Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 315 Does He Look Down on Me So Much?

"Hello, teachers. I'm Huo Siyan, from Huayi Brothers. Today I'm here to audition for the role of Xu Lin in The Invisible Guest." It's been a long time since Huo Siyan stood in front of the audition panel like a newcomer.

Especially sitting in front of him was the director Li Qiutang, with whom he had worked before.

This made her feel uncomfortable, but she couldn't help but come.

Fan Bingbing left, Li Bingbing left, Zhou Xun also left. She naturally became the leading actress of Huayi, but Huayi did not find many good job opportunities for her in the past two years. Last year, she was caught up in the scandals of "Huayi socialite" and "interfering in Huang Yi's affairs". On her birthday, Wang Zhonglei's daughter scolded her on Weibo, "Don't celebrate your birthday yet, learn how to be a human being first."

Without her boss's protection and her reputation ruined, her resources in the circle declined sharply. Today's audition opportunity was not a company resource, but something she fought for personally.

If she doesn't present any decent works to the audience, she will really become out of fashion.

However, Huo Siyan's reputation in the circle affected her audition today.

Li Qiutang didn't say anything, so the casting director spoke first: "Don't mind if I tell you straight."

"You go ahead." Huo Siyan was very polite.

"There's been a lot of controversy surrounding you in the past two years. It might be risky for us to use you." He almost asked her to get out.

Li Qiutang still didn't say anything. The casting team would definitely consider the reputation of the actors. Whether it was a rumor or a true story, the casting team had no obligation to verify the authenticity and could only rely on hearsay.

But Huo Siyan still wanted to fight for it, explaining: "I can say that those things are all false. I still hope you can give me a chance to audition. If I don't perform well, you have no problem eliminating me."

The casting director smiled. Huo Siyan was not a newcomer and had some reputation in this circle, but her reputation and words were useless to him. He would not risk using an actress with a bad reputation. Just as he was about to ask her to go back, Li Qiutang said, "This is an audition clip. You don't need to put on makeup. You only have 10 minutes to prepare. Is that okay?"

Huo Siyan was very grateful: "Okay, thank you director." Huo Siyan stepped forward and took the trial script from Li Qiutang.

The casting director glanced at Li Qiutang, and Li Qiutang said, "Give it a try."

Huo Siyan accepted the assessment of the casting team like a newcomer, and she had to act however the casting team asked her to.

But Huang Xiaoming doesn't have to go through this procedure.

After the casting was finished today, he hosted a banquet to entertain the crew of "The Invisible Guest", with more than a dozen people sitting around the table.

Everyone in the crew knew his purpose, but no one said it out loud.

The next day, the casting team continued their work. Li Qiutang did not participate because he was going to meet Gong Li in person today.

Gong Li returned to Shanghai the day before yesterday, and the producer arranged a meeting for him today, which was quite efficient.

Gong Li is of course the actress that Li Qiutang admires and hopes to work with. It can even be said that she is the actress that Li Qiutang most wants to work with, no doubt about it.

Gong Li is quite easy to get along with in private. The two did not know each other before. As soon as they met, Gong Li joked with Li Qiutang: "You are so big and the director still flew over to see me. I am flattered."

The two exchanged a few pleasantries. Gong Li knew Li Qiutang's purpose of coming, and she was very happy that Li Qiutang thought of her. She also said that she wanted to work with such an outstanding young director like Li Qiutang.

As expected, there is definitely a but.

"But I'm already preparing for 'Lu Fan Yan Shi'. I can take on two or three projects at the same time, but I can't prepare for two or three roles at the same time." Gong Li read the script of 'The Invisible Guest' in advance, "To be frank, lawyer Zhong Huilian is the best female character in Chinese commercial films in recent years."

Actresses like Gong Li will not have a mid-life crisis. For her, she would rather sit idle and not film than carefully select scripts and roles.

Gong Li also said that it was a pity to miss the role of Zhong Huilian, "but there is no way, I can't spare the energy here. For this role, apart from other things, I have to study the legal provisions, which will take at least half a year."

