Casting Criteria

In the original version of Romance on Mount Lu, the lead actors were Zhang Yu and Guo Kaimin, both from the Shanghai Film Studio. Actually, the female lead had not originally been set for Zhang Yu, but another actress. However, that woman was caught by the police sleeping with foreigners at a hotel catering to foreign guests. Both Zhang Yu and Guo Kaimin were in their early twenties. Their acting could only be deemed passable, bearing the era's distinct, stylized mannerisms, but they benefited from their youthful good looks and the luck of landing a fantastic film, rocketing to overnight stardom. Zhang Yu subsequently starred in Evening Rain, Narrow Street, and other works, becoming blindingly famous. Within a single year, she swept the Golden Rooster Award, Hundred Flowers Award, and Government Award, completing a grand slam of accolades at an early age. And then she went abroad. Back then, there was a rather absurd phenomenon: whichever actress was awarded the Golden Rooster for Best Actress damn well moved abroad. It reached the point where the awards seemed like an emigration agency. Director Xie Jin was so outraged that he remarked, "Don't give awards to young actresses. Handing them major prizes so early just means they'll run overseas the moment they win..." "When we cast actors, we usually check our studio first. If the studio doesn't have the right person, only then do we look outside." Wang Haowei brought up the subject and suddenly let out a sigh. "To be frank with you, over the past few days, I've been turning those girls over in my mind even while trying to sleep. Whether it's Liu Xiaoqing, Li Xiuming, or young Cai Ming, not a single one fits. It's quite a hurdle!" "Then what do you think the female lead should be like?" Chen Qi asked. "First, pure and wholesome; second, modern and cosmopolitan! "We can't pick someone gaudy or vulgar—she must exude a delicate, charming girlishness. "Moreover, she's an overseas Chinese from the United States, so she's bound to be different from us, and we have to bring out that contrast. Everything from her makeup, hairstyle, and wardrobe to her every gesture and mannerism must be refined with utmost care, though without being overly exaggerated." "Keeping a distance from ordinary people, yet not seeming entirely out of reach?" Chen Qi suggested. "Exactly!" Wang Haowei tapped the desk. Chatting with this young man was truly a pleasure; he grasped the point instantly. "I've heard that before filming, actors must experience real life. How do you go about experiencing that cosmopolitan vibe?" "We'll do our best to arrange it. For example, have her stay at the Overseas Chinese Hotel for a week to observe the speech and behavior of real overseas Chinese." "At such a lavish expense?" "That's our studio tradition! It's perfectly normal." Wang Haowei waved it aside and asked, "Xiao Chen, what's your view?" "I agree with your take on the female lead. As for the male lead, I feel he'd best be handsome and delicate." "Handsome and delicate?" Wang Haowei smiled, amused. "Why describe him as handsome and delicate? Why not ruggedly handsome?" "The male lead is shy by nature, rather passive in this romance, and prone to blushing. That means he can't be a hyper-masculine tough guy like Ken Takakura. He can be softer, leaning toward pretty." "Leaning toward pretty..." Wang Haowei looked thoughtful and jotted down a note. "Anything else?" "The story spans five years. At the beginning, both the male and female leads are naive and green, but what about five years later? They can't remain just as naive and green. I think their styling ought to reflect a change—slightly more mature—and ideally, their dispositions should mature a bit as well." "Mm, that's good, very good!" "The male lead's older sister is a traditional woman. I don't have any particular thoughts on her; there should be plenty of actresses suited for that role." The two talked for quite a while. Wang Haowei was thoroughly pleased and smiled. "I had expected us to have plenty of disagreements, but who would have thought we'd be in such complete accord? Next, we'll enter official preparations. If any issues arise with the script, I'll consult you again." "Does that mean my assignment is almost done?" "Not at all, not at all. You can provide input on every aspect, and scenes might need last-minute revisions during shooting, which will require your touch. Under normal circumstances, cameras can start rolling in the second half of the year, wrap before the year is out, and screen next year." Wang Haowei paused and made a point of noting, "In other words, you can participate right until filming concludes." "Which means I can keep staying at the guesthouse?" "Haha!" Wang Haowei burst out laughing. "Don't feel shy about it. To the studio, it's just paying one extra person's wages. If it yields a fine piece of work, Director Wang would jump at the chance!" * * * Back at the guesthouse, in familiar Room 302. Chen Qi washed his face. Having nothing else to do, he simply lay down on the bed for an afternoon nap. Supposedly, people from Shanxi loved afternoon naps above all else—it was a gene etched into their bones, much like Shandong people's passion for the civil service exam, Tianjin people's comedic cross-talk, or a Sichuan girl's countdown warning when her temper flared. When he woke up, it was already four in the afternoon. After washing his face again, he felt a bit restless. Having finished the script, he was now left idle; it seemed he needed to stir up something to do. Despite his leisurely appearance, he was no slacker at heart—he wanted to make real progress in his career. *Knock, knock, knock!* "Come in!" When Liang Xiaosheng walked in, Chen Qi was flipping through a copy of English 900, which he had asked Yu Xiuli to track down for him. English was no longer a sensitive matter nowadays; a public fervor for learning the language was sweeping through society. In Romance on Mount Lu, for example, the female lead taught the male lead to say "I love my motherland," capturing the spirit of the times. Chen Qi put on a show of regularly studying it to provide cover for his increasingly fluent English. "Finished talking with Teacher Wang?" "Yeah, it went well. We made fast progress." "Only you could make fast progress. You have no idea—in the past, when directors and screenwriters discussed things, they'd get into fistfights over the slightest disagreement. As the saying goes, scholars look down on one another, and filmmaking is the same—everyone thinks they're the greatest." Liang Xiaosheng sat down on the chair and crossed his legs. Room 302 had effectively become his second dormitory. He said, "By the way, Ge You takes his examination tomorrow. He's at home practicing hard, with the old gentleman personally coaching him. The ACFTU Art Troupe is recruiting; if he fails to get in this time, there really won't be much hope left for him." "He'll be fine. If only for the sake of escaping all those pigs big and small, he has to get in." Liang Xiaosheng sat for a little while, then rose to leave. Chen Qi thought it over and followed him out. Walking through the courtyard before reaching the main building, Chen Qi suddenly grinned and picked up his pace. Up ahead, Jiang Shan, walking toward them, widened her eyes and turned on her heels to bolt. "What are you running for?" "Don't come over here! You're the worst!" "You didn't greet me, and you're being impolite. I'm going to tell your father!" "Aaargh, you meanie!" "Ha!" Having successfully teased the little girl, he was delighted. Liang Xiaosheng sighed; Xiao Chen was usually quite mature, but who would have thought he had such a childish side? Inside the main building, Chen Qi truly did go looking for Jiang Huaiyan, though not to tattle, but to borrow the telephone. In this era, telephones were rare treasures; private households never had them, only large work units. He didn't just freeload food and drinks—he freeloaded whatever he could. Thick-skinned, he dialed the number for China Youth Daily and said, "Hello, is this China Youth Daily? ... Oh, I'm looking for Reporter Yu, Yu Jiajia!" After a brief wait, a woman's voice came through the receiver. "Comrade Chen Qi? Why are you calling me?" "I'd like to make an inquiry. I heard Tianjin Daily has started running advertisements. Have Beijing's newspapers launched advertising services yet?" "No. Tianjin is Tianjin, and Beijing is Beijing. What are you up to?" "More and more tea stalls have cropped up recently, so we're facing fierce competition. I want to keep publicizing our tea stall... How about this: why don't the two of us cooperate and manufacture some news?"