Cao Xuan spent the entire month of May recording songs in the recording studio. He was so busy that sometimes he didn't even go home and stayed in the lounge of the recording studio.
Only by leaving from time to time can he relax and rest for a while.
"Well, it smells so good. What kind of soup is this?"
"Lotus root and pork ribs soup, please try to see if it's salty."
Zeng Li took out his thermos bucket and took out the soup that he had been cooking for a long time.
These days, Zeng Li went to class when he had classes, and when he didn't have class, he went to Haidian Apartment to cook delicious food for Cao Xuan. As a result, Cao Xuan worked hard in the recording studio for more than half a month. Not only did he not lose weight, he also gained two pounds.
After taking a sip of soup and nibbling on a piece of pork ribs, Cao Xuan transformed into a cheerleader and praised Zeng Li's craftsmanship.
After he had eaten and drank enough, Cao Xuan half-leaned on the sofa in the lounge and burped with satisfaction.
Zeng Li was playing with his cell phone nearby. Cao Xuan glanced at him and seemed to be sending text messages.
At the beginning of this year, Motorola launched its first all-Chinese mobile phone. Before that, most functions of the mobile phone were displayed in English, which was very inconvenient.
The birth of Chinese mobile phones also means the advent of the text message era.
Cao Xuan immediately found an excuse to buy three new mobile phones. He and Hu Jing had one each, so they could chat through text messages when it was inconvenient to make phone calls.
"Who are you texting with?"
Cao Xuan asked curiously, and Zeng Li replied without raising his head: "Yuan Quan, didn't she go to rehearse the drama "Butterfly Lovers"? I asked her if she was free. She will go shopping tomorrow."
"oh."
Cao Xuan was not interested in the topic of girls shopping, but instead gossiped about the relationship between Yuan Quan and Xia Yu.
"Didn't you say last time that Xia Yu confessed to Yuan Quan again and she agreed?"
"No."
Zeng Li shook his head, but immediately added: "But I think Yuan Quan's attitude seems to have relaxed a bit. Last time I saw Xia Yu running to the crew where she was rehearsing to deliver water and food, and she didn't refuse."
"Xia Yu is very fast."
Cao Xuan praised it. It seemed that the two of them were about to become brothers-in-law and they would make an appointment to get together some other day.
Zeng Li rolled his eyes at Cao Xuan, ignored him, and continued texting with Yuan Quan. Cao Xuan came over and took a few glances.
"Zhang Tong also accepted the role?"
"Well, there is a TV movie looking for her as the second female lead."
"Then you're the only one in your dormitory who hasn't taken a role?"
"Who said that? There is also sea dew."
Cao Xuan was speechless: "How can you compare with her? She is now focused on graduating and returning home to get married. You, Teacher Chang, are all frustrated by her."
"There's nothing wrong with getting married. You can marry your husband and raise your children. As long as Hailu likes it, that's fine."
Zeng Li spoke for his roommate, but Cao Xuan did not argue with her and asked directly: "She wants to get married. What do you think? I see that you are not worried about acting at all."
"There's no point in rushing."
Zeng Li is very Buddhist and expressed his plan: "If I have the chance, I will take pictures. If I don't have the chance, I want to join a cultural troupe or stay in school as a teacher. The company will provide wages and subsidies, and I won't be hungry."
Cao Xuan thought about it for a while and found that although Zeng Li's plan was not ambitious, it was indeed sound.
In a sense, it is even considered the best choice for ordinary actors. They have a guaranteed salary from their employer and occasionally take on roles to make extra money. Regardless of whether they are popular or not, they can live their own small life behind closed doors.
Thinking about it in the end, Cao Xuan himself was envious.
However, Cao Xuan may not be willing to let him live such a life. Once he is used to enjoying a life that is expected by everyone, it will be difficult for him to return to ordinary life.
At the same time, Cao Xuan also mentioned the loopholes in Zeng Li's plan.
"Your idea is good, but being admitted to the art troupe and staying in school also requires capital. If you don't take on roles to gain some qualifications, how can you defeat your competitors?"
This time it was Zeng Li's turn to be stupid.
That's right, regardless of whether you are admitted to the art troupe or staying in school, reputation is indeed not the first priority, but the overall quality of the individual must be considered.
However, the comprehensive quality covers a wide range and it is difficult to have specific evaluation criteria. Therefore, in order to be safe, the best way is to add weight in various ways.
At least, an actor/student who is famous and has representative works will have greater hope than a purely amateur actor/student.
