Chapter 13
Chapter 13
Zhou Haitian has a powerful background and access to a lot of resources. Therefore, despite his bad habit of "testing" the young girls he deals with, many aspiring actors eager to find connections still take the plunge and try to get on his side.
Putting everything else aside, at least the actors Zhou Haitian sent were truly flawless in appearance; each one was exceptionally beautiful.
Director Liu looked at the girl with a worried expression and suddenly smiled.
He made a downward pressing gesture and said to Chen Lu in a gentle tone, "Kid, go back and mention it to Zhou Haitian. Just say that I said it. The third female lead in the crew needs to have acting skills to act with the male and female leads. You have to start honing your skills from the extra roles."
Seeing that Chen Lu still looked worried, Director Liu didn't say anything more. He waved to the doorman who had already stood up and gone to the room to stand guard, and made a gesture. The doorman immediately came over and asked Chen Lu and Zhou Huiru to leave.
Director Liu then turned his attention back to Jiang Mingyue's face, picked up her resume and pointed at it: "You've been in the social news recently, quite influential. Your fame has increased, you've been interviewed quite a few times, haven't you? How did you handle it?"
Jiang Mingyue shook her head: "My mom has refused all the interviews she can."
She suddenly blushed and lowered her voice: "Threatening parents with suicide is not a good way to guide them."
Director Liu was immediately amused: "Oh, I didn't expect you to have such a high level of political awareness."
Okay, it's good that you know not all news is suitable for hype. We don't need to worry about Jiang Mingyue doing anything rash in the future.
Director Liu breathed a sigh of relief, patted the table, and changed the subject: "You've only filmed two commercials, so your acting experience is lacking. Director Zhang selected you and sent you an audition notice because he saw the media coverage you've gained in social news, but that kind of popularity is temporary and won't last long. I didn't particularly want you, but your acting skills are quite good, which can barely make up for your lack of popularity."
After Director Liu finished speaking, he stood up and instructed the middle-aged woman, "Xiao Zhang, you recommended this person. You can talk to her about the rest."
The middle-aged woman smiled and extended her hand to Jiang Mingyue, holding a document in her hand: "Zhang Xin, I'm in charge of the temporary casting of roles and the filming of the second group. You can call me 'Director Zhang' or 'Sister Zhang'."
Jiang Mingyue took the document.
Zhang Xin began explaining without stopping: "This is the 'Film Crew Employment Contract for Actors,' a standard form. It includes the job duties and duration, salary and payment method, confidentiality clauses, copyright scope, liability for breach of contract, and applicable laws. Since you are still a student and don't have an agency, a copy of the contract will be sent to your school for review to ensure your rights and safety."
“You don’t need to worry about hidden traps—the important thing is time. The role of the third female lead is a last-minute replacement. The only requirement from the crew is that you join the crew immediately to start filming.” Zhang Xin gestured back. “If you can’t accept this, speak up as soon as possible so that neither of us wastes time.”
Jiang Mingyue nodded: "I'll go back to school to ask for leave right away, and I can manage the timing."
Zhang Xin nodded in satisfaction and pointed to the handwritten address on the back of the contract: "Okay, bring the signed contract to this location before 2 PM tomorrow."
"Filmed locally?" Jiang Mingyue was finally a little surprised.
She said that the "Seven Stars in a Row" crew was acting strangely. They had been filming in Hengdian in the early stages, but the casting suddenly went back to Ningcheng.
“You’re quite smart.” Zhang Xin nodded and began to explain the filming issues. “Although ‘Seven Stars Align’ is a fantasy historical drama, it still requires filming some battle scenes in border cities because it involves the plot of defending the country. Special effects are expensive, time-consuming, and the effect is not good enough. The crew did not intend to waste money on them and decided to film on location. The crew has received approval to use a section of the ancient city wall in Ningcheng for filming.”
