Audition

There was no agent who didn’t want the artists they managed to star in Chen Li’s movies. However, it was not appropriate to say that Qin Feng helped Lu Yan take on this movie, because he only received an audition opportunity. In the end, it was Lu Yan’s own ability that could allow him to take on this movie smoothly.

Qin Feng had many connections and a wide network of influence. When he heard that Chen Li was looking for a male lead for his next movie and needed a younger actor with a better temperament and, most importantly, good acting skills, Qin Feng didn’t even care about the subject of the movie this time. He conveyed his intention to give it a try to Chen Li through his connections.

As such a heavyweight director, Chen Li would naturally not be influenced by others when selecting actors. First of all, he had to be responsible for his own movie, and secondly, he had to be responsible for the investors. If the movie failed due to personal relationships or other personal reasons, he would absolutely not forgive it.

Many years ago, a wealthy investor asked Chen Li to give a supporting actress a role that he had chosen. However, the actress only had good looks but no acting skills. Although the role was a supporting one, it required quite high acting skills. At that time, Chen Li was far from being as famous as he was now. He was still a young director who was struggling to find investment. However, he did not compromise and would rather look for investment again than accept such an arrangement. In the end, it was the investors who compromised.

Chen Li was well-known in the industry for his tough temper, just like the good reputation of his movies, no one dared to touch his tiger’s whiskers. However, with Qin Feng’s influence in the industry, it was not a problem for him to get an audition spot.

As far as Qin Feng knew, there were only three people who auditioned this time, including Lu Yan. It was obvious that even the opportunity to audition was not so easy to get.

Qin Feng also found out about the other two people, one was Chu Yushan and the other was Jiang Mengyan. Both of them were also very young, less than 30 years old.

Chu Yushan was a child star. He became famous when he was young because he starred in a war movie with children as the main characters. He was so popular that one in ten little boys born in the country that year were named after his character in the movie or its homonym. He also became the youngest actor in the history of the Baicao Awards. He then starred in several movies, but they were all of the same genre, without much breakthrough. He then left the entertainment industry due to his studies, and when he returned to college, the industry was no longer the same as it was back then.

Chu Yushan was a cute boy when he was young, but fortunately he did not change after growing up, and became more sunny and handsome. It was also because of this appearance advantage that he did not become ordinary people like other child stars after growing up. Because of his foundation as a child, he had taken on a few decent movies and TV shows. He started out as a supporting actor, and in the past two years he had started playing leading roles. Although he had not been able to reach the most glorious heights of his childhood, he had been slowly moving uphill.

Jiang Mengyan was a male actor who had been gaining popularity in recent years. When he debuted, he was about the same age as Lu Yan a few years ago. He was unknown at the beginning and played roles like male second and the best was male third or fourth. It was not until he married Ma Sha, a popular actress at the time, that his luck started to turn around. Because of his wife’s relationship, he got a low-budget movie and became the leading actor. Unexpectedly, the movie became a hit, and his popularity soared. His subsequent movies and TV series were also very successful. Jiang Mengyan became one of the first and second-tier domestic stars. But to this day, some people still say that he relied on his wife, which made him very uncomfortable.

As the saying goes, knowing yourself and your enemy will ensure victory in a hundred battles. Qin Feng felt relieved after knowing Lu Yan’s opponents. Although the other two were also very good actors, Qin Feng believed that Lu Yan was more capable.

The audition was not held in any random office, but in a proper studio, complete with photography lighting, makeup, and styling, just like a real shoot, which showed how much Director Chen Li valued ​​it.

Lu Yan was the first to arrive, followed by Chu Yushan, and Jiang Mengyan was the last to arrive, but there was less than ten minutes between them. Even the most arrogant actors would not be able to show off in front of Chen Li. After everyone arrived, Chen Li asked them to change their clothes and makeup first without saying anything. At the same time, he asked them to discuss the order of the audition themselves, since there were only three of them.

Chu Yushan and Jiang Mengyan were both a little hesitant. Although there were only three people participating in the audition, the order was still very important. Chen Li obviously did not plan to have a closed audition, and the other two could watch from the side. In this way, whoever goes first will suffer a little, and those who come later can learn from the performance of the previous person and avoid shortcomings. Of course, those who come later are not without risks. If the previous performer performs too well, it will put pressure on those who come later.

