Chinese entertainment, from radio love songs to superstars

Chapter 158, Abacus

At the same time, in the audition room.

Yan Danchen had just finished his performance.

During the audition process, actors are usually asked to perform a monologue, such as a clip from a play or movie, or improvise.

Just now she was asked to play the role of Wang Yuyan, which was rather formulaic, without too many highlights or too many flaws.

In fact, in many people's impressions, Wang Yuyan is a fresh, pure, flawless, intelligent and infatuated beautiful girl.

The reason for this feeling can be said to be entirely because the images of Li Ruoyun, Chen Yulian, Liu Yifei and others who played Wang Yuyan were too stunning, which led to people only looking at the actors when watching Wang Yuyan, and ignoring the character herself.

Wang Yuyan is beautiful but soulless. Compared with other women in Jin Yong's works, her presence is quite low.

Because she really has no personality of her own, her joys and sorrows are all tied to the man. She cannot be the heroine, but only an accessory of the man. This may be one of the reasons why Jin Yong finally separated Wang Yuyan and Duan Yu in the revised version.

It is easy to act if you say it is good, as long as it is beautiful. It is also difficult to act if you say it is not good, as long as it is beautiful and has to be fairy-like.

Zhang Jizhong has already arrived at the scene. He is now in a very bad mood. From the start of the casting till now, he has been worrying about the casting of Wang Yuyan.

We need to find a pure and fairy-like character. There are too many actors who come to audition, and many of them have a lot of acting experience, but none of them are suitable for the role of Wang Yuyan.

Yan Danchen in front of me is pure and celestial, but she still seems to be missing something.

At this moment, the room suddenly became unusually quiet.

Everyone is looking at Zhang Jizhong. He is the oldest here, so he has to speak first.

In this atmosphere, Yan Danchen became increasingly nervous, clenching her hands together.

After waiting for a while, Zhang Jizhong spoke up and said, "Xiao Yan, thank you for coming to the audition. You have a good appearance and good temperament. If you only look at this scene, it's actually okay. But if you put this scene in the whole play, or the whole character, it may not be particularly suitable..."

It's a relatively euphemistic way of saying it, but the implication is that he was not selected.

Yan Danchen had expected this result and was mentally prepared, but she was still disappointed when she was not selected. She forced a smile, bowed, and said, "Thank you. I'll go remove my makeup then."

After saying that, he left the audition room.

As soon as I went out, I met Shen Lang and Liu Yifei.

Looking at her expression, he knew the result without asking, so Shen Lang still asked, "How is it?"

Yan Danchen shook his head and sighed, saying, "I didn't get selected."

Shen Lang often asked her to shoot his music videos. In "The Sky of Eighteen Years Old", he asked her to play Lan Feilin. She is an actress with a good personality and the cooperation was quite pleasant, so he wanted to help her. He immediately said, "I think you can change your thinking. You don't have to stick to one tree. For example, try Zhong Ling."

Yan Danchen was stunned for a moment and murmured, "Playing Zhong Ling?"

She really hadn't thought about it.

When Zhou Xiaowen found her last week, he just asked her to audition for the role of Wang Yuyan, and then she started to prepare without any other thoughts.

Now that Shen Lang had given me some inspiration, I thought of the saying, "There are no small roles, only small actors. As long as you put your heart into it, everywhere is a stage."

Zhang Jizhong's play is an adaptation of Jin Yong's popular novel. You can make money by participating in it, so why stick to one role?

And she has just graduated for less than two years. It is the time when she needs to make a movie to improve herself. What else is there to be picky about?

Thinking of this, Yan Danchen suddenly felt enlightened, as if a new light had suddenly appeared in his eyes. He looked at Shen Lang gratefully and said, "Thank you. I was too persistent. I only wanted to play Wang Yuyan and I couldn't think straight."

Seeing her turning around and about to go in, Shen Lang quickly grabbed her and said to her who looked puzzled, "Do you know the character of Zhong Ling?"

Yan Danchen shook his head.

Shen Lang laughed dumbly and said, "You don't even know anything. If you rush in like this, how can you be selected?"

Yan Danchen's pretty face instantly turned red like an apple, and she said, "Brother Lang, thank you for your reminder."

Shen Lang smiled faintly and said, "Come on."

Among Duan Zhengchun's four daughters, Zhong Ling has one of each of the other four personalities. She has the unworldliness of Wang Yuyan and the boldness of Mu Wanqing. She is as considerate and lovely as Ah Zhu, and as lively and pretty as Ah Zi.

Is Yan Danchen suitable?

I can only say that you can give it a try. It doesn't cost anything anyway. You just need to understand Zhong Ling's character.

