Chapter 63 Chapter 63

After the investment was in place, the first thing to do was casting.

The male lead was undoubtedly Qin Wen, and the main focus was on the female lead and several supporting roles.

The first audition was for the supporting roles.

Pei Zhuozhi sat in the main seat, and Gu Xingshi, as the producer of this movie, sat next to him. On the table in front of the two of them was a stack of actor resumes, which were all preliminarily screened by the casting director.

Gu Xingshi flipped through them and was surprised to find that the quality of the actors was much better than he expected.

But their crew, the screenwriter and director were all unknown. The only confirmed male lead, Qin Wen, had good acting skills praised by the industry, but he had always played supporting roles before and had not proven his ability to carry the box office.

Such a configuration is not a poisonous cake in the circle, but it is definitely not attractive.

At this time, the system spoke: [They are not here for this crew, but mainly for you...]

Gu Xingshi: [? ]

System: [You have participated in two dramas in total, both of which are very popular, and the protagonist and supporting actors of "The Secret of the Six Doors" have all ascended, not to mention "Reincarnation". The role of Sheng Yueqing has now become a synonym for white moonlight. As long as the house does not collapse, it is his lifelong gold medal of immunity from death. Which actor is not jealous! It is said that many actors now buy your small card and pray for themselves to "ascend to the sky with one film" before filming every day. ]

Gu Xingshi: [? ? 】

System:【Of course, in addition to these, there are also some powerful actors who want to take this opportunity to see if they can be signed under you. Haven't you noticed that the actors who came this time have fewer melons?】

Gu Xingshi:【???】

At this time, the first group of actors have walked in one by one.

Gu Xingshi stopped gossiping with the system and concentrated on watching the actors' performances.

During this process, he almost said nothing, leaving the pace of the audition completely to Pei Zhuozhi, only occasionally taking a pen to record something on paper.

Those who auditioned first were all supporting roles with few roles. It was relatively simple and the audition speed was fast.

Almost half of them were solved in one morning.

At noon, Gu Xingshi and Pei Zhuozhi did not go to rest. The two of them ate lunch boxes and discussed the undecided roles.

There are two resumes on Gu Xingshi's desk.

These are the actors who auditioned for the male fourth role. One has good acting skills, while the other looks more like the male lead. Both have their own strengths and weaknesses. Gu Xingshi was struggling with this, but suddenly an idea came to him.

He waved at Pei Zhuozhi: "Xiao Pei, come and take a look at this."

Pei Zhuozhi was originally in a daze with disposable chopsticks in his mouth, but he came over after hearing this.

Gu Xingshi: "You choose one?"

Although Pei Zhuozhi was a little confused, he still obediently selected a person. Gu

Xingshi: [System, are you sure this person has no melons, right?]

System: [Of course I am sure... Wait, he actually solicited prostitution, he hid it so well, I almost didn't notice it!]

Gu Xingshi: [......!]

Pei Zhuozhi is really the chosen melon eater! The accuracy of this melon eater is even higher than the system! !

He also placed two resumes of another role in front of Pei Zhuozhi: "Xiao Pei, choose again."

Pei Zhuozhi: "Oh."

Gu Xingshi: [System, take another look? ]

System: [Amazing! This person also has melons! ]

Gu Xingshi suddenly understood.

This is the correct way to use Pei Zhuozhi! !

So, when casting in the future, as long as there is an uncertain actor, Gu Xingshi will look at Pei Zhuozhi kindly: "Xiao Pei, choose?"

Pei Zhuozhi: "...This one?"

Gu Xingshi immediately picked up another one: "Then it is confirmed to be him!"

Pei Zhuozhi: "???"

The efficiency of casting increased instantly.

When Sun Hongfei finally finished his work and came to find them, the casting was almost over.

Sun Hongfei was stunned: "Is the efficiency so high?"

According to his previous experience, movie casting is very time-consuming. He thought it would take at least one or two months. How come it was basically done in less than a week?

Gu Xingshi smiled and said, "It's mainly thanks to Xiao Pei!"

Pei Zhuozhi: "..."

