After all of them were reborn, who would still be an actor?

Chapter 799 Honey: Exploit me to the death!

Li Mingyang took off his sunglasses, and with a thought, black flames surrounded him, with strands of golden light swirling around the outer edge of the flames.

The flames of war can take many forms and are unpredictable.

Cards can be stacked up as you please.

Li Mingyang only needs very little sleep to maintain his energy, whether he has nothing to do or is feeling down.

He would then manipulate the flames of war or fly cards.

Over time, he became very skilled at manipulating the battle and the cards.

He originally thought he could do whatever he wanted.

Actually... it's not very good.

The war simulation can mimic evil Godzilla, black-light Sun Wukong, black-armored gold-plated Gundam, dark insectoids... their ferocious appearances are very lifelike.

But it will fall apart once it starts moving...

It's like a fixed model; once it's moved, it becomes unstable.

Cards don't have this problem; you can build simple human skeletons and then perform micro-management to make them move.

It's a bit mechanical and not smooth enough.

However, as long as there are enough cards to form the framework, it will be fine.

When Li Mingyang was assembling a more intricate skeleton, he discovered that since the size of the cards was fixed, the more cards he used, the larger the skeleton would become.
To everyone's surprise, the card shrank by half as soon as the idea came to mind.

It still feels too big; the cards keep getting smaller!
It turns out that cards can be scaled up or down proportionally.

From a mathematical and geometric perspective, a circle is composed of line segments of equal length, such as quadrilaterals, pentagons, hexagons, heptagons, and octagons. The more line segments a circle has, the rounder it is.

Similarly, the more cards there are, the more realistic the model will be.

But... with all our energy focused on detailed modeling, how can we move forward with scene simulation?

Both detailed modeling and stable modeling require a great deal of effort.

It would be better to use a simple skeleton for scene simulation.

He can simultaneously manipulate three simple skeletons to simulate scenarios while thinking.

In general, it can be simulated.

The simulation wasn't very good; it would have been better to come up with your own ideas or have a storyboard artist draw them.

Of course, if a matching skill were to be discovered, it would allow him to create any character and environment he desired at will.

The upper limit can be raised infinitely!

He can create realistic simulations of special effects blockbusters out of thin air, such as Star Wars, Gundam battles, mythological wars, and cultivation battlefields...

War is more suitable for creating lighting effects such as flames, halos, flowing light, and explosions.

Cards are better suited for creating three-dimensional points and markers, much like the basic lines in a sketch.

What kind of skill or card could satisfy his simulation of real-world interaction in the three-dimensional world?
Li Mingyang searched for the system rewards but couldn't find them. Instead, he developed a new way to play during the testing process!

Gilgamesh's Noble Phantasm gameplay...

The void twisted and rippled, and cards burning with black and gold flames appeared, instantly transforming into cold weapons such as swords, spears, and halberds, slicing through the sky and bombarding the ground...

With the existing skills and tools, realistic simulation is a bit far-fetched.

But the simulated special effects are absolutely top-notch!

Even the top special effects companies couldn't create the special effects and lighting he imagined out of thin air!

Imagination not only elevates the effects of special effects to an infinite degree, but also allows for arbitrary changes and real-time display.

Black technology!
The biggest problem with CG special effects is that they are time-consuming, because they need to be rendered into images, and after rendering, they need to be modified, and after modification, they need to be modified again.

At 24 frames per second, rendering one frame takes an average of seven to eight hours.

A few seconds of special effects can require hundreds of hours of rendering time.

This is not the final result yet; it may require one revision! Or it may require hundreds of revisions!
It takes an unimaginable amount of time and energy, and in the end, you still have to rely on luck to achieve the desired result.

When luck is bad, you just have to change, change like crazy.

For the same special effects requirements, even the world's top companies need to spend tens of thousands of hours of rendering time to see the results.

Li Mingyang only needs a few seconds to see the final result.

Of course, this final effect is not complete, mainly due to the lighting and shadows, but the greatest role of special effects is precisely to showcase the lighting and shadows!

Costumes, props, and sets can be physically transformed.

Model and prop making and special effects makeup are also the most important parts of special effects.

