Chapter 192: The protagonist, with his perfect character design, is just there to tell a story...
After Li Sishi returned, Lu Yiting immediately came over to ask how things were: "How did it go?"
“I tried my best, but judging from Director Cheng’s expression…” Li Sishi shook her head slightly, “Although he told me I did very well, I could sense that he already had a general idea in mind, so no matter how well I performed, I could never achieve the feel he wanted.”
Lu Yiting interrupted Li Sishi at the right moment, indicating that she roughly understood what was going on: "That's how directors like him when they make art films. It's not that you're not good enough, it's just that you don't fit his taste... However, looking at all the actresses in the industry right now, you are the best choice, so your chances of being selected in the end are still very high."
Li Sishi could tell from Lu Yiting's words that she would make an effort to win the role at the right time. She smiled bitterly. If she didn't know the ending, she might have cooperated with Lu Yiting's idea and tried her best. But after knowing the ending and experiencing the audition herself, she knew that she was very likely to miss out on the role.
The reason is nothing more than the previous issue of "feeling". Director Cheng had already vaguely outlined the character before her, which required the sincerity of Tang Jingwen and Shang Lanyu, who are immersed in the world yet detached from it, as well as the charm that can only be possessed at a certain age - and these are things that she could never make up for with her acting skills and appearance.
She has tried more mature looks before, but that was in TV dramas where the requirements weren't too high, and most of her later roles involved a younger look. However, on the big screen where attention to detail is paramount, she always seemed to lack that certain "flavor."
What's more, her opponent is Shang Lanyu, who has both box office success and awards, and whose age is too close to her character.
Even if everyone acknowledges Li Sishi's exceptional acting talent and promising future, when faced with a senior director who is equally talented and whose circumstances are perfectly aligned, no matter how powerful her backing is or how much more advantageous it is to choose her, it cannot change the fact that she is an artistic young director who strives for excellence in her work.
"Sister Ting, thank you, but I still think we should let things take their course. If Director Cheng can find a more suitable actress than me, we shouldn't force this role..." Although this movie is indeed a classic, a forced relationship is never sweet.
If she successfully completes the challenge and gains the director's approval, she will undoubtedly strive to deliver her best performance. However, if it's not due to her own ability but rather external benefits...
She could only secure the role through a deal with added value, so she preferred not to force the issue rather than let this classic work be tainted by her own actions.
“Silly girl, that’s what you think, but many things in this world aren’t so simple,” Lu Yiting said to Li Sishi with a hint of helplessness.
Although she understood Li Sishi's desire to retain some purity amidst worldly affairs, as an artist's manager, she undoubtedly valued profit more than Li Sishi's pursuit of purity.
Although Li Sishi is still a newcomer who has only been in the industry for two years, she can be said to have no shortage of box office results. That's why Ms. Zhuang and she are paying so much attention to news about award-winning films and want to find some films for her that can win awards to solidify her "status".
Given Cheng Hesheng's personality, it wouldn't be impossible for him to insist on having a female lead for this film, but it would require more effort. After all, Cheng Hesheng isn't the kind of person who is overly rigid in his pursuit of art. When he can't make the art films he wants, he can "lower himself" and make commercial films that make money. Moreover, he's quite good at switching and integrating the two, unlike some "high-minded" people who think that making commercial films is tainted by money and pollutes art.
“I’m sorry, Sister Ting, I just didn’t want to ‘make do’.” Li Sishi shook her head again. “Of course I understand that the production of a film cannot be judged by just one or two people, but if the collaboration is not pleasant, it will affect not only one or two people, but the entire work.”
"That's why I didn't want to finish filming this promising and hopeful drama, which I also really liked, in a production team that was forced into it and then made do."
Lu Yiting listened quietly to Li Sishi's words and finally sighed: "Since that's what you think, then I'll save myself the trouble."
