Abstract Art Award Winner

Humans are like giant straws.

When you kiss someone, you're actually just kissing the other end of the straw.

Zhou Le was once the one standing below being auditioned, but now he's sitting on top.

Since prior arrangements had been made, Zhou Le immediately discussed the matter with Lin Yufen upon arrival.

"Director Lin, I have a favor to do for someone, but I'm not sure what role to assign her to. Her name is Zhang Yuxi."

Lin Yufen has been in the industry for decades and has seen too much of the intricacies of human relationships.

So she wasn't against it. As long as she could accept the reassignment, it didn't matter. Anyway, she would have to be assigned to it eventually. The most important thing was to be obedient.

"Whose favor was it?"

"From Wanda Group."

Lin Yufen understood instantly, then searched for Zhang Yuxi's resume online and watched a few related videos.

"Since it's a favor from a friend, and also from an investor, it's best to arrange her a little earlier in the lineup. Currently, the second and third female leads are both good, but considering her good image, I think it would be better to just arrange her as the second female lead. What do you think?"

Zhou Le actually thought the same thing; in any case, whether she was the second or third female lead, her position wasn't awkward.

The reason he asked was simply because he felt that Lin Yufen, as the director, should show some respect to the other party.

"Okay, then let's do as Director Lin says and arrange a second female lead."

Normally speaking, some actors are quite resistant to historical dramas. For them, urban dramas are better. After all, in various TV series awards, both the organizers and the judges tend to favor urban realistic themes.

This time, almost everyone in the industry knew about Zhou Le's audition, not to mention that it was directed by Lin Yufen.

However, in terms of status, Lin Yufen's position in the industry is higher than Yu Zheng's, and she has promoted just as many actors as Yu Zheng.

So for a while now, Lin Yufen's phone has been ringing off the hook.

But she didn't agree to any of them. After all, it was her first time working with Zhou Le, and Zhou Le was going to play the male lead in the drama. Naturally, she had to carefully select the remaining actors.

A TV series starring Zhou Le is guaranteed to be a hit. At least in the eyes of those in the know, Zhou Le's involvement in ancient costume dramas is a complete game-changer.

Whether it's the audience appeal, the script, or the production quality, it's bound to be excellent.

Therefore, many actors are also keeping an eye on it.

It wasn't just those newly famous celebrities, but also many of Zhou Le's old friends.

After they were all ready, the staff started calling people in, but the first one to come in was Zhao Yingzi.

Zhao Yingzi was born in 90 and debuted very early. She graduated from the Central Academy of Drama.

"Hello Director Lin, hello Teacher Zhou."

Zhao Yingzi entered the room and immediately greeted him familiarly. Although it was her first time meeting Zhou Le, she showed the composure expected of a famous actress.

"Hello, your information is mostly on your resume, and we have a certain understanding of you. So, which role would you like to try out for this time?"

Zhao Yingzi smiled and said, "I'd like to try out for the role of Chu Linglong."

I've played similar roles before in "Ming Dynasty" and "The Legendary Twins," so I think I'm quite suitable, and I also have experience.

Chu Linglong is the second female lead. Lin Yufen immediately looked at Zhou Le after hearing this.

The meaning is obvious: the role of the second female lead was just decided, and it was arranged through Zhou Le's connections, so naturally, Zhou Le has to explain it.

Zhou Le understood, of course: "I'm sorry, Teacher Zhao, we've already finalized the role; it was just decided, so we couldn't inform you in advance."

Zhao Yingzi has been acting for over a decade and has seen many similar incidents, so she reacted immediately.

"That's a bit of a shame, but besides this role, I also have another one prepared, a Lady Dongfang in the drama."

Zhou Le also remembers the character of Madam Dongfang.

Her title in the book is the most beautiful woman in the world.

Although he had a wife, he loved someone else and ultimately committed suicide because of the unrequited love he could not have.

"That's fine."

Then Zhou Le personally took the stage, holding the script of the Floating Jade Island Master and comparing it with the other party.

"That's good. You can go back now. We'll call you within two days to confirm if it's confirmed."

Lin Yufen was very professional and handled the filming of the movie very seriously. Although Zhao Yingzi had a great image and acting skills and was more than qualified to play the role of Madam Dongfang, she did not immediately accept the role.

