Chapter 172: Penguin Video squeezes in the relationship
"Of course no problem."
What surprised Ding Decong was that Xu Kong was not angry at all.
Yu didn't even hesitate too much and agreed directly.
This was different from what he had imagined.
After all, in his opinion, the desire for control Xu Kong had shown before would definitely make him resent others' interference in his works.
Let alone something as important as casting, even if it's some other small things, it's probably hard to agree to it.
But before Ding Decong was happy for long, Xu Kong spoke again.
"We will conduct public auditions for Shen Mo and other characters."
"I must have told Producer Ding about this before."
"Just ask that person to come directly to Fengge to audition."
Only then did he realize that when Xu Kong said there was no problem, he meant that the actors recommended by Penguin came to audition.
As for the specific results, there is no guarantee at all.
And judging from Ding Decong's understanding of directors like Xu Kong, it would be okay if you didn't say hello in advance, maybe there would be a chance.
But as I said in advance, people are wearing tinted glasses and will not use actors recommended by investors.
There was a little helplessness in Ding Decong's expression.
As he thought, this matter would not go so smoothly. The key point was that whether it was Xu Kong or the leader of Penguin, it would be difficult for him to be caught in the middle.
If it were an ordinary Penguin-invested drama, wouldn't it be easy to arrange for an actor to come over?
But Xu Kong's words are really different.
First of all, even Ding Decong himself knew that Xu Konglai was invited to participate in this suspense theater project by Vice President Zeng of the company.
Secondly, with Xu Kong's current ability, there is really no shortage of investment from their Penguins.
Even if Penguin directly withdraws its capital, let alone Xu Kong's company Fengge takes over with full capital.
Even if the news is released, with the results of the two dramas "Legend of Sword and Fairy" and "Want to Meet You", there is still plenty of capital rushing to invest money in Xu Kong.
“Director Xu, there’s nothing I can do about this.”
"I'll tell the truth."
In the end, the method Ding Decong chose was a direct showdown.
He, the middleman, is not a human being, so let the two parties negotiate.
"Mr. Feng?"
Xu Kong was stunned for a moment.
Feng Yuan, the president of Penguin Video and the person in charge of the entire platform.
Although Xu Kong and the other party have never met before, he must have heard of this name.
However, according to some information he knew before, Feng Yuan, the president's management style, boldly delegates power to his subordinates, and he is only responsible for controlling the general direction.
Even the most important copyright, advertising, operations and other businesses of Penguin Video are completely delegated.
Why did he suddenly add people to his crew this time?
"Mr. Feng should be coming to the capital soon. In fact, he asked me to say hello this time and wants to meet Director Xu then."
Ding Decong had guessed the general result before.
So I was prepared before telling Xu Kong.
It would be great if Xu Kong agreed, and he would be able to show off to the company's leaders. If the negotiation failed, Feng Yuan also had plans to meet Xu Kong.
After meeting Feng Yuan, Xu Kong finally agreed.
In fact, Xu Kong himself is not that persistent, and it is nothing new for management to stuff people into the crew.
But he never became a director in his last life, or he had plans to do so, but he didn't have the opportunity.
The main reason why he doesn't speak so easily is because he doesn't want to open this mouth.
Otherwise, similar things will probably happen frequently in the future.
Xu Kong sees this very clearly. Although he seems to be a hot potato now, even if it is invested by a large platform like Penguin, he still has considerable authority as a director.
Even the producers like Ding Decong who were sent here have mild personalities.
I just don't want to conflict with him.
But everything is due to the popular "Legend of Sword and Fairy". To put it harshly, it is because Xu Kong now has corresponding commercial value and capabilities.
If his subsequent dramas continue to hit the market, it is estimated that even Zeng Xi, who has been smiling all the time before, will completely change his face.
So for Xu Kong, he didn't mind most of the so-called rules. He could have adapted to such an environment.
But if it affects the things that you rely on for survival, such as intervening in the filming and production of the drama, then it will definitely not work.