Weta Digital established a sister company, Weta Studio, specifically to produce physical props.

"Special effects are useful for The Three-Body Problem... but not really for art films..."

Snapped!
Li Mingyang snapped his fingers and, in a childish manner, closed the King's Treasure Vault.

As I flipped through the storyboard of Love Letter, I always felt that something was missing.

"Could it be... that a one-shot opening scene in the snow isn't suitable?"

Was it a waste of several days and a lot of people working on it, only to produce something useless?
Li Mingyang fell into self-doubt, lit a cigarette, and started smoking.

The opening of a movie is very important.

However, many classic art-house films actually have a rather bland opening.

Commercial films often start with a high level of excitement.

One tells a story in a gentle, detailed way, while the other enjoys popcorn.

One strikes right at the soul, the other is forgotten as soon as you see it.

One flopped at the box office, while the other exploded.

One is suitable for watching quietly, the other is suitable for watching in a movie theater.

Movie theaters are great for watching comedies; happiness is contagious, and when many people laugh, you'll laugh along too.

The audience's threshold for laughter will drop several levels.

“Mimi and I, the traffic is off the charts. Even though it’s an art film, a lot of people went to see it, and they were all young people…” Li Mingyang muttered to himself, “The long shot in the snow is the classic opening of Love Letter, but this opening is actually very bland, slow, and tedious, and not very commercial.”

"The opening sequence of Love Letter, including the long snow shot, is over three minutes long..."

"My love letter seems to have a longer opening than the original!"

"A sin!"

"My fans will definitely love watching it, but casual viewers will want to curse... When I watched Love Letter back then, I really wanted to curse it, it was so tedious!"

"The love letter really captivated me, making me keep reading... not because of Hiroko Watanabe, but because of the appearance of the female Fujii Itsuki..."

Compared to Hiroko Watanabe, the female Fujii Itsuki is more goddess-like, has a better character design, and is more likable.

Li Mingyang pondered from dusk till dawn, unable to decide what to do, but then the person he expected appeared.

Honey.

Mimi, who's obsessed with money, has finally arrived.

Love Letter perfectly met Mimi's expectations. Li Mingyang wrote, directed, and starred in the film, turning the female lead into the male lead.

The drafty wall didn't disappoint him; Mimi soon learned that she had gone from being the leading lady to a mere decorative object.

I've waited so many years, so many years...

We've known each other since 2008, and it's already 2014.

From Your Name to Weathering With You, and from Soulmate to Love Letter, Mimi has always longed to make a movie with him.

"Mingyang, why did you suddenly change the plot? Can you please not change it..." Mimi squatted down next to Li Mingyang, hugging his leg and pleading bitterly.

"Art needs originality, and I think the new script is more suitable for you."

"You're not human!" Mimi frowned and said angrily.

Mimi's heart is bleeding.

She had always wanted to make an artistically significant film featuring a strong female lead.

Liu Yifei has made so many bad movies, but Juan, the female lead in "Love Like a Bouquet," is still brought out for marketing every year to boost her popularity, even though she didn't win any awards for this movie and her acting was criticized.

But a love story as beautiful as a bouquet of flowers is miles ahead of today's melodramatic teen movies!

There's no melodrama, just reality, and since it's Li Mingyang's breakthrough work, its influence is unprecedented.

It's no pity that such a beautiful romance slipped away; Li Mingyang's series of promotional actions really treated Liu Yifei like a expendable commodity...

Your name was taken by your girlfriend; you just couldn't win.

Witch, what a con artist! Li Mingyang, this big liar, led a bunch of little liars and fooled everyone.

It's not a pity, as it doesn't quite fit her self-perceived image of a lady.

She fought for Weathering With You for a long time, but in the end, it was Gao Yuanyuan who got the role.

July and Ansheng was the most frustrating, with all sorts of changes. It even became Jing Tian's directorial debut halfway through, and then more problems arose. Jing Tian couldn't control it and couldn't continue filming. She and Liu Yifei also didn't want to continue filming.

In the end, it brought Wu Zhikui and Guo Fan together.

If she had known it would turn out like this, she would have continued filming...

She turned down many film offers for Love Letter, and it was the film she was most looking forward to—she hoped it would win an award!
She's going to be the first young actress to win a film award!

