Chapter 7

Wang Peng and the old drifter chatted a bit, then an assistant director came over and gathered Wang Peng and the others together, gathering to discuss the play and assign positions.

In the distance, a pure and beautiful ancient costume beauty in her early twenties walked over under the sunshade opened by her assistant; Wang Peng glanced at her and realized it was none other than Jia Jingwen, who played a rather important role in this production of 《Han Dynasty Emperor 1》.

Jia Jingwen, a graduate of Beijing Film Academy, is young but has already appeared in many dramas, including several as the lead, so she has gained some fame.

Now Jia Jingwen is a first-tier female star, at least far more privileged than Wang Peng and the others who struggle as extras; she even has a dedicated assistant, and directors often personally coach her on her lines.

Seeing Jia Jingwen approach, everyone stared straight ahead, and Wang Peng also looked away; after all, Wang Peng has also been an extra, and though extras have no status or rank, seasoned ones are well-traveled and knowledgeable, having seen many stars, so they all maintained a calm demeanor.

"You, and you, you two will stand behind Emperor Han Wudi later; the camera won't sweep past like that, so you must pay attention yourselves—don't make any extra expressions, just stay cold!" the assistant director instructed Wang Peng and another extra, adding that the budget was tight and film couldn't be wasted on these struggling extras; it was better to spend more time coaching them.

"Understood!" an extra said.

"Understood!" Wang Peng also said.

"Tsk, so mismatched, no matter how you look at it, it's mismatched!" the assistant director glanced at Wang Peng and said, "No, filming like this won't work! You and whoever switch places—you'll just play the soldier who gets swept by, that'll do!"

"Won't it be, I'm stealing too much scene?" Wang Peng asked, wondering if his appearance was inadequate; being replaced would be two different concepts—if now this extra requires close inspection to be seen, then swapping into the crowd would mean even slowing the camera might not find him, and being cut in post would be normal.

"You already know, you're too eye-catching, stealing too much scene?" the assistant director bluntly replied, or perhaps thought there was no need to say more to an extra.

"Oh, got it!" Wang Peng, though a little disappointed, didn't mind—after all, he was just a struggling extra, no difference.

At that moment, a middle-aged man rushed in, and the crew members greeted him one after another: "Director!"

Wang Peng had previously seen on TV that the director of 《Han Dynasty Emperor》 was Gao Yijun.

The assistant director hurried forward and asked: "Director, what's wrong?"

"Just now, Zhang Mingjian's assistant came over and said Zhang Mingjian got injured, fractured his bone, and might not be able to continue filming!" Gao Yijun sighed and said.

"What, what should we do? Didn't we waste all the previously filmed footage?" the assistant director said, somewhat surprised.

"Filming in vain is secondary; originally, Zhang Tang's scenes weren't many, and we still have time—the problem is we urgently need to find someone who can play Zhang Tang!" Gao Yijun, already nearly worried gray over this, said this unexpected injury wasn't in the plan; normally, actors filming, especially historical dramas, get injured, but being unable to continue is rare.

Deciding on an actor usually requires considerable time, repeated auditions and confirmations; of course, supporting roles' auditions might be simpler, but it's not to the point where just anyone can be grabbed and fit.

The crew isn't such that stopping filming means no money is spent—rather, money is spent every day, just more during filming and less when not filming; even when less is spent, it's still not good, hence the saying that filming is basically burning money.

"Now there's no choice—Zhang Tang-related scenes are postponed; later, I'll compile a list and see if there are suitable actors, contact their agents, and check their interest!" Gao Yijun thought and said.

"Yes, Director!" the assistant director replied.

"Wait, who is that person?" Gao Yijun's eyes lit up as he pointed at Wang Peng not far away and said.

"That's an extra!" the assistant director looked and gave an honest reply: "Director, you wouldn't want to use him, would you?"

"Yeah, look at his appearance—it's not bad, very heroic!" Gao Yijun praised.

"But he's just an extra?" the assistant director quietly said, uncertain.

"What's wrong with being an extra? Many big names came from extras, and whether someone is an extra or not doesn't matter—the key is that his appearance matches Zhang Tang's too perfectly; acting can be trained, but appearance cannot!" Gao Yijun countered.

"Have him do makeup, put on Zhang Tang's costume, and come see me—this afternoon's scene will be changed, call Huang Xiaoming, today we'll film the indoor Han Wudi scenes!" Gao Yijun mused and said.

"Understood!" the assistant director sighed, though he didn't agree with suddenly using an extra, but since Gao Yijun is the director—though he holds the title of assistant director, only he knows the truth: the assistant director is really just a senior assistant, and he doesn't know when he'll ever rise above.

For an actor, ten years of struggle equals moving from youth into middle age, murdering one's acting life; but for a director, it's different—aside from a few extremely lucky ones, most people must spend years learning, gradually familiarizing themselves with the crew's filming details, step by step climbing up, until they can secure investment to direct themselves—so someone like Lu Chuan, already near middle age, counts as a young director of the new generation.

Because of his own experience, this assistant director appreciates those who climb step by step, professionally trained, effort-type actors like Huang Xiaoming; he always looks down on those who suddenly become famous overnight.

This is probably the shared mindset of the vast majority of artists who follow the orthodox path: having struggled for so many years to reach today's position, while the other just got lucky and climbed onto one's head—who wouldn't envy that?

