Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 270 New Play and Selection of Lead Actor

During his month-long stay in China, aside from the release of "Brotherhood of Blades," Wu Yuchen visited many of the remaining concentration camps from the War of Resistance against Japan.

When people talk about concentration camps, the first thing that comes to mind is the Nazis, the Jews who were persecuted in concentration camps. But in fact, the Nazis were not the only ones doing this during World War II.

Has Japan done little? Has China suffered little persecution? Not at all. During the entire Second World War, the number of people who died directly from the war was 7000 million, and 1800 million of them were Chinese, accounting for a quarter of that.

However, the persecution suffered by Chinese people during World War II has not received international attention. The horrific tragedies that occurred on Chinese soil seem to pale in comparison to those of the Jewish people. Germany sincerely apologized, but many forces within China still attempt to deny its crimes. This is the power of discourse!
Over the course of eight years, Japan built numerous concentration camps in China, including the Fengtian POW camp, Lushun prison, Weixian concentration camp in Shandong province, Jinan concentration camp, Shimen concentration camp, and the former site of Unit 731 in Pingfang, among others. Wu Yuchen visited them all.

To be honest, the more he saw and learned, the more it seemed like hell on earth, causing a surge of negative emotions within him. Staying there for too long could easily lead to depression. No wonder Iris Chang, who later dedicated herself to researching the Nanjing Massacre, suffered a mental breakdown and committed suicide. Sigh…

Wu Yuchen then shook his head. He had to detach himself from his emotions and not be affected, otherwise it might affect the subsequent filming.

The Chinese-language anti-war film he's about to shoot aims to reflect the persecution suffered by the Chinese people during the War of Resistance against Japan. However, frankly speaking, if we're talking about shooting from a conventional perspective, those Jewish directors have already explored most of the angles they could.

For example, making a film like "John Rabe" would feel like imitating "Schindler's List." If he wants Chinese-language films to compete for Oscars on the same subject, he has to find a new angle.

Fortunately, there are some... like "The Boy in Striped Pajamas".

This is a film that presents Nattri's crimes entirely from a child's perspective. Because it is from a child's perspective, it is very pure. Many things he sees are difficult for him to understand, and it is both gloomy and absurd.

The film never explicitly addresses the cruelty and gore, but that doesn't mean it intentionally avoids these issues. It's just that children's eyes cannot interpret them, and the film conveys the bloodshed and cruelty of that era through some details and hints.

This is also one of the points that Wu Yuchen values. Many similar anti-war films focus on bloodshed and violence, directly showcasing the crimes of rioters. It's not that this kind of filmmaking is bad, but frankly, it's not conducive to the film's dissemination. Film requires artistic processing; it's not a straightforward documentary.

Before returning to China, Wu Yuchen had also spoken with Spielberg. Spielberg, while filming *Schindler's List*, had considered whether to depict Nattri's various acts of violence more fully, showcasing her crimes in greater detail. However, he ultimately decided against it, because such graphic violence would make the film difficult to disseminate.

A more sophisticated approach is not to use excessive gore and violence to cause discomfort and anger in the audience, but to immerse the audience in the story, stir their emotions, and create resonance, thereby fostering a shared sense of righteous indignation.

The film *The Boy in the Striped Pajamas* perfectly embodies this principle. While it contains very little gore or violence, when viewed from a child's perspective, almost everyone can understand and relate to the story. After all, children's emotions are the most genuine and touching!

The movie was released in 2008 and won many awards. The original novel was only published in 2006, and the creation of it hasn't even started yet. Wu Yuchen has no problem making it.

The basic story framework remains largely unchanged, as the concentration camps also exist in China, though some details need to be altered. For instance, in the original version, the little boy's father is a Natsia military officer; here, he could be a high-ranking member of the Japanese puppet army. According to Wu Yuchen's investigations, many of the concentration camp guards were actually employed by puppet troops.

Most of the real elite Japanese troops were sent to the front lines to fight tough battles, while the security and management of concentration camps and prisons were mostly handled by traitors and puppet troops.

As for the filming location, this time we plan to set it near Fengtian (Shenyang). The three northeastern provinces were occupied for 14 years, with many concentration camps located there. In addition to persecuting the people of Northeast China, they also carried out brainwashing propaganda, making it the most suitable location for the story.

