Huayu: Starting with Xiang Yu, the Hegemon of Western Chu

Luo Yifeng stayed up until 3 a.m. that night.

I watched nine episodes in total.

From the moment "He can be replaced" to the end of the Feast at Hongmen.

He didn't finish reading it.

It wasn't that he couldn't watch it anymore; it was that by the ninth episode, he didn't want to watch anymore. If he continued watching, the phrase he feared most would pop into his head.

"It's him."

Once those words pop into your head, the whole thing changes.

He has been in the industry for over 30 years and has his own methods for casting.

He never makes decisions when he's emotional. Decisions made when emotional are nine times out of ten, he'll regret them.

So he closed the computer.

He closed it and then opened it again.

I watched another episode.

Then he closed the computer again, stood up, went out onto the balcony, and smoked half a cigarette.

At three in the morning in Yanjing, the wind is cool.

Luo Yifeng stubbed out his cigarette, returned to his study, opened a drawer, and pulled out an address book.

It was the old-fashioned kind, with a black leather cover, and inside was copied all the phone numbers in his industry.

He turned to the page with the character "璞".

Pu Shi Culture, Shen Yu.

He had copied the number in by hand three years ago.

Three years ago, Shen Yu was still working for someone else in the entertainment industry. He thought highly of her at that time and said a few polite words. Later, she started her own business, Pu Shi, and sent him a bottle of wine. He didn't drink it and put it in the cabinet.

He stared at the number and hesitated for about ten seconds.

Then he picked up his phone and dialed the number.

......

3:14 AM.

Shen Yu is reviewing the contract.

She has been looking at contracts for the past three days.

After PuShi Culture signed Chen Mo, the office phone rang non-stop the next day... with offers for TV dramas, movies, endorsements, variety shows, and business collaborations.

She didn't have an assistant to help her screen the applications; she reviewed each one herself.

She has a habit of personally reviewing the resources of her first signed artist for the first six months; this process cannot be delegated to others.

The phone rang.

The number that popped up on the screen had never been saved.

Shen Yu frowned.

She usually doesn't answer unfamiliar numbers at 3 a.m., but she remembered the first three digits of this number.

It's a phone number from a senior figure in the industry from over a decade ago.

She answered.

"Feed".

"President Shen."

The voice over there sounds a bit hoarse.

"I am Luo Yifeng."

Shen Yu paused for a moment.

She recognized the name.

In the entire entertainment industry, there are no more than ten well-known directors who make serious dramas, and Luo Yifeng is one of them.

"Hello, Director Luo."

"I apologize for the abruptness," Luo Yifeng said. "I'm calling you at this hour."

"It's okay, I'm still in the office."

"Your artist."

Luo Yifeng didn't turn.

"Chen Mo."

Shen Yu paused for a moment while holding the pen.

She did not respond immediately.

This is her habit.

When the other party on the phone directly names a certain artist, she never responds immediately. She lets the pause of one or two seconds happen naturally, during which the other party usually adds some information that he did not originally intend to say.

As expected, Luo Yifeng continued speaking.

"I have a drama series, the Ming Dynasty, specifically the Xuande era. I'd like him to try out for the role of Zhu Zhanji."

Shen Yu drew a small circle on the paper.

Zhu Zhanji.

These three words flashed through her mind.

She knew this character.

Two months ago, there were rumors in the industry that Luo Yifeng was selecting actors, but he hadn't decided on any of them. The investors kept pushing a popular young actor, but Luo Yifeng wouldn't budge, which delayed the production team's preparations for four months.

Luo Yifeng called personally at 3 a.m.

It wasn't the assistant or the assistant director who hit him; it was Luo Yifeng himself.

This in itself is already a signal.

"Director Luo," Shen Yu said calmly, "your assistant director was in charge of casting for this film, right?"

"right."

"Is there some special reason why you called me directly this time?"

Luo Yifeng was silent for two seconds on the other end of the phone.

Then he smiled.

"Mr. Shen, that's an interesting question."

"I'll be frank," Shen Yu said. "I want to know whether Chen Mo joined your production team through an audition or some other process."

Luo Yifeng understood.

The woman was asking: "Did you only contact Chen Mo because of Gao hope's influence? If so, I'll have to consider it."

This kind of consideration is very professional.

If Chen Mo got the role through personal connections, then the casting of this character is uncertain. If the investors put pressure on the production team again later, the production team will waver.

It's different for those who get into a production team through auditions. Once a role is decided through an audition, no amount of pressure from the investors will help.

Luo Yifeng has dealt with countless agents throughout his life.

