Bai Yang sat quietly on the chair, he didn't feel nervous or shy now - even though the opposite was Zhang Huitong, a famous director who is well-known at home and abroad.
This is an individual, special audition.
His performance today will determine whether he can get the role of Shen Bailu.
Zhang Huitong is also from Nanjing. The location of the audition is not in the company, but at Zhang Huitong’s home—Director Zhang is over sixty years old, single, and lives with two assistants in a small courtyard on Ninghai Road. Take stillness.
This movie master, who is as famous as Zang Yuanchao, is different from Zang Yuanchao's casual appearance. At first glance, he has kind eyebrows and kind eyes, and looks a little old because of his thinness, but his hair is combed in a neat way, and the silk shirt is covered with a soft camel fur coat.
The room is as warm as spring, with the smell of sandalwood coming out from nowhere, mixed with the sweetness of seasonal fruits, the smell of rotten paper gnawed by silverfish, and the spicy fragrance of camphor wood balls placed randomly.
These many smells mixed together, forming a strange and elegant bookish atmosphere, lingering around the old man.
He looked at Bai Yang gently, and Bai Yang looked at him respectfully.
Only for a certain moment, Bai Yang suddenly felt that this person, this room, and the script in his hand—this kind of gentle temperament, very much resembled someone he could never forget.
Yesterday afternoon, Li Nian showed him the script of "A Dream of the Huaihe River"—Shan Qici's script, and Bai Yang was extremely surprised. After reading the script, he felt even more excited. A famous artist is a famous artist, just reading the script already made him feel excited.
"You are lucky." Li Nian said.
At first Zhang Huitong flatly declined Li Nian's invitation, saying he was busy. Li Nian had no choice but to ask Jin Shi'an to invite Shan Qici. Zhang Huitong was inconvenient to sweep Dan Qici's face, "Bring me the script first."
Li Nian has no other confidence, the script is his biggest bargaining chip.
Zhang Huitong really took the bait, and before Li Nian could make a second call, Zhang Huitong called in person: "Mr. Li, do you have time to meet and discuss in detail?"
They met, Shan Qici and Jin Shi'an both arrived.
Zhang Huitong said the first sentence when they met, "This was not written by Qici."
Shan Qici laughed at the side.
Shi'an shyly said: "Director Zhang has good eyesight, it's my clumsy work." Shan Qici was anxious: "I've also polished it up, don't think it's a young man's work so you don't like it."
Zhang Huitong said unhurriedly: "Look at you with a bald head, you can't write such a good thing. When did I say I don't like it anymore?"
Shan Qici patted his bald head, "Why do you dislike me as soon as we meet? Give me some face in front of the younger generation."
Shi'an and Li Nian were delighted to know that he and Li Nian agreed, and quietly listened to their gossip. But Zhang Huitong didn't gossip much, and simply put down the script: "I'm filming, can this script be snatched away by others. I have already thought about the actors."
Mr. Shan was talking nonsense next to him, "Zang Yuanchao doesn't know yet, what are you in a hurry for?"
Li Nian was afraid that they would knock down the actor immediately, so he had to interject: "Director Zhang, we have someone in mind for the role of Shen Bailu, and we want to recommend it to you."
Zhang Huitong didn't pay much attention to Li Nian. Hearing that there was a candidate, he felt displeased, so he looked at him in the blink of an eye, "I won't shoot because the investor is fortified."
Li Nian didn't want him to turn his face so soon, but Shi'an said calmly beside him, "I wrote this drama for this person, and no one is more suitable than him. See Director Zhang first, if it doesn't suit you, we have no objection." .”
Shan Qici helped to play the side drum, "I'll see you first, make sure."
Zhang Huitong was still not very happy, "Have you seen it?"
"...I haven't, but I believe in Shi'an's vision." Shan Qici hesitated.
Li Nian hurriedly handed over Bai Yang's resume, "Director Zhang, think about it, not that you have to choose him, you should think about it."
Zhang Huitong originally thought of Du Yu in his heart, but he was even more dissatisfied after reviewing his resume, "Too young. He has never made a movie. All the ones he has made here are all kinds of things."
