Chapter 180: Jiang An’an Lands The Role And The Ingenious Use Of The Bole Title!
Huairou Film and Television Base.
Inside the temporary office of Shanhe Culture Film and Television Company.
“Old Bi, this batch of kids just won’t cut it!”
“Those with decent looks have terrible acting, and those with decent acting don’t have the right looks.”
“Aren’t there any who are both beautiful and have good acting skills?”
“Other crews can find them, why can’t we?”
“Look in my eyes, tell me why!”
Director Qu Lei looked at the project producer Bi Huo with a helpless expression.
He was really getting frustrated!
According to the original plan, filming was supposed to start today.
But two days ago, the young actress Yang Tiantian suddenly came down with acute pneumonia and was urgently sent to the children’s hospital for admission.
The doctor said Yang Tiantian’s condition wouldn’t likely recover for at least ten days to half a month.
Short plays are all about timeliness.
From confirming the script, to pre-production, post-production, review, and release.
The fastest it can be done is in about a month.
In today’s fiercely competitive short play industry, time is money, time is everything!
Short play scripts prioritize being quick and easy.
Simple production means they are easily replicated.
It’s even possible for multiple crews to start filming similar scripts at the same time.
Whoever films faster and better can seize the opportunity, attract traffic, and make money.
Those who run ahead eat meat and soup, while those who follow might not even get a sip of dishwater.
The competition in the short play industry is even fiercer than in the TV drama and film industries.
Qu Lei’s directed drama was supposed to start filming today.
But it was delayed due to the lead actress Yang Tiantian falling ill and being hospitalized.
After comprehensive consideration, the crew terminated the cooperation agreement with Yang Tiantian and rushed to recast.
Bi Huo had invited over a dozen children for auditions today, but Qu Lei didn’t approve of any of them.
If it were a supporting role or other character, it might be acceptable.
Minor supporting roles wouldn’t have a significant impact on the entire drama.
But this time, they were selecting the protagonist with the most scenes!
The protagonist’s acting skills, appearance, and popularity with the audience are crucial for a short play; there’s no room for carelessness!
Therefore, even under tight time constraints,
Qu Lei adhered to the principle of “better to have none than to have a bad one” and did not lower his standards at all.
He was extremely strict about the choice of the protagonist.
“There are still a few more auditions this afternoon, Director Qu, please take another look.”
Bi Huo was also very anxious, as the success of this drama was directly related to his bonus and dividends, which were equally important to him.
Moreover, facing Qu Lei’s temper, he could only endure it.
After all, he was not only the general director but also a shareholder of Shanhe Culture, possessing absolute decision-making power!
“Alright, you can go out now. Tell the other actors to continue studying their roles and familiarizing themselves with the lines.”
Qu Lei waved his hand, dismissing Bi Huo with a somewhat annoyed expression.
“Yes, Director Qu, please go ahead.”
Bi Huo smiled at Qu Lei, bid farewell, and then let out a long sigh of relief in his heart before turning and leaving the room.
Returning to his temporary office, Bi Huo started searching for contacts on his mobile phone again, wanting to invite more people to audition.
Knock, knock, knock—
Just then, there was a sudden knock on the office door.
“Come in.”
Bi Huo replied casually without even looking up from his phone.
Creak.
The office door opened, and Jiang Tao, Jiang Hai, and Jiang An’an entered the office.
“Huh?”
Hearing several footsteps at the door, Bi Huo frowned and shifted his gaze from his phone to the entrance.
When he saw Jiang An’an standing gracefully at the door, Bi Huo’s eyes immediately lit up.
He sprang up from his seat, his expression filled with excitement!
He stared intently at Jiang An’an, as if his gaze was welded to her!
The moment he saw Jiang An’an, two words popped into Bi Huo’s mind: beautiful!
This girl is so charming and beautiful, so likable!
“Huh? That’s strange, which company’s actress is this? I don’t recall seeing her at all?”
“If there was such a beautiful actress, I should remember her!”
