Literary Master 1978.

Chapter 182 Ready-made Xu Lingjun
The young man has a standard square face with angular facial contours, sharp eyebrows, bright eyes, and a nose like a hanging gall bladder. He looks handsome and cool.

When the two entered the room, Xie Jin was still chattering and blaming Lin Chaoyang. He was so focused that he didn't even notice there were two more people in the room.

At this time, Lin Chaoyang, who had been silent, suddenly said, "This will do!"

As soon as these words came out, Xie Jin's voice stopped abruptly. He first looked at Lin Chaoyang in surprise, then followed Lin Chaoyang's gaze and happened to see an extremely handsome face.

Xie Jin was surprised and was about to ask Lin Chaoyang, but he saw that the young man was looking at him. He was the one who invited the person, and it would not be appropriate to leave him there after entering the house, so he could only stand up and shake hands with the young man.

"Xiao Zhu, thank you for your hard work along the way."

The young man was humble and polite, "It's not hard, hello, Director Xie."

He greeted Xie Jin and looked at Lin Chaoyang again. Xie Jin immediately introduced them: "Let me introduce you. This is Comrade Lin Chaoyang, the original author and screenwriter of The Shepherd, and this is Comrade Zhu Shimao, a young actor from the Fuzhou Military Region Repertory Theatre."

Zhu Shimao enthusiastically shook Lin Chaoyang's hand, "Hello, Writer Lin, hello, I am Zhu Shimao."

"Hello, Old... Zhu!"

He almost blurted out "Lao Mao", but fortunately Lin Chaoyang changed his words temporarily. Hearing his name, Zhu Shimao was slightly stunned, then smiled, "This name is intimate."

"Just call me Chaoyang, don't be so polite." Lin Chaoyang also said.

Zhu Shimao nodded, "Okay."

Xie Jin only had time to ask Lin Chaoyang now, "What did you mean by that just now?"

Lin Chaoyang pointed at Zhu Shimao and said, "Isn't this the ready-made Xu Lingjun?"

After confirming Lin Chaoyang's meaning, Xie Jin's face was full of surprise. He looked at Lin Chaoyang and then at Zhu Shimao.

Zhu Yongde and Bao Zhifang in the room did not notice Lin Chaoyang's words "This is enough" just now. When Lin Chaoyang spoke again this time, they finally realized something, and they also looked at Zhu Shimao with surprise.

Zhu Shimao looked confused and had no idea what Lin Chaoyang was talking about.

He joined the army in 1970 and became an actor in the Fuzhou Military Region Repertory Theatre with his outstanding appearance. In 75, he was selected by director Shui Hua of the Yanjing Film Studio to star in the movie "Children of the Paracel Islands".

Unfortunately, the film was aborted, but it also started his film career.

In 1977, Xie Jin was preparing to shoot the movie "Ah! Cradle" and invited him to audition. As a result, he was seconded by the August st Film Studio to shoot the movie "War Song" written by Huang Zongjiang.

This time, when Xie Jin was going to film "The Shepherd", he thought of Zhu Shimao again and notified him to come to Yanjing for an audition.

Zhu Shimao was naturally ecstatic when he received Xie Jin's offer. He had missed the opportunity to work with Xie Jin because he was busy filming, which he always regretted.

Zhu Shimao is 26 years old this year. He has acted in several movies and played the leading role, but he is still not famous.

He knew very well that in this industry, working with a famous director was almost equivalent to becoming famous in one play, so how could he not cherish this opportunity?

Heading north, he had just arrived at the hotel and put down his luggage when he was called by assistant director Bao Zhifang to meet the director, and also met Lin Chaoyang, the original author and screenwriter.

He was a little nervous at first, but looking at the scene in front of him, he no longer cared about his nervousness.

After the initial confusion, Zhu Shimao realized the hidden message in Lin Chaoyang's words.

Isn’t this the ready-made Xu Lingjun!
Zhu Shimao had read the novel "The Shepherd", so he naturally knew that Xu Lingjun was the protagonist of the novel, and he was invited to audition for the movie "The Shepherd".

