HuaYu: Starting with Photography to Navigate the Entertainment Industry

"Xu Lang, come here, let me introduce you to someone."

Li Gongda, holding Xu Lang's hand, pointed at the girl in front of them and said:

"This is Park Si-yeon from South Korea. She was recommended by CCTV to play the role of the Third Holy Mother in our drama. You'd better design her image and shoot some of your best promotional videos."

Upon hearing Li Gongda's words, Xu Lang looked at the man in front of him.

He is 170cm tall and weighs no more than 100 pounds.

Visually, the measurements are approximately 86cm for the bust, 61cm for the waist, and 86cm for the hips.

Most people wouldn't realize what this data means when they see it.

But Xu Lang, as a photographer, knew it all too well.

With a bust of 86cm and a waist of 61cm, the difference between her bust and waist measurements is 25cm.

Although it was cold and he was wearing thick clothes, Xu Lang could still guess based on these two pieces of data.

"This girl's breasts are probably a D cup!"

Standing at 170cm tall and weighing less than 100 pounds, yet possessing a D-cup size?

Even Xu Lang had never seen this combination before.

"What a beautiful sight—small branches bearing large fruit! The shape is amazing!"

However, having just met her, and especially since she was a foreign friend, Xu Lang felt embarrassed to stare at her chest and quickly looked elsewhere.

Head-to-body ratio, approximately 7.5, a standard model base.

The difference in hip line is 26 centimeters, which is only a tiny bit less than that of Xu Qing, the queen of perky buttocks.

This body shape is the best interpretation of a curvy figure!

Xu Lang couldn't help but click his tongue twice, then looked at her features:

A classic oval face, full in the mid-face, with a soft jawline yet a clear inflection point, giving it a well-defined shape;

With equal proportions in the three sections of the face, balanced features in the five eyes, and extremely high facial symmetry, the face is photogenic from the front, 45° side, and three-quarter profile, with very few bad angles.

"What a face born for the camera!"

Her eyes are naturally soft almond-shaped, with rounded inner corners, light double eyelids, and ample eye slit length. Her emotional range is highly polarized, making her well-suited for portraying extreme states.

"If this were shown in slow motion, the beauty of its brokenness would be amplified to the extreme!"

The lips are full and evenly proportioned, and what's especially rare is the prominent cupid's bow.

"Only Zhou Dongyu can compare to that cupid's bow in the future!"

Xu Lang sized up Park Shi-yeon, while Park Shi-yeon sized him up as well.

Before coming from South Korea, she made a point of paying attention to the entertainment industry in mainland China.

"Is this Xu Lang, the creator of 'One Person, Two Immortals'?"

Park Shi-yeon proactively extended her hand to shake hands with Xu Lang, and spoke in broken Chinese,

"Xu...Oppa, hello!"

Hearing this awkward pronunciation, Xu Lang chuckled.

"This little girl can't even speak Chinese, yet she came all the way to the mainland. She's quite something!"

However, Xu Lang also knew that 2005 was the honeymoon period between China and South Korea, and that year was more suitable for the "China-South Korea Cultural Exchange Year," with a large number of Korean dramas and Korean artists coming to China.

Park Si-yeon was one of the first to be recognized by CCTV.

Since 2004, she has starred in the TV series "The Blood-Sweating Horse" and "Phoenix Seeking Phoenix", both of which are serious dramas broadcast by CCTV.

It seems that Park Si-yeon is also an important link in cultural exchanges between China and South Korea.

As Xu Lang thought about it, a smile involuntarily crept onto his lips.

"Just for this reason, I need to have a deeper exchange with her. It's about cultural exchange, and it's perfect for me to teach her!"

Although Xu Lang had this idea, he couldn't just fawn over her like a lecherous wolf; he couldn't bring himself to do that kind of sycophantic behavior.

"There's plenty of time, no rush!"

Having made up his mind, Xu Lang accompanied Li Gongda as they continued to watch the other people audition.