After the initial excitement, Bi Huo suddenly realized a minor issue, but it wasn’t a big deal!
“Hello sir, we heard your crew is looking for a young actress.”
“We’ve come to volunteer ourselves. Can you give us a chance to audition?”
Jiang Hai calmed his excitement and looked at Bi Huo with some trepidation.
Bi Huo asked doubtfully, “Which company are you from? I haven’t seen you before.”
Jiang Hai replied truthfully, “We don’t have a company; we came on our own.”
“No company, are you individual actors?”
Bi Huo was somewhat surprised to hear Jiang Hai’s words, but not overly so.
“Yes, boss, we are individuals. We don’t know if you can give us a chance.”
“Of course! Come with me!”
If it were anyone else, Bi Huo would have been too lazy to entertain them and would have sent them away.
But the quiet and adorable Jiang An’an had instantly charmed him, so he was very willing to give Jiang An’an a chance!
Moreover, based on his understanding of Director Qu, if this girl’s acting skills were also passable, the probability of her being selected would be quite high!
If this little girl could pass the audition, the script could be put into production!
He wouldn’t have to frantically search for actors to audition everywhere!
It was truly a case of looking high and low for something and finding it effortlessly!
“Follow me!”
Bi Huo motioned to the trio of Jiang Tao, and then stepped out from behind the desk.
He led Jiang Tao and the other two to a small room in the crew’s area designated for auditions.
The room was equipped with cameras, as well as some costumes and props.
Several staff members were organizing things and calibrating equipment, making final preparations for the upcoming new drama.
Seeing Bi Huo lead in a little girl with big eyes and a pretty face, as exquisite as a doll,
Although their hands didn’t stop working, everyone’s attention was drawn to Jiang An’an.
The new drama required a child actor as the protagonist, and dozens of young girls had auditioned these past few days.
But none were as beautiful and likable as Jiang An’an!
“Xiao Mao, come over and audition the actor!”
After entering, Bi Huo called out to a young man with dyed yellow hair, wearing a baseball cap, and a large tattoo visible on his arm.
“Sure thing, Brother Huo!”
Xiao Mao was a cameraman for the crew and also helped the producer and director audition actors part-time.
Soon, Xiao Mao turned on a camera, aimed the lens at Jiang An’an, and began fine-tuning the parameters.
“OK! We’re ready!”
After adjusting all the camera parameters, Xiao Mao gave Bi Huo an “OK” gesture, signaling that the audition could begin.
“Very good, your expression is very relaxed, yes, keep it up, yes, yes, yes, don’t be nervous.”
“Not bad, not bad, good sense of the camera.”
Bi Huo watched the footage displayed on the monitor and nodded repeatedly.
Even though Jiang An’an hadn’t started acting or spoken a line, just standing in front of the camera made her look like a picture from a high-fashion magazine.
Jiang An’an’s appearance was undeniably the highest among all the young girls who had auditioned for the crew, without exception!
Furthermore, Jiang An’an had a strong sense of the camera, appearing calm and composed in front of it.
This might sound simple, but only those who have actually done it know how difficult it is!
People without professional training, or those with weaker psychological fortitude,
often feel uncomfortable when standing with family, friends, or colleagues for photos.
Their smiles become stiff, and the resulting photos look unnatural.
Smiling at the camera, a seemingly trivial act, requires practice to do well.
Similarly, when smiling, some people’s expressions are stiff and appear very fake.
Others can perform a smile so expressively that it becomes a classic shot.
For example, the lingering glance of the Silk Spider Fairy at Supreme Treasure before entering the cave with the donkey in “A Chinese Odyssey.”
Anyone who has seen that movie would find it hard to forget that smile.
Similarly, some people’s eyes are vacant and dull, while others can convey deep emotion with just a glance.
The look in Xiaolongnü’s eyes as she gazed at Yang Guo in “The Return of the Condor Heroes” remains a timeless classic even after decades.
