Huayu: I rely on hit-movie tactics to interweave...

Chapter 74 Audition

The audition notice was drafted by Zhong Lifang herself, and Liu Yu reviewed it three times before sending it out.

"Former Wave Pictures, in collaboration with Lionsgate, is holding open auditions for the female lead in the Hollywood sci-fi action film *Lucy*. Applicants should be 18-25 years old, possess martial arts or dance skills, and have English speaking ability. Auditions will be held on April 1, 2006. Students from art schools and young actors with film and television experience are welcome to apply. To apply, please send your resume and a recent photo to the official email address."

After that text was released through the official channels of Qianlang Pictures, Liu Yu's phone kept ringing.

It wasn't a phone call, it was a message: agents, producers, and acquaintances in the industry were all subtly inquiring about the same question:

Does this "young actor with film and television experience" include my husband? The conditions are clearly stated, but there are always people who feel that they are the exception, that the rules are written for ordinary people, and that they are not included in that scope.

Zhong Lifang called the next morning.

"Boss, some of the big stars in the industry are already criticizing your announcement."

Liu Yu sat behind his desk, twirling a pen in his hand.

"What are you cursing about?"

"They criticized you for being too demanding. Eighteen to twenty-five years old, martial arts and dance background, English lines. They said you were deliberately setting a low age limit." Zhong Lifang paused. "Someone asked someone to pass on a message, asking if the age limit could be lowered to twenty-eight. They also said that mature actresses are all over twenty-eight now, and your age limit is too strict, causing you to miss out on truly talented actresses."

Liu Yu put down his pen. "Eighteen to twenty-five years old, it's not about casting, it's about character design. The protagonist is supposed to be in her early twenties, a young girl with athletic talent. It's not that we can't cast a twenty-eight-year-old to play a twenty-year-old, but that would require more makeup and post-production work. We'd be better off using that money on special effects."

He leaned back in his chair and smiled. "Besides, if I loosen the rules, and the audience criticizes me for casting the wrong character, they won't take the blame for me."

"Alright, I'll go back then." Zhong Lifang's tone carried a hint of knowing that she knew he would say that.

After the announcement was released, the media reacted even faster than the agency.

The next morning, major portal websites' entertainment sections featured related reports, each with an eye-catching headline.

"Liu Yu is auditioning for the female lead in 'Lucy,' but the age limit has sparked controversy."

"Hollywood blockbuster casting criteria revealed: actors must be able to fight, dance, and speak English."

"How high is the age threshold for Liu Yu's new film, which requires actors to be between 18 and 25 years old?"

Another organization published an analysis article titled "From..."

To

The book, "The Evolution of Liu Yu's Casting Criteria," lists the leading actresses in every film Liu Yu has starred in, from Liu Yifei to Yan Danchen to Yu Nan, analyzing their age, background, and experience at the time, and finally drawing conclusions.

Liu Yu's casting choices have always been unconventional; behind his seemingly demanding criteria lies his understanding of the characters.

The comments section was even more lively.

On the same day, the entertainment section of Tianya Forum was flooded with posts titled: "Who do you think is suitable to star in Liu Yu's new film?"

The original poster listed a long list in the main thread, including almost every actress in China whose name is known, and then put a question mark after each name.

The Beijing Film Academy reacted even faster than the media.

Principal Zhang called personally, a frequency Liu Yu hadn't remembered for a long time.

When he answered the phone, the voice on the other end had a familiar, unhurried quality to it: "Liu Yu, I saw your audition notice. There's something I'd like to discuss with you."

Liu Yu leaned back in his chair. "Principal Zhang, please speak."

"Could we hold the audition in the school's small auditorium? Not the one in the teaching building, but the one next to the acting department. We'll handle the setup for you; the school will arrange the lighting, sound, and reception. The condition is that you prioritize the auditions for current students and recent graduates of the Beijing Film Academy. Alumni are also eligible."

Principal Zhang spoke in a very calm tone, as if he were discussing something that would benefit both parties.

Liu Yu thought for a moment, then said, "Principal Zhang, are you giving me a task, or are you negotiating with me?"

"No, not at all. I'm discussing this with you." Principal Zhang's tone carried a hint of a smile. "You also graduated from Beijing Film Academy, so you know better than I do about these things. There are many students who are attached to the school, but not many who can do anything practical for it. If your audition can give a current student a chance to shine, it would be more useful than donating a building."

