The Birth of the Best Director

Chapter 146: Five Oscar nominations, a sensation in Asia!

……

After filming in Kashgar was completed.

The crew members rushed to Dunhuang to carry out preliminary scene setup.

Lu Zhiyuan, along with Dilraba and Xin Yukun, traveled to Los Angeles to attend the Oscars ceremony.

This is a pleasant surprise!
"Upgrade" stands out for its unique cinematic style, combining artistry and commercial appeal, and has sparked widespread online discussion, giving it significant social relevance.

From a certain perspective, as a science fiction action film, "Upgrade" is a phenomenon.

Even the most demanding academic judges cannot say that this film is a popcorn movie lacking in substance.

Because it's practically an enhanced version of District 9!
District 9 was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Therefore, "Upgrade" deserves more nominations.

Of the 9000 judges, a full 7000 nominated "Upgrade" for Best Picture.

……

—[With five Oscar nominations, can renowned director Lu Zhiyuan create a miracle and win the Oscar for Best Director after winning the Palme d'Or?]

—[Chinese actress shines at the Oscars! Dilraba's retro diva style on the red carpet drew gasps from foreign media, who exclaimed that she looked like a 17-year-old Audrey Hepburn!]

—[After winning Cannes, Chinese directors conquer Hollywood! What score would you give "Upgrade"?]

……

The domestic media were in an uproar.

Netizens were also in an uproar.

My internet speed has been extremely slow these past couple of days.

On major social media platforms and public forums like Weibo, many people flocked to discuss this topic.

Dilraba's Weibo followers are large because she often posts about her life and interacts with her fans, making her seem very down-to-earth.

She looks tall and aloof, giving off an unapproachable vibe, but her personality is actually very sweet and adorable.

Dilraba's contrasting personality is incredibly captivating.

Today, Dilraba's Weibo followers have exceeded one million, making her the number one Weibo influencer for the time being.

"Upgrade has received five Oscar nominations. Guys, have you placed your bets? How many will we win?"

"Based on my years of experience playing the lottery, with five nominations, I should be able to win at least two, right?"

"Impossible. This year's competition is incredibly strong. I bet 'The Hurt Locker' will sweep all the awards!"

"Just a runner-up, definitely a runner-up!"

"Anyway, it's much better than Sherlock Holmes, which didn't even get many nominations."

"I don't care, I'll guarantee at least one Best Foreign Language Film!"

"The person upstairs is dumbfounded... 'Upgrade' is an English film, not a foreign language film! The domestic Mandarin version, with Dilraba and Jing Tian doing a new dubbing, is a special local production!"

……

Previously, when Li An's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Brokeback Mountain" won awards, the domestic media was also in an uproar.

But Li An was always an outsider.

Domestic media and audiences did not resonate with him particularly much.

After a brief period of excitement, it quickly faded from public attention.

Apart from Zhang Ziyi's publicity team, who use this as a topic every day to elevate their own status, the rest of the people don't care anymore.

Moreover, Zhang Ziyi caused a beach scandal last January!
There was a lot of scolding on the Internet.

As a source of pride for Chinese actresses, you found a foreign fiancé and then got into the beach scandal... How can netizens support you now?
She's practically useless.

Lu Zhiyuan and Reba are not the same.

Not only are they true friends, but they are also extremely clean-living and have absolutely no scandals.

Besides that, there's another aspect of Lu Zhiyuan that makes everyone feel particularly connected to him... he's a student who failed his college entrance exam!
When Lu Zhiyuan took the college entrance examination, he applied to the China Academy of Art and the Central Academy of Fine Arts.

He didn't apply to any other schools besides those two, so he naturally failed to get into any of them because his academic score wasn't high enough.

Everyone is incredibly curious about why the famous director failed to make the list.

Later, someone forcibly opened his box, found his original exam number, and enthusiastically helped him check his score.

It turns out this guy didn't fail the exam at all!

If you really want to fill out your college application properly, you can still get into a third-tier university.

