Rebirth of Chinese Entertainment, the Diary of a 95 Flower

"You acted quite well," Jiang Yang said casually.

"Seriously, Jiang Yang, I'm not kidding."

"What a load of rubbish."

Jiang Yang said solemnly.

Upon hearing this, Gulnazar was taken aback.

The cameraman, who had set up the camera rail and gimbal, and the makeup artist, who was applying chocolate powder to Gulnazar's face again, shuddered upon hearing this.

To put it bluntly, Gulnazar's acting was bad.

This is a live video, everyone is watching, it's not online, so how can I say that?

There are tons of videos online showing Gulnazar with a sour expression. Isn't Jiang Yang afraid that Gulnazar will give him a hard time?

This is the last scene; we're done filming and calling it a day.

If Nazha is in a bad mood and can't get into character, everyone has to stay with her and endure it.

"Okay, okay, I knew it."

Gulnazar smiled.

This is the truth she wants to hear.

Criticism is like bitter medicine; the sweeter the packaging, the less effective it is.

The chocolate powder still smudged on her lips made her smile look somewhat tragic.

I've seen countless comments online criticizing my acting skills.

None of them were as satisfying as Jiang Yang's earlier comment, "What a load of crap!"

I used to be afraid of others seeing my weakness; now I'm afraid no one will see that I'm getting stronger.

I chatted with Jiang Yang for a few minutes.

Gulnazar listened attentively to Jiang Yang's explanation of the key points for the upcoming scene.

The reflector is in place.

The sliding camera is set up.

The makeup on my face is finished.

Jiang Yang returned to Zhong Shujia's place and received a message from Gulinazha: "[Jiang Yang, this is the first time I've ever been happy on set because someone said I didn't act well.]"
Acting skills can be taught, but the light in your eyes can only be lit by yourself.

"You have this fetish?" Jiang Yang sent a message.

[“I didn’t do this before. I used to dislike being on set and hearing bad things said about me, but not anymore. Sometimes being scolded helps me grow.”] Gulnazar sent a message.

Jiang Yang edited the text: [“I'll introduce you to a friend later, call her Auntie.”]
The message has just been sent.

Jiang Yang suddenly remembered something he had forgotten during this time.

I forgot about Zhao Lushi.

Originally, the plan was to have Lemon Pictures interview Zhao Lushi to provide a supporting role in their "Starry Sea" music video.

I forgot about it the day we started filming.

The music video project is currently on hold, and half a month has passed; it's already early April.

Knowing my mother's personality, I wonder what she'll say behind my back.

My body is younger now, but my mind is still like it was when I was in my thirties. I always forget things for no reason.

Sometimes I just put my phone down, go to the toilet to pee, and then I forget where I put my phone.

"Nazha's last close-up shot, three, two, one, action!"

Gulnazar stood on the steps, her blood-stained sword supporting her weight.

He turned around and looked behind him.

Behind him were cameras and lighting panels.

Below the steps, in the empty space, the extras were resting sparsely.

Gulnazar was filming a close-up of the scene she had just filmed, which would connect with the close-up and long shot footage she had filmed earlier. She imagined a group of armored followers behind her.

In the past, she didn't know how to act in such scenes.

His eyes were always empty and blank.

The difficulty of performing without props lies here.

The acting lessons I took with Jiang Yang during that time were definitely worthwhile.

Targeted.

Jiang Yang gave her special instruction on the role of the Holy Maiden she played in "Fighter of the Destiny".

Gulnazar's gaze swept over the non-existent injured follower, her eyes landing on a specific spot.

First, he stared at the ground, then slightly raised his eyes to look at a staggering figure by the steps. It was all in his imagination, but his gaze became focused.

She coughed lightly, her bloodstained sword tapping lightly on the stone steps, her voice hoarse but steady: "Stand up straight, everyone. Those thugs have retreated. No one was seriously injured, right?"

She looked back.

In the close-up shot, his gaze swept over the shadows of his followers behind him, and his tone softened slightly: "I know it's late and everyone's legs are sore, but we can't let our guard down at this pass. If we back down, the village and our fellow disciples behind us will be in greater danger."

Done.

Gulnazar raised her hand and gripped the sword hilt.

With a strain of his knuckles, his voice gained strength: "Hold on until dawn, and immortality will arrive. Remember, as long as I'm here, I won't let you suffer in vain."

The assistant director whispered, reciting the extras' lines: "We are willing to follow the saintess until dawn! We will never retreat!"

This is a scene she's acting opposite an extra.

You should react when you hear the lines.

The more emotionally charged the other person's lines are, the more natural your reaction will be.

Expecting the executive director to deliver lines with emotion is harder than getting your boyfriend Zhang Han to cut off contact with Zheng Shuang.

Hear the words.

Gulnazar's lips relaxed for a moment, a sign of relief upon hearing her attendant's response.

Then immediately tense up.

It demonstrates vigilance against the approaching enemy.

Turn around and look straight ahead.

In the lens, the focus of the image is adjusted.

The background was blurred, leaving only a close-up of Gulnazar's face.

