Peninsula Entertainment started from Reply 1988

Chapter 305 Toilet Scene

The movie "Parasite" poses considerable challenges to the actors who are working with Bong Joon-ho for the first time.

Because the shooting mode of the films he directed is somewhat different.

The actors had to closely follow complex movement lines to perform while maintaining continuity and realism.

The key is not just one or two scenes.

There are endless shooting routes for each scene.

For Jin Qixuan, this is a brand new challenge.

Because he had never had such a shooting experience before.

Fortunately, after a week of intense shooting.

Jin Qixuan gradually adapted to this performance mode.

And they have been able to master the changes in traffic flow skillfully.

And be able to perform freely according to the movement line.

However, after this week, Jin Qixuan also discovered a problem.

——I have scenes to shoot every day.

And today, looking at the new storyboard script in his hand, Jin Qixuan fell into deep thought.

According to the ranking of star status, Jin Qixuan ranks fourth in this drama.

However, judging from the actual shooting situation, he has more scenes than any other actor.

You know, the main actor Song Kanghao receives film remuneration + box office dividends.

Jin Qixuan's salary for this drama was only 500 million.

Even though the pay difference is about four to five times, he has more scenes than the main actor.

It's hard not to be happy about this.

Seeing Jin Qixuan secretly laughing while looking at the storyboard script.

Song Kanghao approached curiously and asked:
"What makes you so happy?"

Hearing this, Jin Qixuan handed over the script and said with a smile:
"Senior~ Do you think my role is too much?"

Song Kanghao took the storyboard script, flipped through a few pages, and then smiled:

"That's normal. Your character plays a key role in connecting the two, so naturally you will have more scenes."

"However, having a lot of scenes doesn't mean there will be a lot of footage left in the final cut. Maybe you'll end up with none of it."

Hearing this, Jin Qixuan's face fell:
“Ah??? No way…”

Seeing that he had successfully amused him, Song Kanghao laughed out loud, leaving Jin Qixuan with a look of indifference.

……

In the blink of an eye, it was early June.

All crew members moved to a semi-underground community built in Jeonju City for filming.

Originally during the preparation stage, Bong Joon-ho only designed the set layout for three or four households.

For this reason, the art team and the set design team spent several months looking for all kinds of old tiles, door panels, window frames, insect nets, glass windows, doors, and chimneys in an effort to restore the real atmosphere of poverty.

During the construction process, the originally planned three or four households gradually expanded to nearly forty households.

This also resulted in the set not being fully built when the crew originally scheduled to start filming.

Although it takes more time, the effect is more realistic.

There are more than forty households, and each semi-underground house carries its own story.

There is the grandmother who is separated from her children, lives alone, and barely makes a living by picking up waste;
There are communicators bursting with Marine Corps pride;
There are many children, residents and brides on the first floor...

Simply put, the semi-underground community built by the crew is a miniature society.

Each character has his own life trajectory and emotional entanglements.

And around the community.

The kitchen waste that the prop team had carefully laid out was emitting an unpleasant odor.

When Jin Qixuan and others followed the crew to the scene, they were immediately surrounded by flies and mosquitoes flying around.

Seeing this, everyone covered their mouths and noses calmly.

Lean over and get into the "home" you're about to shoot to take a look around.

As soon as he entered the room, a peculiar musty smell of a semi-basement room hit his nose, making Jin Qixuan frown.

The whole room is only about 20 square meters.

The height is slightly taller than Jin Qixuan's.

The environment inside the house can only be described as dirty, messy and poor.

Layers of clothes were piled up in the corner, the walls were covered with black mold, the gas stove was covered with oil stains, and unwashed socks were hung by the bed...

However, what Jin Qixuan found most exaggerated was that the toilet was built in an unusually high position.

Jin Qixuan stood in front and tried it and found that if he needed to urinate, he had to bend over and squat.

This posture is not only awkward, but also looks extremely obscene in the eyes of others.

Just as Jin Qixuan was bending over with a helpless look on his face, trying to adapt to the strange height of the toilet.

On the side, Song Kanghao and Park So-dam, who were also surveying the environment in the house, couldn't help but burst into laughter when they saw this.

"I can understand Ji Ting's joke, but why did you laugh so loudly, old man? Aren't you the same as me?"

Jin Qixuan looked at Song Kanghao who was laughing so hard that he was bent over, and asked speechlessly.

Song Kanghao was even more delighted after hearing this, and clapped his hands and said:

"Silly boy, squat to pee!"

Upon hearing this, Jin Qixuan was speechless.

You want me, a 1.80-foot-tall guy, to pee while squatting?
absurd! !
This is ridiculous!!!
Afterwards, Jin Qixuan went to the art director to ask questions with full of doubts.