Who knew Li Mingyang wasn't human? He changed the script, and the opening long shot of the snow scene was him, not him.

This means that Li Mingyang took up all the scenes she originally wanted, and she died at the beginning, living only in memories.

"Mimi, why don't you take a look at the new script first?" Li Mingyang handed the storyboard to Mimi.

Mimi gritted her teeth, suppressing her anger, took the script, sat down in a chair, leaned on the table, and began to read it carefully.

Ten minutes later...

Mimi calmly closed the storyboard and turned to look at Li Mingyang indifferently.

Three seconds later...

Mimi smiled her sweetest smile and came to Li Mingyang with the storyboard.

Li Mingyang instinctively became wary.

In the new script, Mimi's scenes have been significantly cut; she dies at the beginning and lives only in flashbacks...

Mimi should be angry; her calmness suggests she has ulterior motives.

"The new script is good, here you go." Mimi handed over the storyboard with both hands.

Li Mingyang carefully took it, his eyes lingering on Mimi's shoulders. Usually, when hitting someone, the first thing to do is to sway the shoulders.

Li Mingyang is particularly experienced in this regard, having been through the baptism of the century-long battle.

"This is something I racked my brains for a long time before I came up with it, so of course it's great." Li Mingyang provoked Mimi, made her angry, and then he helped her calm down by giving her a few billion yuan, and that was it.

But Mimi doesn't play by the rules; she actually handed over the storyboard to her.

Then he left, saying he was tired and needed to go back for a nap.

"Why is Mimi acting so differently? Something's not right! Could it be the power of my Palme d'Or-winning director status?" Li Mingyang scratched his head. Mimi was acting strangely; she wasn't following the plan...

I was originally planning to talk to Mimi.

Li Mingyang was suspicious for several hours, but by noon he had calmed down. Anyway, Mimi wouldn't run away, so there was no need to worry.

Around 4 PM, the entire crew assembled, and Mimi arrived as well. She wore Mosen sunglasses, looked aloof, kept a few meters away from the others, and didn't smile.

"I'll give you an hour to digest the storyboard and shooting plan, and then we'll start shooting. Mimi, you have two scenes today, so be prepared." Li Mingyang said, pricking up his ears to listen to Mimi's tone.

To everyone's surprise, she just nodded and didn't say anything.

The filming of interior scenes depends entirely on the actors' condition. The male lead in Love Letter mostly performs solo scenes, so as long as he's in the right frame of mind, filming goes very quickly. Li Mingyang knows how to act, but without systematic guidance, his own skill level is limited, and he simply can't capture the feeling he wants to convey.

The basic skills of an actor: voice, stage presence, and acting.

The voices and lines can be dubbed by someone in post-production.

There's no way to find someone to replace the physical attributes and performance.

The ten years of hard work in his previous life taught Li Mingyang a lesson: acting is a profession that heavily relies on talent.

If it works, it works. If it doesn't, it doesn't work.

Everyone has their own comfort zone, but this comfort zone may be something that the actor dislikes and is unwilling to act in.

For example, Andy Lau.

He's a master at playing villains, whether it's a cowardly tough guy, a cunning schemer, someone whose good and evil are hard to distinguish, a ruthless and treacherous villain, a refined scoundrel, or a gangster boss...

He can always perform exceptionally well.

The micro-expressions are nuanced, and the dialogue is very precise.

His acting skills are completely different from when he plays positive roles!
For example, Chen Jianming from Infernal Affairs and Lu Mingzhe from Storm.

Playing a villain... and playing it too well, isn't necessarily a good thing for a star like Andy Lau who carries box office success and has a positive public image.

In The Wandering Earth 2, Tu Hengyu's true nature is ambiguous, and Andy Lau's acting is superb, perfectly portraying the extremely complex inner world of the character.

Take Tang Yan for example.

The queen of the "naive and sweet" type, but actually her comfort zone is that of a two-faced green tea... like Zi Xuan.

Green tea girls are usually cannon fodder or second female leads.

She wants to play the female lead, but can only play naive and innocent characters...

There are knowledgeable people in the Chinese entertainment industry; they're not all blind.

