Chapter 154: Kaizi can

Inside the room, Wu Yuchen was still reflecting on Jiang Qinqin's performance just now; all in all, it was acceptable.

Zhang Yiman, the Republican-era female teacher in "Mr. Donkey," is flirtatious and free-thinking; she follows her inner desires and pursues sexual freedom, yet she does not lose her inner innocence and kindness, nor is she without a moral bottom line.

Such a character is, in the eyes of public morality, a "slut," the very "shameless bitch, public toilet" that Pei Kuishan calls her, but you still have to play her in a way that makes the audience feel favorably toward her, so this balance is not easy to strike.

From this perspective, Jiang Qinqin undoubtedly did a good job, scoring a seventy or eighty, perhaps even no worse than Jiang Wenli, though compared to Ning Jing, she was still lacking a bit.

Among the actresses who have auditioned so far, the best performer is Ning Jing.

Ning Jing herself carries a wild beauty, and she is bold in her own lifestyle. After marrying her American husband, she came into contact with more Western culture, and she is very clear about the kind of Western petty-bourgeois freedom that Zhang Yiman pursues. Thus, she really did display a unique style of Zhang Yiman, which indeed gave Wu Yuchen some surprises.

Just then, one of his subordinates trotted over and whispered a few words to him, and Wu Yuchen couldn't help but feel a surge of energy.

A moment later, the room door was pushed open again, and the actress who walked in was none other than Gong Li.

Although Gong Li is over thirty now, she is very well-maintained, with fair and smooth skin. Moreover, Gong Li's figure has always been excellent, and now, wearing a floral cheongsam, she looks even more curvaceous, plump, and charming, with a unique allure in every gesture. It can be said that just standing there, women would envy her, and men would be moved.

However, the aura Gong Li exudes is not one of pure lust or flirtatiousness, but rather a touch of coquettish cuteness, revealing a detached, worldly-wise air.

The character of Zhang Yiman symbolizes freedom while also radiating desire; both Pei Kuishan and the Copper Smith have desires for her. In his past life, Ren Suxi played her very well, but there were criticisms, namely that she was a bit ugly; the audience felt at first glance that she was ugly and had no figure, so how could she be the female lead? However, this was covered up by her acting skills.

Don't think Zhang Yiman isn't pretty just because of Ren Suxi's looks; in reality, how could she not be a beauty if she could bewitch Pei Kuishan and the Copper Smith like that?

As for Gong Li, her physical appearance alone is enough to support the "desire" aspect of the character, so she focuses her main energy on displaying Zhang Yiman's coquettish, cute, and innocent side.

Someone once disparaged Gong Li, saying she could only play village girls, but that can only be said to be intentionally nitpicking or having seen too few films.

In her love story with Lao Mouzi, "A Terracotta Warrior," she portrayed a naive, innocent heroine, playing three different characters across three lifetimes in the film; in "Farewell My Concubine," Ju Xian was the top courtesan of the brothel; in the 1994 film "Soul of a Painter," Gong Li was an intellectual painter; in the 1995 film "Shanghai Triad," Gong Li was a bewitching and charming song-and-dance queen...

Whether it's charming, sexy, or intellectual, the Empress Gong can handle it all with ease.

The only role in her acting career that Gong Li admits was a failure is Autumn Fragrance in "Flirting Scholar," as she felt she never integrated into the nonsensical atmosphere from beginning to end, becoming a negative factor in the film, and she also regrets not adjusting her mindset well when filming began.

Although this "Mr. Donkey" is also a comedy, it is completely different from Zhou Xingxing's nonsensical comedies; it is a tragedy disguised as an absurd comedy, with sorrow revealed in every detail inside.

Gong Li had heard before that Wu Yuchen had written a script and turned it into a stage play, but she had been so busy that she never paid attention to it; however, once she saw the script for "Mr. Donkey" this time, she couldn't take her eyes off it. In particular, the process of the female lead, Zhang Yiman—a new woman who believes in liberalism—being persecuted into madness, made the character vivid, full, and highly controversial, which completely attracted her. From that moment on, she made up her mind to land this role!

Since Gong Li walked into the room, Wu Yuchen couldn't help but have his eyes light up; his gaze followed her, and he couldn't look away.

A beautiful body perfectly combined with an innocent, willful, and free-spirited temperament—isn't this exactly that freedom-loving, infinitely charming Zhang Yiman?

Just looking at Gong Li, Wu Yuchen wanted to make the decision on the spot. Empress Gong, oh Empress Gong, it really has to be you!

