A great director who grew up happily

Chapter 168 Plan to Adjust Schedule

Deng Xiaoqi's eyes began to light up. She had asked about it last time, but was not given a specific time, so she quickly asked, "When is the filming planned? Can you give me a role?"

When she asked this question, she was not embarrassed at all. She knew that for someone like her who had no resources, she had to seize the opportunity if she came across it.

"There's an approximate time, but I want to know something."

"What do you want to ask?"

"Is it true that the online rumor about the acting department of the Central Academy of Drama prohibits freshmen and sophomores from taking acting roles?" Chen Jinnian asked.

There are many different opinions about this matter. The most controversial one is about Mei Ting. It is said that she dropped out of school because of her role in "Northern Story", but there are other versions as well.

Deng Xiaoqi turned to look at her two roommates, then nodded. "The school does have such a rule. It's not that you can't pick up the phone, but it can't interfere with your classes. If it's during summer or winter vacation, or if you have a special weekend activity, it's fine, but if it takes over a school day, you have to ask for leave."

Chen Jinnian scratched his forehead and asked, "Can I ask for leave?"

Huang Ziqi said helplessly, "How can I get leave? Unless it's a task from above, or a political party, it's impossible to get leave."

"Also, even if you can get acting jobs in your junior and senior years, it doesn't mean you don't have to study. You still have to take the necessary classes and exams. If you don't have enough credits, you'll have to postpone your graduation."

Ge Shimin also agreed, but then added: "But it has nothing to do with us. We can't get so many roles."

Chen Jinnian couldn't help but be shocked after hearing this. The school was quite strict. They might be afraid that these students wouldn't study hard, wouldn't learn enough skills, and would end up going out to act and ruin the school's reputation.

And this also posed a problem for him, so he said: "I have a movie project on hand right now, which is tentatively scheduled to start shooting at the end of February, with a shooting period of one month. There are also a few roles that I wanted to give to you, but now it's a bit difficult to see."

Chen Jinnian was referring to the supporting roles with names and surnames. He would naturally not mention the extras or the like, as they would not be looked down upon by others.

"Oh, this is such a pity. I can do without money." Deng Xiaoqi said quite disappointedly.

Chen Jinnian was also disappointed. Yes, what a great free labor force, and in a blink of an eye, it was gone.

Of course, saving money is only one aspect. What's more important is to get familiar with these people and see if there are any rough diamonds to be mined. It's already 2015, and those who should be famous have already become famous, and those who will be famous in the future have already been signed by major brokerage companies.

To show how ruthless these agents are, they would block people on the scene as early as the art exam. When students from Beijing Film Academy and Central Academy of Drama reach their sophomore year, they would directly pack up and divide up the results.

Therefore, if Chen Jinnian wanted to find senior students, he had to go around these annoying agencies. In addition, these students had been in the circle for two years. Even if they had not experienced it, they had seen it. It was impossible for them to be as easy to fool as the 15th graders who had just enrolled.

"Can't we shoot in advance?" Deng Xiaoqi asked, somewhat unwillingly, "We've already sent out the holiday schedule for this school year. Winter vacation is until March 3th."

"Well, is the winter vacation so long?" Chen Jinnian asked in surprise.

He thought about it and felt that if the filming start time was moved forward a few days, it seemed that he would be able to make it in time. After all, all the characters including himself were supporting roles, and the one with the most scenes was Uncle Qian.

As long as we plan the filming schedule and shoot their scenes first, it's not impossible.

Deng Xiaoqi watched Chen Jinnian fall into deep thought and did not continue to ask questions to disturb him.

The two roommates next to them took the opportunity to inquire about the situation in a low voice. Before they came, they thought it was just an ordinary group of friends. After all, they were all selected from thousands of people, with perfect looks and figures, and there was no shortage of suitors.

Treating people to dinner is a common occurrence, but they rarely show up.

After all, most of those who can go to the acting department of Beijing Film Academy and the Central Academy of Drama now have very affluent families and are not under pressure to make money. It is no longer the era when money can attract girls. What matters now is "comprehensive quality".

After Deng Xiaoqi's introduction, they learned that this handsome brother was actually a serious film director with some achievements.

"Hey, how did you two know each other? I remember you are from Jiangzhou City. How do you know you?" Huang Ziqi asked curiously.

"We went to the movies during the National Day holiday and bumped into him when we were leaving the theater. He treated us to a meal to apologize, and that's how we got to know each other naturally," Deng Xiaoqi said in a low voice.

"Oh my god, what kind of Mary Sue plot is this?"

Huang Ziqi covered his mouth in surprise and said that this kind of plot where the male and female protagonists meet is a standard feature of Mary Sue TV dramas.

Deng Xiaoqi didn't dare to disturb Chen Jinnian's thoughts, but Wang Yidi didn't care about it. When he found that the other party was in a daze, he directly shook him awake.

"What are you thinking about? You're so engrossed." Wang Yidi put the shrimp balls into his bowl. "I think this is delicious. Try it."

"I'm wondering if Mr. Yu Qian has any schedule, and if the time can be moved forward." Chen Jinnian said. He knew that Uncle Qian had a lot of commercial performances and announcements during the Spring Festival, but he was not sure about what would happen after the festival. It seemed that he had to ask Dalin.

"Teacher Yu Qian." Deng Xiaoqi said in surprise, "Isn't the lead actor you?"

"Of course not. This movie is going to be released in the cinema market. How can I play the leading role when I'm not even famous? Besides, the leading role is a middle-aged teacher, which I can't play."

The performance of a movie in theaters depends on the cast, and even the status of the actors is more important than the movie itself. If you want to sell at the box office, stars and marketing must be one of them, otherwise it will become cannon fodder in the screening schedule like the earlier "A Hundred Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix".

You know, that movie had already been nominated for a bunch of awards two years before its release, but it was only because of the extreme action of the publicity and distribution team who knelt down and kowtowed that it became a hot topic.

"Can Teacher Yu perform well?" Deng Xiaoqi asked weakly.

"Haha, at least they are better than us. We were not even born when they started their acting career." Chen Jinnian said with a smile, and he was indeed not worried at all about it.

"I'll go back and negotiate the schedule first. If the time is right, I'll give you the role. If not, we'll have to wait until summer vacation to collaborate on the next drama." Chen Jinnian, adhering to the principle that a thief never leaves empty-handed, also threw out the plan for the next drama.

"Great, no problem. I will definitely go as long as you invite me." Deng Xiaoqi widened her eyes and agreed immediately without even asking about the plot and characters.

Huang Ziqi and Ge Shimin also seemed eager to make a move, but they were not as naive as Deng Xiaoqi. They planned to find out more about the situation before making a decision.

Chen Jinnian didn't expect the other party to agree immediately, so he just briefly touched upon the topic and turned back to the acting teacher and the three exams for the school entrance examination.

This is also what Wang Yidi cares about most. When she meets three seniors this time, she will not let them go. They chat and eat, and more than an hour passes quickly.

Deng Xiaoqi was describing her success story when she saw the voice message from Lin Miaomiao on WeChat. As soon as she opened it, she heard crying voices, which scared everyone.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." He apologized quickly, then stood up and walked to the corner to listen to the voice message.

As Lin Miaomiao continued to send messages, Deng Xiaoqi's expression became more and more ugly.