Chapter 348: Fan Xiaopang

Preparing for "Du Lala's Promotion" was a fresh experience for Fan Xiaopang.

First was the script—the original version differed slightly from Fan Xiaopang’s usual style, so revisions were needed.

The overall tone remained an uplifting light comedy, a typical chick flick with dual triumphs in career and love.

However, the narrative focused more tightly on Du Lala herself, with bolder and more dynamic character development.

No choice—Fan Xiaopang’s face deserved some scenes with real presence.

So, in the first half, Fan Xiaopang portrayed a naive rookie; in the middle to later stages, her edge gradually emerged, validating the “promotion” in the title.

With the script settled, the most critical task was finding a director.

Fan Xiaopang and the crew first approached Old Xu—he’d just finished "Women Not Bad," starring Princess Zhou. Though the box office flopped, the quality was solid, and Old Xu was famous for understanding women.

But Old Xu declined—he was already planning a big-budget historical action film with Huayi and saw "Du Lala's Promotion" as too small a project.

Fan Xiaopang approached several others, but none felt right.

Many current directors simply didn’t understand urban female themes.

Either they saw them too superficially, lacked nuance, or leaned too hard into artistic explorations of human nature, ignoring commercial elements.

Just as Fan Xiaopang was growing despondent, Yan Li recommended someone—Xue Xiaolu.

A renowned screenwriter, she co-wrote "Don’t Talk to Strangers," and was also a literature professor at Beijing Film Academy.

Xue Xiaolu came from screenwriting—her storytelling mastery and technical foundation were exceptional, capable of deepening character richness, and she brought a rare female perspective most directors lacked.

But her works leaned toward realism, and she’d never directed a film before.

If not for Yan Li’s recommendation, Fan Xiaopang would never have chosen her based on her resume alone.

Yet Yan Li’s judgment was legendary; Fan Xiaopang visited her in person and was pleasantly surprised to find she truly had talent.

Unfortunately, Xue Xiaolu was already preparing her own self-written, self-directed film and took the project seriously—she didn’t want her focus diverted.

After two consecutive rejections, Fan Xiaopang was nearly ready to give up.

At that moment, she happened to meet Jin Yimeng, director of "Very Perfect."

Her background was complex—graduated from the China Conservatory of Music, then studied opera in Italy, worked as a pop singer and songwriter, published a comic collection, and finally turned to film, earning a master’s in film production from Florida State University.

Early in her career, she worked in Hollywood, then returned to China to direct a film called "Swordfish," which performed well.

Later, she collaborated with Zhang Ziyi as producer on the film "Very Perfect."

A female-led film, female producer, female director—this alignment worked better, and the publicity angle was strong enough to reliably draw box office.

Fan Xiaopang’s preference for a female director was partly due to this reasoning.

But a fully female crew sounded ideal—on paper, at least.

Zhang Ziyi was dominant by nature, and as lead actress, producer, and project core, with investors backing her alone, her influence on set was obvious.

Jin Yimeng’s resume also revealed a strong-willed, restless person—certainly a director with firm creative ideas.

They didn’t outright break up, but friction arose; during post-production, Jin Yimeng became a “non-person.”

After meeting and speaking at length with Jin Yimeng, Fan Xiaopang immediately felt she was perfect for "Du Lala's Promotion."

Perhaps she wasn’t as nuanced or deeply attuned to female perspectives as Xue Xiaolu, but having lived in Hollywood, she understood the fashion, female dreams, romance, comedy, and entertainment value of chick flicks.

Put simply, she was a classic commercial filmmaker—capable of making "Du Lala's Promotion" stylish, funny, and romantic, which was precisely the film’s core strength.

For exploring women, an art film was better suited; "Du Lala's Promotion" was a classic popcorn workplace fantasy—just entertaining and satisfying.

After talking with Jin Yimeng, Fan Xiaopang solidified the film’s direction and began actively recruiting her as director.

It was still difficult—Jin still had a contract, and Zhang Ziyi would never let her go, especially if Fan Xiaopang tried to poach her.

So Fan Xiaopang hatched a scheme: provoke a fight between Jin and Zhang—two tigers can’t share one mountain, and Jin could then escape.

Logically, Jin had no reason to go that far—but whether due to deep-seated resentment or Fan Xiaopang’s persuasive charm, the two did indeed fall out.

It was said Jin even made a bold statement, vowing to prove who was right, then immediately announced her joining "Du Lala's Promotion."

No one knew Zhang Ziyi’s feelings, but the public was all laughing and enjoying the drama.

Zhang Ziyi as producer making a chick flick, Fan Xiaopang doing the same, hiring the same director, and poaching her—no one believed it was coincidence.

Fan Xiaopang didn’t care about the rumors—she even welcomed them.

She was used to Yan Li’s competitive publicity tactics—whether they won or lost, everyone gained something.

Originally, she’d worried "Very Perfect" and "Du Lala's Promotion" were too far apart in release dates, making their connection forced—but now, with Jin Yimeng, the two films could never be separated.

After joining the crew, Jin Yimeng immediately plunged into work.

She quickly realized that working on "Du Lala's Promotion" was far more comfortable than on "Very Perfect."

Besides securing certain powers in advance through negotiations with Fan Xiaopang, she also benefited from Fan Xiaopang’s willingness to delegate authority.

