Lou Ye has been troubled recently. Last year, he planned and produced the first digital film project "Super City" in China, which was joined by young Chinese directors. Due to various reasons, it could not be completed.
There was nothing to shoot, so I wrote a script to shoot something I wanted to shoot. During this time, he often took his old eight-millimeter camera and walked along the Suzhou River in search of inspiration.
Making movies requires money, and his friend Nai'an was willing to invest, but he didn't want the other party to bear all the risks, so he approached Shanghai Film Studio through his connections and contacted Shanghai Film Studio to purchase the factory logo, hoping to get part of the investment.
However, the response from Shanghai Film Studio was mediocre, and it took a long time without an accurate reply. Today he planned to go to the door in person to talk. If that didn't work, he would have to think of other ways.
The roads in the city were very congested during the Monday morning rush hour, so he drove the Santana in and out. When he arrived at an intersection and waited for a red light, his aimless eyes suddenly froze.
There was a motorcycle parked not far ahead. With a familiar back and model, he recognized it at a glance as Li Tang, whom he had just met yesterday. There was a girl sitting in the back seat, arms around her waist, very affectionate.
A smile appeared on Lou Ye's lips. His impression of Li Tang had always been that of a kid next door. In the blink of an eye, the kid had grown up and had a girlfriend.
After a while, the motorcycle started to start, the girl lay on the boy's back, and the motorcycle shuttled in the traffic.
Looking at the retreating figure, Lou Ye suddenly felt that this scene was very familiar, especially like a scene described in the script.
"Dududu..."
The horn of the car behind sounded, and Lou Ye suddenly woke up. Only then did he realize that the green light had already been turned on, so he quickly put the gas pedal in gear and moved forward.
…
"I'll be back tomorrow morning. Go directly to the set. No need to pick me up. Bye!"
After delivering his ex-girlfriend to the station gate, Li Tang turned around and rode to the Shanghai Film Studio next door.
The trial location was in a small building inside the Shanghai Film Studio. Someone checked in at the door, collected resumes, issued a number plate, and then waited for the number to be called.
There were already about ten people sitting in the lounge. As soon as he poked his head out, he heard someone calling: "Li Tang, over here."
He looked up and saw, hey, old classmate!
"Boss Ren, you're here too!"
In addition to old classmates, there were several familiar faces present, and he greeted them all one by one.
"We are the only two in our class, where are Lao Liu and Da Lao Wang?"
Li Tang muttered after sitting down.
The old Liu is Liu Xiaofeng, and the eldest Wang is Wang Yanan. They are both their classmates. After graduation, they were assigned to the Shanghai Film Studio Actors Troupe.
"They get the moon first when they are near the water."
Ren Zhenquan looked around, leaned over and lowered his voice and said, "I heard that Big Lao Wang has been confirmed to be the male lead in this drama."
"oh."
Li Tang was not surprised. Wang Yanan was the first to film in class 93. He played the second male lead in his first movie. Last year, he starred in the movie "My Love, My Blood" with Bayan idol singer Yi Nengjing, and won the Hundred Flowers Award. Nominated for Best Actor.
To be honest, Ren Zhenquan was inevitably a little jealous when he heard the news at first. Seeing Li Tang's indifferent expression, he froze for a moment, then laughed at himself: "I'm just here to try my luck."
Li Tang glanced at him and, seeing through it, changed the subject and said, "Hey, how is your hotel business?"
Despite his skinny appearance, this guy is very delicious. After graduation, he opened a small restaurant specializing in Sichuan cuisine. This is also the origin of the nickname "Boss Ren".
When it came to business, Ren Zhenquan's eyes suddenly lit up, but he still said modestly: "So-so, not bad. We have opened a few more private rooms upstairs."
"Okay! Boss Ren, the boss has become bigger now." Li Tang said with a smile.
He visited that Sichuan restaurant a few times when it first opened, and it seemed like the business was good. It's just that he can't eat spicy food, and it's far away, so he hasn't been there for a long time.
His family also owns a restaurant, so he is very aware of the hardships involved. My father had the connections and capital back then to build the restaurant to its current scale. It is not easy for Ren Zhenquan, a foreigner, to run a small restaurant in just half a year.
"Average, average. I'm just looking forward to paying off the foreign debt as soon as possible..."
Ren Zhenquan paused mid-sentence, because when it comes to foreign debt, one person will inevitably be involved.
