Chapter 246 257 [Qingxia retires from acting and auditions Fei Wen]

The Peninsula Hotel.

It was a little after two o’clock in the afternoon, which was the prime time for afternoon tea here, and a large number of celebrities and stars gathered here.

And because the star directors of the Great Wall, Phoenix and other film companies in the 50s all liked to have afternoon tea here, it gradually became a tradition and a standard for Hong Kong celebrities.

“Director Li is so enviable!”

Wang Jiawei, who had not yet become the King of Sunglasses, was wearing a pair of large-framed glasses and looking at the Asian edition of Time magazine on the table, with a hint of envy in his eyes.

The title of director who has won the three major European awards can be said to be the most coveted position for literary and artistic directors like Wang Jiawei. Who would have thought that this honor would be won by a young man in his twenties.

“Director Li is indeed talented. I have worked with him before. He is a very capable director, and his scripts and ideas are beyond the reach of ordinary people.”

After praising her little man, Qingxia picked up the weekly magazine with a smile and looked at the images of Li Yishu in three periods. Suddenly, she was surprised to find something: the clothes Li Yishu was wearing seemed to have not changed?
I don’t know if it was intentional or if Time magazine specifically edited the photo like this.

“Ms. Qingxia, don’t you really want to consider it?”

Wang Jiawei said sincerely: “I have been preparing for this script for a long time. I will not continue to fly paper like before. I am confident that I can finish filming within two or three months.”

“It’s really not possible, Director Wang. If it was earlier, maybe I would still be interested in taking over your role, but now…”

Qingxia touched her belly inconspicuously, smiled and declined: “Actually, there are still many excellent actors, it doesn’t have to be me.”

“No, this role belongs to you. I want an actress with the image of Miss Qingxia.”

Wang Jiawei was a persistent person. He felt that as long as he was sincere enough, he would be able to impress the other party, so he begged again and again, just to get Qingxia to agree to star in his “Chungking Express”.

Seeing Wang Jiawei’s persistence, Qingxia hesitated and said, “How about this, Director Wang, I’ll recommend an actor to you, do you think he’s suitable?”

“Who?”

“Gong Li!”

“Gong Li?”

Wang Jiawei was slightly startled, then recalled Gong Li’s image, frowned and said: “Ms. Qingxia, you have also read the script. I want a fugitive who can play a cold-blooded female killer. Miss Gong Li’s image…”

Qingxia smiled and said, “Have you seen her performance in “Sword Rain”? Doesn’t she look like a killer?”

“Sword rain!”

Wang Jiawei suddenly remembered this movie. He hadn’t thought about it in this regard before because Gong Li had starred in too many rural-themed movies, including “Qiu Ju Goes to Court”, “Red Sorghum” and “Raise the Red Lantern”, all of which have reinforced people’s inherent impression of Gong Li.

So even though the movie “Sword Rain” had a high box office, with sales of $1.8 million worldwide, there were many outstanding supporting roles in the movie, which somewhat overshadowed Gong Li’s charm.

Wang Jiawei recalled Gong Li’s look in the movie. If she were to wear modern makeup, the stern face paired with the arrogance in her bones would seem quite suitable, right?

Qingxia said: “If you think she is suitable, I can help you contact Gong Li, and then you can audition and see how it goes?”

“Ms. Qingxia, are you really not able to do this? I can wait if you are tired recently.”

Wang Jiawei still preferred Qingxia, simply because she was the heroine he had chosen early on.

“I’m really sorry.”

After Qingxia declined, she thought about it and took the initiative to say, “To be honest, I am actually planning to retire from the entertainment industry.”

“Retire from the film industry!” Wang Jiawei was shocked. He had never heard anyone mention that Qingxia was going to retire from the film industry.

“Yes, after finishing filming The Six-Fingered Piano Devil at the end of last year, I had the idea of ​​retiring from the film industry. It was not until last month that I made the final decision to retire.”

Qingxia nodded and said, “I have always wanted to take a good rest these years, but as long as someone invites me with a good script, I can’t help but want to shoot it. But this time I have made up my mind to retire from the film industry completely.”

“Okay.” Wang Jiawei saw Qingxia’s words and knew that she was insisting on inviting him. He was afraid that there was nothing he could do. He could only sigh and said, “It’s a pity that I can’t continue to cooperate with Miss Qingxia.”

“Didn’t we have a good collaboration on Ashes of Time?”

Qingxia smiled and glanced at her watch. It was already past three o’clock, so she said, “Director Wang, I have something else to do and I have to go back first. If you have any ideas, I can help you contact Gong Li. I have worked with her on a movie before, so I am quite familiar with her.”

“Then I’ll trouble you, Miss Qingxia.”

Wang Jiawei thought about it and felt that there were not many people in Hong Kong and Taiwan who were suitable for playing this role. The role required both good acting skills and a striking image.

It’s not about exquisite beauty, but about having a form. Qingxia is his best choice, but Gong Li seems to be able to play the role as well.

United Kingdom.

In an office building, the crew of “Sense and Sensibility” is interviewing actors.

“My name is Emma Thompson, and I’m interviewing Elinor Dashwood, the eldest of the three sisters.”

