Entertainment Unlimited

In the early morning, wisps of morning glow reflect the thin clouds.

The sun shines through the frost-covered branches and falls into the Qi family courtyard, sweeping away the haze that has lasted for several days.

Winter always feels gray, and the climate in the north is cold and dry. Zuo Siyan changed his costume, dressed neatly, and hurriedly picked up the moisturizing liquid on the table and sprayed it on his face.

"Move faster and be more agile!"

The assistant director came to the dressing room again to encourage the scene.

Here is the TV drama crew where she has been stationed for more than a month. It is called "Qi Family Courtyard". It is a biographical drama based on the local Shanxi merchant culture.

The story is that in ancient times, there was a family named Qi in Zhaocheng, Jinzhong, who had been doing business for generations. The eldest son, Qi Zhiguang, died of a serious illness due to a tragic business failure. In an instant, the family was in danger of internal and external troubles.

The second young master Qi Zhiyong (the male protagonist) originally wanted to obtain fame, but he had no choice but to give up his literary career and go into business. He cut off his ties with his childhood sweetheart (the second female lead) and married the daughter of a rich man (the female lead). After taking over the family business, he appointed virtuous people.

Drastic adjustments and reforms were carried out, and since then, a generation of legendary Shanxi merchants has begun his turbulent journey that has gone through many dangers...

Although the main line of the story is business war, the emotional drama throughout is also very brilliant as a sub-line, adding a lot of color to this type of serious subject matter.

The role Zuo Siyan originally auditioned for was the second female lead. In order to win this precious audition opportunity, she worked hard before and after, exchanging words of encouragement with her agent every day.

It was easy to get through the casting director, but whoever wanted to get the "pass" submitted the information, but in the end it was stuck with the chief director.

The reasons for being removed were that, firstly, her appearance was not pure and did not match the first love setting of the second girl's childhood sweetheart; secondly, the male protagonist completely fell in love with the female protagonist after the original relationship was broken, and the second female protagonist began to pursue a dark career.

Against the male protagonist, her temperament cannot support her decision-making...

After hearing the painful news of losing the election, Zuo Siyan's mouth was filled with smoke, and she kicked the car tire several times to vent her anger. If she hadn't suddenly realized that these high heels were genuine ones she had bought with grit, she would have had to kick the heels off.

Only then can you relieve your anger!

Fortunately among the misfortunes, before filming started, her agent told her that she could play the role of the second female lead's personal maid. Although she was in a humble position, she loved her sisters. She was included in several key scenes, and she even had roles opposite the male and female protagonists, which added to her weight.

It is not an exaggeration to say that she is the third female.

She also has self-esteem, but not much.

After all, it is the new work of the great director Wang Chao, currently the hottest celebrity in the TV industry, with a top production team... For a low-level actor like Zuo Siyan, being able to participate in it is a great opportunity, and it can directly help her continue to work.

A few levels up.

So after just a moment of hesitation, she was ready to join the group.

"Qi Family Courtyard" is a long-form TV series with a total of forty-five episodes. The crew is divided into two groups: AB.

One month after the filming started, the heroine was withdrawn, and Group A was suspended to be determined; Group B was assigned to the on-site assistant director to perform the work and direct the shooting of some minor scenes.

At ten o'clock in the morning, the extras were almost in place, and the stage coordinator responsible for supervising the makeup and props was calling people with a notebook.

Today's several sets of shots are very simple. They are ordinary crowd movement scenes. The machines and equipment are all in place. The assistant director waved his hand and raised his voice to remind: "Attention, everyone, take a look at the camera positions. One by one!"

I heard that the director will bring people back for auditions later, and the producers and investors will also come with him. With such a battle, I don’t know who the heavyweights are.

Zuo Siyan was guessing in his mind, and saw that the two assistant directors on the scene spoke much faster than usual.

Thinking of the model who had just been removed not long ago, she suddenly smiled silently, her eyes full of disdain; what other phoenix could fly from the branch would most likely be just another lively quail surrounding the boss.

At this time, the first scene of the morning began.

""Qi Family Courtyard", scene 89, preparation, start!"

…

The Qi Family Courtyard is in the shape of a double "xi" and is divided into six large courtyards with 20 small courtyards inside, with a construction area of ​​nearly 5,000 square meters. It is a traditional northern building complex with a unique style.

It faces the street on three sides and is not connected to the surrounding residential buildings. It is surrounded by a closed brick wall. The gate faces west and faces east. There is a piece of bluestone embedded in the middle of the top with the inscription "Ancient Style".