Liu Yu paused for a moment, recalling when he first enrolled, standing at the school gate looking at the sign that read "Beijing Film Academy," thinking to himself, "I've finally made it in."

At that time, he didn't know what the school would give him, but now he does, so he also knows that the way to give back is not just with money.

"Okay. We'll use the small auditorium as the venue. Students from the Beijing Film Academy will be given priority for auditions. Those from other schools and those who have applied from the community will be scheduled later."

Principal Zhang laughed heartily and said, "Okay."

April 1st is April Fool's Day, a date chosen by Chung Lai-fong.

"An audition on April Fool's Day is a good opportunity if someone plays a joke on it."

On the evening of March 31st, Liu Yu returned to Beijing Film Academy.

It has been more than half a year since he last came back. The trees on campus have grown taller, and the magnolias have bloomed, a dazzling expanse of white.

He walked around the path along the playground and saw a notice posted on the bulletin board at the entrance of the teaching building.

"Lucy audition, April 1st, small auditorium."

A few students gathered around, watching and whispering, "I'll try it tomorrow too."

Another person said, "You don't even know martial arts, you'll be wasting your time going there."

The student who was being criticized wasn't annoyed; he just smiled and replied, "What if?"

Liu Yu stood in front of the bulletin board for a few seconds. A girl with a backpack came over, glanced at him, then at the bulletin board, took two steps, and then turned back.

"Senior brother, are you Senior Brother Liu Yu?" Her voice was soft, with a hint of probing.

Liu Yu nodded.

She smiled and said, "I'm going to audition tomorrow too. I'm a sophomore in the acting department and I studied dance for a few years. I don't know if I'm qualified."

""

She wasn't nervous when she said this, nor did she deliberately act excited.

"Then I wish you a good day tomorrow."

"Thank you, senior brother."

April 1st, Beijing weather is sunny.

The sunshine was so bright it didn't feel like April Fool's Day; it felt like spring had finally decided to stop hiding and had gathered all the energy of the season for this day.

A queue had formed outside the small auditorium of Beijing Film Academy as early as eight o'clock in the morning.

The line stretched from the entrance all the way to the edge of the playground, winding and turning.

Some people were wearing practice clothes, some were wearing casual clothes, some had exquisite makeup, and some were bare-faced.

When Liu Yu entered through the side door, he saw through the window that there were already forty or fifty people standing outside.

Someone was sitting on the steps reciting lines, muttering to himself.

Someone was leaning against the wall, stretching their legs, with one leg resting on the wall, their body leaning forward, and their expression focused.

Some people were touching up their makeup with small mirrors, carefully drawing their eyebrows; others were huddled together, whispering and laughing at a certain point, then quickly falling silent as if realizing they shouldn't be so relaxed before the audition.

He recognized several faces; some he had seen on television, and others were complete strangers.

The age distribution was more concentrated than he had expected, with most people in their early twenties, which was exactly the range stated in the announcement.

There were a few who looked younger, probably freshmen or sophomores, holding resumes in their hands.

The small auditorium was temporarily converted into a makeshift audition venue.

A row of tables was set up in front of the stage, covered with white tablecloths, and with nameplates and bottled water on them.

Liu Yu sat in the middle, with Zhong Lifang on his left and Lu Yang on his right.

He specifically called Lu Yang over today, saying he wanted him to see how to select actors.

Several staff members sat at the back of the first row, responsible for calling out numbers, keeping track of time, and playing music.

The audition officially began at 8:30.

The first person to come in was a girl with a ponytail, wearing a black practice uniform. Judging from her attire, she seemed to be a dance major.

She walked to the center of the stage, bowed, and introduced herself as a third-year student at the Beijing Dance Academy.

Her voice wasn't loud, she stood very straight, and her gaze didn't waver; she was clearly someone who had been on stage before.

Zhong Lifang flipped through the materials Liu Yu had handed her. Liu Yu asked her to do a martial arts or dance demonstration. She danced a modern dance. Her movements were very graceful, and you could tell she had practiced muscle control, but the rhythm was a bit soft and not explosive enough.

He then had her try out a line of English dialogue, which she delivered fluently with a British accent, conveying a deliberately polished sophistication.

Liu Yu wrote a few words in his notebook, looked up and smiled at her, "Thank you, go back and wait for our notification."

