Chapter 150: The Future Can Be Entrusted! Expectations Have Been Dragged to Rock Bottom!

With a solid script and excellent performances from the other actors, this particular male actor successfully managed to make everyone frown.

When it came time for the critiques, the audience expected the novice actor, Xu Shize, to be bombarded by the sharp-tongued directors. Instead, they found that, with the exception of Zhuge Tianguang, the directors were relatively mild in their assessments. Their most frequently used phrases were:

"For a newcomer, this is already quite good."
"Managing to hold his own against these veterans without completely dropping the ball—not bad."
"There is still potential; he can keep working at it."

They completely glossed over the major issues, avoiding any mention of the negative impact caused by the young man's mistakes. The main theme was essentially "a promising future." However, most people present knew that the "talent" the judges spoke of was virtually non-existent. A promising future was out of the question; a "doomed future" was a certainty.

The kicker was that after receiving these comments, Xu Shize began to put on a show of wiping away tears, appearing to thank the directors while expressing guilt toward his fellow cast members. Good heavens, the way those tears flowed left Bai Ling stunned. It was clear to many at that moment that his acting skills in that very instant were a hundred times better than they had been on stage. If that wasn't talent, what was?

Of course, as a man, his sobbing—like a girl who had been wronged and had no way to vent—felt somewhat uncomfortable, even if everyone acknowledged that men had the right to cry. The live stream comments were mostly filled with mockery.

At first, people simply thought the judges had lost their edge. However, they were overthinking it. When it came to critiquing the veteran actors, the directors proved exactly what it meant to fire on all cylinders. Even the slightest flaw in a veteran's performance was seized upon and magnified. If these seasoned actors tried to defend themselves, directors Wang Dagang, Zhou Xuan, and Zhao Zhengang would immediately darken their expressions and state with righteous indignation, "You are a veteran actor who has been in the industry for so many years—how can you hold yourself to such low standards?"

To be honest, there was nothing inherently wrong with that statement. Even Bai Ling felt that a true actor should hold themselves to higher standards, always striving for excellence. She herself constantly refined her craft in the "Hall of Best Actress" to be as perfect as possible.

But comparisons are everything. Before Xu Shize was critiqued, these words from the directors wouldn't have been problematic at all; they might have even been praised to the heavens. One could easily imagine a crowd of people fawning over how professional these directors were, demanding such high standards for their actors and works. But now, it reeked of blatant double standards, creating a deeply uncomfortable sensation.

It was after this first performance that everyone on set began to feel tense, especially the veteran actors. Of course, no one was a fool. Having slogged through the entertainment industry for years, how could they not understand the situation? Xu Shize was terrible—period. The preferential treatment he received from the directors had to have a reason; it was nothing more than a heads-up from his agency. Naturally, this industry was full of unspoken rules, and even if they understood, there was nothing they could do. Those who knew they lacked backing or connections simply became more cautious, bracing themselves for inevitable criticism.

After that, everyone performed with great care, and indeed, many delivered quite impressive turns. Yet, Wang Dagang and the others still managed to pick faults. Perhaps the only one who could truly convince the audience was Mr. Zhuge Tianguang. In truth, Zhuge Tianguang was not a "mainstream" director in the traditional sense. Similar to Wang Dagang, he didn't obsessively churn out films whenever he had the chance. The few films he directed were all精品 (masterpieces), the result of long periods of accumulation and meticulous polishing. Wang Dagang, conversely, tended to cater to the market and prioritize quantity. Even so, when Zhuge Tianguang offered his critiques, the majority of the live stream audience found his views highly agreeable. The veteran directors Zhao Zhengang and Zhou Xuan, on the other hand, were far less popular.

Soon, it was time for Bai Ling, Lin Yubai, and Wen Yan to take the stage. On the judges' panel, Zhou Xuan said to Wang Dagang, "Director Wang, the piece they are about to perform is your own work. Are you looking forward to it?"

Wang Dagang laughed, "I am certainly looking forward to it. 'Our Youth' is my most satisfying work; it interprets my understanding of youth."

Zhou Xuan had initially just been making small talk, but he hadn't expected Wang Dagang to be so stubborn about a film that had performed so poorly at the box office. With a chuckle, Zhou Xuan replied, "Then I shall have to see if Lin Yubai and Bai Ling can interpret your 'youth'."

The audience in the live stream was speechless.

"Still going on about 'youth'? Wang Dagang is as stubborn as ever."
"That movie's box office flopped so hard even its mother wouldn't recognize it."
"To be fair, I once spent three yuan to rent it, and I still feel pain over those three yuan."
"Wang Dagang has made good films, but to be fair, he has even more trash, and this one is a heavyweight."
"Lin Yubai is so unlucky to have chosen this script."
"And Bai Ling, too... sigh."
"These are my two favorite people on this show, and they're both going to be dragged down by this garbage script."
"I hope they can bring a different feel to it. Maybe, with them, it won't look so bad?"
"To the person above, don't overthink it. How is that possible? Trash is trash. With a script like that, there's nothing you can do."
"Exactly. It's not like they can rewrite the script, right?"
"Speaking of which, Bai Ling's 'The Crown Princess' was a script she wrote herself. Is it possible she might rewrite this one?"
"'The Crown Princess' was strong because of the character design and Bai Ling's own beauty. As for the script itself, it was actually very average."
"Even with Zhuge Ming's polishing, the script for 'The Crown Princess' still had a huge gap compared to top-tier works."
"Besides, Bai Ling's screenwriting ability isn't necessarily that strong either."
"How can anyone be good at everything? So far, Bai Ling's performance has already been ridiculous: she can sing, she can write songs—and they're all hits—and she can act, with skills better than most long-time industry actors. How can you still demand she have top-tier screenwriting talent? That's asking too much!"
"That's true..."
"Anyway, my expectations for this act are very low. As long as it's not too painful to watch, for the sake of Bai Ling and Lin Yubai, I can settle for it."