Entertainment 1998

Chapter 745 Chapter 744, Audition

I've already signed the contract, but now they're telling me I still need to audition...

This is somewhat insulting anyway.

But, there is no way. Facing this situation, Song Jia has to be grateful from the bottom of his heart for Jiang Feng's honest conduct!

The reason is very simple.

Given Jiang Feng’s current status, if he doesn’t want to use a certain actor, he can just say so.

Even if a contract was signed and it clearly stipulated a high amount of liquidated damages, no actor dared to actually require Jiang Feng to act in accordance with the contract.

Well, unless the actor doesn't want to stay in the Chinese entertainment industry anymore.

Now, Jiang Feng not only gave himself a chance to turn the tables, but also invited Tian Zhuangzhuang, Xie Fei, Zhang Yimou and others to watch the audition together, which made Song Jia very excited.

I must perform well. Even if I don't get the role of Cao Guiying in the end, I have to let these directors see my acting ability.

So, after breakfast, the tough Song Jia went to the home of Heihai, the old man who was handling the funeral.

I watched Hei Hai's nephews kneeling in front of the shed for him; I watched his married daughter and two biological sons gathered around the coffin and cried; I watched relatives from afar coming to the house in waves to pay their respects.

The way of expressing condolences in southwestern Shandong is more complicated. It is not like in big cities where you just bow and call it a day. Here, you really have to bow three times and kowtow nine times.

While the mourning ceremony was held at home, the coffin bearers in the village had already assembled the frame on the street. The frame for the coffin was very large, measuring about 4 meters wide and 5 meters long.

The four corners of the frame and the middle of both sides are riveted with thick iron chains. The chains are about one meter long and have rings on the tops of the chains. When the coffin is carried, the bearers will pass a thick wooden stick through the rings, with a pallbearer at each end of the stick.

When the person asking the question shouts "front and back", the 12 pallbearers will work together to lift the shelf and the coffin on it steadily...

Since finishing breakfast at 8 o'clock, Song Jia has been watching the funeral ceremony of Heihai, an old man from Zhuzhuang, including mourning at home, smashing pots in the street and burial in the fields.

Especially when he saw Heihai's eldest daughter suddenly jumping into a four-meter-deep pit and lying on her father's coffin, trying desperately to stop the villagers from filling the pit with soil during the burial in the field, Song Jia burst into tears.

My heart aches so much.

If the person lying in the coffin was my biological father, I can’t guarantee that I wouldn’t hit my head against the coffin and die.

Well, it was not bad. The person in charge of affairs in Zhuzhuang Village was very experienced. When he saw this situation, he winked at several female neighbors in the village. Several strong rural women jumped into the deep pit and carried Heihai's daughter up.

As soon as everyone came up, the young people in the village who were responsible for filling the pits rushed forward, waving their shovels and filling the dug soil back.

Perhaps he couldn't bear to witness this kind of separation of life and death, the solemn and sad funeral ceremony, when Song Jia saw the part of filling the soil, he wiped his tears and left quietly.

Eh…

People are still too fragile!

According to director Zhang Yimou, who came here early to experience life, Heihai is only 64 years old this year. Because he has been working in the fields for many years, he is so strong that he can lift a cow with one arm.

But now, we are separated forever.

According to the rules, the deceased will be buried in the fields, and the deceased's relatives and people from the village who come to help will have a meal in the village.

At this time, the food is not as simple as in the morning. Breakfast is a big pot of food, and at noon it is a banquet.

In southwestern Shandong, wedding banquets usually consist of 8 cold dishes, 16 hot dishes, and 4 soups. The meal starts around 11:5 a.m. and lasts until : p.m.

The banquet at Youshi is relatively simple, usually with 4 cold dishes, 12 hot dishes, and 4 soup bowls. The meal time is relatively short, usually starting at 12 o'clock and ending around 2:00-2:30 in the afternoon.

But even so, it was still very sumptuous. When Song Jia returned to the village from the fields, as soon as he stepped onto the street, he smelled the fragrance of food, yes, the fragrance of stewed pork elbow.

Hearing this, Song Jia immediately put aside his previous sadness and excitedly looked for a seat on the street.

As the producer of "Hidden in the Dust", Li Xing made an agreement with Heihai's family early this morning. The crew will pay 2 yuan to film the entire process of today's funeral. In addition, all 125 people in the crew will have a feast with the elders and villagers of Zhuzhuang Village.

There are 220 people in Zhuzhuang Village. Excluding the children who go to school, there are 180 people at home; there are 145 relatives from Heihai's family; plus the 125 people from the "Hidden in the Dust" crew, there are a total of 450 people. Therefore, at noon today, a total of 56 tables were set up on the street in Zhuzhuang Village, stretching from the east end to the west end of the village.

