Chapter 226: Simultaneous Start of Filming

The Thai Excitement begins filming.

After their trip to Thailand, the main creators officially launched The Thai Excitement.

For this launch of The Thai Excitement, many media outlets showed up to report.

Even Gao Yuanyuan, who had just finished filming Baby Project, was dragged over by Cheng Chen to make a brief appearance.

Cheng Chen appeared alongside Gao Yuanyuan, instantly drawing gasps from the media.

It is widely known that since the very beginning of his career, Cheng Chen has been rumored to have a romance with Gao Yuanyuan.

Even after the "snack street" incident, their relationship became a topic of gossip among the public.

Precisely because of that incident, Cheng Chen and Gao Yuanyuan's "older brother-younger sister" relationship was established.

Of course, this so-called "older brother-younger sister" bond is not accepted by the "Gao-Cheng" CP fans on Weibo or major forums.

But regardless of what outsiders say, verified information confirms that Gao Yuanyuan is indeed Cheng Chen's adoptive older sister.

So when Cheng Chen and Gao Yuanyuan appeared together, the media's "long guns and short cannons" immediately turned on them.

Afraid of missing any hint of intimacy between them.

"Cheng Chen is appearing with Yuanyuan at The Thai Excitement's launch—does Yuanyuan have a role in the movie?"

Although the reporters present desperately wanted to ask more gossip and private questions, this was still The Thai Excitement's launch.

Starting off with gossip wouldn't be good.

Moreover, all reporters present had clearly received gifts from The Thai Excitement crew.

They knew perfectly well what to ask and what not to ask.

Hearing the question, Cheng Chen smiled slightly and said:

"My sister has a role in the movie too—yes, one of the few female roles."

Hearing this, the media's gossip instincts were instantly triggered.

One of the few female roles?

That sounds strange—could you possibly make a movie with only men?

It is widely known that no matter the genre—mythological, historical, modern, or gangster—romance elements are always present.

A movie with few female roles?

Do you think this is Water Margin?

Seeing the reporters about to ask more, Cheng Chen smiled slightly and said:

"I can only tell you that my sister is playing herself."

"That's all. The rest, wait until the movie releases and go watch it in theaters."

That's right—Gao Yuanyuan is indeed playing herself.

She is portraying herself.

In the original version of The Thai Excitement, Xu Zheng invited Fan Bingbing to appear.

In this version, Cheng Chen directly replaced Fan Xiaopang with Gao Yuanyuan.

Whether to replace her or not doesn't affect the plot—Cheng Chen simply wanted Gao Yuanyuan to appear in a movie he directed.

Men, after all, have these strange little feelings of accomplishment.

Next, the main creators of The Thai Excitement were asked further questions about the film.

Ning Hao and others answered fluently; the launch ceremony was about to end.

Seeing they had gotten no major news in their notebooks, the reporters thought they couldn't let it end like this.

If Cheng Chen couldn't be asked gossip questions, what about the rest of the crew?

So Xu Zheng, with his bald, gleaming head standing out like a lighthouse in the crowd, caught the reporters' attention.

"Mr. Xu, rumors recently circulated about your marital breakdown with Xiao Tao Hong—what do you have to say about it?"

Asked a female reporter wearing black-rimmed glasses.

They've opened fire!

Which reporter? They opened with such a sharp question.

Everyone was stunned; Cheng Chen was startled too.

Goodness—were there already rumors about Xu Zheng and Xiao Tao Hong's marital status at this time?

In later interviews, the two stated they had an open marriage.

Later, in an interview, someone asked Xiao Tao Hong:

How do you view the frequent news reports of Xu Zheng being close to beautiful women?

Xiao Tao Hong smiled slightly and replied:

"Physical matters aren't matters at all..."

The reporter continued:

Do you think loyalty is important in marriage?

Xiao Tao Hong: It depends on how you define it—formal loyalty and inner loyalty are two different things.

On a certain program, facing the host's question,

Xiao Tao Hong also replied:

"Having good opposite-sex appeal just proves my good taste."

I have to say, Xiao Tao Hong is really taking things in stride.

Of course, some netizens believed the couple were simply each doing their own thing...

As everyone was stunned by the reporter's question,

Only Xu Zheng looked at Cheng Chen with a resentful gaze.

Cheng Chen caught his glance and knew he had taken the bullet for him.

Cheng Chen gave him a look that said, "Good brother."

Xu Zheng looked utterly defeated and said:

"First, I don't know where this rumor came from—I have a very good relationship with my lover.

There are no rumors of marital trouble; please focus more on our works. Thank you."

It was a highly official and effective response.

To be fair, Ning Hao never originally intended to cast Xu Zheng.

He had wanted to cast Xu Zheng's wife, Xiao Tao Hong; the two had just finished starring in "Spring Light Shines Brightly: Zhu Bajie," which became hugely popular.

At the time, Ning Hao wanted a bigger-name star to lend prestige.

So he wrote a letter to Xiao Tao Hong, hoping she would play Dao Ge's girlfriend.

Dao Ge was one of the main characters and leader of the trio of thieves.

But Xu Zheng snatched his wife's script and showed up himself…

Hearing Xu Zheng's answer, the reporters were not deterred and tried to press further.

Cheng Chen could see Xu Zheng's discomfort and volunteered:

"Ladies and gentlemen of the press, let's end today's interview here—we're about to start filming."

With Cheng Chen's words, the reporters gave up, and the groundbreaking ceremony began immediately.

Cheng Chen stood at the front of the group, with Ning Hao beside him, and behind him stood Xu Zheng, Huang Bo, Wang Baoqiang, and the other lead actors.

Behind them were the crew members, a large, bustling crowd.

The scene was lively; all cameras were covered with red cloth.

To be honest, the groundbreaking ceremony in the Mainland had undergone major changes under the influence of Gang Sheng.

The host, Producer, director, and other key figures introduced the attendees and project details.

The ceremony included segments such as painting the eyes of a lion.

Additionally, cameras were covered with red cloth to "ward off evil," and finally came the "uncovering the red cloth" ritual.

Different practitioners offered varying explanations for these practices.

Some said this was a "superstition" brought to the Mainland by Gang Sheng film industry workers in the 1990s.

Others said burning incense and worshipping deities came from old theater traditions.

Because in the past, performers had to burn incense and kowtow to Tang Ming Huang, the ancestral patron of the opera world, backstage before performances…

Since this was an international production, the domestic shooting portions were actually quite limited.

So once filming began in the Mainland, Cheng Chen did not linger long.

He immediately moved next door to join the set of "Langya Bang."

That's right—Cheng Chen had launched both a film and a TV drama simultaneously.

And he planned to release both during the 2006 Spring Festival slot…