42 Idols & Influencers Join “Live Acting Show” - Audience Feels Bad For The Judges

Summary

Podcast Title: Moral Of The Story
Host: Stephanie Soo
Episode: 42 - Idols & Influencers Join “Live Acting Show” - Audience Feels Bad For The Judges
Release Date: June 30, 2025

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Episode Overview

In episode 42 of Moral Of The Story, host Stephanie Soo delves into the chaotic world of Chinese reality television, specifically focusing on a groundbreaking live acting competition known as "Performance City." Joined by co-host Derek and guest Chen, the episode dissects the show's structure, highlights controversial moments, and critiques the performances of idols and influencers vying for acting supremacy. This detailed analysis sheds light on the intense pressures faced by contestants and the questionable practices of the show's judges.

Introduction to Performance City

Stephanie Soo introduces "Performance City" as an ambitious improv acting competition set in China, where 45 aspiring actors and actresses compete to earn the title of the best actor in the world. The show aims to mimic the prestige of the Oscars, providing a platform for participants to showcase their talent and gain recognition in the industry.

"This is like the real life competition of the Oscars. This is how people are going to get recognized for their talent and skill."
— Stephanie Soo [01:42]

Meet the Mentors

The competition is overseen by four esteemed mentors who judge and guide the contestants:

1. Chen Kaige
   A renowned Chinese filmmaker known for his serious demeanor and strict mentoring style.

   "The power that a movie can have can't be calculated by numbers. Although it's the digital age, I'm sorry to tell you, the amount of energy a good movie can generate cannot be quantified by numbers."
   — Chen Kaige [06:07]

2. Jen Yu
   Another mentor who emphasizes traditional acting techniques and professionalism.

3. Zhang Ziyi
   An acclaimed actress who focuses on the emotional depth and rhythm of performances.

   "Words don't really matter. Rhythm is important in acting."
   — Zhang Ziyi [07:01]

4. Isabelle Hubert
   A French actress who brings an international perspective to the judging panel.

Contestants' Performances and Critiques

The episode highlights several key performances that drew significant attention:

Mr. Horseback Husband

A wealthy and prominent contestant whose abusive behavior towards his wife became a focal point of controversy.

"He makes his wife drive the entire seven hours. By the five-hour mark... he gaslights her after this."
— Stephanie Soo [17:20]

The couple's public portrayal on the show, especially his treatment of her, sparked debates online about potential elder abuse. The segment underscores the intense scrutiny contestants face, not just for their acting skills but also for their personal conduct.

Mr. Snake Man

An influencer known for his distinctive appearance and meme-worthy persona, Mr. Snake Man's attempts at serious acting were met with mixed reactions.

"He reminds me of the uncle that invests in a lot of stuff. Stocks. But he keeps losing money in the stocks."
— Derek [20:50]

Despite his comedic background, his dramatic scene lacked authenticity, leading mentors to criticize his grasp of genuine emotional expression.

Kiki the Idol

A member of a popular girl group striving to transition into serious acting roles, Kiki's dedication to her craft was evident in her performance as a stray cat.

"She's so in character. For that, you get an Academy Award."
— Derek [55:56]

Her unwavering commitment impressed the mentors, highlighting her potential as a serious actress despite limited acting experience.

Controversies and Ethical Concerns

Throughout the episode, Stephanie and Derek address the ethical dilemmas and controversies surrounding "Performance City":

• Elder Abuse Allegations:
  The rigorous demands placed on mentors, particularly older judges, have led to accusations of mistreatment. Online debates on platforms like Douyin question whether the show's format constitutes abuse.

  "Everyone is now very semi seriously debating on the Internet... if this show constitutes as elder abuse."
  — Derek [03:23]

• Authenticity of Performances:
  Many contestants, including influencers and idols, struggle to deliver authentic performances, often resorting to exaggerated emotions that fail to resonate with the audience and judges.

  "They are all working too hard to act. I barely see anyone quietly performing here."
  — Stephanie Soo [53:31]

• Product Placement and Sponsorships:
  The show incorporates overt product placements, such as Meituan Medical Aesthetics and various other sponsors, which disrupt the narrative flow and detract from the authenticity of the acting competition.

  "They try to make it seem like this is part of the show... it was the most unsmooth thing I've ever witnessed."
  — Derek [36:00]

Notable Quotes

• Stephanie Soo on Contestant Behavior:

  "Why does everybody need to know each other? They need different dynamics."
  — Stephanie Soo [09:00]

• Derek on Plastic Surgery Stigma:

  "What's the stigma about plastic surgery? Who cares? The only person that gets up, Snake Man."
  — Derek [34:11]

• Chen Kaige on Acting Standards:

  "The amount of energy a good movie can generate cannot be quantified by numbers."
  — Chen Kaige [06:07]

Insights and Conclusions

The episode paints a grim picture of "Performance City," emphasizing the immense pressure on contestants to perform authentically amidst a backdrop of personal scandals and unethical practices. The mentors, despite their prestigious backgrounds, appear disillusioned with the quality of performances, often criticizing the lack of genuine emotional depth among participants.

Stephanie and Derek's analysis suggests that reality shows like "Performance City" prioritize drama and sensationalism over true talent development, leading to a dilution of acting standards and the exploitation of both contestants and mentors. The episode serves as a critical examination of how reality television can sometimes undermine the very industries it seeks to promote.

Final Thoughts

Episode 42 of Moral Of The Story offers a thorough and critical exploration of "Performance City," highlighting the intersection of fame, talent, and ethical concerns in modern reality television. Through engaging dialogue and poignant critiques, Stephanie Soo and her co-hosts shed light on the underlying issues that plague such shows, urging listeners to reflect on the true cost of entertainment in the digital age.

Stay tuned for Part Two, where Stephanie continues to unravel the intricate dynamics and upcoming challenges in "Performance City," promising deeper insights and more controversial revelations.

Transcript

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[Stephanie]

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[Stephanie]

There is an acting show in China.

[Derek]

Where they take you to a place called Performance City.

[Stephanie]

This is improv in real life with actors. There's going to be 45 actors on.

[Derek]

Set and they're going to be improving different scenes to compete to become the best actor in the world.

[Stephanie]

This is like the real life competition of the Oscars. This is how people are going to get recognized for their talent and skill.

[Chen]

Are we talking about one of the biggest show in China last year?

[Derek]

Because your sister was telling me about.

[Stephanie]

It and she was saying, you don't understand. You're never going to see anything like it. She's using these very vague terms like, you'll never see anything like it. It's never been done before. I mean, I was mind blown.

[Derek]

There were so many parts where I.

[Stephanie]

Was staring at the screen and my.

[Derek]

Jaw was on the table.

[Stephanie]

So I'm like, okay, I am about to sit here and I'm about to go on a journey, like an emotional journey with these people who are probably method actors who are probably the top. I don't know.

[Derek]

I'm so scared naming celebrities these days because I don't know who's doing what. So like, you know, random celebrities that are really good at acting, they're gonna be like that, but in China and.

[Stephanie]

I'm gonna see a reality show of it. So tell me why. Tell me why.

[Derek]

The first sweep of this that I.

[Stephanie]

Do, I go online and netizens say, basically this show is a mental institution. And the four mentors, the four judges on the show have been thrown in.

[Derek]

There to test their mental fortitude.

[Stephanie]

And I said, wait, is this not.

[Derek]

The same show that Tiffany was just telling me about? Because what's happening, the four mentors, two.

[Stephanie]

Of them are much older, so I'm gonna break it all down. Have been in this industry for years, and they're not retired, but they could be if they wanted to be. Does that make sense? Like, they're old enough, some of them, to be retired, but they just have a love for what they do. However, everyone is now very semi seriously debating on the Internet, on douyin, on Chinese netizen threads if this show constitutes as elder abuse.

[Derek]

Because the way that these 45 contestants are mentally exhausting the four mentors, it's basically torture.

[Stephanie]

So with that being said, you know, remember in the last video? So the last video, I was talking about the couple's palace. I'm working on the next part, by the way. It's about to get crazy. I'm working on it. I just needed a break from love.

[Derek]

I need a break from all of that.

[Stephanie]

So with that being said, we've got.

[Derek]

Four mentors on this show. We've got.

[Chen]

Yes, you gotta tell them the name because people go crazy without the names.

[Stephanie]

Oh, yeah. What's the show name?

[Derek]

What's the show name?

[Chen]

I think it's. Anyways, okay. I don't know that it's. I know it's season three. That's all I know.

[Derek]

So here's why I never tell you guys the show name. I'm not gatekeeping anything. It's just for some reason, anytime my Korean researchers tell me a show, they never tell me the name of the show.

[Stephanie]

And they're just like, it's the one.

[Derek]

Show with the da da, da da da. Okay. And so Tiffany calls this performance city. So I'm calling it performance city, but it's not called performance city. And I cannot for the life of me recall what the actual name.

[Chen]

And then the thing is, like, there's obviously a Chinese name, but the English name is, like, always weird.

[Stephanie]

I think it's like, everyone stand by me or something.

[Chen]

Like, see that? That has nothing to do with the name.

[Derek]

Yeah, no, it's weird. Okay, I'm gonna put it on the screen. But with that being said, I'm just.

[Stephanie]

Gonna introduce you to the four mentors because this show is very serious.

[Chen]

Explain, like, what are they doing?

[Stephanie]

I don't even know I'm gonna be. I'm learning as we go.

[Derek]

I only watch, like, the first episode because I don't want to spoil it for myself. I don't want to spoil it. Okay, so basically, here's what's going on. In the first episode, 45 contestants come.

[Stephanie]

Together, and they're all supposed actors and actresses aspiring.

[Derek]

Yes.

[Stephanie]

And there's gonna be four judges, mentors that are teaching them, guiding them. And then every episode, because it's a.

[Derek]

Reality show, people are gonna get eliminated.

