"Binbin, eat it! Let me tell you, the bean sprouts in Maoxuewangli are particularly delicious. The fish fillets are very tender, and they are made from snakeheaded fish, which are killed alive..."
Seeing Ren Zhenquan's attentive attitude toward his ex-girlfriend, Li Tang couldn't help but curl his lips, disdainful of such a dog-legged look.
But this guy does know how to do business. For example, the big bowl of blood tofu in front of you actually doesn't have much real blood tofu and hairy tripe. There is a thick layer of soybean sprouts underneath, and three or two white and fat shrimps are dotted on top. He actually dared to sell it for thirty-eight yuan a piece.
And the business in the store was really good, both upstairs and downstairs were full. The three of them could only squeeze into the warehouse-cum-office converted from the attic, around a small desk.
Li Tang was not used to the heavy oil and spicy Sichuan cuisine, so he could only choose some that were not very spicy.
"Hey, Li Tang, how was the last audition?" Ren Zhenquan asked casually.
"It's not that good. There's probably no hope." Li Tang shook his head.
During the last interview, an English conversation came out of nowhere, and then he was asked to act in a segment. He felt that his acting was okay, but three days passed without any response.
"Don't be anxious, take your time."
Ren Zhenquan picked up the cup and toasted him, pretending to empathize with him.
"I'm in no hurry."
Li Tang rolled his eyes and touched him.
…
Looking at the casting list submitted by Peng Xiaolian, Zhu Yongde was very upset. Regarding the candidates for the male and female protagonists, the factory recommended outstanding young actors from its own actor troupe from the beginning, but none of them were on the list.
Even if you don’t use actors from the factory, it’s no problem if you use big-name stars. But the protagonists chosen by Peng Xiaolian were all unknown newcomers.
The heroine Yuan Quan is a sophomore in the Chinese Opera Department.
The male protagonist Li Tang is an actor in Drama Center.
After seeing the list, he inquired specifically. Yuan Quan studied Peking Opera and was considered a good student of Chinese Opera with both good character and academic performance. Furthermore, from his perspective as a photographer, this little girl has a very distinctive appearance, with deep eye sockets, a high and thin bridge of the nose, a bone-faced beauty with a European and American style, and a natural movie face.
If the choice of the heroine is barely acceptable, then what about the male lead?
Although this guy looks quite handsome from the photos, there are a lot of handsome guys from the Shanghai Film Theater Company. The key point is that there is nothing eye-catching about Li Tang. He has to have a resume or not. It is said that he was able to get into the drama center because of Lou Jicheng.
It's not that he insists on interfering with the casting, it's that the factory finally has a big project, and everyone below is watching it eagerly.
To use the simplest analogy, the Drama Center arranges a big drama, and the male lead is not an actor from the center but an actor from the Shanghai Film Studio. It would be strange if the Drama Center doesn't fall out with the genius!
If this person's heart is broken, it will be difficult to lead the team.
As the director of the factory, Lao Zhu felt very embarrassed.
"Xiao Peng, would you like to take another look at the candidate for the role of Guo Shaobai? If you think Wang Yanan is not suitable, there are many outstanding young actors such as Tong Ruixing, Zhang Xiaolin, and Liu Xiaofeng."
Lao Zhu said it very politely.
In recent years, the film market has been sluggish, and Shanghai Film Studio, which once supported half of Chinese films, has inevitably begun to decline.
As film practitioners, we all know that the key to the success of a film lies in the director. The glory of Shanghai Film Studio in the past few decades is largely due to its top domestic director - Xie Jin.
But as Director Xie got older, there was a shortage of jobs in the factory. The reason why Peng Xiaolian was selected this time is that she once studied under Director Xie, who had high hopes for her.
On the other hand, and the most important point is that Peng Xiaolian has just returned from studying at New York University in the United States. The studio hopes that she, a director with an American impression, can use an international perspective to re-perspect our past history.
Internationalization, learning advanced foreign concepts, and going global are the current trends.