However, he still had Gong Li audition for a scene; since she had already come, she couldn't come for nothing!

Regarding the scene where Zhang Yiman is driven mad, Gong Li naturally had a plan in her heart. After brewing for a while, she directly showed Wu Yuchen what a "Great Demon King" of Chinese actresses is—from slow to fast, from silent to vocal; Wu Yuchen couldn't even focus on her eyes, expressions, or limbs—it was all natural, it should be exactly like this!

When Gong Li finished her performance, Wu Yuchen directly applauded and gave a thumbs up, saying, "Teacher Gong Li, you are truly amazing! I can't think of a reason not to choose you. But there is still one problem: when the time comes, the head-shaving will be real..."

"That's not an issue at all~" Gong Li directly waved her hand and said with a smile.

"I heard Director Chen is going to bring 'The Emperor and the Assassin' to the Great Hall of the People for its premiere during the National Day holiday. Sister Li, won't your shaved head have any impact?"

Gong Li is the female lead of "The Emperor and the Assassin" and the biggest star among the cast, so she will definitely be there to hold down the fort.

"It doesn't matter, he can't control me!" Gong Li said directly and domineeringly.

Wu Yuchen couldn't help but click his tongue twice; there aren't many actors in the country who dare to speak about Chen Kaizi so directly.

In the evening, Wu Yuchen hugged the aggrieved Jiang Qinqin in his arms and comforted her:

"Alright, alright, don't be sad. Think on the bright side: doesn't this mean you don't have to cancel the promotion for the 'My Fair Princess' crew, and you can even go to Wanwan for a trip?"

"What is 'My Fair Princess' compared to this!"

Jiang Qinqin was very depressed upon hearing this; in her eyes, "My Fair Princess" and "Mr. Donkey" are like fireflies and the bright moon—a world of difference, simply incomparable!

Wu Yuchen chuckled again and said:

"Then in a few months, 'Classic Again' will be released. When you become famous, people will see you're completely bald; how ugly will that be?"

After hearing this, Jiang Qinqin followed Wu Yuchen's words to comfort herself, and she felt a little better, but only a little. "Mr. Donkey" is the film Wu Yuchen is using to go for major awards! And even if it doesn't win an award, just for such an excellent script, any actor would want to perform in it!

Seeing Jiang Qinqin still wearing a long face and pouting, Wu Yuchen said: "You, are you still not convinced?"

"How dare I not be convinced? That is Gong Li!" Jiang Qinqin said in a muffled voice.

Wu Yuchen looked at her little expression, pinched her cheek, and said with a smile:

"Your face is almost puffed up like a bun~ I didn't want to crush your confidence, but now it seems if I don't let you see, you won't know how big the gap is. Tomorrow I'll show you the audition footage of Gong Li, so you'll be convinced."

The next day, after watching the recording, Jiang Qinqin looked like she had lost half her soul. How could she dare to be unconvinced? Others had only had the script for a few days, yet they completely surpassed her two years of effort. Why is the gap between people so big?

Wu Yuchen didn't comfort Jiang Qinqin either; giving her a bit of "shock therapy" would provide more motivation to improve her acting skills. If she really left a psychological shadow and couldn't get out, she could just honestly be an idol star—what's unacceptable about that? So many actors want to be one but can't!

He Bing is from the 1987 acting class at Central Academy of Drama. When applying, their teacher said the academy didn't look at looks, and sure enough, he was admitted. But after school started, He Bing was dumbfounded. Looking at Hu Jun beside him, a 1.8-meter tall guy, he was super popular; on the other side, there was Jia Hongsheng, who was handsome beyond measure. The female classmates, Xu Fan and Jiang Shan, were all great beauties. Looking at himself, he was embarrassed to stand with them.

His classmates had constant acting offers, only He Bing spent his days at school pondering: As an actor, how should one act?

There was no way; he couldn't get any acting offers at all. He was considered the worst in the whole class and could only stay at school to polish his acting skills—what else could he do?

After graduation, he joined the People's Art Theater. Originally, He Bing thought he could usher in a turning point, but the People's Art Theater was also full of talent. The older generation goes without saying, and the light of the young people was all covered by Pu Cunxin alone; he was from an artistic family and was destined to eat this bowl of rice from a young age. While Pu Cunxin was wearing a suit and playing the lead, He Bing could only play small roles with two lines of dialogue two years after joining. He Bing considered this his fate; a small role is still a small role, and there are still ways to do it well.

