"Director Cao is already waiting in the conference room."
Director Cao, Cao Zheng by name, was the TV series director Hou Yichuan had previously recruited. He possessed several years of experience but little fame. His abilities were rumored to be quite good, although no one knew for sure.
"Let’s go then. Don’t keep them waiting; they’ve all come a long way. We shouldn’t delay them too much."
"Alright, let’s get started. We’ll head over now."
Hou Yichuan’s office was located on the east side of the company. Nobody quite knew where this tradition came from—perhaps it was the old saying about ’auspicious qi from the east,’ as leaders tended to prefer upper floors on the eastern side.
The conference room was situated in the center of the company, just behind the reception desk, effectively dividing the company into two areas.
On the way, Chu Tian looked around. He realized that since he hadn’t visited in a while, the place had improved considerably: more people, more equipment, and a much livelier atmosphere.
Many employees’ desks were adorned with posters, and numerous figurines were on display.
Upon arriving at the conference room, Chu Tian first acquainted himself with Cao Zheng’s team. This included the scriptwriters’ assistants and others, such as the camera and lighting crew, totaling about seven or eight people.
The conference room was spacious. Those auditioning were gathered on one side, while the other side had been cleared for performances. Printed scripts were laid out on the tables.
At Boss Chu’s command, the company’s main door opened, and the auditionees began to enter sequentially according to their check-in times.
The first few who entered were quite nervous. They greeted everyone present, but most of them froze for a moment when they saw Chu Tian.
This reaction was telling. It was clear that most of these individuals were inexperienced students, lacking depth of character, composure, and emotional control.
However, these qualities weren’t crucial. Chu Tian wanted actors who were obedient, capable, and skilled—not just people to fill quotas. Therefore, he wouldn’t be overly harsh.
Many people had come; there were nearly a hundred men and women combined.
To save time, each person performed only a short segment from their chosen role. Some were also asked to perform other roles on the spot.
Small productions weren’t so particular. They wouldn’t provide the script in advance for preparation, making impromptu performance absolutely key.
That was one thing, but what truly left Chu Tian speechless was that some people were even auditioning for assistant photographer. What were they thinking? he wondered. Follow current novels on novel-fire.ɴet
After all, this was a different world. Finding actors exactly like those from his previous life was virtually impossible.
Chu Tian was aware of this. Therefore, he wasn’t fixated on finding actors who looked similar to those from his past life. Instead, he placed more emphasis on their inherent character.
The success of iPartment in his previous life, after all, had depended heavily on both the actors and the script. While the actors’ technical skills might have been somewhat lacking, their distinct personalities gave them a significant edge.
This was what’s often called ’casting to type’—letting actors play roles that fit their natural personalities.
Compared to physical resemblance, Chu Tian believed that capturing the ’spirit’ or essence of the character was far more important. An actor’s personality had to align with the role to truly bring out its core.
From afternoon until nightfall, they finally managed to see everyone after continuous auditions.
This was just the preliminary round. After selecting a suitable group, some might be asked to perform more intensively based on their initial portrayals.
However, Chu Tian’s work was mostly done at this point.
He handed Hou Yichuan several score sheets filled with his marks.
"Here, these are my scores. I’ve written some comments on them. You can consider them as you see fit. If there’s nothing else, I’ll head back now."
"Ah? Are you... leaving just like that?"
Chu Tian looked at him innocently, though his words were cold.
Hou Yichuan was momentarily stunned. He found a strange sort of logic in Chu Tian’s statement, especially with the look Chu Tian gave him—it seemed to imply that it would be unreasonable not to let him go. How absurd!
You’re the boss! Have you forgotten? Hou Yichuan wanted to shout this, but he didn’t dare. He could only pretend everything was fine and agree. Sometimes, having too much autonomy isn’t a good thing, just like right now, he thought.
He looked at the score sheets in his hand, his heart aching. How foolish I was to complain about not having enough authority before! It turns out the most detestable kind of boss is the one who just washes their hands of everything!