Caught in Affairs with Superstar

Chapter 915: Chapter 570: Talking About Superhero Blockbusters Again

The second day of script reading.

Liu Linglu took sick leave and didn’t come.

Zhou Yun heard the news and was very surprised, asking, ”What’s wrong with her?”

”She said she has a fever,” Yuk Chu said softly. ”Last night, she got caught in the rain.”

”Caught in the rain? It rained last night?”

”Didn’t you know? It started around eleven at night,” Yuk Chu said. ”It was so noisy I couldn’t sleep well.”

”I went to bed before that, so I didn’t notice.” Zhou Yun curiously asked, ”Why did she go out in the rain?”

”Who knows.”

Yuk Chu shrugged.

”Yin Zhou even called me this morning to complain that I told you about his plans.”

”Really?”

”Sigh, he really intends to go back,” Yuk Chu said. ”He’s going to quit this industry.”

Zhou Yun was very surprised.

”How did he decide so quickly?”

Yuk Chu: ”He wants to spend more time with his father. I can understand him; he’s afraid he’ll regret it in the future—after all, it’s cancer.”

As Yuk Chu said this, Zhou Yun suddenly understood.

Cancer.

Before, they discussed only the expenses and how to earn more money for treatment, but they never discussed what if the treatment fails, what if ultimately it’s still beyond saving; perhaps this period is Yin Zhou’s father’s last.

Zhou Yun suddenly felt the unpredictability of life.

The script reading was scheduled to start at eight-thirty in the morning. At eight twenty-nine, He Wenyun walked in with her thermos cup.

Last to arrive again.

Yuk Chu whispered to Zhou Yun, ”She has even more airs than you do.”

Zhou Yun smiled, saying nothing.

Xu Jinbo waited for He Wenyun to sit down, then said, ”Now that everyone’s here, let’s begin.”

”Director, Liu Linglu is on leave. What should we do about her parts?” Zhou Minmin suddenly asked.

Cui Xidong said, ”I’ll cover Liu Linglu’s lines for now.”

”Okay.” Zhou Minmin nodded.

”Liu Linglu is on leave?” He Wenyun suddenly asked in surprise.

She had just arrived and was unaware of this matter. As soon as she heard, she was somewhat surprised.

”She has a fever and is on an IV at the hospital,” Zhou Minmin explained to her.

He Wenyun nodded, realizing, ”I see.”

And didn’t say anything more.

The morning session went smoothly. In between, everyone discussed several times, chatting and laughing, deriving from their own understanding of the script content.

When writing the script, the screenwriter does not intricately arrange the past and present of each character, so some actors, to make their performance richer, or to fill their performance with more details, will enrich the character biographies based on the script.

For example, what little quirks this person might have, what past this person has, what experiences made this person harsh, and so on.

Acting isn’t without sources; the richer the details, the more real the performance.

Zhou Yun, Yuk Chu, and He Wenyun have all constructed many details about their characters, which they brought to the script reading session for communication, to ensure these newly constructed details did not cause any logical conflicts.

”Miaomiao appears gentle and obedient on the surface, a good girl, but actually, she has a fire inside her. She stands up for injustices and has her insights on many social phenomena, but due to oppressive parenting in childhood, she has low self-esteem and doesn’t dare to express her views in front of others.”

This was what Yuk Chu initially said when introducing her character.

”Actually, many girls are like Miaomiao, not lacking their own opinions, but afraid to express them, because expressing means pushing themselves into the spotlight, yet they are used to withdrawing into a corner, not wanting to be noticed, nor exposing themselves to others’ gazes.”

”So, she somewhat admires and looks up to Li Siran, for Li Siran is the kind of person she secretly wishes to become but doesn’t dare to.”

Zhou Yun nodded and continued, ”The Li Siran I play is someone who appears very confident in expressing herself and doesn’t care about others’ views. In reality, Li Siran also went through the stage Miaomiao is in, so she greatly understands Miaomiao’s feelings, which is why she helps Miaomiao out of difficult situations and becomes friends with her. But I feel like Li Siran isn’t as indifferent to the outside world’s voices and views as she appears; also, she’s sensitive, although she hides her sensitivity deep inside and doesn’t let it show at all.”

...

Intermission.

Zhou Yun went to the corridor window for some fresh air.

He Wenyun walked up beside her.

She pulled out a cigarette from her pack and asked, ”Want one?”

Zhou Yun waved her hand, ”I don’t smoke.”

He Wenyun put the cigarette back; she didn’t light up either.

Zhou Yun felt relieved; she really disliked the smell of smoke.

”The movie ’Samurai’ approached me,” she suddenly said.

”Hmm?” Zhou Yun looked at her with some surprise, asking, ”The one Paimon is doing?”

”Yes.” He Wenyun nodded, saying, ”They auditioned many actresses domestically but were not particularly satisfied. Then they suddenly remembered me; I’d worked with them on a movie before, so they asked me to audition again.”

”When?”

”They didn’t say when, just hope I record an audition tape showing my skills,” He Wenyun shrugged, ”I always thought their target actress was you.”

”Everyone says that, but Paimon never approached me.”

”Why is that?” He Wenyun asked curiously.

”I don’t know,” Zhou Yun shook her head.

”Actually, I think you’re very suitable for this movie.”

”Hmm?” Zhou Yun was already puzzled by He Wenyun bringing this up, and now she was saying this, making Zhou Yun even more curious.

Such a good opportunity, why didn’t He Wenyun seize it firmly herself and instead came to her about it?

He Wenyun laughed, ”Well, it seems you really have no interest in this movie. Honestly, I always thought your previous disinterest was just a smokescreen. I was thinking if you planned to do this movie, I wouldn’t waste time recording an audition video for them. If you’re willing to act in it, they’d surely be happy to cast you.”

Zhou Yun didn’t understand why He Wenyun would say that.

”You’re overthinking it; if they wanted me, they’d have contacted me.”

”They just thought you looked down on this kind of superhero film, plus because of Song Chi, there were internal disagreements about casting you. Some supported using you, while others didn’t,” He Wenyun said, ”I got invited because I’ve worked with them on two films, so they’re more familiar with me. But any normal film company would prioritize an actor’s fame and appeal when casting a major box office lead.”