chen Nuo quickly stepped forward: "Director Wang, why trouble yourself to greet guests here?"

Wang Wang Jiawei laughed heartily and gave him a hug: "Long time no see, Nuo-zai. I'm half the host, after all, so of course I have to come out to welcome the VIPs. But I'm not here the whole time; I only come out when someone arrives."

Chen Nuo smiled: "Then you've worked hard enough."

Wang Wang Jiawei laughed: "Next time I definitely won't do this kind of thing again. When Director Kitano approached me, I really hadn't thought it would turn out like this. I just felt like a few old friends getting together to chat."

"By the way, when are you planning to go do the dubbing? We're releasing on April 30th, big boss."

Speaking of this, Chen Nuo felt a bit embarrassed. *My Blueberry Nights* was releasing at the end of next month. Old Wang had mentioned it many times, saying it would only take one day, and it was right in Jingcheng, yet he had dragged his feet until today.

"I'm really sorry. Sigh, after I get back from Shanghai, the first thing I'll do in Jingcheng is go take care of that."

Wang Wang Jiawei smiled: "I know you're working on your own film. How is it? If you need anything, just say the word. Do you need me to go be your producer?"

Chen Nuo looked at Wang Wang Jiawei's expression, but those damn sunglasses blocked his face.

He couldn't quite tell if the man was speaking the truth or just being polite.

He asked hesitantly: "Director Wang, are you serious?"

Wang Wang Jiawei chuckled: "I'm resting during this period anyway and don't want to start working. It's fine if I come over to take a look for you when I'm free. You just need to cover the airfare. But let's be clear: I won't manage anything else. I'll just see how the film is being shot, whether the director is up to the task, and if the actors are performing well. I won't meddle in anything else."

Chen Nuo was overjoyed; this was exactly the person he was missing.

After all, Ning Hao and Gao Qunshu were both newcomers to the film industry, and they weren't shooting the works that had made these two successful.

Was Ning Hao actually capable of shooting *The Message*?

Would the final result actually be good?

Heaven knows.

Chen Nuo had always been a bit anxious, terrified that his own judgment might be flawed.

After all, he had staked his entire net worth on this film; he couldn't afford a single oversight.

Now it was settled: Wang Wang Jiawei, this fanatic for quality control, had volunteered to oversee it for him. What else did he have to worry about?

"Director Wang, then it's a deal!"

Seeing Chen Nuo's expression, Wang Wang Jiawei also smiled and said: "Being able to do something for you makes me feel a bit better. During this time in Hong Kong, I kept thinking that back in Cannes, it might have just been my vote that kept you from winning Best Actor. I owe you an apology for that."

So that was it. Chen Nuo suddenly realized; he had been wondering why Wang the Sunglasses was being so kind—it turned out he was compensating for his mistake in Cannes.

Wang the Sunglasses is a man of integrity!

Before even entering the venue, he had already gained such a huge harvest; Chen Nuo felt that coming here was truly the right choice.

Wang Wang Jiawei spoke to Chen Nuo again about the premiere in BJ on April 29th, and then the two of them entered the first floor of the villa together, which was the venue for the first day of this grand event.

Inside, there were only two cameramen, who captured the scene of the two well-dressed men stepping into the Sheshan villa side by side.

Other than that, not a single guest had arrived.

Before Chen Nuo could even ask, Wang Wang Jiawei teased with a laugh: "You aren't surprised, are you, Nuo-zai? I'm the greeter, and you certainly aren't the Master. Now it's settled: the two of us are working as waiters together."

Chen Nuo was in a great mood and didn't bother fussing over the status of a waiter.

After all, hadn't he done something similar back in Cannes?

The first batch of guests to arrive were Zhang Zhang Yimou and Jiang Wen.

Director Zhang didn't know that this junior fellow student of his from the Beijing Film Academy had been spouting off a few days ago, wanting to criticize him.