He looked at Li Tang, hesitated, and then said, "Binbin is coming over in the next two days, uh, to shoot a commercial with me."
Li Tang smiled and didn't hide it, saying: "She came yesterday. I just sent her to the station to go to Hangzhou."
"Really? What happened? Are you back together?"
Ren Zhenquan's face was full of surprise, he asked three questions in a row, and then showed a complicated expression.
"No, how is that possible?" Li Tang shook his head.
Ren Zhenquan secretly breathed a sigh of relief, clicked his tongue twice, and pretended to regret: "It's not realistic for you two to live in Shanghai and the other in Beijing."
In fact, Li Tang knew his reaction well. He and Li Binbin are from the same hometown and have always been close to each other. Li Binbin was pursuing many people back then. Although he never confessed his feelings, anyone with a discerning eye could see that this guy was actually one of his admirers.
People auditioning for the show came in and out for as little as three or four minutes, or as long as ten minutes. Some of the people who came out were disappointed, while others could not suppress their excitement.
Ren Zhenquan went in and came out after about seven or eight minutes.
"How is it?" Li Tang asked hurriedly.
His expression was a little dull, and he stayed for a moment before shaking his head: "No."
Li Tang could only sigh when he heard this, patted his shoulder, and said with a wry smile: "If you can't do it, then I will have no hope."
Ren Zhenquan's academic performance was better than him, and he started filming earlier than him. His resume lists several film and television dramas. Although he is not a major role, he is also a supporting role with a name.
As for him, he was either passerby A or bandit B. When he was writing his resume, he was too embarrassed to fill in the top chapters. He only solemnly filled in "proficient in English" in terms of specialties.
This is the only thing he can get his hands on now. But this is not recruitment by a foreign company, but selection of actors, which will most likely be useless.
Ren Zhenquan is obviously depressed. He has a side job of opening a restaurant, and acting is his main job. This time he can't even get a supporting role, which is a huge blow.
He forced an ugly smile and said, "I have something else to do, so I'll leave first. Then, I'll treat you and Binbin to dinner later."
"OK."
Li Tang came late and was ranked last. After Ren Zhenquan left, two more buddies went in and hurried out. It didn't look like the situation was ideal.
Peng Xiaolian sat behind the big table and looked through her resume.
She went to the United States to study in 1989 and returned to China in 1996. She did not return to the Shanghai Film Studio system. She only had a contractual cooperative relationship with the Shanghai Film Studio.
"Shanghai Chronicle" is the most important film of Shanghai Film Studio this year. I knew that I had a heavy responsibility, so I specially asked my old classmates to help.
The preparation period for the movie started very early. Some of the main roles have been confirmed, and some actors have been selected. They are still hesitating whether they are suitable.
For example, as a candidate for the male lead, the factory recommended young actor Wang Yanan. It stands to reason that Wang Yanan's image and acting skills are both good. The two movies he has starred in were both with big stars. The response was very good and he has a certain audience base. He is a young actor that the factory is currently focusing on cultivating.
But the male protagonist is a Chinese-American, and there are a lot of English dialogues in the play. However, Wang Yanan’s ability in English is very lacking.
Of course, this is not Wang Yanan’s problem alone, it is universal. Young mainland actors rarely speak fluent English unless they are actors from Hong Kong and Taiwan or have returned from studying abroad.
She paid special attention to this aspect during today's interview, but the result was disappointing.
The last one left is an actor from the Drama Center, a newcomer who just graduated last year and has no outstanding performance resume. Suddenly her eyes lit up, and she saw "Proficient in English" written in the specialty column. She was pleasantly surprised and a little more expectant.
Li Tang opened the door and came in, and saw two middle-aged people, a man and a woman, sitting in the room. The woman has short hair, is slightly fat, and has kind eyebrows; the man is very thin and has a worrying hairline.
No need to ask about the woman, she must be director Peng Xiaolian. He knew the man, Zhang Jianya, the director of Shanghai Film Studio. When he was in college, he played the role of Bandit B in the anti-Japanese comedy "Survival from Desperate Times" directed by Zhang.
"Hello, Director Peng! Hello, Director Zhang!" He bowed slightly.
"Oh, actor from Drama Center, Li Tang, please sit down."
Zhang Jianya looked at his resume and said hello in a very kind tone.
Although Li Tang had acted in his play, it was a walk-on role, and after so many years, he had no impression at all. It was just for the sake of the drama center.
