Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 442 Charisma of a Leader
At 8 p.m. on May 21, 2008, the Daxing Olympic Performance Training Base in the southern suburbs of Beiping was brightly lit.

This base, which was transformed from a former military training ground, covers an area of ​​approximately 23 square meters and is 25 kilometers away from the Bird's Nest. It is surrounded by anti-peeping fences and towering poplar trees, and is divided into core areas such as a wire training area, an LED array testing area, and an actor rehearsal hall.

The main building of the base is painted with the slogan "One World, One Dream," and armed police officers strictly verify identification documents at the entrance.

This place is not open to the public, and it is only marked as "DX District Cultural and Sports Center" on the map.

However, there are always exceptions. The director who used his position to get Xiao Liu an Olympic IC card once again indulged in a little bit of his power and personally went to the gate to pick up his fiancée.

Lu Kuan smiled and shook hands with the two soldiers, but upon closer examination, it was still against discipline: "I'm sorry for causing you trouble!"

"You're too kind, Director Lu, please come in!" The two armed police officers smiled knowingly at each other. They were only responsible for checking the documents, not for how the documents came about.

Moreover, this actress has such a good reputation and screen image that even without credentials, if the director can use his face, it would be hard for them not to feel at ease letting her through.

"Oh, wait a minute!" Liu Yifei got out of the car, took a bag of cherries from the trunk, and excitedly handed them to the two sentry soldiers.

This was brought by Jing Tian when she visited her "survivor" senior sister in Wenyuhe Prefecture yesterday. It was originally intended to be used to reward the production team today, and a bag of it was immediately distributed.

"Staying up all night on guard duty can easily cause internal heat and ulcers, so eat more fruit! It'll help you get more vitamins!"

"No, no, this really won't do." The older armed police officer refused repeatedly, subconsciously taking half a step back to stand at attention.

The young soldier on the side was at a loss, his tactical gloves rubbing against the seams of his trousers, his eyes staring at the English letter label on the cherry bag with curiosity, yet too embarrassed to look closely.

Lu Kuan took the plastic bag from his helpless girlfriend: "Comrade, listen to me. This is our patriotic film export earnings. We bought American Northwest cherries, a specialty of the United States. Everyone who sees it should have a share."

He stuffed it directly into the desk drawer of the guard post, turned around and smiled at the two armed police officers, saying, "I'm sharing this with the brothers after the shift change, there aren't many."

“Your Captain Feng also has one. Don’t be afraid of being punished. I’ll cover for you if anything happens.”

Xiao Liu chimed in, "Yes, yes, you guys were just saying that Lu Kuan was forced into it, that the military and civilians are as close as fish and water, this is a good thing!"

The young soldier looked shy, but the older veterans were more flexible and accepted the salute with a mix of reluctance and politeness.

The veteran's heart was filled with warmth: "Thank you both, then let's register it as collective supplies!"

Even if it's a foreign specialty fruit, it's not worth much attention if you only eat it once or twice.

He was genuinely grateful for their kind gesture, which represented their recognition and respect.

Recalling the news from a few years ago about an ordinary female contestant on the Hunan TV Super Girl show who slapped a soldier for not having her ID, Liu Yifei, a top female star in the Chinese entertainment industry, seems even more down-to-earth.

The young soldier watched as the female celebrity and the male director walked away into the distance before whispering a few words to the older soldier, who was also from the same hometown:

"No wonder my sister likes her. Miss Liu is beautiful and a very nice person."

He glanced furtively at the bag of Northwest cherries, feeling curious, but then wondered if what he had just said was biased, so he quickly added, "Instructor Lu is also very kind; every time he comes, he brings a bunch of fruit and drinks for the company."

"And the building he donated, how many people were saved this time!"

The young soldier kept rambling on: "The rich people in my hometown are all so arrogant! It seems like all rich people have bad tempers and are used to bullying others. Next time, I'll bring up Director Lu's matter and tell them off!"

The veteran registered the supplies in the guard post according to the rules and returned to his post, standing firmly.

Looking at the fifty-meter-high wire scaffold in the center of the training field, he suddenly sighed, "Look at those load-bearing main steel frames, they don't even creak or budge when this wind blows."

