1990: Starting from Baojia Street

When Hou Xiaoxian was on the phone with Zhou Yan and the others before, he said it would be two days, but this time it was only a week. When he came to Yanjing, it was already July 20, and Zhou Yan's feature film script had almost been revised. .

They met at the hotel where Hou Xiaoxian was staying, and Zhou Yan brought the script to follow.

After reading the script of the feature film revised by Zhou Yan, Hou Xiaoxian asked some questions, but they were minor issues that could be easily changed without affecting the plot direction.

Putting down the script, Hou Xiaoxian said with a smile, It's been less than a year and you are already filming a feature film. It's incredible.

Zhou Yan said modestly, I still have a lot to learn, and I may have to ask you for advice frequently during the filming process.

Hou Xiaoxian waved his hand, For your first feature film, you have to remember one thing, that is, you have to be bold and don't be timid.

Is this the secret to making good movies? Zhou Yan asked.

No. Hou Xiaoxian shook his head, This is the secret to not regretting it. As for whether we can make a good movie, most of the time, it is not something we can control. All we can do is make what we want to make. Come out. After filming, the rest is left to others to judge.

Zhou Yan nodded. No matter what you do, you need a strong heart. Those who are determined may not succeed, but those who are wavering will definitely fail.

By the way, how's the casting going? Hou Xiaoxian asked again.

The male protagonist, the male protagonist's mother, and the male protagonist's grandfather have all been decided.

Xu Feng has settled He Saifei's matter, and He Saifei will come to Yanjing in a few days.

When the time comes, Zhou Yan will go to pick her up, and of course he won't pick her up on his 28-inch big bar. Xu Feng arranged two cars for their crew, and they also had drivers.

Maybe it’s because He Saifei had a scene during the filming of “Raise the Red Lantern”, or maybe it’s because the situation this year is different from last year. This time Xu Feng didn’t expend much effort in removing He Saifei from the Daishan Yue Opera Troupe. Asked for it inside.

The most important actor, the father of the male protagonist, has not yet been decided.

Hou Xiaoxian didn't care much about the choice of the male protagonist's father. Instead, he was interested in the young woman who appeared in it: Has the heroine been chosen?

The heroine?

Zhou Yan was stunned for a moment and thought to himself that there is a female protagonist in his movie?

Then he realized that Hou Xiaoxian was probably talking about the big sister next door that the hero liked.

In the original film, when the male protagonist was very young, there was a nanny at home who was much older than her. The two got along very well, but because the mother thought that the nanny would lead the male protagonist into bad ways, she fired the nanny.

A few years later, the male protagonist reunited with the nanny and decisively pursued the nanny. However, in the nanny's eyes, the male protagonist was just a child. Of course, she could not accept the pursuit of a child, so she left directly.

Of course Zhou Yan had no reservations about this part, but in order to show the hero's unusual maturity, Zhou Yan still arranged for a girl who is the hero's neighbor and a eldest sister who is ten years older than him.

Moreover, when the two met again, the male protagonist did not initiate a pursuit, but silently liked them.

Zhou Yan arranged very few scenes for this female character. He did not expect that Hou Xiaoxian would pay attention to her and treat her as the heroine.

Seeing Zhou Yan's expression, Hou Xiaoxian knew that he didn't pay much attention to this role, so he said, I personally think that you must choose this role carefully. It is very important what kind of person the male protagonist likes. What kind of person does he like? , which best embodies the heart of his character.”

Zhou Yan nodded. He felt that what Hou Xiaoxian said was reasonable. What a character likes is an important part of building a character. This character really requires a good choice.

Seeing Zhou Yan nodding, Hou Xiaoxian added, Now a large-scale casting work has to be carried out, otherwise there will not be enough time for the short film to be released.

…

After meeting Hou Xiaoxian, Zhou Yan began to prepare for the casting.

In addition to the female character, the movie also needs many supporting roles, and he certainly cannot find them one by one. He needs to organize an audition meeting to solve the battle quickly.

Nowadays, there is no casting studio in China that specializes in the casting of film crews, and there is no independent casting director, so Zhou Yan himself formed a casting team with executive director Lu Xuexiang and photographer Zhao Fei.

There are also some makeup, props, and logistics staff in this team. Some of these people were transferred from Chang'an Studio, such as Hong Xin and Lin Juan, and some were hired directly from Yanjing Studio.

Zhou Yan originally wanted to ask Liu Qing to come over, but unfortunately Liu Qingren was already on the crew of Qiu Ju's Lawsuit.

The film The Piano Boy Who Wants to Fly has the same model as Farewell My Concubine. It is jointly produced by Tomson Film Company and Yanjing Film Studio, and is independently distributed by Tomson Film Company, so as long as it is in Yanjing Film Studio If someone is free, Zhou Yan can theoretically go to Chen Zhigu for secondment.

