Chapter 377

Chang'e, she's the female lead of this drama!

Han Sanping was very surprised to hear Jiang Heng say that, because he keenly noticed that Jiang Heng seemed intent on using a newcomer!

Those few golden flowers under your command are all gorgeous—didn't you consider any of them?

Jiang Heng said: "That also needs consideration—the fit between actor and role!"

Han Sanping laughed heartily, "Not easy!"

"The way you put it makes it sound like I only want to promote them!"

Han Sanping wanted to say, "Isn't that right?" Of course, that's just a thought, not something to say to his face.

"The role of Chang'e isn't easy for ordinary actresses to pull off!"

Han Sanping thought about the actress his friend mentioned, and she didn't seem very suitable.

Jiang Heng said: "Of course, I haven't even considered those few under our company. I guess in the end we'll still have to call a bunch of people in for auditions."

"Hmm, we need this process—what about the male roles?"

Jiang Heng said: "There are more male roles; I plan to shoot this drama in two parts, upper and lower, involving many characters!"

Han Sanping, upon hearing that, exclaimed in surprise: "Two parts, upper and lower—how much plot is there to shoot? This is truly a big production!"

Jiang Heng said: "There's no way around it; the content is too extensive. If we cut it down on a large scale, it would lose its meaning, and I don't like doing that."

"Then your film is still quite troublesome!"

Having come to this point in the conversation, when the named character Chang'e was brought up, Han Sanping thought the actress he wanted to recommend wasn't very suitable, so he decided not to mention her again.

After all, being turned down to one's face is still hurtful; Director Han also cares about saving face.

They mentioned a day when they weren't busy to have a meal together, then hung up the phone.

Jiang Heng then began to ponder the casting issue for the male lead, Houyi.

First, self-directing and self-acting is not something to consider.

First, the film's investment is huge, the schedule is long, and once filming starts the workload is enormous.

Self-directing and self-acting would be extremely tiring; that's truly not worth the trouble.

Furthermore, he has already played Yang Jian, which counts as a member of the 'myth film universe,' so it wouldn't be appropriate for him to play Houyi as well.

If in the future they film 'Investiture of the Gods,' and there really is a plot where Yang Jian and Houyi appear together, he wouldn't want to play both roles himself; it's better to hire a professional actor. So this actor must have the following traits: first, he must be handsome! In fact, in the film and television industry, looks are truly a hard standard, applicable to many types of actors.

As for comedy actors, why can't others reach Stephen Chow's level? Leaving acting and ability aside, in terms of looks, Stephen Chow utterly outshines his contemporaries among comedy actors.

As for action actors, Li Lianjie also far surpasses latercomers in both looks and martial skill, which is why he is the unsurpassable 'Kung Fu Emperor'!

So, for the role of Houyi, being handsome is a must!

Second, he needs a good physique—tall stature and a somewhat sturdy build.

Although Houyi is an archer-type great shaman, his physique also cannot be too weak.

Once these several conditions are set, there aren't many suitable actors in the industry.

For example, Huang Xiaoming, who gets along well with Jiang Heng and has worked with him before, isn't very suitable; these past two years he's been doing a lot of domineering CEO roles, getting increasingly greasy!

Hu Ge, his historical costume look is indeed passable, but overall he feels mismatched with Houyi's style.

As for Zhang Ruoyun, whom he has collaborated with more recently, his physique seems a bit thin. Then he recalled having worked a few times with Han Dong, but only in supporting roles, so he pressed the desk bell and summoned his assistant Cui Zhenzhen.

"Call Han Dong's agent and tell him I want to see Han Dong in my office tomorrow!"

"Okay, Director Jiang, I'll go make that call right away—anything else?"

Seeing Jiang Heng shake his head slightly, Cui Zhenzhen hurried out, meanwhile feeling secretly guilty.

She really had her head in the clouds—whatever Director Jiang said, she just did it; why ask so many questions! As for saying Han Dong's agent might have doubts, he basically came rushing over full of questions anyway! The news that Outstanding Rising Film Company was going to shoot the special-effects epic *The War of Witches and Demons*, a primordial xianxia, had already spread far and wide—how could he not know? What does this 'summons by Director Jiang' mean right now? Even if there were an even more important role, he'd have to take leave and rush to Jingcheng.

Moreover, Han Dong is mainly active in the TV drama world these days, and he can still tell what's important.

However, over at Hengdian, Han Dong's agent answered the phone and initially had no reaction.

He immediately fell into a state of ecstasy, and very politely said to Cui Zhenzhen on the other end: "Okay, okay, thank you so much; please tell Director Jiang that we'll definitely make it to the Outstanding Rising Film Company building tomorrow morning, thanks!"

After hanging up, the agent rushed in a panic to the 'Along the River During the Qingming Festival' scenic area, where he found Han Dong filming there.

"I've already booked the tickets; I'll ask the director for leave later and then go back to Jingcheng with you!"

"Jingcheng?"

Han Dong's eyes lit up; he evidently thought there might be good news from Outstanding Rising Film Company, yet he could hardly believe it.

"Yes, Director Jiang's assistant just called, saying you need to be in his office tomorrow morning!"

"Really?"

At this moment, Han Dong's eyes were bright, and the smile at the corners of his mouth could barely be contained.

Over the past few years he's collaborated with Outstanding Rising Film Company several times; to say he hasn't hoped to play the lead is obviously impossible.

But the odds are too low, the resources too good—it's like a windfall from heaven, so fantastic that he dares not believe it! The agent laughed, 'Of course it's true; don't say anything else—your task now is to rush back to Jingcheng, rest well once you arrive, and go to the audition tomorrow in a fresh state!'

Director Han nodded slightly, then hurried off to ask the director for leave.

Naturally, the director wasn't willing—delaying the shoot causes losses to the crew, whose fault is that?

Seeing that the director was truly being difficult, the agent couldn't help but spill the real reason.

"Jiang, Director Jiang? Is he going to play the male lead?"

Han Dong hurriedly explained, "No, it's just for a past audition!"

"Oh, oh! Director Jiang is the pride of our Chinese-language entertainment industry; since he needs it, … Xiao … Han Dong … teacher, just go quickly!"

He had originally intended to call him Xiao Han as usual, but suddenly felt that was inappropriate.

Calling him by name directly seemed disrespectful, so he finally added the two words 'teacher'.

He then pondered: "If Han Dong plays the male lead in Jiang Heng's new film, he'll surely become a first‑line star—then my drama would get some reflected glory, maybe even become a big hit!"

Thinking this through, his round, chubby face broke into an ever brighter grin: "Han Dong teacher, you don't need to rush back this time; the matter with Director Jiang is more important—finish that first, and if we need to, we can always reshoot your scenes later!"

Han Dong hurriedly said, "Thank you, thank you—I'll definitely come back as soon as possible to finish filming!"

The director thought, "You're working hard to act well in this scene, but honestly, your contribution to this drama isn't as great as playing the male lead in Director Jiang's new film."

However, it's not appropriate to say that directly, so the director could only put on a righteous and imposing appearance; at first glance, he seemed to greatly admire Jiang Heng and wanted to contribute to Chinese cinema.

After the crew had arranged things here, Han Dong and his group hurriedly drove to Yiwu Airport, arriving in Jingcheng at night.

(End of chapter)