Generation Z Artists

Chapter 302 Gratitude to Myself at That Moment
Marshall, drenched in sweat and stammering with some anger, offered a perfunctory reply.

"Director, we're discussing how the film's plot structure and the realistic integration of the ending can be integrated. You can't replace the core issue with my individual predicament. Everyone wants the child to be redeemed, but..."

“Stop, Mr. Marshall.”

Fang Xinghe waved his hand, interrupting the other party's sophistry.

"It seems you understand very well that film is just an extension of reality and doesn't need to completely follow most real situations. Any design we make for a film is part of an artistic concept, and my artistic concept is redemption, which is fine."

"YES!"

Many audience members below the stage echoed loudly.

"no problem!"

Marshall opened his mouth, then realized he couldn't find a strong enough rebuttal, and awkwardly put down the microphone.

European film critics are still very concerned about appearances; they don't nitpick like public intellectuals in China. Therefore, the subsequent questions avoided the debate between commercial appeal and artistic merit.

EuropaCorp, one of the four major film publications, asked about acting skills.

"Director Fang, we were surprised to find that every actor in the film delivered an exceptionally exquisite and perfectly fitting performance, showing no signs of immaturity and yet so lively."

I wouldn't be surprised by anything you do; you seem born to perform miracles.

But your two daughters, Nian and Lai, shouldn't they be underage yet?
But their performance was so unexpected that I think they are among the best performing talents of their age group in the world.

I'd like to know, how did you select them, and how did you train them to deliver such a performance?

good question.

Director Fang gave that guy an approving look, and then calmly replied, "Of course I have extremely high acting talent, but talent alone cannot make a movie like this."

To present the best possible result, I and my actors have put in an effort that you can't even imagine.

Okay, it sounds like I'm bragging to explain this myself. Maybe you should ask Liu Yifei, who plays Chen Nian; you can also call her Xixi.

Fang Xinghe handed the microphone to Nenxian, gave her a quick glance, and then closed the door to let Fei out!

Speaking in public was not difficult for Liu Yifei, who was only 16 years old. She took the microphone with grace and poise, but she still took a deep breath before speaking.

It wasn't fear, but rather a sense of感慨 (gǎnkǎi, a feeling of deep emotion or reflection).

Although this is not the final podium, the moment and the scene are still dreamlike enough to reward all the efforts, hard work, and even sacrifices made for it.

"Hello everyone, my name is Liu Yifei, my English name is Crystal, my nickname is Qianqian, I am 16 years old this year, and I am a freshman from Beijing Film Academy in China, class of 02."

The flashbulbs went off in quick succession, revealing the beginnings of her impact on the media.

Wow! You're so beautiful!

Host Monica took over from the reporter and broke down the questions to conduct a new interview.

"Xixi, you gave a perfect performance. We are all very curious about how you did it. You were only 15 years old when you filmed 'Better Days', right?"

“Yes.” Nenxian nodded.

"So how were you selected by Director Fang? At that time, you probably hadn't started school yet and didn't have much acting experience."

"Indeed not."

Nenxian continued nodding: "At that time, I had just acted in my first TV series, playing a supporting role. Because I had no acting experience, I often dragged everyone down."

She didn't mention the fact that the lead actor disliked her in this setting, but simply took the blame upon herself and glossed over it.

"Better Days is my second film and my first movie."

Wow! Unbelievable!

Monica gasped in surprise, and the audience stirred.

No one could believe that Chen Nian in the film was actually played by a newcomer.

Monica and the audience were in high spirits: "So, what were Director Fang's reasons for choosing you?"

Liu Yifei's answer was quite interesting: "From my perspective, it might be because I'm the right age and can accept shaving my head?"

"Haha, that's not right!"

Monica shook her head and laughed.

"I believe that many young actors would be willing to shave their heads for Director Fang's films, but that's not the decisive reason."

The young fairy immediately spread her hands: "So I'm also very curious, why me?"

Everyone immediately turned their attention to Fang Xinghe.

Dog Fang coughed lightly and began to talk nonsense in a serious tone.

"The core reason, of course, is that I need a girl who matches me in appearance. You might not realize how difficult that is..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the audience burst into laughter.

Fang Xinghe exaggerated his appearance too much, but, but, there's really no way to refute that.

The audience and judges found it delightful to see Fang Xinghe and Liu Yifei standing side by side on stage, as if drinking fine wine.

A good movie doesn't need both the male and female leads to be that beautiful, but if the male and female leads of a teen romance movie are that beautiful, then do you even care if it's a good movie or not? You can watch it without even thinking.

"certainly……"

After pulling the ball away, the dog pulled it back, its expression very serious.

"Besides the physical fit, the relevance and versatility of the performance are also factors that I value highly."

She has to be like Chen Nian, and even Chen Nian at times.

Based on two core reasons, our creative team compared and selected one by one from all the famous actresses in China, but found no suitable collaborators.

