Chapter 539 Self-recommendation
As Xu Kun expected, Feng Xiaogang readily agreed to play a cameo role in "The Founding of a Republic" after he only mentioned it briefly.
But the plan of visiting Director Chen three times was delayed again and again and could not be realized.
The reason was that Han Sanping had hit a snag with Zhang Yimou. Xu Kun didn't ask what exactly happened, but the situation was still under discussion.
Xu Kun had no objection to delaying it for a while, but it would be inappropriate to delay it for too long. It was already the twelfth lunar month, and it was impossible for the chairman of China Film Group and the number one in the domestic box office to go together to wish Director Chen a happy new year.
Han Sanping laughed out loud after hearing this and said that he would definitely visit Director Chen by the end of the lunar month at the latest.
With this accurate information, Xu Kun no longer paid attention to the above matters. After all, he was already busy around the clock.
After several quarrels, "Founding of a Republic" finally began to make substantial progress; and after more than ten days of basic intensive training, the Spring Festival Gala finally advanced to the practical exercise stage; coupled with the Youth Directors Association to be officially established on January 1, Xu Kun even wished he could learn the art of clones.
This afternoon.
As usual, Xu Kun was rehearsing the program at CCTV. There were six people and three lions. He and Zhao Wenzhuo were in a group, Bao Qiang and Wu Jing were a couple, and the last pair was naturally the combination of Zhang Jin and Yang Junyi.
The reason why he and Zhao Wenzhuo were paired together was mainly because Zhao Wenzhuo had the strongest arm strength among everyone, and he also had a good foundation and was able to cooperate well with Xu Kun.
When it comes to Baoqiang, he is fine with simple movements, but when it comes to lifting with great force, his small physique starts to hold him back.
As Xu Kun is the absolute protagonist and cannot play the lion's tail, he can only be paired with Zhao Wenzhuo.
However, to the beat of gongs and drums, Xu Kun and Zhao Wenzhuo somersaulted from the inverted Eight Immortals Table and landed steadily on the ground. Xu Kun raised his hands upwards with all his strength, and Zhao Wenzhuo caught the lion's head steadily from behind.
The other two groups of lions stood on the left and right of Xu Kun. Behind them were the children from the Tagou Martial Arts School, who were laughing and surrounding the three lions like stars surrounding the moon.
Then Xu Kun bowed repeatedly to all directions, with his mouth open but no sound came out.
This was because the congratulatory speech had not been finalized yet, so for the final appearance on stage, he could only perform a deaf-mute drama.
"good, very good!"
The action director in charge of the rehearsal applauded loudly, but Xu Kun and others were a little lackluster. Not to mention compared with those who had put in ten years of hard work offstage, even compared with the Zhao Family Troupe next door who quarreled with the director crew all day long, they looked more like a makeshift troupe.
If compared with the old video that CCTV used for reference only, it would not be an exaggeration to say that it is laughable.
After watching the wonderful performances of the old gentlemen, Zhao Wenzhuo once thought about increasing the difficulty, but was rejected by Xu Kun, and the Spring Festival Gala program team also disagreed.
The reason I mentioned them above is not because their programs are wonderful, but mainly because I think the cultural front has achieved brilliant results and they should be displayed to the people of the whole country.
In short, the key is mixing.
Seeing that it was almost five o'clock, everyone sat down on the ground and began to change into costumes and props for the lion dance - after all, the students sent by Tagou School were all boys, so there was nothing to be shy about.
As Baoqiang put on his long johns, he said to Xu Kun, "Brother Kun, I've made an appointment with Hu Die to walk the red carpet together, so I won't be following the main group."
Today is December 12th, and tonight is the premiere of If You Are the One.
Things like "Ip Man", "Painted Skin" and "Mei Lanfang" were all other people's home turf, but "If You Are the One" was a Huayi project, which meant that Xu Kun could be in charge of most of it.
So he sent invitation letters in the name of Huayi to all members of the lion dance team, including the three newly signed actors of Nantianmen Studio.
