enjoyebooks Chapter 6 The Cast Formation
Chapter 6 The Cast Formation
.....
After Hu Jun left, Fang Yi fell into a brief period of contemplation.
The male lead, Fang Jingtang, has a very contradictory character.
Setting 1: A young, promising, and successful entrepreneur, happily married with a beautiful wife he's been with since their school days.
Setting 2: No flower is as sweet as a wild one. Besides his wife, the male protagonist also has a mistress and is pursuing a third-tier celebrity. He is a typical womanizer.
Setting 3: The male protagonist's company engages in tax evasion and other illegal activities, earning profits by deceiving customers and partners. Because of his good looks and eloquence, he has never been discovered.
Setting 4: During his university years, the male protagonist used despicable means to pursue his wife, causing her first love to be in a car accident so he could take advantage of the situation.
The complexity of the role makes it difficult for most male actors to portray; it requires not only exceptional acting skills but also a believable physical appearance.
To be honest, of the two artists who just auditioned, Tong Dawei's image is quite suitable.
However, Tong Dawei was too effeminate, and Fang Yi worried that he wouldn't be able to portray the character's cunning and madness.
Let's take another look...
Fang Yi lit a cigarette, took a light puff, and waved for the executive director, Wang Liang, to call for help.
Soon, the third artist, Huang Xiaoming, entered.
He first introduced himself, then looked at Fang Yi and said, "Director Fang, it's a pleasure to meet you. I hope to have the opportunity to work with you more often."
There will be an opportunity.
Fang Yi admired Huang Xiaoming's social skills and handed him a script with a smile.
Three minutes later, the performance began.
The same panicked plot, through Huang Xiaoming's performance, caught the eye of the three audition judges.
In the conference room, Huang Xiaoming held his phone to his ear, slightly hunched over, his legs trembling as he moved around in small spaces, his eyes filled with fear, reciting his lines while glancing around.
Wang Zhonglei crossed his arms and commented, "Xiao Ming's image is quite suitable."
Fang Yi remained silent, squinting as he observed the details of the performance.
In the end...
He gave Huang Xiaoming a score of 80, praising his acting skills.
"That's good, I'll be staying at the company these next couple of days."
Fang Yi took precautions in advance.
"Thank you, Director Fang. I'm ready to be called upon at any time."
Huang Xiaoming let out a soft breath, bowed slightly to the three of them, and turned to leave with a smile.
He gave himself a 90 out of 100 for his performance and said he had a good chance of landing the lead role.
Fang Yi made him stay at the company for the next two days, clearly giving him some special attention. However, there are still other auditions to be held, so he needs to be observed more closely.
Auditions continue...
Deng Chao pushed open the door and came in, getting straight to the point about auditioning for the role of an assassin.
This guy's acting is really good. From his lines to his appearance, and even the melancholy look in his eyes, he portrays a cold-blooded killer who controls everything behind the scenes with remarkable depth.
"Okay, you're the one!"
Fang Yi lightly tapped the table, deciding on the first important role.
Wang Zhonglei and Li Yang clapped and stood up to congratulate Deng Chao, showing no dissatisfaction with Fang Yi's decisive action.
Wang Zhonglei even stepped forward and urged Deng Chao to prepare well, implying that he was optimistic about Deng's future.
Deng Chao was a shrewd man; he wore a grateful expression, thanking the company and General Manager Wang, without mentioning Fang Yi at all.
All four understood that the role of the assassin was practically predetermined for Deng Chao.
After leaving with the script, Deng Chao took out his phone and edited a short message to thank Fang Yi privately.
Fang Yi felt a vibration in his pocket and smiled to himself.
Old Deng was quite a character!
Time flies, and all the auditions were completed in just one morning.
Lead actor: Huang Xiaoming.
Second male lead: Deng Chao.
Third male lead: Hu Jun.
Lead actress: Fan Bingbing, the male lead's beautiful wife.
Second female lead: Yang Xue, who plays a female reporter in the story.
In addition to the five main characters, there is also a special appearance by a food delivery guy.
This character works with the assassin in the show to expose the protagonist's crimes.
Fang Yi searched through Huayi Artists and finally decided on Wang Baoqiang.
After lunch...
