Chapter 123: A Big Personnel Change

The words "Is the script for sale?" dealt Zhang Yibai a heavy blow. He had come to pull in investment, and it was very clear that Wu Yuchen meant he liked the script but didn't trust his ability as a director.

Zhang Yibai gritted his teeth: "Wu Dao, this script is our heart and soul; it's not for sale. I insist on filming it myself!"

Wu Yuchen didn't feel surprised; many directors are like this, including himself.

He thought for a moment. Even if he rejected Zhang Yibai today, he would likely still be able to pull in investment in the end.

Come to think of it, the show "Cherish Our Love" is also a bit eerie.

In his past life, its investor was a fugitive surnamed Pan who had been on the run for 10 years and had now become a big boss. He invested in "Cherish Our Love" to promote his girlfriend. 10 years later, he would be caught.

Its director Zhang Yibai and actor Wang Xuebing had both taken drugs, Li Yapeng was a 'kept man,' and Xu Jinglei was promoted by Wang Shuo as a "Beijing Circle talented woman." Except for Liao Fan, not one of the famous people in this crew had a good reputation.

Wu Yuchen pondered for a moment and said:

"This script has something that moves me, and I'm willing to invest—2 million."

Zhang Yibai and Diao Yinan showed joy on their faces upon hearing this. Although it was only 2 million, someone was finally willing to invest money to film it.

After filming, naturally, they had to hurry to dry them off and take them back to change; if they got sick, it would be troublesome and delay the filming progress.

Because Jiang Qinqin had started preparing a long time ago, she entered the state very quickly, while Liu Ye had only just received the script recently, so Wu Yuchen was currently spending his main effort on polishing his state, letting him enter the character first so it would be easier to film later.

Zhang Yibai opened his mouth, feeling reluctant, but the series of blows he had suffered recently, especially Wu Yuchen's face-to-face evaluation, made him feel that perhaps he, an MV director, was being too arrogant to directly demand to be a TV drama director.

Diao Yinan on the side tugged at his sleeve, signaling him to agree; having a work would make the subsequent path much easier. And as Wu Yuchen said, Zhang Yibai was indeed lacking quite a bit; being able to leap from an MV director to a TV drama assistant director was already a pretty good start.

Anyone with normal intelligence wouldn't agree to a script invitation that hadn't pulled in investment yet, not to mention that Geng Le was a movie actor now; even if he were to participate in a TV drama, he would have to be in a crew that made people feel reliable.

Liu Ye scratched his head and replied: "Director, usually it was the girls who confessed to me..."

Four sessions of the Hupu Goddess Contest, four consecutive runner-ups—the Hupu goddesses come and go, but Gao Yuanyuan is the iron-clad one; it's evident that the straight men truly love you!

Gao Yuanyuan nodded immediately like a chick pecking at rice: "I'm willing!"

"Don't talk nonsense; I'll give you 10 minutes, hurry up and find the feeling!"

"Huang Xiao Ming, it doesn't matter; this time it's Chen Kun, next time it will be your turn! Perform well!"

Then he added: "Do you have any candidates in mind for the actors?"

Wu Yuchen smiled upon hearing this, not feeling the slightest bit surprised.

Diao Yinan instantly thought of Xu Jinglei from "Spicy Love Soup," thinking to himself: as expected of Wang Shuo's woman. Wang Shuo had already been forced to America to avoid the limelight because he was banned, yet she could still get Wu Yuchen to personally help arrange the female lead role.

A moment later, when Wu Yuchen gave the order, several people released the fireflies from the bags and then ran away themselves.

He shouted at Liu Ye, who was standing by the river:

"Goofy smile! You are rustic but not truly stupid! This is the first time in your life you've seen such a beautiful girl; the goofy smile should carry a bit of shyness! Recall the feeling of the first time you liked a girl!"

The crew is currently waiting to film a rain scene. They are in the countryside and can't hire a fire truck to create rain; if they want to film a rain scene, they have to wait for the heavens to bestow it.

But the next moment, Wu Yuchen's words made Zhang Yibai's face change color:

"However, let me say a truth you might not like to hear: your ability as a director is still lacking. If you are willing, I can give you the position of assistant director. The atmosphere, emotion, and state you mentioned can all be had; I will explain this clearly to the director."

Zhang Yibai also gave a thumbs up in praise: "High, Wu Dao, you are still high!"

Cui Xinqin naturally observed Huang Huang Xiao Ming's expression and could only pat him to continue encouraging him:

Wu Yuchen also smiled and took the initiative to reach out, shaking the young girl's soft little hand lightly:

"Of course, no problem! Yuanyuan, I brought you here this time because we have a female lead role here that I think is especially suitable for you. Let's see if you are willing to take it?"

"Teacher Cui, we let you down..."

"Then let's do it again."

Zhang Yibai felt relieved upon hearing this; fortunately, this big director stopped talking and left some supporting roles for them to cast themselves. Although the male and female leads Wu Yuchen picked were both very good, he also wanted to exercise some subjective initiative!

Seeing this, Wu Yuchen nodded with satisfaction and then said: "Don't you think the name 'Love Follows' is too tacky?"

