Chapter One Hundred: The Cast of Actors

  Inside the interview area.

  Yi Feiyang and others looked at the old man Abraham who was being interviewed with a strange gaze.

  The old man who had mustered up the courage to come for an interview continued, "When I was young, I had a dream of becoming an actor and came to this beautiful Hollywood. Although I didn't become an actor, I met my beloved wife instead. She's a beautiful woman, but she lost her sight due to an illness when she was little. However, in my heart, she will always be the most beautiful!"

  "We two, a cripple and a blind person, rely on each other for survival in this prosperous city. We have no money and no fixed job, but we are very happy. Her only regret is that she can't see me appear in movies, even though I've been an extra in many films and she can't see them. So one day she said to me, if she could just hear my voice speaking a line of dialogue in a movie with her ears, she would be content."

  "But I've been struggling in the film industry for thirty years, playing all sorts of small roles, from pedestrians to villains, even just a silhouette... until she died painfully from illness, without fulfilling her last wish..." Abraham said, wiping away his blurry tears.

  "Today, I've mustered up the courage to come here, hoping you can give me a chance to prove myself. I'm capable, I can do it, and I have lines to recite... for my beloved wife to hear..."

  Looking at this elderly person who has always been a minor character in the movie, Yi Feiyang's heart couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness.

  Dreams may be eroded by time, but true love becomes more mellow with age!

  "Is one line of dialogue really enough for you?"

  "Yes, sir, just one sentence."

  "What if I give you some more?"

  "This... sir, you're not trying to deceive me, are you?" Abraham asked incredulously.

  "No, in fact we still have a very important role in this play, that is the father of the heroine, an old man who was disabled due to war, and you are the most suitable!"

  "I, I don't know what to say, sir...I'm too excited!" Abraham's face, which had been numb from the oppression of life, rarely showed a smile.

  "Alright, you go prepare now, there will be many lines waiting for you to memorize during filming!"

  "Yes, I will definitely work hard! For you! And even more for my wife!" Abraham burst into tears and walked out of the interview area.

  The crowd looked at him, and no one whistled again, no one jeered at the old man with thinning hair who walked with a limp.

  They voluntarily made way, allowing the old man who had insisted on being a "soy sauce emperor" for over thirty years to quietly pass by, unwavering and unregretful.

  A man in his thirties?!

  A dream, how much more heartache can it hold?!!

  "Boss, honestly, do you really think this old man is suitable for such an important role?" Bunny Bill asked somewhat uncertainly.

  "You scoundrel, how have you become so cruel and ruthless!" Yi Feiyang glared at him with anger. Everyone says Hollywood is a big dye vat, this kid hasn't even been in the red for a few days, how has he already learned to be so heartless.

  "Besides, I'm not doing this just to do a good deed. His personal image, battered by life, disabled, corroded by time, and full of love, is almost identical to the father in the script. Of course, most importantly, he has a passion for acting!"

  Bunny Bill disagreed with Yi Feiyang's condemnation, in his view, filming is not a charity event, anyone can be stuffed in.

  ……

  Time passed slowly by.

  The casting for "Saving Private Rachel" is basically complete after a day of auditions.

  The lineup is roughly as follows:

  Producer: Henry The Elephant

  Screenwriter: Yi Feiyang

  Director: Yi Feiyang

  Assistant Director: Bunny Bill

  Production Company: Top Movie Entertainment Co., Ltd.

  Stormi---Played by: Female lead Rachel

  Big Bird Lucci --- Played by: Colonel Miller

  Abraham - Played by: Rachel's father Old George

  James Howard - Played by: German Sniper Hoffman

  Pete Williams - Played by: American GI Jackson

  Jim Beach --- Played by: American soldier Lebin

  ……

  Apart from this, there are also some minor actors with not-so-heavy roles, that is, the extras. These people were almost all black dads summoned by Hei Ye from his own poor neighborhood.

  Their requirements are not high, no matter what movie you shoot, as long as they can show their face in the play and have three meals a day.

  Yi Feiyang didn't expect to meet such a kind-hearted and down-to-earth American, thinking that only the heavenly dynasty of his past life had such ordinary actors, but today he encountered one himself.

  The lineup of actors has basically taken shape, and the photographer, makeup artist and other crew members have also been confirmed.

  But when Yifei Yang took the script and crew member list to Henry, he was told that he was no longer at Top Company.

  According to what the company employee said, Yi Feiyang drove there.

  At this moment, the streets of Los Angeles are silver and white, with snowflakes falling thick and fast. The car radio occasionally broadcasts a blizzard warning. Several red snowplows are clearing the thick snow along the main roads of Los Angeles. Pedestrians either stand by or struggle to move forward in the deep snow.

  Not far from where they had set off, Yi Fei Yang's car got stuck in the snow. Yi Fei Yang had no choice but to get out of the car and make a call to the towing company... damn it, during this time the towing company was booming with business, telling him he would have to wait at least three or four hours.