[Stephanie]

Until it's the last one standing. I have a sneaking suspicion that this person is gonna be put in, like, a drama or something.

[Derek]

I went in balls deep without knowing what the fuck's going on, so you're just gonna have to suffer with me. Okay, we've got mentor Chen.

[Stephanie]

He is a Chinese filmmaker.

[Chen]

Chen Kaige.

[Stephanie]

Yes.

[Chen]

AKA Legends. I met him. He's cool. Yeah.

[Derek]

Oh, my gosh.

[Chen]

Yeah. Anyways, he's cool.

[Stephanie]

Was he nice?

[Derek]

Was he mean?

[Stephanie]

Because he's very firm on the show.

[Chen]

Yeah, he was kind of firm. Oh, like straight up giving, like, a strict uncle vibe.

[Derek]

Yes, that's the vibe.

[Chen]

Literally, like. Like, okay, young man, what are you up to?

[Derek]

Like, okay, young man is crazy.

[Chen]

Very, like, serious uncle.

[Stephanie]

Yes. Okay.

[Derek]

He's so serious on this show. I. I didn't know if it was for the show to make it dramatic or.

[Stephanie]

I guess that's just his personality.

[Derek]

He's not mean.

[Stephanie]

He would probably just make me cry because I'm sensitive. Yeah. But he tells the audience, the power that a movie can have can't be calculated by numbers. Although it's the digital age, I'm sorry to tell you, the amount of energy a good movie can generate cannot be quantified by numbers. This is House serious.

[Derek]

He takes filmmaking.

[Stephanie]

The next mentor, Mentor Wu.

[Derek]

You know him? You know him?

[Chen]

You gotta give me the name.

[Stephanie]

I got you.

[Chen]

Okay, wait, I.

[Derek]

Wait, I got my little notebook. Guys, I'm so serious. I got my notebook of names. Okay? Mentor Wu. Jen Yu. He tells the audience. Okay, Just like we used to learn acting.

[Stephanie]

This is about acting. Encounter demons and kill the demons. That is what every actor does. No one can get in an actor's way.

[Derek]

Everyone.

[Stephanie]

There is a role waiting for you in this world. Then you get mentor Jiang Ji.

[Chen]

Zhang Ziyi.

[Stephanie]

Zhang Ziyi.

[Derek]

Listen, she's the goat. She's the goat, okay?

[Stephanie]

She says, in fact, words don't really matter. Rhythm is important in acting. It is like. I mean, there is this grand music playing in the background, just amping up.

[Derek]

To what feels like a hero's tale kind of music. It's so cinematic. While these legends in this industry are.

[Stephanie]

Sitting There talking about what it means.

[Derek]

To be an actor. There are scenes from this season that are being overlaid. There's a man begging on his knees for help. There's people beating up a poor beggar. There's students getting physically beaten and bullied into school.

[Stephanie]

Mentor Zhang says, everyone came to this show hoping to become a better actor and to unleash your potential within. The show opens with each contestant.

[Chen]

Wait, what about the fourth one?

[Stephanie]

Oh, yeah. Okay. So her name is Isabelle Hubert. She's a French actress, so she speaks mainly French. So I do think that they, like, cut down her lines, because I don't.

[Derek]

Think that they wanted to subtitle a lot. That's the vibe that I was getting, at least on the first episode. However, she's beautiful, stunning, also a legend.

[Stephanie]

So all of them are so poised. And you get the cinematic music playing in the background. And then cut. They all say something about. And then it cuts to the contestants walking down. It's like one of those, you know, Paramount Pictures Studio Hollywood sets.

[Derek]

It's like a city, but you can.

[Stephanie]

See it's all lit up.

[Derek]

And it's like a fake city, clearly.

[Stephanie]

Right.

[Derek]

And it's an interesting mix of people.

[Stephanie]

You have people who introduce themselves already as actors. Someone who just graduated from Beijing Film School a year previously. You have Xu Jiaqi. She's an idol from a girl group. Her English name that she goes by is Kiki. So I'm gonna call her Kiki. Okay. She walks in.

[Derek]

So she is a girl group idol.

[Stephanie]

But she's been acting, and she's trying to break out more as, like, a serious actor. Cause, you know, there's like, a transition when you're an idol. Like, you get the cute roles, and.

[Derek]

Then it's like, no, get me the serious roles.

[Stephanie]

And they're all walking through this really beautiful fake city, and they all get led into what looks like a MrBeast set.

[Derek]

That's the only thing I can compare it to. They walk through this beautiful city, and then they open the door, and it's a warehouse. There's studio lights hanging from the ceiling. There's wooden hallways set up.

[Stephanie]

And in the center, you have these 45 casting chairs. Like, you know, the ones that you see on set, like the director's chair for all the contestants. They start coming in one by one. The first group, everybody gets a nickname. So one of the nicknames is Gen Z, Actor in Training.

[Derek]

Okay. Another one is like a Xinjiang beauty. So that's like a location that's like being like an Alabama beauty. That's like me, a North Dakota beauty. Nothing's wrong with those states. I also live in the south. Okay. I live in a random middle of nowhere state as well. But it's just so weird.

[Chen]

Must be an intern who came up with these names.

[Derek]

A national school flower. That's like the it girl of the school, right?

[Stephanie]

Ever changing rising star. I don't know if this person has.

[Derek]

Had like 25 comebacks at this point. I don't know.

[Chen]

Maybe ChatGPT came up with his names. Actually.

[Derek]

Youthful Oxygen girl.

[Chen]

Oh, that's a word in Chinese.

[Stephanie]

Oxygen girl, your fresh brusher there.

[Chen]

No, Oxygen girl is basic. I think, I think, I think are the girls that looks like they are very bright and they're very ready, like outgoing. It's an aesthetic. Oxygen girl.

[Stephanie]

Okay.

[Derek]

And then there's the comeback king.

[Stephanie]

These are more normal.

[Derek]

There's some nice ones. The chosen one, Versatile Snake beauty.

[Chen]

Versatile snake beauty.

[Derek]

Okay, now you're gonna die. Those are actually the nice ones because you get some read Professional Weeb, which is just like someone who's obsessed with like anime. Okay. Shanghai Theater Academy student looking for a job. This is one person's nickname.

[Chen]

Do the people match their nicknames?

[Derek]

Absolutely. I don't know who came up with these names. They're goofy ass names.

[Stephanie]

But I look at each people and.

[Derek]

I go, you know what? You know what? He do be looking for a job, doesn't he? Okay, there's one that says comedy content creator, pro antagonist. So he likes to be a bitch is the vibe that I'm getting.

[Stephanie]

And I look at him and I.

[Derek]

Say, you know what? He probably does bully some people on the Internet once in a while. Maybe.

[Stephanie]

Maybe for fun, like as jokes, not like actual bullying. Right?

[Derek]

And then another one says, popular recycled candidate.

[Chen]

Popular recycled candidate.

[Derek]

I guess they're just on a bunch of reality shows along.

[Stephanie]

So they come in, they're all greeting each other. A lot of them kind of know each other already. And now the second group of people, they feel a little bit more serious. It feels like every random round of people that they bring in feel like they're escalating in their acting repertoire.

[Derek]

Right?

[Stephanie]

One of them has been in the industry for 11 years, another for six years in the industry, 10 years in the industry. And they all start gathering inside this studio. And some of that. This is. This is like the most confusing room. If I walked into this room blindfolded and you didn't tell me a single thing, and you told me, stephanie, I'm going to give you a 500 years worth of cinnamon toast crunch for free. You just have to tell me what this room, what's going on here, what.

[Derek]

Kind of show are we filming?

[Stephanie]

Some people are dressed super semi casual.

[Derek]

Like they're going to school after.

[Stephanie]

They're going to their college classes after.

[Chen]

Like what? You're wearing like a T shirt?

[Stephanie]

Yes. Some people are dressed like they're here for a job interview.

[Derek]

They're wearing blazers, they're wearing court fit.

[Stephanie]

That's the vibe. Okay. And then some people are just full on decked out, traditional hanfu.

[Chen]

Ah.

[Derek]

And I'm like, what? Some of them have wigs with, like, hair down to the floor and, like, you cannot pay me. I wouldn't know what's going on in this room. I would never get a year's worth of free cereal. I just wouldn't. I mean, they're all introducing themselves, but.

[Stephanie]

Also kind of not really because they kind of know each other. I mean, for example, there's this one guy that's sitting there and all the other contestants are making fun of him because every single one of his cps are here. So, like, hold on. In China, CP means like cp.

[Chen]

I think it's just couple.

[Stephanie]

It's like a couple.

[Chen]

Maybe a couple.

[Stephanie]

Like, if you start. I keep interrupting you.

[Chen]

No, no, no.

[Derek]

I'm, like, talking on top of you. I'm just too excited. Okay, so like, there. If you start a movie together and.

[Stephanie]

You are the main male lead and the main female lead, everybody automatically ships you. And it's almost like you're incentivized to kind of do these coupley things during the press tour. Like, more so than in America. Like, they really lean into it everybod.

[Derek]

Everybody knows it's fake, but the fans go crazy. And it's really cute. What's kind of awkward, because three of his female love interests are here.

[Chen]

That is wild.

[Stephanie]

It's giving.

[Derek]

If all the girls you've ever kissed were in one room and you were blindfolded, how would you find me? How would you find me?

[Chen]

The room will be empty with just you.

[Derek]

No. How would you find me, though?

[Chen]

But you. It's just you in the room.

[Stephanie]

Whatever, Whatever.

[Derek]

Then another man enters the stage. This guy. He looks like a secret Service agent, but not like the good one. Like temu Secret Service. He's wearing a black suit with aviator sunglasses. And you know what this guy reminds me of?

[Stephanie]

You know how there's, like a mob boss in every movie, and then you have the mob boss's driver who likes in the beginning of the movie they're driving around and they're screaming at someone on the phone, and it sounds like they might be the mob boss. Within the minute that the actual mob.

