Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

  Occupying a large area, Binhai Studio was located in the suburbs where pavilions, lakes, forests and even some wild animals were visible everywhere. The project of Binhai Studio had gained support from the current administration, and as a measure to boost the development of local tourism and film-related industries, consecutive green lights had been given to the project from the beginning of its construction. Since it was built to attract tourists from other film and television bases across the country, the rent here was also cheaper, successfully drawing a lot of film crews to this area, and the crew of Dog Warrior was one of them.

  When Zhang Zian went to college, the trace of Binhai Studio was barely seen, and it had been built up before he realized it.

  The driver told him a lot of gossip about Binhai Studio on the way, and constantly cursed the German Shepherd that had bitten his friend and its unscrupulous owner, with a hint of jealousy. It seemed that if he had his own German Shepherd, he might bring it to the audition to give it a try himself. If he succeeded, the compensation he earned from the movie would be equal to so many years of his salary from driving a taxi. Not to mention the benefits from the subsequent commercials.

  Soon, the taxi arrived at the periphery of Binhai Studio. Zhang Zian paid the full fare, and got out of the car with Famous.

  Just then, another person who was dejectedly holding a German Shepherd intended to leave and got into the same taxi. It seemed that his audition hadn’t gone well.

  The German Shepherd he was holding was a female dog that was very interested in Famous. It tried to pull away from its owner and run to Famous. The owner dragged the leash with full force to pull it back to the taxi.

  “Hey, buddy, was the audition difficult?” Zhang Zian tried to talk to him. It was better if he could get some inside information and prepare for the audition.

  However, this person was depressed and obviously did not want to speak. He shut the door, told the driver a name of a place, and the driver drove away with him.

  Zhang Zian felt confident in Famous’s skills to initiate conversations. He knew that in the taxi, it must have been very difficult for Famous to keep its mouth closed, which was against its own nature, so as not to scare the driver—also further illustrating that Famous was very reasonable, unlike Fina who always deemed herself the best in the world.

  “Mr. Zhang! Over here!”


  Before he had time to carefully look at this new film and television base, Zhang Zian heard Sheng Ke beckon to him from afar.

  “Coming!”


  Zhang Zian trotted towards him with Famous.

  As only the main body had completed construction, and the surrounding facilities had not yet been finished, the periphery of Binhai Studio was surrounded by wilderness, with only some wilted hay beneath the snow. The wind was particularly strong here.

  Sheng Ke was curled up in the police vehicle. He wore a police uniform with a green military greatcoat outside, the standard outfit for extras in film and television bases. When he got out from the vehicle, he immediately went numb from the freezing chilliness.

  His lips were frozen purple. Every time he opened his mouth, the cold wind poured into his stomach. He struggled to point to a gray courtyard in front of him, meaning that they should go and talk in there.

  The two of them ran into the yard with the dog. With a wall shielding off the wind, they felt a little warmer.

  Zhang Zian noticed that in the yard was stuck a piece of cardboard, which was rocking back and forth and would blow away at any time. On the cardboard was written the place, phone number for registration, and the deadline for the audition for the cast of Dog Warrior.

  He was shocked. Damn! The deadline was yesterday! Was this trip going to be in vain?

  “Captain Sheng, look at this…” He pointed at the deadline and asked Sheng Ke to look.

  Sheng Ke waved his hand, “As far as I know, they have not picked the right dog, so the audition is still on. I’ll lead you in, it will be fine.”


  Zhang Zian was assured to some extent. He was not worried that Famous wouldn’t be selected — what he was concerned about was that this trip would turn out to be completely futile, which would make Famous very disappointed.

  “Captain Sheng, you must be very busy at work, how do you have the time to come with me today?” he asked, pulling the leash of Famous.

  Sheng Ke took him further inside the yard and said seriously, “Today I’m here to retrieve the police dogs of our team, and soon go to… well, there is an internal action immediately, which require police dogs to be there.” He almost accidently leaked secrets. Fortunately, he stopped talking in time.

  Zhang Zian knew better than to dwell on this issue. He asked, “Why are your superiors so keen on participating in the film? For the pay?”


  Sheng Ke reluctantly shook his head, “What are you talking about? Although the police force is not particularly abundant in funds, we are not that desperate for money. The main reason… is to hope that in the closing credits of the film, the words ‘Police dogs in this movie were provided by the Criminal Police Unit of Binhai City’ can be shown, along with the names of the police dogs.”


  Sheng Ke tossed a “you know” look to Zhang Zian.

  Zhang Zian suddenly realized that for Sheng Ke’s superiors, it was not the remuneration that they cared about — the money would be confiscated by the government anyway — but the closing credits, which would add luster to their performance and achievement.

  He thought for a moment and wondered, “As far as I know, animal actors in Chinese movies are not usually mentioned specifically at the end of the films.”


