Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 451 Audition [Part 1]

The audition for "The Age of Glory" was scheduled for September 29th.

All the newly signed actors under Yuanmeng participated in this selection [including the 90 graduates of the Central Academy of Drama who were temporarily signed with the film studio], and nearly two-thirds of the dance troupe also signed up.

This morning.

Li Xiaoran, along with the other dancers who had signed up, took a bus to the Dream Garden. The audition was held in the dance troupe's usual practice room, which was a small home advantage.

The dancers arrived relatively late because it was a group trip; students from the Central Academy of Drama, Beijing Film Academy, and Shanghai Theatre Academy had already arrived and were chatting in small groups.

Most of them seemed excited yet nervous, but a few were confident, such as Li Yapeng, who hadn't actually signed a contract to fulfill his dream but was working odd jobs at the film studio. His hearty laughter could be heard from afar.

Seeing this, one of the dancers said sarcastically, "I heard that he's determined to get the male lead role this time because of his relationship with Boss Zhang—indeed, connections are the most useful thing in this world."

"嘁~"

Some people scoffed at this, saying, "If his relationship with President Zhang is really that strong, why was Huang Zhizhong handpicked for the role in 'Three No-Man's Land' a while ago?"

"How can 'Three No-Man's Land' compare to 'The Age of Glory'? This is the opening drama of next year—they'll use their best resources wisely!"

Hearing everyone's sarcastic comments about his connections, Li Xiaoran felt uncomfortable and couldn't help but retort, "But I heard that he always gets a standing ovation when he performs at the cinema, and many people who pay to experience 'you jump, I jump' specifically ask him to play the male lead."

Everyone fell silent immediately.

After a long pause, someone finally said, "He graduated from the Central Academy of Drama. If he can't even play a minor role well, then what was the point of his four years of college?"

Before the words were even finished, someone immediately changed the subject. After all, as a dancer, acting skills were definitely a weakness, and talking too much about it would only expose one's shortcomings.

Just then, someone came over and asked Li Xiaoran, "Sister Xiaoran, will our group leader come this time?"

During the last audition for the role of Yu Ji, everyone in the dance troupe felt that Wang Luyao played a significant role, so many people hoped that she could repeat her performance.

Li Xiaoran shook her head and said, "Today, General Manager Zhang invited the villagers to watch a movie. General Manager Chen couldn't attend because he wasn't feeling well, so our group leader went instead."

The screening of "In the Heat of the Sun" is coming to an end. In order to help the box office reach 6000 million yuan, Zhang Yan specially paid out of his own pocket to treat his fellow villagers from Hengjiang who work in Tianjin to watch the movie.

Since June, there have been two waves of labor inflows, and more than 6 people from Hengjiang have come to Tianjin to work through his connections.

To avoid affecting the 'balance' between labor and management, he rarely intervenes in this matter, only organizing a party during the Mid-Autumn Festival. This is the second time he has done this to show his support.

Upon hearing that Wang Luyao had replaced Chen Hong at the event, the girl who asked the question clicked her tongue twice, her expression quite complicated.

Judging by current prevailing values, being someone's mistress is definitely a despicable act, but seeing Wang Luyao's treatment at the company, it's hard not to envy her.

At this moment, the judges Chang Jihong, Cheng Jie, Zhang Yibai, and Liu Zhenyun finally arrived, accompanied by several staff members, including Li Xue.

The judges went directly into the audition room, while several staff members, under Li Xue's direction, carried in two electric heaters.

This puzzled everyone. The temperature was around 20 degrees Celsius, and even if it was a little cooler in the morning, it wouldn't be lower than 18 degrees Celsius. Was it really necessary to have so many heating devices indoors?
Just as everyone was discussing this, Li Xue came out again with a list in her hand and said loudly, "Everyone, please be quiet for a moment. I have something to announce."

