The only sun in Huayu

Chapter 36 Mimi Apologizes
"Sister Xiaowan, you must help me get the role of Chen Mo."

Chen Kun reiterated his stance.

Compared to Fan Bingbing's businesslike approach, Chen Kun, thanks to Yang Mi's connections, got the character sketches, role scripts, and the complete script first.

Chen Kun is a professionally trained actor with excellent script reading skills.

After reading it, I felt that the book was good, not just good, but exceptionally good!

I consulted another acquaintance, and they had the same idea.

Moreover, the protagonist Chen Mo in "The Eunuch" seems tailor-made for him.

Despite being a eunuch, he didn't have a strong sense of curiosity; instead, he was optimistic, content, and slowly climbed the ranks.

From a boy content with simple white steamed buns, he grows into a top-tier eunuch of his time, possessing both wisdom and courage, deep cunning, and ruthless skills.

The character's core driving force is very strong: to become stronger, to survive, and to control his destiny. This also means that the character's internal structure is solid enough, giving him ample creative space.

Then, each of the character's key promotions is closely linked to major historical events, such as the Great Rites Controversy and the early reforms of the Jiajing era.
Historical events provide opportunities and challenges for the protagonist, and major historical events become the anchor and catalyst for Chen Mo's growth, enhancing the character's depth.

From the death of Emperor Wuzong in 1521 to the successful investigation of a major case in Jiangnan in 1537, Chen Mo spent a total of 16 years.

Chen Kun specifically sought out people to learn about the history of the Ming Dynasty, and the date of the sixteenth year of the Jiajing reign was definitely not a simple choice.

Then came the Southern Tour, followed by a fire, which caused serious physical and mental problems for Jiajing, and then the palace coup, making the situation even more unpredictable.

Before the sixteenth year of the Jiajing reign, the atmosphere during the Jiajing era was one of continuous improvement.

Considering the script's commercial nature and Shen Shandeng's personal statements, Chen Kun can easily guess the intentions behind it.

The story specifically captures this period of high spirits and youthful exuberance, then integrates the protagonist, Chen Mo, into history, gradually transforming his perspective from that of an observer to a participant, and finally to a leader.

From witnessing the death of Emperor Wuzong in a daze, to personally experiencing the turmoil of the Jiajing era, and then to actively participating in and even taking advantage of the crisis, his growth and deepening understanding of the nature of power are evident.

From a nobody caught in the vortex, drifting with the tide, to a powerful figure capable of stirring up the vortex, Chen Mo's personal arc is already beautiful enough. Combined with the history Chen Mo stands on, it adds even more grandeur.

Such a person!
Unprecedented perfection!
Everything was for the sake of the character's charm!
They gave Chen Kun plenty of room to perform, and he was even afraid that he couldn't handle such a role.

"Don't worry, you need to have confidence in yourself," Li Xiaowan said helplessly.

Chen Kun was too hasty.

Li Xiaowan had no way to deal with this.

Chen Kun reached the pinnacle of his acting career, with almost no other options, and had no choice but to turn to music.

Rongxinda can no longer offer any help.

I was able to get in touch with the "Supervisor" project early on thanks to my relationship with Yang Mi.

Chen Kun calmly said, "Director Shen has too many options. Look, there's news today that Fan Bingbing has joined the team. This is a key project for China Film Group, and there's another big project coming up later. Whoever gets this project first will have an advantage later on."

"Of course I'm not bad, but Huang Xiaoming, Zhou Jie, and Lu Yi are all good as well. The character Chen Mo doesn't have too much of a sinister aura, and he's a male lead in a purely commercial film, so the character is extremely charismatic."

"Wu Jing has joined the project without receiving any payment, and has also taken on multiple roles and invested a sum of money. This shows how sought-after the project is. Once its feasibility is proven, a million yuan ticket price will be a huge profit."

"Even if it fails, it's not a loss. As long as we can get online, China Film Group also emphasizes that it is to cultivate the next generation. One failure will lead to another."

"Good commercial film resources are so scarce now. Fan Bingbing chose to join, and this project will quickly gain more weight among other leading actors."

