Peninsula Entertainment started from Reply 1988

Chapter 409: Online Script Reading Session for "Squid Game"
In a blink of an eye, early April arrived quietly.

In the past half month, the epidemic situation on the peninsula has deteriorated sharply.

From dozens of confirmed cases to the current surge to tens of thousands, the authorities have had to raise the epidemic prevention level again and again.

Originally, 12 types of public gathering places, such as cafes and restaurants, were allowed to open at 22:10, and the maximum number of people allowed in a gathering was maintained at more than .

The adjusted epidemic prevention measures are as follows: the business hours of public gathering places in the metropolitan area are limited to 9 pm, and those outside the metropolitan area are limited to 10 pm;
Restaurants are only allowed to take out and deliver, and dine-in is not allowed; gatherings of more than 6 people indoors and more than 10 people outdoors are prohibited;

15 types of high-risk places including cinemas, Internet cafes, karaoke rooms, and cram schools continue to be closed.

The entertainment industry has even more restrictions and is basically in a state of shutdown.

Except for some necessary ones, which are already in progress.

All other work must give way to epidemic prevention.

Therefore, many film and television dramas and variety shows that were about to start filming have stopped filming.

Wait until the epidemic situation improves before restarting.

According to the original plan, the young couple would return to work in April.

However, encountering such a situation made the young couple, who rarely had such a long rest, feel bored.

In order to consume Li Zhien's excessive energy and maintain her figure, Jin Qixuan urged and accompanied Li Zhien to do yoga on the yoga mat every day.

But as time went by, the style of painting changed.

At first, Li Zhien focused on yoga and her mind was as calm as water;
But when she saw the yoga moves that Jin Qixuan was doing, she simply couldn't continue practicing.

Just like when Lee Kwang-soo went to learn yoga, his movements were correct, but he somehow made the yoga teacher laugh...

Nowadays, Jin Qixuan's body is no longer as flexible as before, and he can't do the splits horizontally or vertically.

Therefore, he cannot do many standard yoga moves.

Even if it can be done, it is very distorted and out of place.

After Lee Ji-eun bent down, she caught a glimpse of Kim Ki-hyeon sitting on the ground with his legs spread out, then slowly leaning back until his whole body was flat on the ground.

"What is that movement you're doing? Is there anyone who does yoga like this?"

Li Zhien complained with a smile.

She had been doing yoga for so long and had never seen anything like this.

Jin Qixuan sat up from the ground, his expression solemn:
"I am innovating by integrating Tai Chi into yoga, aiming to extend the movements and double the energy consumption."

Li Zhien didn't believe Jin Qixuan's lies, but she didn't expose them. She smiled and asked:

"What's the name of this move?"

"Tai Chi Voldemort!"

Jin Qixuan spoke nonsense in a serious manner.

Hearing this, Li Zhien finally broke down and laughed and scolded:

"I'm still Harry Potter!"

"Haha, don't be too presumptuous. It's useless (May the force be with you)."

As he said this, Jin Qixuan stretched out his fist towards her.

IU was stunned for a moment, then realized that Kim Ki-hyeon was talking about a classic line from "Star Wars", so she responded with a smile and gave a fist bump.

The two were chatting when suddenly the phone rang.

I picked it up and saw that it was directed by Hwang Dong Hyuk.

"Qixuan, I hope I didn't disturb your honeymoon?"

As soon as the call was connected, Director Huang Donghe asked very politely.

"No, I was planning to contact you in the next two days."

As he spoke, Jin Qixuan waved to Li Zhien to indicate that he would stop practicing, then he stood up and sat on the sofa.

"Are you free soon?"

"Uh... aren't we in the same time and space?"

"In a time and space, I mean if you are free recently, let's organize a few script readings online."

The filming of "Squid Game" was originally scheduled to start in June this year, which is when Jin Qixuan returned from his honeymoon and began to engage in a series of work including script reading.

But now the epidemic has suddenly become serious, disrupting the original plans.

The entire peninsula has come to a standstill, and they are no exception.