After reviewing the three locations suggested by the production department, Fang Yi rejected them all.
"Mr. Li, all three venues are very good, but none of them are suitable."
"What's wrong, Director Fang?"
Li Yang was somewhat surprised. He took the three photos, thinking there was something wrong with the venue in the photos.
Fang Yi casually pointed to the photo and sighed, "We only have four million. Apart from the actors' salaries, the rest must be spent wisely. These venues may not seem to be in bustling areas, and the daily rent may not be much, but they are still in the center of the area. The film crew cannot maintain the closure of the streets for long."
Add to that the food and lodging for the actors and crew, and it becomes another huge expense.
"What's Director Fang's opinion?"
"Go to the film studio, travel light, find a modern street, set up a temporary phone booth, and it will be easy to find extras."
"Okay, I'll contact Hengdian right away."
Li Yang also realized that Fang Yi was right, and readily agreed.
Indeed, initially everyone was thinking of finding a suitable three-way intersection with both phone booths and modern office buildings as a backdrop.
The venue is easy to find, but the cost is too high.
Take Beijing as an example. Finding an average hotel for dozens of people, plus the average cost of food and lodging, plus the venue rental for ten days to half a month, is far from enough, not even considering the actors' salaries.
"Thank you for your help, Director Li. See you later."
After agreeing on finding a new venue, Fang Yi said goodbye to Li Yang and went to Huayi's administrative department to sign the contract.
The contract, which includes the total investment in the "Sniper Phone Booth" project, his personal investment, and his 25% stake in the investment, is legally binding.
The contract is made in duplicate.
Fang Yi signed his name on both contracts, waited for the administrative secretary to give the contracts to Wang Zhongjun for stamping and signature, and finally left Huayi with one of the contracts.
As he stepped out of the office building, he looked at the snowflakes dancing in the sky and breathed a sigh of relief.
The first movie was half a success!
.......
A week later, the project was registered and a filming permit was obtained.
Fang Yi, along with the main cast, flew to Hengdian.
The rest of the crew, some departed from Beijing, while others were already waiting in Hengdian.
At the end of February, Fang Yi convened a meeting of the entire crew of forty or fifty people in a rented hotel.
The meeting covered two topics: character creation and crew integration.
In Hengdian, the cost of living is almost half that of Beijing, so you can have more time to prepare in advance.
Of course, funds remain tight.
Fang Yi set a food allowance of 15 yuan per person per day, three meals a day, treating the actors and crew members equally, and no one was allowed to get special treatment.
If you want to eat well, you can pay for it yourself!
In a meeting room temporarily converted from a bedroom, Fang Yi beckoned Huang Xiaoming over and snatched a bag of snacks from his hand.
"It tastes good, I'll buy more tomorrow."
Huang Xiaoming's lips twitched as he sat far away, protecting the two remaining bags of snacks.
The way the young wife looked made everyone else burst into laughter.
Fan Bingbing even retorted: "Brother Xiaoming, don't be so stingy. You won't even let me have a few snacks."
"Then you buy it tomorrow, and I'll eat yours," Huang Xiaoming said bluntly.
"Okay, Sister Bingbing will buy it tomorrow."
Fang Yi spoke up and gained everyone's support.
This time, it was Fan Bingbing's turn to be dumbfounded. Her fox-like eyes widened, revealing a clear look of stupidity.
But that was the atmosphere she wanted. She smiled sweetly, clapped her hands, and promised to treat everyone to a big meal tomorrow.
His extravagant manner drew cheers from the crowd.
In the past few days, everyone has come to understand.
The young director, Fang, who sits in the main seat, appears meticulous, but this only applies to his work; in his personal life, he is also a fun-loving person.
He's easy to talk to and can take a joke.
Fang Yi watched the actors laughing and joking, livening up the atmosphere, and felt slightly relieved.
I'm not afraid of crowds, but I'm afraid of indifference. A harmonious relationship among the actors is not bad for filming.
Seeing that it was almost time, he slammed his fist on the conference table and raised his voice, "Alright, everyone quiet down, let's begin the meeting."
"First, let's hear from Brother Xiaoming to discuss the character Fang Jingtang in more detail."
Deng Chao was the first to chime in: "Everyone, let's applaud..."