In the past few days, the newly formed costume team has also produced some of the costumes and makeup designs for the main actors.

Shu Chang, Tang Yan, Liu Tao, Yang Ying, and Pu Shiyan, all five of them tried on the costumes one by one.

Xu Lang then took a series of photos of the five people.

While taking photos, Xu Lang handed the five photos to Li Gongda and said with a smile:

"Producer Li, putting everything else aside, just based on the looks of these five people, this movie is guaranteed to be a hit!"

Li Gongda looked at the costume photos of the five actresses one by one, repeatedly clicking his tongue in amazement.

"Tsk tsk tsk, these five people are all incredibly beautiful."

As he spoke, he pointed to Tang Yan's lilac costume, then to Liu Tao's "Chang'e" costume, then to Yang Ying's Hundred Flower Fairy costume, and finally to Park Si-yeon's Third Holy Mother costume.

After watching for a moment, Li Gongda's brows furrowed involuntarily.

Seeing this, Xu Lang asked curiously:

"Producer Lee, is there a problem?"

"Ugh!"

Li Gongda sighed and said with some worry:

Compared to these four, Shu Chang's Xiao Yu is rather lackluster!

"Oh, so that's what you're worried about!"

Xu Lang immediately understood.

However, he felt that Li Gongda's concerns were valid.

"What kind of leading lady could possibly outshine the looks of Liu Tao, Tang Yan, Yang Ying, and Park Shi-yeon?!"

To be honest, Shu Chang is indeed quite good; she's beautiful and has great acting skills.

But compared to the other four, he just felt a little lacking.

When acting alongside other actresses, it's easy to be overshadowed by their good looks.

In the end, it's easy to end up with a situation where "the female lead lacks presence and can't overpower the female supporting character."

With everyone being a top-tier beauty, the female lead certainly faces a lot of pressure.

Xu Lang pondered for a moment, then tentatively asked Li Gongda,

"Producer Li, you mean... change the female lead?"

After hearing Xu Lang's words, Li Gongda clicked his tongue, neither denying nor confirming.

But the fact that this is not confirmed actually represents his meaning.

After all, if you don't have the idea of ​​changing, you won't be conflicted.

"In today's film and television industry, who is suitable to play Xiaoyu?"

Li Gongda continued talking to himself.

This made Xu Lang even clearer.

"This Li Gongda is really thinking of replacing the female lead!"

After all, a female lead who can't keep up with the supporting female characters is destined for a tragic ending.

After hearing Li Gongda's words, Xu Lang was also thinking about it.

"Xiaoyu in the drama is a little fox spirit. Shu Chang, who is 17 years old, is quirky and clever, so she is perfect for the role."

But if we look at it from the perspective of overshadowing the other four female supporting characters...

That means it can only be Liu Yifei.

But then, Xu Lang shook his head.

"Liu Yifei is not suitable for playing this kind of foxy role."

Thinking of the little fox, Xu Lang's heart suddenly stirred.

"Yang Mi!"

Yang Mi is a natural-born fox spirit, so she's quite suitable for the role.

but. . .

Xu Lang hesitated again.

After all, the success of the TV series "Lotus Lantern" owes a great deal to the role of Xiaoyu, played by Shu Chang.

Now, as Li Gongda's advisor in casting, if Xu Lang firmly pushes for it, he might actually be able to replace Shu Chang.

After pondering for a moment, Xu Lang shook his head and said to Li Gongda:

"Producer Li, we've just started casting, and the final character photos haven't been released yet. It's not something to rush. I think we should wait a bit, what do you say?"

"Yes, you're right, let's wait and see!"

Li Gongda nodded, agreeing with Xu Lang's statement.

As I walked out of Li Gongda's office, I saw a girl sitting alone on the steps at the end of the corridor.

Her shoulders were still twitching, and faint sobs could be heard.

"Hmm, what's going on?"

Curious, Xu Lang quickly walked towards the girl.