Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 381 Controversy
The filming of "Love in the Seaside City," also known as "Manchester by the Sea," is going very smoothly. At least for now, in terms of filming progress and smoothness, it is going quite well.

As for the scenes where the "nephew" interacts with his two girlfriends, namely the scenes between Zhu Yilong, Jing Tian, ​​and Yang Mi, Cao Yang arranged for them to be filmed at the very end.

Yes, finally.

It's the real last scene, following the one where the "nephew" breaks down crying when he opens the refrigerator, and the scene where the male lead encounters his ex-wife pushing a baby.

As for the reason.

The explanation given to Yang Mi and Jing Tian was that they should learn and practice more with the crew so that they could identify their shortcomings and correct them in time, thus laying a solid foundation for their future acting careers.

In reality, Cao Yang was afraid that too many takes would affect everyone's mood for this simple scene.

The filming went smoothly, but some minor issues arose with the actors.

Zhu Yilong is alright; he's currently just a student at the Beijing Film Academy. When he's not filming, he's quiet and reserved, giving off an unapproachable vibe, so everyone assumes that's just his natural personality.

Cao Yang would chat with him from time to time, and he also instructed Teacher Qin Peiling to take good care of him, fearing that he might really become depressed.

Teacher Qin Peiling was invited from Beijing Film Academy to specialize in the emotional guidance of actors after they get into character. She holds a PhD in Psychology from Beijing Normal University and is a talent that the school has only recently recruited.

The term "introducing talent" is not meant to be derogatory.

It was only 2007, and undergraduate programs had only recently begun to expand enrollment. Getting into university was no easy feat back then.

Professor Qin Peiling obtained her doctorate in psychology from Beijing Normal University in 03. When she took the college entrance exam, universities had not yet expanded their enrollment, so her doctorate was highly valuable.

Teacher Qin felt that this trip with the film crew was very worthwhile.

As for the reason, it's because there are three people in the crew who are currently very interesting to her.

One is Zhu Yilong, a student at the Beijing Film Academy, and the other is the famous international superstar Jackie Chan.

Lastly, there's Cao Yang, an internationally renowned director and the face of the Beijing Film Academy.

Professor Qin's doctoral thesis focused on the relatively "niche" psychological characteristics of actors after immersing themselves in a role. In addition, after teaching at the Beijing Film Academy for several years, she believes she has quite a bit of experience in "immersing oneself in a role."

However, this experience of working on the set was an eye-opening experience for her.

We've seen plenty of people "getting into character," but this level of "getting into character" is truly rare.

Getting into character is a very complex topic. If Teacher Qin were to talk about it, she probably wouldn't finish in three days and three nights.

However, if we don't differentiate between methodological and experiential approaches, but only use the simplest and most understandable language to summarize it, getting into character can be divided into gradual getting into character and extreme getting into character.

Gradual immersion in a role means that the actor thoroughly reads the script and understands the plot, and gradually "immerses" himself in the role as the crew works together.

Not every actor can get into character; it requires a certain level of acting skill.

This gradual immersion in the role causes almost no harm to the actors, and they can recover shortly after filming.

Extreme immersion in a role is very extreme; the actor becomes completely absorbed in the character, even to the point of cognitive impairment, believing that they are the character themselves, making it very difficult to break free from the role.

Extreme immersion in a role can have a significant impact on actors, ranging from being influenced by the plot and enjoying acting opposite other actors, to developing depression, schizophrenia, or even tendencies toward extreme behaviors.

Teacher Qin felt that Cheng Long and Zhu Yilong did not seem to gradually get into character. Just watching them perform in front of the camera, even when they weren't filming, they seemed completely immersed in their roles, which was somewhat of an extreme way of getting into character.

Another piece of evidence is that their performance in front of the camera didn't seem like acting at all; it felt like a real-life story.

Considering the movie's plot, it feels like the two of them are just repeating themselves from the movie's characters!
This is even more extreme than extreme immersion in a role—extreme immersion in a role simply means being completely emotionally invested, but it doesn't necessarily mean that their acting is good, realistic, or natural.

But to say they were extremely immersed in their roles doesn't seem quite right.

