2001 Media Godfather

Chapter 38 First Scene of Filming

Originally, Director Lu did intend to contact Qu Lang's team in an attempt to retain the originally cast male lead.

However, I've summarized a few requirements for the male lead these past few days.

It refers to the three criteria he listed earlier: possessing both youthful energy and maturity, having exceptional improvisation skills, and having a deep understanding of the script.

Qu Lang doesn't seem to be the right choice.

Then, after searching high and low, he suddenly realized, what's the point of searching? The male protagonist in his heart is none other than Chu An!

At this moment, Director Lu still had a warm smile on his face as he pushed Chu An into the middle of the crowd, saying, "Look at this young man."

"A sunny, seventeen-year-old boy, but when he's scheming, he's like a cunning old bastard!"

"He's also the screenwriter; no one understands the script and the characters better than him!"

"Then there's acting. Although Chu Shikuai only filmed one scene, everyone saw it, right? He handled it better than Xu Shu. What's more, he can also guide Tong Meng to unleash her acting skills."

"What else do you think we should look for?"

Upon hearing this, everyone fell into deep thought. And you know what? The more they looked at Chu An, the more he resembled Yu Huai.

As for Chu An himself, he was already blushing deeply. "Stop messing around!! How could I possibly act?"

Director Lu, "You can do it!"

"I can do whatever I want!" Getting President Chu to play a small cameo role is fine, but a lead role? Do you think I can handle that?
Unfortunately, nobody listened to him. After being controlled by President Chu for so long, he finally found an outlet for his frustration.

Moreover, Chu An was cast as Yu Huai only when the production team couldn't find a suitable actor.

Who the hell listens to you?
Dong Wende propped up the frame with both hands, framing Chu An within it. "Hmm! You have a great sense of the camera!"

The makeup artist rushed over and started touching and kneading Chu An's face, saying, "She's very malleable; with a little makeup, she'll look like she's in her twenties."

Seeing that Chu An was still resisting, Ji Yinglai's eyes lit up, and she stopped being irritable. She picked up her phone and dialed a number.

"Hey Zhang Yuan, is Xiao Shu next to you? Let her answer the phone, it's urgent!"

Upon hearing this, the entire audience fell silent, focused solely on watching Brother's performance.

Xu Shu was filming, so Ji Ying waited for a while until she finished filming one scene before Zhang Yuan gave her the phone.

Ji Yinglai said, "Xiao Shu, there's something I need to tell you. We're short of a male lead, and everyone thinks Chu An is quite suitable. Do you have any objections?"

The film set across the street was completely silent; everyone stared at our aloof and powerful star, not daring to make a sound.

Here, she exudes an aura that commands respect and intimidates all.

After hearing Ji Yinglai's explanation, Xu Shu's expression grew even colder, and she even frowned slightly, as if she was very unhappy. She said, "Okay, but don't let him hold us back."

After saying that, he hung up the phone without giving Ji Ying a chance to speak again.

Zhang Yuan leaned closer. "What's wrong?"

Xu Shu: "I've agreed to play the male lead, screenwriter Chu."

Seeing Zhang Yuan's confusion, he added, "If he can't act, it's not my fault if he can't continue filming."

Zhang Yuan understood, gave Xu Shu a thumbs up, and said, "So clever!"

On the film set, everyone from the director to the actors was possessed by a gossip spirit, listening intently.

What the heck? The screenwriter plays the male lead? Has Lu Mingze's team gotten this wild?

Far away.

On the other end, Ji Yinglai hung up the phone and silently shrugged at everyone, "Xu Shu specifically asked him to act."

Chu An's eyes widened: "Is that what you're saying?!"

As for the others, who cares what you say?

Lu Mingze silently took the director's script from Chu An's hand and gently placed the actors' scripts in his hand. "It's settled."

The director's script is the overall script, while the actors' scripts only contain content related to their specific roles and scenes.

The screenwriter Chu has changed roles.

The makeup artist immediately grabbed Chu An with a mischievous grin, "Come on, let's try out some makeup."

Chu An: "..."

