Li Tang walked into the room, which was the living room of a suite. Apart from Zhou Xun, the most eye-catching person was a fat white aunt. There were two middle-aged men next to him. One of them had long hair and glasses, and he looked quite a bit like that. He has the temperament of an artist. When he saw Li Tang come in, he stood up and was shorter than Chen Kun.
As for the other tall, thin man with a long face, Li Tang immediately smiled at him, stretched out his hand and said, "Director Zhao, you are here too."
This person is a director from Beijing Film Studio named Zhao Chunlin, who usually keeps a low profile. Li Tang knew him when he was working in Beijing Film Studio before, but he wasn't familiar with him.
"Li Tang, long time no see." Zhao Chunlin shook hands with him enthusiastically.
After all, Li Tang is already different now compared to when he was filming "A Very Summer".
Then Zhao Chunlin took the initiative to introduce Li Tang: "This is Director Dai Sijie. Director Dai is from France."
The short man with long hair and glasses had a smile on his face. He spoke with a strong Sichuan accent and said, "Hello, Li Tang!"
"Hello, Director Dai!"
"This is Ms. Lisa, the producer of the French Film Company."
"Hello, Mr. Li!"
Seeing the white aunt extending her hand instead of hugging her, Li Tang breathed a sigh of relief. Without waiting for the translation by Director Dai next to him, he directly said in French: "Ms. Lisa, it's an honor to meet you."
"Wow! Mr. Li, your French is very standard. You must have been to France, right?" The white aunt suddenly looked surprised.
There are many people in China who can speak English, but those who can speak French are rare. This is the first time for a white aunt to meet a Chinese actor who can speak French in daily interactions. She has been in China for so long.
Li Tang wanted this effect and said with a smile: "I have never been to this beautiful country. I hope I will have the opportunity in the future."
Although he had no favorable impression of the city of Paris in his previous life, it cost nothing to say good things, so why not do it if he could win the favor of others.
It is used all over the world, and people in foreign lands are willing to hear foreigners' praise of their motherland.
The white aunt was indeed very happy and said hurriedly: "That's a shame, but I believe you will have this opportunity in the future."
Dai Sijie was very curious about the fact that Li Tang knew French and asked: "Li Tang, did you learn French in China?"
Only his family members knew about his family affairs. Before he went to France to study, he studied French art history and French for a year and a half. However, he discovered that his French was very substandard when he arrived in France, and it took him several more years to become a French citizen. , in order to speak fluent French and be able to write in French.
"Yes."
Li Tang nodded, but immediately said modestly: "I only know some simple daily conversations."
"That's not easy, and your pronunciation is very standard. I think in addition to having a good teacher, you are also very talented in language." Dai Sijie said with emotion.
At this time, Zhou Xun echoed from the side: "Yes, Li Tang does have a talent for languages. In the past, I only knew that his English was very good, but I didn't expect that he could also speak French."
After saying that, he said to Li Tang: "Be honest, what else did you say?"
"Sister Xiaoxun, apart from English, I only know a little bit about everything else." Li Tang spread his hands and said.
"Others? What else?" Zhou Xun asked a curious baby.
Li Tang could only say: "I can also speak Japanese, Spanish and German."
These are all due to the big environment he was on Broadway in his previous life, because there were a large number of actors from all over the world gathered there. After being in contact with them for a long time, he naturally became able to speak a little.
It's like being in a group. English is equivalent to Mandarin, and there are many dialects. As long as you want to learn it, Sichuan, Henan, Cantonese, etc. will definitely sound good.
Of course, Li Tang learned dialect purely to pick up girls.
"Wow, Li Tang, you really don't show your face! I think you can work in the waijiao department."
"You can't go to Waijiao Ministry yet. You need to be proficient in at least two foreign languages." Li Tang corrected seriously.
This is really not nonsense, because Xu Qing came from the Diplomatic Academy in the capital. He once heard Xu Qing say that the young diplomats who graduated from the Foreign Affairs Academy were all good at it, regardless of their majors in English, French, Spanish, etc. Must master a second foreign language. The mastery here is not just about being able to speak, but also about being able to read and write.
"Real or false?" Zhou Xun asked doubtfully.
"It's true. Mastering two foreign languages is the most basic thing." Dai Sijie helped Li Tang answer.
As a celebrity among French Chinese, he often interacts with diplomats from the embassy in France and is relatively familiar with this situation.
After saying that, he asked Li Tangdao curiously: "Is there anyone in your family who is in the diplomatic system?"
"No." Li Tang shook his head.
However, Dai Sijie immediately thought that Li Tang was a Shanghainese who graduated from theater, and he didn't seem to be surprised. After all, Shanghai is a very westernized city in the eyes of many Chinese people. If nothing else, let’s just say that the three foreign ministers since the reform have all been from Shanghai.
Zhou Xun blinked at the side with big eyes. She knew that Li Tang's mother was in the United States, but of course she would not talk nonsense about such personal privacy matters. She just looked at Li Tang with eyes full of curiosity about the treasure boy.
Chen Kun, who was standing aside, had complicated eyes. Originally, the popularity of "Three Images" made him a popular niche, especially attracting the attention of French directors like Dai Sijie, but now he stood with Li Tang. At the same time, he discovered that he had no comparison at all, and a feeling of inferiority arose spontaneously.
