Against the Current Hong Kong 1979

Before long, the others had also finished writing their lists.

Everyone showed their lists, pieced them together, and saw what overlapped.

Zhao Zhenqiang collected everyone's papers, made a summary, and then explained them one by one.

"The casting of Bao Zheng goes without saying."

Zhao Zhenqiang skipped over the lead male role; it was Zhang Shuai'an, handpicked by Shao Yifu, and no one could question it.

"Regarding the casting of the female lead, Ling Chuchu, the current choices are Zhao Yazhi, Yang Panpan, Huang Xingxiu, Zheng Yuling, and Hui Yinghong. Zhao Yazhi received two votes, which were written by Anzai and me."

"There are two reasons why I chose Zhao Yazi. First, the male lead is Andy, who is a newcomer and needs a skilled actress to lead him. This is also the strategy that TVB has always followed: experienced actors mentoring newcomers."

After Zhao Zhenqiang named these people, he went on to explain further, mainly to Zhang Shuai'an.

"Among these people, Zhao Yazi is 25 years old this year. She has been in the industry for four years and has always played leading roles. She has a lot of experience and her acting skills are very good. It is safest to pair her with a newcomer like Anzai."

Zhang Shuai'an didn't think that much about it. She was just a TVB actress, and he didn't know much about her. Moreover, she was the only one he knew who debuted before 1979.

What's more, Zhao Yazi is so beautiful. She was his childhood goddess before he transmigrated. At that time, he was filled with the regret of "You were born before I was born, and I was born after you were old". Now that he has transmigrated, he must find a way to get close to her.

"The second one is Yang Panpan, who is 20 years old this year. She debuted as a child star and started acting in movies when she was 9 years old. Before that, she was filming at CTV. Last year, she transferred to our TVB. The first drama she acted in was "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber" which I directed. She played Ji Xiaofu and Yang Buhui. Both her appearance and acting skills were remarkable, and she was also worthy of the role of Ling Chuchu."

Zhang Shuai'an had absolutely no impression of this actress, nor could he recall her appearance, so he naturally offered no comment.

"Then there's Wong Hang-sau, a graduate of TVB's fourth acting class. She has a pretty and charming appearance and commendable acting skills, earning her the nickname 'Little Ruan Lingyu.' She played Tie Xinlan in the recently concluded 'The Legendary Twins,' which garnered audience recognition. She's also considered one of the strongest candidates for the role of Ling Chuchu."

Zhang Shuai'an's impression of this woman was that of Chen Baixiang's wife. Although his role required him to have close contact with actresses, he still maintained basic respect for loving couples like this and would never interfere.

"Zheng Yuling...uh." For some reason, Zhao Zhenqiang suddenly stammered. After pausing for a few seconds, he said to Fatty Wang, "You introduce the remaining two. I need to drink some water; my mouth is getting dry."

Fatty Wang knew why Zhao Zhenqiang had suddenly been stunned. It was because there were rumors circulating that his classmate Gan Guoliang was dating Zheng Yuling, and Zhao Zhenqiang didn't have a good impression of Zheng Yuling.

"Okay, Anzai, let me tell you about Zheng Yuling and Hui Yinghong's situation."

Fatty Wang grew up in Shaw Brothers and TVB, and he knows the people and stories about them like the back of his hand. He started talking about it: "Zheng Yuling, after graduating from secondary school in 75, she was admitted to the Hong Kong CTV Artist Training Class."

He paused for a moment, then quietly added to Zhang Shuai'an, "Let's talk about Zheng Yuling first. She's 22 years old this year. Actually, she originally wanted to apply for TVB's acting training program, but her secondary school exams conflicted with TVB's schedule. So she could only apply for CTV after graduation. She only joined TVB this year. She's already acted in 'The Web of Deception,' directed by Liang Ge."

Fatty Wang smiled and said to Huo Yaoliang, "Brother Liang, why don't you tell us?"

"She's good-looking and has great acting skills, what else is there to say?" Huo Yaoliang glanced at Zhao Zhenqiang and casually brushed it off.

"Then let's talk about the last one, Kara Hui. She's the same age as Andy Hui this year, 19 years old."

Fatty Wang chuckled and continued, "Her family situation is a bit complicated, so I won't go into details. She started working as a dancer in a nightclub at the age of 13 to earn money to support her family. At 17, she was spotted by Wu Ma and recommended to the great director Zhang Che, and soon she was cast as Mu Nianci in 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes.' She had been dancing since she was a child and also had some martial arts skills, which gave her a significant advantage when filming action scenes."

