Nobody knows movies better than me

Chapter 14 How to Win Over Actors

Making a movie is not as simple as writing a script, finding actors, finding filming locations, and then starting to shoot.

The process is very complex, involving many steps and requiring meticulous work.

Guanzhi Film Industry, which obtained the filming permit, was not idle either. He Xuan poached a lot of people from other production companies and the August First Film Studio.

Zhang Jun also called Li Dahui, the photographer with whom he had a pleasant collaboration, and Wang Guoqiang, the lighting technician.

The two thought Zhang Jun would waste some time, perhaps even giving up on making movies in the future. Unexpectedly, Zhang Jun found a second opportunity so quickly.

Li Dahui and Wang Guoqiang brought a photography team with them. Li Dahui served as the director of photography, and Wang Guoqiang served as the lighting technician.

In addition, there were positions such as photographer, stagehand, sound engineer, and microphone operator, which Li Dahui and Wang Guoqiang secured using their personal connections.

Jiang Tao, who was poached from another production company, was in the production team, He Xuan served as the producer, and Ye Xiaoyi joined as the production assistant.

However, the film is still short of many positions; Zhang Jun needs an assistant director, executive director, and script supervisor.

Post-production requires editors, sound editors and mixers, composers and music editors, and other professionals.

People unfamiliar with the film and television industry generally think that directors and actors are the most important, which is not wrong.

But without these professionals, even if James Cameron and Steven Spielberg teamed up, he still couldn't make a movie.

Unfortunately, the Chinese film and television industry at present does not value these professional behind-the-scenes talents, nor does it provide them with any professional training.

Many professionals are only half-baked, but that's enough for the movie "Little Miss Sunshine".

Jiang Tao played a significant role in this, given his years of experience in the film and television industry and his extensive network of contacts.

He could summon many of the missing talents with just a few phone calls, and the equipment could also be arranged with just a few phone calls, which saved Zhang Jun a lot of trouble.

Once the basic framework of the production team was in place, the selection of actors became the priority.

The production cost of the movie "Little Miss Sunshine" was six million, which was lent to Guanzhi Pictures by Chengxin Real Estate Group.

This amount of money is obviously not enough to invite big-name stars. Fortunately, Zhang Jun doesn't need big-name stars. When it comes to acting in comedies, the first person he thinks of is Fan Wei, whom he met once at a film festival.

The core character of "Little Miss Sunshine" is undoubtedly the little girl, but as a newly established production company, Guanzhi Pictures obviously does not have the conditions or connections to select actors.

Zhang Jun's strategy was to take care of one person first, and then use that person to take care of the other characters.

Zhang Jun's first target was Fan Wei, because Fan Wei is an actor with ambition who will not be content with the status quo.

Zhang Jun extended an invitation to him, and Fan Wei will definitely consider it.

Through Jiang Tao's connections, Zhang Jun sent the script and a letter to Fan Wei's agent, Yan Lin, who happened to be in Beijing at the time.

"Old Fan, here are a few scripts for you!"

"Script? What script?"

Fan Wei took it and saw that it had the words "Little Sunshine Girl" written on it, along with a story synopsis: A family in Heilongjiang Province, who are in dire straits, embarks on a journey to the capital to fulfill their youngest daughter's dream.

My father was a stubborn middle-aged man who switched to sales after being laid off; my mother was a hardworking and nagging housewife; my grandfather was a retired art troupe actress who spoke rudely but loved his granddaughter; my brother was an angry young man who vowed to remain silent for the college entrance examination; and my uncle was a disillusioned writer.

They drove their old Songhua River van, escorting their daughter who was determined to go to Beijing to participate in the "Children's Art Competition".

The journey south was fraught with trouble.

The car broke down, money ran out, and the grandfather suddenly passed away on the way... But this family, defined by their own failures, rediscovered each other during their difficult journey.

Finally, in Beijing, when the daughter's "rustic performance" was ridiculed by the judges, the whole family rushed onto the stage together and protected the child's innocence with an absurd yet heartwarming collective performance.

They lost the game, but won back family ties. Pushing their rickety little car, now running again, they headed towards the hopeful road home.

Fan Wei was surprised to find that it was a rare road movie, and the role he was invited to play was the father.

After quickly flipping through the script, Fan Wei found the story interesting and asked, "Which director sent this?"

"I don't know, a friend gave it to me, and there's an attached letter." Yan Lin handed the letter to Fan Wei.

Fan Wei opened the package and read: "Hello, Teacher Fan Wei, I am Zhang Jun."

Perhaps you don't remember me, but I have a very deep impression of you. You brought us a lot of joy on the Spring Festival Gala stage and left a deep impression on me as well..."

The letter went on and on, mainly expressing his appreciation and respect for Fan Wei.

"I sincerely invite you to participate in our film and become a pioneer for the future of comedy films."

Zhang Jun wrote this sentence at the end of the letter, followed by his contact information.

After reading the letter, Fan Wei said, "I know who he is now. He's a student director from Tsinghua University. I met him once at the Beijing College Student Film Festival."

"A student director?"

Yan Lin was somewhat skeptical: "Are student directors reliable? Lao Fan, maybe we should just forget about it?"

"Why!"

Fan Wei waved his hand and said, "I find this script very interesting. It's a rare type of road comedy, and I'm very interested. Let's chat with this young director first!"

So, under Yan Lin's arrangement, Fan Wei and Zhang Jun successfully met, along with Ye Xiaoyi.

"Hello, Professor Fan Wei, it's nice to see you again." Zhang Jun's smile was sincere and enthusiastic.

Fan Wei shook hands with Zhang Jun and looked at Ye Xiaoyi: "What's going on here?"

"She's my boss now, I work for her, and she's the one who provided the funding for this film," Zhang Jun explained.