He then kicked away a bouncing pebble: "These little odds and ends make a huge fuss over the slightest noise."

. . .

It was Liu Yifei's first time at the Daxing training ground. She looked around curiously, asking questions non-stop, until she took a bite of sand and dust and shut up with a "pui pui pui" sound, then wrapped her face tightly with a silk scarf.

The two entered the training ground office, which had been converted from the former garrison command post. Xiao Liu gulped down several mouthfuls of water to wash away the gritty feeling in his mouth, and complained with a wrinkled nose, "You bastard, you didn't even remind me! Ugh, ugh, ugh!"

"How would I know? I thought you liked sand-filled snacks." Boss Lu smiled and handed her a tissue. "But this sand might be considered a mineral, which is state property. Be careful not to break the law."

While it may be a pun, Shaxian snacks did indeed begin their nationwide expansion process in 1997 when the Shaxian government established the "Shaxian Snacks Office," entering Shanghai and Beijing in 2004, and subsequently flourishing everywhere.

Liu Yifei, used to joking around with her boyfriend, wiped her mouth with a tissue and, taking advantage of Boss Lu's words, suddenly mischievously stuffed it into his mouth: "Schadenfreude, eat my saliva!"

The Olympic creative team members could hear the two joking around in the corridor. Marvin peeked out and gently knocked on the door with a playful expression:

"That's why companies nowadays ban office romances. Look at how our director almost lost his mind the moment Sisi came in."

Boss Lu calmly took the paper out of his mouth and threw it away: "Impossible. I am now focused on the revolutionary work. Although Xiao Liu is beautiful, in my eyes she is no different from a skeleton in a pink dress."

Zhang Yimou stood at the door with a憨厚 smile, rubbing his teacup in his hand: "Alright, stop being stubborn. Every day when it's my turn to be on duty, you don't stay a minute longer than necessary. You're just rushing home to be with your wife!"

"Wife?" Chen Weiya, with a large beard, asked curiously, "Director Lu, when did you and Yi Fei get married? You didn't say anything, why?"

Zhang Yimou knew he had let something slip, but he just smiled and drank water from his teacup.

Liu Yifei smiled and waved her hand: "No, no, not yet. We were just about to get our marriage certificate."

"Look, look, look!" Marvin loves to join in this kind of fun: "Getting the marriage certificate means you're engaged, so you should have a meal together."

"We'll celebrate with another meal after we get our marriage certificate. And when we get married, needless to say, we'll all be there, so it'll be another meal."

She raised an eyebrow at Lu Kuan: "Rich Lu, you're not getting away with any of these three meals. I'm going to go and find out if there are any restaurants in Beiping that have a per capita meal budget of over ten thousand yuan."

Lu Kuan knew he'd be chatting with her until tomorrow, so he pointed to the bags of cherries on the chair and teased, "Ma Wen'er! The cherries from your hometown are ripe, go wash them and eat a couple to ease your homesickness!"

Marvin paused for a few seconds before saying resentfully, "Your sister is a genuine Beijing girl! I only became an American citizen because I was forced to by circumstances. Your hometown is where big cherries are grown!"

"I've donated all my salary from the past two years to my fellow countrymen affected by the disaster!"

Everyone burst into laughter. In the midst of the arduous and nerve-wracking work of the Olympics, such lighthearted banter was a welcome respite.

Like Lin Ying and others, Ma Wen is a Chinese artist who returned to China at his own expense to participate in the Olympic cause.

Although the organizing committee does pay salaries, it is negligible compared to the earnings these industry leaders have made over the past two years.

Marvin is seven years older than Lu Kuan. They are used to joking around with each other outside of work hours, which helps them relieve the heavy work pressure.

After chatting for a while, everyone congratulated the young couple on their upcoming wedding. Then they took several bags of cherries to wash and share with the actors in rehearsals.

Zhang Yimou glanced at his watch: "I'll go down the side path first, see you at the training ground later."

"Okay, I'll be there in a bit."

As Liu Yifei watched the crowd walk away, she poured herself and Lu Kuan two cups of tea: "Do you get paid too? How much do you get?"

"What? You're checking my salary before we're even married?"

