1990My Entertainment System

Chapter 10 It’s right not to let them meet!
Macaulay Culkin, blonde, 10 years old, lives in Manhattan, New York... He looks quite smart, especially his eyes, which are bright.

Wait, why does it look familiar?!

At this moment, the door opened and a little blond boy walked in.

"Hello, I'm Macaulay Culkin, nice to meet you."

The little boy walked in, not at all stage fright. He looked around lively, then sat down on the chair opposite the desk, supporting himself on the desk with both hands, and looked into Xia Tian's eyes.

He was followed by his mother.

"Hello, you can call me Charlotte. I'm the screenwriter and director of this movie. I'm sorry to have kept you waiting..."

"It doesn't matter. It's my fault for coming late." The little boy said indifferently.

"Please sit down, let's talk..." Xia Tian felt that this was a good idea!
Xia Tian finally decided on Calkin. Because time was tight, he hired a lawyer to sign the contract on the spot.

Although there is no test of acting skills or audition, for young actors, just being relaxed and flexible is enough.

Many times, the director only needs to meet and have a chat to see whether this is the person he wants.

Because language expression, body language, and changes in facial expressions are themselves one way of externalizing a person's thinking logic, and performance is another.

The two most important parts of acting, voice and lines, are essentially expressed by listening to you speak...

Besides, this was the protagonist of the original time and space!

Xia Tian specifically told him and his mother that due to the tight schedule, there might be some overtime and hard work, but he would be paid more and would take care of his physical and mental health.

Xia Tian flattered them and made the mother and daughter feel comfortable.

Both the mother, who was in her thirties, and the son, who was just ten years old, thought that this handsome Oriental man was a good person and very interesting.

Now that the male lead has been decided, everything is on the right track.

Xia Tian breathed a sigh of relief and went out directly, taking Peggy to the villa to see how the renovation was going.

Eight crew members from Hong Kong have arrived and we can't delay any longer.

This local small Chinese decoration company works really hard!
Hardworking~
The house is built in a "half-corgi" style, mainly for the convenience of filming. It is decorated according to the studio of the storyboard script.

It is definitely not suitable for living, but it will be very convenient for filming.

……

On December 12, "Home Alone" started filming.

More than 70% of the behind-the-scenes crew are Chinese, some of whom are from Hong Kong, some are called in through local connections, and some are locals working in related professions.

If he wasn't afraid of being too conspicuous, Xia Tian would like to use an all-Chinese lineup behind the scenes.

The main thing is that the Actors Association here is very troublesome. If I wasn't pressed for schedule, I wouldn't have to do this.

The problem is that some of them are unwilling to pay triple overtime pay, and they might even be warned.

However, don't envy other people's unions and associations.

This thing has only improved because it was so beastly in the past that it has reached the point where people can no longer tolerate it.

After all, Xia Tian was a media practitioner in his previous life, so he knew a lot about the Screen Actors Guild.

In the past, the atrocities that happened in big studios like Hollywood and MGM were enough to make a movie called Once Upon a Time in Hollywood!

Each one is worse than a beast!
When filming war scenes, let the actors fight with real guns and blank bullets~
Several people can die in one scene~
And later on, the union also had its threshold. If you don’t have money to pay dues, then you are not one of us. Not only will we not protect you, we will even exclude you!

Xia Tian is not only the director, but also responsible for guiding the young actors' acting skills and providing psychological counseling.

Culkin is still very talented, so Xia Tian doesn't really need to teach him how to act, just tell him what the situation is in the scene.

When it comes to that specific division, he can just perform naturally.

He had already appeared in a movie two years ago when he was 8 years old, and also played a minor role last year, so he can barely be considered a "child actor"~
And the more important job in summer is "coaxing the children and their mothers"!
Although child marriage and child labor still exist in the United States, even twenty years later, the protection of children in some aspects is really in place.

——Very contradictory! Both responsible and independent~
Therefore, in the summer, you need to carefully comfort the mood of the child and the child's mother.

Let them work overtime happily!

If this child can be coaxed, everything will be easy!

Although Xia Tian is not very good at coaxing people, if he really coaxes people, he might be able to coax Culkin into not asking for his salary! He can coax him into being his father!
Well, that’s what Peggy, who witnessed the whole thing, thought!
Under Culkin's "sweet words" and guidance, praise and education in the summer, that guy seemed to be facing his own father, teacher, friend and idol!
On the one hand, you desire the other person's praise, and on the other hand, you can't help but get close to them and admire them very much.

