Entertainment: The Path to Best Actor for Talented Actors

"What! You said you spent 2 yuan in two months in Beijing?"

"Yes! Is there something wrong with it?"

Gao Yang is an extroverted person and is very sociable.

In just one morning, he and Zhang Ze became acquainted.

This guy is innocent and doesn't have any bad intentions.

Before long, she told Zhang Ze about her experiences in the capital over the past two months.

"How did you spend it all? You spent 20,000 in two months?"

"I booked a room at a hotel for 7,000 yuan a month. In addition, an entertainment company said they would recommend me to be a supporting actor in a film crew, and they asked me to pay 3000 yuan."

"You...I..."

Zhang Ze pointed at Gao Yang, wanting to say a lot but not knowing how to begin.

"You've been scammed. Those so-called film and television companies are all frauds. They specialize in swindling money from young people who are eager to enter the entertainment industry. There are many of these shell companies over there."

Zhang Ze offered an explanation.

"Yeah! I realized I'd been scammed, so I came out here thinking about taking on my own work!"

"Damn, that scam company even promised to cast me as the male lead! They made me lose a month's salary; otherwise, I'd be famous by now!"

Gao Yang said somewhat angrily.

Seeing this guy, I felt sorry not for the 3 yuan, but for the lost month of time.

Zhang Ze decided to stay away from him.

This guy doesn't seem very bright.

Zhang Ze asked, "You've spent all 20,000 yuan. Where are you living now?"

"Where are the people who have moved to Beijing and have been living in hotels all the time?"

"How about you rent a room in my basement too? It's 800 a month, plus utilities, it'll be a little over 1,000, which is quite a good deal."

"It's okay, I called my mom again."

"She just transferred another 5 yuan to me, and I renewed my hotel stay for another month."

Zhang Ze was speechless and didn't want to talk to him.

"Hey buddy, where are you going?"

"I don't want to talk, I'm going for a walk around the school!"

Seeing Zhang Ze enter the campus, Gao Yang followed him.

The two strolled around the campus for a while before finding a restaurant to eat at.

Lunch was plentiful; we ordered several dishes, and Gao Yang paid the bill.

It was said to be a celebration of making his first friend in the capital.

During the meal, Zhang Ze learned that Gao Yang's family was very wealthy.

He is the only son in his family. His parents run a business in Xi'an, and Gao Yang himself doesn't know how much the family has.

But judging from the fact that his mother gave away 5 yuan, his family assets are at least tens of millions.

After the meal, the two should have parted ways.

I didn't get any work this morning, so there's not much hope for this afternoon either.

Zhang Ze plans to go to a photo studio to have a photo album taken.

This is the solution he came up with in the last two days.

Because he was new to the industry, many group leaders and assistant directors didn't know him.

He was thinking of taking a set of photos.

Inside, several sets of modern clothes, ancient costumes, and so on were lined up and washed, and a group leader handed one to each of them.

This way, one's appearance can be displayed more prominently among the extras.

This will make it easier to arrange special roles for him in the future.

Upon hearing this, Gao Yang said that he was free in the afternoon and wanted to go along as well.

I've been in the capital for half a year, and I've been all alone and quite lonely. Since he wants to come with me, it's better than me being alone.

There was no other way but to bring this little tagalong with me.

I found a photo studio near the Beijing Film Academy and had my makeup done according to the requirements of the movie stills.

Zhang Ze took more than a dozen photos in one go, including suits, ancient costumes, Tang suits, and military uniforms.

He had 20 copies of each type of photo printed, which cost him a total of 3000 yuan.

The two thousand he saved from working as an extra this month wasn't enough; he even lost a thousand of his savings, which pained him greatly.

Gao Yang also had a set of photos taken.

Looking at the digital photos, Gao Yang felt a little envious.

Although Zhang Ze doesn't look like the typical handsome guy, he looks good in all kinds of makeup and styling.

However, because he is of mixed race, he looks handsome, but many of his looks are not very good.

His acting range is not as wide as Zhang Ze's!

Two days later, the two received their photo album.

Zhang Ze then used all his connections to deliver the photos to the various group leaders.

Several assistant directors I knew also handed me a copy.

Now he needs to cast a wide net, and as for when he will catch a fish, that's up to fate!

Over the next few days, Zhang Ze took Gao Yang to several film crews.

Many of the extras who worked with Zhang Ze on the film knew that he had taken on a rather handsome underling.

"Hey, Director Gao! What brings you to contact me?"

A week after Zhang Ze scattered the photos, he received an unexpected phone call.

The caller was Gao Tianxiang, the director of the police drama for which he had previously acted as a guest star.

"Hey Zhang, you didn't expect it to be me, did you? You've been really good at creating trouble lately! Your 'GG' is everywhere, little cards are flying all over the place."

"Director Gao, you're joking. I just printed some business cards; I was just trying to find work!"

"Alright, alright, I'm not kidding you anymore!"

"I have something to tell you today. Whether it works out or not is up to you."

"Okay, Director Gao, please go ahead, I'm all ears."

"You're lucky, kid! It's all thanks to the photos you gave me."

"A friend of mine came to visit and happened to see your military uniform photo. He's taken a liking to you and wants to give you a small role to try out."

"Really? Director Gao, you're not kidding me!"

"Don't get too excited, kid. This is a war drama, the crew is in Yimeng, and your role isn't big, more like a major guest appearance!"

Gao Tianxiang didn't explain himself clearly, but he meant that if he wanted to film, he would have to leave Beijing.

"No problem, Director Gao! I can go to Yimeng."

Zhang Ze readily agreed.

He knew he couldn't miss this opportunity, and even though it was a special one, he was determined to seize it.

Gao Tianxiang was also very happy to see that Zhang Ze was willing.

In doing so, his friend found a suitable actor, and he also gained favor from Zhang Ze.

Triple win!

When Gao Yang heard that Zhang Ze was leaving Beijing for a while, he was a little disappointed, but he was still happy that his friend could find a role.

Zhang Ze was contacted by an assistant director.

The two had a brief conversation on QQ.

Zhang Ze learned that the character was an Eighth Route Army soldier.

All the scenes were filmed in about eight days.

Because it involves gunfire and is somewhat dangerous, and the makeup is very dirty, the appearance fee is 500 yuan per day, totaling 4,000 yuan for eight days.

The good thing is that the production crew covers the cost of food, accommodation, and round-trip transportation.

Zhang Ze was very satisfied with this.

He then arranged with the assistant director to meet in Beijing at a certain time and travel together in the crew's vehicle to Yimeng.

It was the end of the month, and Zhang Ze packed his luggage and went to the building manager to cancel his reservation for the basement apartment.

As Zhang Ze pushed his suitcase out.

I happened to run into the girl across the street who was getting her nails done.

The girl, wearing a beautiful bodycon dress and a sun hat, walked towards us.

Zhang Ze nodded politely in acknowledgment.

After all, we had lived across the hall from each other for half a year. Although we weren't close, she was still one of the few people I knew in Beijing.

"So you're having trouble making it in Beijing and are going back to your hometown?"

"No! I'm going to film in another city for a while, so I'm canceling the lease!"

Zhang Ze answered politely with a smile.

The girl watched Zhang Ze's retreating figure, frowning as she said, "You? Acting! It's laughable. A man who doesn't think about making big money, just daydreaming all day, so unreliable and useless!"

Thinking about how she had finally managed to snag tickets to her favorite male celebrity's concert after spending over a thousand yuan, her mood inexplicably improved.

I'm so happy that I'll be able to see my favorite brother in a few days!