This is more in line with the truth.

It's absolutely illogical that a director with such an artistic flair like Lu Zhiyuan wouldn't have gotten into university.

However, while the director's artistic level is very high, his academic performance is not so good.

At best, it's only at the level of a third-tier university.

It's absolutely hilarious!
A flawless director, like a god, may inspire admiration, but there's always a sense that he lacks a certain approachability.

Well, even gods have flaws.

His academic performance is poor.

Especially in math, I think I failed.

Needless to say, I only scored a little over 120 out of a possible 300 points in the combined science exam.

—Lu Zhiyuan: If you were to travel back to more than ten years ago, and the college entrance examination was in three days, what could you do besides hold a fair?
……

"Guys, I got fired by my boss yesterday and am going to New Oriental Culinary School to learn cooking. Now I'm going to spill the beans. My real identity is actually a paparazzi!"

"I've been following the famous director Lu Zhiyuan for half a year, and I can say with certainty that he's incredibly boring!"

Suddenly, a paparazzi started telling a story under Lu Zhiyuan's Weibo post, almost to the point of tears.

Since Lu Zhiyuan won the Palme d'Or, many gossip media outlets have felt that a big business opportunity is on the horizon.

Anyone who manages to uncover information about Lu Zhiyuan will cause a global sensation.

So, some paparazzi volunteered to follow Lu Zhiyuan every day and collect information about him.

“His daily routine is very regular. He sleeps until he naturally wakes up, orders takeout for lunch, takes a nap after lunch, and then spends two hours in his studio.”

"If one day you find that he gets up particularly early, you don't need to ask, he has definitely made an appointment to see an art exhibition at the 798 Art Center together."

"The people who went to the art exhibition with him were not limited to Liu Yifei, Dilraba, and Zhou Xun, but also some unknown young beauties. They might be ordinary people in the entertainment industry, or they might be friends he knew in the art world."

“There are all sorts of people here… There are some people I can’t report on, so I won’t mention them.”

"If someone else were to invite a pretty young woman to an art exhibition, it might be a gimmick. The real intention might be to invite those beautiful female celebrities out and do something that everyone would enjoy."

"But our great director is truly a man of his word."

"If he says he wants to invite you to an art exhibition, then he really means it. After the exhibition, he might treat you to a meal at most... As for the afternoon and evening?"

"Hehe, his family makes soup every day... As for who he drinks with, I won't say more, lest my account get deleted..."

……

All netizens are waiting for the follow-up.

As a result, after waiting for two whole hours, there was still no follow-up.

Some people were puzzled and clicked on this Weibo account that claimed to be a paparazzi but was now a side account for learning cooking at New Oriental.

Suddenly I realized that the account is gone.

It was deactivated two hours ago!
"Depend on!"

"Would it kill you to finish what you're saying?"

I was halfway through watching the drama unfold when the other person's account disappeared.

It's absolutely infuriating.

……

Weibo Technology Center.

"Boss, as you instructed, the system has added Director Lu Zhiyuan to its whitelist for special monitoring. If any negative publicity arises about him, the system will intervene forcefully. This has caused some technical glitches."

"This morning, about 300 accounts were forcibly cancelled."

On the first day that Lu Zhiyuan and Dilraba joined Weibo, they brought a lot of traffic to the platform.

Zhao Shanshan has already arranged for someone to negotiate. Weibo can use the traffic generated by these two, but please remember to help control any negative news.

Otherwise, it would be difficult for the cooperation to continue.

At that time, Weibo was just starting out, and faced with such an unequal treaty, it signed it without hesitation.

As long as there is positive traffic to be generated, and Lu Zhiyuan and Dilraba don't have any scandals, there will never be a shortage of topics about them.

They don't need to be the bad guys and exploit negative traffic.

While generating negative traffic can be very satisfying and generate significant attention in a short period, it raises the bar for those netizens.

I probably won't be interested in gossip about minor celebrities anymore.

