Chapter 109 Leading the Audition
Xu Kun didn’t know that while he was struggling with worries, Zeng Lai was also a little undecided after reading the script sent by Li Yixiang.
She liked the role of Tang Ruoxuan very much overall, especially in the end when she clearly understood love and hate, and did not do anything stupid just because the enemy of her family was the man she liked.
And the gimmick of a 20 million-dollar production is also quite attractive to her.
Although the production costs of TV series are rising steadily, the investment in the TV series she has participated in has not exceeded 10 million, and even in these low-cost productions, she is not the leading female lead in most of them.
Now that such an opportunity is right in front of us, it would be a lie to say that we are not tempted.
But the problem is that she just confirmed her relationship with Li Yixiang, and she went to act as a couple with his little brother, or this kind of large-scale combination of kissing scenes, bed scenes, and bathing scenes...
This made her somewhat unable to turn around.
It wasn't until Li Yixiang sent a new script that was fine-tuned based on her as a template, and encouraged him repeatedly, that Zeng Lai finally made up his mind to take on the role of 'Tang Ruoxuan'.
Now that Zeng Lai has been confirmed to play the leading role, Huo Siyan naturally has no choice but to choose the next best option and play the second female lead, Huang Xiang.
As a result, when Xu Kun contacted Huo Siyan, he learned that she had signed a contract with another crew, a costume fantasy drama called "The Legend of the Doctor", in which she plays the second female lead. Filming will start at the end of next month.
"Don't think it's just the second female lead, I snatched it from Gao Yuanyuan. If the first female lead wasn't Jia Jingwen, who is so favored, I would have snatched the first female lead directly!"
This is also the subsequent impact of "The Young Emperor" being broadcast on Beijing Satellite TV. Although "Wu Yunzhu" was still eclipsed by the queen played by Hao Lei, it still gained Huo Siyan a lot of attention.
Coupled with the bonus of the heroine in "Ignition 2", this allowed her to replace Gao Yuanyuan and win the second female lead in "The Legend of Doctors".
Huo Siyan was not surprised to hear that Xu Kun had invested in the crew himself, and thought it was the Ge family who was behind it.
But she was very dissatisfied that she could only play the second female lead, and asked directly on the phone: "Is your buddy's girlfriend more important, or am I a 'good friend'?"
"Of course my brother is more important."
Xu Kun did not tolerate her at all, and Huo Siyan was so angry that she hung up the phone.
Now the second female lead has no choice but to find her again.
In fact, the second female lead has a funny character, so it is quite suitable for Li Xiaolu to play the role. However, the two have had little contact recently. Huo Siyan said that she and Li Chen have been getting along well recently.
Xu Kun didn't bother her.
Then Xu Kun found Yang Rong, who he had worked with before, and it turned out that Yang Rong was also filming on the crew.
"The Young Emperor" was released ahead of schedule, and it was also released on Beijing TV. It had the effect of affecting the whole body. Even Yang Rong, who mainly developed his career in the magic city, also received a wave of dividends.
After running into obstacles one after another, Xu Kun simply stopped looking for acquaintances and simply delegated the casting rights to Liu Haibo. Doesn't this also show that he respects the director?
But Liu Haibo is also a good person, and he definitely can't leave Xu Kun, the producer and male lead, to make his own decisions. The two of them gave in to each other for a long time, and finally went to China Theater Company and Beijing Film Academy together.
The first place they went to was the China Theater Company, because they had already contacted people through connections in advance. After arriving at the China Theater Company, the two of them temporarily rented an office as a temporary audition location.
In order to make the casting more suitable for the characters, the two also specially brought four sets of ancient costumes, one for two men and two women, as well as simple headgear to match the costumes.
The Chinese Theater Company also sent a counselor to observe, firstly to show its presence, and secondly to avoid causing any scandal in the school.
The first audition was for actresses, among whom the more outstanding ones were Tang Wei and Zhang Xinyi from Level 01, and Tang Yan, Bai Baihe, Tongyao and Bai Jing from Level 02.
