Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 326 Repaying the favor
"Death Island," the cave where Barbossa hid his treasure, is where all the main characters gather and have their roles.

Before filming began, Cao Yang called Depp over. Looking at Depp with his exaggerated smoky eye makeup, he emphasized again:

"You are a pirate who thinks he is very elegant. You have neither a sense of justice nor any sense of honor. You are also selfish. This is different from traditional pirates."

You can add swaying postures, unique gestures, and a distinctive way of speaking; you can even act eccentrically, but you must bring out what you perceive as charm, not perform in a way that makes you unlikeable, understand?

Depp nodded. At first, when Cao Yang told him that he was to play such a contradictory and unconventional pirate, he didn't understand.

After thinking about it for the past few days, he has a little bit of an understanding now. Let's give it a try.

Cao Yang then called Jude Law over and said, "Remember, you are an honest, brave, upright, and responsible person. This is what Elizabeth Swann likes about you. Can you unleash these qualities?"

Jude Law nodded. "I'll try my best."

Cao Yang then called Eva Green over and asked, "Do you still remember the character's positioning?"

Eva Green nodded: "Elizabeth breaks away from the traditional image of a noble girl who needs to be saved. She is no longer a fragile person, but shows independence, wit and courage."

"Your understanding is correct. Are you confident that you can play this role well?"

Cao Yang asked with a smile.

“No problem,” Eva Green said confidently.

Then, Cao Yang called Duan Yihong over and said, "In my plan, Barbosa is a very charismatic character, but you don't need to consider that for now."

On the surface, you appear to be the villain in this movie, but villains can also have a unique charm. Do you know what makes Barbos so charismatic?

"He was a professional pirate. Although he was cunning and betrayed Jack, he was a very responsible captain who tried everything he could to break the curse on himself and his crew."

Duan Yihong said softly.

Cao Yang nodded. He made some changes to Barbossa's character design. The reason why all the crew members of the Black Pearl betrayed Jack with him was because he promised to lead them to find a way to break the curse.

These crew members trusted him, even though he was treacherous and cunning.

Actually, this doesn't count as changing the settings.

In the original "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl", why did those crew members betray Jack along with Barbossa?
The crew believed that Barbossa was more suitable to be captain than Jack and more trustworthy, and that he could lead them to break the curse.

"Your performance can be exaggerated, insidious, or ruthless, but you must grasp one important point: a sense of responsibility! No matter how bad you are, as long as you are responsible and a suitable captain, that's enough. Strive in that direction."

Cao Yang emphasized this to Duan Yihong once again.

Of course, Cao Yang couldn't film too complex plots and shots on the first day; they were all simple dialogue scenes.

In fact, the simpler the dialogue, the more you can tell who has the better acting skills and who gets into character faster, even without getting into character.

Depp has worked with Cao Yang three times and has also immersed himself in the role three times.

It's obvious that he's no longer the "weirdo" who's particularly picky about roles, let alone a role like Captain Jack Sparrow that's more suitable for him to showcase his talent.

Therefore, without immersing himself in the role, Depp got into character earlier and performed at his best.

Jude Law and Duan Yihong both performed adequately, without anything particularly outstanding, but they didn't drag the team down either. This is actually a sign of very good acting skills.

For them to perform like this on the first day of filming proves that both of them are talented.

This made Cao Yang secretly praise Jude Law. "Jude Law" travels the world not only because of his good looks, but also because of his acting skills.

It's worth noting that Duan Yihong has collaborated with Cao Yang twice before. He is a middle-aged actor in China known for his acting skills, and he also had an immersive experience with the role. Even so, he was able to hold his own against Jude Law in their scenes together.

Eva Green appears somewhat inexperienced compared to Depp and the other two.

However, she also comes from an artistic background. Although she is sexy and beautiful, she is not just a pretty face. Her acting skills are much better than those sexy but empty-faced actresses in Hollywood.