The audition process, seemingly just testing the most basic elements,
can reveal whether an actor’s skills are superficial or solid!
Joy, anger, sorrow, happiness, worry…
Jiang An’an’s audition lasted about ten minutes.
She demonstrated what it means to be “born with talent” to everyone present!
Even without any professional training, no matter what emotion Bi Huo asked her to portray, Jiang An’an could conjure it up within seconds.
Her smile was as sweet as an angel descended to earth.
When she cried, tears flowed like rain, and her emotions were palpable, enough to break the hearts of all the men in the room.
Although Qu Lei hadn’t seen the audition video yet, Bi Huo felt that this girl had already secured the leading role!
Bi Huo had been in the short play industry for over two years, and he had handled dozens, if not nearly a hundred, short plays!
He had never encountered a young actor as exceptionally talented as Jiang An’an; she was simply astonishing!
She had the appearance of a well-behaved child who receives endless love.
Her acting skills were excellent, her emotions were strong, and her delivery was on point!
She was born to be an actress!
She would undoubtedly have a place in the future of the short play industry!
Looking at Jiang An’an, Bi Huo felt like he was witnessing the rise of a brilliant star!
“Please wait a moment, sirs! I’ll go find Director Qu right away!”
Bi Huo said to Jiang Tao and the others, then hurried out with Jiang An’an’s audition copy to find Qu Lei.
“An’an, you did well. I think we’ve got this in the bag.”
Jiang Tao was also impressed by Jiang An’an’s natural and expressive performance today, and he praised her with a smile.
“Thank you, Uncle Jiang Tao~ I hope so!”
Jiang An’an looked at Jiang Tao with sparkling eyes; she was very happy to receive his praise.
She wanted this short play role more than anyone else.
“An’an, you’re amazing.”
Jiang Hai looked at his daughter with a complex expression, a mix of admiration and guilt.
It was only today that he discovered his daughter had such talent for acting!
If Mr. Jiang hadn’t suggested coming to audition for a role, wouldn’t he have held his daughter back?
Jiang Hai silently added another point to Jiang Tao’s credit and owed him another favor.
…
On the other side.
After leaving, Bi Huo rushed to Director Qu’s office and knocked on the door.
“Come in!”
Hearing Qu Lei’s voice from inside, Bi Huo hurried in.
“Old Bi? What’s up?”
Seeing the excited expression on Bi Huo’s face, Qu Lei couldn’t help but feel a glimmer of anticipation.
Could it be that Yang Tiantian had recovered and was ready to be discharged?
If so, that would be good news.
But Qu Lei knew that was unlikely.
After all, the symptoms of acute pneumonia were quite distinct.
The children’s hospital wouldn’t misdiagnose such an illness.
He was definitely overthinking it.
“Director Qu! I just auditioned another girl, take a look!”
“This one will definitely satisfy you!”
Bi Huo didn’t waste words with Qu Lei and hurriedly stepped forward, handing him a small USB drive he was holding.
“Oh? So confident this time?”
Qu Lei took the USB drive from Bi Huo with curiosity and plugged it into an Apple laptop in front of him.
The USB drive was clean, with no miscellaneous files, only Jiang An’an’s audition video.
Qu Lei moved the mouse cursor over the video, clicked twice, and began playing the audition footage.
“Imagine you’ve just been rewarded with a big meal by your father, how would you feel? Please begin your performance.”
“Imagine your pet cat didn’t come home last night and you’re very worried about it…”
“…”
Qu Lei stared intently at the computer screen with his large, bell-like eyes, his expression becoming more and more animated as he watched.
“Good, good! It’s her! Where is she?”
After watching Jiang An’an’s audition video, Qu Lei immediately decided to cast her!
Seeing that Qu Lei had no objections, Bi Huo excitedly said:
“She’s with her father and an uncle in my office! I’ll go negotiate right away!”
Qu Lei instructed, “As long as the price isn’t higher than Yang Tiantian’s, you can sign her.”
