Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 342 Contrast
After the 57th Berlin International Film Festival, Cao Yang spent two more days in Berlin, mainly socializing with other people, which is the same all over the world.

After that, instead of going to the US to do post-production work on "Pirates of the Caribbean," he returned to China first.

In Hollywood, for big-budget films like "Pirates of the Caribbean," most directors have already finished their work after filming. Even if they participate in post-production, they mostly just offer suggestions.

Only special directors who have final cut rights will participate in post-production.

Indeed, in Hollywood, directors who have final cut rights, especially in big-budget productions, are very special and rare.

However, having final editing rights doesn't mean you have to do everything yourself; you just need to grasp the general direction.

Currently, the main post-production work for "New Pirates of the Caribbean" involves the editor and visual effects team working together to create a rough cut of about four to five hours in length before Cao Yang takes over the actual work.

Upon returning to the capital, Cao Yang spent two days with his parents.

Then, the elderly mother would "unintentionally" mention from time to time that his childhood friends, elementary school classmates, middle school classmates, and even children younger than him were all married, and that so-and-so already had children...

Cao Yang was at his wit's end and could only pretend not to hear, offering vague answers and changing the subject...

Finally, the mother asked the question, "Do you have a girlfriend? You're not getting any younger, it's time to think about your personal life..."

Cao Yang could only use work as an excuse to go see his girlfriends in Beijing.

Yu Feihong is now the most laid-back A-list actress, as if she has no further ambitions after winning the Venice Film Festival Best Actress award.

Acting in movies is a matter of chance, accepting advertisements is a matter of chance, and attending events is something I avoid if I can.

Logically speaking, her Buddhist-like attitude should be outdated.

However, perhaps because she is associated with the title of "Four Great Qingyi Actresses", or for other reasons, she has not only not faded from the spotlight, but her advertising fees are second only to Gao Yuanyuan.

And the endorsements that approach her are all top-tier ones.

Therefore, she is considered one of the most carefree actresses in China.

Li Xiaoran, Gao Yuanyuan, and Dong Xuan may be very busy during the Spring Festival and may not be in Beijing, but Yu Feihong is definitely in Beijing.

Cao Yang also likes to come to Yu Feihong's place.

Watching her cook in the kitchen, eating and watching TV with her, hugging her on the sofa and listening to her share cooking tips, or listening to her complain about TV dramas...

It was as if here, Cao Yang's heart could also calm down, and he would stop thinking about his many worries.

Of course, what Cao Yang likes most is the Fei Hong Fairy who now looks more intellectual, gentle and refined, when she transforms into a female knight.

The contrast in appearance, personality, and behavior can easily make people swoon.

The stronger the contrast, the more it can stir a man's emotions.

A good woman is said to be presentable in public and capable in the kitchen; she's a lady in public and... well, in bed... she's quite interesting.

Of course, no matter how strong a female knight is, she will eventually fall off her horse.

In fact, the moment when the majestic female knight said she couldn't go on was the most emotionally stirring moment.

At times like these, Cao Yang is always brimming with confidence, full of energy, and feels a great sense of satisfaction.

This is also a special manifestation of the beauty of contrast.

Lao Tian called Cao Yang and said he wanted to get together alone.

Cao Yang was a little confused. Hadn't they just had a get-together at Old Situ's house a couple of days ago? But since Old Tian wanted to have a get-together alone, then so be it.

It was the same little private restaurant they used to frequent.

Cao Yang observed Lao Tian for a moment. He didn't seem to be acting strangely; he probably just wanted to get together.

Old Tian was very proactive this time. When Cao Yang arrived, he had already ordered the dishes. Only when the dishes were served did Cao Yang realize that Old Tian had also ordered two small bottles of wine.

"Didn't you quit?"

Looking at the two bottles of Red Star wine on the table, Cao Yang asked with a hint of doubt, "The day before yesterday, when we were having dinner at the teacher's house, the teacher asked who wanted wine, and you pretended to wave your hand and said you had given it up."

"Hey kid, you're doing this on purpose, aren't you? I'm not stupid. I don't want to get scolded during the New Year."

Old Tian pushed a bottle to Cao Yang, took one for himself, and said, "Are you going to drink it or not? If not, both bottles are mine."

"Maybe your teacher sees that you've been behaving well lately and wants to reward you with a drink?"

Cao Yang snatched a bottle and placed it at his feet to prevent Lao Tian from drinking it all.

"Who knows if the old man is sincere? Maybe it's because I've been behaving well lately and he hasn't scolded me in a long time. If he wants to scold me, he'll have to find a legitimate reason. Maybe he's setting a trap."

Old Tian was talking nonsense with a straight face.

