Chapter 257: Gathering of Big Names

Cheng Chen's suggestion of using the ge fou made Lao Mou Zi's eyes light up, his thoughts instantly unlocked, and he felt this kid had real ideas.

Whether or not the ge fou would ultimately be adopted as the opening method didn't matter.

Just thinking of using the ge fou was already an extraordinary thing.

How many people in the real world even knew what a ge fou was? Probably most couldn't even pronounce it correctly.

After Cheng Chen left, the National Teacher sat alone in the room, his pen scribbling on paper.

Lao Mou Zi himself was trained in photography, so his artistic foundation was unquestionable.

Soon, the image of the ge fou leapt onto the page; he stared at the drawing, his mind swirling.

During the Warring States period, the King of Qin and the King of Zhao drank wine together at Mianchi.

To enliven the drinking, the King of Qin demanded the King of Zhao strike the ge fou, intimidating him with Qin's power.

The King of Zhao had no choice but reluctantly tap the ge fou once.

But the King of Qin himself didn't strike it; Lin Xiangru, the King of Zhao's minister, couldn't bear it and insisted the King of Qin strike it too.

If he didn't strike it, Lin Xiangru would die on the spot; the King of Qin had no choice but to strike it once as well…

If Cheng Chen hadn't reminded him, he'd nearly forgotten this historical anecdote.

So he wrote on the ge fou draft paper: 2008, bronze ware, LED.

…

After taking leave, Cheng Chen stayed home for a day, then headed toward the launch ceremony site.

In fact, "The Banquet" had already completed some exterior shooting in Inner Mongolia and Alshan.

These exterior scenes would appear only briefly in the film; the main shoot would be completed in indoor sets built in Jingcheng.

When Cheng Chen arrived, people had already begun arriving at the scene.

Perhaps the recent scandal of Wang Jinghua leaving Huanya had been too explosive.

For this launch, Huanya deliberately kept a low profile; no media were invited to the event.

"Mr. Cheng, please sign in over here."

A hotel attendant stepped forward and said.

"Alright."

Cheng Chen nodded and saw Feng Xiaogang surrounded by a group of big names, talking.

He didn't know what they were saying, but Xiao Gangbao was spitting saliva everywhere, laughing loudly from time to time.

The investor of "The Banquet" was Huanya; the Wang Brothers showed great face by coming to the scene in person.

This was also the first time the two brothers had appeared together since the Wang Jinghua incident.

Another unfamiliar figure caught his eye; after a closer look, Cheng Chen realized—wow, even Huanya had sent someone.

The man wearing glasses, looking refined, was Zhuang Cheng.

This man had spared no effort in promoting local cinema in Gang Sheng.

Later, he became vice chairman of the Hong Kong Film Awards and the Hong Kong Screenwriters Association.

He was also the CEO of Huanya Group and one of its founders.

Mention Huanya Group in Gang Sheng, and no one didn't know it.

Of course, some people on the Mainland might not have heard its name.

But if you mention well-known works like "Exorcist Policeman," "Infernal Affairs," "A Chinese Odyssey Series," and "Initial D," you surely understand its scale.

For Huanya, as the producer of "The Banquet," having Zhuang Cheng—one of its founders—come to the Mainland for the launch ceremony itself showed great respect for this film.

How could they not take it seriously? After all, "The Banquet" publicly claimed a budget of 1.2 billion, going head-to-head with Lao Mou Zi's "The Golden Age."

After signing in with the attendant, Cheng Chen was led to the lounge area.

Upon arriving, Cheng Chen immediately spotted a salted egg in the crowd—no, wait, a bald head.

Ah, yes, the male lead of this drama: Ge Daye.

Ge Daye clearly saw him too; the two had spoken at the screening of "A World Without Thieves."

"You're here."

Ge Daye smiled warmly.

"Master Ge."

Cheng Chen greeted him with a smile.

Others turned to look as well.

Everyone present was an actor in "The Banquet."

"Cheng Chen… I know you—you sing beautifully. I never expected to meet you here."

One voice, slightly hoarse and filled with surprise, asked.

Cheng Chen turned to look—oh, it was Young Master Zhou.

Young Master Zhou was hailed as the most artistically gifted actress in the entertainment circle; she had been in the industry for years, and in 1998, she played dual roles in Lou Ye's film "Suzhou River," winning Best Actress at the 15th Paris International Film Festival.

This award brought her to the attention of many directors, but since "Suzhou River" was banned, her acclaim remained confined within the industry.

It was in 2008, with her role as Xiao Wei in the costume film "Painted Skin," that she truly entered the public eye.