Fan Xiaopang was strong-willed herself, but generous and charismatic, possessing natural leadership qualities.

Most importantly, having worked with Yan Li for so long, she’d absorbed a deep understanding of the producer’s role and project management, and knew how to respect professionals.

This wasn’t easy—managing people and tasks sounded simple, but the subtleties ran deep.

Many, upon first gaining managerial power and authority, lost their balance due to novelty, revenge, responsibility, pressure, or lust for control.

They unconsciously micromanaged everything, big or small, triggering conflicts and tensions.

Zhang Ziyi had made this exact mistake on "Very Perfect."

Lacking experience, overly invested in the project, and failing to adjust her mindset, she overstepped the boundaries of producer and actress, meddling in filming and creative decisions.

Creative disagreements between director and actor were common—but only one person could make final calls to maintain consistent tone.

Giving conflicting orders—sometimes listening to the director, sometimes to the actor—was the worst possible mistake.

Though a few classics had emerged from such clashes, they were exceedingly rare; most such cases were cautionary tales.

Jin Yimeng’s conflict with Zhang Ziyi stemmed primarily from creative differences, ending with Jin reduced to a “puppet.”

Fan Xiaopang, learning from this lesson, firmly respected Jin Yimeng’s directorial authority—even when they disagreed, they discussed it, never imposing her will.

Fan Xiaopang handled it well, and with Zhang Ziyi as a contrast, Jin Yimeng thrived on the "Du Lala's Promotion" set.

Preparations advanced rapidly, and casting had already begun.

For the male lead, Jin Yimeng favored stylish, aristocratic male stars with sexual charisma—preferably with Western features or mixed heritage—to enhance the urban white-collar elite image.

Thus, for "Du Lala's Promotion," she suggested Jin Chengwu, Wang Lihong, Ming Dao, and several Chinese diaspora and Korean actors.

Fan Xiaopang was speechless—she’d seen corporate offices; Yi’an and Weibo executives all looked ordinary, and even Yan Li wore casual clothes unless at formal events.

Jin Yimeng’s idea of a corporate male lead was stereotypical and filtered through illusion.

Still, audiences currently loved this aesthetic.

Even Yan Li’s public image carried a hint of this—hard to say whether he’d influenced the trend or been shaped by it.

Fan Xiaopang personally preferred Yi’an artists, like Zhou Weiwei or Qiao Zhenyu—cheaper and helped promote talent.

But there was one problem: neither had the right aura—they were completely overshadowed by Fan Xiaopang.

Remember, the male lead was an industry elite; the female lead started as a junior clerk, but in the middle and later stages, her aura grew—this became a dual-strong dynamic. If the male lead’s aura was crushed by Fan Xiaopang, the character lacked credibility.

“If you could get Yan Zong, I think it’d be perfect.”

Seeing Fan Xiaopang favored Yi’an artists, Jin Yimeng suggested an alternative candidate.

In portraying corporate elites, no one in the entertainment industry matched Yan Li—he was playing himself, and his natural aura was so strong he sometimes had to tone it down.

Fan Xiaopang rolled her eyes—she’d love to get Yan Li, but what’s the point of all this effort if she could?

Still, after thinking it over, Fan Xiaopang conceded some of Jin Yimeng’s ideas.

It would benefit the film’s quality and reach, and Fan Xiaopang herself wasn’t fully confident in carrying the box office alone—she wanted a heavyweight male co-star.

Such artists required extensive coordination—impossible to secure quickly.

So while researching the male lead, she began other casting.

The female second lead in "Du Lala's Promotion" carried significant weight—Fan Xiaopang planned to cast a well-known actress.

Chick flicks weren’t carried by one woman alone.

Like Zhang Ziyi’s "Very Perfect," she brought in popular leading actress Li Xiaoran as the female second lead, with He Rundong as the male lead, and Yao Chen and Lin Xinru in supporting and cameo roles.

Fan Xiaopang intended to follow suit—secure a famous male lead and a popular female second lead.

For mainland actresses, she favored Gao Yuanyuan and Chen Hao—both were top-tier leading ladies, beautiful, and fit the corporate film aesthetic.

From Hong Kong and Taiwan, Shu Dazui, Chen Huilin, and Xu Ruoxuan were also good options; Zhi Ling was suitable too, but the two didn’t get along.

In the original script, the female second lead was a cold, dominant, powerful woman—but due to Fan Xiaopang’s acting style, she was rewritten as gentle yet resilient.

Fan Xiaopang preferred mainland actresses; after contact, both Chen Hao and Gao Yuanyuan expressed interest, with Gao especially eager.

There was also a male best friend and a female best friend—both comedic, lively types.

The former, Xu Zheng, agreed to make a cameo—he was from Shanghai and excelled at portraying junior office workers; the latter, Fan Xiaopang invited Liu Yan, whom she’d worked with on "The Legend of Yang Guifei," and other supporting roles were being selected through auditions.

For a project leader, personal connections and reputation mattered greatly.

Fan Xiaopang had good connections and reputation, but due to certain reasons, she avoided many Yi’an artists and had to look elsewhere.

In early March, "Du Lala's Promotion" rented a hotel conference room to begin preliminary auditions.