Chapter 12
Chapter 12
Director Liu led a man and a woman into the conference room, pulled up a chair and sat down, pointed to the door and said, "It's time, let's begin."
Immediately, the two girls who came with her quickened their pace, blocking Jiang Mingyue behind them, as if the one who entered first had a better chance.
Jiang Mingyue rolled her eyes inwardly; what a childish tactic.
What's the point of squeezing in first? It's not like we're fighting for the toilet; whoever gets in first gets to use it first.
Jiang Mingyue rolled her eyes inwardly and simply stood in line at the door, becoming the last one to enter.
Several stools were placed at the entrance, and the group sat down in order.
Director Liu clearly saw the girls' complicated expressions. He raised his hand to scratch the few hairs left on his head and said with a smile, "The audition notices were all sent out last night, and you all received the same ones. Anyway, there are only three scenes, all very simple, so there's no need to prepare too meticulously. Each of you will have one scene, and don't repeat any."
He didn't specify who should start or who should perform which segment; this means that the person who performs first has the right to choose their performance segment first.
The two girls, who had just been united against a common enemy, immediately started arguing. The quick-thinking one grabbed her companion's raised hand and said crisply, "Director, I'll go first. I'll perform the last part!"
The final section, naturally, depicts the foolish fox drugging the female lead and his internal struggle as he prepares to die in her place.
A truly outstanding performance.
Director Liu didn't let her start immediately, but nodded to indicate that he understood.
He turned to the middle-aged woman accompanying him and reached out his hand: "Where are the girls' resumes? Let me see them."
The woman next to Director Liu, who had a serious expression, immediately took out three folders from her handbag, opened them, arranged them in order, and placed them in front of Director Liu.
Director Liu flipped through their resumes, nodding repeatedly: "Introduced by Zhou Haitian? Not bad, not bad. Little Zhou likes actors with theatrical backgrounds, saying you have good figures. Hmm, your name is Chen Lu, right? You've done quite a few commercials before. Oh, you've also been the female lead in a music video. That's impressive experience."
Chen Lu looked delighted, as if a few words of praise were all it took to land her the role of the third female lead.
But after praising her, Director Liu didn't let her start performing. Instead, he turned to another girl, put his reading glasses back on, and carefully looked through the second girl's resume. He praised her just as much: "Oh, Zhou Huiru is from the drama academy. She's an alumna of your Director Zhang's school. Hmm, the stage play 'On the Other Side of the City' is good. You have a role in it. It seems your acting skills are fine."
Zhou Huiru was afraid that Director Liu hadn't seen it, so as soon as he stopped speaking, she immediately chimed in: "Director, I've also worked as a print advertising model."
"Being a model is great; it can improve your aesthetic taste," Director Liu continued to praise, then asked with a friendly demeanor, "So, which scene are you planning to act in?"
Zhou Huiru glanced at Jiang Mingyue, looking slightly embarrassed, but still answered, "It's my first performance."
Director Liu laughed even harder, pointing at Jiang Mingyue and saying, "Little girl, then you don't have any options left. Only this middle section is left."
"Alright, you can start then." The old man pointed to the open space in front of him and gave the order.
Jiang Mingyue's background was never mentioned, yet she was immediately asked to perform first.
Chen Lu and Zhou Huiru couldn't help but smile, both thinking that Jiang Mingyue was definitely going to be eliminated.
Jiang Mingyue stood up from her seat amidst their gloating expressions.
It's obvious that Jiang Mingyue is the shortest of the three girls, while Chen Lu and Zhou Huiru are both over 165cm tall.
Tall women are more likely to have a slim waist and long legs, but this doesn't actually work in the entertainment industry. In the drama, the character Hu Lili not only has to act with the male lead, but also with the female lead. According to Jiang Mingyue, the female lead Yin Manman is 162cm tall, and the male lead Sang Zhuo is advertised as 181cm tall, but his actual height is only 174cm.
It's a big no-no when the female lead is tall and imposing, and the male lead isn't petite and dependent enough.
"Hello, I'm Jiang Mingyue. I'll be performing a scene depicting Hu Lili's daily life alongside the female lead." Jiang Mingyue walked into the empty space and spoke with a smile.
The scene with the most intense emotional conflict and the opening scene where the emotions are most easily expressed have both been taken up, leaving Jiang Mingyue with no other choice.
