1990: Starting from Baojia Street

Li Hong was right, Shen Yan’s legs were indeed very fast.

Moreover, he was not only fast on his legs, but also quick on his hands. As soon as Zhou Yan finished speaking, he found the audition script for No. 33.

"Director Zhou, this is for you."

Zhou Yan glanced at Shen Yan, nodded, took the script, and then handed it to Li Naiwen, "Take a look at this."

Li Naiwen took the script without knowing what was going on. Then he saw the character notes on it and said in surprise, "Is this Qu Jie's script?"

Qu Jie is the male lead's good friend, a bit silly, and has more roles than the role he originally auditioned for, Zhong Xuwen.

Of course, Li Naiwen didn’t know how many parts he had, but he just heard someone talking about the role of Qu Jie in the lounge and knew that Qu Jie was a good friend of the protagonist.

"Well, I'll give you five minutes. Is that enough?"

Li Naiwen also reacted quickly and nodded, "That's enough, Director Zhou."

He knew his chance had come.

If he can grasp the opportunity well this time, he might be able to get the role of Qu Jie.

Compared to Zhong Xuwen, the role of Qu Jie should be much better.

Zhou Yan nodded, said nothing more, and began to look through the information of the actors who came to audition today.

He let Li Naiwen audition for the role of Qu Jie, on the one hand because he was reluctant to give up Li Naiwen, and on the other hand, it was because there were not many actors who came to audition for the role of Qu Jie today, and looking at the information, none of them satisfied Zhou Yan.

In this case, why not let Li Naiwen try the role of Qu Jie? Who knows, there might be unexpected surprises.

When Li Hong and Shen Yan heard Zhou Yan say that he wanted to take audition script number 33, they knew that Zhou Yan wanted Li Naiwen to audition Qu Jie, so they now wrote Li Naiwen's name after Qu Jie.

Shen Yan lowered his head and said to Li Hong, "It seems that Director Zhou has a good impression of Li Naiwen."

"This kid's performance is indeed quite good, but he looks a bit anxious. He is said to be 22 years old, but his face looks more mature than Director Zhou."

"Your skin is a little dark, and it seems like you have a few gray hairs?"

"The hair isn't white, it's just not black enough."

"The profile says he's 180cm tall, but he doesn't look as tall as Director Zhou."

"I guess he's about 180cm with shoes on. Director Zhou is 183cm or higher with shoes on. It's normal for actors to report their height a little higher, and he's not short anymore."

"Well, Director Zhou has long legs, good proportions, and looks tall."

Zhou Yan heard his assistant director and assistant director whispering to each other and glanced at them. Why were these two grown men gossiping?

Li Hong saw Zhou Yan looking at them and said with a smile, "Director Zhou, will you act with him later?"

Zhou Yan shook his head. "He can do it himself."

He acted with Xie Fang simply because he respected his senior. It would be fine if he acted with Li Naiwen, but if anyone came, he would act with them one by one. He must be exhausted today.

He looked at Li Hong with a half-smile and said, "How about you build one for him?"

Li Hong quickly shook his head, "Forget it, I'm really not a good actor."

Zhou Yan looked at Shen Yan again, who also shook his head and said, "We are all theoretical people, so we can provide guidance."

Seeing that they both refused to do it, Zhou Yan smiled and said nothing more. Actually, it was okay for them to act in the scene, after all, it was not a formal filming, so they could just act casually. It was just that they were not as familiar with the script as Zhou Yan, so they had to use the script to act in the scene, which was a bit of a waste of time.

Five minutes later, Zhou Yan asked Li Naiwen to start directly.

The audition script for No. 33 only had two lines, and most of it was descriptions of facial expressions and actions, and all you had to watch was the demeanor.

Because the character of Qu Jie doesn't have many lines in the movie, he is a bit like the role of his uncle, he appears on screen a lot but speaks very little.

With fewer lines, facial expressions become more important, and what is needed is a state of stillness.

Li Naiwen's performance did not disappoint Zhou Yan. He portrayed Qu Jie's silly character very well.

In fact, both the characters Zhong Xuwen and Qu Jie are a bit silly, but their stupidity is a bit different. One is silly, and the other is more stunned.

What is commendable is that Li Naiwen made a distinction in the treatment of these two roles.

In fact, Zhou Yan knew the actor Li Naiwen before. Although Li Naiwen mostly played supporting roles, he also participated in many well-known TV dramas and was considered to be one of the better supporting actors.

However, this audition was somewhat beyond Zhou Yan's expectations. This kid's plasticity was greater than he expected.

Although Li Naiwen has an average appearance, he has solid basic skills. If he is honed well, this guy may be able to perform better on the big screen.

His lines are very good and his voice is full of emotion.

Moreover, this boy's portrayal of Qu Jie also allowed Zhou Yan to see some comedic talent in him, which is also what the role of Qu Jie needs.

After Li Naiwen finished his performance, Zhou Yan gently ticked the form, then looked up and said to Li Naiwen, "Okay, you can go."