After the casting team was formed, they began to publish recruitment information to various art troupes and schools and invite actors to audition.

These days, communications are underdeveloped. Recruiting actors is either a matter of directional search. For example, Zhou Yan cast He Saifei and Li Shouhai before the script was finished. Or it is word of mouth and mutual introduction. For example, people at Yanjing Studio know Zhou Yan. If you want to film a movie, you can naturally recommend actors in their factory, or you can recommend other actors you know to audition.

Also, if the project is well-known, many people will be keen to get involved. Not long after the project Farewell My Concubine was reported, Yanjing Studio received many self-recommendation letters from actors, and even Some actors came to the studio.

Zhou Yan didn't have that much time, so he asked Hong Xin and the others to go directly to various film academies to distribute flyers. Those flyers contained recruitment information for movie roles.

In order to attract actors to audition, Zhou Yan specially wrote exaggerated slogans such as Tomson Films and Yanjing Studios join hands again and Created by the best director of the Kurta International Film Festival on the flyer.

Because time was tight, Zhou Yan was afraid that not many people would come to audition if he didn't do some stunts.

…

The location of the audition was arranged at Yanjing Film Studio. Zhou Yan asked Chen Zhigu to borrow an empty room, and the time was set at nine o'clock in the morning on July 28th, which was a Sunday, making it easier for the actors to arrange their time.

Mainly for the actors and actresses in the art troupe, weekends are more convenient for them.

On the morning of July 28, Zhou Yan rode to Yanjing Studio at 8:10.

Hong Xin and Senior Lu arrived earlier than Zhou Yan and were setting up the scene.

In fact, there was nothing to arrange. The scene of their audition was very simple. There were two tables in the room, and a banner hung on the wall that read: Audition for the movie The Piano Boy Who Wants to Fly.

The only thing that is more impressive is the two cameras placed in the room. Zhou Yan borrowed them from the factory specifically for appearance. They are the most high-end gadgets in the factory and are very intimidating.

However, these two cameras are just decorations and cannot be turned on today. They are placed here to let the actors feel the strength of their crew.

In fact, this is why Zhou Yan placed the audition location at Yanjing Studio. When people heard that they were auditioning at Yanjing Studio, they naturally thought that the crew was very powerful, or at least it was a regular crew.

Seeing Zhou Yan coming, Senior Lu asked him with a smile, Director Zhou, are you worried?

What are you worried about? Zhou Yan asked.

I'm worried that no one will come to audition.

Zhou Yan said with a smile, If no one comes to audition, I will take you to those schools one by one to recruit people from art troupes.

What's the point of taking me with you?

Didn't you graduate from Yanjing Film Academy? Don't you have any connections at school?

There are quite a few enemies. If you take me back, you will only get a beating. Senior Lu smiled with squinted eyes. His eyes were not big to begin with, and there was only a slit left in his smile.

Zhou Yan also laughed, Not bad, Lao Lu, he can joke now.

It's called learning to be a good person from a good person, and learning to bite from a mahu. You will lead me all the way. Hong Xin, who was setting the table, said with a smile.

Zhao Fei, who was studying the camera on the other side, smiled and said, Hong Guantou, you must respect Director Zhou, and be careful that Director Zhou puts on small shoes for you.

Oh, Brother Zhao, why do you call me Hong Guantou? When Zhao Fei called herself Hong Guantou, she was not happy.

Zhou Yan laughed and said, Old Zhao is right. I sewed a few pairs of shoes at home last night and brought them to the set. I will wear them for anyone who doesn't listen to me.

Lin Juan also joined in the fun and said, Brother Zhou Yan, I will definitely listen to you.

Hong Xin imitated Lin Juan's accent, Brother Zhou Yan~ I will definitely listen to you.

Sister Hong——

A few people chatted and laughed, and other members of the casting team arrived one after another, and Zhou Yan began to assign tasks to them again.

Although there may not be many people coming today, Zhou Yan still tried his best to arrange every aspect properly.

Signs were placed along the way from the entrance of the studio to the audition room, and they would also arrange for a person to pick up the actors who came for the audition at the entrance of the studio.

When the actors arrive, they will get a number plate. When there are many people, they have to wait outside for their number to be called.

While waiting for their number to be called, the team will distribute paper and pen to the actors and ask them to fill in their personal information. In addition to basic information such as name and academic qualifications, they also have professional experience and works they have participated in.

After all the links are arranged, the next step is to wait.

Zhou Yan sat motionless in the audition room. Everyone else couldn't help but look out the door from time to time. Even Zhao Fei occasionally took a look outside.

Until eight forty, no one showed up. Lin Juan's face was full of anxiety and she kept pacing back and forth. Although it was said to start at nine o'clock, under normal circumstances, someone should arrive early.

After another ten minutes, Lin Juan suddenly shouted in surprise, Someone is coming, someone is coming.