Huayu: I'm reborn, but you still force me to be a scumbag?

Chapter 505 Some people are like fish (8000 words)
Amidst the laughter, Jing Tian was both embarrassed and secretly pleased.

What's wrong with romance movies?

Most Chinese films are romance movies.

If only I could really make a name for myself in romance movies.

She even wakes up laughing in her sleep.

She wiped away her tears and said, "Thank you, thank you, Teacher Li. Thank you... Senior Brother Chen Nuo."

Chen Nuo smiled and said, "Keep it up, you did a good job."

Then she turned to Li Er and asked, "Teacher, may I go back now?"

Li Er glared at him and said, "Stop talking too much. Come back."

"okay."

Even though Chen Nuo was reborn, he had seen it all, even if he hadn't eaten pork. Having witnessed the dazzling array of variety shows in his later life, he certainly knew what variety show effects were. He made a silly remark, then stepped off the stage and returned to his seat.

Amidst a burst of laughter, Chen Kexin said in his Cantonese-accented Mandarin, "Jing Tian, ​​Professor Li's words were very humorous, but also very insightful. I thought your first performance was terrible, but the second one, the one you just performed, was truly brilliant. If I were to make a romance film and saw this scene, I would definitely invite you to come and watch it."

Jing Tian was still a little shaken up, and with red eyes, she forced a smile and said, "Actually, it was all my senior brother who guided me; I didn't do anything at all."

“Speaking of which, I think even just this one experience makes your appearance on our show worthwhile, Jing Tian,” Zhang Ziyi interjected. “You know how many actresses in China want to act opposite Chen Nuo? Jing Tian, ​​you’re a really lucky girl. Having been in the entertainment industry for so long, I actually believe in luck. Like how I got a role in Zhang Yimou’s film because of luck, and then I got a role in Li An’s Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon because of luck. I think luck, though elusive, is real. With this kind of luck, if you just work on your acting skills, you’ll definitely have a bright future.”

Chen Nuo sat in his seat and listened to this long and eloquent speech with genuine admiration.

No wonder his appearance fee is 2000 million.

He initially thought the people at Youku were crazy, but this was only 2012! Hiring Phoenix Legend to a remote county town for a real estate opening ceremony and singing a couple of songs would only cost 70 yuan—yes, Chen Bicheng, a loyal fan of Phoenix Legend in his past life, did just that around this time—spending 2000 million yuan to hire Zhang Ziyi, was that just throwing money away?!

You should know that Hao Lei only made 200 million, Li Er only made 400 million, Li Binbing only made 600 million, and directors like Chen Kexin and Tsai Ming-liang only made a few million. She made ten times that of Hao Lei and five times that of Li Binbing and the others. Why is that?
Now he understands that it wasn't just his fame that mattered, but also his silver tongue.

Even the dead can be brought back to life. The highlight of the body awareness training was Li Er's grasp of rhythm. They even brought up his own story, rambling on and on, for a long time with great emotion, making it very interesting to listen to.

How could he not accept it?

There's this eloquent and entertaining expert on the show. 2000 million—that price doesn't seem so expensive after all.

Upon hearing this, Jing Tian immediately showed a touching expression and said, "I know, that's what I thought too. Having this opportunity to act with my senior brother has always been my dream. Thank you, Teacher Ziyi."

Hao Lei smiled and said, "So, teachers, do you think Jing Tian's performance deserves a gold card?"

Li Binbing said, "I think it's good. That scene really moved me. Jing Tian's performance touched me deeply. In that instant, I felt as if there was a girl who deeply loved that boy. To me, it was a real performance and very convincing."

Jing Tian looked a little embarrassed and said, "Thank you, Professor Bing. Actually, it was mainly Professor Li who guided me well."

Li Er said calmly, "You don't need to underestimate yourself. In that scene just now, you mainly relied on your partner, and secondly on yourself. Any acting teacher could have done what I did."

Jing Tian shook her head and said, "No, no."

Hao Lei smiled and said, "Director Jiang, Director Cai, what do you think?"

Tsai Ming-liang said, "I think there's no problem."

Jiang Wen smiled and said, "I think it's like this: the gold card can be given, but who will issue it is a problem. I suggest that the one who tied the knot should solve it, so how about Professor Chen Nuo issues it?"

