Chapter 300 National Preceptor
Among the cast of "The Sound of Wind", the role of Takeda has been confirmed to be played by Liu Ye.

Then, for the heroine Gu Xiaomeng, Chen Guofu finally chose Zhou Gongzi.

A talented actor like Zhou Gongzi is indeed very much liked by the director.

Then the other female lead, Li Ningyu, is played by Fan Xiaopang.

Fan Xiaopang is totally capable of playing this role, and she is one of us.

Fan Xiaopang is now more popular than Li Bingbing, which is also good for the promotion of the movie.

For the role of Wu Zhiguo, the captain of the puppet army's anti-bandit brigade, Chen Guofu found Hu Jun, who had worked with Golden Harvest many times.

This role was originally played by Zhang Hanyu, but he is now an artist of Huayi, so it is definitely impossible to find him again.

If we were to say who had the greatest influence on Liu Zhou's interception of "Assembly", it would be Zhang Hanyu, even greater than the influence on Feng Kuzi.

Although the absence of "Assembly" will affect Feng Kuzi's status and evaluation, at least he is still a big director in mainland China.

Without the role of Guzidi, Zhang Hanyu would just be an unknown little actor.

But there is nothing that can be done about it. Since they are in two different camps, it is normal to be injured by mistake.

As for whether Zhang Hanyu can rise again, that depends on his own luck.

In the end, Wang Tianxiang still chose Wang Zhiwen.

These are the confirmed roles for "The Sound of Wind" at the moment, but Zhang Zhao said that Chen Guofu has not found a suitable candidate for the role of Bai Xiaonian, and is planning to hold an open audition in the near future.

In the original version, Su Youpeng played the role of Bai Xiaonian very well, and won the Best Supporting Actor Award for this role.

His interpretation of the role was also recognized by the industry, and to a certain extent he got rid of the label of idol, although at this time, the Little Tigers were no longer very popular.

However, Liu Zhou did not directly recommend Su Youpeng to Chen Guofu. He did not want to interfere with the other party's casting, and it was not necessarily the case that only Su Youpeng could play this role.

After arranging things for Golden Harvest, Liu Zhou went to see the progress of the post-production of "The Martian".

Currently, the only thing left to be completed is the rendering, while CG images like outer space have already been completed.

It will probably take about another month for the finished film of "The Martian" to be released.

The movie will be released during the National Day holiday, which can be said to be just the right timing.

Seeing that there were no problems with the post-production special effects of "The Martian", Liu Zhou became completely free.

In the next few days, Liu Zhou took care of the children at home while paying attention to the post-production of the film and the progress in the United States.

Leisurely time always passes quickly. In the blink of an eye, it is August 8, the opening day of the Olympic Games.

The opening ceremony started on time at 8pm, but people started arriving before pm, and before pm, the Bird's Nest was already full.

Although I arrived early, I was not bored at all, because there were people around me who came with the same mood as me, and we had common topics to talk about.

At the same time, some related behind-the-scenes interview programs have been broadcast on the large screens around the Bird's Nest, which still attracted a lot of interest from the audience.

Liu Zhou and Zeng Li are positioned relatively forward and have a very good view.

Both of them were simply disguised, and if you didn't look carefully, you might not be able to recognize them.

Moreover, although the lights in the Bird's Nest are bright, they are not on all the time. In addition, the figures of both of them have changed a little recently. If you are not a die-hard fan or someone familiar with them, it would be difficult to recognize them.

Liu Zhou and Zeng Li had been sitting in their seats chatting for quite a while, and no one around recognized them.

As the time gradually approached eight o'clock, to be honest, Liu Zhou's heartbeat seemed to speed up a little.

And Liu Zhou was not the only one who had this feeling. Listening to the conversations of the people around him, he knew that they had the same feeling.

"I don't know why, but I feel a little panicked."

"Me too. I'm excited and looking forward to it, but I'm also afraid that I might embarrass myself in the whole world."

"I believe it should be fine."

"It will definitely be no problem. I trust the director team of Lao Mouzi."

This feeling of both nervousness and excitement was probably felt not only by Liu Zhou and the people who came to the opening ceremony, but also by the audience in front of the TV across China.

Many people born in the 00s or even 95s who don’t remember much find it difficult to understand the anxiety and uneasiness that everyone is feeling at this moment.

