Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 35 Young people are not afraid of failure

No. 35, Dongmianhua Hutong, Penghao Theater Cafe.

This is a small building renovated from an old courtyard house from the Republic of China era. The red painted door frame is mottled. In the yard, an old locust tree stretches out its dead branches, and its shadow falls on the blue brick ground, like a splash-ink painting.

The rooftops of the alleys are connected, and the tiles shine coldly in the winter sun.

Hu Jing pushed the door open, the hem of her windbreaker brushing the threshold, bringing in a gust of cold air.

The cafe was warm and cozy, with stoneware cups on the wooden tables and the aroma of coffee mixed with the smell of toast in the air.

This place is only a few steps away from the Central Academy of Drama, so it is also a popular place for teachers and students of the Central Academy of Drama to discuss scripts.

Hu Jing took a quick glance and her eyes fell on a woman sitting by the window, wrapped in a woolen shawl and with a gentle temperament like orchid. Then she left with a smile.

"Pear!" Hu Jing laughed softly.

"You're here." Zeng Li's eyes flashed when she heard that, and she pushed a cup of hot mocha over. "Drink it, I ordered it for you."

"Hehe, Lizi, you're so nice."

Hu Jing took a sip and said, "By the way, what do you think about what the teacher said?"

"What can I think? I'll just give it a try if I can. Anyway, no one will ask me to be the second female lead in a TV series, let alone the female lead." Zeng Li said with a faint smile.

"Me too!" Hu Jing propped up her head, feeling a little worried. "By the way, it seems that Yuan Quan was also called by the teacher. I'm curious, is the funding at Beijing Film Academy so sufficient?

Her salary cannot be like ours, and her salary will be reduced by half, as she is a newcomer in the film industry."

"I don't know about that!" Zeng Li shook her head slightly.

At this time, Wu Chen was also a little worried because he saw that the people pushed by Chang Li also included Yuan Quan.

Theoretically speaking, Yuan Quan, who won the Golden Rooster Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Hundred Flowers Award for Best Supporting Actress, is indeed a good choice, but unfortunately her crew is short of money.

The crew only had a budget of 40 yuan at most, so how could they invite Yuan Quan, who is now a second-tier actor in art films, to act in the film?

Mu Deyuan also noticed Wu Chen's dilemma and couldn't help but laugh, "You have to give to gain. If you can't afford it, then don't invite him."

Having said that, Mu Deyuan was also muttering about Chang Li in his heart.

This kind of low-budget movie is only possible if Yuan Quan stars in it for almost no pay, but Wu Chen is still a little-known freshman in the Photography Department of Beijing Film Academy.

Yuan Quan is not sick, so there is no need to reduce his salary so much for no reason, even if Chang Li recommended it.

There was only one possibility, and Chang Li was deliberately doing this, seemingly responding to Mu Deyuan's outrageous request yesterday: "It's not that we don't have good actors at the Central Academy of Drama, but that you can't afford them."
"Small-minded." Mu Deyuan complained.

Wu Chen thought quickly in his mind, then smiled, "It's okay, teacher, since Professor Chang Li recommended it, it would be a waste of Professor Chang Li's good intentions if I don't give it a try. Anyway, I've sent the invitation."

Mu Deyuan nodded slightly. He admired Wu Chen's enthusiasm, and this youthful drive had become even stronger in the past two days.

Young people are not afraid of failure at all!
Wu Chen took the contact information and made an appointment directly. The meeting between Zeng Li and Hu Jing went extremely smoothly. He got two people together with just one phone call.

On Yuan Quan's side, Wu Chen clearly felt that there was silence for two seconds on the other end of the phone, and finally he responded.

"Did the invitation really succeed?"

Wu Chen was a little confused. He just greeted him politely. What was wrong with the other party? Was he willing to act for no pay? He would fully agree with that.

On the other side, Yuan Quan was also a little stunned at this time.

Chang Li just asked her to do it as a token of her appreciation, after all, it was impossible for a low-budget movie to invite her.