Chen Kun is not optimistic.

If he had chosen to join when there were just rumors about the project, it would have been a favor for Shen Shandeng. But now, he is the one being chosen.

"Don't forget Huang Xiaoming. Shen Shandeng went to university in Qingdao. You can hear his deep feelings for Qingdao in his song 'Goodbye Qingdao.' Huang Xiaoming's current predicament is similar to mine. He is the kind of person who can invest money without spending any money, or even by losing money himself."

Chen Kun expressed his biggest concern.

The current situation is that leading actors are all lacking quality film resources. With more and more positive developments being released for the "Supervisor" project, it's hard to say that vicious competition won't occur.

Li Xiaowan was utterly speechless.

She understood; Chen Kun wanted to join for free, which was outrageous.
This is not good for Rongxinda's interests.

Does she have to thank Shen Shandeng?

“Shen Shandeng was blacklisted by John Woo in the Hong Kong and Taiwan circles. He participated in this project. Other actors were fine, but as the male lead, he was bound to be resented.”

Chen Kun laughed. He wasn't afraid of being blacklisted at all; whether he was blacklisted or not made no difference. He countered, "Will I get any rewards if I don't participate? Take now, for example. Will the Hong Kong and Taiwan entertainment circles give me any resources? How are mainland actors being suppressed?"

Li Xiaowan remained silent.

Mainland male actors, especially young leading men, have been suppressed for ten years, a situation that is worse than a complete ban. Under such circumstances, it would be laughable to even talk about offending someone.

"This is Sister Xiaowan, and this is Brother Kun."

Yang Mi introduced him to everyone: "This is my boyfriend, Shen Shandeng."

"Sister Xiaowan." Shen Shandeng shook hands with Li Xiaowan, then with Chen Kun: "My dear sister calls me Brother Kun, so I'll call you Brother Kun too."

"Director, just call me Chen Kun or Kun." Chen Kun quickly clasped his hands together.

After seated.

Li Xiaowan joked, "You've snatched one of Rongxinda's most beautiful flowers."

Honey felt embarrassed, but also very happy.

My boyfriend is incredibly helpful, and my boss and the top executive in the company are both extremely polite to me.

After the pleasantries.

Chen Kun took out a small notebook and handed it to Shen Shandeng: "Director, this is a character sketch I made myself." Li Xiaowan called for the food to be served: "Haha, shall we talk while we eat?"

She still felt the opportunity was rare and hoped to get a few more Rongxinda people into the "Dugong" project.

Ignoring the subtle hints Li Xiaowan gave him, Chen Kun knew this project was genuinely important to him.

He was also very dissatisfied with Li Xiaowan.

Yang Mi will definitely get a role. If he also takes the male lead, Rong Xinda will have already made a huge profit. Why be so greedy?

"Chen Mo's job changes followed the typical promotion path of Ming Dynasty eunuchs, from Xiao Huozhe to Changsui, Fengyu, Jiancheng, Shaojian, and Zhangyin. The 16-year span also allowed enough time for each stage to accumulate experience and demonstrate his abilities."

“Deeply intertwined with historical events, the death of Emperor Wuzong lays the groundwork for mystery, the Great Rites Controversy served as Chen Mo’s political enlightenment, and then his participation in the Jiajing Reforms led to his personal rise.”

Shen Shandeng listened with a smile to Chen Kun's character analysis, knowing that Chen Kun was not going to escape.

At this point, Chen Kun also found himself in a situation with no way forward.

"The Story of a Noble Family" was the ratings champion, "The Knot" was nominated for the Golden Rooster Award for "Best Actor" and won the Huabiao Award for Outstanding Actor, and then his career stalled.

It should be said that the young male actors in mainland China are all in a rather miserable situation nowadays, and their tragic circumstances are similar. They are all somewhat like Hu Ge in the future, or rather, Hu Ge is like them.

As for Hu Ge having to go overseas because of his careless remarks, well, if he were given movie opportunities like Eddie Peng, Ethan Juan, or Mark Chao, would he have left?

He'd stay even if he had to shamelessly lick his boots.

