The entertainment industry: My 99 future timelines!

"Li Xu, are you alright?"

"Won't this affect the rest of our film shooting?"

Li Xu was dealing with the trivial matters before the start of filming when he received a call from Jing Tian.

"It's alright, let the media report it however they want, it was never true in the first place."

Holding his phone in one hand while writing his work plan in the other, Li Xu calmly answered Jing Tian's question.

"Hmm, should I put in a word and have this news story taken down?"

Jing Tian gave a soft "hmm" and spoke.

She had just seen that news; she glanced at it casually and didn't pay it any mind.

The photo is blurry.

But all that happened was that Liu Yifei came to the training base to pick up Li Xu, and the two got a little close, but there was no more intimacy.

It's just that the media deliberately portrayed it as a love triangle, jealousy, or something mysterious in order to generate traffic and sensationalism.

Jing Tian was confident and didn't care about the matter, but she was a little worried about whether it would affect the public opinion surrounding the upcoming film "You Are the Apple of My Eye".

Whether it was out of a desire for fame or because Li Xu was the producer, she didn't want any problems with this film.

"No need, it's not a big deal."

Li Xu's tone was very calm, "Liu Yifei is an investor, as well as one of our company's artists and partners. We'll have so many opportunities to meet in the future that we can't explain it all."

"If we get flustered first and let these messy news stories affect our mindset, then all the suffering we endured over the past twenty days will have been for nothing."

"As for the news outside, let them write whatever they want. When the movie is released, the audience will see it with their own eyes and feel it with their own hearts. At that time, all the rumors will be debunked on their own."

After Li Xu finished speaking...

There was a few seconds of silence on Jing Tian's end. She didn't say anything more, only reminding him, "Keep an eye on Yi Fei's situation, don't let her worry," before hanging up.

Li Xu did not respond to Jing Tian's words.

After hanging up the phone, he glanced at his phone screen, which displayed a text message: "I saw the news. Should I issue a statement?"

Li Xu casually typed a few words: "No need, just handle it the way you normally would, ignore it."

Li Xu turned off his phone and continued working.

Next week is the start of filming for "You Are the Apple of My Eye," and he won't have time to deal with those petty media outlets.

-

2 month 12 number.

The crew of "You Are the Apple of My Eye" arrived in Xiamen.

The filming location was chosen to be a long-established high school in this city—Xiamen No.1 High School.

The school's architecture has a vintage feel, with shady trees, red brick walls, and wooden windows, perfectly capturing the atmosphere of the late 90s in the movie.

Initially, you decided to move the film to Taiwan, but ultimately decided to change it to a mainland China version.

The opening ceremony was scheduled for the morning of the following day.

It was very simple; there was no fanfare, no media coverage.

There was only a long table set up on the side of the school playground, covered with a red cloth, with an incense burner and offerings.

Li Xu led the main cast and crew in offering incense and praying for a smooth filming process.

There was no speech or address.

After offering incense, Li Xu turned around and looked at the large group of over a hundred people behind him—actors, cinematographers, lighting technicians, art directors, sound engineers, and production assistants—and solemnly began to speak:

"Filming begins for 'You Are the Apple of My Eye'!"

Cheers erupted, and everyone began to get ready.

-

For the first scene in "You Are the Apple of My Eye," Li Xu chose the scene where "Ko Ching-teng falls for Shen Chia-yi for the first time."

The scene was very simple; there were no lines, only eye contact.

But the simpler the scene, the harder it is to film.

Because all the emotions are contained in that one glance.

The film crew set up camera positions in the corridor on the third floor of the old teaching building at the school.

It was three o'clock in the afternoon, and the sunlight slanted into the corridor, casting long shadows on the floor.

The art department placed several potted plants on the windowsill and pasted posters and notices from the 90s on the wall.

The costume team dressed Li Xu and Jing Tian in school uniforms—blue and white tracksuits, loose and baggy, but they looked surprisingly good on them.

"Actors, take your positions—"

"Photography preparation—"

"Prepare for recording—"

"Scene 1, Shot 1 of 'You Are the Apple of My Eye,' Action!"

The stage manager claps the clapperboard.

Shen Ao sat down behind the monitor.

Ko Ching-teng walked up the stairs.

He was wearing his school uniform, carrying his backpack on one shoulder, twirling a basketball in his hand, and dangling a lollipop from his mouth, looking nonchalant and swaying around.

The corridor was quiet, with only the sound of his footsteps.

Sunlight streamed in through the window, gilding him with a golden hue.

He walked to the back door of the classroom, about to go in, when he suddenly stopped.

Because he saw someone.

Shen Jiayi.

She stood at the window at the end of the corridor, her back to him, looking out at the playground.

The wind blew in, lifting her ponytail and the hem of her school uniform.

