The actor auditions were held at the hotel where Zhang Tiancheng was staying. The first person to arrive was an actress.
Zhang Kailin had arranged the invitations for the auditions, and Zhang Tiancheng hadn't meddled too much. He had only made one request to Zhang Kailin: try to find actors with low salaries whenever possible.
Having no name recognition and limited funds at the moment, he had no room to be picky. It was already a blessing that anyone showed up to audition at all.
Upon seeing that the first actress to audition was the "strongman's mount from the television series *The Legend and the Hero*," Zhang Tiancheng felt a brief wave of confusion—wasn't she from Taiwan? What was she doing shooting a film in Hong Kong?—but he immediately made up his mind. The role of the second female lead would go to this very strongman's mount, Tian Li.
Tian Li glanced at Zhang Tiancheng sitting behind the table and gave Zhang Kailin a respectful greeting: "President Zhang."
Zhang Kailin frowned and pointed at Zhang Tiancheng. "This is Director Zhang."
Tian Li looked at Zhang Tiancheng and offered a perfunctory greeting, "Director Zhang, my name is Tian Li."
Zhang Tiancheng didn't feel the slightest bit angry at being looked down upon by Tian Li. As long as she could act well, that was all that mattered. As for anything else, whether they would ever have the chance to collaborate again was a question in itself, so why waste energy getting mad?
"Ms. Tian, for your audition: you took something belonging to a triad, and now people have tracked you down. Please improvise your lines," Zhang Tiancheng said calmly.
Tian Li looked around the room and asked, "Isn't there anyone to read lines with me?"
Just as Zhang Kailin was about to speak, Zhang Tiancheng stood up and said, "I'll read with you."
Zhang Kailin instantly swallowed the words on the tip of his tongue; he wanted to see what kind of acting chops Zhang Tiancheng actually had.
Tian Li looked somewhat skeptical. What kind of acting skills could a rookie director possibly possess?
Though she looked down on him inwardly, she didn't dare ask, "Can you even read lines with me?" After all, Zhang Kailin was right there.
Zhang Tiancheng took off his jacket, closed his eyes to compose himself for a few seconds, then walked right up to Tian Li and looked down at her from above.
"You fucking bitch, where's my stash?"
Tian Li didn't pick up the cue. In fact, she couldn't.
She was so terrified she was trembling, her mind completely blank.
Zhang Kailin's jaw dropped in utter astonishment.
At that moment, Zhang Tiancheng had completely transformed into a different person.
His gaze was wild and frenzied, yet his face wore a look of sheer enjoyment—he was a pervert who was fully aware he was a lunatic and thoroughly relished his own madness.
Tian Li was scared out of her wits, feeling as though she had genuinely run into a psychopath.
Seeing Tian Li shaking like a leaf, Zhang Tiancheng immediately closed his eyes and snapped back to normal.
"Ms. Tian."
Tian Li still sat with her head in her hands, her body curled up and shivering.
"Ms. Tian," Zhang Tiancheng called out again.
Seeing that she remained in a state of panic, he stopped calling out to her, turned around, and walked back to sit behind the table.
"You're from a directing department—where on earth did you learn acting like that?" Zhang Kailin asked, turning his head in curiosity.
"When I was in school, I often sat in on classes at the acting department."
Zhang Kailin's eyes widened to the size of copper bells. He had assumed some grandmaster of acting from the Central Academy of Drama had taken him under their wing and taught him hands-on; never in his wildest dreams had he expected Zhang Tiancheng to be self-taught merely by auditing classes.
"You really ought to be an actor. With your skills, you could win a Best Actor award within a few years."
Zhang Tiancheng was just about to reply when Tian Li spoke up. "I'm sorry, Director Zhang. I failed to catch the cue—please give me another chance."
Tian Li had finally regained her senses, and her initial contempt for Zhang Tiancheng had completely vanished into thin air.
Putting aside his directing credentials, based purely on his acting ability alone, he was not someone to be underestimated.
"Ms. Tian, that won't be necessary."
Tian Li felt deeply dejected. With the current economic downturn and few opportunities for work, she wouldn't have bothered auditioning for a rookie director's film otherwise.
Still, she knew she had only herself to blame—she had been given a chance and failed to catch it.
Just as Tian Li stood up, ready to bid her farewell, Zhang Tiancheng spoke: "The role of the second female lead is yours. Any issues with starting production in ten days?"
Tian Li stared at Zhang Tiancheng in sheer disbelief. He was giving her the role even after she bombed the audition?
Seeing that Zhang Tiancheng wasn't joking and that Zhang Kailin offered no objection, Tian Li quickly expressed her gratitude with a delighted smile. "Thank you, Director Zhang! I will definitely give it my all."
In Hong Kong, many minor artists didn't have management agencies. Tian Li had no agency, let alone a manager.
Zhang Tiancheng handed her the contract; she looked it over, found nothing amiss, and signed it on the spot.
After Tian Li left, the second actor to enter for an audition was a man.
The moment he stepped through the door, a spark of recognition lit up Zhang Tiancheng's eyes.
"President Zhang, Director."
It was Liao Qizhi. What he really thought of Zhang Tiancheng as a rookie director was anyone's guess, but on the surface, he was extremely polite.
