1990My Entertainment System

Chapter 61 Let’s buy a courtyard house to film!

Although the Great Wall Hotel is a nice place, it is only for accommodation.

If we really arrange the crew there, money is not a problem, the main problem is inconvenience.

Moreover, it has a "bad taste" and can easily confuse the feelings of the crew members and actors. It is too modern.

Because the main filming locations, in addition to the studios built for indoor scenes, are the Mei Lanfang Memorial Hall and Prince Gong's Mansion, we found a nice courtyard house in Yannian Hutong, north of Prince Qing's Mansion, and bought it in the summer.

Renting is too troublesome, and I'm worried about damaging someone else's yard, so I just bought it for 12 yuan in the summer.

Anyway, you won’t lose anything in the future.

The crew's main office is located in the courtyard of Yannian Hutong, which is very close to Beihai and not far from the Forbidden City.

The crew has basically taken shape and all the staff are in place.

Xia Tian used his power for personal gain and stuffed Dachun, Xiao Guo and Deng Jie into the crew.

Feng Kuazi, who was on a business trip at the time, was sobbing and beating his chest: "I thought I had grabbed the travel allowance and it was a good job, but I didn't expect to miss the summer movie! What a sin!"
Although the crew is still making final preparations, Arong has already started learning Peking Opera, studying and practicing for three or four hours every day.

Just stretching the legs and muscles was enough to make that guy suffer so much that he cried out for help.
But he was really perseverant. He cried out in pain and even dropped his little pearls. Xia Tian and Zun Long laughed at him.

But I still practiced, never backing down, and never slacking off.

This made many crew members look at him with new eyes - at first they thought Arong was too modest, gentle and playful, but they didn't expect him to be so ruthless!

Well, that’s right, this is very consistent with Cheng Dieyi’s psychological characteristics.

And John Lone was also learning Peking Opera. Unlike Arong, he had a solid foundation and had been practicing since childhood.

I have performed in many operas on stage over the years, so it was easy for me to pick it up again.

……

Even though it’s September 20th now, it’s really hot in Yanjing!

The scorching sun almost gave people heatstroke.

Arong is a very nice person. He takes care of everyone's cold drinks every day, including popsicles, ice cream, soda, etc.

That person's popularity is really good~
That day, the actor who taught him Peking Opera noticed that his face was a little red. After asking, he found out that he had a slight fever.

Still practicing!

Xia Tian went to find him when he heard the news...

"Do you have a fever?" he asked, reaching out and touching Arong's forehead.

"It seems a bit."

Ah Rong smiled and said, "It's okay, I feel fine. Maybe the air conditioner was turned too low last night."

Xia Tian stretched out his finger and nodded: "Wait for me for a moment."

With that, he went out, drove back to Beihai Siheyuan, picked up his things and came back. It wasn't far away.

"Hey, I have medicine."

When Arong took a look, he saw a plate of medicine with an unknown name, wrapped in aluminum foil, with no name at all.

He couldn't help but ask, "How many do you have?"

Hey!
Xia Tian: "How much do you eat? How much do I have?"

Ah Rong: "How much do you have? I'll eat it."

"You've learned to be funny after watching a few crosstalk performances, right? Eat, I can't hurt you. It'll only take ten minutes!"

A Rong didn't ask any more questions and ate one tablet with half a glass of water.

You know what, this medicine is amazing.

It took only ten minutes, and I felt better in less than eight or nine minutes.

Ah Rong touched his forehead and said, "It seems the fever is really gone! Is it that severe?"

Xia Tian smiled without saying anything: "What do you think? This is a product from the mall. 16 redemption points for two sets of 16 special-effect fever-reducing medicine. The effect is very good!"
Now all the actors are in place, and Master Guan from the troupe has invited Mr. Zhu Xu from the People's Art Theatre.

The old man was very interested in this role. He was born in 30, grew up in the old society, and had serious contact with opera troupes.

He also sought advice from many people of the same age, and was quite attentive to this supporting role, which was neither too big nor too small.

Xiaodouzi's mother still found Wenli, a girl from Xi'an Film Studio, who was recommended by Yanying.

To be honest, she hasn't graduated yet, but she can perform the state of the original time and space and make the character leave a deep impression on the audience in just a few minutes. It shows that she is quite talented and hardworking.

Others include Huang Lei, an acquaintance of mine, who guest-starred as a prostitute who frequents a brothel.
……

Mr. Zhao Jiping, who was asked to compose the film's music, got a promotion this year!
He is the director of Shaanxi Song and Dance Theater, and concurrently serves as the vice-chairman of the Chinese Musicians Association, the chairman of the Shaanxi Federation of Literary and Art Circles, the vice-chairman of the Shaanxi Musicians Association, the president of the Shaanxi Film Music Society and a series of titles that are inconvenient to mention!
You have to use some connections to find someone!
……

Now it’s time for the makeup trial.