"Hahaha." Everyone else laughed.

Jing Tian didn't know what to say, so she bowed deeply, then stood up and met Jiang Wen's smiling eyes.

Jing Tian wasn't sure if it was just her imagination, but she felt as if those eyes could see right through her.

……

……

Jing Tian took the gold card and returned to the waiting room from the stage. As soon as she entered, she was greeted with enthusiastic applause.

Everyone stood up, clapping and watching her.

"You acted so well, fantastic!"

"strong."

"looks great!"

"Congratulations!"

Jing Tian knew, of course, that this was all because of the director's request in the waiting room in front of the camera.

Normally, it would be quite good if three people stood up to welcome her, and she was sure they would all be boys. Like Jiang Yiyan—no, Jiang Jiuyan—who was clapping to congratulate her, but her eyes practically wanted to grow a hand out of them and snatch her gold card.

She smiled and said, "Thank you, thank you," before walking to her seat and sitting down.

Their waiting room had rows of seats, and next to Jing Tian sat a boy who had just been on stage. He had stood up to clap and smile, but now that he sat down, he looked miserable.

Jing Tian sat there for a while, reflecting on what had just happened. When she came to her senses, she found that the recording had been paused. The judges seemed to be making some adjustments, and a bearded assistant director was standing next to Chen Nuo, muttering to himself.

So she turned her head with a bit of relief and saw the boy next to her looking sad. She couldn't help but smile and comfort him, "It's okay, I think you still have a chance."

Xiao Zhan looked up and said, "Professor Li said he was going to eliminate me, and that I'm ugly."

Jing Tian couldn't help but laugh, but she suppressed her smile and said with a straight face, "Professor Li has always been known at our school for being sharp-tongued but kind-hearted. She says that, but in reality, she definitely won't."

Xiao Zhan sighed and said, "Thank you. Actually, I prepared for a long time before I came. I even prepared a few jokes to tell, but I didn't expect that I didn't need to use any of them."

"joke?"

"Yeah, I was just trying to liven things up."

Jing Tian twitched her lips and said, "Then why didn't you say so?"

Xiao Zhan said dejectedly, "When I went on stage, I saw them all sitting there, and the atmosphere was completely different from what I had imagined. I was dumbfounded."

"What do you think it will be like?"

"I thought variety shows would be more relaxed, like Happy Camp or Day Day Up. But when I saw them sitting on the judging panel, none of them smiled, and their aura was so strong that I really couldn't say anything."

Jing Tian recalled the scene when she went on stage and felt deeply moved, agreeing, "Actually, me too. I was so scared when I went on stage. I didn't perform well the first time I was asked to act. Fortunately, Teacher Li gave me a second chance."

"I think you adjust your state of mind very quickly. When you acted with President Chen the second time, I was stunned. You acted so well. How do you adjust your state of mind? Can you teach me?"

Jing Tian was speechless for a moment.

How did she adjust?
She was forced to adjust.

He immediately turned his gaze to the front and changed the subject, saying, "Hey, we've started recording. I remember she's a new girl, just like you, right?"

Xiao Zhan glanced at the long-haired girl who was walking out of the waiting room at the director's beckoning, pursed his lips, and said, "I'm not familiar with her."

……

Yang Zi.

To be honest, Chen Nuo had absolutely no expectations for her acting skills, just like he did for Dilraba.

In the end, Yang Zi certainly didn't let him down.

Indeed, the portrayal of a middle-aged woman who, after her divorce, encounters her ex-husband on the street after several years of separation, is indescribable. It seems very superficial and shallow, which makes Li Er furious. He, who is listening from the side, feels embarrassed.

“Your resume says you’re a sophomore at our school, but I really can’t tell. All your performances are superficial; none of your inner thoughts are connected to your acting. You’re playing a divorced woman who runs into her ex-husband on the street after years of separation, someone who cheated on her. You just act according to Hao Lei’s script, whatever the script tells you. But real acting is not like that at all.”

