Chapter 123 Audition
There is about a month between the application and the formal written test and interview, but Meng Fanxi is facing not only academic pressure, but also the upcoming audition for "Yunzhou Travelogue".
"The Journey of Cloud Boat" is indeed a big-budget production; even the auditions were exceptionally formal.
Three days before the audition, Meng Fanxi received a special audition invitation from the production team. It was decorated with gold trim, packaged in a gift box, and included a custom-made doll as a gift.
According to his observation, it should be based on the protagonist Xie Yunzhou's pet cloud cat.
Anyone who didn't know better would think they were invited to some kind of banquet.
His teammates were more nervous than he was, especially after learning that the director of the show was Feng Mingxu.
The first rich second-generation to break into the entertainment industry.
He had a vast business empire to inherit, but chose to enter the entertainment industry because of his passion.
Initially met with ridicule and hostility, he managed to make a name for himself, sweeping up a round of Best New Director awards. He didn't stop there, and won the Golden Phoenix Award for Best Director with the critically acclaimed and commercially successful film "The Peach Blossom Spring".
With a privileged family background, handsome looks, and the ability to establish himself in the directing world, it seems that fate has given him all the perfect conditions.
But after the initial surge in popularity came a wave of controversy.
A video of him yelling and cursing at actors on set without regard for the occasion or personal feelings, and telling them to get out, was leaked, causing a huge uproar.
What followed was a deluge of revelations from various staff members, exposing his rude attitude, disrespect for staff, and other negative news.
As a result, their company's stock was also affected.
The performing arts union immediately issued a statement saying it would launch an investigation.
He didn't try to defend himself; he apologized directly, was ordered to reflect on his actions for a year, and compensate the parties involved for their emotional distress. He then remained silent for a while.
It is speculated that this time, the director is "descending to earth" to film a period drama in an attempt to salvage his reputation, but whether he will still be as temperamental remains to be seen.
The night before the audition, all members of VIER gathered at Meng Fanxi and Gu Huailang's dormitory.
With all six of them curious, Gu Huailang found the original video that had previously exposed Feng Mingxu, in which extremely imposing and merciless insults could be clearly heard.
"If you can't film, then get lost. Go back to where you came from. You can't even roll properly."
"Director, I..."
"What do you mean, 'you'? Even a dog on the street can act better than you!"
Gu Huailang clicked his tongue and quickly turned off the video after playing a short clip, worried that it would affect Meng Fanxi's audition tomorrow.
Lin Ruohe said with concern: "Feng Mingxu is known for his bad temper. I have asked around among many people recently, and they all say that he is neither responsive to gentle persuasion nor to force. No one knows what he is thinking. Many of those who have been criticized are recognized as talented actors."
Xu You felt uncomfortable after watching the video: "I don't know why this kind of person is so popular. Fanxi should be careful tomorrow."
Zhang Yang seemed to understand Feng Mingxu a bit, saying, "He's just been spoiled too much by his family. I heard he has indeed reflected on it. As long as Fan Xi performs normally, that's fine."
Ren Yuchen: "I'll go with you tomorrow."
The audition was on a weekday, so Meng Fanxi specifically asked Lao Bai for leave. As the class monitor, Ren Yuchen could ask Lao Bai to accompany him, which was also a way of taking care of his classmate.
Meng Fanxi quickly waved his hand. Although he had never worked with Feng Mingxu in his previous life, there were no negative news reports about the director before and after the broadcast of "Yunzhou Travelogue". It seemed that there was no need to worry too much about this issue.
As for Feng Mingxu, many more abusive rumors circulated later, but the impact on the audience became smaller and smaller. On the contrary, because his works became very popular, a lot of people were willing to work with him despite the criticism.
Even the fact that the person in the controversial video later acted in Feng Mingxu's drama and won an award left many viewers speechless.
What attracted Meng Fanxi to the story of "The Journey of Yunzhou" was that he wanted to portray Bo Jin at this stage, and it had nothing to do with the director.
Before setting off, he made sure to bring the pet plush toy from the gift box with him, hooking it with his little finger and swaying it back and forth; it was very cute.
The audition took place at a well-known film and television base in the suburbs of Beijing. The production team spent a lot of money to rent out the entire venue for a week for the audition.
Meng Fanxi entered the venue with an invitation, and staff led him to the waiting room, where he encountered many familiar actors along the way.
They were also surprised to see him, and occasionally their discussions could be faintly heard.
"Isn't that a member of a really popular group lately?"
"Yes, is the top-ranked regiment in the battalion the one to test Xie Yunzhou?"
"Acting is different from singing and dancing, can you do it?"
"He actually went into the waiting room for the young Bo Jin?"
"I thought that for celebrities with that kind of popularity, getting a role like this was a piece of cake."
"You don't know this, with Director Feng around, no one in this crew can be parachuted in. Everyone has to be interviewed. And even for minor roles, after the interview panel decides on the results, they still have to be reviewed by Director Feng. Only after the review is approved can they be considered."