But is the plot where the silly fox follows the female lead around, constantly trying to please her, bringing her small animals like field mice and rabbits that he catches, only to have the female lead be terrified by the animal carcasses as soon as she lies down, really completely pointless?
Not necessarily.
Ultimately, acting skills are what matter most.
The key is the actor's interpretation and expression of feelings.
Jiang Mingyue took a deep breath, took a few steps back, and began her performance.
She landed on both hands and feet at the same time. When she looked up, she grinned, her expression revealing a hint of ferocity befitting a wild beast. However, her eyes darted left and right a few times, filled with self-satisfaction, which softened the beastly savagery of the expression.
The girl swayed her lithe waist, slightly tiptoed, and stepped over something...
It's a threshold.
She carried her prey across the threshold and entered the house.
The woman was surprised to find that she completely understood the intention behind Jiang Mingyue's actions.
She quickly focused her attention and continued to observe the girl's reaction.
The girl leaped forward in a bouncy motion, then controlled her upper body to rise too high, her hands seemingly bracing against something, and opened her mouth.
She jumped into the house to put the rabbit on the female lead's bed!
After doing all this, Jiang Mingyue seemed to suddenly realize that she was now in human form, and a moment of panic flashed across her face. She quickly straightened up, hurriedly patted her sleeves and skirt, and smoothed out her shirt. Then, she glanced back at the rabbit left on the bed, smiled happily, and hopped away.
This girl, this girl!
"You stay!" the female casting director shouted urgently, reaching out to Jiang Mingyue.
Jiang Mingyue stopped performing, her expression instantly returning to normal. She smiled shyly, pointing to herself, "Did I get this role?"
"Yes, it's you. Come here." The female casting director then opened the folder she was carrying.
When these words were announced, Chen Lu and Zhou Huiru's expressions immediately changed.
Zhou Huiru hurriedly argued, "We haven't even auditioned yet!"
Director Zhang bluntly asserted, "You can't act to this level."
"Hey, Xiao Zhang, it's alright. It's good that young people are energetic. Let them all give it a try." Director Liu smiled and reached out to stop Director Zhang, pointing to the empty space and saying, "Come on, if you want to try, just give a performance. It's okay."
Chen Lu immediately approached the venue.
She imitated Jiang Mingyue's opening gesture, closing her eyes to prepare her emotions, taking a few deep breaths, and then opening her eyes.
In an instant, Chen Lu's eyes widened dramatically, then she took a big step forward, her expression abruptly turning resolute. She waved her hands forcefully and shouted, "I am afraid, but I am willing to forge a sword for the sake of all living beings!"
Her roar was powerful and deep, unlike that of a seductive and alluring fox spirit.
If this embarrassing performance were shown on television, viewers would undoubtedly change the channel within a second and never switch it back.
"Stop!" Director Zhang interrupted Chen Lu's performance directly, frowning in disgust. "Stop acting, next one."
Squeezed into performing last, Zhou Huiru beamed with joy and readily agreed, "Okay."
She walked to the front, and seeing that no one was speaking, she immediately changed her words: "Then I'll begin."
Zhou Huiru took a few steps back, squatted on the ground, put her hands to her cheeks, jumped back a step in a cute manner, then slowly stood up, twisted her body, her face showing fear and tension, and then said: "Who...who are you? Don't kill me, I don't want to die. I didn't hurt anyone."
Zhou Huiru's face quickly turned cautious. She squatted down and took a few steps forward, saying ingratiatingly, "Is it roast pigeon or roast chicken? It smells so good! Can I have a few bites? I'm so hungry."
The movements were very exaggerated, and the tone of voice was overly emotional—a common problem for newcomers transitioning from stage to film.
Zhou Huiru's understanding of emotions was actually quite good, but unfortunately, with Jiang Mingyue's excellent performance preceding her, this otherwise passable performance was forced into becoming an eyesore of grit.
"You want to act? Director Liu has already given you a chance. Let's go," Director Zhang said bluntly, handing the contract directly to Jiang Mingyue.
"Wait a minute, I was recommended by Director Zhou. He promised me this role!" Chen Lu pushed Jiang Mingyue away, unwilling to give up.
The meaning behind the words "Recommended by Director Zhou" was clearly written on her face.
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