Chapter 160: Willing to be beaten!

"My Sassy Girl," a low-cost, small-production + sentimental + youth idol romantic comedy film, combines the freshness and delicacy of neon idol dramas, the romantic sentiment of European art films, and the humor of Hong Kong Island films into one, evolving into a sentimental story.

This movie is really popular. It can be said that it is the first Korean movie that many Huaxia people have come into contact with. Even this movie directly affected the way boys and girls get along in the whole of Asia. I don't know how many girls imitated the female lead and turned into violent girlfriends.

With this movie, Jun Ji-hyun directly became the goddess that all Asian men dream of, laid a solid audience foundation, and established an unshakable position among Korean actresses.

Even 20 years later, there is no Asian romantic youth comedy with influence that can surpass "My Sassy Girl."

Just in terms of remakes, there are Chinese, American, Japanese, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, and other versions. The domestic remake is called "Pretending to be a Couple," and the male and female leads are Huang Bo and Jiang Yiyan. As for the effect, it's better not to mention it...

In fact, in the next few years, all regions will enter a period where romance films are very popular.

Looking at it from the past life, South Korea had "My Sassy Girl" and "Classic Again," etc.;

And on Hong Kong Island, "Love on a Diet" took the 2000 Hong Kong Island box office championship with 35 million, and the 2001 "Love on a Diet" was the runner-up for the Hong Kong Island box office that year with 40.44 million;

On the mainland side, Feng Xiaogang, who keenly grasped the market trend, had two consecutive romance-themed films, "Be There or Be Square" and "A Sigh," which achieved great results. Gong Li went to film "Zhou Yu's Train," and even Chen Kaizi made an exception to film the TV drama magical historical romance "Lu Bu and Diao Chan."

The market and box office explain everything. Romance films are the key to making money in these years. It has something to do with the influence of the big ship, and it also has something to do with the social situation at this time. In short, under this obvious trend, Wu Yuchen has no reason not to eat this dividend.

The essence of "My Sassy Girl" lies in its female lead, and among the many versions, none were as spot-on as Jun Ji-hyun. This role really isn't something just anyone can play.

Wu Yuchen said that this movie was tailored for Wang Zuxian, but in fact, it can also be said that it belongs to her.

The female lead Song Mingxi is barbaric, domineering, lively, and cute. Whether it is appearance, height, acting skills, or temperament, to be honest, except for Wang Zuxian, Wu Yuchen couldn't find anyone more suitable to play this role in the Chinese film scene, and it is the same even if you count 20 years later.

Jun Ji-hyun is so popular, of course, it is not that no actress wants to take her route, but there is no one who can walk through it, so you know it is not so simple. And Jun Ji-hyun's route and character template planned by the company since her debut has always been Wang Zuxian.

Don't be surprised, Wang Zuxian is the foreign actress most liked in Korea, just like Hepburn is among Huaxia movie fans. If a Korean girl is praised for "looking like Wang Zuxian," that is the highest level of praise. Even the most popular template for plastic surgery hospitals is Wang Zuxian.

And from the state, although Wang Zuxian is already 30 years old, her skin is fair, her face and figure are top-notch, and she is still full of youthful vitality, radiant, and not at all the vegetable-buying woman 20 years later. It is completely no problem to play a female college student in her 20s.

Speaking of age, think about the actresses headed by Tang Shixian in the later period, which one is not over 30 and still playing a young girl? Don't the audience still shout well after watching? How many people really take age seriously?

If you allow 35, 36, 37-year-olds to play young girls, why don't you allow Wang Zuxian to play a female college student in her early 20s? A little makeup is enough, it is completely not a problem.

Wang Zuxian and Wu Yuchen were talking and laughing here, while Xu Zheng on the side remained cautious, just watching with a smile and not daring to interrupt. After all, these two are a great director and a big star, and he is just a small character.

Through more than half a month of weight gain adjustment, Xu Zheng gained 12 jin, and through his understanding of the script and characters, he tried his best to lean towards the honest and simple image of the male lead, while constantly trying to play some bridges in it. Finally, after seeing Wu Yuchen a few days ago, he was set as the male lead through his performance, which made him want to open champagne on the spot!

However, Xu Zheng at this time is no longer bald; there is a thick, black, and dense head of hair on the top of his head. Well, this is naturally a wig, but it was specially designed by a stylist to match his face shape, just to increase his honest and simple image. His face is also a bit round now, and the flesh on his cheeks is a bit chubby, which is quite like Zhu Yunwen in "Love Through Time."

In the conference room of Shanghai Film, it was already crowded with people at this moment. Those who came early had seats and could grab the front row, and those who came late could only be squeezed to the back. Even so, the number of people in the room was still increasing.