A very obvious characteristic of extreme immersion in a role is the inability to distinguish between the on-screen and off-screen worlds.

Cheng Long and Zhu Yilong seem to be extremely immersed in their roles, but Qin Peiling has a lot of communication with them every day. They can distinguish between the on-screen and off-screen worlds, know that they are making a movie, and are completely clear-headed.

As a teacher at the Beijing Film Academy, Qin Peiling must have known that Cao Yang was good at training actors.

She had always believed that Cao Yang helped actors get into character as early as possible, even right after filming began, by constantly explaining and rehearsing with them.

She had paid attention to it when Tian Zhuangzhuang was filming "Saintly Tragedy," and that's exactly what Lao Tian did.

Lao Tian spent nearly three months repeatedly explaining the scene to the actors, enabling them to fully understand the "role" and the script, ultimately achieving "early immersion in the role and excellent performance."

From the perspective of "inheritance", Director Cao Yang should also be in the same situation.

However, reality is quite different.

Qin Peiling also inquired about information from Lao Gu and some of Cao Yang's old crew members, and learned that all the actors "trained" by director Cao Yang were completely immersed in their roles in front of the camera and had full self-awareness when not filming.

This greatly surprised Qin Peiling.

Therefore, they became even more curious about Cao Yang, and felt as if they had discovered a treasure. They thought that if they could write a paper on this, it would definitely amaze the industry.

Qin Peiling acted as if she had discovered a "new toy," talking to Cheng Long and Zhu Yilong every day.

However, Cheng Long's condition began to worry his team and family.

In the past, Jackie Chan was quite active when filming, talking a lot and joking around.

But now, Jackie Chan seems like a stagnant pool, both when filming in front of the camera and when he's not on set.

When his wife and son came to visit him on set while he was filming in Hong Kong, he remained unmoved and unusually indifferent.

Especially towards Amin, she treated him almost like an ordinary passerby, showing no sign of how she would treat her own son.

Amin was completely dumbfounded.

He's an actor himself, so he knows his father's current state might be due to being too immersed in his role, but it's still very worrying.

So, Amin made a bold decision.

He sat down next to Jackie Chan and, in front of Jackie Chan and his assistant, said to Jackie Chan, "I recently picked up a beautiful girl..."

At this point, he glanced cautiously at Cheng Long, then continued, "However, she already has a boyfriend. We were cornered by him at the hotel, and I... I gave him some money..."

After saying that, he glanced at Cheng Long again.

Based on his understanding of his father, he knew that his father should be furious, cursing and swearing, and might even slap him across the face.

Amin had similar experiences before. His father would definitely suspect that he had been set up, scold him for being stupid, useless, unable to control his lust, and also berate him for being a spendthrift...

However, Jackie Chan seemed not to hear him, his face expressionless, lost in thought.

Just as Amin was getting anxious and worried, Cheng Long suddenly stood up and said, "Time to get to work."

Cheng Long took a few steps forward, then suddenly stopped. Without turning around, he simply said to his assistant, "Cancel his credit card. If he wants money, he can earn it himself."

After saying that, he left without looking back.

Amin's eyes widened, his mouth agape, and he reached out as if to say something.

However, he didn't say it out loud in the end. He just withdrew his hand and slapped himself hard across the face.

Let you talk too much!

I'm just being overly concerned about him!
Jackie Chan's "immersion in the role" was still exposed by Hong Kong paparazzi. It has to be said that Hong Kong paparazzi are incredibly resourceful; some tabloids even published a somewhat blurry photo.

In the photo, Jackie Chan is expressionless, but looks to be in poor condition, with a stubble around his beard.

These days, everyone knows what kind of people Hong Kong paparazzi and tabloids are.

For those who don't understand, they can refer to those mainland paparazzi and "UG" shocking departments that learn from Hong Kong paparazzi and tabloids. They can get a general idea of ​​the whole picture from a glimpse.

As a result, tabloids used exaggerated headlines to report that Jackie Chan was so immersed in a love story directed by a famous director that he was facing depression and a breakdown.

