Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 335 China's Marlon Brando: Killing Two Birds with One Stone

"Actually, Mr. Hu is doing alright right now."

"There's one last one. Why don't we call him in and take a look?" The casting director, flipping through the list, added in a low voice.

"."

A short while later, Wu Jing entered the audition room and completed her audition.

Wu Jing's audition proceeded as scheduled.

His performance was decent, but as expected, it was neither a disaster nor a surprise.

A brief silence fell over the audition room as the afternoon sun slanted into the room, its rays piercing through the gaps in the curtains and falling in thin, solitary lines on the walls and floor.

The group discussed the matter and were momentarily stumped.

Currently, the three solutions that have been discussed stand in the way of the group:

First, reduce the number of guest stars, thus reducing the sense of presence of excessive guest stars;

Second, find another male lead who can command the scene;

Third, Hu Jun was directly selected.

Everyone felt that Hu Jun was the most suitable among the eight people, but he was just lacking one thing.

"If we reduce the number of cameo appearances, some of the promotional plans that Universal Pictures has already finalized will have to be redone. It's a real shame, though, because even if these five people just have their names on the poster, it would still give the media a huge buzz."

David Lyndon shook his head, a little reluctant. This was such a great opportunity; other directors couldn't even gather the right people.

Han Sanping and Ren Zhonglun were also reluctant, and the group unanimously decided to skip the first option and turn their attention to Wu Chen.

"Take a break."

Wu Chen chuckled to himself, knowing that no one wanted to give up this guest appearance lineup.

He wasn't particularly anxious. It often happens during the casting process that a suitable lead actor can't be found temporarily, and it's quite normal for some lead actors to take several months to be selected.

During a break, Wu Chen stood in the corridor and answered the phone. Liu Yifei's voice came from the other end of the receiver, clear and cheerful.

"You and Shu Chang are here too?" Wu Chen smiled and looked out the window, noticing a group of girls vaguely gathered in the square below the teaching building in the distance. "You guys really have a lot of free time. Want to come over here?"

"Forget it, we won't go." Liu Yifei looked at the people coming and going on their way to auditions in the distance, her tone light. "By the way, guess who I just ran into?"

"Oh? Who did you run into?"

"Director Jiang and Sister Zhou Yun said they came to see a screenwriter, but Director Jiang was swearing and cursing, so they were probably rejected."

Upon hearing Liu Yifei's words, Wu Chen's eyes suddenly lit up, as if he had thought of something, and he quickly asked, "Has Director Jiang gone far yet?"

"I don't know, they might still be wandering around here, or they might have left."

Wu Chen immediately called Jiang Wen without hesitation.

Jiang Wen was wandering around aimlessly, constantly complaining, "Do you think I'm that scary? Writing a script for me feels like it's going to kill him."

Zhou Yun didn't know what to say for a moment.

You're asking someone to write a script, you clearly just want to lock someone up for a few months.

Just then, Jiang Wen's phone suddenly rang. He picked it up and saw that it was Wu Chen calling: "Director Wu, what's up? Weren't you auditioning today?"

"I just heard from Xixi that she ran into you and Sister Zhou Yun. I suddenly remembered something and wanted to ask Director Jiang for a favor. You haven't gone far, have you?"

"They haven't gone far, they're just wandering around."

Wu Chen smiled and said, "Why don't you come and browse around here?"

"Your audition? What would I do there? Tell me, what do you need my help with? It's not a cameo role, is it?" Jiang Wen was slightly taken aback, unsure of Wu Chen's intentions.

"More or less, this is quite urgent for me."

"Um, wait a few minutes, what's the rush?" Jiang Wen didn't refuse, since the person hadn't gone far. Zhou Yun looked puzzled: "What's wrong, Director Wu?"

"I'm not quite sure yet, but I guess it's some kind of role that needs my help in making a cameo appearance?"

After hanging up the phone, Wu Chen walked in with a smile on his face.

"Have you come up with an idea?" Han Sanping couldn't help but ask.

"We just called someone in for an audition; everyone, we'll see how they go later."

The media reporters at the school gate are complaining.

"Today's audition was so tightly sealed off, not a breath of air could get through."

"Eight candidates, each one of them acted as if they had signed a pledge, saying 'thank you' after the audition and then leaving."

"."

Jiang Wen had already arrived at the candidate room when Wu Chen handed him the script: "Director Jiang, here are just a few pages, take a look."

Jiang Wen looked down and frowned after reading only two lines.

"Are you sure this is a cameo for me?" He raised an eyebrow and his eye twitched. "Why does it feel like this person is giving a monologue from beginning to end? What kind of cameo gets such a long internal monologue?"
Could he be the main character?

“Yes, the main character.” Wu Chen nodded.

"what?"

Jiang Wen paused slightly, looking at Wu Chen's serious expression, and considered how to refuse.

Although Wu Chen's movies are quite tempting, and he's acted in Zhang Yimou's films before, he's currently thinking about how to work on his next script. Unexpectedly, Wu Chen casually added:
"Gong Li, Scarlett Johansson, Christian Bale, Chadwick Boseman, and Effie will all be acting alongside you; the Best Actor and Best Actress winners from the three major film festivals are all there."

Just as the words of refusal were about to come out of his mouth, Jiang Wen quickly swallowed them back: "Director Wu, it's not like we can't consider this job."

Seeing Jiang Wen's expression, Wu Chen smiled inwardly. He knew that Jiang Wen would find it hard to refuse, as this was a rare opportunity.

"Director Wu, if I help you with this, could you do me a small favor in return?" Jiang Wen looked at Wu Chen and suddenly had a great idea. This was a real top screenwriter. If he could get Wu Chen on board, wouldn't that be amazing?

"What's the deal?"

"Here's what screenwriting is all about: I have an idea."

Wu Chen listened quietly. Of course he knew what Jiang Wen was talking about; it was "Let the Bullets Fly." But Jiang Wen was a notorious screenwriter killer.
"Director Jiang, I can help, but your reputation for keeping people locked up for months is too infamous!" Wu Chen complained.

Jiang Wen panicked and quickly retorted, "Nonsense! That's all made up by people in the industry!"

I can help with the key parts of the script.

"It works!"

The two hit it off.

Jiang Wen was in high spirits at this moment. He had actually managed to get Wu Chen to be the screenwriter for his new script, and he had also landed the male lead role in a movie. It was a double blessing.
Although he hasn't passed the audition yet, he is absolutely confident; otherwise, why would Wu Chen have gone out of his way to find him?

Wu Chen was also in a particularly good mood. Jiang Wen was very suitable for the male lead. As for "Let the Bullets Fly," he had already gotten involved in the script, so it wouldn't be unreasonable for him to ask for a share of the investment in the future.
Inside the audition room, everyone knew who Wu Chen had brought over.

Han Sanping's expression was strange. He couldn't think of Jiang Wen for a moment, but he had to admit that the role was quite suitable.

Jiang Wen's presence is so strong that almost every time he appears on screen, the audience thinks he is the male lead. He has a natural "protagonist feel" on screen.

"China's Marlon Brando."

David Lyndon recalled, clapped his hands, and remembered how Jiang Wen was referred to by European film critics and cultural journalists in the 90s.

After a while, Jiang Wen entered the performance, slowly sat down, leaned back as if confronting someone, and his performance was a little different from others. Wu Chen's eyes narrowed slightly.

"Today."

"I grew potatoes on Mars."

After Jiang Wen finished speaking, he didn't laugh, but instead sighed. However, after that sigh, the corner of his mouth curled up, and the smile seemed to be a challenge to God.
(End of this chapter)