I am a Big Player
Chapter 510 - 504, Funny Roommate (4th update for monthly pass)_1

Chapter 510: 504, Funny Roommate (4th update for monthly pass)_1

Students like Li Shuaizhen, who had acted in several TV dramas before enrolling in the Central Academy of Drama, were everywhere, though not famous, they weren’t considered newcomers in the industry.

Twenty years ago, students like these were rare at the Academy, but now they are plentiful. The truth is, twenty years ago, audiences were all about acting skills, and poor acting could break the immersion in minutes. At that time, the veteran actors either came from the realm of stage plays, drama, or were involved in performance arts in some other way.

For example, in her past life, Ren He liked a veteran actor who later became hugely popular as Secretary Dakang, played an opponent of Sun HongLei in "Undercover", and an opponent of Liu QingYun and Leung Chiu-wai in "The Great Magician". This kind of person typically emerged from drama troupes.

They possessed a mastery of acting skills, what they played, they became flawlessly.

However, audiences have slowly started to lean towards the young heartthrobs now. Regardless of whether they could act or not, looking good was enough.

This has led to a huge number of artists becoming famous before even graduating from high school, like TFBOY, Lin Miaoke, Guan Xiaotong, and other stars who attracted wide attention during their college entrance exams.

Becoming famous before being enrolled certainly applied to Yang Xi, though she was specially recruited based on her piano skills.

Being able to enter Juilliard School of Music already spoke volumes for her abilities.

Li Shuaizhen mentioned he had played supporting roles in a few films, and even shared his life story, prompting Ren He to casually remark that he was just an ordinary person.

He really hadn’t acted in any films and didn’t plan to in the future, but investing in a few was an attractive option...

In his past life, he absolutely detested the entertainment industry rampant with lousy films and couldn’t understand how such rubbish was produced.

If he had the money now, he would definitely invest in movies like "No Man’s Land" and "Crazy Stone".

Ren He believed that film directors should first be conscientious: on one hand, not to swindle investors’ money, and on the other, not to let down the audience’s expectations.

Not every movie should be made into 3D, it’s so pointless. Do they look down on people who wear glasses or what?

In this life, Ren He didn’t need glasses and even had Super Vision, but in his past life, he was bespectacled and found watching 3D movies utterly annoying.

Of course, some movies are thrilling in 3D. What Ren He advocated against was the unnecessary conversion of movies to 3D just for the sake of it – better not to do so.

So if he really encountered a conscientious director, he would definitely invest. It wasn’t like he was short on cash.

For Li Shuaizhen, Ren He’s explanation was very easy to understand; oh, a newcomer in the entertainment industry. So that meant he was a senior, right!

Thinking this way, there was an instant sense of exhilaration, feeling like he was already winning at the starting line.

Still, Li Shuaizhen was also thinking, wondering how many students there might be in his department with a bit of fame before enrollment like himself this year.

There wouldn’t be any big shots; otherwise, the news would have covered it already. He just wondered if there were any young stars present who had a more substantial acting resume than his own.

At first, that sense of desolation was merely the sentiment of a poor scholar in a supporting role from a previous play. It must be said that Li Shuaizhen did possess a certain level of acting prowess, which he could confidently claim as the pinnacle of confidence in his life.

Young people who have a special skill always want to show it off, which is unavoidable. After all, who can be as steady as a mountain at 17 or 18 years old? Ren He certainly couldn’t!

However, Ren He came to school to experience campus life, and his background didn’t provide him much additional help.

Ren He found that Li Shuaizhen, if not for that little show earlier, was actually quite normal, even a bit of a comedian.

While waiting for the rest of their roommates, Ren He listened to Li Shuaizhen talk about his experiences in Hengdian, "In Hengdian, tens of thousands of men sign up to play a part in a play. It’s all guys, very few women. In that place, if you botch one or two performances, basically no one wants to work with you anymore!"

Li Shuaizhen, acting superior with the air of a senior, condescendingly shared his experiences with Ren He, as if he was giving directions from a high place, "Don’t be fooled by us getting into the Central Academy of Drama. Some who get into the Central Academy of Drama and Beijing Film Academy still struggle to find roles. It’s very common. I know a guy who graduated from Beijing Film Academy. Because he’s quite short, he hasn’t acted in as many films as I have!"

"In that place, height is the first hurdle. If you’re below 175 cm, you’re a standard extra, earning only 40 to 80 yuan a day, just barely making ends meet. If you’re over 175 cm, commonly referred to as ’stunt man,’ you get more opportunities and can earn 80 to 200 yuan a day. Those skilled in martial arts have an advantage there, able to earn up to 500 yuan a day playing martial artists. And for some roles, like mine, the wages are very high. Following the crew around, we’re treated as one of them. We belong to a privileged class. We’re less than 0.01% in the whole of Hengdian!"

When Li Shuaizhen talked about these things, he did so with relish. When mentioning high wages, he even raised his pitch, clearly very proud of it.

Ren He, while making his bed, laughed along with him and asked, "How high is the salary? Do you think I could make it if I went there?" As he spoke, he put down the quilt and lifted his T-shirt to reveal his well-toned muscles.

He really had no concept of a high salary, as he wasn’t earning one now. He spent his own earnings, and even lost the concept of thousands and tens of thousands, transferring 5 million US dollars at a time to Steve. In Luo City, Qinghe still had his own land, and now they had begun the third phase of the employee housing project.

The land isn’t worth much now, but it will be worth a fortune in the future. Anyone who hears that Qinghe Group is developing this land solely for employee housing would think it wasteful.

But Ren He didn’t consider it a waste.

So when others talked to Ren He about money, he felt nothing...

This is what they call, "I don’t make friends based on whether they have money or not. Anyway, they won’t have more than me..."

"This..." Li Shuaizhen caught a glimpse of Ren He’s physique and was momentarily astonished. He could guarantee that even among the martial artists in Hengdian, he had never seen such an impressive build. It was a physique that could leave a lasting impression on anyone who saw it...

"Not bad, brother. With your height over 180 cm and that build, I think you could definitely land a role! However, how well you’ll do still depends on acting," Li Shuaizhen emphasized acting in the end. After all, when it came to physique, he couldn’t compete with Ren He, but acting still required skill. He had that skill – praised by many directors. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have made it this far!

Li Shuaizhen started to change the subject. He took out his phone and showed it to Ren He, "See this? Know who that is? He’s the assistant director in Zhang Ming’s big-time directorial team. We’re tight! Once I get in touch with Zhang Ming himself, I might just skyrocket to stardom!"

Ren He took a glance at his phone... He didn’t have the assistant director’s number, but he did have Zhang Ming’s...

...

This extra update is for the godly patron of the Illusory God Guild. Begging for monthly votes here, let me break into the top ten of urban novels, please~