Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 442 Gearing up
A hotel in Xi'an.

"Brother Liu [Liu Weidong], could you help me count if any of the dancers over there want to audition? Yes, for the movie I starred in, 'The Age of Glory.' Sigh, I'm not really counting on that anymore, I just wanted to have something to remember the day... Haha, I wouldn't dare compare myself to Sister Hong."

After hanging up the phone, Wang Luyao rubbed her temples before getting up and going to the dance troupe's temporary rehearsal room.

As usual, the tour was divided into two teams. Wang Luyao was with Li Songqiang's team, while Liu Weidong's dance troupe was led by Zhang Yunfeng.

When she arrived at the rehearsal room, she found that the dancers were not practicing, but were sitting in groups of three or five against the wall, looking listless.

Wang Luyao was initially a little unhappy, but considering that they had just left campus and were already performing intensive shows with the tour team, it was already quite good that they were only feeling down and hadn't completely collapsed.

So she put on a smile again, walked in, clapped her hands and said, "Everyone, come over here for a moment. I just received a call from President Chen. We won't be participating in the tour in November. When we get back to Tianjin, we'll first go to the Golden Eagle Awards Gala to be backup dancers for the singers. If we perform well, we can go to the CCTV Spring Festival Gala."

Hearing this, the young men and women were greatly encouraged. Nowadays, domestic dancers regard the Spring Festival Gala as the highest stage, and they will definitely put in their best efforts to appear on the Spring Festival Gala stage.

"in addition."

After they had been happy for a while, Wang Luyao added, "Our company's main TV series for next spring, 'The Age of Glory,' is about to begin casting. Anyone interested can contact me to register and then go back for an interview."

This statement caused another stir. Apart from those who were determined to dedicate the rest of their lives to the stage, most people had the idea of ​​switching careers to become actors.

After all, there is already a successful example to follow – although it is still unknown when "The Hegemon-King of Western Chu" will be broadcast, in the eyes of these dancers, being able to perform in Zhang Yimou's play and compete on the same stage with Gong Li is already a huge win.

While "The Age of Glory" may not sound as high-end as a movie, it is the opening production that General Manager Zhang is in charge of, and it is specifically designed to promote newcomers.

The main character group consists of seven people, which means there are plenty of opportunities to compete!
"Captain."

At this point, someone asked curiously, "I heard you pre-booked the female lead for this drama?"

"That's it."

Wang Luyao, Versailles: "President Zhang specially created a persona based on my image. In the story, my parents are the beneficiaries of the collapse of the Soviet Union. However, because I couldn't stand their greed and the various chaotic situations in China, I took the initiative to join the company's investment team in Tianjin."

As she spoke, she tossed the large waves of hair behind her head and said, "I used to try to minimize the features of ethnic minorities when I did my makeup, but this time I can only do the opposite."

Hearing this, everyone was filled with envy, but the difference between them had been predetermined before they even met, so no one was jealous of her because of it.

Then someone else asked, "Commander, have you already read the script beforehand?"

Wang Luyao nodded first, then shook her head: "I have seen it, but it was still a work in progress at that time, so I don't know what it looks like now."

"That's still better than us being completely clueless! Please tell us about it!"

"Yes, if we get elected, you'll be proud of us, Commander, won't you?"

"If I am elected, I will definitely follow your lead, Commander."

Listening to their chattering encouragement, Wang Luyao hesitated for a moment, but still decided to give her troupe members some extra help. After all, people who come out of the dance troupe all have their own unique characteristics.

"I can only give you a general overview. You can listen, but you can't copy it exactly." After giving this reminder, Wang Luyao began to describe the general plot of the drama.

…………

at the same time.

"Have you heard? Casting for 'The Age of Glory' is officially underway!"

Shen Xiaohai, a 90 graduate of the Shanghai Theatre Academy, rushed into his dream-fulfilling temporary dormitory, only to find that his classmate and roommate Xu Zheng had quickly taken off a wig from his head and stuffed it under the covers.

"Well~" Shen Xiaohai slapped his forehead upon seeing this: "Looks like I'm the one who's slow to realize it."

Xu Zheng even bought the wig, so he must have known about it long ago.

As he spoke, Shen Xiaohai leaned over and put his arm around Xu Zheng's shoulder, chuckling, "Put it on and let me see. I've gotten so used to seeing you bald these past two years that I've forgotten what it looks like with grass growing on your head."

"Go aside."

Xu Zheng pushed him away, rolled her eyes, and asked, "Which role are you going to interview for?"

"He's definitely the male lead!"

Shen Xiaohai said without hesitation, "Although the screen time of the seven main characters is not much different, the male lead is the male lead, which is incomparable to other characters!"

Upon hearing this, Xu Zheng silently gave a thumbs up, and then began practicing his expressions in front of the mirror.

Seeing this, Shen Xiaohai became uneasy and hooked his arm around his neck again, saying, "What do you mean, kid? Do you think I'm not good enough to play the male lead?"

"Yes, definitely!"

Xu Zheng said in a serious tone, "Realizing dreams is an achievement built by us students of the Shanghai Theatre Academy. If we students of the Shanghai Theatre Academy are not qualified to compete for the male lead, then who is?"

Shen Xiaohai then let him go, sat down opposite him and muttered to himself about the future for a while, then suddenly felt something was off and asked in confusion, "So what about you? Which role do you want to audition for?"

"You'll know then."

Xu Zheng kept everyone in suspense, refusing to reveal a single detail no matter how much Shen Xiaohai pressed him for answers, only saying that he would definitely not compete with Shen Xiaohai for the male lead role.

Just then, the pager clipped to his waist suddenly went off. Xu Zheng didn't even look at it and hurriedly walked out—but when he got to the stairwell, he turned back and took the wig.

Xu Zheng, wearing a wig, ran downstairs and quickly found the person he was looking for. He jogged over and greeted him, "Brother Kang, why are you here so early?"

The visitor was Shi Kang, one of the screenwriters of "The Age of Glory".

While other newly signed artists were still adapting to the company, Xu Zheng had already set his sights on screenwriting, a core area of ​​expertise. After all, he knew he had an inherent weakness, and if he wanted to catch up with or even surpass others, he would have to put in more effort.

His efforts did indeed pay off. While others only vaguely knew that there were seven main characters, he had already obtained a lot of information from Shi Kang.

Shi Kang stared at the black hair on his head for a moment, then laughed and said, "Why do you look like Zhang Guorong?"

"That's what everyone used to say."

Xu Zheng chuckled and subconsciously reached to adjust his wig, but in his haste, he accidentally revealed half of his bald head.

"Hahaha~"

Shi Kang laughed even harder: "So this is what Zhang Guorong looks like after she went bald—no more joking, I'm here to confirm with you one last time, are you really going to give up competing for the lead role and play that foreign-worshipping villainous rival?"

Shi Kang secretly leaked the information to Xu Zheng, hoping to give him a better chance of auditioning for the second or third male lead. However, Xu Zheng took a liking to the male lead's rival, a shrewd and sycophantic white-collar worker in a foreign company.

"confirmed!"

Xu Zheng said with certainty: "The competition for those three male leads is too fierce, and I think the character of 'comprador of a foreign firm' is not an absolute villain. If played well, he might be more outstanding than the second or third male lead."

He paused for a moment, then chuckled and said, "Besides, no one in Shanghai can play this kind of role better than us. After all, we're doing business with Americans."

(End of this chapter)