“What is real acting? It’s just like real life. I like this person, I don’t like that person, I find this person pleasing to the eye, I find that person unpleasant to the eye. I have an inner activity, and I act based on that. But you, the moment you saw your ex-husband, you were not surprised at all, did not recognize him, and did not doubt whether you had mistaken him for someone else. You just rushed up to him and started yelling at him.”

"Do you think this is reasonable?"

"Going back to the point, Director Jiang said you're too young to act. But the first lesson we learn in acting is conviction. Yang Zi, tell me, what is conviction?"

Yang Ziqiang smiled and said, "Teacher Li, a sense of conviction is having genuine feelings to believe in the present moment."

Li Er said, "Yes, believe in the present moment. To be more specific, it means believing that you are the character, believing that you and your opponent have a real relationship, and believing that the environment you are in is the environment in the script, like this studio. Imagine it's a street with people coming and going. So let me ask you, what makes you believe?"

Yang Zi hesitated before answering, "Imagination."

"So what is imagination? Where does imagination come from? Where does a person's imagination come from to make them believe that all of this is really happening?"

"answer me."

Li Er turned his head and looked to the side.

"Huh?" Chen Nuo was taken aback, pointed to the tip of his nose, and said, "Me again?"

"Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha……"

The once silent control room and waiting room, which had been filled with Li Er's torrential rain, were suddenly filled with laughter.

The bearded assistant director laughed heartily and said, "President Chen really knows how to create a good variety show effect."

Wu Hao laughed and said, "What you're saying is nonsense. How could someone who has been on SNL and hosted the Oscars and Golden Globes not understand?"

In the waiting room.

Jing Tian couldn't help but laugh.

She overheard two girls beside her, one a new actress named Song Yi who graduated from the Central Academy of Drama, and the other Bai Bing, who had just won the Huading Award for Best Newcomer Actress last year for her role in "Hidden Marriage" alongside Eason Chan, making slightly exaggerated reactions as instructed by the director on set.

Song Yi said with a lovestruck expression, "Teacher Chen is so cute."

Bai Bing nodded: "Really, you absolutely can't see this anywhere else."

"I guess this would only happen in front of Professor Li."

Although it was the director's script, Jing Tian felt that it really was like that. She had heard that it was like this before when she was in school, but she didn't expect it to still be like this after graduation.

Such a teacher-student relationship is extremely rare, even in art schools like Beijing Film Academy and Central Academy of Drama, which place great emphasis on tradition.

On the screen, Li Er couldn't help but laugh at Chen Nuo's antics and said, "Yeah, you."

Chen Nuo said with a bitter face, "Life."

"continue."

Chen Nuo recited as if reciting a memorized text: "If the foundation of imagination is not built on the elements of life, and if performance does not ultimately recreate some scenes from life, then all the talk of conviction, eliminating distractions, and believing will forever be just empty words."

"That's why we need to experience life. We need to step out of the school gates and go out into the streets to see what people are doing. We need to observe what street vendors are selling, how bus drivers steer, how mothers hold their children, and how cleaning ladies hold their brooms. These are things you can't learn in school, but they are a hundred times more important than any acting teacher's instruction on voice, posture, and expression..."

As he spoke, Li Er turned her head slightly to look at him. Before he knew it, the corners of her mouth turned up, and her usually expressionless face was now showing a hint of a smile.

But when he finished speaking and looked over, Li Er's smile vanished completely. He turned to Yang Zi and said, "Did you hear that? Don't think that just because you've gained a little fame, you can wear designer brands and drive luxury cars every day and be out of touch with reality. Otherwise, with your looks, you'll have a hard time acting in idol dramas without any surgery."

Professor Li, dressed head-to-toe in LV and GUCCI, remarked as follows.

……

……

"Hello everyone, my name is Zhang Luyi. I graduated from the Directing Department of the Central Academy of Drama in 03, class of '99. I later pursued further studies at Peking University, where I obtained a Master of Fine Arts degree. Since 08, I have been playing the role of a doctor in director Meng Jinghui's play 'Amber,' and I..."

On the stage, a man with a long face was speaking earnestly.

"I came to participate in this program this time in order to improve my acting skills under the guidance of all the teachers. Therefore, I hope that all the teachers will not hesitate to criticize me."