"Okay, thank you Director Lin, thank you Teacher Zhou."

After Zhao Yingzi left, the second person to enter was Tan Jianci.

Tan Jianci, also born in 90, debuted as a member of a boy band and is good at singing and dancing. He entered the film and television industry in 16, but so far, his most famous works are The Advisors Alliance and Secret of the Three Kingdoms. At the end of last year, he co-starred with Yu Hewei, Li Landi, Wu Lei and Zhang Zifeng in an urban romance film called Pet Love.

The role the other party wanted to try was the second male lead.

Zhou Le was quite satisfied with the other person's appearance. The only drawback was that he was only 174 cm tall. However, there were many action scenes in the movie, and the other person was a graduate of the dance major at Beijing Sport University.

His acting skills are indeed commendable.

After the other party finished performing, Zhou Le nodded.

Lin Yufen, as before, told the other party to go back and wait for news.

"I think this is pretty good. He should have no problem playing the second male lead. It's just that he's a bit inexperienced. I wonder if Teacher Zhou would mind if he were an actor who debuted in a boy band?"

"I don't mind these things. As long as the filming is good, anything is fine. It doesn't matter if it's a boy band debut or someone who has never been to school."

"That's all. I can give Tan Jianci a score of 90 for now. We'll see if there are any better ones later."

"Row."

Then came the third one, Zhang Yuxi.

Unlike previous interviews, Zhang Yuxi got in through connections, so many procedures could be skipped, including a shorter audition presentation compared to others.

"Zhang Yuxi, Principal Wang called me before and said he wanted you to join the crew. Then Director Lin and I discussed it and felt that your image and acting skills were acceptable, so we directly gave you the second female lead role."

This role is currently the only one confirmed besides the male and female leads, so I hope you can read the script carefully when you get back, study the character's background, and put in a lot of hard work.

Only by playing this role well can I do justice to Principal Wang. Even if there are flaws in the show and people criticize it, I don't want you to be the one being criticized.

"Understood, thank you, Teacher Zhou, thank you, Director Lin."

Zhang Yuxi was indeed very humble. She was aware of Zhou Le and Wang Sicong's relationship, which is why she approached Wang Sicong back then, even though they had already broken up.

Zhou Le could nod in agreement, but if he acted too arrogantly, being kicked out of the crew would be a matter of just one phone call from Zhou Le.

Wang Sicong and Zhou Le are not only friends, but also have many business collaborations, so naturally their relationship wouldn't break down because of her.

"Okay, let's go back. But don't tell anyone else about what's been decided yet. Wait a day or two until we announce it publicly before telling others."

"Okay, I will definitely study the script carefully when I get back."

After that, one person after another came in.

Those who come in quickly stay for five or six minutes and then leave, while those who come in slowly take about ten minutes.

Some of them did perform well, making Zhou Le want to make a decision on the spot, but some were so bad that Zhou Le didn't even want to look at them.

"What's wrong, Teacher Zhou? Didn't you work as a director before? You look very tired."

During halftime, Lin Yufen looked at Zhou Le and asked with a smile.

"Sigh, it's still different. I didn't do many auditions for my movie. Everyone was chosen in advance and then they would come over to show off their acting skills. There was nothing to criticize about my acting. But this time, when I auditioned with Director Lin, I realized that being a director is really tiring."

If this wasn't my own investment, I absolutely have to file a workers' compensation claim.

"Haha, that's how it is. To put it bluntly, auditions, especially for historical dramas, are like scavenging for food in a garbage dump."

It's probably a bit easier for directors like you who write their own scripts and finance their own projects; it's more difficult for directors who don't have much say.

"The investors put in actors you know aren't good enough, but you still have to use them. They don't perform well on set, they're late or leave early, but you can't really say anything about it."

Lin Yufen was a seasoned veteran and was already used to this.

"Sigh, it is indeed quite difficult. At least when it comes to making more serious movies, the quality of the actors is quite good."

"There's nothing we can do. That's just how the market is. It's hard to find someone who has both popularity and acting skills."

After resting for a while, they continued to exert themselves.

Until the last actor who signed up had all gone through the auditions.

Filter out those that are obviously not good, and take out the ones that are not bad for further screening.

