Huayu is here for you

Chapter 157 Audition (Part 2)

Miss Liu first looked at Lin Yu, who was smiling at her, and then at Hua Zai in front of her, secretly encouraging herself.

"Brother Hua, you just need to act out a scene where a member of the same organization is mistakenly killed by the protagonist, and then he's on his deathbed. As for the lines and action scenes, you can improvise."

Lin Yu and Cheng Long nodded secretly as they listened to Miss Liu's question. They thought that Miss Liu's question this time was quite good, because none of the people who came to audition had a complete script for the role. They had only received a story outline for the role they were auditioning for.

Moreover, some minor characters don't even have this outline.

Upon hearing Miss Liu's question, Andy Lau immediately began to think.

He had a character outline, so he knew that the character he was auditioning for was someone who was accidentally killed by the protagonist while chasing the enemy.

But that's all the plot details. The outline doesn't say what the character's state was like before his death, or whether he harbored any resentment towards the protagonist. So, the task Liu Yifei posed was quite challenging. If his performance didn't match the script at all, no matter how good his acting was, it would be a huge drawback.

Three minutes later, Andy Lau snapped out of his thoughts and smiled at Miss Liu. "I'm ready."

2

Under the watchful eyes of Lin Yu and Cheng Long, Miss Liu uttered the "power-on command".

"start!"

Andy Lau's expression suddenly changed; first, he looked incredulous; then he looked at his chest; and then, with a pained expression, he slowly collapsed to the ground.

"I'm sorry—I couldn't help you—I don't blame you. Catch him—only you can take him down—and our bombs—from now on—it's all yours."

Andy Lau lay on the ground, closed his eyes for three seconds in dejection, and then returned to the state he had when he first came in. "Yifei, Director Lin, Big Brother, I'm done acting."

Lin Yu reviewed Andy Lau's performance and silently compared it with the character and plot in the script. Although there were many differences, Andy Lau's performance was still acceptable. He then turned to Miss Liu, looking like he was waiting for her evaluation.

Jackie Chan also nodded subtly to Andy Lau, but he didn't say anything either, appearing to be going along with Miss Liu's situation.

Andy Lau didn't mind, since he was essentially there to "apply for a job," and any of the three examiners could comment on him.

After careful consideration, Miss Liu slowly said, "Brother Hua, you acted very well. Although your portrayal of the character's mindset on his deathbed was slightly different from the script, your performance did indeed meet our casting requirements. And I won't elaborate on your acting skills. Brother Hua, this role is yours—Senior Brother?"

After Miss Liu finished speaking, she called out to Lin Yu in a low voice.

"Hehe—Miss Liu, you're really decisive! You've already decided? I was thinking of having a second or third round of auditions!" Lin Yu looked at Miss Liu's uneasy appearance and decided to tease her a little.

Upon hearing Lin Yu's words, Miss Liu was momentarily stunned. "Uh—did I book too early?"

Looking at Liu's bewildered expression and then at Lin Yu's, Cheng Long chuckled and said, "Hehe—Yifei, don't listen to him. He's just teasing you. I agree with your choice. It's two to one. Lin Yu's objections are useless now."

"Big brother! You betrayed me?" Lin Yu's eyes widened and he said with an exaggerated expression, "What do you mean by betraying you? I'm just stating the facts—alright, stop pretending, there are quite a lot of people auditioning today." Cheng Long saw through Lin Yu's hypocritical face with one sentence.

Andy Lau looked at Lin Yu with some anticipation. He only believed half of what Jackie Chan said, because in his mind, the final decision on the role ultimately rested with Lin Yu.

Lin Yu, now exposed, stopped pretending. He had only pretended to tease Miss Liu because she seemed a little nervous. Now, looking into her resentful eyes, he knew she had truly let go and decided not to waste any more time.

"Brother Hua, this role is yours. As for the script, I'll have Xiao Ou send you a copy before you leave."