The main characters of this film are, without a doubt, two little boys: one is the son of a high-ranking puppet army officer guarding the concentration camp, and the other is a prisoner in the camp.

These two young actors are of utmost importance; Wu Yuchen's requirement was that they be boys born between 92 and 94.

Wu Yuchen did try to recall the performances of actors from his previous life, but to be honest, he couldn't think of any actors born in recent years who had really good acting skills. They were all basically young idols and popular celebrities.

However, even if he had them, he wouldn't dare to use them directly. Who knows what they looked like when they were young? How good are their acting skills? Therefore, more than half a month ago, Wu Yuchen had already started a nationwide audition for the production team.

One child should be handsome and good-looking, like someone raised in a life of luxury, with an innate innocence; the other should be thin and weak, or rather, a little radish, evoking sympathy in others.

For other important supporting roles, Wu Yuchen didn't hold open auditions. For example, for the role of the little boy's mother, he directly called and invited Gong Li. A woman around 40 years old, elegant and dignified—Wu Yuchen couldn't think of anyone more suitable.

Although Wu Yuchen had no shortage of suitors who wanted the role—for example, Jiang Qinqin expressed her desire to play it—her age was simply not suitable, so Wu Yuchen never agreed.

"Director Wu, I really didn't expect that you would ask me to play a mother again after I just played a mother in my last movie!" Gong Li said to Wu Yuchen with a smile.

Two years ago, she starred in a movie called "Pretty Mom" ​​and won many awards.

"Haha, Sister Li, this time you're not playing a poor mother, but a wealthy lady, but the care and love for the child is the same. You were the first person I thought of!"

Wu Yuchen and Gong Li chatted and laughed as they entered the room. Gong Li had been selected in advance and had been added to the audition panel to choose a "son" with Wu Yuchen.

The selection process for the two young actors took a week of careful consideration. Gong Li, holding a list of candidates, said to Wu Yuchen, "I still think this one is good."

Wu Yuchen glanced at the photo in the file and immediately recalled Dong Zijian's performance at the audition today. He nodded and said, "This Dong Zijian is indeed good. He's thin and small, quite cute, and his acting skills are beyond his age. He's really suitable to play the little radish head in the concentration camp."

Dong Zijian is quite well-connected; his mother is Wang Jinghua, known as the top agent in mainland China, and many production teams give her face.

However, for Wu Yuchen, Wang Jinghua meant nothing, and he didn't need to consider her feelings at all. He chose Dong Zijian because he was indeed a good fit. Perhaps due to the influence of his family environment and extensive exposure to acting, he displayed talent at a young age.

“Okay, he’s the one for the role.” Wu Yuchen made the decision, then asked Gong Li, “Sister Li, which one has your son taken a liking to?”

Gong Li then pushed over the three documents she had left in front of her: "Look, I think these three are pretty good."

Wu Yuchen picked up the three files and looked them over. Fang Xi, Lin Dongyang, and Wei Zhe—these three boys all had good looks and temperaments, and their audition performances were quite spirited. He had already made a mental note of them. Hmm, none of them were names Wu Yuchen was familiar with from his previous life.

Wu Yuchen held up three sets of documents and said to Gong Li, "Sister Li, these three are all good. I'll add two more and have the five of them try out again tomorrow. Let's see how their chemistry works with you and Dong Zijian."

Gong Li nodded in agreement. Many actors are like that; they perform very well on their own, but once they act together, the feeling can be different. Different people can create different chemistry, resulting in different effects.

"Director Wu! Thank you! It's such a blessing that Zijian has caught your eye!"

Wang Jinghua had worked on many film sets and was used to big productions. But when she heard that her son had been chosen by Wu Yuchen to be one of the male leads in his new drama, she was so excited that her face turned red.

Because she's a top agent, she understands better how vast the gap is between other directors and Wu Yuchen within the Chinese film industry. While the media speculates about who is the best director—Zhang Yimou or Wu Yuchen—there's virtually no debate about it within the industry.

Ask these actors: if they were both chosen by Wu Yuchen and Zhang Yimou, whose movie would they be willing to act in? It would definitely be Wu Yuchen's!

With box office, Oscars, and Hollywood right in front of you, any actor who hesitates is disrespecting their own future and prospects!

