Reborn Action Star: Starting in Hollywood

Chapter 425: Can't tell the difference between the play and reality

Fanyu Film and Television City, Tang Dynasty Street Scenic Area Section C.

This is a block specially built for filming medium-sized towns during the Tang Dynasty. The next scene taking place in Yunzhou County will be filmed here.

Unlike Zone A, which is used to showcase top ancient cities such as Chang'an and Luoyang, the street buildings in Zone C are mainly black-roofed and gray-walled.

Although not as gorgeous as the buildings in Zone A, it still has a heavy texture. Being in it feels like traveling back to 1300 years ago.

Today we are going to shoot a scene where Lin Yuan returns to his base in Yunzhong County and reunites with the hotel owner played by Gao Yuanyuan.

In "The Heroes of Tang Dynasty", Gao Yuanyuan plays the role of Gao Yuan, a beautiful woman in her twenties in her prime.

Five years ago, when the Turkic cavalry invaded and plundered, her parents were unfortunately killed and she herself was in danger.

At the critical moment, Lin Yuan arrived and rescued her.

She survived and inherited the restaurant left by her parents. With her excellent cooking skills, the restaurant business is booming.

In this Yunzhong County, her life can be said to be worry-free with food and clothing.

At this time, Director Nolan was communicating with Gao Yuanyuan before filming.

Different directors have very different styles when working.

Some directors are extremely strict and strive for perfection in filming. If they are not satisfied with the result, they will reshoot it.

Some directors have a bad temper and start cursing immediately when they feel anything goes wrong.

Some directors are careless in their work and require things to be casual, as long as they feel it is okay.

These differences will be clearly reflected in the final quality of the film.

Director Nolan's style is meticulous and serious.

Before filming each scene, he would design several shooting plans, and then select the best one from the best.

Lin Yuan had gone out riding with him before, and he was left speechless several times by this guy whose mind was full of filming ideas.

He is also extremely patient when it comes to training actors.

Except for Lin Yuan, who has amazing acting skills, director Nolan is willing to spend a lot of time communicating with the actors before filming each scene.

This is what Li Renjie did before, and he still does this with Gao Yuanyuan now.

At this time, the two were talking continuously. Although Gao Yuanyuan's English was not very good, she had been practicing her spoken English since the Oscars. When she spoke slowly when communicating with director Nolan, they could basically understand each other.

In the few scenes filmed previously, Gao Yuanyuan's performance was not very good, and it took several takes before she barely met director Nolan's requirements.

It’s not that Gao Yuanyuan’s acting skills are too bad, but because director Nolan’s requirements are already relatively high, and coupled with Lin Yuan’s extraordinary acting skills, the director’s requirements for the overall level have been raised to a higher level.

"Ms. Gao, I know you've been shooting more TV series and less movies before.

TV series are longer and can slowly develop a character, but movies are more compact due to time constraints. Each character should be established as soon as they appear on the screen to catch the audience's attention.

This scene is your character's opening scene, so it's crucial. "Tell me about your understanding of this role," Director Nolan patiently explained.

“My character is an orphan whose parents were killed by the Turks when she was still a teenager. She has been relying mainly on herself over the years, so she must be a very tough woman.

She felt both gratitude and admiration for Yuchi Yuan. However, because he already had a family in Chang'an, she was hesitant and caught in a dilemma. Gao Yuanyuan answered seriously.

As she said these words, her face turned red.

Who wrote this script?
Why and how does it fit her current state of mind?
She is also grateful and in love with Lin Yuan, and because of Liu Yufei's existence, she is in a dilemma.

This wasn't intentional, was it?
Thinking of this, Gao Yuanyuan couldn't help but turn her head to look at Lin Yuan in the distance.

He was putting on his armor, getting ready for the scene that was about to start filming.

He was already tall and handsome, and wearing this black Ming Guang armor, he looked even more heroic and extraordinary, which caused ripples in Gao Yuanyuan's heart.

"Ms. Gao?" Seeing that Gao Yuanyuan was a little distracted, Director Nolan waved his hand in front of her.

"exist!"

"Your general understanding is correct, but it's not detailed enough, so it can't be put into practice in the performance.

First of all, the proprietress who runs a hotel needs to deal with customers of all levels. Therefore, she should be versatile and able to skillfully move among various guests. She should be cute with a little bit of sass, but she should not become a domineering shrew.