Despite being rejected, Li Qiutang and Gong Li still chatted for a whole afternoon, talking about movies, music, and art until dinner time. Gong Li had work to do later: "It's okay. We didn't cooperate this time, but there will be opportunities in the future."

"That's right. You must come if I invite you next time."

"Okay, that's a deal." Gong Li left.

After leaving Gong Li, Li Qiutang and his group were picked up by people from the Shanghai Film Group, and Ren Zhonglun hosted a banquet for them by the Huangpu River.

If they were just having dinner with Shanghai Film Studio, it would be easy to deal with, but Li Qiutang glanced at the box and saw that in addition to Shanghai Film Studio, the CEOs of several Shanghai film and television companies were also there. There were also a few people sitting on the sofa in the lounge area who looked like they were there to run a show.

It's obvious that they are not here for a serious meal.

"I don't need to introduce this person," Ren Zhonglun said to everyone present with a smile, "Director Li Qiutang. Come on, everyone, have a drink."

Nothing to say yet, just do it.

There is no doubt that Shanghai Film Group was raised by a stepmother and tried its best to get to the top, but China Film Group's position is unbreakable. It wants to share the cake of imported films, but the higher-ups would rather set up a new company than give Shanghai Film Group the qualification to import films.

In terms of financial strength, Shanghai Film Group is not inferior to China Film Group, but in terms of investment courage and strategic vision, the people in Shanghai Film Group are not as good as Mr. Han.

Ren Zhonglun told Li Qiutang that he and Shanghai Film Group should strengthen their cooperation in the future: "Shanghai Film Group provides one-stop services for investment, production and distribution."

Li Qiutang knew this needless to say.

Ren Zhonglun invited Li Qiutang to a banquet today, and the purpose was still "The Invisible Guest". Shanghai Film Group wanted to invest in it.

No one could get Li Qiutang's movie into theaters even if they offered money, and Ren Zhonglun had finally gotten the opportunity today.

But I'm really sorry, Li Qiutang's movies are not for sale in the autumn. In the autumn, I will eat as much as I can with the self-raised funds, and I won't share them with others if I can.

Qiu Tian and Guangxian were still collaborating, and when Li Xiaoping said she wanted to invest in "The Invisible Guest", Zhang Zhao did not agree.

But Li Qiutang couldn't say this to his face, so she pushed it to the company: "I only take care of the crew's affairs. The company has always been in charge of the investment. I'm not very clear about it. Mr. Ren can talk to our company. As for cooperation, we definitely hope to have more partners."

After the food and drinks, it was time for the next round of games.

Some came to meet Ren Zhonglun, some came to meet the other bosses present, and naturally some came for Li Qiutang.

"Hello Director Li, I'm Tang Ren Film and Television's agent." In Shanghai, there was no reason for Tang Ren to miss this drinking party.

Li Qiutang looked over and saw that the girl was still the same girl, but the agent was no longer the same agent.

I don’t know Li Qiutang, the agent who brought Nazha here this time.

Tang Ren has been in Shanghai for more than ten years, but how come he couldn't even get into a drinking party in Shanghai Film Studio and had to run around? I don't know how they did it.

The last time she met Nazha, the girl was very reserved and didn't dare to say a word, but this time, she obviously lost her immaturity and greeted Li Qiutang generously and actively. Her manager urged her to drink with Li Qiutang, but she didn't object. Instead, she stared at Li Qiutang blankly.

But Li Qiutang didn't want to be a clown. She refused with a smile and drank the wine herself, not giving the other party a chance to perform.

Sometimes the nakedness in the entertainment industry makes people feel uncomfortable. Nazha’s agent said to Li Qiutang in front of Nazha: “Director Li can take our Nazha away. It’s okay.”

And it seemed that Nazha did not refuse. The CEOs present were also accustomed to this kind of thing. Some even advised Li Qiutang: "Director Li, please give the little girl some guidance on acting."

It seemed as if it was Nazha's honor that Li Qiutang took Nazha away.

But Li Qiutang ignored him and said, "How can I teach you how to act? I can only scold you for your bad acting on the set."

"Hahahaha!" Everyone laughed.

Nazha stood in front of Li Qiutang and thought, "Does he really look down on me?"

(End of this chapter)