Li Naiwen opened his mouth, wanting to ask how he performed and what Zhou Yan thought of him, but in the end he didn't ask.

Even though he seems quite confident when acting, he is actually a person who is very reluctant to open his mouth.

Finally he bent down, turned and walked out.

As soon as he left, Shen Yan said with a smile, "Director Zhou, I think Li Naiwen is quite suitable for Qu Jie."

"Well, let's look further ahead."

Zhou Yan's indifferent reaction made Shen Yan a little confused. He didn't understand whether Zhou Yan was satisfied or not.

Li Hong next to him gave Shen Yan a look, meaning that he should not worry about it.

Compared to Shen Yan, Li Hong knows Zhou Yan better.

Li Hong knew that Zhou Yan's current reaction was most likely because Li Naiwen was more optimistic about him, and the reason why Zhou Yan did not express his opinion was that he did not want the two of them to affect their evaluation of other auditioning actors because of his statement.

Whether it is good or not, we can only say after we have seen all the actors who auditioned for Qu Jie.

……

The audition was very fast. On average, it took only five minutes for an actor to walk in and out.

In fact, the audition is mainly about the feeling. It is impossible to try out more things. The actors who came today basically have no problems with their professional skills.

After all, it’s not an open audition. Some screening had already been done when discussing the candidates.

After a morning, most of the roles were decided.

The male lead's father is tentatively confirmed to be Jiao Huang, his mother is Xie Fang, Qu Jie is confirmed to be Li Naiwen, his uncle is confirmed to be Li Jingfei, and his sister is Chen Derong.

There are also two more important characters who are unclear about. One is the younger sister's friend, who is also the protagonist's "first love", and the other is the protagonist's landlord, who is also a friend of the protagonist's father, an artist who lives in poverty.

As for the latter, Zhou Yan already had a candidate in mind, and that was Michael Hui.

Tang Chen has already contacted Michael Hui, who is also very interested in Zhou Yan's new movie. A private audition can be arranged in the future. They don't even need to meet in person, as long as Michael Hui records a video.

As for "first love", his requirements for the actress were that she should be young, beautiful and sexy, but Zhou Yan was not very satisfied with the few who came for audition today.

There were still some actors auditioning in the afternoon, but basically there was nothing worth watching.

During the lunch break, Zhou Yan called Li Hong, Shen Yan and Xiao Can to his office.

He first asked Xiao Can about the other two groups' auditions.

Xiao Can was reliable and directly handed a copy of the sorted information to Zhou Yan.

"Director Zhou, all the details of this morning's audition are in here. Please take a look."

Zhou Yan took the information and looked through it. The results of the other two groups' auditions in the morning were pretty good, and most of the named roles had been filled.

Besides, there are still many people who will audition in the afternoon. After the auditions of the people behind are finished, there should be basically no problems. He nodded, closed the information, and then said, "Among the remaining roles, the male protagonist's 'first love' is the most important. What do you think?"

Xiao Can thought about it and asked tentatively, "Director Zhou, do you want to choose this role in the mainland, Hong Kong or Taiwan?"

"As long as it's suitable, it doesn't matter where it is. You all know the requirements of this role. Are there any actors in the mainland who are more suitable now?"

The three of them looked at each other, and no one spoke first.

Zhou Yan’s requirements were clear and simple: young, beautiful and sexy.

In the entertainment industry, there is no shortage of this type of actors, and the girls who came to audition today are actually quite good, but Zhou Yan just didn't like any of them.

"How about Christy Chung?" Shen Yan mentioned a candidate.

In fact, Christy Chung is quite good and does meet Zhou Yan's requirements, but Zhou Yan still shook his head, "Christy Chung is a bit expensive."

Joey Wong is naturally not a first-line actress, but her price is not cheap. She has developed quite well in the past few years since her debut, and her pay has been rising continuously.

Although the budget for "Time Traveler" was sufficient, Zhou Yan did not want to spend too much money on such a simple role.

If the price offered by Michael Hui was not high, Zhou Yan would not even use Michael Hui.

Li Hong glanced at Shen Yan. When he heard Shen Yan mention Christy Chung, he knew that Zhou Yan would definitely not agree.

Because he knew Zhou Yan, Zhou Yan was very willing to spend money when making a movie, but he was relatively stingy when it came to actors. The money spent on the cast of "Time Traveler" this time has exceeded that of all of Zhou Yan's previous movies.

Li Hong followed Zhou Yan's words and said, "Christy Chung is a bit old, it would be better to find someone around 20 years old. The character of Qin Yu is originally set to be under 20 years old, and Christy Chung is still a bit mature."

"Are there any good talents from the Yanjing Film Academy and the Central Academy of Drama recently?"

Zhou Yan began to think about looking for one inside the school, after all, students are cheaper.

