Back to 17, My Brother is the Cult Leader

Fang Yuan was writing something in his dormitory when he received the call.

He answered the phone; it was General Manager Zhu calling from Shanghai.

"Fang Yuan, the studio plans to have Li Hong direct the play 'Eighteen-Year-Old Sky'."

She graduated from the Beijing Film Academy and was assigned to our factory last year. I'd like to hear your opinion.

Fang Yuan was a little surprised.

"I have no objection to what General Manager Zhu decided."

Zhu Yongde chuckled on the other end of the phone:

"Don't rush to say you have no objections. Director Li read your script and came to my office to nag me for three days straight. I was really annoyed by her."

But I need your approval for this.

You're the screenwriter, you wrote the novel. If you don't think she's good enough, then find someone else.

Fang Yuan was taken aback for a moment: "President Zhu, you've passed the buck to me."

"Those who are incapable should do more work, right?"

Fang Yuan thought for a moment and asked, "Is Director Li next to you now?"

"exist."

"Can I say a few words to her?"

A young woman's voice answered the phone:

"Hello, Fang Yuan? This is Li Hong."

"Hello, Senior Sister Li Hong, Mr. Zhu said you want to film this movie."

Let me ask you a question: What do you think is the most important aspect of this play?

Li Hong said almost without hesitation: "It has to be real. High school students aren't adults pretending. The way they talk, walk, laugh, and cry is different from adults. I have to find actors who are the right age to play the roles; I can't just make do."

Fang Yuan understood after hearing this.

The biggest success of that drama in the previous life was its accurate casting; the actors and their roles were a perfect match.

Li Hong hit the nail on the head with her very first sentence.

"Director Li, I'm all set."

Li Hong's voice on the other end of the phone carried a hint of barely suppressed excitement: "Okay, see you in Beijing later."

Fang Yuan hung up the phone and sat in his dorm room for a while.

Zhu Yongde dared to cast a 24-year-old girl to direct this film, something that other studios might not have done.

He admired him quite a bit.

A few days later, Li Hong flew from Shanghai to Beijing.

With a letter of authorization from Shanghai Film Studio, the casting process for "Eighteen-Year-Old Sky" officially began.

Fang Yuan picked her up at the entrance of the Central Academy of Drama.

Li Hong was carrying a canvas bag and wearing a faded denim jacket; she looked more like a student than he did.

"An audition at the Central Academy of Drama?" Li Hong asked.

"Yeah. I only called two people from the Beijing Film Academy."

The two entered the campus, and Fang Yuan led her toward the rehearsal room of the performing arts department.

On the way, Li Hong said, "Before we came, President Zhu said that the director should make the decision on casting, but he would need to get your opinion first."

Fang Yuan didn't respond.

Why did they agree to let me direct?

Fang Yuan glanced at her: "You really want to know?"

"you say."

"I will not object to the people chosen by President Zhu, in principle."

Li Hong didn't ask any more questions.

The audition was arranged in a rehearsal room in the performing arts department.

There weren't many people who came; they were all people Fang Yuan had arranged in advance.

Li Hong sat in front, and Fang Yuan sat beside her, neither of them speaking.

Zeng Li was the first to come in.

She was wearing a white shirt, her hair was tied up, and she had minimal makeup on; she looked clean and tidy.

Li Hong had her read a line from Pei Pei's script—"English teacher, the kind who's cold on the outside but warm on the inside."

After Zeng Li finished reading, Li Hong didn't comment, but turned to look at Fang Yuan.

Fang Yuan nodded.

The second one is Huang Xiaoming.

As he walked in, Li Hong whispered to Fang Yuan, "His appearance is acceptable."

Huang Xiaoming tried Shi Yanfeng.

When he stood there, he certainly had the air of a campus celebrity.

Li Hong had him try out two scenes: one was a scene where he had a conflict with a classmate, and the other was a scene with Lan Feilin.

