Chapter 390 What to Do with This First Love

What Li Hong said was right. Shen Yan's legs were indeed fast.

And not only were his legs fast, his hands were also fast. As soon as Zhou Yan finished speaking, he found the audition script for No. 33.

"Director Zhou, here you go."

Zhou Yan glanced at Shen Yan, nodded, took the script, and then handed it to Li Naiwen, "Take a look at this."

Li Naiwen took the script without knowing why, and then saw the character notes on it, and said in surprise, "Is this Qu Jie's script?"

Qu Jie is a good friend of the male lead, a little silly, and has more scenes than the one he originally auditioned for, Zhong Xuwen.

Of course, Li Naiwen didn't know how many scenes he had, but he just heard someone talking about the role of Qu Jie in the lounge, and knew that Qu Jie was a good friend of the protagonist.

"Well, I'll give you five minutes, is that enough?"

Li Naiwen also reacted quickly and nodded quickly, "That's enough, Director Zhou."

He knew that his chance had come.

If he could grasp it well this time, he might be able to get the role of Qu Jie.

Compared to Zhong Xuwen, the role of Qu Jie should be much better.

Zhou Yan nodded, said nothing more, and began to look through the information of the actors who came to audition today.

Let Li Naiwen audition for the role of Qu Jie, on the one hand because he was reluctant to give up Li Naiwen, on the other hand, it was also because there were not many actors who came to audition for Qu Jie today, and none of them satisfied Zhou Yan just looking at the information.

In this case, why not let Li Naiwen try the role of Qu Jie, maybe there will be a surprise.

When Li Hong and Shen Yan heard Zhou Yan say that he wanted to take the audition script No. 33, they knew that Zhou Yan wanted Li Naiwen to audition for Qu Jie, so they also wrote Li Naiwen's name after Qu Jie.

Shen Yan lowered his head and said to Li Hong, "It seems that Director Zhou has a good impression of this Li Naiwen."

"This kid's performance is indeed quite good, but he looks a little anxious. He is said to be 22 years old, but his face looks more mature than Director Zhou."

"The skin is a little dark, and it seems that there are some premature gray hairs?"

"The hair is not white, but it is not dark enough."

"The information says that the height is 180, but it doesn't look as tall as Director Zhou."

"I guess he is 180 with shoes. Director Zhou is 183 or higher with shoes. It is normal for actors to report their height a little higher, and he is not short."

"Well, Director Zhou has long legs and good proportions, so he looks tall."

Zhou Yan heard his deputy director and assistant director mumbling beside him, and rolled his eyes at the two of them. Why are these two grown men gossiping?

Seeing Zhou Yan looking at them, Li Hong smiled and said, "Director Zhou, will you play with him later?"

Zhou Yan shook his head, "He can do it alone."

He played with Xie Fang because he respected his seniors. Forget Li Naiwen. If he played with one person, he would be exhausted today.

He looked at Li Hong with a smile and said, "How about you play with him?"

Li Hong shook his head quickly, "Forget it, I really can't act well."

Zhou Yan looked at Shen Yan again, who also shook his head and said, "We are all theoretical people, so it's okay to give guidance."

Seeing that neither of them wanted to do it, Zhou Yan smiled and said nothing more. In fact, it's okay for them to play with him. After all, it's not a formal filming, so they can just act randomly. It's just that they are not as familiar with the script as Zhou Yan, and they have to use the script to play with them, which is a bit of a waste of time.

Five minutes later, Zhou Yan asked Li Naiwen to start directly.

The audition script for No. 33 only has two lines, most of which are expressions and action descriptions, and it's all about the expression.

Because the character of Qu Jie doesn't have many lines in the movie, he is a bit like the role of his uncle, he appears a lot but speaks very little.

With few lines, the expression becomes more important, and what is needed is the state of stillness.

Li Naiwen's performance did not disappoint Zhou Yan, he performed Qu Jie's foolish state very well.

In fact, both Zhong Xuwen and Qu Jie are a bit silly, but the sillyness is a bit different, one is silly, and the other is more stunned.

What is commendable is that Li Naiwen made a difference in the treatment of these two roles.

In fact, Zhou Yan knew the actor Li Naiwen before. Although Li Naiwen mostly played supporting roles, he also participated in many well-known TV series and was considered to be a relatively good supporting role.

However, this audition was still a bit beyond Zhou Yan's expectations. This kid's plasticity is stronger than he expected.

Although Li Naiwen looks average, he has solid basic skills. If he is polished well, this kid may be able to perform better on the big screen.

His lines are very good, and his voice is more emotional.

Moreover, this boy's portrayal of Qu Jie also made Zhou Yan see some of his comedic talent, which is also what the role of Qu Jie needs.

After Li Naiwen finished his performance, Zhou Yan gently ticked the form, then looked up and said to Li Naiwen, "Okay, you can go."