Flipping through the pages, he turned to Bai Yang's photo, and he stopped talking, just thinking.
Everyone didn't dare to say much, and waited for him in silence for a long time. Zhang Huitong frowned, looked over and over, and suddenly smiled, "Yes, you can bring this child over tomorrow to see if he can satisfy me." He didn't wait for others to speak , and solemnly said, "Only this time, no second time. If it doesn't work once, don't bother me again."
Bai Yang hardly had time to prepare. Li Nian didn't argue with Zhang Huitong, but just told Bai Yang to read the script as soon as he could.
Even if Bai Yang's performance is not satisfactory, he can still report to Zhang Huitong, saying that there is not enough time for preparation. If there is enough time, but Bai Yang does not perform well enough, it would be a mistake.
The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment. Li Nian understood this, so he simply went into battle lightly.
Bai Yang didn't show any shock or shrink back. He has been running outside for so long. Many TV dramas don't rely on scripts at all. The screenwriters start work on the spot, and often they get their hands on the evening dramas in the morning. They don't even have scripts at all, so they can play freely. , is also common.
This is an era of frivolity. When people read a work, they don't even care whether it is good or bad. They just hope that the plot will continue and give a little companionship and comfort to the lonely life.
Bai Yang only told Li Nian, "President Li, remember to pick me up tomorrow afternoon."
Zhang Huitong asked his two assistants to sit downstairs, only him and Bai Yang were left in the living room, with Li Nian beside him.
There was another room at the back of the living room, separated by a wicker curtain, behind which there was a faint figure. Zhang Hui channeled, "Old Shan who wrote the script is also here, so I won't let him out so that you won't be nervous."
Bai Yang nodded obediently, "Thank you Director Zhang."
Zhang Huitong sat down gracefully, "You can try whichever section you think is good."
"I can do it, Director Zhang can order a paragraph." Bai Yang answered happily.
Li Nian's back was sweating instantly, and Zhang Huitong immediately looked at Li Nian sharply, "He got the notebook already?"
"No, even if I dare to lie to you about this matter, Mr. Shan will not lie to you. The script was indeed given to him only yesterday."
The shape of Zhang Huitong's eyes is very gentle, but for a moment his eyes are aggressive, which makes Li Nian feel more pressure. Li Nian stands up reflexively, and can't help but tell Xiaozu in his heart, don't lose the chain.
Bai Yang also stood up, "Director Zhang, I did get the script yesterday and stayed up all night reading it, and I still have dark circles under my eyes."
Zhang Huitong glanced at him, "I can't see that you have dark circles."
Bai Yang scratched his head, "I covered it with some concealer."
Li Nian sweated again.
Zhang Huitong looked at him curiously and asked, "Do you remember the whole script?"
"I can't remember," Bai Yang said honestly, "but the plot and the basic feeling are all in my heart, just let me take a look first."
Li Nian continued to sweat.
Zhang Huitong laughed, "That's the second scene, this one. Don't be afraid, take it easy."
He told Bai Yang to relax, and Bai Yang was really relaxed. Bai Yang poked his head over to read the script in Zhang Huitong's hand. Zhang Huitong also pointed to him, "Here, here."
—The presence or absence of a director, great director or small director, will not make one's acting skills improve or decrease out of thin air.
Bai Yang already understood this. Acting with Jiang Ruiyun, teach him one thing: the director may make you perform better than usual, but there is no reason to make you perform worse than usual. In the final analysis, acting is my own business.
Nervousness doesn't add a beautiful filter to your performance.
Li Nian outside the curtain, Shi An and Shan Qici behind the curtain were all sweating.
This scene is not long, and there is no opponent. It shows that Shen Bailu is thinking about the role alone, wandering back and forth, a one-man show.
Bai Yang still behaved in such a tepid way, I really can't say what's good about him, but I can't say it's bad either.
Most of other people's performances are paintings with strong colors, which are shocking when you put them in front of your eyes. And Bai Yang's performance feels blank.
But if you really want to find another better performance than him, it seems that you can't think of it. His performance is complete, a complete blank, like uncarved seed material, anyone can see that the seed skin is still there, revealing a little bit of white jade inside, but you have to peel off this layer of skin Yes, I feel wrong again.
