Chapter 83: Helpless as the Male Lead

  ……

  "I'm starting to suspect that you're making movies not because you like it, but just because you want to pick up girls." Nagata Koto said with a complex tone as she watched Zhou Xiao personally see Miyazaki Aoi out the door.

  "How is that possible, you just saw her, she's not the kind of person with no experience at all. Although I'm still an outsider now, even I can feel the difference between her and others before." Zhou Xiao said.

  "That's because...the people who came for the audition were all too bad." Nagata Koto couldn't help but complain.

  Yes, that's right. In the past two days of auditions, Zhou Xiao and Nagata Kotono discovered a phenomenon that left them speechless. Among the people who came to audition, their acting skills were usually proportional to their age. The older ones who came to audition for other roles had pretty good acting skills, but the young people who came to audition for the male and female lead roles and their classmates' roles were not very impressive. According to Nagata Kotono's words, there are originally not many people with potential in terms of acting skills. Additionally, Japanese entertainment companies have a well-established system for evaluating and cultivating actors. Most of these talented actors have already been specially cultivated by the company. As for the rest, if they look good enough, they can try to become idols; otherwise, they'll just have to work hard at the bottom.

  "What's going to happen... We still haven't found a suitable male lead..." Nagata Koto muttered, flipping through the materials with a worried expression.

  "Can't you just find one casually?" Zhou Xiao said. Anyway, the portrayal of the male lead is relatively rare, and it's basically just a clue character.

  "That's how it is. Although I'm just a supporting character, at least I'm the male role with the most screen time in the film. At the very least, I have to establish an image." said Nagata Kintarou.

  "Why don't we try looking for a famous actor? Like someone from Johnny's?" Zhou Xiao asked.

  "What's recommended at Janice's?"

  "How was Arashi last year? Just pick any one of the five members and have them act."

  "Storm? They just debuted and are in the midst of holding concerts everywhere, probably don't have much time to film movies. And don't look at them as having just debuted, they actually had a considerable amount of popularity before debuting, their market value is already high enough. Johnny's might think we're not on the same level."

  "What's the selection process like in Jr.? By Jr., I mean those who have not yet officially debuted, and are working as backup dancers for debut groups, similar to AKB's research students."

  "The ones in their teens are too young, and the older ones are basically those who can't even stand up straight. To sum it up, our current problem is actually a dilemma. Those with suitable age and acting skills may not be available, and those who are available may not have the right age or acting skills that we can accept. Moreover, our budget is also limited, every penny has to be pinched."

  "Oh dear, it's so frustrating. Zhou Xiaoju racked her brains thinking of male actors she knew who didn't have a big name yet but had acting skills. She was getting anxious as the scheduled studio time was approaching, and this search was like finding a needle in a haystack - she had no idea when she would find someone."

  "Why don't you just come and calculate it yourself." Nagata Kotora said, looking at Zhou Xiao. Eighteen-year-old Zhou Xiao was quite a good match for fifteen-year-old Miyazaki Aoi in terms of age, and their appearance was also quite decent.

  "Me? Don't be kidding, I won't act," said Zhou Xiao.

  "When selecting actors, I saw your various comments and they were all on point, so the acting skills shouldn't be bad either?" said Nagata Koto.

  "It's because..." Zhou Xiao was about to say something but stopped. In the last few years before he traveled through time, the information people came into contact with every day was completely different from now. At that time, it had already entered an era where everyone was a master of talking nonsense, and many things only needed to be slightly paid attention to and then checked with some data, which was enough to make a person talk for dozens of minutes without repeating himself.

  "Alright, alright, the selection isn't over yet, let's take a look again. But I'm telling you, if it really comes down to just picking anyone, you'll have to audition in front of me too. If that's okay with you, then go ahead and perform! It doesn't matter anyway, you going up there will save on actor fees, right? Don't forget, you're an investor, you have a responsibility to your investment." said Nagata Kintou.

  Zhou Xiao had no way to refute this and could only sit back down in frustration, continuing the interview with Nagata Kotono.