Li Naiwen opened his mouth, wanting to ask how he performed and what Zhou Yan thought of him, but he didn't ask in the end.

Although he seems quite confident when acting, he is actually a person who can't open his mouth.

Finally, he bent over, turned around and walked out.

As soon as he went out, Shen Yan smiled and said, "Director Zhou, I think Li Naiwen is quite suitable for Qu Jie."

"Well, let's see later."

Zhou Yan's indifferent reaction made Shen Yan a little confused, not understanding whether Zhou Yan was satisfied or not.

Li Hong next to him gave Shen Yan a look, meaning that he should not worry about it.

Compared to Shen Yan, Li Hong knew Zhou Yan better.

Li Hong knew that Zhou Yan's current reaction was most likely because Li Naiwen was more optimistic, and the reason why Zhou Yan did not express his stance was because he did not want the two of them to have an impact on their evaluation of other audition actors because of his stance.

Whether it's good or not, we can't say until all the actors who auditioned for Qu Jie have met.

…

The audition process is very fast. It only takes an average of five minutes for an actor to walk in and walk out.

In fact, auditions mainly focus on feelings, and it is impossible to try out more things. The actors who came today basically have no problem with their professional skills.

After all, this is not an audition. Some screenings have already been done when discussing candidates.

A morning passed and most of the characters were almost decided.

The actor's father was initially chosen to be Jiao Huang, his mother was Xie Fang, Qu Jie was chosen to be Li Naiwen, his uncle was chosen to be Li Jingfei, and his sister was chosen to be Chen Derong.

There are two more important characters that I don’t have a clue about. One is the friend of the sister, who is the hero’s “first love”, and the other is the hero’s landlord, who is the friend of the hero’s father and an artist who lives in poverty.

For the latter, Zhou Yan already had a candidate in mind, and it was Xu Guanwen.

Tomson has already contacted Xu Guanwen. Xu Guanwen is also very interested in Zhou Yan's new movie. In a few days, he can arrange an audition separately. They don't even need to meet. As long as Xu Guanwen records a video, it will be done.

As for "first love", his requirements for the actress were to be young, beautiful, and sexy. However, Zhou Yan was not satisfied with the few who came to audition today.

There were some actors auditioning in the afternoon, but basically nothing to see.

During the lunch break, Zhou Yan called Li Hong, Shen Yan and Xiao Can into his office.

He first asked Xiao Can about the other two sets of auditions.

Xiao Can was reliable in his work and handed a compiled document directly to Zhou Yan.

"Director Zhou, this morning's audition is all in it. Please take a look."

Zhou Yan took the information and looked through it. The results of the other two groups of auditions in the morning were pretty good, and most of the named roles were filled.

And there are still many people who have to audition in the afternoon. Once the auditions of the later people are over, there should be basically no problems.

He nodded, closed the document, and then said, "Among the remaining characters, the male protagonist's 'first love' is the most important. What do you think?"

Xiao Can thought for a while and asked tentatively, "Do you want to choose this role, Director Zhou, in the mainland, or in Xiangjiang or Taiwan?"

"As long as it's suitable, I can be anywhere. You all know the requirements for this role. Are there any more suitable actors in the mainland now?"

The three of them looked at each other, but no one spoke first.

Zhou Yan's requirements are very clear and simple: young, beautiful and sexy.

In the entertainment industry, there is no shortage of this kind of actors, and the girls who came to audition today are actually quite good, but Zhou Yan didn't like them.

"What about Liti Zhong?" Ana Shen mentioned a candidate.

In fact, Liti Zhong is quite good and does meet Zhou Yan's requirements, but Zhou Yan still shook his head, "Liti Zhong is a bit expensive."

Of course, Liti Chung is not a first-line actress, but the price is not cheap. She has developed quite well in the past few years since her debut, and her salary is also constantly rising.

Although the budget of "Time Traveler" is sufficient, Zhou Yan did not want to spend too much money on such a simple character.

If it weren't for the low price given by Xu Guanwen, Zhou Yan wouldn't even use it.

Li Hong glanced at Ana Shen. He just heard Ana Shen mention Zhong Liti and knew that Zhou Yan would definitely not agree.

Because he knows Zhou Yan, Zhou Yan is very willing to spend money when making movies, but when it comes to actors, Zhou Yan is relatively stingy. The money spent on the cast of "Space Traveler" this time has exceeded Zhou Yan's previous movies.

Li Hong followed Zhou Yan's words and said, "Zhong Liti is also a bit older. It would be best to find someone who is around twenty years old. Qin Yu's role is originally set to be under twenty years old, but Zhong Liti is still a little more mature."

"Are there any good prospects from Yanjing Film School and China Theater Academy recently?"

Zhou Yan started to think about finding it from the school. After all, students are cheaper.