On Weibo, Zhao Shanshan and Lu Zhiyuan hit it off immediately, and from then on, Lu Zhiyuan and Dilraba were established as two idols.

As long as God stands, the power of faith will always flow in.

This strategy is quite correct.

In the past few days, many minor celebrities have started to join Weibo, register accounts, and follow Lu Zhiyuan as soon as possible.

Those minor celebrities, afraid that Lu Zhiyuan wouldn't know they were following him, secretly tipped Weibo to get him to mention it.

This is not.

After receiving the notification from Weibo, Lu Zhiyuan, thinking it wouldn't take much effort, clicked "follow each other" on those minor celebrities.

"Director Lu has followed me!"

"My next project is a Hollywood blockbuster!"

"Agent, hurry, hurry, apply for advertising funds from the company for me!"

Those minor celebrities were flattered and then went crazy, posting art appreciation analyses on Weibo every day, trying to find a spiritual connection with the famous director Lu Zhiyuan.

Celebrities taking the lead in learning art has gradually made the overall style of Weibo more and more bizarre.

"Brothers, I found a really great website with lots of art style analyses that look very professional."

"They are all celebrities and influential figures, so they should be reliable."

"Haha, my major courses are saved!"

After learning this news, some art students from certain schools simply came to Weibo to copy homework.

……

At the Academy Awards ceremony, Upgrade received five nominations.

Best Picture: Zhao Shanshan, James

Best Director: Lu Zhiyuan

Best Actor: Keanu Reeves
Best Actress: Dilraba

Best Original Screenplay: Xin Yukun

……

Unfortunately, and regrettably, he didn't win any of the five nominations.

In some ways, the Oscars are similar to Cannes; the major awards tend to favor art films and don't seem to favor commercial films as much.

This year's major awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, were all won by "The Hurt Locker".

This is a war movie with a budget of $1500 million, but it was filmed without permission from the U.S. military base in Kuwait.

Fortunately, the production team found help from the Jordanian army.

Most importantly, the crew members received special treatment from the authorities at the airport because they were filming this movie... Whether returning home or leaving the country, they were even taken to a small room for friendly questioning.

Under this kind of propaganda...

Which of those judges could refuse to give them their votes?
The entire Hurt Locker crew was essentially suppressed by a powerful force, and the United States is currently experiencing a high level of anti-war sentiment due to economic problems.

In this context, The Hurt Locker garnered a huge amount of sympathy!

Who can withstand this kind of propaganda?

It would be strange if The Hurt Locker didn't win an award.

Of course, it must be admitted that many problems were encountered during the filming of this movie.

Whether it's because Americans like political correctness, or because this movie was good at media campaigning... in short, if you want to win an award, you have to get the judges to favor you!

For a film like "Upgrade," Lu Zhiyuan didn't expect to win any awards, so he didn't bother with public relations.

Needless to say, he has already obtained the S-Grand Prize he needed.

……

As the newly appointed CEO of YT Pictures.

James appeared very humble in front of a group of bosses.

After the Oscars, James treated everyone to a big meal at the Hilton Hotel next to his new company.

"Boss, I'm so sorry to have made you come all this way for nothing. I've been so busy with work lately that I forgot to do the PR for you."

"In the next 'Real Steel' movie, I'll definitely make sure you leave with a lot of satisfaction."

James raised a glass to Lu Zhiyuan as an apology.

It's a bit unreasonable that a commercial film directed by a Palme d'Or winner went home empty-handed at the Oscars.

Despite being a commercial film, Avatar won Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, and Best Visual Effects.

At least, the Best Art Direction award... James thinks it must be awarded to Lu Zhiyuan!

Avatar has absolutely no artistic merit!
The movie "Upgrade" created a world-famous painting.

People go to Weizhou Island every day to make pilgrimages, and I've heard that the number of suicides there is constantly reaching new highs.

Depend on!
Understood!
James suddenly realized something.

Even before "Upgrade" won any awards, people on Weizhou Island were committing suicide every day. If it were to be heavily publicized, wouldn't all those drug addicts in North America flock to it?