Emma Thompson is a British actress who started filming TV series in the UK in 1980. Until last year in 1993, she won the 65th Academy Award for Best Actress for the drama film “Howards End”.

Sense and Sensibility is a drama written by a British writer about Britain.

Li An is a very stubborn person. He believes that since he is going to film a classic British novel, all actors must be British and have a genuine British accent. American English cannot express the essence of the film.

Li An asked, “Ms. Thompson, what kind of personality do you think the eldest of the three sisters has?” Emma Thompson thought for a moment and said, “She is a rational person. Although Eleanor is also in love with Edward, she tries to restrain her feelings because of the disparity in their status…”

After hearing this, Li An nodded slightly and looked through her resume. To be able to win the Oscar for Best Actress, she must be very talented, and she doesn’t need an audition for her acting skills.

He thought about it and looked at Li Yishu beside him. Seeing that she remained silent, as if she had completely handed over the initiative to him, he nodded and said, “Then Ms. Thompson, read this novel more when you go back.”

“Okay, Director Li An!”

Emma Thompson’s face lit up with joy, realizing that she had been chosen.

After the other party left happily, Li Yishu, who was acting as a spectator, said, “Don’t worry about me. I said that this movie is entirely yours. As long as the budget is within the budget, whether it is casting or post-production, it is up to you to decide.”

“Thank you, Director Li.” Li An was delighted. He knew very well that it was often difficult for American film directors to obtain post-production rights, and the editing was controlled by the producers and supervisors.

“I am also a director, so I know that it is sometimes difficult to edit the story in the director’s mind when the editing rights are handed over to others.”

Li Yishu smiled. The reason why he gave the power to Li An was because this movie itself was a bit literary. If it was a movie with some gun battles, action, etc., he would definitely not let Li An edit it himself.

The pitfall of “The Incredible Hulk” almost got Li An expelled from Hollywood. If it weren’t for “Brokeback Mountain”, he would have returned to China in disgrace like Wu Yusen.

Li An asked the casting director, “Who’s next?”

“Catherine Zeta-Jones!”

Catherine Zeta?
Li Yishu raised her eyebrows, not expecting her to come too.

There are many British actresses, and Lee Yi-seok can remember quite a few of them, including Catherine Zeta, who quickly gained international fame in 1992 with her role as Zorro’s daughter Elena in “The Mask of Zorro”.

However, compared with several other English roses, Catherine Zeta is relatively less famous, and after entering the millennium, she has no representative works. She is even inferior to Kate Beckinsale, the female vampire in “Underworld”.

Soon, Catherine Zeta walked in. She first introduced herself politely, and then greeted several people at the scene…

After the audition, Li An seemed quite satisfied with her acting skills. Although her age was not suitable, she looked young enough, and with a little makeup, she was quite suitable for the role of Marianna in the play.

“next.”

With a click, the door opened and a familiar face appeared in front of Li Yishu.

The actress introduced herself: “Hello everyone, my name is Kate Winslet, and I’m here to audition for the role of Marianne!”

As expected, it’s Fat Wen!
Looking at Kate, who now had a chubby face and a plump figure, Li Yishu finally understood why she had the nickname “Fat Wen”.

Kate was quite fat when she was young. Of course, this fat was not fat in the broad sense, but plump.

It’s a bit similar to the image during the “Titanic” period, but it’s a little fuller.

Thinking of that big ship, Li Yishu couldn’t help but think of the hand pressing on the window glass in the old car in the cargo hold of the ship.

“Read this line for a while.”

Li An seemed not very satisfied with the other party’s figure, but out of politeness, she asked the casting director to give her a script.

Kate Winslet took the script and began to read the lines with great emotion. Li An was impressed by her ability in delivering lines.

In fact, Kate, who is only 19 years old this year, entered drama school when she was 11 years old. In addition, she has been appearing in TV series on British TV since 1991. Although most of them are supporting roles, she is still very talented in lines and acting.

“Okay, let’s stop here.” Li An interrupted, “You go back first, we will notify you when we have the results.”

“Okay, good director.”

Kate Winslet was very disappointed. After returning the script to the people around her, she turned around and left dejectedly.

She wanted to act in a movie so much that when she heard that a crew in London was recruiting British actresses, she ran over eagerly.

Now it seems that it still doesn’t work.

After everyone left, Li Yishu suddenly asked, “Do you think she’s not good enough?”

“There are no major issues with age, lines, or performance. She is more suitable than the previous Zeta, but her figure…”

Li An was a little hesitant. What he wanted was a young girl, not a plump girl.

Li Yishu smiled and said, “Let’s give it a try. I’m quite optimistic about her. Doesn’t the crew have to wait until April to start filming? Why not let her lose weight?”

“Well…you can try.”

If Kate Winslet could lose 15-20 pounds, she would be in line with the image of the youngest of three sisters in Li An’s mind.

“Let’s audition first. Who knows, there might be more suitable candidates later.”

“No need, just her. I’ll call her later.”

Li An turned to look at the casting director, who nodded to show that he understood.

Li Yishu smiled slightly, thinking that this was her way of paying Kate back for the “Reader”.

(End of this chapter)