When the epidemic situation improves, when can we start shooting?

But no one can say exactly when the situation will improve.

It may take at least a month or so, or at most a year or two.

After all, no one can be sure when the epidemic will rebound again.

Even if the official says the epidemic has improved, if it is like in the United States, there will be hundreds of thousands of new confirmed cases a day.

No one dares to take this risk.

Therefore, in order to start filming as soon as the epidemic situation improves.

Huang Donghe thought of letting the actors familiarize themselves with the script in advance and organizing several script reading sessions online.

"A script reading? Okay, when?"

"Let's go over the script for the first episode tomorrow afternoon at 2 o'clock."

"Okay, I will attend on time. Thank you for your hard work, Director."

After hanging up the phone, Jin Qixuan hurriedly took out the script of "Squid Game".

Come to think of it, he almost forgot what the plot was...

However, thanks to his strong professional qualities, he became familiar with the script again in just one afternoon and one night.

I even had a deeper understanding of the character of the male lead, Cheng Qixun.

For this purpose, he also wrote a special biography.

The next day, at two o'clock in the afternoon.

Jin Qixuan entered the online conference room on time.

At this time, there were already seven or eight people in the conference room.

Huang Donghe saw Jin Qixuan coming in and greeted him enthusiastically.

Jin Qixuan also hurriedly greeted them, and then greeted several other members of the creative team one by one.

"Hey, our male protagonist is here. How is your newlywed life?"

At this moment, a familiar voice sounded in Jin Qixuan's ears.

Upon hearing this, Jin Qixuan discovered that there was a familiar avatar in the group chat - Gong Liu!
You just made a three-minute cameo appearance and participated in some script reading...

Although he was complaining in his heart, Jin Qixuan quickly replied:

"Very good, it's a pity you didn't come to the wedding."

"Ah! You kid! Think carefully about whether I went there or not!"

Hearing this, Jin Qixuan recalled for a moment and suddenly remembered that not only was he there, but he was also sitting at the table with the "Goblin" crew!
Spicy balls!

"Well, if I say I have lost my memory, would you believe it?"

Jin Qixuan smiled awkwardly.

"Haha, then I will feel at ease when I beat you."

"..."

"Actually, it was mainly because you were so handsome that you almost overshadowed me, the groom, and I didn't dare to recognize you."

"Really? Oh my god, I've always been troubled by my handsome face."

Gong Yoo said with great "distress".

Everyone: "..."

At this time, director Huang Donghe saw that most people had arrived, so he cleared his throat and said:

"Okay, ready to start."

Upon hearing this, the conversation between Kim Ki-hyeon and Gong Yoo in the online conference room paused.

"Let me explain it briefly."

"We are just in a process of mutual communication. Don't feel any pressure."

"Also, I hope everyone can speak freely. If you have any ideas or feel something is unreasonable, you can speak up boldly and we can discuss it together."

"After all, we are a team, and this play is the joint effort of all of us."

There are a thousand Hamlets for a thousand readers, and the same is true for performances.

Every actor has a different understanding of the role and a different way of interpreting it.

There is no good or bad, right or wrong.

As long as the logic is self-consistent and fits the character setting, any performance is right.

The purpose of the reading is to unify all actors' understanding of the roles and performance styles.

After Huang Donghe finished speaking, he asked everyone to introduce themselves first.

After all, many people here don't know each other.

This is also the first time that Kim Ki-hyun "met" other actors besides Jung Ho-yeon and Gong Yoo.

As the male protagonist, Jin Qixuan is naturally the first to be introduced.

"Hello everyone, I'm Jin Qixuan, I play the male lead Sung Ki-hoon in "Squid Game", nice to meet you all."

"Hello everyone, I am Gong Yoo, I play a cameo role in the drama... Ugh, I play a mysterious guide. I hope that when you mention this drama in the future, you can say 'Gong Yoo has a cameo in this drama', thank you."

After Kong Liu finished speaking, laughter suddenly broke out in the conference room.

It's really hard not to like this actor who is not arrogant, can adjust the atmosphere and is particularly friendly.