Sun Hongfei looked at Pei Zhuozhi in surprise and admiration.

He was a little worried before. After all, he had heard of Pei Zhuozhi's reputation and was afraid that he would ruin this project.

He tactfully persuaded President Gu, but President Gu insisted on choosing him.

Now it seems that he really has some skills, and President Gu has vision!

Although the early stage was smooth, there were problems, such as the second female lead could not be decided.

Although they had auditioned so many times, none of them met their expectations for the second female lead.

Sun Hongfei was getting anxious and couldn't help asking Pei Zhuozhi and Gu Xingshi, "Are none of them suitable? I think the one who just finished the audition is pretty good?"

Pei Zhuozhi flicked out a cigarette lazily, lowered his head and held it in his mouth, then mumbled, "No soul."

Sun Hongfei: "?"

Gu Xingshi frowned and looked at the record on the paper, then looked at the casting director, "Xiao Chen, are all the actors here?"

The casting director nodded and asked, "Mr. Gu, do you want to expand the scope of the casting, such as looking for colleges and universities?"

Gu Xingshi hesitated for a moment.

This is indeed a method, but it is time-consuming, labor-intensive and costly.

Although Sun Hongfei has always acted like he has plenty of money, telling him not to worry and spend as he pleases, Gu Xingshi is very clear-headed. He chose to cooperate with Wen Shi because of their sincerity.

What about the future?

He will always have to cooperate with outside investors.

In order to attract investment, Gu Xingshi met with various investors and realized that these investors have strict requirements for the project. Not all of them are as generous as Wen Shi and do not interfere in the project.

He has just become a producer and must not develop the bad habit of spending money lavishly.

After thinking it through, Gu Xingshi said to the casting director: "Send me the resumes that you have previously screened."

Look for them based on the existing conditions first, and if you can't find any, then expand the scope.

Sun Hongfei was a little surprised.

He actually agreed with the casting director. After all, President Wen had invested a lot of money, and there was no need for Gu Xingshi to be so frugal.

Sure enough, President Gu said he wanted to be friends, but in fact, he still cared about President Wen.

The casting director put the resumes of the actors who had been screened in front of them in a short while.

It was a thick stack, and it looked like a lot of work.

But Gu Xingshi was not afraid at all. He picked up a book and started reading it.

Pei Zhuozhi also picked up a book.

Sun Hongfei sighed and could only follow their actions.

But these resumes are really mediocre, no wonder they can't even pass the initial screening.

Sun Hongfei flipped through a few of them and lost interest, but seeing Gu Xingshi and Pei Zhuozhi still reading carefully, he could only grit his teeth and keep up.

At this moment, Gu Xingshi's reading speed suddenly slowed down.

The resume in his hand was very simple.

The actor's name is Yan Xiang. She is not a professional actor, but her acting experience shows that she has starred in fifteen short plays since she started her career.

Short plays have become popular in recent years, and most of the short plays broadcast on short video platforms are crudely made, and the actors are basically amateurs with no acting skills.

No wonder, even if she wrote that she starred in fifteen short plays, she still couldn't even pass the initial screening.

But Gu Xingshi was attracted by a character analysis of several pages attached to the back of her resume. She

was auditioning for a small role with only five or six scenes, but she still wrote a character biography carefully and wrote some of her thoughts on playing this role.

Although these contents did not look professional and there were even some typos, the care and love between the lines still deeply touched Gu Xingshi.

Gu Xingshi looked at the photo on the resume.

This was not a proper official photo of the actor, but a photo of Yan Xiang taken on the set of a short play.

In the photo, Yan Xiang was wearing a simple and even ridiculous costume, with poor makeup on her face, ordinary facial features, and a dull complexion, but her eyebrows and eyes were sharp and had a burning vitality.

Maybe she doesn't have an advantage in appearance, but her ambition is the same as that of the second female lead. Gu

Xingshi suddenly became interested, took out the resume and handed it to the casting director: "Notify her to audition." Sun

Hongfei was dizzy and couldn't pick one. Seeing that Gu Xingshi really picked someone, he couldn't help but feel curious.

