Translator: Dj22031
Editor: Dj22031
Advance chapters available for patrons on Patreon. And a chapter can be sponsored by buying me a ko-fi
There were a total of six people on the jury table. Except for Tang Moning and Zhou Yan who accompanied him, the remaining four people were director Wang Lu, assistant director Xiong Yu, two screenwriters and the producer who had the power to make decisions, Bai Guangjian.
But what Zu Qi didn’t know was that although Bai Guangjian was the producer of the film, he rarely appeared on the crew. Even Wang Lu, the director, only met Bai Guangjian twice in total.
The first time was when they were discussing cooperation last year, and the second time was today at the judges’ table.
Bai Guangjian had always been busy with work. As for why he took the initiative to come over to select the actors for the audition, until now, no one in the entire crew could figure it out.
But Bai Guangjian’s identity was there. Even if he acted recklessly, no one else, including the director, dared to utter a word of protest.
The assistant director first introduced Zu Qi to the people on the judges’ bench, and then asked Zu Qi to introduce himself to them.
Zu Qi was a little nervous before coming in, but now after seeing the two familiar faces, Bai Guangjian and Tang Moning, all the uneasiness disappeared instantly.
After all, he was facing an acquaintance whom he had met many times in life, and the role of Wei Mohan had already been confirmed by him. Today was just a formality… Of course, he still had to give his best performance. He couldn’t let others guess at once that he used the back door.
Zu Qi calmed down and listened attentively to the instructor’s explanation of the audition rules.
The content was very simple. Zu Qi and Yue Ji would work as a team and perform the script fragments specified by Director Wang. The other person was responsible for the opposite scene. The photographer next to him would record their performance scenes and put them together to compare.
The interviewers would not decide on the spot whether the audition actors would go or stay but would only make some general suggestions.
In Bai Guangjian’s words, this method of selection was very suitable for the back door. Anyway, there was no fixed criteria for judging, and the final selection depended on his mood.
The reason why the crew chose to recruit actors in such a high-profile way was mainly to build publicity and get a chance to look at some of the currently famous talents.
It had to be said that there were routines everywhere in the entertainment industry.
Both Zu Qi and Yue Ji read the script over and over again, but they were limited to the script for the character Wei Mohan and did not know the lines or plots of other characters.
Therefore, when the director’s assistant handed two brand-new dialogue lines to Zu Qi and Yue Ji respectively, they were both a little confused – the scenes they wanted to perform did not exist in the script at all.
The content of the plot was that after Wei Mohan learned the truth about the death of his parents, he became determined to kill all his enemies, but found that his best friend’s name was also on the list. After a fierce fight, Wei Mohan defeated his friend, but in the end, before launching a fatal attack, he suddenly hesitated…
Director Wang gave them three minutes to familiarize themselves with the script. Zu Qi quickly adapted to the changes in the script and carefully analyzed the dialogue and personalities of the two characters.
However, Yue Ji’s face became increasingly ugly. He licked his dry lips, hesitated for a moment, looked up at Director Wang who was talking quietly to Bai Guangjian, and said hesitantly: “Director Wang, the script you gave us seemed to have no such scene.”
Director Wang turned his head and frowned: “So?”
“We are not familiar with this plot and have not prepared enough. Can you think of a plot that is in the script?” Yue Ji said, very cautiously.
Director Wang listened and sneered, then asked Zu Qi: “What about you? Can you accept this script?”
Zu Qi nodded calmly: “I can accept it.”
“Did you hear that?” Director Wang looked at Yue Ji again, his eyes more or less mocked him, “He can do it, why can’t you?”
Yue Ji bit his lip and said nothing, his red cheeks filled with embarrassment.
The director standing aside calmly explained: “This plot is indeed in the script, but it’s just not shown to you. After all, it is an unpublished script, and it is impossible to release all the contents.”
At the end, the director smiled suddenly, looked at Yue Ji for a moment and asked, “You have read the script for so long, and you don’t even know whether it is complete?”
After saying this, Yue Ji’s face turned green and white, and his mouth opened and closed, but he looked like a mute. It seemed like no sound could be made.
The director’s eyes were clear and he said nothing. He took two steps back and then gestured to Zu Qi and Yue Ji to start the performance.