  Yi Feiyang didn't have that much time to wait for the tow truck, so he closed the car door, wrapped a thick scarf around him, trudged through the deep snow, and continued on his way.

  All the way, due to heavy snowfall, it was very difficult to walk. From time to time, several vagrants with thin clothes and disheveled hair would emerge from the side of the road, holding iron cans without saying a word, staring at you with dull eyes.

  It's okay, Yì Fēi Yáng has some loose change on him. When he encounters one, he shoves some loose change over, and those vagrants mumble something incoherently, making way for the road, continuing to intercept the next passerby.

  Facing this situation, Yi Feiyang couldn't help but laugh and cry. These vagrants actually understood how to "take advantage of the snow to loot". However, in such a big blizzard, and in such a cold winter, for them, trying to make some money was also an inevitable way to get through the harsh winter.

  People always have to live on.

  No matter if you have lost hope in life.

  Compared with those poor vagrants sleeping in the bridge cave or street alleys, the villas surrounded by fences on the roadside are warm as spring.

  Parents sipped hot coffee, snuggled up and watched TV programs, kittens and puppies hid in their little nests licking milk, while children were excitedly building snowmen in the small garden, everything seemed so warm and harmonious.

  This is America, an America of stark contrasts between rich and poor.

  Winter's silhouette, reflected the most real side of a country.

  ……

  Yi Feiyang walked along the route for about thirty or forty minutes before arriving at the aid station near St. Mary's Cathedral.

  The shelter was founded in 1914 and is the largest in Los Angeles to date, covering an area of over 5,000 square meters and can accommodate thousands of people.

  When Yifeiyang arrived here, he happened to see the big elephant Henry who was doing "volunteer work".

  Still having a massive body, wearing a comical big elephant hat... This should be a cartoon Taoist robe, Henry probably can't fit in it, so he just wore the hat.

  Elephant Henry holds a ladle and serves food to homeless people separately.

  The food is simple, salad, milk, bread, and some bean products.

  A long queue lined up in front of him, Henry the elephant was exhausted and sweating profusely. When he saw Yi Feiyang walking over, he finally called out to the person next to him for help and managed to extricate himself from the "head chef" position.

  "Hey, dear Yi, how did you get here?" Henry took off his hat and wiped away the cold sweat.

  "How did you end up here?" Yi Feiyang retorted.

  "Huh? You mean working here? Oh yeah, I'm a volunteer here! Hehe, just like you said last time, if I really have nothing to do, I'll find some good deeds to do, so I did what you said!"

  Yi Feiyang couldn't help but pause for a moment, last time he just casually mentioned it, didn't expect this guy to actually...

  "How was it? Are you tired?"

  "Of course I'm tired, damn it, I haven't been this active in ages!" Henry's face was flushed and he panted heavily as he said, "But seeing that I can help so many people, for some reason, my heart feels at ease... You know, Yi, these past few days I haven't had any nightmares anymore. Even when I dream of my wife and kids, they're not scolding me. Before, they would always curse me in my dreams, saying it was all my fault that they..." Henry's face clouded over.

  "Now that I think about it, maybe I really did do a lot of things wrong, including getting you to help me film this movie... I was too selfish, only thinking about myself, never considering others or helping them. God said everyone is born equal, but before I didn't believe it - if we're really equal, why can some people live in high-rise buildings while others have to sleep on the streets? But now I understand what that means: those living in high-rise buildings may not be at peace inside, having nightmares every night; while those sleeping on the streets can snore loudly and sleep soundly. That's God's answer..."

  Yi Feiyang didn't expect that in just a few days, this elephant Henry had "attained enlightenment". If Anne Hathaway were called over, the two might be able to have a heated debate about God and Jesus.

  "Hey, why are you looking at me with this kind of gaze?"

  Originally unintentionally, Yi Feiyang stared at Henry the elephant with a strange gaze.

  "Oh, nothing, just feel like you've changed a lot lately."

  "People are bound to change, especially someone like me who won't live for much longer, a guy on the verge of kicking the bucket." Henry the elephant muttered, "It's better this way, after I die, it would be best if I could go to hell and atone for my sins. As for my wife and daughter, I believe they will always be waiting for me in heaven until I am purified in hell..."

  "Don't be so pessimistic, you may still have many years to live."

  "What's the point of living for someone like me?"

  "How can it be meaningless? It can help more people!"

  Yi Feiyang's faintly spoken words unexpectedly made Henry the elephant tremble slightly, "Yes, if I were alive, I would be able to help more people."

  Looking at those down-and-out people, the elderly, children, men and women, these homeless individuals, these people in need of help, Henry the elephant, who had long since given up and was waiting for death with a cold heart, suddenly seemed to have found his life's purpose and became passionate.