"In the past few years, I haven't had a particularly deep impression on anyone. There was Zhu Yuanyuan in 1993 who was pretty good. She had acted in "Chicken Feathers" before. There was Tao Hong in 1994 who had acted in "Sunny Days." Do you want me to compare these two? Can I compile the actors’ information for you to see?" Li Hong said.

Zhou Yan shook his head, "I know these two."

Of course Tao Hong and Zhu Yuanyuan and Zhou Yan knew each other. They were both pretty, but Zhou Yan was not particularly satisfied.

Seeing that Zhou Yan was dissatisfied, Xiao Can said, "As for someone around twenty years old, I can think of a candidate."

"Who?" Zhou Yan asked.

"She's an actress under Director Zhao Baogang. I've only met her once. I only heard Director Zhao call her Xiao Ran, but I don't know anything else about her. This girl is not very old, but she is very beautiful."

After listening to Xiao Can's description, Zhou Yan knew that this girl must be really good-looking. Otherwise, he just met her once and didn't even know her full name. It was impossible for Xiao Can to mention it specifically.

When Zhou Yan heard the name "Xiao Ran", the first person he thought of was Li Xiaoran, because there are very few actresses named Xiao Ran, and they all match the age.

If it's Li Xiaoran, she would be quite suitable for Zhou Yan's requirements, age, appearance, and everything else.

However, Li Xiaoran has no works now, and Zhou Yan is not sure about her acting skills. Although the role of "first love" does not require high acting skills, it cannot be said that there are no requirements at all.

After thinking about it, Zhou Yan said, "Old Xiao, you go and contact... Forget it, give me Director Zhao's phone number, and I will contact him myself."

"Okay, I'll find it for you now."

"Don't worry, it won't be too late to give it to me after the meeting."

Xiao Can nodded, "Okay."

"I'll go to contact Xiaoran, but the matter of finding actors cannot be stopped, and you guys should pay attention. If it doesn't work, Li Hong, you can also call Tao Hong and Zhu Yuanyuan to try."

Although in Zhou Yan's impression, Tao Hong and Zhu Yuanyuan are not very suitable for his requirements, but you can't do things based on impressions, it's better to let them try.

After talking about the actors, Zhou Yan said, "No matter how the actors are selected, the first script reading meeting will be held in five days. After the meeting, you will notify the various departments."

"Understood."

"Okay, let's adjourn."

After the meeting, Xiao Can gave Zhou Yan Zhao Baogang's contact information.

Zhou Yan did not rush to call, and waited until he went to work at two o'clock in the afternoon before calling Zhao Baogang.

The phone rang for a long time but no one answered. Just when Zhou Yan was about to hang up, the phone was connected, and a slightly panting voice came from the other end, "Hello, who is this?"

Zhou Yan smiled, "Is this Director Zhao Baogang?"

"Yes, I am Zhao Baogang, who are you?"

"I am Zhou Yan."

"Zhou Yan...Oh, it's Director Zhou, what do you want to talk to me about?"

Zhao Baogang was very surprised by Zhou Yan's call.

The two had never met before. Although Zhou Yan has been very popular in the film and television industry in the past two years, they have not met in any public occasions.

He couldn't figure out why Zhou Yan wanted to see him.

"It's like this, I heard that there's an actress over there, and there's a role in my new movie, so I want to ask her to try." Zhou Yan didn't beat around the bush and got straight to the point.

"Which actress is it?"

"I don't know her full name, I just know it's Xiaoran."

"Li Xiaoran?"

"It should be."

Zhao Baogang asked curiously, "Has Director Zhou met Li Xiaoran?"

"I haven't, but my assistant director Xiao Can has."

"Oh, it's Director Xiao." Zhao Baogang understood now.

Xiao Can had indeed met Li Xiaoran before.

But Zhao Baogang didn't expect that just that one meeting would give Li Xiaoran such an opportunity.

"It's an honor for Li Xiaoran to be appreciated by Director Zhou, but Xiaoran has little experience and is not from a professional background, so he may not be able to meet Director Zhou's requirements." Zhao Baogang gave Zhou Yan a shot of prevention.

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Is it convenient for her to come for an audition?"

"No problem, Director Zhou, when can you arrange it for her?"

"Is this afternoon okay?"

Zhao Baogang was stunned. This was too urgent.

But he didn't want Li Xiaoran to miss such a good opportunity, so he nodded and agreed, "Okay, Director Zhou, please give me a specific address."

"It's in my studio, in this state-owned electronics factory next to the Third Ring Road."

"Is it okay to arrive at four o'clock?"

"Yes."

"Okay, I'll arrange for Li Xiaoran to go there right away."

"Thank you."

"Director Zhou, you're welcome." After finishing the business, Zhao Baogang also greeted Zhou Yan, "The industry is paying more attention to your new movie now. Let's find a chance to sit down and talk. I'll also ask you for advice."

"Director Zhao, you're joking. You're a senior in the industry, and I should ask you for advice."

"Haha, let's not be polite, learn from each other, learn from each other." (End of this chapter)