Hao Lei smiled and said, "Lu Yi, we've known each other for a long time, and I'm very happy to see you here. Let me introduce you all. Lu Yi is definitely the most dedicated and focused person I know when it comes to acting, and his acting skills are excellent. So what he said is true. You can criticize him without hesitation, and he will definitely not be angry."

Li Binbing laughed and said, "Hao Lei, you weren't saying that to us, were you?"

Zhang Ziyi also laughed and said, "This is for Professor Li's ears. Zhang Luyi, what did you feel when you heard Professor Li's comments backstage just now?"

Zhang Luyi opened his big, ox-like eyes and said, "I think Professor Li's words are exactly what I wanted to hear on this program. I think they are invaluable words of advice, and I really appreciate Professor Li teaching me with these words."

Jiang Wen said, "In that case, I'll give you a question this time. I guarantee Professor Li will have a lot to say about it."

Hao Lei laughed and said, "This is the first time Director Jiang has given you a challenge. Lu Yi, you're in luck." Jiang Wen laughed and said, "I am lucky. Well then, since Hao Lei says you can act, let me ask you, have you seen 'The House of the Mute'?"

Zhang Lu nodded and said, "I've seen it, Director Jiang Wen. It's my favorite movie. I've watched it more than thirty times, and I remember every single scene."

Jiang Wen smiled and said, "That's good. There's a scene where the mute man goes to find Xiaozhu and comes out to find that Xiaozhu has already married and is holding a child. You definitely won't forget that scene."

“Of course!” Zhang Lu said excitedly. “That scene is my absolute favorite. I think Chen Nuo’s performance in that scene is a classic among classics, a completely genius performance. It is no less than Marlon Brando’s performance in ‘The Godfather’ or Daniel Day-Lewis’s performance in ‘Pieta.’ In fact, I think it is the best performance in all his works. After that, his performances became more and more commercialized, and he was unable to show such profound inner emotions again, which is a real pity.”

"Hahahahaha."

As soon as he finished speaking, a burst of laughter erupted.

Jiang Wen laughed and said, "You said you came up here to be criticized, but before you even got criticized, you criticized Chen Nuo first. Not bad, very good. I think you have commendable courage."

Zhang Luyi seemed to snap out of a daze, his face flushed red, he scratched his head, and turned to say, "Teacher Chen, that's not what I meant, I didn't..."

Chen Nuo smiled and shook his head, saying, "It's okay, you're right, I also feel that my acting is getting worse and worse."

Jiang Wen laughed and said, "Okay, Zhang Luyi, this is the topic I've given you. Just imitate this classic scene. I'll find you a partner. Zi Yi, Hao Lei, and Bin Bing, which of you three wants to play Xiao Zhu?"

"I."

"I go."

Immediately, Li Binbing and Zhang Ziyi said in unison.

Seeing this, Hao Lei had no choice but to swallow the words that were already on the tip of her tongue.

Chen Kexin laughed and said, "Wow, are you trying to steal the spotlight? Do you two even remember your lines?"

Zhang Ziyi said, "Definitely."

Li Binbing said, "I'm fine with it too."

After saying that, neither of them said anything else. They really had reached a head-on collision.

Jiang Wen laughed heartily and said, "Alright, Zi Yi and Bingbing, you two play rock-paper-scissors. Whoever wins goes up!"

“Okay, let’s go, Bingbing.” Zhang Ziyi said generously.

Li Binbing stood up with a smile and said, "Okay."

"Scissors, rock, paper!"

"Haha, sorry, I won," Zhang Ziyi laughed.

She provided the cloth, and Li Binbing provided the stones.

Li Bingbing laughed and said, "Okay, then you act."

Zhang Ziyi smiled and said, "Thank you for your kind words."

……

Wow, I can't wait!

The reaction started again in the standby room.

This time it's Lin Gengxin and Yang Zi.

Lin Gengxin asked, "Yang Zi, have you ever seen the house of the mute?"

Yang Zi said, "Of course, our school shows them almost every semester, and every acting teacher analyzes them. What about you?"

“Our school is too,” Lin Gengxin said. “Which scene in it is your favorite?”

Yang Zi said, "I like every scene of yours. What about you?"

Lin Gengxin said, "My favorite scene is the one where he shouts out from the hilltop after he finishes digging up the house."