When most agents hear "I'd like to have your artist try out for a role," their first reaction is excitement, gratitude, and a desire to seize the opportunity.

This was the first time he had ever encountered Shen Yu's reaction.

He thought about it and decided to tell the truth.

"Gao hope mentioned it to me," Luo Yifeng said. "But immediately after he finished speaking, he added... he wouldn't get involved and told me to contact them myself."

"I watched nine episodes of 'The Legend of Chu and Han' and made the decision myself."

Shen Yu drew a second small circle on the paper.

"So you mean, go for an audition?"

"Go to the audition."

"Audition standards?"

"Just like everyone else."

"Can you give me the script in advance?"

"able."

"When?"

"I'll have the assistant director send it over tomorrow."

"Audition time?"

"The day after tomorrow afternoon."

Shen Yu paused for a moment on the paper with the tip of his pen.

"Director Luo, the day after tomorrow is too tight."

"tight?"

"The role of Zhu Zhanji can be played in one night of script reading."

"..." Luo Yifeng paused on the other end of the phone, "Everyone else only had one night."

"Chen Mo is different."

Shen Yu's tone remained calm.

"The first clause in our contract states that he decides what roles he takes and how he prepares for them. I can only tell you that if he feels one night isn't enough, then it won't be just one night."

Luo Yifeng remained silent for a long time on the other end of the phone.

He thought he was making this call to discuss a matter of "giving face" or not.

As it turned out, the woman opposite me didn't talk about saving face for a single second from beginning to end.

She was talking about rules.

Luo Yifeng's biggest fear in life is this kind of agent.

This is the kind of agent he likes best.

"Then you should talk to him," Luo Yifeng said. "The script will be delivered tomorrow morning. He can decide the audition time; one night is fine, one week is fine too. Let me know when he decides."

"it is good."

"There's one more thing."

"Please speak."

"Don't tell him that Gao hope mentioned it to me."

Shen Yu paused for a moment.

Why?

"I know Gao hope. He mentioned this person to me because he didn't want to get involved in this matter. If I let this kid know that it was Gao Xi who pushed him, he'll feel awkward after joining the crew. When he's acting, he'll be thinking about how to be worthy of Gao hope... Once an actor starts thinking about who he's worthy of, the acting becomes lax."

"I asked him to act, not to repay a favor."

Shen Yu drew a third circle on the paper.

This circle is drawn heavier than the previous two.

"Director Luo."

"Um?"

"I've made a mental note of that."

"..." Luo Yifeng chuckled. "What do you mean by 'remembered'?"

"Literal meaning."

Shen Yu hung up the phone after she finished speaking.

......

After hanging up the phone, Shen Yu sat at her desk for a while.

There were three circles drawn on the paper in front of her.

The first circle is "Zhu Zhanji".

The second circle is "going to the audition".

The third circle represents "not here to repay a favor".

Shen Yu looked at the three circles and suddenly smiled.

She was laughing at the third circle.

When she signed Chen Mo, she thought about one thing: this artist was not easy to manage.

It's not because he's difficult to deal with, but because he knows exactly what he wants.

For an artist who knows what they want, the manager has very little room to maneuver.

You can't make arrangements for him, you can't decide for him, and you can't speak for him.

All you can do is... stand a little in front of him, block out the dirty things he shouldn't have access to, and then cleanly hand over the good things he should have access to.

Luo Yifeng's statement just now, "I'm not here to repay a favor," refers to something "clean and tidy."

She had to hand it over.

Shen Yu opened her phone and scrolled to Chen Mo's chat window.

She didn't type immediately.

She thought about it.

There's a nuance to how you phrase this.

If she directly said, "Luo Yifeng watched 'Chu Han' and took the initiative to ask you to audition for Zhu Zhanji," that would be a way of passing the buck... passing it over with the aura of "the director taking the initiative."

But Luo Yifeng told her not to say that Gao Xi had mentioned it, which meant that Luo Yifeng hoped that Chen Mo would be pure of heart when she joined the crew, only thinking about Zhu Zhanji and not about personal relationships.

Then she'll have to hand it over even more cleanly.

Shen Yu retyped a few words.

"There's a script."

"Luo Yifeng".

"During the reign of Emperor Xuande of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Zhanji, he asked you to give him a try."

Then she added a sentence.

You decide the audition time.

She paused again before sending it.

She deleted the phrase "he let you try" and replaced it with another word.

"He asked you to try."

The difference is just one word.

"Letting" is one-sided, like a director assigning a task to an actor.

"Please" is a two-way street, like two equals talking about something.

She sent it.