The next morning.
In the suburbs of Beijing, at the largest film studio in Beijing.
Previously, Zhang Ye had also gone to play a small role in a movie called The Great Pugilistic World through Zhang Yuanqi's recommendation. At that time, he was still not that famous, but he had come here before. Today, after driving over with familiarity, Zhang Ye's reputation was no longer what it used to be. The role he was auditioning for was no longer a small role, but a main supporting role. His mission this time was to secure this role and pave the way for himself in the film industry. At the same time, he would also ease the awkwardness of not having a job recently. He was also trying to break through the threshold of becoming a B-list celebrity.
They arrived at the place.
"Teacher Zhang."
"Yes."
"You're here? Please come with me. "
"OK."
After he got out of the car, someone from the film crew was waiting outside to receive him. After a few turns, the film crew led Zhang Ye to a set inside. It was a modern movie set, but there would probably be an explosion scene as the props were already prepared. As such, it was highly likely that they would not be able to film anywhere else. This scene could only be filmed at the film studio. Over there, the set was also very chaotic. There were quite a number of extras and some of the film crew members were discussing something with everyone. It looked like the film crew was very anxious and would probably have to decide on the actors today.
In the studio.
Someone was already auditioning for the role.
When Zhang Ye came in, he saw Director Wang Chengpeng, an assistant director, and a few other staff members in the innermost area. A male celebrity was performing, while Zhang Yuanqi, Dalong, and the other main leads of the movie were standing in the periphery. More than a dozen people were watching the actors audition inside.
That film crew member whispered, "Teacher Zhang, please wait a moment."
"Alright." Zhang Ye nodded.
Zhang Yuanqi looked over and smiled. "Little Zhang?"
Zhang Ye hurriedly walked over. "Sister Zhang."
"Long time no see." Zhang Yuanqi stretched out her hand heartily.
Zhang Ye shook her hand pretentiously. He thought to himself, Long time no see? You even went to my house two days ago. You still haven't compensated me for the kaffir lilies I bought.
Zhang Yuanqi smiled and said, "How have you been recently?"
Zhang Ye also smiled. "Pretty good. I'm resting at home."
The two of them chatted for a while and looked very polite. Others could tell at a glance that they were acquaintances but not too familiar with each other. Many people knew that Zhang Ye had written songs for Zhang Yuanqi before, so it was not surprising that the two of them knew each other. But in fact, the friendship between Zhang Ye and Zhang Yuanqi was something that others would not know. Seeing Old Zhang smiling so amiably, Zhang Ye felt a little uncomfortable. This Old Zhang was someone who said one thing in front of others and another in front of others.
Over there, the second male lead also came over. "Zhang Ye."
Zhang Ye looked at him and shook his hand. "Hello."
The second male lead smiled and said, "It's an honor to meet you."
"I'm the one who has been looking forward to meeting you." Zhang Ye replied politely.
Zhang Ye had seen the cast list before and knew that his name was Tian Xuetao. He was very young and should be a few years older than Zhang Ye, but not by too much. He was a newcomer in the film industry who had just made a name for himself in the past two years. He had probably debuted many years ago, but had always been a minor character or a supporting role. It was only in the past two years that he started to make a name for himself. He was very handsome, the type that would look like a pretty boy. He was also very skinny and had the standard looks of a celebrity.
As for popularity, Tian Xuetao was not too far off from Zhang Ye. In terms of overall popularity, he was slightly worse than Zhang Ye. After all, Zhang Ye had a lot of connections, including hosting, advertising, and teaching. But in terms of popularity in the film industry, Tian Xuetao was clearly much more popular than Zhang Ye. Zhang Ye was not even considered a newcomer in the film industry, while Tian Xuetao had been around for many years and had a certain box office appeal. Although his acting skills were not as good, he had a strong sense of cohesiveness among the fans. Otherwise, he would not have been able to take on the role of the second male lead in such a big production.
Tian Xuetao was curious. "You're here for the audition too?"
"Yes." Zhang Ye smiled and said, "I'm here to try and cross over into other industries. It just so happens that I don't have any work these few days, so I've been idling around at home."
Beside him, a staff member came over and handed a script to Zhang Ye. "Teacher Zhang, take a look at this first."
"Alright." Zhang Ye took it and read it.
Over there, Zhang Yuanqi had already left. Dalong stood where he was and gave Zhang Ye a glance, but did not come over. He turned his head back to watch the celebrity audition in the middle of the studio. As the male lead, although Dalong was not on the same level as Zhang Yuanqi, nor could he be considered a Heavenly King, he was still a true A-list celebrity. He had been popular in the film industry for many years and was a veteran celebrity. He was from the same talent agency as Zhang Yuanqi. In terms of age, Dalong was about the same as Zhang Yuanqi, but as he debuted much later than Old Zhang, Dalong was considered Old Zhang's junior in the company. Be it in terms of fame or seniority, Dalong would have to politely address Zhang Yuanqi as Sister Zhang whenever he saw her.
The director said, "Little Yu, can your expression be any fiercer?"