Seeing this, the art director waved his hand and said with a smile:

"It's no exaggeration. The design of the toilet's position is based on my past life experience. As for why it's so high, it's mainly because the water pressure is not enough."

After listening to his explanation, Jin Qixuan understood.

Jin Qixuan had seen the impoverished areas of the peninsula before.

The location where I first shot the cover of GQ supplement was in the famous slums of the peninsula.

However, he had never visited its interior.

Before long, the family of four had changed into their costumes.

Bong Joon-ho began to explain the movements of this scene to everyone.

"The first shot will be of Ki-woo, with your face in the frame. After the clapperboard sounds, you hold up your phone and walk towards your parents' room. On the way, Ki-jung will enter the frame from another direction. Then, the camera will pan to the left, and then Ki-jung will walk out of the frame, and then your parents will enter the frame. When your father stands up and enters the frame, Ki-woo needs to walk out of the frame at the right time to give him a focused close-up..."

As Bong Joon-ho spoke, he gestured with his hands to indicate the movement of the camera and the actors' positions to ensure that each actor was clear about their position and movements.

The meaning of this scene is similar to the first scene after filming, both of which are mainly about showing the environment.

Highlight the residence and member structure of the protagonist's family.

After Bong Joon-ho finished speaking, the four of them rehearsed the scene four or five times.

From each member's entry order, movements, expressions, to their interactions and cooperation with each other, we strive to achieve perfection.

Once all the details have been carefully polished and confirmed, the official shooting begins.

"Snapped!"

There was a crisp sound of hitting the board.

The camera first focuses on the environment outside the window.

Then, move slowly downward.

A close-up of Jin Qixuan's face with a frown on his face, as he concentrated on fiddling with his phone.

After a while, Jin Qixuan showed a sad look on his face and whispered:
"It's broken! Ji Ting..."

At this time, Jin Qixuan stood up and moved.

The camera follows the scene from the front to show the background environment.

Hearing the call, Park So-dam poked his head out, wiping his hair with a towel, and asked:
"Huh? What's wrong?"

"The auntie upstairs seems to have changed the wifi password!"

"Password? Have you tried 123456789?"

Jin Qixuan responded helplessly: "No way!"

"Try it the other way around."

“I tried.”

Then, Park So-dam left the frame and the camera panned left to Jang Hye-jin who played the mother.

She was knitting a sweater while paying attention to the conversation between the two.

Seeing Jin Qixuan's anxious look, she kicked Song Kanghao, who was lying on the ground next to her and played the father, and urged him:

"Hey, Jin Ki-taek, stop pretending to be asleep and think of a solution quickly."

When Song Kanghao was about to stand up after being kicked, Jin Qixuan saw this and immediately walked out of the camera with his mobile phone.

The camera moves slowly as Song Kang-ho stands up.

First, give it a focus.

Then a semi-circular shot began, gradually revealing this narrow and messy semi-underground room.

There were worn-out clothes hanging on the walls and various sundries scattered on the ground. The last scene was fixed on the mother's past achievements.

"Cut!"

As the director called for cut, the entire set fell into a brief silence.

Kim Ki-hyun, Park So-dam, Song Kang-ho and Jang Hye-jin stood there, maintaining their final performance poses, waiting for the director's feedback.

Bong Joon-ho stood behind the monitor, carefully examining the playback images from each camera angle.

After a while, he poked his head out from above the monitor, smiled and gave the four people a thumbs-up, and said:

"Very good, this one passed. Thank you for your hard work, let's prepare for the next scene."

"Ok."

The next scene was filmed in the toilet, which Bong Joon-ho named the "Temple of Shit."

This scene also produced the famous scene of the film - Kim Kye-hyun and Park So-dam squatting next to the toilet and fiddling with their cell phones.

This scene was quite challenging for Kim Kye-hyun and Park So-dam.

Not only do they have to maintain steady movements in a narrow space, but they also have to coordinate with the director's camera movements while maintaining the character's emotional expression.

Especially Jin Qixuan, he had to half-squat and adapt to the height of the toilet in a very awkward posture.

"Action!"

Following the director's order, Kim Ki-hyun and Park So-dam immediately got into character.

The two of them squatted next to the toilet with focused expressions on their faces, fiddling with their phones while communicating.

"Jiting, the 2G network in this coffee kingdom is usable, but why is the signal so bad?"

"Maybe it's because we live too low down, the signal can't reach here."

Park So-dam responded.

After saying that, the two began to raise their phones and adjust their positions, hoping to receive a better signal.

"boom……"

However, at this moment, Park So-dam raised her hand and accidentally knocked over the shelf next to her where toiletries were placed.

Toiletries were scattered all over the floor, and the scene suddenly became chaotic.

"Cut!"

Bong Joon-ho shouted.

This shot is obviously NG.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at the director.

