Chapter 348: Fan Xiaopang

Preparing for "Du La La'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 a motivational light comedy, a typical chick flick with dual triumphs in career and love.

However, the narrative focused more tightly on Du La La, with more ambitious and dynamic character development.

There was no choice—Fan Xiaopang's face deserved some presence-heavy scenes; it would be a waste not to write them.

Thus, in the early and middle stages, Fan Xiaopang portrayed a naive, inexperienced girl, gradually revealing her edge in the later half, validating the "promotion" in the title.

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

Fan Xiaopang and the crew first went straight to Xu Laoguai—he had just directed "Women Are Not Bad," starring Zhou Young Master; though the box office was poor, the quality was decent, and Xu was famously skilled at filming women.

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

Fan Xiaopang approached several others, but found none suitable.

Many directors at this stage had little understanding of urban female themes.

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

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

A renowned screenwriter, she had contributed to "Don't Talk to Strangers," and was also a literature professor at the Beijing Film Academy.

Xue Xiaolu came from a screenwriting background, with exceptional storytelling mastery and professional depth, capable of enriching character development, while also bringing a rare female perspective among current directors.

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

Had it not been for Yan Li's recommendation, Fan Xiaopang would never have chosen her based on her current resume.

But Yan Li's judgment was legendary; Fan Xiaopang personally visited her and was pleasantly surprised to discover the woman truly had ability.

Unfortunately, Xue Xiaolu was already preparing her own self-written, self-directed film, taking the project seriously and unwilling to let another project distract her.

After two consecutive rejections, Fan Xiaopang was nearly shut down.

At this moment, she happened to meet someone—the director of "Very Perfect," Jin Yimeng.

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 filmmaking, earning a Master's in Film Production from Florida State University in the U. S.

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

Then she collaborated with Zhang Ziyi, serving as director on Zhang's producer-led film "Very Perfect."

Female lead, female producer, female director—this alignment worked better, and the hype was strong enough to precisely capture box office returns.

Fan Xiaopang's preference for a female director also stemmed from this reasoning.

But a fully female crew sounded great in theory—yet in practice, it was just that.

Zhang Ziyi was dominant in personality, and as lead actress, producer, and project core, with investors all backing her, her influence on set was obvious.

From her resume, Jin Yimeng clearly was a strong-willed, restless person; as a director, she would certainly have her own ideas about filming.

Over time, they didn't exactly break up, but friction arose; during post-production, Jin Yimeng became a "non-person."

After meeting this person and having in-depth talks, Fan Xiaopang immediately felt this director was also well-suited for "Du La La's Promotion."

Perhaps in depth and female perspective, she wasn't as nuanced 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 La La's Promotion" stylish, funny, and romantic, which was precisely the film's core strength.

For exploring women, an art film was more suitable; "Du La La's Promotion" was a classic popcorn workplace fantasy—just entertaining and satisfying was enough.

After talking with Jin Yimeng, Fan Xiaopang solidified the film's style and began actively recruiting her as director for "Du La La's Promotion."

This was still difficult—Jin had a contract with "Very Perfect," and especially since Fan Xiaopang was poaching her, Zhang Ziyi would never let her go.

So Fan Xiaopang came up with a shady idea: inciting Jin to quarrel with Zhang—two tigers cannot share one mountain, and then Jin could escape.

Logically, Jin had no reason to go that far, but whether due to deep-seated resentment toward Zhang or Fan Xiaopang's persuasive charm, Jin and Zhang indeed fell out.

It was said Jin even made a harsh statement, vowing to prove who was right between her and Zhang, then immediately announced her official joining of "Du La La's Promotion."

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

Zhang Ziyi as producer making a chick flick, Fan Xiaopang doing the same, using the same director, and involving poaching—it was impossible for anyone to believe this 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 had worried that the release gap between "Very Perfect" and "Du La La's Promotion" was too long, and linking them solely by their old feud felt forced; now, with Jin Yimeng involved, the two films could hardly disentangle themselves.

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

Then she realized that working on "Du La La's Promotion" was far more comfortable than on "Very Perfect."

Besides having negotiated certain powers with Fan Xiaopang before joining, Fan Xiaopang also knew how to delegate authority.

Fan Xiaopang's personality was strong-willed, but she was generous and possessed a certain leadership talent and charisma.

Most importantly, having worked with Yan Li for so long, she had absorbed much knowledge about the producer role and project management, and understood how to respect professionals.

This was not easy—managing people and affairs sounded simple, but the subtleties ran deep.