"You boy."
Xu Kun curled his lips: "I have so many women around me, but I didn't say I would abandon my brothers."
Baoqiang just smiled and said nothing.
Xu Kun casually put his arm around his neck, then immediately let go with disdain: "Shit, it's all sweaty, why don't you wipe it off before you put it on! Seriously, are you thinking about proposing to Hu Die?"
"That's for sure." Bao Qiang said sincerely, "Chairman Mao said that any relationship that is not for the purpose of marriage is hooliganism!"
"Get lost!"
Xu Kun kicked her slowly, causing her to stagger, and then urged, "How about this? I'll go discuss this with the director team, and you can just propose to Hu Die at the Spring Festival Gala."
"No way, won't this ruin the show?!"
When Baoqiang heard this, he shook his head like a rattle: "Hu Die will join CCTV at the beginning of next month. Let's not cause trouble for her."
"Tsk~ boring."
Xu Kun was just teasing him. Although he, Director Xu, had a lot of face, he was afraid he didn't have the nerve to do such a thing on the Spring Festival Gala.
At this time, Wu Jing, who had already dressed neatly, suddenly came up to him, put his hands in his pockets and asked with a smile on his face: "Brother Kun, are action films included in the types of films that our Youth Directors Association supports?"
"Of course."
Xu Kun, who knew Wu Jing's future achievements, suddenly had an idea: "Why, do you have any ideas?"
"Haha~"
Zhao Wenzhuo, who was wiping his sweat with a towel at this time, suddenly said sarcastically: "Could it be that someone asked you to film the sequel of "Operation Kunpeng"? Hong Kong Island loves to do this kind of thing the most. They dare to sell dog meat under the guise of sheep meat by hiring a few supporting roles."
"How can it be!"
Wu Jing immediately retorted: "I just want to play a decent role now, the protagonist!"
But then his momentum weakened, and he said awkwardly: "But I only have an idea for now, and it may take some time to save up enough money to complete the book."
In fact, according to the original time and space, his first self-directed and self-acted work "Wolf Tooth" has already been released, but because he participated in the filming and production of "Operation Kunpeng", he felt that the plot he originally thought of was a bit thin and lacked sufficient appeal, so he thought about polishing it further.
"Then come back to me when you've made up your mind."
Xu Kun patted him on the shoulder and said, "When we were filming in Thailand, I saw that you were a person with ideas. As long as the script is acceptable, I will definitely recommend you within the Youth Directors Association."
Seeing Xu Kun's encouraging expression and not looking down on him at all, Wu Jing was also very excited and hurriedly emphasized: "Brother Kun, I, I mean I hope to be able to direct and act in the film myself."
"We at the Youth Directors Association support new directors!"
Seeing that Wu Jing got the "director's ticket" so easily, Zhao Wenzhuo next to him regretted not getting there first. As a result, Wu Jing got there first, and he felt embarrassed to follow suit.
In fact, he had always looked down upon Wu Jing. After all, Wu Jing's performance in Hong Kong was far worse than his back then. But he never expected that Wu Jing had such ambition.
This made him feel incredible, and also a little sour and disdainful - even if he got the resources, so what? Did he really think it was that easy to be a director?!
Baoqiang was eager to try. With his relationship with Xu Kun, even if the Youth Directors Association did not support him, Xu Kun could sponsor him with his own money.
But Baoqiang was self-aware and knew that he couldn't handle this trick at the moment, so he didn't say anything in the end.
Zhang Jin and Yang Junyi didn't think much about it. They had only just made a name for themselves as actors, and they didn't even dare to think about directing and acting in their own films.
As usual, they were going to have boxed lunches in the evening, but Wu Jing was so happy that he insisted on taking a few people out to a restaurant for a meal. During the meal, he kept calling Kun "Brother" and toasted them several times.
In fact, he was born in 74, six years older than Xu Kun.
But as the old saying goes, in the entertainment industry, the successful are respected.
(End of this chapter)