However, he was stunned when he saw it: "This... Mr. Gu, did you make a mistake?"

Mr. Gu, who graduated from a professional school, didn't like those people, but he actually chose an amateur who shot a short drama? !

Sun Hongfei couldn't help but say earnestly: "Mr. Gu, we really have enough funds! There is no need to save so much!"

Gu Xingshi was puzzled: "I didn't save money, she is just very suitable."

Sun Hongfei: "..."

He waited until the next day with doubts.

That night, they picked out a total of seven people from the pile of resumes, four of whom were picked by Sun Hongfei, mainly because the quality was not good and the quantity was sufficient.

The one who picked the least was Gu Xingshi. After choosing Yan Xiang, he did not continue to choose, and it seemed that he had confidence in Yan Xiang.

The three of them took their seats one by one, and the casting director let the actors come in for auditions one by one.

However, the audition of the first actor made the three of them reveal their masks of pain at the same time, and they almost called for a stop in unison.

After the other party left, Sun Hongfei wiped the sweat from his forehead.

After all, this was the one he just picked.

Fortunately, the next actors were much normal, but they were still not satisfactory.

Sun Hongfei also went from being full of anticipation to now looking lifeless, just wanting it to end quickly.

Fortunately, there was only one actor left.

The casting director shouted to the corridor, "Next, Yan Xiang."

But no one answered.

The casting director shouted again.

Several people in the audition room also heard it.

Sun Hongfei wondered, "Didn't she come?"

Just as Gu Xingshi was puzzled, the system said: [She actually left very early today, but her residence is too remote, and it took her nearly four hours to get here. She also encountered the morning rush hour of the subway and was squeezed in. She got off after three or four stations, and her shoes were squeezed off. Later, she rode a shared bicycle all the way here...]

She could have caught up, but the trains ahead of her were too bad and ended very quickly, so she didn't have enough time.

The casting director walked in: "Mr. Gu, Yan Xiang didn't come, how about..."

Gu Xingshi shook his head: "Wait a little longer."

Five minutes later, the elevator door opened, and a girl rushed out, panting and begging: "I... I'm Yan Xiang, did I make it?"

The casting director breathed a sigh of relief and immediately said: "Everyone is waiting, you hurry in."

Yan Xiang walked into the audition room nervously.

This was her first time to experience such a formal audition. The clean and tidy room, professional machines and equipment, and the main creators who looked reliable were exactly the scene she had dreamed of.

She was born in the countryside, had a low education, and looked average, but she just liked acting.

Whether it was a small role or a short play that no one liked, as long as it was acting, she was willing to take it.

Without any professional training, she looked for relevant tutorials on the Internet. She read all the relevant ones, whether about actors, directors or screenwriters. She was like a sponge, madly absorbing all the knowledge she could see.

After receiving a play, no matter how small the role was or how outrageous the script was, she would prepare seriously, whether it was a brief biography of the character or the idea of ​​playing the role. Although

most of the time, these things ended up in the trash can.

Yan Xiang never thought that one day a miracle would happen to her.

When the casting director told her that she was going to audition for the second female lead, her first reaction was that he was a liar. It was not until she confirmed the other party's identity that her mind seemed to be instantly blown into a blank by fireworks of joy.

She did not sleep all night last night, and worked hard to study the role of the second female lead, and wrote more than ten pages of ideas.

She took out the expensive cosmetics samples that she had always been reluctant to use, carefully put on makeup, went out before dawn, and took the earliest bus in the cold wind.

She was full of hope, but it was shattered during the morning rush hour.

Now she was sweating profusely, the makeup on her face had long been smudged, her hands and feet were weak from pedaling and running fast, and she lost a shoe.

She messed up the scene she was most looking forward to.

Just when Yan Xiang was at a loss and helpless, a hand suddenly stretched out in front of her, holding a box of tissues.

When she looked up, she saw a handsome young man who said to her gently, "Don't worry, go get yourself ready first, we can wait for you."

Yan Xiang was stunned.

Then, a female staff member took her to the bathroom.

