Chapter 6: Preparation Complete

Sending Li Xiaoran to Ludong Island to experience life, Cao Yang could finally breathe a sigh of relief; the remaining few supporting roles were not that difficult to find.

The appeal of this film lies entirely in the female lead; as for the other supporting roles, as long as the age is appropriate, it doesn't matter who plays them—to this film, they are merely symbols.

For the three main male supporting roles, the role of the philandering director was given to Old Tian, and of the remaining two, one was given to Sun Honglei.

Sun Honglei is still a nobody in the film and television industry right now. The reason he was able to join the crew is that Ding Jiali wanted to play one of the female supporting roles, and the condition was that Sun Honglei must be given a role.

She is truly good to her young boyfriend; for his career, she has exhausted herself, often humbling herself to beg others, searching for resources everywhere, and even willing to lower her own status to play a supporting role for others.

One can only say that Sun Honglei’s charm is great enough.

The last male supporting role was given to the performance department teacher, Wang Jinsong.

Teacher Wang’s acting skills are excellent, especially the scene where he "pulls out a rubber band to hit your window," which has always been an enduring classic.

It is quite interesting to mention that when Cao Yang went to the performance department to find Huang Lei and wanted to invite Milk Tea Liu to have Huang Lei pass on the message, Wang Jinsong happened to be there too.

Upon learning that Cao Yang was going to make a movie, both Wang Jinsong and Huang Lei expressed their support, urging Cao Yang to prioritize students from the school's performance department if the roles were suitable. Teacher Wang even joked, asking if he could be saved a role as well.

A few days ago, Cao Yang ran into Wang Jinsong and mentioned it; he didn't expect the man to agree immediately, showing his support with actual actions.

He does what he says and doesn't play games; he is truly a model of what a teacher should be.

Unlike some teachers who only know how to build a persona and think they are very slick at playing the game of social connections.

For the three main female supporting roles, one was given to the coal boss's mistress to play the girlfriend of the friend in the cafe. This role doesn't have high requirements; she can just improvise. It’s not a highlight of the film, so it’s easy to play.

To be honest, the coal boss has decent taste; she is curvy, youthful, and beautiful, with a face full of collagen—very pleasing to the eye.

Ding Jiali plays the female lead's friend from abroad and has quite a few scenes with the female lead. I hope she doesn't completely outshine Li Xiaoran when the time comes.

Actually, there is no need to worry; this role doesn't have much room for performance and is equivalent to an NPC having a conversation with the protagonist. As long as Li Xiaoran finishes experiencing life and enters the state a little, it is hard for her acting to be completely crushed.

Furthermore, Cao Yang still has an "Acting Immersion" in his hand. He will apply it to Li Xiaoran when the time comes; although he doesn't know what the effect will be, it will surely be of some use.

For the other close friend who shares a kiss with the female lead in the film, Cao Yang is considering giving it to Yu Feihong. She promised to make a cameo and can give about ten days; for those two scenes, the time is completely sufficient.

Just thinking about the scene where two beauties who look somewhat similar, both of the cold and intellectual type, play around and act coquettishly, feels very right.

For other roles with only one or two lines or no lines at all, I will find students from the Beijing Film Academy. As a person from the Beijing Film Academy, supporting the school is an unshirkable duty; I cannot be like the seniors who go to the Central Academy of Drama at the drop of a hat, without any self-awareness.

At the same time, it can also fulfill the students' teaching practice—how great is that.

When the time comes, I can also find more students to be assistants on the crew, one student assistant for every position, with food and lodging fully covered; wouldn't the teaching practice task be over-fulfilled?

As for why the female lead is not from the Beijing Film Academy?

Cao Yang can righteously say, didn't I send invitations to Yu Feihong and Xu Jinglei at the beginning? If they don't come to be the female lead, what can I do?

Aren't they from the Beijing Film Academy?

I thought of the Beijing Film Academy at the very first moment; this is the self-awareness of a director from the Beijing Film Academy.