Therefore, we had to launch a grand audition to find a candidate who best matched Chen Nian from ordinary people and students all over China. We first solved the problem of whether they looked like her, and then gradually solved the problem of whether they could act in the role during the actual filming.

Xixi was able to enter the second round of auditions because she most resembled Chen Nian. Ultimately, through three interviews, her tenacious character and deep-seated love for acting successfully convinced us—

She can overcome all the torments that are destined to be cruel, those that will transform her from a novice into a master performer.

Ladies and gentlemen, please believe me, I don’t think there is another girl in the world who could do everything she did at the age of 15.

In a sense, she helped me create this great film, "Better Days".

Yes, Better Days has not yet received any prestigious awards, but just looking at the filming process, it is already worthy of the word "great".

Together we created a miracle.

Xixi, looking back now, are you proud of yourself?

Under the dog's warm and affectionate gaze, Liu Yifei, who had been calm, burst into tears instantly.

She didn't burst into tears; instead, without making a sound, large tears suddenly began to fall continuously.

"Yes."

Her voice remained clear, demonstrating exceptional control.

Then, she smiled—very similar to Chen Nian's tearful smile in the film, but it wasn't just relief, but contained a great deal of relief and gratitude.

"Fortunately, I persevered. I'm proud of myself, and I think no difficulty can defeat me anymore..."

"Wow!"

Monica Bellucci panicked; she realized there was a big story to uncover here.

So she eagerly pressed on, "So, what exactly happened? Director Fang, how did you transform her from a newcomer into the gifted Chen Nian?"

Dog deliberately answered only a small part, but even that small part made the audience gasp in surprise.

"First, I asked the crew members not to give her any help, guidance, or care, to isolate her from everyone, and to create a real environment of loneliness for her, so that she could experience the real situation Chen Nian was facing."

Secondly, I set an extremely strict training schedule for her.

From 6:00 AM to 21:00 PM, there are six activities: morning exercises, basic pronunciation, physical training, martial arts, Ge Pai performance training, performance theory reading, and writing post-training reflections.

During this period, she had to eat small, frequent meals, about six times a day, to lose weight and achieve the later stage of Chen Nian's figure while meeting her nutritional needs.

So at the beginning of the film, she still had traces of baby fat on her cheeks, but in the later part of the film, her jawline became extremely clear.

Third, I require the actresses who play Wei Lai and her trio to maintain a bullying attitude towards her in daily life.

During the film crew's lockdown, the four of them had no distinction between reality and filming, and were in a state of being superior and humiliated at all times.

Aside from not being able to fight, they are constantly cultivating genuine and correct subconscious reactions.

Fourth, given the already heavy workload of daily training, Xixi also had to do some cleaning work on set to experience the fall from grace of a pampered young lady suddenly forced to handle household chores herself. If you paid attention to the details in the film, you would notice that Chen Nian was initially clumsy when washing her own dishes, but later in the film, she was efficient and adept at helping Xiao Bei tidy up her room…

"My God!"

Monica Bellucci clutched her head in disbelief and exclaimed, "You're a tyrant!"

The audience shared the same sentiment, and the hall was filled with the buzz of discussion.

"Yes."

After casually recounting everything above, Fang Xinghe continued to casually acknowledge her accusations.

“You could use stronger words—during filming, I was not just a tyrant, I could even be described as a demon.”

He slowly surveyed the audience, his chin slightly raised, his expression cold to the point of being ruthless.

"I won't be proud of this, but in my work, I will always pursue the ultimate effect with the most rigorous and crazy attitude."

I will never be satisfied with '90 points is already very good', it's impossible.

Perhaps due to limitations in reality, I can only achieve 88 points, but those 88 points are definitely soaked with my blood and sweat, representing the limit after giving it my all.

This is my attitude towards film.

Before she could finish speaking, Monica was already dumbfounded.

In fact, whether in the United States or Europe, many directors are this kind of tyrant.

However, given Fang Xinghe's current age and actual status, it is still too absurd, unappealing, and not cost-effective for him to do such a thing and say such things.

Monica was shocked and thought: Doesn't he know that such remarks will damage his righteous image and his commercial value?

You already have almost everything, why go to such extremes?

She couldn't understand it, and neither could many viewers. Only those who were also directors could feel a sense of awe and deep admiration.

Creating art is indeed something that requires a certain level of passion and dedication.

Scientists will exhaust their time, energy, and intellect to the fullest extent, and artists will do the same.

It's not a roll in the conventional sense, but a kind of heartfelt self-discipline.

Many directors realized that, regardless of whether Fang Xinghe could win an award, he at least possessed the awareness and character of a master.

But it's really unethical...

How could you bear to hurt such a beautiful little girl?
However, Liu Yifei's subsequent statement completely overturned their doubts and severely undermined their conjectures.

Monica asked, "Xixi, after going through all that, do you feel fear or even resentment towards the leader?"

