788 A Strange Role

"Brother Qin, you have to read all these scripts by tomorrow. Huayi needs a developing direction fast. The company is part of your property after all, and Chairman Wang trusted QC with all its accounting work. Today, our staff will be settling in at Huayi. The company's future is in our hands."

"Liu Tianxia from the Los Angeles branch sent the latest report. Thanks to your extraordinary achievements at the Hong Kong Film Awards, some production companies have mended their relationship with QC. Two of them have even become our clients. This is still not enough compared to the large Chinese film industry though."

"The best way to expand is by shooting another film in America. It should be during the next six months and it must be promoted properly."

Wow, Liu has set really high standards for me. Is she the boss, or am I?

When he looked at the income report and the steadily increasing statistics, Qin Guan had to admit that she was right. "Tell me the whole plan. I will do it," he said with a sigh.

"The SARFT is glad to see your positive work in the film industry. They hope that you will make persistent efforts to shoot mainstream films."

"And?"

"Ke Ke Xi Li has been accepted by the Taiwan Golden Horse Film Festival, and you have been shortlisted for the Best Actor Award."

"That's all?"

"Yes."

"I'll start from the scripts. Put the domestic ones on the left and the foreign ones on the right. Print my emails from my computer, please. I prefer the touch of paper."

We will meet your unreasonable demands, as long as you get to work.

The efficient young man spent one hour on the scripts before finally picking one out and throwing it at Wang. "This is it."

The script had been lying on his desk for a long time. Without SARFT's pressure, Qin Guan would never have taken the historical TV show into consideration due to its long shooting schedule and big cast and crew.

China Film Group and CCTV were involved in its production, so everyone had to spend a lot of energy on it. All the actors were old and experienced, leaving few roles for younger actors. It was a systemic casting based on seniority. Qin Guan's international awards wouldn't mean anything there.

All the actors had more than 20 years of experience. Qin Guan wouldn't even be hired as a waiter.

The TV show, which was titled "The Emperor Han Wu", was not a personal story, but a serious historical series. This meant that it would be a strict, big-budget production that would set high standards for all the actors. If Qin Guan failed, he would never rise again in the domestic entertainment circle.

He calmly watched Wang contact the director happily and pick out some roles for him. 

"They have already cast the main characters. We were a little bit late. All the props and film sets have been finished too. There are only a few supporting roles left."

Qin Guan paused. Did you think I'd be the protagonist, silly? I'm too young for that. I could only play a younger version of him.

He was right.

"The roles left are Emperor Han Wu at a younger age, Huo Qubing and Tian Fen. The director is encouraging you to audition."

"Actually, the first part is pretty good. The character is an emperor after all. If you could mimic Chen Baoguo, the actor who is playing the older version of him, that would be great. Unfortunately, he will not take much part in the film. He will be using two body doubles."

"The second part requires riding and shooting skills... No acting skills are required..."

"The third one, Tian Fen..."

"That's it!"

"What do you mean, Brother Qin? This is a complicated role. The character is not a good man."

"That's why I'm choosing him. He is the most real character in the script. He may not be a great man, but he is a lively man that rose from a low class. He has a sad ending, but I like it. He is the only character I feel the impulse to portray. He turned from a countryside thug to a prime minister. I have never played a character with such a large age span. I like it."

Okay, you are the boss.