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

[Reported by Wang Chao, Senior Reporter of this newspaper]

With just over half a month left until the release of Zhang Yimou's epic film "Hero," Zhao Huaiyuan's new film, also fully funded by China Film Group, has recently been met with extremely discordant voices.

From a massive open audition to a closed-room audition.

It is reported that the film was launched with the slogan of searching for the most beautiful female lead across the country, which was a big deal. However, almost a month has passed and the so-called artistic audition seems to have turned into an incomprehensible farce.

Exclusive Interview: Is it a High Standard of Art or a Moral Humiliation?

Our reporter conducted an exclusive interview with an actress who wished to remain anonymous (pseudonym Ms. L).

Ms. L is an outstanding student in the performing arts department of a prestigious art college. She is beautiful and has an exceptionally high level of professional skill.

Ms. L still feels suffocated when talking about that audition.

Reporter: "I heard that there's no script for the auditions?"

Ms. L (with a wry smile): "Absolutely nothing. There was no script, no lines, and I didn't even know the background. I've seen quite a few film crews, but Director Zhao's audition... I can only say I completely cannot understand it."

Reporter: "What did he have you act in?"

Ms. L: "When I think about it now, I still find it absurd. He just coldly said, 'You are an object that has been sleeping for hundreds of years. At this moment, you have awakened. Please begin.'"

Reporter: "Objects?"

Ms. L: "Yes, it was an object. I was completely stunned at the time, but I still tried my best to act. He didn't say a word the whole time, he just stared at you intently. That kind of look... it wasn't like a director looking at an actor, it was like he was scrutinizing a prey. In the end, he didn't say anything, just waved his hand and let me go."

Reporter: "What kind of actress do you think he's looking for?"

Ms. L (emotionally agitated): "I don't think he's looking for actors at all. This kind of nonsensical topic, coupled with this cold and abusive attitude, gives me reason to suspect that, as the rumors say, this is not normal artistic creation at all, but a game of mind control using the director's authority. He may not enjoy the performance, but just want to see how helpless we are in front of him."

[Our Quick Commentary]

Director Zhao Huaiyuan used extremely harsh, even perverse, standards to reject hundreds of professionally trained beauties.

Now, the entire industry is watching him.

He not only put himself in a precarious position, but also put the future leading lady on the edge of a cliff. If he doesn't produce a stunning beauty that everyone can believe in in the end, then all his previous high standards will become ironclad evidence that he used the play to commit crimes!

We can't help but ask, is this the arrogance of a genius, or a trick of a fraudster?

...

It was very quiet inside the prefabricated house.

Zhao Huaiyuan closed the newspaper without expression.

"Huaiyuan, have you even taken it to heart?"

Seeing Zhao Huaiyuan calmly folding the newspaper, Old Zhang was furious.

"Look at the date carefully. Today is November 28th, and we still haven't found a female lead. People are saying we're going to skip this and try to scam funding."

"Mr. Han's secretary just called again. Although she was very polite, asking if we could let her know if we had any difficulties,..."

But don't you understand what's behind this? This is an ultimatum!

"President Han is also under pressure. If we mess this up, all of us will be permanently banned from the industry."

Zhao Huaiyuan lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, narrowed his eyes, and exhaled a puff of smoke.

He certainly knew that time was of the essence.

Even without looking at the calendar, he knew it was November 28th, and there were still 11 days until the first day of the Lunar New Year.

It sounds long, but it's actually quite short for a film production.

Several days have passed since the filming of Volume A was successfully completed, but Volume B is still not on the schedule.

He could understand Director Zhang's anxiety.

What can you do in 65 days?

Filming Volume B will take at least twenty days, plus post-production editing, dubbing, special effects compositing, color grading, sound mixing... and finally, it needs to be submitted for review and printed copies, which also takes time.

Sixty-five days is really a stretch.

"I'll explain to President Han. As for the female lead... sharpening the axe won't delay the work. As long as the right person is found, we can finish filming quickly, so we have to wait. I'll take the blame for this!" Zhao Huaiyuan said.

"Are you still waiting?" Producer Zhang was about to explode.

Zhao Huaiyuan waved his hand, interrupting him, and said with a smile:

"Uncle Zhang, don't make the atmosphere so tense, and don't be so impatient. Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. Oh, is that a severance payment notice from the labor dispatch company?"

He pointed to a stack of receipts next to Lao Zhang.

"Huh? Oh, right."

Old Zhang paused for a moment, then handed over the form: "The temporary workers in the logistics team are leaving today after settling their bills. Since the B-version machine hasn't been turned on yet, let's save some money where we can. We don't need that many people right now."

Zhao Huaiyuan took the form, glanced at it briefly, and without looking closely at the names on it, picked up a pen and signed it.

After signing, he suddenly remembered something and paused for a moment.

He recalled the person Peng Xiaohua had brought more than twenty days ago.

At the time, we were busy starting filming, so we just handed it over to the production assistant for arrangements. We didn't even ask his name or see his face.

For the past twenty-odd days, I've been so busy that I completely forgot about this.

"Have these people left?" Zhao Huaiyuan asked.

"I just finished paying the bill, I guess I'm heading towards the park entrance now."

Old Zhang glanced at his watch, puzzled as to why the director still had time to worry about these things when things were so urgent.

Zhao Huaiyuan stood up, picked up the military overcoat hanging on the back of the chair, and put it on.

I'm going out for a bit.

"Where are we going? We haven't decided on the casting yet," Old Zhang said anxiously.

"Look at you, always in such a hurry. I'm going out for some fresh air to clear my head."

Zhao Huaiyuan took a red envelope out of the drawer and put it in his pocket.

