mijobooks Chapter 99 Public Audition
Chapter 99 Public Audition
In early September, Beijing was beginning to feel the chill of autumn.
The news of the audition for the female lead in "Inception" had been circulating in the industry for a month, and finally, on September 6th, the decision was made.
The audition was held in the multi-functional hall on the third floor of Chenxi Media. Starting at eight o'clock in the morning, nanny vans began to park downstairs.
Fu Yibai arrived at the company at 7:30 in the morning.
Liu Yan had already placed the audition schedule on his desk, with a freshly brewed cup of coffee next to it.
"Mr. Fu, this is the audition list for this morning. Zhang Ziyi is first in line, at 9:00 AM sharp."
Then came Li Binbin, Zhou Xun, Fan Binbin…”
Fu Yibai took the list and glanced at it. There were more than a dozen names densely packed on it, each with its agency and representative works listed after it.
These are the results after the initial screening.
Although it was supposed to be an open audition, it was clear that this opportunity to star in a Hollywood blockbuster would not be given to unknown, obscure artists.
At 8:50, Liu Yan knocked on the door and came in.
"Mr. Fu, Zhang Ziyi has arrived."
"Please ask her to go to the lounge; it will start promptly at nine o'clock."
"OK."
Zhang Ziyi wore a simple black dress today, with exquisite makeup and an aura of confidence.
She sat in the lounge for less than five minutes before being ushered into the audition room by staff.
In the audition room, Fu Yibai sat in the center of the long table, with Margaret to his left.
She flew in from Los Angeles three days ago. To her right are Wang Peng and people from China Film Group.
Warner Bros. wasn't in control and wasn't particularly interested in casting an actress, so they didn't send anyone over.
"Miss Zhang, please have a seat."
Zhang Ziyi sat down opposite him, her gaze sweeping over the people behind the long table before finally settling on Fu Yibai's face, where she gave him a perfectly timed smile.
"Director Fu, I've heard so much about you."
Since winning the Berlin Golden Bear, I've been looking forward to congratulating you in person.
"Miss Zhang, you're too kind."
Fu Yibai remained expressionless.
"Then let's get started."
The audition consists of three parts: English dialogue, improvisation, and simple action demonstration.
Zhang Ziyi speaks fluent English with an American accent, clearly showing she has put in the effort.
During the improvisation segment, she chose a scene depicting inner conflict, delivering a natural and powerful emotional shift.
During the demonstration, she performed a few simple side kicks and backbends, clean and crisp.
"Thank you, Ms. Zhang. We will inform your agent as soon as we have any news."
Zhang Ziyi stood up, and before leaving, she glanced back at Fu Yibai with a determined look in her eyes.
After she left, Lin Wei leaned over and whispered.
"She is indeed strong."
Fu Yibai didn't say anything, but simply made a mark on the list.
Next up is Li Binbin.
Her English is equally fluent, and her action acting skills are even more solid than Zhang Ziyi's, but she tends to overact during improvisations and her emotional transitions are not natural enough.
Zhou Xun's English has a bit of a Beijing accent, but it has a relaxed feel to it, and her talent during impromptu performances is undeniable.
The action scenes were a bit of a disaster; he almost tripped over himself while kicking.
After a morning, the auditions for the six actresses were over.
During her lunch break, Margaret flipped through her notes, speaking in an objective tone.
"At present, Ms. Zhang seems to be more suitable."
"Don't rush, there are still people who haven't auditioned yet."
Perhaps there will be something more suitable.
Fu Yibai waved his hand.
Margaret immediately understood that her boss probably didn't have a high opinion of Zhang Ziyi.
They may already have someone in mind.
Although she didn't understand why Fu Yibai would hold a public audition if he already had someone in mind, she couldn't ask since her boss wouldn't say.
The auditions continued at 1:30 p.m.
When Fan Binbin came in, Fu Yibai looked up at her.
Today she wore a simple white shirt with black trousers, and her long hair was tied in a high ponytail. She looked capable and energetic.
But Fu Yibai noticed that she unconsciously clenched the hem of her clothes when she entered the room.
I'm nervous.
"Binbin, have a seat."
take it easy."
Margaret, who was standing nearby, immediately perked up.
She sensed something different from the boss's attitude and the way he addressed her.
He looked her up and down and nodded to himself.
Fan Binbin sat down opposite him, took a deep breath, and met his eyes.
Fu Yibai nodded slightly.
"Let's begin."
.........
Fan Binbin's audition went very smoothly.
During the English dialogue segment, her pronunciation, while not perfect, was fluent and natural, clearly showing that she had put in a lot of effort over the past month.
During the demonstration, she kicked, turned, and bent over cleanly and efficiently.
"Thank you, Binbin. I'll let you know as soon as I have any news."
Fan Binbin stood up, his gaze lingered on Fu Yibai's face for a second, and then he turned and left.
After Fan Binbin left, Margaret immediately said, "That one was good, even more suitable for the role than Zhang Ziyi this morning."
The people from China Film Group exchanged a glance with Wang Peng, and then echoed, "Ms. Fan is indeed more suitable for this role."
Wang Peng was fully aware of the relationship between Fu Yibai and Fan Binbin. Han Shanping from China Film Group gave him some inside information and instructed him to listen to Fu Yibai completely during the audition.
"Well, then let's leave it at that for now."
If there's no one more suitable, I'll choose her.
After that, several more A-list actresses came in to audition.
Liu Yifei was the last person to audition today.
Although the girl's English is quite good, her action scenes are also excellent.
However, she was too young to be the male lead's wife.
The next day, Tang Yan and a few of the other girls who had ideas asked for leave to come back and participate in the audition.
After all, he's an artist from his own company, so Fu Yibai is bound to give him a chance.
However, their performance was not good, and Fu Yibai told them on the spot that they were not up to par and that they should go back to the crew and film properly.