Chapter 686: 《Marriage Story》 — Casting Choices

"《Marriage Story》— just from the title you can tell this isn't a commercial film. Of the two movies, this one is the focus, right?"

Gazing at Liu Liu Yifei's exquisitely beautiful profile, Tang Yan asked uncertainly; the former was trimming the claws of the calico cat in her arms, her gaze soft and quite focused.

After attending the 《Bounty Hunter》 press conference this morning, she had come to find Liu Liu Yifei; the group had arranged to meet the day before yesterday.

But who could have known that not long after they sat down, the movie news had already broken online — and what a sensation it caused.

The entire film and television industry had gone crazy, everyone rushing in one after another, scrambling for information. In just over half an hour, Liu Liu Yifei's phone had rung eight or nine times.

"Mm, I guess so." Liu Liu Yifei looked up with a smile, replied lazily, her happiness written all over her face.

"What do you mean 'I guess so'?"

Luo Jin walked over from the direction of the garage, munching on an apple; behind him was Zhu Zhu Yawen holding Little Cotton-Padded Jacket, along with Shen Shen Jiani. The group had just gone out to buy ingredients — they were gathering for a meal today.

"Because for Lin Nan and me, these two films are the same; it's just that 《Marriage Story》 is deeper and more serious — it's a festival film, with real-world significance."

Liu Liu Yifei said with a coy smile; both films were love stories, just different kinds of love.

Perhaps in some viewers' eyes, 《Hobble Goblins》 might not have much "substance," but for the sweet moments — she and Lin Nan both loved those!

Why must every film chase after some "educational value" or "thoughtful elevation"? How exhausting would that be?

"A festival film! Well, well — this counts as getting first-hand 'inside information'! Right, Old Luo?"

Zhu Zhu Yawen, holding his daughter who was almost one, pretended to look shocked as he turned to Luo Jin.

"So, it'll be our very own Lin Dao Da directing, huh? I see Lin Nan Pictures' official Weibo has been completely silent — the comments below have already piled up to tens of thousands, and Red Star Fort is the same."

Facing Luo Jin's pressing questions, Liu Liu Yifei neither confirmed nor denied, only saying with a smile:

"This time we don't want to make too big a splash, so the company didn't put out any announcement or anything, and we won't be responding to any media interviews."

"You two don't want to make too big a splash, sure, but aren't you underestimating your own influence a bit too much? Producer Liu!"

Shen Shen Jiani teased, taking the porcelain-doll-like daughter from Zhu Zhu Yawen's arms.

"Princess Xixi, we'll talk about it later — anyway, we'll keep a low profile as much as we can."

Liu Liu Yifei laughed, set down the cat in her arms, then pulled Tang Yan up and urged Zhu Zhu Yawen and Luo Jin:

"Quick, quick — you two men, hurry up and set up the grill and the table… Tang Tang, Shen Jiani, come on, let's go pick out some drinks… let me hold her for a bit — her little cheeks are really so soft and smooth…"

Over at Bad Monkey, Lin Nan was in the middle of taking a call from Wang Wang Changtian.

Big Lao Wang understood Lin Nan very well: "I can tell — these two films of yours, you're going to play around with them yourself again, tsk tsk…"

Lin Nan glanced at Ning Hao, who was grinning slyly beside him, and replied: "It's not exactly playing around by myself — this time, on one of the films, Ning Hao will be teaming up with me."

"Then that's a bit much, huh — how can you just leave Enlight behind…"

"Director Wang, I'm the director, my wife is the producer — is it really so unreasonable for us to take a share? Or does Enlight have that kind of 'resource' too?"

Director Ning's one quip instantly left Wang Wang Changtian speechless.

"Fine, I have no objections." Big Lao Wang froze for two or three seconds, then blurted out a sentence.

"Haha…"

Lin Nan and Ning Hao burst out laughing on the spot — they really couldn't hold it in.

No sooner had Wang Wang Changtian hung up than another call came in.

"Hey, you'd better hurry home and entertain your guests — I'll be reviewing the script with your sis and we'll handle the revisions; I reckon for the next stretch of time, until the film starts shooting, you won't get a moment's peace.

In the one hour you've been here, the phone hasn't stopped ringing — first Fan Li Bingbing, then… and now Little Zhang Zhang Ziyi;

These big actresses, every single one of them is sharp as a tack — they figured out the 'positioning' of your 《Marriage Story》 at a glance. It's absolutely aimed at the awards!"

Ning Hao waved his hand, teasing Lin Nan. For lunch, he wasn't planning to keep his guest any longer.

"Alright then, I'll head off first — see you."

Lin Nan stood up and waved; Liu Liu Yifei's text had also been urging him just now. He walked toward his car while connecting Zhang Zhang Ziyi's call… time to politely turn her down.

……

"No public casting plans at the moment?"