Secondly, you need to learn to use strong contrast to highlight her admiration for Yuchi Yuan. She is bold and aggressive in front of others, but cautious and shy in front of Lin Yuan.

With this contrast, your character's image is established in just this opening scene, without too many lines," Director Nolan explained in detail.

"Thank you for the director's guidance. I will try my best to shoot this scene well." Gao Yuanyuan answered seriously.

"Hurry up and get ready. Once the extras are in place, we'll start filming this scene," said director Nolan.

Compared to the previous scene where Lin Yuan and Li Renjie were acting against each other, the next scene where Lin Yuan meets Gao Yuanyuan again will obviously be much more difficult to shoot.

The scene between Lin Yuan and Li Renjie is a competition between two actors. As long as their expressions, body language and lines are in place, the effect will definitely be good.

The segment to be filmed is a street scene.

It not only shows the story between the two characters and promotes the development of the plot, but also shows the life of the citizens in the border towns during the Tang Dynasty.

The location of today's scene is Gao Yuan Restaurant in East City.

Yunzhong County is an important town in the northern border area and also a hub for trade with the outside world. People of all ethnic groups, including the Hu and Han people, and merchants from inside and outside the Great Wall all come here to exchange what they have, so the commodity economy is naturally quite developed.

Therefore, Yunzhong County followed the example of Chang'an and built two markets, East and West, for people to buy and sell.

The Ballad of Mulan from the Northern and Southern Dynasties describes Hua Mulan as “buying a fine horse in the east market and a saddle in the west market”.

Buy things, buy things.

One of the origins of the word "Dongxi" is that it means buying what you need in the East and West markets.

Although the East and West Markets of Yunzhong County are not as good as Chang'an, they have many unique products because they are located in the frontier.

For example, in the West Market, there were leather shops, bridle shops, oil and indigo shops, candle shops, scale shops, silk shops, bran shops, silk shops, beast shops, clothing shops, medicine shops, cake and dumpling shops, counters, charcoal burners and cloth vendors, money sellers, etc., and the main products were daily necessities.

Xishi is generally the first choice for city residents to go shopping.

Gao Yuanyuan's restaurant is located in the East Market, which has jewelry stores, iron shops, butcher shops, musical instrument shops, pawn shops, printing shops, and other shops that look more upscale.

There are also shops with unique border trade characteristics such as horse shops, porcelain shops, and tea shops.

In addition to serving local people, Gao Yuanyuan's restaurant also serves merchants traveling from north to south.

Just think about how difficult it would be to recreate a Tang Dynasty market like this.

Various costumes and props are equally indispensable, but Fanyu Film and Television City has achieved it.

This made director Nolan sigh at the excellent shooting conditions here.

Solving the scene problem only solves half of the problem, and then we have to deal with the "people" problem.

Scheduling a large number of extras is also a very troublesome task.

Some extras are just passers-by, who are responsible for walking back and forth on the streets and acting as human background boards.

Some extras were lucky enough to play the role of customers in the restaurant, so they had the pleasure of enjoying the food.

Some of the extras are in the atmosphere group and need to say some lines to explain the background of the plot and highlight important characters.

When there are too many people, shooting becomes very troublesome, and various uncontrollable small accidents are prone to occur, resulting in shooting failure.

With so many difficulties and trivial matters mixed together, an incompetent director might feel quite impatient and even want to quit.

But it made director Nolan even more excited: the more difficult the film is to shoot, as long as it is shot well, the more amazing the effect will be and the more it will impress the audience.

"If I could recreate this kind of life in ancient Chinese towns, audiences from all over the world would love it and marvel at the development of ancient Chinese civilization.

Even frontier towns can have bluestone paved roads, with clean, neat surfaces. This was something that metropolises like London and Paris before the Industrial Revolution couldn't achieve. "That's what director Nolan thought."

So in order to ensure a smooth filming, Director Nolan began to confirm over and over again whether the details of the various filming preparations were in place.

Finally, all the preparations before shooting were completed.

The shooting officially started.

"Action!"

At director Nolan's command, the clapperboard was struck.

The first shot is an overhead shot of a neat square market, divided into nine grids by two streets horizontally and vertically.

Each block faces the street on all four sides, and various shops are opened along the street.