After watching Yan Danchen leave, Shen Lang turned around and said to Liu Yifei, "Let's go, it's our turn."

Liu Yifei was both happy and worried when she saw her "strong competitor" fail. She was young and had only one acting experience, so it seemed that she did not have much advantage.

Seeing that she seemed very nervous, Shen Lang said, "Don't put too much pressure on yourself. Just think of this as the set of "The Story of a Noble Family". Adjust to the state you were in back then. I believe you can do it."

With his encouragement, Liu Yifei took a deep breath, calmed down, and said, "Brother Lang, let's go in."

The two knocked on the door and entered.

There were six people in the room, headed by Zhang Jizhong, plus four directors: Zhou Xiaowen, Ju Jueliang, Yu Min, and Zhao Jian.

This lineup, in one word - strong!

Zhou Xiaowen is a mainland director, screenwriter, photographer and producer. His representative works include "The Price of Madness", "No Regrets in Youth" and "Ermao".

Ju Jueliang is a Hong Kong director, screenwriter and producer. His representative works include "The Book and the Sword", "The Taoist Priest Zhong Kui" and "The Legend of Jianghu".

Yu Min is a mainland director, photographer and producer. His representative works include "Sister-in-law", "Blue Enchantress" and "King of Money".

Zhao Jian, a mainland action director, actor and director, has been the action director of Zhang Jizhong's TV series for many years. Together with literary drama director Yu Min, he is known as Zhang Jizhong's right-hand man. His most well-known role is Zhao Tianba in "Once Upon a Time in China and the Three Lions", in which he played the arrogance, brutality and treachery very well.

Yang Junyi thought it would be difficult to serve as the martial arts instructor in "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils", so he decided to see if he could get an assistant.

The remaining person was dressed similarly to Shen Lang, and one could tell at first glance that he was here to audition for the role of Duan Yu.

Shen Lang felt that the person looked familiar, and after taking a few more glances he confirmed that it was Ma Yuke.

In the original time and space, when casting for this version of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" was taking place, there were many people who wanted to play Duan Yu, no less than twenty.

After all, he is one of the three main characters, and the drama is directed by Zhang Jizhong, who is well-known. It is normal for him to want to compete for this role and this drama.

That year, a website opened a voting area for Duan Yu, in which Lu Yi, Huang Haibin, and Ren Quan all won very high support with more than 3000 votes.

There were also news reports that the crew initially considered looking for Zhou Yumin, and the investors recommended Qiao Zhenyu and others.

Ma Yuke was one of them, and he was one of the first to try out Duan Yu's makeup and acting.

When Jiang Xin came for the audition, he was the one playing the role of Duan Yu, and it was even decided that he would play the role.

However, a few days before the signing, Lin Zhiying's side reduced their pay and snatched the role, and he was arranged to play You Tanzhi.

His acting is quite good. Although his You Tanzhi may not be as good as the one played by Mak Cheung-ching in the 97 TVB version, his Tsim Sha Tsui Duan Kun has become one of the famous Internet memes.

At this timeline, the first person the crew considered was Shen Lang.

He also became the first candidate for Duan Yu in the online voting, and was leading by a large margin.

It seems that Ma Yuke has been chosen to play the role of You Tanzhi, and even Jesus can’t take her away from him!

While Shen Lang was looking at them, they also turned their eyes to Shen Lang.

The layman looks at the excitement and the insider looks at the doorway.

In just seven or eight steps from the entrance to the middle of the room, Shen Lang had already dazzled Zhang Jizhong and others.

Ancient costumes require a lot of etiquette, especially when playing roles of high status and position such as kings, princes, generals, or ministers, one has to be more generous and decent.

The small square step, which originated from the opera stage, is a step commonly used by many actors in costume film and television dramas.

But not many people can do well.

Some young actors, who play roles of status and position such as princes, heirs, and young masters, walk with a hunched back, their necks bent forward, crookedly, with nonchalant expressions and a frivolous temperament, appearing vulgar and impolite.

As for Shen Lang, his upper body remained dignified and straight, his toes slightly tilted outward, his posture was naturally relaxed, and every step was firm and powerful, giving people a sense of stability. Combined with his appearance and figure, his whole body seemed to exude an aura of nobility.

Isn’t this Duan Yu, a handsome young man, the prince of Dali Kingdom? He was born into a royal family and has a noble status, so it is natural that he has an aristocratic temperament.

Then, Zhang Jizhong and others shifted their gaze from Shen Lang to Liu Yifei beside him, and they also felt their eyes brighten.