Some tabloids have speculated that the plot of this love story is roughly as follows: the male lead, Jackie Chan, is dumped by his girlfriend or wife, leaving him heartbroken and desperate. Later, a female lead will appear to "save" him. That's why it's called "Love in a Seaside City."

However, perhaps the director was "too good" at directing the actors, because Jackie Chan got too immersed in the role of being dumped by his ex-girlfriend, which led to his current state.

Based on this, the tabloid boldly speculated that Cao Yang's new movie was definitely doomed and could not be made.

Yes, there's still a sense of superiority about him between the lines.

First, all sorts of tabloids went on a frenzy reporting on the matter, most of them pessimistic about the film's prospects.

Then, an unnamed "insider" revealed that Jackie Chan has developed depressive tendencies and is currently unable to continue filming. The source claimed that the crew and his family have privately hired the world's best psychologists…

If the insider's revelation only left people with some skepticism, then a fairly clear video, which appeared to have been shot with a digital camera, revealed the truth.

In the video, a drunken Ah Ming is seen embracing a pretty girl and shoving away the person blocking his way.

At this moment, an angry voice said, "Your father is depressed from filming, and you still have the nerve to drink and chase girls here."

These words completely broke down Amin's defenses, who was already quite drunk.

He pointed at the person and started cursing: "You bastard, when did my dad get depressed? If you keep talking nonsense, believe me, I'll have your whole family killed! My dad was just getting into character, getting into character, don't you understand..."

Judging from the relatively clear video, it's highly likely that Amin has been set up again.

Hong Kong is a typical place where the temple is small but the evil spirits are strong, and the pond is shallow...

Although Amin denied that Jackie Chan had depression, he confirmed that he was "immersed in the role".

While immersion in a role and depression are not synonymous, there is a certain connection. Many actors who become deeply "immersed" in their roles are very likely to develop depression.

Sometimes, the situation of being so immersed in a role that you can't get out of it is much more serious than depression.

With this video, well-known Hong Kong newspapers and media outlets started getting involved.

Some reports have discussed the potential consequences of becoming overly immersed in a role, citing examples such as Cheung Kwok-wing from Hong Kong and Chen Xiaoxu, who played Lin Daiyu in the mainland version of "Dream of the Red Chamber" and passed away in May of this year.

These are typical examples of people getting too caught up in a role and unable to break free.

Of course, when actors get too immersed in their roles, it's generally not the director's fault; it's just that the actors themselves are too "involved" in their characters.

But there are always exceptions.

As is widely known, Cao Yang is famous for his skill in training actors.

Since you are good at directing actors, any negative impact caused by actors getting into character is definitely your responsibility as the director—this is the implied meaning of many Hong Kong media outlets.

In short, no one was optimistic about the film's prospects, and the Hong Kong media even subtly criticized the director and crew for their unprofessionalism.

Unprofessional?
Cao Yang was speechless after reading the report.

At this point in time, most people in Hong Kong are still immersed in the past glory of the mainland being "superior" and cannot extricate themselves from it. It is estimated that they will not be able to change their mindset anytime soon.

Cao Yang is an internationally renowned director from mainland China. In the past two years, thanks to the efforts of him and his team, although the Hong Kong people who have moved north have not yet let go of their pride, many of the inequalities of the past have been greatly improved.

Therefore, the Hong Kong media has always had a complicated attitude towards Cao Yang. While Cao Yang was still making art films in China and winning awards, they chose to ignore it, not report on it, or report on it less, pretending not to see it.

However, Cao Yang's achievements after entering Hollywood are too outstanding, especially the $9 million global box office of "Inception" last year, which cannot be ignored just because you want to not report on it.

As a result, the Hong Kong media went to great lengths to amplify Depp's role in this—a very petty approach.

Do they not understand Cao Yang's influence?
Of course not, they actually know everything.

However, the fact that a great director like Cao Yang has emerged from the mainland film and television industry, which they have always looked down upon, has left them somewhat bewildered and unwilling to acknowledge it.

Now that they have the opportunity, of course they want to take the chance to smear him.

In fact, while the matter was being widely reported in Hong Kong, Cao Yang had already taken the crew back to the mainland. The 10-day shooting period planned in Hong Kong was completed in just 8 days.

