Huayu is here for you

On December 18, 2003, "Cell Phone," which was Lin Yu's biggest contender for the year's box office champion, was released.

While Lin Yu was organizing the audition list with China Film Group, he also took a quick look at it. One reason was to give Huayi a break, and the other was to support Xiao Gangpao. After all, although Xiao Gangpao was always criticizing people, he had never criticized Lin Yu before. On the contrary, he maintained a good relationship with Lin Yu, at least on the surface.

Moreover, when Lin Yu was invited to watch the film, he met a bunch of big stars who had auditioned for "The Martian". It has to be said that Feng Xiaogang still has a lot of influence.

Although the film premieres held now are not as elaborate as they will be a few years later, they are still quite grand.

All the stars from Huayi Brothers who could come were there. In addition, Lin Yu also saw many stars from Hong Kong who came to show their support.

Everyone gave Lin Yu a lot of face, and they would come over to greet him from time to time. Moreover, this time Lin Yu finally sat in the first row of the audience, alongside Feng Xiaogang and Huayi Brothers.

"Director Feng, Mr. and Mrs. Wang, it's been a long time!" Lin Yu said slowly, sitting down next to Feng Xiaogang.

"Long time no see, Director Lin!"

"Hehe, Director Lin, you're much more popular than me now. I saw way more people coming to say hello to you than to me just now," Feng Xiaogang grinned, showing his wide teeth.

Seeing Feng Xiaogang's somewhat smug look, Lin Yu couldn't help but recall a saying: No matter what you look like, talent makes you handsome! You have an inherent halo effect!

"Luck can't compare to Director Feng's. You're the director with the most annual box office champions in China," Lin Yu complimented.

"Haha...it's just so-so. I've won so many box office championships, but not a single one has grossed over 100 million. Look at those media reports; all the box office championships I've won over the years, in their eyes, are less than Zhang Yimou's 'Hero'." Feng Xiaogang said somewhat unconvinced.

"There are also a few particularly foul-mouthed people who keep saying that my movies lack artistry and are too low-class! When I hear these words, I feel like slapping them across the face. I can't say that art-house films are bad, but can they drive the development of China's film industry? We still need to look at commercial films like ours."

I really don't understand how those people's brains work. They only value artistic films; when will our country's Golden Rooster Awards ever stand alongside the world's four major film awards?

As Lin Yu listened to Feng Xiaogang's constant complaints, he began to agree with him somewhat.

With such a large population, once the film industry develops, it will definitely focus on commercial films, with art films playing a secondary role. Just like walking, you need two legs to walk steadily.

"I agree with you. Some people are indeed not very friendly towards commercial directors, but I believe time will tell," Lin Yu said with a smile.

Seeing Lin Yu's approval of him, Feng Xiaogang's mouth stretched even wider.

"That's right! That's exactly the point. Director Lin, you know what, we really hit it off immediately. I admire people like you."

"Same here, I admire Director Feng very much too!"

……

After the movie ended, Lin Yu casually answered a few questions from reporters, said goodbye to everyone, and then left.

His workload is indeed quite heavy now. The auditions for the movie "The Martian" have basically attracted all the well-known people in the entertainment industry. Selecting the final few actors for the official auditions is a lot of work, even though he is not doing it alone.

After all, the relationships in this industry are too complicated, and he doesn't have complete control over the narrative of this film.

After all, this is a co-production between China and foreign countries, and Fox's influence is quite important. Foreign countries also value various film data. If Lin Yu only chooses the most suitable actors, that won't work. The international fame of the actors is also something he has to consider.

Currently, there are only a handful of actors in China with international recognition, and half of them are those with very strong personal characteristics, such as Uncle Jackie Chan!

You'll never remember what Jackie Chan was playing in his movies, because his personal style is so distinctive that you'll feel like he's playing himself no matter what he's doing.

Take, for example, "New Police Story," which has already started filming. Although Jackie Chan has made significant changes in this movie, to be honest, when Lin Yu watched it in his previous life, he felt that it was not much different from watching his brother's previous movies.

Finally… after more than a month of hard work, Lin Yu finally finalized the audition cast for the last few main roles. The minor supporting roles didn't need a second round; they were directly cast by the major companies. Most of them were recommended by these companies, and Lin Yu was also "allocated" a few slots to cultivate relationships and do favors. As for those ordinary people without connections, Lin Yu could only mourn their wasted efforts.

However, these past few days have been exhausting for him, especially the last few days. Lin Yu was basically numb, watching the actors perform one after another. To be honest, it's a testament to his strong willpower that he didn't throw up.

For more than a month, media reports have mostly focused on news such as: so-and-so was eliminated, so-and-so was selected for the next stage.

Feng Xiaogang, whose new movie just finished its run, has been reported to be preparing for a new film. If all goes as expected, it should be "A World Without Thieves". I wonder who Feng Xiaogang will cast as the male lead if Andy Lau is indeed chosen by Lin Yu to star in "The Martian"?

However, this had nothing to do with Lin Yu anymore. After sending the last few actors their audition scripts for the next scene, Lin Yu finally had time to rest.

The nominated male actors include Hu Jun, Chen Daoming, Andy Lau, Leung Ka-fai, and Best Actor Leung…

Female actresses include: Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi, Li Bingbing, Zhou Xun, Jiang Wenli, etc.

They're all talented... well, maybe a bit more idol-like.

After giving them a week to prepare, Lin Yu finally embarked on his journey to fulfill his promise—to visit Hu Ge on set!

The Legend of Sword and Fairy: The Sugar Man series has only recently started filming, and the filming locations chosen are also very beautiful.

Lin Yu did not notify anyone about his visit to the set. After all, reporters were following him closely, and to avoid unnecessary trouble, Lin Yu ultimately decided to go secretly.

When he arrived at the filming location of Legend of Sword and Fairy, he witnessed a classic scene.

"My grandma always said that any man who peeks at girls taking a bath is a bad guy. I'll beat you to death right now!"

Lin Yu watched as Liu Yifei made several hand gestures pointing at Hu Ge on the field, while Lao Hu was "beaten" and ran away with his head in his hands. This scene made Lin Yu laugh; he didn't expect to see Lao Hu get beaten up so soon after he arrived.

This was also the first time he had observed Liu Yifei directly. Liu's beauty wasn't just in her appearance, but in every detail. Her bright eyes, like twinkling stars, inspired endless imagination.

Her skin was fair and delicate, like a crystal-clear jade, radiating a radiant glow that soothed the soul. Her smile was warm and captivating, like a gentle spring breeze, bringing boundless happiness and joy.

Her slender hands moved lightly, as if plucking strings, and music played a beautiful melody at her fingertips, captivating all who beheld it. Her graceful demeanor and every gesture exuded an intoxicating charm, like moonlight shining into everyone's heart.