“Yes, Director Qu!”
Bi Huo understood from Qu Lei’s words that he placed great importance on Jiang An’an.
Yang Tiantian was an actress with several hit works that had generated tens of millions in revenue.
Jiang An’an was a complete newcomer.
For Qu Lei to offer a complete newcomer the same treatment as a moderately famous actress was setting a precedent for Jiang An’an!
Of course, Qu Lei was willing to set this precedent because her acting skills were truly exceptional.
Also, he was anxious to start filming soon and wanted to release the short play quickly.
Qu Lei added, “Oh, and it would be best if she could join the crew tomorrow, the sooner the better!”
“Yes, Director Qu, I’ll talk to them.”
Bi Huo nodded in agreement and then turned to leave towards the door.
In his opinion, the treatment offered by their company was already very high.
Jiang An’an had no reason to refuse.
Returning to his office door, Bi Huo pushed it open and entered.
Jiang Tao, Jiang Hai, and Jiang An’an all turned their gaze towards him.
Bi Huo said with a smile, “Congratulations to the three of you, you’ve passed the audition! Next, we’ll discuss salary and benefits.”
“Yeah!”
Upon hearing Bi Huo’s words, Jiang An’an clenched her small fists and made a victory gesture.
Her delicate and pretty face was full of excitement and happiness.
After all, for her, this was the first role she had ever landed.
And it was even the lead role in this short play!
Her “starting point” in the short play industry was enough to make many envious!
It might even be the “end point” for many, and something unattainable for a lifetime for others.
After all, in both the short play industry and real life, lucky people are always a tiny minority.
The vast majority are just ordinary people leading uneventful lives, destined to be the “denominator” for the lucky ones throughout their lives.
In terms of compensation, the crew offered Jiang An’an a daily salary of 6,000 yuan.
Three free meals a day, with an 8-hour filming schedule.
And accommodation could be provided nearby.
Jiang Hai was speechless upon hearing the terms offered to his daughter.
When he used to be an extra, he only made a maximum of 150 yuan a day, totaling 4,500 yuan a month!
His daughter’s daily salary far exceeded his monthly income!
This was the vast difference between ordinary people and those with talent; this was the disparity in life!
Bi Huo’s attitude was very sincere, and the offered terms were sufficiently earnest.
Jiang Hai and Jiang An’an had no objections to these terms.
The two parties quickly reached an agreement and signed a simple labor contract.
“We hope young Miss Jiang An’an can join the crew as soon as possible, the sooner the better.”
“It would be best if she could come tomorrow to meet everyone, get acquainted, and then we can start filming as soon as possible.”
Bi Huo didn’t beat around the bush with Jiang Hai and Jiang An’an, directly stating their request.
Jiang Hai did not make the decision for Jiang An’an but looked at her.
“Yes, I have no problem with that. I don’t have anything else to do at home anyway.”
Jiang An’an nodded obediently, wanting to start earning money to help the family soon!
Hearing his daughter’s response, Jiang Hai then said to Bi Huo:
“Alright, Brother Huo, we can come tomorrow!”
“Then it’s settled. You go back and prepare, and report to me at the crew tomorrow morning before 9 AM.”
Bi Huo was fond of the father and daughter in front of him; they were sensible and honest.
“Okay! Thank you for your trouble! We’ll be going now.”
Jiang Hai respectfully bid farewell to Bi Huo, then stood up and, with Jiang An’an, followed Jiang Tao out the door.
Jiang Tao had remained silent throughout the day, leaving all decisions to Jiang Hai.
He had come today partly because he was worried about whether his task could be completed,
and partly because he genuinely wanted to help Jiang Hai and Jiang An’an, this time without expecting anything in return.
Of course, he didn’t expect anything from them, but he was expecting a reward from System Brother!
【Ding! You have helped Jiang An’an join the crew. Mission completed. Reward is being issued, please wait…】
The moment Jiang Tao stepped out the door, a vibrant blue virtual screen flashed open, displaying a notification.
