Chapter 786 Young people, full of vigor

This year's National Day is unusual.

After May Day became the Golden Week, National Day also became a seven-day holiday, with people celebrating together.

Before the great term "adjustment of leave" was invented, seven days of happiness could really be a full seven days of happiness.

Everyone in the Guowen Society is on vacation, but Yu Dong, who has just been transferred to Wenhua Film and Television, is facing his first test.

On the first day of National Day, the crew of "If You Are the One" held a casting meeting, and the location was set at the Wenhua Film and Television office.

The usually deserted office suddenly became lively today. The clerk Xiao Gong was busy running around, serving tea and water. The cashier Sister Xu was sitting quietly on the Diaoyutai, while her two generals Tong Zhonggui and Mo Yan looked as if they were still sleepy.

Looking at these people, Yu Dong couldn't help but fall into an uneasy situation.

It’s bad enough that I have few soldiers under my command, but why does it feel like none of them are capable?

He looked at Tong Zhonggui and Mo Yan again with great attention. Are famous writers like this?

Yu Dong was just hesitating when Hai Yan from next door came. They were from a brother unit and they had hosted a welcoming party for him yesterday. Naturally, Yu Dong greeted him with a smile.

After chatting for a few sentences, Haiyan turned the topic to the heroine of the movie. He took out an artistic photo. The girl in the photo had two braids, half-exposed shoulders, and delicate features.

"Brother, look, this is the new actress our company has signed. She is a student from Shanghai, young, pretty and has good acting skills. There is absolutely no problem for her to be the heroine of this movie."

Yu Dong had just arrived at Wenhua Film and Television and had not yet fully understood the company's situation. Hai Yan asked him to arrange roles for the actors, and even arranged the heroine for Zhang Yimou's crew. He wouldn't dare to do that even if he had the guts!

Haiyan saw that he looked embarrassed and said, "Don't be embarrassed, brother. Just help and talk when you have the chance."

Seeing him say this, Yu Dong said, "I'll try my best."

After Haiyan left, Sister Xu ran over and whispered to Yu Dong, "Boss Yu, don't listen to Boss Hai. Don't mention the heroine."

"What's the meaning?"

"How can you just let anyone cast the heroine in Zhang Yimou's film? He mentioned it to her before, but she rejected him. I guess he just saw that you're new here, so he decided to try his luck with you."

Yu Dong was filled with resentment when he heard this. Thanks to Sister Xu's reminder, otherwise he would have almost fallen into Hai Yan's trap.

This little four-eyed guy is very bad. You have to be more careful with him in the future.

"Thank you, Sister Xu!" Yu Dong said to Sister Xu with some gratitude.

Sister Xu smiled at Dong, then left after the task was completed.

At nine o'clock, the main crew of "If You Are the One" arrived.

Director Zhang Yimou, screenwriter Liu Heng, art director Cao Jiuping, photographer Lü Le...

There was a group of professionals, all of whom were well-known figures in the domestic film industry, plus Tong Zhonggui and Mo Yan from Wenhua. Yu Dong was sitting in the conference room, and suddenly he felt a little panic in his heart.

The feeling was similar to that of a newly created small account in the game being surrounded by a group of max-level big accounts. Yu Dong unconsciously felt a little confused.

What is the point of attending this meeting by myself?

He was uneasy, but still forced himself to greet everyone.

When they heard that this was the new general manager of Wenhua Film and Television, everyone looked a little surprised.

First, people were surprised at his youth, and second, they were also surprised that Wenhua Film and Television suddenly had a helmsman.

After a brief greeting, everyone sat down, and Yu Dong became more and more uneasy.

He had just graduated from Yanying Film Studio a year ago, and the people sitting in the conference room were all well-known names in the film industry. It was quite stressful for him to hold a meeting with these people.

Just as he was hesitating, the door of the conference room was suddenly pushed open, and Lin Weimin walked into the office leisurely.

Seeing him, everyone stood up unconsciously. Lin Weimin waved his hand and said, "Everyone, sit down. I just came to take a look."

He said so, but who would dare to think that he really came here to sit around?

Yu Dong gave up his seat to Lin Weimin. He patted Yu Dong on the shoulder and asked him to sit down, and then he sat in the seat below Yu Dong.

After he sat down, the meeting room fell into a brief silence. Yu Dong hesitated and was about to ask Lin Weimin to preside over the meeting, but he heard Lin Weimin say, "Xiao Yu, you preside over the meeting."