Many, upon first gaining managerial power and voice, often lost their sense of proportion due to novelty, retaliatory impulses, responsibility, pressure, or lust for authority.

They unconsciously meddled in everything, big and small, even sparking conflicts and tensions.

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

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

Creative disagreements between director and actor were common on set, but only one person could make final decisions to maintain consistent tone.

Two conflicting authorities—one moment listening to the director, the next to the actor—was the greatest taboo.

Although there were rare examples of directors and actors who clashed yet produced classics, they were exceedingly few; most such cases were cautionary tales.

Jin Yimeng's conflict with Zhang Ziyi stemmed primarily from creative differences, ultimately reducing Jin to a "puppet."

This time, Fan Xiaopang carefully learned from this lesson, respecting Jin Yimeng's directorial authority; even when disagreements arose, they discussed them, never imposing power.

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

Relevant preparatory work is advancing rapidly, and casting has already begun.

For the male lead, Jin Yimeng admires male stars who are fashionable, aristocratic, and exude sexual tension—preferably with a Western flair or mixed heritage—to enhance the urban white-collar elite aesthetic.

Thus, for the role in *Du La La's Promotion*, she suggested Jin Chengwu, Wang Lihong, Ming Dao, and several Chinese diaspora and Korean actors.

Fan Xiaopang was speechless; she had seen plenty of workplaces—Yi'an's executives and Weibo's management were all ordinary-looking, and even Yan Li mostly wore casual clothes unless at social events or formal occasions.

Jin Yimeng's vision of the workplace male lead is steeped in clichés and filter-induced glamour.

But then again, audiences today still eat this up.

Even Yan Li's public image carries a hint of this stereotype—it's unclear whether the trend influenced him or he started it.

Fan Xiaopang personally prefers Yi'an artists, like Zhou Yi or Qiao Zhenyu—cheaper and better for promoting talent.

But there's one key problem: neither of them has the right aura—they're completely overshadowed by Fan Xiaopang.

Remember, the male lead in the film is an industry elite; the female lead starts as a junior clerk, but by the middle and later stages, her aura grows, forming a dual-strong dynamic—yet if her aura is crushed by Fan Xiaopang, the characters lack credibility.

"If you can bring in Boss Yan, I think it'll definitely work."

Seeing Fan Xiaopang's preference for Yi'an artists, Jin Yimeng proposed an alternative candidate.

When it comes to portraying business elites, no one in the entire entertainment industry matches Yan Li—he's playing himself, and his natural aura is so strong he sometimes has to hold back.

Fan Xiaopang rolled her eyes; if she could get Yan Li, she wouldn't be going through all this trouble.

Still, after thinking it over, Fan Xiaopang conceded part of Jin Yimeng's idea.

It would benefit the film's quality and reach, and besides, Fan Xiaopang had some doubts about carrying the box office alone, so she wanted a heavyweight male actor as a co-star.

Such a level of artist requires extensive coordination and cannot be secured in a short time.

So, while researching the male lead, begin other casting.

The female second lead in *Du La La's Promotion* is also a substantial role; Fan Xiaopang plans to find someone famous.

A chick flick isn't carried by just one woman.

For example, Zhang Ziyi's *Very Perfect* brought in the 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 intends to follow suit: find a famous male lead and a popular female star for the female second lead.

Among mainland artists, she favors Gao Yuanyuan and Chen Hao—both are top-tier leading actresses, equally famous, beautiful, and fitting the workplace film's aesthetic.

From Hong Kong and Taiwan, Shu Dazui, Chen Huilin, and Xu Ruoxuan are also good options; Zhi Ling's sister would work too, but the two don't get along.

In the original script, the female second lead was a cold, powerful, dominant senior woman, but due to Fan Xiaopang's acting style, it was changed to a gentle yet resilient type.

Fan Xiaopang prefers mainland artists; after preliminary contact, both Chen Hao and Gao Yuanyuan are interested, with Gao especially eager.

There's also a male best friend and a female best friend, both comedic and lively types.

The former, Xu Zheng, will make a cameo—he's from Shanghai and excels at portraying low-level office workers; the latter, Fan Xiaopang invited Liu Yan, whom she worked with on *The Legend of Yang Guifei*. Other supporting roles are being carefully selected or tested.

For someone leading a project, the leader's connections and reputation matter greatly.

Fan Xiaopang has good connections and reputation, but due to certain reasons, she's unwilling to use many Yi'an artists and must look elsewhere.

In early March, *Du La La's Promotion* rented a hotel conference room to begin partial auditions.