From the makeup point of view, the light and natural classical makeup shows the proportion of her facial features to the maximum extent. Her long hair is carefully combed into a high bun, which appropriately highlights the girlish agility and liveliness. The whole look makes her look like cherry blossoms blooming in early spring, delicate and bright.

Coupled with her cool temperament, she does have a bit of the "Fairy Sister" vibe.

It was not good, it was very good. Afterwards, everyone greeted each other and chatted briefly.

Shen Lang and Liu Yifei spoke at a suitable rhythm and with a tone that was neither humble nor arrogant.

At Zhang Jizhong, speaking good Mandarin is a plus.

Because he came from CCTV, for his own dramas, he would rather use the original sound than dubbing.

Another Jin Yong drama he produced, The Legend of the Condor Heroes, has entered the post-production stage. Zhou Xun, who plays Huang Rong in the drama, has been criticized for her hoarse voice, but he still insists on using her original voice.

But appearance and voice alone were not enough to win over Duan Yu and Wang Yuyan, so Zhang Jizhong spoke up: "Well, Mr. Shen, the role you are trying out for happens to have a rival role, so you can bear with it and play a scene with Liu Yifei."

Shen Lang knew in his heart that when he said he was testing Liu Yifei's acting skills, he was actually testing his own acting skills: "No problem."

In fact, he and Liu Yifei had already made preparations before coming.

The two rehearsed the scene where Duan Yu and Wang Yuyan were thrown into a dry well. Although there were not many lines, there was a lot of inner drama, which meant that their acting skills could be reflected in their eyes, expressions, and body language.

They adjusted themselves and quickly got into the game.

Shen Lang was seen supporting Liu Yifei who was sitting on the ground, with an anxious and worried look on his face. He said, "Miss Wang, you were also thrown down by your cousin!" As he spoke, he gently shook Liu Yifei and continued, "Miss Wang, wake up, Miss Wang!"

Liu Yifei slowly opened her eyes and said weakly, "Ah, Master Duan, did I really die with you?"

Duan Yu, one of the three main characters in "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils", has many roles to play, so one can imagine how strict the casting was.

From film and television adaptations to the present, there are countless versions, and no less than ten actors have played Duan Yu.

Among them, the best performance in the eyes of the audience was definitely performed by Chen Haoming in the 97 TVB version. This version was the most dull and bookish, but he was 28 years old at the time and played the 19-year-old Duan Yu, so the age gap was a bit too big.

Shen Lang naturally did not act according to Chen Haoming's version, or any version for that matter.

He based the film on the original work and added his own understanding to create a version of his own.

The same goes for Liu Yifei.

Not to mention surpassing the version performed by Li Ruoxuan, which is regarded as the "best classic" by the audience, but at least we should perform in our own style so that everyone will remember it.

When it comes to acting, it can be said to be difficult, but it can also be said to be not difficult.

Acting is actually about transforming yourself into another person and living your life.

The difficulty lies in the fact that acting cannot be achieved to a certain level just by learning, it also requires talent.

It is not difficult because, if you have good talent, acting will be as easy as playing, and you don’t even need systematic learning.

Take the young handsome men and fairies in later generations for example. They have diplomas from various well-known film and television schools, but in fact their acting skills are terrible.

"Very good, it's how I imagined Duan Yu to be." After the two finished their performance, Zhang Jizhong was the first to praise Shen Lang.

He acquired the copyrights for so many of Jin Yong's novels to adapt into film and television, and he had a standard in his mind for the image of each protagonist.

In the original novel of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils", Duan Yu is the first protagonist to appear in the entire book.

This is a diverse character, with the amorous nature of his father, the righteousness of his eldest brother Qiao Feng, and the kindness of his second brother Xu Zhu. Although he is broad-minded and loves everyone, he is truly a good person.

Jin Yong once said, if I were to be chosen to play a role in his novels, I would like to be Duan Yu in Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils. He is not overbearing and always leaves room for others.

From the moment he entered the room to the moment he performed, Shen Lang acted out the adorable and silly role of a 19-year-old who knew nothing, and also the nobility of a royal child from an excellent family background.

This is something that has never happened among all the actors who have auditioned for the role of Duan Yu so far.

He was dressed in white, with a handsome face, sword-like eyebrows, bright eyes, a straight nose and handsome lips, which added a bit of heroic spirit to him. He looked like a martial arts master with peerless martial arts skills, and also like an elegant young man.

It can be said that Shen Lang has already surpassed the standard set by Zhang Jizhong for the role of Duan Yu.

"Liu Yifei..." Then, Zhang Jizhong mentioned Liu Yifei's name, paused for a few seconds, and said: "Very good too. I personally think that you are very suitable for the role of Wang Yuyan."