Xiao Liu asked curiously, "I'm a junior actor at the Beijing People's Art Theatre... I make a little over 3700 yuan a month. How much do you make?"

"Aren't you just humiliating yourself? You'll be shocked if I told you." Boss Lu raised his eyebrows smugly: "My total salary during the two years of Olympic preparation was 50 yuan, and now I receive more than 2 yuan every month."

Liu Yifei, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, was indignant: "Damn it! I'm actually at the bottom of the family. If my mother hadn't become an American citizen, she would be receiving more in retirement than me!"

The little girl stubbornly stretched out her hand: "Men with money turn bad. Where's your salary card? Hand it over!"

“I donated it to buy cold drinks, snacks, and daily necessities for the actors.” Boss Lu scratched her delicate palm: “Director Zhang originally wanted to decline, feeling that it was inappropriate to take money while doing something for the country.”

"I had to persuade him to stay. After all, everyone's situation is different. If we refuse to take the salary, how can others feel comfortable taking it?"

"Later, we secretly gave all the cards to the logistics department, and every month we would directly purchase supplies for the actors to improve their lives."

Liu Yifei exclaimed in surprise, "Improve? Why does that sound so difficult?"

Lu Kuan glanced at his watch, got up, and beckoned his girlfriend to walk with him toward the edge of the training field.

"You don't know the cost of firewood and rice until you're in charge of the household. In 2007, our initial budget for the opening and closing ceremonies was less than 8 million yuan. In the past two years, it has increased to 8.31 million yuan due to equipment such as drones and the wire steel frame of the Bird's Nest."

"DJI basically supplies drones at a loss. We negotiated prices for everything, including LED procurement, with everyone working together to lower the prices, but it still wasn't enough."

"The shortfall is largely due to logistical support for the cast and crew."

Liu Yifei felt the already muggy weather in Beiping in late May, listening to the director and housekeeper's daily nagging.

“We only provide 50 yuan a day for the opening ceremony performers, and volunteers are only provided with basic meals and transportation. The workload is much heavier than that of the other positions.”

Mr. Lu remarked with emotion, "But everyone was happy to do it. The soldiers who performed almost never complained. Many actors from different places squeezed seven or eight people into one room."

He paused for a moment: "What I'm most worried about now is that the weather is getting hotter and hotter. Training under high temperature conditions is extremely tough. We need to make another batch of Huoxiang Zhengqi Liquid, mineral water, fruit, cold drinks, and mung bean soup."

"We don't need to worry about the living conditions of the soldiers, but the food and lodging of the other actors need to be improved, otherwise they won't be able to keep going until August under this intensity."

Xiao Liu didn't ask the kind of "let them eat cake" question about why private sponsorship wasn't allowed, otherwise her billionaire boyfriend would have already paid for it out of his own pocket.

But now we can only "divert" the monthly salaries—funds included in the total Olympic budget—to improve the performers' logistical benefits.

The reason for this is that the use of funds and the allocation of materials under the total budget of the Olympic Games must comply with the overall planning of the government, and the use of funds must be subject to the supervision of the International Olympic Committee and domestic auditing departments.

Budgets should be made public and transparent to avoid the risk of corruption.

Once the door to accepting private sponsorships was opened, rent-seeking in various positions began.

Even so, the Beijing Olympics, which cost a total of 8.31 million yuan, was exaggerated by foreign media to several billion or even tens of billions of yuan. If the country were to accept large amounts of social donations, it would be very detrimental to its image and public opinion.

One thing at a time, that's not the principle of doing things.

Under these circumstances, all the pressure can only be placed on the opening and closing ceremony directing team, and on the two chief directors, Lu and Zhang.

They need to draw upon their years of experience in coordinating film crews to complete this national and sporting event to the best of their ability within the limited conditions.

At 8:30 p.m., the searchlights at the Beiping Daxing Olympic Training Base were turned on simultaneously, tearing a bright slit in the night sky.

All members of the Olympic creative teams led their respective program groups to wait in the wings, do their makeup, and prepare, awaiting the review of the first rehearsal by the general director and personnel appointed by the Organizing Committee.

Due to confidentiality principles, each program group enters the venue separately for the first rehearsal. The final drone ignition is also not part of the rehearsal process and will be inspected separately as is customary.