"Wu Yuchen and Wang Zuxian came to Shanghai Film together, are they going to cooperate again?"

"Definitely, Shanghai Film actually invited these two together, this time it's really showing off!"

"I don't know what movie Wu Dao and Wang Zuxian will cooperate on together. Old Hu, you are close to Shanghai Film, is there any wind?"

"If we had wind, we would have reported it to the outside world long ago..."

A group of reporters below were chatting and communicating. Suddenly, they saw the general manager of Shanghai Film take the lead, walking towards the stage with a full face of spring, and behind him followed Wu Yuchen, Wang Zuxian, and a young man they didn't know.

"Here, here!" Shouting in their mouths, these reporters also quickly pressed the shutter, taking pictures of them constantly, especially Wu Yuchen and Wang Zuxian. For this kind of scene, except for Xu Zheng who was a bit nervous, the others didn't

As the few people sat down on the stage, Old Zhu raised his hand and pressed it down, signaling that the photography below could stop, and everyone quickly quieted down to listen to him speak.

"Dear reporter friends, dear colleagues in the media industry, gathering everyone here today is to solemnly announce to everyone that our Shanghai Film Studio will join hands with Wu Dao Yuchen, Miss Wang Zuxian, Mr. Xu Zheng, and other actors to launch a blockbuster film, 'My Sassy Girl'!"

After Old Zhu finished speaking, he showed a bright smile. As for the Beiying studio, which also participated in the investment, he didn't even mention it. This time, it was their Shanghai Film Studio that was vigorously cooperating with Wu Yuchen in filming. Does your Beiying studio deserve to have a name?

The reporters below, even if they had some guesses before, couldn't help but be in an uproar after hearing Old Zhu confirm it. Now Wu Yuchen's "Classic Again," which broke 100 million, is still a hot hit, and last year he and Wang Zuxian joined hands to win the box office championship!

Suddenly, the reporters reacted fiercely, one after another raising their hands and shouting loudly to ask questions, suddenly like a vegetable market.

Seeing the messy scene below, Old Zhu pressed his hand again, and after they quieted down, he began to pick some influential media one by one to start asking questions.

"Wu Dao, may I ask why you chose to cooperate with Shanghai Film Studio this time?"

As soon as Wu Yuchen heard this, he felt that this reporter was mostly arranged by Old Zhu, so he smiled and replied:

"Shanghai Film Studio has a long historical heritage and has produced many masterpieces. Its strength in all aspects is top-tier in China. And this time, my main filming location is set in the Magic City, so Shanghai Film Studio is undoubtedly the best partner."

Hearing this, the local reporters in the Magic City became excited again. This time, what is being filmed is the story of our Magic City!

"Wu Dao, everyone knows that your 'Classic Again' has already broken 100 million and is popular all over China, with both box office and word-of-mouth harvests. Then may I ask if this 'My Sassy Girl' of yours is also a romance film?" Although there were guesses, the reporter still had to confirm it.

Wu Yuchen smiled and nodded: "From the name of the film, everyone should be able to see that it is indeed a romance film without a doubt."

The people below started discussing again after listening, and then the next person asked:

"Wu Dao, may I ask if the male and female leads are Miss Wang Zuxian and this Mr. Xu?"

Everyone looked towards Xu Zheng. A romance film? Him and Wang Zuxian? Are they a match?

They were naturally not surprised that Wang Zuxian played the female lead, but this Xu Zheng has a baby face and is not handsome at all?

You know, in "Classic Again," the three male and female leads, Jiang Qinqin, Liu Ye, and Wu Yanzu, were all very beautiful and handsome men and women, and no matter which pair it was, they were very pleasing to the eye. Jack and Rose in "Titanic" were the same.

But the Xu Zheng in front of them doesn't look handsome no matter how you look at him, and he looks a bit silly when he smiles, but he is quite likable.

This time, it was Wang Zuxian who smiled and spoke: "Hello everyone, I am Wang Zuxian, the female lead in 'My Sassy Girl.' This time, Xu Zheng and I will bring everyone a romantic comedy~"

Xu Zheng kept his smile and said to the microphone: "Hello everyone, I am Xu Zheng. It is a great honor to be appreciated by Wu Dao and to star in 'My Sassy Girl' together with Miss Wang Zuxian."

This time, the reporters below also took photos of Wang Zuxian and Xu Zheng one after another, after all, the male and female leads were confirmed.

Soon, a reporter immediately continued to ask: "Wu Dao, Miss Wang just said it's a romantic comedy?"

