The world begins with Hong Kong movies

Chapter 733 Extra Chapter 2: Film and Television Center!

"Baoqiang, Baoqiang, get up, get up!"

In a farmhouse courtyard near the Fourth Ring Road in Beijing, two young men stood shivering in the cold wind as they washed themselves.

By the time I finished cleaning myself up, it was still barely dawn.

They hurried along, closing the door to their rented room before braving the cold wind to make a living.

Buses passed by every now and then, but the two of them just watched with envy, without making any move to get on.

Although the tickets weren't expensive, they still couldn't bear to spend the money.

When we arrived at the location, it was a film and television center in the Nanhua community.

They entered a public canteen by showing their actor's badges on their chests.

After registering at the entrance, they happily joined the other extras in enjoying the free breakfast provided by the film crew.

Four steamed buns and a bowl of soy milk, or two fried dough sticks and a bowl of soy milk; anything more will have to be paid for separately.

It was only a little over two thousand years ago, and the buns were already about half the size of an adult's palm, with a generous amount of meat filling inside.

The fried dough sticks were the kind that were as long as an adult's forearm, the kind that could be sold in four pieces in later generations.

Baoqiang and his companions wolfed down their breakfast, finishing it in no time, and felt quite satisfied.

The public canteen even has heating, which is much warmer than renting a room or going outside.

At 7:30, the main cast and crew finally came over for dinner.

Of course, they ate on the other side of the public dining hall.

The only good thing about the Nanhua Film Company's production crew is that at least the extras weren't treated too badly when it came to food.

In terms of the daily treatment of the main cast and crew, there wasn't a significant difference between them and the extras.

After the main cast and crew had breakfast, Baoqiang and the other extras traveled with the crew to the filming location.

They were filming a period drama set in the Republican era, featuring kung fu.

Therefore, Baoqiang, who is skilled in martial arts, was given a rare opportunity for a special contract. He cherished it very much.

It must be said that while the crew of Nanhua Film Company treated the extras well, their requirements were also quite high.

Sure enough, Baoqiang, who only appeared as a guest star in a few episodes, was already sweating profusely and exhausted during his lunch break.

The food for the film crew was delivered in a specially made food cart.

The production team hired a chef, and the logistics department directly purchased fresh vegetables to prepare the dishes on the spot, which showed great care.

This is a characteristic of film crews in Nanhua, and it has become a rule in the domestic film and television industry, so it hasn't caused any bad things.

The advantage of having a food cart is that you can have a hot meal when you eat.

This is quite difficult in winter.

Not to mention, there's plenty of rice and noodles, and the other dishes include both meat and vegetables; the only requirement is that nothing should be wasted.

The crew worked until late afternoon before finally wrapping up and returning home.

While they don't strictly adhere to the eight-hour workday, they work a maximum of nine hours a day unless they're filming night scenes, and it's quite an achievement to still be able to get a free dinner at the public canteen.

At this point, Baoqiang and his companions were still unable to return to their rented apartment.

They immediately found a large internet cafe nearby and logged into the Nanhua Community's unique film and television website using their actor ID numbers.

Sure enough, their day's wages had been deposited into their account.

Withdrawing money is also very convenient; you can just find any bank ATM. This is something that extras in Beijing really appreciate.

Of course, there are also group leaders at the film and television center in Nanhua Community, but they don't work with the film and television center.

As for how much commission the extras give to the group leader, the film and television center in Nanhua Community doesn't care.

Of course, there are other ways to avoid being exploited by gang leaders.

The film and television companies and production crews in Nanhua Community are quite well-regulated.

Generally, extras are recruited publicly in the film and television section of the Nanhua Community under the name of the film crew.

Extras with actor certificates from the Nanhua Community Film and Television Center can register through this channel.

As long as the appearance doesn't clash too much with the plot, you'll usually get a job as an extra, and the payment will be directly deposited into your actor's account via bank transfer.

It's fair to say that the film and television center in Nanhua Community has a much better environment than other places in Beijing.

At least, when dealing with lower-level extras, there was no arrogant attitude or inexplicable sense of superiority.

Well, as long as you're not an overly stubborn extra who's trying to get into the film and television industry, there's no need to pay too much attention to those shady characters.

If all else fails, I can find a temporary job in the Nanhua community to support myself and save some money.

That's why, although the Nanhua Community Film and Television Center is located in Beijing, it's completely different from the film and television companies and even film studios in Beijing. Their business philosophies and operating methods are vastly different.

Baoqiang and his companions were unaware of the intricacies involved.

However, after they became legitimate actors at the Nanhua Community Film and Television Center, they rarely went to the Beijing Film Studio to work as extras.

They couldn't stand the attitude of the production crew alone.

Not to mention, the film and television center in Nanhua Community is where the mainstream films and television dramas are shot and produced at this time.

Since its establishment, Nanhua University has attached great importance to the promotional role of film and television dramas.

Similarly, since the 1980s, China has been flooded with various South China films.

However, South China Films places greater emphasis on commercial aspects and is therefore more popular.

As a result, starting in the 1980s, Nanhua Film and Television became the mainstream of the domestic film and television industry.

It's not that China hasn't produced some good films and television dramas, but they lack a systematic approach and scale, only creating a few ripples before disappearing without a trace.

Films and television dramas such as "Garland on the Mountain", "The Three Great Battles" and "The Founding Ceremony of the People's Republic of China" are very popular in Nanhua, achieving both box office success and critical acclaim.

Unfortunately, by the 1990s, the situation had changed completely.

I don't know what's going on, but it seems like domestic directors don't know how to make genre films. Apart from "The Opium War," all their other films are more art-house oriented.

It's not that artistic or literary films are bad, but rather that not many viewers enjoy anything too profound, at least not in movie theaters.

In this world, if South China Films can compete fiercely with Hollywood films in Asia, then the situation domestically is naturally not bad either.

With South China Film Group's commercial genre films as a foundation, the company wasn't overwhelmed by that big ship and has more good movies to choose from.

Influenced by South China Film, China relaxed restrictions on private film companies in 1990, allowing them to release films through shell companies.

The film and television center in Nanhua Community is quite unique in Beijing, possessing the right to film and screen movies domestically.

This area, along with the Beijing Film Studio area, is one of the two most famous film and television centers in Beijing, attracting many aspiring filmmakers.

Like the Nanhua Community Film and Television Center, it provides a more open and transparent stage for dreamers in the film and television industry.

(End of this chapter)