These shops vary in size, with the largest being around 30 square meters and the smallest being about 12 square meters.

But no matter the size of the store, it is filled with a wide variety of goods, and the signs and plaques at the door are carefully made to attract customers.

The streets were bustling with people coming and going, and the sounds of hawking were endless:
"The mutton was just slaughtered this morning. Don't miss it if you pass by!" This is a butcher's shop with slices of mutton hanging there, still steaming.

"Freshly ground sesame oil, please smell the fragrance! A can costs only 10 cents!" This is a sesame oil shop. There is a donkey tied in front of the door grinding sesame seeds. The smell of freshly ground sesame oil fills the whole street.

"You can buy or rent a shop! The monthly rent is 2000 wen, and the purchase price can be negotiated in person." A middle-aged man with a big belly shouted at the door of an empty shop.

In the Tang Dynasty, one string of coins was equal to 1 wen, which was roughly equivalent to the purchasing power of 1000 yuan.

2000 Wen is equivalent to 4000 RMB, which is the monthly rent for a 12-square-meter shop.

The rent is quite expensive, which shows that the market is profitable enough to support such rent.

Seeing this scene, Meng Tao, behind the camera lens, smiled and nodded, saying, "Very realistic and down-to-earth. Director, you're amazing. I didn't expect that a foreigner like you could capture ancient Chinese market life so authentically."

Director Nolan smiled and shook his head. "Don't praise me. I just do some manual labor. The key is that the infrastructure of the studio is too perfect. The street scenes, costumes, props, and extras. If any of them were not good enough, the effect we see today would not be achieved."

The camera zoomed in to the entrance of a three-story hotel, with a large sign reading: "Gao's Restaurant".

It was breakfast time, and the entrance of the restaurant was crowded with customers who were queuing up to buy steamed buns, steamed buns and other breakfast items from the street-facing window. These were low-income people who were just having a casual breakfast.

Guests with more money can sit in the restaurant hall, order some signature dishes and enjoy a delicious meal.

Gao Yuanyuan was wearing a red and white cross-collared skirt and was standing at the door smiling and attracting customers.

Her wide sleeves fluttered in the wind, and the red belt outlined the perfect curve of her slender waist. Her black hair was tied up, revealing her forehead, making her look neat and charming.

Her face was full of smiles, but her eyes were filled with deep and unremovable sorrow: there had been no news from that man for many days...

At the entrance of the restaurant, a large man waiting in line to buy steamed buns asked his companion behind him, "Zhang Mazi, don't you get tired of eating the steamed buns from Gao's Restaurant every day?"

Zhang Mazi said with a strange smile, "Not greasy! The steamed buns are good, but the boss lady is even better! Looking at the boss lady's face and figure, the steamed buns in my hand are more fragrant than the meat buns!"

"Are you eating steamed buns? I'm afraid you are thinking about the boss lady's meat buns?" The big man also showed a lewd smile.

"The boss lady's skin is so smooth and tender. If I could really eat her meat buns, I would be willing to die immediately." Zhang Mazi laughed even more obscenely.

"Are you willing to die? If you really dare to do this, I'm afraid you will be unable to live and unable to die, right?" said a tall and thin man behind Zhang Mazi.

"Sigh~"

Hearing this, the big man and Zhang Mazi immediately gasped. Everyone knew that the proprietress of Gao's Restaurant was General Yuchi Yuan's concubine.

Who in the entire Yunzhou, and even in Hedong Town, doesn't know the reputation of that killing god, and who is not afraid of him?
"The proprietress may not be related to General Yuchi, right? If they were, why didn't they marry her into the family? Instead, they let her show up in public and earn money by smiling and welcoming guests?" said the big man.

"I heard that it's because General Yuchi already has a wife in Chang'an. And the proprietress is unwilling to be his concubine, so the situation is deadlocked. But the relationship between the two is definitely very close." said the tall and thin man.

"General Yuchi has been on the expedition for more than two months, and there has been no news at all. Do you think he died outside the Great Wall?" Zhang Mazi secretly hoped that this might come true.

"What the hell are you dreaming of! Even if General Yuchi Yuan had an accident, would it be your turn to get your hands on the proprietress? Don't you see how many powerful people in the city are eyeing this piece of meat?" the tall and thin man said angrily.

"I just feel unfair. He can sleep with such a beautiful woman while I can only drool over her." Zhang Mazi replied.

