Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 185 Hey, country bumpkin!

“This time we are moving 180 million alien prawns from their current location in District 200 to a better and safer location kilometres away from Johannesburg.”

Depp sat at his workstation, smiling slightly, talking casually, his hands clasped together, his two thumbs chasing each other in circles.

The little action at the end was added by him.

He explained that this would allow him to show that although he looked nonchalant in front of the camera, he was actually a little nervous. As an ordinary person, the protagonist could use this to relieve his nervousness.

In fact, even if Depp didn't explain, the actors and staff present could see that this was just an ordinary person recording a video, which was very vivid and realistic.

I don't know why, but I felt that Depp was in very good condition today, and almost every shot met the director's requirements.

That slightly shy and gloomy face also seemed much softer, and turned into a handsome ordinary person.

Cao Yang gave a thumbs up to Depp. During the filming, he did not mind the actors secretly adding some small movements for better expression.

The director only needs to control the general direction. You can't ask the actors to not add some gestures or small movements when performing. It is normal for them to do so.

In the conference room, the protagonist's father-in-law, played by Ian McKellen, looked selfless and announced a seemingly normal appointment to the numerous staff members below in a calm tone.

"I will appoint a regional director to be fully responsible for the relocation of these aliens."

After saying this, he paused intentionally and looked down. "You, that is, you, Wikus, you will be responsible for leading this difficult task."

Depp was smiling, but suddenly his eyes widened and he looked around, appearing very surprised, as if he was not mentally prepared for this appointment.

The inner thoughts are probably: What is my father-in-law doing? Is it because he promotes people regardless of their relationship with him? I am your biological son-in-law, how can you do this?
Then his face blossomed with a smile and he stood up happily.

Colleagues gave their blessings very "sincerely" and the applause continued.

"Ka! Not bad."

After a ten-minute break, we moved on to the next shot.

Ian McKellen sits in front of the camera, explaining the appointment.

"I'm going to put aside the fact that my daughter is marrying Wikus..."

Here the camera is not aimed at Ian McKellen, but first shoots the wedding photo of Depp and Theron hanging on the wall.

As Ian McKellen was speaking, the camera began to move down. Below the wedding photo was a family photo. In it, he put his hand on Depp's shoulder, and the two stood behind Theron. The family looked warm and harmonious.

The camera deliberately paused here for a few seconds, then moved down, and Ian McKellen appeared in the camera.

"…That didn't affect my decision to promote him. He's a good guy and works hard…"

Ian McKellen smiled like a kind and approachable chief, and praised the hero naturally.

The irony here is overwhelming. If you only look at this part, you would think that he is a very good leader of MNU, which is in sharp contrast to the fact that he later issued cold-blooded orders without mercy and even dissected and sliced ​​his son-in-law for research.

Due to the slow shooting progress in the previous few days, the overall plan was based on Cao Yang's requirements and there were not many shooting plans made every day.

It is also because of this that there are suddenly almost no NGs today, and most of the retakes are done to save one take, which makes many people unable to adapt all of a sudden.

However, Mr. Han, who came to visit the set today, did not have such a feeling.

He was still sighing with admiration at how efficient the crew was. Director Cao was really great at making movies. He could guarantee every single shot, which was simply amazing.

If it were any other crew, and if President Han hadn't seen it with his own eyes, as a director with actual filming experience, he would definitely criticize the other party for fooling around and would definitely put the director on his blacklist.

Today was a real eye-opener.

Hollywood actors are really great. Depp really lives up to his reputation. No wonder he won the Oscar for Best Actor. It's because he can get a good performance in most of the films he makes. How many actors in the world have such acting skills?

As an assistant director with a lower ranking, Ning Hao is not qualified to lead a team independently. He currently mainly follows Cao Yang to handle matters on the scene.

Today, the shooting progress suddenly accelerated, and the actors began to perform beyond their level. Ning Hao suddenly had an illusion that he had experienced all of this, and the past scenes reappeared... "It felt like a dream, it was just ordinary, and suddenly it became normal, the progress was accelerated, the actors' acting skills were at their best, and the coordinator would make a new plan next... The crew seemed to come alive..."

Ning Hao and Gu Changwei each had a small stool and sat under the shade of a tree outside the studio. Both of them had a cigarette in their hands, but they didn't smoke. They were talking incoherently, like they were mumbling.

Old Gu looked up at the sky, but his view was blocked by the leaves. He blinked and looked around. He confirmed that this was Qingying Studio before he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Are you sure this is normal?"

Normal shit!

Lao Gu has also worked with Cao Yang in several films, but when he was not with Cao Yang, he shot more films as a photographer and has worked with several major domestic directors.

He has worked with director Kai Ge on "The King of Children" and "Farewell My Concubine".

He has worked with a certain director on "Red Sorghum" and "Ju Dou".

He has worked with director Jiang Wen on "Sunny Days" and "Devils on the Doorstep".

When he was in Hollywood, he also worked with several directors.

However, he still wants to emphasize again that there has never been a director who can talk about the play, talk about the play, and talk about the play like Director Cao... He talks about the play before shooting and talks about the play again when shooting.

It doesn’t take too long to talk about it, most of the time it’s within ten days after the shooting.

The actors are like monks who suddenly experience enlightenment; their acting becomes smooth, natural, and more real and believable.

It doesn’t feel like acting, it feels like I’ve experienced something similar before.

"Isn't this normal now?"

Ning Hao looked up at Lao Gu in confusion.

"I've worked with Director Cao on several films, and isn't it like this for every one? The filming starts very slowly, and Director Cao is guiding the actors, getting them into the role. It may take a long time or a short time, but the actors are suddenly immersed in the role."

Ning Hao gestured and stretched out his arms suddenly. If Old Gu had not lowered his head quickly, he would have been hit in the face by this little bastard.

"The acting skills have improved so much that... at least they can win awards."

Lao Gu was silent, not knowing how to explain.

He really wanted to tell Ning Hao, boy, wake up, this is not normal, the previous slowness, constant NG, constant feeling, constant reshoots, this is the normal state of most directors...

Director Cao is an exception, it’s a change... Well, Director Cao is amazing.

Forget it, Ning Hao is right. For Director Cao, this is the norm.

Mr. Han was about to go back. Before leaving, he saw Lao Gu sitting here and definitely came over to say hello.

After all, Lao Gu won the Oscar for Best Cinematography and is a great figure in the photography world.

"Old Gu, what are you daydreaming about?"

President Han came over and gave a cigarette to Lao Gu first, and then gave one to Ning Hao.

"The crew's filming progress is quite fast, I see that most of the time they shoot one take at a time.

These foreigners are really amazing, no wonder Hollywood can dominate the world, I wonder when our country will be able to produce more actors like them. "

Mr. Han is truly speaking from his heart. Although he is also utilitarian, he does his job well and he really wants to develop domestic films.

Lao Gu and Ning Hao looked at each other, and instantly they had a huge psychological advantage. The CEO of China Film Group was just so-so. This vision and insight...

Hey, country bumpkin!

(End of this chapter)