The Oscars' decision not to let Lu Zhiyuan win an award is actually a charitable act.

"James, don't worry about it, I don't care about those awards."

Unless he wins the Best Director award, the other minor awards are meaningless to Lu Zhiyuan.

"By the way, James, did you find the beach I asked you to find for me, the one with a Caribbean vibe, the kind of beach with a 19th-century colonial style?"

There's a fight scene in Real Steel that takes place on a beach.

There should be beaches, waves, bikini-clad beauties, rappers with thick gold chains, and rows of limited-edition luxury cars.

This scene should be passionate and fiery, burning like a flame.

This is a custom-designed scene created by Lu Zhiyuan for the robot warrior "Planet Ripper".

As the foolish son of a capitalist, of course he should indulge in a life of luxury and extravagance.

It also provides a dessert moment for moviegoers... Beach bikinis, sexy long legs, blonde waves, who wouldn't love to see that?

"found it!"

"Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. It has beautiful scenery and many buildings left over from the Spanish colonial period, giving people a romantic feeling of traveling through time."

"In addition, the San Felipe Castle, not far from the old town, is also quite beautiful and could be used as a venue for the arena."

"Ancient castle, modern robot battles, surreal aesthetics that match what you need for the boss."

James is indeed very capable at his job.

Lu Zhiyuan only made a few requests to him, and he quickly found someone to help him arrange the filming location.

"Okay. You made a good choice."

Lu Zhiyuan glanced at the photos James had brought over and quickly confirmed that this was the scene he wanted.

No need to go to the site to confirm.

After all, this scene isn't particularly important; it's just to explain the villain, or rather, the background and strength of the biggest competitor.

In movies, it only lasts for 3 to 5 minutes at most.

The scenery is beautiful, and it's clear that this villain is very wealthy. As long as he achieves his goal, that's good.

"Boss, as long as you're satisfied."

James chuckled, patted his briefcase, and said with a smile, "Actually, I had three more alternative locations. But since you're already satisfied, I won't embarrass myself by showing them off."

It's so comfortable talking to smart people.

Especially when a cunning Jewish guy like LeBron James acts as your assistant, it's incredibly satisfying.

After finishing his meal, Lu Zhiyuan was a little tired, so he went upstairs to sleep.

Xin Yukun chatted with James for a while. Towards the end of the conversation, Xin Yukun, as if remembering something, raised an eyebrow at James: "James, Sandra is getting a divorce. Have you considered taking her on?"

Sandra Bullock just won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in "The Blind Side".

However, a huge bombshell was soon dropped about her.

Her husband cheated on her!
They were looking for child models outside when paparazzi took photos of them!
Although Lu Zhiyuan's team won nothing at the Oscars, they witnessed a truly spectacular event.

They all knew Sandra Bullock.

Keanu Reeves' best friend and also a longtime friend of LeBron James.

Sandra Bullock was once a stunning beauty, but with the passage of time, her charm has faded.

But no matter what, she was a very wealthy woman.

Unexpectedly, Sandra Bullock, who had just won the Oscar for Best Actress and was enjoying the moment of her life to the fullest, was suddenly exposed for her husband's infidelity.

It's an absolutely dramatic life.

However, that's Hollywood. People are used to all kinds of grand scenes and are completely unmoved. Apart from chatting about it over tea, they don't find anything strange at all.

"Kun, don't talk nonsense. Sandra and I are just ordinary friends. She's going through a tough time right now, so don't make jokes like that."

James immediately shook his head righteously.

Xin Yukun immediately saw through James's insincerity and smiled: "You rascal, you also think she's too old. Not as charming as the lady on the red sofa."

After teasing James a few times, Xin Yukun narrowed his eyes, put his arm around James's shoulder, and whispered, "By the way, let's talk about the story of the red sofa..."

"What kind of look is that? That's a bit presumptuous."

"James, let me reintroduce myself. I indirectly hold a 2% stake in YT Pictures through Yuankun Media. Theoretically speaking, I'm also your little boss."