"Can we wait a bit?" She weakly shook off the makeup artist's entanglement and blurted out, "We haven't even discussed the payment yet!"

He looked at Director Lu and asked, "How much did you pay me to hire you?!"

Lu Mingze's expression turned serious, and he used the tactic of changing the subject.

Without looking at Chu An, he asked the crowd, "What do you all think? Should we still film this kissing scene?"

"Cough cough!!"

Chu An hesitated, realizing this was a problem. Touching his nose, he obediently followed the makeup artist while sincerely suggesting, "Why don't we just listen to the director?"

Everyone rolled their eyes; Chu An's integrity was like Schrödinger's cat.

But jokes aside, Director Lu really couldn't find a suitable male actor, so he turned his attention to Chu An.

But it's not easy to play this role well.

9 month 5 number.

Xu Shu rushed back to Ningyuan yesterday night, arriving close to dawn. Before she could even return to the guesthouse, the driver took her directly to the banks of the Mayan River.

The production team officially started filming today. The first scene is the one where Geng Geng and Yu Huai meet on their way to school.

The film crew temporarily set up a canopy by the river to serve as a makeup studio.

As soon as Zhang Yuan joined the crew, she exclaimed, "Our Xiao Shu didn't sleep all night to rush back, she's really worked hard! Director Lu, you should film fewer scenes so she can get some rest."

After arguing back and forth, he left Xu Shu on the film set and went back to the guesthouse to catch up on sleep.

Xu Shu remained aloof, being directed by the director's assistant to get her makeup done. Upon entering the makeup studio, she saw Chu An already made up, holding the script as if she hadn't seen Xu Shu, head down, memorizing her lines.

"Hmph!" Xu Shu coldly raised her chin, looking disgusted, and sat down in front of the makeup mirror one seat away from Chu An.

The makeup artist was speechless. Ji Yinglai had spread the word all over the world about the two of them sneaking out to surf the internet in the middle of the night, and they were still pretending!

That's normal, though. After all, Director Lu has already given his word, and no one can spread it outside to avoid trouble if everyone finds out.

He pretended not to see it, quickly did Xu Shu's makeup, and then tactfully went out for a stroll.

Xu Shu saw that only Chu An was left in the shed, so she quietly moved towards Chu An.

Then, without moving his lips, he uttered a question from his throat: "What level are you?"

Chu An kept looking down at his lines, “72.” Xu Shu said, “Then when will you take revenge?”

Chu An, "Tonight!"

Xu Shu: "You handle Yuan Jie."

Chu An turned a page of the script, "She will be served crab and hawthorn cake at the guesthouse dinner."

Xu Shu didn't understand. "What do you mean?"

Chu An said, "He'll probably be having diarrhea all night, so he definitely won't have time to take care of you."

The famous star Xu was immediately relieved and then asked about the filming, "How are the preparations going?"

Chu An: "Not good, I feel like I'm going to be the scapegoat."

It's not just a feeling, it's a certainty that I'll have to take the blame.

Xu Shu: "How about I lower my acting skills a bit and accommodate you?"

Chu An: "No need! You'll be fine as long as you can catch it in a bit."

"Huh?" Xu Shu was taken aback. This time, she couldn't help but turn to look at Chu An with a complicated expression that could fill three thousand words of narration.

Who do you think you are? Do you think I, Xu Shu, can't handle your acting?
Chu An gave a sinister smile, much like a big bad wolf, "I'm a screenwriter."

……

As for the role of the male lead, President Chu has analyzed it meticulously. If he acts normally, he'll most likely be criticized harshly.

There's no way around it; when it comes to acting, comparisons are the worst thing. If two expressionless young actors stand together, you might not notice anything, but try putting an award-winning actor or actress next to them.

His professional level is far inferior to Xu Shu's; the audience can tell the difference at a glance, and he will inevitably be criticized in various ways.

Therefore, although President Chu accepted the role of Yu Huai, how the role is played is entirely up to him.

In the original version of "With You", Geng Geng got her head stuck while picking up a camera on her way to school on the first day of school.