That actor who was auditioning nodded and immediately made an expression. Then, he repeated his lines, "Cut the crap with me. In this day and age, who dares to call themselves a grandmaster? Your master can't do it, and you … even more so! "
The director acknowledged, "That's enough."
That actor regained his expression, "Director Wang?"
Director Wang Chengpeng shook his head, "Little Yu, this role is still not suitable for you. It's not fierce enough. You can't portray the spirit of the antagonist."
The assistant director joked, "Little Yu is suitable to portray a good image of a decent character. You'll be able to portray it well." Actually, he was trying to smooth things over for the actor.
That actor smiled, "It's fine."
Wang Chengpeng said, "Then you can go back first. I still have another movie to shoot this year. I've already reserved a role for you. It's a good role, so let's get in touch later."
"Alright, thank you for your concern, Director Wang." That actor turned around and greeted Dalong. Then, he happily greeted Zhang Yuanqi as Sister Zhang, but did not leave. Instead, he stayed behind to continue watching.
Wang Chengpeng called for the next actor, "Little Qu."
A man who was standing in the corner went up, "It's my turn, Director Wang?"
"It's your turn." Wang Chengpeng said, "Let's try out the kung fu scenes first."
The film crew's martial arts director took a few steps forward and demonstrated a few moves.
Director Wang Chengpeng said, "Imitate it a little. Let's see how it turns out."
That actor immediately did as he was told. He imitated the martial arts director's movements, throwing punches, kicking kicks, and turning his body around to deliver a palm strike. The movements were not difficult, but he did it rather awkwardly.
He tried out some more scenes.
Ten minutes later, the director called for a break. "Little Qu, take a break first." He did not say if it was a success or a failure. It looked like he was not too satisfied with it, but it was hard to say. Wang Chengpeng had a full beard and even a goatee. He was serious and did not speak much. It was unknown if it was because of the screening crisis or if it was just his personality, but Wang Chengpeng's expression did not look too good. There was an anxious look in his eyes.
The director asked, "Is there anyone else?"
The assistant director said, "There's still one more. It's Zhang Ye."
The director looked around. "Is Teacher Zhang here?"
"Yes, Director Wang." Zhang Ye saw that it was his turn and immediately went up.
Everyone in the studio looked at Zhang Ye for a moment.
Previously, Wang Chengpeng had addressed the first actor who was auditioning, Little Yu, and the second actor, Little Qu. They were both more casual terms of address. Even when he addressed the male lead, he had addressed him as Dalong and was not that polite. Logically speaking, Zhang Ye's fame was not that far off from the two auditioning candidates, and it was even more incomparable to an A-list celebrity like Dalong. It was fine for the director to address him as Little Zhang, but he still addressed him as "Teacher Zhang."
One of the film crew's staff was not familiar with Zhang Ye. When he heard that, he turned around and asked the person beside him, "Who is this person? Why is the director so polite? "
That person asked back, "You don't know him?"
"I do know him, but he's the host? Why did the director address him as a teacher? Even for an S-list celebrity like Sister Zhang, Director Wang doesn't need to address her as a teacher? "That person wondered," Does he have to be so awesome? "
That person smiled and said, "The situation is different. His identity is a little special."
"Special? How so? "He did not understand.
"Because he's a professor at Peking University."
There was a knack to this.
This was because Zhang Ye was different from other celebrities. With Wang Chengpeng's status and qualifications, it did not matter what he was called. But Zhang Ye was different. Not only was he a host, he was also a famous literary scholar in the country and a world-famous mathematician. Furthermore, he was working at Peking University's Chinese Department and was also an associate professor of the Math Department. Yes, although he had been suspended from his duties, he had not been removed from his position. No matter what, an associate professor was still an associate professor. The title of being a professor at the top university in the country was there for all to see. Hence, even though the director and assistant director were not familiar with each other, there was nothing wrong with addressing him as Teacher Zhang.
Other celebrities?
Then they would not receive such treatment.
The assistant director asked, "Have you read the script?"
Zhang Ye nodded. "Yes, I've read it. I just skimmed through it briefly."
The assistant director said, "Then let's try out the lines first and get into the role to see how it feels …"
"Let's try out our acting skills first," Wang Chengpeng interrupted.
The assistant director nodded and said to Zhang Ye, "Let's try out our acting skills first."
As for the other actors, they were already very familiar with them. They had all been in the film and television industry for a long time. Some of the actors had worked with them before. As for those that they hadn't worked with before, most of the people in the production team had seen their movies and performances. They had a good idea of their acting skills. Only newcomers would come up to test their acting skills first. Most famous celebrities would come up to test their acting skills first.
As for Zhang Ye, they knew more about his achievements in other fields. The film and television industry? Acting skills? No one knew what Zhang Ye's background was, so naturally, during the audition, they had to treat him like a newcomer. They had to see if his acting skills were up to standard. If he couldn't even pass the threshold, then there was no need for him to audition for the rest of the movies. They definitely couldn't use him. This was also why it wasn't common for celebrities to cross over to other industries, nor was it easy for them to succeed in doing so. Some things were not decided by popularity alone. It wasn't something that could be achieved just by being popular or famous. Every industry had its own threshold. If you wanted to succeed in this industry, then you had to respect the rules of the industry.
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