Upon hearing this, James felt somewhat helpless. He then stingily slipped a few business cards into his bag and gave them to Xin Yukun.

They are all newly debuted young stars, the oldest being only 25 years old.

They are at the tender age.

Xin Yukun smiled with satisfaction: "That's more like it. From now on, I'll protect you in the company."

……

After the Oscars ceremony.

Lu Zhiyuan and his group quickly returned to Dunhuang.

Upgrades are a thing of the past; there's no need to dwell on past glories.

The "Real Steel" project is only halfway through, and we need to work hard to achieve it.

……

Dunhuang Film and Television Base.

Located in the Gobi Desert, it integrates thousands of years of Western Region folk customs.

This film and television base was built in 1987 and has had its glorious moments. It was once the filming location for movies such as "New Dragon Gate Inn" and "The Last Supper".

However, this film and television base looks somewhat outdated now because it was built so early, and it doesn't seem to fit Lu Zhiyuan's aesthetic.

"It doesn't matter."

"Live-action shooting does not directly show the original appearance in the movie. It is mainly to determine the spatial coordinate system when doing special effects in post-production."

Once the spatial coordinate system is determined, a significant amount of time can be saved when creating special effects later.

As for Dunhuang Film City, it's too rustic... but for a special effects movie, it's no problem at all.

In fact, the earthy yellow hue of Dunhuang Film City, combined with post-production special effects, makes it easier to create that dreamlike effect.

"Brother Yuan, this is a nice meeting. I'm Hong Lei."

Lu Zhiyuan was arranging for staff to set up the scene when Sun Honglei came over and greeted him.

He arrived in the morning and took a walk around the film set.

I must say, it was an eye-opening experience.

He thought to himself, "Hollywood blockbusters are just different."

Look at these cameras, two of them are placed together to film. I heard they've got some kind of Fusion system, which can achieve stereoscopic imaging, simulate the difference in human eye perspective, and generate realistic 3D effects.

A combination of two cameras costs a whopping $750 million!
Oh my god.

We must stay far away.

If you accidentally break something, don't blame it on me.

"Brother Yuan, you've worked hard. Have some soup."

Sun Honglei didn't treat himself like an outsider at all. When he saw Lu Zhiyuan sit down to rest, he quickly and warmly came over and even brought Lu Zhiyuan some soup.

Everyone else turned to look.

What the hell?

Did you poison our director?
This soup is so dark and murky, what is it? Can you even drink it?

"You're the one who's really gone through a lot. You flew all the way from Yanjing and even brought me a bowl of soup? How did you manage to get it on the plane?"

When Lu Zhiyuan saw the soup pot that Sun Honglei took out, he felt a wave of dizziness.

What kind of talented people are these?

They went to great lengths to flatter Jing Tian.

"Brother Yuan, this nourishing soup was specially made for you by Sister Tian Tian."

"As for how I brought it on the plane... I had someone specifically ask around. It was sealed and packed for check-in. 300 ml of soup, sealed in three boxes. It's still hot. Brother Yuan, drink it while it's hot."

Sun Honglei was a bit too familiar with people, completely treating himself as someone from Miss Jing Tian's maternal family.

"You're so thoughtful."

Lu Zhiyuan never expected that, so far from Yanjing, he would still have to drink Miss Jingtian's soup.

I took a small sip, and it really did taste like Jing Tian's.

Although this bowl of soup doesn't look very appetizing, it should be non-toxic.

Its nourishing effects are indeed excellent.

After all, Miss Jing Tian never buys cheap goods.

As for this nourishing formula, it might have come from a renowned traditional Chinese medicine doctor, so it certainly can't be bad.

"Brother Yuan, are you just going to give me that role directly?"

Sun Honglei was very happy to see Lu Zhiyuan drink the soup.

Lu Zhiyuan drank the soup he had brought, which meant he didn't consider himself an outsider.

"Xiao Su, call Lao Duan over."

