Entertainment 2000: Supporting female stars will bring you a hundredfold return

Chapter 279 Is this the world of geniuses?
When Tang Wen finished making the phone call and dealing with his work, he was about to explain to Director Huang Jianxin.

I crawled into the warm, slightly strange-smelling work tent.

Suddenly, I realized that Chen, Wang Zhiwen, Fan Wei and other key members of the production team were all there. They were about to leave when they saw me come in and gave me a strange look.

Ok?
what happened?
"Director Huang, that group from just now..."

The word "lens" was left unsaid.

Huang Jianxin waved his hands repeatedly, looking embarrassed: "Director Tang, I'll do whatever you say. You're pressed for time. We can talk about it over drinks tonight. Just don't think I'm being nosy."

"Not at all, Director Huang, you're too kind."

Has he figured it out on his own?

It's unlikely; veteran directors all have their own methods.

That probably means they compared the effects of the shots taken before and after.

Tang Wen didn't pay much attention and patted Chen's shoulder under his down jacket.

After the actors left, he nodded to Huang Jianxin and said nothing more.

It's perfectly normal to have differing opinions with colleagues at work.

It would be best if they could digest it themselves.

The filming continued until evening.

The crew left behind some staff on duty, while the rest of the crew drove in various vehicles to the best-tasting hotel in the vicinity.

The staff on duty also received meals delivered by the hotel, but drinking too much alcohol was not allowed.

Tang Wen underestimated his own influence.

He spent the whole day on set, which was near Beijing, just over an hour's drive away.

Many people, upon learning that they would see him at the dinner table tonight, pulled out all the stops and contacted various staff members of the film crew, hoping to get a chance to appear in front of Tang Wen.

The adult world, especially the arena of fame and fortune, is just that realistic.

However, most of the people who came were not famous, and Tang Wen had no impression of them.

Except for a small-eyed man with a buzz cut.

He arrived at the hotel private room early, braving the dangers. As soon as Tang Wen entered, he opened his arms wide and exclaimed, "Ta-da! Surprise!"

Tang Wen was taken aback: It's Yan Wang, oh no, Sun Honglei.

"Long time no see, Director Tang!"

"Long time no see, Brother Honglei."

"Oh my," Sun Honglei exclaimed, flattered. "Just call me Honglei. Give me a hug. I've missed you so much!"

Tang Wen made an exception and hugged the man who was dressed.

Seeing that the two seemed to have a good relationship, Huang Jianxin said with relief, "Hong Lei happened to be free recently and said he wanted to visit me on set. When he learned that you were here, he made a special trip over."

Today, we're showing a movie produced by Huang Jianxin, starring Sun Honglei.

"Let's have a couple more drinks later," Tang Wen said with a smile.

After taking their seats, Sun Honglei sat to his right, Chen to his left, and Huang Jianxin opposite him.

It's worth mentioning that Chen arranged the seating order on a whim.

The cultural heritage of drinking at Dongshan is indeed profound.

Chen doesn't usually drink alcohol, and her father, who is in poor health, also doesn't drink, but she has still learned quite a bit from what she's been around.

It was cold, so Sun Honglei drank three cups to warm himself up before talking about filming "The Night the Comet Came" with great emotion.

Fan Wei chimed in, "The actors from your movie have all done quite well."

That's true; Zhou Xun, Yu Feihong, and Chen Kun all say the same thing.

Dong Xuan is also...

Sun Honglei caught a glimpse of Chen peeling shrimp for Tang Wen out of the corner of his eye and quickly changed the subject: "Director Tang, let's not talk about it anymore, it's all in the wine, I'll have another drink!"

Goodness, I almost had an accident while eating a meal.

He stopped talking about others and started talking about his own development over the past two years, expressing his gratitude to Tang Wen.

It's not entirely about interpersonal relationships; there's at least a bit of emotion involved. Up until now, Sun Honglei has mainly focused on television dramas.

"Comet" is the highest-grossing film in his acting career over the past decade.

Renren.com's encyclopedia entry includes this work as one of his representative works.

Besides its box office success and popularity with audiences.

This is the directorial debut of Mr. Tang Wen, Chairman of Renren.com!
It must become the representative work of all the actors involved!
That's right, Baidu Encyclopedia, which was originally launched in 06, was copied by Tang Wen ahead of time.

The first batch of entries to be launched were about celebrities.

Not just celebrities.

It also features famous figures from ancient and modern times, both Chinese and foreign.

We are currently in the stage of collecting and editing entries.

Once it gains influence, it should be able to import materials from libraries and other sources.

That way, it will be more authoritative.

Tang Wen also arranged for personnel to conduct the review process.

Based on the experience of coding studios, there is no need to hire too many full-time staff.

All we need to do is hire some part-time college students to do the work.

Full-time staff are responsible for teaching and spot checks; these college students are incredibly energetic when they get to work.

Despite the low salary, virtually no benefits, and extremely strict requirements...

Well, I can't help but feel a sense of accomplishment from participating in the "historical process of the internet"!

Aren't these more important than money?

what?
Do college students have any objections to taking part-time jobs?
of course not.

Renren.com issued internship certificates to them, and those who performed exceptionally well even received comments written by their department heads.

Students majoring in internet or computer-related fields may have the opportunity to join Renren.com after graduation.

The college students not only didn't complain, but also expressed their gratitude online, saying that if they did well in the future, they would definitely treat Tang Wen to the most expensive wine, the most expensive meal, and the most beautiful woman.
Oh, no need for that.

Director Tang can handle it himself.

As the central figure at the dinner table, Tang Wen made no excuses not to drink today.