Ye Xiaoyi laughed and said, "Teacher Fan Wei, don't listen to his nonsense. It was my dad who borrowed money from me to invest."

"I see!" Fan Wei said, indicating that he understood.

The three sat down and started chatting, but Zhang Jun did most of the talking while the other two listened.

"The inspiration for this film actually came from what I saw and heard on my way to Beijing for my first time to study."

Zhang Jun explained the origin of the story: "Many interesting stories happened along the way, with laughter, tears and difficulties, forming all kinds of different lives on the road."

During my university years, I continuously refined this story, adding many artistic touches, which eventually resulted in a complete script.

Fan Wei exclaimed in surprise, "So you've been polishing this story for four years. No wonder I felt it was quite mature and very good at first glance."

In reality, it didn't take four years; Zhang Jun finished it in a week. But you can't just say that to fool people.

Zhang Jun then said somewhat embarrassedly, "The story is complete, but it's only a success if it's presented to the audience. Our production team is almost finished, and all we're missing is an excellent actor like you joining us."

Fan Wei himself is also trying to leave Uncle Benshan and try more diverse work, and making movies is one of them.

He only met with Zhang Jun because he was worried that Zhang Jun was too young and unreliable.

After meeting and talking with Zhang Jun today, Fan Wei felt that this project was reliable.

Thinking back to Feng Xiaogang's praise of Zhang Jun at the College Student Film Festival and his short film "The Tuner," Fan Wei immediately made up his mind.

"Okay, I'll take this script!"

"Very good!"

Zhang Jun and Ye Xiaoyi high-fived, then Zhang Jun said shyly, "Teacher Fan Wei, you have to do us another favor."

We're all newcomers and don't know any actors. Could you use your connections to help us hire a few teachers?

"no problem!"

Fan Wei readily agreed, saying, "I'll contact them for you right away. Your script is fantastic; there will be many interested actors."

"Thank you, Professor Fan Wei!" Zhang Jun immediately expressed his gratitude.

Without hesitation, Fan Wei took the complete script back and immediately helped Zhang Jun make contact.

"Hey, Dandan! I have a really interesting script here, do you want to take a look?"

"What kind of script would make you call me personally?"

"It's a fantastic movie script. I read it and it's great. It would be a shame if you didn't come."

Driven by curiosity, Song Dandan met Fan Wei and saw the script for "Little Miss Sunshine".

"This script is quite good, a rare type. Which director is it?" Song Dandan asked.

Fan Wei spoke frankly: "As for student-directed projects, let's see if you have the guts to take them on."

"student……"

Song Dandan was surprised: "You answered?"

"Of course I answered, otherwise I wouldn't have called you."

Fan Wei laughed and said, "I've already met the person, and he seems quite reliable. I also think the story is very good. If you come, our production team will be complete."

Song Dandan didn't readily agree: "Let me think about it!"

Not long after, Fan Wei received a call from Song Dandan: "I've joined. When does filming start?"

At this time, Zhang Jun also secured another actor, Li Baotian, to play the role of the grandfather. The old man decided to take the role after reading the script.

Liang Tian also joined the cast, playing the role of the unsuccessful writer's uncle.

Actually, Zhang Jun would have preferred to cast Uncle Ge in this role, but Uncle Ge's price tag was too high, and it would be difficult to persuade him to lower his fee based solely on the script.

And since it's just a supporting role, it's even less likely.

So Zhang Jun settled for second best; there are still plenty of good actors these days.

The role of the older brother was played by someone from the Beijing Film Academy named Ji Chen, who had previously starred in "I'm Crazy for Singing".

At 23, he played a high school student without any sense of incongruity; acting wasn't a problem for him.

Now there's only one question left: who should play the main character, the little girl?

Zhang Jun sifted through actor files one after another, looking through all the child stars who had appeared in dramas, and saw many of them who later became famous.

Including Guan Xiaotong, Yang Zi, and others.

Song Dandan strongly recommended Yang Zi because she had worked with Yang Zi in "Home with Kids" and Yang Zi's performance was quite good.

However, Zhang Jun felt that Yang Zi was a bit too old. At twelve years old, she was developing rapidly and was tall, which did not quite fit the character's age and setting.

Guan Xiaotong is the right age, but the little girl is so delicate and sweet-looking that she is different from the typical little girl character in the film.

After careful consideration, Zhang Jun originally thought that he could simply change the setting and let Yang Zi play the role, but later he saw Qi Ruyi's information in a document.

Qi Ruyi is eight years old this year. In 2003, she starred in the action movie "Flying Eagle", playing a little girl who eats candy. She also participated in two TV series, "Two People's Ballet" and "Glass Wedding".

However, Zhang Jun noticed her not because of that, but because he remembered a TV series from his previous life called "Warm Spring," in which Qi Ruyi played the role of Xiao Hua.

Zhang Jun didn't watch that drama a second time, but he was deeply impressed by Xiao Hua's performance.

Qi Ruyi's performance was so natural that viewers didn't even realize she was acting, and were unconsciously drawn into the story.

It can be said that without a certain talent, one cannot perform this act.

Qi Ruyi wasn't as pretty as Guan Xiaotong, but she fit the character perfectly, so Zhang Jun sent an invitation to her parents.

When Qi Ruyi's parents saw that she was the female lead in a movie and the director was a graduate of Tsinghua University, they agreed without hesitation.

So in mid-August, "Little Miss Sunshine" was officially launched.

At that time, this film, which had no A-list Hong Kong and Taiwan stars or any popular mainland actors and actresses, received absolutely no attention.

However, Zhang Jun didn't care. While casting, he also completed the preliminary preparations.

Once all the actors arrived, Zhang Jun led the entire crew to Heilongjiang Province to begin filming.