The King of Soft Rice in Chinese Entertainment

Chapter 599 Progress is going well
In any case, "The Grandmaster" is an art film with action elements. The characters in it are basically martial artists, and they are martial artists who are saving the nation. So their voices are naturally powerful and full of energy.

Wang Qingxiang, Shang Yilong, and Zhao Benshan all did a great job, while Liang Chaowei and Zhang Zhen had voice acting help, which made Zhang Niangniang quite embarrassed.

Her slightly weak voice was fine for portraying Gong Er later on, when she had to rely on opium to relieve her injuries, but it fell short in portraying the fearless Gong Er earlier on, who was determined not to let the Gong family lose.

Especially when compared to veteran actors.

Although Fan Bingbing in her previous life wasn't formally trained, she had been working in the industry for many years, so she had some skills, and her lines were decent.

However, she also has her own problems. For example, as mentioned before, her voice is a bit hoarse. She's okay for idol dramas, but when she acts in art films, it inevitably makes people feel a bit out of place.

This isn't something that's hard to correct. She probably tried it in her past life too. Unfortunately, 10 years later, actors' value skyrocketed, and everyone was busy making money, so naturally no one was interested in improving themselves.

Anyway, you don't need to be the best. You just need to be better than those young actresses who want to replace you. And those young actresses are also making money, so what's there to worry about?

We've strayed from the topic. As for Fan Bingbing in this life, probably because she entered the Beijing Film Academy, her lines were quite good from the start. Although she was still a bit raspy at times, she controlled them fairly well. She's still a bit short of the Gong Er in someone's mind, but she won't lose to Zhang Ziyi in her previous life.

To everyone's surprise, after filming in Chikan for more than a week, Xu Jiuyang discovered that her delivery of lines had actually improved quite a bit. She was still not as good as the veteran actors, but at least she wouldn't be criticized like Zhang Ziyi.

It's worth noting that this version of "The Grandmaster" not only featured the original Wang, Shang, and Zhao, but also cast many mainland actors. Since it wasn't a Hong Kong or Taiwan production, and even the male lead's character was changed, there was no need to use so many Hong Kong and Taiwan actors. Only Zhang Jin's Ma San was retained.

In this context, saying that Fan Bingbing's lines won't be outshone by veteran actors is basically equivalent to saying that she has already surpassed Zhang Ziyi in terms of dialogue delivery.

"So, Xu thought my lines were bad before, is that right?" Fan Bingbing sneered.

"To be precise, I used to score 70 points, but now I can score 80 points." Xu Jiuyang said helplessly. Every time they got to the point where they were targeting each other, she would deliberately steer his words in a sarcastic or ironic way.

In this situation, a good beating will usually suffice, yeah, a good beating in bed.

"Alright, alright, it's practically impossible for me to get a compliment from you. I already knew that. Anyway, it's all about targeting me," Fan Bingbing shrugged.

"Wasn't I just praising you?" Xu Jiuyang really wanted to say, but the person had already walked away, so he could only shrug in return.

Nevertheless, the subsequent filming was not affected, and then half a month passed.

"I'm leaving now. I'll be back in about a week. You need to keep a close eye on the crew while you're here," Fan Bingbing instructed before leaving.

"What, is something else going to happen?" Xu Jiuyang asked, puzzled.

“Although Wang Jiawei has been very honest so far, he won’t stay honest forever. We mustn’t let him take over the reins,” Fan Bingbing said.

"Do I look like that kind of person?" Xu Jiuyang was quite speechless.

"Who knows? Maybe a few compliments will make you lose your head," Fan Bingbing snorted.

Okay, he figured it out. She wouldn't feel right unless he said something sarcastic. He'd heard similar things a lot lately, but this time it was a bit alarmist.

“Don’t worry, darling, if he really doesn’t behave, I promise I’ll beat him to death,” Xu Jiuyang said solemnly. “Isn’t that a bad idea?” Fan Bingbing looked hesitant. “Even if we can pull a manslaughter charge, I’m afraid he’ll still get a sentence of ten years or so.”

I thought she was hesitating about something, but this is all? Xu Jiuyang rolled his eyes speechlessly: "Don't you understand metaphors and exaggerations?"

“Who knows if you’re serious or just joking?” Fan Bingbing spread her hands and waved them. “I have to fully consider the possibility of every situation.”

"Alright, Qin Lan and Chen Dong are getting impatient. You'd better leave now." Xu Jiuyang started to shoo people away.

"They dare!" Fan Bingbing said fiercely, but she still turned around and waved to them before leaving with them and the administrative team that had been staying on set.

After Fan Bingbing left, the atmosphere on set visibly relaxed. Putting aside everything else, the women on set, from Li Xue to Guo Zhenni, all became bolder in their scrutiny of her, and their words became much more explicit.

It has to be said that his second wife still has some authority and means. When she was still alive, although she was on good terms with Li Xue, Li Xue never overstepped her bounds and always kept to herself in front of him.

As for the entire crew, she had them all under her thumb. She always managed to find the right problems, leaving the relevant personnel speechless. Then she even paid out of her own pocket to improve their meals, making everyone feel indebted to her.

To be honest, Xu Jiuyang felt that she seemed to have been going around the set again and again at the same time, noting down every little detail and dealing with each one one by one.

Forget it, these things don't concern me much. I just need to play my role well.

“Teacher Wang, how about this? I walk from here to here, and then reach out to break the pancake…” In the center of the film set at Chikan Library, Xu Jiuyang and Wang Qingxiang discussed the rhythm of the performance.

“If that’s fine with you, then I’ll have to go this way.” After thinking for a moment, Wang Qingxiang drew a circle.

"No need," Xu Jiuyang explained. "The camera will cut in from this side, and you'll still be in your original position. That way, we'll each occupy one side of the frame, creating symmetry."

After silently repeating it to himself, Wang Qingxiang nodded: "Okay, I understand."

Then he chuckled again, glancing at Wang, who was sitting on the monitor wearing sunglasses and looking completely at ease: "To be honest, Xiao Xu, who's the director, you or that guy?"

“It should be him,” Xu Jiuyang smiled. “After all, his name is in the director’s credits. Besides, isn’t that Director Wang’s style? Let the actors improvise, then find what they want from a bunch of film reels, and then edit it.”

"You're not honest," Wang Qingxiang laughed, then said nothing more.

Xu Jiuyang didn't think that he was acting like an old man. After all, he and Lao Zhao were the only ones in the entire crew who could chat with him. The nearly 60-year-old Grandpa Wang did not choose to keep his distance from Fan Bingbing because of his relationship with her. At least when he came to ask questions, she not only answered them wholeheartedly, but also never put on airs.

Therefore, he has escaped the situation where he would be surrounded by women whenever he joined a film crew.

Old Zhao was the same, but compared to Old Master Wang's easygoing nature, he preferred to show off, and it is said that he made a lot of demands when signing the contract.

However, once he's actually on set, even if he doesn't meet some requirements, as long as they're not very important, he won't throw a tantrum like people from Hong Kong do, after all, he's an artist who grew up in mainland China.

The production team was actually quite lucky, because Shen He had just become Lao Zhao's apprentice and had not yet made a name for himself, so there was no need to consider arranging a role for him in the production.

(End of this chapter)