[Derek]

Boss comes into the car, their sunglasses off, back erects, driving very carefully.

[Stephanie]

But when that mob boss is not around, they act like, no, I'm the one that runs this shit. That's the vibe that he gives me. He's very middle aged.

[Derek]

I don't know what that means. I'm sorry. I don't know why I said it like that. He's middle aged. He's been in the industry for 20 years. And the nickname on the show that.

[Stephanie]

He gets is Huang Xingyi's husband.

[Chen]

Huang Shen Yi's husband.

[Stephanie]

Yes.

[Chen]

Dang. I think she's big, right?

[Derek]

Yeah. Now, to clarify, just giving you some background on this guy. They are divorced, so it should be ex husband. But he actually came onto this public.

[Stephanie]

Radar because they went on a divorce reality show called See youe Again, bruh.

[Chen]

Yeah, Chinese. Like there's a divorce reality. Is that what's coming next? That's crazy.

[Derek]

Yeah, that's what's coming next.

[Chen]

Wait, so they're bringing divorced couple back on together?

[Stephanie]

Yes. Okay, so this is when celebrity, I.

[Chen]

Guess I'm assuming you don't know this yet, right?

[Stephanie]

Okay.

[Chen]

I mean, do you know?

[Stephanie]

Yes, I know what happened as it pertains to this guy, because Tiffany was like, oh, my God. She, like, paused it when he came on the screen and she was like, let me tell you exactly what happened.

[Derek]

Oh.

[Stephanie]

Everybody was mad at him. Literally all of China hates this guy.

[Derek]

For like a month straight. And I was like, whoa. Okay.

[Stephanie]

So she's explaining that we're on this.

[Derek]

Show called See you again, and it's.

[Stephanie]

Supposed to be three struggling couples, and they have to spend close to 20 days together where they revisit their happiest dates, their happiest memories, they try to hash out their biggest issues, and they decide at the end whether they want to stay together or call it quits.

[Chen]

Wait, why do American do these? Like, this is so much drama.

[Derek]

No, I think it's such a good idea.

[Chen]

So much drama.

[Derek]

Yeah. Netflix, where is ours?

[Chen]

The tension, I can already feel it.

[Derek]

That's crazy. Anyways, when he and his wife go on the show, his wife confessed that.

[Stephanie]

She'S been wanting a divorce for three years. And initially everyone thought like, oh, three years, and you should have just gotten the divorce already. Like, people were initially kind of hesitant.

[Derek]

Until two seconds in, they see this man's behavior throughout 18 days.

[Stephanie]

There was one example, just like one example where all of them went on this thing where they go horseback riding because I guess it's like an activity. So they go horseback riding the very next day. They have to drive for seven hours straight to get to the next location. The other two couples, they're taking turns driving. So like the wife will drive, then the husband will drive and they go back and forth. But he makes his wife drive the entire seven hours. By the five hour mark, Staff members even approach them being like, hey, do you guys want a driver? And before she could respond, he responds and says, if, you know, no need.

[Derek]

It'S okay, we'll just drive slower. Like if we get tired.

[Stephanie]

At the six hour mark, she can't take it anymore. They're at a rest stop, she gets out the car to take a break and she actually asks her husband, okay, it's only like one hour left. Do you mind driving? And he says, my whole body aches. Your whole body aches?

[Chen]

That is crazy.

[Stephanie]

Yeah. From horseback riding yesterday.

[Derek]

At this point, everybody's pissed off because everyone went horseback riding and she's been driving for six hours.

[Stephanie]

But that's not even the worst part. The worst part is he proceeds to gaslight her after this. Oh, yeah. He says, if you're driving, then just drive the whole journey and then you can show off to everyone that you drove the entire time. You can say, I drove the entire time.

[Derek]

You know, you could set a record.

[Chen]

Oh, that is crazy. On national tv.

[Derek]

Yeah. He said, I'm just helping you succeed. No, no.

[Stephanie]

Yeah.

[Chen]

So like, do we still hate him on this show?

[Stephanie]

Yes.

[Chen]

Is he like acting a fool?

[Stephanie]

Yes. And we're calling him Mr. Horseback Husband because he doesn't deserve a name.

[Derek]

You don't even need to know this motherfucker's name. He is very rich.

[Chen]

Really?

[Derek]

Comes from a very wealthy family in.

[Stephanie]

China and she is very wealthy. Self made actress, graduated from the Beijing Film academy. He's just a Nepo baby. And anytime he goes on livestream to sell anything because that's just what he decided he's gonna be the CEO of.

[Derek]

He just like drags his wife onto.

[Stephanie]

The live stream because she's that famous and she just looks absolutely miserable.

[Chen]

Dang.

[Stephanie]

Yeah.

[Chen]

Okay. That also maybe explains his behavior.

[Stephanie]

Yeah. Cuz he's an EPO baby.

[Chen]

Yeah. He's just like so spoiled.

[Stephanie]

Yeah. Oh, by the way, they also play a clip of him in a movie because he's trying to get into acting.

[Derek]

He's got greasy long hair in the movie and he's on the phone with the girl of his dreams. And he says dramatically, do you in Chinese, look in English Me in Chinese. So it would be like, do you look me? But like, only look is in English like, sir, what in the fucking duolingo is that?

[Chen]

Do you look me?

[Derek]

Mm.

[Chen]

What does that mean? Do you look?

[Derek]

It's like trying to say, do you.

[Stephanie]

See me in the crowd?

[Derek]

But he says, do you look me?

[Stephanie]

My brain was having an aneurysm. He just gives me. He just gives me, you know, like the uncle that made a lot of money. And you see that uncle and, well, you know, maybe they didn't even make a lot of money. You know what he reminds me of? He reminds me of the uncle that invests in a lot of stuff. Stocks. But he keeps losing money in the stocks, okay? But he keeps telling you, giving you advice on how to invest in stocks. And it's just like the generic, like, you gotta buy low, you gotta buy low. He never gives you any specifics.

[Derek]

You know, that his wife left him.

[Stephanie]

Because he might have another gambling problem.

[Derek]

And he was probably cheating on her and he's losing all his money in the stock market. But he wants to give you advice, but because you're so non confrontational, you sit there for three hours and you.

[Stephanie]

Go, yeah, no, that's really good advice. I'm gonna write that down. I'll tell my husband about it.

[Derek]

I think he'd be interested, you know, stuff like that.

[Stephanie]

He says, I have a few projects, I've been in a few movies. You know, logically speaking, I think I.

[Derek]

Should be an actor.

[Stephanie]

So this time with this show, I think I'm gonna come on with the right attitude and present myself as a true actor for the audience.

[Derek]

He walks into Mr. Beast CB set, okay?

[Stephanie]

And he's the leader of this entire show.

[Derek]

Like he.

[Stephanie]

He acts like he's a mentor, not a contestant, okay? He just walks in like, hey, everyone. A lot of people see him. They start treating him very respectfully. Not me, Mr. I rode a horse last night. So I'm tired and I'm gonna make my wife drive seven hours. Not me, bitch. Maybe they haven't seen the show, okay?

[Derek]

So they're all very nice to him.

[Stephanie]

Everyone's intrigued by him. He sits down. Everyone's kind of glancing at the side at him, looking at him. He's staring, paying attention. They all look like they're in a business board meeting. Except there's this one goofy goober in the back that's looking at Mr. Horseback. Husband and he's looking with the face like he can smell Mr. Horseback husband's butt crack from the other side of the room. The production team pulls him aside and asks him, can you introduce yourself? He's alone in front of the camera and he says, I am a stand up actor. Stand up comedian. Wait, can we do this again? I always get tongue tied whenever we start.

[Derek]

I'm a stand up comedian.

[Stephanie]

Actor by Kanan.

[Derek]

Okay, okay.

[Stephanie]

His career highlight is being on CCTV New Year gala four times.

[Chen]

Oh, yeah. No, that's like.

[Derek]

No, I know, you told me.

[Chen]

Okay, so China, China has this yearly festival, TV festival, like spring festival, which is like the Christmas, it's like the biggest holiday. And then there is this new year television performance by the government. Basically it's hosted by the whole nation and they, they, they will pick like a bunch of performers. And if you make it on there, basically you got the stamp of approval from the country and you can basically do whatever. Not whatever like you, this is like.

[Derek]

You basically do nothing.

[Chen]

Yeah, it's like the highest honor.

[Derek]

Yeah, yeah.

[Chen]

So what does he do?

[Stephanie]

Like, he's a singer, he's a stand up comedian. An actor. What? Yeah, yeah.

[Derek]

What? And I know this because every time.

[Stephanie]

We go over to his parents house.

[Derek]

For Chinese New Year, we eat Chinese New Year dinner. And then that, that's playing on the.

[Stephanie]

Tv and like the first time I went, why are we watching this? And he said, don't say that loudly. Don't say that loudly.

[Chen]

No, that's not true.

[Isabelle]

No, I'm just kidding.

[Chen]

But, but honestly though, the show's getting kind of boring and everyone's complaining about it like, can we? Yeah.

[Stephanie]

Anyways, and then it's like a whole production. He was like, I think they probably.

[Derek]

Start on this like before the last one aired.

[Chen]

Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Stephanie]

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[Derek]

He's been on there four times.

[Stephanie]

This is a big deal. Then they start bringing in some other contestants to kind of judge it up. Because why does everybody need to know each other? They need different dynamics. One guy he is introduced as the rising star within the Uncle Celebrities category and Tiffany's explaining it as you're not hot and young enough to be the love interest, but you're not old and like you don't have the energy of a dad. You have the Energy of a goofy uncle that never got married and is still a bachelor.

[Derek]

And like, maybe some people will find him attractive.