Right!
There was a glimmer of eagerness in Zhu Shimao's eyes as he looked at Lin Chaoyang. This was the recognition from the original author and screenwriter!

Regardless of Zhu Shimao's presence, after getting over his initial surprise, Xie Jin pulled Lin Chaoyang over and asked, "The actors have just arrived, and the play has not been tried out yet."

"Then you try. Didn't you call the person here? What's wrong? You still don't think it's a good idea?"

Lin Chaoyang's question left Xie Jin speechless. It was not that he was not optimistic about Zhu Shimao. On the contrary, he was quite optimistic about him. Otherwise, he would not have asked him to come to Yanjing from afar.

He was mainly not used to the style of Lin Chaoyang's acting. He saw a bunch of handsome guys during the day, but he said they were not suitable without even considering them.

As a result, when it came to Zhu Shimao, he entered the room and before anyone could say anything, he identified him as the male lead with just one look.

"Are you kidding me?"

Xie Jin's complaint was not only that he disliked Lin Chaoyang's decision as being frivolous, but also that he was annoyed that his authority as a director was being disregarded.

"Art is all about feeling." Lin Chaoyang perfunctorily said to him, and then said: "If you disagree, then just ignore what I said."

He pushed Xie Jin into a cart, making Xie Jin feel sick as if he had swallowed a fly.

"Did you do this on purpose?" Xie Jin asked.

"What do you mean by intentional or not? I just think he is like the Xu Lingjun I wrote about." Lin Chaoyang said innocently.

Xie Jin stared at Lin Chaoyang for a few seconds. Not wanting to be angry with Lin Chaoyang anymore, he turned around and looked at Zhu Shimao.

He had to admit that what Lin Chaoyang said made some sense.

Before asking Zhu Shimao to come, Xie Jin just wanted to give it a try. After all, his impression of Zhu Shimao was still stuck in a few years ago.

When I see him again now, compared to those students I saw today, Zhu Shimao looks more mature and handsome, and his temperament is gentler. He really fits the image of Xu Lingjun in the novel.

Although Lin Chaoyang's cold shot caught him off guard, it did not seem to be completely unreasonable.

Thinking this in his mind, Xie Jin stopped arguing with Lin Chaoyang and instead pulled Zhu Shimao aside to chat.

The topic naturally started with the last time they almost collaborated, then talked about Zhu Shimao's development in recent years, and finally talked about "The Shepherd".

"You just arrived today, so take a good rest tonight and we'll have a tryout tomorrow." Xie Jin said finally.

Zhu Shimao didn't expect that the screenwriter had approved of him, but the director was still hesitating, so he stood up anxiously.

"Xie Director, I'm not tired, I can audition now."

Xie Jin was a little surprised by Zhu Shimao's positive attitude. He asked Zhu Shimao to come to the room with the intention of saying hello.

Zhu Shimao had just taken a train for more than 20 hours from Fujian to Yanjing, so he had to let him rest and have a good sleep before discussing business.

Now that Zhu Shimao had taken the initiative to ask for an audition, he actually admired the actor's hard work. "Okay, then give it a try."

It was a hasty audition, and it was still with that piece of paper, but this time there was no one to act with Zhu Shimao, so he could only perform a solo.

The scene selected by Xie Jin has few lines and relies entirely on eyes, expressions and movements, which is a test of the actor's skills. Zhu Shimao's performance was much better than that of the students during the day.

Zhu Shimao stood there after his performance, looking at Xie Jin. Seeing that Xie Jin was slow to speak, he couldn't help but show some nervousness on his face, "Director..."

"Not bad!"

After a long silence, Xie Jin finally spoke.

But his words did not make Zhu Shimao relax. Director Xie just said it was good, but did not tell him the result.

"The character Xu Lingjun..."

Xie Jin spoke again and paused.

Zhu Shimao's heart almost rose to his throat, and the brief pause seemed extremely long.

"I'll give you the role of Xu Lingjun!" Xie Jin said finally.

Hearing this, Zhu Shimao felt ecstatic in his heart and his face was full of excitement.

"Thank you, Director Xie!"

"No need to thank me, it's you who meet the requirements for this role."