After hearing Lin Yu's final choice, Andy Lau finally felt completely relieved. "Hehe. Thank you, Director Lin, for the opportunity. I won't bother you any longer, brother, Yifei, goodbye."

After nodding to each of the three men, Andy Lau walked out of the lounge with a smile on his face.

The actors waiting outside for the results, upon seeing Andy Lau come out, some of the big names who were familiar with him consulted with him briefly, wanting to make preparations in advance.

When asked about these things by his friends, Andy Lau gave the same answer: "Director Lam is very kind, just focus on giving your best performance."

After answering everyone's questions, Andy Lau walked to the elevator and pressed the button for the 19th floor.

Some sharp-eyed actors secretly felt a little envious after seeing Andy Lau rise in rank instead of fall.

After all, they weren't surprised that Andy Lau was selected. But they wondered what their reaction would be if they knew that Andy Lau's role had already been decided.

"Next up is Mr. Liang Jiahui!"

"Teacher An Zhijie, it's your turn!"

"Next up, International Dan."

After a morning of auditions, the number of actors on the floor had noticeably decreased by more than half, and it was finally Wu Jing's turn to sit on the last chair.

"Wu Jing! — Is Teacher Wu Jing here? You're next after Teacher Zou Zhaolong finishes, so please get ready."

As soon as Xiaomin called out, Wu Jing stood up reflexively, "Yes, thank you."

Wu Jing walked to the door of the lounge, thanked Xiao Min, and then nervously rubbed his hands together before standing at the door to wait. After all, he didn't even have a script right now.

Three minutes later, Wu Jing, who was feeling anxious, saw Zou Zhaolong walk out of the lounge with a disappointed look on his face.

It seems this specialist in playing villains has also failed miserably.

However, Wu Jing wasn't very familiar with him, so he didn't go up to greet him warmly. He just smiled and said hello, then cheered himself up and pushed open the audition door.

As soon as Wu Jing entered, his gaze fell on Lin Yu, who was sitting in the middle. His first thought was, "Wow, Director Lin looks so young."

This was the first time Wu Jing had ever met Lin Yu in person. He had only ever seen him on television news before, so when he finally saw Lin Yu in person, he felt a great sense of bitterness.

Because he secretly compared himself to Lin Yu, and realized that he was just as good as Lin Yu in every way—well, except for his kung fu skills.

When Lin Yu, who was in the lounge, saw that the person who came in was Wu Jing, he was a little surprised. "Shouldn't he be working on the movie 'Wolf Fang' right now? Why is he here for an audition?"

As for why Lin Yu didn't see Wu Jing's audition resume, it's safe to say he's not qualified—

"Hello Director Lin, hello Big Brother, hello Yifei." After his initial surprise, Wu Jing immediately greeted the three of them.

Lin Yu and Cheng Long were already used to this. "Hmm, Wu Jing, hello."

"Hehe—you're here too."

Ms. Liu was pleasantly surprised by Wu Jing's greeting, because the actors who had auditioned before her had only greeted her briefly; Wu Jing was the first person to greet her that day.

So Ms. Liu responded to him somewhat happily. "Hello, Mr. Wu Jing."

Seeing Liu's happy expression, Lin Yu immediately understood the reason for her joy. Hmm—no doubt about it, extra points!

"Wu Jing, I heard you're working on a movie? What brings you here for an audition?" Lin Yu smiled.

Hearing Lin Yu's words, Wu Jing thought that Lin Yu didn't like him being distracted by the audition, so he quickly explained, "Director Lin, those were just small things, they're all done a long time ago, and I'm just waiting for post-production. There's not much of a rush, so I thought I'd give it a try here."

"Hehe, don't be so nervous, Wu Jing. I actually quite admire you. Can you tell me about your movie?" Lin Yu suddenly spoke up.