At present, when the country's national strength and economy have not yet risen strongly, people are generally not very confident and very much hope to gain recognition from the world.

Therefore, this Olympic Games is a window for China to showcase itself to the world, and it is also a long-awaited answer to the world.

So even though the opening ceremony of the Olympics has received wide recognition around the world, we all remain humble and don't think it's that great.

Until London in 2012, Rio in 2016, and the eerie Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

Everyone gradually realized how great our Olympics is and how classic and great this opening ceremony is.

By the way, everyone's respect for Zhang Yimou has also deepened.

The opening ceremony of the Olympic Games alone was enough to make Zhang Yimou a god, and no matter how high the box office results achieved by subsequent directors were, they could never compare to him.

Amid everyone's excitement and nervousness, time slowly came to seven fifty.

At this time, the camera also switched from the studio to the Bird's Nest. As the camera swept across, the audience greeted the camera enthusiastically.

Afterwards, relevant leaders, foreign guests and some people from the Olympic Committee walked onto the podium amid warm applause from the 90,000 people at the scene.

The warm and exciting atmosphere in the Bird's Nest was very contagious, even Liu Zhou couldn't help but cheer along.

At 7:59, the lights in the venue dimmed and a halo of dazzling sparks suddenly appeared in the sky, illuminating the ancient sundial.

In the center of the Bird's Nest, there were powerful and mighty sounds. The 2008 drums, meaning "9", made a soul-stirring sound that was not drowned out even by the cheers of the people on the scene.

Accompanied by deafening booms, the white lights on the drums flashed one by one, forming a countdown with two columns, with capital Chinese numerals on the top and Arabic numerals on the bottom.

The 9 audience members at the scene and even countless Chinese people in front of the screen counted down in unison.

As everyone shouted out the last number at the top of their lungs, all the audience at the Bird's Nest, those watching TV, and countless Chinese people from all over the world, both sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong, could not help but burst into tears.

What followed was a series of art performances showcasing China's 5,000-year-old culture, which shocked the foreigners again and again.

After the performance ended successfully, athletes from various countries took the stage, and the first to appear was the Greek team.

This is also the tradition of the Olympics. After all, the Olympics originated in Greece. In every Olympics, Greece basically appears first, and the host country appears last.

It was not until the end of the opening ceremony that Liu Zhou suddenly realized that his voice was hoarse.

Seeing Liu Zhou speaking in a hoarse voice, Zeng Li couldn't help but laugh:

"This is the first time I've seen you so excited. Even when My Sassy Girl was a big hit, I didn't see you as excited as you are tonight." "I can't help it. The Bird's Nest tonight is so exciting. Believe it or not, at least 80,000 of the 90,000 people here are hoarse."

"Believe it. I think you should stop talking and go home and take some medicine."

……

The next day, news about the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games swept not only the country, but also the world.

According to statistics from professional organizations, 11 billion people in China and 44 billion people around the world watched the live broadcast or replay of the opening ceremony of the Olympics on television.

This set a record for the highest ratings for a program in human history.

It is unknown whether this data is inflated or not, but what is known is that the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics had a huge influence. Media from all over the world reported on it and gave it extremely high praise.

Lao Mouzi became famous in one battle and was called the "National Master" by the Chinese people!
For a period of time afterwards, the headlines were almost dominated by news related to the Olympics.

The first gold medal, medal rankings, competitions of famous athletes, basketball, etc. will all be highlighted in the coverage, and this is also what most viewers are concerned about and interested in.

However, on August 18, an explosive piece of news swept the media industry.

Liu Feiren withdrew from the competition due to injury.

Compared with the one-sided public opinion three or four years later, the current situation is still relatively good. After all, no one would believe that Liu Feiren would not want to participate in the Olympics, especially the Olympics held at home.

So although many people felt disappointed, there were also quite a few people who expressed their support and took the initiative to leave messages of comfort on his Weibo.

On August 24, the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games was held, which also announced the official end of the Beijing Olympic Games.

The Chinese delegation won first place in the gold medal list with 51 gold, 21 silver and 28 bronze medals, creating the best result in China's Olympic history.

Liu Zhou was also invited to attend the leadership's commendation meeting for the director team, volunteer representatives and other behind-the-scenes heroes of the Olympic Games.

Seeing Zhang Yimou and the big boss shaking hands cordially, Liu Zhou in the audience couldn't help but feel a little sad.

