"I beg you, please, Senior, I beg you."
Li Zhibai, like a short fat man, grabbed the clothes of the actor who played the Drunken Swordsman and followed behind him step by step, begging for the truth in a funny way.
The people who were watching the scene couldn't help but smile when they saw Li Zhibai's look.
This big night scene was shot in a studio instead of on location.
"The second move of this sword-controlling technique is enough for you to travel the world and defeat all second-rate masters. I warn you, don't hold me anymore! Otherwise, I will cut off the tendons of your hands and feet, making it impossible for you to eat or walk!"
Li Zhibai immediately let go and looked at him with a flattering yet aggrieved expression.
The actor Zhou Zhao who plays the Drunken Swordsman is still a very handsome middle-aged man despite being middle-aged.
He has thick eyebrows, big eyes and deep facial features.
Zhou Zhao grabbed Li Zhibai's shoulders and said, "Come on, go drink with me!"
"Okay, click!"
Luo Yuzhong shouted with a smile.
In this scene, he couldn't help but smile.
There are many scenes in this drama where Li Xiaoyao is handsome and playful, and Li Zhibai can play it very well.
Women think he is handsome, and men want to take him in as their little brother.
Unlike some similar scenes, some actors can act it out as if they are born with mental retardation.
Zhou Zhao let go of Li Zhibai's shoulders.
Li Zhibai twisted his neck.
"Director, why do I have to squat on the ground, holding Brother Zhao's clothes, and jumping around like a stupid carrot?" Li Zhibai was speechless, "My thighs are sore."
Luo Yuzhong said: "It was Yan He's suggestion. At this time, Li Xiaoyao is still a novice, a little naive and ignorant. Of course, the effect of acting this way is really pleasing."
Li Zhibai sighed.
The next scene is the one where Li Xiaoyao and Drunken Swordsman drink together.
In the original work, the two people were lying on a haystack.
Here, the props team got them a big rock so that they could lie on it.
The difference is not that big. It's just that Lu Yanhe didn't indicate in the script that this was a haystack, so the props team decided based on their understanding of the script that if two people were to lie down in the woods, a large rock that could accommodate both of them would be more appropriate.
Besides this stone, there is moonlight.
In this night talk scene, the Drunken Swordsman mentioned his "sorrow" and Li Xiaoyao also talked about his "sorrow". They each had their own sorrows, but the atmosphere was relaxed.
Li Xiaoyao's sorrow is the sorrow of a young man. He can tell without being asked. He feels melancholy but also somewhat cheerful.
The Drunken Swordsman's sorrow is the sorrow of an experienced person. Even if he is questioned, his heart is still tangled. He cannot express himself in any words, and his eyes and brows are all desolate.
Luo Yuzhong wanted to use this scene to capture the artistic conception of a young man and an experienced person.
A scene in the play may only last one minute.
But in order to shoot this scene, a lot of homework had to be done.
In this scene, Luo Yuzhong focuses on the Drunken Swordsman.
It took two takes to pass.
When he watched it for the first time, Luo Yuzhong felt that Zhou Zhao had written the words "regret and remorse of a middle-aged man" directly on his face.
This won’t work. We need to be more heroic like a man of the underworld.
"The reason why worries are worries is because they are kept in the heart."
Luo Yuzhong and Zhou Zhao emphasized.
Then, I passed it the second time.
It was around 9:30 in the evening when we finished filming and called it a day.
Li Zhibai stretched, said goodbye to the director and others, and prepared to go back.
Suddenly, Luo Yuzhong called him.
"Hey, Director, you're looking for me." Li Zhibai was a little surprised.
Luo Yuzhong nodded.
"I have a friend who wants to find you for a project. He wants to talk to you in person. He will come to the crew in a couple of days. Is it convenient for you to talk to him then?"
"It's convenient. What's inconvenient about it?" Li Zhibai nodded readily.
Luo Yuzhong: "I have known him for some years and have worked with him before. His name is Huang Keren. You should have heard of the film "Flame in the Wind" produced by him."