Yan Xiang stared blankly at herself in the mirror. The clear mirror reflected an extremely scary face. Her cheeks were gray and white, her eyeliner was smudged, and sweat flowed down the corners of her eyes, like two lines of black tears. Her lips were cracked because they had been exposed to the cold wind for too long, and her lipstick was stuck in the grooves, like the dried blood of a child who had just eaten.

Thinking that she had just appeared in front of the director and producer in this appearance, Yan Xiang gritted her teeth and wanted to slap herself.

But she immediately saw the box of tissues on the sink.

The young man's gentle voice seemed to ring again, soothing the uneasiness and despair in her heart like a Buddhist sound.

She suddenly calmed down, with a determination to give up everything.

Today's audition should have failed.

But it doesn't matter, she is already very satisfied to be able to perform in such a place, and as the second female lead.

She recalled the character information of the second female lead in her mind.

Her name is Song Qing, and her life is fragile.

She has been displaced since she was a child, like a leaf drifting with the current. Her life seems to be overturned at any time, but she struggles to survive every time.

Everyone looked down on her, but she insisted on living like a human being!

Yan Xiang wiped off the makeup on her face bit by bit, and as her original face appeared, her temperament seemed to change. At

this moment, she seemed to have truly taken Song Qing's soul into her own body.

When she finished removing her makeup and walked out of the bathroom, she found a pair of slippers at the door of the bathroom.

The female staff member next to her saw that she was stunned, so she explained: "This is what General Manager Gu ordered. Don't worry, these are new slippers."

Yan Xiang instantly remembered the face of the young man in her mind.

For some reason, she felt that he was the General Manager Gu mentioned by the staff member.

He saw that she had lost one of her shoes, but in order to protect her weak self-esteem, he did not say it, but silently gave her a pair of slippers.

This gentleness and respect were so precious to Yan Xiang.

It instantly made her nose sore.

She hadn't cried even though she was so unlucky and miserable before, but now she couldn't stop crying.

She tried hard to swallow her tears, put on her slippers gently, and returned to the audition room.

She saw the young man sitting next to her at a glance, and he smiled and nodded to her.

Yan Xiang pursed her lips, and her determination to perform well suddenly became extremely strong.

The moment she came in, Pei Zhuozhi's drooping eyelids suddenly lifted up, and he said, "Your name is Yan Xiang."

Yan Xiang nodded, looked at him neither humbly nor arrogantly, and said the self-introduction that she had silently recited in her heart countless times.

Pei Zhuozhi said noncommittally: "You have read the audition script, so act out the second scene."

It was a scene before Song Qing's death. She desperately wanted to live and struggled to escape, but was killed in the end.

This is a very explosive scene, but it will become very funny if it is not performed well.

Yan Xiang sat on the chair according to the posture in the script, and the staff was tying the rope for her. Yan Xiang

moved her hands and feet, and then said to the staff: "Please tie it tighter for me, including the cloth strip in my mouth."

After it was tied, Pei Zhuozhi signaled Yan Xiang to start.

With the word "start", Yan Xiang suddenly widened her eyes and looked at the scene in front of her in horror. She even had veins on her forehead because she was too strong.

Seeing this scene, Sun Hongfei's paralyzed body couldn't help but sit up straight.

Yan Xiang struggled frantically, her body trying to shrink back, tears streaming down her face, as if she wanted to scream, but because her mouth was blocked, she could only make a "wuwu" sound.

She didn't care at all whether her expression looked good or not, and seemed to have forgotten that she was at the audition site.

She just stared at the air in front of her, as if there was a terrifying existence in this house that no one could see.

Sun Hongfei suddenly felt the hair on his back stand on end.

And at this moment, under Yan Xiang's desperate struggle, the chair suddenly fell to the side. The staff screamed and was about to help her, but was stopped by Pei Zhuo's stern eyes.

The fallen Yan Xiang seemed to be unaware of the pain, still struggling backwards, even rubbing her face against the ground.

Suddenly, her red eyes froze.

Almost everyone could feel that it was the knife that stabbed into her body.