After the commendation meeting, Liu Zhou and Zhang Yimou left the meeting hall together.

"Director Zhang, congratulations! The Olympics have come to a successful conclusion. How do you feel now?"

"I feel light all over!" Zhang Yimou said with a smile, "The pressure this time was really too great. I have been trembling with fear and walking on thin ice. Now that I have unloaded the burden, I feel that I can breathe much more easily."

Looking at the old man in front of him who seemed to be in great comfort, Liu Zhou couldn't help but feel very impressed.

He was definitely one of the people who felt the most pressure at the opening and closing ceremonies of this Olympics.

All of these event designs were done by trial and error, and in the end one still had to worry and be nervous about the entire evening party.

There can be no mistakes. If there are any, not only will we be embarrassed in front of the whole world, we will also definitely be criticized by the people at home.

If it were an ordinary person, he would have collapsed under the pressure long ago.

Fortunately, the final result was satisfactory, not only domestically but also highly praised abroad.

"Director Zhang, let me buy you a drink to celebrate your perfect completion of this nationally-renowned project."

"Let's go have a drink!"

Liu Zhou and Zhang Yimou came to a private club, ordered some snacks, and chatted while drinking and eating.

In fact, it was mainly Zhang Yimou who was talking. Tonight, he seemed to want to say out loud everything he wanted to say during the Olympics.

From the difficulties in preparation, to deciding on the performance program, to rehearsals, to the nervousness when the performance officially begins, and finally to the excitement of the perfect ending.

Lao Mouzi told Liu Zhou about all the emotions and feelings he had while drinking.

Liu Zhou just listened quietly and drank with him quietly.

"Liu Zhou, thank you for listening to me for so long. To be honest, I don't know who to tell these words to. Fortunately, you invited me to drink tonight. After saying these words, I feel lighter."

Liu Zhou knew that although the Olympics ended perfectly and the pressure that had been on him seemed to have been lifted, in fact, for Zhang Yimou, the pressure would definitely not disappear so quickly.

Maybe he finally felt relieved after he had finished talking.

"I think these are all very interesting." Liu Zhou said with a smile.

“Looking back now, it does seem quite interesting.”

Liu Zhou clinked glasses with Lao Mouzi, then said:

"Director Zhang, the Olympics are over now. What are your plans next?"

"Take a break for a month or two, then prepare for the new movie. Wei Ping is already urging you to do it."

"Director Zhang, you are really energetic. Don't you want to take a longer break? Besides, why should Zhang Weiping rush me? Curse of the Golden Flower has only been finished for less than a year."

Historically, "Curse of the Golden Flower" was released during the Lunar New Year holiday in 2006, after which Zhang Yimou was busy with Olympic affairs.

This also resulted in New Picture not launching any new projects for nearly two years, so as soon as the Olympics ended, Zhang Weiping pulled Zhang Yimou to start shooting a new movie.

Then came "Three Shots Surprise", the worst work in his directorial career.

This movie is adapted from the Coen brothers' "Blood Simple". Zhang Yimou actually wanted to make some new attempts in the film genre.

But who could have thought that little Shen Yang would suddenly appear in the 09 Spring Festival Gala.

In order to attract traffic, Zhang Weiping directly intervened in the selection of actors for "Three Guns" and invited people from Zhao Benshan's team to play the leading roles.

Although Zhang Yimou opposed it, he finally agreed after being persuaded by Zhang Weiping.

However, during the subsequent filming, Zhang Yimou felt very awkward.

But since the filming had already started, he had no choice but to continue shooting.

Halfway through filming the movie, Zhang Yimou himself felt that it would be a bad movie.

Sometimes a director can really feel in advance whether the movie he is making is good or not.

It was also in this movie that cracks began to appear in their relationship. It was not until "The Flowers of War" that Zhang Weiping once again interfered with his creation and the two of them completely fell out.

In this life, because of the appearance of Liu Zhou, "Curse of the Golden Flower" was not released until last year's National Day, so the new scenes would not be left with nothing to do.

Liu Zhou didn't understand why Zhang Weiping was so anxious. He was really treating Lao Mouzi like a beast.

If Zhang Yimou was an employee of his own company, Liu Zhou would have wanted to worship him as a role model.

Liu Zhou really didn't want to see Zhang Yimou gain huge fame and then turn around and bring a terrible movie amid everyone's high expectations.

(End of this chapter)