Hearing Lin Yu's words, Cheng Long and Miss Liu raised their eyebrows slightly. They couldn't understand why Lin Yu valued Wu Jing so much. Otherwise, why would he care about the movie he made?

Wu Jing was slightly taken aback when he heard Lin Yu's words. Was he trying to give him some pointers?

However, his heart was soon filled with surprise.

"Director Lin, my film mainly tells the story of a killer seeking revenge. I play the role of this killer, Abu—" Wu Jing looked at Lin Yu and spoke somewhat nervously.

Lin Yu also put on a serious listening posture, because he had never actually seen this movie before. He only learned that Wu Jing had actually made such a movie after Wu Jing became famous. So Lin Yu was now a little curious about Wu Jing's movie. He wanted to hear what kind of story "Wolf Fang" told that led to Wu Jing's miserable defeat.

Seeing Lin Yu listening intently, Wu Jing spoke more and more fluently, "This assassin killed a gang leader one night and took his head. Then his men and his women all started searching for him."

This person is Abu, whom I played.

After that, Abu brought the man's head to a small island, where he met a policewoman. Just as the policewoman was about to fall from a tree, he caught him and took him to the police station.

On the way, they encountered a group of thugs. Abu didn't want to get involved, but seeing that the policewoman was in mortal danger, he couldn't help but step in and defeat them.

Then the story unfolds little by little. Although the police don't know Abu's background, they ultimately choose to live together.

Finally, the police received a report about their boss's murder and began investigating. The gang eventually tracked down their boss's body to the police station and attempted to steal it. They didn't find the body, but they did manage to kidnap the policewoman—"

"Stop! Wu Jing, I just wanted to hear your overview, there's no need to go into so much detail." Lin Yu rubbed his temples and couldn't help but interrupt Wu Jing, who was starting to ramble on.

Seeing Lin Yu's somewhat impatient expression, Wu Jing instantly realized his mistake. After all, they were still in the audition period, and it was indeed inappropriate for him to have almost memorized the entire script.

"Excuse me, Director Lin, let me give you a brief summary." Wu Jing chuckled awkwardly twice. "This is a movie that combines action, adventure, and romance. It mainly tells the story of kung fu master Abu, who kills drug lord Master Ma to avenge the nurse who once saved his life, and the series of events that follow."

Lin Yu: "??? I asked you to summarize, but your summary is a bit too harsh!"

"And the ending?" Lin Yu asked after thinking for a moment.

After thinking for a couple of seconds, Wu Jing said, "The ending is: In order to save that policewoman, I—uh, I mean Abu—in the end, Abu chose to fight the gang leader's woman and her gang alone. Although he defeated all the gang members and rescued the policewoman, Abu also died from his serious injuries."

Listening to Wu Jing's explanation, Lin Yu finally understood why Wu Jing's movie had flopped.

Isn't this just another over-the-top story of a hidden tycoon rescuing a damsel in distress? And it's brimming with individual heroism. If they had cast a more famous actor, the box office might have been better.

But what level are you, Wu Jing, at now? You're neither here nor there, not to mention that after all these years of struggling in Hong Kong, you've completely lost your popularity with mainland audiences. If you don't flop, who will?

"Hehe—your movie has a very Hong Kong feel to it. In the end, it's about—a shootout with the triads that results in mutual destruction, right?"

"Yes, Director Lin." Wu Jing nodded somewhat nervously.

"Hmm—so what kind of theme is your movie trying to express? It's not just fighting from beginning to end, is it?" Lin Yu thought for a moment and then asked, "No, Director Lin, my movie is about how no matter what you do, you can't trample on the law. Even if you're a good person and want to rid the world of evil and uphold justice, you should rely on the law and the police to solve problems, not just act on impulse." Wu Jing explained, "Hmm, I understand, that's a good theme, but—by the way, how many people did you fight in the end?" Lin Yu picked up the bottled water beside him and asked, "One—a hundred!" Wu Jing said somewhat embarrassedly.

Linyu:

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.