But the director had already called her, and she couldn't refuse him for the time being, after all, the relationship had already been established with Chang Li.

I was confused and had no choice but to agree.

The audition for the three of them was scheduled for three days later.

For the past two days, Wu Chen, besides diligently attending classes and occasionally replying to Liu Yifei's messages, has been contemplating the filming location. He's thinking of a villa as the filming location. The secret room inside can be created through editing, filming techniques, and props, but the villa is essential as the core.

He remembered correctly that when Lou Ye was filming "Summer Palace", he was introduced by a teacher from Beijing Film Academy to use the old villa in Tsinghua University for two weeks rent-free. The exchange condition was that there would be a thank you at the end of the film and the crew would help the owner shoot a family documentary.

However, he couldn't use this method.

On the one hand, he is not famous enough, and on the other hand, he has been using it for too long, at least more than a month.

Finally, with the introduction of Mu Deyuan, I got in touch with a property management company in Miyun, but even at the friendly price, the monthly rent was 2 yuan.

“It really costs money everywhere.”

Wu Chen sighed for a moment, but the price was still acceptable. For this reason, he went to Miyun in person to take a look at the layout of the villa. He finally decided on it and waited for it to be rented out after the New Year.

On December 24, at exactly one o'clock in the afternoon, Wu Chen packed up in the dormitory and was about to go out when he saw three pairs of big eyes looking at him expectantly.

"What is this?"

"Brother Chen, we also want to take a look."

Seeing that Park Songri and Chu Tianshu were as timid as eggs, Xiang Zhuo finally spoke out, feeling a little embarrassed as he spoke.

"Everyone says Zeng Li is the campus beauty of the Central Academy of Drama. We also want to see what she looks like in real life."

Wu Chen could understand that. After all, young people all liked this. But he blurted out, "Haven't you seen enough of the ones from your own school?"

"Senior Sister Huang Shengyi is away from school all day long and we can hardly see her. Senior Sister Yan Danchen has graduated, and now only Senior Sister Dong Xuan is left. However, Senior Sister Dong Xuan's title of school belle seems to be unstable and not recognized," Xiang Zhuo said.

"Okay, just stay behind the school gate." Wu Chen waved his hand and gestured.

"Thank you, Brother Chen!" The three of them followed Wu Chen happily.

At the gate of Beijing Film Academy, the winter sun shines obliquely on the mottled red brick wall, and a few skinny old poplar trees in the corner of the wall stretch out their bare branches.

The iron fence at the school gate was rusty, and the signboard of "Beijing Film Academy" above was crooked, with the paint peeling off to reveal patches of gray.

Park Song-il and the other two were peeking out from behind the school gate pillars, their eyes almost popping out.

Wu Chen stood in the middle of the school gate, his mouth twitching as he muttered softly, "These guys are really useless."

After a few minutes, three people came from the alley not far away.

Because the alley where Beijing Film Academy is located is too narrow to allow vehicles to pass through, the only options are to ride a bicycle or walk.

Yuan Quan is in the middle, wrapped in a black wool coat, with a cool temperament and a slightly literary look;

On the left, Zeng Li is wrapped in a woolen shawl, her eyebrows and eyes are as beautiful as orchids;
On the right is Hu Jing, wearing a windbreaker and with eyes as bright as water.

Wu Chen stepped forward and said, "Hello, three senior sisters from the Central Academy of Drama!"

While Wu Chen was speaking, Park Song-il and the other two were fighting for something.

"Tianshu, move aside and let me take a look. Don't be impatient."

"Xiang Zhuo, you're going too far. Do you think it's fun to step on my shoes and raise them two centimeters?"

"Damn it, Songri, you're too heavy, stop pressing on me."

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The unusual sound caught the attention of the four people. Wu Chen turned around and saw three people falling one after another behind the school gate pillar.
Park Song-il and the other two scratched their heads in embarrassment, their faces flushed red, and they quickly ran away.

"Pfft!" Hu Jing couldn't help but laugh out loud. "Director Wu, are all the students in your school so funny?"

"."

(End of this chapter)