Entertainment: Who still wants to fall in love when there are cheats?

Chapter 124 Li Tiangou

The reason why Li Boda appeared in front of Qi Jian directly as Li Tiangou was out of necessity.

After all, Li Boda is too handsome and has a great image, so when people see Li Boda, their first impression is that he should be an idol actor rather than a talented actor.

Even though Li Boda may have good acting skills, the other party would still reject him because Li Boda's image did not fit the role.

To avoid this situation, Li Boda would appear before Qi Jian directly as Li Tiangou, so that Qi Jian could always see Li Boda's acting skills and the characters he could portray.

"You are—Li Boda?" Qi Jian couldn't help but ask.

“Yes, I am Li Boda.” Li Boda spoke in fluent Shanxi dialect as soon as he opened his mouth.

This was something Li Boda specifically learned before coming here.

After all, his conditions were indeed a disadvantage among these art film directors. Since that was the case, Li Boda naturally had to put in a lot of effort. His appearance and acting skills alone were not enough. He even made corresponding adjustments to his speech.

"Great!" Qi Jian couldn't help but slap his thigh hard, then winced in pain, but his eyes remained fixed on Li Boda, never leaving him, his eyes full of surprise.

He never expected that Li Boda, whom he had previously given up hope on, would bring him such a big surprise.

"You're the lead in the play 'The Heavenly Dog'!" Qi Jian blurted out in his excitement, but after saying it, he realized he had been too impulsive.

After all, although Li Boda is performing well now, can he maintain this level when filming later?

However, Li Boda's subsequent performance reassured Qi Jian quite a bit, because Li Boda had not detached himself from the character of Li Tiangou at all.

When thanking Qi Jian for the opportunity, Li Boda still used the same persona and mannerisms as Li Tiangou to express his gratitude. There was no change in his speaking style or other aspects.

It was as if the person standing in front of Qi Jian was not Li Boda at all, but the real Li Tiangou.

As a result, Li Boda directly landed the role of Li Tiangou, and soon after, he was to join the "Tiangou" production team to film.

At the same time, Gao Yuanyuan also wanted to film this movie with Li Boda.

The male lead of this drama is Li Tiangou, and the female lead is Li Tiangou's wife.

Unfortunately, Gao Yuanyuan was too beautiful. As for her acting skills, while they weren't bad, they fell short of what Qi Jian wanted, so she was ultimately rejected.

Gao Yuanyuan was quite disappointed that she couldn't act alongside Li Boda. Director Qi Jian, in particular, felt that Gao Yuanyuan's constant presence on set might affect Li Boda's performance, so he didn't even want Gao Yuanyuan to stay with Li Boda or the crew.

This made Gao Yuanyuan even more unhappy.

After all, Gao Yuanyuan has only been with Li Boda for a short time and is currently very attached to him, unwilling to leave his side at all.

However, Gao Yuanyuan also understands that being in the right state of mind while filming is indeed very important for an actor.

Li Boda now always presents himself as Li Tiangou, as if he has become completely immersed in the role of Li Tiangou.

Gao Yuanyuan kept following Li Boda around, which might actually affect his condition, so Gao Yuanyuan left with regret.

In fact, Li Boda was very confident in his acting skills, and Gao Yuanyuan's presence by his side would not have any impact.

However, Li Boda had never proven his acting skills before, so directors, producers, and others didn't have much confidence in him.

To avoid unnecessary trouble, Li Boda had no choice but to maintain Li Tiangou's status and image. In order to reassure the crew and the director, Gao Yuanyuan's departure was the best outcome.

Therefore, Li Boda did not intend to try to persuade Gao Yuanyuan to stay.

Moreover, Gao Yuanyuan is being too clingy to Li Boda, and Li Boda wants Gao Yuanyuan to keep her distance from him for the time being, so that she can calm down and think carefully about their relationship.

After all, Gao Yuanyuan knew about the affair between Li Boda and Jia Jingwen.

She was too caught up in love to consider this issue. Give her time and space to clear her head, and she'll be able to think things through then.

So, Li Boda went directly to the rural areas of Shanxi to film the movie "The Dog".

Gao Yuanyuan also received an invitation to star in a new film, Jackie Chan's "Rob-B-Hood," which was a rare opportunity for her, so she flew directly from Shanghai to Hong Kong.

After arriving in Shanxi with the film crew, Li Boda hastily began filming.