The meaning of those words — not only did Fan Li Bingbing understand, but Zhang Zhang Ziyi understood even better. Lin Dao Da had gently refused her, without even giving her a chance to audition.

After several months of attempting a comeback, she had been rejected by two major directors in a row, and currently the only film she had awaiting release was 《The Wasted Times》 — zero new acting offers!

This situation, for a top-tier A-list actress like her, was undoubtedly very dire.

In other words, she — who years ago had returned from Hollywood and, riding on 《The Grandmaster》, had made a comeback domestically — was now facing the prospect of falling back into the valley again, and rapidly at that.

Career-wise, over the past year or more, she had been completely left behind by Fan Li Bingbing, Li Li Bingbing and the others; the resources in the Chinese film industry suitable for top-tier A-list actresses had almost been swept clean!

"Sister Zhang Ziyi, are you really not considering TV dramas? The TV drama market is getting more and more prosperous, more and more bigger — the speed at which paychecks are skyrocketing far outpaces film…"

The assistant asked quietly from the side; the studio had received quite a few TV drama invitations recently.

"TV dramas? Have you ever seen Gong Li act in a TV drama?"

Zhang Zhang Ziyi's face darkened as she replied. So what if it made more money — she hadn't "fallen" to that level yet. She was unwilling to accept it.

After the assistant fell silent, Zhang Zhang Ziyi reined in her emotions as well:

"Keep looking — fortunately we still have 《The Wasted Times》 to hold things up for now… By the way, has Huayi said anything about the final release date?"

"Sister Zhang Ziyi, it was finalized this morning — it's just that the news about Lin Nan Pictures' two films overshadowed it on the hot search. December 16th, in the New Year season."

Hearing that date, Zhang Zhang Ziyi's expression instantly collapsed again — this year's New Year season was hell mode! What were they thinking? Could they really grab a piece of the pie?

……Flip, brush sauce, sprinkle seasoning, plate……

Ever since Lin Dao Da had come back, Chef Lin had started bustling about — it had already been over an hour.

"What a sin!"

Lin Nan plopped down onto the swing, complaining — he was truly exhausted.

"Here, have some white wine — semi-sweet."

Liu Liu Yifei handed over a cup warmly; in her other hand she held a lamb skewer, her lips unusually flushed and glistening.

"This counts as the last gathering with you all for the first half of the year — after this, things are going to get busy."

Lin Nan took the drink and said to Zhu Zhu Yawen and the others.

"Speaking of which, you're really not going to give us a leg up?" Lao Zhu ate his roasted eggplant, not forgetting to "hug the thigh."

"Exactly, exactly. The closest we've come to an award was that year's 'Bad Genius,' and that was only a nomination."

After placing a scallop on Tang Yan's plate, Luo Jin chimed in with a line of his own.

"The movie needs a son or daughter, the kid type—who among you two is going to do it?" Lin Nan downed the white wine in one gulp—ice-cold, tasted pretty good.

"Cough cough… haha… whose son would those two be playing?"

Tang Yan nearly choked, laughing as he looked at Liu Liu Yifei. Miss Liu just smiled without a word, shaking her head.

"Sigh, when feelings have faded, they've faded. Yet you still have to make excuses—and of all excuses, this kind."

"You were just a pendant for a while anyway. Talk about feelings? Are you worthy?"

Well then, Luo Jin "backstabbed" Zhu Zhu Yawen—the alliance is shattered!

Speaking of casting for "Marriage Story," Lin Nan really must finalize it soon; filming starts in the next couple of days.

This film doesn't need a big mobilization. Per the plan, just prepare quietly and shoot low-key, and the company team has already been preparing for nearly a month.

……

Several days passed in a row. Lin Nan shuttled back and forth between the company and home, mulling over the casting on his own.

Meanwhile, Daylight Entertainment's "Ode to Joy" had finally premiered;

In just three days, the ratings showed an explosive trend. Liu Tao and Jiang Xin became wildly popular, along with Wang Wang Ziwen and Yang Zi.

At the same time, the Capital International Film Festival—which sounds lofty but is actually pretty watered-down—also grandly opened.

Although physically it was very, very close, almost none of the mainland's top directors showed up to support it, because everyone was busy and, frankly, looked down on it a bit.

But it was different over in Hong Kong:

John Woo, Wong Kar-wai, Wang Jing, Derek Yee, Chen Chen Kexin, Raymond Wong… Chow Yun-fat and his wife, Tony Leung, Guo Fu, Andy Lau… It felt like they were booking the whole place?!

Makes sense—the Golden Horse Awards at the start of the month barely had any buzz, drowned out online. It's really not as good as organizing a group trip to the Capital International Film Festival.

"Lin Dao, you haven't forgotten that tomorrow is the premiere of 'Dong Xuan Zang,' right? China Film is pressing us for an answer."

