Chapter 311: Casting

The male lead of *Departures*, in the script, is an unemployed adult around 30 years old.

However, generally speaking, if a male actor maintains himself well, even if he is 40 or 50, he can look about the same age as someone in their 20s or 30s. For example, the actor who played the male lead in the original version, Masahiro Motoki, was actually 42 years old when he participated, but if you watch the movie, saying he is 25 doesn't have any sense of incongruity.

Therefore, Wu Yuchen didn't put too much restriction on the age of the male actor this time. The requirement released to the outside world was around 30, but basically, as long as the actor could show the state of this age group, he allowed them to participate in the audition. However, there was also an upper limit: those over 45 shouldn't come.

Thinking of this, Wu Yuchen also sighed. Yesterday, he also received a call from Pu Cunxin, asking if he could accommodate him and let him try. In fact, Pu Cunxin's temperament could be considered to fit the male lead, and his acting skills definitely wouldn't be a problem, but he was already over 50 this year!

Wu Yuchen named this male lead Lin Wu. Although he was 30, his personality was introverted. Because he had been working in an orchestra, he didn't have much contact with society, and he was relatively simple and not very mature. When he became unemployed and entered a completely unfamiliar funeral industry, he actually had to show the appearance of a young man in his 20s.

This was both to shape his growth process after becoming an encoffiner and to facilitate the audience to show the encoffiner industry from the perspective of this complete newcomer.

Furthermore, in the film, there had to be a scene of bathing in a public bath. Except for the private parts, basically everything had to be exposed. If the age was too old, even if the face was well-maintained, the body would still leave traces. If one wasn't careful, the flesh might even sag, which would inevitably create a sense of incongruity with the character setting.

So Wu Yuchen simply drew a line: those over 45 shouldn't come. Even Leslie Cheung, who had cooperated well with him before, was 2 years over, and he was also rejected.

I don't know if it was influenced by the previous filming of *Brotherhood of Blades*, but his life trajectory had also changed. For example, he didn't have time to film the *Inner Senses* that everyone said aggravated his condition, so he didn't commit suicide this year.

Thinking of this, Wu Yuchen also smiled. This could be considered a good deed. Compared to this, it didn't matter whether Leslie Cheung was his male lead or not.

"Wu Dao, do I not meet the requirements? I'm also 33! My sense of music and rhythm is really good, and I can also learn the cello!"

Wu Yuchen waved his hand directly at Sun Honglei: "Huaqiang, with your face appearing, those who don't know would think it's the underworld coming to collect debts!"

Sun Honglei was a bit anxious when he heard this: "Wu Dao, I don't look bad either! Give me a chance!"

Sun Honglei and Wu Yuchen could be considered old friends; they had known each other since the initial filming of the short film "Car 44," and later he acted in "The Night of the Comet," as well as the role of Zhou Tienan in "Cell Phone," which also made him quite famous.

However, because of the character Zhou Tienan, others said he was strong on the outside but weak on the inside, a cowardly person who was an embroidered pillow. Therefore, he simply took on the role of the black boss Liu Huaqiang in *Conquest*. This could be said to have exploded across the country. Now, the first impression everyone had of him was that of a black boss.

In fact, Sun Honglei was still quite proud. After all, turning from a coward into a ruthless character like a black boss also proved his acting skills.

In the past few years, he didn't have any chance in romance films like *Classic* and *My Sassy Girl* filmed by Wu Yuchen, but this time it wasn't themed around romance, so he felt he should still be able to fight for it.

Wu Yuchen looked at his pestering appearance, thought for a moment, and said: "Go and hold the cello and let me see."

Hearing this, Sun Honglei hurriedly walked over, and then under the guidance of a cello teacher, began to pose with a deep look while holding the instrument.

Wu Yuchen looked at Liu Huaqiang's appearance of playing the cello affectionately and couldn't help but burst into laughter.

After satisfying his little perverted hobby, Wu Yuchen said to Sun Honglei: "Leizi, you'd better forget it. Don't pretend to be this kind of artist. We should still carry a knife when we should~"

After Sun Honglei got up, he looked at Wu Yuchen with a bit of resentment, but Wu Yuchen said with a smile:

"I heard that Tsui Hark's *Seven Swords* has contacted you? Go and prepare for that role well. I think your hope is quite big."