A night breeze rustled, and the entire audience was solemn.

Only Liu Yifei, a "non-essential person," sat alone in the stands not far away, watching the scene that would shock the world in just over two months.

The future is bright, but the road ahead is clearly full of twists and turns.

Just after the manual time announcement at 8:40, 2008 People's Liberation Army soldiers, dressed in silver-white performance uniforms, stood in neat formation, each with a specially made "fou" (a type of ancient Chinese vessel) in front of them.

This musical instrument, made of fiberglass and coated with an antique bronze lacquer, gleams with a warm golden luster under the light. It has a built-in LED light strip that emits a cool light effect when struck.

Zhang Yimou stood on the high platform, holding a walkie-talkie, his voice hoarse yet penetrating: "Everyone pay attention! The rhythm must be like a heartbeat, neither too fast nor too slow—'Isn't it a pleasure to have friends coming from afar?' Every word must hit the beat of the drum!"

The soldiers held their breath, their hands lightly pressed against the surface of the jar, awaiting the countdown signal. Suddenly, Zhang Yimou waved his hand sharply: "Rise!"

Two thousand arms rose simultaneously and slammed heavily onto the surface of the jar—"Thump!"

The sounds that should have been uniform were slightly off, with the last two rows of soldiers being a beat slower due to nervousness.

Zhang Yimou immediately called a halt and quickly walked to the center of the formation:

"We only notified and trained everyone about the 64x32 formation this morning. We know that everyone is not very familiar with it yet, and we also know that it is very demanding to expect perfection for the first rehearsal tonight, but!"

"You are soldiers! On the battlefield, a difference of 0.1 seconds can mean life or death; now, a difference of 0.1 seconds means losing face for the country! Please treat every rehearsal as if it were your final performance!"

The 3-minute and 28-second "singing while striking the earthen jar" performance ended quickly, but everyone from the director team members, including Lu Kuan and Zhang Yimou, to Zhang Heping who had just arrived on set, looked worried.

It's terrible.

The difference between the rehearsal and the training was too great; the uniformity, performance style and lighting effects were all unsatisfactory.

If we're talking about the actual difference between the Bird's Nest and large training venues—

For example, the Daxing venue has a hardened surface, while the Bird's Nest has a special shock-absorbing layer, which means that the kneeling movements of the soldiers in the dance need to be adjusted.

Moreover, humidity, temperature, and the sound wave reflection from the bird's nest's ring structure are all important factors that determine the program's effect.

But none of the 2008 actors could even manage the most basic thing: facial expressions.

Zhang Yimou personally demonstrated the action, gesturing with his arm: "It's not a chop, it's a pat! We are welcoming friends from all countries and greeting audiences from all countries, so please be sure to smile!"

Zhang Yimou was the affiliated director of this program, and Lu Kuan watched him speak passionately and sighed inwardly.

In the entire Olympic cultural performance, the drumming and singing was the first program to appear and also the program that carried the countdown. It can be said to be the most important part besides the lighting of the torch!
However, his phrase "with a smile" is the most frequently mentioned point in the later film "Zhang Yimou's 2008".

Because almost all of the 2008 performers were soldiers, their habitual memories of more than ten years were about maintaining seriousness, order, and vigilance in formation.

However, this contradicts the Olympic Games' call to welcome all with smiles; the directing team requires their facial expressions to remain gentle and relaxed.

Looking at the soldiers' self-reproachful and sincere faces under the bright searchlights that had been turned on again, Zhang Yimou's throat tightened, but he couldn't bear to say too much:

"Please have the assistant director lead the actors to the backstage area to summarize what they did well and what they did poorly, and then wait for the second round."

From the "singing while striking the earthen jar" to the final lighting of the fire, the duration of the cultural performance was controlled to be around 1 hour and 25 minutes.

In other words, starting from 8:30, at least 2-3 rounds of rehearsals can be conducted tonight. If the results are really poor, we may have to continue training.

This is the workload of all the performers and directors at the Olympic Games opening ceremony, and it's also why Lu Kuan is worried about the upcoming sweltering heat.

Judging from the performance of the first round and the first program tonight, it's clear that you really need to practice like crazy.

