The Road to Superstardom: Starting as a Singer

The audition on the afternoon of August 10th was less of a rigorous assessment and more of a perfunctory confirmation and business meeting.

The location was a small conference room at Warner Bros. Studios.

When Huang Weijie arrived accompanied by Madeline and Jesse, Todd Phillips, the director of The Hangover, the producer, and the casting director were already waiting there.

When Huang Weijie arrived, he didn't see any other artists auditioning.

"Jace, welcome."

Director Todd, a middle-aged man with a short beard, stood up, shook hands with Wong Wai-kit, and said with a smile, "To be honest, the role of 'Doug' requires a sunny, clean, decent, and even somewhat 'innocent' quality, and you are the best choice!"

"Yes! We invited you here today mainly to have a face-to-face talk with you, to see your understanding of the script and the character, and to go through some pre-production procedures." The producer added with a smile.

The atmosphere was quite relaxed.

Despite how professional and serious Todd and the producer sound, they actually couldn't wait for Wong Wai-kit to join them.

Hollywood is very pragmatic. Unless you're a world-class director, if a commercial film fails, not only will the actors be hurt, but the director may also lose the power to direct commercial films.

Although it's an R-rated film, it's still a commercial film!

There are many factors that contribute to a commercial film's success, but one of them is marketing and distribution.

Given Huang Weijie's current popularity, barring any unforeseen circumstances, they will likely be able to leverage him to generate more news and create more buzz before the film's release.

Then, it will attract more passersby to the cinema and contribute to the box office!

"Hello, director, hello, producer."

Huang Weijie shook hands with the director and producer with a smile, knowing that they wanted to use him to attract box office revenue.

He himself wants to achieve something in film. Currently, he is not capable of starring in other commercial films, so this dark horse film is the only opportunity for him.

Although there are many nude scenes, that's the other actors' business and has nothing to do with him.

They just need to wait until the movie is released and then coordinate with the publicity to create the impression that the most attractive reason for people to go to the theater is because "Jace Huang" is in it.

Whether it's truly attractive or not is irrelevant.

Because once the box office results are released, the actual performance will definitely be credited to him.

In this way, more film and television companies and producers will consider Huang Weijie in the future!

The audition went smoothly. After a brief chat about our understanding of the role, the conversation naturally turned to scheduling and contract details.

Huang Weijie did not get involved in this aspect, leaving it entirely to Madeleine.

After all, how much income the latter can earn depends on how much money he can make.

Huang Weijie believed that Madeline would definitely fight for the best conditions for him.

So he went back to the company's recording studio with Jesse first.

The album's post-production is in its final stages and is expected to be completed in the next couple of days.

What remains is to create music videos that bring these songs to life visually!

……

On August 13, at a school campus outside Los Angeles.

The music video for "What Makes You Beautiful" officially started filming today.

After being rearranged by him and Taylor Swift, the song became a duet version.

Huang Weijie's verses retain the original song's perspective of the boy discovering the girl's unique charm, while Taylor Swift's additions strengthen the girl's sense of autonomy.

The melody of the song remains light and bright, full of youthful energy.

Huang Weijie and the director designed a dual narrative for the music video:

Huang Weijie plays a male student who silently observes a girl who always keeps her head down, seems aloof, but is actually very talented. He tries to get her attention in various clumsy yet endearing ways, such as deliberately showing off by shooting hoops when she passes by, pretending to take the same book as her in the library, and lingering outside the band practice room…

Taylor Swift plays the girl who struggles in places unseen by Huang Weijie, displaying an insecure expression when facing the mirror alone... But in the end, she overcomes her inferiority complex, realizing that she is actually quite good, and boldly becomes friends with Huang Weijie...

Although the plot is a bit mindless, the atmosphere on set was great.

During rest periods.

Taylor Swift, dressed in a fresh floral dress and flats, walked towards Huang Weijie with a sweet smile.

