Chapter 56

Chen Tiandu did not pay too much attention to the outside voices. The public's doubts were all within his expectations. If he continued to shoot horror films, they might say "looking forward to it," and he would still be a rising star. But if he shot a sci-fi blockbuster, their attitude would change drastically. He would no longer be seen as a promising talent but rather as someone who was tired of living and looking for death.

Whether he could shoot a good sci-fi movie would be proven by the future.

Although arguing on the internet and through the media is one of the methods of promotion, Chen Tiandu did not like it. He liked to go online, but he did it alone on the Future Network. Promotion was something he didn't need to worry about.

At this time, some bad news leaked out, concerning Kate. She continued to receive attention for her role as the lead actress in Chen Tiandu's film.

It was unclear how the media got the information, but they reported that Chen Tiandu had dug up Kate's ex-boyfriend, Michael Caine, and was a despicable third party. This caused further criticism and hype. Fortunately, Hollywood was full of news about affairs and breakups, and readers had developed resistance to such stories. The impact of this scandal was not significant.

Isn't it normal to pursue a beautiful woman? If Chen Tiandu had been indifferent, people might have said he was gay. Only some entertainment tabloids reported on it, and the mainstream media did not care much. If this had happened in China, it would have been a big deal.

With the money in place, the crew was assembled very quickly.

Chen Tiandu immediately called on his old team, makeup artist Greg Cannom, and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki. He worked well with these two and invited them again this time.

Casting also began simultaneously, but there was no large-scale audition for the main roles.

Chen Tiandu personally interviewed only a few actors and quickly determined the lead roles. He was so fast that even Spielberg thought he was too hasty. As for Kate, it was understandable since she was the lead actress he had already decided on, and as one of the three major investors, Chen Tiandu had the right to do so. Hugo Weaving and Laurence Fishburne were also confirmed for their roles after a brief chat.

Fortunately, there were still some important supporting roles, such as the Oracle, Tank, Cypher, Mouse, and Switch, which he did not immediately decide on. Otherwise, the financial director in charge of negotiating salaries would have bled to death.

"Director, this is Charlize. Congratulations on directing a new movie again." Charlize Theron called again when she heard that Chen Tiandu's new film was a sci-fi blockbuster with a budget of over 100 million. She had been calling quite frequently lately.

"Thank you. Charlize, how have you been? I heard you got a new role, congratulations."

"Yes, just some minor roles. I was wondering, Director, is there any role for me in 'The Matrix,' even a small one?" Charlize's tone was a bit coquettish and hopeful.

Chen Tiandu was a bit awkward, "Uh... I'm sorry, Charlize. There aren't many female roles in this movie." "Oh... That's okay. If there's a good role next time, remember to consider me." She was a bit disappointed but quickly adjusted her tone. "When we meet next time, I'll definitely buy you a drink..."

"Wait a moment." Chen Tiandu suddenly interrupted her.

He was not good at refusing people, especially beautiful women.

At that moment, he had a sudden idea and quickly flipped through the materials. There were not many prominent female action actresses in Hollywood, and 'The Matrix' also had a severe imbalance of male and female characters.

He flipped through the profiles of the computer-generated characters. The two subordinates of Smith had not been determined yet. In the original, apart from Hugo Weaving as Smith, his two stern-faced computer subordinates were not very memorable, and few people remembered what they looked like after the movie ended.

If he added a female action character among the computer-generated characters and gave Smith a female subordinate, would it be more interesting? It would also allow for more fight scenes with Trinity, and a male-female fight scene is always more appealing than a female-female one.

"Director, are you still there?" Charlize waited for a long time without hearing a response.

Chen Tiandu came to his senses and replied, "Charlize, how is your martial arts skill? Do you have any availability recently?"

"What?" Charlize was a bit stunned, "What do you mean by martial arts skill? I've studied ballet." She敏锐地察觉到事情有转机。

Chen Tiandu said, "I suddenly thought that we might replace a male role with a female role who is agile and skilled in martial arts. I don't know if it suits you, but if you're interested, you can come to my company for an audition."

"Of course! I'm definitely interested." Charlize almost answered without thinking, feeling touched. "Thank you, Director, really, thank you. I'll come for the audition as soon as possible."

After hanging up, Chen Tiandu didn't think much about it. He welcomed a guest, a tall, muscular black man.

Laurence Fishburne, who started acting at the age of 10, played the lead role in "Cornbread, Earl and Me" at 12 and worked with directors like Steven Spielberg. He later received an Oscar nomination and is one of the few famous black actors in Hollywood. After winning a Tony Award in 1982, he became a regular at the Emmy and Golden Globe Awards, winning multiple times.

Chen Tiandu received this black actor at his company. Despite his rough and fierce appearance, Laurence had a gentle personality. He asked many questions about the role and thanked Chen Tiandu for giving him the part.

"Director, do I need to train in advance? What kind of training, firearms or martial arts, and with others?"

This was the reason Chen Tiandu had called him in early.

"Laurence, only you, me, and Kate Bellasergin need to undergo some Chinese martial arts training. The others will train in combat techniques. Filming will start in early December, and the first shot will be filmed in China. The kung fu master I've hired is still in China and can't come to the U.S. So I'm asking if you can go to China in advance to learn kung fu."

"Wow, Chinese kung fu, like Bruce Lee? I love it. But there are martial arts schools in the U.S. Do we really need to go to China for training?"

Chen Tiandu nodded, "It's different from Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do. It's authentic Chinese kung fu, and the mainland is the birthplace of kung fu. Miss Kate will go with you to meet the action director. Mr. Church-Kong will be in charge of the entire process there."

"Church-Kong?" Laurence was a bit stunned by the name.

"Oh, he's also one of the producers and my compatriot. You'll meet him."

"Alright, a trip to China sounds good." He agreed.

After arranging everything with Laurence, Chen Tiandu received a call from the Matrix Special Effects Studio. Michael Sinki told him that the experiment to shoot the "bullet time" effect had failed. They had attached small launchers to the cameras to make them move very quickly, but the test proved that this method was unworkable, and one of the cameras exploded mid-way.

"I'm sorry, boss. We need to find another method," Michael Sinki apologized.

"It's okay. Fortunately, we still have some time. Try more methods and make sure no one gets hurt."

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**End of Chapter**