Chapter 31: Audition

*3-Iron* is significantly more complex than *On the Beach at Night Alone*. This time, as Cao Yang prepared the crew, he recruited quite a few people from the Qingying Studio.

The previous producer, Cheng Jianye, had collaborated well last time, so he was made the production manager this time, overseeing the production coordinator and the location manager.

Following Cao Yang’s requirements, the location manager had already gone to Ludong Island in advance to scout for several suitable exterior locations.

He requested two assistant directors; one was the casting assistant director, Liu Shan, who had worked with him before.

He also requested a set assistant director named Li Mingyi, who was also a graduate of the Beijing Film Academy. He was recommended by Old Tian and had previously worked as a director’s assistant under him.

This time, the production coordinator, costume department, makeup department, lighting department, and art and set design department were all staffed with professionals from the Qingying Studio, rather than students from the Beijing Film Academy.

For this film, Cao Yang wanted to experiment with using more lens language. After all, the Beijing Film Academy students lacked experience and certainly wouldn't be able to handle that; he had to have a full team of professionals.

Today was the audition date for the male lead. Cao Yang didn't post recruitment notices like last time—that had been out of necessity. Today was different; the audition invitations he sent out already carried significant appeal.

A total of three audition invitations were sent out this time: two to the Beijing Film Academy and one to the Central Academy of Drama. All three came, and they all arrived early.

When Cao Yang sent the invitations, he had actually intentionally staggered the times, but who knew they would all arrive early and run into each other.

As the casting assistant director, Liu Shan was the one Cao Yang had asked to handle the outreach.

Those who don't know the inside story often think that a casting assistant director in a film crew has a lot of power, but that isn't the case; they are generally only responsible for finding minor actors and bit players.

Cao Yang had also handed the task of contacting the actors to Liu Shan.

Liu Shan came in and explained the situation to Cao Yang. Cao Yang hadn't expected them all to arrive so early, so he told Liu Shan to take them to the lounge first and hold the auditions when the time came.

Fu Dalong could be considered famous at a young age; he started acting in films at eight, and by the time he was admitted to the Beijing Film Academy in '94, he had already appeared in many films, making him quite experienced.

He was just unlucky; he graduated in '98, right when the domestic film market was in a slump. The number of films dropped sharply, a trend that had continued until now, and there were fewer and fewer films he could participate in.

When he received the audition call two days ago and learned that the role he was auditioning for was the male lead in Cao Yang’s latest film, he was absolutely thrilled.

Looking at the famous domestic directors, whether it was the National Master or the Little Cannon, almost all had their own fixed crews, so roles in big-name directors' films were scarce resources.

Although the outside world didn't yet view Cao Yang as a big-name director, he was young, and no one could say for sure whether he would become an international director like the National Master.

The key was that he hadn't yet formed his own fixed crew, so his films were also a scarce resource.

Today, Fu Dalong arrived at the audition location more than half an hour early. He didn't expect that shortly after arriving, he would see Chen Kun, who was two years his junior, arrive as well.

He knew Chen Kun; there were only so many people in the acting department, and as long as they hadn't graduated yet, who didn't know whom?

"Kun, are you here for the audition too?"

"Brother Long, yeah, you too?"

Although Chen Kun was two years junior to Fu Dalong, they were the same age. But since the other was two years ahead of him, he still had to call him Brother Long when they met.

"Ha, I came half an hour early. Maybe your audition time is earlier than mine," Fu Dalong probed.

Chen Kun was silent for a moment, then said softly, "I came more than an hour early."

Why come more than an hour early? It was just to see if he could dig up some useful information to gain an edge in the audition.

Just then, another young man was brought in. Chen Kun and Fu Dalong exchanged a glance—was this another competitor?

"You're here for the audition too, right?"

Fu Dalong knew Chen Kun wasn't much of a talker, so he took the initiative to ask.

"Yes, hello."

"Hello, I'm Fu Dalong from the Beijing Film Academy." Fu Dalong introduced himself, also intending to probe the other's background.

"My name is Liu Ye, from the Central Academy of Drama." The newcomer didn't say much, speaking in a low, soft voice. He looked a bit shy, which was somewhat incongruous with his height of over 1.8 meters.

Thus, Fu Dalong probed again, "You came early too?"

Liu Ye smiled a bit embarrassedly, showing a shyness that was almost feminine, "I've been quite free lately, so I came two hours early."

Fu Dalong and Chen Kun breathed a sigh of relief at the same time. He shouldn't be one of those pre-selected connections; he was probably recommended by a teacher from his school, right?

Liu Shan walked in, nodded at the three of them, and then said to Fu Dalong with a smile, "Fu Dalong, you're first. Come with me."

"Alright, Teacher Liu, sorry to trouble you," Fu Dalong replied as he followed.

As a director from the school-affiliated Qingying Studio, many at the school knew Liu Shan; both Fu Dalong and Chen Kun recognized him.

Liu Shan knocked on the door, waited for the "please come in" from inside, then signaled for Fu Dalong to enter, softly reminding him, "We're all from the same school, no need to be nervous."

Fu Dalong took a deep breath, pushed the door open, and said first, "Hello, teachers, I am Fu Dalong."

Then he looked up. There were four people in the room: Cao Yang, Tian Zhuangzhuang, Li Mingyi, and Li Xiaoran.

!

Fu Dalong’s mind raced—could the female lead be Li Xiaoran?

Cao Yang didn't waste words, saying directly, "We're all from the Beijing Film Academy, so you don't need to be nervous. This is an audition, just to see if you meet the requirements. Follow Xiaoran and learn... let's call it a dance. Practice for twenty minutes. It doesn't matter if you don't master it; what I want to see is the feeling you have when you dance."

Old Tian, sitting to the side, added, "Here are a few prompts: loneliness, freedom, soul release, madness."

Li Xiaoran stood up and said, "The movements are very simple. You'll get them after doing them with me a few times."

Last night, Cao Yang had taught Li Xiaoran the movements the male lead needed to perform, using a mix of gestures and descriptions. It took Li Xiaoran less than ten minutes to perfectly execute the movements Cao Yang had imagined; she was, after all, a dance major.

So he asked her to come over today to help out.

You have to say, dance majors are just different. Cao Yang had thought of quite a few movements, and last night, half-reluctantly, Li Xiaoran had performed them too, which opened Cao Yang’s eyes.

During a break, Li Xiaoran had asked, "Do you make her do these shy movements too?"

For some reason, Cao Yang had felt quite excited at that moment, and then the break ended.

Sigh, he’d been corrupted.

Cao Yang couldn't help but reflect. It was all Li Xiaoran’s fault; he actually felt a sense of illicit excitement. He couldn't have thoughts like that; he would definitely change next time!

Twenty minutes later, Fu Dalong performed the dance according to his own interpretation. The movements were a bit stiff, but quite mad and very masculine.

Cao Yang didn't give a perfunctory response, saying directly, "Dalong, you're the first. I can't give you a definite answer right now, but I will definitely give you news within two days."

"Alright, Director Cao, thank you."

Not long after Fu Dalong left, Chen Kun came in.

It was the same process as with Fu Dalong, though this time Li Xiaoran taught with much more care; after all, this was her close friend—it was only human nature.

Twenty minutes later, Chen Kun also performed the dance according to his own interpretation.

His movements were very fluid, almost identical to how Li Xiaoran danced; they were actually quite graceful. He was, after all, from a song and dance troupe.

But precisely because they were graceful, they lost the eeriness and madness.

(End of chapter)