"Oh! I've seen this drama, it was very popular at that time." Li Zhibai nodded.
"Well, after this drama, his luck wasn't very good, and the performances of the next few dramas weren't very good." Luo Yuzhong said, "I don't know what his new project is like, but he and I are old acquaintances, so he asked me to help him get in touch."
Li Zhibai nodded, "Okay, Director Luo, I'll go find out for myself."
Luo Yuzhong nodded.
-
What Li Zhibai didn't expect was that the project Zhou Keren came to him for was another web drama adapted from Liu Jiazhen's novel of the same name.
The drama "Nineteen Years of Crime" cannot be said to be a flop, but it certainly did not meet their expectations.
During this period, Li Zhibai hardly communicated with Liujiazhen and didn't know what to say.
It should be said that the adaptation of "19 Years of Crime" may be very unlucky. The movie was a failure, and the reputation of the TV series was not very good either.
Of course, this does not affect the fact that Liujia Town is still popular among major film and television companies.
After all, he is the most popular writer of Chinese crime suspense novels. No one blames Liu Jiazhen for the failure of these two dramas, because the reputation of the novels is very high. You know, because of the high reputation of the novels, both the movie version and the drama version were actually quite anticipated by the market at the beginning.
Everyone says that as long as the film is well-made and the story presented based on the original novel, it will definitely be a big hit.
The result was naturally counterproductive.
Now another drama adapted from Liu Jiazhen's novel has come...
Li Zhibai’s first reaction was, would Liujiazhen still be willing to let him act?
After all, his performance in "19 Years of Crime" was not well received by the audience.
Unlike Yan Liang, although the reputation of "Liu Guang Yin" is not very good, his performance is praised by everyone.
Zhou Keren said: "Regarding the male lead of this drama, we actually sought the opinion of Mr. Liu Jiazhen. Unexpectedly, the candidate he recommended was exactly the same as mine."
Li Zhibai was a little surprised and asked, "Teacher Liu Jiazhen recommended me?"
"Yes." Zhou Keren said, "He said that the whole process of working with you on the drama version of 'Nineteen Years of Crime Records' made him feel that you are a very suitable actor."
"He didn't recommend Lu Yanhe?" Li Zhibai knew very well that between him and Lu Yanhe, everyone would definitely choose Lu Yanhe first.
Zhou Keren shook his head and said, "Someone suggested looking for Lu Yanhe, but we read the script carefully. This is a suspenseful detective drama set in the Republic of China. The male protagonist is a young master from a wealthy family. He has a natural sense of justice, but also has some dandy habits. In the entertainment industry, for this kind of image, we all think you are more suitable than Lu Yanhe."
Zhou Keren's practical reason made Li Zhibai believe it a little.
Li Zhibai said: "As you know, the market response to 19 Years of Crime was not very good, and my performance in it also received some criticism."
"I watched the show, and I don't think it's your fault." Zhou Keren shook his head. "You just don't have a good director to teach you how to act with an actor with good acting skills. As long as Jiang Jun is not in the show, you actually act very well. As a villain, you should be more rampant and extroverted in front of a policeman like Jiang Jun. You should also be more hysterical and unexpected, breaking through human nature. However, at this time, this aspect of you is weakened. It's not that you don't have it, but no one helps you to keep this direction."
These words directly touched Li Zhibai's heart.
As for his performance in "Nineteen Years", he actually watched the show and thought about why there were some criticisms of his performance. He also reflected on some of the opinions raised by others before. And the conclusion he came to was exactly the same as what Zhou Keren said.
This made Li Zhibai have a more favorable impression of Zhou Keren.
At least on the professional level, Li Zhibai felt that Zhou Keren was a person who told the truth.
Li Zhibai has read the novel Liujiazhen.
Liu Jiazhen's novel is called "Yuanyang Bu", which tells the story of a storyteller in a teahouse who was murdered. In the end, the case was solved by a rich young man named Zhou Fuzhi. In this story, there is a key character, the storyteller's daughter Su Jin. Zhou Fuzhi fell in love with her at first sight and started to pay attention to this case.
