Huayu: Serious director, who's eavesdropping on your thoughts?

"I am a fairy who fell to earth, but unfortunately people always look at me with vulgar eyes. Since the director does not restrict my background, I will open your eyes and show you what a real S-shaped figure is!"

[Image uploaded successfully: Hibiscus posing in an S-shape.jpg]

My S-shaped figure is a gift of art from heaven. Your inability to appreciate it is simply due to outdated aesthetics. Just wait, I'm going to sign up right now. I don't care about worldly opinions; I'll use my confidence to illuminate everyone's eyes!

Floor 57 (Happy Boy): "My titanium alloy eyes have been blinded... Upstairs lady, are you serious? I'm eating! You owe me compensation for my emotional distress!"

Floor 59 (Cold-blooded to the end): "Is the one on floor 45 that Aunt Furong who posts photos on the BBS? Is this thread even usable anymore? Moderator, can you please ban her right away?"

...

Online opinions are divided, with insults, mockery, onlookers, conspiracy theories, and internet celebrities jumping in – it's a chaotic mess.

But no matter what, everyone has to admit one fact.

The youngest director in history, his film, which had not yet started filming, became a sensation in the cold winter of 2002 thanks to the most outrageous open audition in history!

...

The usually quiet mailroom of China Film Group was completely paralyzed.

Because there were so many letters, the green bicycle the postman rode couldn't handle it at all. So the post office started using a green van to unload sacks of mail into the mailroom.

"That's way too exaggerated."

The production manager of China Film Group looked at the pile of sacks that was almost reaching the ceiling and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Dozens of sacks full of letters.

There are artistic photos, headshots, and even cut-out photocopies of ID cards. Some are written on fine stationery, while others are written on the back of cigarette boxes.

China Film Group's massive casting team has already begun operations.

To cope with this massive project, the main conference room was temporarily requisitioned, and dozens of staff members and interns worked through the night to open and sort the mail.

Zhao Huaiyuan didn't personally participate; he was the director, not the sorter. He only needed to set the rules and then observe the results.

As long as the rules are strictly defined, subordinates will not dare to act recklessly.

"This male lead's requirement... is that he just needs to be a living person?"

A casting assistant in charge of the initial screening of male actors held a resume with a silly grin sticker on it, looking conflicted. "This guy is so ugly, why would they keep him?"

The team leader next to him glared at him: "The director's recruitment notice clearly states that appearance is not a factor, experience is the most important. If you reject him, what will you do if the director can't find a character actor later?"

"Alright, alright, keep it. In the end, it's the director's eyes that will be burned."

The assistant reluctantly threw the resume into the box labeled "Male Lead - First Test Passed".

The atmosphere was completely different at the female lead selection group on the other side.

"This won't do, your face is too big."

"This one won't do either, the eyes aren't expressive enough."

"She's very pretty and has a good temperament, but she has pimples on her face, so she won't do."

"Beijing Dance Academy? She has the basic skills, and her temperament and skin are also good, but she should be at least 1.7 meters tall, right? Too tall, doesn't meet the requirements, pass her."

On one side is the "sheep-herding" mode, and on the other side is the "hell mode".

……

Meanwhile, downstairs in the preliminary testing room.

Two seasoned casting assistant directors are overseeing the assembly-line-like interviews.

"Ten in a group, go!"

A row of male actors stood still, their heights, weights, and builds varying greatly, resembling a mixed bag of people from a vegetable market.

"Give me your name and height."

Smile and show your teeth.

"Alright, go outside and wait for news."

The assistant director's pen flew across the resumes. For the male actors, as long as they looked like they had a story to tell and were experienced, no matter how ugly they were, they were all accepted. On the other hand, those handsome guys with slicked-back hair were more to be considered.

...

Two o'clock in the morning.

Preliminary selection office.

The entire building was dark, except for this office, which still had its lights on.

The production manager was yawning from exhaustion, and the interns next to him had already fallen asleep on the table.

But Zhao Huaiyuan is still alive.

To meet the deadline, he had to sit amidst a pile of envelopes, pen in hand, sketching and marking them.

He was aware of the doubts, speculations, and ridicule from the outside world.

"An impossible mission?" Zhao Huaiyuan laughed.

In the previous life, this film, "The Eagle Museum," became a viral sensation online with just a few people and a few tens of thousands of yuan, touching the hearts of countless Chinese people.

In this life, he has 500 million yuan and the full support of China Film Group. If he still can't make a blockbuster movie that amazes the New Year's film season, then he will really be a disgrace to the reborn army of a certain orphanage.

..

A week later.

After round after round of screening, only twelve of the male protagonist's tens of thousands of resumes were finally reduced to twelve.

China Film Group, final interview room.

Three people were sitting behind the long table.

Sitting in the middle is Zhao Huaiyuan, the director of "Escape from the Eagle Museum".

