This director needs to apologize

Chapter 316 Interesting but not enough
After checking the information several times, Chen Yiming finally decided on the male actors he wanted to meet. It was almost the three of them, Brother Kun, Liu Yijun, and Pan Yueming.

As for who will play the lead and who will play the role, it is still too early to say. It is not too late to arrange auditions after the preliminary preparations are in full swing.

There need to be three female characters, including two female scientists. The incarnation in the consciousness space, that is, the daughter of the male protagonist's friend, has more scenes. The female scientist outside the consciousness space has less scenes.

The candidate for the former, Chen Yiming, was already available. He extended an invitation to Song Jia, who he had worked with before, and the other party happily accepted it in principle. Once the script was released, the contract could be signed in person.

Song Jia only had two scenes in "Mulan", and she obviously failed to perform satisfactorily. This time, her role was upgraded to a second-time heroine, and Song Jia would certainly not let it go.

In Chen Yiming's mind, Song Jia is a rare all-rounder among contemporary Chinese actresses. She has a broad acting career, a changeable image, and a versatile temperament. And most importantly, she has good acting skills and can endure hardships. She is simply the most perfect "tool person."

Of course, this does not mean that Song Jia is only qualified to follow the process, but that she has rich adaptability and can cope with various accidents and changes during the actual filming process. No matter how Chen Yiming changes the scene, I believe she can make appropriate self-adjustments. .

If the three male actors had an unexpected scene, Song Jia Zai could still be safe.

To put it bluntly, the female scientist in "The Thirteenth Floor" plays the role of a tool to promote the main plot.

Song Jia, the female lead, is actually a large supporting role.

This character was created out of thin air by Chen Yiming after a magical transformation. The character with a similar position in the original film was just an Easter egg-like supporting role that appeared at the end of the film.

However, the heroic behavior of the protagonist will also make people feel distant and lack some empathy. Chen Yiming always believes that during the movie watching process, it is also necessary to give the audience a sense of déjà vu from time to time.

If the cast is chosen in this direction, the final effect will be more absurd, and the reputation will probably be polarized.

So Chen Yiming arranged a new role of a female player. Her behavioral logic is somewhere in the middle between a "good person in the ordinary sense" and a "slightly excited gamer". She is essentially the incarnation of the ordinary audience.

After all, someone who can come up with such an incredible idea as "pinching" her husband, and can complete it independently from design to execution, is definitely not a normal person in the ordinary sense.

In a sense, they are the "nutrition" for programmed AI to evolve autonomous consciousness.

The latter character is more moderate and conforms to most viewers' psychological assumptions about female scientists. The advantage is that it makes it easier for the audience to understand the story.

In his view, the sign of a vibrant online game is the influx of new novice players every day. They know a little bit about it, but they always retain curiosity and a desire to explore.

Naturally, her ending will not be too good. Just like ordinary people, she will be involved in the final solution and become insignificant cannon fodder.

The treacherous and evil deeds of destroying the world cannot be carried out, and the harmless mischief is eager to try. Facing the NPC in the consciousness space, he is condescending but not too high, and approachable but not too close.

The last important supporting role is the young female player who partners with the detective.

As a female scientist, Chen Yiming would like to find an actor who is in great contrast to Song Jianeng. Currently, he is still hesitating between "silly Baitian who daydreams" and "gloomy temperament female doctor with glasses".

Chen Yiming's creation of such a character is certainly not to cause trouble for the audience, nor is it intended to be ironic or educational. It is simply to supplement the "completeness" of the conscious space.

I hope Ms. Song will not be disappointed after joining the group.

After all, "Hackers" is an old movie from the end of the last century. At that time, whether it was VR or virtual reality, it was still science fiction. Even if it existed, it was still in the laboratory stage and was not accessible to the general public.

When the story advances to the final crisis moment and the female player's original determination and detachment become endangered, she will degenerate at the speed of light and become an ordinary person, returning to the one who is accustomed to being ruled and dominated in the real world.