This includes a day of rest when we first arrived in Hong Kong; the actual filming only took 7 days.

The crew did not immediately set off for Canada to film. Instead, they would attend the 26th Golden Rooster Awards on October 27th before heading to Canada to shoot on location.

Because filming in Hong Kong was completed two days ahead of schedule, Cao Yang simply gave the crew three days off. The two days were for the early filming, plus the third day for attending the Golden Rooster Awards ceremony.

Because he finished filming two days early and returned, Cao Yang missed the extensive media coverage in Hong Kong.

Otherwise, he would definitely be driven crazy by these media outlets in Hong Kong.

"These paparazzi in Hong Kong are going too far, and these newspapers are just spouting nonsense. Actors get into character because they want to play their roles well, so how can you blame the director and the crew?"

Gao Yuanyuan angrily watched the news on her computer, and while watching, she spoke some beautiful international slang. If others heard her, they would be absolutely astonished.

Her fans and supporters must be wondering, is this still our quiet goddess?
"I'm not angry, so why are you?"

Cao Yang smiled and pulled Gao Yuanyuan up from the computer chair, letting her sit in his lap.

This year's Golden Rooster Awards was the first one held after Cao Yang became the vice chairman of the Federation of Literary and Art Circles. It was also a year in which he carried out some of his wishes, and he attached great importance to it and was sure to participate.

Because of the importance of this year's Golden Rooster Awards, Li Xiaoran, Yu Feihong, Gao Yuanyuan, Dong Xuan, Pang Bing, and others will also be participating.

Furthermore, Yu Feihong, Gao Yuanyuan, and Pang Bing will appear as award presenters, while Li Xiaoran and Dong Xuan both have works nominated.

Gao Yuanyuan returned to Beijing today, and Cao Yang came over as well.

"Look, aren't there still many actors and directors from Hong Kong speaking out for me?"

Cao Yang pointed to the computer screen and said.

Gao Yuanyuan took a look, and there really was one.

However, some didn't speak out proactively. For example, Wong Kar-wai was interviewed by the media and asked what he thought about directors getting actors into character.

Although he was wearing sunglasses, it was still clear that Wong Kar-wai was looking at the reporter like he was an idiot, and slowly said:

"Didn't you report that Liang Chaowei became depressed because of filming my movie? I want to say that being able to get Liang Chaowei into character and become depressed is the thing I am most proud of."

What nonsense are you reporters reporting? It's utterly absurd.

Do you even understand what the art of film is? Do you understand what every director most desires? If I had Director Cao's abilities, I'd be the king of the world!

"Pfft."

Gao Yuanyuan laughed. At that moment, she suddenly felt that Wong Kar-wai was also a good director, and she had a very good impression of him.

Of course, if Wong Kar-wai were to invite her to make a movie, sorry, I don't have the time or energy, I simply can't afford to wait.

Wouldn't it be better to endorse a few big brands instead of wasting that time?
Although Gao Yuanyuan hasn't acted in many movies since winning the Cannes Film Festival Best Actress award, her advertising resources are the best in China, and her endorsement fees are the highest in the country.

“Wu Qihua is still the most loyal. Look, he even gave this face-to-face interview and angrily rebuked the media.”

Gao Yuanyuan pointed to a news article and said.

Then, pointing to another news article, she said angrily, "How can this person be like this? He's a star who's made it into Hollywood, and when people interview him, he just says 'no comment.' What does that mean?"
"Hmph, he's been acting for so many years, how could he not know the benefits of getting into character? How could he not know that getting into character is something some actors desperately want to do? This Hong Kong guy really has no sense of responsibility."

"Alright, alright, what are you so angry about? It's their freedom to not want to get involved in this mess, it's perfectly normal."

Then, Cao Yang picked her up with a strong hug and said with a smile, "Come on, let me cool you down. I promise you'll be happy later."

Gao Yuanyuan wrapped her arms around Cao Yang's neck, looked up at him, bit her lower lip, and whispered, "And you, do you have a temper?"

Cao Yang thought for a moment.

"I'm very angry right now."

(End of this chapter)