Unlike the National Master Zhang Yimou, his female leads, whether Gong Li or Zhang Ziyi, are all from the Central Academy of Drama.

Nor like Old Tian, his female leads Xu Fan and Lv Liping are also from the Central Academy of Drama.

The actors have been found, the staff can be in place at any time, the script has been sent for filing, the receipt will be down soon, and the location has been negotiated; it only lacks the female lead entering the state, and we can start filming at any time.

Li Xiaoran’s time lately has been... how should I put it? At first, it was quite comfortable.

Sunshine, beach, big villa, no worries about food and drink, watching classic movies every day, listening to music when tired, looking at the sea, strolling on the beach—it really is a god-like life.

At the very least, for the first few days, she truly felt that life was so beautiful.

Except for being a bit wasteful of paper.

The love in these movies starts off as sweet as it can be, but the endings are just as heartbreaking. I really want to send a razor blade to the dog director.

As time passed, the more heartbreaking movies she watched and the more sad love songs she listened to, the more the loneliness and solitude began to haunt her heart in such a large villa.

Watching movies, crying, listening to music, feeling sad.

Strolling on the beach, the chilly autumn wind, the lonely sunset, the sad and desolate atmosphere lingering around her; Li Xiaoran felt that such a life was not that beautiful after all.

Just like this, day after day, she didn't even know how many days had passed; every day she was muddled, letting her imagination run wild, and feeling sentimental.

Thinking alone, walking alone, laughing alone, crying alone, feeling sad alone, talking to herself alone, humming and singing to herself alone, waiting alone for the moon to set and the morning to rise.

Suddenly one day, Li Xiaoran couldn't help but think in her heart, has this world abandoned me? Why am I so lonely and sad?

Cao Yang arrived. The first time he saw Li Xiaoran strolling on the beach, he knew it was almost done.

He couldn't think of how to describe Li Xiaoran at this moment; aloof from the world? Perhaps.

This was Cao Yang’s second visit. The first time he came, although it was a bit interesting, it always felt like it was missing something. So he began to explain the play to Li Xiaoran, telling her what kind of story this was, telling her about the female lead’s tragic encounter, the philandering of the scumbag director, the pressure of the secular world...

After Li Xiaoran fully understood the story, Cao Yang left, and the film could also be pushed forward.

!

So he returned to school to gather the crew members and held a meeting to discuss the shooting details. He gathered the actors except for the female lead, did a table read of the script, and let everyone get familiar with the story and their colleagues.

Another half a month passed, the shooting details had all been finalized, and the 35mm Kodak film, which can shoot 4 minutes per reel, had also arrived. A total of 125 reels were bought, purchased at a 5:1 ratio for shooting.

Cao Yang estimated that Li Xiaoran should be ready, so he took the crew and set off for Ludong Island.

It’s fortunate that I came; otherwise, if I waited another month, she might really have become depressed.

"Xiaoran?"

Cao Yang raised his hand to greet her.

By the side of that boundless blue, Li Xiaoran was in a clean white sleeveless dress, with a khaki trench coat over it, quietly blending into this tranquil beach.

She brushed back her long hair blown messy by the sea breeze, took out a single earphone, first looked at Cao Yang in a trance for a moment, and then smiled somewhat stiffly.

Pale skin, red-rimmed eyes, haggard face, weary expression, messy long hair—what a beautiful and sorrowful picture.

"It's done!"

Cao Yang could not hide his excitement and immediately made a phone call to notify everyone: get everything ready, we start filming tomorrow!

Then he thought for a moment and opened the system.

Host: Cao Yang

Current Reputation: 10627

Available Reputation: 10627

Acting Immersion: +1

Film in Preparation: "On the Beach at Night Alone"

Female Lead Actor: Li Xiaoran

Cao Yang no longer hesitated, clicked on Acting Immersion, and added it to Li Xiaoran.

Let me add another buff for you; I hope you can perform beyond your limits.

Dear readers, please give me monthly tickets, favorites, and recommendations. Thank you, thank you.

(End of chapter)