Seeing that the two were silent, Lu Yan smiled and said, “How about I be the first one? I happened to be the first one to arrive.”

Jiang Mengyan immediately agreed and said, “Then let’s go in the order we came. I’ll be the last one.”

Chu Yushan had no objection, so it was decided.

After deciding, they started to put on makeup. Chen Li prepared very carefully, whether it was clothing or makeup, they were all in triplicate, so no one had to wait and could do it at the same time.

While putting on makeup, Lu Yan was once again praised by the makeup artist for his good skin, regular facial features, and sharp edges. It was particularly easy to put on makeup, and there were fewer areas that needed retouching.

After that, he put on a headgear and changed his clothes. Thinking about it, this was the first time he had taken on a costume drama since his debut, if he could get the role smoothly. It was also the first time he wore ancient costumes. In his previous life, Lu Yan also played supporting roles in costume drama crews, but the treatment of supporting roles and protagonists is very different. The costumes he wore at that time were all dirty and old, and the quality was very poor. Wearing them was like wearing a layer of curtain cloth, and it was the low-quality kind. Of course, it was not visible under the camera light.

The suit he was wearing now was different. It was finely tailored, high quality, looked good, felt comfortable, and was brand new. Of course, this was not because Lu Yan had special privileges. The other two suits were also brand new. It was said that because there were war scenes, the director was afraid that the clothes would be easily damaged, so he simply made three suits at once, but two of them were green and one was purple.

When Wang Xuance was sent on a diplomatic mission, he was a seventh-rank official, and according to the Tang Dynasty system, his official uniform was green. Later, after he returned home after doing meritorious service, he was promoted to the fifth-rank official, and could wear black. The movie starts from the diplomatic mission and ends with his return to the court to receive rewards, so two colors of clothing were prepared.

Chen Li had made many historical films. He always paid attention to details and consulted historians every time he made a film. For example, the suit Lu Yan was wearing was black, which was the suit Wang Xuance wore after he returned to the court to receive the award. It had small round flowers and was decorated with gold. The other two suits were green with silver. There were two types of headwear: hats and headscarves, both were black. For formal occasions, you wear a crown, while for informal occasions, you could just wear a headscarf. At this moment, the stylist put a hat on Lu Yan, with his wig tucked inside, and his neatly groomed sideburns looked very fresh.

The makeup and styling took about an hour, and the director was very patient and didn’t rush them.

The three people came out of the dressing room almost at the same time. Except for the color, the clothing styles of the three people were the same. This comparison made the difference obvious.

If you take them out separately, you couldn’t say there was anything wrong with Chu Yushan and Jiang Mengyan, but people, like things, are most afraid of comparison.

Lu Yan was the tallest of the three. Chu Yushan was no worse than him in appearance, but Lu Yan had deeper features and a better temperament, which made him look more imposing and stand out from the crowd. In addition, his black clothes were more eye-catching than the green of the other two.

Almost everyone’s first glance fell on Lu Yan. They were stunned for a while before noticing the other two people.

Lu Yan looked calm and composed, neither too humble nor too arrogant. Chu Yushan and Jiang Mengyan looked unhappy, Chu Yushan looked sad and Jiang Mengyan looked angry.

Chen Li watched for a while. As a director, he had to consider everything comprehensively. Although Lu Yan’s appearance already gave him extra points, Chen Li did not have much preference. However, when he noticed the different expressions of the three people, he had a better impression of Lu Yan. He was not surprised by the flattery. Whether he was acting or not, he did a good job. However, the final decision still depended on their performance.

Chen Li asked, “Have you decided who will go first?”

Chu Yushan and Jiang Mengyan looked at each other without saying anything. Lu Yan stepped forward and smiled slightly, “I’ll go first.”

The audition scene was exactly the one where Wang Xuance persuaded the king of Nepal to lend him troops.

This movie had two highlights. One was of course the glorious war scene of “one man destroying a country”; the other was this literary drama.

Wang Xuance was a foreign envoy, and not native to Nepal. He had escaped from another country’s prison before, so he probably didn’t have the Guandu Certificate. He persuaded the King of Nepal with his words, which must have been as difficult as Zhuge Liang’s debate with scholars. But he did it!

