Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 60 features an actress named Gong Li.

The audition was held at China Film Group Corporation. There was no other way; their venue was large, and there were also dress requirements for the audition. I had to wear an astronaut suit.

The five astronauts were pursued by countless celebrities, and everyone wanted to get involved.

Chen Shou has been harassed a lot these days. Agents from various companies are looking for Tao Le, and Tao Le is basically the same.

The production team needs time to prepare; the construction of the soundstage and the setup of the sets all require time.

In particular, for the various measures inside the space capsule, we invited the aerospace group to help us build a base on Mars under their guidance.

He spends money like water. To support him, Guo Degang gritted his teeth and gave him ten million this time. Chen Shouzhe didn't want to lose it. His godfather didn't earn money as easily as other actors. He hadn't dared to take on any advertisements for several years. He was criticized for years after taking on two. Other crosstalk actors hadn't been criticized.

"Ha, what brings you here?"

When Chen Shouzhe saw the first person to come in for an interview, he couldn't help but smile.

"I think I'm a good fit, so I came to give it a try," Yu Entang said with a smile as she entered wearing a spacesuit.

They had worked together before on "2012," and given that Chen Shou's mentor, Yu Qian, was a good friend of his, the two were already quite familiar with each other.

"Then give it a try."

Chen Shouzhe picked up the information in front of him. The person was arranged by Tao Le, probably because of their previous relationship, which is why he was placed first.

The protagonist is a botanist.

The original actress for this role was Dai Meng. There is no romantic storyline in this movie; it's a science fiction film, unlike some domestic movies that, no matter what they're about, always include some kind of romantic relationship.

It must be said that Yu Entang's acting skills are perfectly fine, but she still falls short on the big screen and is not quite ready to be a leading actress.

"I'll let you know when the time comes," Chen Shouzhe nodded.

"Okay." Yu Entang didn't say anything, and after the audition ended, someone else came in.

Each person can only audition for one role, so each actor is very careful in choosing from the available roles.

The three male characters each have their own characteristics. The protagonist is in his thirties, which is not too young or too old. The doctor is also around thirty years old and looks a bit younger. The experienced chemist is around forty years old and is a veteran in the aerospace industry.

If you look closely at the astronauts, you'll notice that they are generally around forty years old. While movies can make them look younger, the main characters still need to have that sense of age, so young actors like Chen Shouzhe are generally not considered.

"Senior brother."

The person who came in was Zhang Hanyu, a graduate of the Central Academy of Drama. He has a rather rugged appearance and has played many tough guy roles. He is exactly forty years old this year.

"Hello, Director Chen."

Chen Shouzhe called him "senior brother," but he couldn't possibly call Chen Shouzhe "junior brother," so he politely addressed him as "Director Chen."

"Let's begin." Chen Shouzhe had a high opinion of his senior from the Central Academy of Drama, at least in terms of appearance, he met his requirements.

As expected, Chen Shou was very satisfied with the next audition and immediately got into the zone.

"No wonder he's from the Central Academy of Drama," Chen muttered to Guo Fan beside him.

Chen Shou smiled. Actors from Beijing Film Academy are often criticized, while actors from the Central Academy of Drama are favored by many great directors.

Besides, the person in front of me has won many awards, so his acting skills are definitely not a problem.

"You acted very well, senior brother," Chen Shou said happily.

"Really? Then I'll be waiting for Director Chen's good news," Zhang Hanyu said happily.

Chen Shouzhe smiled but did not immediately agree. This person was an artist under Huayi Brothers, and although he had already opened his own studio, Chen Shouzhe was still very unhappy about it.

The auditions that followed were all quite different. Wu Yue was even rejected outright. Zhang Hanyu was the one he was most satisfied with so far. There were more auditions for the role of the doctor because of his relatively young appearance. In the end, Chen Shouzhe was quite satisfied with Huang Xiaoming. Chen Kun was rejected in the first round. There were also some actors who were not from mainland China. Chen Shouzhe looked at their Mandarin and decided against it.

Duan Yihong is good, he can be compared to Huang Xiaoming. But personally, Chen Shouzhe would still prefer someone more handsome.

The role of Chen Shouzhe was given to Zhang Fengyi, who wasn't bald. Xu Zheng also auditioned, but his on-screen image was more down-to-earth, so he was passed over. Three roles were finalized in one day.

Zhang Hanyu, Huang Xiaoming, and Zhang Fengyi are currently the best choices.