In the past few years, Chinese martial arts films had been popular both domestically and internationally. Therefore, basically, every famous director had been invited by investors to film martial arts. Tsui Hark, who had filmed many classics such as *A Chinese Ghost Story*, *Swordsman*, and *Once Upon a Time in China*, naturally wouldn't be an exception. This *Seven Swords* was said to have been in preparation since last year, and the lineup was quite large, claiming to invite 7 big stars to play the seven swords, which also attracted widespread attention in the circle.

Sun Honglei's development was better than in his past life, and he was quite famous in the mainland now. Therefore, Wu Yuchen estimated that the big villain Feng Huo Lian Cheng in *Seven Swords* would still fall into his hands.

Looking at Sun Honglei's back as he walked out, Wu Yuchen also smiled. This kid still had a lot of enterprising spirit now, completely unlike the appearance of being addicted to variety shows more than a decade later.

A moment later, Liu Dehua walked in, and the first thing he did was put his hands together and bow slightly to Wu Yuchen to say hello.

Wu Yuchen looked at Liu Dehua's appearance. He was 42 years old this year, but his maintenance was quite in place. Playing a 30-year-old youth was completely fine.

As for Andy's acting skills, they couldn't reach the top level, but they could be considered decent. During this period, Liu Dehua seemed to have that kind of 'fifty-fifty' meaning, which was that you couldn't feel he was very bright, but you didn't feel he was worse than the other party when he was with anyone.

For example, with "Infernal Affairs," when people mention acting, the deepest impression is usually Liang Chaowei's melancholic gaze, but if you think about it carefully, actually, Andy Lau isn't bad either.

However, after Liu Dehua walked out of the room, Wu Yuchen still shook his head. I don't know if Liu Dehua had filmed too many commercial films or had been a star for too long, but he lacked that bit of artistic style.

The next one who came had a full artistic temperament. Wang Zhiwen didn't become popular because of his face; what he relied on was that style, and his acting skills were also quite good.

After Wang Zhiwen walked out of the room, Wu Yuchen fell into thought again. Wang Zhiwen's performance just now was quite good, but why did he feel that something was missing?

He went through the male lead Lin Wu in his mind again. Lin Wu was a somewhat contradictory person. After his parents divorced, he lived in Shanghai with his mother. Since childhood, his mother had been cultivating him with Western values, but in his bones, he was a traditional and introverted Chinese person. He was somewhat cowardly in dealing with things and was always cautious.

The past as a cellist represented his Western lifestyle, while the encoffining ritual was Eastern tradition. The film was meant to show the collision of Eastern and Western cultures through Lin Wu, the male lead, and finally cleverly combine the West and the East. When facing death, no matter which culture, people long to be respected and blessed after death.

Thinking about it this way, Wu Yuchen also noticed where Wang Zhiwen was lacking. He didn't have that Western air and taste.

Subsequently, another actor known as an artistic male god came in: Jin Jin Chengwu. Jin Jin Chengwu was just 30 years old this year. If you want to talk about it, he could be considered the youngest in this audition.

After seeing Jin Jin Chengwu, Wu Yuchen smiled. In fact, they had dealt with each other when selecting actors for *Brotherhood of Blades* before. To be honest, if it weren't for Leslie Cheung, he might have considered Jin Jin Chengwu at that time.

Wu Yuchen didn't let Jin Jin Chengwu perform first, but chatted with him: "Takeshi, I remember you told me last time that you are usually a very dull person and like to stay alone. Then what do you do when you go home?"

Jin Jin Chengwu smiled embarrassedly and said: "I'm just a homebody, playing video games, playing the piano, playing the guitar, taking care of small animals, and the day passes."

Can you play the piano? Wu Yuchen kept this in mind, and then asked: "Did you study abroad in America before?"

Jin Jin Chengwu nodded: "Yes, I stayed there for about a year or two, and later I accidentally came into contact with filming commercials..."

Wu Yuchen said with a smile: "It seems that your father and mother are very good to you, very willing to cultivate you, and very respectful of your choices~"

Jin Jin Chengwu smiled and didn't speak. His family composition was slightly complicated. His father was Japanese and his mother was Taiwanese. Both were divorced and had a son, and after they combined, they gave birth to the third child, Jin Jin Chengwu.

