I am a historical film director in the entertainment industry.

Chapter 167, "Buried Alive," was shortlisted for the main competition at the Venice Film Festival.

Liu Meng has already worked with me on two movies, so directing the sequel shouldn't be a problem. Even if there are problems, I'll still be there for him, right?

When Liu Meng is filming, I can give him some encouragement on set so he can feel like he's actually there.

Time flew by and it was already the end of August.

That day, Cheng Sheng had just finished filming a scene and was letting everyone rest when his assistant came over and said, "Boss, Director Ning Hao just called."

"What did you say?"

After taking a sip of water, Cheng Sheng asked.

“He didn’t say, he told the boss to call him when he had time,” the assistant said, shaking his head.

Ah!
Cheng Sheng was taken aback, thinking to himself: What does Ning Hao mean by this?
"Give me your phone."

He usually gives his phone to his assistant when he's filming to avoid being disturbed.

The assistant handed the phone to Cheng Sheng, who immediately called Ning Hao.

The call connected in just a few seconds.

"Hey, Ninghao, what's up?" Cheng Sheng said.

"Hehe, good news, absolutely good news!" Ning Hao said excitedly.

"What good news? Wait, you should be in Venice right now, right?"

Cheng Sheng was taken aback at first, then remembered that Ning had taken the film to Venice a while ago.

"Yes, boss, did you guess it?" Ning Hao said with a smile.

"If you can tell me good news, you must have sold that film for a good price!" Cheng Sheng said.

“No, the film hasn’t been sold yet,” Ning Hao said.

It didn't sell?

Cheng Sheng was taken aback for a moment, but quickly became happy and excitedly asked, "Have we been selected for the main competition?"

Only in this way would Ning Hao call him, and only then would it be good news.

"Great! We just received notification from the organizers that our film has been selected for the main competition," Ning Hao said happily.

"Great."

Cheng Sheng slapped his thigh happily and continued, "Director Ning, congratulations! You're definitely going to win the award this time."

Films selected for the main competition are almost guaranteed to win awards.

Forget about any reward, we're already winners.

"Haha, I have to thank you so much, boss. If it weren't for the script you wrote for me, I wouldn't have had the chance to win the award."

Ning Hao was genuinely happy. When he received the call from the organizer, he was so excited that he almost left home.

What awards were you nominated for?

Cheng Sheng asked.

"Boss, guess what? There's a surprise!"

Hearing Ning Hao's playful words, Cheng Sheng began to think.

Buried is a low-budget film, so it's impossible for it to win Best Supporting Actor, Best Cinematography, or Best Actress awards.

After all, the supporting characters in the movie are practically like passersby, there's no female lead, and the cinematography award is out of the question. Most of the shots are taken inside the coffin, leaving no room for the cinematographer to showcase his skills.

The most likely winner is Best Actor. "Buried" is a film that really tests an actor's acting skills, and the entire plot relies on the male lead's own performance.

If the male lead's acting is bad, this movie will probably become a flop.

However, the fact that "Buried" was shortlisted for the main competition means it is obviously not a bad film, so the male lead must have performed very well and was recognized by the jury.

"Best Actor".

Thinking of this, Cheng Sheng named the award most likely to be nominated. "Amazing, boss, you guessed it right away! Li Naiwen is nominated for Best Actor. Do you want to guess what other awards the film is nominated for?" Ning Hao praised.

The male lead in the movie "Buried Alive" is Lee Nae-moon. Why was Lee Nae-moon chosen to play the male lead? This story goes back to when the "Buried Alive" production team was formed.

At the time, many people contacted Ning Hao when they heard that she was looking for a male lead for her new movie.

After all, Ning Hao became famous after his film "Green Grassland" and is now considered a well-known director in the entertainment industry.

His new film is sure to attract the interest of actors in the industry.

I was especially surprised to hear that Cheng Sheng was the screenwriter for this new movie.

This directly attracted the attention of many big names, some of whom even came to him directly, hoping to take on the male lead role in the film.

The entertainment industry is a circle where personal relationships matter.

With so many big names personally seeking him out, Ning Hao was also incredibly troubled.

After all, he couldn't afford to offend these people.

Therefore, he could only contact Cheng Sheng, tell him about the situation, and ask Cheng Sheng for advice.

Choose a suitable male lead without offending anyone.

Cheng Sheng didn't care about this; he was fine with whoever played the male lead, as long as their acting skills were up to par.

Cheng Sheng did not immediately answer Ning Hao, but instead asked him to send him a copy of the artists' information so he could review it before making a decision.

Soon, Ning Hao sent a document to Cheng Sheng's email address.

After reading it, Cheng Sheng frowned immediately.

Mingdao, Xie Biwang, Liu Ye, Huang Lei, Huang Bo, etc.

They are all top-tier male celebrities in China today. Apart from Mingdao, Huang Lei, and Xie Biwang, the rest of them have excellent acting skills.

Liu Ye and Huang Bo, in particular, have won so many awards they're practically overwhelmed.

They could play the male lead in "Buried".

However, Liu Ye's image was not suitable for the male lead's character in "Buried Alive," so Cheng Sheng thought about it and crossed him out.

The remaining yellow waves.

Both her acting skills and character design are a perfect match for the male lead.

Just as Cheng Sheng was about to decide to cast Huang Bo as the male lead, Principal Xu Xiaozhong called him.

I originally thought it was just because I hadn’t been back to school for a long time and hadn’t finished my graduation project that Principal Xu Xiaozhong called to reprimand me!
Unexpectedly, Principal Xu Xiaozhong asked about the male lead in "Buried Alive" and even recommended an actor to him.

The actor in question is Lee Nae-moon.

Why did Principal Xu Xiaozhong recommend Li Naiwen?
That's because Li Naiwen graduated from the Central Academy of Drama and is also a second-generation star. She was a student in the Performance Department of the Central Academy of Drama in 93. Due to her poor performance in the third audition, Li Naiwen became the only self-funded student in the class (who needs to pay 5000 yuan in tuition).

Despite this, he was very popular at the Central Academy of Drama during his four years there, and he became friends with some of the teachers.

Cheng Sheng had heard of Li Naiwen, his senior from the Central Academy of Drama, and in another memory, Li Naiwen had left a deep impression on another version of himself.

Honestly, Lee Nae-moon is the kind of actress who gives you a sense of confidence just by looking at her.

He was born into a family with a strong artistic atmosphere, and more importantly, his mother was a top student at the Central Academy of Drama and was quite famous in the drama circle.

Both generations of Cheng Sheng were alumni of the Central Academy of Drama, and Cheng Sheng understood why Principal Xu Xiaozhong had recommended Li Naiwen.

However, in Cheng Sheng's memory, Li Naiwen was a bit pitiful. She acted in many works but never became popular, and was even called the 'most pitiful second-generation star' by netizens.

He was admitted to the Central Academy of Drama as a self-funded student, paying several thousand yuan more in tuition fees than others.

During his university years, almost every major production he participated in would fail, earning him the nickname "the production killer."

He even lost all the money he earned from his first acting role before he even had a chance to spend it.

Throughout her many years in the industry, Lee Nae-moon has always seemed to lack luck and has yet to achieve great fame.

(End of this chapter)