"However, she has only ever acted in movies and basically never in TV dramas." He added solemnly, "If you want to get her to act in a TV drama, you'd have to ask the great director Chang Cheh."

After introducing the actresses, Zhao Zhenqiang looked at the others and asked, "Which actress do you think is the most suitable?"

After thinking it over, Huo Yaoliang murmured, "Based on the principle of experienced people mentoring new ones, and considering her compatibility with Anzai, Zhao Yazhi seems to be the most suitable."

After considering for a moment, Du Qifeng suddenly said, "Actually, I have another candidate, but she's a complete newcomer. As you know, I recently filmed a movie with Brother Ren called 'The Deadly Sword in the Cold Mountain,' and the female lead was the fourth runner-up in this year's Miss Hong Kong pageant. Her name is Chung..."

"Forget about newcomers!" Zhao Zhenqiang interrupted Du Qifeng, not wanting to cause any further trouble.

Zhang Shuai'an narrowed his eyes slightly. Du Qifeng was clearly referring to Cherie Chung. The reason he didn't write about Cherie Chung was because his male lead was a complete newcomer, so TVB couldn't possibly cast another newcomer for the female lead.

Moreover, Cherie Chung has a natural face for movies, so she's not suited for television dramas.

"Then let's go with Zhao Yazhi!" Liu Shiyu had already seen the wind was blowing. The male lead and the producer both favored Zhao Yazhi, so if they said anything about someone else, wouldn't they be going against the grain?

"Okay, then Zhao Yazhi will play the female lead."

Zhao Zhenqiang immediately made the decision and decided on the casting of the female lead.

Next up was the casting for the second male lead, Gongsun Ce. Surprisingly, there were seven names on the list, indicating that someone had added an extra name. The names were "Li Guolin, Tang Zhenye, Huang Yuncai, Hui Tianci, Gu Guanzhong, Miao Qiaowei, and Zhang Guoqiang".

After reading the names, he casually added, "Huang Yuncai and Hui Tianci are not suitable. Although Huang Yuncai played Yang Xiao well in my version of 'The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber,' his appearance was said by the audience to be too old."

Liu Shiyu, standing nearby, said with some confusion, "I see that Gongsun Ce in operas always looks old, some even older than Bao Zheng."

The traditional image of Gongsun Ce is mostly influenced by "The Three Heroes and Five Gallants," portraying him as a rather dignified old gentleman.

Zhang Shuai'an explained, "Our version is different. We want to create a youthful and glamorous version of Bao Zheng, and all the actors have to be idol-like."

"Youthful and invincible, beautiful version? Idol type?" Fatty Wang laughed and pointed at Zhang Shuai'an, saying, "Anzai, you're full of new words. I've never heard of them before, but they fit so well when you say them."

"Who are Tang Zhenye and Miao Qiaowei?" Zhao Zhenqiang frowned slightly.

"Tang Zhenye is a student who just graduated from the eighth class of actor training this year. He has excellent grades, and his image and acting skills are also up to standard. He will definitely have no problem playing Gongsun Ce."

The speaker was Liu Shiyu, who was also the acting teacher at the training class. He wanted to recommend his student: "Miao Qiaowei is a student in this class, and he hasn't graduated yet. But he's very talented, especially his image, which has the air of a noble young master. I guarantee he'll be fine."

He added, "They are all 21 years old this year, which is the perfect age."

Zhao Zhenqiang casually crossed out one of the names and explained, "Gu Guanzhong is not suitable. He is currently filming the sequel to 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes,' 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes,' on ATV. He is our competitor, so they won't let him go."

"As for Zhang Guoqiang..."

Zhao Zhenqiang thought for a moment and then crossed it out, "He is a formal player on the football team and cannot film at a high intensity for a month."

Zhang Shuai'an knows Zhang Guoqiang, whose most famous role is Murong Fu in the 97 version of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils". Currently, his main job is football, and acting is only a side job. By next year, he felt that he could not manage both, and his football career had stalled, so he resigned to become a full-time actor.

The remaining one is Li Guolin, who is also known as "Idiom Master" Kumachi in the 97 version of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils". He, Huang Kexiu and Liu Shiyu all graduated from the fourth TVB Artist Training Class.

Li Guolin's most famous role to date is Jiang Yulang, the villain in "The Legendary Twins" directed by Zhao Zhenqiang.

After considering for a while, Zhao Zhenqiang finally said, "Have Tang Zhenye and Miao Qiaowei come for auditions tomorrow. I want to see them in person before making a decision."