Huayu 2011: Starting with Hilarious Men

For Zheng Nan, acting classes in her past life were a nightmare.

Especially when imitating some Western plays, such as "Jane Eyre," "A Streetcar Named Desire," and "Desire Under the Elms," Zheng Nan couldn't understand the point of imitating these Western plays.

Zheng Nan has now realized that these courses actually have limited effect on improving acting skills; they mainly train actors to have the mindset of being shameless and willing to go all out in their performances.

In the past, film was used for shooting. Due to the limitations of film, every mistake in an actor's expression, movement, or lines could render the entire roll of film unusable, resulting in huge waste.

Therefore, actors must be fully prepared before filming begins, just like in a stage play, to ensure that they can get it right in one take.

Therefore, for novice actors, not being stage-frightened is the first lesson.

This is why acting classes always encourage students to let their true nature shine.

But now it's the 21st century, and digital photography is the main method. Zheng Nan personally feels that the old teaching system is somewhat outdated.

Unfortunately, Zheng Nan's personal ideas were of little use.

"Damn it! We're in Thunderstorm! I'm doomed again today." Yuan Bingyan sidled up to Zheng Nan and complained in a low voice.

Yuan Bingyan already had an idol image to maintain, so she couldn't let loose during performances and often burst into laughter.

Even when performing in a melodramatic play like "Thunderstorm," Yuan Bingyan was afraid that she would burst out laughing while acting.

"Yan Yan, you're actually a pretty good actress, you're just a little reserved," Dilraba encouraged from the side.

"Dilraba, don't lie to her. Is it possible for her to have 19 takes if she's a good actress?" Zheng Nan wasn't exactly a sweet guy; he immediately added insult to injury.

Yuan Bingyan snapped, "The last-place student, shut up!"

Perhaps Yuan Bingyan spoke a little too loudly, which caught the teacher's attention: "I see that Yuan Bingyan is very energetic, so let her be the first to perform."

Yuan Bingyan, whose name was called, went up to perform listlessly like a wilted eggplant, and unsurprisingly received criticism.

"Yuan Bingyan, you're an actress, don't be afraid to play ugly, just let loose!" The teacher went on and on.

"Teacher, I think Zheng Nan's acting skills have improved a lot recently. Let him perform next." Yuan Bingyan immediately suggested after the teacher finished speaking.

For the teacher, it didn't matter who was called on to come up to the stage, so she just went along with the conversation and said, "Let's see how Zheng Nan has grown."

Having succeeded in her scheme, Yuan Bingyan deliberately looked at Zheng Nan, raised her eyebrows, and looked ready to watch the show.

Zheng Nan just found it a bit funny. In his previous life, he had been in the entertainment industry for more than ten years and had encountered all kinds of embarrassing and awkward situations. These things in school were child's play.

This is how age affects one's mindset.

When I was in elementary school, I might have felt annoyed because I didn't clean properly and lost the rotating red flag.

In middle school, I might have been afraid of being criticized by the teacher for not doing my homework once.

In high school, a mistake in a mock exam might trigger anxiety or even depression.

Once it's all over and you look back, the difficulties you faced back then were nothing at all.

Zheng Nan stepped forward and began her performance without hesitation.

When playing Zhou Fanyi, she used a delicate, orchid-like hand gesture and delivered her lines in a high-pitched, affected voice.

When playing Zhou Ping, he portrayed him as extremely cowardly and indecisive.

The performance was so captivating that it left the students speechless.

Even the teacher, when giving feedback, said, "Zheng Nan, you used to be too reserved, but now you're a bit too outgoing. You should tone it down a bit..."

Amidst laughter and cheerful conversation, the morning's classes came to an end.

Since freshmen have fewer classes and no classes on Monday afternoons, Zheng Nan and his friends discussed and decided to go out for filming again that afternoon.

Dilraba and Yuan Bingyan spent half a day filming yesterday and found it quite interesting. With Zheng Nan's invitation, they went together in the afternoon.

