Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 361 I'll Arrange It
"When can I see them?"

"immediately!"

Dai An shrugged and saw Zhang Chen's puzzled look: "When I received your call, I notified them to come to the company and wait. I made the choice, but you are the boss. In the end, whether to use them or not is up to you~"

Zhang Chen was very satisfied with Dai An's professional attitude.

The group returned to Cube Company, and Zhang Chen also met the male and female leading actors and the director who had been waiting for a long time.

"Sorry, ladies and gentlemen, for keeping you waiting..."

Zhang Chen remembered that this was what was said in all the foreign movies he had watched.

Blake Lively was still a little girl at that time, just turned 18, full of hormones.

If it were in China, at this age, she would be just a child, but in Europe and the United States, it is the most beautiful age in life. The precocity of Americans is really not to be underestimated. Zhang Chen couldn't help but take a few more glances.

Morgan's performance style is actually a bit similar to Huang Xiaoming, the type who always has a gentlemanly smile on his face.

But what makes him better than Huang Xiaoming is that his smile doesn’t make people feel embarrassed.

Of course, it could also be a foreigner filter.

However, Morgan has not yet developed this style. At least Zhang Chen did not see that mysterious smile when he saw him.

This is good~
It is impossible for a blind veteran to have that kind of smile. It should show ruthlessness and determination.

Zhang Chen decided to have a good chat with him later.

In comparison, among the three, only director Alvarez seemed a little nervous. He is a Uruguayan who had just completed his short feature film "Elúltimo Alevare". He thought he would have to work hard for a long time, but unexpectedly someone suddenly came to him and invited him to direct a movie.

At first I thought it was a scam, but after checking with multiple sources, I found out that it was actually true.

"Hold Your Breath" is a real project, registered with the Script Guild and the Actors Guild.

Alvarez couldn't imagine it. Could it be that his luck was about to change?

He wanted to seize this opportunity, so he studied the script carefully and drew a lot of storyboards.

"Well, Mr. Alvarez, let's go in and talk first. The other two gentlemen and ladies, please wait a moment..."

Zhang Chen and Alvarez entered Zhang Chen's office in a flash.

"Alvarez, let's get straight to the point. I want to know, if you were to direct this movie, what do you think the budget would be and how long would it take to shoot?"

The questions Zhang Chen asked are the most basic questions. If you can't even answer them well, there's no need to waste your time later.

Alvarez obviously had a plan in place, and although his tone was excited, his words were clearly well thought out.

"I estimate that the cost of 'Hold Your Breath' is about 250 million US dollars. As for the shooting period, I think 15 days will be enough."

The answer Alvarez gave was pretty much what Diane expected.

“This is the storyboard I prepared for this movie…”

Alvarez took out the gift he had carefully prepared, which was also the thing that best demonstrated his sincerity.

It’s actually the same both at home and abroad. When producers choose directors for film projects, they not only look at the director’s ability, but also his or her dedication.

Later, Guo Fan, a guy who came from a self-taught background and had only made one animated short film, impressed China Film Group with a century-old chronicle and 300 concept drawings, and the company gave him the "The Wandering Earth" project.

The same is true for Zhang Chen now.

The moment he saw the storyboard, he knew he had chosen the right person.

Alvarez may have less experience, but with his passion, the movie will be great.

Alvarez left Zhang Chen's office with a smile on his face, and before leaving he specially encouraged the two leading actors who were still outside.

Next up is Morgan.

Morgan had already appeared in a lot of movies and TV series at this time. Zhang Chen randomly picked a short segment for him to perform. In fact, it was mainly to see if he could act out the state of a blind person.

Morgan's acting is good, and he portrayed the condition of the blind veteran vividly.

The ruthlessness was also shown just right. Although there was no ruthless expression on his face, he gave people the feeling that he was merciless.

"Congratulations, Mr. Morgan, I hope we can have a pleasant cooperation."

Zhang Chen stretched out his hand, and this sentence meant - you passed today's audition.

Morgan humbly stood up and shook hands, feeling a little excited.

In fact, although he has participated in many movies and TV series, he has always played supporting roles without exception.

Not to mention now, even ten years later, his most outstanding roles are all supporting ones. There are only a handful of movies where he has acted as the leading actor, and none of them did well at the box office.

Being able to get the leading role nowadays, even in a low-budget horror film, is a very rare opportunity.

In Hollywood, everyone appreciates opportunities.

Because there are so many examples of success, many celebrities have risen to fame because of an opportunity.

With Morgan gone, that leaves Blake Lively.