Faced with Sun Honglei's solicitousness, Lu Zhiyuan did not reply, but instead had someone call Duan Yihong over.

Duan Yihong arrived at Dunhuang Film City a week ago, starting to look for the feeling of a desert swordsman.

He's much more dedicated than Sun Honglei.

Lu Zhiyuan cannot ignore Duan Yihong's deep understanding and research of the character just because Sun Honglei has high emotional intelligence.

"Director Lu, is this the person I'm going to compete with?"

Duan Yihong saw Sun Honglei and a contemptuous smile appeared in his eyes.

Duan Yihong's roles in "Soldiers Sortie" and "My Chief and My Regiment" gave him a tough-guy image, and compared to Sun Honglei, he is more suitable for the role of the Great Wall Guardian.

Although Sun Honglei acted in "Lurking", he gave people the impression of being a bit slick and not tough enough.

"This is a big enemy."

Sun Honglei sensed the powerful and oppressive aura emanating from Duan Yihong and immediately began to look at him with new respect.

Something.

In terms of acting skills, we're about equal.

It all depends on which big director chooses.

"It doesn't really matter who plays either of you. Old Duan was introduced by Teacher Yu, and Teacher Yu's judgment is beyond question."

When Lu Zhiyuan mentioned this, Duan Yihong nodded slightly and then raised his chin.

That's natural.

Although "Love Comes Again" flopped, my performance was absolutely awesome.

Who wouldn't give a thumbs up?

As for Sun Honglei, he looks like a bull terrier.

With such a repulsive appearance, he wants to play a defender of the Great Wall? It's laughable.

"Honglei was introduced by Tiantian. He even brought me a soup from afar, I am so grateful."

Sun Honglei couldn't tell if Lu Zhiyuan was being sarcastic or not.

But he was also very confident.

I was introduced by Miss Jing Tian, ​​so I'm the one with the strongest connections. Who can replace me?
"Is such that."

Lu Zhiyuan couldn't choose between these two brilliant strategists for the time being, so he could only analyze their characters.

"I thought about the Great Wall Guardian mecha warrior on the plane... In addition to the tough guy image, it should also have a tender heart."

"He cannot be simply regarded as a minor boss on the protagonist's journey of challenges."

"The Great Wall Guardians, although fictional characters, are nonetheless imbued with the deep-rooted national sentiment of our country. I specially created a unique visual label for them."

Upon hearing this, Duan Yihong and Sun Honglei both looked over seriously.

Renowned director Lu Zhiyuan likes to leave Easter eggs in his films, using unique visual tags to add depth and realism to the characters.

They've already heard film critics analyze this formula.

It works very well.

However, this kind of treatment is generally only enjoyed by the main characters.

Originally, they came here just to experience what it's like to pilot a mecha and play a minor supporting role. Little did they expect that Lu Zhiyuan would design a unique visual identity for them.

This character is going to be a hit!
In an instant, the same thought popped into both of their minds.

With the unique visual tags designed by Lu Zhiyuan, this character could generate a huge amount of discussion even if he only appears for a few seconds.

"Director Lu, what visual tags?"

"Brother Yuan, did Sister Tian Tian mention it, and you designed it especially for me?"

Duan Yihong and Sun Honglei exchanged a glance, both revealing a strong competitive spirit.

This role cannot be given up.

If you give in, you will surely regret it for the rest of your life.

The competitive dynamic between the two made Lu Zhiyuan feel very good.

It's this effect.

He glanced at the two of them and said, "Have you seen Kung Fu Panda? Po's martial arts teacher is a red panda. I think that's a very interesting concept."

"I will use similar elements."

"In my concept, the boxing instructor of the Great Wall Guardians is actually practicing an ancient Chinese martial art, using animal-like techniques to train."

"However, he has been stuck in a rut for a long time."

"In order to break through the bottleneck, he transformed himself into a cat in the game."

"The Great Wall Guardian had two battles with the female protagonist. One was a crushing victory, and the other was a defeat."

