Recently, a female student posted on social media that she rode an electric bike to audition for the crowd actors of Wang Anyu’s new drama, but she wasn’t selected, and surprisingly her electric bike was chosen instead. On February 26, this topic became a hot search on Weibo, sparking discussions across the internet.
According to reports from Cover News, recently, the well-known mainland Chinese actor Wang Anyu was filming a new drama in Jieyang City, Guangdong Province. Upon hearing this news, the female student rode her electric bike to the set for the audition. Unexpectedly, despite the girl not being selected as a background actor, her electric bike was recruited because it met the production team’s need for a “common transportation tool.”
Afterward, the unsuccessful female student commented, “I walked back home.”
This incident has stirred heated discussions online. On February 26, the topic “Girl claims her electric bike was hired after auditioning for Wang Anyu’s new drama” trended on Weibo.
Many netizens expressed their disbelief, saying, “Such bizarre things can happen, it’s truly unbelievable,” “Does the bike have a salary?” “She (the girl) became the assistant of the electric bike.”
Some netizens also joked, saying, “The bike got employed before the person did.”
In response to this, the author “Yi Jiaotang” wrote an article stating that this phenomenon reflects the current job market challenges faced by young people. The article used the film and television industry as an example, mentioning that the positions for extras are oversaturated. For instance, Hengdian World Studios registers over 100,000 extras annually, but the daily demand is only about 3,000 individuals with hourly wages as low as 10-20 yuan. When selecting extras, production teams often consider whether candidates can bring their own suitable costumes and props as a hidden requirement to reduce costs. Even electric bikes, vintage bicycles, or specific styles of backpacks could potentially become bonus points.
A casting director confessed, “Recruiting extras who bring their own electric bikes not only saves transportation costs for props but also ensures the authenticity of the scenes.”