He was born in Taiwan, but because his father was Japanese, he could only attend a Japanese school. The children inside said he couldn't speak Japanese and didn't play with him. After returning home, the neighbor children said he was Japanese and didn't play with him either. Therefore, his personality had been somewhat dull and isolated since childhood.

Seeing him like this, Wu Yuchen didn't pursue it anymore and let him start his audition performance. After Jin Jin Chengwu bowed and walked out, Wu Yuchen nodded and put a checkmark behind his name. Jin Jin Chengwu could be considered to have met his requirements for this role in all aspects.

To be honest, although Jin Jin Chengwu is called an artistic male god, most of his art film protagonists, including *Chungking Express*, *Fallen Angels*, and *Turn Left, Turn Right*, are images of weak men who are good-looking and make people pity. Most directors are using his appearance characteristics and that self-contained melancholy temperament.

As for acting skills, it's not top-notch. According to Wu Yuchen's observation, it's not necessarily higher than Liu Dehua's. However, for this male lead, he is indeed more suitable than Liu Dehua.

This male lead, Lin Wu, also has a hidden dissatisfaction with his father in his heart, because his father divorced his mother and abandoned him when he was a child. This is a knot in his heart that he can't untie. In the film, after his father passes away, Lin Wu, as an encoffiner, personally applies makeup for him, which is also a big step in his personal growth.

So Jin Jin Chengwu's self-contained melancholy can be used, but it must be covered up at ordinary times. And the reason Wu Yuchen asked about his family situation was for this reason—he wanted to understand the actor's own growth experience better.

"Hello, Wu Dao! Hello, teachers, I am Winston Chao!"

Looking at this handsome man who was gentle and elegant, Wu Yuchen couldn't help but smile and say: "I specifically called Director Lee two days ago, and he praised you endlessly!"

This Winston Chao in front of him wasn't a professional actor. After graduating from university, he became a flight attendant. Later, when Ang Lee was filming *The Wedding Banquet*, he discovered him and later became the male lead of Ang Lee's *Eat Drink Man Woman*. Two years ago, in the role of Xue Shao in *Palace of Desire*, he also attracted a large number of female fans in the mainland.

Even in the entertainment industry, he could be called a handsome guy. Zhou Xun said that when she saw Winston Chao for the first time while filming *Palace of Desire*, she felt she was going to fall in love with him.

Wu Yuchen started the chatting mode with him again. Hearing that he had also studied the piano and lived in America for a few years, he also kept it in mind.

"Can you tell me about your family situation?"

Winston Chao didn't avoid it and said generously: "My mother was a mistress, living under the same roof as my father and the big wife, so I was called an illegitimate child by many people when I was a child."

"Sorry..." Wu Yuchen gave an apologetic look.

Winston Chao shook his head with a smile: "It doesn't matter, these were facts originally. But my half-brother was very good to me. When he heard others discussing me, he would beat them away."

"When I was a child, the person I hated most was my father. He was very strict with me and often punished me physically. Every time others praised me for being good-looking, he would say I looked evil and what was the use?"

"When I was in middle school, I was very interested in art categories like painting and singing, and I thought about becoming an artist, but my father scolded me, saying I didn't do my proper job. Later, I still followed his idea and reported to the Industrial College to study machinery. At that time, I just wanted to stay away from him as much as possible. After graduation, I went to be a flight attendant, flying everywhere internationally, not at home all year round."

Wu Yuchen asked: "So, there are quite a few gaps between you and your father?"

"Yes, he was too strict and very male-chauvinistic. From childhood to adulthood, I didn't hear him say he loved me once. Until later, he was diagnosed with liver cancer. I went home to accompany him, and he told me that as long as you are happy in the future, this sentence really made me return to the room and cry bitterly, resolving all the negative emotions I had accumulated before."

"After my father passed away, I resigned directly and went to America to study again. It was also there that I was lucky enough to meet Director Lee and embarked on the current path."

After Winston Chao's audition performance ended, the smile on Wu Yuchen's face became even brighter, and he made a heavy checkmark behind his name. This was really great. His acting skills, image, temperament, and all aspects of fit were not worse than Jin Jin Chengwu's, and even his own experience would resonate with the male lead. ===== CHAPTER 312 =====