CCTV finally agreed to Stephen Zhao's lion opening and cooperated with him in the mode of advertising sharing. Stephen Zhao didn't know why CCTV agreed, and he wasn't interested in knowing.

In mid-April, the news that Red Star Media teamed up with CCTV to produce the TV series "Journey to the West" spread in China, and for a while, the whole country was in an uproar, and countless celebrities were moved.

When the novel "Journey to the West" was written, it was famous at home and abroad because it was written by Stephen Zhao. When it was written, the rich and fantastical imagination made countless Chinese people remember it deeply. And when the cartoon comes out, as long as you are still a Chinese person, as long as you are still a normal person, there is no one who is not familiar with "Journey to the West".

It can be said that "Journey to the West" is the hottest topic in China at the moment!

Not to mention that this TV series was filmed by CCTV and Stephen Zhao.

Whoever can star in "Journey to the West" will be able to soar to the sky.

Of course, the role played must be an important role, otherwise the audience will not remember it very much. Small characters such as the giant spirit god, golden horn, silver horn, leopard spirit, etc., the audience will pay attention to it when they watch it, but they will forget it after watching it, even if they do, they only remember their image, and they will not remember who the actor is.

In "Journey to the West", the important characters first recommend "Tang Seng", "Monkey King", "Zhu Bajie", "Sand Seng", and "White Dragon Horse".

Among them, the role of "Monkey King" is the most important and is the core role of "Journey to the West". Whoever can play the role of "Monkey King" will be able to become a super idol that will never fade in the minds of hundreds of millions of people. The popularity will definitely be unprecedented, and there is no doubt about becoming the most popular person in the entertainment industry.

If you don't believe it, take a look at the popular Cheng dù of "Monkey King" in the cartoon version of "Journey to the West".

In his previous life, the actor "Liuxiao Lingtong" became famous at home and abroad because of the role of "Monkey King", and was respected by more than a billion Chinese people.

Many people don't know who the president is, but they must know the six-year-old child. As soon as I asked. They all opened their mouths and came: "Sun Monkey!" ”

But. Among the stars who are moved by the wind, there are the least stars who want to play "Monkey King". The reason is very simple, you can't act!

Sun Wukong is a humanized monkey with a human side. There is also a monkey side. It not only has strict requirements for physical and physical appearance. also has very high requirements for temperament and acting skills, and not just any star can act. Even if it is an actor-level level, it is not enough to watch.

Of course. This is on the basis of respecting the original work, and if it is a follow-up adaptation, the requirements are not so strict.

Just like in the previous life, there are many TV series versions of "Journey to the West", and many versions have been recognized by the audience, but except for the first version and the six-year-old children's version of the "Journey to the West" TV series that have been recognized, other reprints according to the original work have been sprayed by the audience. Accepted by the audience and praised well, they are all adapted versions, which have been greatly tampered with on the basis of the original work, and there is Zhang Weijian's version of "Journey to the West" in the field of TV dramas, which is funny, and in the field of movies, there is Xing Ye's "Journey to the West" series, which is tragic and comedy.

And the "Monkey King" performed by Zhang Weijian and Xing Ye is not the "Monkey King" in the original book at all, it is completely another person.

Zhang Weijian's "Monkey King" is a handsome and cute nag; Xing Ye's "Monkey King" is completely a sling living in the city!

What is really sought after by celebrities is the role of "Tang Seng".

The reason is also very simple, one is because Tang Seng is kind-hearted and kind-hearted, and he is a handsome guy with an elegant atmosphere and extraordinary bearing, which can be seen from the fact that so many female goblin kings in the original book want to marry Tang Seng with a dead face; The other is that Tang Seng is the most human-like in one teacher, three apprentices and one horse.

Sun Wukong is difficult to act, Zhu Bajie is too ugly, Sha Seng's image is not pleasing, and there are few white dragon circuses, only Tang Seng is both a handsome guy and a person, and there are still a lot of scenes, which naturally makes countless celebrities enthusiastic and heartbeat.

Rey Brothers, Orange Red Entertainment, Huayi Media, Glorious Media and other film and television companies are very active in recommending the company's key students to Stephen Zhao.

As for Stephen Zhao's own Red Star Media company, many new actors are trying to compete for this role. Even Luo Ye and Zhou Mingzhuo, who showed their strength on the big movie screen, said that they were interested in challenging the role of "Tang Seng", which made Stephen Zhao cry and laugh.

Zhao Xingchi quickly scolded them back: "What are you fooling about? Fuck off! ”

Although Tang Seng is a handsome guy, he is kind-hearted and kind-hearted, and people who are not peaceful-looking can't act at all. Luo Ye is a prodigal, and Zhou Mingzhuo has the style of a decent man and a gentleman, which is completely out of tune.

In the previous life, there were many versions of "Tang Seng", and the most classic version of "Journey to the West" had three versions of "Tang Seng", Wang Yue's version, Xu Shaohua's version, and Chi Chongrui's version. The "Tang Seng" played by these three people is very classic, and it is in the same vein, giving people almost the same feeling, so in his previous life, Stephen Zhao couldn't tell the difference when he watched it, he always thought it was one person, or later after going to college, he learned that it was three people who acted in a few episodes each.