The assistant director on the side replied: "Director, the weather forecast says there is, the fellow villagers here also say there is; I see these dark clouds are more than before, it should rain."

Ma Liwen is actually the original director of "The Two of Us," having just graduated from the Central Academy of Drama last year, and had already worked as a script supervisor and assistant director for two years. Come to think of it, when she was an assistant director on a certain crew early this year, she even had a falling out with the crew and was kicked out, but happened to receive an invitation from Qiji Film and TV, so she ran over happily and followed the "Passion Burning Years" crew as an assistant director to gain experience.

……

Zhang Yibai said directly: "We have an idea for the male lead Yang Zheng; when we were writing it, the person in our minds was Geng Le, but he didn't agree."

Wu Yuchen has confidence in directors like her who have constantly gone to crews since they were in school and trained from the bottom up, and it can also be considered giving her a chance to become famous.

Although he gave "Cherish Our Love" a big personnel change this time, he believes his casting is still very fitting for the characters.

In the countryside, Wu Yuchen has already brought the crew here to start filming.

In the countryside, there is a scene where the male and female leads go to explore a haunted house together to promote their feelings. It's called a haunted house, but it's actually an abandoned old house in the village.

"We didn't think too much about the name; we planned to just pick one to make do for now. Wu Dao, do you have any ideas?"

Wu Yuchen nodded and looked at Diao Yinan: "You are the screenwriter for 'Spicy Love Soup,' right? Can you get in touch with the female lead of the crew?"

Seeing the girl looking at him with sparkling eyes, like a little fan girl, Wu Yuchen also felt quite refreshed in his heart.

Wu Yuchen knows that the two people before him have elements of flattery, but "Cherish Our Love" sounds more pleasant to the ear, and it has a memory point; "Love Follows" is too ordinary.

Wu Yuchen laughed: "Don't worry, it won't be hard to get along with. It's Ma Liwen from your Central Academy of Drama directing department; she's currently working as an assistant director on 'Passion Burning Years.' I'll call her back tomorrow; you can discuss it with your fellow junior sister."

"Action!"

At this time, Huang Huang Xiao Ming and Chen Kun are both hanging their heads in frustration in front of their homeroom teacher Cui Xinqin.

Diao Yinan nodded in a daze.

Wu Yuchen looked at Gao Yuanyuan, who had already grown up. If you want to talk about pure and cute, if you want to talk about the feeling of first love, that's talking about you, the great beauty with a 'first love face'!

"But we have to film it during the day; if we wait until night to rain, it's useless!"

It seems that in his past life, they didn't invite Geng Le, and later the male lead became Li Yapeng. However, Wu Yuchen doesn't intend to use this 'kept man.' Since you have your heart set on doing business, why still use you?

Zhang Yibai felt relieved when he saw that the male lead Wu Yuchen arranged was a handsome guy; at least the appearance met his requirements, and other things could only be understood more later.

Chen Kun's eyes lit up upon hearing this: "Really!"

"It doesn't matter. Wu Dao's films aren't that easy to get into right now. You are only freshmen; what you need to do is build a good foundation. Also, keep a good relationship with your Teacher Wu in the future; be enthusiastic when you see him. Only if he remembers you will he be able to think of you when there's a suitable opportunity!"

"Hey, I'm talking to him. Another film? Alright, alright, I'll have him go over immediately!"

Soon, ten days passed.

"Change it to 'Cherish Our Love'!" Wu Yuchen said with a smile.

Zhang Yibai couldn't help but ask: "Wu Dao, then may I ask who you want to invite as the director for this show?"

Wu Yuchen looked at Chen Kun in front of him, couldn't help but nod, and said with a smile: "This is the male lead I found for you; he's definitely suitable!"

Wu Yuchen looked at the time: "I'll go look in the afternoon."

Huang Huang Xiao Ming suddenly felt a bit hurt. He and Chen Kun went to audition together, both were rejected, but now Wu Yuchen immediately gave Chen Kun a lead role in a new film, while he had nothing. This comparison made him feel very uncomfortable. People are afraid of comparison!

……

"The girl who plays the high school student, can you contact her?"

"Wu Dao, I'm your fan! 'Run Lola Run', 'The Two of Us', 'Coherence'—I especially like them all! Can you give me an autograph?"

Gao Yuanyuan looked at the tall and handsome Wu Yuchen before her, her face a bit flushed, and said with some excitement:

In the rain, Liu Ye was jogging through the woods with Jiang Qinqin, wanting to find a place to hide from the rain, but Jiang Qinqin suddenly fell. After Liu Ye squatted down to help her check her ankle, he squatted down to let her get on his back, and then carried her, walking step by step.

In the evening, Wu Yuchen looked at the staff around him and then said:

"Wait a moment, listen to my command. Around where they are both standing now, release all the fireflies you caught."

"No problem!"

"Ah? Who is that?" Diao Yinan was surprised.

Wu Yuchen felt like kicking this idiot; he was still showing off invisibly in front of him!

"Cut!"

Cui Xinqin was comforting and teaching them when her phone rang.

