My Landlord is an Idol Singer - Chapter 150

Liu Nian smiled and nodded.

“I’ve watched Xiaoxue grow up, I know her acting skills well. Besides, I do have my own selfish reasons. Xiaoxue wants to pursue a career as an actress, and your script is undoubtedly the best opportunity for her debut.”

“Hehe, then does that mean I’ve passed?” Yun Yinxue asked happily as she sat back down beside Liu Nian, her eyes full of hope.

Gu Zhinan nodded. “Yes. As for the pay, you’ll definitely get some. How about we pay monthly? Ten thousand per month? Plus five percent of the film’s profits?”

“Wow! Five percent?” Yun Yinxue was shocked, and so was Liu Nian. This wasn’t a small offer at all. If the movie did well at the box office, she could easily make millions!

Although Yun Yinxue was a fairly famous former child star, she still didn’t have a manager. Hengqiu Media Group was planning to fully launch her career only after she officially signed with them. So for now, Yun Yinxue was technically still a free agent. In her past film roles, the most she had been paid was about 600,000 yuan, but the projects came with good exposure and treatment.

Normally, a small, unknown production like Gu Zhinan’s would have to at least double their offer to even get her attention.

“Is that okay?” Gu Zhinan asked again.

“Of course! I never expected to get any profit share from the film at all!” Yun Yinxue nodded quickly like a pecking chick.

“Good. We’ll sign the contract later when you come to Hangcheng. It’ll be exactly the same as we agreed, so don’t worry.”

“I trust you!” Yun Yinxue blurted out before Gu Zhinan could finish. “Because you’re the author of Sword and Fairy, and the composer and lyricist of Summer Wind! I love both of them! But please, don’t keep pausing updates, okay? It’s torture to wait! Last time Li Xiaoyao stood on the martial arts competition platform for two whole days without any updates!”

“…” Really? Was it that long? 

Gu Zhinan scratched his head awkwardly, trying to cover up his embarrassment.

Knock, knock, knock!

Suddenly, there was a knock at the door. Liu Nian stood up with a smile. “The person delivering the actors is here.”

As he finished speaking, a middle-aged man walked in. He had a gentle, refined demeanor, slicked-back hair, glasses, and a slightly chubby build. It was Yu Lei, an experienced actor at Beijing Film Academy and a nationally certified Level 2 actor in China!

“Old Liu, any film roles suitable for my students?” Yu Lei asked right after stepping inside. When he noticed Gu Zhinan and Lai Jingming standing up to greet him, his attention quickly shifted to Yun Yinxue.

“Xiaoxue? What are you doing here too?” Clearly, Yu Lei was familiar with Yun Yinxue.

“Uncle Lei!” Yun Yinxue greeted him sweetly.

At Beijing Film Academy, her official teacher was actually Liu Nian’s wife, her aunt, who was a retired, nationally certified Level 1 actress. But Yun Yinxue was friendly with many of the teachers and often crashed acting classes just to learn more.

“Calm down. Here, take a look at the script first. These two are the directors. My niece just auditioned for the lead female role.”

Yu Lei immediately became interested. Liu Nian had only told him over the phone that there was a good script and that his current class of students might get a chance to participate. And this was his new class.

He had come hoping to get his students an opportunity because if Liu Nian approved of a script, it definitely wouldn’t be bad. Yu Lei shook hands with Gu Zhinan and Lai Jingming.

“Yu Lei.”

“Gu Zhinan.”

“Lai Jingming!”

Of course Lai Jingming recognized the slightly chubby man before him, this was a real acting professional. At just forty years old, Yu Lei was already teaching as a nationally certified Level 2 actor at Beijing Film Academy.

Many actors and celebrities in the industry had been trained by him, or were once his students. How could anyone he personally trained be lacking?

After greeting them, Yu Lei sat down beside Liu Nian, who poured him a cup of tea. Curious, Yu Lei picked up the script. He read for twenty minutes straight, his brow furrowed at first, then slowly relaxed.

“Gu Zhinan? Old Liu told me you also wrote and composed Blue and White Porcelain for Huayang TV’s promo song and sang it yourself?”

“Huh? Young Master Gu actually wrote a song for Huayang TV and sang it himself?” Yun Yinxue’s mouth formed an “O” shape. Clearly shocked, Liu Nian hadn’t told her this part!

“Yes. It’s called Blue and White Porcelain.” Since Liu Nian had already told Yu Lei, Gu Zhinan didn’t bother hiding it.

“Talented young man,” Yu Lei suddenly laughed. “I’m teaching a new class now. But there are some promising students in there. If you’re interested, I can call them over and see if they’re willing to audition.”

“Our crew’s budget—”

“I know. Old Liu explained everything. Whether they want to do it or not is their decision. But in my opinion, young actors who only care about high paychecks before they’ve even made a name for themselves, that’s not ideal.”

Yu Lei cut him off, fully aware of the production’s total 4 million yuan budget. That’s why they’d come to Beijing Film Academy to scout for new talent. 

Back in their day, they’d shoot a whole film and earn less than what some pretty-boy idols make in a few days now. The mismatch between pay and skill was the industry’s biggest hidden disease. But those idols brought traffic and there was nothing anyone could do.

“Come with me. I’ll pick two for you to audition.”

“Okay.” Since they were being this straightforward, what else could Gu Zhinan say? He glanced at Lai Jingming, this talent search was going way smoother than expected. Having powerful connections really did make all the difference!

Gu Zhinan looked at Liu Nian with admiration. One word from this big shot had saved them years of struggle.

They sat on a campus shuttle, cruising through the huge grounds of Beijing Film Academy, China’s famed cradle of actors. The place bustled with people, but how many would actually become stars in the end?

Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at a teaching building. Yu Lei led Gu Zhinan, Lai Jingming, and the curious Yun Yinxue up to the fifth floor. Liu Nian had other things to do and didn’t tag along. Besides, Yun Yinxue was already joining the cast, there was nothing more for him to worry about.

“This is my usual office and tea room. Wait here. I’ve already notified them. They’re probably rehearsing the play I assigned them.”

Gu Zhinan nodded and glanced at his phone. It was almost 11 AM, still early.

Then a message came from the landlady, “I just woke up. Heading back to Haipu City now.”

Gu Zhinan felt a pang of envy. Sleeping late, waking late, that was true bliss.

Knock, knock, knock.

About ten minutes later, there was a knock on the door. A young man stepped in, handsome and well-built. Gu Zhinan thought this boy actually fit the image of A’Liang, the male lead, quite well!

The boy greeted Yu Lei respectfully, then looked confused. “Teacher, Xingye went back to the classroom. He’ll be here soon. Did you call us back because there’s a new play?” He sounded puzzled.

Yu Lei smiled. “There’s a film project. I wanted to see if you’d be interested in auditioning.”

He then turned to Gu Zhinan. “I read your script. On the way here, I already picked out some suitable candidates from my class. If you don’t like them, feel free to pass and pick others directly from the class.”

Perfect!

Gu Zhinan gave a big mental thumbs-up. This was practically the VIP service, just like when Situ Hongwei personally scouted an entire camera crew.

“Really? We can audition?” The boy looked pleasantly surprised. He had been studying acting under Yu Lei for a year now, working hard in class. He never expected an opportunity to come this fast!

“I’ll go grab Xingye right now!” He was visibly excited. It was rare for film crews to come to Beijing Film Academy to scout, but even rarer to pick from the new class!