Audition 2

I don't know how to drag myself forward in the endless stream of people and gradually disappear from them.

— Orhan Pamuk, *A New Life*, 1979

……

Zhang Huaxun solemnly thanked Huang Wenbin, then took the script marked with red annotations and hurriedly returned to his room.

I just don't know how many days he'll be in seclusion this time.

Seeing that there was no more excitement to be had, the others naturally dispersed.

"It's almost time, let's go to the conference room."

Chen Huaikai glanced at his Seagull watch; it was already 1:50, and the audition would begin in a little over half an hour.

"Let's go then."

Huang Wenbin sighed softly. He had originally planned to take a half-hour nap, but now it seemed that was out of the question.

Director Wang said, "Xiao Huang, the payments from the Hong Kong company and Xi'an Film Studio have been transferred. Take the receipt and go to the finance department to collect it when you have time."

"Great!" Huang Wenbin was even happier to hear that the money had arrived than when he went up to the third floor for a foot massage. That was five or six thousand yuan!

In this day and age, five or six thousand yuan is an unimaginable sum of money; many families might not be able to earn that much in several years.

"Don't be arrogant!" Director Wang reminded him, seeing his smug look. "Keep a low profile and keep writing good works!"

Huang Wenbin smiled and nodded, "Yes, I will remember that!"

Director Wang left satisfied, his desire to keep Huang Wenbin at the Beijing Film Studio growing stronger.

Huang Wenbin followed Chen Huaikai slowly to the conference room in the main building.

By this time, the corridor was already packed with people.

It seems everyone cherishes this opportunity and no one wants to fall behind.

"Brother Wen, Brother Wen, we're here!"

Just as Huang Wenbin was about to push open the door to enter the conference room, he suddenly heard a shout from not far away.

Huang Wenbin turned his head and saw that the person who called him was Zhang Lai, and next to him was Zhang Yimou, who was covering half of his face and looking somewhat embarrassed.

Although the sound wasn't loud, quite a few people heard it.

Even Chen Huaikai stopped and looked toward the source of the sound.

Zhang Lai wasn't embarrassed at all. He had finally gotten this opportunity, and if he was still timid and hesitant, how could he improve?

It would be a waste not to take advantage of a back door.

So he didn't quite understand why Chen Kaige refused to ask his father, Director Chen, for help. What was more important than his future?

"Who are these two?" Chen Huaikai asked Huang Wenbin.

Huang Wenbin immediately introduced Chen Huaikai: "This is my classmate, this is Zhang Yimou, his photography skills are excellent, his works were exhibited at the April Photography Festival, and this is Zhang Lai, he has a good understanding of historical film and television."

"Hello Director Chen, I'm Zhang Yimou, a student in the Cinematography Department of Beijing Film Academy." Zhang Yimou quickly and respectfully greeted him.

Zhang Lai's tone was tinged with urgency: "Director Chen, I'm also a cinematography major, but I've been taking directing classes on the side. Could you please give us a chance to observe filming on set? I know a little bit of everything, even odd jobs are fine with me!"

"That's good." Chen Huaikai could see the two young men's desire to improve and their embarrassed state, so he nodded: "Qiyue, come here for a moment."

Hearing Chen Huaikai's call, Zhou Qiyue immediately walked over quickly: "Director Chen, what's wrong?"

"You can take care of these two people," Chen Huaikai casually arranged.

"Okay." Zhou Qiyue nodded, then said to Zhang Yimou and Zhang Lai, "You two come with me."

"Thank you, Director Chen, thank you, Wenbin," Zhang Yimou quickly said.

Zhang Lai added, "Thank you so much, Director Chen and Brother Wen, for giving us this opportunity."

Then the two of them followed Zhou Qiyue.

"You must be younger than them, so why did that guy call you Brother Wen?" Chen Huaikai led Huang Wenbin into the conference room and asked with a smile, "They don't look that old, do they?"

Huang Wenbin replied with a smile, "Brother Yi Mou is a quiet and reserved person who doesn't like to talk. Brother Zhang Lai, on the other hand, is very talkative and likes to joke. He calls me Brother Wen because he wants to tease me."

"Hehe, you get along quite well with your classmates," Chen Huaikai said with a touch of emotion. "If my son were as sensible as you, I wouldn't have to worry about him."

Huang Wenbin didn't know how to respond to the second half of the sentence, since it was someone else's private matter.

He could only casually say, "Brother Kai is actually very talented, and he will definitely become a great director in the future."

"Maybe." Chen Huaikai didn't want to talk about this anymore, and said to the members, "Everyone, get ready, we're about to start the auditions. We need to secure one or two usable roles today."

After a short preparation, the audition officially began.

Zhou Qiyue, along with Zhang Yimou and Zhang Lai, arranged for the actors waiting outside to line up and enter the conference room one after another.

The audition is proceeding smoothly.

Perhaps because the main roles in this drama require actors to be over 30 years old, many faces that Huang Wenbin is somewhat familiar with did not appear.

For example, Tang Guoqiang debuted as a leading actor, so it's unlikely he'd ever play a supporting role. It's normal that he didn't audition.

Many well-known actors from the 78 class of the Beijing Film Academy, such as Zhou Lijin, Zhang Tielin, Xie Yuan, and Zhang Fengyi, did not audition for some reason.