Cao Yang nodded in agreement, "Yeah, that makes sense. Not to mention you, teacher, if I don't scold you for a while, I feel like something's missing. I can understand how you feel."

"Get lost, do you think I'm your punching bag?"

Old Tian poured himself a small cup, took a small sip, and couldn't help but close his eyes and smack his lips.

"comfortable……"

"Damn, Lao Tian, ​​you haven't really quit drinking since the last time we met, have you?"

Seeing that Lao Tian looked like an old drunkard who hadn't drunk alcohol in eight hundred years, Cao Yang couldn't help but ask.

Old Tian ignored Cao Yang, opened his eyes, took another small sip of wine, and let out a long sigh.

He picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks and put it in his mouth, saying as he chewed, "It's been almost five months since we last ate here. I've been focusing all my attention on the movie, so I haven't had time to drink."

Cao Yang gave Lao Tian a thumbs up.

Old Tian picked up his small wine glass, downed the rest in one gulp, grinned, and couldn't help but count on his fingers.

“I remember the last time we met here was in early September, and that was the day we decided to cast Fidelity as the male lead.”

Old Tian seemed lost in memories, then shook his head and gave a self-deprecating smile.

"This kid, Fu Dalong... well, his acting is alright, and he has enough explosive power, but he gets carried away easily and can't control himself."

Then, Old Tian smiled smugly and looked at Cao Yang, saying:

“You know what? I started in September… oh, you were there too. I started giving acting and character talks to the main actors in September. Do you know how long I spent with that kid Ning Hao giving them acting talks?”

Cao Yang secretly curled his lip.

Of course I know.

How dare you say that? You signed a four-month contract with Kara Hui from Hong Kong. The original agreement was that two months would be for acting training, and two months would be for filming.

For a film like "Pieta," which has a simple plot and no large-scale scenes, two months of filming time is quite ample.

But you, on the other hand, started gathering the actors in September to give them acting talks and continued until mid-December!
Goodness, you've broken down such a simple movie into a million pieces and talked about it for over a hundred days.

The movie hasn't even started filming yet, and they've already used up three and a half months of the four months that Kara Hui gave them!
Do you think their management company wouldn't have any objections?
Fortunately, it was written by Cao Yang, who was also the film's producer and supervisor, so he could keep things in check. Otherwise, it would definitely have been another troublesome affair.

"I talked to them for a full 107 days before I was satisfied with their performance and then we officially started filming."

Old Tian picked up the small wine bottle, filled his small wine glass again, smelled the aroma of the wine, and then put it down.

"One hundred and seven days! You might not know if you haven't seen the footage, but that kid Fu Dalong made it!"

After saying that, Lao Tian picked up his wine glass with a little excitement, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp.

He sighed, picked up his chopsticks, grabbed some food, and started chewing it with a crunching sound. Cao Yang's heart skipped a beat. To be honest, he thought Fu Dalong's acting was sometimes very good, and his explosive power was also quite good, but it wasn't consistent enough.

Unlike Duan Yihong, whose acting skills are at least on point no matter what role he plays.

However, in terms of appearance alone, Fidel Rand is quite suitable for the male lead in Pietà. If he had a buzz cut, he could easily portray that brave and fierce feeling.

According to Lao Tian, ​​it took him about three and a half months to "train" Fudalong.

"Fu Dalong's performance was incredibly lifelike?"

Cao Yang couldn't help but ask.

Old Tian laughed heartily and tried to refill his small wine glass, but ended up pouring out all the wine from the small bottle. The glass was still not full, and he muttered a few words to himself.

Then, she turned her head and looked at Cao Yang expectantly.

Cao Yang picked up the small bottle of wine from the ground, and Lao Tian's eyes lit up. Then he saw Cao Yang put the wine into his pocket.

"Fu Dalong's performance was incredibly lifelike?"

Cao Yang pretended not to see Lao Tian's expectant look and asked again.

Old Tian was a little annoyed. He picked up a piece of food, threw it into his mouth, and deliberately chewed it loudly.

After swallowing, he said, "It's more than just good; he brought the character's changes and contrasts to life!"

Then, she looked at Cao Yang expectantly, gave him a fawning smile, and said:

"The reason I invited you to dinner today is because I'm starting post-production work in the editing room tomorrow. I plan to eat and drink there, and I'll make sure to follow the script exactly and edit out an incredibly exciting story."

"Um, I'm going into the editing room tomorrow, and I won't be coming out once I'm there..."

Old Tian was subtly hinting that he wanted Cao Yang to give him the wine, as he wanted to have a good drink before going into the editing room for post-production.

"You're going into the editing room? I'll be waiting for your good news."

Cao Yang pretended not to understand Lao Tian's hint and said with a smile, "I'll keep this bottle of wine for now. When you come out next time, this will be your celebration wine."