Her eyeballs moved slowly, as if trying to see who killed her, but finally froze on this scene.

Pei Zhuozhi suddenly stood up and looked at Yan Xiang in surprise: "That's right! That's it!!"

The last look left by the girl who was desperately trying to live was when she was killed.

It was not fear, but anger!

This is the Song Qing who was desperately living and didn't want to be looked down upon!

This is the Song Qing in his mind!

Gu Xingshi called cut, and Yan Xiang closed her eyes. The staff next to her hurried forward to help her up and untie the ropes on her body.

Sun Hongfei touched the goose bumps on his arms that had not yet disappeared. Although he didn't quite understand what touched Pei Zhuozhi, Yan Xiang's outburst still conquered him.

Just now, for a moment, he almost wanted to call the police.

Gu Xingshi looked at Yan Xiang approvingly, and then looked at the two of them: "What do you think?"

Pei Zhuozhi nodded: "It's her, there is no one more suitable!"

Sun Hongfei had no objection.

Gu Xingshi then said to Yan Xiang: "Congratulations, this role is yours."

Yan Xiang was still wiping the snot and tears from her face, and suddenly heard these heavenly words, and she was dumbfounded.

She...she really got this role? !

She pinched herself hard to make sure that she was not dreaming.

This is real! !

She cried with joy and kept bowing to Gu Xingshi and Pei Zhuozhi: "Thank you, thank you..."

Gu Xingshi walked over and helped her up: "Act well, keep going!"

Yan Xiang was sent out by the casting director in a daze.

Sun Hongfei was a little envious. He was obviously involved in the decision-making, but why didn't he thank him...

However, he was now completely convinced by Gu Xingshi.

Mr. Gu's vision was really amazing! !

How did he accurately find a rough gem among those weird resumes?

Apart from other things, just in the selection of actors, he was full of confidence! !

Sun Hongfei was suddenly full of fighting spirit: "Mr. Gu, Director Pei, it seems that we have not yet decided on the female lead, why don't we do it in one go and decide on the female lead as well?"

Gu Xingshi seemed to remember something: "Speaking of this, I do have a candidate for the female lead..."

Sun Hongfei's eyes lit up.

To be honest, it is really difficult to choose this female lead.

First of all, the appearance of this female lead must be very beautiful, so beautiful that it can make people stunning at first sight.

Secondly, this female lead and Qin Wen have a lot of rival scenes. If she is suppressed by Qin Wen, the plot will be unbalanced. But it is even more difficult to find a young actress with acting skills comparable to Qin Wen.

With these two requirements, Sun Hongfei racked his brains, but couldn't think of anyone in the circle who could do it.

But Mr. Gu is Mr. Gu, he has already thought of it.

Sun Hongfei hurriedly asked: "Who is it?"

Gu Xingshi: "Bu Qianwei."

Hearing this name, the expression on Sun Hongfei's face was blank for a moment: "...Who?"

Gu Xingshi: "Bu Qianwei."

Pei Zhuozhi has already searched, and soon, a photo of a radiant beauty popped up on his mobile phone. With her appearance, it seemed as if the room was brightened up.

Pei Zhuozhi's eyes moved slightly: "Her appearance is very suitable for the heroine."

"Wait... wait a minute!!" Sun Hongfei hurriedly stopped them, "Don't just look at the photos! Haven't you seen Bu Qianwei's acting clips?"

He quickly searched for a video with the title "Suggest to check it out, it doesn't look like an act."

The video starts with Bu Qianwei walking on the red carpet, she is so beautiful, but the next second, it is a clip of her acting, her facial features are messy, her expression is distorted, and she has nothing to do with the beautiful woman in front.

It seems that people feel spiritually polluted in an instant.

Sun Hongfei was distressed: "Mr. Gu! After watching this, do you still want her to play the female lead?"

Gu Xingshi nodded affirmatively: "Of course!"

Sun Hongfei: "..."

How could your 5.0 eyes choose Yan Xiang on one side and Bu Qianwei on the other side! ! !

At that moment, his confidence was shattered.