After these words were spoken, for some reason, even though Lin Weimin didn't say anything, Yu Dong felt full of confidence. Looking at the people in the conference room, the feeling of looking up to them faded.

Not only himself, but everyone present also understood that Lin Weimin came today to support the overly young general manager of Wenhua Film and Television.

Yu Dong cleared his throat, "Okay, now that everyone is here, let's not waste any more time. Today is the casting discussion meeting for "If You Are the One", let's keep it simple. Everyone has read the script and should know what the characters are like. Let's put out the existing candidates and discuss whether they are suitable. The suitable ones will be kept, and the unsuitable ones will be eliminated and we will look for other actors. Vote by raising hands, and if more than half of the people agree, it will be passed. The one with more than half of the people raising hands will win. If the number of people raising hands is the same, the director will decide."

Yu Dong didn't go through any procedures at the beginning and directly asked the crew to reveal the candidate actors. Zhang Yimou was surprised and signaled to the deputy director Shen Xuebing, who was the deputy director for actors. He stood up and directly spread the information of the actors that the crew had contacted during this period on the table.

Zhang Yimou was introduced as the director.

“The drama “If You Are the One” is quite special. The two male protagonists Zhang Qiusheng and Zhao Xiaoshuai are two extremes, one is water and the other is fire. The story becomes interesting because of their opposite personalities and ways of dealing with things.

Zhang Qiusheng is a man of culture. In Mr. Lin's novel, he is a civil servant. In the movie, we made his identity vague, and he is just an ordinary man of culture. This character is timid, a little cowardly, and likes to reason when encountering things... I used Li Baotian in my last movie. He is a good actor, and his figure and temperament are more suitable for the character of Zhang Qiusheng. "

After Zhang Yimou’s introduction, everyone understands that this is the actor the director strongly supports.

Li Baotian started his artistic career very early. He was an actor in a Bangzi Opera Troupe in the 1960s. In the 1970s, he was admitted to a professional school to study acting. After graduation, he first acted in dramas and then in movies. He won several Golden Rooster Awards for Best Supporting Actor. In 1993, he won three Best Actor awards, including the Government Award, Hundred Flowers Award, and Golden Rooster Award, for his outstanding performance in the movie "Phoenix Lute", and became famous for a time.

On the 4th of last month, Zhang Yimou's "Raise the Red Lantern" was released in China. The film did not win any awards and its reputation after release was average, but everyone has seen Li Baotian's performance, and his image and acting skills are indeed quite consistent with the character of Zhang Qiu Sheng.

After Zhang Yimou finished his introduction, no one spoke. Yu Dong said, "I think we should just raise our hands to vote. If you think this actor fits the role, raise your hands."

After saying that, he raised his hand first.

Li Baotian was Zhang Yimou's preferred actor, and he immediately raised his hand.

Others also raised their hands. Yu Dong counted them and said, "Okay, unanimous approval. The actor Zhang Qiusheng will be played by Li Baotian. Director Zhang, please introduce the next actor."

Act with vigor and determination!

Yu Dong looks very young, but his words and actions just now have brought everyone a completely different experience. It is completely different from the harmonious and friendly relationships between colleagues on weekdays, or the smiling but dagger-hiding, straightforward and impartial manner, which naturally brings a sense of majesty.

"There are currently two actors who are more suitable for the role of Zhao Xiaoshuai, one is Jiang Wen, and the other is Han Zhuangzhuang..."

When Zhang Yimou said this, he glanced at Lin Weimin.

"Jiang Wen volunteered to write a 20,000-word biography for me."

As if it was a deliberate explanation, after Zhang Yimou finished speaking, everyone had an amused look on their faces.

Yu Dong glanced at Lin Weimin and saw that he didn't react, so he said, "Let's vote, Jiang first..."

When he said this, Lin Weimin suddenly asked, "What preparations has Han Zhuangzhuang made?"

Zhang Yimou hesitated for a moment, "I haven't prepared anything yet. He hasn't seen the script yet..."

Before he could finish his words, Lin Weimin waved his hand and said, "Okay, let's vote!"

Everyone looked at each other. Jiang Wen was very sincere. Such a big actor and director had prepared a 20,000-word biography for Zhang Yimou. It would be unreasonable not to give him a chance. Moreover, his image and acting skills were quite compatible with Zhao Xiaoshuai.

As for the relationship between Lin Weimin and Han Zhuangzhuang, everyone present was aware of it. The role of Zhao Xiaoshuai fits Han Zhuangzhuang's image very well, so there is nothing wrong in giving it to him directly.