“But don’t worry too much or relax too much—although you lack awards, you still need to take care of box office results.” Lu Yiting said with a smile, patting Li Sishi’s hair. “As the end of the year approaches, in addition to those events and the upcoming album release that will keep you busy, I will also keep an eye on the trends of New Year’s films. If I find a suitable film, I will let you know.”
After all, according to what she knew, filming for "Big City, Small Love" wouldn't start until the middle of next year at the earliest—a full six months in that time, which Li Sishi could easily squeeze out to film several movies.
Of course, Li Sishi is a leading actress whom she and Miss Zhuang are grooming to succeed Huang Qianyan, and she also has acting talent. She doesn't need to use a lot of movies to gain experience and build popularity, so she doesn't need to make Li Sishi take on a bunch of mindless popcorn movies just to hone her skills.
Specifically watching
Focus your efforts on film projects with good box office prospects or high chances of winning awards.
"I understand, thank you, Sister Ting."
Li Sishi nodded obediently.
After seeing Lu Yiting off, Li Sishi asked her assistant Zuo Lili to run a hot water bath. After washing up, she used the time before bed to continue reviewing her lessons.
There's so much to memorize for law students, and she can't attend classes all the time. Much of the material requires extra tutoring from her father and self-study, so her studies aren't much easier than her work.
While I was reciting my lessons, the cell phone on the table suddenly rang.
"Leo? Is something the matter that you're calling me so late?" Li Sishi asked with a slight smile upon hearing Leo's voice.
Compared to her smiling question, Ling Chen's tone was somewhat hesitant and heavy: "Ah May, I think... maybe, maybe Director Cheng doesn't plan to choose you as the female lead in this movie."
Hearing Ling Chen say somewhat hesitantly that he stayed there and saw Director Cheng's notes, and then hearing Director Cheng receive a call from Shang Lanyu wanting to make a comeback and take on a role, Li Sishi felt a sense of relief, as if a weight had finally been lifted from her shoulders: Just as she thought.
"It's okay. I can probably sense it too. I'm not the kind of feel Director Cheng is looking for. If it were Miss Shang, she would probably be a better fit for the role than me," Li Sishi said, trying to sound casual.
"But if that's the case, I won't be able to film with you..." Ling Chen subconsciously blurted out this sentence, then realized he had misspoke. But then he thought that since he was the one pursuing her, there was nothing wrong with what he said. So he simply ignored it, lest the more he explained, the harder it would be to cover it up.
“No, Luo Ji Telecom still has commercials to shoot this year, and we have at least one opportunity to collaborate on this commercial series every year, not to mention all sorts of public welfare activities and charity galas.” Li Sishi smiled and said, “Besides, we’re all in the same industry, so sooner or later we’ll have other opportunities to collaborate on filming.”
"Actually, I think you acted very well, it's just a pity... it's just a pity that you ran into Shang Lanyu who wanted to make a comeback."
Although he preferred Li Sishi, Shang Lanyu's strength was undeniable. No matter how talented and hardworking Li Sishi was, she was always lacking in experience and seniority.
This point was particularly profound for him when he was called back to audition for a role with Shang Lanyu: sometimes certain roles are just right for a certain person at a certain time, even if they are not tailor-made, they are better than if they were.
This possibility is
It's a legendary fate that you might only encounter once in your life, so his Ah May could only be destined to meet but not to be together.
So he secretly called Li Sishi again, acknowledging Shang Lanyu's talent and fate, while also trying his best but clumsily advising her not to be unhappy about it. Li Sishi was quite amused and exasperated: "I didn't care too much about it. After all, if Shang Lanyu were to make a comeback, I think she would be more suitable than me, both in terms of acting skills and the fit of the character."
“I’m definitely a little unhappy, but I don’t have time to worry about it too much. Sister Ting has arranged a lot of activities for me, and she’s also planning to help me find some opportunities for Lunar New Year films. Maybe by the time I finish filming my movie and do a lot of other things, your movie will have just started filming!” Li Sishi said with a smile.