Training and rehearsals present completely different challenges and require different mindsets for the soldiers who are playing guest roles.

Starting with "singing while striking the earthen jar," the second half of the poem continues with the splendid civilizations of writing, opera, the Silk Road, and ritual music, as well as the modern themes of aerospace, infrastructure, and a moderately prosperous society.

Around ten o'clock, Zhang Yimou, his voice almost hoarse, succinctly summarized: "Okay, everyone... you all did a pretty good job, but there are still all sorts of problems to solve."

"The second round begins in ten minutes!"

An hour had passed since the first performance of "singing while striking the earthen jar," so the performers naturally didn't need any extra rest time and quickly focused on addressing the shortcomings of the first round.

Boss Lu swatted a mosquito off his arm, glanced back at Liu Yifei's location, and walked straight over.

"It looks like things won't go smoothly today. You should go back first; I'm going back to my dorm to sleep late at night." "No need, I'll stay here with you. Staying in the dorm is great; I've never experienced it before." Liu Yifei, already prepared, took out a small glass bottle of floral water from her bag.

"I didn't want to bother you earlier, so I'll apply this quickly. The mosquitoes in the suburbs are too vicious!"

She unscrewed the cap of the mint-flavored bottle, her fingertips touching the cool liquid, and without a word, grabbed Lu Kuan's arm.

"Today was my first time watching a rehearsal, and I finally understand what you mean when you say that top directors learn choreography from the Olympics. It's really not easy."

The biggest staging production Liu Yifei had ever seen was "The Sky of History," but even that paled in comparison to the difficulty of staging scenes at the Olympics.

The entire cultural performance featured more than 15000 performers, including People's Liberation Army soldiers, professional dancers, martial arts performers, folk art groups, and volunteers.

In addition, with the addition of countless props, costumes, lighting and other elements, the connection between each program is a complex scheduling issue.

Just like the seven formation changes of 2008 soldiers from waiting to dancing and drumming in the first scene of the drumming and singing, which were used by Zhang Yimou in the bullet time scheduling of the snow night gunfight scene in his later film "Cliff Walkers".

Unlike the single structure of film and television crews, the Olympic team comprises 47 professional fields, including military experts, aerospace engineers, and intangible cultural heritage inheritors. This cross-disciplinary collaboration experience is crucial for Lu Kuan's later experience in filming large-scale science fiction movies.

In particular, the grand narrative of the Beijing Olympics, which combines technology and aesthetics, is practically the core theme of science fiction films.

The experience gained from this national ceremony will ultimately become the special equipment in his director's toolbox.

Boss Lu patted his girlfriend's hand: "Alright, stop being so dramatic. We're all feeding the mosquitoes together."

"Don't move!" Her voice was low, but her fingertips held an undeniable force.

When the floral water was applied to the red spots on his body from the mosquito bites, a small patch of transparent coolness immediately spread out, which she then massaged in circles with her thumb.

Xiao Liu's nails were neatly trimmed, and when they brushed against his skin, they resembled the soft paw pads of some small animal. Suddenly, she stood on tiptoe and touched the back of his neck with her fingertips, which were covered in floral water.

"It's tickled here too." Her breath brushed against his ear as she spoke, carrying the sweet scent of cherry juice.

"Okay, don't worry about me, just do your thing."

"Okay, I'll go first."

Lu Kuan rarely dawdles when he's working; he affectionately pinched her pretty cheek and walked away.

Feeling the cool touch on the back of his neck, his fiancée's hand seemed to soothe the anxiety in his heart.

After experiencing numerous setbacks and hardships, a bridge that needs no words has long been built between the two:
She lit a lamp for him on this side of the bridge, and he built a wall to shield her from the wind on the other side.

At this moment, Liu Yifei looked at Lu Kuan's back as he stood in front of the dais, his tall figure plated with a cold silver edge under the searchlight.

His shoulders held up the perfectly pressed shirt, and traces of floral water she had applied with her fingertips still lingered on the back of his neck.

Like a hidden medal of love.

The rehearsals continued, with each team taking turns to repeat the story from an hour earlier.

Even Liu Yifei in the stands could see that the second performance was only marginally better than the first.