He is simply performing, with instinct, he enjoys the ease of instinct, and also feels the pleasure of instinct.
The lines came out of his mind one after another, and when he couldn't remember, someone reminded him gently, and he continued to act freely.
Li Nian was sweating profusely watching, Zhang Huitong reminded Bai Yang, but Bai Yang didn't even know how to thank him.
The two people in the curtain watched silently.
This scene didn't last long, after Bai Yang finished acting, he regained his obedient expression, stood obediently, and waited for Zhang Huitong to speak.
Zhang Huitong didn't read Bai Yang, but just flipped through the script, thoughtfully, then raised his head for a long time, "Do you know that there are many places in this script that require Kunqu opera performances?"
Li Nian was afraid that Zhang Huitong would ask about this section, so he immediately interjected, "We have already arranged actors from the Provincial Kunming Theater to be substitutes."
Zhang Huitong only looked at Bai Yang, "I don't know how to use doubles for literary films. If you can do Kunqu opera, I will use you. If you can't do it, forget it."
This butt is also sitting too crooked, Bai Yang can't, but Du Yu can? Li Nian began to scold his mother in his heart again.
Shan Qici wanted to open the curtain and go out, but Shi'an grabbed him and whispered, "Sir, don't worry."
He clearly saw a little light in Bai Yang's eyes.
If it is vague, it does not seem to be self-confidence, he is just intuition, Bai Yang may surprise them.
Do you and Bai Yang really have a tacit understanding? Shi'an didn't know, he held down Shan Qici, "Maybe he can't."
And Bai Yang took a deep breath, "Director Zhang, can I use my phone?"
Zhang Huitong nodded.
Bai Yang turned around and rummaged in his backpack, adjusted the player, and bowed to Zhang Huitong, "There is no fan here, so I will choose the section without a fan."
Everyone was puzzled and just watched silently.
Bai Yang played the music, and a smile appeared on Zhang Huitong's face.
The section he chose was none other than Jiang Ershui in "Looking for Dreams".
—Occasionally, my heart is like a love, beside the plum tree.
This one is really one of the best songs in "The Peony Pavilion", comparable to the Zao Luopao in "Garden Tour" and the hillside sheep in "Dream".
And Bai Yang rolled up his sleeves, closed his eyes, and then slowly opened them, Shi An suddenly felt that he was a different person, his eyes were full of tears, sorrowful and tired, even Shi An himself was surprised.
—How could it look like this? He had clearly never seen Lu Sheng.
When did Poplar learn this? He didn't know, and he couldn't ask, he just felt tears welling up in his eyes, and there was still a song of Luo Chouqi's hate in the air, "It seems that these flowers and plants are loved by people, and life and death follow people's wishes, so they are sour and bitter. People complain."
Like these flowers and plants are loved by people,
Life and death follow one's wishes,
No one complains about the sourness.
When Qingyi sang here, most of his brows were tightly frowned, and he wanted to express endless rain, hatred and cloud sorrow between his brows and eyes - Lu Sheng was the best at this. Si Xian tucked her brows together as Yuan Shan Dai, and she sang, countless waves of light and resentment flowed from her eyes.
Bai Yang turned his eyes back, but smiled faintly—no, he didn't smile on purpose. This is the only thing Bai Yang looks like from Lu Sheng, Lu Sheng has a pair of autumn eyes, but Bai Yang has a pair of smiling eyes. When he is not nervous, his eyes look like he is smiling.
This ray of natural smile, floating in the corners of the eyes and brows, is like the blue sky where the clouds disappear and the rain disappears, and the waning moon in the willow morning breeze, adding a special resentment that ends when the song ends.
That resentment is not like a real resentment, it is clearly a point of clarity that has been seen through, and a point of lingering in the same river.
Intentional or unintentional, intentional or unintentional, affectionate or ruthless, grievances or no grievances.
If Lu Sheng was still alive, he would probably secretly say hello when he saw Bai Yang.
- Only now did he realize that Bai Yang and Lu Sheng were originally the same person.
Their temperaments are naturally very different, but in the final analysis, they are all the same heart, pure and focused, and they seem to be desperate for acting. It wasn't a life-and-death struggle, but it was as if life was worthless, and he didn't care about it, so he let him go lightly.