But having said that, Xu Kong was still framed on the day he actually met Feng Yuan.
The person in charge of Penguin Video, one of the largest film and television platforms in China, was actually waiting for him at the door when he arrived.
Although it can't be said to be groveling, the face is enough.
"Director Xu, our family really likes your "Legend of Sword and Fairy". Some time ago, we had to catch up on the show on time every day after get off work."
“I’ve always wanted to have the opportunity to meet, but I’ve been busy with work, so I’ve put it off until now.”
Feng Yuan doesn't look like a CEO, but like a very enthusiastic elder.
He kept asking Xu Kong to eat.
This is sometimes the case. After all, the entertainment industry is originally a circle of sophistication and relationships.
As a CEO with such a low profile, Xu Kong couldn't just show his face before the other person opened his mouth, right?
But Xu Kong was also a little curious about who the actress was who could make Feng Yuan achieve this.
Of course, even though it had reached this point, Xu Kong was still not ready to agree like this.
So after a while of greetings, Xu Kong still said:
"Mr. Feng, thank you very much for your appreciation, but you also know how important casting is."
"What I can promise is probably to give you a chance to audition."
"Of course, if it's appropriate, I will definitely use it."
Feng Yuan was not angry, he just smiled and nodded.
"Of course!"
"An audition opportunity is enough. If it is really not suitable, it is impossible to force it."
"But I hope that if the heroine's audition is not suitable, she can be given a supporting role with a smaller role"
Hearing this, Xu Kong finally breathed a sigh of relief.
Strictly speaking, in "The Long Season", Shen Mo's role as the heroine is indeed not that many, but this role is quite crucial.
Of course Xu Kong didn't want anything to go wrong.
As for the supporting roles, some small roles that don't have many roles and don't require much acting skills have little impact.
After agreeing, Xu Kong couldn't help but ask.
"Mr. Feng, can I ask who this actor is to you"
For Feng Yuan, a CEO, to take the initiative to beg him as a young director, the identity of the opposite person subconsciously made people feel unusual.
What Xu Kong didn't expect was that Feng Yuan's answer was:
"A girl from a relative's family clamored that she wanted to be a star, so she begged me, but there was nothing I could do."
"Just agree to let her give it a try."
"She specifically hopes to direct your crew. Tell us about today's young people"
Feng Yuan spoke subconsciously.
Only then did he realize that Xu Kong seemed to be only twenty, and he was also a young man. In the end, the meal was not as exciting as Xu Kong imagined.
On the contrary, it went extremely smoothly, and it even felt like the host and guest were enjoying themselves.
But Xu Kong didn't believe Feng Yuan's statement.
Can he really be just a relative's child, so that President Penguin, who usually has so many things to do, can be so interested in him?
But when he actually met the real person, Xu Kong understood most of it immediately.
"Feng Ziyan, good director."
Before Xu Kong opened his mouth, the other party came over to him, shook hands with him, and introduced himself.
The girl was wearing a black leather jacket with navel-baring short sleeves, tight denim shorts, and long leather boots, making her look like a motorcycle girl.
The most eye-catching thing is the pink and sky blue colored dreadlocks on her head.
In addition, he can give a 90% face.
It can be said that she is the kind of girl who has a very high return rate.
After Xu Kong read the information, he discovered that the other party was not yet an adult, only seventeen years old.
It was not a professional actor as expected, Feng Ziyan had never even acted before.
But what really made Xu Kong suspicious was that some of the expressions between the other party's brows were very similar to Feng Yuan's back then.
What kind of relative's daughter? Could this be Feng Yuan's illegitimate daughter or something?
Xu Kong was thinking a little gossip in his heart.
Shaked hands with Feng Ziyan.
The first time he met the other party, Xu Kong was basically sure that he would never agree to let Feng Ziyan play the heroine.
Although the difficulty of performing the role of Shen Mo is definitely not that high compared to other characters in the play, it is definitely not easy.
And because of the importance of the role itself in the play, Xu Kong's requirements will only become more stringent.