Sunlight fell on her, making the ends of her hair golden, her profile translucent, and her eyelashes cast small shadows on her cheeks.

Ko Ching-teng stood there, staring at her blankly for several seconds.

This time was both short and long, long enough for a seventeen-year-old boy to plant a seed called "heartbeat" in his heart.

At this time.

Shen Jiayi seemed to sense something as well, and she turned around, glancing behind her.

Eyes facing each other.

Shen Jiayi's eyes were bright and clear, like the water of an autumn lake.

She glanced at Ko Ching-teng, then turned her head and continued looking out the window, seemingly unconcerned.

It was as if he were just air, a background, something insignificant.

Ko Ching-teng bit the lollipop in his mouth, looking somewhat annoyed. Being ignored like this suddenly made him want to play a prank on Shen Chia-yi.

"Click!"

After filming one scene.

Li Xu quickly snapped out of his "Ko Ching-teng" persona and walked to the monitor.

Playback.

The scene depicts the boy's gaze, the girl's glance back, the sunlight, the gentle breeze, and the fluttering of her hair.

Everything is correct.

But it also seems like something is missing.

Li Xu thought for a moment and said, "Jing Tian, ​​we need to do one more take."

"When you turn around later, make your gaze even colder, with a hint of annoyance. Not disgust, but the kind of look a top student gives a struggling student—'I don't want to play with you, and I don't want to get to know you,' understand?"

Jing Tian nodded: "I understand."

"Okay, ready—go!"

Article 2, Article 3, Article 4...

It was supposed to be a very simple scene, but it took seven takes before Li Xu finally yelled "Cut!"

It wasn't that Jing Tian acted badly, but rather that she wasn't quite Shen Jiayi. She looked at Li Xu, seemingly finding it difficult to portray that annoying feeling.

Therefore, Li Xu had to keep nagging until Jing Tian got a little impatient and her eyes finally showed a hint of "you're really annoying and irritating" when she looked at Li Xu. Only then did she finally pass the test.

After hearing Li Xu's shout, everyone finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The first scene was shot in seven takes; that's an amazing start.

Fortunately, in the following days, this situation of one bar of energy bar running in a row rarely occurred, and most of the time it only took three or four bars to pass.

The drama unfolds in the classroom, on the playground, on the basketball court, and on the way home from school…

Although Jing Tian's acting skills are not particularly strong, Li Xu is very demanding of every shot.

The lighting is wrong, reshoot.

The actor's positioning was incorrect, so we had to reshoot.

The mood wasn't right, so we had to reshoot.

But Jing Tian's greatest strength is that she is "Shen Jiayi" enough. She is very immersed in the role. Apart from the difficulty in portraying the emotion of disliking Li Xu, she is full of the other feelings of youthful love.

There's no need for deliberate acting; it's all there in every gesture and movement.

At this pace.

Just half a month later, the crew of "You Are the Apple of My Eye" had their first major scene in the movie: a basketball game.

This scene is a minor climax in the movie, and it was added by Li Xu. In order to impress Shen Jiayi, Ke Jingteng tries his best to score points in the basketball game. Although he loses the game in the end, he wins Shen Jiayi's heart.

After all, many things were different between mainland China and Taiwan in the late 90s.

The fighting competition organized by Ko Ching-teng needs to be changed, otherwise it won't even pass the review.

In addition, some details needed to be adjusted, and a basketball game was added. Ko Ching-teng loves playing basketball, so this addition doesn't seem out of place.

The basketball game was filmed at the gymnasium of Xiamen No.1 Middle School, and the time was scheduled for the weekend so as not to affect students' classes.

Basketball games require a large audience, cheers, encouragement, and a lively atmosphere.

To ensure the extras he hired weren't realistic enough, Li Xu discussed the matter with Xiamen No. 1 Middle School and decided to organize a real basketball game.

The actors from the film crew will fight against the students of Xiamen No. 1 Middle School.

Let the students be the audience; they'll be watching a real game, and their reactions will definitely be genuine.

And this news came out.

The entire Xiamen No. 1 High School was instantly in an uproar.

After all, no one would be willing to appear on the big screen and have close contact with the actors.

So Li Xu even held a small interview to select a group of students from the hundreds of applicants from Xiamen No.1 Middle School who were suitable in terms of appearance and basketball skills.

It's worth mentioning that the school team wasn't selected because they were too strong; Li Xu and the others simply couldn't beat them.

-

On the day of the shoot.

The gymnasium was full of students.

Upstairs and downstairs, it was a sea of ​​black, with more than a thousand people.

Li Xu led the "Class 2-3 of Senior High School" team, composed of actors from the film, to warm up on the field, dressed in team uniforms from the movie.

