“Classmate, you don’t seem to be from the Beijing Film Academy Directing Department?”
The afternoon class soon ended.
At that moment.
A bespectacled, bearded middle-aged man came over to Chen Cheng.
Chen Cheng was not overly embarrassed. He said, “I’m from the Acting Department. Since the Acting Department had no classes this afternoon, I thought I’d come to the Directing Department and sit in.”
“Do you want to study directing?”
“A little.”
“But directing requires learning far more than acting.”
“I actually think directing is a little easier than acting.”
“Oh? Explain.”
The middle-aged man pointed ahead. “Let’s sit over there.”
The two walked to a stone table ahead. After thinking for a moment, Chen Cheng said, “Although directing seems to require learning more than acting, and demands greater expertise—you have to study acting, Cinematic language, literature, music, the Art Department, and even editing—not all of those fields necessarily require you to reach the highest level yourself. A certain level of aesthetic judgment is enough. Most importantly, a director can call ‘Cut.’ I really like that.”
“Hahaha…”
The middle-aged man laughed. “You’re doing it all for that one word, ‘Cut.’”
“Otherwise, how would people know I’m the director if I didn’t call ‘Cut’?”
“Fine, you win.”
Chen Cheng merely spread his hands and said, “I’m joking. Actually, I think directors will have greater opportunities than actors in the future.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Just look at the present. Hong Kong’s Film and Television industry has already fallen into decline, while Mainland China’s economy is slowly rising. A brand-new era is about to arrive. Every era has its own defining symbols, and every era has its own forms of entertainment. I think the future will belong to the mainland entertainment industry.”
“The mainland entertainment industry’s world… Hehe, that’s quite an unusual view.”
“So, do you want to become a director in the future?”
Chen Cheng shook his head. “Not necessarily a director. After all, a director’s words do not always carry authority, do they?”
The middle-aged man was taken aback, then burst out laughing. “You sure have big ambitions, kid.”
“I’m just saying. Besides, boasting isn’t against the law.”
“That’s true. It isn’t.”
Raising a thumb toward Chen Cheng, the middle-aged man said, “Chen Cheng, let’s get acquainted. My surname is Yu, and my given name is Ming. I’ve directed several television dramas before.”
“Yu Ming?”
Chen Cheng felt that he had heard the name somewhere before.
Then, in an instant, he remembered. “The Return of the Condor Heroes—Director Yu?”
“Wait, Director Yu, how do you know my name?”
Director Yu’s appearance at the Beijing Film Academy was perfectly normal.
A few days earlier, it had already been reported that Yu Ming would come to the Beijing Film Academy for auditions.
But the fact that Yu Ming knew him left Chen Cheng puzzled.
“Director Li said you were the most capable script supervisor he had ever met.”
As he spoke,
Yu Ming took out several printed pages. “This is what you recorded in the script supervisor’s notebook, along with some storyboards?”
“Yes.”
“You’re quite bold, writing down where Director Li’s filming was lacking.”
“I didn’t say it to Director Li’s face. I was only evaluating it for myself. Besides, I’m just a minor script supervisor. Director Li wouldn’t try to blacklist me after reading it, would he?”
“Blacklist you…”
Yu Ming snorted. “Where did you get that idea about the industry? Who has the power to blacklist people at the drop of a hat? Besides, do you really think Director Li is that petty?”
“Then I’m relieved.”
After the Wang Zhaojun production crew wrapped, Chen Cheng had originally wanted to take the script supervisor’s notebook home.
But the production crew’s rules stated that the script supervisor’s notebook was part of the Screenplay and could not be taken away.
Chen Cheng had been rather depressed.
What worried him more was the fear that someone might see the complaints he had written in the script supervisor’s notebook.
As things stood now, that worry was unnecessary.
“So, are you interested in joining us for The Return of the Condor Heroes?”
“For now, I’m not really interested in acting.”
“I mean as my assistant.”
“An assistant director? You think that highly of me?”
“Hahaha… What’s wrong? You don’t want to do it?”
“Director Yu, I’ve only ever worked as a script supervisor. Besides, I’m studying acting. You still want me?”
“Come on. There are plenty of things to do on the film crew. You’ll be busy in the future.”
Yu Ming stood up, and Chen Cheng hurriedly followed.
…
Beijing Film Academy, female students’ dormitory in the Acting Department.
Yuan Shanshan washed her hair early in the morning. As she did so, she asked Yang Mi, “Mimi, the audition is tomorrow. Are you sure you want to try out for Guo Xiang?”
