Huayu: When the director changed his major

Chapter 263 The Actor's Director
For the first scene, Cheng Xi chose the relatively closed Songpa Workshop to shoot.

The actor who plays Sompa is a local Thai actor.

It mainly consists of Cheng Xi, Wang Baoqiang, Pan Yueming and him, a total of four people in the play.

There weren’t many people, so it was easy to film and it also allowed everyone to get a feel for the murder case.

Buddhist culture is prevalent in Thailand, so the weapon used to kill Songpa was simply a pestle.

The general plot of the story is that the five-member group stole the gold of the Chinatown boss and asked Songpa to hide in the workshop temporarily.

It just so happened that Songpa was killed by his adoptive father played by Pan Yueming.

During the seven days, the camera recorded that only Tang Ren, played by Wang Baoqiang, had entered the room.

Tang Ren said the reason he went in was because he received a work order from his employer Songpa, asking him to deliver a Buddha statue to the underground parking lot.

Tang Ren thought that what was being sent out was a Buddha statue, and others thought that what was being sent out was gold, but in fact, what was being sent out was the murderer himself.

Songpa died that night, so the police suspected that Tang Ren had killed Songpa from within and wanted to keep the gold for himself.

The resulting wanted list misunderstanding.

Tang Ren's genius cousin Qin Feng happened to come to Thailand to visit Tang Ren for vacation, and from then on the two of them embarked on a journey of self-salvation and solving the case.

When Wang Baoqiang, Pan Yueming and Cheng Xi came out with their finalized makeup.

Everyone couldn't help but smile.

Tang Renhei, played by Wang Baoqiang, has a messy hair, a face full of wrinkles, a gold tooth, and lustful eyes. He holds a dowsing rod in his hand, wears five or six strings of cheap Buddhist beads on his wrist, wears greasy and loose clothes, and has the vile aura of a stock-market profiteer.

Qin Feng, played by Cheng Xi, has fair skin and dresses in a refreshing student style, wearing jeans and white sneakers.

It's nothing if viewed alone.

The contrast between the two of them is so great that people can't help laughing when they see it.

The murderer's adoptive father, played by Pan Yueming, looks like a ruthless worker. He looks like he is not someone to be trifled with and is ready to hit you with a hammer at any time.

Cheng Xi looked in the mirror, looked at Wang Baoqiang and Pan Yueming, and said to the makeup team:
"The styling is great, the feeling comes out immediately!"

"Director, of course yours is good. Look at me and Lao Pan, we are so ugly. It makes you look so handsome."

"Hahahaha, being handsome is useless. You guys will crush me in acting!"

After a few jokes with each other, everyone started to get into work mode.

The first scene was a rivalry scene between Wang Baoqiang and Pan Yueming.

Cheng Xi sat in front of the monitor in his costume.

The acting skills of the two veteran actors are of course impeccable. After Cheng Xi set the tone, their interpretations were very spot on.

This put a lot of pressure on Cheng Xi.

Because after their two scenes in the morning, they would immediately start their rivalry scenes with Baoqiang.

It was also my first starring role.

There's definitely some tension.

But while Cheng Xi was nervous, he was also a little excited.

Xin Yukun: "Director, it's your turn."

At this time, everyone's eyes turned to Cheng Xi.

The props team also came over immediately and gave the flashlight to Cheng Xi.

This part of the plot mainly focuses on the detective duo returning to Songpa Workshop to look for evidence.

Since it was a closed environment, it was dark inside.

You'll need a flashlight for lighting.

At this time, Cheng Xi had already arrived at the location, a dark room with computers, cameras, etc.

Get ready to start looking for evidence.

"Yukun, you will take command from now on."

"Okay. All departments in place."

"Lighting OK"

“Photography is OK.”

"The radio is OK."

"Have you checked all the props?"

"It's checked."

"actor."

Upon hearing this, Cheng Xi and Wang Baoqiang both gave the director an OK gesture.

Cheng Xi had made a few guest appearances, so he secretly told himself to just treat it as a guest appearance.

It’s just that this cameo is a little longer than the previous ones, and the camera has more time to focus on me.

"Clapboard, Scene 4, Act 1, Shot 1."

"action."

Following Xin Yukun's action, Cheng Xi and Qin Feng and Tang Ren, played by Wang Baoqiang, immediately took their positions.

Cheng Xi faced the camera and searched the room with a flashlight.

Tang Ren (Wang Baoqiang): "Did you find anything?"

Qin Feng (Cheng Xi): "No."

"Depend on!"

"Besides saying damn, can you say something else?"

"The room is clean and odorless, he is either a transvestite or a gay!"

"Pfft."

Cheng Xi couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Image is one aspect, but it mainly depends on when Baoqiang opens his mouth.

Showing his gold teeth and speaking in Cantonese, Cheng Xi couldn't hold back his breath when he said this line.

I forgot that I wasn't watching the actors perform behind a monitor.

But I am the actor myself.