Zhang Xin pointed out the window again: "The scenes where the third female lead encounters the male lead, her identity is exposed and she is injured by the male lead, and before the final battle, the scene where she drugs the female lead will all be filmed in the ancient city wall and the grassland below the mountain in Ningcheng."
"Thank you for reminding me, Director Zhang. I understand," Jiang Mingyue replied obediently.
Perhaps it was because Jiang Mingyue's age and demeanor were so youthful and innocent that Zhang Xin felt as if she were seeing her own child. Her gaze softened instantly, and she considerately added, "The crew requires everyone to stay together. Just sign the contract, bring your luggage, and come over. Your role is small, so spend your time on set observing how others film."
Zhang Xin packed up her briefcase, casually tore up the resumes of the two unsuccessful girls, and threw them into the trash can.
Jiang Mingyue looked away, not showing the slightest inappropriate expression towards Zhang Xin's act of tearing up someone else's resume.
She knew very well that even popular actresses had been rejected by production teams countless times. In business, if it didn't work out, they would just switch to another production.
Jiang Mingyue simply signed the contract on the spot and handed it back to Zhang Xin: "I've noted down the address. I also wanted to ask when we'll settle the payment after the performance?"
No one dislikes a straightforward person, and no one dislikes being trusted. With Jiang Mingyue being so straightforward, Zhang Xin's expression became even more relaxed.
She added a few more reminders: "You'll receive the money in your account the month you finish filming. I suggest you sign with an agency as soon as possible, have an agent start finding you work, and also find an assistant to take care of your daily needs."
Zhang Xin emphasized confidently, "You'll need them very soon."
Only beautiful and popular actresses receive a constant stream of job offers. Zhang Xin's words clearly implied that Jiang Mingyue would become an overnight sensation by playing "Hu Lili".
Jiang Mingyue maintained her obedient expression and agreed, "Okay, I'll go back to school and ask my teacher."
In fact, Jiang Mingyue didn't need to ask anyone else. From the moment she signed the contract for the "Seven Stars in a Row" drama series, people in the industry would soon get the news and take the initiative to contact her.
Jiang Mingyue politely said goodbye to the other two people present and left the audition location.
As soon as she left, Director Liu, who had been sitting silently, laughed: "Xiao Zhang, you've struck gold this time. You only got six thousand yuan for ten episodes, and you've found such a good actress."
The middle-aged man laughed along: "Yes, I saw her walk those few steps just now, she must have a very good dance background, so the fight scene won't be difficult to film. We can reuse those scenes we had in mind before, she's better than Qi Ya."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Xin couldn't help but curl her lip: "Qi Ya relies on her popularity to keep dragging her feet on joining the crew and making money on variety shows. Humph, she demanded that stunt doubles be used for all the dance and action scenes, only showing her face. There's no such thing as a free lunch. Now look what's happened, she's been dragged into this mess for tax evasion and kicked out of the crew, saving us money and trouble."
The budget for the production team of "Seven Stars in a Row" was neither high nor low. Qi Ya was at the height of her popularity, and the third female lead only appeared in ten episodes. The entire production could be filmed in less than half a month, but they dared to offer a contract worth more than one million yuan. Moreover, hiring stunt doubles and dance doubles would cost extra money.
But it's different when you use Jiang Mingyue.
Jiang Mingyue has a dance background, so there's no need for a dance stunt double. Girls who study dance generally have good core skills, and they can make many martial arts moves look quite convincing. Anyway, she looks well-behaved and honest, so we can have the martial arts instructor from the crew teach her a bit first. Even if she's just flashy but not very skilled, it'll be enough to make the scene look good.
Whether it's a dance double or a stunt double, the cost is more than having Jiang Mingyue act in the role!
Six thousand to one million, rounded up, is practically free money for the production team.
This personnel change immediately made the budget much more readily available.
Zhang Xin suddenly realized the key point: "Director Liu, now that we've changed the actors, the costumes also need to be changed."
But Jiang Mingyue is already beautiful enough. Would the lead actress and the second lead actress agree to add more embellishments to the costume?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