"During these two matches, the Great Wall Defenders and this cat will interact twice."

"One is the high-five of the victor, brimming with passion and arrogance."

"It was a fist bump between losers. Under the desolate sunset, on the golden yellow earth, a tall and mighty mech hunter sat there dejectedly, while a lazy orange cat, wagging its tail, gently extended its paw and bumped fists with him. Everything was understood without words."

"What do you think of this scene? Does it give you a feeling of a tough guy with a soft heart?"

"It gives people a huge sense of contrast: the world is so beautiful, and the Great Wall guardians, though they seem irritable, have soft hearts?"

Have!
Absolutely!
If a third-rate film director were to describe this scene to them, Duan Yihong and Sun Honglei would probably think the other person has something wrong with their head.

What kind of fistfight is it between a mecha warrior and a cat?

This isn't Doraemon.

However, Lu Zhiyuan had already made it clear to them that "Real Steel" was a surreal fantasy film.

It should have a youthful vibe.

In other words, this could be a teen action movie.

Teen action movies should, of course, have that feeling of a beautiful world, full of fairytale charm.

The mecha warrior and the cat stand side by side in the sunset, one tall and one short, creating a visual contrast. However, the cat is also the robot's teacher, thus reversing their roles.

This is where things get really interesting.

Interesting, this has the potential to go viral.

This is of great significance to actors.

Many people act in movies their whole lives and probably never have a memorable role.

"You have two hours."

"In two hours, I will have an audition to decide who will pilot the mecha and who will play the martial arts fanatic, Teacher Cat."

It doesn't matter who plays the Great Wall defender.

Her acting skills are definitely not a problem.

Lu Zhiyuan is biased towards Duan Yihong in his heart. Duan Yihong has a more complex temperament. He can portray the bravery and perseverance of the Great Wall defenders, but his emotions are restrained.

He liked this feeling about Duan Yihong.

He possesses a unique, reserved charm characteristic of Chinese men.

Unlike Sun Honglei, whose eyes are too sharp and more suitable for playing a gangster boss with an imposing presence, he doesn't seem like a guardian.

……

Two hours later.

Sun Honglei arrived full of confidence.

“Brother Yuan, I know I give off a tough image. The roles I’ve played before were mostly gangsters or villains. But lately I’ve been thinking about how to play a good guy. I’m sure I can do the role of the Great Wall Guardian…”

He was just speaking passionately, but in that instant, Sun Honglei suddenly stopped.

His little eyes were wide open, as if he had seen a ghost.

"Director Lu, look what I brought."

Duan Yihong was holding a cat in his arms, gently stroking it a few times. The cat let out soft meows, seemingly getting along quite well with Duan Yihong.

The key issue is not the cat.

The key point is that this cat's face looks a bit like Sun Honglei.

Duan Yihong smiled at Sun Honglei, who was dumbfounded.

“Master, I’ve found your true form for you. I saw it on the street a couple of days ago, and I was wondering why this cat looked so familiar?”

"Today, I realized that all of this was fate!"

Duan Yihong placed the cat on the table next to him, clasped his hands together, and gave the cat a very respectful disciple's salute.

At this moment, Sun Honglei's composure crumbled.

Your uncle's!

You can do this to me?

This is unfair competition!

"Master Cat, please begin your performance."

Duan Yihong looked at Sun Honglei with a smile, signaling that he could begin the audition.

What's the point of an audition?

Seeing that Sun Honglei had completely lost his momentum, he probably admitted defeat.

Lu Zhiyuan couldn't help but glance at the cat's face a few times, and then compared it with Sun Honglei's appearance.

It is God's will.

He made a direct decision: "In that case, Hong Lei will play the cat master, and Lao Duan will play the Great Wall guardian!"

After Lu Zhiyuan left, Duan Yihong picked up the cat and smiled smugly at Sun Honglei: "Your face is quite versatile. It saved the project a lot of special effects costs."

Damn Duan Yihong!
You'll get your comeuppance sooner or later!

(End of this chapter)