"There was a time when I did have those feelings."

Liu Yifei had wiped away her tears, but her eyes were still red. She choked back sobs and looked up at the ceiling. Two seconds later, her gaze returned to the ceiling, and her expression suddenly became unusually firm.

"Actually, I'm not a very talented actor. My ridiculous and blind confidence made me think I could do it, but in reality, I can't."

So much hard training, such a rare environment, and such a firm belief in wanting to perform well, but in the end, it could only bring out 70% of Chen Nian.

You won't believe how bad I am, and you can't imagine how much I suffered after one failed performance after another.

Was everything Director Fang tried so hard to create effective?

Perhaps this will be useful to others, to those girls who truly possess...extraordinary talent.

A sob brings an awkward pause, but also conveys a particularly genuine emotion.

The scene was silent as Liu Yifei recounted her untold journey in fluent English.

"For girls like that, they probably don't need Director Fang to do so much; they would already be able to act well."

But I can't. I'm an awkward girl who lacks insight and the talent to experience things.

Those spectacular performances you saw didn't come from any talent whatsoever...

They come from real cruelty.

Remember? I learned the basic training for actors from Director Fang, which originated from the hard work of cruel drama theory.

I'm only suited to this kind of tedious, painstaking work.

However, training takes time, and "Better Days," which has already been filmed for four months, won't give me any more time.

I couldn't act well no matter what I did, so I asked Director Fang: How can I portray Chen Nian's sense of despair?
"I've died once, or more," he replied.

Then, we did something crazy…you absolutely can’t imagine how crazy it was; in fact, I’m still bothered by it to this day.”

"What is it?"

Monica's eyes widened, and without waiting a second, she eagerly asked the question.

Below the stage, everyone—from the judging panel and celebrities attending the opening ceremony to numerous invited media and sponsors—pricked up their ears.

They simply couldn't believe that Chen Nian, the character in the movie who possessed both stillness and liveliness, with a melancholy and sorrow always lingering in her eyes, was not a product of the actor's unparalleled acting talent, but rather a special case artificially created.

Is this reasonable?

It's possible, but it's really too incredible.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Liu Yifei took a deep breath, her chest heaving, and fear resurfaced in her eyes.

“We brought in a real torture expert, and under his and a psychologist’s guidance, we experienced…real…water torture.”

With a whoosh, the audience erupted in cheers.

Visibly, the previous generation of Earth Flower completely lost control of her facial expressions. Her eyes widened, her nostrils flared violently, and the words "What the fuck" were about to spill out.

But Liu Yifei didn't let anyone disturb her memories.

She instantly raised her hand, blocking Monica's path and cutting off her concern, before continuing her rapid-fire statement.

"Don't rush to blame Director Fang. He has already obtained my consent. I'm willing to try every possible method to gamble on this matter—"

I'm betting that my inner strength can withstand the cruel torment and allow me to truly understand Chen Nian.

Of course, I am terrified.

When I saw the execution platform, I could barely breathe, and my whole body went limp, so I needed support to stand up.

Then, Director Fang asked me to stay aside and observe the details carefully.

Yes, he lay down on that execution platform before me.

I still remember that scene clearly. He was convulsing on the execution platform like a dying fish, his wrists marked with deep blue marks from the restraints.

For a moment, I almost thought he was dead.

However, the moment the wet paper covering his face was completely removed, Director Fang coughed violently and breathed heavily with a hoarse voice, while his eyes burned with a blazing flame that you had never seen before.

He laughed loudly and said: Good, very good, that's the feeling!
I looked at him, and it felt like some chains in my heart had snapped. A strange emotion filled my mind. I was still afraid, but I stood firm on my own.

That day, Director Fang underwent four rounds of water torture, each one complete and continuous, pushing him to the physiological limits determined by experts.

So, after him, I also lay down on that cold execution platform.

I fully experienced the physiological reactions of near-death, the despair of being unable to control myself, the real fear brought by the darkness, and all the psychological and physiological phenomena associated with them.

I finally understood the core theories of the Grünsch school: removing obstacles and self-purification.

After I came down from the waterboard, I felt like I had died, yet also like I had been reborn.

I practically crawled to Director Fang's side—he was lying on the sofa, as quiet as a corpse.

I told him: I think I know how to become Chen Nian now.

Not acting, but being.

He didn't turn to look at me, but said firmly: "You'll hate me for a long time, fear me for a long time, avoid me for a long time, and then, a very, very long time later, you'll suddenly laugh and curse: 'What a fucking bastard!' At that time, you'll be incredibly grateful to yourself today."

At this point in her story, Liu Yifei forcefully wiped away a tear.

She wasn't wearing makeup, so it didn't matter whether she was wearing makeup or not.

At that moment, she suddenly radiated a divine beauty.

She smiled brightly and said to the audience, "I don't want to criticize him yet, but after watching this movie, I'm already grateful to myself for that moment."

(End of this chapter)