00:00My name is Wang Nan. This is my Chinese name. I don't have any English name so far.
00:05My role is like the casting director, especially for the foreigner part,
00:10for the actor and actress, no matter the people in China or overseas ones.
00:16And I'm not only casting for the show drummers, I'm also casting for the big TV series, big movies in
00:25China.
00:25I have a team with more than like 13 casting directors, casting assistants to work together.
00:32So you've been casting for over a decade and witnessing the development and growth of the Chinese film and television
00:39industry.
00:40Maybe you could tell a little bit about that evolution.
00:45And then where do the short dramas, that is a new evolution, a new part in the story of the
00:52history of film and television in China.
00:55How do you see that fitting in?
00:57I would like to see the overseas short drama is behind.
01:03Then the Chinese short drama, about two years.
01:06The Chinese short drama, the quality is getting better and better.
01:11Because more investment, it has better directors and everything.
01:17I think for the short drama, it will go into the same way.
01:22It will be exactly the same.
01:23Right now, we have actually meet very big problems, but it's not my problem, okay?
01:30It's about screenwriters, like how the American audience likes a short drama.
01:37Because some short dramas right now, the script is just translated from the Chinese one.
01:44And the culture, everything, not match the American audience that much.
01:49In my opinion is, we must fix the short drama script first.
01:55And find the good directors who understand Americans, maybe Canadians, the foreigners, culture.
02:03Some scripts are really, really stupid.
02:05Then it's about our cousin, who is the good role, who matches what role.
02:10That is the second step.
02:11The first step is to steal the script and the director.
02:18In the future, I'd like more money.
02:20More audience, like more investment, make the story better and better.
02:26Like Wang Da.
02:26The cheapest Wang Da is about a 5 million RV investment.
02:31But the short drama is still long away behind it.
02:33So, as an inexperienced casting director, you must have witnessed the rise and growth of many female directors.
02:41So, what changes do you think female directors have brought to the short drama industry?
02:46In the short drama industry, female and male directors are the same.
02:53As I said, maybe female directors are more sensitive.
02:57Here's what's very funny.
02:59The gay short dramas, about the LGBT short dramas, they always use the female short drama directors, especially lesbians.
03:09Their way about how to express the love is better than the male directors, including the gay ones, gay directors.
03:19But in the TV series, the female directors that are doing the spy movies, even the war movies, are all
03:27good.
03:28Love, emotion, relationship, they express better.
03:32You mean half guys and half females in the short drama market?
03:36Producers are more females and the directors are still more guys.
03:40Many short dramas, especially overseas ones, have many female audiences and mostly female audiences.
03:48Does this female viewership influence your casting decisions?
03:53If so, what factors do you consider when casting?
03:56Actually, I don't even think, thought that carefully.
04:00Because each short drama, I have to talk to the directors well to understand what their sense, like what is
04:10the beauty in their opinion.
04:11Because 100 directors have 106 thoughts about the beauty.
04:18Some people like the round face, some people like the small face.
04:22This is the same as the guys.
04:24It's not African-mean allowed.
04:26But for the short drama, female directors, I can see they like muscle more.
04:31I do need some gay directors.
04:38Do you think, though, that the movie industry will die and we won't have movies anymore?
04:45Are they not interested to invest in films and television?
04:50Different investors.
04:51Short dramas and TV series and movies.
04:55There are actually three industries.
04:57So there are three different investors.
04:59There are three different investors.
05:00There are three different investors.