"You are a triad boss with a younger brother. You've kidnapped a little girl, but the other side has snatched your brother and is using him to blackmail you into trading the girl."
Unlike Tian Li, who needed someone to read with her, Liao Qizhi didn't hesitate. He stood right up and performed directly to empty air.
Long before *Infernal Affairs II* or *SPL: Sha Po Lang* had been filmed, Liao Qizhi was still a minor name, recognizable as a familiar face in Hong Kong cinema, but his acting was truly top-notch. Even performing opposite empty air, his portrayal was vivid and lifelike.
His performance was flawless, he had no current work commitments, and starting the shoot in ten days posed no problem. He signed the contract on the spot.
With the Hong Kong film industry in a slump and many actors out of work, a rookie director like Zhang Tiancheng managed to attract quite a few well-known supporting actors to audition.
By the end of the day, all the roles except for two had been cast.
"Uncle, are there really no child actresses in Hong Kong right now?"
The remaining uncast role was the second male lead. Quite a few people had auditioned, but Zhang Tiancheng felt none of them fit the bill; the second male lead required someone with martial arts foundations, and none of the applicants had any.
As for the role of the little girl—the first female lead—not a single person had even shown up to audition.
"Hong Kong lacks child stars. Finding a young girl to act in the film is practically impossible."
"Tiancheng, why don't you just look for a newcomer?" Zhang Kailin suggested.
Zhang Tiancheng rejected the idea without a moment's hesitation.
"Uncle, the role of the little girl is meant to make the audience shed tears. If her acting isn't up to par, the emotional impact will be severely compromised."
Zhang Kailin frowned in thought. "In that case, I'll contact a friend in Taiwan and see if they have any child stars over there."
Out of options, Zhang Tiancheng had no choice but to let Zhang Kailin look into it.
"Uncle, do we have any suitable candidates for the second male lead?"
Zhang Kailin was just about to speak when Zhang Tiancheng added:
"It doesn't matter if his acting is a bit rough, but he must have a solid foundation in martial arts."
Zhang Tiancheng's supplementary condition made Zhang Kailin's eyes light up.
"That's easy to handle. I'll go to the Hung Stunt Team and pull in a martial arts star. Their acting might be a bit green, but their action choreography will definitely be top-notch."
If rough acting didn't matter, then the second male lead problem was easily solved. The very next day, Zhang Kailin brought in Dick Wei from the Hung Stunt Team—the very same actor who played Law Sam-po in *Project A*.
Zhang Kailin also brought in a stunt coordinator from the Hung Stunt Team to design the action sequences for the film.
Originally, Zhang Tiancheng had intended to shoot the action scenes following the original version. However, earlier that year, while studying Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu with his coach, certain ideas had suddenly struck him. He decided against copying the original choreography, opting instead for a combat style styled after the *Bourne* series.
As soon as the stunt coordinator arrived, Zhang Tiancheng began discussing the action choreography with Zhao Youri.
"Master Zhao, for the action scenes, I want them clean, sharp, and ruthless. No superfluous moves—ideally something close to real combat, but with a slightly exaggerated flair."
Since the *Bourne* films hadn't been released yet, Zhao Youri had zero frame of reference for the fighting style Zhang Tiancheng was describing.
Seeing the blank look on Zhao Youri's face, Zhang Tiancheng elaborated, "To give you an example: I might use a single chopstick to pierce an opponent's throat, or roll up a magazine and use it to parry an attacker's dagger."
Zhao Youri thought for a moment before asking, "Director Zhang, are you looking for an action style where the movements appear casual, yet carry a terrifying lethality?"
"Exactly. The weapons should be everyday objects—like a fork, a chopstick, a piece of flexible tubing—things you can casually pick up right where you are."
A gleam of insight appeared in Zhao Youri's eyes as he said with excitement, "Director Zhang, you're practically pioneering a brand-new martial arts style here!"
"I wouldn't call it pioneering; I'm merely borrowing and adapting elements from Hong Kong cinema and foreign films. Master Zhao, I'll have to ask you to pour your heart into these action sequences."
"Director Zhang, rest assured. Since I'm taking your money, I'll deliver the goods. I would never smash the reputation of the Hung Stunt Team," Zhao Youri promised, patting his chest.
The action choreography had been settled, but the search for the female lead remained at a complete standstill. Zhang Kailin had entrusted a friend in Taiwan to hunt for child actresses there, but Taiwan turned up empty-handed as well.
Unable to find a leading girl, Zhang Tiancheng was so anxious he felt blisters forming on the corners of his lips.
That night, after finishing a long phone call with Zeng Li, Zhang Tiancheng headed to the bathroom to shower.
Emerging from the shower, his mind still plagued by the headache of finding a female lead, he found himself entirely devoid of sleep. He sat down on the sofa, pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and turned on the television.
TVB was broadcasting *The Smiling, Proud Wanderer* from a few years back, right at the scene where Qu Yang and Liu Zhengfeng played their final duet before death.
Zhang Tiancheng glanced at the screen, and his eyes instantly lit up. He sat up straight to watch closely, then pulled out his cell phone and dialed Zhang Kailin's number.