Chapter 365

After Ye Ye Weijie finished his phone call with his friend, his friend said he would help him communicate with Director Chu. He informed Chenxi Entertainment of this news and left.

Seeing Jin Li received the audition invitation from the crew shortly after, and they asked her to participate in the audition that afternoon.

Although it was still morning, a last-minute audition notice with such a tight schedule was not very common.

Sui Sui Lingfang guessed: "Could it be that the person Director Ye found said something to Director Chu, and that's why Director Chu arranged this audition last minute?"

Seeing Jin Li asked: "Before this, did they say when the audition would be?"

Sui Sui Lingfang shook her head: "No, they told me to wait for notification, saying Director Chu hadn't arranged it yet."

Seeing Jin Li pondered for a while and shook her head: "Never mind, we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Let's set off to Director Chu's place now."

The audition location set by Director Chu was not at the company, but at a film and television city.

That film and television city had a place specifically for special effects films, surrounded by large flat ground, making it very convenient to build green screens or other large facilities.

Sui Sui Lingfang originally had things to do, but Director Chu Chenliang's audition was very important, and she couldn't set her mind at ease, so she decided to come along with Seeing Jin Li.

In the car, Sui Sui Lingfang briefly told Seeing Jin Li about Director Chu's filming style.

"He is a director who is very good at digging into an actor's traits. Rather than rigidly requiring actors to act according to a certain style or fixed movements, he prefers to let actors improvise."

Seeing Jin Li was also searching for information on Director Chu Chenliang and roughly knew what kind of personality he had through interviews.

One cannot manage a crew if one's temper is too soft to be a director, so Director Chu's temper isn't very good, but it isn't very bad either.

No actor or media outlet has ever reported that Director Chu likes to scold people on set.

Even Director Zhong Zhong Wentai had been reported by paparazzi before for having a bad temper on set, making some actors feel like they were walking on thin ice.

Although Director Zhong Zhong Wentai later clarified that the actor was angry because he couldn't enter the filming state due to juggling multiple roles, he was the one who got angry.

But if explanations were useful, there wouldn't be so many rumors in the world.

Director Zhong Zhong Wentai explained afterwards, but the adjective "bad temper" was remembered by many netizens.

Even now, under Seeing Jin Li's blog, fans would occasionally come to leave messages, asking her if it was hard filming "Dream Builder," if she was scolded by Director Zhong, and if she felt a lot of pressure.

Every time Seeing Jin Li saw them, she didn't know how to explain.

Forget it.

Didn't you see that Director Zhong had already laid flat?

Seeing Jin Li asked curiously: "Digging into an actor's traits? Can an actor really present a different side under his hands?"

Sui Sui Lingfang nodded solemnly: "I saw one of Director Chu's films five years ago. That film wasn't a horror film, just a psychological fantasy film."

Seeing Jin Li was just about to say that this didn't sound like Director Chu's style, but rather more like Zhong Zhong Wentai's, when Sui Sui Lingfang said:

"The protagonist is a mental patient, but he thinks he isn't sick; instead, he thinks the world is sick. He wants to find people who are mentally normal like him, so he travels and wanders everywhere.

During the day, he is a successful self-media blogger, filming magnificent wonders all over the world. Many of the attractions he films become red-hot on the internet, looking very glamorous.

But at night, he immerses himself in his own world, that is, his fantasies. The whole world becomes bizarre, and the person who seems gentle and refined during the day transforms into a beast at night, shedding that skin of being a human, and the world is turned upside down."

Seeing Jin Li understood: "Using special effects to create a distorted world and monsters, attracting people's curiosity about a novel worldview."

Sui Sui Lingfang agreed: "Yes, and the protagonist's fantasies are very realistic. When you first watch it, the audience follows the protagonist's perspective and sees many dark sides of the world. Then, when the world is turned upside down at night and all the scenes become bizarre, the audience only feels it's very reasonable.

We all think it's not that the protagonist is sick, but that he has come to a strange world... You can watch that film; it established the transition of Director Chu's style.

The former Director Chu pursued big scenes, such as explosions, car crashes, fires, mountains shaking and the earth moving... But after that film, the special effects he used shifted to psychological impact. He likes to use people's distorted mental states to express the concept of 'monsters.'

This kind of mental strangeness is actually more unforgettable than natural disasters in scenes. Anyway, after I watched that film, I couldn't walk out of it for at least a month."

