Chapter 163 The Cast of Red Cliff
After returning to the capital, the "Red Cliff" project team held another meeting.

Because of the previous delays, the casting needs to be completed as soon as possible without delaying the filming time.

Because they were going to use only mainland actors this time, the casting was handed over to Liu Zhou and Zhang Yimou.

In recent days and even during the New Year period, several people have been annoyed by requests from all sides.

Instead of selling favors to these people, it is better to sell favors to Liu Zhou.

Anyway, Liu Zhou seems to have more ideas about actors, so we might as well leave it all to him.

If the project succeeds, Liu Zhou will have to remember their favor. If it fails, he will be the one to take the blame.

Han Shanping trusts Liu Zhou more. He believes that Liu Zhou will not mess up on such a big project. This is also the fundamental reason why he supports Liu Zhou's use of all mainland actors.

He watched Liu Zhou grow up step by step.

After the meeting, Jiang Zhiqiang took two steps back and walked to Liu Zhou's side.

"Boss Liu, this project will be handed over to you and Director Zhang from now on."

"Boss Jiang, you can't be a hands-off boss. You still have to contribute when you have to."

"Of course, if there is anything that requires my presence, I will definitely do my best to help."

"I can rest assured that."

Jiang Zhiqiang pondered for a while and said:
“Boss Liu, I still can’t quite understand why you are so insistent on your choice of actors.

To be honest, I have no prejudice against mainland actors, and I prefer those star actors from Hong Kong purely for movie considerations.

Even if they are more expensive, for a project that already has such a large investment, the extra money is really nothing.”

After all, Jiang Zhiqiang is the investor of this movie, and the subsequent release of "Red Cliff" also requires his operation. Liu Zhou does not want to create any resentment with him.

"Mr. Jiang, first of all, it is what I have repeatedly emphasized before, that is, in this movie, the fame of the actors is not that important, and the fame of these characters is already big enough.

As long as the images of the actors we choose are not too different, the audience won't care, but you don't seem to believe what I say.

Of course, there is another point, which is indeed my selfish motive, but it is not the most important one. "

Seeing Jiang Zhiqiang looking at him and waiting for the next words, Liu Zhou continued:

"Do you still remember the Little White Dragon incident that happened last year?"

"Of course I remember. Mr. Liu won't be prejudiced against Hong Kong actors because of this incident, right?"

"Not really. Even if there is prejudice, it is only against some individuals. Most of the actors in Hong Kong are good."

"why?"

“From the incident with Xiao Bailong, we can see that Hong Kong filmmakers are a bit arrogant when they go north to work.

Why do they have such a sense of superiority?

Apart from the fact that Hong Kong films had enjoyed a period of glory before, it was mainly because Hong Kong filmmakers had the final say in many projects in the mainland.

Although I did not express my opinion on that matter, it does not mean that I don’t have any opinion in my heart.

Besides, mainland actors are gradually getting better now, you just may not be able to see it.

They just lacked an opportunity.

I also want to tell everyone a fact through this movie: Mainland actors can also pull in box office success, and it doesn’t matter who is the best.”

For mainland actors to truly rise, they had to wait until the movie "Painted Skin".

Chen Kun has proved that mainland actors can also carry the box office of mainstream commercial films.

It is only 2005 now, which is indeed a bit early. The box office may not be enough for a single film, but now with the blessing of the big IP of Three Kingdoms, Liu Zhou feels that mainland actors can still carry it.

Through this project, Liu Zhou wants to tell directors and producers in the industry that they don’t have to always be superstitious about Hong Kong and Taiwan actors.

After listening to Liu Zhou's words, Jiang Zhiqiang was silent for a while before saying:

"Boss Liu, if you fail this time, you will be blamed."

"I know, but I believe it will work."

The two of them had already reached the entrance of the China Film Academy. Jiang Zhiqiang stopped and said to Liu Zhou:

"Mr. Liu, I still stick to my point of view. I agree with you because of your reputation. If we fail this time, it may be difficult for us to have the opportunity to cooperate again in the future."

Although Liu Zhou didn't have to beg Jiang Zhiqiang, he knew that he had taken a risk by agreeing with Liu Zhou's opinion this time.

And he was right. Liu Zhou was betting his own reputation this time.

Not only him, but many people also agreed to Liu Zhou's plan because of Liu Zhou's past military achievements.

If he really fails this time, Liu Zhou's halo will disappear.

Although the backlash to poet Chen will not be as great as the failure of "The Promise", it will also make it difficult for Liu Zhou to have such a strong appeal as he does now.

"I understand, Mr. Jiang. We can wait and see."

"Okay, I'll leave the follow-up matters to you. If you need anything, you can contact me directly."

After saying that, Jiang Zhiqiang got in the car and left.

Liu Zhou came to the project office to discuss the selection of actors with Zhang Yimou.

The main characters of "Red Cliff" are Zhuge Liang, Zhou Yu, and Cao Cao.

Of course, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun, who went in and out seven times, are indispensable, but their roles are less than those of the above three. However, apart from Zhuge Liang and Zhou Yu, the role that the outside world is madly fighting for is Zhao Yun.

Zhao Yun is very popular in the Three Kingdoms. In addition, he has a certain climax in the movie, and he also follows Zhuge Liang into the Eastern Wu, so he has a significant role to play.

Many young actors are vying for this role.

Zhang Yimou initially wanted to use several actors from the TV series Romance of the Three Kingdoms, whose ages were similar to those of their characters when they appeared in the movie.