Subsequently, Wu Yuchen said again: "For the role of the second female lead, you go find Li Bingbing from the Shanghai Theatre Academy, and for the second male lead, go find Liao Fan from their school; both are very suitable. As for the others, you handle it yourselves."

After Cui Xinqin hung up the phone, a look of joy appeared on her face: "Chen Kun, look what I said! Isn't this it? Your Teacher Wu said he thought of you when there was an opportunity for a new film, the male lead; he's calling you over!"

"Wu Dao, the haunted house over there has already been built; do you want to go take a look?"

About 20 minutes later, only a thunderclap was heard in the sky. Wu Yuchen hurriedly waved his hand: "Get everyone ready!"

In the shot, Jiang Qinqin is sitting on a pallet, looking smilingly at Liu Ye clumsily catching fireflies in the water below. As the camera pulls back bit by bit, it reveals the romantic scene of fireflies dancing around them.

"Alright, many thanks to Wu Dao for being willing to invest in 'Love Follows'!" Zhang Yibai had agreed to this.

At this moment, a knock on the door sounded again. Everyone looked toward the sound and couldn't help but have their eyes light up.

Geng Le graduated from the Central Academy of Fine Arts. In '94, he acted in a romance film and started to become an actor. Later, he was spotted by Jiang Wen and acted as the second male lead in "In the Heat of the Sun." Currently, he is quite popular in the circle, with a constant stream of film offers, not at all weaker than Xia Yu, who won the Best Actor award.

……

"Xu Jinglei? I'm not talking about her." Wu Yuchen shook his head.

Actually, Wu Yuchen just wanted to film a shot with a feeling, to film this romantic sense of a boy carrying a girl in the rain. It was also fortunate that Liu Ye's running for over an hour wasn't in vain, finally allowing Wu Yuchen to have some harvest.

After the two walked to a grass shed and stopped, Wu Yuchen came over and looked at Liu Ye, who was panting slightly: "Are you okay?"

Zhang Yibai shook his head: "There's no specific goal; it just has to give people a pure and cute feeling, making people feel at first glance that it's first love."

Huang Huang Xiao Ming also poked his head to look at Teacher Cui, his face full of expectation, only missing saying 'What about me, what about me?'

He wouldn't deign to promote Wang Shuo's mistress, the talented woman Xu. Isn't the great beauty Yuanyuan, who is just 18 years old in front of him, fragrant?

Wu Yuchen smiled and said to Zhang Yibai: "How about it, is it okay for Yuanyuan to play Wen Hui?"

Zhang Yibai said with sincere admiration: "Wu Dao, your eye for talent is too accurate!"

Zhang Yibai felt greatly relieved upon hearing this. A fellow junior sister is good; that way it's easy to communicate, and the other party is also a new director, so maybe she can listen to him in many aspects.

Consequently, Liu Ye carried Jiang Qinqin like this, and the two walked back and forth in the rain for over an hour. In the middle, Liu Ye rested 4 times; even though his body was strong, he couldn't hold on toward the end, his legs walking until they were weak.

Diao Yinan smiled and said: "No problem, I also think Xu Jinglei is especially suitable for this role!"

Wu Yuchen had a plan in his heart for the male lead and asked again: "What about the female lead? Do you have a target?"

5 minutes later, the sudden rain of midsummer arrived. Wu Yuchen watched Liu Ye and Jiang Qinqin, who were already soaked in the rain after a while, had the camera aimed at them, and with a gesture, the script supervisor also ran into the rain to clap the board:

"Action!"

Only to see a young girl standing at the doorway wearing a white dress, with black hair hanging over her shoulders, apricot eyes, and peach cheeks. Seeing everyone looking at her, she spoke with a slight shyness:

"Hello everyone, I am Gao Yuanyuan~"

Diao Yinan clapped his hands directly: "This name is good! You feel it as soon as you hear it!"

For the male lead of "Cherish Our Love," the character Yang Zheng is naturally handsome first. Because he comes from a small place, his self-esteem is very strong and he is sensitive. He worked part-time throughout university to support himself; if the female lead asked her family to arrange a job for him, it would make him explode like a hedgehog.

Wu Yuchen thought about this character's life experience—isn't it just a portrayal of Chen Kun himself? Whether it's experience or personality, they are the same. If he doesn't find him for such a good candidate, who would he find?

Diao Yinan hurriedly went over to lead Gao Yuanyuan in: "Yuanyuan, this is Wu Dao Yuchen!"

……

Wu Yuchen looked up at the overcast sky from time to time and asked: "Are you sure it will rain today?"

Actually, even if they didn't catch them, there would be some, but if there are too few around the male and female leads, it won't be that romantic. Pure love films just have to have more of these beautiful scenes that can move the audience.

After filming this scene, Wu Yuchen couldn't help but feel relieved. Two weeks, the countryside scenes here were finally done; next, they would go to the school to film. He could be considered to have filmed completely according to the timeline of when the two met, which is conducive to the emotional changes of the actors.

Subsequently, he thought that the time had already entered July, and he didn't know how the release of "My Brothers and Sisters" was going. ===== CHAPTER 124 =====