But at that moment, Lin Yufen and Zhou Le's phones started ringing.

All of them were unfamiliar numbers, and there were also many new friend requests on WeChat, all with names like "agents" from various companies, and even some company bosses.

"Don't overthink it. These people are just trying to build a relationship with you. If you're interested in accepting their offers, add them and let's chat first. If you want to do it yourself, make your selections first, and then add the ones you've chosen."

After adding them, don't immediately say that we proactively confirmed them. Let them state their conditions first before agreeing, and only then tell the others that the roles have been finalized.

For a moment, Zhou Le looked at the other person with admiration.

"Don't look at me like that. It's all about maximizing benefits. If you just tell them the role is decided, they won't appreciate your kindness. But if they come up with conditions for you to accept, you'll not only benefit, but they'll also owe you a favor."

Zhou Le looked at the list again and nodded.

"Then we can make demands on the salary, subsequent publicity, and trending topics. We can ignore other people's trending topics, but I can't be the one to buy trending topics for their own artists, can I?"

Lin Yufen had an expression that suggested she was a promising student.

"Yes, that's what it means."

With two decisive people together, a list was quickly finalized.

Each actor has one or two backup candidates. The purpose is to arrange the next candidates in order of priority if there are any disagreements regarding salary or schedule among the first batch of confirmed actors.

The second male lead is Tan Jianci, and the second female lead is Zhang Yuxi.

The third male lead is Wang Hedi, and the third female lead is Jin Chen.

Following them were Han Dongjun, He Shengming, Zhao Yingzi, Li Yitong, Zhuang Dafei, Zhang Xincheng, and others.

I contacted them one by one, and most of them said that the pay was negotiable, as long as there was an opportunity to work together.

Some people subtly inquired about the possibility of having more screen time, offering to provide sponsorship if possible.

"I'm sorry, the script has already been written. Whether it needs to be revised depends on the development of the plot. After all, it's directed by Lin Yufen, so it's not appropriate for me to interfere."

Lin Yufen's response was similar: "Although I am the director, the script is Zhou Le's, and he is also a big investor. I can only help him with the work. The final decision is up to him."

Both sides are just passing the buck like this, and those who understand will know what's going on.

Zhou Le himself is not short of money, nor is he short of investment. It is impossible for him to increase the screen time and lines of actors who should be ranked lower, and then raise their positions, just for a little profit.

In reality, not many of these people came for the drama itself; they came for Zhou Le and Lin Yufen.

Putting everything else aside, if Zhou Le thinks of them when he produces some serious dramas or dark horse dramas in the future, then that's a win.

Besides, acting alongside Zhou Le is stressful, but it also offers more opportunities to become famous. Once you can capitalize on this wave of popularity, you can start preparing to upgrade your career.

So the agents of those artists all told them that they must get along well with Zhou Le and Lin Yufen on set, especially Zhou Le.

Zhou Le is a loyal friend. If he thinks something is good, he will definitely take it on. You should also be more active on set and not be dull. If Zhou Le makes a joke, you should join in.

Suddenly, the actors were under a lot of pressure. They not only had to memorize the script and understand the characters, but also had to memorize the jokes.

But there's no other way; you have to cater to their preferences.

Once the cast was finalized, Lin Yufen immediately began preparations, gathering all the actors and asking them to turn down other work to focus on filming. The initial preparations took about a week and a half.

Zhou Le has to go to Qingdao in the next few days to finish filming his scenes for "The Wandering Earth".

As soon as Zhou Le finished his work, we started filming here immediately.

So before going to Qingdao, Zhou Le called Guo Fan again.

"Brother Fan, let's make this clear first. I can only film for a week and a half. I know I don't have many scenes, so please don't add any more scenes for me. Let's stick to the script, otherwise it will delay my filming schedule."

"Haha, what are you saying? Do you think I'm that kind of person? A week and a half is more than enough time. Come on, we've prepared to welcome you. Tonight, let's drink until we drop, and tomorrow we'll start filming your scenes."

"Brother Fan, is what you're saying even human? We're not leaving until we're drunk tonight, and we have to film first thing tomorrow morning?"

"So what? You're not going to tell me you're no good, are you? Haha, man."

"No way? Fine, I'll drink. No one's leaving until I'm passed out." (End of Chapter)