On the other side was the Xiamen No. 1 Middle School team, all tall and strong high school students, with an average age of seventeen or eighteen. They were generally good-looking, but their basketball skills were just average.

Before the match began, Li Xu called everyone together: "Listen, in this match, we're going to fight for real."

"Don't act, fight for real. Winning or losing isn't important; what's important is fighting with spirit, with the energy of a high school student, understand?"

"Some shots may not look good, and we can omit them in post-production, but the necessary momentum and atmosphere must be there, and it must be authentic."

"Understand!"

Zhang Ruoyun and the others roared loudly, and they were quite excited to be playing a basketball game while filming a real movie.

"Good, that's the kind of momentum I want!"

As Li Xu spoke, he glanced at Jing Tian—she was wearing a school uniform, holding a schoolbag, and was sitting in the "Shen Jiayi's exclusive seat" on the sidelines.

When she saw Li Xu looking at her, she raised an eyebrow and made a scissor gesture with her hand. A hint of a smile flashed in Li Xu's eyes.

Soon, the referee blew the whistle, and the match began.

Whether it's Li Xufang or Xiamen No. 1 Middle School, their skills are basically like two novice chickens pecking at each other.

Among them are the captain of Xiamen No. 1 Middle School and Li Xu, who are considered to be slightly stronger.

But it doesn't matter, most of the actors in Li Xu's team are good-looking, and the Xiamen No. 1 Middle School team that he specially selected is also tall and handsome.

The student spectators on the sidelines, mostly girls, were incredibly excited watching the game.

"Go! Go! Go!"

As they watched the game, they soon erupted in a collective shout, making the stadium vibrate. They provided the atmosphere that Li Xu needed perfectly.

Jing Tian sat on the sidelines, watching Li Xu running all over the court in his number 11 jersey. She was also very excited and kept shouting "Go Ke Jingteng!"

Whether it's Ko Ching-teng or Li Hsu, at this moment, they are both handsome enough in Ching Tien's eyes!

It also made up for her regret of wanting to participate in Li Xu's youth.

The end of a match.

With 30 seconds left in the game, Li Xu's acting team was still two points behind Xiamen No. 1 Middle School.

At this moment, the ball is in Li Xu's hands.

He dribbled past half-court and, facing a double-team, chose to drive to the basket instead of passing.

Change direction, stop suddenly, fadeaway, jump shot.

The movements were completed in one smooth motion.

The ball traced an arc in the air—

brush.

Goal!

Three points.

They took the lead by one point.

"Aaaaaaahh ...

The entire stadium erupted in cheers.

Li Xu landed, panting heavily, sweat pouring down his face.

He looked towards the sidelines.

Jing Tian stood there, looking at him, her face full of excitement, jumping up and down with joy.

Li Xu couldn't help but smile, and moved by the moment, he improvised a line: "Shen Jiayi, am I handsome?"

"handsome!"

Jing Tian got very into character and excitedly chimed in!

"Click!"

"Passed! Passed!"

After Li Xu and Jing Tian finished interacting, Shen Ao's voice came through the loudspeaker. He had no objection to Li Xu's sudden comment; he was quite in sync with it.

Moreover, regarding Miss Jing Tian, ​​the leading actress with a top-tier family background and who is also a major shareholder of the company, apart from Li Xu being able to suppress her, he can at most only offer suggestions and has no control over whether Jing Tian listens or not.

After finishing work in the evening.

As a film producer, even though he was exhausted after a day of filming, Li Xu still had to review all the footage shot that day.

Shen Ao sat to the side, smoking and watching the replay of today's footage.

"We played a really good game today."

"Especially when you made that three-pointer, the whole arena cheered. That kind of atmosphere is hard to recreate in post-production; otherwise, we would have had to film it live."

Watching the replay, Shen Ao felt a mix of emotions.

"Um."

"Only through real fighting can true feelings develop."

Li Xu nodded slightly, while simultaneously jotting down codes for some material fragments he was not satisfied with in his notebook.

"Miss Jing Tian looks good today too."

"Especially after you scored, when you asked her if she was handsome, she jumped up and down excitedly and said yes. Her expression was proud, joyful, and a little shy. It really was the way Shen Jiayi looked at Ke Jingteng. She was quite into the role."

"I think she might become famous after this movie."

Li Xu didn't say anything, but just looked at the monitor, unable to suppress a smile.

Shen Ao said Jing Tian could become famous.

These days, probably no one can understand how funny this statement is.

But if we look at it a few years from now, the phrase "Jing Tian, ​​who could never be made famous" will become incredibly well-known.

If "You Are the Apple of My Eye" can make her famous, Li Xu feels that the sense of accomplishment she can get from it is probably greater than winning the New Currents Award for her debut film.