He acted without any co-stars; he was acting against thin air.

After the performance, Li Hong asked Fang Yuan, "What do you think?"

Fang Yuan said, "Shi Yanfeng is cold on the outside but warm on the inside. He has the coldness on the outside, but he still needs to find the warmth on the inside."

Huang Xiaoming, who was listening nearby, nodded and said, "Shall I try again?"

Li Hong laughed: "Okay, do it again."

The second time was much better than the first.

The third is Yan Danchen.

When she walked in, the whole classroom lit up for a moment.

It's not an exaggeration; it's her temperament—gentle, quiet, and with her eyes crinkling when she smiles.

Li Hong said directly, "You don't need to try."

Yan Danchen was taken aback: "Huh?"

"You are Lan Feilin."

Yan Danchen glanced at Fang Yuan, and Fang Yuan nodded.

The fourth is Chen Hao.

Nineteen years old, a freshman in college, her eyes were full of intelligence.

Li Hong had her try out for Wu Dandan—a transfer student who had some ulterior motives, but wasn't bad.

After Chen Hao finished reading her lines, Li Hong asked Fang Yuan, "How was it?"

Fang Yuan said, "Okay."

After Chen Hao left, Li Hong wrote a few words in her notebook, then looked up at Fang Yuan:

"There's one more role; do you have someone in mind?"

"have."

"Li Xinyu".

"Hmm, she has a good foundation and a unique temperament, making her suitable to play Wang Chen."

Finally, the four main student roles were decided:

Huang Xiaoming plays Shi Yanfeng, Yan Danchen plays Lan Feilin, Chen Hao plays Wu Dandan, and Li Xinyu plays Wang Chen.

On the teacher's side, Zeng Li plays Pei Pei.

"It seems that screenwriter Fang did a lot of work beforehand, otherwise things wouldn't have gone so smoothly."

"We're still missing one crucial character—Gu Yuetao."

Fang Yuan said, "For the role of Gu Yuetao, Director Zhu suggested Bao Jianfeng. For the other roles, especially the younger ones, you should look for people from the Shanghai Theatre Academy."

Li Hong thought about it and agreed: "Okay. I'll take a look after I get back to Shanghai."

She added, "There's another role—the head of the teaching department, Ling Shuang. We need to find a veteran actress to anchor the performance; I'll ask the factory to recommend a few later."

Fang Yuan nodded and didn't say anything more.

Li Hong closed her notebook, leaned back in her chair, looked at the names of the actors in front of her, and suddenly chuckled.

"What are you laughing at?" Fang Yuan asked.

Li Hong said, "Do you know what General Manager Zhu told me? He said that if this film crew is successfully completed, it might be the film crew with the youngest average age in the country."

Fang Yuan thought about it and realized it was true.

The director is 24 years old, the screenwriter is 19 years old, and the oldest actor is 23 years old, while the youngest is 19 years old.

A group of young people in their early twenties get together to make a movie about being eighteen.

Li Hong stood up and slung her canvas bag over her shoulder:

"Alright, I'm going back to Shanghai."

"I'll handle the production team, Gu Yuetao, and the other characters. Just send me the final revised version of the script."

Fang Yuan escorted her to the school gate.

Li Hong took a few steps, then turned back and said, "Fang Yuan, thank you."

"What are you thanking me for?"

"When you told General Manager Zhu you had no objections, you were actually helping me. I know that."

"Haha, senior sister, I have faith in you."

In fact, in her previous life, in the summer of 1998, Li Hong, who was only 24 years old, directed the movie "Fly with You".

The film tells a story of friendship between an elementary school student and a college student who help each other and grow together.

This is exactly what "Eighteen-Year-Old Sky" needs—youth, campus life, growth, and positive energy.

This film won numerous awards both domestically and internationally between 1998 and 1999.

Therefore, Fang Yuan believed that she was definitely capable of handling the task.