Yang Mi kept reading the four copies of 《The Return of the Condor Heroes》original work she had bought a few days earlier. She did not hear until Yuan Shanshan called her several times. “I think Chen Cheng made a good point. At my current age, Guo Xiang suits me better.”
“You really listen to Chen Cheng.”
“It’s not that I simply listen to him. What he said does make sense. What about you? Are you still planning to play Xiaolongnü?”
“Of course.”
“Then you have no chance. A whole host of Major Stars are competing for Xiaolongnü. I heard Jiang Qinqin, and Zhang Baizhi as well. Even Zhou Xun, who played Huang Rong a few years ago, is competing for Xiaolongnü. In addition, our Senior Sister Liu Yifei from the class of 2002 is also a popular candidate.”
“I know I have no chance.”
“Then why did you apply for Xiaolongnü?”
“I’m just trying out. It’s not as if the other actresses are guaranteed to be selected.”
As she spoke, Yuan Shanshan asked Zhang Xiaofei, who shared their dormitory, “Xiaofei, what about you? Didn’t you sign up?”
“I did.”
“Which role did you apply for?”
“Li Mochou.”
“You’re going for a comedic version of Li Mochou, aren’t you?”
“Hahaha, maybe it’ll work. After all, it should be different from the previous versions. Perhaps the director will be dazzled when he sees me and choose me on the spot.”
“That’s the spirit. I support you.”
The three chatted and laughed.
In fact,
all three knew that many students would have no chance in this casting for The Return of the Condor Heroes.
But they were all students of the Beijing Film Academy Acting Department. It was impossible for them not to be tempted by those roles.
Therefore,
it was not only the three of them.
Almost the entire Beijing Film Academy was discussing the casting for The Return of the Condor Heroes.
Even
some Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters who had graduated from the Beijing Film Academy several years earlier returned to the academy to inquire about the situation.
Meanwhile, Chen Cheng
had been assigned a task by Director Yu Ming.
He was to write character biographies for the various roles in The Return of the Condor Heroes.
This exhausted Chen Cheng.
After all, The Return of the Condor Heroes
had dozens of supporting characters alone, not to mention the Male and Female Leads.
There were hundreds of characters with names.
And honestly, every single one was exceptionally compelling.
Therefore, even if someone played only a supporting role, they could still shine if they performed well.
Fortunately, Chen Cheng typed extremely quickly.
Moreover, he had watched The Return of the Condor Heroes since childhood and had read the original work countless times.
He had also read a series of fan works based on The Return of the Condor Heroes.
In addition, he had seen the Film and Television Dramas of The Return of the Condor Heroes in their various versions,
as well as countless discussions by netizens in his previous life summarizing the various characters.
Furthermore,
Chen Cheng’s writing attribute was as high as 70 points.
It was no exaggeration to say that he had written dozens of short Screenplays in his previous life.
Although a 70-point attribute was not particularly high, it was still beyond the reach of ordinary people.
Therefore, although this task was indeed quite demanding,
Chen Cheng handled the writing with ease.
And sure enough,
in two days, Chen Cheng had already written more than twenty character biographies.
At the same time,
Chen Cheng’s writing attribute also increased from 70 points to 73 points.
“Chen Cheng, how far have you gotten with the character biographies?”
“Director Yu, I’ve finished the biographies for some of the main characters.”
“Oh, you’re a fast worker.”
Chen Cheng sent the completed character biographies to Yu Ming.
Yu Ming flipped through them several times.
Originally, he had only intended to skim them.
When he asked Chen Cheng to write the character biographies, he had not actually intended to assign Chen Cheng a real task.
He had asked Chen Cheng to write the character biographies simply to see what his true ability was.
He had not expected
that, after turning a few pages,
he would become increasingly engrossed in Chen Cheng’s series of character biographies.
Among them,
the biography for Guo Xiang was particularly outstanding, and was also the most brilliantly written.
“Chen Cheng, this is impressive. At this level, you could publish a book.”
“Thank you for the praise, Director Yu. It’s mainly because The Return of the Condor Heroes is so famous. Many people already have well-developed views on it.”
“Your views are different, though, and they’ve given me quite a few ideas. How about this… The casting for The Return of the Condor Heroes at the Beijing Film Academy begins tomorrow. You’ll participate in the casting alongside Teacher Liu Yi and Teacher Zhao Guangbin.”
“Director Yu, I’m participating in the casting?”
“Don’t feel pressured. You’ll just take part in the first round of screening. Of course, you’re new, and you’re young as well. When the time comes, observe more and learn from the two teachers.”
“All right.”