At the same time.
Jiang Tao’s mobile phone in his pocket vibrated with a buzz.
Based on his past experience, if nothing unexpected happened, it should be the reward of 880,000 cash arriving in his account.
【『Bole』 Title and 880,000 cash have been issued, please check!】
Seeing the prompt information flashing across his retina, Jiang Tao’s mood became even more cheerful.
This trip today was not in vain; he had “earned his salary”!
Suppressing his excitement, he returned to the car.
Jiang Yi and Jiang Xue were extremely excited and joyful upon hearing that Jiang An’an had successfully auditioned.
“Sister An’an, you’re so amazing! I have a celebrity friend now!”
“An’an, you’re great, well done!”
Jiang An’an said playfully, “Hehe, I feel like the audition wasn’t as hard as I thought, I passed so easily.”
“You little rascal, are you showing off again?”
Jiang Yi smiled and lightly tapped Jiang An’an’s forehead, her eyes full of affection.
While they were chatting and laughing, Jiang Tao remained silent, studying the 【Bole】 title.
Like the 【System-level Freestyle Combat】 that Jiang Tao had previously learned, the 【Bole】 title was not a physical item, but just a title.
Its usage was not complicated.
As long as this title was worn, one could see suitable development paths for a person.
After putting on the title, Jiang Tao first looked at his own “little cotton jacket,” Jiang Xue.
【Name】: Jiang Xue.
【Talent】: Aesthetics
【Career Advice】: Travel Blogger （5 stars） Photographer （4 stars）
Seeing Jiang Xue’s talent and career advice, Jiang Tao was a bit surprised.
He had thought his “little cotton jacket,” who constantly talked about liking to dance, would have career advice related to dancing, but instead, it was travel?
The concept of aesthetics is broad, and Jiang Tao didn’t really understand the specifics.
However, he could understand the career advice given by System Brother.
Traveling, put simply, is about eating, drinking, and having fun.
A travel blogger earns money while eating, drinking, and having fun.
This profession is also good and suits his “little cotton jacket.”
“It seems I’ll have to take Xiao Xue traveling more often in the future to broaden her horizons.”
“I can also lay the groundwork for her future career as a travel blogger.”
After looking at Jiang Xue, Jiang Tao’s gaze shifted to Jiang Yi, sitting to her right.
【Name】: Jiang Yi.
【Talent】: Heavenly Voice.
【Career Advice】: Singer （5 stars） Voice Actor （4 stars）
Seeing Jiang Yi’s talent and career advice, Jiang Tao was stunned again.
It turned out that Teacher Jiang was a singer who was held back by her teaching profession!
To be honest, Jiang Yi’s gentle voice with a hint of sweetness was indeed very pleasant to listen to.
He couldn’t imagine how enjoyable it would be to hear her sing with such a sweet voice.
If she changed careers according to System Brother’s career advice,
Jiang Yi would surely achieve greater success in her area of expertise!
Frankly, her monthly income of over ten thousand yuan at Aidi Kindergarten, in Jiang Tao’s opinion, wasn’t a lot.
Female streamers online, who look even prettier with heavy beauty filters than she does without makeup,
can earn seventy to eighty thousand, or even one hundred thousand, a month with just a few seductive poses and movements in front of the camera.
In Jiang Tao’s view, Jiang Yi’s current income was completely mismatched with her inherent qualities.
Swish!
Suddenly, the air in front of Jiang Tao rippled like the surface of water.
A blue system interface appeared, displaying a task notification.
【Ding! Congratulations on triggering the special mission – Guide!】
【Guide】: Guide Jiang Yi into her suitable profession!
【Mission Rewards】
【1】: Guide Jiang Yi to become a singer: Reward 5 million cash, 10 points physique, 5 points charm, 5 points health!
【2】: Guide Jiang Yi to become a voice actor: Reward 500,000 cash, 1 point physique, 1 point charm, 1 point health!
