Please! My relationship with the girl group leader is purely platonic.

Chapter 57 Casting, Location Shooting

After meeting with Tony, the two quickly finalized the filming location and actor audition plans. Previously, Kang Woo-jin had received information that Columbia Pictures would be involved, but today Tony told him that the selection of actors for this audition would be done by the two of them.

"It's normal for big companies to change their minds, probably because the cost was too low. We just borrowed their channels and name to produce and distribute the film; we don't need to worry about anything else."

The two sat in the restaurant, seriously discussing the matter. Jiang Youzhen's stomach was empty, and he ate almost all the dishes on the table. The selection of actors was also very important, especially the actresses.

Of course, he didn't mean anything by it. The script revolves around this one character, so the actor playing this role will have a lot of repetitive scenes. If the actor doesn't have good acting skills, he will definitely be dissatisfied.

"I've made the call now, but are you sure about the filming location? Australia?" Tony pointed to Miami, which had been crossed out on the proposal, and now there was a nice new English font: Queensland.

Jiang Youzhen nodded and hummed in agreement. This was a decision they had reached when they first met. Tony was also quick; he called the relevant office in Queensland and the answer he received put both of them at ease.

"Yeah, Miami is known as the Sunshine State, but Queensland is too, and besides... the prices aren't high."

He had already said it was a low-budget production and didn't plan to hire many actors. Since he had chosen Queensland, a state with scenery that rivaled Miami and a lower working price, he was more than happy to accept it.

After agreeing on these matters, the two parted ways after leaving the restaurant. Their phones kept ringing, and they quickly finalized the location for the actor auditions: a small photography studio.

Because there are relatively few roles, not many actors are genuinely interested in auditioning.

On the day of the audition, Kang Woo-jin sat in the temporary office of the studio organizing his scripts. They were all newly bound, with a prominent triangular pattern on the cover and the name he had given the film, "Lost Delta," written below.

One of the roles was played by Mads Wu. Since there weren't many roles, each character had plenty of screen time, especially since the theme of the film revolves around infinity.

Mads Wu arrived late, carrying two bags of snacks and desserts, followed by his assistant. As soon as he entered the studio, he served coffee and desserts to the busy staff.

In reality, there are very few staff members in the production crew right now. The contract with the props company went very smoothly. Once the actors are selected, the production crew will have a lot more talent.

Tony handled everything from photography and makeup to props, and his work was worth the salary Jiang Youzhen paid him. Mads-Oh's appearance inspired the young men and women who came to audition.

To Mads Wu's surprise, one of the people who came to audition was someone he knew.

The two had worked together in the same TV series before. They weren't very familiar with each other, but they had definitely met before. In addition, the other person was invited by Tony to audition.

Jiang Youzhen overheard what the people outside were talking about, but he didn't care. The decision to cast the actors was in his hands, so it was the right thing for him not to pay attention.

The script only requires five main actors, one supporting role, and one child actor. Previously, in order to increase the richness of the plot, the child actor was changed to an autistic patient, which greatly increased the difficulty of the female lead's acting skills.

The relationship between these two characters is that of mother and son, which tests not only the adult actors but also the child actors.

Jiang Youzhen considered actually finding a child with autism, but then he thought that it would cause great psychological harm to the child, so he gave up the idea.

Today, there are child actors auditioning, all of whom Tony knew from his previous film crew.

There aren't many characters, but each one has a very important role.

Mads-Oh only stayed for a short while before leaving. He was very busy and only came to support his son. He also needed to finish his work as soon as possible so that he would have time to participate in Kang Woo-jin's movie.

Low-budget film crews can't afford high salaries, so they mainly hire new actors and veteran actors who want screen time.

A named character with plenty of screen time is more attractive to them than a high salary.

At the audition, Kang Woo-jin methodically flipped through the resumes they handed over. Tony auditioned for all the other roles, while he was only responsible for the most important role, which also had the most screen time in the script.

"Melissa George?"

The photo and resume looked familiar to Jiang Youzhen; he saw her name on the actor recommendation list sent by the Queensland government.

He fell into a brief moment of contemplation. Melissa was not a new actress; she was a veteran actress with a successful track record in television dramas and had won numerous awards.

She also starred in a thriller/horror film last year, so she certainly has experience in this area and her acting skills are quite good.

The most crucial point is that, apart from this movie, the roles she played in her previous works were not particularly important, so her salary was not high, only slightly higher than that of new actors.

Kang Woo-jin selected a small scene from the script and gave it to Melissa to perform, and she was asked to portray the emotions of a single mother raising an autistic child without any props.

After watching the other person's performance, he quickly wrote something on the resume before asking, "Ms. George, may I ask about your physical condition? Can you withstand long periods of running?"

Upon hearing this, Melissa was overjoyed. The subtext was that she was going to get the role.

She quickly nodded and replied, "I exercise regularly, so running is no problem for me." As long as she isn't allowed to run continuously, she can certainly keep running.

Kang Woo-jin nodded and continued, "Do you have an agent?"

"Yes, but I came here by myself today. My agent knew, but he didn't come."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Youzhen understood that Melissa's agent must be managing several artists at the same time. After all, his production was low-budget, so it was normal that the agents were too lazy to come.

After a brief discussion, Jiang Youzhen let Melissa leave first.

Because there was only one main role, and it was a female role, the actresses who auditioned afterward were all relatively young, and more or less, they didn't have as much experience as Melissa.

Many of them are new actresses with outstanding figures and looks, and they are also very bold. Even with staff members around, they still can't stop these beautiful women from showing off their chests.

Previously, the casting for horror films about cannibals had been all handsome men and beautiful women. Before they came to audition, they had checked Kang Woo-jin's information and subconsciously assumed that this new director liked young and pretty girls.

From the moment I entered, the suggestion never stopped.

Jiang Youzhen watched dozens of people in a row. Perhaps because of Melissa's excellent performance, the ones who came after her didn't have the same feeling, especially in terms of emotional expression through their eyes. They couldn't even do a good job of expressing fear.

He doesn't like to have too much contact with other women; he only has ambition and dedication to his work, and there's no room for anything else.

By the time he finished his interview, Tony in the next booth had also finished his work. In the end, apart from the most important female lead, the other roles were not important, so Tony's job was less difficult than Kang Woo-jin's.

The two returned to the office with a thick stack of resumes and, after a brief discussion, quickly finalized the casting choices.

Within a day, they had completed the casting process, and the props company was also working on the design drawings. The rest was easy.

The next day, Jiang Youzhen packed his bags, called Tony, and set off for Queensland, Australia, with the art director and camera crew he had arranged to meet earlier.

This was his first time in Australia, and he had to admit that his first impression of the country was that it was frightening.

It wasn't for any other reason, but simply because as soon as I got off the plane, I hadn't even had a chance to see the scenery properly.

A swarm of flies nearly crawled into his nostrils!