"Ms. Lively, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting~"

Zhang Chen invited Blake Lively into the office.

Blake Lively loves to laugh, and she is very charming when she laughs. Zhang Chen also followed Gossip Girl for a while in his previous life, and his favorite thing was Blake Lively's smile in the show.

She, like Kristen Stewart, is a very distinctive actress.

Frankly speaking, Zhang Chen thinks these two people are much more attractive than Scarlett Johansson.

In fact, Black Widow cannot compare to these two people in terms of appearance or figure.

But the advantages are also disadvantages. Zhang Chen feels that the role of a female thief should not laugh, especially someone like Lively, who might steal the show when in the same frame with Morgan.

"Ms. Lively, you should have read the script. Just pick a scene from it and perform it..."

Zhang Chen did not specify which segment, but let Lai Fuli choose it himself.

After some thought, Lively chose the scene in the dressing room.

In that scene, the female thief hid in the cloakroom because she witnessed her companion being killed, but she didn't expect that the old soldier also came to the cloakroom.

The girl was afraid of being discovered and covered her mouth tightly.

The blind old soldier did not notice the female thief, but the female thief witnessed the whole process of the old soldier taking money from the secret compartment and even wrote down the password.

Here, the female thief's expression changed from fear to shock, and then to surprise and eagerness to try...

Frankly speaking, the scene chosen by Blake Lively is very representative, and it is also the most complicated scene for the character of the female thief.

There was no one to act with him, so Blake Lively built up his emotions for a while and then started performing on the spot.

Her eyes were focused in front of her, as if there was really someone there.

Blake Lively covered his mouth in fear, his eyes full of fear.

Her body was a little stiff, as if she was afraid of making the slightest noise and disturbing the terrifying existence in front of her.

Then, her eyes widened, followed by surprise and greed, but she still covered her mouth tightly.

The performance was over. To be honest, it was a bit exaggerated. After all, she was just an 18-year-old girl.

However, it is actually quite good for an 18-year-old to have such acting skills.

"Ms. Lively, thank you for your wonderful performance. We will study it and call you if there is any result~"

After hearing the official answer given by Zhang Chen, Lai Fuli couldn't help but feel depressed.

She comes from a family of performing arts and knows what this sentence means.

Although she didn't see the two people in front of her with her own eyes, she knew that they were admitted on the spot just by looking at the way they left.

But this is what happened to her.

But she still stood up obediently, showing an angelic smile: "Thank you director for giving me this opportunity, then I will leave first~"

Her producer father taught her many things, including how to get along with directors.

After Blake Lively left, Diane, who had been standing next to him, finally couldn't help but speak up: "Did Lively's performance not meet your expectations?"

"She...how should I put it, I think she steals the show a little too much when she laughs~"

"That's easy, just make her stop laughing."

Dai An blurted out, but Zhang Chen didn't say anything this time, just looked at him quietly.

Diane was a little embarrassed, and shrugged after a while: "Okay, I admit that I actually know her father, but I promise that I always put the interests of the company first in this casting. I just want to take care of my old friend while taking into account the interests of the company..."

Seeing that Zhang Chen did not make a comment, Dai An added: "Of course, you are the boss. If you feel it is inappropriate, I will ask her to leave immediately. Of course, if you want to get to know her better, I can also arrange it..."

Now it was Zhang Chen's turn to be surprised. He thought he was hallucinating.

"I remember you just said that you and his father were friends..."

Diane made a matter-of-fact expression: "Yes, so he understands better than anyone else that this is Hollywood, and any opportunity is precious and worth paying a price~"

Zhang Chen was stunned: "Are all you Americans so realistic?"

His three views were really overturned. If this happened in China, he would definitely ask someone to take care of his daughter to prevent her from being taken advantage of.

But in Hollywood, it feels like a father pushing his daughter into a fire pit...

I can only say that people here take many things very lightly. Sex is sex and it doesn't represent anything.

"So do you want to..." Diane was a little confused about Zhang Chen's attitude.

Zhang Chen thought for a moment, but finally couldn't resist the temptation: "I like the style of double ponytails, and I like the feeling of riding a horse~"

Diane understood immediately and snapped her fingers: "Bingo, I understand~"

Zhang Chen was not without worry and confirmed again: "Are you really okay like this?"

Diane smiled and said, "Of course not. Old Leverkusen should thank me. I secured a rare opportunity for his daughter to be a hostess..."

That night, Zhang Chen reviewed the game he often played as a child - horseback riding and fighting.

A man and a horse galloped across the prairie until they were exhausted.

(End of this chapter)