Zun Long is easier to handle, so I made him look a bit more masculine, with sharper eyebrows and eyes. He is not effeminate to begin with, and when he gets serious he has a very martial arts temperament.

But Arong is in a lot of trouble.

First, you have to trim your eyebrows to make them softer, and then you have to go on a diet to lose weight and make your body thinner.

Finally, shave.
My goodness, his beard is thicker than that of most people. If he doesn’t shave for a few days, it will cover half of his cheek.

It wasn't enough for the makeup artist to clean-shave him; he also had to cover it up by applying powder to his face.

It was finally decided that he would be shaved twice a day during filming!
The person in charge of putting makeup on Arong is Mr. Song Xiaochuan, a legitimate descendant of the Ye school.

After the final makeup was done, Xia Tian held A Rong's shoulders and looked at her carefully, praising her, "Excellent, very good! Boss Song's makeup skills are unparalleled in the opera industry."

Arong has a kind of neutral beauty, but his neutral beauty is not feminine. He is gentle, but not feminine.

It was a youthful feeling with ambiguous gender.

This characteristic makes his Cheng Dieyi more stubborn and pure like a child.

There is none of that kind of feminine paranoia and sarcasm.

He has a cute appearance, with soft facial lines and a small frame. His bones are not too strong, and his nose is fleshy, so he looks gentle in his acting.

His acting is the opposite, but it is pure and beautiful.

Everyone in the crew was very satisfied.

The same goes for John Lone. I didn’t expect that this American movie star who once filmed a movie in the Forbidden City could sing Peking Opera so well!

That kind of dedication is really touching.

Speaking of which, the super concentration and dedication of these two male protagonists made Gong Li, the female protagonist, a little nervous!

In this situation, I can't be a drag!

……

These days, in addition to handling daily crew matters and communicating with actors about their roles, Xia is also drawing his own storyboards.

Many key scenes were drawn in several versions, and the executive director, photographer, assistant director, and screenwriter, a group of people, discussed which one was better.

As for the script, it is not without flaws.

Of course, there are good things too.

For example, when Xiaodouzi entered the academy, he wrote a letter of instruction, practiced martial arts, was beaten, went through the hall, and took a group photo after leaving the academy, all of which were completely in line with the rules of the old academy.

Even the mnemonics that the children recited while practicing, "Everyone in this world must have a skill," came from Fu Liancheng's class rules.

He is very knowledgeable about the front and back stages, theatrical performances and costumes.

After all, Xia Tian had been learning opera since he was a child, and had heard many stories and rules about the old opera troupes from Lao Ma Tou (the lame old man who taught Xia Tian, ​​a famous martial artist in the old society, who has passed away).

I also asked many people in the Peking Opera circle, and found out from Yanjing to Tianjin.

This is very real first-hand information~
But the biggest unreality of this drama is Cheng Dieyi, whose character is too idealistic.

In the old days, all the famous actors in the opera world were very talented.

Who among the bigwigs in the industry, in the ticket industry, in the newspaper industry, in theaters, at the docks, and in the financiers who support the actors doesn't need to socialize?
Who doesn't know how to read people's expressions and be good at dealing with people?
Success in the acting world depends half on talent and half on how you conduct yourself.

Being a leading actor is tiring, not just from practicing and acting...

Cheng Dieyi's paranoid, aloof and inappropriate personality will not keep him popular for long.

Duan Xiaolou married a prostitute and won applause.

This is impossible!
Many famous Peking Opera actors visited brothels, but it is difficult to think of any of them marrying prostitutes.

It is true that they are all of the lowest class, but at least after the Republic of China, the status of artists has been much higher than that of prostitutes.

This was especially true after the 30s. In the Demon City of Yanjing, decent girls were basically envious of Kunling's popularity.

——The wives of Peking Opera actors are usually the daughters or sisters of their peers.

Even in the 1960s, it would have been impossible for Xiao Si (an orphan adopted by Cheng Dieyi) to steal the show backstage.

Even if they want to steal the show, the leaders have to do some work for Duan Xiaolou and Cheng Dieyi in advance: Teachers, please support the young people.

The older generation also has to pretend to be generous and carry forward their style. There won't be the tense atmosphere in the movie.

The audience in the audience didn’t agree to the last-minute actor change!

Of course, it’s not possible to follow reality completely.

This is a movie after all, the part where art transcends life...

(End of this chapter)