This isn't just her making things up. Most art films rely on a lot of time to build up the production. Even if Cheng Hesheng isn't as slow as "Black Super Tang" who could drive investors crazy, it would still take at least half a year to make this film. Not to mention that the film will also require a lot of effort to go through the procedures to film on location abroad in the later stages.
Li Sishi's words evoked painful memories of filming "Earthly Angels" under Director Tang's direction, and Ling Chen couldn't help but let out a long sigh.
Just when Li Sishi and Li Sishi thought there was no hope for the movie in the early hours of the morning, the phone on Li Sishi's bedside table suddenly rang late at night.
This number was specifically for work-related calls, so Li Sishi answered it anyway, even though it was an unknown number: "Hello? Director Cheng?"
Hearing the drowsy tone in Li Sishi's voice, Cheng Hesheng apologized a little embarrassedly before telling her what he had been struggling to decide to say.
The thing that had been bothering him for so long was actually quite simple: he wanted Li Sishi to play the second female lead in "Big City, Small Love," the male lead's childhood sweetheart and fiancée, Fang Ning, who was the role model for the male lead who came to the big city to make a living.
But this invitation is definitely something I'd find difficult to say.
Although Li Sishi is not as experienced as Shang Lanyu, she has Zhuang Menghua behind her and is very powerful. If she doesn't pass the audition for the female lead role, it's just that they don't have the fate to work together. But if she passes the audition for the female lead role and is clearly good, but is demoted to the second female lead role... Li Sishi doesn't even need to go to Zhuang Menghua and Lu Yiting. If she has any temper, she will scold him directly on the phone.
This is unlike his old friend Jiang Zhiwei, who clearly stated that he really liked the character of Tiger but felt hopeless about playing a male lead like Ling Chen, so he generously allowed Jiang to try again only after Jiang had exhausted all other roles and couldn't find anyone else.
meeting.
Therefore, even though Li Sishi on the other end of the phone didn't seem to have any extreme emotions right now, Cheng Hesheng was still a little uneasy about what she was thinking.
However, despite the anxiety, when a literary youth gets into a trance, they will try their best even if they know it is impossible.
After all, the second female lead, Fang Ning, is the white moonlight he loves most in this movie.
There's a saying that the main characters are there to tell stories, while the supporting characters are there to be loved—for him, this saying is undoubtedly referring to the second female lead role he wanted.
And she might also be the most unforgettable "white moonlight" character among all the characters for viewers of this film: because in this realistic film where everyone "makes a mistake," she is the only one who "doesn't make a mistake."
A character design that is so perfect it's almost unreal.
However, such a perfect character design, if it doesn't come with an actor who has superb acting skills and stunning appearance, will become the most disjointed part of the whole movie, and the biggest flaw.
Previously, this character had very few scenes because he auditioned many actresses but couldn't find the feeling he wanted. The only one who looked somewhat right, last year's Miss Asia winner, had acting skills that were too immature and inexperienced.
So much so that in order not to ruin the perfection of this white moonlight, he simply cut a lot of the second female lead's scenes - although the cuts were not actually that big, but after missing those few scenes that could be called the soul of the character, the second female lead, who was enough to compete with the other characters, completely lost all the original brilliance of the character.
It wasn't until he interviewed Li Sishi that he found the "perfect feeling" he was looking for in her performance as the second female lead.
In this movie, both Shang Lanyu and Li Sishi could play the female lead, but only Li Sishi could play the second female lead – this was the conclusion he finally reached after a long struggle.
Then, even at the great risk of being cursed by many people or even held a grudge, he mustered up the courage to make a phone call to Li Sishi in the middle of the night, hoping to get her understanding and hear his analysis and love for the character.
As for the shift in status from chooser to chosen, a perfectly good director like him has to humbly beg actors to listen to his stories—he doesn't care at all for the sake of his ideal masterpiece.
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