When Chu Yu brought Lao Qi and Xiao Wen into the company, all the colleagues rushed over to watch these two out-of-place southerners.
The seventh one is one thing; Hualai doesn't have many male artists under its contract, but it's not like they don't have any. The seventh one's looks and physique aren't top-notch, so he's not someone they'd want to stare at. But Hualai's youngest actress is Chuchu. Chuchu is 17 years old now, which means she's practically an adult.
Xiao Wen is only five years old, chubby and adorable, and is the youngest interviewee at Hualai.
The company's colleagues all gathered around, and Xiao Zhong, seemingly out of nowhere, produced a rattle drum and started teasing Xiao Wen.
Seeing Chu Yu enter, Xiao Zhong raised his head and greeted him with a straight back: "President Zhou".
Chu Yu nodded, instructing her to take the person to the audition hall, where Zhong Buyi was waiting.
When the doors to the audition hall opened, Zhong Buyi glanced up. He had just finished filming two movies and returned from Hong Kong when Chu Yu called him here to audition for actors.
Hua Lai's actors were always chosen by him and Chu Yu together. Lao Qi was good-looking, but a bit short. Xiao Wen was cute, but there were many child actors who were better looking than him. Zhong Buyi thought that the actors Chu Yu had chosen this time were not very special.
"Seventh Brother, Xiao Wen, show Director Zhong a few moves," Chu Yu said.
Lao Qi landed on the stage with a backflip, leaving Zhong Buyi stunned. Zhong Buyi had met many martial arts actors in Hong Kong, and there were some who were better than Lao Qi, but Lao Qi had a unique kind of sharpness in his punches. It was hard to describe. In short, when you saw him, you would feel that he had the air of a reclusive master.
When Xiaowen saw Laoqi practicing his punches, he walked over with a smile, laughed twice in his childish voice, and gave Laoqi a cute little punch.
Xiao Wen is young, so his kung fu skills are naturally not as good as Lao Qi's, but this kid has a comedic talent and is born to make people laugh.
Moreover, although he was agile and not very skilled in martial arts, he had a lot of routines. After performing a series of moves, Zhong Buyi was in a great mood.
Any family with such a child would treat him like a lucky charm.
Similarly, when audiences see such a cute and funny young actor, they want to cherish him like a treasure. If Xiao Wen could act in a movie, he would definitely gain a wave of loyal viewers.
Moreover, comedies in the Hong Kong film market have always performed well at the box office. Hua Lai has never invested in this type of film before. If we could create a script for Lao Qi and Xiao Wen, with the two of them going on an adventure around the world, turning from mortal enemies into revolutionary partners who take care of each other, and experiencing many funny yet touching and tearful stories on their way to their destination.
Chu Yu pondered, "Isn't this just like a road movie from later generations?"
It has to be said that Zhong Buyi's idea is quite good. In addition to acting in martial arts films, Lao Qi can also partner with Xiao Wen to act in humorous comedies. As long as the script of such films is written to be funny but not lacking in warmth, the final box office results will not be too bad.
Chu Yu looked at Lao Qi through the lens, and as Chu Yu had expected, Lao Qi was very photogenic.
Being photogenic is a mystery; some people are beautiful but not photogenic, while others are photogenic but not beautiful in real life.
In reality, Lao Qi is above average, but he looks completely different on camera. Chu Yu thought that the company's martial arts films were tailor-made for him.
"Who are you going to get to write the comedy scripts you mentioned?"
Zhong Buyi thought for a moment, then pondered, "What do you think of me?"
Chu Yu looked at him for a moment, realizing he wasn't joking, and then asked, "You're quite busy filming, are you sure you want to write the script yourself?"
Chung Buyi felt that he had made too many fast-paced movies and wanted to settle down and write his own things. He was good at writing screenplays when he was in college and spent two years in Hong Kong, where he learned Cantonese and English.
To understand the Hong Kong market, he watched a lot of films. It can be said that he now understands the Hong Kong market and its humor very well, and writing a funny road movie would be no problem for him.
"Go ahead and give it a try if you want to! I'll cover for you, so it doesn't matter if the box office is bad."
Chu Yu's words sounded unremarkable, but Zhong Buyi understood that it was truly remarkable that Chu Yu, as the company's CEO, would allow him to do what he loved without caring about box office numbers.
Zhong Buyi is 25 years old this year. Others his age can't even get an assistant director job and can only do odd jobs on the set.
In the mainland director market, seniority matters. He's young and doesn't rank highly. There aren't many films being made in mainland China. With his talent, he should have spent ten or twenty years before making a name for himself.
However, Chu Yu made an exception and gave him a high position. At a young age, he had already directed 6 films, 3 of which were among the top three films of the year in Hong Kong. He was a well-deserved new director.
Ultimately, he owes his success today to Chu Yu, his mentor.
Zhong Buyi was initially worried about not doing well and felt pressured, but after hearing Chu Yu's words, he immediately relaxed and said:
"Then I'll write it when I get home tonight!"
"Let's find teachers in Hong Kong to train Lao Qi and Xiao Wen! After all, the performance style in the mainland is very different from that in Hong Kong. They both have a good foundation in martial arts, so action scenes won't be a problem. They can learn acting with a little guidance. The action film will start shooting at the end of the month, so let's learn while we're filming! If there's anything they're not good at, just put in some extra effort. Once they've been trained well, you'll be half their teacher too."
Zhong Buyi is a well-known director, and when filming on set, he inevitably has to teach the actors how to act. Lao Qi and Xiao Wen are actors from the company itself. Zhong Buyi also has shares in the company now, and he benefits from the company's booming success.
He was naturally willing to mentor newcomers.
“Okay, they’ll live and eat with me for the next few days. I’ll teach them some acting techniques in our daily lives.”
Zhong Buyi lives alone. He rents a two-bedroom apartment in Beijing. Lao Qi and Xiao Wen live with him so they can take care of each other. In addition, Zhong Buyi's apartment is close to his company, so it is convenient for the two of them to go to and from the company.
"Alright, then I'll have to trouble you to take care of their acting. Their Cantonese and physical movements are fine, but they'll need a teacher to help them with English, and they'll also need professional teachers for their lines and singing..."
Chu Yu explained her plan and asked Xiao Zhong to write it down so that he could help find a teacher to instruct the two of them.
After everything was planned out, Chu Yu let Lao Qi and Xiao Wen go to the special signing room to sign the contract.
Hua Lai's artist compensation standards are among the best in the industry.
Lao Qi and Xiao Wen thought they were just here to work and earn some pocket money. If they were lucky, they could earn a thousand or so yuan to take back to the Fierce Tiger Martial Arts School and treat their fellow students. That would be fantastic news!
To everyone's surprise, Hualai offered them a contract with a salary of 50,000 for Lao Qi and 30,000 for Xiao Wen.
If they can film three movies in a row, their combined income will be enough to buy a house in Shenzhen.
This was like a windfall for the two of them.
The two of them were so excited they felt like they could fly!
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