"Haha, you're having a good time yelling, aren't you?"

"Yes."

……

Back on stage, Zhang Luyi was standing there, and Zhang Ziyi, holding a long, thin lumbar pillow like she was cradling a child, swayed as she walked towards him. She looked up, saw him, and suddenly her eyes widened in surprise as she exclaimed, "The mute!?"

Zhang Luyi remained calm, his gaze fixed on the lumbar pillow in his arms, watching silently.

"Dumb!" Zhang Ziyi exclaimed in surprise, "Where did you go?! I thought you were dead!"

She took a few quick steps, but then suddenly realized something and slowed down. She looked down at the child in her arms, and the smile on her face gradually disappeared, replaced by a gentle smile. "How did you know I was here? We haven't been in touch for so many years. The people in the alley were very worried about you, you know?"

Zhang Luyi raised his eyes and looked at her, still expressionless.

“I’m married, you mute,” Zhang Ziyi said, her voice tinged with melancholy. “All these years since you left, we all thought you were dead. My husband was introduced to me by my mother…” A faint sadness appeared in her eyes, “He’s more than ten years older than me, but he’s a very good person, and he treats me just as well as you did back then. He has a job at the factory and has been allocated an apartment.”

She pointed into the distance, "Look, that's my home, on the third floor."

Zi Yi Zhang, winner of the Hundred Flowers Award, the Hong Kong Film Award, the Golden Horse Award, the Huabiao Award, and the Chicago Film Critics Circle Award for Best Newcomer, is beloved by countless big-name directors. Her voice, still faintly reminiscent of a young girl, echoed in the studio.

Zhang Luyi remained expressionless, simply watching quietly.

"Card!"

Jiang Wen called out from below the stage, then said with a smile, "I think that's enough. Teacher Ziyi, you've worked hard. Go back and sit down."

Zhang Ziyi sighed, glanced at Zhang Luyi with a hint of regret, then turned and walked back to her seat.

"Zhang Luyi, how does it feel to be relegated to a supporting role?" Tsai Ming-liang asked with a smile.

Zhang Luyi scratched his head, looking somewhat helpless: "I...I didn't act well."

Chen Kexin said, "Your expressions are too limited. I don't think you're like a stage actor. Even in a movie, close-up shots don't offer much. You're definitely not qualified. Professor Chen, Professor Li, what do you think?"

Chen Gang smiled and shook his head: "Actually, I often demonstrate this scene for my students when I'm teaching acting at the Central Academy of Drama. Most students who perform this scene fall into two extremes: one is to completely imitate the original, and the other is to act it out haphazardly. The latter mostly exaggerate too much, moving their mouths, eyes, and eyebrows, thinking they are the mime master Charlie Chaplin; while the imitators will be like you just now, completely expressionless. They have no idea that in the original, although Teacher Chen Nuo's face was expressionless, his eyes spoke a thousand words."

“We all know that acting with your eyes is the most difficult thing for an actor,” he continued. “To be honest, I still think ‘The House of the Mute’ is an incredible film. I can’t believe that a new actor could portray a character with almost no lines so profoundly.”

"After it won the award in Berlin, I found the movie as soon as possible. I watched it over and over again in my home screening room. I don't know how many times I watched it. I only had two thoughts at the time. First, the movie used some special effects that I didn't know about, made minor adjustments to the actors' performances, and did post-production processing, so it looks the way it does now. Second, the male lead in this movie is a type that I have never seen before."

"At the time, I was inclined to choose the first option."

"As a result, of course, the whole world knows what happened now."

"Honestly, I regret this to this day. Professor Chen Nuo, I have a question for you. If I had called you back then, do you think it would have been possible for you to come and study at the Central Academy of Drama?"

Chen Nuo glanced at Li Er and laughed, "That... is possible. Hahaha."

"Speaking of which, I've also wanted to ask, why did you apply to the Beijing Film Academy instead of our school?" Zhang Ziyi tilted her head and asked, "What was the reason?"

this…………

How do you say this?
Chen Nuo recalled the first day of her preliminary audition, when she was interviewed by a female reporter from Beijing TV station at the entrance of Beijing Film Academy.