There are also Cai Guoqing and Xu Yajun, who, although they are students of the Central Academy of Drama in 1976, are only around 14 years old now because they were in the junior class. It is impossible for them to come to the audition.

More than half an hour later, a male actor whom Huang Wenbin remembered finally arrived.

This man was probably around thirty years old, with regular features and a handsome appearance. At first glance, he even looked a bit like Lu Yi from later generations.

Upon seeing this person, Huang Wenbin couldn't help but smile, thinking to himself: Isn't this Zhao Zhenji, the non-stick pan of the Ming Dynasty, and Yinreng, the deposed crown prince of the Qing Dynasty?

"Hello Director Chen, hello directors and production crew, my name is Xu Min, an actor from Beijing Film Studio."

Xu Min was very sincere. He greeted everyone and then said to Chen Huaikai, "This time I want to try out the role of Zhang Mazi."

Chen Huaikai was very satisfied with Xu Min's appearance. Although he didn't have the most popular upright face at the time, he was still a handsome young man and looked quite composed.

In this day and age, the only requirement for a protagonist is that he must have a respectable face.

A face like Chen Xiaoer's can only be a leading man in comedies.

Chen Huaikai asked a few more questions casually, and Xu Min answered them all fluently.

By this time, Xu Min had already acted in several films and television series, and had even worked with actresses like Liu Xiaoqing, so he was quite confident and composed.

What's more, his wife is Zhang Jinling, one of the three beauties of the Beijing Film Studio, and they just got married last May.

What truly made him a star was the 1980 film "The 405 Murder Case".

The film sold 400 copies, accumulating over 400 million viewers and grossing over 100 million yuan at the box office, earlier than "The Mysterious Buddha" and "Shaolin Temple".

"Okay, I'll pick a scene for you to act out." Chen Huaikai glanced at the script on the table, chose a scene, and handed it to Xu Min: "You have two minutes to prepare."

"Thank you, Director Chen." Xu Min took the manuscript and expressed his gratitude.

Chen Huaikai nodded, then turned to Huang Wenbin and said, "Later, you'll rehearse your lines with him."

"It's me again?" Huang Wenbin was taken aback.

"It's the one you find most convenient to use, so of course it has to be you!" Chen Huaikai said with a smile.

Huang Wenbin asked, "Which section?"

Chen Huaikai replied, "The part where Zhang Mazi and Liu Zi have a heart-to-heart talk in the basement."

Huang Wenbin thought to himself: Oh no, I'm going to have to be the son of the deposed crown prince!

However, as a screenwriter, he naturally wouldn't have any psychological barriers because of this.

Xu Min, as a professional actor, has always had a strong sense of conviction, so there's even less of a problem for him.

Two minutes later, Xu Min nodded, indicating that he was ready.

This scene takes place after Zhang Mazi tricked the martial arts graduate into spanking him, and the father and son are chatting in the basement of the county government office.

"Dad, you did a fantastic job as county magistrate today!"

Huang Wenbin quickly got into the mood, his tone filled with admiration and respect, and he even boasted in a childlike manner, "It was so much fun beating up that martial arts graduate! I want to be a county magistrate someday!"

After hearing Huang Wenbin's lines, Xu Min paused, then said with some dissatisfaction, "You can't be a county magistrate, and you're not allowed to be a bandit!"

He then said with some emotion, "When your father died, he entrusted you to me. I promised him that I would make you successful!"

Huang Wenbin immediately asked in confusion, "Then what do I need to be successful?"

"Be a student!" Xu Min said firmly, then casually pointed to the empty space (the record player in the story), "Study, listen to this more!"

Huang Wenbin said, "There's no sound!"

"These county magistrates who bought their positions, all they know is how to make money!" Xu Min made a prop demonstration, seemingly tidying up a record player, "I broke the record player... but I fixed it."

After a two-second pause, Xu Min's tone became very loving and gentle: "Once this job is done, Dad will earn the money, and I'll send you abroad to study."

Huang Wenbin hummed twice and nodded repeatedly.

Xu Min said, "Three years in the East, three years in the West, three years in the South Seas..."

"Beiyang, Beiyang for three years!" Huang Wenbin immediately interrupted with a smile.

"Silly child, you were born in the Beiyang government, so there's no need for you to stay here!" Xu Min said with a laugh and a scolding.

The performance has ended.

Chen Huaikai nodded: "Alright, you can go out now. We'll call you when we have the results."

Xu Min nodded, turned around and left.

"What do you guys think of him?" Chen Huaikai turned to look at the members of the directing team.

"His appearance is a good match, and his lines are excellent."

"The emotional aspect is also quite accurate."

"It's just that I'm not famous enough, so I'm afraid I'm not quite... qualified to play the lead role."

"..."

"What do you think?" Chen Huaikai finally looked at Huang Wenbin: "What are your thoughts on acting opposite him just now?"

Strictly speaking, Xu Min wasn't Zhang Mazi in his mind, but he couldn't just dismiss him outright.

"His appearance is fine, and his acting is not bad, but he doesn't handle his relationship with Liu Zi very well."

Huang Wenbin carefully chose his words, saying, "We can keep him in reserve. Even if Zhang Mazi isn't suitable, he can play other roles."

Chen Huaikai nodded: "Then let's stay here for now and try again later."

Then, a small circle was drawn after Xu Min's name.

"Next!"