The few standouts at level 99 are currently taking roles outside.
As for the 03 students who have just entered the school, although the Chinese Opera has been a lot more relaxed since the Mei Ting dropped out of school incident, they are still prohibited from taking on dramas in the first year unless they get permission from the class teacher.
During the audition, Tang Wei had the best temperament and unique acting skills. Unfortunately, the costume was a bit off, and his role as Huang Xiang was not lively enough.
Tang Yan's costume appearance is the best, but he is a bit boring and doesn't match the quirky temperament of the second female lead Huang Xiang, and the third female lead is not charming enough.
Bai Baihe's temperament is too strong, and Zhang Xin already has a film contract. After choosing over and over again, I didn't find anything that I was very satisfied with. In the end, I only considered Nursery Rhymes and Baijing as alternatives.
The male actor was initially chosen, a weak young man named Wen Zhang. Liu Haibo felt that he was more suitable for the third male lead in the play, which is Da Wanzi, the younger brother of the second male lead Gu Hanyang.
Then in the afternoon, the two went to Beijing Film Academy. The actor they met earlier found a good prospect after just a few auditions - Zhu Yawen, a 02-level actor.
In terms of acting skills, appearance, and temperament, Zhu Yawen basically meets the requirements of the male lead Gu Hanyang.
When Zhu Yawen finished her audition and took off her costume, Xu Kun suddenly remembered the little girl from his hometown, and asked curiously: "Is Liu Yifei your classmate?"
"Of course!"
Zhu Yawen said: "She is the most famous girl in our class!"
Judging from the way this guy's eyes are shining, he obviously has thoughts about Liu Yifei.
Xu Kun asked curiously: "Then how does she usually behave?"
"She usually..."
Zhu Yawen suddenly became wary and asked, "Are you looking for Yifei to play the heroine, or..."
"The heroine has been decided, I just asked casually."
"oh oh."
Zhu Yawen said "Oh" twice and then stopped. He was probably worried that Xu Kun was "up to something bad". This guy is really not afraid of offending the producer.
Fortunately, Xu Kun was just on a whim. Seeing that Zhu Yawen didn't want to talk, he didn't continue the topic.
Liu Haibo said at the right time: "You should go back and wait for the notification. If nothing happens, we will make a final decision within three days."
Zhu Yawen walked out of the temporary office used for auditions, and just as he signaled Zhang Haotian, who was neatly dressed, to go in for the audition, he turned around and was surrounded by several female classmates.
Among them are Level 01 Wang Luodan, Bian Xiaoxiao, and Level 02 Jiang Yiyan.
As a classmate, Jiang Yiyan pulled Zhu Yawen along without hesitation and asked, "Have you been chosen after you've been in there for so long?!"
Zhu Yawen frowned slightly, broke away from her hand without leaving a trace, and then said: "Why are you so excited? The heroine has been decided, and the most you can do is compete for the second heroine."
"Hey, it seems like you are auditioning for the male lead."
Jiang Yiyan rolled her eyes. She originally had a good impression of Zhu Yawen, but when she went to the boys' dormitory last time, she was pushed away by Zhu Yawen as soon as she sat on the bed, saying that only Liu Yifei could sit on his bed.
This sentence made Jiang Yiyan very angry, and at the same time deepened her resentment towards Liu Yifei.
But now is not the time to dwell on personal grudges. She asked again: "Is it Xu Kun who interviewed you? I heard that he saved this crew all by himself. He is only two years older than us, right? Why..."
"What are you afraid of when you are older? The older you are, the more you know how to love people~"
At this time, someone behind him said something strangely.
Jiang Yiyan turned around and glared, only to see several senior students hugging each other happily, and it was impossible to tell who was talking just now.
Jiang Yiyan is envious and jealous of Liu Yifei, but she has already acted in a TV series since her freshman year, and she is also the envy and jealousy of others.
In particular, there are rumors that Jiang Yiyan was able to star in the TV series because she fell in love with director Yin Li, who is 25 years older than her. Even more people expressed disdain for her.
(End of chapter)