Chapter 9 Meeting with a big beard
"what do you think?"
After Ding Xiu left without letting anyone in, Yuan Bing and Huang Jianzhong started discussing.
"Playing Lin Pingzhi is a bit confusing." Huang Jianzhong's brows looked a little sad, "It would be great if he graduated from a major, even if he didn't graduate in his junior year like Li Jie."
Yuan Bing retorted: "We are recruiting actors, not civil servants. Is academic qualifications so important? Isn't it enough if you have the ability?"
"How many of the people from TVB have academic qualifications? Andy Lau is a barber, Stephen Chow works in an electronics factory, Tony Leung is in sales, and Goo Jai has been in prison."
"My junior brothers Sammo Hung and Cheng Long are the jugglers in the troupe. They don't have academic qualifications. I think young people should be given opportunities."
Huang Jianzhong smiled bitterly: "The mainland is different from Xiangjiang. Students with majors still have an advantage. It is very troublesome to train pure people."
“The freshman frees his/her nature and learns about the history of domestic and foreign films. The sophomore goes on stage to learn sketches, the junior plays graduation dramas, and the senior does internships. Students in the majors spend one or two years in school, but they only learn basic knowledge. In my opinion, it is different from that of college students. Part of it is no different from an amateur.”
Although he is from Xiangjiang, when it comes to film school, Yuan Bing is familiar with it.
After one or two years in film school, what they learned was limited, and it wasn't just basic knowledge. Li Jie and Ding Xiu were only half as good as each other.
Neither of them could convince the other, so Huang Jianzhong stopped arguing: "It doesn't matter who we choose, let's leave it to the boss to make the decision."
Yuan Bing nodded: "I believe Lao Zhang's vision is the same as mine."
The second male lead is not a small role. The two of them really can't make the decision. They can only make suggestions. The final decision was made by Zhang Jizhong.
Two days later, an interview list with award candidate resumes fell in front of Zhang Jizhong.
"The role of Lin Pingzhi is quite popular." Zhang Jizhong was surprised to see more than 70 candidates.
These are screened out, and we don’t know how many there are before they are screened out.
It shows how popular this drama is.
The two names at the top were Li Jie and Ding Xiu. Li Jie's role was very ordinary. He was a junior at Nortel and had acted in two dramas. In Zhang Jizhong's opinion, neither was an advantage.
"I have ten years of dancing skills, and I look good in costume...is there a hint of sinisterness in those kind eyes?" Zhang Jizhong smiled when he saw Huang Jianzhong's comment.
I'm afraid this is why Li Jie's resume appeared in front of him.
There are many people who have acted at the age of twenty-five, but not many have ten years of dancing skills, which is very important for martial arts dramas.
It is very difficult for ordinary actors to perform, their movements are stiff and unnatural, and many actions require a stand-in. Unlike those with dance skills, their postures are much more elegant and flexible.
Opening the second resume, it was Ding Xiu's.
The first half is very ordinary, there is nothing eye-catching about it, except that it looks handsome, and if you look closely, it looks like a dragon.
The latter professional expertise is too much. Fifteen years of martial arts skills, proficient in fists and feet, swords, guns and sticks, as well as horseback riding and archery.
In the evaluation column, Yuan Bing wrote: "I have strong martial arts skills, especially swordsmanship. Although I have never studied acting professionally, I am very talented in acting and have a deep understanding of the characters. I highly recommend it."
To be honest, Zhang Jizhong is a little curious about Ding Xiu. He knows Yuan Bing's character. He usually doesn't praise people easily. Most of them are scolding, especially if the actor fails to meet his designed action requirements.
This would be a huge boast on Ding Xiu's resume.
Li Jie has ten years of dancing skills, while Ding Xiu has fifteen years of martial arts skills, and can also ride horses and archery. There is no comparison between the two. The latter turns the former into a scumbag in an instant.
Li Jie's acting experience is not an advantage. He set the age of the actors at 20 to 25 years old and does not expect advanced acting skills. He just needs to slowly train them after joining the group.
After thinking for a few seconds, Zhang Jizhong put Ding Xiu's resume aside.
He is not someone who chooses people based on academic qualifications. When he was filming Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Water Margin, many actors had no academic qualifications. Some were Sanda athletes, some were canteen owners, some were models, and some were extras.
He only has one requirement for casting, which is to be suitable for the role.
If Ding Xiu was like Yuan Bing said, he wouldn't mind giving the young man a chance.
…
After the interview, Ding Xiu waited in a rental house for three days. Three days later, he received a call from the crew at noon, asking him to go for an interview the next day. The meeting location was no longer the hotel.
Still wearing the same clothes, Ding Xiu took a taxi to the suburban racecourse.
The first person I saw was Yuan Bing, and the second one was Zhang Jizhong, with his iconic beard, old Peking sleeveless mandarin jacket, and thousand-layer cloth shoes. This is the only one in the director world.
"Hello director, I am Ding Xiu."
"Hello, you are so good."
After shaking hands, Zhang Jizhong didn't stop looking at him. He was very satisfied with Ding Xiu's appearance. He was indeed a handsome guy.
"Director Yuan said that your swordsmanship is very high, can you show it to me?"
"no problem."
Seeing Ding Xiu turning around to look for something, Yuan Bing smiled and brought him a sword that had been prepared in advance: "I don't have a broom to harm you today, so use this."
The sword is an unopened sports equipment standardized by the martial arts association, the kind used by old men and women in the park.
He drew his sword and held two sword flowers. After getting familiar with the feel, Ding Xiu performed a set of sword skills at will. Compared with the one he tried out a few days ago, this set was more ornamental and very handsome.
This was an afterthought for him. Some sword techniques are very lethal, but they may not be good-looking. Acting in a group is not about killing people, and the director may not know the ropes.
Still this kind of bells and whistles is more useful.
Stab, chop, tease, point, hang, collapse, intercept, leap and move, turn sideways 720 degrees in the air, a set of swordsmanship used by Ding Xiu to be light, fast, free and elegant, anyone can see it I have to give a thumbs up and say how beautiful it is.
After sheathing his sword, Ding Xiu cupped his hands and clasped his fists. Zhang Jizhong stepped forward and said, "It can be seen that your martial arts skills are indeed very high. Your resume says that you also know how to box and kick. Do you mind showing me?"
"You can show it, but director, please give me a call in advance. I put aside a few hundred yuan for a day's scene and came here without filming. I'm going to do swordsmanship and boxing. If I don't pass the audition, I'll go back and forth." Taxi fares and lost work expenses can be reimbursed.”
Yuan Bing turned his head to the side, really embarrassed to look at it.
Zhang Jizhong laughed loudly: "Don't worry, if you don't get selected, I will definitely reimburse you."
"I can rest assured that."
The long sword was sheathed, and Ding Xiu immediately performed a set of punches. The punches were fierce, powerful, and full of momentum. He could deceive the swordsmanship, but the punches were difficult to make up, so he could only play it real.
Just like when Yuan Bing saw Ding Xiu playing sword for the first time, Zhang Jizhong unknowingly put away his smile and became serious.
He has worked with many actors who are good at martial arts. Ding Xiu has something extra in him that they don't have. He can't say what it is specifically. It is very unique and attractive. It is unforgettable after watching it.