Chapter 194 A Bolt from the Blue

Qi Weiming was puzzled, "Why are you showing me the photos?"

"You'll know when you come over. In fact, even if you didn't call me, I would still look for you." Lin Yi said, "Since you're here, why don't you stop by my house for dinner? We haven't had a drink together in a long time."

Qi Weiming readily agreed, "I'll be right there. Prepare the snacks and drinks first, and I'll come over to have a good drink."

If he doesn't drink now, he will be too busy to drink once the machine starts.

After the audition, Hu Xiaoxiao memorized the script every day at home, intending to memorize all of Xie Weihua's lines before filming began.

After memorizing her own lines, she also memorized the lines of the character she was acting opposite. Only by knowing her opponent's lines could she better understand what she was trying to express when she said her own lines and convey a deeper message to the audience. This allowed her to better integrate into the entire play and bring her character to life in the world of the script.

The mobile phone next to him rang. Hu Xiaoxiao put down the script and picked up the phone.

The call was from the crew of "The Bund", and the other party told her that she would play the role of Xie Weihua.

It was originally said that the results would be out within three days, and Hu Xiaoxiao thought he would have to wait until the third day, but he didn't expect the results to come out on the second day.

She got the role of Xie Weihua.

After Hu Xiaoxiao thanked the staff who called to inform her, she rolled around on the sofa with joy.

If her original form wasn't here, she would want to go back and wag her tail.

Xia Lu also received a notice on the same day. The staff told her that the role of Xie Weihua would be played by Hu Xiaoxiao.

Xia Lu was shocked by the news.

She was so confident about the role, but she failed to get it?

Why give it to Hu Xiaoxiao?

How many years has Hu Xiaoxiao been acting? How many years has she been acting? She has a full decade more acting experience than Hu Xiaoxiao!

She didn't believe that she would lose to Hu Xiaoxiao. There must be something shady going on.

Also, Xiu Mingming had clearly contacted Qi Weiming on her behalf and wanted to give her the important role, so why did it go to Hu Xiaoxiao instead?

Xia Lu couldn't accept this result, so she drove directly to Qi Weiming's house and asked who Hu Xiaoxiao's backer was and why he was able to snatch her role away.

Qi Weiming, for Xiu's sake, didn't argue with Xia Lu and invited her into his home. He patiently said, "The role was decided by me. No one else interfered, and there was no shady dealings. I compared your performance with Hu Xiaoxiao's, and I think Hu Xiaoxiao is more suitable for the role of Xie Weihua."

Xia Lu was unconvinced and said, "My acting is obviously better, I'm more mature, and I have more acting experience, so why did I lose to Hu Xiaoxiao? Although she's been very popular in the past two years, the roles she plays are all good in action and martial arts, and her literary roles are not outstanding."

Obviously, Xia Lu also studied Hu Xiaoxiao in order to get the role.

Qi Weiming said, "Your acting is indeed very good, indeed much better than Hu Xiaoxiao. However, it is precisely because your acting is so good that you are not as suitable as Hu Xiaoxiao for Xie Weihua."

"What's the logic behind this?" Why did Xia Lu feel like she couldn't understand what Qi Weiming was saying?

Qi Weiming said: "It is precisely because of your good acting skills that you can tell at first glance that you are acting. And Hu Xiaoxiao is Xie Weihua herself. Hu Xiaoxiao is very spiritual. She knows her weaknesses in literary dramas, so she spent a lot of effort on shaping the character. She succeeded and she portrayed Xie Weihua perfectly."

Once the character is created and she is immersed in the role, then every move she makes will be that person without any acting.

Qi Weiming has a sharp eye and had long noticed that Hu Xiaoxiao had taken shortcuts when portraying Xie Weihua.

She used some of Xie Weihua's characteristics to show that they were similar to her own, and used these similarities to replace Xie Weihua, immersing herself in the role and making herself indistinguishable from the character. Her words, actions, and habits all became Xie Weihua's words, actions, and habits.

Rather than saying that she is acting, it is better to say that she is doing it, being Xie Weihua.

This has both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that it allows one to quickly enter the role and bring the character to life. The disadvantage is that after the performance, it is difficult for the actor to get out of it and become trapped in the role, mistakenly making their own fate the character's fate. This happens to many actors.

But what happens after the performance is not the business of director Qi Weiming. He only sees that Hu Xiaoxiao and Xie Weihua are a perfect match.

At the same time, Qi Weiming also secretly wondered: Xie Weihua's character was based on a socialite, but that socialite came from a prominent family, a family with a strong foundation that could have nurtured such a confident and outspoken woman. Hu Xiaoxiao, on the other hand, didn't come from a family of such distinction, so how did she develop such confidence and outspokenness? Where did her confidence come from?

Similarly, this is not something he should focus on as a director. He only focuses on his play and the characters in the play.

Xia Lu is a skilled actress with extensive acting experience, but that experience, too, can lead to a lack of spirituality. Her roles easily recall those she's played before. This is especially true given Xia Lu's two Republican-era dramas, and her performances are repetitive, unlike Hu Xiaoxiao's. This gives Qi Weiming a fresh, blank slate, like a blank sheet of paper, allowing him, as director, to freely write and portray a character he's never imagined before.

Hu Xiaoxiao once said, "Only new directors who are not up to par or have no experience would resort to actors," and Qi Weiming agrees. He hopes that the characters he directs in his plays are brand new characters that he has cultivated for the script, rather than the audience constantly recalling the actor's previous roles, crying and laughing in the same way before, making the audience feel that watching this play is also watching another play.

Qi Weiming is overbearing and authoritarian at work. He doesn't want the characters he directs to have traces of other directors.

"I have good acting skills and rich performance experience, but I'm wrong?" Xia Lu just thought it was ridiculous.

"For most directors, good acting is a plus, but for me, acting alone isn't enough. Skilled acting isn't enough to deliver what I want." Qi Weiming looked at Xia Lu with regret. After so many years in the industry, Xia Lu's acting skills had improved, but her aura had faded. Especially after her time in the film industry, the aura he'd once seen in her was gone.

Xia Lu couldn't convince Qi Weiming. Seeing that he had made up his mind, she felt unwilling but helpless. "Since Director Qi has decided that Hu Xiaoxiao will play Xie Weihua, then I will play An Baojuan."

Qi Weiming regretfully told her, "An Baojuan has already decided on Youna to play the role."

"If I can't play Xie Weihua, can't I play An Baojuan either?"

"Yuna is more suitable for An Baojuan." Qi Weiming has already decided on a role for Xia Lu. "The role of Yamamoto Masako is more suitable for you."