[Stephanie]

That's the vibe. And so all of them are just walking in. And I'm just going to give you like the few notable people that you have to remember. There is one person, the minute that he walks in, everyone in the room, the energy changes. And I couldn't tell if it's good or bad. They are introduced and given the title of comedy meme blogger, he walks in, full white hanfu, full white hair down.

[Derek]

Almost to the ground.

[Chen]

I think I've seen this clip.

[Stephanie]

Yes. And when he walks, it's like, you know how when they make them fly in like the lower budget movies where they're like, bodies are like this and then they're just like flying as they're standing in the air?

[Chen]

Because, yeah, they're just like moving. The background, the screen, it's a green screen.

[Derek]

Wait, no, you're lying.

[Chen]

But they're not doing anything. They're just standing there. They put a green screen behind them and they're just like. The green screen is moving.

[Derek]

Wait, you're lying. You're lying. I didn't think that. I thought.

[Chen]

You think they're flying.

[Derek]

No, I didn't think they were flying, but I thought. I thought it would be more than that.

[Chen]

No, that's why it looks so awkward because they're just standing there with a fan blowing wind to their hair and the background is like moving.

[Stephanie]

Oh, my God.

[Derek]

He looks like that when he walks in. This is the exact thing he looks.

[Stephanie]

Like he walked out of a romantasy.

[Derek]

Book from the TikTok famous section in Barnes and Noble. That's what he looks like. He has been famous for a while, though. I've been told he used to post.

[Stephanie]

Selfies back in the day. And he's got like these really big.

[Derek]

Doll eyes and really, really high nose bridge.

[Chen]

Yes.

[Derek]

And his chin is really sharp that it could probably slice a loaf of bread.

[Stephanie]

And for the longest time he refused. He said, I never got plastic surgery. Absolutely not until he goes on this little talk show and the interviewer asks him, have you had plastic surgery? He says, no. And then after hearing that answer, the interviewer is, is over this guy. He's like, now I know you did. I'm gonna get up because I'm not gonna entertain your bullshit.

[Derek]

So he gets up, he grabs him.

[Stephanie]

We're gonna call him Mr. Snake Man. Cause that's his nickname. Tiffany said he grabs the interviewer.

[Chen]

Mr. Snake man is the. The the sharp chin dude.

[Stephanie]

Yes.

[Chen]

Okay.

[Derek]

So Snake man grabs the interviewer and says, okay, fine.

[Stephanie]

I've had plastic surgery. He snaps around. Where?

[Derek]

Just my double eyelids.

[Stephanie]

And he's looking at him like, you're fucking lying. And he says, fine.

[Derek]

Double eyelid surgery, brow lift, rhinoplasty, eyebrow augmentation, forehead augmentation, facelift, wrinkle remover, face plumping, Brazilian butt lift, and a boob job. And the interviewer turns around and says, a boob job.

[Stephanie]

It was free.

[Derek]

I guess it was like a buy 10, get one free with his surgeries.

[Stephanie]

What is going on?

[Derek]

So they all know him because he's so famous. And one guy is trying to whisper.

[Stephanie]

To another female, he's an influencer. Yeah, he's like a meme blogger. Like, he posts memes. He is a meme.

[Derek]

He's actually literally the meme. He only posts memes of himself. No, I'm just kidding. I don't know.

[Stephanie]

But he's known as a meme blogger. Like a comedic influencer. Yeah, yeah. And so one guy is looking at the female contestant next to him, and they're all looking at the meme blogger, Mr. Snake Man. And he says he looks nothing like his. You know, his pictures online, to which the woman just snaps, do you look.

[Derek]

The same in your videos? The guy literally sits down on his chair, very rejected. I don't even think he was trying to be rude. He seemed like he was being very genuinely shocked because he was like, are we sure that this is him?

[Stephanie]

Are we sure?

[Derek]

I think we need a photo lineup. And she was just like, do you look the same?

[Stephanie]

And he said.

[Derek]

And he just sits down. Okay.

[Stephanie]

And that is actually the nicest thing someone says about Mr. Snake Man. Everybody else is insulted. One of the other actors sits in front of the producer camera. I don't recall him ever being an actor. Another one says, it doesn't really make sense for him to be here. I just don't know why he's here. Mr. Snake says, Listen, I don't come from this industry, but I want to try hard and see if I can walk the path of an actor. I also want to enhance my work experience in this area. You know, something like that.

[Derek]

What does that even mean? What does something like that mean?

[Stephanie]

And there's just so many weird moments. Okay? So once all the actors are in the room, one of the girls turns around to another actress, and she's, like, so bubbly throughout this. And she says, your hair looks so good in this color. And the actress that she's Saying this.

[Derek]

To, she's got like a stone cold face. She's stoic.

[Stephanie]

She gives me the type that would play like a female special agent in a crime thriller. And she looks at her and says, thanks, your makeup looks good too. Thanks. It's like very rock and roll. Hmm. Thanks. And so later the producers pull her to the side and she's saying, it felt really weird. I don't know them that well, so I don't know if they're just talking for the sake of talking or if they're doing it for the reality show effect. Everybody just seemed really high. The producer tells her, you don't think it's just basic etiquette. If it weren't for this reality show. I've been to places with lots of actors. Nobody does this.

[Derek]

And I was like, oh my gosh, Tea.

[Chen]

Do we. Do we like this person? Is she like really blunt or.

[Derek]

So blunt she was given tea.

[Stephanie]

So they all get settled down and then in walk two women. These are the first teachers. These are not the mentors. They're just going to prerequisite kind of test the 45 contestants before we get to the city. So they walk to the front. Hello everyone.

[Derek]

Welcome.

[Stephanie]

This show is exclusively brought to you by Bai Meituan Medical Aesthetics.

[Chen]

Okay? Of course.

[Stephanie]

And this season we have a group of 45 actors gathered here and we will face a brand new challenge among you. There are many of you who are backups in this industry. There are also many people who use used to be the first choice in this industry. There are newcomers who are also gearing up, eager to try. In the coming days, you will be tested both as performers and as people and experience some transformations to becoming the actor moving towards the industry's first choice. So before this test, we have a few serious questions and we hope that everyone will be honest. In the film and television market, audiences are actually more willing to pay for high quality work and a good, good story. In the film and television industry, we have also entered the era where content is king. Under such a trend, actors must simultaneously develop their market value, AKA be famous acting skills and professionalism. The first question is common. It will test your honesty. I want to ask all 45 of you here, which of you have undergone plastic surgery?

[Chen]

Damn.

[Stephanie]

For me, I won't really use actors who have gone through plastic surgery. First, it's because it has been proven that the audience's sense of immersion will be a lot less. It'll be weaker. Secondly, regarding role compatibility, we risk viewer engagement. But the most important part of this Question is honesty.

[Chen]

Dang.

[Derek]

And so all 45 of them are.

[Stephanie]

Sitting there, and I'm looking at them.

[Derek]

They'Re looking at me. And in between their eyes, they all have suspiciously high nose bridges.

[Stephanie]

And some.

[Derek]

Big old double eyelids.

[Stephanie]

And I said, but you know what?

[Derek]

You look good.

[Stephanie]

So it doesn't even matter, does it?

[Derek]

Like, what's the stigma about plastic surgery? Who cares? The only person that gets up, Snake Man.

[Stephanie]

Snake Man. And he whips his blonde wig and he walks to the back. And now the. There's 44 contestants remained seated, and they're all rubbing their hands back and forth, looking side to side. I mean, suddenly, it's just so scary, isn't it? And you know, and it. Yes, it is scary because your nose bridge is suspiciously high, sir.

[Derek]

So it is a little scary for you, isn't it? But that's okay.

[Stephanie]

I'm just saying, I don't think most of these people will pass the plastic cling wrap test. Do you know what I'm talking about?

[Derek]

Would you like.

[Stephanie]

That was a crazy time.

[Derek]

Time.

[Chen]

So what is it like?

[Stephanie]

Okay, so I don't know why it's like a weird thing for East Asian celebrities to get plastic surgery.

[Derek]

Like, I think it's pretty clear a lot of them get plastic surgery, and I don't know why it's a bad thing. It's not a bad thing. It's fine. It's normal. I think we should talk about it and it should be open.

[Stephanie]

However, back then in Korea, they would have these reality shows where they would get plastic cling wrap. Like, you know the thing from Costco that you put over leftovers, and they would press it onto a celebrity face, and if you can poke your head through it, that means you've never had plastic surgery.

[Chen]

What?

[Stephanie]

Mainly, like, you've never had your nose done. That was like, back when, like, a nose job was really scandalous, I guess.

[Derek]

Yeah.

[Stephanie]

The teachers eventually get really annoyed because nobody else is standing up. Only one actor stood up bravely. Do you want us to call you out? From what I see through my naked eye, third row, fourth person. It's like an older female actress sitting there. Me? Yes. Wait, what's wrong, teacher? Have you not had plastic surgery? No.

[Chen]

Yo, this is kind of crazy.

[Stephanie]

Yeah, it did look like she had plastic surgery, but also, like, why would.

[Derek]

You call her out like that? That was crazy. Why would you single her out like that when it's clear a lot of them have plastic surgery? But I digress.

[Stephanie]

The other teacher is telling them this was a test of Honesty. I actually have 89 stitches on my face face, because I got hurt a lot. So I've had tons of different plastic surgeries, cosmetic surgeries. You see, my whole lip was busted open, and the whole thing was. I mean, I was hit by hard objects. I've also had a lot. So, yeah, I've had a lot of cosmetic surgery. Do you think that there's a problem with cosmetic surgery? If you need it, it's okay. It doesn't matter if you're brave enough to say you've had it. But still, nobody goes up. Instead, one guy leans over and says, says, hey. He's talking to another contestant. I've injected some things before, but I got it dissolved. And she's a cutie. She says, then it doesn't count.

