Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 35 Missing Person Notice
They actually have an idea?!
Looking at the steaming hot instant noodles in front of him, Ma Yuan gradually went from being shocked to excited.

The tertiary industry issue is the most troublesome problem for the station right now. If we can really revitalize the Guangming Flour Mill this time, then we will have made a great contribution!

Thinking this way, Ma Yuan found Zhang Yan more and more pleasing to the eye. After praising him a few times, he asked, "Teacher Zhang, you have done us a great favor this time. Please feel free to make any requests. As long as they do not violate our principles, our TV station will do its best to meet them."

"May I ask first?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yan first tentatively asked, "Where do you plan to find the actors for this drama?"

"Let's start by selecting from our city's drama troupe. If we can't find a suitable candidate, we'll have to go to Beijing, since they have talent in this field..."

Halfway through the conversation, Ma Yuan realized what was going on and looked at Zhang Yan with a smile, saying, "What, Teacher Zhang, do you have someone you like?"

"No no!"

Zhang Yan quickly waved his hand: "I was just wondering if we could include them when our production team is casting actors..."

"understand."

Ma Yuan's eyes were fixed on the instant noodles on the table. He was thinking that if he delayed any longer, the noodles would get cold, and the sense of awe would definitely be greatly reduced.

So he interrupted Zhang Yan directly, cutting straight to the point: "Your script is very novel, and it's normal to worry that others won't grasp the essence. Here's what we'll do: Director Yan, you, and the director will choose the key roles together. If you can't reach a consensus, then we'll let the station's leadership make the final decision."

As he spoke, he picked up the bowl of instant noodles and walked out, saying as he went, "Liben, please take good care of Teacher Zhang for me. I'm going to report the instant noodles to the station director first!"

Watching Ma Yuan disappear quickly outside the door, Zhang Yan was somewhat dazed.

His original purpose was simply to get the production team to create a "missing person notice" in the Beijing film and television industry, but he ended up getting the casting rights without even realizing it.

This is really...

…………

With the care of the municipal government, the cooperation of the Economic and Technological Development Zone, and the support of the station's leaders, the basic framework of the "Tianjin Wei" production team was established at an unprecedented speed.

Half of them were from the television station, and the other half were elite personnel borrowed from the Tianjin Film Studio.

Yan Xiaoming served as producer, Zhang Yan as screenwriter, Wei Liben and Chen Zhipeng as production managers, and Ma Huiwu, a leading figure of the middle generation at Tianjin Film Studio, who has already directed two TV series and one film, was appointed as director.

Coincidentally, director Ma Huiwu graduated from the Department of Art and Design at the Central Academy of Drama in 78. He was a classmate of Zheng Ming and also a semi-professional of Zhang Yan.

So the two of them had a lot in common as soon as they met.

Yan Xiaoming was initially worried that Ma Huiwu and Zhang Yan would clash over the casting rights, but seeing the two chatting happily, he first breathed a sigh of relief, and then felt a little angry at their lack of competitiveness.

Director Ma is a veteran of the film studio, and he started out making revolutionary dramas. How could he so easily "collude" with young people?
Once the basic framework is in place, it's time for the actors to take the stage and perform.

Following the instructions above, the production team first screened various art troupes and drama troupes in Tianjin.

Several supporting roles were cast, but the selection of the male and female leads didn't even require Zhang Yan's involvement; Yan Xiaoming and Ma Huiwu directly rejected them.

However, the leaders of the art theater recommended a leading man—Chen Daoming, who has risen to fame in the last two years with "The Last Emperor" and "Fortress Besieged".

Chen Daoming was also born and raised in Tianjin. He worked as an actor at the Tianjin People's Art Theatre in the 70s and later passed the entrance exam for the Central Academy of Drama, where he was assigned to the China Television Drama Production Center.

Yan Xiaoming and Ma Huiwu both felt that this candidate was suitable, and Zhang Yan was currently only focused on the selection of the female lead, so naturally he had no objections.

So the production team contacted Chen Daoming through the Art Theater.

When Chen Daoming heard that his hometown TV station also wanted to produce a high-quality TV series, he immediately expressed his support, but still hoped to see the script first before confirming the cooperation.

After a meeting, the key members of the production team decided to take the opportunity to finalize the female lead as well. So Yan Xiaoming, Ma Huiwu, Zhang Yan, Wei Liben, and three other staff members, a group of seven, rushed to Beijing.

On the train.

While the key figures were all present, Zhang Yan took out a large stack of promotional leaflets from his bag and distributed them to everyone for review.

At first glance, the detailed list of the female protagonist's background didn't seem problematic to anyone, but the more they read, the more something seemed off.

The promotional material openly states that the character is based on the screenwriter's childhood sweetheart who ran away from home, and that a generous reward will be given for any reliable information.

The back of the promotional leaflet even had a photo of Zhang Zhounan pasted on it.

Staring at the photo, Yan Xiaoming frowned and asked, "Teacher Zhang, what do you mean by this?"

"It means exactly what it says. A childhood friend of mine ran away from home last April, saying he was going to Beijing to become an actor, but we haven't heard from him since."

As Zhang Yan spoke, he shook the missing person notice in his hand, which was called a promotional leaflet, and said, "I want to take this opportunity to get people in the industry to help me look for him. If I still can't find him, I'll give up completely."