Of course, her co-stars are all very talented.

And then there's Depp, who got a role that enhanced his acting skills, allowing him to perform even better, which made it a bit difficult for Eva Green to act opposite the three of them.

She also had the most NGs on the first day of filming.

This made Eva Green somewhat insecure, and she began to doubt her acting skills.

To be honest, she used to be quite arrogant about her acting skills. Before coming to Hollywood, when she was filming, both directors and actors praised her acting skills highly; otherwise, Isabelle Huppert, the French-born queen of European art and literature, would not have become friends with her.

After arriving in Hollywood, whether it was filming "Kingdom of Heaven" or "Casino Royale", she had the fewest NGs, and her acting skills are obvious to all.

This is also why she is dissatisfied with the sexy, pretty-boy image the company has created for her.

Eva Green had always believed that her acting skills were absolutely no less than Natalie Portman's, so why could she take the art-house route but she couldn't?

Today is the first day of filming, and there aren't many shots being taken, but all four main characters, plus Duan Yihong who plays Hector Barbosa, have scenes together.

After a full day of filming, Eva Green was extremely frustrated.

Johnny Depp is a two-time Oscar winner and his acting skills are widely recognized. It's normal that Eva Green feels she can't keep up with his roles.

Jude Law, this handsome man, is not only famous for his "looks," but his acting skills are also widely recognized. He was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 72nd Academy Awards in 00 and Best Actor at the 76th Academy Awards in 04.

Eva Green finds it understandable that she has some difficulty acting alongside him, as he is more than ten years older than her. She might have been a better actress when she was around his age.

But why is Duan Yihong, a Chinese actor with almost no fame, such a good actor? Acting with him feels almost the same as acting with Jude Law.

Eva Green thought about it for a long time and finally concluded that it might be because she didn't work hard enough, or that her talent was really not as good as the three people mentioned above. She had received similar instruction from director Cao Yang, but she was the only one who performed the worst.

This made her very frustrated.

After finishing the first day of filming, Eva Green didn't leave. Instead, she came up to Cao Yang and whispered:

"Director, I don't know if it's because I'm not talented enough, but my understanding of the character might be a bit off. Could you explain the scene to me again tonight?"

Cao Yang paused for a moment. This was only the first day. Giving acting instructions to actresses at night would go against his long-standing principles. This was not an exception.

I checked the time; it was already 5:30.

"Tonight won't work; I still need to work with the coordinators to develop a shooting plan."

Cao Yang said something, but seeing Eva Green's disappointed expression, he felt a little sorry for her and continued, "I have time before eight o'clock tonight, I can talk to you about the play for a while."

After dinner, Cao Yang went to Eva Green's room at 6:30 to explain the play to her.

They really talked about the play for half an hour, explaining the female lead's role and personality.

By seven o'clock, Eva Green felt confident again, so the actress, out of gratitude, began to repay Bowen, uh, for his kindness.

This time, it turned into a traditional director giving acting instructions to the actress, and the kind of instructions that were quite intense.

How are you and your boyfriend doing?

Cao Yang asked casually as he was about to begin explaining the play.

"Our relationship is alright... oh..."

Eva Green knelt on the bed, which made it easier for her to understand the content of Cao Yang's explanation of the play, and also made it easier for Cao Yang to express his passion for the play.

Why...why are you asking this?

Eva Green said haltingly, "Isn't it a little strange that you're asking this while you're giving me acting instructions?"

"Is it weird?"

Cao Yang explained the play in detail, which helped Eva Green understand it more deeply.

"Isn't it strange?"

"I think it's pretty good."

……

Cao Yang left at exactly eight o'clock, the timing was perfect.

After Cao Yang left, Eva Green recalled what he had told her before he left: to lie in bed and try to think about the female protagonist's personality and her understanding of her.

As she pondered and thought, Eva Green drifted off to sleep without realizing it.

(End of this chapter)