[Derek]

And so they stay seated. And so the teachers just move on. They keep asking a bunch of questions until finally all of them make it to the bag.

[Stephanie]

And it's supposed to be this, like.

[Derek]

Heartfelt moment of it doesn't matter. Like, this is the life of an actor. And now you guys are gonna go to Performance City and put on the show of a lifetime.

[Stephanie]

Oh, before they put on the show, I'm actually going to be deceased because the actors are already gonna be deceased. Yeah, the actors are already acting. So there's three actresses standing next to each other, and one of them mentions that. Oh, thank God. The first question, instead of asking whether or not everyone had plastic surgery, imagine if they had asked if any of us had, like, medical procedures done. You know, filler, Botox, lasers, youth treatment, microneedling. Everyone would have stood up. The second actress said, after I came to the set, I saw that Meituan Medical Aesthetics was sponsoring the show. So I was curious and I looked it up, and look, they have a whole channel dedicated to videos. The other two actresses lean into her.

[Derek]

Phone that they absolutely don't let contestants have on set. What is going on?

[Stephanie]

Meituan actually has an exclusive medical beauty channel. You see, and you see a lot of the reviews here. You can see a lot of them. These are all real users with real transaction records. You can see how detailed it is and how you can even talk to an expert one on one for a consultation. I'm thinking that I'm gonna try it soon. And the two girls next to her go, yes, and medical aesthetics must be done professionally.

[Chen]

Are you saying, like, this is, like, smoothly, like, embedded? You didn't even realize.

[Stephanie]

It was the most Unsmooth thing that.

[Derek]

I've ever witnessed in my life. Like, most unsmooth thing. It was like, okay. It was just so. It took me out of the moment, and I felt like I was in a fifth dimension.

[Chen]

Kind of like your cinematography.

[Derek]

No, literally. No, literally.

[Stephanie]

And so the girl next to her goes, yes. And if it's not done professionally, it could be very dangerous. Actually, I think I need to get a hydrafacial soon. I think that they're giving, like, a discount for hydrafacials. Oh, yes, sister. We can both go try it when we get back. I also have to try using it.

[Chen]

So they try to make it seem like this is part of the. The show.

[Stephanie]

Yeah.

[Chen]

Like, they didn't even say, oh, here's an ad. They just. But then it went, yeah, but was it cute or.

[Stephanie]

It was really cute, but in like. But it, like, okay.

[Derek]

I think the reason it broke the fifth wall is because it's not an acting show. And I was like, wait, but should I be rating their acting if it was not an acting show? Like, if it was Love Island China, which. I'm just saying that's a good idea.

[Stephanie]

Love Island China. I would have been like, okay, that was really cute.

[Derek]

But because it was an acting show, suddenly I was part of the Academy Awards.

[Stephanie]

I said, let me sit here and think about this. First of all, I don't know if that line was delivered with enough passion. I don't actually think that you're gonna get a hydrafacial after this, are you?

[Chen]

Now let's cue the cinnamon toast.

[Derek]

Who am I to be judging from the depths of this trash can? Okay. And then the contestants are all taken away, whisked away to Performance City.

[Stephanie]

They're all in their puffer jackets. It's winter. They enter this warehouse, and it looks like the Saw movie. It's dark. The lights are off. They're just walking in with. With no fear. And I'm like, clearly none of them have ever acted in a horror movie. And then slowly, things start coming together. They walk in. It is a giant, older Chinese city inside this warehouse. It's like a. You know, the place in Korea where all the cool cafes are, where it's more traditional, like, with the alleyways, the cobblestone pavement. It looks like that, right? I mean, I've never been to China, so I can't give you the chance, you know, comparison. So just to give you an idea in your mind. Now the lights start dramatically turning on one by one. It's kind of Sherlock Holmes. The lighting is dim. There's telephone booths. There's alleyways, hole in the wall, restaurants, fake trees with Missing Cinnamon toast Crunch flyers, bird cages. One contestant says, this looks like an escape room. And standing right in front of them, you can't even see see him, because he's dressed head to toe in camo is Mentor Wu. He's got his hands in his pockets, he's got his black aviator sunglasses on. He looks like your cousin when you owe your cousin money and you're like.

[Derek]

Ah, I gotta leave the family function. Okay? Mentor Wu.

[Stephanie]

Everyone instantly recognizes him because he's that.

[Derek]

Famous, and he just doesn't even entertain the contestants. He gets right to it.

[Stephanie]

I'm sure you've all heard about the saying the critical seven minute window make or break in the first three episodes. Right. You get seven minutes to capture your audience. As an actor, you might only have a few seconds to let the audiences see you. If you don't seize this opportunity, you lose the audience that could have been yours. The contestants look dead serious, gravely serious. He continues, within a limited time of 20 minutes, you need to familiarize yourself with the scene you are currently in. So they have 20 minutes to walk through this city. Our set provides lots of areas where you can perform. After you pick the area you will perform, put a number card down so no one else can take your area. Put a number card down. Then you can get into character. So they've got 20 minutes to grab a number card, find the perfect setting, put their number card down, then go to the dressing room, change into one of the available costumes, and, you know, set designs. They've got accessories, they've got makeup, and then go and start acting out your scene.

[Derek]

This is basically improv in real life. This is how it's gonna play.

[Chen]

Dress to impress.

[Derek]

Yes, it's dressed to impress. So then they go, and then they're.

[Stephanie]

Acting out their scene. There's four mentors, and they split up in two and two. And they're just gonna walk around and just get immersed and watch the actors in real time. But you never know when they're coming to see you.

[Chen]

Yeah.

[Derek]

So, like, I don't know what that means.

[Chen]

So basically it's 45 people all role playing at the same time in this big quote city.

[Stephanie]

Yes.

[Chen]

Pretending to be someone else. And you just walk around and interact with them. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Stephanie]

It's a lot. And so one actress, I mean, she's like, running around. They're all putting, like, seeing, okay, do I want to be a food stall owner?

[Derek]

Like, what do I want to do?

[Stephanie]

Do I just want to, like, some people are saying, hey, you and me, we're gonna work together.

[Derek]

We're a couple, and we're gonna break.

[Stephanie]

Up in the middle of this. Lots of breakups happening. Okay.

[Derek]

And then they go into the dressing.

[Stephanie]

Room, and they're like, some of them are dressing in modern clothing.

[Derek]

Some of them are dressing in, like, super old timey clothing. Some of them are staying in their hanfus. Like, it's a lot. And they only get a few seconds. Like, the mentors could just walk away.

[Stephanie]

There's some people who don't like how.

[Derek]

Clean the clothes are, so they're, like.

[Stephanie]

Rubbing their entire bodies on the dirty floor of the warehouse to try and.

[Derek]

Get their, like, dirt on the clothes.

[Stephanie]

I mean, standby on set.

[Derek]

This is like a giant intercom. Three, two, one, action. And everybody, like, runs to their seat and they start.

[Stephanie]

The first two mentors walk in are Isabelle, the French actress, and mentor Chen, the very serious uncle. They walk in together, and Isabel says, I am waiting to receive a wonderful surprise. An unknown talent is always a surprise, and for us to identify, that is electrifying. I'm looking forward to it all. Chen says, you can already imagine in a place like this, nothing will be quiet where you can concentrate on performing. So I want to see who's the most locked in, who's the most concentrated. The first person they come across to the left is this food stall selling vegetables. And they've got, like, baskets, Woven baskets of veggies laid out. And then on the other side, they've got these woven baskets of pumpkin seeds. And there's a woman wearing bright red. Like, she looks like the food market ajuma. And she's holding a little baby in her arms, and she's just straddling. No. And then you can hear her husband in the back of the food stall, and Chen is translating for Isabelle. Okay, so this is number 30. Celebrity I Uncle walks in. He's the husband.

[Chen]

Oh, the horseback uncle?

[Stephanie]

No, no, no. This is celebrity uncle. He's the uncle category. Rising star in the uncle category. Yeah.

[Derek]

And he doesn't really look like he'd.

[Stephanie]

Be the husband of a food stall owner, so it's kind of throwing me off.

[Chen]

So they collabed on this idea.

[Stephanie]

Yeah. I felt like he looked like the owner of one of those really cute new cafes where they combine, like, a croissant with a capybara, and then they also combine that with, like, a French toast.

[Chen]

He looked too modern. Modern polished.

[Stephanie]

He got the iPhone face.

[Chen]

IPhone iPhone face?

[Derek]

Yeah, he got that iPhone face. Right.

[Stephanie]

And so he walks out, and then the. The woman is like, this is Teacher. Teacher Chen. Isn't this Principal Chen?

[Derek]

So they're like interacting with the mentors. They're trying to pull out a chair.

[Stephanie]

For mentor Chen to sit on, but he's not having it. He just puts his hand up and stops them. In this short time. You guys need to give me something a little more. Principal Chen, let me introduce you. This is our second chat. Don't call me Principal Chen. Just pretend we don't exist. Celebrity uncle is freaking out. He's telling the producers later. I very quickly got very nervous. The wife is sitting there. She looks like she recently gave birth. Celebrity uncle is hovering over her baby. Our second child is so lucky.

[Derek]

Thank God he looks like you.

[Stephanie]

Then he walks over to the pumpkin seeds. Hey, don't eat too many sunflower seeds, honey. You need to replenish your blood supply.

[Derek]

For our third child.

[Stephanie]

In the belly right there. Mentor Chen firmly says, stop. Later, he tells the producers, acting, they're just doing this to act like you play the wife, I play the husband. Then we set up a stall here. There's nothing more than that. No depth.

[Chen]

Damn.

[Stephanie]

Damn. Behind the mentors, there's another couple.

[Chen]

Okay, how was the acting, objectively speaking?

[Stephanie]

0 out of 10.

[Chen]

0 out of 10.

[Derek]

No, I'm just kidding.

[Stephanie]

Who am I?