Even among the current domestic actors, there are not too many who meet his age requirements and whose acting skills meet his requirements.
Not to mention the other party, a newcomer with no previous acting experience.
But since it was Feng Yuansai who came to interview, the necessary procedures must still be completed.
"Try to act in this scene first"
Xu Kong handed over a very simple script without much plot.
Just a simple crying scene.
Auditions like this are actually quite common. In addition to the actor's acting skills, the director mainly looks at aspects such as compatibility with the character.
"What kind of despair is the despair mentioned above?"
After watching it, Feng Ziyan did not start performing directly. Instead, she started asking.
Then, before Xu Kong could answer, the questions came one after another.
Xu Kong was also quite helpless. After all, he was not a professional actor, and it was not easy to make those tears come easily.
After a slight hesitation, Xu Kong looked at his assistant director.
"Give her Shen Mo's part of the script."
In similar public auditions, actors generally don't get too specific scripts.
Only when the actors are almost finalized will a detailed individual script be given.
The actors who are most suitable for the role are then screened based on their performance.
After Feng Ziyan got the script, she started reading it.
Still chewing gum in his mouth.
The state is very relaxed, and there is no tension at all like when ordinary actors audition.
Xu Kong was not in a hurry.
Although it is indeed a waste of time.
But after all, he was an actor introduced by Feng Yuan himself, so he still had some patience.
After all, even if he really refuses, he still has a reputation as a teacher.
Out of boredom, Xu Kong started playing with his phone.
Song Youyou was complaining to Xu Kong about things on the set.
Originally, he was planning to let Song Youyou play this role.
But now, Song Youyou was arranged by Lin Hong to film other dramas, so she had to find another actor.
Moreover, he looked at many young actresses currently in domestic entertainment and felt that there were not many suitable candidates.
He himself didn't expect that the two most difficult actors would not encounter too many problems.
But for a young character, casting takes the most time.
"I'm done."
"Start now?"
Feng Ziyan suddenly spoke, diverting Xu Kong's attention from Song Youyou's chat.
"Okay."
Xu Kong nodded, and then casually talked about a scene, which was also a crying scene.
He did this on purpose, because most of the time the crying scenes were to dissuade amateurs who dreamed of being actors.
It is quite difficult for ordinary people to cry at any time without professional performance training.
And even if he couldn't cry, Xu Kong didn't need to make any comments, he could naturally tell that the other party was not suitable for this role.
There were actually no lines in the whole scene, just crying.
But Feng Ziyan's performance next made Xu Kong a little surprised.
The other party actually cried, and it wasn't just a simple tear.
It's the kind of thing where you can feel the gradual progression of emotions, from the initial elation to the relief later, and finally like the last straw that breaks the camel's back, and the whole person's emotions are completely unbearable.
It is completely in line with the character's emotional changes in the scene Xu Kong mentioned just now.
Even the crying scene is actually quite sophisticated.
In different plot scenes, how and when to cry are different.
What shocked Xu Kong was not that Feng Ziyan could actually cry.
But from the other party's body, it is difficult to see too many performance skills and traces.
For some professional actors, performance is already a set of formulas. The director can laugh when the director makes them laugh, and cry when the director makes them cry.
Emotional control is quite easy.
This kind of academic and technical performance is certainly good, as it guarantees a lower limit for the actor's own acting skills.
But at the same time, the disadvantage is that the actors are almost separated from the characters when performing.
The feeling given to the audience is that they feel like they are playing the same role no matter what role they play.
As for the experiential actors, most of them completely immerse themselves in their roles.
At this time, Feng Ziyan has undoubtedly fully assumed the role of Shen Mo.
Xu Kong then picked several more scenes, and even acted with the other party himself.
Although Feng Ziyan's performance has some detailed problems, there is no doubt that this seventeen-year-old girl has a rare and high acting talent.
It can be said that Feng Ziyan at this time is the kind of person who has not received any professional training at all. After assuming the role, she performs almost out of instinct and subconsciousness.
(End of chapter)