Many reporters also paid attention to this point. There were very few romance films in China before, and this year's two consecutive films, "Titanic" and "Classic Again," one Chinese and one foreign, were both typical tragic love stories. Obviously, in everyone's current cognition, tragedy plus romance is more popular.

But Wang Zuxian just said this new film is a romantic comedy?

Wu Yuchen smiled:

"I also had a lot of direct contact with the audience at various cinemas a while ago, and the complaint I heard most from the audience was why did I film the male and female leads so miserably? Can't you film something that makes people happier?

I think what the audience said makes a lot of sense, so I plan to film a romantic comedy to make up for these sad and tearful fans."

The reporters below quickly scribbled down the origin of this film; this topic has a lot of explosive points.

The press conference is still continuing, and the atmosphere is naturally still hot. Whether it is Wu Yuchen or Wang Zuxian, whether it is "Classic Again" or "My Sassy Girl," the reporters have many questions they want to ask.

The next day, major newspapers published relevant news on the entertainment headlines one after another:

"Wu Yuchen's new film 'My Sassy Girl' lands in the Magic City!"

"Fans shed tears, Wu Yuchen feels deeply guilty, brings Wang Zuxian's romantic comedy to give back to the audience!"

"'My Sassy Girl' is about to start filming in the Magic City, Wu Yuchen sets off another romance craze!"

And the local TV stations in the Magic City, all kinds of local programs have to take this matter to talk about:

"Everyone knows that the great director Wu Yuchen is incredible. Not only did the recent 'Classic Again' break 100 million at the domestic box office, but he also had two consecutive box office championships in America, both breaking 100 million, earning US dollars. It's amazing! He is a famous big director all over the world!

And this time, the international big director took a fancy to our Magic City, picked an actor from our Magic City to be the male lead, and brought the big star Wang Zuxian to our Magic City to film a moving love story. What does this mean? It means our Magic City is becoming more and more in line with international standards!"

The outside world is bustling, while Wu Yuchen has already taken Wang Zuxian and Xu Zheng to read the script. This time, not many people are needed, and the scenes for other supporting roles are basically relatively few. The most important thing for "My Sassy Girl" is the scenes for the two male and female leads, Wang Zuxian and Xu Zheng, so Wu Yuchen only needs to output to them.

In the setting of "My Sassy Girl," the female lead Wang Xianxian is a "three-good" young woman with a good family background, good looks, and a good figure. Wang Zuxian is already full of fairy spirit, and her appearance is outstanding enough. The focus for her is that the degree of 'sassy' must be grasped well, so that the audience will not be disgusted while she is 'sassy'.

The male lead Xu Zheng is a "three-flat" young man with average appearance, average ability, and average academic performance, and sometimes he is silly. Therefore, this role simply cannot choose handsome guys like Liu Ye. The original male lead Cha Tae-hyun was a baby face, not handsome but likable. The reason for choosing Xu Zheng is also the same.

Actually, you can hear it from the name. The original female lead's name was Song Mingxi, which sounds like a literary goddess, and the male lead was called Qian Niu. Song Mingxi doesn't need to be changed and can be used directly, but Qian Niu definitely doesn't fit the Chinese situation. Wu Yuchen directly changed it to Qian Niu. This name is not awkward, and at the same time, it is very earthy, highlighting the male lead's silly boy persona. The contrasting persona of the two laid a foundation for the subsequent plot.

As for why he chose the Magic City, it's naturally because the Magic City is suitable!

First of all, the city where it is filmed cannot be too backward; it must have a fresh and literary feeling. The reason why Korean dramas are popular is that the beautiful life they show is part of dream-making. And in "My Sassy Girl," the lives of the male and female leads are at least middle-class, and the scenes shown during their lives or dates are all in prosperous cities. Beautiful urban romantic comedies are all making dreams for the audience; they simply cannot go to backward areas to film, otherwise, you will flop!

And now in 1998, many cities in China, even many provincial capitals, cannot meet this requirement, but the Magic City meets it. Just to say one thing, currently, there are only four cities in China with subways: Beijing, the Magic City, Yangcheng, and Jin Sect. Even Shencheng will only have a subway 6 years later. Therefore, the filming range that can be chosen in China is actually very small.

Let's talk about the persona. Everyone should understand the little men in the Magic City. One feature is that they are very meticulous and considerate to women, understanding, and will not be as domineering as big men, and this fits the persona of the male lead Qian Niu very well.

Therefore, after comprehensive consideration, if you want to film "My Sassy Girl" in China, you really must choose the Magic City.