  It's unknown whether it was the heavens' intention or what, but after Nagata Koto said that sentence, not a single person came to interview for the male lead role for the rest of the afternoon! Everyone who came were interviewing for other main roles, leaving Zhou Xiaoqin utterly bewildered.

  Five minutes before the end of the interview, there was no one waiting outside. Looking at Nagata Koto's expression with a hint of impatience, Zhou Xiao had to get up reluctantly and walk to their table: "Still performing the previous test part?"

  "That won't do, you've been watching other people's performances all day today, by that time you'll definitely have a lot of your own ideas, and in that case, it won't be possible to see your true level. Let me think... Ah... You just perform the last scene where the male lead and Aya are talking in front of the bed." said Nagata Koto.

  "……Alright, I'll start then." Actually, Zhou Xiao Da could have given up on such a situation, but don't forget that he used to be a comedian. What is the biggest occupational creed of comedians? It's that no matter how difficult or unpleasant things are, you still have to grit your teeth and do it. This is actually the most tiring part of being a comedian.

  Although Zhou Xiao is no longer considered a comedian, he also knows that in the entertainment industry, only those who are willing to do anything will have the most work and the largest space to showcase themselves. So, regarding Nagata Kotaro's request, he eventually agreed.

  As a result of this performance, Nagata Koto thought for a moment and said: "It's a bit rough, but it also has some spirit. Basically, you can play this character!"

  "What? So rash? Or should the director reconsider?" A strange scene, the director agreed, but the actor hoped the director wouldn't choose himself.

  "There's nothing more to consider, your performance is good, you're the male lead of this drama!" Nagata Kotono said with finality.

  For such a result, Zhou Xiao had no choice but to cover his face. He didn't expect that the director hadn't even started yet, and he was already being asked to perform as an actor.

  "Actually, I'm the most surprised one, you little brat, how can you do everything so well...?" said Nagata Kotone with some annoyance.

  "Hey, what's good about that? Sometimes geniuses are asked to do weird things." Zhou Xiao said listlessly.

  "That's it for today, and in ten days we'll be on set, the movie will officially start filming?" asked Nagata Kotono after the final interview.

  "Or let's take a look at other male actors?" Zhou Xiaoyu was not giving up.

  "It's all up to you now!" Eita Koto didn't give Zhou Xiao any more chances.

  The two most important actors have been settled, and the preparation for the movie is no longer so urgent. The rest of the things can be handled by Uncle Ikegami, and Zhou Xiao has also contacted the music arranger and lyricist in the past few days. A group of people entered the recording studio to start working on his new single, which will be released next year. "Powder Snow" and "March 9th" will also be the theme song and insert song for the movie version of "One Liter of Tears". Moreover, because they need to be used as background music, both songs have been recorded in several other instrumental versions, such as guitar and piano versions, to be played at different times in the film.

  For Zhou Xiao's new song, the internal evaluation is also very good. Although these people are doing rock music, while Fen Xue and March 9th are popular songs with a hint of folk melody, this does not mean that Being's people cannot appreciate them. As top-notch musicians, they can feel the excellent musicality and catchiness of Zhou Xiao's two songs.

  "In Japan's karaoke rankings, 'Small Love' and 'Secret Base' haven't fallen off the charts yet. Is this setting up a scene where one person has four songs on the same chart?" someone commented.

  Four songs on the chart at the same time? Many people nodded and seriously thought about this possibility in their hearts. In fact, before Zhou Xiao came out, probably no one would have thought that a singer's four songs would be on the chart at the same time. The reason is simple: a singer's style is very hard to change, some can sing, but few can make two completely different types of music.

  It's just that Zhou Xiao can be biased, two singles with four songs, in the eyes of these professional musicians, there are actually three completely different perspectives and melodies in these four songs!

  PS: This week there's a homepage recommendation, I'm begging everyone to vote enthusiastically, niche books can only rely on recommendation votes!!!!!