Seeing such a scene, Song Jia felt a little nervous and didn't know where to sit. At this moment, Dawei, the deputy director of the "Hidden in the Dust" crew, stood up and waved to her.

"Song Jia..."

"Song Jia, come here and just sit here."

"Oh well!"

Song Jia has a good impression of Dawei.

Although he is a bit lustful and always likes to admire beautiful women with aggressive eyes, overall, as a fellow villager, Dawei is still very decent.

Now, everyone in the Chinese film and television industry knows that as Jiang Feng’s most capable assistant, Dawei has never forced a beautiful woman to do anything against her will.

Hearing Dawei's call, Song Jia hurried over and sat next to him, then shook the stool under his butt and felt it was quite stable, then he thanked Dawei.

"Thanks, fellow!"

"You're welcome. We are both from the Northeast. If I don't take care of you, who will I take care of?" As he spoke, Dawei poured Song Jia a glass of beer.

"My friend, I want to drink white wine."

After looking at the beer in Dawei's hand and then at the bottle of Caozhou Laojiao in the middle of the table, Song Jia thought he should drink something white wine.

I feel a little angry today, but I can't vent it. I think drinking some white wine will make me feel better.

"Let's have beer. You have an audition tonight." Dawei picked up his beer glass, clinked it with Song Jia's, and drank it all in one gulp.

In this hot weather, it is still very refreshing to drink a beer, even if it is not cold.

“What happened to the audition?
Drink half a catty of white wine at noon, take a short nap, and then wait until the audition in the evening, maybe you will feel better. "Song Jia is a stubborn person.

As long as I have made up my mind about something, I will stick to it until the end. Even if I hit a wall, I will think about turning over instead of looking back.

But at this time, Dawei poured her another glass of beer.

"Song Jia, you can't drink white wine!

As for why...well, let me give you a little information.

I believe you have also heard of a movie called "Paranormal Activity", which grossed 3.5 million US dollars worldwide. In fact, this movie was shot by director Jiang Feng and Hollywood actress Jessica Alba overnight. "

"Of course I've heard of it."

Talking about this, a smile appeared on Song Jia's face.

Speaking of which, Jiang Feng is really smart and clever. In Hollywood, there is a very powerful Actors Guild, and the Actors Guild stipulates that actors' working hours per day must not exceed 8 hours.

Well, if you work the night shift, the shooting time must never exceed 6 hours.

However, in order to complete the filming of the movie "Paranormal Activity" overnight, Jiang Feng announced to the public that he was auditioning Hollywood actress Jessica Alba.

Conduct an audition…

Song Jia just thought of these three words, picked up the chopsticks, and was about to start eating the first cold dish of cucumber and pork head that had just been served. However, the chopsticks fell on the table with a "bang".

"Director Dawei, you mean..."

"I didn't say anything, and you know nothing." Ignoring Song Jia's surprised expression, Dawei started eating the only cold dish on the table, cucumber mixed with pork head. The cucumber was fresh, the garlic was plentiful, and the pork head was cooked last night. These three things mixed together, eaten with beer, were simply too delicious.

However, just as Dawei put a piece of fresh pork head into his mouth, Song Jia grabbed his hand tightly.

"Director Dawei, what else do you know?"

"I do not know anything!"

"Director Dawei, some time ago, there were rumors in the circle that you once got drunk and said that your favorite girl was Ma Yili, who graduated from the Magic City Drama Academy. Well, I can introduce you two to each other."

"No, who told you this news?"

"Director Dawei, some time ago, there were rumors in the circle that your favorite girl is Hu Jing, who graduated from the Central Academy of Drama. Well, I can introduce you two to each other."

"No, who on earth told you this news? This is a complete rumor."

"Director Dawei, some time ago, there were rumors in the circle that you like Li Xiaolu the most, saying that her hair is straight and black, and you are willing to become a hairdresser to do her hair..."

The quick-talking Song Jia wanted to continue speaking in front of Dawei and several old ladies from Zhuzhuang Village, but Dawei looked around and lowered his voice.

"Well, Song Jia, let me tell you straight, the director did give you a hint."

"Jiang Feng gave me a hint...how come I didn't know it?" Song Jia frowned.

"He just told me that I would have an audition tonight. But even if it was at night, I had to pay attention to the funeral culture here during the day."

"So what did you observe?"

"It's just the filial son breaking the pot, bowing three times and kowtowing nine times, and burying the coffin and so on."

At banquets in the countryside, food is served very quickly, one plate after another, one bowl after another.

