Starting from a Fake University
Chapter 700 - 409: Want Actors, Not Traffic (Seeking Subscriptions)_2

Chapter 700: Chapter 409: Want Actors, Not Traffic (Seeking Subscriptions)_2

"In terms of choosing actors, I value genuine talent the most. Our movie, ’Wandering Earth,’ doesn’t need any popular celebrities."

Ding Yue reiterated the criteria for actor selection to Su Yangfan.

Generally, though celebrity actors do bring a certain audience base, their acting skills are just too mediocre.

Describing them as ordinary is already Ding Yue being too generous.

Many celeb actors ruin TV shows or movies with their pathetic acting skills. Ding Yue wasn’t going to let that happen to his carefully planned film ’Wandering Earth.’

"Hmmm, the actors we selected and invited were strictly chosen according to the standard you set, Principal Ding. We pool suitable actors only and don’t consider celebrity actors to play just any role."

Su Yangfan replied seriously.

For Su Yangfan’s last film ’Transdimensional Contact,’ he hadn’t hired any popular celebrities. Even the most popular actor in that production had only played a minor role, and was a third-rate celebrity at best.

"That’s good."

Ding Yue nodded in satisfaction, then picked up the actor profile and started scanning it seriously.

The first thing that caught his eye was the actor for Liu Peiqiang, one of the protagonists.

The name was Tang Han, which sounded like a mighty man.

In the original earth world, Wu Jing played Liu Peiqiang’s role. Ding Yue figured that Wu Jing might not exist in this parallel world.

But finding someone similar would also be pretty cool.

Ding Yue looked at the details of this man called Tang Han. At 39, his age fit the character’s age perfectly, and the first impression of Tang Han’s appearance was quite good to Ding Yue.

Although he was very different from Wu Jing, Ding Yue felt that if Tang Han played Liu Peiqiang, he would do a good job.

Most importantly, Tang Han looked like a real actor at first glance.

"Actor Tang Han," Ding Yue murmured, "Is it determined that he will play Liu Peiqiang?"

"Yes, Principal Ding. After discussion, we think Tang Han’s image matches Zhao Hao’s well. At first glance, these two have somewhat of a father-son vibe. What do you think, Principal Ding?"

Su Yangfan nodded in response, and also sought Principal Ding’s opinion.

If Principal Ding felt that it wasn’t appropriate, Su Yangfan would also consider Principal Ding’s opinion.

He had set up a meeting with Principal Ding to discuss the roles in ’Wandering Earth’ today, aiming to finalize the casting.

Who else than Principal Ding, the owner of both the novel’s copyright and the production funds, would have a say in this matter?

Principal Ding had absolute control over ’Wandering Earth’s’ screen adaptation. Even though Su Yangfan was the director, he could only do what was within his duty.

"Well, I do agree with you. They seem quite similar. Good choice." After listening to Director Su Yangfan, Ding Yue looked carefully at Tang Han’s face again in comparison with his student Zhao Hao in his memories.

Well!

If you didn’t know them, you might really think they were father and son.

"Principal Ding, Mr. Tang Han has starred in ’Ferocious Tiger’ and ’Iron-blooded Man,’ among other films and TV dramas. His acting is solid, and he is one of the actors I like."

Su Yangfan gave a brief introduction to Tang Han.

Ding Yue also saw from the profile that Tang had starred in the popular TV series ’Ferocious Tiger,’ the movie ’Iron-blooded Man,’ and the drama ’Our Mission,’ among others. He had become an experienced and tenacious actor.

Hmm! Very good. Ding Yue likes this kind of powerful acting.

"All right."

Ding Yue nodded slightly, saying to Su Yangfan, "Let’s have Tang Han for the role of Liu Peiqiang. Oh yes, how much is his pay?"

This was another question of concern to Ding Yue. If Tang Han’s pay was too high, Ding Yue might also reconsider whether to hire him or not.

"Principal Ding, Tang Han’s acting fee is typically over 2 million yuan, and if it’s a larger-scale movie, the fee may be around 5 million yuan."

So replied Su Yangfan honestly.

Five million in acting fees!

Astonishment was etched on Ding Yue’s face when he heard this.

This was quite a bargain compared to actors who casually charged tens of millions or even tens of millions more.

But then again, considering Tang Han’s skills and the performance of the films he starred in, Ding Yue felt his price of three to five million was worth every penny.

As long as the performance is good, the acting fee wouldn’t be a problem.

"Alright, negotiate with this Mr. Tang Han when the time comes." Ding Yue nodded, deciding to have Tang Han play the role of Liu Peiqiang, the protagonist of ’Wandering Earth’.

If the acting fee for one of the main characters, Liu Peiqiang, is just three to five million, then the total acting fee for all the main characters wouldn’t exceed thirty million yuan. This sum did not seem excessive for a sci-fi film like ’Wandering Earth’ with a budget exceeding a hundred million yuan.

Ding Yue understood that although the budget of ’Wandering Earth’ was over one hundred million yuan, it was likely to increase due to refinements during filming. Ding Yue prepared for this mentally.

Of course, Ding Yue had also arranged for the money.

’Super Combat Team’ had a box office profit of nearly 1.3 billion yuan. Originally, Ding Yue planned to invest around seven hundred million yuan in the lithographic experiment project.

But on second thought...

Such an investment might not be cost-effective as the project was long-term. Luo Peng and Tong Yihang had told him that it would take at least two or three years to make a breakthrough in advanced nanometer-level technology.

Given this, it’s better to stagger the investment in the lithographic experiment project.

Besides the existing investment, Ding Yue planned to allocate a further five hundred million to the project in the second phase.

As for the rest of the money, Ding Yue could put it into other faculty projects or into the increased budget of ’Wandering Earth’.

"The grandfather of Liu Qi... Actor Liu Wenda."

Ding Yue continued to peruse through the actors’ profiles.

The actor who played another major character, Han Zi’ang, was also the grandfather to both the male and female leads, Liu Qi and Han Duo Duo.

This role required an older actor.

In the original film on Earth, this role was played by actor Wu Mengda.

Interestingly, this character chosen by Su Yangfan and his team, Liu Wenda, even shares a character "达"("Da") in his name with that of Wu Mengda.

"Principal Ding, Liu Wenda is a veteran actor with decades of performance experience. I personally think he is extremely suitable to play grandfather roles. In terms of acting skills, Liu Wenda definitely won’t have any problems."

Seeing that Principal Ding had come across the profile of actor Liu Wenda, Su Yangfan provided a brief explanation on the side.

"That works just fine, quite fitting for the role of Han Zi’ang in my mind."

Ding Yue nodded and said.

Since Director Su Yangfan spoke so highly of Liu Wenda, and after a brief review of the seasoned actor’s credentials, Ding Yue could hardly find any issues.

If he had to find fault, Ding Yue turned to Su Yangfan and asked, "Is Mr. Liu Wenda in good health? The role of Han Zi’ang has some challenging scenes."

Ding Yue’s only concern was whether Liu Wenda could withstand the tough scenes and environment while filming ’Wandering Earth’.

After all, Liu Wenda’s profile stated he was over sixty years old.

"As for old Mr. Liu, his health shouldn’t pose any problems. I remember he joined a production just last year."

Su Yangfan frowned slightly and muttered, "I’ll have the assistant director thoroughly confirm it later."