That's right, it really got stuck in the head.

Then Yu Huai appeared, and amidst a series of meaningless laughs and dialogues, he suddenly used violence to pry Geng Geng's head out of the crack in the door.

Chu An felt it was inappropriate; it was too deliberate and would make some viewers feel awkward. Moreover, the subsequent arguments between the two because of this incident seemed like an attempt to force conflict.

Therefore, Chu An changed it.

Who can blame him when he's the screenwriter?
The scene was changed so that Geng Geng was taking pictures of the scenery by the river with her schoolbag on the side. Yu Huai threw a basketball, which knocked the schoolbag into the water, causing a conflict between the two.

This looks more natural.

"The second scene is about smashing a schoolbag. Before that, we need to shoot a scene where Yu Huai sings a song and enters the frame. Geng Geng hears it and thinks to herself that he sings terribly, which is a bad first impression of Yu Huai."

Before filming began, Chu An went over the details again. Director Lu and Xu Shu both agreed, acknowledging that this approach was indeed more nuanced.

Director Lu said, "From singing badly to smashing the schoolbag, there is a progression in Geng Geng's emotions, which not only creates dramatic conflict but also makes it more natural."

"However!" Director Lu said with some concern, "The first scene is so complicated, can you handle it?"

The reason he arranged the first scene of the shoot to be the meeting of the male and female leads was to deliberately follow the plot and let Chu An gradually get into the role. Director Lu was even prepared to shoot this scene on the first day.

In response to Director Lu's question and Xu Shu's equally inquiring gaze, President Chu smiled slightly and said, "It's a small matter, no problem!"

"Alright!" Director Lu didn't insist. He would film it first and see if it was good, then change it back to the original version.

"Shall we go through the scene once, or just start filming right away?"

Chu An was bursting with confidence, "Just take the picture!"

"Alright!" Director Lu shouted, "Attention all units! Prepare to start filming!"

The camera and sound teams immediately got busy, taking their positions according to the script and camera angles.

Chu An winked at Xu Shu, "You must be able to catch it."

Xu Shu pouted, feeling that Chu An was acting strangely today. There wasn't a single scene that Xu Shu couldn't handle!

Ignoring Chu An, she picked up the prop camera and instantly transformed into the lively and playful Geng Geng, taking pictures of the riverside scenery.

Chu An ran away and returned to his position, waiting for the stage manager to set the stage.

A moment later, everyone held their breath, their faces serious.

"The first scene, the first shot of 'The Best of Us'! First filming. Filming begins!"

With a "start shooting" signal.

Dong Wende personally directed the shot, which opened with a large aperture, detailed foreground and blurred background.

Geng Geng held the camera in front of her, and Lao Dong captured her exquisite and expressive profile in the lens.

At this moment, Yu Huai's singing voice rang out from outside the frame, growing louder as it approached.

Logically, Geng Geng should have been interrupted by Yu Huai's singing, thus becoming curious about who could sing so badly.
Old Dong needs to reduce the aperture to switch from close-up to distant view.

As a result, when Chu An started singing, Xu Shu couldn't help but twitch her lips, barely able to hold back her tears.

Old Dong was completely numb. He relaxed his shoulders, and the camera moved down, revealing Xu Shu and Chu Anquan out of the frame.

However, Director Lu didn't yell "cut," and no one else reminded him.

The whole group stared wide-eyed, completely bewildered, as Chu An, a blissfully happy little idiot, sang from left to right.

The singing was absolutely superb.

"I don't have any grand ambitions, I just want to marry seven or eight wives."

"One of them carries my schoolbag when I go out, and two of them take me to school."

"One of them does my laundry, and the other takes care of my parents."

"There are still three people left to work in the factory and earn money to support me."

A heavily modified version of Zhou Shen's "Little Happiness".

After a long while, Xu Shu sighed in frustration, realizing she hadn't caught it.

And Director Lu...

You know what, no acting skills required! Just a few lines of lyrics and the character is brought to life.

but
How did you come up with that idea?

.

(End of this chapter)