All-rounder Artist-Chapter 611 - 577: Would You Like to Audition for Sun Wukong?_1
Lin Yuan was in charge of casting for "Journey to the West".
Within the system, there were many versions of "Journey to the West" as reference so that Lin Yuan could discern what actor type suits each role.
Foll𝑜w current novels on fɾēewebnσveℓ.com.
However...
Nobody expected that...
The first character cast by Lin Yuan was not any of the four disciples of Tang Monk, rather it was...
Sky Roaring Dog!
No choice!
It was Antarctica’s addiction to acting!
After starring in "Hachiko", Antarctica actually received a lot of notice.
But Lin Yuan only arranged one commercial for him, not allowing Antarctica to expose much after that.
His younger sister even complained that it was not right for Lin Yuan to keep such a good actor as Antarctica in the cold.
His elder sister even went so far as saying she wanted to become Antarctica’s agent...
Now, in the planning of "Journey to the West", Lin Yuan thought of this, and had designated the actor for Sky Roaring Dog.
Antarctica, it’s time for you to emerge!
The company had, of course, no objection.
At that time...
Within the film and television circle...
A lot of actors learned about the casting of "Journey to the West".
Obviously...
Starlight Entertainment alone would not be possibly able to fill so many roles for "Journey to the West", internally.
So, many actors were eager to contact their agents, hoping to secure a role in the drama.
Of all, the choice of the actor to play Sun Wukong attracted the most attention.
"Sun Wukong is the male lead, this role will definitely be the most popular!"
"Even though the Journey to the West drama is not as attractive as The Primordial Chaos, Journey to the West has official endorsement. With the chance of this show being promoted officially in the future, being a part of this show will certainly benefit future development!"
"Starlight is probably going to select their own actors for this role, right?"
"Then should we strive for Tang Monk?"
"We can also consider playing Yang Jian."
"Yang Jian is not interesting, he has less screen time, unlike the Yang Jian in The Primordial Chaos. He is the male lead."
"...."
Different actors are suitable for different roles.
For example, some comedy actors were very willing to play Zhu Bajie.
Though Zhu Bajie may be a pig, remember, he is the third male lead —
This might sound strange, but Zhu Bajie is indeed the third male lead of "Journey to the West".
Tang Monk would be considered the second.
With this situation, Starlight was comfortable.
Numerous portfolios of actors from the Qin, Qi, Chu, Yan States were laid out on Lin Yuan’s desk.
Ol’ Zhou expressed with confidence: "You could pick any of these actors, I’ll be responsible to negotiate with them."
This was very comfortable.
Lin Yuan was zealously indulging in the casting process.
"White Bone Demon is a femme fatale, possessing an allure of bewitching beauty, undoubtedly Zhou Xue should take this part."
Zhou Xue had previously worked with Lin Yuan on "The Sound Engineer". In that film, Zhou Xue’s portrayal of the female lead had the audience gnashing their teeth with hatred.
"Yang Jian should be played by Liu Zhengwen."
Liu Zhengwen was the leading man in "The Sound Engineer". He had once faced a downturn in his career, but his popularity rebounded thanks to Xian Yu.
He has a handsome image, which resembled a Earthling named Vincent Chiao. He fit Lin Yuan’s impression of Yang Jian.
This role was very important.
Lin Yuan had plans to shoot some other Yang Jian-related works in the future.
"Jade Emperor could only be Zhang Xiuming."
Zhang Xiuming had collaborated with Lin Yuan in "Hachiko", playing the male lead and moving countless audiences.
He was the highest-ranked actor at Starlight, having won Best Actor. In his early career, he had played emperor roles several times, making him a perfect fit for Jade Emperor.
Although this role had limited screen time, which would typically be unattractive for a Best Actor awardee, acting within his own company made things easier. Plus, Lin Yuan had a decent personal relationship with him, so there was not much of a problem.
....
Meanwhile, while Lin Yuan was making his selections...
Backstage at a theater in Qin Continent...
A male actor with a monkey face was removing his makeup.
After removing his makeup, the male actor said with a smile, "Little sister, bring me ’Journey to the West’, I want to read the ancient text version today."
"Are you still reading it?"
The woman next to him laughed and asked, "How many times have you read this book since it was published?"
"You wouldn’t understand."