"I'll treat everyone to a good lunch; you can choose the place."

Everyone helped for free, so Zheng Nan had to show her appreciation.

"This is Shanghai, you can't go wrong with good food here. Let's go to Formosa Boulevard." Yuan Bingyan was ruthless in her words, but the place she chose was very affordable.

Formosa Boulevard is one of the restaurants frequently visited by students at the Shanghai Theatre Academy, with an average price of only 30 to 40 yuan per person.

"It's still the beautiful Ms. Yuan who cares about me. Knowing I'm broke, let's go to Formosa Boulevard. When I become rich, I'll treat everyone to a meal on the Bund."

Zheng Nan and Yuan Bingyan didn't have much interaction in their past lives, but it turns out she's quite a remarkable person.

……

Many teachers and students from the Shanghai Theatre Academy chose to have lunch at Formosa Boulevard, but not many people, like Zheng Nan and her group, brought filming equipment.

After ordering their food, the six of them ate and chatted.

"Where are we going to shoot this afternoon?" Lin Wenruo asked, wearing his camera.

"Find a park with few people and shoot a few short clips of outdoor scenes in the park." Zheng Nan flipped through the script she had written.

After finishing their meal, everyone took their food and headed outside. Just as they reached the door, Lin Wenruo exclaimed in surprise, "Holy crap, it's Jiang Jinfu!"

"Where?!" Yuan Bingyan asked hurriedly.

"The one on the right front, wearing a mask and hat," Lin Wenruo pointed to the group.

"I don't recognize him!"

"Is it really Jiang Jinfu?"

None of the five people were recognized.

"Trust me, my eye for photographing the human body is unbeatable!" Lin Wenruo said confidently. When he was in the modeling industry, he often claimed to know Jiang Jinfu in order to impress others.

Jiang Jinfu will likely retire from the entertainment industry and lose popularity due to the domestic violence incident.

But now Jiang Jinfu is a super popular figure at the Shanghai Theatre Academy, and the whole school is talking about him.

His reputation on campus even surpasses that of Brother Hu!

After all, Brother Hu graduated many years ago, and current students only know his name but never see him.

Jiang Jinfu is a student at the Shanghai Theatre Academy, a big star whom students and teachers occasionally see! Zheng Nan can recite his story by heart!

Jiang Jinfu was selected by SM Entertainment during his college entrance exams for performing arts. He gave up becoming a trainee to attend Shanghai Theatre Academy, and in 2009, he entered the 09 class of the performing arts department with the highest score in the country for performing arts majors.

He became a sensation after appearing on "Happy Camp" in March 2010. Yang Mi was also on the show with Jiang Jinfu at the time.

Knowing the future, Zheng Nan also understands that now is not the time when Jiang Jinfu is at his most popular.

When Jiang Jinfu signed with Tangren Media at the end of March and was confirmed as the male lead in "Xuan-Yuan Sword" in July, that's when the Shanghai Theatre Academy was shaken and the whole school was in an uproar!

It's unprecedented at the Shanghai Theatre Academy for a sophomore to land the lead role in a top-tier IP.

Hu Ge, Liu Shishi, Tang Yan, Lin Gengxin, and Gulnazar all played supporting roles to him.

At that time, Jiang Jinfu could be said to be the most popular actor at the Shanghai Theatre Academy!

"Are you sure it's Jiang Jinfu?" Zheng Nan asked again to confirm.

"I'm sure, so what's up, Lao Zheng? You have something on your mind?"

"I'd like to invite this big star to make a cameo appearance for me," Zheng Nan said, stroking his chin.

The original "Men's Diary" featured numerous celebrities, which was part of its appeal. Zheng Nan's version, unable to afford established stars, opted to fill in more up-and-coming celebrities.

"They won't agree to your investment of 26,000."

How will you know if you don't try?

Without hesitation, Zheng Nan strode up to the masked man and said, "Brother Jinfu, can you do a cameo role for me?"