Entertainment: You're asked to make a graduation project, but you're asked to film Ultrama

Chapter 217: The New Defense Force XIG! The Audition Storm!

Discussions about the new drama remain heated in the comment sections of various forums and video websites.

【No way, Gu Laozei's efficiency is outrageous! Liang is still widowed over Asuka, and he's already made the poster for the new Ultraman? Even the donkeys in the production team wouldn't dare to rest like that!】

[Sky, Earth, Ocean... This slogan is interesting. Previously, Tiga and Dyna emphasized space exploration, but this time they've directly shifted the focus back to Earth?]

Don't get too excited yet. The dual Ultraman setup sounds cool, but they might end up stealing the spotlight. And the poster says "The Will of Earth"—I have a bad feeling about that. Will these two Ultramen fight each other because of their differing ideologies?

[Are you overthinking it? Ultraman fighting Ultraman? No matter how unconventional Gu Nan's ideas are, he wouldn't resort to this kind of anti-hero trope, would he? Anyway, as long as the quality is even half that of Tiga and Dyna, I'll definitely watch it!]

[XIG? That's the name of the new defense team? Sounds like an IT tech company, not as imposing as Super GUTS.]

Online opinions are polarized, with some expressing fervent support and others expressing concern about the dual Ultraman concept.

Regardless, Gaia has become incredibly popular.

Meanwhile, at the headquarters of Light Chaser Animation Studios, the casting process was in full swing.

Gu Nan sat at the large conference table, a thick stack of actor resumes laid out in front of him. The defense team setting for "Gaia" this time was completely different from the past.

"Director Gu, this is the preliminary list."

Casting director Lao Wang wiped the sweat from his brow and handed over several key resumes. "There are just too many people auditioning this time, it's a sea of ​​people. After 'Ultraman Tiga' and 'Dyna' became hits, most of the newcomers in the entertainment industry want to come here to get their resumes."

Gu Nan flipped through the resume and said without looking up, "XIG is a large defense force with highly militarized management, not the kind of seven-person special operations team we used to have. This time, we can't hire those pretty-boy idols who only know how to look cool for the core command center."

He tapped the table and pointed to the character relationship diagram on the whiteboard: "Commander Ishimuro, Captain Di Cheng (Tsutsumi Seiichiro), and Staff Officer Ye Qian (Chiba Staff Officer). These three are the pillars of the entire defense team. We must find experienced and charismatic veteran actors to anchor them. As for the younger members, we can hold open auditions."

Upon hearing this, Old Wang nodded, indicating that he understood.

He then flipped to the next two resumes, his tone becoming somewhat subtle: "The most crucial thing now is finding the human hosts for Ultraman. I've auditioned hundreds of people these past few days, and I've picked out these two who best fit your requirements. But... both of their backgrounds are a bit unusual."

Gu Nan raised an eyebrow: "Weirdo? Tell me about it."

"The male lead is Gao Womeng. Our character is a genius scientist, a PhD in quantum physics, and a member of Alchemy Star... These qualifications would be hard to find in the real world, but the actor I chose is somewhat suitable, his name is Su Ye."

Old Wang pulled out a resume and handed it over.

Gu Nan glanced at the photo; the young man in the photo had a sunny and cheerful smile, was very approachable, and had clear and bright eyes.

"He's a complete newcomer who's only been in the industry for less than two years, and he's had guest appearances in a few web dramas before."

Old Wang said with a strange expression, "But that's not important. What's important is his resume! In real life, this kid won a gold medal in the International Mathematical Olympiad, ranked in the top 100 in the province in the college entrance examination, and got into the mathematics department of a top university. No matter how you look at it, he's a potential future great scientist!"

"Oh? Then why is he acting?"

Gu Nan became interested.

"Because he utterly despises the current exam-oriented education system and his major, mathematics!"

Old Wang gave a bitter smile. "According to him, learning math was entirely his father's insistence. His father was a math researcher who had failed to realize his ambitions and pinned all his hopes of winning the Fields Medal on him. Then, in his senior year of high school, his father was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Before he passed away, his father held his hand and said he was sorry and would never force him to study math, which he didn't like..."

"From then on, Su Ye completely distanced himself from mathematics. His involvement in the performing arts was initially an accident. When the university drama club was rehearsing a new play, his roommate suddenly had diarrhea and asked him to fill in for him in a scene. As a result, this guy found his passion on stage and dropped out of school to become an actor."

Old Wang sighed, "It's precisely because of this unique experience that Su Ye possesses an extremely special scholarly air... well, the kind of bookish air that science students have. But to be honest, even without his white lab coat and glasses, just standing there, he exudes the unique aura of a 'scientist'! He's practically the embodiment of the character Gao Womeng!"