The challenges of adapting to a new venue, the natural influence of climate conditions, the psychological tension brought about by the grand ceremony, and the emotional conflicts arising from managing facial expressions.

Everything left the performers, who were having their first dress rehearsal for the cultural performance, completely bewildered.

The program, titled "The Era of High-Speed ​​Rail," barely ended, its rousing music fading as the spotlights came back on...

The only sound at the Daxing training base was the wind.

Not only the directors and staff of the Organizing Committee on stage, but also the actors and staff performing in the audience were devastated by this sudden setback.

Under the blinding white light of the searchlight, the tense jawlines of the 2008 soldiers trembled slightly in the shadows. The young soldier on the left side of the third row stared intently at his reddened palms, the mistake of being half a beat too slow when striking the drum felt like a branding iron burning his nerves.

In the right-hand formation, a dance academy graduate acting as an instructor bit the soft flesh inside her mouth. She was supposed to be lightly tapping the ground with her toes to give her teammates rhythmic hints, as usual, but now even her breathing became labored.

This struggle was evident on almost everyone's face.

Lu Kuan, the chief director in charge of the second round, did not communicate with Zhang Heping and Zhang Yimou, but directly picked up the microphone and said: "Please have the staff clear the venue and invite all the actors of our program to the venue."

"Please stand in your respective groups according to your program. Do not run or crowd, as this could cause a stampede."

Everyone in the organizing committee looked at him in surprise, but due to the absolute authority that the chief director had built up over the past two years, no one dared to question him.

People have become accustomed to turning their attention to him during difficult times.

Indeed, Lu Kuan didn't think there was any need to continue the third round of rehearsals, at least not tonight.

The beginning is always the hardest. Today is the first dress rehearsal. Even though it was beyond his expectations, he could still understand why everyone's performance was subpar.

After all, too many things have happened in China recently, and there are bound to be factors that affect the emotions of the actors on set.

But meaningless repetition will only destroy the actors' confidence.

This is similar to the emotions of actors during filming.

Xiao Liu listened curiously to his commands and silently walked to a spot not far behind her boyfriend, standing side by side with Ma Wen.

The night breeze lifted the ends of her chestnut hair, and the beams of the searchlights cleaved the inky sky like swords. The 15000 people below the stage were no longer just blurry numbers and a sea of ​​people, but rather like a giant machine formed by countless precisely interlocking squares.

However, this giant machine, which carries the hopes of the Chinese people, is somewhat exhausted at this moment.

Surprisingly, her fiancé gave the order: "Okay, friends, please relax and let me say a few words to you."

"As you all know, Director Zhang and I are film directors. Director Zhang's career is much longer than mine, but even I have worked with dozens of different lead and supporting actors in the film projects I've been involved in."

"What I want to tell everyone is that no matter how talented an actor is or how clumsy a novice is, no one can deliver a perfect performance in front of the camera in one take."

"Some of the older friends here like Li Xuejian. He played Li Ming's father in 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,' and the scene where he died under the sunrise at the beach was NG'd eight times. Of course, it was also the result of his own pursuit of perfection."

"Some of the younger friends here like Liu Yifei. In her debut film, 'Whiplash,' she not only set the record for the most takes I've ever had, but also the record for the most tears she shed."

The serious expressions on the faces of the directors in the stands relaxed slightly, and everyone understood that this was to relieve the pressure on the hardworking but unsure actors.

Marvin squeezed the shoulder of the girl next to him, who simply smiled as she looked at her boyfriend, enjoying this moment of sharing life's joys and sorrows with him.

The 15,000 actors in the huge training ground didn't laugh out loud; they just seemed more relaxed in their facial expressions and body movements.

Boss Lu's voice rang out again: "Please have our staff turn off half of the spotlights shining directly into the venue, and please have the actors close their eyes."

His voice spread through the darkness via surround sound.

"Take three deep breaths, forget that you are warriors, dancers or volunteers, and just feel the ground beneath your feet that has been trodden by countless people."

This technique of collective relaxation originates from the "emotional decompression" principle in filmmaking. When actors fall into self-doubt due to frequent retakes, experienced directors will immediately stop filming and relieve their stress in their own way, depending on the type of actor.