"Hello everyone, I'm Zheng Haoyan and I play Jiang Xiao in the drama..." Since this is the first time Zheng Haoyan has participated in such an online script reading, it is also her cross-border debut.

So, when introducing myself, it is inevitable to appear a little nervous.

Seeing this, Jin Qixuan humorously said:
"I haven't seen you for a few days. How come Haoyan has a stuttering problem?"

After that, he turned to pleading, "Haoyan is a little nervous, please give her a round of applause and encouragement, thank you."

Seeing this, Huang Donghe was the first to smile and applaud.

Seeing this, others also started to applaud.

"Thank you, thank you everyone..."

After the introduction of Zheng Haoyan, the male protagonist’s childhood friend, Park Hae-soo, who plays Cho Sang-woo, appeared.

The supporting actor in "Prison Playbook".

——The actor who plays Huang Junhao, Wei Hajun.

Yoon Seung-ho in "A Pretty Sister Who Often Treats Me to Dinner".

——And the actress who plays Ji-young, Lee Yu-mi.

Jiang Nanshun from "Strong Woman Jiang Nanshun".

The rest of them looked unfamiliar, but they were probably actors from dramas or musicals.

Except for Kim Kye-hyun (not counting Gong Yoo's cameo), the rest are either relatively unknown or newcomers in the film and television industry.

However, although their faces were unfamiliar, they were all very generous when introducing themselves, and their words were sonorous and powerful, and it was obvious that they had practiced their lines.

After everyone finished introducing themselves, the script reading officially began.

The first scene in the script begins with Sung Ki-hoon meeting a mysterious man at a subway station.

That is, playing picture cards, whoever wins will get 100,000 yuan.

This is also the first time Kim Ki-hyun and Gong Yoo have starred against each other in three years.

"It's time to start."

Hearing this, Gong Liu cleared his throat and began his reading:
"Sir, excuse me for interrupting you for a moment..."

“I don’t believe in Jesus.”

Jin Qixuan lowered his voice a little, making people feel depressed and sad at first listen, which well interpreted Cheng Qixun's life situation at that time.

"No, I want to give you a good opportunity today..."

Before he finished speaking, Jin Qixuan made a gun shape with his hand and pointed it at the computer camera.

Since the first scene was a rivalry between the two of them, each of them maximized the other's avatar on their side.

Gong Yoo's lines were not long, and he was the type who looked up at the computer (tablet) screen while reading.

Therefore, after Jin Qixuan made his move, he responded quickly - he kept silent and raised his hands in surrender.

As for Gong Yoo, he is well-known in the circle for his love of improvisational performances.

Many actors, when acting with him, often fail to catch the scene due to his "flash of inspiration", resulting in NG.

Jin Qixuan, who followed the rules when he was a newcomer, was deeply "poisoned" by him.

As the saying goes, give to others as you would have them give to you.

This can be considered as Jin Qixuan's "revenge".

However, ginger is still spicy.

Gong Liu almost instantly caught up with Jin Qixuan's impromptu performance. Seeing that Jin Qixuan did not make any follow-up moves, he raised the corners of his mouth slightly and said:

"I bet you don't have bullets in your gun."

Seeing this, Jin Qixuan immediately "fired" and said:

"Snap!" (imitating a lighter)
Then, Gong Yoo was seen speechless, as if he was looking at someone who was mentally retarded.

"Sorry, the gun went off accidentally. Also, our whole family believes in Buddhism, not Jesus. Go away."

As he spoke, Jin Qixuan didn't feel embarrassed at all and waved his hand impatiently.

A successful improvisation performance requires that the ending of the improvisation be connected to the original plot and there is no disobedience.

Otherwise, it would be called changing the script randomly.

Across from him, Gong Liu smiled, pointed to the "stall" nearby, and said:
"Have you ever played picture cards? If you win, I'll give you 100,000. If you lose, you give me 100,000 and I'll let you go first~"

Gong Yoo deliberately slowed down the pace of his speech for the last few words, which showed great temptation and raised the tension to the maximum.

