"Hello, Director. I am a senior student from the Czech Republic at Beijing Film Academy. My Chinese name is Thomas Bolton, the 'Tang' from the prosperous Tang Dynasty."

Most white people tend to look older than their actual age. For example, this Thomas Bolton has blonde hair and blue eyes, deep-set eye sockets, and a high nose bridge, looking like a mature woman in her thirties, but in reality, she is just a senior student.

Chapter 7 Broadening Horizons

"Director, you can ask me why I chose the name Thomas Bolton." The foreign girl Thomas Bolton was not stage-shy and spoke up.

"Because you like the Tang Dynasty, so you chose the name Thomas Bolton." Shawn Carter said.

The foreign girl Bolton asked in surprise, "How did you know, Director?"

"Because, coincidentally, I like the Han Dynasty." Shawn Carter changed the topic: "I saw the information you sent. You wrote that you have a lot of acting experience. What exactly have you done?"

The foreign girl Bolton looked a little confused and said, "Director, my Chinese is not good enough, so when you speak too fast, my ears feel uncomfortable."

The director is too fast? And how could speaking too fast make your ears uncomfortable!

Shawn Carter immediately jumped out of the car. Luckily, the car door wasn't welded shut. In this situation, he couldn't drive, nor could he let his thoughts continue.

"You mean: I spoke too fast, so you couldn't understand?" Shawn Carter saw the foreign girl nod and slowed down his speech: "I'm asking, what specific acting experience do you have?"

"Oh, oh, oh, thank you, Director, for understanding." The foreign girl Bolton began listing the roles she had played. Because of her somewhat cool and mature appearance, she mostly played high-ranking executives in foreign companies or female CEOs in urban dramas.

All in all, she had played more than twenty supporting roles, so she was not lacking in acting opportunities.

"It seems you don't lack roles. Why did you come to the open audition?" Shawn Carter asked.

"Because I want to try, to get in touch with the big screen." Although the foreign girl Bolton's Chinese was a bit clumsy, she was not stupid. She had her own little plans. No matter how this movie ultimately performed, it would not affect her getting roles in urban dramas at all.

On this point, she mainly had to thank the domestic professional urban drama industry. In more than eighty percent of professional dramas, there is no real professional knowledge.

For example, lawyer dramas are mainly about romance, interpreters are mainly about romance, real estate agents are mainly about romance, fashion designers are mainly about romance—everything is based on MLM, or rather, every drama is based on romance.

Whether a drama becomes popular mainly depends on the actors' popularity and whether the CP (couple pairing) works.

Given this situation, as long as you carry the banner of a professional drama, even if you don't fool the audience, you have to fool yourself. So, actors with the qualities of the foreign girl Bolton—famous designers, foreign lawyers, or female CEOs—seem very professional.

The foreign girl Bolton understood this well. Although her initial audition wasn't good enough for Shawn Carter to sign her on the spot, after seeing all the candidates for this role, she turned out to be the best.

After a day of recruitment, all the actors of other ethnicities needed for the drama were found. Two students from Beijing Film Academy, Erin Ray and the foreign girl Bolton, and the rest were recommended by the casting director. There are few locals and little local sentiment in Beijing, but plenty of drifters, so there was no problem.

"Director Chu, is it really necessary to contact Production I.G? That's a top Japanese animation studio. If we go by that standard, these ten-plus minutes of animation will require a huge budget." Blake really couldn't understand the point of doing this. He had seen movies that included animation or comics, but that was only for a few seconds. This would be over ten minutes, and carefully produced at that. It was just too strange.

"'Kill Bill' blended a lot of things, but blending doesn't mean chaos, nor does it mean being careless. On the contrary, this segment is about Julian Stone's childhood experiences, and it's a very important part." Shawn Carter said.

Blake couldn't agree at all, but he couldn't argue with the boss either. He nodded and said he'd get in touch right away, adding that Shawn Carter had hired Blake as the crew's negotiator, mainly to run errands and contact various companies.

After sending off Blake, Shawn Carter made himself a bowl of premium golden luxury instant noodles. It's no exaggeration to say that even compared to the legendary Chef's "Peerless Noodles," it was just as good.

With the addition of Wangzhongwang sausage and Fuling pickled mustard, the aroma was delightful. A bite of noodles, then a crunchy bite of pickles—truly a pleasure on earth.

The system popped up: [Host has started assembling the crew. All expenses, including meals, will be covered by the film's special funds.]

If Shawn Carter heard correctly, the system was implying that they had money and didn't need to eat instant noodles.

"It's not about having money or not. Mainly, I'm someone who has transcended low-level pleasures and doesn't care much for material enjoyment. I prefer spiritual communication," Shawn Carter replied. "For example, talking about art, talking about life."

The system responded: [As expected of the host!]

Why is this system so weirdly silly?

During this time, the noodles were ready. He paused his thoughts, ate the noodles, and opened his phone to check the latest entertainment news.

[Cai Biyan's new movie has a 110 million investment, but only 50 million box office in half a month. Three consecutive movies have lost money. The box office miracle may become box office poison.]

[Up-and-coming director Dai Mengxi's new film "Village Agent" is a hit with both critics and at the box office.]

[Director Zhou Yi's new film failed to make it to Cannes. She claims the Cannes jury discriminates against Chinese films.]

Entertainment news is real news—always something new. Even if you're trending today, you might be old news tomorrow.