"Baoqiang, I really can't help your expression."

"Sorry, please do it again."

Everyone also smiled at Cheng Xi kindly.

If it was an actor who graduated from a professional school, people would probably be dissatisfied.

But Cheng Xi himself is the director and the investment boss.

No one present dared to show the slightest dissatisfaction.

Besides, it’s his first time playing the leading role, so he’s not used to it yet. I’m understandable.

Next, Cheng Xi told himself that he was now in the state of an actor.

As long as the camera is there and the director hasn't shouted "cut", you must be in the situation.

"Okay, all departments, get ready, let's do it again."

"Clapboard, Scene 4, Act 1, Shot 2."

"action!"

It took more than ten days to shoot the scenes inside Songpa Workshop alone.

Everyone felt like they couldn't tell the difference between day and night.

Fortunately, there are relatively few characters and Cheng Xizhan’s role is not long, so the effect can be achieved through gradual polishing.

In the past half month, I have become more and more familiar with the local Chinatown.

The schedule for this filming is mainly based on the scenes and the number of characters.

Focus on shooting one location first, and then try to shoot the group scenes later.

The more familiar we are with the group scenes, the easier it will be to shoot them.

Abandoned factory.

Three of the five people who stole the gold tied Tang Ren and Qin Feng to an abandoned factory.

Interrogate the whereabouts of the gold.

The trio: "Let me ask you, where did the gold go after you killed Songpa?"

Tang Ren: "Who is Songpa?"

Qin Feng: "If you take someone's things, return them to them immediately!"

"Shut up, I'm your uncle."

"So it's my uncle. If you don't tell me, I'll beat you to death."

The Vietnamese guy pointed a gun at Qin Feng's head.

"Beat him to death, I don't know."

"Hurry up and tell him that I am your nephew."

"It's expressive."

"Blood is thicker than water."

"Give me a hint!" "That! Box! of! Gold!"

"I don't know. I'll just drop you off at the Haitian Building's underground parking lot, next to a van."

The three men left the big King Kong to guard the box, while the other two went to find out the whereabouts of the box.

Wang Baoqiang: "Director, please don't be offended by the next scene."

Cheng Xi also looked bitter when he heard this. He didn't expect that the script would happen to him.

Next, under King Kong's supervision, Tang Ren used his feet to pull out a thin wire, and then used it to open the handcuffs of the two men.

Unable to open his own door, he stretched his legs to Qin Feng.

It is inevitable that there will be inaccuracies, such as kicking the head.

After filming this scene, everyone looked at the black marks on Cheng Xi's face and laughed.

The crew also quickly fetched water for Cheng Xi to wash his face.

It’s easy for actors to make money, but they need to be patient with certain shots.

Compared with the income, it is still a big profit.

Time flies, and it’s the end of June in a blink of an eye.

In summer, the temperature in Bangkok can reach over 40 degrees Celsius.

The steam rising from the ground and the scorching sun in the sky made it difficult to open my eyes.

The crew has been filming for more than two months.

Cheng Xi also slowly got into the rhythm of switching between the roles of director and actor.

Sometimes I also have to deal with company affairs on the set.

For example, Li Wentao called me today:

"Boss, the post-production of 'So Young' is complete and it's already passed review. Should we start promoting it?"

"We can just announce the release date now. If anyone asks about Huayi, just say it's a coincidence. The post-production just happened to be completed and the timeline is also within this release date."

According to the strategy that had been formulated before, Huayi’s Sino-Korean co-production "The Great Ming Ape" will be released on July 7.

"So Young" is scheduled to be released on July 7.

"The Great Ming Ape" is a Korean comic "The Seventh Team". It is a Sino-Korean co-production inspirational film directed by Kim Yong-hwa and starring Xu Jiao and Sung Dong-il.

This was just an appetizer, but Cheng Xi didn't intend to miss it.

It wasn't until the second movie was released at the same time that the truth was revealed.

"Do we need to deal with our stocks?"

"Not for now. Wait until 'The Shameful Iron Fist' is announced to be released at the same time as 'Detective Dee' before selling it off."

"Detective Dee" will be released on September 9, and "Shameful Iron Fist" has already started filming.

Because it was performed in a theater by the Mahua team, it was relatively easy to turn it into a movie.

Director Cheng Xi asked Yan Fei and Peng Damu to be the main directors and Song Yang to be the assistant director.

Although Song Yang is a screenwriter, this is his first time as a film director, so I still have to let him learn from me first.

"The Vanishing Man" has also been taken off the screen, with a final box office revenue of 3.2 million yuan.

Compared with the cost of 1000 million, it is a very high profit.

"Boss, 'Three Lives, Three Worlds' is almost finished filming. You mentioned last time that you wanted to use a theme song for promotion. How's your writing progress?"

"It's almost finished. I'll polish it up and send it to your email in three days. Let the hero and heroine sing the duet."

Last time, Reba sang "The Lone Brave Man", so she has some singing experience.