Therefore, her son getting a role in Wu Yuchen's new drama is like a perfect start. Although the development of a child star is not always smooth sailing, with her knowledgeable mother paving the way, as long as her son wants to pursue a career in the entertainment industry, it will definitely be a smooth ride!

Seeing Wang Jinghua bowing and scraping to him, Wu Yuchen shook her hand lightly and said with a smile, "No need for that. It's just that Zijian is talented. It's just that filming for the next two months might be a bit tough. Can you accept that?"

"Don't worry, Director Wu. Hard work and perseverance are basic qualities for actors. The child will benefit immensely from learning from you and receiving your guidance in the future!"

A day later, after careful selection, the role of the young boy who played the male lead was finally decided, and Fang Xi was the best in all aspects.

After the little boy was selected, his parents were even happier than he was, and they thanked Wu Yuchen profusely and made various promises to him.

Wu Yuchen smiled. This time he had chosen an amateur actor, and he wondered if it would change the actor's fate and lead him to become an actor in the future.

He then shook his head, no longer thinking about it. The future was uncertain, and what he valued most was making this film well.

"Hey, Brother Wu, how's your new movie going?"

"Haha, thanks to Brother Han, we just finalized the casting for the two children," Wu Yuchen replied to Han Sanping with a smile.

"That's good. Children's films are the hardest to make. Finding two suitable child actors is already half the battle won. I see you're focused on this new film right now. You haven't even been paying attention to the box office of 'Brotherhood of Blades,' have you?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Yuchen smiled and said frankly, "With Brother Han looking after 'Brotherhood of Blades,' I reckon there won't be any problems!"

"You! Alright, I'm not talking about the box office of 'Brotherhood of Blades' this time. Brother Wu, I want to ask you something: are you sure this movie is going to be nominated for the Oscars this year?"

"Yeah, what's wrong?" Wu Yuchen asked.

"Well, if you're sure you want to compete for the Olympics, I'll reserve this spot for you. The Hero team just contacted us, they want an Oscar spot this year."

Upon hearing Han Sanping's explanation, Wu Yuchen understood: each region could only submit one film per year for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. In his previous life, mainland China naturally submitted "Hero" this year, but with Wu Yuchen involved, things were bound to get a little complicated.

Wu Yuchen pondered for a moment, then said, "Brother Han, I won't lie to you, my film is about the War of Resistance against Japan, and I'm definitely going to secure this year's submission quota. As for 'Hero,' talk to them and tell them to go through the Hong Kong route!"

The investor in the film "Hero," Edko Films, is a Hong Kong-based company. Furthermore, its cast, including Jet Li, Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, and Donnie Yen, all hold permanent residency in Hong Kong. Many of its staff members are also from Hong Kong, thus fully meeting the requirements for filing a declaration through Hong Kong.

Of course, whether Jiang Zhiqiang can secure this spot depends on his abilities. However, Wu Yuchen estimates that with Zhang Yimou's reputation and Jiang Zhiqiang's connections, it shouldn't be a problem.

Actually, with a little manipulation, "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" could have qualified for the Hong Kong quota. However, the film's subject matter is a genuine war drama, so Wu Yuchen would definitely want it to represent the mainland in the competition. This has a different significance, and he certainly wouldn't give up that quota.

After listening, Han Sanping agreed: "Okay, Brother Wu, it's settled then. But you need to hurry up with your filming, there are only 3 months left before the submission deadline."

"Don't worry, this play doesn't have any big scenes. I've already set up all the scenes. It mainly depends on the young actors' performances. I expect to finish it within two months."

Han Sanping nodded, then reminded Wu Yuchen:
"Brother Wu, your film is set against the backdrop of the War of Resistance Against Japan, which has attracted a lot of attention. Many people are eager to see the final product. I won't say much else, but the main issue is the level of explicit content. Don't follow in the footsteps of 'Devils on the Doorstep'."

Upon hearing this, Wu Yuchen laughed and said, "Haha, Brother Han, which of my films has ever been banned? I guarantee you, if this film can't pass censorship, then I shouldn't bother making any of my other war films either!"

The film he chose, *The Boy in the Striped Pajamas*, is arguably one of the least explicit anti-war films out there. If it gets censored, he'll cause a huge scene with the censors!
(End of this chapter)