Director of Photography Department of Huayu

Chapter 112: Choice, Mother-Daughter Conversation

The night was dark, and the early spring wind in the capital was still a bit chilly.

Zu Feng's house is not big, but it is very warm.

There are several scripts scattered on the sofa, and a warm yellow floor lamp supports the atmosphere of the whole room.

The water in the stove was bubbling. Liu Tianchi was sitting beside the coffee table, holding a cup of hot tea in his hand, but his brows were slightly furrowed.

"What kind of movie is Wu Chen going to make that requires him to be an acting coach for two years?" She looked at Zu Feng in surprise.

"I don't know." Zu Feng smiled lightly and shook his head. "He didn't say it clearly, so I didn't ask."

Liu Tianchi took a sip of tea, his brows relaxed a little. "I've heard some rumors coming from the Central Academy of Drama recently. It seems to be related to Kunqu Opera, but it's hard to say whether it's true or not."

"Are you going to take it?"

"Of course I'll take it." Liu Tianchi chuckled, but his eyes were extremely serious. "Not to mention that he has helped you before, judging by his current state and the enthusiasm he has put into polishing the script, I think this project is not easy."

"Okay, I'll get back to him tomorrow."

At this moment in the Beijing Film Academy dormitory, Wu Chen's fingers were typing rapidly on the keyboard.

The files for Now You See Me have been opened, and the outline of the script is rapidly taking shape.

Unlike "Black Peony" which requires a slow cooker, this film has a brisk pace and clear setting. You only need to sort out the clues and reversals, and the outline of the story will naturally take shape.

At this moment, the phone rang. It was a message from Liu Yifei:
"I'm done! I'm finally done filming!!"

Wu Chen typed while replying:

"Congratulations, Senior Sister, another work has come to an end."

Liu Yifei seemed dissatisfied and replied quickly:
"Great Director, is your vocabulary so limited? Besides the word 'congratulations', you have no other words?"

Wu Chen pursed his lips, and a smile crept up the corners of his mouth.

He tilted his head and thought for a moment, his fingers moving as he typed:

"Life is only 30,000 days long. Every congratulation has been given a special meaning. Are you sure you don't want it?"

At this moment, somewhere in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, Liu Yifei was rolling on the bed with messy hair. She wrapped herself in the quilt like a kitten, reading Wu Chen's reply while chewing on these words.

She suddenly sat up, her hair disheveled, and yelled, "Doesn't that mean I'm almost a quarterway through? It's all over!"

After saying that, he rolled onto the bed again, curled up into a ball, pressed his face with the pillow, and muttered softly.

Wu Chen couldn't help but smile when he saw Liu Yifei's reply.

The day after the filming of The Return of the Condor Heroes was completed, Zhang Jizong made the news a hot topic, claiming that he had invited 8 companies to produce special effects for The Return of the Condor Heroes, and the production cost would be as high as 200 million yuan, which was higher than that of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils.

Jin Yong's dramas are highly anticipated in this era, and "The Return of the Condor Heroes" is no exception.

April 29th, around 4 p.m.

The Beijing Film Academy campus is bathed in the afterglow of the setting sun. The red brick walls of the teaching buildings are dyed a warm orange, and the branches and leaves of the locust trees sway gently in the breeze, casting mottled shadows.

Students were walking in groups of three or four on the playground, playing football or taking a walk. The aroma of cafeteria food wafted in the air from afar, mixed with the scent of grass and trees in late spring.

Wu Chen, Pu Songri, Chu Tianshu and Xiang Zhuo came out of the dormitory and prepared to go out for a bite to eat.

Several people were walking on the campus path, and passing students kept looking at them and talking in low voices.

"Because of Brother Chen, we've all become celebrities." Xiang Zhuo chuckled and joked, "Brother Chen, why don't you ask the junior sisters for their phone number? They'll definitely give it to you without hesitation."

Wu Chen ignored Xiang Zhuo's teasing. As soon as they walked out of the school gate, the four of them saw two figures walking towards them.

Liu Yifei was wearing a thin white sweater and light blue jeans. Her long hair was draped over her shoulders, the ends of her hair swaying in the wind. Her waist was slender, like a white porcelain doll from a Jiangnan water town.

Her eyes are as clear as water, her face is fair and translucent, revealing the agility and purity of a girl. There is a smile in her eyes and the corners of her mouth are slightly upturned, like a flower blooming in spring, and the breath of youth is overwhelming.