The director shook his head helplessly. There was indeed something wrong with the shooting.

"Qixuan, please pull in your broad Pacific Ocean shoulders. They are almost squeezed out of the painting by Sudan."

Jin Qixuan: “…”

Yes, this NG is not Park So-dam’s fault.

The main reason is that the shooting space is too narrow.

Both of them need to complete the action in a limited space, which is quite difficult.

Moreover, Jin Qixuan's shoulders are relatively broad.

This made Park So-dam a little restricted in his operation, and he accidentally touched the objects next to him.

Hearing this, Jin Qixuan quickly adjusted his posture, hunched his shoulders, and tried to squeeze closer to the toilet, and asked with a little embarrassment:
"so?"

Feng Junhao looked at Jin Qixuan's aggrieved look and couldn't help laughing:

"Hahaha... your expression is so funny!"

When Park So-dam heard the laughter, she turned to look at Kim Ki-hyeon and was also amused by his funny appearance, causing her chest to tremble.

Their laughter quickly spread throughout the set.

The staff members came over and when they saw Jin Qixuan's expression, they started laughing too.

Jin Qixuan: “…”

Laughing, laughing...

Then, Jin Qixuan touched his nose and coughed twice awkwardly.

"Hahaha, okay, okay, I won't laugh anymore."

Bong Joon-ho suppressed his laughter and waved his hand to signal everyone to return to their posts.

Then he walked over to Kim Ki-hyeon and Park So-dam.

He personally demonstrated how to maintain stable movements in a small space and reminded them of the details to pay attention to when shooting.

"Qixuan, you have to remember that although the space is limited, your performance cannot be limited."

Jin Qixuan nodded to show that he understood.

"Same to you, Sudan. Don't let the environment affect your performance."

"Good director."

Park So-dam also responded seriously.

"Okay, let's have another one."

The two nodded and adjusted their status.

"Action!"

Following the director's command, the two entered into their roles again.

This time, they paid more attention to the coordination between each other and the stability of their movements.

Kim Ki-hyeon tried to curl up his shoulders to give Park So-dam more space.

Park So-dam also operated the phone carefully, trying to avoid touching objects nearby.

The two of them were fiddling with their phones while communicating.

Although the space was still narrow, their performance was more natural and smooth.

The shoot went exceptionally smoothly.

Kim Ki-hyun and Park So-dam successfully pulled off all the movements and expressions.

"Cut! Great, this one passed!"

Bong Joon-ho looked at the playback on the monitor and nodded with satisfaction.

"Thank you for your hard work. Get ready for the next one."

Seeing this, Jin Qixuan breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, he didn't have to suffer in the half-squatting position anymore.

Next, several scenes were filmed to showcase the characters' personalities.

For example, a family of four folds pizza crusts in a small space, and sanitation sprays disinfectant;

While eating and chatting, I saw a drunk man peeing at the door...

In the blink of an eye, it was already past ten o'clock in the evening.

The crew members began to pack up and prepare to call it a day.

Jin Qixuan and others changed out of their costumes and came to the rest area.

Although today's shooting task has been completed, everyone did not leave immediately.

Instead, they sit together and share each other's feelings and experiences.

After chatting for a while, Bong Joon-ho urged everyone to go back and rest in order to ensure tomorrow's work condition.

However, before leaving, Jin Qixuan suddenly thought of a question and turned around and asked:

"Director Feng, I have a question for you."

"Oh? What's the problem?"

Bong Joon-ho turned to look at him and asked curiously.

"That is... what is the ending of our movie? Can you give us a hint?"

Although Jin Qixuan has read the script many times, he still feels a little confused about the direction and ending of the whole story.

However, after hearing this question, Bong Joon-ho gave a mysterious smile.

"I can't tell you this question casually."

"Why?"

"Because the plot and ending are the essence of the movie. If you are told in advance, you will lose the surprise and tension when performing."

Bong Joon-ho explained.

"But...if I don't know the direction and ending of the whole story, I might be a little confused when performing."

"Don't worry, you just need to focus on your role and emotional expression when performing. As for the direction and ending of the whole story, I will gradually reveal it to you in the subsequent filming. Moreover, I believe that your acting skills and comprehension will be able to grasp the inner world of the character well."

"All right……"

Just as Jin Qixuan was about to say goodbye, Feng Junhao suddenly said:
"By the way, your little girlfriend is coming tomorrow, right?"

"Hehe~"

Hearing this, Jin Qixuan scratched his head embarrassedly and smiled.

On the night of the start of filming, Jin Qixuan talked to Song Kanghao.

The next day, he and Lee Sun Kyun jointly told Bong Joon-ho about this matter.

Then, Bong Joon-ho was very considerate and gave the role of the pizza shop owner to Lee Ji-eun.

(End of this chapter)