Although Wang Yuyan's character is unique and complex, it cannot cover up that she is a failed character. Inconsistencies and plot holes make her image confusing, lacking depth, and making it difficult to understand her true motivations and emotional choices.

Judging from her appearance alone, Wang Yuyan is a beautiful and elegant woman with a natural beauty. At first glance, she looks like a fairy.

In the eyes of Zhang Jizhong and others, Liu Yifei is also the actress who best suits the role of Wang Yuyan among all the actresses who have auditioned so far - she is a beauty, with a graceful look and a charming demeanor, and she makes me feel pity for her.

As for acting, the agility of a 15-year-old can make up for the lack of acting skills.

Moreover, Wang Yuyan has lived in Mantuo Villa since she was a child, with fine clothes and delicious food, and she has been living a life of wealth and glory. Apart from her mother, the only people she has contact with are her cousin. Liu Yifei's ignorant appearance just fits her perfectly.

To put it simply, Shen Lang, Liu Yifei, Duan Yu and Wang Yuyan are the right people meeting the right roles.

Zhang Jizhong exchanged opinions with Zhou Xiaowen, Ju Jueliang, Yu Min, and Zhao Jian, and said, "Okay, you guys continue. I'll take them to talk."

Then Shen Lang and Liu Yifei followed him out of the audition room. Seeing this, Ma Yuke finally felt relieved.

The next step is to discuss the pay.

Liu Yifei’s is relatively simple. She is a newcomer, so just give her a normal price and it’s done.

The difficult one is Shen Lang. His current positioning is more complicated because he has already passed the test in the music circle.

In the original time and space, Lin Zhiying's pay for this drama was 2.5 per episode.

Of course, Shen Lang's current influence and popularity far exceed that of Lin Zhiying at that time, so it is impossible for him to just get this little.

But the problem is, there are two people in the entertainment industry who are notoriously stingy, one is Qiong Yao, and the other is Zhang Jizhong.

Both of them relied on their own real abilities and offered low pay to the actors.

When filming "My Fair Princess 1", Su Youpeng had already become famous and had done well in film, television and music, but he was only paid 2000 per episode.

When Huang Xiaoming was filming The Return of the Condor Heroes, he had already gained national popularity with The Emperor of Han Dynasty, but he was only paid 8000 per episode.

Even famous people are treated like this, how can a newcomer get any better?

I have to sigh that the entertainment industry at that time was really not like it is in later generations, where traffic equals pay. 208 million for just one day.

Shen Lang didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point with Zhang Jizhong, saying he would use the dividends to offset his film remuneration and he would bear the consequences of the profit or loss himself.

In fact, this situation was within Zhang Jizhong's expectations.

He invited Shen Lang to audition not because he was an investor, but because he was attracted by his influence and popularity.

At that time, he thought that if Shen Lang's appearance and acting skills met the requirements, then he could make concessions and use dividends to offset his film remuneration.

Now things have come to this, but he is not in a hurry. He plans to leave Shen Lang alone for now and give him some time to think about it.

In case Shen Lang can't wait and lowers his demands, he can save a lot of money.

After removing makeup and changing clothes, Shen Lang took Liu Yifei away.

In the car, Liu Yifei couldn't help but asked, "Brother Lang, have you signed the contract?"

Facing her expectant gaze, Shen Lang poured cold water on her and said, "It hasn't been signed yet. They need to think about it."

"Ah..." Liu Yifei pouted and said angrily, "You are so good, what are you still considering?"

Shen Lang smiled and said, "Okay, that doesn't mean it's suitable."

It depends on Zhang Jizhong’s choice.

He knows the responsibilities of a producer, and if he were in his position, he would also need time to think.

After all, if a producer spends so much money to hire an actor and fails to bring equal returns to the play, he will not be able to explain to the investors.

Liu Yifei added: "But didn't our company invest in it? You don't have the final say?"

Shen Lang explained: "The power of investors is very great, but a good investor will not interfere with matters related to the crew."

Investors have always played a crucial role in film and television projects. They are the initiators and promoters of the projects, providing the necessary financial support for the production of films and TV series, and are therefore also called "sugar daddies."

This economic importance enables investors to influence the director's decision-making and creative process to a certain extent.

For example, in some cases, if the financiers request that specific actors or crew members be included in the cast and the director disagrees, the financiers may consider changing the director to find one who is more willing to cooperate with their request. Although this is not common, it does happen in some cases.

Liu Yifei said angrily, "Okay."

Shen Lang glanced at her, just smiled and said nothing more.

(End of this chapter)