After greeting Wang Wang Jiawei, Director Zhang smiled, his face full of wrinkles: "Chen Nuo!"

Chen Nuo bowed to welcome him; this was the undisputed number one director in the country today, and a great senior from their film academy. Never mind him, even the school president would have to bow when meeting him.

"Director Zhang, hello."

Zhang Zhang Yimou shook Chen Nuo's hand and gave it a firm shake: "I've watched all your films; even the role of Yang Guo was performed with great skill. I've been busy with Olympic matters for the past year or so, but once I'm done, we must collaborate once."

*The Three Guns* was impossible, but *Under the Hawthorn Tree* could be considered. Chen Nuo thought this to himself, but his face remained incredibly sincere: "Anytime, anywhere. Director Zhang, once you give the order, I will definitely come. That would be this junior's honor."

Then came Jiang Wen.

To be fair, this was the Chinese actor Chen Nuo admired most in both his past and present lives.

Jiang Wen walked up; they didn't shake hands. Although it was their first time meeting, he walked up and gave him a hug, then patted Chen Nuo on the back.

Using his deep, resonant voice with a Beijing accent, he said: "Tonight, we brothers have to drink a few more cups. That mute character you played was fucking great. When I was coming over with Director Zhang Zhang Yimou just now, I was saying in the car that among all the young people these past few years, you're the only one who's really made a name for yourself."

Chen Nuo was truly humbled: "I wouldn't dare, I wouldn't dare. I still need to keep learning from you, Brother Wen."

Jiang Wen said seriously: "That depends on what you're learning. Learning acting is fine, but learning to gamble, drink, and chase women—that's unnecessary."

Everyone laughed after he said that.

BJ men—even when they're self-deprecating, they tell the truth.

As the first batch of guests to enter, the group walked into the venue together and had the photographers take more pictures.

Afterward, directors Zhang Zhang Yimou and Wang Wang Jiawei started chatting about some things regarding next year's opening ceremony, so Chen Nuo accompanied Jiang Wen to talk on the side.

Jiang Wen started by talking about his new film: "I actually wanted to find you when I was preparing to shoot it last year. But I couldn't get in touch with you, and later I found out you had gone to experience life. Hey, where exactly did you go?"

Chen Nuo chatted about his time in Langfang back then.

Jiang Wen seemed quite interested: "Do you think that kind of experience helped with your character development later on?"

Chen Nuo thought for a moment and said: "Looking back now, I think those few months mainly gave me confidence. Without that experience, I might not have been able to believe I could play such a complex character well."

He thought Jiang Wen might find that hard to understand, but to his surprise, the man nodded in strong agreement and said: "You're right, confidence. I used to be the type of person who had no confidence when acting. When I was filming *Red Sorghum*, I felt like not a single part of me resembled Yu Zhan'ao. Later, Gong Li took me out to drink heavily for a night, and the next day on set, I still hadn't sobered up, and that's when I finally found the feeling."

Jiang Wen asked again: "I heard you're tinkering with some new film recently?"

Chen Nuo really hadn't expected that Wang Wang Jiawei knowing about his little project was one thing, but that even Jiang Wen had heard of it.

Chen Nuo had this feeling because he hadn't yet shifted his mindset from his future life.

Back then, a film making a billion at the box office was like child's play, so he always felt that the tens of millions from *Crazy Stone* wasn't much.

But he didn't know that in the eyes of the entire film circle, this film, which had been invested in for a few million but had reaped over 70 million, could only be described as a miracle.

He and Qi Yuntian were busy casting, and no one reminded them that on the day *Crazy Stone* left theaters, several major portals had coincidentally used words like "stunning," "the biggest winner," and "unimaginable box office miracle" to describe this low-budget New Year film.

He had thought the many resumes the studio received were out of respect for his face.

Bullshit, everyone was looking at the money!

Just like Duan Duan Yihong; if *Crazy Stone* hadn't been truly crazy, his self-esteem wouldn't have been so easy to discount.