The second person to come in was a second-year female student majoring in performing arts. Her resume wasn't anything special; she wasn't the type to have a resume filled with her work.

She performed an impromptu monologue, a topic given to her on the spot by Liu Yu. The story was about a girl who discovers she can hear other people's inner thoughts in a convenience store late at night.

She stood in the center of the stage, without props or fellow actors, and her performance made people believe that she could really hear something.

When the third person came in, she was wearing a white shirt and black trousers, her hair was tied up high, and she wasn't wearing much makeup. She looked completely different from the sophisticated woman she appeared to be on TV.

She stood in the center of the stage, bowed, and spoke in a soft but clear voice: "Hello, teachers. My name is Liu Yifei, and I am a student in the Performance Department of Beijing Film Academy, Class of 02."

The staff members sitting next to her exchanged glances. Liu Yifei's name was not on the same level as the others on this list.

Chung Lai-fong asked her a few standard questions: her resume, experience, and why she wanted to play this role.

Her answers were concise, without unnecessary embellishment or exaggerated emotions; every sentence was perfectly placed.

"I really like this character; she has a lonely but not weak strength. I want to try and see if I can portray her."

Liu Yu asked her to perform a martial arts demonstration.

She had prepared a set of movements beforehand, which showed that she had practiced them specially. The connection between each move had been repeatedly polished. Although her skills were not as solid as those of a professional martial artist, her sense of rhythm and strength were better than Liu Yu had expected.

She was slightly out of breath when she finished her move, but her posture remained steady.

Finally, she recited a monologue from the script, her accent much more natural than the first girl who auditioned, like someone who speaks English frequently.

Liu Yu did not express his opinion on the spot.

The audition continued until 4 p.m.

I took two breaks in between, once to eat a boxed lunch and once to drink water.

The boxed lunch was delivered by the school cafeteria. It consisted of three dishes and a soup, and the taste was alright, but it was a bit too oily.

Liu Yu sat on the edge of the stage with his lunchbox in his hand, watching the next girl to audition stretch her legs in the corner, muttering to herself as if she were memorizing lines or encouraging herself.

She stood up after stretching her legs, straightened her collar in front of the mirror on the wall, and took a deep breath.

Several people who left a deep impression on Liu Yu came to the audition in the afternoon.

One of them is a student at the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts, specializing in female warrior roles. When she does somersaults, she does them cleanly and neatly, like a spinning windmill, and when she lands, her toes firmly planted on the ground.

Her English delivery wasn't very fluent, but her body language was convincing enough.

One was a graduate of the Central Academy of Drama, whose resume stated that she had "acted in many TV series." Her martial arts performance was more nuanced than the characters she played in those TV series; Liu Yu recognized her as well.

Another student was a third-year student at the Central Academy of Drama. She had previously studied at the Beijing Dance Academy and had no martial arts background. She performed a modern dance, and Liu Yu recognized her as Tong Liya.

People on the list came and went in batches.

Liu Yu wrote down nearly twenty names in his notebook, circling three or four of them and marking five or six with question marks.

Liu Yifei was third in the row of people circling around.

After watching the last audition, Liu Yu closed his laptop, leaned back in his chair, and let out a long sigh.

Only the staff remained in the small auditorium, and the stage lights were still on.

Lu Yang turned his head and asked him, "Director, is there anyone you've got your eye on?"

Liu Yu pushed the notebook towards him, "Take another look at these documents. We'll do a second screening next week."

Lu Yang opened his notebook, paused for a moment when he saw the third name, and then continued flipping through the pages as if nothing had happened.

"These few are indeed quite good. Liu Yifei is among them."

Liu Yu stood up, picked up the bottle of water he hadn't drunk a drop from, and said, "I know she's in there too. But she's not in there because she's Liu Yifei, it's because she really did a good job acting today. If she had messed up, she wouldn't be in there."

Lu Yang didn't reply, but simply nodded, closed the notebook, and put it in his bag.

When I walked out of the small auditorium, it was already getting dark.

He took out his phone and saw an unread message.

Liu Yifei sent a very short message: "Director Liu, thank you for giving me this opportunity today."

Liu Yu stared at the words and lay quietly for a while in the dim light of the screen.

He thought for a moment and replied, "You're welcome. You did well today, keep it up."

She replied with an "Mmm," followed by a smiley face.

The phone screen went dark, and he put it in his pocket.