The courtyard immediately fell silent. Some people instinctively pushed forward, and others followed suit, quickly forming a fan shape around Li Xue.

Li Xue said, "The first thing is that before all the actors participate in the audition, they need to take off their clothes in a separate space to show their physique - don't worry, only staff of the same gender will be present."

As soon as these words were spoken, a buzz of discussion broke out around them. Many people found the requirement inexplicable—they were there to audition for legitimate acting roles, so why did they have to strip naked for a checkup?

This is the 'problem' of those with formal training: even if they've heard about some unspoken rules beforehand, they still find it hard to accept when faced with the reality.

"Everyone, please be quiet!" Li Xue once again stopped everyone and calmly explained, "In order to showcase the image of Tianjin as a coastal city, there are several swimsuit scenes in the drama. In order to ensure that the actors' bodies do not have any obvious flaws, it is natural to check them in advance. I hope everyone can understand."

He paused, then added, "Of course, if anyone has any objections, they can withdraw from this audition."

Several people who were about to protest immediately fell silent upon hearing these words, as no one wanted to miss this opportunity.

Fortunately, apart from this incident, the other things Li Xue announced next were all reasonable and naturally no one questioned them.

"Okay, we will now conduct the interviews in the order of registration. Please wait patiently outside."

When Li Xue returned to the audition room, the actors began to grumble and complain.

The dancers didn't have any objections; on the contrary, they were quite pleased with themselves, since they were the most professional in terms of physical form.

Li Xiaoran was secretly delighted. Putting aside her figure, what she was most praised for was her porcelain-white skin, which was definitely a plus.

Although Wang Luyao implied that she had already taken care of things, performing better would at least reduce the amount of gossip, right?

Not long after, Li Xue came out again and started calling people in for auditions according to the order of registration. However, to the surprise of the dance troupe members, although they had registered together, they were being auditioned among the actors.

Seeing everyone discussing it, Li Xiaoran remembered Wang Luyao's explanation and quickly said, "The troupe leader said that we are all of the same style, and it's easy to get tired of seeing us together."

Upon hearing this reason, while everyone agreed, their attitude towards Li Xiaoran was somewhat complicated. After all, it was obvious that the team leader had given her special treatment, and there might be other inside deals involved.

About an hour later.

"Yuan Li, Yuan Li, Yuan Li?"

Li Xue called out three times before Yuan Li finally walked over hesitantly, her expression clearly not good.

Does she have some hidden illness?
Li Xiaoran was making wild guesses when Li Xue reminded her, "Li Xiaoran is next, so be prepared."

Li Xiaoran hurriedly tidied her hair and clothes, then stood nervously and excitedly at the door. But not long after she arrived, she heard arguing coming from inside. It seemed that Yuan Li was arguing with someone.

She glanced through the crack in the door in surprise and saw Yuan Li and Li Xue 'butting heads' at the entrance of the dressing room, which was surrounded by a curtain.

However, contrary to Li Xiaoran's guess, Yuan Li was not against the physical examination, but requested that someone else conduct the examination for her.

"You two are so close, how do I know you won't do anything underhanded!"

It turned out to be because of this.

Li Xiaoran sighed, thinking that connections were everywhere, and even an assistant who acted as a middleman could secretly decide your fate.

She suddenly understood why Wang Yan wanted to have a relationship with President Zhang. With this relationship, not only would her previous plans not be investigated, but she could also avoid a lot of trouble in the future.

By this time, the noise in the room had subsided, and Yuan Li's protest had been acknowledged by the judges. Chang Jihong decided to personally conduct a physical examination for Yuan Li.

Seeing this, Li Xiaoran suddenly remembered that two of her roommates had also applied for the same role, so she hesitated whether to remind them to avoid falling into the same trap.

But when she turned around, she found that her usually amiable roommate was looking at her with a hint of hostility and jealousy.

Li Xiaoran sighed inwardly and silently gave up the idea.

(End of this chapter)