In the office, Lin Nan was scribbling on a blank sheet of paper when Yue Jun suddenly knocked and came in.

"Tomorrow?"

Lin Nan glanced suspiciously at the calendar on the desk. Good lord, he really had lost track of time!

"Alright, tell China Film I'll be there tomorrow."

'Dong Xuan Zang' is, after all, a "mission film" with no small investment. Since an invitation was issued, unless Lin Nan had some special circumstance, it was best to go.

As far as he was concerned, he'd just treat it as going to support Huang Huang Xiaoming, Luo Jin, and the others.

"Got it, Lin Dao.

I heard this film has a lot of attention from above. The Silk Road, Changchun, and several other domestic international film festivals have all been entered."

"It is getting quite a bit of attention."

Lin Nan nodded and said no more. After Yue Jun left, he went back to his main business.

Several A4 sheets were scattered casually on the desk, covered with the names of many industry actors and character-fit analyses.

For "Huan You Xian Jing," Lin Nan naturally wouldn't exhaust himself like this, but for "Marriage Story," he had to be cautious—must be cautious!

…………

On the morning of the 23rd, the premiere of 'Dong Xuan Zang' at the CPPCC Auditorium was undoubtedly grand in scale and exceptionally ceremonious.

It seemed the neighbors "Three Brothers" had also sent quite a few actors to participate in the "exchange."

So, virtually every big name in the domestic entertainment circle was invited by China Film; those absent would likely be few.

Lin Nan and Liu Liu Yifei left the house at 8:30 in the morning. By the time they arrived at the venue, the scene outside was already one of "blaring gongs and drums."

Stars and actors streamed endlessly along the red carpet, and the media on both sides numbered over two hundred. Fans and passersby went without saying—a sea of people.

"Worthy of a 'China-India Friendship' mission film—even Southeast Asian media are here in force."

The two walked the red carpet with their fingers interlocked. Lin Nan waved to both sides while muttering softly to Liu Liu Yifei.

"Let's go, head inside first." Liu Liu Yifei gently scratched Lin Nan's palm and tugged at him.

"Mm, let's go."

Two minutes later, Lin Nan got a real sense of the "caliber" of today's premiere—truly a gathering of heavyweights.

Tong Gang and Zhang Zhang Hongsen, two leaders from the General Administration, were both there. The Fifth Generation directors—Zhang Zhang Yimou, Chen Chen Kaige, Tian Tian Zhuangzhuang—also all showed up.

Beside La La Peikang, like a host, was surrounded by plenty of industry insiders. Han Han Sanping, Ren Ren Zhonglun, Wang Yong… Wang Wang Zhongjun, Wang Wang Changtian, Yu Dong…

Hm? Lin Nan actually spotted Ur Shan.

That guy had been keeping a low profile since that period of frantically attending countless high-level industry banquets. He actually showed up today? And Song Ge was beside him?

"Liu Yifei, over here."

Miss Liu had originally planned to go greet people with Lin Nan, but Zhou Xun's voice called out to her again—several other acquaintances were over there.

"You go over there and handle the socializing. I'll take care of things here."

Lin Nan squeezed Liu Liu Yifei's soft hand and said with a smile.

"Okay, then I'll go find them."

"Mm, go ahead."

With that, Lin Nan and Liu Liu Yifei parted ways and headed in two different directions.

Huang Huang Xiaoming was one of the centerpieces of today's event, smiling nonstop as he mingled with a group of bigwigs. Yang Ying also basked in the reflected glory.

Xu Zheng enjoyed the same treatment as Huang Huang Xiaoming—after all, he was now both capital and a big director himself. But Luo Jin and the other leads were far from that level.

"Lin Dao, everyone was just talking about you!"

"Talking about me?" Lin Nan asked, puzzled.

"I told you your company had those two films hidden deep — it's been a whole week now and not a whisper has leaked out. By the way, they're both this year's film projects, right?"

Han Han Sanping cut in before Huang Huang Xiaoming could finish, asking Lin Nan very seriously and solemnly.

"Yes, both are this year's projects. My company doesn't have the habit of greenlighting in the first half and then dragging it into the next year to shoot — unless it's a truly massive production, a special-effects blockbuster."

The moment Lin Nan finished speaking, he grew curious — why did Han Han Sanping seem to breathe a sigh of relief?

But before he could press further, Huang Huang Xiaoming cut in again.

"Lin Dao, for these two films from your company, is there any role that suits me? Or some not significant supporting role that suits Baby? Hahaha…"

Yang Ying followed behind Huang Huang Xiaoming, laughing with a respectful attitude.

"No!"

Lin Nan shook his head quite decisively, refusing outright.

Hearing this answer, Huang Huang Xiaoming's smile remained natural; he merely made a very regretful expression.

But Yang Ying's acting skills still needed work — the smile on his face froze for an instant, and only afterward did he awkwardly continue to laugh along.