Moreover, in terms of acting skills, he is far superior to the Heavenly Banquet, whose poor Mandarin pronunciation directly breaks the immersion in the story.

Chen Kun praised, "I think the script is even more brilliant; it flows smoothly and is refreshing from beginning to end."

Shen Shandeng nodded: "Enjoyment, I pay close attention to enjoyment."

“Yes, it’s awesome, that’s the point.” Chen Kun suddenly realized: “Amazing, Director Shen is amazing, the word ‘amazing’ is just right.”

"The satisfying moments are solid. Every promotion of Chen Mo is an explosion at the right moment in history after years of forbearance, learning and accumulation, making the sense of a comeback stronger and more believable. His final choice to be transferred to a post as a garrison eunuch, seize the opportunity to investigate a major case in Jiangnan, further highlighting the character's arc."

“This is a bit historically inaccurate. The system of garrisoning eunuchs was abolished in the eighth year of the Jiajing reign, but I still wanted to serve the plot,” Shen Shandeng said. “What I wanted was to write a story about a eunuch rising to power and becoming stronger within the complex balance of power between the emperor, eunuchs, and civil officials. All the design and settings were for the sake of excitement.”

Li Xiaowan tried to interject several times but couldn't, and could only listen.

As I listened, I began to notice the difference between Shen Shandeng and other directors.

Shen Shandeng doesn't care about artistic depth, the checks and balances of power, or the struggles of individuals within the system; he simply elevates the charisma of his characters.

Moreover, Shen Shandeng was not ashamed to talk about this; on the contrary, he enjoyed it.

After a satisfying meal, Shen Shandeng said, "We had a very enjoyable talk. Our teams can communicate later. But we need to make it clear first that this film has two leads. If Brother Kun is in it, then he and Brother Jing will be the two leads."

"Fan Bingbing will also be listed as the lead actress, after all, she's a big star."

"I understand, I understand." Chen Kun quickly replied, "Brother Jing wears many hats, and his attitude towards film is exactly what I need to learn. I also want to join this project without any pay."

"Cough cough." Li Xiaowan's throat felt uncomfortable.

Chen Kun ignored it: "I hope Director Shen will give me a chance."

Da Mimi was stunned. Was this still the aloof and powerful male boss of the company that she knew?

Unexpectedly, Chen Kun also remembered her: "Mi Mi is a rare talent among young actresses. She has grown up in film crews since she was a child. Let's work together more in the future."

"Thank you so much, Brother Kun." Da Mimi was still a little dizzy.

Are you going to introduce her to resources?
That's so awesome!

Chen Kun said, "I want to thank you a lot for thinking of me first when there are good opportunities, which gave me the opportunity to participate in this project."

“Okay, we’ll finalize it as soon as possible.” Shen Shandeng didn’t put on airs and agreed on the spot.

He didn't expect Chen Kun to be so humble; it just goes to show that these young mainland actors really have it tough.

Li Xiaowan and Chen Kun watched as Shen Shan got into the car.

"Sister Xiaowan, please drive carefully."

Da Mimi got into the car, feeling both excited and shocked.

Is this the status of a director? Is this the status of a director who controls high-quality resources?

This girl from the alley has really broadened her horizons.

"I'm sorry, I'm a jealous woman. I won't be unreasonable anymore." Mimi readily admitted her mistake.

Shen Shandeng remained calm: "I just gave them a good expectation. Their position is actually very unstable. If they fail, they will be exposed as their true colors."

"That's still amazing," Da Mimi said admiringly.

With the male lead cast finalized, the main cast for "The Eunuch" is now largely in place.

Shen Shandeng intensified his communication with Fan Bingbing, wanting to lend her a hand as a friend.

In addition, an invitation was extended to Sun Li.

There's a role called "Yangzhou Slender Horse" that would be perfect for her, and she's also a main female character.

The other party's child has turned one year old, so you can return to work.

Although they moved these past two days, they are still former neighbors. Moreover, Sun Li was already well-known before. She is cheap, useful, and has good acting skills, so Shen Shandeng doesn't mind giving her a hand.

(End of this chapter)