[Derek]

Okay, but it was not good.

[Chen]

It was not good.

[Stephanie]

I think like, they really got thrown.

[Derek]

Off that they could not interact with them and they just like.

[Chen]

Compared to, like, like their acting compared to like my acting. You're acting like better than me. So they're like kind of pro. Not complete. Okay, okay.

[Stephanie]

No, no.

[Derek]

It's not like us when we try to do like a British accent. No, it's not. No.

[Stephanie]

But I will say there was no depth in. Did feel like, I don't know, because I'm just a consumer. Right. But like, when you see actors, sometimes some of their characters have a lot of depth. This felt very playing house. Yeah, right?

[Chen]

Yeah.

[Derek]

I'm sorry, am I an Oscar winning actress all of a sudden? Who am I to judge? They're all great. Now behind the mentors, there's another couple, a younger couple.

[Stephanie]

And they're dressed kind of like retro, like high schoolers from the 90s. The guy is holding a piece of paper. The girl is trying to snatch it from him. Why are you like this? I just want to see.

[Derek]

Don't look.

[Stephanie]

He sits down and he opens it up. It's a love letter. I just wrote it for fun. You just wrote a love letter for fun? And it has my name on it. Oh, I was practicing calligraphy. Our Chinese teacher told us to write everyone's names, but my name's not even in the book.

[Chen]

It's a little corny, huh?

[Stephanie]

Mentor Chen pans to the camera and.

[Derek]

Like the worst part is as they're acting, the editors put in like the appropriate music, right? And then the music cuts. Mentor Chen cuts.

[Stephanie]

They don't know how to act. Logically speaking, when it comes to confessing, it's at least something that's going to be very tense and it's gonna make you nervous because you don't know if the other party is going to accept you or not.

[Derek]

But these two are acting like a joke.

[Chen]

Yeah.

[Stephanie]

Mentor Chen tells this all to their faces as well. And they nod and they say thank you and then they, they walk to the side, dejected. So the, the judges, they can only pick five number cards each, so 20 total. Yes.

[Chen]

Now eliminating half of them.

[Stephanie]

Yeah. Now in walks a police officer. He walks straight up to Mentor Chen. Uncle Gu, I'm xiaohai's comrade in arms. When we were on the mission, he fought with some gangsters and was seriously injured.

[Derek]

He just starts crying and the tears are flowing.

[Stephanie]

He was taken to the hospital but he didn't make it. And he reaches out. I'm so sorry. Mentor Chen looks disgusted, stares into the camera. Acting. Acting.

[Derek]

My son sacrificed himself.

[Stephanie]

What cruel news would this be? Sorry, even if I thought that was a good actor, I took two steps away. He was not hesitant to speak. You should be hesitant. You should be stepping away from me. Not sure how to say this. Not sure how to tell me. Yes, you have tears on your eyes.

[Derek]

But you say it so lightly because.

[Stephanie]

Because what? You should be scared of hurting the father. The purpose of performance is not to demonstrate that you can cry on command. Tears don't necessarily give good results anyway.

[Chen]

Damn.

[Stephanie]

Damn. And then the police officer just continues yapping some more while Mentor Chen is literally just taking notes on his clipboard and looking at him, at his face.

[Derek]

Like sir, you are about to get a ticket for bad acting. That is you're disturbing the peace. You did not iron your uniform.

[Stephanie]

Then the two mentors walk up to another woman who's having a mental breakdown and she's in traditional wear and she's in front of like these palace looking doors. All my great youth is buried behind this red wall.

[Derek]

And she walks up and slams her hands on the red palace doors and she looks straight at Isabella and she's laughing and crying. You know, the taste of the cold palace. They threw me out of the cold palace. I just want to tell you to stay away from this cannibalistic place. Mentor Chen and Isabel are not having it. Mentor Chen says, fake acting.

[Chen]

Acting.

[Stephanie]

I realize that our young actors these days all have a soft spot for playing crazy people. All of them are going crazy all the time. But in reality, they act very sober, very organized. Their sufferings, their humiliations in the cold palace, all of it is delivered clearly, which shows me you are not crazy.

[Chen]

You are acting.

[Derek]

Cut to the lady screaming and crying. It's all gone. And they're just staring at her.

[Stephanie]

Like, the mentors turn around, and there's a young boy, maybe high school. I mean, he's definitely giving acting high school, you know? You know what I mean?

[Chen]

Yeah.

[Derek]

Hollywood high school. You're 29, playing a high school student. That's what it's giving.

[Stephanie]

He walks up to the mentors in a tracksuit. Why did you get rid of my dog? Mentor Chen writes in his clipboard. The guy screams at him, speak. Mentor Chen glares up.

[Derek]

Isabella is just blinking and staring. I believe will never be coming back home ever again.

[Stephanie]

And he starts running away. And, like, at this point, honestly, it wasn't the worst thing I've seen right now.

[Derek]

Tell me why this motherfucker then decides to go run past all the other actors that are just staring at him. And they watch him. He finds the veggie food stall from the very first couple, right?

[Stephanie]

And he puts his head into the veggie basket. It's just a bunch of like.

[Derek]

Like what?

[Stephanie]

I don't know what he's doing.

[Chen]

Is he embarrassed?

[Stephanie]

He's like crown daisies.

[Derek]

And then his head is just, like, in the basket. The other actors that got ripped into being bad actors, honestly, Uncle Celebrity, he ate it up.

[Stephanie]

He walks up, and he's holding his baby in his arms. What did our vegetables ever do to this kid? I mean, if you need anything, we can just tell the police officer there it's fine, but you can't ruin our vegetables. What are we gonna sell for the rest of the day?

[Chen]

So he's still acting?

[Derek]

Yeah. Honestly, this was probably the best acting I've seen from him.

[Chen]

Like, is the judge not the mentor watching or no?

[Stephanie]

No.

[Derek]

Yeah. Mentor Chen is not sympathetic. He says, I think it was not the worst.

[Stephanie]

I mean, I guess if it happens in real life, your parents get rid of your dog, I mean, you would probably go crazy. But the craziness is too much. Performing is not about brute force. It's about acting in depth. And, you know, having Your soul show. The body barely whispers. They're all working too hard to act. I get it. Because first, they're young, they're lacking experience. Secondly, they will tell themselves, if I don't act, if I don't try, then will I be outshined by others. So this actually damages their performances. Instead, I barely see anyone quietly performing here. So far, they have chosen no candidates. And then income. Mentor Wu and Mentor Zeng.

[Derek]

They look so cool, honestly.

[Stephanie]

And right when they walk in, they hear a voice, and there's a table set up next to them, and it's a blind clairvoyant. All encounters are reunions after a long absence. You two, since we were destined to meet again, why not do a fortune telling? The mentors? Stop.

[Chen]

I've seen this clip. It's classic.

[Stephanie]

Mentor Zhang looks at him, cocks your head and says, excuse me, how did you know there were two of us? Mentor Z later says, blind people primarily rely on hearing to perceive the world. His handling of key performance details was practically zero. His character setting was inaccurate. Nothing of this was real. So he couldn't even answer how he knew there was two of them.

[Chen]

Yeah, yeah. Because this person, actor or whatever, is trying to play a. A blind, clear brand.

[Stephanie]

Yes.

[Chen]

But then he's like, hey, hello, you two.

[Stephanie]

Yes.

[Chen]

And then they were like, how do you even know there's two of us?

[Stephanie]

Exactly.

[Chen]

And then they got quiet.

[Derek]

Yeah, they got quiet. And they were just like, let me.

[Stephanie]

Tell you your future.

[Derek]

And then she was like, you don't even know your character. Like, this is very upsetting. And then he dramatically holds out his hand.

[Stephanie]

I suspect your threshold is high, but.

[Derek]

No pretty souls dare to cross.

[Stephanie]

Mentor Wu and Mentor Zhang look at him silently and then walk away. They don't even say anything.

[Derek]

They just walk away. The actor tells the producers, in that moment, my heart was broken.

[Stephanie]

Like, they walk away, and they walk almost straight into a woman wearing all black and laying on the floor. Kiki, the idol. And she's very beautiful. And she tells the producers, because I don't really have the skills to do an improv screenplay, I thought that since my physique is stronger, I'd play a stray cat.

[Derek]

So she starts meowing. And honestly, she ended up like, because. Okay, first of all, here's why I think she ate it up.

[Chen]

She ate it up.

[Stephanie]

The fact that she did not break.

[Derek]

Character, not even one time.

[Stephanie]

And she's purring, meowing, and, like, crawling.

[Derek]

Towards the mentors, all fours.

[Stephanie]

Yes.

[Derek]

And she's rolling around on the warehouse floor. See like, other people are pretending to be humans.

[Stephanie]

It's easier.

[Derek]

She does not break character being a cat. And I'm like, you know what? For that. For that, you get an Academy Award.

[Chen]

And what did they think, the mentors?

[Stephanie]

They were genuinely puzzled. So mentor wu has, like, 50 different facial expressions that he recycles through. He, like, lets the actors know that he thinks that they're absolutely batshit insane. This is his face half the time.

[Chen]

That's so accurate, though, honey.

[Stephanie]

I'm actually. I've never seen your face look like this before.

[Derek]

Oh, I'm just telling you what his face looks like.

[Chen]

You did look like the little girl's mean. Even though it's girl. That's exactly like that girl's mean. Damn.

[Derek]

That's what mentor Mo. And they look genuinely puzzled. And mentor Zhang is literally about to. Oh, there was one time where suddenly.

[Stephanie]

The cat starts crying. Kiki starts crying.

[Derek]

No, she's so in character.

[Stephanie]

I'm gonna give it to her. The cat starts. Starts crying.

[Derek]

But she's so cute. The tears are in her eyes, but they won't fall out.

[Stephanie]

Right?