The premiere ceremony's procedure was, on the whole, pretty much the same as always — except today there was an added segment of leaders giving speeches, since it was an assigned film after all.

Around ten o'clock everyone took their seats.

When all the lights in the CPPCC auditorium were switched off and the big screen lit up, the venue instantly fell silent.

Lin Nan sat in the first row, his upper body tilted slightly, leaning toward Liu Liu Yifei on his right; behind her sat Zhou Xun.

"I say, Lin Dao, you're starting a new film — why didn't you give me a call?"

Zhou Xun leaned forward, draped over the back of Liu Liu Yifei's chair, her chin resting on Miss Liu's shoulder, muttering softly.

"Liu Liu Qianqian told you?"

Lin Nan turned his head, looked at the two grinning people in front of him, and didn't even need to wait for an answer.

"I remember hearing from Liu Liu Qianqian that you'd already taken a role, didn't you?

Forget it — come to my house tomorrow, or to my company, and we'll talk then. Right now this is the premiere of *Great Tang Tang Xuanzang*, show some respect."

"Got it, big sis here will go to your place tomorrow morning."

After getting the "promise," Zhou Xun immediately became smug, playing with Liu Liu Yifei's long shawl hair — but the next instant she was subdued by Miss Liu the swordswoman.

"Liu Yifei, let go, ow ow… your grip is really strong…"

"Serves you right for pulling my hair."

Many of the surrounding actors saw this little scene, their envy plain on their faces.

As the plot of *Great Tang Tang Xuanzang* fully unfolded, the expressions of many of the film people present gradually grew solemn — they were weighing, calculating, analyzing the film's strengths and weaknesses in their minds.

"*Finding Mr. Right 2* — one less competitor."

Lin Nan muttered in a low voice, and Liu Liu Yifei immediately understood what he meant: he wasn't optimistic about this film!

"The geography, the cultural costumes, the historical realism, the magnificent scenery along the westward journey… all of these were shot well, all on real locations;

but after all, this is yet another biographical film, and one that closely follows the historical story of Tang Xuanzang's westward journey — which means there isn't much it can offer to draw in audiences;

not only that, but to dramatize the hardships of the pilgrimage, they even added place names like 'Flowing Sand River' and 'Flaming Mountain' — there's no way to evaluate that, it's too jarring."

Lin Nan gave his own assessment: overall the film was passable, close to its theme, but not the kind of film that would sell tickets.

Still, Huang Huang Xiaoming's acting really was excellent — he gave it everything he had in this film!

At the luncheon after the premiere, Lin Nan and Liu Liu Yifei attended the whole thing, but when it broke up, the two of them didn't leave together.

Lin Nan went straight to the company, while Miss Liu went off to have fun with Zhou Xun.

…………

A little past three in the afternoon, in the office, Lin Nan and Yue Jun sat facing each other, chatting.

"For *Marriage Story*, my first choice was actually Gong Li — for that second female lead."

Lin Nan stated bluntly that, given his connections, he could get Gong Li to come.

"'Actually'? So you're saying you've changed your mind now?"

"Not exactly changed — there's just the added option of Zhou Xun."

In the gap between sentences, Lin Nan pulled a folded A4 sheet from a drawer and handed it to Yue Jun.

"According to the requirements for these roles, go pick out old acting veterans with superb craft from the top-tier actors — I need a large batch of supporting roles.

Also, get in touch with Teacher Hui Hui Yinghong — I want her to play Liu Yifei's character's mother in the film…

As for the younger supporting roles with a fair number of scenes, I have my own ideas; I can pull people in on the spot when the time comes, acquaintances first."

Yue Jun took the list — on it were only the positioning of each role in the film, the character relationships, and the requirements.

"Mm, okay, I can have it sorted before month's end. But, may I leak the news that the film is directed by Lin Dao, and stars Lin Dao and Liu Yifei?"

"You may."

Lin Nan nodded and replied.

The next second, another rather important matter occurred to him:

"For the little actor specifically marked on the list, you absolutely must find me a good-looking one — after all, they have to play my and Liu Yifei's son or daughter, not the slightest bit of breaking immersion! Hehe…"

After saying it, even Lin Nan himself couldn't help laughing, and so did Yue Jun — who also couldn't resist teasing:

"With you two as parents, that's not going to be easy to find."

"Four or five years old is fine. I originally wanted to find someone directly from the industry, but then I thought — doing it that way brings too much hassle, and it's easy to drag in unnecessary favors.

If I look among acquaintances, there are barely any acquaintances with kids that age; the only suitable one is Ning Hao's — but that won't work either, that chubby little boy looks just like his dad…"

Lin Nan really couldn't hold it in and started laughing as he roasted away.

"Lin Dao, don't let Director Ning hear that, he'll come after you with a knife! Hahaha…"

…………