After hearing his words, the group looked at each other in bewilderment.

Then Wei Liben was the first to question, "Isn't this against the rules? Teacher Zhang, this is a key project that city leaders are paying attention to. If you do this... shouldn't we report it to the station leaders first?"

Ma Huiwu looked through the photos again and clicked his tongue, saying, "This girl is indeed quite photogenic."

"Zhang Yan!"

Yan Xiaoming stared intently into Zhang Yan's eyes and demanded, "If we find it, what are you going to do?!"

These words were somewhat ambiguous, but Zhang Yan immediately understood their meaning and said decisively, "Don't worry, I swear to God, I will never let her join the 'Tianjin Wei' production team!"

Yan Xiaoming stared intently into Zhang Yan's eyes for a long time before finally saying, "If that's the case, I think it's acceptable."

Ma Huiwu nodded in agreement: "It's a good thing that young people are loyal and righteous." As he spoke, he reached out and patted Zhang Yan's arm, praising him: "To find your childhood sweetheart, you've gone to such lengths. You're quite the romantic."

Zhang Yan shook his head and said, "We grew up together, so this is my last chance. If I still can't find one, I'll have to give up."

Seeing that he spoke frankly, Yan Xiaoming changed his opinion of him quite a bit, thinking that although this young man liked to play tricks, he was still a loyal and righteous person at heart.

Seeing the producer and director express their support, Wei Liben's face turned somewhat ugly, and he stammered, "This... Director Yan, Director Ma, this... this isn't..."

"Director Wei."

Zhang Yan turned to him and said sincerely, "You can report this to your superiors, but I hope you won't stop me. I will bear all the consequences myself afterward."

"You, me..."

Wei Liben thought to himself, "You're not from the TV station, so in the end, I, the supervisor, will have to take the blame."
Seeing Zhang Yan's do-or-die attitude, he knew he couldn't stop him on his own, so he said helplessly, "Then think of a word to cover it up, just say it's for promoting our TV series."

Seeing that Wei Liben had also compromised, Zhang Yan had no more scruples.

Once he arrived in Beijing and settled in, he wrote down the contact numbers one by one on the 'promotional leaflet' and handed it to the fans that Dou Wei had found in advance.

These people include members of theater troupes, song and dance troupes, the Central Conservatory of Music, the Central Academy of Drama, and the Beijing Film Academy...

Riding the wave of the production team's public call for a female lead, the news spread throughout the Beijing acting circle in just two days, and even went beyond the mainstream.

…………

Central Academy of Drama.

Several girls stopped a boy with small eyes. The girl in the lead waved the flyer in her hand and asked, "Guan Hu, is what's written on this true?"

"How can this be false!"

Surrounded by the girls performing, Guan Hu felt a little awkward, but he tried to remain calm and said, "Have you heard of Dou Wei, the lead singer of the Black Panther Band? This Zhang Yan is the author who co-wrote 'Dreaming Back to the Tang Dynasty' with him."

[PS: Guan Hu's debut film after graduation, "Hair Messed Up," which he self-funded, tells a story related to a rock band.]

Since writing "Dreaming Back to the Tang Dynasty," Black Panther's fame in the capital has grown, and the girls have naturally heard of him.

So they let Guan Hu, who didn't want to leave at all, go, and they gathered together chattering away.

One of them guessed, "What do you mean by this generous reward? It's not a recommendation to be the main character, is it?"

"impossible!"

Another person disagreed, saying, "Didn't the higher-ups say that this is a key project for Tianjin TV? How could they let a screenwriter like him have the final say?"

"Oh my, don't you guys think this is so romantic?!" The girl in the lead exclaimed, arms crossed, looking all lovestruck. "I even wrote a script to win back my childhood sweetheart and convinced the TV station to invest in making it—if anyone did that for me, I, Jiang Shan, would be completely devoted to them!"

At this moment, a tall girl said quietly, "However, his childhood sweetheart still ran away from home, which shows that infatuation cannot hold onto love."

Jiang Shan felt like she'd been doused with cold water, and looked at the tall girl with annoyance and embarrassment: "Xu Fan, what's wrong with you lately? You're always so melancholic. Have you gone crazy from filming 'The Great Eunuch Li Lianying'?"

…………

Nortel.

"Fei Hong, is this Zhang Yan on the screen?"

"I think so. Isn't he a writer from Tianjin?"

"I never expected him to be such a devoted man..."

"What, do you have an idea?"

"You're the one with the ideas! I just want to try my luck. After all, we're a film crew from Tianjin. Who wouldn't want to show off a bit back in their hometown?"

…………

In a rental house.

Chen Hong placed the promotional leaflets and several copies of "Popular Fiction Newspaper" together, rested her chin on her hands, and gazed out the window, seemingly lost in thought.

…………

The cast and crew of "Singing While Walking"

Xu Qing showed the brochure in her hand: "Huang Lei, isn't this Zhang Yan...?"

"It should be the same person I met at Professor Shi Tiesheng's house."

…………

Synchronized swimming team.

"Tao Hong, have you heard? That film crew is coming to our swimming team to cast actors!"

"Which crew?"

"Of course, it's the one who posted the missing person ad!"

(End of this chapter)