After all, the little girl was someone her older sister had called, and Xiaohua had personally entrusted to her.

They've worked hard here for over twenty days, and if I, as their friend, don't even show my face before they leave, I won't be able to explain it to them later.

Let's see her off. We can ask her what she wants when we get there. If she still wants to continue, she can stay and look after the props or something.

..

The road from the office area to the bus stop passes through a replica of the Northern Square in the World Park.

The film crew had just watered the area this morning to shoot an empty shot of a snow scene, leaving a thin layer of dark ice on the ground.

Zhao Huaiyuan walked quickly with his head down.

He was still thinking about the upcoming filming schedule and how to answer President Han's questions, so he didn't notice the road conditions ahead at all.

Just as he turned a corner.

"Make way, make way, I can't stop in time!" A somewhat frightened voice came from the front.

Zhao Huaiyuan suddenly looked up.

Just a few meters ahead on the ice, a small, thin figure carrying a large bag rushed towards them like a runaway human cannonball.

It turned out that Zhao Liying had left something behind and went back to get it. In her haste to catch the train, she stepped on a protruding piece of ice.

This is the case.

If it were an ordinary person, their instinctive survival instinct would be to throw away their luggage to save their life.

But this girl is also a weirdo.

He was clinging to the bag so tightly he wouldn't let go; anyone who didn't know better would think it contained some diluted treasure.

To maintain her balance, she leaned her upper body backward in an extremely exaggerated arc.

Her flexibility was simply astonishing, completely defying the laws of physics.

Slip.

She traced an S-shaped curve on the ice, about to crash into Zhao Huaiyuan's arms.

"Be careful!"

Zhao Huaiyuan instinctively opened his arms, wanting to support her.

But just when the two were less than a few dozen centimeters apart.

With her naturally excellent waist strength, the girl managed to twist her body and sharply slam her toes on the ice.

*Sizzle*

She stopped.

The duffel bag swayed above her head before landing steadily.

At this moment, her face was only a fist's distance from Zhao Huaiyuan's.

Zhao Liying remained in that backward-leaning posture, her cheeks puffed out, her big, round eyes staring at Zhao Huaiyuan with lingering shock.

"Phew...that scared me to death..."

She patted her chest, but when she realized that the person in front of her was the director, she was instantly terrified.

"Director... I didn't mean to, the ground is too slippery."

Zhao Huaiyuan.

He stared blankly at the face before him, his heart churning with turmoil.

The face in front of me was dusty and very young, but round...

too familiar.

It really is her...

Zhao Huaiyuan suddenly laughed.

He smiled radiantly; it was the first time in over twenty days that he had shown such a relaxed smile.

"director?"

Zhao Liying felt uneasy under his gaze. In her eyes, the director was a high and mighty figure. Why would he suddenly stare at her, a lowly handyman, and smile like an idiot?

She instinctively hugged her bag and shrank back a little. "Director, if there's nothing else... I'll be going now."

"Stop right there," Zhao Huaiyuan said.

Zhao Liying froze, too afraid to move.

It’s over.

She didn't know what she had done wrong, and her voice trembled slightly with tears.

"Director... I didn't slack off, and I didn't take anything from the crew. Those mineral water bottles were all collected by me after everyone finished drinking and threw them away. Also, I didn't break that case of water. I handled everything with care..."

She became increasingly anxious as she spoke, fearing that the famous director was looking for an excuse to deduct her wages or make her compensate for some unfounded loss.

In her understanding.

When a big shot suddenly stops a nobody, it's definitely not a good sign.

Zhao Huaiyuan smiled, staring at her with interest, without saying a word.

Looking at her like that.

At that moment, Zhao Huaiyuan suddenly thought of a movie called "The Mermaid" that would not appear for more than ten years.

When that movie was released, countless film critics criticized the lead actress, Lin Yun, for her awkward acting and exaggerated expressions, saying she was the biggest flaw.

But few people truly understand Stephen Chow's intentions.

A fish living in the sea forcibly puts on shoes to pretend to be a human.

Does she know what facial expression management is? Does she know what a natural human state is?

Do not understand.

She was supposed to be stiff, awkward, and even a little strange.

That awkwardness that doesn't feel like acting is precisely the most authentic form of reality.

And now, the same applies to the small jade pot that Zhao Huaiyuan wants to photograph.

An artifact that had been dormant for hundreds of years has just transformed into human form and opened its eyes to see the world.

She should look exactly like this.

Like a blank sheet of paper.

The best performance is no performance at all; it is authenticity.

At the same time, Zhao Huaiyuan's gaze seemed to see a more distant future through her still somewhat immature round face.

He remembered Hua Qiangu eating steamed buns in a sea of ​​flowers, and Xue Shanshan being cute and adorable at the dinner table.

Later generations often criticized her, mocking her short stature, ridiculing her for being unsophisticated, and saying that she was not pretty or sophisticated enough.

But so what?

She managed to break through the era of V-shaped faces with her round face and become a ratings queen with hundreds of billions of views. Can you say that she deserves the title undeservedly?

Not at all.

This is a billion-dollar queen created by the audience's money! She has been tested by the market; there is a market only when there is demand, right?

People look for him thousands of Baidu.

As for the controversies and scandals that may follow, they are not important at this moment.

All he knew was that the girl in front of him was genuinely sweet and a complete blank slate.

Having figured all this out, Zhao Huaiyuan tried his best to make his tone sound less like a bad person.

"Don't be nervous, I won't deduct your pay or punish you."

He took another step forward, getting closer to her, and looked intently into her eyes:

"I just want to ask you a question. If... I'd like to ask you to stay and act in this movie, as the female lead, would you be willing?"