Although her level is still average, her singing of "Liang Liang" should be much better than Yang Mi's singing of "Love Offering".

Now the song "The Lone Hero" has become popular among primary school students and is even showing a trend of spreading to kindergartens.

It is said that as long as you sing the line "I love you walking alone in the dark alley" to primary school students, they will get the signal and continue singing.

Whether boy or girl.

This also caught the industry by surprise.

Reba and Eason Chan became famous among primary school students.

In their hearts, he is more awesome than any other star.

Of course, Cheng Xi struck while the iron was hot and asked TFgirls to cover this song.

Their fans are the young generation.

It's more in line with their personalities.

By the way, you can attract a wave of elementary school fans, and when they grow up, they will become true fans.

This is a game of mutual development.

This song is quite difficult to sing.

It's summer vacation now, so the three little ones should practice hard.

"I've seen the finished film of 'The Bad Kids' and asked Xin Shuang to revise the issues I pointed out last time."

"Okay, boss. Xin Shuang is working on it late into the night. He's working really hard. A lot of TV stations and Youku and LeTV have already seen the first draft and are asking for prices. What do you think?"

"Well, they're probably all old friends, so let's just go with the old friend price, 150 million per episode. If we have to compete, the highest bidder wins."

This film itself is not long, so it took a little longer to shoot than "Three Lives Three Worlds".

The second half of the year is probably the period when Zuibai-themed TV dramas will dominate the screen.

Three movies and two high-quality TV series.

After "Secret", it was "So Young"; after "So Young", it was "Three Lives, Three Worlds"; and after that, "The Shameful Iron Fist".

The finale of the year is "Detective Chinatown" which Cheng Xi is currently filming.

It can be said to be a series of bombardments.

I hope to win big rewards then.

After arranging the work with Li Wentao, Cheng Xi continued to devote himself to the intense and hot shooting.

Tang Yan also joined the crew recently and started filming the role of "A Xiang".

Although "A Xiang" is the heroine, she actually doesn't have many scenes.

She exists more as a connecting character, a goddess in Tang Ren's heart.

But he created a little character arc.

It is not an exaggeration to say that this is a man's play.

Tang Yan's arrival made everyone in the crew more energetic.

After all, taking a picture of a beautiful woman with long legs is always more pleasing to the eye than taking a picture of a group of rough old men.

It also neutralizes the yang energy of the crew.

The first scene Tang Yan played was the scene of peeping at someone taking a bath that she had auditioned for before.

First, there are shots of Wang Baoqiang and Cheng Xi.

In an old building in Bangkok, Tang Ren, played by Wang Baoqiang, is leaning on the wall of the bathhouse, squeezing forward as if he is peeking at something.

At this time, he was wearing shorts, a vest and slippers, and his coquettish little butt was twisting back and forth as if he wanted to see the situation inside clearly.

At this time, Qin Feng woke up from his drunken stupor and was ready to wash his face.

He noticed what his cousin was looking at, and out of curiosity he pulled Tang Ren away.

As soon as I took a look, hot water splashed directly into my eyes.

"Baoqiang, I see your butt is so skilled, did you often peek at girls when you were a kid?"

"No, my wife and I are both first-time lovers. We don't understand these things. It was you, the director, who gave us guidance."

My goodness, when Cheng Xi heard Baoqiang talking about his wife Miss Ma with a proud look on his face, he didn't know what to say.

The baby is so good to her, but she doesn't appreciate it.

Cheng Xi had the honor of meeting Miss Ma when she came to visit Baoqiang on set last time.

At that time, his agent Song Jiji and assistant were also with him in Bangkok.

When Baoqiang came out to film, Cheng Xi didn't see Song Jiji and Ma Rong, and he always had bad associations in his mind.

After spending several months together, Cheng Xi actually developed a good impression of this honest yet somewhat shrewd man from Hebei.

In particular, the two of them are an inseparable pair in the play, and Baoqiang also gives him unreserved guidance on acting.

Cheng Xi felt that he taught better than those training teachers, so he really treated Baoqiang as a friend.

So I always want to speak up and remind them something, but I feel like it's someone else's family matter.

He discovered it himself, but if you point it out to him in person, I'm afraid he will still feel uncomfortable with you.

But Song Jiji and the other girl really went too far. Miss Ma said she came to visit Wang Baoqiang on the set.

It would be more accurate to say that he came to visit Song Jiji on set, because it was obvious that the two of them spent more time together.

Just as Cheng Xi was thinking about this, Xin Yukun said on the intercom:
"Makeup, come and give the director some red eye makeup, get ready for the next scene."

The next scene is where Tang Yan comes out of the bath and scolds the two men for peeking.

Because the hot water just splashed on Cheng Xi, he had to be given red-eyed makeup.

So Cheng Xi shook his head, stopped thinking about it, and asked the makeup artist to quickly give him a make-up.

Forget it, I’ll remind our good Baoqiang when there is a good opportunity.

(End of this chapter)