The casting directors are actually quite accurate in their assessment of the actors.

However, due to the involvement of capital, the casting director has little say.

Actors also have their own standards.

For him, a perfect mask is a divine skill.

Perfect acting skills, a false reality.

As long as it's fake enough, it's okay for everyone to have a different face.

The interior scenes were shot very quickly, mostly in one take, and then another was taken.

Around 9 PM, it was finally Mimi's turn to have her scene in the classroom.

Mimi changed into her blue and white school uniform.

It's clearly a very old-fashioned school uniform, very characteristic of the era in China.

But when Mimi wears it, she looks beautiful, sexy, and makes you want to lick her...

Her chest was bulging, and she walked with a jiggling motion.

then……

"Cut! Why are you giving me that cold look? Who owes you money?"

"Cut! You're sixteen now, not twenty-six. Don't look at people with such a mature and calm gaze."

"Do you even have a storyboard? Do you even know what kind of character you're filming?"

"Right, it's that sideways glance he gives people, he's very scheming."

"Can't you act cute?"

"You like to browse Weibo, right? You know you're a green tea bitch, don't you? You're playing the role of a green tea bitch."

"Green tea bitch" is a popular internet slang term that originated from the "Hainan Rendez-Vous" incident in 2013. It originally referred to young models who appeared pure and innocent but actually led decadent lives, were materialistic, pretended to be pitiful but were actually cunning and used their bodies to climb the social ladder.

Later, she became someone with long, flowing hair, a plain face, and seemingly no makeup, but secretly she was wearing makeup.

A term used to describe women who feign innocence, appear heartbroken yet untouched by hardship, and seem serene and carefree despite their illnesses, but are actually far more ambitious than anyone else.

To put it simply, she has the appearance of Lin Daiyu, but the inner qualities of Wang Xifeng.

When Mimi heard the words "green tea bitch", she was stunned. Li Mingyang thought she would get angry, after all, what kind of good-natured female lead is a green tea bitch?

But Mimi calmed down in one breath, accepted the arrangement calmly, and then pulled her ponytail, her long hair flowing smoothly.

The rest of the filming went incredibly smoothly.

"That's right, that's it! The acting was superb!"

"Alright! What are you all standing there for? Clap your hands! Mimi's acting is superb, she portrayed the green tea bitch so perfectly."

"Fantastic! Cut!"

“Mimi is in great shape! We’ll wrap up a little later today and film tomorrow’s scenes too. Come on, you guys, get the shooting angles for the library scene right, one main and two backup. Where’s the hairdryer? Blow up the curtains, move the green screen, and block the windows.”

The crew was quiet, but then everyone started moving.

Only Yang Mi, dressed in her youthful blue and white school uniform, stood aside, wearing sunglasses, watching coldly without uttering a word of protest.

Mimi is very obedient, almost to the point of being submissive.

I misunderstood her before, thinking that if I took her to act, she would be difficult to deal with.

After all, she was the most restless and resistant in bed.

Li Mingyang didn't dare let her bite him casually, for fear that she would actually bite him.

Before the filming schedule for the second day was finalized, Li Mingyang brought in the Volcano Five Little Warriors to make arrangements.

He truly deserves to be called a person who has emerged from the test of time.

Mingyang and his group drained the fresh blood from the three major art schools: Beijing Film Academy, Central Academy of Drama, and Communication University of China.

Of the five, two are from the Central Academy of Drama, one from the Communication University of China, one from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and one from the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute.

They all went through the initial training of Mingyang, and their physical fitness, artistic skills, and photography were all excellent. In addition, Mingyang didn't have much money at the time, so everyone had to take on multiple roles.

They just haven't done it in a long time, that doesn't mean they can't.

The five people were well-organized, but they were a bit naive when they spoke. Fortunately, Li Mingyang was there to oversee things, and the crew ran smoothly.

At 3:30 a.m., just as Li Mingyang was preparing to start filming.

Someone tapped him on the shoulder from behind, and Li Mingyang grabbed it with lightning speed, instinctively trying to throw him over his shoulder.

He didn't put in much effort at the beginning of the Battle of the Century. It wasn't until Chang Wei, that bastard, broke his bones that he started to take it seriously.