Akira Kurosawa allowed the samurai actors who were frequently out of character to take off their armor and take a nap on the set of "Ran".
During the filming of "Persona", Bergman called a halt because Liv Ullman was repeatedly unable to get into the "silent confrontation" scene. He evacuated the entire crew from the set, leaving the actress alone sitting on the rocks on the Baltic coast, letting the sound of the waves wash away her accumulated anxiety about the performance.

He told Uman a classic saying that circulates in the directing circle: "It's not that you're acting, it's that the character is waiting for you to get lost."

Lu Kuan regards the entire Olympic Games as a crucial step on his path to becoming a film master, and at this moment he is actually playing the roles of Akira Kurosawa and Bergman.

However, the nerve he needed to relax was the sea of ​​people consisting of 15000 actors.

The actors followed his instructions, and Lu Kuan's steady and powerful voice continued to echo in the training ground: "Next, please help each other and do three things."

"First, the people in the back row massage the shoulders of the people in the front row to help them relax their tense trapezius muscles."

"Second, whether you close your eyes and smile or just grin, make sure the corners of your mouth curve up. Especially our soldiers, remember this feeling and apply it to your performances."

"Third, think about the most ridiculous and embarrassing thing that happened to you in your life, the kind that you can still laugh about or smile about now."

After hearing these three requests, Liu Yifei looked at her boyfriend in surprise, noticing the rustling sounds below the stage.

This is Grotowski's "drama therapy" approach!

Shoulder massage reduces psychological tension and defense mechanisms through physical contact;

Then, exaggerated facial expressions are used to reset neural memories;
Finally, use empathetic self-deprecation to dispel the anxiety of perfectionism.

He believed that none of the actors in the audience wanted to do their best to perform well, but they made more and more mistakes, leading to a vicious cycle.

Liu Yifei understood that he was using the mental warm-up technique for actors in theatrical performances, applying it to large-scale staging performances, and that was appropriate.

Was it groundbreaking?
Inside the Daxing Gymnasium at this moment, a male director and an actress who had previously made a ten-year pact were both experiencing a surge of new insights. (Chapter 315)
Xiao Liu recalled a sentence from Melsin's manuscript:

True performance is not about precise puppetry, but about allowing the soul to breathe freely in the gaps between rules.

Lu Kuan gained new insights from his recollections of his conversations with Bergman:
A grand spectacle is never about having a large number of people, but about making every soul live on in the frame.

"Okay! Please have the staff turn the lights back on, and everyone please open your eyes!"

Lu Kuan's abrupt voice interrupted the actors' mental adjustment.

Everyone, including Liu Yifei, stared at the young director on the stage, their eyes glared at by the blinding light.

"Comrades, it has been almost half a year since our Olympic team was formed and you were selected to join the team."

"In the last two months or so, I can say with certainty that the intensity and difficulty of training will only increase, and some actors and programs may even be eliminated."

"After this dress rehearsal at the Daxing training base, and with the completion of the main structure of the Bird's Nest in June, we will conduct a full round of integrated rehearsals on site until the opening day."

The sounds drifting across the training ground made the actors feel uneasy: "I won't comment much on your performance just now; you all know what I mean."

"It's 11:30 in Beijing time now. You can wallow in self-pity, feel dejected, or toss and turn all night."

Lu Kuan's voice suddenly rose, carrying a powerful momentum: "But! After today, please remember! What you are carrying on your shoulders is not your personal honor or disgrace, but the expectations of 1.3 billion compatriots!"

His gaze was piercing, sweeping across every tired yet resolute face, his voice resonating in the beam of the searchlight:

"Beneath the ruins of the southwest, there are still children clutching half a pencil, wanting to depict the Olympic Games of their great motherland in their hearts!"

"On the radios in the tents in the disaster area, all our compatriots waiting for reconstruction are eagerly anticipating watching us amaze the world from our new homes!"

"A month ago, the Olympic torch relay passed around the world. Paris displayed a five-ring handcuff flag and rioters attacked the disabled torchbearer. But in the end, this flame has returned to the land of China!"

"Comrades, all our compatriots are eagerly anticipating the day two months from now when the Olympic flame will arrive in Beiping and at the Bird's Nest."

