Entertainment: I am the peak

Chapter 695 A Scathing Critique of the Training Camp!
First of all, let's be clear: Li Qiutang strongly supports film crews with the resources to run actor training camps. Long-term intensive training can indeed produce results.

To be clear, he didn't know any of these 30 new actors, and he had never met any of them before.

Since they are strangers, it's impossible to say whether you like or dislike them.

But if someone knows something in advance, then don't blame Li Qiutang for judging people based on preconceived notions.

Li Qiutang won't be teaching performance theory today, as it's not his forte. Instead, he'll be leading these 30 people in a performance training session.

"Looking at the materials, many of you don't have any acting experience, right? That's okay. What did you learn in your previous acting classes? Perform a short piece for me to see."

The 30 trainees looked at each other, pushing and shoving, none of them wanting to be the first to go.

Song Ge chimed in, "Don't be modest now. The director only has two hours of class today. If you miss this opportunity, who knows when you'll see him again? Hurry up and show your skills."

There was one really bold guy, Narnaxi: "I'll act in your film, the banquet scene in 'The Message'."

Li Qiutang smiled and said, "The part where Wu Zhiguo threatens Gu Xiaomeng? That part is not easy to act."

“We’ve rehearsed this part before.”

"Okay, you guys go ahead and act."

Narnaxi chose several companions; she played Gu Xiaomeng, Na Ran played Li Ningyu, and the other roles were claimed by male actors.

It's clear they rehearsed this scene beforehand; at least they memorized the lines.

However, Na Ran is a foreigner who has just started learning Chinese, so it's really hard to understand what she's saying unless you listen carefully.

Fortunately, Li Ningyu only has two lines in this scene:
"Go ahead and do it, see how heroic you are. You have the energy to beat up women, why don't you go and fight the Japanese?"

"Are all the people in this room dead? And here comes a grown man beating a woman."

Perhaps because the main character was right in front of them, the actors were very nervous, often bursting into laughter and stuttering. However, Li Qiutang would always speak up from the side: "Continue, keep acting."

But Song Ge, who was watching from the sidelines, couldn't stand it anymore. These were the actors he had spent a lot of money training, and after two months of isolation, their performances were like this.

He became increasingly skeptical of the rationale behind the closed-door selection and training program for all non-professionals.

"We're all on the same side, how did things turn out like this?" After Wang Tianxiang, played by Li Yunrui, finished saying this line, Li Qiutang called "cut."

If it were a professional actor performing like this, Li Qiutang would have already started cursing, but these were a group of newcomers who had not received formal training and were only given temporary instruction, so Li Qiutang kept quiet.

How do you all feel?

Li Qiutang glanced around, but no one spoke. After a while, someone finally said, "This is not good."

“Right?” Li Qiutang smiled and continued, “Let’s start with the problems. You’re still stuck on simple imitation. If this were your first time rehearsing, I would forgive you for acting like Li Bingbing and Zhou Xun, but judging from your positioning and lines just now, you’ve obviously rehearsed at least three times. At this point, you need to understand the characters in your own way.”

"Li Bingbing and Zhou Xun acted well, yes, they acted well, but is that the only way to act? Where is your own talent? I didn't see it, let alone the imitation was not good. Naernaxi, you graduated from the Shanghai Theatre Academy, right?"

"Yes."

Li Qiutang quipped, "The Shanghai Theatre Academy's level is just so-so." Of course, it was a joke, but she was actually criticizing Narnaxi, one of the few formally trained students in the training camp, for her poor performance. She understood what she meant, but she didn't dare to argue, because the performance was indeed poor.

Next, Li Qiutang explained to each of the actors how to act out the scene, as well as the work she did while filming it.

Gu Xiaomeng and Li Ningyu were the two actresses he focused on taking care of. The more he talked about it, the more people felt that Director Li was somewhat strict with the two new actresses.

Li Qiutang even said, "If you come to my crew for an audition, you won't even pass the first round. Your basic skills are too poor."

Calling someone ugly is too vicious, but Li Qiutang still felt that Naernaxi was not suitable to play a female fighter.

Action actresses are judged not only on their skills but also on their looks! Michelle Yeoh, Kara Hui, and Cheng Pui-pui were all very beautiful when they were young!
He asked Narnasi, "What do you think are your strengths as an actor? Why would anyone choose you?"

"You know your image isn't particularly outstanding in the industry, right?"

Narnaxi remained silent.

"Many good-looking people also need to improve their acting skills; you can't rely on your looks for long. Why am I saying this to you? Because you have formal training; you've already had four years of professional training. You shouldn't have acted like that."

"Without understanding or feeling, you know what your co-star is going to say next, so you can quickly respond with your next line."

“You all need to remember this too,” Li Qiutang said to the group, “Acting is the result of reactions. Respond according to your opponent, instead of mechanically reciting lines.”

As for Na Ran, Li Qiutang really couldn't understand why they would choose a foreigner who couldn't even speak Mandarin to play Daji.

Li Qiutang would understand even if they chose an ordinary person from China, but why choose a foreigner? It doesn't make sense to go through all the trouble of teaching her Chinese.

Li Qiutang might think the worst of people, perhaps because foreigners have no roots in China and no family ties, making them easier to control.

Li Qiutang said, "Performance is all about results. Don't think that just because you're a newcomer, the audience will forgive you. Audiences pay 30 yuan a ticket to see a veteran artist's performance, and they also pay 30 yuan a ticket to see your performance. If your performance isn't worth 30 yuan, the audience won't care who you are; they'll hurl nasty insults at you."

Next, Li Qiutang changed a few people and asked them to perform another scene.

Then, Li Qiutang dissected their performances, and these same people were also criticized by Li Qiutang: "You lack a sense of conviction. If you yourself don't believe in the character and the story, how can you expect the audience to believe it? What you're performing on stage is obviously fake, but when you're in it, you have to believe it's real. Why is film an art of creating dreams? I know dreams are fake, but this fakeness gives people a real experience, gives people a different feeling, and that's what acting is."

"You haven't even scratched the surface."

The acting class, originally scheduled for two hours, lasted two and a half hours. When he saw that the time was almost up, he said, "I was a bit strict today, but I really think this training camp format is very good and a valuable learning opportunity. I hope that you can all become successful and contribute a fresh batch of talent to Chinese-language films."

"Okay, that concludes today's lesson." Li Qiutang nodded slightly in acknowledgment.

The 30 trainees applauded. Although almost everyone had been scolded by Director Li, they had really learned a lot.

After class, Song Ge invited Li Qiutang to stay for dinner, but Li Qiutang said she had other work to do back home and left.

Song Ge watched Li Qiutang leave, thinking to himself, "Other people have already finished filming 'The Wandering Earth,' while I haven't even started working on mine. If only I could have brought him to film 'Investiture of the Gods' back then, there wouldn't be so many problems now."

He knew this was impossible. Seeing that Li Qiutang's car had disappeared around the corner, Song Ge was really considering the upfront costs and Wu Ershan's true intentions in using so many amateurs.

(End of this chapter)