After sitting down, Li Tang naturally turned his attention to Zhou Xun. He called him with a phone call, and then there were so many people present. What did it mean?
Before Zhou Xun could speak, Dai Sijie took the initiative and said: "Li Tang, I'm sorry for delaying your schedule. I invite you to come today. On the one hand, it is Xiao Zhou's introduction, and on the other hand, we have also watched you and Xiao Zhou perform. "Suzhou River", I think you are particularly suitable for a role in our movie, so I invited you to come over and have a chat."
When Li Tang heard that it was true, he said, "What movie is it?"
"It was a book I wrote personally, and it has now been adapted into a screenplay called "Balzac and the Little Chinese Tailor."
The name sounded strange to Li Tang, but then the white aunt named Lisa started chatting, roughly meaning that Dai Sijie's book was one of the top ten best-sellers in France last year, and the literary script won an award from an Italian company. This time, director Dai Sijie will direct the film himself.
Then he praised Dai Sijie a lot, for example, he has a doctorate in directing from the School of Arts of Paris 1 University, and he once won the Young Director Short Film Award at the Venice Film Festival, etc.
Who says foreigners can’t brag? In reality, foreigners can trick people into doing the same thing. If it were anyone else, they would definitely be frightened by the white aunt’s words, but Li Tang knew very well that the so-called University of Paris I is a community. A doctorate in directing from a university is probably about the same value as the Film Art Department of the China Social University where Brother Fu Biaobiao graduated.
However, the Venice Film Festival Young Director Short Film Award is a real one, which at least shows that Director Dai is somewhat capable.
Finally, Aunt Lisa took out a book and handed it over.
Li Tang took it and saw that it was in French, and couldn't help but look embarrassed.
He can speak a little French, but that doesn't mean he can read it.
Fortunately, Dai Sijie immediately handed over a Chinese version of the script. The first page showed a synopsis of the story and an introduction to the characters.
Li Tang asked casually while watching: "What role should I play?"
Dai Sijie obviously hesitated for a moment, his eyes turned to Zhou Xun and Chen Kun, and then he said: "I think you are quite suitable for the role of Ma Jianling."
"Oh, Ma Jianling..."
Li Tang muttered while reading the introduction of the characters.
The little seamstress is a young female character, so Zhou Xun must have played it without asking, but when he saw Ma Jianling's name next to it, he was stunned. Because he thought it was a cameo from the beginning, but now it is clear that he is playing the leading male role.
"Uh... Director Dai, are you kidding me?" Li Tang raised his head and said with a blank look on his face.
Dai Sijie shook his head and said seriously: "I'm sure I'm not joking."
"no……"
Li Tang didn't know what to say for a moment. This was the first time in so many years of filming that he had encountered such a careless director. He called him over and then told him to play the male lead. If it weren't for Zhou Xun, Chen Kun, and Zhao Chunlin from Beijing Film Studio, he really thought he had met a liar.
He set his sights on Zhou Xun.
Zhou Xun pursed his lips and smiled: "Yes, I also think you are quite suitable for the role of Ma Jianling, so I recommended you to Director Dai. This role was originally played by Kuner, but he preferred the role of Luo Ming."
Luo Ming ranks only behind Ma Jianling, so he should be considered the second male lead. If you don't play a good leading male role, you can play the second male lead. What's wrong with that?
He looked at Chen Kun with doubt again.
At this time, Chen Kun finally found a sense of presence and hurriedly said: "Brother Li, these two roles are similar, but I personally feel that the role of Luo Ming is more suitable."
As he said that, he looked Li Tang over and said with a smile: "Xiao Xun has a very accurate vision. I also think you are quite suitable to play Ma Jianling."
Damn it, you all keep saying that I am suitable for playing Ma Jianling, but why don't you ask me if I have any schedule and if I am willing to take this drama?
Eh, no, why did Mao himself call Zhou Xun "Little Xun Sister", but Chen Kun called Xiao Xun directly?
This guy is obviously younger than me and easy to kill!
Just as he glanced around the faces of the two people suspiciously, Dai Sijie asked again: "Li Tang, can you play the violin?"
"Oh, I can pull it off a little bit..."
Before he finished speaking, Dai Sijie's eyes lit up and he said, "This character is gone, it's you."
What do you mean by not running away?
Li Tang swallowed and hesitated: "Uh, Director Dai, I want to ask, when will your movie start shooting?"
This time it was Zhou Xun who jumped out and said: "Are you worried about the schedule of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes"? Don't worry, it will be no problem!"
Yes, she has already taken the role of Huang Rong, of course there is no problem.
Dai Sijie also said at this time: "We are cooperating with China Film Group for this drama. We are currently applying for a filming permit. If everything goes well, we can start filming early next month."
As expected, the time is tight enough. The film will be launched next month, and there is only half a month left to complete the filming. It is surprising that we are only looking for a male lead now. There is really no one left.
With this skeptical attitude, Li Tang hesitated and said: "Director Dai, I want to read the script first and give you an answer in two days, okay?"
Dai Sijie was not surprised and nodded: "No problem. I also hope you can take a good look at this script."
First update!
(End of chapter)