Sui Sui Lingfang coughed lightly: "The topic has drifted far. Let's turn back to the casting of this drama. This drama was accepted by an actor who looks very upright and is famous for acting 'simple, real, and pure.' He won the Best Actor title based on a serious drama.

At first, I thought the main tone of this drama was very positive. In fact, it was like that when I first started watching. But at night, in the protagonist's eyes, wouldn't the world become inverted, and wouldn't people shed their outer garments and transform into beasts?"

Seeing Jin Li nodded.

Sui Sui Lingfang continued: "Then the protagonist punishes evil and promotes good, eliminating monsters one by one. The process is very exciting and good to watch. He later found several companions who eliminated monsters with him.

It wasn't until the middle and late stages of the film that Director Chu revealed the protagonist's appearance at night. Those monsters in the protagonist's eyes were actually real people one by one."

Seeing Jin Li's expression tightened slightly. So, was all of this the fantasy of a mentally ill protagonist?

"In the same scene, with the same killing method, when the protagonist kills beasts, I only feel satisfied and righteous. But when the beasts turn into people, to be honest, I only feel that this protagonist is very evil, bloody, and cruel.

That actor overturned my image of him. I was startled at the time, never expecting that a clean and pure person could also act out the chilling expressions of a bad guy.

Afterwards, I went to check the actor's interviews. Naturally, the internet was full of praise for his acting skills, but I just didn't expect he could also play a bad guy, and play it so well.

The actor also mentioned that he didn't expect he could act to this point either; it was the director who led him to act."

Sui Sui Lingfang turned to look at Seeing Jin Li and said in a solemn tone: "So, if you enter Director Chu's crew, he might dig out the side of you that you least want to show the audience deep in your heart."

Before, when she heard that Director Chu had sent an audition invitation to Seeing Jin Li, she only felt ecstatic.

This is a big-name director in the industry; how could she not go for an audition?

But now, mentioning Director Chu Chenliang's filming style, now that it was time, Sui Sui Lingfang felt worried for Seeing Jin Li again.

Would this put too much pressure on Seeing Jin Li?

A sweet laugh came to her ears, as refreshing as taking a bite of watermelon in the scorching summer, sweeping away the worry in Sister Fang's heart.

"Looking at it this way, the script designed by Director Chu is quite interesting."

Seeing Jin Li laughed: "Before, I was a little worried about how I would film it if the plot was really as boring as the first version of the script he gave me. But now that I've heard you say this, I've become interested in this drama."

The light in her eyes was shining brilliantly: "Sister Fang, I want to film this drama, I want to collaborate with Director Chu!"

Gu Cheng sent a WeChat message to Seeing Jin Li, not saying anything, just sending a picture.

A picture of a supplementary teaching book that he had already started writing in.

Seeing Jin Li: 【I was notified last minute to go for an audition. Damn it, I should have been doing practice questions this afternoon!】

Gu Cheng: 【I'll help you do some first. I've already finished one page, and it feels very simple... The questions are a bit simple, I finished another page in a few minutes... Eh? Why is it so simple? I finished the third page too!】

Seeing Jin Li: 【...】

Seeing Jin Li: 【You are so annoying!!!】

Gu Cheng: 【^_^】

Gu Cheng: 【What audition are you going for?】

Seeing Jin Li: 【Do you know Director Chu Chenliang? I'm going to audition for the second female lead in his new film. I just heard my manager introduce a drama he filmed five years ago, and I'm a bit nervous, afraid my performance won't satisfy the director.】

Gu Cheng: 【If you were talking about other directors, I basically wouldn't know them. 'Three Days' didn't take many dramas when it was popular. I'm already the one with the most acting experience among all the members, but you're mentioning Director Chu Chenliang...】

Gu Cheng: 【Chen Lin filmed a male fifth lead role in his drama before. He only had two lines and hung up after meeting the protagonist.】

Seeing Jin Li: 【I don't want to laugh, but I can't help it! How is that so funny? Hahaha!】

Gu Cheng: 【Don't be nervous about participating in Director Chu's audition. Because his films use a lot of special effects, he values the actor's on-the-spot reaction and body coordination more than the actor's performance in acting.】

Gu Cheng: 【To tell you the truth, Chen Lin's acting skills are very poor, but his physical fitness is first-class. He learned martial arts before and can stay in the air while doing various high-difficulty movements. His coordination is very good, and that's what the director valued.】

Gu Cheng: 【So although there were only two lines, Chen Lin's role still caused heated discussion and gained the love of many viewers. Nowadays, when I scroll through videos, I can occasionally scroll through him.】

Seeing Jin Li was very curious, 【What do netizens praise him for?】

Gu Cheng: 【One of the top ten sand sculpture scenes.】

Seeing Jin Li: 【...】

Hahaha, hahahaha!