Of course, this film hadn't started shooting yet.

Before that, she had moved between various film sets; despite holding the title of Best Actress from the Paris International Film Festival.

But a banned film—you know how it is—the audience couldn't see her performances.

However, her portrayal of Lin Huiyin in "April Rhapsody" was refreshingly new.

It earned her a large fanbase in Tai Sheng.

Hard to imagine that with her vocal qualities, she had even released an album—one song still unforgettable, titled "Drifting."

In fact, in 1993, after graduating, Young Master Zhou came to Jingcheng and became a bar singer.

She once had her front teeth knocked out for refusing to drink with clients.

Young Master Zhou's romantic history was also fraught with hardship; in 1993, the 19-year-old Zhou Xun met Dou Wei's cousin—Dou Peng.

Like Dou Wei, these two brothers were both musically gifted, so when Dou Peng spoke, Young Master Zhou was instantly captivated.

Back then, no one was famous, and love was pursued seriously and solemnly.

To make it easier for her to travel and avoid cramming onto the subway every day, Dou Peng borrowed 8,000 yuan from his family.

He outright bought her a used car.

Young Master Zhou also worked hard—after finishing filming, she'd rush to the bar to sing, earning 150 yuan each night.

Their dream was simple: buy a house in Jingcheng and get married.

Then one day, they actually bought a house—but began quarreling over trivial matters.

Both were young and proud, neither willing to yield, and soon their love lost its former tenderness.

This relationship with Dou Peng was Young Master Zhou's longest, lasting five years.

In 1998, Young Master Zhou, with Dou Peng's connections, landed a role in Lou Ye's Suzhou River.

The male actor she partnered with there was named Jia Hongsheng.

When she met Jia Hongsheng, her relationship with Dou Peng was already nearing its end.

Jia Hongsheng appeared at just the right moment.

They fell in love through the film. At the time, Jia Hongsheng asked her: "Want to be my girlfriend?"

Young Master Zhou replied simply: "Sure."

Thus, Jia Hongsheng became Young Master Zhou's next boyfriend.

But Jia Hongsheng had a terrible record—no one could see what was good about him, yet Young Master Zhou偏偏 liked him.

Yet it was precisely because of Jia Hongsheng that Young Master Zhou deepened her foothold in the entertainment industry.

She gained the opportunity to film Daming Palace Ci.

Just as many people, upon reaching success, first cut ties with their lovers, after Young Master Zhou became famous playing Taiping Princess in Daming Palace Ci,

she directly dumped old Jia, and the honest Pu Shu became her next boyfriend without hesitation.

But this relationship also didn't last long—then came the matter of Li Yapeng…

In nearly ten years, Young Master Zhou had five boyfriends, with Dou Peng being the longest, lasting five years.

The other four? Each lasted just long enough to add up to nearly five years total.

Wow—she'd basically achieved the feat of changing boyfriends once a year!

In fact, Young Master Zhou's romantic affairs didn't end there; in the following years, she dated makeup artist Da Qi, rich second-generation Wang Shuo, and finally married Gao Shengyuan in 2014—after which Gao Shengyuan cheated, and they divorced.

Twenty-eight years, nine relationships, six years of marriage ending in nothing—this was the woman hailed as possessing extraordinary artistic spirit: Young Master Zhou.

In an early interview, the host asked her: "Every time you fall in love, it seems you give your all?"

Young Master Zhou's answer was simple: "Yes, because I can't help it."

The host asked again, "Won't you learn to be smarter next time?"

She replied with three words: "Can't learn."

"Do you want to learn?"

"No."

She once said she would give up everything for love.

This answer was just like Xiao Wei in Painted Skin—love is love, total, all-consuming love.

Perhaps some people are truly born for love.

Young Master Zhou is such a person.

Only Young Master Zhou could be like this; Cheng Chen had nothing to say about it.

Cheng Chen looked at this small, slender woman and smiled as he greeted her:

"Teacher Zhou, we play siblings in the movie."

"Really? I didn't know—I only knew the character's name. So you're playing Yin Sun?"

Young Master Zhou said, surprised.

"Yes, we'll need to communicate well from now on."

Cheng Chen nodded, though inwardly he grumbled—Young Master Zhou was already thirty-one.

He was eight or nine years younger than her, yet she was playing his sister.

What could he do? She just looked so young.

Besides Ge Daye and Young Master Zhou, those present also included the handsome Yanzu, International Zhang, and others.

By this year, International Zhang should have attended the Oscars as an award presenter and become an Oscar lifetime judge.

Also this year, she won the Best Actress award at the 24th Hong Kong Film Awards for the film 2046.