As for the opening ceremony and other rituals, the production team kept them very simple and didn't make a big fuss at all.

Because the production team of "Tengu" was poor!
This production team didn't attract much investment at all, and their funds were extremely tight.

Li Boda's salary for acting in the play "The Dog" was zero! That's right, Li Boda acted for zero salary again.

Li Boda acted in this art film without receiving any payment.

The director chose Li Boda to play the role of Li Tiangou for two reasons. Firstly, Li Boda himself performed well, with both his appearance and acting skills being commendable. Secondly, and very importantly, Li Boda agreed to act for free.

For a low-budget arthouse film crew, actors who act for free, provided they are otherwise competent, are their favorite actors.

In fact, the actor originally chosen by the director and producer to play the role of Li Tiangou was Chen Jianbin!

However, Chen Jianbin declined due to scheduling conflicts, and the director then turned their attention to Fu Dalong.

Before they could even contact Fu Dalong, Li Boda jumped in.

Even if Fu Dalong played Li Tiangou, his salary wouldn't be much, but every little bit counts. For a budget-conscious production crew, money is extremely important.

Therefore, with just a few dollars' advantage, in the eyes of the director and his colleagues, Li Boda completely crushed Fu Dalong.

The cast of "Tian Gou" had no other professional actors besides Li Boda, who played the male lead Li Tian Gou, Zhu Yuanyuan, who played the female lead Tao Hua, and Liu Zifeng, who played the village chief.

The other actors were all people the director found from the local villages. None of them were professionals, and they weren't even extras.

According to director Qi Jian, the main focus of their production is authenticity, which is achieved by having villagers from these villages play the roles of villagers.

In fact, the director made this choice simply because it was cheap for these villagers to use!
An extra can earn at least 60 or 70 yuan a day.

The director simply waved his hand and offered the villagers ten yuan a day to come and film.

Then the villagers came running, all excited and eager.

The main problem is that in this era, it's really not easy for people in rural areas to make money. Apart from farming, there are almost no other sources of income.

The film crew paid ten yuan a day, and the work was so minimal that it was considered a fantastic opportunity. As a result, villagers from the surrounding villages flocked to the site to report on it.

The production team implemented a limit on the number of people, which prevented more people from coming.

then!

The crew of "The Dog" included a professional director, cinematographer, and other staff, along with several professional actors including Li Boda, and a group of villagers from the countryside. That's how filming began.

The villagers, seeing Li Boda walking with a limp, and especially his seemingly ordinary appearance, made many of them mutter to themselves.

"This is a celebrity? He's not even good-looking. I think he's not even as good-looking as my son. How can he be a celebrity?" A rural woman pointed at Li Boda and muttered to the person next to her.

“I also think he’s not good-looking. He’s not good-looking, he’s lame, and he’s dressed a bit sloppily. He’s not as good-looking as your son. Why don’t you go talk to the director and let your son act in the movie?”

"Okay, I'll bring my son over tomorrow."

Many people, watching Li Boda filming, murmured among themselves, saying that Li Boda didn't look like a star, that he wasn't good-looking, that he was a cripple, and so on.

The reason they did this was because they didn't recognize Li Boda at all.

There were a few professional actors in the crew, but in the countryside, hardly anyone could recognize them.

As for the others, whether it's the actress Zhu Yuanyuan or anyone else, they haven't acted in many TV series or movies, or they aren't the kind of TV series that are frequently replayed, so people simply don't recognize them.

Li Boda has been very popular in recent years. Generally speaking, anyone who has a TV at home and has watched TV dramas knows Li Boda.

Unfortunately, in order to film the movie, Li Boda usually disguised himself as Li Tiangou, so his appearance at this time was too different from the character he played in the TV series. Therefore, these people could not recognize Li Boda at all.

In addition, Li Boda deliberately wore makeup and made himself look ugly, which in the end led some older women to say that he was ugly.

However, Li Boda didn't care at all about what these people said.

After all, a truly good-looking person usually doesn't care if others say they are ugly or unattractive, because they know they are good-looking and handsome, so they don't care what others say at all.

People who are truly ugly are often the ones who can't stand hearing others say they're ugly, because it's the truth. After all, the less you have to offer, the more you're sensitive to what others say about you.

So how could someone with Li Boda's true looks and charm possibly care if others said he wasn't good-looking?

(End of this chapter)