"Jace, aren't you supposed to change a lot after not seeing someone for a while? How come you..." Taylor Swift deliberately looked Huang Weijie up and down, "You seem to be the same as before?"

Huang Weijie's handsome face darkened.

"Oh dear, I knew it! Why did I have to wear flats today? What a shame. I was thinking I could wear heels next time we meet. Sigh~ I guess I still can't!"

"Taylor Buddies..." Huang Weijie's lips twitched slightly.

It was one thing for her to tease herself on her phone a while ago, but now she actually dares to do it again offline!

Aren't you afraid I'll reveal my true feelings to you?

"Haha~" Taylor Swift chuckled a few times, then asked, "When is this song scheduled for release?"

"If all goes well, next Monday."

"Next Monday?"

"Yes." Huang Weijie nodded. "I'll release a preview this Friday night, and you can help promote it then."

"Hmm~~~"

I owe you a meal.

"No problem!" Taylor Swift's eyes lit up, and she immediately agreed. "I'm also involved in this song, and I'll definitely help promote it!"

"Tsk..."

The filming of the music video for "What Makes You Beautiful" progressed quickly and was completed in just one day.

The rest is post-production.

Huang Weijie was no longer involved in this aspect, but he trusted the company's production team.

Madeline successfully turned down endorsement and commercial performance offers arranged by the company's executives, but on the condition that he could not refuse such work for any other reason after the album's success.

Therefore, in order to earn more US dollars, even if Huang Weijie himself did not keep an eye on the production team's progress, the company's senior executives would consciously urge them on.

In the following days, Huang Weijie was also busy, meeting with several other collaborators both online and offline.

Previously, because he returned to China, communication with these collaborators could only be conducted online.

Now that the music video is about to be filmed, I was thinking of meeting up in person first to talk about the filming process (actually, to build a friendship).

Unfortunately, Ariana Grande is temporarily unable to come due to her work on Broadway and can only do so when the agreed-upon schedule allows.

As for the teeth-cleaning lady, she is currently in Australia writing songs for someone and cannot come to the United States immediately.

Therefore, meetings with the two can only continue to be held online.

……

Looking at the girl in the video who was a year younger than him, Huang Weijie smiled and greeted her: "Hi, Ariana."

In contrast to his gentle demeanor, Ariana Grande appeared quite excited on screen: "Hi! Jace, I... I'm so happy to see you!"

"Haha~ I can tell, but you can relax a bit. Actually, we're about the same age."

"Yay! What I wanted to say is, I'm very grateful to you for giving me this opportunity to collaborate!"

At the time, Ariana Grande was quite excited to be able to collaborate with Huang Weijie, a rising star.

"Ariana, I'm also very grateful to you for giving me this opportunity to collaborate," Huang Weijie said with a smile, then added, "Have you received the MV script yet? Let me share my thoughts first..."

After Ariana Grande's video call ended, Huang Weijie called the teeth cleaning lady instead.

At that time, the "teeth-cleaning sister" was the most famous person among all the collaborators on his album, besides Taylor Swift.

However, her fame is based on her unique voice and songwriting ability, and she has not yet reached the level of widespread recognition she later achieved.

Because it was through a screen, and the other party was clearly taking time out of her busy schedule to meet him, Huang Weijie didn't waste any words and directly explained his purpose to Sister Xiya, and then told her about his idea for the MV shoot.

He only hung up the phone after confirming the schedule again.

Aside from the two who met online, Boss Huang and Mars seemed to be very tactful, understanding that Jace Huang was giving them an opportunity by asking for a collaboration, so they visited him directly without hesitation.

As for Kendrick Lamar?

Bro has already been to the company!

Moreover, he had already come before Huang Weijie met with the others.

It can only be said that the black brothers do have something to say about this, making Huang Weijie think that he was showing off his domineering aura.

Otherwise, why would bro have come over so eagerly ahead of time, and even patted his chest to say that the shooting time of the MV was entirely up to Huang Weijie, and he was okay with it?