Now in 2013, the younger generation has neither played online games nor read online articles. Concepts such as time travel, rebirth, and infinite flow have been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. Although these are far-fetched and related to science fiction, they have greatly improved the audience's understanding of "Arrival". understand.

High players and GMs are just the two poles of human-machine confrontation, rather than the standard form. Most users who enter the consciousness space actually have no special purpose, or in other words, playing is the only purpose.

The protagonists of movies are often "extraordinary people" who do "extraordinary things". The story lines surrounding the protagonists are often thrilling and ups and downs, which is what the audience likes to see.

According to Chen Yiming's request, Xiaomei selected both types of characters. Anyway, once Chen Yiming made up his mind, the discarded one could also be used on the supporting NPC, and he could still appear in the movie. There was no need for the crew to cheat. people.

The former character is more subversive, and the contrast is obvious enough that it is unexpected and reasonable.

Therefore, there are almost no "supermen" in Chen Yiming's movies. The protagonists of the previous movies were basically in the trumpet leveling stage when they first appeared, and the movies often ended before they reached the level.

This time "The Thirteenth Floor" is different. The male protagonist comes out with a full level number. As the story develops, he even briefly gains GM authority. He is omnipotent in the consciousness space.

Although the theme of the movie is still about growth, which is shown as the process of the male protagonist and the female protagonist finding their true selves, in terms of strength and character, the main characters of the male protagonist, the female protagonist, the detective, and the heroine’s husband are all strong-willed. "Adults" each have firm goals and directions.

Therefore, even if it is just to have a control group, Chen Yiming believes that it is necessary to add a "new player" to balance the look and feel and enrich the tone.

The whole movie cannot be a conspiracy-like atmosphere, nor can the characters in the film be all vaguely articulate Riddlers. The movie-watching experience will be too dull, which will affect the mood of the people during the holidays.

As a service industry employee, Chen Yiming is very conscious of this.

Although this character is a supporting role, his personality is very bright. He is like a pistachio at a family gathering and is naturally lovable to the audience.

In addition, she has been following the detective, an old yinbi, exuding clear stupidity all the time. In contrast, her charm is doubled.

Chen Yiming hopes to find a young girl to play this role, preferably a girl next door with a fresh and lively appearance, and even better with a bit of joy in her temperament.

There are very few female characters in Bo Jue's projects, and almost none were released for auditions. Therefore, the audition for "The Thirteenth Floor" was overcrowded with actresses. The entertainment industry in China is very complicated, and the category of female stars is even more complicated. When the female lead is pre-determined and the third female lead cannot be described clearly (in fact, Chen Yiming hasn't figured it out yet), the character design is clear and lovable. The second female lead naturally becomes the main target of competition.

According to Xiaomei's description, during the first round of auditions, the pretty girls burst into flames in the office building of the casting studio, and their tails were thrown to the corridor outside the building.

The three major schools can hold class reunions directly at the audition site.

After two rounds, the list of actresses given to Chen Yiming was 12, who were nicknamed by Xiaomei as the "Twelve Beauties".

Just like in "Mulan", even if they are unsuccessful in the final audition, the actors on the list will still have the opportunity to appear in the cast, but they will just become supporting roles.

The same is true for male actors. Actors who are unsuccessful after the second round have priority in joining the cast. Of course, if they don't want to come because they don't have enough roles, that's a different matter.

Chen Yiming tried to create "The Thirteenth Floor" into a world of handsome men and beautiful women. The character who appears in the camera, even if he is a homeless man, must be at the level of Sharp Brother.

Of course, this is not the case in the original version of "Hackers from Another Dimension". There are old and young, beautiful and ugly, and they are no different from the real world.

But in Chen Yiming's view, the consciousness space in the film is like the world of immortals in online novels. Unless he is forced to do so due to the side effects of the exercises he practices, no monk would be willing to face a crooked melon and cracked jujube. If you have the honor to cultivate immortality, at least you will not have an advantage when it comes to accepting disciples.