  Growing up in a pet shop since childhood, Zhang Zian had always loved watching animal-related movies. He remembered that the Chinese movie industry did not value animal characters very much, unlike in the movie and TV industries of Western countries, where the names of animal actors would appear directly in the list of closing credits. Therefore, there were no famous animal actors in the Chinese film industry. Even if an animal had a stunning performance in a movie, people did not know its name.

  For example, in the BBC version of Sherlock Holmes, in the episode Sign of Four, a dog named Toddy who helped Sherlock Holmes got its name shown in the closing credits. Not only had its name, Toddy, been shown, but also the name of the dog trainer, Ben Woodgate, could be found easily as well.

  Sheng Ke had expected such a question, and he immediately replied, “It is said that this film will be different, in which it is learning from the humanistic care from the western film industry. Not only the dog’s name will appear, but the name of the trainer and where the dog comes from will also appear in the titles and endings of the film. So, not only my superiors, but also some comrades in our police dog training base are very keen on this matter…”


  At last, he sighed.

  Zhang Zian could relate to his sense of helplessness. At the end of the day, what people pursued was nothing more than fame and fortune.

  He understood why so many pet shop and kennel owners were crazy about the audition. Imagine what it would be like if words, “The starring role of this film is provided by the Amazing Fate Pet Shop in Binhai City” appeared in the closing credits of the film?

  It would be an overnight sensation!

  Without costing a penny, the kennel and pet shop owner would make its business known by audiences both home and abroad…


  For fear that Zhang Zian might have unrealistic expectations, Sheng Ke added, “Of course, you must realize that even for new human actors, the remuneration is not very high, let alone a dog… so the salary might not be very much.”


  “It’s fine. What matters is the process of participation.”


  Zhang Zian smiled. Although it seemed that Famous was confident in its own strength, Zhang Zian understood that in China, being talented did not necessarily guarantee a role in a film, and there were plenty of hidden rules when it came to deciding the cast.

  The two of them talked and smiled and walked into a small two-story building in the courtyard.

  As soon as they walked in, someone who looked like an employee stopped them, glanced at them, and asked, “Are you here for the audition? Do you have appointment?”


  “Yes,” Sheng Ke replied. “My last name is Sheng, this is my friend, whose surname is Zhang, and this dog is called Famous, from the Amazing Fate Pet Shop.”


  “Wait, let me check.”


  The employee picked up the walkie-talkie and whispered a few words, and then he raised his hand and said, “Please go in, hurry up.”


  Sheng Ke did not hurry to go inside, but handed a high-grade imported cigarette to the employee and smiled, “As I have heard, they have not yet selected a satisfactory dog?”


  Because he was wearing a military greatcoat, the employee could not see the insignia on his shoulder and was unaware of his police rank. The employee just thought he was an ordinary police officer, and he took the cigarette bluntly.

  Sheng Ke also took out a cigarette and put it into his mouth, lighting the cigarettes for himself and the employee with a lighter.

  The staff took a deep breath, and then choked and coughed repeatedly, “This cigarette is freaking strong!”


  He puffed twice and replied, “No, the director has not yet selected a satisfying dog. That’s why we have prolonged the audition.”


  Puffing the cigarette, Sheng Ke felt like his body was warming up a little bit. He winked at Zhang Zian, meaning to say, “Told you”.

  The employee breathed out a bunch of smoke rings, then said, “However, I heard that today is the last day, and the producers have been pushing us so that there is no way we can prolong the audition any more. The funds, equipment, and actors are already in place, we can’t afford to consume our days on this matter. The crew will have to spend more than ten million RMB of the budget every day we prolong the auditions.”


  Putting the cigarette in his fingers, the staff pointed to Sheng Ke and Zhang Zian, “You are the last group to attend the audition.”


  Zhang Zian felt lucky that he had come here today. If he had come any later, this trip would have been in vain.

  The staff complained about a lot of grievances that had accumulated in his heart. “And those actors, even those unknown performers, have been yelling that they have tight schedules and urging the director to start shooting the film… F**k! What schedules do they have? They are just attention seekers! Who do they think they are?!”


  Zhang Zian and Sheng Ke exchanged looks. This was a mixed blessing. The good news was that the director seemed to be an insistent and responsible person who could withstand pressure from actors and producers just to choose a satisfactory dog; but the bad news was that after auditioning so many dogs, still not one had been selected yet. Did that mean the director had surprisingly high standards for the dog he wanted? Coupled with the rumors that a lot of dogs that had participated in the audition had gotten injured, Zhang Zian worried about Famous.

  “What if a non-satisfactory dog is chosen in the end?” Zhang Zian could not help but ask.

  The staff smoked the last puff of the cigarette and stepped out the burning ash, “Then maybe we’ll have to select one from the dogs available now. Come on, let’s go in — we shouldn’t keep the director waiting.”


  Sheng Ke also stepped out his cigarette, and lead Zhang Zian into the audition hall.