Like braised pork, braised pork elbow, pork meatballs, spicy fried chicken and so on, each one is Song Jia's favorite, but now, Song Jia has no time to eat, and is staring at Dawei with 120% of his energy.

Lest I miss some information.

Seeing this, Dawei thought for a moment and then asked mysteriously, "Song Jia, if, I say, if you were kidnapped, put in a coffin, and then buried alive in the soil, what would be your reaction before you die?"

"hiss…"

As soon as Dawei finished speaking, Song Jia shuddered.

Damn, if that's the case, it's so scary, and no one can help me.

But what does this have to do with the audition tonight? Song Jia was about to ask again, but in a blink of an eye, she found that Dawei, holding chopsticks in his left hand and a beer bottle in his right hand, had gone to the table next to her.

The people sitting at the table next to them were all dirty and pick-footed men.

.........

Cucumber with pork head, cold lotus root, onion with lamb, cold bitter chrysanthemum, stir-fried bean sprouts, stir-fried celery with meat, four-joy meatballs, braised pork, braised pork elbow, spicy fried chicken, five-spice chicken...

Faced with the dazzling array of dishes, Jiang Feng was so happy eating them.

As soon as a dish was served, he would finish it together with his table mates including Tian Zhuangzhuang, Zhang Yimou, Xie Fei, Li Xing, Mark, Zhuang Kai, Liu Jie and Gong Li.

At the beginning, Mr. Xie Fei was a little reserved.

After all, he had to maintain the image of an old artist, but after taking two bites of the country stew here, he couldn't help it anymore, so he picked up the chopsticks and joined the young people.

Zhang Yimou and Tian Zhuangzhuang are classmates of the same grade. When Tian Zhuangzhuang was shooting his first film, Zhang Yimou was his photographer.

Therefore, when the two old classmates met, they had a drink while eating. Although they didn't drink much, the atmosphere was good.

Take a bite of the fat but not greasy braised pork and take a sip of beer. In a word, it satisfies your craving!
Compared with the men, Li Xing, as one of the only two women at the table, was more reserved. After taking a few bites of lamb with green onions, she put down her chopsticks.

"Brother Feng..."

"Ok?"

"I have asked the production staff to sort out the shooting notice. The shooting of Into the Dust will start at 7:30 tomorrow morning, and the shooting time is about 40 days.

Do you have any other questions?"

Everyone is very busy, so chatting about business at the dinner table is a good way to save time.

"Let's take another day off tomorrow!"

As soon as Li Xing finished speaking, Jiang Feng gave his advice.

"Why?" Li Xing asked.

Although the investment in the movie "Hidden in the Dust" is not large, only 400 million RMB, but if the shooting is delayed by one day, the cost of one day is about 8 RMB.

"Tonight, I plan to audition Song Jia."

Audition…

After hearing these two words, before Li Xing could say anything, Tian Zhuangzhuang, Xie Fei and others who were eating all raised their heads and stared at Jiang Feng.

The actors have already been confirmed, why are you just starting the audition now?

However, Zhang Yimou and Gong Li looked normal.

"Don't look at me like that."

Seeing Tian Zhuangzhuang, Xie Fei, and Mark all staring at him, Jiang Feng took out a napkin from his pocket, wiped his mouth, and said, "I have a movie script here, which I have written for more than two years. I wanted to shoot it in Korea, but it didn't work.

Now I plan to film it, one to advertise my brother-in-law's coffin shop, and the other to repay Song Jia a favor.

After all, it was me who asked Song Jia to come and act in the movie, but when the shooting was about to start, Gong Li said that she wanted to act in the movie "Hidden in the Dust".

So I had to shoot another movie at short notice.”

"What, Jiang Feng, so the rumor that you can shoot a movie in one night is actually true?" Jiang Feng's doctoral supervisor at the Beijing Film Academy, Tian Zhuangzhuang, stood up in surprise.

"Of course it's true!"

Jiang Feng, with a smile on his face, pointed in the direction of the entrance of Zhuzhuang Village.

At this time, a large bulldozer drove to the entrance of the village and dug a hole in a pile of earth at the entrance.

The hole was dug and the bulldozer retreated.

As soon as the bulldozer retreated, five or six workers from [Sun Laojia Coffin Company] carried over a simple coffin and placed it into the hole in the mound.

As soon as the coffin was put in, two staff members removed a piece of the coffin board on the side and put it in the car.

As soon as they finished the action, photographer Liu Jie, prop master Zhuang Kai, and makeup artist Mark, who were eating at a table, stood up at the same time.

“Brother Feng, directors, please continue eating, we are done.

We want to go over and test it first to see if the height of the coffin is suitable for filming?"

(End of this chapter)