Lu Kuan's voice suddenly deepened, yet it carried an even greater weight:

"Our compatriots are looking at us with tenderness and expectation! Our enemies are also looking at us with coldness and mockery!"

"But they forgot! The Chinese can build the Great Wall, so why can't they manage this small stage?"

"Our ancestors used counting rods to measure the Milky Way. Can't our soldiers today calculate a drumbeat of a fraction of a second?"

The night wind whipped up dust, but it couldn't dispel the resounding force of his words:

"I am one of the lucky ones who escaped death in this cataclysmic event."

"I will never forget the scene on the 14th, on a small hill in the southwest of Maoxian County, 5000 meters above the ground, where Colonel Li led fourteen heroic soldiers to their deaths, and what he said in the cockpit."

"Today, I'd like to share this quote with everyone—"

Lu Kuan took a deep breath!

The entire training ground and the more than 15,000 people on the stage instantly held their breath!

Standing in the shadows, Liu Yifei stared intently at the man she admired, watching him suddenly swing his arm into the night sky, as if to tear through the thick clouds!
"Comrades, the time has come for the Party and the people to test us!"

"On August 8th, what you raised was not a drumstick, but a scepter for the Chinese nation to declare to the world! What you played was not a drumbeat, but the heartbeat of China's rise in the 21st century!"

"After tonight, treat every rehearsal as a do-or-die skydive. Use your confidence and enthusiasm to make the arrogant cameras of Western journalists tremble! To silence their sarcastic reports!"

"May the Olympic flame of that night illuminate the entire Bird's Nest night sky, and light up every pair of eyes looking up at the East!"

The steel cables of the distant scaffolding clanged, as if crowning his words.

The flag bearer at the front row suddenly raised his hand and wiped his face. This man, who stood like a pine tree at the border post in minus thirty degrees Celsius, had his armor pierced by something sharper than the severe cold.
Even the usually composed opera actors were unusually excited. The knuckles of the male warriors gripping the red tassels of their weapons turned white, and the female actors in their phoenix coronet and wedding robes had their eye makeup smudged into a blurry dark blue by tears.

The "most lovable people" who make up the largest proportion of the field, the soldiers who are usually the least afraid of hardship and fatigue, are now experiencing violent chest heaving. As their Adam's apples bob, they swallow not only sweat, but also burning vows.

The members of the directing team on stage were equally excited, exchanging gratified glances. Zhang Yimou's hand, which was stroking his teacup, trembled slightly. This director, who had experienced countless grand scenes, was even a little teary-eyed at this moment.

Zhang Heping was even more excited about his decision to travel thousands of miles with Han Shanping to Chengdu to solicit talent from this young director!
Lu Kuan stood under the lights in the stands of the training field, while Liu Yifei looked at her fiancé with red eyes.

This person is good at drawing and has always been a pretty good speaker.

As midnight approached, looking at the faces of the 15,000 performers and feeling impressed by their morale, Lu Kuan raised the microphone: "Little Lin Miaoke, please start by leading everyone in singing 'Ode to the Motherland,' which you will be performing. Our training for today is now over."

The night was as dark as ink, and the searchlights on the training ground swayed slightly in the night breeze, casting long and solemn shadows of the 15,000 actors.

A clear, childlike voice broke the silence.

"The five-star red flag flutters in the wind, and the victory song rings so loud!"

"Singing praises to our beloved motherland, as we march towards prosperity and strength!"

Lin Miaoke stood in the group, her red dress as vibrant as a newly blooming flower under the lights, her youthful yet firm voice like a spark that instantly ignited the entire night sky.

The soldiers were the first to catch up, their throats bursting with a deafening roar, the song growing louder and more unified, resounding throughout the tranquil night sky.

As the night breeze swept across the training ground, the figures stood tall and straight like pine trees, their silhouettes gilded by the lights.

In a moment, all the self-blame and anxiety suddenly collapsed into the same realization: every breath they took at this moment was connected to the heartbeat of the 9.6 million square kilometers behind them.

At this moment, the fifteen thousand pairs of eyes below the stage were glistening with tears of emotion, clearly saying—

They want to offer their most fervent hopes to the highest glory of the entire nation.

(End of this chapter)