Director Xie frowned and looked at the producer: "Did you tell anyone?"
The producer was both amused and exasperated: "What can I say? I didn't even know this was your favorite film until today."
Indeed, Director Xie rarely talks about his films with others. Only a few partners who have worked with him for many years know about them. However, Director Xie is confident that they will never tell anyone.
It seems that this Mr. Guo genuinely likes "The Long River of Time".
Director Xie's expression gradually softened; he hadn't expected that this investor would turn out to be such a kindred spirit.
Seeing this, Guo Wenyuan quickly said, "Director Xie, please don't misunderstand. I came here purely out of admiration for you. I would never interfere with your work, so please rest assured!"
Director Xie smiled and deliberately said, "It's alright. You're the investor, so feel free to speak your mind."
"No, no, no, you misunderstood. I just heard that your 'Red Actress' was auditioning here, so I was a little curious and came to take a look. If it's inconvenient for you, I'll leave right now."
After Guo Wenyuan finished speaking, he made a move to leave.
Director Xie gave the assistant director a wink, and the assistant director quickly stepped forward and pulled Guo Wenyuan aside: "Mr. Guo, it's no trouble at all for you to come and watch the audition. I'll arrange a seat for you. I'm just afraid you'll find it boring."
Guo Wenyuan was pulled back immediately and turned around, laughing and saying, "Not boring at all, not boring at all, I like watching this."
Assistant Director: "..." Couldn't you at least have maintained your composure for another minute?
Guo Wenyuan repeatedly assured, "Director Xie, please rest assured, I will really just take a look and won't say a word more."
His sincere attitude dispelled the last bit of hesitation in Director Xie's heart, so the group returned to the audition room, leaving only a bewildered producer behind.
Who am I? Where am I? What am I doing?
-
Guo Wenyuan entered the audition room and, just as he had said, sat there obediently without saying a word.
Weng Tian didn't recognize Guo Wenyuan. She just saw him come in with Director Xie and others, and he was chatting and laughing with Director Xie. She thought he was Director Xie's friend and didn't take it seriously.
Director Xie had the interrupted audition restarted.
This scene is a dialogue between the female lead Cheng Yanxin and the male lead Zhou Hanchen. The two have long harbored feelings for each other, but due to their status at the time, they cannot be together. In order to protect Zhou Hanchen, Cheng Yanxin can only coldly tell him to leave.
This section has few lines, but it demands a great deal of skill in terms of eye contact and facial expressions, making it extremely difficult.
The supporting actress took her place. Weng Tian closed her eyes and prepared herself for a few minutes. When she opened them again, her eyes were already filled with tears. She tried her best to control the trembling in her body and said, word by word, "You should leave. Don't come back."
The supporting actor stepped forward: "Yanxin!"
Weng Tian suddenly stepped back: "Don't come any closer." She raised her face, her expression full of pain, but tears welled up in her eyes. "You know we can't be together."
The supporting actress wanted to say something more, but Weng Tian made a closing motion, then seemed to lean against the wall and slowly slid down, biting her lip tightly to suppress a sob. The tear that had been lingering in her eye for a long time finally rolled down her cheek.
This scene was incredibly powerful, especially the tear that was held back but not yet shed, which almost gripped the hearts of everyone present.
In addition, considering that she was interrupted during the preparation process, she was still able to perform so steadily after restarting, which is why she is hailed as the strongest actress of the new generation.
However, Director Xie did not seem as satisfied as before. He seemed to be thinking about something and did not say anything.
Weng Tian was initially quite satisfied with her performance, but seeing Director Xie's expression, she began to panic.
After a long while, Director Xie came to his senses and said calmly, "Let's try another scene, the one where Cheng Yanxin arranges his affairs before his execution."
This scene wasn't in the audition scripts sent to the actors beforehand, so the assistant director had to flip through the script on the spot to find it and then hand it over to Weng Tian.
Director Xie said, "You can go to the next room to prepare. Half an hour, is that enough?"
Weng Tian had already prepared for the director to give her a question on the spot, and upon hearing this, she immediately nodded: "That's enough."
Director Xie let her into the room, and then said to the assistant director, "Next."
After auditioning three or four times, Director Xie was not satisfied. He was getting old and was not as capable as he used to be, so he asked the assistant director to stop the auditions.
The assistant director filled his thermos with hot water and placed it on the table. When he turned around, he saw Guo Wenyuan holding the same thermos and sipping goji berry tea. His demeanor was no different from that of an old man enjoying the cool air in a park.
Assistant Director: "..."
When Director Xie saw the assistant director was stunned, he turned around and saw Guo Wenyuan. Only then did he realize that he had left the investor standing there for half an hour.
Although Director Xie disliked investors who were laymen giving advice to professionals, he had been in the film industry for many years and didn't want to offend the investors, so he still had to put on a good show.
So he turned to Guo Wenyuan with a beaming smile and asked, "Mr. Guo, are you bored with what you're seeing?"
Guo Wenyuan shook his head: "No, I think it looks pretty good."
Director Xie: "..."
Director Xie couldn't tell whether Guo Wenyuan was telling the truth or being sarcastic, so he could only say, "Mr. Guo, you can also share your thoughts."
Guo Wenyuan looked at him in surprise: "May I say something?" Before Director Xie could say that it was just a polite remark, he happily continued, "Then I'll just say a few words."
Director Xie: "..."
However, once words are spoken, they cannot be uttered. Director Xie could not simply tell people to shut up. He decided to just treat it as nonsense and not take it to heart.
Guo Wenyuan straightened his back, rolled up his shirt sleeves, and looked ready to get down to business.
"Take the scene where the male and female leads are facing off, for example. The actresses' crying scenes are all quite good, but in this particular scene, crying is the least important thing."
As soon as he said this, Director Xie, who had been indifferent, became somewhat interested: "Go on."
Guo Wenyuan didn't mince words: "I haven't read the script, but I have read the book 'Red Actress.' For Cheng Yanxin, the most painful thing is not separating from Zhou Hanchen, but knowing that this separation is forever. From the moment she decided to use her identity to assist in the resistance against Japan, she was already prepared to sacrifice herself."