[Derek]

And so you just see her give the strongest blink later, she's like, yeah, I regretted that. Okay. But they're about to lean down and pet her, when all of a sudden, behind them, they hear screaming, and they whip around. They abandon the cat. Still a stray cat at this point. They don't take the cat home. They don't take the cat to a cat shelter. Let me explain. Why won't you let me explain?

[Stephanie]

What do you want to explain? Like, explain that you hugged her? What about you?

[Derek]

What were. When you were with him? Have you ever thought about how I felt?

[Stephanie]

Don't you know my relationship with him?

[Derek]

How many times do I have to explain? Why can't we just trust each other more?

[Stephanie]

The mentors, they walk away. And later, mentor Wu says, not impressed. Acting, acting, same old playbook. The couple walk back into the dressing room, and they're freaking out. The actress is like, I'm completely not in my zone. I think the teacher felt speechless about me and the actors comforting her. Like, I don't think so. No, I think so. I think he stopped watching because of me. One contestant says, the difficult part of this street assessment is that it's just very limited time. So you have to choose your props, your costume, where you're going to perform. On top of that, your plot has to be reasonable.

[Derek]

You have to do your best to.

[Stephanie]

To attract the mentor to stay and watch you. I mean, come on. Like, it's so many. So many candidates barely even get a second glance.

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[Stephanie]

There's a woman sitting on a table reading a letter, and it's like an emotional love letter. Mentors don't give a. They walk away.

[Derek]

Okay?

[Stephanie]

But in that moment, a producer walks straight up to the mentors and whispers, like, because he's wearing a face mask. Teachers, there's an actor who was hit by a prop, got injured, so I would stay away from this side. He's dealing with it right now. We're just gonna leave him alone and see if he needs any medical attention. So just go that way first. Okay, thank you.

[Derek]

You what?

[Stephanie]

And so the mentors are like, oh. And they start walking the other way.

[Chen]

Huh?

[Derek]

This is not a producer. This is a contestant. What?

[Chen]

Wait, wait, wait.

[Stephanie]

He says, my first reaction was, why.

[Derek]

Don'T I act as a producer, like a staff member? I mean, besides the actors, the largest group on set was the PD crew. If I don't say anything, no one will know who I am.

[Chen]

Wait, so did they figure it out?

[Stephanie]

The problem is, he acted so well. The mentors did not know, so they did not take his number card because.

[Derek]

They genuinely thought he was a producer. It was so convincing. It was the most convincing shit that I've ever seen in my life.

[Chen]

See, that's what we call when you're being too smart, you mess yourself up.

[Derek]

Yes, yes, that's exactly what happened. See, the mentors, they just walk the other way, listening to this producer, and they walk straight towards a telephone booth.

[Stephanie]

Where the general of an army walks out, and he's got, like, the cape on, like, an olden army, and he looks like he fucking time traveled out of that telephone booth. And he's talking directly to Mentor Zhang. Are you surprised to see me?

[Derek]

Meanwhile, Mentor Wu goes and then starts backing away.

[Stephanie]

Okay, why are you with him?

[Derek]

He's asking Mentor Zhang. The mentors are intrigued. Now Mentor Zhang scratches the back of her head.

[Stephanie]

Hey. And then Mentor Wu comes up and says, hey, as long as you know, don't ask why.

[Derek]

And, like, he's pretty good at acting.

[Chen]

It was very like, they start acting too.

[Stephanie]

Yeah.

[Chen]

So he's in the character Mentor Wu.

[Stephanie]

Yeah.

[Chen]

And Zhang.

[Stephanie]

Yeah. And then now. Now the guy is saying, you got close to me, made me fall in love with you.

[Derek]

And the mentors look at each other a little and giggle.

[Stephanie]

Everything you told me it was all to get revenge on my father.

[Derek]

Right? Dementors crinkle their eyebrows like a cringe laugh. Okay.

[Stephanie]

And I mean, you know, he's my enemy. He takes off his cape and he gets into Mentor Zing's face and she's staring down at him. She's not even face. She's literally looking at him like she.

[Derek]

She's laughing at his face. This is so goofy.

[Stephanie]

Mentor Wu is rapidly blinking. Mentor Zhang finally said, can you say a few words to me from your heart? Okay.

[Derek]

I don't have many people I could trust.

[Stephanie]

And then he drops to his knees dramatically. Like, you know those K dramas when.

[Derek]

It'S like the girl is leaving the.

[Stephanie]

Man for the last time.

[Derek]

And then he just like drops to his knees and it's like very, you know. And Mentor Zing tries to stop him and she giggles and she's staring at Mentor Wu like, you gotta fucking help me. And then he's like, like, I only had you. And she gives him an awkward pat.

[Stephanie]

Pat, pat on the shoulder, thank you.

[Chen]

And then walks away.

[Derek]

And then they walk away.

[Stephanie]

And she tells the producers later, you know, it's really eye opening. Why does everyone want to be a CEO like this?

[Chen]

Wait, what?

[Stephanie]

Because a lot of netizens were also commenting the same thing of like, bye.

[Derek]

This is like one of those Darman shorts that you see. Like, you know what I mean? It's like one of the. The lines are giving. Are giving.

[Stephanie]

Like cuz on Douyin, they have short skits.

[Chen]

Yes.

[Stephanie]

Where honestly, the actors could be good, but because of the platform, it's so short.

[Derek]

You have to act in like very specific ways. Like, nothing is nuanced. Nothing takes time to build. And you say lines that nobody would ever say in real life.

[Chen]

Yeah.

[Derek]

And so people are like, bye. This is a short skit. People are saying, am I scrolling on Douyin? Oh, my God. Another person says, help. This is elder abuse. Okay.

[Stephanie]

Then when they're outside another area of the stage, they see a guy on the phone. It's like one of those old school phones. Landline looks older. It's probably connected to the core of the earth or something like that. It's probably connected to like the butt of a pigeon. And it sends messages like that, mission accomplished, can I go home now? He's listening on the other end, and Mentor wu's got one eyebrow up like, I want to know. I want to hear you.

[Derek]

You promised. And then he hangs up. And then he slams his briefcase off the table and Mentor Wu walks away, disgusted.

[Stephanie]

Acting fake, fake, fake.

[Chen]

Wait, what is going on? So they don't like anybody's acting.

[Stephanie]

It's just all overdone.

[Chen]

Try too Hard.

[Stephanie]

Yeah. Then another woman runs straight up to Mentor Zhang, grabs her by the hands, and asks, on your way here, did.

[Derek]

You see a little boy?

[Stephanie]

No, I didn't. He has a mole here. I didn't see him.

[Derek]

The lady starts roping Mentor Wu into it. Did you see a little boy on your way here? He's not very tall. About. About this tall. He has a mole here. I saw you coming from that way.

[Stephanie]

No, I haven't. Why don't you try looking for him?

[Derek]

I've been looking for a very long time. She walks over to an older gentleman. Weren't you supposed to watch our son today?

[Stephanie]

And.

[Derek]

And now he's gone.

[Stephanie]

Gone?

[Derek]

You. You did this? And he's like, hurry up and find him.

[Stephanie]

Then, like, the amount of time it.

[Derek]

Takes to argue, you could have already found our son. And she's like, doing frustrated stomps with her feet. And Mentor Wu, nostrils flaring, eyes wide, walks away. He's like, what the fuck is that?

[Stephanie]

Then another couple is arguing. The actress is arguing.

[Derek]

I just want to be a good actress. I just want to go step by step and let everybody see what I'm capable of. Is that so wrong? Mentor Wu walks away.

[Chen]

Did they like anything?

[Stephanie]

No. Later, in front of the producers, they ask, what did you think of the acting today? And he cycles through what I can only imagine. A turbulent world, 100 different emotions. He's like, I don't know. I didn't feel anything.

[Chen]

Dang.

[Derek]

Yeah. He's so disappointed.

[Stephanie]

So then they walk, and they continue walking, and they come across a woman on her knees holding a sign up above her head. So she's dressed like a beggar. She's got, like, soil on her face, like, just like dirt. It looks like coal mine. Like, you know, when you work in the mines. Yeah, yeah. I'm only worth 20 cents. It's just in exchange for two straw mats. Mentor Zhang stops in front of her and, like, her arms are shaking, and she's, like, kind of crying, and she's looking down. She won't even look at Mentor Zhang.

[Derek]

Just two straw mats.

[Chen]

Two what?

[Stephanie]

Straw mats to lay on. Oh, give me two mats and I'll work for free. Oh, are you trying to sell yourself? Yes. Did you write buy or sell? So, side note, Tiffany said in Mandarin, buy and sell are written super similarly.

[Chen]

Yes.

[Stephanie]

And she's so smart, she misspelled it on purpose. So she, like, wrote, you can, like, I'm buying myself instead of I'm selling myself for work. And she's crying and her arms are Shaking the whole time. And she says, I can't read anymore, but I'm in good health and I'm not sick and I don't eat much either.

[Derek]

And, like, y' all, I started crying. I started crying like, this is a reality show, and I was crying, like, really good. Yeah, it was good.

[Chen]

She was really good.

[Derek]

Yeah.

[Chen]

Really?

[Derek]

Yeah. And so mentor Zhang later says, you.

[Stephanie]

See the vision in her eyes, and it's compelling.

[Derek]

And so she walks over and picks up her very first number plate.

[Stephanie]

It was so.

[Derek]

It was really good. I. I cried the whole time.

[Stephanie]

And then even when she picked up the number plate, it was like, I kept crying for another reason, because the.

[Derek]

Actress just looked so relieved. Like, she looked so relieved.

[Chen]

So she was playing coal mine worker who's selling herself with a sign she's holding above her head that's kind of misspelled some words.

[Stephanie]

Yes. But it was her delivery, so it wasn't over the top and everything was believable. It was the way that she's looking down and is not making eye contact with people who are asking her questions.

[Chen]

Yeah.