In the first scene, Yue Ji, as the main performer, played Wei Mohan, and Zu Qi played his friend Xin Zihang to cooperate with Yue Ji. In the script, Xin Zihang had been seriously injured and was lying on the ground in critical condition. Wei Mohan rarely lost control of his emotions, asking his friend why he killed his parents.
It only took Zu Qi two seconds to clear his thoughts. He quickly lay on his side on the ground and lowered his eyes for a moment. When he raised his eyes again, his light brown eyes had already set off waves and undercurrents.
The corners of his mouth were tightened, and his expression was full of pain and hardship. He spoke weakly and firmly every word: “Wei Binghua, as the leader, colluded with the evil people and killed Zhongliang. He deserved to die!”
It was a clear young boy’s voice. Zu Qi had deliberately lowered his voice at this time, which sounded a bit hoarse. It sounded more like it was full of struggle and helplessness, as well as the anger of hating iron for being unable to make steel[1].
Just after hearing the first line, everyone present was stunned.
Director Wang, who was carefree a minute ago, sat upright in an instant, his eyes fixed on Zu Qi lying on the ground, and an incredible expression gradually appeared on his face.
Bai Guangjian and others did not expect that Zu Qi could enter the drama so quickly, and they were surprised and happy.
On the contrary, Tang Moning and Zhou Yan, who were sitting at the very edge, had extremely gloomy expressions.
Tang Moning’s hands on his knees were clenched into fists, and he didn’t even notice when his nails dug into his flesh. He didn’t dare to show it too obviously, but he couldn’t hide the shock and jealousy in his eyes.
“What’s going on… He can’t have such good acting skills…” Tang Moning mumbled in a panicked voice that only he and Zhou Yan could hear, “Why is this happening…”
He knew very well how bad Zu Qi’s acting skills were, it was absolutely impossible for Zu Qi with his vase acting skills to enter the scene in just a few seconds.
Could it be that Zu Qi went to learn from a master during this period?
But Zu Qi was not that hard-working at all, and he was also busy giving birth to children and currying favor with the Xue family, so it was impossible for him to have such free time.
The more Tang Moning thought about it, the more anxious he became, and there was a panic in his heart that he was about to be compared to Zu Qi.
At this time, a hand reached out and grabbed Tang Moning’s wrist. Tang Moning was stunned for a moment, then turned his head to look at Zhou Yan’s relieved gaze.
Zhou Yan narrowed his eyes and quickly removed the calculation and malice from his eyes. He lowered his voice and said, “Don’t worry, the fun is yet to come.” As long as they were still sitting on the judges’ bench, they were destined to be one step ahead of Zu Qi.
Maybe Zu Qi would come to beg them later.
After soothing himself, Tang Moning finally felt a lot better. He calmed down and looked at Zu Qi not far away with a sinister look.
Time passed by in silence. Zu Qi also improvised a few lines but could not wait for Yue Ji’s response.
Yue Ji didn’t seem to expect that Zu Qi would get into the mood so quickly. He was stunned on the spot, and the lines that had been rolling around in his mind for several times were stuck in his throat.
What should he do?
What should he say?
The script only wrote what he wanted to say, but not what he had to do before speaking.
The nervousness and apprehension because of being aware of it instantly overwhelmed Yue Ji. He didn’t have much acting experience. He mostly made guest appearances as a vase in famous director’s movies and had almost zero on-the-spot experience.
At this moment, Yue Ji’s brain was turned into a mess. Just when he was at a loss, Director Wang’s angry voice suddenly interrupted his chaotic thoughts.
“What are you doing? Are you standing there acting as a sculpture? If you don’t want to act, just leave. Don’t waste everyone’s time!”
Director Wang was easy to talk to, but he was particularly serious when he was working. He held the rolled-up script and spoke directly. He slapped the table, seemingly furious at Yue Ji’s reaction.
“Yue Ji, it’s your turn.” Tang Moning reminded him loudly, then turned to Director Wang and smiled, “Maybe he is inexperienced and nervous.”
Guys, ads are my only source of revenue, so please do not turn on the AdBlock when you are accessing this website…. Thank you, this would be a great help…
You can buy me a ko-fi and sponsor a chapter on: https://ko-fi.com/midnightrambles
Or become a Patron on: https://www.patreon.com/bePatron?u=45665005
If you support me, I would be able to provide more chapters….
Previous • Table of Contents • Next
[1] Not living up to expectations.
One thought on “IPWOMC Ch. 51.1”