"I don't have any particularly deep impression of anyone from these years. There was a Zhu Yuanyuan from the 93 class of the Central Academy of Drama who was pretty good. She had previously acted in "A Place Full of Chicken Feathers". There was a Tao Hong from the 94 class who had acted in "Sunny Days". Do you want me to sort out the information of these two actors for you to see?" Li Hong said.

Zhou Yan shook his head, "I know these two."

Of course Zhou Yan knew Tao Hong, Zhu Yuanyuan and both of them were very pretty, but Zhou Yan was not particularly satisfied with them.

Seeing Zhou Yan was dissatisfied, Xiao Can said, "If you want someone around 20 years old, I can think of a candidate."

"Who?" Zhou Yan asked.

"She is an actress under Director Zhao Baogang. I have only met her once. Director Zhao called her Xiao Ran. I don't know anything else about her. She is not very old, but she is very beautiful."

After listening to Xiao Can's description, Zhou Yan knew that this girl must be really pretty, otherwise Xiao Can would not have specifically mentioned her full name since they had only met once and didn't even know her name.

When Zhou Yan heard the name "Xiao Ran", the first person that came to his mind was Li Xiaoran, because there are very few actresses named Xiao Ran, and her age and everything else fit the bill.

If it's Li Xiaoran, she would meet Zhou Yan's requirements. She's suitable in age, appearance, and every aspect.

It’s just that Li Xiaoran has no works now, and Zhou Yan is not sure about her acting skills. Although the role of "first love" does not require high acting skills, it cannot be said that there are no requirements at all.

After thinking for a while, Zhou Yan said, "Old Xiao, go contact them... Forget it, give me Director Zhao's phone number and I'll contact them myself."

"Okay, I'll find it for you now."

"Don't worry, it won't be too late to give it to me after the meeting."

Xiao Can nodded, "Okay."

"I'll take care of Xiao Ran's matter, but we can't stop looking for actors, so you guys should pay more attention. If it doesn't work, Li Hong, you can ask Tao Hong and Zhu Yuanyuan to come over as well."

Although in Zhou Yan's impression, Tao Hong and Zhu Yuanyuan are not quite suitable for his requirements, but one cannot do things solely based on impressions. It is better to let them give it a try.

After talking about the actors, Zhou Yan continued, "No matter how the actors are selected, the first script reading meeting will be held in five days. After the meeting, you will notify the various departments."

"clear."

"Okay, let's break up the meeting."

After the meeting, Xiao Can gave Zhou Yan Zhao Baogang's contact information.

Zhou Yan did not rush to call. He waited until he got to work at two o'clock in the afternoon before calling Zhao Baogang.

The phone rang for a long time but no one answered. Just when Zhou Yan was about to hang up, the phone was connected and a slightly panting voice came from the other end, "Hello, who is this?"

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Is it Director Zhao Baogang?"

"Well, my name is Zhao Baogang. May I ask who you are?"

"I'm Zhou Yan."

"Zhou Yan...Oh, it's Director Zhou. What do you want to talk to me about?"

Zhao Baogang was very surprised by Zhou Yan's call.

The two had never met before. Although Zhou Yan has been very popular in the film and television industry in the past two years, they have never met in any public occasion.

He couldn't figure out why Zhou Yan wanted to see him.

"It's like this. I heard that there's an actress over there who has a role in my new movie, and I'd like to ask her to try." Zhou Yan didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point.

“Which actor?”

"I don't know her full name, I just know it's Xiao Ran."

"Li Xiaoran?"

"should be."

Zhao Baogang asked curiously, "Director Zhou has met Li Xiaoran?"

"I haven't seen it, but my assistant director Xiao Can has."

"Oh, it's Director Xiao." Zhao Baogang understood now.

Xiao Can had indeed met Li Xiaoran before.

However, Zhao Baogang did not expect that that one meeting would give Li Xiaoran such an opportunity.

"It is an honor for Li Xiaoran to be appreciated by Director Zhou. However, Xiaoran has little experience and is not from a professional background, so he may not be able to meet Director Zhou's requirements." Zhao Baogang gave Zhou Yan a shot of prevention.

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Is it convenient for her to come for an audition?"

"No problem, Director Zhou, please decide when to arrange it for her."

"How about this afternoon?"

Zhao Baogang was stunned. This was too hasty.

However, he didn't want Li Xiaoran to miss such a good opportunity, so he nodded and agreed, "Okay, Director Zhou, please give me the specific address."

"In my studio, it's in this state-owned electronics factory near the Third Ring Road."

"Is four o'clock ok?"

"can."

"Okay then, I'll arrange for Li Xiaoran to go over there right away."

"It's troublesome."

"Director Zhou, you're welcome." After finishing the business, Zhao Baogang also exchanged pleasantries with Zhou Yan, "The industry is paying close attention to your new movie. Let's find a chance to sit down and chat. I'd also like to ask you for advice."

"Director Zhao, you're joking. You're a senior in the industry, so I should be asking you for advice."

"Haha, let's not be polite, let's learn from each other, learn from each other." (End of this chapter)