Therefore, Shanghai Film Studio attaches great importance to Peng Xiaolian, a returned director. Even if the director does not want to return to the system and cooperates in the form of a contract, Shanghai Film Studio still entrusts her with important tasks.
Obviously, Peng Xiaolian also knew this. She had a psychological advantage when facing factory director Lao Zhu. As always, she said with a kind and decent smile: "Director, I think Li Tang is suitable."
"Can't you choose a suitable actor from the factory?"
"right!"
"..."
Zhu Yongde was speechless, he knew Peng Xiaolian very well. Peng Xiaolian graduated from Nortel and was assigned to the Shanghai Film Studio, where she gradually grew up as a recorder and assistant director. He was still a photographer in the factory at the time, and the two often worked together. I know that the other party has a good idea. To put it mildly, his head and neck are so stiff that even eight horses can't pull him back.
Lao Zhu sat there, looked at her for a long time, and then said with a wry smile: "You have given me a big problem!"
"If you are worried, you can take a look for yourself."
…
Li Tang lived a happy life these days, fully releasing his body and mind. Unfortunately, my ex-girlfriend didn't stay long, and she hurried back to Beijing after filming the commercial.
His life began to go according to plan again, and as for the audition for the Shanghai Film Studio, he thought it was over. Unexpectedly, he got the news when the Spring Festival holiday was approaching. Director Peng Xiaolian called him personally and asked him to audition again.
The second time I came, it was still the same room, except that besides Director Peng and Director Zhang, there was one more person next to me.
He has gray hair, dark skin, and a bitter and hateful look on his face.
When Li Tang saw it, he was shocked. Today's battle was quite big, and all the big leaders were present.
Just kidding, everyone in Shanghai's literary and art circles knows these two big bosses, the director of the Drama Center and the director of Shanghai Film Studio. Moreover, director Lao Zhu is also a former famous photographer.
Familiar movies such as "The Wrangler", "Wreaths Under the Mountain" and "Sunrise" are all works directed by Lao Zhu.
"Director Zhu, hello, hello!"
Although Li Tang was surprised, he was not restrained.
"Hello."
Lao Zhu nodded, having no impression of this junior at all.
"Xiao Li, we tried out the role last time, and I felt that your temperament is very suitable for the male protagonist of our movie, so I invite you to come over today and try out the role again, so that everyone can feel confident."
Peng Xiaolian's attitude was obviously much more enthusiastic than last time.
Hearing the three words "male actor", Li Tang looked in disbelief and said in confusion: "Director, are you talking about the male protagonist?"
Peng Xiaolian smiled and said: "Yes, he is the male protagonist. The main reason is that this character has certain special characteristics. He is a Chinese-American reporter and has a lot of English dialogues."
With that said, she picked up two pieces of paper and handed them over and said, "Okay, let's stop chatting. Here are the character introductions and some dialogues. You should familiarize yourself with them first."
"good!"
Li Tang quickly took over. It was the first time in his life that he was exposed to the role of a leading actor. How could it not be exciting?
The first page is a character introduction, with names, historical background, and character images in great detail.
The second page is a plot, which roughly tells the story of Guo Shaobai going to the U.S. consulate to seek help. There is a long dialogue in English with the U.S. consul.
Li Tang read it carefully, and his excitement gradually calmed down. The performance of this part is not very difficult, the main thing is that there are more dialogues.
Just when he was watching, he found something wrong.
Peng Xiaolian noticed something different in his expression and asked, "Xiao Li, what's wrong? Is there something wrong?"
She carefully selected the content of today's audition. On the one hand, she wanted to give Lao Zhu a taste of it, and on the other hand, she also wanted to test Li Tang's English line skills.
"Uh, no." Li Tang said hurriedly.
He was very sensible, but he did not dare to raise his so-called doubts at this juncture, not to mention that the content in the script itself had the limitations of the times.
He read it silently twice, and basically had a good idea. He had been practicing stage plays for many years, and lines were his specialty.
"Director, that's it."
"Okay, let me help you set up the scene." Peng Xiaolian said.
She is the only one here who has this English ability.
Li Tang moved his body as usual, did a few warm-up moves, and then started performing.