When Seeing Jin Li set off for the audition, Li Li Xunfang finally opened the email she hadn't opened for a long time.

Today is her day off. She gave herself three days off at once, hoping her body could get enough rest.

The busy life of running announcements made her feel physically and mentally exhausted.

In the entertainment industry, if you can't keep the lead, you will be eliminated sooner or later.

So even though she has become a first-tier star, she still takes announcements every day, not daring to let herself rest.

Once she reached her level, making money became secondary; letting herself always be the focus of the industry was what she pursued.

As for money, that was just earned along the way.

Although it was along the way, she couldn't earn too little, otherwise, it would be a disservice to her efforts.

Li Li Xunfang had money anxiety three years ago. She set a goal for herself: she had to earn a certain number of digits every month before she could rest.

As long as she didn't meet the goal she set by the end of the month, she would feel very anxious. Being so anxious that she couldn't sleep was a common occurrence.

But that year happened to be her most popular year.

By last year, her announcement income had already dropped a bit, and for this reason, she specifically went to see a psychiatrist.

Li Li Xunfang: "Doctor, I see an income of 30 million every month, but I still feel I haven't earned enough. I feel very anxious. What should I do? Is there any way to alleviate it?"

The psychiatrist was silent for a moment and asked hesitantly: "... Why don't you try medication intervention?"

Due to the need for stars to maintain their image, the manager didn't agree to prescribe medication, only doing consultation therapy every month.

She had endured that miserable state last year and continued to work as focused as ever, not looking at her bank account much.

Li Li Xunfang felt that her mental illness should be cured.

But now that she was finally resting, she opened her bank account with her hand again. Looking at the income of only 20 million this month, her heart couldn't help but ache uncontrollably.

So miserable, too miserable!

She was clearly still a first-tier star; how could her income drop so much!

This is unfair, and unscientific!!

Li Li Xunfang was very indignant and looked up at the emails in her inbox. No, she had to act; she had to use her acting fees to maintain her income. At least she had to return to a monthly income of 30 million, right?

She didn't want to drop any further!

As a result, when she looked up, Li Li Xunfang herself was stunned.

"Why are there only three emails? Did I make a mistake?" She muttered to herself, clicking them open one by one. Skipping the flattery at the beginning, she flipped to the invited roles at the bottom.

Li Li Xunfang was stunned again, "Not the protagonist?"

She thought she had misread it, read it several times, and found that the ones inviting her were all supporting roles!

She had only not filmed for a few months; how could her status and rank drop so fast?

Li Li Xunfang checked all three emails. She hadn't misread them; each one was inviting her to play the second female lead.

She felt that the illness she was supposed to have cured had relapsed again. She hurriedly called her manager and asked the psychiatrist to rush over.

Zhao Rui received her call and was a bit stunned. She softened her voice and said: "Why do you suddenly feel it has relapsed? Aren't you on vacation these few days? You can go out to play, go shopping, or travel."

Li Li Xunfang sobbed and said: "I opened my bank card to check the balance. It's so low. It wasn't this low last year. I ran more variety show announcements this year than last year, but I earned less than last year, not even half of what I earned per month the year before last.

Sister Zhao, am I past my prime? What should I do? I checked my inbox and found that the ones inviting me were all supporting roles. I was clearly acting as the protagonist. I'm not reconciled, I'm not reconciled..."

Seeing Jin Li arrived at the film and television city.

Director Chu had already sent someone to wait at the entrance. They followed the assistant inside.

Seeing Jin Li hadn't been to this film and television city before. The film and television cities she went to before had more ancient-style architecture, but this one had more modern architecture, and there were several buildings with a sense of future technology.

If she didn't know this was a film and television city, Seeing Jin Li would have thought she had come to some science museum.

To go to the location set by Director Chu, they needed to pass through a modernized building. The exterior of this building was pyramid-shaped, but the interior was made to look very much like deep space.

Seeing Jin Li saw models of various planets hanging in the sky, and there was a ray that could capture human movement. No matter where they walked, that beam of light would follow them.

The assistant said: "By the way, this scene will also be used in Director Chu's new film. It's filming a technological world welcoming the end of the world."

Seeing Jin Li smiled: "I am very interested in this drama and hope to pass Director Chu's audition."

The assistant complimented: "With Sister Seeing Jin Li's strength, you will get what you wish for."