His reasons for refusing were, besides the fact that Li Er had already paved the way for him, and he was almost certain to pass the professional exam, so he didn't want to stand out and was afraid that if he appeared on TV, people would dig into his past and find out that he had used connections, and it was also related to this issue.

He really couldn't answer that.

However, now he feels that for the sake of the show's effect, he can tell the truth.

Chen Nuo coughed lightly, looked at Li Er again, and said, "To be honest, there is indeed a reason for this, and I have never mentioned it on any program."

"Oh?" Zhang Ziyi had only said it casually, but she didn't expect him to take it so seriously. She immediately perked up and turned around to look at him.

The same applies to the other judges.

Chen Nuo said in a serious tone, "Because the name of the Central Academy of Drama is too grand, I think it must be very difficult to get in. The name of the Beijing Film Academy is more modest, and I think it will be easier to get in."

Li Er's face immediately darkened.

But everyone else laughed.

Zhang Ziyi laughed and said, "So you think film school is simpler."

Chen Nuo chuckled, "Pretty much."

Chen Gang shook his head and smiled bitterly, "I never expected it to be for this reason..."

"Okay, getting back to the point, Zhang Luyi, you know what? Trying to act like someone else is like trying to swim like a fish in the ocean. Fish are born to breathe underwater. Their gills, scales, tails, and fins are all for swimming. If you ask a fish how it learns to swim, it might not even know itself."

"If you, as a human being, try to learn how to swim, there will only be one outcome: you'll drown in the sea. Do you understand what I mean?"

Zhang Luyi smiled wryly and said, "Professor Chen, I understand, but I really didn't do it on purpose. Although I was unconsciously imitating, it's probably because I've watched it too many times. I get nervous as soon as Teacher Ziyi stands in front of me, so I acted according to the way Teacher Chen Nuo performed in the movie."

“I don’t think it’s me,” Zhang Ziyi said with a smile. “It’s probably the original protagonist watching you from the side, and you’re just nervous.”

Zhang Luyi glanced to the side and said with a wry smile, "Yes."

Hao Lei smiled and said, "Teacher Chen Nuo, as the original author, what do you have to say about Zhang Luyi's performance just now?"

Chen Nuo said, "I think she actually acted quite well."

Li Er asked, "What's so good about it? What makes it good?"

Chen Nuo thought for a moment and said, "I think it's better to show the mute's shock at this moment."

"All you do all day is spout nonsense," Li Er said.

"Hahahahahahaha."

The audience burst into laughter again.

Chen Nuo touched his nose somewhat awkwardly and said, "Really."

Li Er sneered, "Really? That's a lie."

Hao Lei received the instruction in her earpiece and said, "Professor Li, do you think we should invite Professor Chen Nuo to go up and perform the scene that Zhang Luyi just performed? Let everyone see how Professor Chen Nuo will interpret the classic scene after so many years."

Chen Nuo immediately waved his hand and said, "Never mind, I've forgotten how to act."

Li Er had initially frowned, seemingly reluctant, but upon hearing this, she immediately replied, "I think it's okay."

"what?"

“Didn’t you say you forgot? Perfect, just do it the way you forgot, in your current state and at your age, and reenact it.”

"Great!!!" Jiang exclaimed in a booming voice, "This is good, this is a great idea!!"

Chen Nuo said with a wry smile, "I feel like I've become a student. I wish I hadn't come."

Li Er said, "Aren't you not coming next time?"

"Hahahaha." Everyone laughed again.

"Come on, let's give a round of applause to Teacher Chen Nuo who's coming on stage again," Hao Lei said with a smile.

Amid applause, Li Er added, "By the way, you should also go up and show Professor Chen Gang how you've grown, this fish that's been raised in our Beijing Film Academy's pond for so long. Have you lost weight? Have you forgotten how to swim? Otherwise, some people might think our school's feed is bad."

"Professor Li, that's not what I meant," Chen Gang said with a wry smile.

Given the current atmosphere, and considering it's a variety show produced by their own company, what can Chen Nuo do?
Reluctantly, he stood up and said, "Fine, I'll give it a try."

Ps:

I know the chapter is a bit disjointed...

But if I don't post it, it will be too late.

I'm continuing to write.

(End of this chapter)