Chapter 64: The Audition Is About to Begin

Director Hu indeed didn’t let such a rare snowfall go to waste. Last night, he grabbed the set designer and the rest of the crew and worked through the night to finalize a plan.

The main reason was that they had plenty of money to spend. If they wanted to add something, they could just add it!

And so Ling Xiaoli spent the entire day watching the actors shiver in the snow.

Thank goodness for technology, and thank goodness for the invention of disposable heat packs.

Actually, Director Hu had only added a few scenes set in the snow. The script itself hadn’t changed, and all the snow scenes were finished within half a day.

Afterward, Ling Xiaoli also joined everyone in clearing the snow and cleaning up the filming set.

………

Two days later, during a break from filming, Director Hu suddenly came looking for Ling Xiaoli.

“Ling Xiaoli, are you free tomorrow?”

Ling Xiaoli froze and hurriedly stood up from her little stool.

“Yes. What’s up, Director Hu?”

“Director Zhang has finished the preparations. I recommended you to him, and he happens to be at the film studio recently. If you’re free tomorrow, I can arrange an audition for you.”

Director Zhang?

Oh! The Investiture of the Gods!

Ling Xiaoli immediately broke into a delighted smile.

“Of course! Thank you so much, Director Hu!”

Director Hu laughed.

“What’s there to thank me for? I only recommended you. Whether you get the role or not will still depend on you!”

Although Director Hu was indeed the notorious “tyrant” when he was filming, his temper was actually quite good in his daily life.

………

That day, Ling Xiaoli left the set early and once again began watching movies and TV shows at double speed.

Unlike Hu Li, who was a film director, Director Zhang Ye mainly worked in television. After watching everything, Ling Xiaoli nearly felt like her brain was about to burn out.

Fortunately, she didn’t really need to focus on the plots. What she mainly studied was the types of actors Director Zhang liked to use, as well as the camera angles, shots, and visual compositions he frequently used while filming.

That way, she could tailor her performance the next day.

Ling Xiaoli also dug up some materials on ancient etiquette, posture, sitting positions, and similar things for some intensive studying. She even found a piece of classical dance and picked out an ancient-style song.

Su Daji was, after all, a legendary beauty equally renowned for her singing and dancing.

Director Zhang’s reputation was even greater than Director Hu’s. The fact that he could take charge of a major production for the national broadcaster and serve as its chief director was proof enough of his ability.

Since last year, rumors had already begun circulating that the country would strongly support mythological productions this year.

The main reason was that several fantasy blockbusters from overseas had become hugely popular over the previous two years, resulting in domestic productions suddenly being filled with elves versus orcs, fireballs battling ice arrows, and the like.

The higher-ups took one look and thought, That won’t do. It’s not like we don’t have our own fantasy culture to promote.

Then let’s make them!

Even if they couldn’t get the whole world hooked on them, at the very least, they could bring domestic audiences back to the embrace of five thousand years of Chinese civilization.

It was easy to foresee that works such as Journey to the West, The Investiture of the Gods, The Classic of Mountains and Seas, In Search of the Supernatural, and Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio would soon be produced one after another.

Director Hu’s God Who Split the Mountain and Director Zhang’s The Investiture of the Gods were simply among the more significant productions.

………

The next day, there was already no trace of the snow that had fallen several days earlier. After all, it had only snowed for one night, and the past few days had been bright and sunny.

With Luo Zhaoyin’s encouragement, Ling Xiaoli set off alone on her audition journey.

………

Unlike her audition for God Who Split the Mountain, where a group of actors had auditioned together, this time she had been given an individual appointment.

According to Hu Li, the casting process for The Investiture of the Gods was mainly divided into three categories.

The first category was direct invitations to actors. As long as they accepted, they would get a role.

The second category consisted of actors favored by the production team, as well as actors recommended by various parties. They would need to audition and compete for the roles.

The third category was open auditions, where whether you were selected or not was entirely up to fate.

Thanks to Hu Li, Ling Xiaoli was in the second category. When she arrived, she was the only one auditioning.

The main reason Hu Li dared to recommend Ling Xiaoli was that, for the role of Su Daji, no matter how good an actress’s acting skills were, appearance was even more important!

In every version of The Investiture of the Gods, the first thing people would always discuss was Su Daji’s beauty!

“If Su Daji isn’t beautiful, then what the hell am I even watching?”