With a high, straight nose and sword-like eyebrows that reach his temples, he has a dashing and heroic appearance.

Most importantly, it's the eyes.

The scene had been filmed, but Zhong Shujia didn't yell "cut." He held the walkie-talkie and kept staring at the large monitor that had been mounted on the horse in front of him.

Continue to gather materials.

As the lighting technician manipulated the lights, the light on Gulnazar's face gradually became brighter and flickered.

It simulates the visual effect of firelight.

The enemy is coming!

In this scene, the enemy's appearance will not be shown; it's a one-and-a-half-hour scene, which is about one page long.

It took about a minute.

Unfortunately, at this time, Gulnazar was playing a saint who had experienced a fierce battle, so she couldn't make too many facial expressions and could only rely on her eyes to convey emotions.

The scene was quiet.

As the lights simulated the flickering of flames, Gulnazar controlled the focus of her gaze, causing her pupils to contract and dilate in response to the changing light.

In later editing, the trembling of the attendants behind them will be shown.

But Gulnazar's body remained completely still.

This portrayal showcases the calm and collected nature of the saintess she is playing, a character honed through countless battles.

"Okay, click! Passed." Zhong Shujia held the walkie-talkie.

He put down the walkie-talkie and smiled at Jiang Yang beside him, "Jiang Yang, you have to come to the set where Nazha is from now on. We can't do without you. This take with Nazha was better than any of the previous ones. This scene was not easy for her to act. How did you train Nazha just now?"

"Actually, I didn't really train her much. I even chatted with Nazha about some things about her family. She said she was bitten by a dog when she was a child, and I said I was also bitten by a dog when I was a child."

"You've been bitten by a dog too?"

"Yeah, the rabies virus has been dormant for more than ten years and finally manifested. I'm still single."

Zhong Shujia pursed her lips upon hearing this, then burst into laughter.

Jiang Yang, that kid.

When we're not busy, we chat about serious matters and crack jokes.

He had just gone to coach Nazha on her acting skills, and he had seen it all.

Unlike the previously shot wide and close-up views.

Back then, there were extras to help out.

This time it's a true performance without any props.

The entourage behind her was entirely based on Gulnazar's imagination.

At the beginning, she supports her sword, coughs, and has a slightly hoarse voice to show the exhaustion of the saintess after a long battle.

When speaking to her attendants, she softened her tone, said that her legs were sore, and that she couldn't loosen her grip. These down-to-earth words showed that the saintess was a warm-hearted person who was not cold-blooded towards her subordinates.

The subtle details of the force exerted by the knuckles when gripping the sword, and the unwavering certainty in the line "immortality should be here soon," bring hope to the audience. Close-up shots, like the large screen in a movie theater, magnify every flaw.

Under Jiang Yang's guidance, Gulnazar's performance in this scene was flawless.

Jiang Yang handled it very well, without having Gulnazar use crying scenes or screaming, which are traditional tragic scenes for women.

Instead, it's about maintaining a stable emotional state and handling details.

The hero's vulnerability is hidden in the gaps of his armor.

It allows the audience to feel the tension of the plot while also experiencing the charm of the character played by Gulnazar.

When Zhong Shujia first met Jiang Yang, he knew that Jiang Yang was the acting coach for the play. Even though Xu Xiaoou had arranged for him to come, just looking at Jiang Yang's age, he felt that he was unreliable.

Now I feel differently.

With Jiang Yang involved, the quality of this show is elevated.

According to Xu Xiaoou, Jiang Yang's salary as a performance coach was a little over one million yuan.

This money was spent in a way that was so generous it was almost stingy.

Because of Jiang Yang's presence, the production team saved more than a million yuan in expenses.

Like now.

The scene was originally scheduled to be filmed at 4:30, but it's only 12:30 and they're already wrapping up.

One of the two space lights had already gone out, and it was slowly being lowered from the crane.

The lighting technician hurriedly removed the lights and went to the truck outside, shouting inside, "Stop slacking off! Gulnazar is taking photos with everyone, and Jiang Yang is too!"

"Really? Anyone can take a photo with us? Can we too?"

"Of course, when we were filming the final close-up shot of Gulnazar, we said we'd take a group photo after we wrapped up."

"I thought it was just polite talk, let's go, let's go."

Not only were there group photos, but there were also autographs.

It's easy for crew members to get autographs; they can easily get paper and pens.

Many of the actors playing noble ladies, attendants, and soldiers on set became impatient.

Don't mention paper.

There wasn't even a pen.

Most backpacks in the rest area only contained water, spare shoes, power banks, and data cables.

"Director, what's this script for?" Jiang Yang found a script on Zhong Shujia's horse-drawn carriage.

She could see through Jiang Yang's thoughts at a glance.

Zhong Shujia reminded, "It costs money, ten yuan a book."

Want money?

Jiang Yang immediately said, "Then I won't come tomorrow. Anyway, there are no scenes with Nazha or Lu Han tomorrow."

“That won’t work. You have to mentor the other actors. The extras all have a good relationship with you.”