But Liu Zhou immediately rejected it.

It has been ten years since the TV series Romance of the Three Kingdoms was first broadcast, and the actors have long since changed.

For example, Zhuge Liang was only 27 years old during the Battle of Red Cliffs, and Zhou Yu was 5 years older than him. However, Tang Guozhong was over 27 years old. It might be okay for him to play a middle-aged or elderly Zhuge Liang, but it would be inappropriate for him to play a -year-old young man.

The same is true for Liu, Guan, Zhang and others.

During the Battle of Red Cliffs, they were 47, 48, and 43 years old respectively. Several teachers were also in their early 50s, so the age difference was not that big.

But the key is that the physical condition and temperament are not as good as they were a decade ago.

They were in their prime at that time and could act out some heroic spirit, but now they are old and fat, which is very different from the impression people have of Liu, Guan and Zhang.

Maybe they have the willpower to change their body shape, but the movie doesn't have the time to wait for them.

Moreover, Liu Zhou feels that the only advantage of inviting actors from the TV series Romance of the Three Kingdoms is that it adds a sense of sentiment.

But he didn't want to waste this sentiment and just wanted to keep it in the TV series.

Let’s make a different movie about the Three Kingdoms: Red Cliff!
After seeing recent photos of the actors in the TV series, Zhang Yimou agreed with Liu Zhou's opinion and re-cast the actors.

At first he wanted Chen Daoming to play Cao Cao, but Liu Zhou felt that he was a little too pretentious to play an emperor.

In addition to being domineering, Cao Cao was also somewhat cunning, so Liu Zhou recommended another person who played the emperor to perfection, Chen Baoguo.

However, Liu Zhou recommended Chen Daoming to play Liu Bei. He did a good job in playing Liu Bang in "The Legend of Chu and Han".

Zhang Yimou thought about it for a while and agreed.

Time is tight right now and there is no way to organize auditions, so for many roles the two of us will discuss together and then decide directly.

After deciding on Cao Cao and Liu Bei, Zhang Yimou recommended Yu Rongguang and Zhao Xiaorui for the roles of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei.

Liu Zhou also agreed.

Yu Rongguang is a famous action actor with a tall stature, which makes him a perfect fit for the role of Guan Yu.

Zhao Xiaorui is the actor who plays Li Kui in the CCTV version of "Water Margin". He is not very old, has a well-managed body, and has a bit of evil in him, giving him a bit of the fierce feeling of Zhang Fei.

In addition to Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, the popular role of Zhao Yun was finally chosen by Huang Xiaoming.

The young Huang Xiaoming is also very handsome, and he has no problem playing the role of Zhao Zilong on the white horse and silver spear.

Zhao Yun's birth year is unknown. According to calculations, he should have been in his 30s or early 40s during the Battle of Chibi. It is reasonable to turn him into a young general with a slight modification.

This is also Liu Zhou's gift to Brother Xiao Ming who is about to join his company.

In addition to Zhao Yun, there is also a young Sun Quan who is also a character that all the young and old students are eyeing.

In the end, the role was chosen to be played by Liu Zhou's junior fellow apprentice Deng Chao.

Originally, Liu Zhou wanted to give this role to Liu Ye, but Liu Ye had to film Chen Shishi's "The Promise" and had no time.

Then Lu Su found Secretary Wu Gang, who looked honest and loyal. Although Li Dakang did not look very honest, Teacher Wu Gang still looked very honest.

In addition, the role of Jiang Gan was taken by Sha Yi, and Xu Huanshan played the veteran Huang Gai.

He is also the actor who played Master Wen in "Investiture of the Gods" and is very good at portraying these loyal and brave veterans.

Zhang Ziyi plays Mrs. Mi, and Zhang Tong plays Xiao Qiao.

Zhang Ziyi wanted to join the cast on her own initiative. Zhang Yimou originally disagreed, after all, the female characters in this version of "Red Cliff" had a low presence. But she insisted on joining, so Zhang Yimou had to agree to her request.

Liu Zhou originally wanted to give the role of Xiao Qiao to Zeng Li, but she refused when she saw Zhang Ziyi joined.

It seems that he is still angry with Zhang Ziyi and is unwilling to act in the same movie with her. In the end, Liu Zhou had to ask Zhang Tong to make a cameo appearance.

As for other roles with fewer scenes, Liu Zhou and Zhang Yimou were left to the team below to find.

Now only the two most important male protagonists, Zhou Yu and Zhuge Liang, have yet to be decided.

To be honest, neither of them found a suitable candidate at the moment.

Later, Zhang Yimou joked that he would let Liu Zhou play one of the roles, and the audience would definitely be looking forward to it.

When Zhang Yimou said this, he suddenly looked at Liu Zhou twice more and felt that he was completely suitable in terms of appearance and fame, and if his acting skills were good enough, he would be perfect.

But directors generally have good acting skills. He himself has won the Best Actor Award at the Tokyo International Film Festival!

The more Zhang Yimou thought about it, the more he felt it was appropriate, and then he began to discuss it seriously with Liu Zhou.

Liu Zhou thought Zhang Yimou was joking at first, but he didn't expect that he seemed serious.

Liu Zhou immediately rejected his proposal. He didn't have the time to spend several months on this project.

After selecting the actors, he needs to get busy with his own company's work.

But in the face of Liu Zhou's rejection, Zhang Yimou did not seem willing to give up.

(End of this chapter)