Together with Chen, we specially toasted director Huang Jianxin twice.

After all, he altered someone else's script and took over their film crew, all for the sake of winning awards for his woman.

Huang Jianxin is a veteran with many works to his name, so it's truly remarkable that he would give Tang Wen such a big favor. The drinking had almost stopped.

The seats were all in disarray.

Sun Honglei somehow squeezed between Fan Wei and Wang Zhiwen, and pulled the two of them to drink.

Surprisingly, Fan Wei, who came from outside the region, firmly refused to drink any baijiu: "Hong Lei, it's not that I don't want to give you face, but I'm known for getting drunk after just one or two ounces."

"Really?" Sun Honglei wasn't about to let him off the hook so easily: "Let me show you, brother. I've never seen anyone in our area who's drunk after just one or two ounces of liquor."

Fan Wei: "..."

Finally, Wang Zhiwen came to his rescue: "Honglei, don't make things difficult for him, let's drink together. I've drunk with Lao Fan before, you know his nickname when it comes to drinking?"

"What nickname?"

"Fan Xiaomin".

"Huh?" Why does it sound like a woman's name?

"Take small sips of wine; a small cup of wine can last for half an hour."

Sun Honglei laughed loudly: "Really, bro?"

Faced with the teasing, Fan Wei remained true to his comedic nature: "Zhiwen, Honglei, you don't understand. For me, even a sip is a huge amount."

Everyone present was delighted after hearing this.

Fan Wei from outside the Great Wall cannot drink.

Wang Zhiwen, from Shanghai, has an enormous appetite.

They drink and toast with everyone they meet.

He was even more heroic than Sun Honglei, a man from the north.

In later years, reporters captured his drunken state on several occasions.

He lost control after drinking and even cursed at the reporter.

He's in good shape right now.

Around 10 years ago, some production teams even included restrictions on his drinking in his contracts.

"Teacher Wang, this is huge!" Sun Honglei's small eyes lit up, feeling like he had met his match.

Slightly tipsy, Huang Jianxin approached Tang Wen under the influence of alcohol: "Director Tang, do you usually film like this afternoon?"
What I mean is, no need for a break-in period, no need to specifically find the right angle, no need to repeatedly adjust the background lighting…

Director Huang is a veteran director who started making films in the 80s.

He's almost fifty years old, and he keeps rambling on and on.

This clearly demonstrates how deeply Tang Wen's fluid and natural filming technique impressed him.

"How should I put it?" Tang Wen took the wet wipe Chen offered, wiped his mouth, thought for a moment, and then cautiously explained his work style:

"First of all, before filming today's scenes, I had already formed a fairly complete picture in my mind."

"What does 'more mature' mean?" Huang Jianxin didn't understand, but he was shocked, and his voice rose considerably.

It attracted the attention of everyone at the table.

"What's this?" Sun Honglei was unaware of the situation.

Fan Wei explained a few words to him.

He stopped drinking and listened attentively to the conversation between the two directors.

Everyone in the private room was in the same situation.

Those who work on film sets—the actors want to understand the director, and the staff want to become directors.

Huang Jianxin continued to press: "There will always be a difference between the image you imagine in your mind, or the image you idealize, and what you see on the monitor. Generally speaking, the difference is not small."

He reminisced about his directing career.

Only on rare occasions can I capture the images in my mind on camera.

At times like these, he would be incredibly excited.

Tang Wen shook his head in denial: "This kind of situation happens occasionally, and then we can just adjust."

Occasionally?

Huang Jianxin didn't know how to respond.

Tang Wen then said, "Actually, it's easy to adjust. Just modify the image in your mind and hand it over to the staff to rearrange the set. However, this situation usually doesn't occur."

"Modifying the image in your mind?"

"Well, there are some things that I think are achievable, but the special effects artist tells me that the budget will be out of control, so I will think about it again and modify it into an acceptable solution."

This is based on the experience gained from filming the special effects blockbuster "Pirates of the Caribbean".

Director Huang doesn't understand anything about CG or green screens; all he hears is this:
"If you encounter a problem with the visuals, just make the changes in your mind."

"Making changes won't cause any problems; the ideas will just come naturally, or rather, they'll flow out."

"..."

"Come on, Director Huang." Tang Wen raised his glass again: "Cheers."

Director Huang tilted his head back and drank it all: Is this what a genius director is like?
Sour!

Why does Moutai taste so sour tonight...?

Tang Wen spent 7 days on the set of "Please Praise Me".

The entire film crew was like a fierce heavy truck with a twelve-cylinder engine, speeding smoothly and with tremendous momentum on the wide highway.

Seven days later, Tang Wen left.

Director Huang breathed a sigh of relief.

It wasn't that he wasn't welcoming; it was just that Tang Wen had been there for seven days and his work efficiency was off the charts.

In just 7 days, he accomplished the amount of work he would have done in one or two months.

If Tang Wen stays any longer, the filming will be finished!
Huang Jianxin thus became a director in name only.

Because there were only 7 days left, Tang Wen picked up Chen's scenes and filmed the scenes with the two male leads first.

To ensure that the three actors deliver a consistent and high-quality performance throughout the key plot points of the film.

Only in this way is there a chance of winning an award.

Before leaving, he edited some clips overnight for the three lead actors to practice and get a feel for the scenes.

A cold front from Siberia swept south, causing temperatures in Beijing to plummet and a heavy snowfall to begin.

The Spring Festival Gala rehearsal started late.

Just like last year, Tang Wen and Wang Zuxian, who became a sensation this year, were in the same dressing room.

(End of this chapter)