"I'm not coming. I'm being a diva."

"Oh, take it, take it."

Zhong Shujia tossed the notebook to Jiang Yang.

Watching Jiang Yang tear each page in half and distribute them to the extras.

Jiang Yang was the first to be surrounded by people asking for autographs and photos.

In the past, everyone would be sickly after finishing work in the evening, but now, the scene was filled with cheers.

Zhong Shujia stared in amazement, then smiled.

Now I understand why Xu Xiaoou has a special fondness for this kid.

So full of youthful vigor!

Just like when he was young, his arm was cut by stuntmen on set, but he didn't care at all and even laughed it off.

It's like a young stuntman whose nose was broken; he didn't go to the hospital at all, but rested for a while, continued filming, and waited for his nose to heal on its own.

When I first became a director, I couldn't afford to rent portable toilets.

The whole group took advantage of the darkness to relieve themselves in the weeds.

The coins in his pocket jingled, a testament to the youthful audacity of someone who didn't know the immensity of the world.

That won't work anymore; I won't lead the crew to do such absurd things.

If you are really injured, your first reaction is to seek compensation.

He pays close attention to the time when filming, and gets impatient and yells at people on set if he goes over time.

Looking into the distance at Jiang Yang, where the staff and actors were gathered for a group photo, Zhong Shujia muttered in Cantonese, "That young man, the artists he signs, working with him as their boss, must be very motivated every day."

I was too lazy to ask the stagehands to help him prepare the horse-drawn carriage.

This time he'll do it himself.

Zhong Shujia got up, tidied himself up, unplugged the monitor cable, and pushed the horse-drawn cart toward his car, waiting for the stagehands to carry it up for him.

Suddenly he heard someone call out to him: "Director!"

It was Jiang Yang's voice.

"Huh?" Zhong Shujia stopped and turned around.

Everyone was standing on the steps where Gulnazar had taken a close-up photo earlier.

The crew members on set were actually standing with the actors.

The clothes were not changed.

There were noble ladies dressed in silk theatrical costumes, guards wielding long swords, and soldiers in armor.

Gulnazar, dressed as a saint, hadn't removed her makeup.

The blood on his face was very obvious.

His face was full of smiles.

Next to her was Jiang Yang, who was wearing a modern long-sleeved shirt. She deliberately wiped the blood off her face and smeared it on Jiang Yang's face, but Jiang Yang turned his head away to avoid it.

After Gulnazar slapped her butt hard, she finally obediently let herself be rubbed against.

When Zhong Shujia turned around, she didn't have much of an expression, and the lively chatter suddenly quieted down.

That's the kind of intimidating presence a director has on set.

Especially a director with such a renowned reputation as him.

“Come take a picture with me, director,” Jiang Yang said in broken Cantonese.

Zhong Shujia instinctively wanted to refuse.

Then Jiang Yang said, "Releasing it as a still from the show can attract traffic."

Hear the words.

Zhong Shujia's eyes lit up. He released the horse from the carriage and walked towards the crowd, laughing as he went. He said in Cantonese, "I don't need your teaching, Jiang Yang, you good-for-nothing!"

The crowd couldn't understand the meaning of the first half of Zhong Shujia's sentence.

However, the term "puk zai" (扑街仔) appears in most Hong Kong films and is used as an insult.

The room erupted in laughter.

The next morning, Jiang Yang got up early and went to the set of the stills.

The contract signed only involved training Lu Han and Gulnazar's acting skills.

Film crews, well, those who know, know; they basically don't follow the contract.

The contract even states that labor laws are respected and that weekends are off. Try asking for weekends off on set and you'll be kicked out immediately.

Staying up late is a common occurrence.

However, overtime pay will not be reduced by a single penny.

Therefore, it was a convenient way for Jiang Yang to train the other actors as well.

At least let Zhong Shujia and Xu Xiaoou know that spending one million to have him as their acting coach was worth it.

This way, he can easily raise prices if there are similar jobs in the future.

After all, you get what you pay for, and cheap goods are expensive.

[“Jiang Yang, you’re trending on social media.”] I received this message from Gulnazar during lunch break.

Jiang Yang typed back: ["What's trending?"]
[“It’s the one where you tied the belt for the extras yesterday, and the group photo from last night was also posted on the official account of the production crew, pretending it was a crew photo.”]
Gulina sent another message: ["Zhang Han even argued with me about this. He said you have bad character and told me to ignore you."]
The message was sent and then deleted within a second.

Jiang Yang pretended not to see it.

When couples have a fight, it's none of his business, and he doesn't interfere.

But why did Zhang Han say that he was morally corrupt?

He had never even seen Zhang Han before.

Is Zhang Han really that good at judging people?

I clicked on Weibo's trending topics and sure enough, I saw his entry.

#On the set of Fighter of the Destiny, Jiang Yang acts like a diva and bullies extras#
Jiang Yang's lips twitched: "Damn it, who's manipulating public opinion to cyberbully me?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he realized something was wrong.

My mother's words are truly persuasive. (End of Chapter)