In Chang Wei's words, he actually went easy on him.

In fact, the subsequent matches proved this point.

Zhen Zhidan and Zhao Wenzhuo, in particular, really gave it their all... but they're just too old to outlast him.

But at the start, both of them were incredibly fierce; they've been training for decades!

Therefore, Li Mingyang also sought out many master teachers to practice his skills. The over-the-shoulder throw was his most powerful move. With his strength, he could make a person vomit blood.

Unfortunately, no one gave him a chance to use it.

But he never gave up and practiced frequently, developing muscle response.

That is, he found that the hand he was holding was very smooth, as smooth as silk, so Li Mingyang stopped exerting force and did not fall.

but!
The honey is so crispy!
"what!"

Yang Mi dislocated her shoulder when he pulled her... She knelt on the ground, clutching her arm and wincing in pain.

Ok?
He's tougher than in bed; he dislocated his arm but didn't cry.

"Mimi, are you alright?"

"..."

"Just bear with it for a little while, the doctors and nurses in the medical room will be on duty in about three hours."

"My goodness, that hurts so much! You're the boss, why didn't you call and tell them to come to work early?!"

"it's not good……"

Despite the pain, Mimi got up from the ground, took out her phone from the bag hanging on the recliner, swiped for a number with one hand, and dialed three times in a row. The last one went through.

"Dr. Zhao, please come to the company quickly, to the seventh floor of Mingyang Building! My arm is dislocated! Hurry, hurry!"

After saying that, Mimi hung up the phone.

Then he plopped down on the recliner and covered his face with a blanket.

"Sister Honey is so strong and dedicated!"

"Yes! Sister Mi is truly the most dedicated A-list celebrity I've ever met."

Is Yang Mi considered a top-tier celebrity?

"If the Four Little Actresses aren't considered A-list celebrities, then what is? Do you know how much Yang Mi earns in a year?"

"To be honest, Yang Mi has really shattered my worldview this time! The leading lady turned into a green tea bitch, my god, if it were Liu Yifei, she would have quit the show!"

"Yes, yes."

"Mi Jie is known for her dedication and is also very gentle."

"Yang Mi is also a pitiful person! Back when she was famous, she supported the whole company by herself... In the end, she didn't get any movies."

"It's not like I got nothing at all, I just got a green tea girl."

"This treatment is unparalleled. No wonder they all say that whoever gets close to Li Mingyang is doomed."

"Did the northwest wind blow you crazy the other day? What do you mean by 'whoever is closest is unlucky'? Why are you still here? Why don't you get lost?"

"Cao, you want to fight?"

"To be honest, only Mimi was unlucky... Liu Shishi and Jing Tian had it so good, and that celestial Liu Yifei too."

"To be honest, we're in pretty bad shape too; most of us have colds and fevers..."

The crew members were all chattering, praising Mimi.

In their eyes, Mimi is kind, gentle, and dedicated—a perfect celebrity in the Chinese entertainment industry.

Unfortunately, Li Mingyang is a terrible person. Even though Mimi is one of his own, she's always been on her own, and she's having a really tough time...

While the others were whispering among themselves, Li Mingyang had a brilliant idea!

Mimi suffered a workplace injury because of her; she's incredibly fragile.

If you're acting out your period and having cramps, you don't even need to act; you can just go for it.

Li Mingyang immediately shared his thoughts with Mimi.

Mimi suddenly threw off the blanket and said angrily, "I'm already like this, and you still want me to keep filming? Do you have no humanity?! You dislocated my shoulder!"

"This feels right," Mimi thought, her brows furrowed, her face pale, and she glared angrily.

Her slight anger revealed a delicate, feminine vulnerability.

"Honey, I take back my previous narrow-minded assessment of you. I shouldn't have questioned your acting skills. You're always chattering, and you chatter even when you're acting. I thought that was all you could do. I didn't expect you to have such a wide range of roles. You played the 'green tea girl' so well that it didn't seem like acting at all."

The first part was an apology, but then it started with insults!

You're the one who's a green tea guy!
That's so mean, so despicable.

They're squeezing me dry!

Mimi was internally ranting and raving.

……

(End of this chapter)