At this point in the script, it’s time to turn to page two.

Next, Cheng Qixun couldn't resist the temptation and chose to play picture cards.

The result, of course, was a dramatic negative.

"You don't have money? Just use your body instead."

"Body?"

At this moment, Kong Liu on the computer screen hooked his finger at Kim Ki-hyun.

Jin Qixuan understood immediately and moved his face closer to the screen.

Then, Gong Yoo clapped his hands and made a sound, and Kim Ki-hyeon cooperated by pretending to be slapped.

She covered her face with her hands, opened her eyes wide, and stared at him in disbelief.

"You, what's wrong with you?"

"One slap is worth a hundred thousand."

Gong Yoo replied with a smile.

"continue."

Huang Donghe said expressionlessly.

Everyone in the online conference room had an expression as if they wanted to laugh but didn't dare to.

Aren’t these two big brothers letting themselves go too much?

Script reading, bro!
If you two do this, how are the people behind you going to take over?
Also, PD Huang, please at least keep this in check!

However, what they didn't know was that Huang Donghe was also feeling uncomfortable trying to hold back his laughter at this moment.

But he knew that this was the atmosphere he wanted.

Sparks can be created between actors, which is only good for the quality of the work, not bad!
After this segment, there are clips of Cheng Qixun losing consecutive games and getting slapped frequently.

Since these are all dynamic performance scenes, this part will be skipped.

Until Cheng Qixun won once and was so excited that he wanted to slap Gong Liu in the face, but the other party suddenly gave him 100,000 yuan...

Huang Donghe's humor is fully reflected here.

When you thought I was going to beat you up, I suddenly gave you money?

This is a reversal, okay.

After the physical scenes, there are only a few literary scenes left.

However, the "performance battle" between Kim Ki-hyun and Gong Yoo has not ended.

The two of them would often make some impromptu movements or change the lines when the other was reciting their lines, in order to "trick" the other.

But fortunately, both of them are experienced actors.

Not only can he avert danger every time, but he can also catch the opponent off guard.

Among them, Gong Yoo was hit the most times.

It’s really because Kim Ki-hyun’s understanding of the role of “Sung Ki-hoon” is too deep, which often makes Gong Yoo unable to tell whether he is reading lines or improvising.

The script reading is a rehearsal to get the actors into the right state in advance and for the director to see where there are any shortcomings.

Therefore, even when it came to "pranks" like those by Kim Ki-hyun and Gong Yoo, Hwang Dong-hyuk did not stop them, but just watched with a smile.

After all, their performances were both outstanding.

However, no matter what the process is.

The two of them finally completed the first act of the script.

After this section, there will be a review and summary and the director’s explanation of the play.

After the summary, the reading session was paused and Huang Donghe gave everyone some time to relax and take a break.

At this time, Li Zhien, who had been playing "IUTV" on the side, saw Jin Qixuan taking off his headphones and asked:

"Is it over?"

"No, just take a break and continue later."

As Jin Qixuan spoke, he picked up the cup of water and started drinking.

Hearing this, Li Zhien paused what she was doing, slid her chair slightly, moved closer to Jin Qixuan, and asked like a curious baby:

"How was it? How did it feel to act with Gong Yoo?"

"It was quite enjoyable, but unfortunately the venue restrictions affected my performance, otherwise, Gong Yoo would be no problem~"

"Wow, you are worthy of being my baby, so awesome~"

Li Zhien held her face with both hands, her eyes flashing with little stars, directly increasing Jin Qixuan's emotional value to the maximum.

"hey-hey."

Seeing this, Jin Qixuan kissed her cherry lips directly.

Just at this moment, Huang Donghe's voice came unexpectedly from the headset.

"Hey, Qixuan, at least turn off the microphone when you whisper, and don't forget to turn off the video..."

Hearing the sound coming from the headphones, Jin Qixuan felt like he was struck by lightning and died on the spot.

Lee Ji-eun covered her mouth and laughed, her eyes curved into crescent shapes.

(End of this chapter)