Good guy.

Gu Nan was also stunned for a moment; this experience could be made into a movie!

However, Su Ye and Gao Wo Meng do indeed share some similarities in their traits.

Not only does it possess a scientific research spirit, but this rebellious spirit of not succumbing to predetermined fate perfectly matches the belief in my dream of fighting to protect the earth in the drama!

However, we still need to conduct an on-site inspection...

"And the other one?" Gu Nan asked immediately.

Old Wang swallowed hard, his expression becoming even more indescribable, and pulled out another resume.

"As for the other main character, Fujimiya, the Light of the Ocean... the actor's name is He Ming. He... he's the guitarist in that newly debuted boy band next door! He's also the group's dance lead, and he's extremely good at that kind of cool street dance!"

"What? Boy band idols?"

Gu Nan frowned slightly. He had never had a good impression of those assembly-line idols who wore makeup and only knew how to flirt.

"Don't be so quick to reject him, take a look at his audition video."

Old Wang quickly opened the laptop in front of him.

On the screen, He Ming was wearing a simple black leather jacket. Although he came from an idol background, he didn't have that greasy feeling. On the contrary, because of his years of dance training, his posture was extremely upright.

In the audition performance clip, He Ming lowered his head slightly, with his bangs covering half of his eyes.

The moment he raised his head, his eyes revealed an extremely cold, contemptuous, and even slightly morbidly obsessive gaze.

He coldly recited his lines: "Humanity is the root cause of Earth's destruction. High God, you understand absolutely nothing."

After saying that, he turned around with great flair and made a seemingly casual yet extremely handsome hair-flipping gesture.

"stop!"

Gu Nan was stunned for a second by this rounded "cup".

"This feeling... does have a bit of a cool and collected vibe!" Gu Nan couldn't help but mutter to himself.

However, Old Wang didn't hear clearly, but explained from the side: "Although this kid comes from a boy band, he has a rebellious spirit. And because of his dance training, he has extremely strong control over his body muscles. Every pose he strikes has a deliberately sculpted 'coolness,' but isn't that a bit...?"

Before Lao Wang could even point out the other party's shortcomings...

"It's okay! We can try this deliberate approach!"

Gu Nan made the final decision: "The core selling point of the character Fujimiya, whether he was initially at odds with Wo Meng or later redeemed and fought alongside her, can be summed up in one word—handsome! He Ming's natural boy band charisma on camera, combined with Fujimiya's extreme and arrogant personality, might bring out the 'cool king' attribute to its fullest extent!"

"It's settled then! Immediately notify Su Ye and He Ming to come for the interview!"

……

A few days later, in the fitting room of Chasing Light Cinema.

Having just received the notification, He Ming looked at his extremely form-fitting, cool black uniform in the mirror and was completely bewildered.

He held the script in his hand, his expression turning extremely strange.

"No... my manager."

He Ming turned to his agent, his voice trembling, "This script is wrong! This guy named Fujimiya is constantly going against the male lead, Takaga Yume! He steals his roles, mocks him, and even hits him! Isn't he just a villain?!"

The agent wiped his sweat and said, "Perhaps... Director Gu wants you to play a villain with depth?"

"A villain with depth is still a villain!"

He Ming was on the verge of tears. "I'm a boy band idol, and I finally landed an audition for a big production, only to be cast as a stepping stone who won't even last ten episodes before being blasted to smithereens by the male lead's righteous beam of light? Is Director Gu deliberately messing with me because he doesn't like me?!"

He Ming had no idea that what he was holding was the script for a super popular character who was about to become a sensation across the internet, whose popularity was even approaching that of the main male lead, and who was hailed by countless fans as the "King of Cool"!

the other side.

The construction site of the miniature model of the XIG air base was bustling with activity.

Gu Nan was personally instructing Su Ye and the actors playing members of the defense team on their movements.

"Su Ye, when facing the first elite force sent by the Annihilation Summoning Entity, your eyes cannot only show fear!"

Gu Nan loudly instructed, "You are a scientist! Your fear is based on the premise that existing scientific knowledge has been shattered! Your eyes should also show shock, a thirst for knowledge, and even a hint of fervor arising from discovering the unknown!"

Su Ye nodded seriously and, under the guidance of veteran actor Shen Yuting, quickly got into character.

Looking at this group of passionate and promising actors, and at the magnificent aerial base that is gradually taking shape in the distance.

Gu Nan took a deep breath.

A brand new storm has been brewing.

This ravaged yet hopeful planet is about to be bathed in a dazzling light, a blend of red and blue!

The era of Gaia has officially begun!