The NPCs in the consciousness space are all evolved by AI. Normal people will make them look good when they pinch them. Even a few unconventional people who are ugly and do mischief will make them look uglier to a new level.

That's why he told Xiaomei to select more handsome men and beautiful women, and arrange for them to join the team and play small roles.

Anyway, when the movie is released, he can't guarantee whether the audience will like the plot or not, but watching the movie will definitely be eye-catching. Just watching the beautiful women and handsome guys is definitely worth the price of admission.

Compared with the patience and meticulousness of the male actors, Chen Yiming's information on "Twelve Hairpins" seems to be a bit superficial, mainly because he has not fully thought about the character of the female character.

He even hoped to get some inspiration from the girls' live performances in the final round of auditions.

Just when he turned over it again and again but still couldn't get it, he heard a gentle knock on the office door.

As he said "come in", three guys with glasses filed in, with the leader holding a laptop in his hand.

Looking at the watch, I saw that it was already 7: in the evening, the time to "collect homework" as usual every day.

During this period, the three production assistants were tortured a lot by Chen Yiming. They were dizzy watching videos every day. None of the materials they had collected after all the hard work were suitable. The initial excitement had long since been lost under the repeated blows. and excitement, but now when I enter the door, I can see the anxiety and suffering to the end.

Chen Yiming put down the documents, walked out of his desk and sat down on the sofa in the reception area. Zhang Cheng, the assistant at the head, quickly opened the computer to play the material.

Huh? Today’s article seems interesting.

This is a vertical short video shot with a mobile phone. It only lasts for about 20 seconds. It is difficult for Zhang Cheng and the others to find it from any corner.

The video quality is very average, and handheld shooting is particularly unstable, but you can still get a general picture.

The photographer is obviously in a square. In the background is a Chinese-style building with cornices and brackets. On the second floor of the porch surrounded by marble pillars, there is a plaque with red letters on a blue background. The three characters of Kuixing Tower can be vaguely distinguished.

Chen Yiming had some impressions of these three words. In his previous life, there was such a building in Yucheng, and it was a place where Internet celebrities came to check in.

As the video played, Chen Yiming's conjecture was verified. The square turned into a rooftop, and it was indeed Kuixing Tower in Magical Chongqing City.

However, the two nationally famous suspended overpasses are not yet accessible, and the tall office building opposite the square seems to have not yet been completed.

Zhang Cheng clicked on other videos and pictures in turn. As Chen Yiming expected, the ordinary high-rise Tongzi Building had its own mysteries inside.

Entering from the 1st floor and exiting from the 8th floor, you will feel the authentic magical wind of Chongqing.

After reading all the materials, Chen Yiming asked Zhang Cheng, "So what are your conclusions?"

Zhang Cheng adjusted his glasses and replied, "During this period, we watched videos of many big cities in China and felt that Chongqing was the most suitable location for "The Thirteenth Floor".

It does not lack the aspect of a modern metropolis, but at the same time it has the fireworks of the human world. Even though it is dirty and shabby, it still has a unique beauty.

Most importantly, the maze-like architectural style fits the theme of our movie 'Quest' very well. "

Speaking later, Zhang Cheng's face added a bit of excitement, "Director Chen, netizens say that Chongqing is a city without a horizon. Isn't it particularly relevant to use this place as a stage for consciousness space?

The male protagonist lives on the thirteenth floor, but it is not the thirteenth floor when he leaves the building. He is lost in this city. Only by finding the building with the thirteenth floor both in and out can he finally find the answer and find himself.

What do you think of this idea? "

The other two assistants also looked at Chen Yiming expectantly, obviously they also shared in this "creative idea".

Chen Yiming leaned his upper body against the backrest, put his ten fingers together and fell into deep thought.

It was quite interesting, but unfortunately not enough.

(End of this chapter)