She was nominated for the Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama at the 63rd Golden Globe Awards for the film Memoirs of a Geisha.

She had just returned from overseas promotion of Memoirs of a Geisha with Gong Huang; Gong Huang had joined the cast of All the King's Men to play the Empress.

She had joined the cast of The Banquet to play Wan Hou.

Two great directors simultaneously adapted foreign and domestic classics, and two great actresses both played the female leads in these two films.

This coincidence was truly remarkable.

Of course, Cheng Chen was the most impressive—he appeared in both of these great directors' films.

Hmm, International Zhang's appearance now was odd—she was playing the Queen, the young prince Yanzu's mother.

To achieve the best makeup effect, she had shaved off both of her curved eyebrows.

After greeting the actors in the waiting area, Cheng Chen sat down in his seat and rested his eyes.

After the crew's staff gave the signal, he went up to the stage with the actors for the opening ceremony.

The moment the group appeared, camera flashes went off nonstop below the stage.

The media didn't come, so the crew arranged their own recorders.

"The Banquet" was a top-tier co-production between the Mainland and Gang Sheng.

Besides Feng Xiaogang personally directing, they also brought in Yuan Baye as producer.

Mhm, Yuan Baye was still in Gang Sheng at this time, overseeing Feng Delun's "Fist of Fury."

For set design and styling, they brought in Oscar-winning art director Ye Jintian, along with Tan Dun handling the original score.

With this lineup, plus Ge Daye, International Zhang, Young Master Zhou, Cheng Chen and others as leads, it was a top-tier configuration by every measure.

Feng Xiaogang stood on stage and said that the preparations before "The Banquet" started filming had been very thorough, and with such a creative lineup, there were no regrets left.

The soundstage for this opening was twice the size of the one for "A World Without Thieves."

The main hall was thirty meters tall, large enough to drive two Boeing 737s in at the same time.

At the opening ceremony Feng Xiaogang didn't waste words either — after directly announcing the start of filming, they moved to the set to begin shooting.

The first scene was especially steamy.

The "massage" scene between Ge Daye and International Zhang.

This scene was part of the dramatic scenes — easy to say it was simple, but also hard, the difficulty lay in grasping and controlling the characters' personalities.

As well as very subtle facial expressions and physical movements.

How to put this — when this scene was being filmed, Cheng Chen was on set watching with wide eyes.

Mhm, it wasn't that he was lusting after International Zhang's body; he wanted to see these two veterans go at it.

To prepare for this role, he had started getting into character two months in advance, so that by the time he reached the set—

International Zhang fully put on a "don't come near me" air, and wouldn't play around or joke with the other actors at all.

This was also why International Zhang had been so cold at the opening ceremony earlier.

International Zhang was the "one in ten thousand," and Ge Daye seemed to be that "one in ten thousand" who came specifically to "counter" her.

The always-powerful, stern-faced "Wan Hou" International Zhang would repeatedly break character only when filming the intimate scenes with Ge Daye.

Whether it was because Ge Daye looked too funny, or because International Zhang was too nervous around Ge Daye.

And to portray "Emperor Li's" greed and lust, Ge Daye had to maintain a long "staring at his wife" mode.

Being stared at like that by Ge Daye, International Zhang seemed to be tickled, and simply couldn't control herself.

Each time Ge Daye got interrupted, he got a bit fed up and almost wanted to "blow up."

Just like now — the two had already done five or six NG takes, and Cheng Chen was getting quite an eye-opener.

That's the acting of a Best Actress?

But then again, International Zhang was a Best Actress after all, and Ge Daye was a Best Actor too.

Seeing that this couldn't go on, he changed tactics and said to International Zhang:

"Let's try one more time. This time I won't let my gaze drift down — I'll just keep staring at your chin. That way you might feel more comfortable."

Switching from staring at her eyes to staring at her chin removed the stimulation of eye contact, and International Zhang really couldn't laugh anymore.

So later, the two of them worked together more and more smoothly, and after this "massage" scene—

Ge Daye very carefully asked her: "I didn't hurt you just now, did I!"

International Zhang beamed and joked:

"I'm fine, it was actually quite comfortable."

But Ge Daye "changed face" and said:

"You're comfortable, but my spine is about to snap!"

Hearing this, Cheng Chen was utterly—

He figured Ge Daye dared to be so blunt with her because the two had developed a chemistry from working together and got along well.

That's why he felt comfortable enough to "talk back" boldly — because he knew she'd understand it was a joke and wouldn't really get upset.

But this time it did make Cheng Chen find things rather fun — so this is how filming could be.