Chen Li’s intention to choose this scene as an audition was also very obvious. This part was the most challenging for the actor’s acting skills and expressiveness. If this part could be handled well, then controlling the entire movie would definitely not be a problem. If not, there was no need to continue.

There were naturally a lot of lines in this section, but memorizing lines had never been a problem for Lu Yan.

Just like the official shooting, the camera was ready and after the director said start, Lu Yan got into character.

Although this was a one-man performance without an opponent, Lu Yan had a good grasp of the rhythm. When talking about the acts of rebellion, there was anger and condemnation, then talking about the pride and self-confidence of the great Celestial Empire, talking about the affinity of the marriage between Princess Wencheng and Songtsen Gampo, and finally entering the theme of borrowing troops, which was both to use force to suppress others and to induce goodwill. His tone was neither hurried nor slow, his voice was rhythmic and his body language was just right. Everyone present nodded frequently, thinking that if they were the King of Nepal, they would also agree.

After the performance, even Chen Li, who was always very demanding, smiled and praised it.

Lu Yan smiled, stepped aside, and made a “please” gesture to Chu Yushan.

Chu Yushan had already started to back out in his heart. Lu Yan’s momentum was too strong, and the pressure to perform after him was too great. He already regretted letting Lu Yan audition first, and Jiang Mengyan had the same idea.

But since he was already here, he had no choice but to go for it. Affected by Lu Yan’s strength, Chu Yushan’s prepared performance was not fully realized, and he even forgot the words several times. At the end, he was so frustrated that he couldn’t speak.

Jiang Mengyan’s situation was not much better than his. With Chu Yushan’s performance as a buffer, he did not forget his lines, but he did not speak them very smoothly, not to mention his body language. Jiang Mengyan knew that he was too stiff without looking at the camera.

The result was a sure thing, and Lu Yan’s superb performance also made the others feel satisfied. Chen Li decided on the spot that Lu Yan would play the leading role, and asked the assistant director to arrange a time with the agent to sign the contract.

After announcing the result, Chu Yushan came over and shook hands with Lu Yan, smiling a little forcedly but sincerely, “You are great, I am convinced!”

Lu Yan said thank you.

As for Jiang Mengyan, he just left without even saying hello. It was his agent who apologized to the director.

After leaving the studio, Qin Feng sighed and said excitedly, “I knew you could do it! You acted so well just now.”

Lu Yan smiled and said, “I think it’s not bad either.”

“Oh, you just acted in Wang Yi’s play, and now it’s Chen Li’s. The two best directors in the country, wow, I’m starting to envy you.” Qin Feng said jokingly.

“I also think I’m quite lucky.” Lu Yan said with a smile.

Qin Feng grabbed his shoulders and whispered, “I’m very optimistic that you will win another international award for this drama.”

Lu Yan glanced at him and said in a low voice, “When it comes to winning awards, you still have to go with the flow. But I feel great to be able to work with Director Chen. I think I can learn a lot this time.”

The two of them arrived at the parking lot together. They had come separately before, so Qin Feng was shocked when he saw the car that Lu Yan drove. “Damn, Aston Martin! Where did you get such a cool sports car?”

Lu Yan was well aware of his financial situation and he was not yet able to afford such a good car.

Lu Yan smiled and said, “I borrowed it and will return it tonight.”

“Hehe, how come I didn’t know you made such a rich friend?” Qin Feng teased.

“It’s a secret.” Lu Yan replied with a smile.

Qin Feng asked casually and changed the subject, “Why didn’t Song Hui follow us today?”

“I have something to do in the evening, so I might as well give him a day off. He must be tired following me every day.” Lu Yan said.

Qin Feng smiled and said, “You are a really considerate boss.”

“It’s my duty.” Lu Yan said bluntly.

After Lu Yan got in the car, Qin Feng seemed to have thought of something and said, “By the way, Lu Yan, I estimate that when this drama is finished, your contract with Starry Sky will expire. What are your plans?”

Lu Yan was stunned for a moment. He had never really thought about this matter. It passed so quickly. Three years had passed.

He shook his head. “I haven’t thought about it yet.”

Qin Feng frowned, “Then you have time to think about it carefully. You must decide this matter as soon as possible. It concerns your future.”

Lu Yan nodded and said carefully, “I will.”