"Get out of here, is this little bottle of Red Star liquor for your celebration?"

Old Tian muttered something under his breath and stopped talking, just munching on his food.

After dinner, Cao Yang drove Lao Tian back home. Afterwards, instead of going to Yu Feihong's place, he went to Gao Yuanyuan's place.

Gao Yuanyuan returned to Beijing today.

As soon as she entered, Gao Yuanyuan jumped onto Cao Yang. Fortunately, Cao Yang was prepared and knew that Gao Yuanyuan liked to play this trick.

Gao Yuanyuan hugged Cao Yang's head and kissed him a few times before asking with a smile, "Haven't seen me for so long, have you missed me?"

"What do you think? You're going back to Beijing this afternoon, and I'll come over tonight."

Cao Yang lifted her by the bottom, carried her to the sofa in the living room, and placed her on the sofa.

Gao Yuanyuan hugged Cao Yang's neck and said coquettishly, "No, I want you to hold me."

Cao Yang kissed her on the cheek, then patted her bottom and said, "Sweetie, I'm going to take a shower first. Later, I'll not only hold you, I can also lift you up."

"Hehe, are you sure you can do it?"

"You've tried it before, haven't you?"

Perhaps because they hadn't seen each other for a long time, Gao Yuanyuan was very crazy that night, trying again and again despite repeated failures.

They wished they could squeeze every last drop out of Cao Yang.

Cao Yang slept until 10 a.m., when he was woken up by a phone call.

I took a look, and it turned out to be a call from Chen Shu.

Chen Shu once played the lead dancer in Cao Yang's "Black Swan" and collaborated with Cao Yang.

"Chen Shu?"

"Hello Director Cao, I hope I'm not disturbing you by calling now?"

Cao Yang glanced at Gao Yuanyuan, who had been sleeping soundly just moments before. As if she had heard the female voice on the phone, she subtly moved her head closer to him.

"Is there a problem?"

Cao Yang asked.

"Director Cao, it's like this, I was selected by Director Feng to be the female lead in 'Assembly,' but I didn't have any scenes before the Lunar New Year, and I only joined the crew after the New Year."

Chen Shu organized her thoughts and continued somewhat dejectedly, "I've already been filming for five days, but today Director Feng talked to me and said that my image is too fashionable and doesn't fit the character's image, so he told me to go back."

"go back?"

"Yes, Director Feng wants to terminate my contract."

Chen Shu said in a low voice, "After Director Feng finished talking with me, his assistant caught up with me and asked me to call you."

Cao Yang frowned.

Of course he understood what was going on.

In China's film and television industry, even if an actor signs a contract, it doesn't necessarily mean they will get the role. There are many cases where actors are replaced before filming starts, or even after filming for many days.

The excuse for being replaced in a role is, of course, not being able to fit the role's character, but in reality, very few people actually have that as the reason.

A small portion of the problems stem from the actors themselves, such as being so-called "difficult to work with." These actors may not be big stars, but they might be somewhat popular and cause a lot of trouble, which makes the directors and producers unable to tolerate them.

Of course, in a typical film crew, if a very big-name actor is demanding, troublesome, or even a troublemaker... well, that's no big deal! The director just has to keep quiet about it.

In most cases where a role is replaced, it's the investor who plants the replacement.

What? You're saying that if the production team dares to replace the actor after you've signed a contract, you should demand compensation and even sue the production team?

Yes, you can sue, and you can win on your first try, since there's a written contract there.

However, if you actually sue and win, and receive the breach of contract penalty, your acting career will basically be over—you'll probably never be able to get a production company to hire you again.

So if you still want to work in this industry, and you get replaced, you can only accept your bad luck. Not to mention the penalty for breach of contract, you also have to return the deposit you received to the production team!

Reality is fucked up like that.

That's why these actors are so eager to become famous. If you become one of the Four Great Qingyi Actresses or the Three Great Huadan Actresses, you'd be hard-pressed to get a role in a production. How could you possibly be replaced or have your role taken over?

When Cao Yang realized that Xiao Gangpao had his assistant secretly tell Chen Shu to call him, he knew what was going on.

That bastard Little Cannon, he probably couldn't handle it himself, so he had to be replaced due to pressure.

But he might have a higher opinion of Chen Shu's acting skills, well, that's a very small probability.

As one of the top directors in China, Xiao Gangpao absolutely hates anyone interfering in his films, even if that person is his financial backer.

When casting, you can offer suggestions and suggest alternatives, and I will consider giving them roles. However, if you try to substitute someone after I have already decided on the actors, then you are not taking me seriously at all.

Little Cannon is a smart guy. Since I can't handle it, I'll let someone who can handle it step in.

As a director, the worst thing that can happen is this situation.

(End of this chapter)