"Don't worry, I'm still here."
Seeing the dumbfounded Zeng Li, Cao Xuan smiled and touched her head: "I'll ask you later. I don't dare to say more. It's not a big problem to play a few supporting roles."
Zeng Li glanced at him and hummed: "There are still roles in "Young Bao Qingtian"?"
"Ahem..."
Cao Xuan choked for a moment and quickly changed the subject: "What's the point of shooting a crappy drama? I'll get you a good role in Jin Yong's martial arts drama."
"Jin Yong?"
Zeng Li was stunned: "You want to play CCTV's "The Swordsman"? By the way, Zhang Jizhong is an old acquaintance of yours. Who should you play, Lin Pingzhi or Linghu Chong?"
"Does everyone outside know about this?"
Cao Xuan was a little depressed. He wanted to give it a try, but Zeng Li guessed it right away.
"There have been newspaper reports for a long time, saying that Mr. Jin sold the copyright of Zhang Jizhong for 1 yuan. This is the first self-made Jin Yong drama in mainland China. Everyone is looking forward to it."
"It's not the first one. The first one was "Book of Swords and Enmities" starring Huang Haibin. For the sake of publicity, the bearded man took on all the names and was not afraid that he would not be able to get back on stage in the future."
Cao Xuan couldn't help but complain that in terms of publicity and momentum alone, Zhang Beard is definitely the leading producer in the Mainland.
The few Jin Yong dramas he has filmed, regardless of their quality, are more popular and influential than the last. They often dominate the news headlines right from the beginning of preparation. Many actors' reputations skyrocket after they come out of his cast.
Of course, it’s hard to say whether it’s a good reputation or a bad reputation. Anyway, TV series about bearded men have become popular...
"You haven't said who you want to play?"
Zeng Li couldn't help but press, and Cao Xuan spread his hands: "Of course it's Linghu Chong, but now the two parties have a preliminary intention and haven't confirmed it yet. I'm a little hesitant, and there is more than one candidate for Lao Zhang.
But regardless of whether I act or not, with my friendship with Lao Zhang, it’s not a big problem to put you into the crew. If you can’t play Ren Yingying and Yue Lingshan, you can still win the role of Blue Phoenix.”
Cao Xuan still has this confidence.
Not to mention his old friendship with Zhang Dabeard, even with his current high popularity, the cunning Zhang Jizhong would probably betray him.
"correct."
Zeng Li suddenly remembered something: "If I remember correctly, I read a report before. It seems that Ren Xianqi acted in a version of "The Swordsman". If you play Linghu Chong, you will be opposite him again."
"Why do you think Zhang Dabeard asked me to play Linghu Chong?"
Cao Xuan was a little helpless: "He just held back two editions of "The Swordsman" to hype us up. This is one of the reasons for my hesitation. Brother Xiaoqi is a nice person, and I don't want to hurt our friendship."
"What about the other reason?"
"Jin Yong's scripts are already attracting a lot of attention. Now that I have a bearded man who likes to mess around, I'm afraid it will be highly anticipated. I'm afraid I won't be scolded if I don't get it right."
This is not an exaggeration. Jin Yong's drama is a big IP film and television version. There are many versions, and there is a huge group of readers of the original work, so it is difficult to form a more unified concept.
Everyone's mouth is strong, but Cao Xuan can't guarantee that his performance will be recognized by everyone.
You must know that Li Yapeng in the original version was almost accused of being autistic.
The reason why there was no turmoil in Ren Xianqi's version was because all the firepower was diverted away by Li Yapeng.
Of course, this version was later overturned, and the Douban score rose from 6.1 to 8.3, ranking second only to Jet Li and Lu Songxian in various versions of "The Swordsman".
Among the various Jin Yong dramas produced by Zhang Dahu, it is second only to "Dragon" which has the best reviews.
Therefore, Cao Xuan was still a little anxious in his heart.
There is no way, these days Jin Yong's drama has such a huge bonus for actors that there is always a saying in the industry that "Jin Yong's drama will definitely become popular as long as it is filmed".
In terms of Cao Xuan's image conditions, Guo Jing, Qiao Feng, and Wei Xiaobao cannot play the role. Duan Yu and Zhang Wuji are about evenly matched, and Yang Guo and Linghu Chong are the most suitable actors.
As for other Jin Yong works, their influence is relatively low, and there are almost no film and television versions that are more out-of-the-box.
So this opportunity for "Swordsman" is really rare. If he misses it, Cao Xuan doesn't know if he will regret it in the future...
