Casting Anecdotes

A few days later, Li Chen reluctantly left the estate and went to the studio.

His education of Psylocke over the past few days had been very successful.

At first, she had shown some resistance, but later she had accepted it herself and given up resisting.

In any case, despite standing 1.8 meters tall, she had never stood up again in front of Li Chen.

Alongside her psychological education, he had also been educating her in other ways. Only one final step remained before he could make her look like Li Chen.

Today was the audition for "Batman."

After Starlight Pictures announced that it would be making "Batman," many second- and third-tier Hollywood stars grew excited and clamored for the opportunity.

Just look at Henry Cavill. That lucky kid from the empire on which the sun never set had become famous throughout Hollywood overnight just by playing Superman.

Although he had become closely associated with the role of Superman, his career afterward had been much smoother than the average person's.

As such, while A-list stars might not be very interested, those second- and third-tier stars all longed for a chance to become famous overnight.

Batman was no less popular than Superman. As DC Comics' "Master," whoever landed the role would definitely become famous overnight.

So they had all prepared thoroughly and pulled out every trick they had.

Besides them, there were also actresses who went to even greater lengths to offer themselves up, but none of them could find Li Chen.

How could any actress be as interesting as Psylocke?

Even Scarlett had gone several days without seeing him.

Fortunately, Li Chen had promised to give her a chance and let her take part directly in the final audition.

There were several rounds of auditions, and by the time Li Chen attended in person, they had already reached the final round.

Several people were sitting in the audition room, including Zack, the people DC had sent, and Jeff, who was serving as producer.

With so many people at the audition, some ideas Li Chen had previously entertained now seemed ridiculous.

He had heard rumors before, such as actresses coming in for an audition and stripping naked on the spot...

But on second thought, that was impossible, with so many people watching.

Even if there were any deals, they would have been made already or would take place afterward.

"Batman first."

Zack spoke in a low voice.

"Let's begin."

Li Chen didn't know much about it either, so he simply watched from the side.

Christian Bale came in first, and Li Chen perked up when he saw him.

That was because he was Batman in Nolan's Batman trilogy.

Bale quickly performed a short scene from the script, mainly to show how he played Bruce Wayne. He did indeed seem like a gentleman, like a genuine aristocrat.

Then they had him try on the Batsuit.

"Please leave for now. We'll notify your agent when we have a result."

Zack betrayed no reaction.

Only after Bale had left did he speak. "What do you think? I feel he's a little too thin. He doesn't have that Batman feel."

The others felt the same way.

Li Chen thought it over. Compared with Bale's Batman, he actually preferred Ben Affleck's version too.

That was because Ben Affleck was more "brooding" and had the right bearing.

Of course, there was plenty of dirt on Ben Affleck, but this was Hollywood, and "good people" didn't exist in Hollywood.

Looking for a good person in Hollywood was like looking for chocolate in a cesspit. It was impossible.

Take Li Chen, for example. He didn't consider himself a good person, but in other people's eyes, he was already an exceptionally good man.

All he could say was that in Hollywood, you couldn't judge these stars by normal moral standards. You had to lower them somewhat.

Of course, the same was actually true elsewhere too...

It was just that many fans viewed them through a filter.

Batman's audition went quickly, and when Ben Affleck walked in with a brooding expression, Zack Snyder's eyes immediately lit up.

In his script, that was what Batman should be like.

Bale's version was melancholy, not weighed down.

So afterward, most of them agreed to choose Ben Affleck, and Li Chen agreed too.

Next came the female roles.

Only then did Li Chen perk up.

"Li, we've considered the limited runtime of the first solo film, so for now, only Catwoman can appear. Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy will appear in later Batman films."

DC's screenwriter explained it to Li Chen.

They had also wanted to cram them all in, but that could easily turn it into a hodgepodge.

After all, this was Batman's movie. It wouldn't be appropriate to include too many characters.

Li Chen looked over the script. This film was Batman's "origin movie," showing why he became Batman. Of course, Robin would appear too.

It focused on Bruce Wayne's growth and his tangled love-hate relationship with Catwoman, Selina. Of course, a final battle with the villain was also indispensable.

Li Chen also suggested adding an easter egg: at the end of the film, Batman would witness Superman and Zod's battle firsthand, sparking the "enmity" between the two.

The suggestion made Zack Snyder's eyes light up.

He really wanted to make Batman v Superman.

"That works. After Harley Quinn is introduced later on, we can also make Suicide Squad."

Li Chen said, "Zack, don't you think it would be cool to make movies about superheroines? We could consider bringing Wonder Woman to the big screen."

He definitely wasn't lusting after the heroine's long legs.

Zack nodded. "Wonder Woman is already in my plans for the DC cinematic universe."

Li Chen replied, "Then I'm looking forward to it."

When the time came to cast Wonder Woman, he absolutely had to take part.

He would play with a fake Wonder Woman first, then summon the real Wonder Woman... double the fun.

Ever since gaining enough power, Li Chen had found that his ideas had become much bolder.

In the past, he wouldn't even have dared to imagine such things, and even if he had, he wouldn't have dared to do them.

Now even Li Chen felt that he had become somewhat unrestrained.

But there was nothing wrong with that. This was America, and as long as Li Chen had power and money, he could become an "emperor" in all but name.

And if he had enough strength on top of that, well, sorry, but Li Chen would be their god.

For Catwoman's audition, Scarlett was the first to enter.

Scarlett was very calculating and had prepared well in advance. Not only had she put on makeup, but she had also gone out of her way to change into a Catwoman outfit, one Li Chen was very familiar with.

When she entered, she first gave Li Chen a resentful look, then began performing to thin air.

Many female roles in Hollywood were essentially just eye candy, and Catwoman was no exception. All she had to do was show off her beauty and allure.

Zack and the others knew about her relationship with Li Chen, so they immediately said, "Not bad. She's well suited to playing Catwoman."

For a role like this, acting skills didn't matter at all. What mattered was looking good.

Scarlett was beautiful and had a great figure, so she fit the role perfectly.

Li Chen, however, was noncommittal. "Let's see the others."

If there was no one better than Scarlett, then the part was hers.

She should originally have played Black Widow, but now she had become Catwoman. Li Chen found it a little hard to get used to, but that was life.