1980 My literary era

At nine o'clock in the morning in mid-March, in front of Yan Yingqing Building, a group of actresses competed with each other in beauty.

Today's audition almost included all the young and middle-aged actresses who have emerged in China in the past ten years.

Among the actresses who came, in addition to Liu Xiaoqing, Gong Li, and Chen Chong whom Lin Weimin knew, there were also popular actresses such as Pan Hong, Gong Xue, Fang Shu, and Zhang Yu.

Less than a week after the news of the audition for the actress was sent out, Lin Weimin did not expect that Chen Chong would rush back to the country.

It seems that Chen Chong is very confident. She is very well-known in China, has studied in the United States, and also spent some time in Hollywood. Although she has not made a name for herself, she still has qualifications.

In addition, she is currently performing on Broadway, and seems to be very competitive from every angle.

When Liu Xiaoqing saw Chen Chong, he immediately felt a strong sense of crisis in his heart.

Both she and Chen Chong were well-known to the general audience through the movie "Little Flower". The difference is that Liu Xiaoqing made one movie after another after "Little Flower", which not only received rave reviews, but also had excellent box office.

Chen Chong, on the other hand, took the completely opposite path to her. He quit at the most critical moment and chose to study abroad in the United States. I heard that he has not been doing well in the past few years.

Under normal circumstances, Liu Xiaoqing might gloat over his misfortune.

But today is the audition for "The Last Emperor", and Liu Xiaoqing will not underestimate Chen Chong just because she has been away from the domestic film industry for several years.

In terms of proficiency in English alone, Chen Chong had a greater advantage than himself.

The most important thing is that Chen Chong is several years younger than her. Historically, Wanrong was a young girl when she married Pu Yi.

On the other hand, Liu Xiaoqing herself is over 30 years old. Although she is very confident in her acting skills, directors and producers may not necessarily see her that way.

A shadow fell over Liu Xiaoqing's heart, making her feel stressed.

Compared with the ambitions of Chen and Liu, Pan Hong seemed much calmer.

In recent years, she has won many awards and is considered the number one film actress in China.

After divorcing her husband, Mikasan, last year, she opened up about many things.

Among the many actresses who came to audition, the three of them received the most attention.

In addition to these three people, the most eye-catching one is Gong Li, the heroine of "Red Sorghum".

Nowadays, the news that "Red Sorghum" won the Golden Bear Award is spreading across the country, and it has become the pride of Chinese movies. Even the heroine of the movie, Gong Li, has become one of the focuses of public attention.

Gong Li stood timidly among the crowd. Her beauty was not eye-catching among the many beautiful actresses. Because "Red Sorghum" had not been released yet, many people did not even know her at all and even asked people on the side about her. .

When I heard that she was the heroine of "Red Sorghum", my eyes couldn't help but look a little weird.

Gong Li secretly guessed that the look in her eyes probably meant "this girl is just so lucky".

She had seen this look so many times these days that she was numb.

When she first heard Zhang Yimou say that she had been recommended to the crew of "The Last Emperor" to audition for the lead role of Wan Rong, Gong Li was a little scared.

For more than half a year, the news that the famous Italian director Bertolucci was preparing to film "The Last Emperor" has been spreading in China, and it is said that tens of millions of dollars have been invested in the film.

Gong Li felt dizzy when she heard this number. How much is this!

For such a big-budget movie, Gong Li couldn't even think of asking herself to audition for the leading role.

Just like a few years ago, she didn't dare to think that "Red Sorghum" would win the Golden Bear Award.

Just like a dream!

Until she walked into the audition room, Gong Li felt like she was stepping on cotton.

He looked at the environment in the room at a loss. This was much more formal than when Zhang Yimou and the others auditioned him.

The camera was always on, and there were foreigners taking photos with cameras nearby.

Gong Li glanced around and finally found a face with black eyes among the foreign faces.

teacher LIN!

Director Yimou said that he was able to interview on the set of "The Last Emperor" thanks to Teacher Lin's recommendation.

Seeing Lin Weimin, Gong Li finally gained some confidence.

The bearded foreigner opposite should be director Bertolucci, right? He talked a lot and couldn't understand a word!

Gong Li was feeling worried when Lin Weimin said, "Gong Li, don't be nervous. Director Bertolucci asked you to introduce yourself."

Gong Li pursed her lips, how could she not be nervous, but it was here.

She cleared her throat and said, "Hello teachers, my name is Gong Li. I am currently a student in the 85-level acting class of the Central Academy of Drama. I have participated in the movie "Red Sorghum" before..."

Gong Li's resume is lackluster, with almost no highlights, except for "Red Sorghum."

And the most important thing is that her English is not good, and she can't even introduce herself. A trace of disappointment flashed in Bertolucci's eyes.

The audition continued. Gong Li wanted to have a scene with the male protagonist of the movie. The foreigner who finished taking photos handed her two pages of paper. Fortunately, there were snippets of the script in both Chinese and English.

The male lead, Zun Long, had just flown to Yanjing the night before yesterday, and was dragged into the audition by Bertolucci today.