To his left was Director Zhang, a senior producer appointed by China Film Group, representing Han Sanping's will and China Film Group's financial oversight.

Sitting to his right was a young man with a serious expression; he was Ning Hao, who had just passed the interview and been hired as the executive assistant director for this project.

"Xiao Zhao, these twelve people are waiting outside. These twelve people meet the recruitment requirements, and each of them has their own unique characteristics."

Director Zhang took another sip of tea, looked at the few misshapen photos in his hand, and added:

"Although President Han said you should go all out, this is, after all, a Lunar New Year film season. The male lead's face is crucial to the box office. I think we should reconsider?"

"Uncle Zhang, don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Zhao Huaiyuan twirled the pen in his hand. "Let's begin, the first one."

..

The door was pushed open.

The first person to come in was a male actor in his thirties.

The moment he walked in, he didn't look like he was there for an interview; he looked more like he was there to inspect the work, walking with such steady, measured steps.

"Hello everyone, I'm from the Beijing Drama Troupe..."

His voice was loud and clear, with perfect pronunciation, and he used standard diaphragmatic breathing for vocalization.

Upon entering, the man looked at Zhao Huaiyuan in the center and was surprised to find him so young.

Just as he was lost in thought, Zhao Huaiyuan had already given him the question.

"Late at night, on a foreign street, you encounter a girl dressed in strange ancient costume who seems to be acting crazy. She is terrified and keeps shouting that she wants to go home. As a stranger passing by, you think she has mental problems, but you feel sorry for her and want to take her away from this dangerous place. Please begin."

The actor paused for a moment, then took a deep breath and began to prepare his emotions.

Ten seconds later, he moved.

He suddenly took a large step forward, his stance bent forward, his right hand raised high as if dragging a bright moon, his left hand outstretched, making a grabbing motion towards the air, and roared:

"Why! Why are you still here?!"

"Look at this gloomy sky! It's the gloom of a foreign land! Look at this land beneath my feet, it has no warmth of home! Sister!!"

His eyes were wide open, and each word he uttered was drawn out with a long, drawn-out tone, full of energy:

"Come with me! Even if there are mountains of knives and seas of fire ahead, even if there's an abyss ahead! I will take you—home!!"

The performance was so loud that the glass in the conference room trembled.

Even the actors waiting for their auditions in the hallway outside were startled, exchanging bewildered glances. What was going on inside? Such a commotion, could they have started a fight?

They were already a little nervous, and this made them even more nervous.

Behind his desk, Director Zhang's ears ached from the loud noise, but he still nodded subconsciously.

This person's fundamentals are indeed solid; the resonance, the explosive power…

But Zhao Huaiyuan just watched quietly until the other person dragged out the last syllable of the word "home" for a full five seconds, striking a perfect finishing pose.

He nodded politely, "Thank you for your hard work. You've put a lot of emotion into this. Go back and wait for news."

After the person left, Director Zhang rubbed his ear: "Xiao Zhao, was this guy no good? I thought his basic skills were quite solid, and he had a real serious acting style!"

"No, this is a movie, not a play. The stage manner is too heavy. The little girl will be scared out of her wits before the bad guys even catch her." Zhao Huaiyuan shook his head.

Then, another one came in.

This is a rather handsome young man. His resume says he started out filming gay porn, and he came in with a natural perfume scent.

Upon hearing the question, he confidently tossed his hair and gave Zhao Huaiyuan a knowing look.

The next second, the style of the scene changed drastically.

He knelt on one knee, gripped the air in front of him tightly with both hands, and began to shake it wildly.

This is the famous horse-style rocking technique.

"Are you crazy?! You've actually gone crazy?!"

He roared so loudly that he almost spat out his saliva:

"I won't allow you to do this! I won't allow it! Why don't you recognize me? Why are you pretending to be crazy to torment me?"

Shake it, shake it wildly, as if you have to shake the brain of the person on the other side to get it back in place.

Then, he suddenly lowered his voice, turning it into a hoarse, tearful roar:

"You're cruel! You're heartless! You're unreasonable! Even if you're crazy, I'm taking you with me!"

Finally, he suddenly embraced the air, and roared to the sky:

"Come with me!!!"

"Cough..." Ning Hao couldn't help but almost burst out laughing, and quickly lowered his head to pretend to take notes.

Is this a meeting with a stranger, or a scene from "My Fair Princess"?

If you encountered a man like this on the street, who would immediately grab you by the neck and yell at you for being cruel and heartless, the people around would call the police immediately!

Zhao Huaiyuan suppressed his discomfort, but really wanted to throw the pen in his hand at his face.

"Stop, we're not filming an idol drama, next one." Zhao Huaiyuan rubbed his temples.

...

Five or six in a row passed, but none of them were satisfactory.

Until the seventh one.

"Next up, Wang Baoqiang."