Chapter 55: Zhang Jizhong

Zhang Jizhong had been very annoyed for the past few months, feeling like everything was going wrong.

*The Return of the Condor Heroes* was a major IP among Jin Yong novel fans and was one of the most influential and well-known works among Jin Yong's novels.

But this TV series was hard to film because the 1995 version starring Louis Koo and Carman Lee was also a classic. If the effect of the filming was even slightly off, it would inevitably be criticized and attacked just like his *Legend of the Condor Heroes*.

After finishing *Legend of the Condor Heroes*, he had prepared for a long time before daring to raise funds to start filming this popular martial arts work.

However, this costume drama, which cost tens of millions and was touted as the largest investment in domestic history, encountered a disastrous situation from the very beginning.

The cast had already been selected last year. The female lead, needless to say, was surnamed Liu, a junior at the Beijing Film Academy who had a deep connection with him and had acted in his *Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils* before.

The male lead had also been decided through competition; he was a star who had graduated from the Beijing Film Academy. He was quite handsome and had invested a fair amount of money.

However, just last July, as the crew was about to go to Jiuzhaigou in Xichuan to officially start filming, the male lead who had been decided upon suddenly had a car accident.

According to the person involved later, he had only had a little bit to drink, but for some reason, his heart rate suddenly accelerated, he felt dizzy, and the Lotus sports car he had just bought crashed into the guardrail at a speed of 97 km/h.

Fortunately, there were no pedestrians at the time, and the car door could be opened. He just wasn't lightly injured, especially with a very severe concussion.

He had been recuperating for over half a year and was only just able to get out of bed; when he could join the crew was still an unknown.

With this, Zhang Jizhong's patience was exhausted; even if he had to refund the money, he had to re-select the cast.

This matter was a scandal, neither big nor small. Under the mediation of the original male lead's agent, the crew didn't make a big fuss, only screening some male actors within a small circle.

But Zhang Jizhong wasn't an ordinary person; he was a producer who valued both money and art equally.

When he initially chose that fair-skinned young man to play Yang Guo, he actually felt just so-so about it. Louis Koo had played Yang Guo with such spirit; to surpass him, one could only take a different path.

However, that young man was too greasy. Playing the middle-aged Yang Guo was barely acceptable, but to play the 16-year-old teenager, it was hard for people to accept.

This was a thorn in Zhang Jizhong's heart, but he didn't tell anyone because he had seen all the suitable male actors on the market, and comprehensively speaking, he was indeed the best candidate.

And this time, since the original male lead couldn't act, the other male actors in his eyes were even more "eyebrows aren't eyebrows, noses aren't noses"—everything was wrong.

This wasn't a question of money; it was that the people were truly wrong. Like that Nie guy—he felt he was okay before, but now he felt he lacked a bit of flavor.

Zhang Jizhong was going crazy. Could it be that he could only find Li Yapeng to play Yang Guo?

After playing Linghu Chong, play Guo Jing; after playing Guo Jing, play Yang Guo? At that time, the common people would definitely ask: is there no other male actor in China?

The key was that the type wasn't right either. Is there a Yang Guo with a square face? Jin Yong wrote it clearly in the novel: he was a handsome young man with a sharp face.

Just as Zhang Jizhong could only keep dragging it out, pinning his hopes on when the original male lead's illness would get better, a thunderclap came from Berlin, Europe: a little-known kid had actually won Best Actor.

At the public level, this didn't mean anything, but in the entertainment industry, this was indeed a big deal.

Amidst his busy schedule, Zhang Jizhong also invested some attention. Originally, Berlin or Cannes had nothing to do with the Jin Yong martial arts he wanted to film, but as luck would have it, he saw the Chen Nuo interview broadcast on Channel 6 a few days ago.

At that time, Zhang Jizhong was rarely taking a day off, eating lunch at home with his family. His TV was also constantly playing the movie channel, and when Chen Nuo appeared, he saw him right away.

Staring at Chen Nuo's face for five minutes, Zhang Jizhong didn't even eat his meal and started making phone calls. From producers to stylists, everyone was notified to watch the TV. That afternoon, everyone gathered for a meeting. However, casting for such a large crew had to be cautious; they couldn't make a big fuss without knowing anything, or it would be hard to step down when the whole city was in an uproar. So, just choosing people based on image definitely wouldn't work; they still had to look at his work.

But the movie this person acted in hadn't been released domestically at all, and there were no videotapes or DVDs circulating. What to do? Fortunately, a large crew is a large crew; someone had an acquaintance in that "Bureau," who was specifically responsible for reviews. Just happened to encounter Zhang Yi sending it for review these two days.

That acquaintance finished watching the director's cut sent by Zhang Yi, first criticized the film to Zhang Yi's face, telling him to change this and delete that, then went down and made a call to the person in Zhang Jizhong's crew, saying one sentence: "The acting is amazing; it can definitely be used."

So it was reported up. A group of people were still a bit worried, so they went through channels to find Chen Nuo's audition clips at the Beijing Film Academy and studied them repeatedly for a whole morning. Finally, at 11:00 AM, Zhang Jizhong made the decision.

"It's him. You go contact him and have him come over to take the makeup photos."

"Uh, what if the schedule doesn't match?"

Zhang Jizhong stroked his white beard and laughed. "Is that possible?"

It was indeed impossible.

A large investment, a big director—look at Li Yapeng, look at how popular he is. Could there be an actor who wouldn't want it?

Even if there was no schedule, they would probably be willing to pay the breach-of-contract fee.

The casting director who asked this question also laughed. Alright, then let them come sign quickly.

The casting director took the contact information he had inquired about and went out.

A room full of people had just finished the meeting, their tense emotions slightly relaxed. They were all chatting, eating fruit, drinking tea, waiting for things to be settled so everyone could go about their business.

Unexpectedly, the casting director hadn't been out for even two minutes before he came back, holding the phone with a dazed expression.

"What's wrong?"

"Director Zhang, they said it's the Gaokao today, no time."

Zhang Jizhong's first reaction was that it was truly a rare sight to see someone dare to act like a big shot in front of him. His face instantly turned cold: "How did you talk to them?"

The casting director said very carefully: "I just said I was from the *Condor Heroes* crew and wanted to ask if Chen Nuo was interested in the role of Yang Guo?"

Zhang Jizhong said: "And then?"

"Then his agent asked about the schedule, and I said we had to start filming soon, and he said Chen Nuo had to take the Gaokao and couldn't come... The person was actually quite polite."

Zhang Jizhong chuckled twice, stroked his beard, pondered for a while, and said: "Give me the phone; I'll call him."

The call went out, and after only two rings, it was picked up.

A soft, pleasant male voice: "Hello, hello, this is Qi Yuntian."

Zhang Jizhong knew this was Chen Nuo's agent, so he said: "Hello, I am Zhang Jizhong."

The voice on the other side instantly became enthusiastic. "Director Zhang, hello, hello, long admired your name, long admired your name. I've loved watching the... *Legend of the Condor Heroes*, *Water Margin*—no, wait, *Heroic Legend*—since I was a kid. Heh, heh heh heh."

(End of Chapter) ===== CHAPTER 56 =====