Thinking of this, everyone couldn't help but feel torn.

Everyone can understand what Lin Weimin asked just now. Jiang Wen had prepared something for the role, so he asked Han Zhuangzhuang whether he had prepared anything. It was obvious that he was expressing his own impartial position.

But at this time, who would want to offend others?

While everyone was hesitating, Yu Dong was the first to raise his hand.

From just now till now, everyone has formed a deep impression of the young general manager of Wenhua Film and Television. He is really reckless!

Seeing him raise his hand, everyone was still a little hesitant. At this moment, Zhang Yimou also raised his hand.

The general manager and director have expressed their opinions, so what else is there to say? Everyone raised their hands and the proposal was passed unanimously.

At the same time, some people turned their eyes to Lin Weimin, but saw that he looked normal.

When it was Han Zhuangzhuang's turn to vote, everyone raised their hands in tacit understanding, and Zhang Yimou also raised his hand after some hesitation.

Only Yu Dong was stubborn and did not raise his hand.

This time even Zhang Yimou looked at him with admiration. Young people are indeed full of energy. But this is also a good thing, as it avoids the embarrassing situation of letting him make the decision.

"Jiang Wen has one more vote, so the role of Zhao Xiaoliang will be given to Jiang Wen." Yu Dong said loudly.

Seeing that he was full of energy, everyone present couldn't help but admire him.

Teacher Lin came to cheer you up, and you used Teacher Lin's nephew to establish your authority. You are a ruthless man!

It was An Hong's turn to play the leading female role. This time there were three candidates: Faye Wong, Hou Junjie and Qu Ying.

Faye Wong is from Yanjing. She debuted as a singer in Hong Kong in the late 1980s. Over the years, her record sales have been good and she has won numerous awards. Last year, she held 18 consecutive concerts at the Hung Hom Stadium. She has become the new generation queen of the Hong Kong music scene and is very popular in both sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong, and is now also very famous in mainland China.

While developing her singing career, she also did not forget to develop film and television. This is the usual routine of Hong Kong to package stars. With multi-faceted development, you never know which direction will blossom. In recent years, she has starred in "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" and "The Imperial Court II".

The main reason why Zhang Yimou and the main creators wanted to contact her was that her temperament was very consistent with An Hong in the novel, and she was famous, which would help with the promotion of the film.

Compared to Faye Wong, Hou Junjie and Qu Ying are not very famous.

Like Xu Cairen, Hou Junjie was a student of the 1993 acting class of Yanying Academy. His most famous role in later generations was Yang Guifei in "The Sequel to Yang Guifei", and the other was the incident of his illegitimate daughter with the emperor.

In later generations, Xu Cairen was the most famous one in Yanying's 1993 acting class, but when she was in school, Hou Junjie was the class belle of 1993, outshining all the other beauties in the class.

As for Qu Ying, it was because of Jiang Wen's recommendation that she went to Yanjing University in the late 1980s to develop her career as a model. With her outstanding looks and figure, she made a big name for herself in the domestic modeling industry. She and Zhou Xun are known as "Qu Ying in the North and Zhou Xun in the South" in the calendar industry.

When selecting actors for "If You Are the One", Qu Ying got a chance to audition. Zhang Yimou didn't notice her at first. He just auditioned her, chatted with her for a few words, and then let her go.

It happened that Jiang Wen came to deliver a biography to Zhang Yimou, and Qu Ying called Jiang Wen "uncle" when she saw him.

After Qu Ying left, Zhang Yimou talked with Jiang Wen and found out that Qu Ying's father was an actor in the Hunan Art Troupe. In 1986, Jiang Wen went to Hunan to film "Furong Town" and met Qu Ying's father Qu Jizhi. This is why Qu Ying called him uncle when they met.

Qu Ying is the daughter of a friend, so Jiang Wen recommended her to Zhang Yimou. Zhang Yimou looked carefully at Qu Ying's photo and information, and found that this girl really looked a bit like An Hong, so he put her on the shortlist.

After Zhang Yimou introduced the candidate actors, everyone was preparing to vote.

Lin Weimin stood up and said, "You guys discuss first, I have something else to do."

The purpose of his coming today has been achieved, and there is no point in staying any longer.

After he left, everyone present breathed a sigh of relief.

With such a great writer like him sitting here, everyone feels a lot of pressure.

At this point in the casting meeting, Yu Dong's authority had been established, and when he spoke again, his voice was full of confidence.

"Next, let's vote on the heroine!"

(End of this chapter)