Li Zhibai asked: "Has the script been written?"
"Yes, it has been written." Zhou Keren said, "If you are not satisfied with anything, you can point it out and we will study how to change it, but we really hope that you can star in this play."
Li Zhibai asked: "Have you decided on a person for the role of Su Jin? Who will play it?" Zhou Keren said: "We want to ask Jiang Yuqian to play it, but she hasn't responded to us yet after submitting the script."
Li Zhibai was stunned.
What a coincidence? -
"Although this drama is adapted from Liu Jiazhen's novel, which has many fans, it is also a suspense drama."
He Heng said to Jiang Yuqian, "You have already promised Liu Zhijiang to film his costume suspense drama. If you take on another one, your schedule will be completely occupied. You won't be able to continue your international route next year."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuqian, who had been somewhat interested in the script of "Yuan Yang Bu" because it was good, now began to hesitate again.
"Besides, in this drama, the male lead plays the first role, and the female lead is only the second role. At your current stage, it is not suitable for you to take the second role. We have to consolidate our position first." He Heng said.
Jiang Yuqian pondered for a moment and said, "Then let's turn it down."
He Heng nodded.
She said, "This year you filmed two dramas, 'Mysterious Ghost' and 'Perfect Truth', both of which will be on next year. Plus 'The Phone Call' at the end of this year, next year you only need to film the Liu Zhijiang drama. If it's not a movie, let's not take it for the time being."
Jiang Yuqian asked: "Sister Heng, what do you think of the movie "The Phone"? "
"Not bad." He Heng nodded. "Like Yan He said, this is a very commercial film, so it will definitely be a hot topic. However, it will probably be difficult to win any awards, as this is not a subject that awards like."
Jiang Yuqian nodded.
He Heng said: "However, the distribution rights of this film in Thailand and South Korea have been sold. I will try to get the distributors in these two places to hold a promotional event. We still insist on going international. So far, there is no other female star in the circle who can copy your path. You are the most successful one. The two new high-end brands who added global endorsements this year are basically because of your achievements in this area."
Jiang Yuqian has made the most of the popularity brought to her by "Squid Game".
After that, in the year and a half, Jiang Yuqian relied on the popularity brought by the drama and the promotion of various partners to appear in various events around the world. She also relied on the Hollywood blockbuster action film "Mysterious Ghost" and the drama "Perfect Truth" directed by a great French director to increase everyone's expectations for herself, making all major partners believe in her future star path and continuously provide resources and support, making her the most shining female star this year.
Of course, half of this was achieved through her hard work.
Almost all year round, he appears in three public events every month on average to gain exposure. Even when he is filming, he has a lot of "stock" to release during this period to maintain exposure and popularity.
It can be said that in terms of status, Jiang Yuqian may not have really risen from the original popular first-line lineup consisting of Zhang Lan and other female stars.
But in terms of star power and popularity, Jiang Yuqian has firmly left her group behind this year.
Especially the two new high-end global endorsements this year have helped her secure the top spot among the current group of popular female stars.
Apart from Chen Bige, whose status has reached another level and who is not in Huashan fighting with others, no one can take over his limelight at this time.
He Heng suddenly thought of something and said to Jiang Yuqian, "You must keep the secret between you and Li Zhibai... Every time you meet with him, you must let me know so that I can take relevant measures. Otherwise, once this matter is exposed, Li Zhibai's fans will definitely launch a large-scale attack on you. At this critical juncture, if your image is in danger, many partners will lose trust in you."
Jiang Yuqian nodded.
One of the important reasons why she can maintain her current star status is that all major partners are willing to provide her with resources. Invitations to various top events are sent to her, and she is given priority for various jobs that can enhance her status and reputation.
If it were suddenly revealed that she was dating a top young actor, public opinion would be secondary. This incident would cause some people who had just started working with her to question her.
The resources in everyone's hands are not abundant enough to be given away for free. If people are willing to give them now, they are also buying shares, pushing them to a higher position, and then giving back to them.
