Chapter 449 - Taken
The assistant came together with a staff member, the former holding a doc.u.ment while the latter held a camera.
A few seconds later, the screen above the stage switched to another image. It was a hard copy of the email they sent to the actors and actresses who got the roles in the film.
"This is a hard copy of the email we sent to the cast seven days ago. But in case anyone doubts the authenticity, let me also show you see the electronic version." He looked at the assistant and nodded.
The assistant nodded back, fiddled on his laptop, and soon, on the big screen on the stage, a screen video of the laptop he was navigating in currently was shown.
It showed the cursor clicking on the email app, then on one specific folder, then showed a list of emails with the same subject and template, and finally, the exact email sent to Song Xuantin last week was shown in front of everyone.
"It's hard to explain without proof, so I'm showing you all this. As you have seen in the letter, the role was already decided at least a week ago. Also, I believe everyone can see, the email has Miss Song's name on it. Not only the role of the 'Lone Star', but every role was already decided by that time. We only sent it privately to the cast and made an official announcement today."
The screen continued to show emails sent to other actors. The date was clearly specified as well.
There were murmurs in the crowd.
The flashes of camera rained down as they captured the images on the screen.
"If the 'Lone Star' role was already decided earlier on, then what's up with Miss Xiong Wuyue claiming that Song Xuantin slept with the directors during these three days?"
"A baseless accusation?"
The media's murmurs were not soft.
Xiong Wuyue, who had remained standing, looked at the screen with wide eyes.
[Dear Miss Song Xuantin, The production team is glad to inform you that you have been accepted for the role of the 'Lone Star'. We are pleased to welcome you to our cast. Your...]
Xiong Wuyue blankly looked at the date and the recipient of the letter.
It was a week ago.
It had been decided. …
But it should be hers.
There must be a mistake somewhere.
The name on that email should be hers!
She had been waiting for it!
This was her chance to turn things around.
She couldn't back down!
"Unacceptable!" All eyes turned to her again.
"On what point did you base for her to get the role?! She has no experience with Hollywood films! I am better, I have more experiences than her! I can do better than her! There's definitely something wrong!"
This time, her accusations no longer carried any weight.
Even though she was the former rising Entertainment Queen, it was in the past. With her acting like this, unreconciled that the role did not land on her, even the media looked at her strangely.
However, they still welcomed good scoop.
The longer this went on, the bigger the news would be.
So a few of the more reckless reporters piped in.
"Right, it's not that we are doubting you, we are simply curious. On what basis did you choose Miss Song Xuantin as the Lone Star over other famous actresses? She is indeed very popular now and can easily star in the top-grade films in the domestic market, but it's still far off from being able to get such a huge break in the international stage. It's normal to choose Miss Xiong Wuyue who has more experiences in shooting international films."
The other journalists collectively nodded.
'The show must go on, ah!'
Xiong Wuyue who began to fret felt hope rise up in her chest again.
See? She was not wrong!
What she was saying was true!
The producer looked at the person who asked, taking note from which media company he belonged to.
He felt both relieved and worried at the same time.
If this went on, the one who would have to endure the blow was no longer them, but Miss Xiong Wuyue instead.
The producer glanced at Xiong Zhi. His eyes seemed to be asking. 'Is it really alright to continue?'
After all, the other subject was still a Xiong.
Xiong Zhi glanced at him and nodded briefly. 'Continue.'
She would gladly enjoy the show from this corner.
The producer received the go-signal from the esteemed Xiong personage and sighed in relief.
Thus, he no longer cared about this small-fry Xiong in front of him. In his mind, basing on how these two surnamed Xiong people carried themselves, he could see that the mysterious lady was definitely of a higher position.
He could not just allow the small fry, although this person might be more powerful than him, to destroy the future of the whole film.
Now that he found an umbrella to shield him from the rain, he was assured to defend their side.
Producer Ning cleared his throat. "I understand your doubts. Normally, the audition process was kept under wraps for confidentiality. However, if Miss Xiong Wuyue really wants us to go deeper, then we shall do as everyone wishes. It is also so that all of our friends here can dispel the doubts that Miss Song Xuantin had used underhanded methods to get the role."
The screen flashed.
It was a list of names, a lot of them were slightly blurred though.
"More than two months ago, we distributed the script samples to the recommended artists in preparation for the audition period. We gave one to Miss Song Xuantin and Miss Xiong Wuyue at the same time because both of them are highly recommended artists with great qualifications."
On the screen, both women had their names checked as the people who had received the script.
"Then after giving them and the others who went for the same role two weeks to prepare, we held an audition."
Another folder was shown. It contained audition videos categorized into dates.
The producer paused and glanced at Xiong Wuyue briefly before continuing.
"Unfortunately, Miss Xiong Wuyue did not attend the audition. Her manager told us that they were ready to accept the role without auditioning… and that they can invest as much funds in the film as we wanted. However, this is a very important film. The author had also made sure to see everyone's performances. I also can't bypass the decision of the main director, so I insisted to at least have her audition. To be fair."
Xiong Wuyue's eyes trembled.
She remembered this.
When she was given a script, she learned from her manager that it was a film adapted from the most famous novel that had roused countless fans in many countries around the world, famous enough that the Hollywood moviemakers wanted to make a movie out of it.
After knowing that the cast mainly consisted of Chinese actors, she instantly wanted the main female lead role. Once the movie swept around the globe, it was a huge opportunity for her to fully secure and stabilize her title as the Queen of Entertainment.
This could also be her chance to become the national movie queen.
However, she truly despised auditioning.
With her father's all out support, she barely auditioned in her life. For her, auditioning meant that she would be put on the same level as others like an item in the marketplace available for choosing.
She was Xiong Wuyue, the princess of the Xiong family!
Why should she subject herself to such treatment?
Auditioning was only for low-class people who had no status and background like her.
She did not need to stoop low to get the role she wanted. She only needed to tell her father or her agent, and they would make it happen.
Her acting instructors had always told her that she was talented in acting, and even the previous directors she had worked with always praised her.
There was no need to prove to others any further of her good acting skills.
Even when she had been a guest actor in the Hollywood films she participated in, aside from the first instance when she auditioned for appearances, she no longer needed to audition for the succeeding films because her father and agent already took care of everything, after she told them that she had enough with auditions.
Thus, she had treated this film the same way, expecting to secure the role she wanted as usual.
Once she opened her mouth, who else within the whole of Country C deserved the role aside from her?
But who would have thought that after one month, they did not receive the news regarding the role.
Xiong Wuyue had been upset about the late notice and kept pestering her father to check on that role over and over again, until her father fell into that woman's ploy and went to jail.
The buzzing sound of the people inside the hall brought her thoughts back to reality.
The media was in uproar.
Fair?
Seeing how Xiong Wuyue did not bother with the audition for such an important film, then what was more of the previous films she starred in?
Didn't that imply that all this time, Xiong Wuyue was simply using her backstage to get roles unfairly?
Xiong Wuyue looked at the list of videos in a daze.
To think that not auditioning actually bit her back.
"Now, if you still insist, we can all watch more than fifty videos here for the role. But since we don't have all day, I will just let you watch Miss Song Xuantin's audition recording. You will see why she was accepted then."
Producer Ning smiled as he signaled the assistant to play the video.
This would also serve as a bit of a spoiler for the movie. And to set expectations for the cast.
The cameras lifted and started recording.
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