But he doesn't know that, with the rise of talent shows and the internet's spread in recent years, such people are everywhere—rapid rise to fame, then quick forgetting.

After saying this, Gao Yijun left; the assistant director immediately put on a smile and walked to Wang Peng, saying: "What's your name?"

"Wang Peng!" Wang Peng wondered why the assistant director was asking his name—he was just an extra, after all, and would probably be forgotten soon.

"I'm a few years older than you, so I'll call you Little Peng—you've got good luck!" the assistant director said with a squinting smile.

Although Wang Peng is only temporarily possibly replacing Zhang Mingjian as Zhang Tang, and his status still lags far behind, what matters most in the entertainment industry isn't connections—how are they accumulated? Should one wait until the other becomes famous? Naturally, connections made when the other is still in obscurity are the most reliable.

Although Wang Peng might just be a shooting star, he could also use this as a stepping stone to soar to the sky—after all, smiling and greeting people costs nothing.

"Good luck?" Wang Peng found it strange—what good luck could he have?

"Well, earlier our crew's actor playing Zhang Tang got injured and couldn't film, so I recommended you to the director—I think you can do it, work hard, don't waste this opportunity!" the assistant director said, posing as Wang Peng's patron, though Wang Peng didn't know, and didn't need to.

Wang Peng said: "Director, I accept!"

"Great! Go to the makeup room first, put on Zhang Tang's costume, then go find the director for your audition!" the assistant director said with a satisfied expression, "Come on!"

"Okay!"

Immediately after, Wang Peng was taken to the makeup room, where he began getting makeup from the makeup artist; though a somewhat stiff pencil was dragged across his face, Wang Peng's natural base was good, needing little adjustment—mainly just attaching the head cap, which was the biggest hassle.

But the stylist worked swiftly and expertly, soon finishing Wang Peng's look; the stylist glanced at him, eyes full of satisfaction with her work, and said with a squinting smile: "Not bad, young man—I've seen so many stars, but none with your conditions!"

The stylist's accent carried a strong Hong Kong tone, clearly a Hong Kong-born entertainment worker.

Hong Kong's entertainment industry once shone brightly in the **s, its influence reaching Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia—truly peak brilliance—but as time entered the late 1990s, Hong Kong's entertainment circle gradually declined; whether film, TV, or music, influence waned, markets shrank, and a large batch of experienced behind-the-scenes workers emerged; to make a living, many chose to go north to the mainland to find work, relying on their solid skills to quickly become key figures in various crews—so hearing Hong Kong accents among mainland crew workers is not strange, and many crews even have directors who are Hong Kong natives.

"Thank you!" Wang Peng nodded and said gratefully.

"Just wait here for now—later the director will come to give you your audition; here's the script, take a look first!" the stylist handed the script to Wang Peng and then quickly left.

Wang Peng began reading the script, waiting for Gao Yijun to come for the audition; Gao Yijun is the director, he's just a nobody extra—Gao Yijun wouldn't change his pre-set plans for him, so he could only wait slowly.

Wang Peng felt a faint stir of excitement—this was his first acting experience since returning to the year 2000.

Although so, this TV drama is about Emperor Han Wudi Liu Che, and Zhang Tang is merely a supporting role; according to the usual unwritten rules of TV dramas, to highlight the lead, any role similar in nature to the protagonist gets weakened to some degree, otherwise it would affect the protagonist's portrayal—just like many Japanese anime in this aspect are experts, where supporting roles are often far more popular than the lead; of course, such cases exist domestically too, but they're not intentional.

Zhang Tang's age in the drama is similar to Liu Che's, and he himself is too dazzling; if not weakened, people might mistake who the protagonist is.

But no matter what, the history of Han Wudi's era cannot avoid Zhang Tang, such a dazzling figure, so in 《Han Dynasty Emperor 1》, he is also a fairly important supporting role.

But for Wang Peng, how many scenes this role has or how important it is isn't a particularly important matter—after all, TV drama filming pays by episode; even if Wang Peng only acts one minute per episode, and another episode he acts forty minutes, the pay is the same—of course, actors who act a few minutes every episode and those who act tens of minutes every episode still differ...

Based on the amount he's to film, he could get around fifty to sixty thousand at minimum—key is how he negotiates with the crew, assuming he can pass Gao Yijun's test.

Wang Peng still has confidence in this—first, the assistant director said his appearance fits well; as for acting, he truly lacks confidence—some people are born for acting, born to find camera angles; no matter the industry, one must talk about talent; those without talent must pay a high cost to gain equal recognition—how could he not know that?

Take Liu Dehua—his moral character and artistry are universally praised in the circle, no doubt; but speaking of it, whether singing or acting, one can't really say he has talent; he's walked his path, endured how much hardship, shed how much sweat to reach the Heavenly King position, whereas Zhang Xueyou reached that position with relative ease—who knows how much easier.

Another example: Jay Chou, from a newcomer just debuting to an Asian top Heavenly King artist, took less than ten years; in music, Jay Chou's unparalleled talent played a huge role—Jay Chou is a typical self-produced and self-marketed singer, and his musical style is unique, allowing him to achieve dazzling results in a short time.

Wang Peng still has some talent—after all, he's been an extra for many years. Although he hasn't done any important role coloring. Basically, he knows what most people know; what he doesn't know—well, that's a lot more.

No Problem, not having natural talent isn't a problem when you have a golden finger that defies heaven and changes fate, right? So-called rebirth—isn't that just the biggest golden finger?