The next day, they auditioned some more artists, but none of them could surpass the three of them. Chen Shou made his decision first, and on the third day, he auditioned actresses, which was absolutely disastrous.

Even the Central Academy of Drama's Class of '96, which Chen Shouzhe had high hopes for, were completely outmatched by him. Chen Shouzhe needed a leading lady with a commanding presence and the face of an Eastern woman. He was so frustrated that he wanted to find a real astronaut to compare them to. After a whole day, not a single one was reliable. They either couldn't pull it off or they just didn't make sense. The only one who gave him a slight indication of potential was Yan Danchen, the senior who had played Chang'e. She was beautiful in ancient costume, but she still couldn't carry off the astronaut suit and lacked the heroic spirit of a leader.

"Can't you find even one? An actress around forty years old?"

After the audition, Chen Shou covered his face.

“Actually, there’s an actress I think you could give a try, invite her,” Vice Chairman Wang, who was auditioning with me, suddenly said.

"Who?"

Gong Li.

Upon hearing this, Chen Shouzhe's eyes lit up, and the image of Gong Li immediately appeared in his mind. She was in her early forties and about 1.7 meters tall, which was indeed very suitable.

"Do you have their contact information?" Chen Shou asked.

“I don’t have any, you can go ask,” said Vice Chairman Wang.

"Let me ask Director Zhang." Chen Shou picked up his phone and went outside. He quickly found the national advisor's number and called him directly.

"Hello, Director Zhang? This is Chen Shouzhe."

Chen Shou took the phone and walked to a corner.

"Oh, it's Director Chen. Aren't you preparing for your audition? What brings you to call me?" Zhang Yimou was a little surprised that Chen Shouzhe was calling him.

"Director Zhang, yes, I am currently auditioning, but I'm a bit surprised by the choice of actress; there isn't a suitable one," Chen Shou said.

“You can look among ordinary people,” Zhang Yimou suggested.

“The requirements for the role are a bit high. Chairman Wang from China Film Group told me that Gong Li is a good choice, but I don’t have her contact information, so I can only ask Director Zhang for help,” Chen Shou said.

"You want to invite Gong Li? Great! Here's her phone number. You can talk to her yourself. It's a big domestic sci-fi movie. Can I visit the set?"

"Sure, Director Zhang is welcome to visit the set."

Zhang Yimou quickly sent Gong Li's phone number to Chen Shouzhe. After confirming that the number was correct, Chen Shouzhe dialed it, and it was only answered on the third try.

"Hello, who is this?" Chen Shouzhe recognized the voice on the other end of the phone immediately, after all, he really did grow up watching her movies.

"Is this Sister Gong Li? I'm Chen Shouzhe, the director of Shouzhe Film Studio," Chen Shouzhe said softly.

"Chen Shouzhe? You're the director of Painted Skin?" Gong Li asked in surprise.

"Yes, yes, I don't know if I've bothered you," Chen Shouzhe replied.

"No, you're too kind. You're a great director, don't say that. By the way, why did you call me?" Gong Li said with a smile.

"Well, Sister Gong Li, I'm planning to shoot a science fiction movie, and there's a female lead in it. I'd like to invite you to audition," Chen Shou said.

"Oh, you invited me and then asked me to come for an audition? Are you looking down on me?" Gong Li teased.

Chen Shou was sweating profusely. As expected of Gong Li, her aura was extraordinary, and she was full of confidence in her acting skills.

"No, no, this is just for you to try on the astronaut suit. We'll have to tailor it to your body shape."

"You know how to talk. I'm not free tomorrow, how about the day after? I'll give it a try the day after tomorrow."

"Okay, I will definitely welcome you the day after tomorrow."

"I also want to experience a movie that grossed billions at the box office, a science fiction movie. It seems like I've never actually tried one before."

After chatting for a while and confirming that he would come for the audition the day after tomorrow, Chen Shou breathed a sigh of relief. If he could get Gong Li on board, there would basically be no problem.

Gong Li could completely overshadow Zhang Hanyu and the others. Although it was a science fiction film, Chen Shouzhe didn't want to be too careless with the actors.

A whole bunch of award-winning actors and actresses were arranged for them.

However, finding a young actress to match Gong Li is not easy. Chen Shou thought of several young actresses in his mind. The actresses born in 85 were all okay. Zhang Yimou even wanted to recommend Ni Ni to him, who seemed pretty good as well.

Anyway, the audition is tomorrow. We'll see how the actors are then. If there's no one more suitable, we can give it to Ni Ni, as a favor to Zhang Yimou.

(End of this chapter)