The tall, thin man angrily shouted, "What's wrong with that? Without General Yuchi Yuan, would you be able to have the stable life you have now? You can't expect those bastards who are drawing a salary without doing anything to protect your family, right?"

"Okay, okay, you're right. But I still feel unfair..." Zhang Mazi replied weakly.

This is human nature. In the eyes of people like Zhang Mazi, even if Yuchi Yuan has done a favor for everyone in the city, it is not just for him. What is there to be grateful for?
It’s like your boss treats all the colleagues in the department to a meal, but you won’t be grateful.

But if he only invites you to dinner, you will probably appreciate it.

Dahan and Zhang Mazi are both such people.

"Speak less and don't discuss things like drawing a salary without working here, so as not to get into trouble." The big man said in a smoothing manner.

"You guys, I really feel sorry for General Yuchi Yuan." The tall and thin man said angrily.

"Da ba da ba~"

Suddenly, there was the sound of horse hooves behind them.

I saw a handsome man in black clothes walking towards me from a distance, leading a warhorse.

"It's General Yuchi! I was just saying that I hadn't heard from him for a long time, but now I see him. Thank God, he is safe and sound!" said the tall and thin man in surprise.

"I don't know whether he won or lost this battle? He looked so dejected." Zhang Mazi said.

"Shut up! When has General Yuchi ever lost a battle?" the tall and thin man shouted angrily.

"Anyway, I think he looks very worried, not like someone who has just returned from a great victory." Zhang Mazi said stubbornly.

Gao Yuanyuan also saw Lin Yuan at the first moment, and a smile from the bottom of her heart immediately appeared on her face, like a wife who had been waiting for her husband who had not returned for a long time.

Gao Yuanyuan walked quickly forward and came in front of Lin Yuan.

She said nothing, just looked at the man in front of her quietly.

Her red eyes and the sparkling tears in her eyes showed how excited she was at the moment.

"Why, you can't speak again?" Lin Yuan said with a smile.

This hot girl in front of me, who is famous for her eloquence, often becomes so excited that she can't speak every time she worries about herself.

Gao Yuanyuan still stared at Lin Yuan, her eyes becoming even redder.

It is said that the eyes are the windows to the soul. Emotions such as longing, worry, and the joy of reunion can be understood at a glance through those watery eyes.

Gao Yuanyuan knew that this was completely unlike her usual self, but when facing Lin Yuan, she couldn't help but be so excited that she couldn't say anything.

"So many people are watching us, don't cry, don't cry! It's too ugly." Lin Yuan said.

"I know you're speechless, so I'll answer the question myself."

"When did you come back? Last night."

"Why didn't you tell me right away? Because the city gates were closed last night and I couldn't get in."

"Are you hurt? No."

"Are there any new military orders? No, I won't leave for the time being."

"Have you had breakfast? Not yet."

Gao Yuanyuan smiled and listened to Lin Yuan asking and answering himself questions one by one.

These questions were so reasonable that Gao Yuanyuan felt dazed and her eyes became blurry.

In reality, she had wanted to ask Lin Yuan many nights:
When will you come back? I haven't seen you for a long time.

Why didn't you tell me you were back?

I heard that you were filming a dangerous action scene again. Were you injured?
……

Now, Lin Yuan was standing in front of her, smiling and answering the questions she had always wanted to ask him in person.

This made her completely immersed in the play, and for a moment she could not distinguish between what was on stage and what was outside.

She completely understood the boss lady's feelings.

Both of them are afraid of being in the light and can only hide their feelings deep in their hearts.

At this moment, I felt that the character and myself were integrated.

When Lin Yuan asked himself the last question, he said, "Have you had breakfast? Not yet."

Gao Yuanyuan reached out and grabbed Lin Yuan's sleeve: "You must be hungry, right? Let's go home for dinner. I'll make you your favorite food."

Hearing this, Lin Yuan was stunned for a moment.

Director Nolan behind the camera was also stunned: these were not the actions and lines in the script.

"What did she say?" Director Nolan didn't understand Chinese and could only see Gao Yuanyuan making actions outside the script.

Meng Tao, who was translating, asked, "You didn't call for a stop?"

"No! I think the effect is good. Let's see how the improvisation works." Director Nolan said.