Every time the director called out, he would run over to ask about his performance, and then grin from ear to ear when he was praised. Xia Tian would also teach him how to move and what emotions to use, and he studied very seriously.

Simply...

Paige: That’s a bit like my mentality~
There are only three people in the scene. The young male lead is very serious and immersed in the role, and the two stupid thieves are also very serious and experienced.

The two stupid thieves were hired by the local actors' union. They had good acting skills and needed money.

Double overtime pay in the summer means we have to work our butts off!

While the young leading actor was taking a break, the two of them worked overtime!
It can be called an involution machine!
Coupled with Xia Tian’s usual skilled operation—he rarely takes useless shots and has a clear idea of ​​the picture he wants, so he shoots very quickly!

Those crew members found locally have basically been on many crews, but they have never seen such a peculiar crew!

This young director is said to have won the Palme d'Or for short films, and he knows every detail of the crew so well!

The entire crew was like his ten fingers, at his mercy and extremely flexible.

The shooting progress was so fast that it was a bit scary!

What's even more bizarre is that these people are actually quite happy working overtime?!
It’s obviously just some drinks, snacks, cakes, pizza and the like, as well as the other person’s smile and kind words… The words are so nice, say more, I love to hear them!

This low-budget family comedy is a pure commercial film. It does not have any particularly profound connotations or excessive camera language, and it is very simple to shoot.

The photographer in Hong Kong shot the photos very smoothly, and Xia Tian was quite satisfied after watching it - commercial films require such stable shots!
Xia also added a lot of Easter eggs in the movie, such as adding Peggy!

As a passenger on the plane that took the little boy and his family on tour, Peggy gave her feedback on the careless parents' behavior after they learned that their child was left behind.

There were also Michael and Golden Retriever who had already agreed to make a cameo appearance to increase the fame of the movie.

Jinmao plays himself as a rich second-generation real estate developer. When his entire home is messed up by little devils and stupid thieves, he takes the initiative to advertise at other people's homes, offering to redecorate the house for free.

Even in the movie, Xia Tian gave him a soft advertisement - mentioning the name of Jinmao's real estate company several times.

Michael made a cameo appearance as a black delivery boy, wearing headphones and listening to his Walkman while delivering packages to the kid's door. He listened and danced while placing the packages at the kid's doorstep.

……

"Home Alone" was filmed quickly, but that came at a price, and that price was my own rest time in the summer.

He works 16 hours a day, taking care of all the details and setting up plans in advance.

This is the only way to complete the day's shooting plan smoothly every time the camera is turned on.

Even the time for everyone to relax, eat snacks and tell stories was designed by him.

Working more than 16 hours a day for more than ten days in a row scared Michael, Little Palo and Peggy.

What kind of iron man is this!

He even does morning exercises for half an hour every day. He looks energetic and more energetic than others!
Have you taken any powerful pills?

Is it some kind of magical oriental magic?
You don't have to say it, Xia Tian admitted it, and then gave Michael and Golden Retriever a set of "Eight Vajra Kung Fu".

"Just practice if you have nothing to do. Living to seventy or eighty years old is absolutely no problem!"

……

On Christmas Day, although the crew was on holiday, Xia was still preparing for the post-holiday filming in the hotel.

Peggy came running over and said, "My dad is spending Christmas with another woman. My mom is preparing documents to sue him and won't be back until tonight. Can I stay with you for a while?"

Xia Tian: Do you think I can believe this excuse?
Finally, Peggy watched Xia busying herself while helping to organize the information and calculate the budget expenditure.

She really looks like a little secretary.

Peggy's mother really came to pick her up in the evening!
Xia Tian chatted with the lady for a few words and handed Peggy over to her.

On the way back, Peggy's mother praised him while driving: "Oh, Peggy, this Asian director is really good. He is very handsome and speaks well. It's really nice to get along with him~"

Peggy pursed her lips and thought to herself: It seems that it is right not to let them meet!
She said, "It's because of cultural differences that it's hard to find a common language..."

"Oh, Mom, you don't have to pick me up tomorrow. I'm staying at the hotel because I have a night scene. Oh, how's your lawsuit preparation going?"

Sure enough, the topic of divorce quickly diverted my mother's attention, and she forgot about the good-looking and talkative Asian director.
　By the way, it is said that after this leading actor became famous, he was hinted at and threatened by the top executives of a major film company. That one. The one about the priest!
　　He also mentioned a child star girl who unfortunately died young, saying that her death was not an accident.

　　Later, the island and dad's affairs were exposed. It was really, indescribable.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)