Zunlong was actually born in Shanghai, China, with a mixed-race face but no father or mother. After being adopted by his adoptive mother, he was sent to Xiangjiang to study Peking Opera when he was ten years old. When he was eighteen years old, he went to the United States to study alone and was admitted to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Like most Chinese who studied in the United States at that time, he washed dishes, worked as a chef, and a store clerk. He worked during the day and studied at night.

Many people in later generations know about the dragon because of the handsome black boss in "Year of the Dragon" or the lonely Pu Yi in "The Last Emperor".

But in fact, Zunlong's debut can be traced back to 1980 when he was cast by Iwamatsu in the stage play "F.O.B.". The following year, he directed and acted in the stage play "Railway and Dance". Two works of "Railway and Dance" won the Best Performance Award at the 25th Obie Awards.

The talent shown in stage plays quickly brought Zunlong to great attention. He starred in the science fiction film "The Iceman" in 1984, and in "Year of the Dragon" in 1985 as the arrogant and handsome gangster Joe. Yi Tai was nominated for the 43rd American Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor with this film, and Zunlong became famous with this drama.

Zunlong cherished the opportunity to star in "The Last Emperor". He has been on Broadway and Hollywood for ten years. He knows very well how precious this opportunity is for Chinese actors.

Before flying back to China, he had already memorized the content of the script. Today's audition was for him to act with the actresses, and it was not difficult at all.

But……

Because the film requires all dialogue in English, the English of these actresses is really difficult to speak, and they can hardly even have normal conversations, let alone perform.

The only two people who I think have a good feeling about playing each other are Liu Xiaoqing and Chen Chong.

Chen Chong had no problem at all performing in English because he had studied abroad in the United States for several years.

As for Liu Xiaoqing, because of Lin Weimin's advance disclosure, she worked hard on English for several months. During the audition, she spoke her lines fluently, but her accent was rather heavy.

Now it was his turn to play with Gong Li, and Zunlong was numb again.

This girl is quite pretty and speaks normal Chinese. Why does she still have a Ludong accent when she speaks English?

Not to mention Zun Long's inner feelings, Gong Li was the last actress to audition today and exited the room after the performance.

Director Bertolucci, producer Thomas and screenwriter Lin Weimin started a discussion.

For most of the day, nearly twenty actresses were interviewed one after another. It should be said that they can be recommended to the crew of "The Last Emperor" for interviews. The appearance conditions of these actresses are all acceptable.

Some people are a few years older than the original Wanrong in the script, but this does not matter. In the eyes of Westerners, Easterners generally have baby faces. Bertolucci did not take this factor into the audition results.

The three discussed for a while and basically reached an agreement. The choice of the heroine was locked on Liu Xiaoqing, Chen Chong and Gong Li.

During the audition, Chen Chong was the best performer. She had the experience of studying in the United States. She had no problem with her lines and her performance was also very accurate.

Then there is Liu Xiaoqing, who has fluent lines but a bit of a heavy accent. She is very well-known in China. In her words, she will definitely not be able to use original lines and will need post-dubbing, but it is not a big problem.

Finally, there is Gong Li. When mentioning Gong Li, Bertolucci's expression is hard to describe.

When he watched "Red Sorghum" a few days ago, he was amazed by Gong Li's performance. He was originally looking forward to Gong Li's performance, but the girl's awkward English line skills completely disappointed Bertolucci.

"I think Chen Chong is more suitable for the role of Wanrong. Her line skills are also very good and will not delay the filming progress. Moreover, she has a background of studying in the United States and is now a drama actor on Broadway in the United States." Producer Thomas said.

Bertolucci also has some leanings towards Chen Chong. Compared with Liu Xiaoqing and Gong Li, Chen Chong's advantages are too obvious.

"Lin, which actress do you prefer?" Bertolucci asked.

Lin Weimin pondered, thinking about what Teng Jinxian told him before coming.

Lao Teng had no selfish motives when it came to selecting actresses for "The Last Emperor". He only had one idea, that is, he hoped to use "The Last Emperor" to cultivate an actress with international influence for China.

There is no doubt that according to the current situation, Gong Li has the greatest hope with "Red Sorghum", a movie that can gain popularity around the world.

If she can have the bonus of "The Last Emperor", she might become China's first actress with world-class influence.

Of course, this premise is that "The Last Emperor" can be successful in the end, otherwise everything is empty talk.

"Director Bertolucci, Mr. Thomas, my personal suggestion is Gong Li."

Bertolucci frowned and asked, "Why?"

"Because of "Red Sorghum," Gong Li now has a certain international reputation. As far as I know, the movie "Red Sorghum" will participate in several film festivals this year.

If we can choose Gong Li as the heroine of the movie, then by taking advantage of the promotion opportunity of "Red Sorghum" participating in the film festival, the name of the movie "The Last Emperor" will also get a certain amount of publicity. "

After Lin Weimin said this, producer Thomas's eyes lit up.

"Lin, you are so right! This is indeed a bonus for our movie." Thomas said excitedly.

Lin Weimin looked at Bertolucci, who had a troubled look on his face, "Mr. Director, what's your opinion?"

Bertolucci looked hesitant, and after circling the photos of the three of them, he picked out a photo.

"Just her!"