Last year, He Bing heard that Jingying had produced a good stage play, a script written by the great director Wu Yuchen, so he ran over to watch it himself. He didn't know until he saw it, but once he did, he was truly amazed. Since then, He Bing has run to the Jingying school many times just for the stage play "Mr. Donkey," instinctively pondering how he would perform it if it were him.

As for this audition for "Mr. Donkey," to be honest, He Bing didn't hold out much hope; he was already used to it, but since there was such an opportunity, he still wanted to show what he could do, until he picked up this phone call.

"Hello, is this Teacher He Bing? I am Wu Yuchen. Your performance in the audition for the role of Pei Kuishan was great. If you have time, come over and sign the contract."

Wu Yuchen, Pei Kuishan, sign the contract...

These words buzzed in He Bing's mind, making him unable to recover for a while.

"No, Wu Dao, did you really choose me?"

He Bing instinctively asked back, still unable to believe it. You have to know that for the role of Pei Kuishan, big stars like Chen Daoming, Pu Cunxin, and Wang Zhiwen had participated in the audition. Would they choose him, this little transparent, this scrap?

He Bing's reaction made Wu Yuchen feel a bit strange: "Yes, Teacher He Bing, don't you have time in the next few months?"

"No, no... no, I mean, I have time! I have time!"

After the confirmation just now, He Bing, who heard clearly, was immediately hit by a surge of surprise, and his speech became a bit incoherent.

"Wu Dao, thank you so much! I'll go to our unit to ask for leave right now! Don't worry, I will definitely play Pei Kuishan well and won't let you down!"

Wu Yuchen chuckled: "Okay, I look forward to your performance!"

After He Bing hung up the phone, he jumped three feet high, feeling that spring had come and everything was so beautiful!

This is the award-chasing blockbuster by the great director Wu Yuchen, and he, little He Bing, actually surpassed Chen Daoming, Pu Cunxin, Wang Zhiwen, and others!

Ten years of hard work and polishing, and finally there is a reward; all his persistence and effort were worth it!

Dahebao Village, Gaoshizhuang Township, Pinglu District, Shuozhou, Shanxi. Wu Yuchen walked around here again and couldn't help but nod with satisfaction. To explain why he chose this place, one must talk about the story of "Mr. Donkey."

In 1942, several teachers with dreams, in order to change the backward and ignorant environment of Huaxia at that time, came to a village lacking water. They raised a donkey to carry water, but the Ministry of Education did not agree to pay for raising the donkey, so the principal falsely reported the donkey as a teacher named "Lv Lu De Shui" and used the fake teacher's salary to raise the donkey. Finally, when the special inspector from the Ministry of Education came to inspect, everyone could only bring a Copper Smith to make up the numbers and make up various excuses. Unexpectedly, in order to cover up one lie, they had to tell more lies, and finally, the situation became uncontrollable...

Because the story told in the film "Mr. Donkey" takes place in a drought-stricken school lacking water. The story has its own logic of life: perhaps these teachers found an abandoned, dilapidated ancient building on a barren mountain years ago, performed simple repairs and cleaning, and used it as a school.

So when looking for a location, one must find a place that is truly water-deficient and arid, regardless of the landscape or living conditions, and is located on high ground with a relatively large ancient building.

Dahebao Village has a circle of ancient castle walls surrounding an enclosed environment, and inside the walls are cave dwellings where common people once lived, giving people a sense of temporal displacement and an absurd, magical feeling, which is very close to the style of the film "Mr. Donkey." The visual style this film wants to pursue is one that weakens or blurs the characteristics of the era, and this is the most suitable filming location.

The crew also needs to build some scenes here, such as Zhang Yiman's room, which is decorated with a very literary young woman's style, with posters of domestic and foreign stars on the wall and Western oil paintings on the table, showing her yearning for Western liberal and open ideas.

Wu Yuchen took several main members of the crew to read the script first.

In the "Mr. Donkey" crew, there is no such thing as double-booking or only joining the crew when it's your turn to film; important characters follow the crew the whole time, and when they aren't filming, they watch and ponder from the sidelines. That's how it is these days, and Wu Yuchen wants to keep this fine tradition alive. Anyone who dares to double-book his film can get lost; if you don't want to act, get out!

The main cast naturally all sat around Wu Yuchen.

Zhang Yiman: Gong Li;

Copper Smith: Fu Dalong;

Pei Kuishan: He Bing;

Principal Sun: Li Xuejian;

Zhou Tienan: Sun Honglei;

Sun Jia: Zhou Xun;

Special Inspector: Zhang Guoli;

Copper Smith's Wife: Ding Jiali. ===== CHAPTER 155 =====