Lin Yuan reacted quickly. Since the director didn't call for a stop, he immediately followed Gao Yuanyuan's words and said, "Okay, let's go to your house for dinner."

Lin Yuan said the word "your home" very clearly.

Hearing Lin Yuan's answer, Gao Yuanyuan naturally understood what he meant. She said with some resentment: "If you want, my home is your home."

Lin Yuan was about to speak when Gao Yuanyuan spoke first, "Forget it, this is fine. I can still take care of your life. A man can't live without a woman. I don't want to go to Chang'an either."

Yuchi Yuan was a general of the imperial guards, and his family and descendants had to be held hostage in Chang'an.

From ancient times to the present, emperors of all dynasties have restrained the central imperial guards and local officials in this way: when they go out, their family members must be held hostage!
Yuchi Yuan already had a wife, who lived in Chang'an City.

Gao Yuanyuan actually didn't mind being Lin Yuan's concubine, but once her status was confirmed and the two had children, she would have to go to Chang'an as a hostage.

Who can take care of Lin Yuan’s life like this?

As she said, "A man cannot live without a woman. I don't want to go to Chang'an."

Without women, where would a man have a home?
Gao Yuanyuan walked in front and Lin Yuan followed behind.

The two came to the third floor of the hotel, which was where the proprietress and the crew rested and did not receive guests.

When Lin Yuan sat down at the table, Gao Yuanyuan had already served breakfast:
The staple food is Hu Bing, which is a white flour cake with oil and sesame sprinkled on it, then baked in the oven. It tastes crispy and has a strong wheat aroma.

The side dish was a portion of water basin lamb, which was fresh and fragrant, with tender and tasty meat, and sprinkled with pepper powder, which was very expensive at the time, to remove the fishy smell.

The Hu pancake is a perfect match with the delicious soup.

In addition to these two, there is also a dessert: "Cheese Cherries".

This level of breakfast is not bad even in modern times.

"It's so delicious. I'll never get tired of the food you cook." Lin Yuan said as he stuffed food into his mouth.

"If you never get tired of it, eat it for the rest of your life. I hope I can still make your favorite food when I'm in my seventies or eighties." Gao Yuanyuan came to the dining table with a smile.

She smiled and placed several new sets of clothes on the table.

"This is a new dress I made for you. The one you're wearing is torn. Change out of it later and I'll mend it for you."

"I just refilled the charcoal in your house a few days ago. I was worried that you wouldn't have any charcoal to keep warm when you come back."

"I just changed the water in the tank yesterday. You can use it without any worries."

"There was a strong wind a few days ago, and a few tiles were blown off your roof. I hired someone to fix it, but I haven't paid them yet. Remember to deal with it yourself."

……

Gao Yuanyuan explained various trivial household matters very naturally, as if she had done them countless times and was already familiar with them to the point of being unable to be more familiar.

Lin Yuan looked at the woman in front of him:

She is not his wife, but she acts like a wife, silently doing things that a wife should do for him, and everything in the house is arranged by her.

"If you don't mind being wronged, come with me to Chang'an." Lin Yuan suddenly said.

Gao Yuanyuan smiled when she heard Lin Yuan's words.

She has been waiting for these words all these years.

This is the greatest affirmation of her emotional investment.

But she also always knew how she would answer.

So she shook her head: "It's too unfair, I won't go."

Lin Yuan's eyes were full of heartache: Is she afraid that she will be wronged?
Of course not. She was afraid that she couldn’t be with Lin Yuan and that he would be wronged.

"As long as I'm with you, nothing will matter to me." Gao Yuanyuan looked at Lin Yuan and said the words that she could never say in reality.

Both the play and reality seem to merge into one.

Director Nolan looked at Gao Yuanyuan in front of the camera and was completely shocked:

Is this still her?
This acting is too amazing!
Perfect, this scene is perfect.

All the worries before filming disappeared at this moment.

He has always been worried about Gao Yuanyuan's acting skills and whether she could handle this scene.

This second female lead is a very important emotional support for the male lead, and is also an important reason for the male lead's behavior logic.

Gao Yuanyuan deviated from the script today, but this accident made the scene even more touching.

Director Nolan was very satisfied.

"Director, this scene has been filmed." Meng Tao reminded in a low voice.

Director Nolan finally came to his senses and gave instructions.

"Cut!"