Of course, there is still a difference between the three Tang monks, Wang Yue didn't mention it, he left the crew early, and the Chinese people didn't have a deep impression of him, far less than Xu Shaohua and Chi Chongrui. And Xu Shaohua and Chi Chongrui, the former performed Tang Seng's pedantry, and he was very angry every time he saw him drive away Sun Wukong, feeling that this Tang Seng might as well let Sun Wukong beat him to death with a stick; The latter face is kinder than Xu Shaohua, and he is more like a Buddha, giving people the impression of a great monk. Overall, Chi Chongrui's "Tang Seng" is the best version.

The Chen Sihan version and Nie Yuan version in the back, can Zhao Xingchi say "give me a lightning rod"?

……

The choice of actors is that Red Star Media and CCTV together form a "casting group" to audition nationwide. Relying on the fame of "Journey to the West", the strength of Red Star Media, and the strong appeal of CCTV, the casting work has caused a huge sensation across the country at the beginning, and there are many people who have signed up for auditions, whether it is a rookie actor or a big-name actor, even the old-timers who have retired for many years have signed up one after another.

After Stephen Zhao counted it, he was taken aback, and the actors in the Chinese entertainment industry were almost wiped out!

There is a saying on the Internet and in the media, saying that the "Journey to the West" TV series is the largest, most influential, and most invested TV series in recent years, and the incomparable first TV series, super heavyweight, is a battle drama in TV dramas! What is "Smiling Proud Jianghu", "Dragon Babu", "The Legend of the New White Lady", "Bright Sword"...... You have to stand aside!

This argument has received overwhelming support.

In the interview on the street, every passerby interviewed replied with a smile: "Journey to the West"? I know, Xing Ye is filming with CCTV, I'm looking forward to it. ”

The person in charge of CCTV also said in an interview that "Journey to the West" will be the most important TV series produced by CCTV since its establishment.

A reporter wanted to interview Stephen Zhao, but he didn't see anyone, because he had to select the actors and direct the screenwriters of the screenwriting team to write the script of "Journey to the West".

Half of the members of the screenwriting team are from Red Star Media and half are from CCTV. Of course, it is said that CCTV is actually affiliated with the National TV Drama Production Center, and CCTV has two sets of teams.

Stephen Zhao is responsible for outlining the outline, writing a general outline for them, and then asking them to fill in the content in detail.

"The first episode of the Monkey King came out, but the plot has to progress to Sun Wukong's apprenticeship. In the second episode, the official named Bi Ma Wen, and the plot progressed to the point where he pulled the banner and claimed to be the Monkey King; In the third episode, there is a lot of trouble in the Heavenly Palace, and it progresses to the Jade Emperor to invite Xitian Rulai; In the fourth episode, trapped in the Five Elements Mountain......" has a clear memory in his mind, Stephen Zhao wrote the general outline of "Journey to the West" in two hours, and then handed it over to the screenwriting team.

He Fansen, who was appointed as the chief director by CCTV and Red Star Media, saw it and praised it: "Mr. Zhao, your speed is really amazing!" ”

Stephen Zhao smiled and talked about something else: ""Journey to the West" has become a weekly drama, what do you think, Director He?" ”

"Weekly drama?"

He Fansen was stunned for a while, and then shook his head for a while: "There is not enough time, and there is no high-quality product." ”

Stephen Zhao thought about it too, so he didn't mention this topic again.

The mode of weekly dramas is a very popular TV drama model abroad, and domestic online dramas also adopt the weekly drama model. The advantage is that you can interact with the audience, and then modify the subsequent plot according to the audience's evaluation. The disadvantage is that the time is too rushed, which tests the crew's skills very much, and it is easy to make bad movies.

Think about the previous life, a "Journey to the West" was filmed for more than ten years, although there are restrictions from external objective conditions, but the difficulty of filming is still very huge.

……

The preparation of the "Journey to the West" TV series is one of Stephen Zhao's next main tasks, and the other main work is to be a judge of "Brilliant Chinese" and the filming of "Truant Weilong 2".

CCTV has launched the publicity work for the talent show "Brilliant Chinese", and one of the publicity gimmicks is that he is a judge, which has greatly aroused the interest of the Chinese people, especially the attention of his hundreds of millions of fans. He has been a judge of "Miss Asia" and a mentor of "The Voice of China", but they are all on ATV, and only people who can surf the Internet can see it, and many Chinese people still don't pay attention to it. "Brilliant Chinese" is different, this is CCTV's talent show, as long as it appears, it will appear in front of more than a billion people across the country, and it is difficult not to pay attention to it.

"Truant Weilong 2" has already begun filming, created by the original team, plus a "Goddess Yang Ying", which was also filmed at Beijing University.

Time flies, and on June 5, the movie "Machine Qì Hero" held a grand premiere in the magic capital. (To be continued......)