Zhu Shimao never dreamed that he would get the role on the first day he arrived at Yanjing and become the leading actor in Xie Jin's new movie. The joy in his heart was beyond words.

After the surprise, Zhu Shimao looked at Lin Chaoyang again. Lin Chaoyang was the first person to recognize him, and his eyes were full of gratitude.

"Thank you, writer Lin."

"I've already told you, just call me Chaoyang." Lin Chaoyang said with a smile.

After deciding on Zhu Shimao as the male lead, Zhu Yongde suggested, "It's getting late, let's go have a meal first, just as a welcome for Xiao Zhu."

After having dinner with Xie Jin, Zhu Shimao and others, Lin Chaoyang rode his bicycle back home and found his brother-in-law sitting at home.

When Tao Yucheng saw Lin Chaoyang coming back, he came over and asked, "Chaoyang, have you eaten?"

There was a hint of sincerity in his words. Based on Lin Chaoyang's understanding of him, he knew that he must have something to ask for.

"I just ate outside. Brother, what's up?"

"Yes. Chaoyang, I heard that Director Xie is going to cast for The Shepherd? Are you going to Yanying today?"

It was no secret that Xie Jin was going to cast for "The Shepherd". These days casting was either done by various theatre troupes or professional schools, so it was not surprising that my brother-in-law knew about it.

"Ah."

"Have the actors been decided?" Tao Yucheng asked worriedly.

Lin Chaoyang probably understood his intention and said truthfully: "The male lead has been decided, but the female lead has not yet been decided."

Upon hearing this, Tao Yucheng felt half regretful and half happy. He was regretful that the male lead had already been decided, but he was happy that the female lead had not yet been decided.

"Who has chosen the male lead?"

"Zhu Shimao."

"Which class is Yanying from?"

"He's not from Yanying, he's an actor from another local drama troupe, and he knew Director Xie before."

After hearing Lin Chaoyang's explanation, the regret on Tao Yucheng's face disappeared and he started to laugh instead.

He was originally worried that Xie Jin would go to Yanying first, and that they would have no part in the casting. He didn't expect Yanying to be so disappointing that they didn't get either of the two roles.

"Yan Ying's class of students is not good enough!"

Lin Chaoyang could probably understand his brother-in-law's psychology. The relationship between Yanying and Central Academy of Drama was like that between Shuimu and Yanda, loving and hating each other.

After saying a few sarcastic words, Tao Yucheng asked again: "Chaoyang, does Director Xie have any criteria for casting?"

"The standard is, of course, that it fits the character."

Lin Chaoyang's words were as good as nothing. Tao Yucheng asked a few more questions and found that there seemed to be no shortcut, so he started to think about Lin Chaoyang again.

"Chaoyang, what do you think the character of Li Xiuzhi should be like?"

Lin Chaoyang naturally knew what his brother-in-law was planning. After all, they were family members, so he could still help with this little favor.

After listening to his analysis of the character and characteristics of the heroine Li Xiuzhi, Tao Yucheng left with satisfaction.

The next day, Lin Chaoyang, Xie Jin and others came to the Central Academy of Drama.

The male lead of the movie has been confirmed, and the actress will be selected today. Upon hearing the news, the male students from the Central Academy of Drama were filled with disappointment, thinking that their opportunity was snatched away by the students from Yanying, and they couldn't help cursing and complaining.

The casting process was the same as yesterday, but because there were fewer male students, it was much more efficient than yesterday.

Before lunch time, Xie Jin and his colleagues had already picked all the students, but Xie Jin did not pick the ideal candidate for Li Xiuzhi.

"Director Xie, why don't we go eat first?" Zhu Yongde suggested when he saw that it was already lunch time.

Xie Jin originally had high hopes for the Central Academy of Drama, but he did not expect that after searching through the two acting classes of 77 and 78, he could not find a heroine whose temperament and image matched his imagination. He could not help feeling a little disappointed.

"Okay, let's go eat first."

While they were talking, Lin Chaoyang saw Tao Yucheng secretly waving at him at the door and then walked out.

(End of this chapter)