Entering the gate is a straight stone paved corridor, 80 meters long, which divides the six courtyards into two rows, north and south. There are three large bays in the north, making it easy for vehicles to enter and exit.

Jiang Ye followed Tang Shuo's car all the way from the ancient city to the Qi Family Courtyard. The whole journey took less than forty minutes.

Ye Jinwen was sitting in the passenger seat, chatting and discussing with Jiang Ye while adding biographies.

From the collective auditions in the studio era to the multi-check and balance casting method gradually formed after the rise of independent production, although the domestic business system is not as mature as Hollywood, the cultural environment here is relatively relaxed.

In the profession of acting, auditioning is a routine job, and what happens each time, as well as success or failure, are unpredictable.

In his previous life, a king-level star like Jacky Brother had to eat twenty plates of spaghetti until he vomited when auditioning for a Wong Kar-Wai movie. Before he was selected... Before Huang Bo became famous, it was common for Huang Bo to be criticized in public for his appearance and for missing out on roles.

Seeing that Ye Jinwen was not sleeping well, Jiang Ye encouraged her to calm down and not be nervous.

"It's okay, just cover up some dark circles with powder later." Ye Jinwen stared at the memo on her phone and replied, "Whether it's possible or not, I just want to not embarrass you!"

She didn't get the script, so she wrote a few thousand words of character biographies based on her own understanding last night with just a few summaries from Wang Chao and Ah Cheng.

The heroine in the play is the daughter of a wealthy Shanxi merchant. She is pampered but not arrogant. After she got married, she found out that her husband had an ex with whom she had lingering feelings. She was disheartened, but in the end she used her true love to her sex.

His gentleness and virtuousness moved his lover.

Soon, the two cars arrived at the Qi family compound at eleven o'clock.

Jiang Ye clenched his fist: "Come on!"

Ye Jinwen nodded solemnly.

As soon as we got off the car, the assistant director was waiting at the door, and several people came around. Following Wang Chao's instructions, he took Ye Jinwen to change her clothes first.

"We who are not the crew will not watch." Ah Cheng said half-jokingly, "I and Jiang Ye will just take a walk and wait for you to finish your work and have lunch."

"Look at this exquisiteness." Tang Shuo rolled his eyes at him. There were more than 300 rooms in the Qi family compound. After saying that, he and Wang Chao left together.

…

An hour later, the shooting mission of Group B in the southern courtyard ended.

Although the requirements for TV dramas in general are not as high as those for movies, the details from the shots to the actors’ lines will not be too detailed.

But the on-site assistant director knew very well how stupid their director Wang was. Especially recently, the choice of the heroine was still undecided. The entire crew was extremely tense as if their temples were being pulled, and they did not dare to neglect easily.

On the Huating side, Zuo Siyan also got into trouble.

She was looking for the right opportunity and wanted to have a relationship with the assistant casting director again; however, the industry was full of smart people, and she was walking on thin ice, often feeling that she was not strong enough in both parties.

Slowly moving with the large army, suddenly, there were more and more bustling sounds in front of them, and she hurriedly got closer.

"The heroine has been decided. I just read out one line during the audition, and Director Wang made the decision on the spot!"

"She looks very smart. She acted freely without reading the script. The producers were so satisfied that they applauded! I saw all the potential of Group A."

"It's said that I've had a lot of supporting roles. What's my name? Ye...Hey, which school are you from? I just graduated this year anyway."

"It's said to be recommended by an acquaintance. I think I followed you here. Walk around quickly! Maybe you're still in the academy."

"..."

The more she listened, the more evil she became. Zuo Siyan had an uneasy premonition, which gradually became stronger and expanded like a balloon, as if it was about to burst in her chest...

There was an inexplicable layer of cold sweat on her palms. She grabbed the corners of her clothes and stared unblinkingly in the direction of the assistant director, constantly surpassing the people around her.

From east to west, there are three five-linked courtyards, with brackets and eaves, and there are passing halls connecting the inside and outside.

To enter the main courtyard gate and reach the main room above, you need to climb three steps in a row, which symbolizes the auspicious meaning of "promoting to three levels in a row" and "smoothly rising to the top".

She stopped for an instant——

Ye Jinwen had not yet changed out of the costume of the heroine, and the chief director and Boss Tang were chatting and laughing. It was a relaxed atmosphere that she had never seen before.

People admiring the wood carvings in the distance suddenly turned their heads and looked as if they were desperate for their lives.

Yes, Jiang Ye?!

It was like a bolt from the blue, but even if he was struck by lightning eight times, Zuo Siyan would never have expected...

Could it be him!?