Huayu: Reborn in 97, transferring to the Central Academy of Drama's star-studded class

Sending their female artists to audition sounds impressive, but in reality, only three people showed up.

Fan Bingbing, Li Bingbing, Zhang Jingchu.

When Jiang Lai met the three people in the hotel lobby, he was surprised that this person was the first to come up and greet him.

"Hello, Mr. Jiang. I've heard Director Zhang Yuan mention you before, saying you're very righteous."

The speaker was Li Bingbing. She smiled and extended her hand, her hair tied in a neat ponytail, giving her a rather dashing air.

Jiang shook hands in response, but his mind was racing, trying to recall who Zhang Yuan was.

Ah, I remember now.

It was the gathering that Jia Kezhang organized last year, and the first one to introduce himself among a group of directors was the one with curly hair and a round face.

"Did he ask you to act in his movie 'Going Home for the New Year'?" Jiang Lai asked.

"Yes, I play the female police officer in the prison." Li Bingbing nodded. "Director Zhang said you're a very straightforward person. I never expected you'd become my boss."

"Yes, our boss is really nice." Fan Bingbing leaned over and smiled as she took Li Bingbing's arm.

Jiang Lai glanced at the two of them and asked curiously, "Are you two very familiar with each other?"

Fan Bingbing immediately raised her little face and said, "I met Sister Bingbing when we were filming 'Youth Action,' and she took great care of me."

Li Bingbing patted her hand with a smile and said to Jiang Lai, "This girl had just finished filming Huan Zhu Ge Ge 2 and didn't have an agent. She was running around to different sets and was in a pitiful state. So I introduced her to Sister Hua. Later, when I found out she was in trouble, I even put in a good word for her with President Wang Zhongjun. I never expected that you would be the one to help her solve it in the end."

Fan Bingbing then laughed and said, "And we even have the same name, isn't that a great coincidence?"

Jiang looked at the two sisters' deep affection and her lips twitched. She hoped that when the two of them quarreled in the future, they would think the same way.

I couldn't help but think to myself, "The entertainment industry really is a circle; you can always find someone no matter how you go around in circles."

Zhang Jingchu, who hadn't spoken a word, stood quietly to the side, a faint smile on her lips, seemingly uninterested in the topic.

Jiang Lai looked at the three of them and clapped his hands: "Alright, we can talk about this later. I'll take you to find the director first."

Zhang Ziyi didn't come over. Although she was a little unhappy that Jiang Lai had signed Zhang Jingchu, she didn't consider the girl a rival in love. She was very sure that nothing would happen between the two of them. As for the other two, one was much older than Jiang Lai and the other was a little girl. Who cared?

The hotel's main conference room.

Li An sat behind the long table, had the three girls perform a few different emotions, and then began to look through their resumes.

Li Bingbing had the most scenes, while Zhang Jingchu had none at all.

Jiang Lai sat to the side, not saying a word, just watching quietly.

Li An glanced at Jiang Lai before looking up at the three girls. "The role of Cai Xiangmei doesn't have many scenes, and your acting is all okay. However, there are action scenes, so you have to practice martial arts. It's not just a few casual moves; it has to be real training. Can you accept training at the hotel every day?"

The three nodded, their expressions increasingly serious.

"But!" Li An's expression turned serious. "From the start of training to the final casting, you all need to compete. What I'm looking for is who can perform the action scenes beautifully and portray the character well. Moreover, I don't allow you to take on multiple projects simultaneously. You can't accept any other work before filming wraps up. Can you do that?"

Upon hearing this, the three girls exchanged glances.

Fan Bingbing was the first to hesitate before speaking: "Director, I... I might not be able to do it."

She bit her lip, looking at Jiang Lai somewhat shyly, "President Jiang, Director Feng Xiaogang contacted me, saying he wants me to play the female lead in this year's Lunar New Year film. Filming is scheduled to start in June or July, but the timing might be..."

Jiang nodded in understanding.

After all, one is a confirmed lead actress, and the other is a supporting actress whose participation is uncertain. Fan Bingbing's choice is not a problem.

However, he was a little confused. In his memory, Fan Bingbing and Feng Xiaogang first collaborated on the movie "Cellphone". This year, Director Feng's New Year's movie seems to be called "Never Ending". Why is Fan Bingbing the female lead?

"Okay, then you can go and film Director Feng's movie," Jiang Lai said with a smile.

Fan Bingbing breathed a sigh of relief and bowed repeatedly to express her gratitude.

Li An didn't mind and looked at the remaining two, "Where are you two?"

Li Bingbing and Zhang Jingchu exchanged a glance and said in unison, "I can."

"Okay." Li An stood up. "Then you can come and start training tomorrow."

He then turned to Jiang Lai, "Xiao Jiang, take the two of them to see Zhang Jin tomorrow."

"Okay, director." Jiang Lai gave an OK sign.

After the audition, Jiang Lai saw him off at the hotel entrance, but couldn't resist asking out of curiosity, "Hey Bingbing, who are you playing in Director Feng's film?"

Both Bingbing turned their heads at the same time. After hearing the question, Fan Bingbing stood up and said, "The character I played is called Xiaoyun. She is... um, she plays Brother Biao's girlfriend."

"Oh." Jiang Lai nodded.

Brother Biao is Fu Biao. Feng Xiaogang's early films always featured the same cast, with Ge You as the main character. Jiang Lai still remembers this movie; Xiao Yun was indeed the female lead, and in the end, she cheated on Brother Biao and got together with Ge You.

Yingjie asked me a while ago if I wanted to invest in this movie, and Jiang said that he would invest in any movie directed by Feng, without asking any questions.

Anyway, it's still a long way from Director Feng's movies losing money; right now, he's making a profit.

"Okay, do your best," Jiang Lai encouraged Fan Bingbing.

At this moment, Li Bingbing also said earnestly, "President Jiang, thank you for giving me this opportunity."

Jiang Lai waved his hand, "It's nothing, don't be polite. If you can get the role, that's your skill."

Li Bingbing smiled and nodded, without saying anything more.

Zhang Jingchu stood quietly to the side, then suddenly spoke up: "Senior, I will try my best."

Jiang Lai looked at her. Although this girl had always been gentle and quiet, Jiang Lai knew that she was a very resilient person. It was really hard to say who would play the role of Cai Xiangmei.

"I know, good luck," Jiang Lai said with a smile.

A taxi drove up, and the three of them stopped it, said goodbye, got in, and drove away.

Jiang Lai stood at the hotel entrance, watching the car drive away, and suddenly realized that being a boss felt quite different.

......

In early July, the capital city was already as hot as a steamer.

Li An finally made preparations and led the main crew to set off for XJ.

Urho Ghost City.

This place is located on the northwestern edge of the Junggar Basin. In Kazakh, it is called "Shaytankersi," which means "the place where demons roam."

The landform here is unique. When the wind whips up sand and blows across the eroded rock pillars, it makes a sound like ghosts howling, as if evil spirits are wailing. Hence the name, and many mysterious legends have been left behind.

Because this place has been imbued with a mysterious and enigmatic meaning, it is mentioned in many literary works.

For example, the novels "Ghost Blows Out the Light" and "The Grave Robbers' Chronicles" all depict this place, and many film and television works also like to film here.

The film crew was stationed in Urho District, a quiet town.

It's very close to the Devil City. On the day of their arrival, Li An hired a local guide, preparing to go directly into the heart of the Devil City to film the next day.