The requirement for reading the script is not just to read it once and pass, but to let the actors devote themselves wholeheartedly and read it with emotion. To tell the truth, Wang Zuxian was used to the fast-paced filming on Hong Kong Island before, and there was no script reading session at all. She was both novel and not very used to it, but she also did her best to do it well.

"Wait a minute, Sister Xiao Xian."

Wu Yuchen interrupted Wang Zuxian and explained and analyzed it for her:

"You have to understand that in this part, Song Mingxi doesn't have any fear or dread of the fugitive. Because of the painful experience of losing her lover after her ex-boyfriend died, she has a deep understanding of the fugitive's experience of losing his loved one.

She actually always hopes that she can be brave, face the fact that her lover has died, let him go, and accept this new relationship with Qian Niu, but she can't do it. So this passage of persuading the fugitive is also her own true feelings, a sincere advice to her own heart, hoping that she can let go of her knot and bravely face the future."

After listening, Wang Zuxian suddenly realized and nodded: "I just thought she was simply persuading the fugitive. It turns out there is this layer of meaning."

Here, Wu Yuchen made changes to the plot. The original version was that the two were hijacked by a deserter, but this is not easy to film in China, so it was naturally changed to an escaped fugitive, which doesn't have much impact. There are still many places where such small details are changed in the film, and the whole script has been localized by Wu Yuchen.

Shanghai Theatre Academy, in mid-to-late August, some students who returned to school early have already returned, and the school has also returned to being lively. In the dormitory, two young people were chatting while holding brooms to clean up.

"Sigh, I really envy Yan Kuan. A big company took the initiative to come to him to pick him as the male lead! And the first thing he filmed was a martial arts masterpiece, Hua Wuque! Tsk tsk tsk!" Tong Dawei exclaimed in admiration.

Feng Shaofeng, oh no, now called Feng Wei, shook his head and said: "What can be done? With Yan Kuan's appearance, he became the school hunk as soon as he entered school. A group of senior sisters came to our class to watch. Who can compare to us?"

"Maybe his starting point is the goal we pursue for our whole lives! Sigh..." Tong Dawei sighed again, feeling the gap between people more deeply.

And just at this time, he suddenly heard someone shouting outside: "The 'My Sassy Girl' crew has come to our school!"

"My Sassy Girl" can be said to have received great attention as soon as it started filming, and no one in the Shanghai Theatre Academy doesn't know about it. Hearing this, the two looked at each other and hurriedly threw down their brooms and ran out.

When the two ran over, they found that there were many people surrounding them. After squeezing through, they didn't see Wu Yuchen and Wang Zuxian, but an assistant director shouting: "'My Sassy Girl' is recruiting people, looking for a few male supporting roles, who have scenes with the male and female leads, and are on camera!"

Someone asked: "Are there scenes with Wang Zuxian?"

"Yes!"

"Then I'll sign up!"

"I'll sign up too!"

"And me!"

A group of people heard that they had scenes with Wang Zuxian, and didn't care whether the scenes were many or few, and signed up one after another. If they could act with Wang Zuxian, it would really be enough to brag about for a year!

Even if many people graduated from the Shanghai Theatre Academy, they all started from small roles. Being able to enter "My Sassy Girl" is a rare opportunity for most people, and Tong Dawei and Feng Wei are no exception.

After everyone conducted a selection in a small classroom, the assistant director took 5 students and rushed to the crew.

At this time, Wu Yuchen was discussing with the photographer how to set up the camera in the subway later, and saw the assistant director come to his side and say: "Wu Dao, the people have been found for you. Would you like to take a look?"

Wu Yuchen nodded and looked at the 5 boys standing not far away.

Hey, aren't these Feng Shaofeng and Tong Dawei?

However, Wu Yuchen had seen so many stars that he was already used to it. On the contrary, the few people couldn't help but be excited after seeing Wu Yuchen, the big director, and shouted in unison, "Hello Wu Dao!"

Wu Yuchen nodded to them, scanned the circle, and asked: "You all know, right? You might be really hit."

"Know!"

"No problem!"

Several boys said with their chests held high. Being hit by Wang Zuxian, they are willing to be hit!

Wu Yuchen looked at their appearance again, then looked at Tong Dawei's big head, and felt that the head would probably feel better when hit, so he said to Tong Dawei: "It's you. Go dye your hair now."

Among the 5 people, one is to play the yellow-haired youth who was patted on the head by Wang Zuxian and forced to give up his seat on the subway at the beginning, and the others are to play Xu Zheng's classmates and friends. The other four showed disappointment and cast envious glances at Tong Dawei.

Tong Dawei immediately bowed to Wu Yuchen repeatedly: "Thank you Wu Dao! Thank you Wu Dao!"

Then he happily followed the assistant director to dye his hair.