Jiang Yuqian said to He Heng: "Sister Heng, don't worry, we will be very careful, and we don't have much time to meet."
He Heng: "It's better to be safe than sorry. Both you and him are closely watched by the media and paparazzi. If you are not careful, you will be photographed secretly."
Jiang Yuqian nodded.
"I will certainly pay attention to that."
It is not easy for any star to maintain such a position.
Jiang Yuqian had experienced a period of decline and was almost unstable and fell off the list. Fortunately, at a critical moment, a movie called "Squid Game" allowed her to surpass her former peak and reach a higher point.
She won't give up on this.
-
"You refused?" Li Zhibai asked in surprise.
"Yeah." Jiang Yuqian asked, "What's wrong? Sister Heng was right about the play "Yuanyang Bu", it's not suitable for me now, so I rejected it, what's wrong?"
Li Zhibai: "No, nothing."
Although he said it was okay, he couldn't hide the disappointment in his tone.
Jiang Yuqian said, "You sound disappointed. What happened?"
"Because of this drama...they asked me to play the male lead, and I thought I could act with you." Li Zhibai said.
Jiang Yuqian: "Ah? Is this true? They came to see you?"
"Yes." Li Zhibai sighed, "Forget it, it's okay, just push it if you want."
"If I had known I would have thought about it again."
"No, your agent is right. You should play a leading female role now."
"The main reason is that I have already accepted Liu Zhijiang's drama, which is also a costume suspense theme, so there is a overlap." Jiang Yuqian said, "I can't play two dramas of similar types in one go."
"Yeah." Li Zhibai nodded.
As they were chatting, someone knocked on the door and talked about Li Zhibai's play outside.
Li Zhibai could only hang up the phone in a hurry and go out.
Today is still the scene with the Drunken Swordsman.
Li Zhibai was actually quite shocked.
The drama "Legend of Sword and Fairy" is so large in scale and has so many scenes. If it were any other crew, they would definitely have to split into groups A and B to shoot the drama, or even three groups, A, B and C, with several co-directors shooting together.
Generally speaking, the director may not be present for even one-third of the scenes.
However, Luo Yuzhong insisted that he personally take charge of every scene on the spot, and Group B was only responsible for shooting some empty shots and reshooting the unsatisfactory shots of the extras in some large scenes.
In the dramas Li Zhibai had filmed before, it was rare for one director to shoot from beginning to end.
It is very rare that he was able to shoot every important scene.
No wonder the quality of Luo Yuzhong's dramas has never dropped. Not all of his dramas are hits, but none of them are disappointing.
As soon as Li Zhibai arrived, Luo Yuzhong told him about the scene that was going to be filmed.
As they were talking, Lu Yanhe came over.
In his hands he held a portable CD player and a pair of headphones.
Luo Yuzhong, Li Zhibai and the others looked at the thing in his hand with some confusion.
"what is this?"
Lu Yanhe said: "I wrote a few songs for The Legend of Sword and Fairy, which I plan to use as the theme song and OST. I just asked someone to finish them, so I brought them here for you to listen to."
But there is only one pair of headphones.
So, you can only listen one by one.
Lu Yanhe gave it to Luo Yuzhong first.
During this time, Li Zhibai asked quietly: "When did you write these songs?"
"Before you joined the group, they spent some time working on this song." Lu Yanhe said, "There are two songs in it, and they were going to ask you to sing them."
Li Zhibai's eyes lit up when he heard this.
"Hey, there's another song for me to sing!"
Lu Yanhe smiled and nodded.
What they listen to now is pure music, without anyone singing.
After listening to this, Luo Yuzhong gave Lu Yanhe a thumbs up.
"Okay, that's the feeling I want."
"I was worried that you might find these songs too pop-y."
"This drama is an idol drama in the guise of a serious drama, so songs with a pop feel are more suitable." Luo Yuzhong said, "What are the names of these songs?"
“June Rain.”
“It’s Always Quiet.”
"SPL."
-
Recommended old book on entertainment: "I Became the Scandal Heroine Overnight" (End of this chapter)
