Entertainment: I just want to be the boss behind the scenes

Chapter 60: Are there really cats that can do backflips?
After hearing Li Yitong's words, Meng Bai frowned and thought about it, always feeling that something was strange.

"When you say this in this situation, it feels like I'm trying to seduce you." Meng Bai said.

Li Yitong looked at Meng Bai mischievously: "Then I wonder if Teacher Meng would specifically ask the director to arrange for me to pass in order to lure me?"

"What a joke! I, Meng Bai, have always been upright in my actions. How could I possibly resort to such means?" Meng Bai looked at Li Yitong "righteously" and said, "I usually choose a more subtle method."

"what way?"

"Beauty, my cat can do backflips, do you want to see it with me?"

Li Yitong was stunned for a moment, and then couldn't help laughing with her eyes curved.

Because this hotel apartment receives various crews preparing for actor auditions all year round, it simply renovated its interior. Each room is equivalent to an independent small office, with several partitions separated by frosted glass.

Meng Bai took Li Yitong to the audition site of "Psychological Crime". There was no scheduled audition time yet, so there were not many people in the room.

Occasionally, one or two staff members came in and out. They were the production team that had worked with Meng Bai when he was filming "Pendulum". When they saw Meng Bai coming in, they all greeted him, and then curiously glanced at Li Yitong who was following behind him. However, everyone thought she was an audition actor who came in advance, and no one asked.

"You can take a rest here first. The audition will not start until later." Meng Bai settled Li Yitong in the corner of the room and said to her, "Someone will come for the audition later. You can take a look at their process and experience and feel the atmosphere. When I give you the news, you can come in again."

"Don't worry, go ahead and get busy." Li Yitong nodded and said seriously. She knew Meng Bai would be very busy today, so she didn't want to waste any more of his time.

What's more, I am not a minor and I don't need someone to watch over me.

Seeing Li Yitong respond, Meng Bai gave a few more instructions and walked into the inner room. Today was the first day of auditions for the new drama, and he was indeed very busy.

After discussing the budget issue with Wu Bai last time, Leshi.com quickly signed a new film contract with Meng Bai, and then started the preparation work for "Psychological Crime".

Just like last time, Meng Bai's position in the crew is still producer and chief screenwriter. Coupled with the newly added "investor" background this time, he is definitely the first "decisive person" of this project.

Although it is a criminal investigation drama, "Psychological Crime" is different from the previous unit dramas such as "Serious Case Six" and "Crime Scene". It is closer to TVB's Hong Kong-style criminal investigation dramas in the past. There are multiple stories before and after, and the plots are connected to each other.

Because of this, the show will have a lot of demand for actors, especially supporting actors. A few days ago, Meng Bai had Liu Zhi post the role requirements online and in related groups, hoping to decide on a few main roles first.

Seeing Meng Bai coming into the room, Wu Bai, who was sitting in the room, hurriedly called him over.

"I studied the shooting plan and I still think it would be more efficient to divide it into groups A and B and shoot simultaneously." Wu Baidao.

The story of "Psychological Crime" is about a talented young man named Fang Mu who is a criminal psychologist. He uses his professional knowledge to help the police solve various cases and find murderers who committed crimes due to psychological motives.

There are two core characters in the whole drama, one is the male protagonist "Fang Mu" and the other is the captain of the police detachment "Tai Wei".

Because of these two characters, the whole drama is divided into two large scenes - the "Green Vine University" where Fang Mu is located, and the "Green Vine City Xicheng District Public Security Bureau" where Tai Wei is located.

These two groups of characters and scenes are interspersed with each other, and there are also a large number of independent plots. Therefore, after considering the shooting schedule, Wu Bai thought that it would save more time to use "AB group" to shoot simultaneously.

"There's no problem with group A and B shooting, but we need to find a suitable director with a similar shooting style." Meng Bai said.

As the producer and chief screenwriter, he can coordinate the plot and post-production, but as for the on-site shots, it still depends on the director's directing style and level.

The style of Wubai's shots tends to be cold and realistic. If the director of another group does not cooperate well, it will easily lead to inconsistent styles in future films.

"I do have a candidate to recommend." Wu Bai said, "He's a friend of mine. He's been my assistant director a few times before, so we know each other's camera styles better."

Meng Bai glanced at him and said with a smile: "Director Wu, you have been waiting for me here for a long time, right?" Wu Bai smiled and did not deny: "Indeed, it is because of him that I came up with the idea of shooting with Group A and Group B. But don't worry, his level is no problem. If he were not so young and inexperienced, he should be able to direct independently by now."

"Okay, I still trust you, brother." Meng Bai said, "What's his name? Call him over in a couple of days to have a chat."

"His name is Wang Wei."

"This name..." Meng Bai sighed: "Fortunately his last name is not Zhang, otherwise I wouldn't dare to let him come."

After the shooting schedule was finalized, it was almost time for the scheduled audition. Meng Bai called Liu Zhi and asked him to find someone to pick him up.

Compared to the previous audition of "Soul Ferry", the number of people auditioning this time has almost quadrupled. It is impossible to audition so many people in one day, so Meng Bai and his team divided the audition into three days according to the different roles.

Today is the first day. The main audition roles include the second male lead "Criminal Police Captain Tai Wei", the female lead "Chen Xi", the second female lead "School Beauty", the little girl role "Liao Yafan" and so on, about seven or eight.

"Hello, teachers. I am the audition actor who has made an appointment with you..."

"Okay, go back and wait for notification. We will reply to you within five working days."

"Hello, Director. The role I'm auditioning for is..."

"Okay, we will contact you as soon as we have the results."

"..."

Because the crew members used this time are basically the same production and director team as the previous "Pendulum", they have a tacit understanding and experience with each other, so the audition went very quickly, with a new auditioner being replaced every ten minutes or so.

Li Yitong watched the performance of each auditioner with great interest outside, and at the same time compared it with the acting knowledge she had learned during this period.

Although most of the actors who came to audition were unknown young actors, their acting skills were more than enough for a "newbie" like her to be a senior. After half a day of experience, she had gained a lot.

Just as I was thinking about it, a woman's voice suddenly came from behind me: "Hello, is the audition for the "Psychological Crime" crew here?"

Li Yitong turned around and saw a mother who looked quite young and fashionable, with a girl who was about junior high school age standing behind her.

This girl should be the one who came to audition, right? Li Yitong took a look at the girl. She had big eyes and fair skin. Although she was still young, she would be a beautiful girl when she grew up.

"It's inside." Li Yitong gestured towards the house.

"Thank you." The young mother thanked her and took the girl in. The girl looked back as she walked in. Li Yitong smiled warmly and mouthed "Come on".

The little girl was stunned for a moment, but then she smiled sweetly, nodded to her in thanks, and then walked into the house.

Watching the little girl disappear from the back, Li Yitong sighed in her heart. They say that actors should become famous as early as possible. I didn't have any idea before, but today I finally saw it. In less than half a day, the third little girl came to audition, and each of them was only twelve or thirteen years old.

In comparison, I am indeed a little old to have just started learning acting at the age of "eighteen years and sixty-four months".

Or should I really try to "hide" Meng Bai?
The key is, I have always been willing, but that guy always talks big but never takes any action.

Well, we have to think of something... How about getting a cat that can do backflips?
She was half-absent-minded outside when she heard the girl inside introducing herself: "Hello, Director Uncle, Screenwriter Brother. My name is Zhao Jinmai, and I'm here to audition for the role of 'Liao Yafan'."

(End of this chapter)