The male actor said earnestly, "Our Ren family hails from a long line of Monkey King performers, passed down through countless generations. I, Ren Yan, have been learning from my father since I was six years old and have never slacked off—no one feels deeper for monkeys than us. The portrayal of Sun Wukong, the Monkey King in ’Journey to the West’ is truly exceptional.
It is undeniably the most vibrant portrayal of a monkey. Therefore, I have always dreamt of staging a play as Sun Wukong, but unfortunately, I don’t have enough money to buy the rights from Chu Kuang."
"Even though you’re known in the industry as the Little Monkey King, the kind of money that film and television actors make is far beyond what our niche market of monkey performances could earn."
The woman sitting next to him laughed:
"But you must admit, ’Journey to the West’ is truly a phenomenon. Once it was published, the audience which came to see our monkey performance at the theatre increased two to three times..."
"That’s the charm of classic novels!"
Ren Yan said with blazing eyes, "I believe that in ten years, Sun Wukong’s influence will be even stronger. Before then, I must find a way to get the copyrights for the theatrical adaptation of ’Journey to the West’."
The woman said wistfully, "I bet you want to play Sun Wukong yourself."
After saying that,
The woman suddenly said, "Isn’t ’Journey to the West’ being adapted as a television series soon? I wonder which big star will end up playing Sun Wukong—if you ask me, no one in the whole of Blue Star can play the monkey better than you!"
Ren Yan gave a bitter smile, "I’m not a star, so how could I play Sun Wukong in the TV version?"
Isn’t he craving to be Sun Wukong?
But he is just a small-time monkey performer. Apart from locals who enjoyed monkey performances, who knew him?
"I was just rambling."
The woman suddenly said hesitatingly, "By the way, we need to pay the theatre rent again..."
Ren Yan fell silent.
A few minutes later, he laughed and said, "Recently, the audience has greatly increased, and we’ve made a bit more money. It’s not a big problem."
The woman stared at him, "Do you really have the money? Otherwise, I could lend you my salary for this month."
Ren Yan shook his head, "Even if I have to sell the monkeys at home, I can’t take your money."
The woman teased, "Sell the monkeys? Isn’t that like signing your death warrant?"
Ren Yan also laughed.
The monkeys were his lifeline.
To him, a monkey was not just an animal, but also a partner, a teammate.
At this moment,
There was sudden movement by the entrance.
The woman got up and looked, spoke nervously, "Here comes the theatre boss, and he’s brought quite a few people with him."
Ren Yan was startled and quickly stood up, facing the boss who took the lead:
"Boss, I’m working on collecting the rental fees for this quarter..."
"Rental fees?"
The boss, all smiles, said, "You’re the Little Monkey King, no need to mention the rent. Your rent for this quarter is waived. In the future, I only ask that you continue performing frequently at my theatre!"
Ren Yan was stunned.
The woman next to him was also stunned.
Just yesterday, this landlord was still shouting about raising the rent. How is it that today, he was so magnanimous as to waive an entire quarter’s worth of rent?
"Let me introduce you!"
The boss giggled, "These men are the professional trainers from Starlight Entertainment in Su City. And this man standing next to me, surely, needs no introduction?"
Ren Yan instinctively looked at the person next to the boss.
A tall, slender young man.
If one didn’t consider the modified faces of the stars on TV, this young man was certainly the most handsome person Ren Yan had ever seen in his life!
But why did he look so familiar...
"Ah!"
The woman next to Ren Yan suddenly screamed, her face flushed with excitement:
"Fish Papa!"
"Hello, I’m Xian Yu."
The young man smiled at the woman, and then looked at Ren Yan, "Have you read ’Journey to the West’?"
Ren Yan was dumbstruck.
He finally realized why the man looked so familiar!
Because this man was Xian Yu!
The Little Maestro of Blue Star, and more importantly, the playwright of the TV series ’Journey to the West’!
And he came to find me...
Ren Yan’s heart began to race uncontrollably, and he forgot to answer the young man’s question in his overwhelmed state.
At that moment, Xian Yu’s gaze fell on the copy of ’Journey to the West’ sitting on the table:
"Looks like there’s no need for an answer to that question, let’s go on to the next one..."
"Would you want to audition for the role of Sun Wukong?" Experience more content on novelbuddy
————————
ps: Thanks to the alliance overlord rewards from [LeonY558] and [Towards the North of the Sun], kneels for the great lords ▄█▀█●, continues to write, and also begs for the base monthly votes at the beginning of the month!