"Junior brother." Liu Yifei greeted them happily and trotted over.

Liu Xiaoli followed behind him, wearing a dark coat and with a gentle temperament.

Wu Chen and the other three were stunned for a moment, then they laughed and greeted, "Senior Sister!"

"Hello Auntie!"

Liu Xiaoli responded gently: "Where are you going?"

"Let's have dinner outside." Wu Chen replied with a smile.

Liu Yifei immediately blinked at him, as if trying hard to convey some signal.

Wu Chen understood what she meant and asked with a smile, "Sister, do you want to come with us?"

"Okay, I'll call Yangyang and Jiajia. We had originally agreed to have dinner together." She agreed readily, her voice as clear as a mountain spring.

Liu Xiaoli thought about it and didn't say much. She just nodded and said, "I'll pick you up later."

Seeing that Liu Xiaoli was about to leave, Wu Chen took the opportunity to step forward and said softly, "Auntie, are you free tomorrow? I'd like to ask Senior Sister to try out a notebook I have."

Liu Xiaoli was slightly startled, and then an uncontrollable joy appeared on her face.

She had actually planned to let Yifei turn to the film industry, but the more she learned about this circle, the more confused she became, because it was a small circle that was much more closed than the TV drama circle.

The production companies, directors and actors here have almost formed an inherent chain. Except for Zhang Yimou who often chooses newcomers as the heroine, most directors use existing and fixed actors, and it is difficult for outsiders to intervene.

Especially for big directors, their films have no shortage of investment, and big producers have been eyeing them early on. For others who want to get in, the hope is slim.

"Thank you, Director Wu." Liu Xiaoli nodded with a smile, her tone quite serious.

"Then let's do it sooner rather than later, tomorrow morning at school." Wu Chen said directly.

Liu Yifei couldn't sit still when she heard the word "notebook" and immediately asked, but Wu Chen dismissed her with a nonchalant answer:
"Now that I'm telling you, can you still eat this meal?
Go call someone, I'm hungry."

Liu Yifei said "Oh" and quickly picked up her phone. She learned that Zhou Yang and Wang Jia were already on their way to the school gate. They walked briskly into the school, as if to see where they were going.

At this time, Xiang Zhuo looked down at his sweatshirt: "Originally, we were just four bachelors eating alone, and now there are a few more senior sisters. You should have told me earlier that I had to clean myself up. How can I face people like this?" "Get lost, as if you can change someone else by cleaning me up." Wu Chen scolded with a smile.

If Wu Chen and his three friends were having dinner together, they could talk about movies, national affairs, and then a certain girl.

However, with the addition of Liu Yifei and the other two, the topic shifted towards interesting stories from the crew and school gossip.

The next day, in a conference room of Beijing Film Academy, light streamed in through the blinds and fell on the cover of the script spread out on the table by Wu Chen - "Black Peony".

The air was so quiet that the only sound that could be heard was the rustling of papers.

Liu Xiaoli's expression was complicated, from the initial surprise to gradually becoming thoughtful, and even frowning slightly.

She glanced at Liu Yifei, then lowered her head to scan a page of the script and couldn't help rubbing her temples.

On the contrary, Liu Yifei was so absorbed in reading that it seemed as if stars were dancing in her eyes. Finally, she turned the last page, and then a clear voice broke the silence:

"Junior brother, I want to act!"

Wu Chen smiled, but his eyes fell on Liu Xiaoli.

He understood that this decision was not something Liu Yifei could make alone, so he continued:
"Auntie, Senior Sister, I plan to prepare this movie for two years.

You have also seen the script, which involves Kunqu Opera and the characters' emotions are very complex. I invited teacher Zhang Jiqing to be the Kunqu Opera instructor. Although she does not accept disciples, she is willing to teach personally.

For performance guidance, I invited teacher Liu Tianchi from the Central Academy of Drama, who is best at mobilizing the actors' emotions.

Senior sister is not the only candidate for the female lead. There is another girl recommended by Kunqu opera master Cai Zhengren, who is of similar age, only a few years apart. The crew will train them together, and the final result will depend on their performance.

But I promise, I’ll be the second female lead at least.”

There was silence in the conference room for a few seconds.

Liu Xiaoli finally smiled and said, "Director Wu, give us some time to think about it."

"of course."