Therefore, it was only natural that Jiang Wen had heard news of his new film; if he hadn't heard it, he would have to be deaf.

Chen Nuo immediately explained the situation of the film *The Message*, and Jiang Wen laughed, winking at him: "When I filmed *Devils on the Doorstep*, I invited Teruyuki Kagawa. Since you're filming devils this time too, do you want to invite Takeshi Kitano?"

Well, that's what they call great minds thinking alike.

Upon hearing this, Chen Nuo immediately smiled and explained his own plans.

Jiang Wen couldn't help but find it funny: "So you had plans all along. But that old man Takeshi Kitano isn't so easy to handle. I've dealt with him, and I know his temper. If you ask me, we must do this and that."

Chen Nuo laughed heartily: "Brother Wen, will this work?"

Jiang Wen said: "Hey, you don't understand the Japanese. As long as you put him on a pedestal, he definitely won't be impolite. Don't worry, just watch me when the time comes; I'll help you handle that old man. Damn it, I have to get him to play a devil to vent some steam."

Chen Nuo confirmed for himself this time that Jiang Wen indeed had anti-Japanese sentiments; no wonder he had filmed so many anti-Japanese movies in his past life.

Come to think of it, this was the part he should learn from.

Moreover, Jiang Wen was helping him stir up trouble the moment they met. If it were someone else, Chen Nuo might have had to guard against them and wouldn't have dared to truly hand the task over to them.

But Jiang Wen was different.

Chen Nuo knew that this man truly had such a forthright personality.

After *Let the Bullets Fly* succeeded in his past life, Emperor Group, as an investor, made a lot of money and said they wanted to give him a bonus.

Jiang Wen not only refused to take it, but instead said, "You have a good eye; you invested in me, so I should be the one giving you a bonus." And so he actually gave Boss Yang of Emperor Group an 8-million-yuan bonus, saying it was to thank him for the investment.

And Boss Yang actually accepted it.

Eight million! It couldn't be that Jiang Wen shoved the envelope into Boss Yang's pocket, right? He must have asked for the bank account and wired the money, right?

Boss Yang actually gave his own bank account to Jiang Wen and let him wire the money.

They really cared about face.

That's why Chen Nuo had no good feelings toward Emperor Group and had never thought about collaborating with them.

However, when he returned to China last year, at the Hong Kong airport, he had cut off the path for that "real Chen Laoshi" to make a cameo in *The Dark Knight* during a phone call with Nolan.

It was likely that Emperor Group didn't have a good impression of him either and might have already kept a little grudge.

Thinking about it this way, Chen Nuo felt a bit proud.

Two years after his rebirth, he hadn't met any villains, but he had offended two companies.

One was Poly Huayi Brothers in the mainland, and the other was Emperor Group in Hong Kong.

That's actually pretty exciting.

After chatting with Jiang Wen for a while, the second batch of guests arrived. Chen Nuo and Wang Wang Jiawei went to welcome them: Li Cangdong and Jeon Do-yeon from South Korea.

Come to think of it, Chen Nuo felt this could be considered "letting bygones be bygones with a smile."

There was no need for a translator; except for Li Cangdong, whose English was slightly weaker—he could only listen, and his accent was quite heavy—the other three could communicate fluently in English.

After talking at the entrance for a while, Chen Nuo didn't know if it was his imagination, but he always felt Jeon Do-yeon was targeting him; every sentence was laced with thorns and a hint of resentment.

Could it be that because Emma Stone snatched her Cannes Best Actress award, she was taking it out on him?

If that were the case, wouldn't Jeon Do-yeon be too petty?

But Chen Nuo didn't have a chance to ask again, as batch after batch of guests arrived.

Chen Chen Kaige, Zhang Zhang Ziyi.

Bong Joon-ho, Choi Min-sik.

Finally.

There was Miura Tomokazu, still showing the elegance of his youth, and the jovial Kitano Takeshi.

(End of this chapter)