[Stephanie]

And, like, the way that she says she can't read, but she's, like, justifying. Like, I. I'm healthy, though, and I don't take up much food. Like, I don't take up much space. Like, it was not overdoing it.

[Derek]

It was just so good, I cried.

[Chen]

Dang.

[Stephanie]

And Mentor Wu says also, just on a technical scale, he says, actors need speed. You know, get to the point, and it's not nice to watch. It was refreshing. There weren't a lot of usage of extreme expressions. This was a very easy shot to shoot, and it's easier to handle someone like that on camera than someone who over exaggerates. But the tears from her eyes were rolling out, but it did not seem forced.

[Chen]

Wow.

[Stephanie]

Yeah. And so later, she's, like, shivering on the side, and one of the rejected actors is asking her, like, do you have any tips for crying?

[Derek]

And she says, and she's shaking, so she sounds a little crazy.

[Stephanie]

Okay. She says, actually, the simplest way is to enrich everything before it so to the point where it can't even become richer. So, like, you have to engrave this picture in your mind. So, like, you have to imagine, like, this image actually, like, if I'm thinking, like, my parents blew up, then I would actually imagine my real parents blowing up somewhere and, like, their limbs are all flying off and, like, I would just, like, try to envision, like, them being blown up and, like, the arm is flying and Stuff. And, like, you have to be able.

[Derek]

To picture that to have, like, this very detailed image because, like, the more.

[Stephanie]

Upset that you get, like, the better it works.

[Derek]

So you have. And she's, like, shivering because it's 37.

[Stephanie]

Degrees in the warehouse.

[Derek]

What?

[Stephanie]

And she's wearing, like, thin because, like, beggars clothes have to be thin. She's wearing, like, really thin clothes. So later, someone comes and puts a puffer around her.

[Chen]

Okay.

[Stephanie]

Yeah. Meanwhile, Mentor Chen and Isabelle. Mentor Chen, the mean. No, stern uncle. And Isabelle, the French actress, he just wants to get straight to the point of weeding out the bad ones. So he just starts using his hands. Remember the general that professed his love for Mentor Zhang that got on his knees?

[Chen]

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Stephanie]

Now he's sitting on the bench giving a monologue about his rejection. I've had so many ups and downs in life. They gave me love and warmth with their time, but there was also regret. And Mentor Chen just.

[Derek]

And every time he does this, he keeps losing focus. The general just keeps, like, looking up, seeing what he's doing with his hands.

[Chen]

He's with them.

[Derek]

Yeah.

[Stephanie]

Because he's saying, that's a professional.

[Derek]

You think a set is, like, just catered to you. You have to be able to be.

[Stephanie]

Locked in the whole time.

[Chen]

You start tickling him.

[Derek]

Jen is not impressed.

[Stephanie]

And then he walks over to a tofu stand. The TikTok comedian. There's a doing comedian, pro antagonist. He's playing a guy who's running a tofu stand brand, and he's selling tofu and he's cutting the tofu and he's wrapping it up, and he's saying, my mom said she'll come back once I'm done selling all the tofu. And then it's like, I don't know.

[Derek]

Just something about it was so sad. And Mentor Chen picks up his number. And they said, tiktokers have no talent. I was crying.

[Chen]

Wait.

[Stephanie]

He said the look in his eyes was unbearable. There is a kind of sadness, but also like, naive happiness.

[Chen]

Dang. So it's always the one that's much more reserved.

[Stephanie]

Yeah.

[Chen]

Like, not out there.

[Stephanie]

Yeah.

[Chen]

Wow.

[Stephanie]

Meanwhile, a woman with a white veil and a wedding dress walks up to Mentor Zhang. Did you know Mentor Zhang is like.

[Derek]

I didn't know what happened?

[Stephanie]

She's crying. He has someone else. So it seems like she's a bride that left, you know, so what? I don't want to get married anymore. Then don't. I won't. Then why are you sad?

[Derek]

The woman looks so Confused at Mentor Zeng, like, bitch, that's not in the fucking script. Who told you to say that? She later tells the producers. Beats me. How was I supposed to know how? I'm sad. Also, Mentor Zhang has a very strong aura.

[Stephanie]

I just had so much going on.

[Derek]

Inside, I just kept staring at her. And then it was too long of a pause and I didn't know why I was sad. And so instead of answering the actress.

[Stephanie]

She'S got tears in her eyes and she just stares blankly at Mentor Zhang.

[Derek]

Reaches out and hugs her. Bless you.

[Chen]

What?

[Derek]

Yeah, I don't know. And then the mentors walk away and.

[Stephanie]

They come across a man with long hair, long black hair. This is not Mr. Snake man dressed in a hanfu, sitting on the side. Wanna buy some oil? He runs like an oil stand.

[Chen]

Uh huh.

[Stephanie]

Mentor Zhang just stares at him. Okay. And he's. He's looking at her. What are you looking at me like that for? Don't look down on me. In this stage, when women are respected and men are prostitutes, I'm just a fallen courtesan. But one's got to live and make a living, don't you think? Honestly, he kind of slayed. It was like, it was like lethal.

[Derek]

He was kind of, he was kind of killing it. I was into it. I was like, oh my gosh, I.

[Stephanie]

Want to know more.

[Derek]

What's his backstory? What's going on?

[Chen]

What's the background?

[Derek]

Yeah, what's like, why is he, is he okay? What happened? Who hurt this man? Then Mentor Wu walks up like a dad at a Costco sample table. What kind of oil is this?

[Stephanie]

Canola oil. So that's why you're so greasy.

[Derek]

And then all of a sudden, he gets out of character because he's like, what the fuck? Why did he attack me like that? And so he tells the producers later. I mean, like, I really didn't even. I was immediately out of character. I was thinking, what do I do? Do I diss him back? And in that slight pause, the mentors walk away.

[Chen]

How do you diss them back? Like, you know what I mean? Like, yeah, crazy.

[Derek]

And so they were like, but he.

[Stephanie]

Was, he was good, honestly. And then they walk across a woman saying, paramount, buy two. Buy two tickets, get one free.

[Derek]

Paramount.

[Stephanie]

And she's twirling around in her green dress and she turns aside and she looks at Mentor Wu and Mentor Wu.

[Derek]

Looks at her like, what you looking at me for? I'm not supposed to be here, okay? God. And everyone says mentor Wu the whole time. Like his Expression is, money is hard these days. Like, that was like, he did not want to be here.

[Chen]

It's hard to earn a living.

[Derek]

Yes, that's the vibe. Okay? And he's just like, what are you looking at me? So he just decides to play into it.

[Stephanie]

Are you alone? And she looks shocked. And she's playing a character who just runs into her ex. So Mentor Wu is her ex. Why are you here? I'm at work. I know you've never seen me like this, but I guess I've never seen. How have you been?

[Derek]

Mentor Wu is all camoed up, arms crossed. Good. You, basically, what is happening?

[Stephanie]

And she's like, tell me more. I haven't seen you for so long. And he checks his watch. Are you in a hurry?

[Derek]

And later, he walks away. He just walks away because she couldn't keep his attention. Later, she tells the producers. I mean, toward the end, I couldn't even catch on the energy. I just didn't think about anything in advance.

[Stephanie]

Mentor Wu and Mentor Zhang walk on, and they walk straight into a man wearing a black cardigan staring into the depths of Mentor Zhang's soul. And I'm like, is this another proposal, Mom?

[Derek]

Like, never mind.

[Stephanie]

Okay, mom, you don't even know your son anymore, do you? Mentor Zang doesn't say anything.

[Derek]

She just stares.

[Stephanie]

And he literally looks away, and he tells the producers, okay, so here's the problem. When I looked into Mentor Zhang's eyes.

[Derek]

I, like, froze because I just.

[Stephanie]

I didn't know what to do.

[Derek]

And so then she starts walking away, and then he starts screaming after her. Do you remember when I was young? Do you remember when you told me that you would never leave me? Do you think sending me money every month means you love me, Mom? And she's just walking away. Like, what the.

[Chen]

She started booking there.

[Derek]

Yeah. She's like, not today. You're not gonna catch me with no child support today. Nice try.

[Stephanie]

Then the Mentors walk straight into a man that starts crying on his knees.

[Derek]

I want to borrow some money from you. Just 300. Okay?

[Chen]

Is everyone crying?

[Stephanie]

Yeah. And Mentor Wu says, do you have alipay? And he just ignores Mentor Wu and just keeps going.

[Derek]

I will pay you back. I promise, sir.

[Stephanie]

And Mentor Wu walks away, and he shakes his head. How am I gonna give you money if you don't have alipay?

[Derek]

He walks away.

[Chen]

Is he a troll? Is he, like, trying to stir shit up?

[Stephanie]

Yes. By this point, Mentor Chen says only a few actors pass. I mean, most of them don't even know what they're doing because some actors are just doing too damn much. And that is where I leave you.

[Derek]

With part one, because part two is going to have the rest of the actors in scene and then we're gonna see to see who the finalists are.

[Stephanie]

But so far I will say, other than the oil salesman, there's not. And honestly, the cat because like kind.

[Derek]

Of slay for staying in character that long.

[Stephanie]

I will say there's not one contestant where I'm like, they deserved a card but they didn't get it. So I think the ones that did get it.

[Chen]

Okay, so there are better ones that's coming.

[Stephanie]

Yeah, I think.

[Chen]

Okay. Okay. Because I've seen some of these clips. It's pretty crazy.

[Stephanie]

There's better ones and worse ones that are also better.

[Derek]

They're better because they're worse. There's some where like the translator didn't even know how to translate to the.

[Stephanie]

French actress because she was like, I.

[Derek]

Think this is illegal. This is like, we cannot be representing our country like this right now. So we're gonna get to that in part two. Let me know your thoughts and I'll see you in the next one. Bye.

[Isabelle]

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[Isabelle]

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