"Mom, why should I consider it? I want to act." Liu Yifei looked at Liu Xiaoli with a face full of grievance.

Wu Chen nodded and left first.

The door to the conference room slowly closed, leaving only mother and daughter in the room.

Liu Xiaoli is not stupid. She must be very clear about what he meant, otherwise the TV circle would not have let Liu Yifei go so smoothly.

It’s just that the rules of the film industry are completely different from those of the television industry, which is at the top of the entertainment industry.

Why did Liu Yifei’s film career do so poorly in her previous life? Vision was actually the least important factor.

Because there were only a few good domestic films in those years, and there were few female characters in these films, and even fewer roles that were both age-appropriate and outstanding;
These scripts still need to go through the hands of people like Gong Li, the four Dan and two Bing actresses, and the ones that fall into Liu Yifei's hands are basically the leftovers.

It's not just Liu Yifei, but the entire 85-flower group has no choice in film scripts. They can only pick up the ones that are left out, but how good can the ones that are left out be?

"Let's talk about it when we get back." Liu Xiaoli spoke gently and touched Liu Yifei's hair. "Mom won't hurt you."

Back at the villa, Liu Xiaoli leaned on the sofa, staring at the script of "Black Peony", her brows furrowed and her expression complicated.

Liu Yifei, who was sitting opposite her, could no longer bear to watch and finally couldn't help but speak:
"Mom, why are you still hesitating? Junior brother, this script is so good, the story is so touching, didn't you say you liked it too?"

Liu Xiaoli sighed and shook her head gently: "Silly girl, your mother also studied art. How could I not know whether this script is good or not?"

She raised her head and looked at her daughter seriously. "Maybe I can't see the tricks in those similar scripts, but I can tell at a glance that Wu Chen wrote this one—it's so good, so good that it makes me hesitate."

"What are you hesitating about?" Liu Yifei was slightly stunned and asked in confusion.

"I'm worried you won't perform well," Liu Xiaoli said firmly. "Do you know what this means? If you don't perform well in this play, all the criticism from the outside world will fall on you actors."

Her tone became more serious: "If it's an ordinary script, if the performance goes wrong, there will be a variety of reasons that overlap, and it won't be limited to one or two places.

But this script is different, it’s so solid, so tightly structured, so full of characters, that if something goes wrong, there are only two possibilities;
Either there's something wrong with your actors, or there's something wrong with Wu Chen's direction, but I personally think it's most likely the former."

Liu Yifei was stunned.

Liu Xiaoli's tone softened as she continued, "You've filmed four TV series over the years. Even before The Return of the Condor Heroes aired, you were already being called one of the 'Four Little Flowers' by the media.

The next two years may be the two years with the fastest increase in exposure. Do you know what it will mean for you?
It's fine if you succeed, but if you fail, you may lose everything because of a wrong step. Two years, for a woman, two years is so critical.

You need to think carefully.”

"But," Liu Yifei lowered her head, her voice tense, "I just want to be an actor. Why would a good actor back down when faced with difficulties?"

She raised her head, suppressing her emotions, but tears still welled up in her eyes, glistening with water. “I know I’m not very talented, but I can work very hard.

My junior fellow student said that he would ask a teacher to teach me.

And if I really wasn't capable, he wouldn't have let me play the leading role, right?"

Liu Xiaoli was silent for a moment, but finally softened her heart.

Of course she knew that Wu Chen's vision was correct. That was why she was afraid that her daughter really couldn't bear the heavy expectations.

"Mom, life is only 30,000 days long. I don't want to leave lifelong regrets because of retreating today." Liu Yifei's voice was choked with sobs, but she was extremely firm.

Liu Xiaoli looked at her daughter and suddenly felt that she had really grown up.

She sighed softly and nodded, “In a few months you will be an adult.

It’s up to you to decide this matter.”

"Really?" Liu Yifei's nose felt sore, and her eyes suddenly lit up. She went over and hugged Liu Xiaoli like a little child, "Mom, you're the best!"

Liu Xiaoli laughed and reached out to touch her daughter's head, "Don't be too happy too soon, you have to be mentally prepared.

Although you have a basic dance foundation, Teacher Zhang is known as the Queen of Kunqu Opera, and not everyone can withstand her teaching."

"Don't worry," Liu Yifei waved her fist vigorously, her eyes blazing with fighting spirit, "The thing I'm least afraid of for your daughter is hardship."

(End of this chapter)