At the end of the song, Bai Yang closed his eyes again, opened them again, and looked at Zhang Huitong nervously.
Zhang Huitong was only in a daze and didn't speak.
Bai Yang waited for him for a long time, so he could only ask timidly, "...Director Zhang, is it okay?"
Zhang Huitong suddenly changed his face and raised his eyebrows: "Who told you to stop?"
Both Bai Yang and Li Nian were surprised.
Zhang Huitong went behind the curtain with a wooden face.
Shan Qici complained when he saw him coming in, "What are you yelling at?"
Zhang Huitong still didn't speak, turned his head back and forth in front of Shan Qici with his head down, raised his face, his face was full of joy, and scratched each other with his hands.
Shan Qici stared at him blankly.
Zhang Huitong came out again and asked Bai Yang, "Have you ever studied Kunqu Opera?"
Bai Yang shook his head honestly, "No, I don't know how to sing at all, I just watched it, so I know how to act."
Zhang Huitong wondered, "You are so young, why do you want to watch Kunqu opera?"
Bai Yang hesitated for a moment, then lowered his head.
"I had a friend who taught me before, so I just watched some myself."
"You remember it after seeing it?" Zhang Huitong was even more surprised.
"... I watched it many times." Bai Yang's voice became even softer.
Shi'an was dazed behind the curtain, Shan Qici patted him on the shoulder kindly, and he hurriedly wiped the corners of his eyes, but the tears seemed to be inexhaustible.
Shan Qici ignored him and just looked at him with a smile. The screenwriter is not excited when he sees his character standing in front of him vividly. It was the first time for his grandson to write a script, so of course he was overjoyed. Not to mention Jin Shi'an, even he was overjoyed.
Here Zhang Huitong just waved his hands, told Bai Yang to sit down, and drank slowly from the small purple clay pot.
Li Nian didn't know whether he agreed or not, so he didn't dare to speak, let alone ask. Zhang Huitong just raised his head after drinking a pot, and smiled at Bai Yang, "Filming with me is very hard, can you bear it?"
Bai Yang was at a loss for a moment, Li Nian pushed him, and he stood up with a grunt, "I can."
Everyone laughed. The people behind the curtain are also laughing. Li Nian pushed Bai Yang again, and Bai Yang remembered to bow: "Thank you Director Zhang!"
Zhang Huitong put a smile on his lips, "I am willing to take you because this script is a good story. You don't have to thank me, thank you to the screenwriter."
Bai Yang bowed deeply to the curtain again: "Thank you, Teacher Shan!"
Zhang Huitong laughed loudly and waved his hands inside, "Xiao Jin, how long are you going to pretend to be Qici?"
Bai Yang raised his head, and the willow curtain was lifted, revealing a familiar figure, tall and handsome, who else is it not Jin Shi'an
Shi An stood in front of him, looking at him with a smile and tears.
"It's been a long time."
Bai Yang was stunned.
How long has it been since he saw Jin Shi'an? It's been a long time, it seems like many years. Seeing each other suddenly, it feels like a dream. This script was actually written by Jin Shi'an, that's why they saw it here. Jin Shi'an was still so gentle, and his smile was still so familiar that he couldn't move his eyes away.
Bai Yang felt that his brain was not enough.
He remembered that Zhang Huitong was still beside him, so he didn't dare to shed tears, and he didn't dare to get very excited, so he just lowered his head, "Mr. Jin."
Zhang Huitong said politely, "You still have to figure out the script, so let Xiaojin talk to you about the play. When another role is confirmed, we will start filming at the beginning of the year."
Shi'an nodded to him: "I'll take him out first to see the real scene in the original work."
Li Nian didn't expect him to be so anxious, and it was inconvenient to show it if he wanted to pull him, so he just winked at Jin Shi'an.
Shi An didn't see him, and he didn't even wait for Shan Lao, so he took Bai Yang and went out.
Shan Qici was not angry at all, he opened the curtain and ran out staggeringly, only looking at Zhang Huitong: "I'll tell you? I'll tell you? You won't believe what you said, because you have a very bad temper. "