Middle age: leisurely life in the entertainment industry

"Yeah" Meili nodded.

"Meiliang, do you think it's appropriate for a man in his early thirties, who is almost middle-aged, to play a boy who is only seventeen or eighteen years old? Just the wrinkles on his face feel inappropriate."

"But now many of the male and female protagonists who act in campus movies are older. Some are even over forty. Brother-in-law, I think you can play Xiaobei if you put on makeup."

Meiliang looked at Yu Dongqing and said with a smile.

"Don't talk nonsense!" Yu Dongqing's face turned serious: "I suggest you choose a suitable actor again. At least he should be young and not too old. Also, Zhang Han's salary is probably not low, right?"

"It's not low. Li Wan and his agent are talking."

"I suggest you give up and look for young actors. It doesn't have to be a major. You don't have to be too famous. This can save a lot of money."

"But the young man's acting skills are not good."

"That's not necessarily the case. Experts are among the people. In this case, I suggest you choose a role online. You might be able to find someone suitable for you."

"Okay, let me try."

Meimei did what she said, and posted information on a well-known domestic actor recruitment website the next day, briefly introducing the content of the film "Young You" to be filmed, as well as the conditions and requirements for the male and female protagonists and main supporting roles, etc.

The last sentence: "Remuneration is negotiable."

Hengdian.

The weather in December is very cold, especially today, the cold wind is whistling, and there is nothing like the gentleness of the Jiangnan water town.

Lu Xiaoxi was wrapped in an old army green coat in a cold rental house, looking at the gloomy sky outside the window with some disappointment.

At noon today, I received a notice from the group leader in the WeChat group, saying that there is a night scene tonight, which will be filmed in a place called Water Street. It is a scene on the street. Anyone who is willing to come sign up.

In his heart, Lu Xiaoxi refused because he hated staying up late.

But he still signed up.

I am just a walk-on, what reason do I have to refuse? All for the sake of making ends meet.

Lu Xiaoxi has loved watching movies since he was a child and fantasized about becoming a famous actor. After graduating from high school, he failed to pass the art school entrance examination, so he came to Hengdian without hesitation and became one of thousands of Hengdian people.

Been there for four full years.

During these four years, while working as an extra in an extra group, he bought some books on acting during his breaks, watched videos and movies online, pondered the performances of actors in classic scenes, and fantasized about one day being cast by a certain director. Stand out from the crowd.

However, the reality is cruel.

There are hundreds of thousands of extras in Hengdian, how many can really become popular?

Most obscure films don't even have a single line of dialogue.

What's even more frightening is the unspoken rules, and there are endless cases of group performers being bullied.

While filming an anti-war drama last year, Lu Xiaoxi witnessed a beautiful girl being bullied by a group of people and running out of the room.

Not a director, not a famous actor, just a group leader!

This girl Lu Xiaoxi has never been seen again.

Some people say she has returned to her hometown.

Some people also said that she committed suicide unwilling to be humiliated.

But despite this, countless drifters who are eager to succeed are still persisting here, such as Lu Xiaoxi.

Today's filming was about walking on the street. The filming started at two o'clock in the middle of the night. The winter night was very cold. But for the scene effect, Lu Xiaoxi wore very ancient coarse cloth clothes and dressed up as an ordinary person. According to the director's arrangement, he was on this street. walk around.

From time to time I had to change clothes and play different roles. It was so cold that when I wasn't playing, I would stand on the side with my hands on my hands and my feet stamped to keep warm.

This scene lasted until about 3:00 in the morning, when I finished work. It was almost 4:00 when I got home, and I took a shower before going to bed.

But today, Lu Xiaoxi was lying on the cold bed listening to her roommate's snoring, but she couldn't fall asleep.

He was really bored, so he took out his mobile phone and hid it under the quilt and looked around. He usually made a habit of checking the actor recruitment website to see if there were any actors recruiting.

In fact, there was a lot of information, but none of it was suitable for Lu Xiaoxi. The only requirement was that he had to graduate from a formal art academy, so Lu Xiaoxi was rejected.

But today, he saw the news that a new movie had chosen a leading actor, which made him a little excited.

The content of the film is quite interesting. It is a story about school bullying. The male protagonist’s name is Liu Beishan and his nickname is Xiaobei.

What excites him the most is that “there are age and other restrictions on recruitment conditions, but there is no restriction on graduation from a formal college.”

Would you like to sign up and give it a try?

As for the director's name, he had never heard of it and he was probably a little-known director.

But he doesn't care.

It’s great if there’s a movie to film, but who cares about the director?

The next day he made an exception and did not sleep in. He got up early, found an open place, adjusted the selfie stick on his mobile phone, and prepared to take a selfie.

Because the recruitment announcement requires that a video of a performance according to a provided scene be sent to the designated email address.

He lay on the cold ground.

Because in this scene, Liu Xiaobei was lying on the bed chatting with Chen Nian after he was injured.

There was no bed here, so he could only lie on the floor.

It was cold on the ground, but he was used to it.

After brewing his feelings for a while, he spoke slowly according to the lines in the passage.

As he spoke, two lines of tears slowly flowed out.

At this moment, he really felt that he was Xiaobei.

It was three days after Yu Dongqing saw the video recorded by Lu Xiaoxi.

There was heavy snow outside early this morning. After Yu Dongqing sent her daughter to school, she returned home and sat in the warm study to write a song for Zhang Bao to participate in the annual finals of "Starlight Singing".

The phone rang. It was a call from Meimei. The first thing he said after getting through was: "Brother-in-law, a pretty young man posted a selfie video. I think it's pretty good. Do you want to take a look?"

"good."

Soon, a video appeared on WeChat, along with a basic resume of the group performer.

Yu Dongqing took a look.

A walk-on character who is ordinary but different from ordinary has no formal acting training, which is unknown in Hengdian.

Yu Dongqing didn't think much and clicked on the video.

Soon one of the most classic scenes in "Young You" appeared in front of him.

But instead of sleeping in the bed with the heroine Chen Ran, she slept in a cold open space. The actor was not the already popular Yi Yang Qianxi in that time and space, but an unknown supporting actor named Lu Xiaoxi.

but.

The acting is very realistic, with that stubborn face, the way he dismantles the armor in his heart and confides in the girl he likes.

Yu Dongqing can feel his sadness just by following the screen.

Well done!

Yu Dongqing secretly praised it.

I don’t know if it’s a true performance or a character actor?

If it's the latter, then the future is really promising.

However, Yu Dongqing didn't want to do so much. He had to star in the film first.

Of course, he had to be cautious, as a video alone could not completely represent anything, so he called Meimei and said that it would be acceptable to others initially, but it would be best to meet him in person via video link.

"Okay, I'll contact him right away and make an appointment for us to test him together!" Meiliang agreed.

"Enter the re-examination? Require video connection? Four o'clock this afternoon?"

Lu Xiaoxi felt very happy when she received the text message from Meili.

But why is it four o'clock in the afternoon?

I still have a scene to play.

Thanks to Fat Zibing, Book Friends 20190906235540329, Gaga Guangzhou, Book Friends 2022040115545890, 80-per-hour snail, white sea breeze, Ge Kuifeng’s monthly pass