...
The air in the waiting room seemed to freeze for a moment when he entered, then grew even more tense.
There were about ten people sitting inside. Meng Fanxi thought that he had arranged the time half an hour in advance, which was already quite early. He didn't expect that these people were all about sincerity.
After sitting down, Meng Fanxi immediately started chatting quietly with a seemingly easy-going new actor next to him. Upon learning that the actor had arrived two hours early, he couldn't help but feel respect for him.
But as far as he knew, Director Feng's crew was not like other directors' crews where first come first served audition, so there was no point in arriving early.
But being late is definitely not an option.
At the very front of the stage, there was a timer that was as big as a speaker.
The countdown begins at the specified time, with every millisecond precisely counted.
Once the precise countdown reached zero, the door was closed. Even if someone had already reached the door and was about to step inside, they were immediately turned away without any room for argument.
The situation on site easily brought to mind the rumors of Director Feng's bad temper.
The thirty-odd audition candidates in the room immediately fell silent; the room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
A moment later, a staff member brought a box from the corner and placed it on the table: "Now, please draw lots to determine the order of your auditions."
Someone immediately questioned, "Can't we follow the order of first come, first served?"
That person must have arrived quite early, so they were very dissatisfied with the way the audition order was randomly drawn.
For auditions, being at the very beginning is certainly disadvantageous, as the judges may not be in the right frame of mind yet. However, some industry insiders have specifically calculated that those who are slightly ahead in the queue have the highest chance of getting the role.
At that time, the judges had not yet experienced aesthetic fatigue, but they had clearly defined the requirements for the roles, and once a candidate was selected, they would not be as focused on auditioning subsequent candidates.
"No." The staff member seemed to share Feng Mingxu's temperament, directly rejecting the man's question.
"That's so unfair," the man muttered, looking very dissatisfied.
"If you feel it's unfair, you can leave." The staff member's tone was calm, but with an air of urgency that brooked no argument.
The air grew quiet again.
When it came time to draw lots, most people didn't want to fall behind, so a group of people rushed forward and squeezed to the front of the box to reach for it.
Meng Fanxi was a bit far from the front, and seeing that it was definitely not his turn, he wasn't in a hurry and remained seated as still as a mountain.
From the moment he entered this film and television base, he began to adjust his state and enter Bo Jin's domain.
Having acquired her youthful appearance, Bo Jin becomes more curious about the people around her. She chats and laughs with them without any seriousness, and when something interesting happens, she sits to the side with a smile, hoping that something even more dramatic will happen.
He watched as the group jostled and pushed each other to get a turn.
He found it ridiculous.
These are all unknown numbers, so what's the difference between choosing early and choosing late?
This is probably part of human nature—the fear of falling behind others.
After the crowd dispersed, the actors who had participated in the auditions held their assigned order, some happy, some hesitant. Those who drew the last order wanted to switch with someone else, but were unsurprisingly refused.
"Actors who haven't drawn their order yet, please do so as soon as possible."
Meng Fanxi then went up and took out a slip of paper from inside.
It says: 15.
The order slightly before the middle.
His smile widened, and the coils of the finger puppet swayed back and forth as Meng Fanxi relaxed and returned to his seat, smiling and seemingly lost in thought.
The space became noisy without the staff making any effort to maintain order, and a few minutes later the staff all left without saying a word.
This place felt more like it had been left to its own devices, as if it were uninhabited. People had let go of the previous tense and wary atmosphere and started complaining about the various situations they had encountered along the way, using the lottery as an excuse.
What is clearly a very common phenomenon is described as an extremely exaggerated existence by them.
With staff nowhere to be seen, the space somehow transformed into a bustling market.
Meng Fanxi propped his head up with his hand and slowly looked around, carefully observing everyone's actions. After a while, he realized that something was wrong.
In this waiting room, there seemed to be people who were good at stirring up conversations. For example, the kind-looking actor in front of me, as far as I know, is actually an introverted person who is not good at speaking in real life, but at this moment he was talking eloquently, constantly leading the people around him to talk and bringing up topics.
And then there are the two people on the right, who seem to be supporting actors in Feng Mingxu's movies. It's strange that they're here to audition for a role that doesn't fit the requirements at all.
But inside the venue, it seemed that no one noticed the problem.
There must be something he hasn't noticed yet. Meng Fanxi listened intently, paying attention to everything around him, and then he began to observe the place.
It's a very ordinary spatial layout, but it contains hidden secrets.
"Is there a hidden camera?" he wondered.
A closer look at the layout on the wall reveals a strange feeling; it's clearly been arranged, but no one can immediately spot it.
A closer look reveals the illogical layout: why are there so many books piled up in the corner, while a potted plant and a large bucket of water are placed next to them?
Quietly, Meng Fanxi locked onto a corner and stared straight at it.
On the other side of the screen, which occupied an entire wall, Meng Fanxi's gaze was fixed on the person surrounded in the very center.
It turns out that everything in the waiting room had already been recorded in real time.
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