Have you ever been a celebrity? Why are you writing about entertainment?

Chapter 291 Meeting Old Qi Openly and Honestly
"Hey Yu, can't you arrange an elimination speech for this competition?"

Seeing Fei Hong's inevitable defeat, Zhang Lingye felt as if he had finally found a brother who would share his hardships; someone was finally going to be eliminated with him...

It's not shameful to have a companion, but the elimination was a bit too hasty. In the novel, their scenes disappeared instantly, without even a chance to say goodbye to the stage.

If he could, he would like to leave his last words in the novel.

They chose to play minor roles in Yu Wei's book simply for the sake of popularity. The more screen time the namesake minor characters have in the book, the deeper the impression they leave on netizens.

Zhang Lingye not only wanted to make a dignified exit, but also wanted to generate some buzz before leaving. He wasn't the only one who wanted to do this; the other eliminated contestants certainly did too.

"You, a nobody who made it to the top 24, expect to be featured?"

Qi Yuan made a couple of jokes, then looked at Fei Hong beside him and said, "I didn't mean anything by it."

The novel's ability to attract readers is limited. If the losers still want to eat their last meal, what will the winners eat? Dream on.

Yu Wei didn't think too much about it when he heard this. Zhang Lingye's words gave him a bit of inspiration: elimination speeches aren't just for attracting traffic, they can also be used to pad the word count...

Good strategy! Adding elimination speeches to the fourth match, and maybe even some trash talk, would be a perfect way to create a tense atmosphere while also being engaging in lighthearted banter.

Back at the hotel, Yu Wei took some time to write a suspense novel. He had been working on "The Devotion of Suspect X" and planned to update it all at once when he had enough.

It's worth mentioning that the translation of "Malice" has already begun, and with revisions, printing, and promotion, it will most likely be published early next year.

With the studio in place, there's now a dedicated person handling the novel section, so Yu Wei doesn't need to worry about it anymore.

The artists signed to the studio haven't even started making money yet, but he, the boss, has already started, which is a good example.

Don't even mention disbanding the studio; he can support the entire business on his own...

The next morning, a new round of filming officially began, and Yu Wei and the crew arrived at the location of the school scene, the local No. 23 Middle School.

The school scenes in "Goodbye Mr. Loser" take up a large portion of the film, directly determining whether the audience can believe this story of "returning to youth".

Regarding the location for the campus scenes, the production team conducted extensive research and ultimately chose this location based on Yu Wei's suggestion.

Built in the 1950s and 60s, the school's red brick exterior walls, arched doors and windows, terrazzo floors, and faded but still discernible inspirational slogans on the walls all naturally exude a nostalgic atmosphere.

This place doesn't need much embellishment to transport people back to the atmosphere of the 1990s, which perfectly matches Yu Wei's impression of the original film.

The cement ping-pong table and parallel bars, in particular, are quite to my liking.

"When are we going to beat up the teacher? I can't wait!"

To Lin Puyan, these words were nothing short of a provocation. Did this kid really want to beat him up? Did he not know how to respect the elderly, care for the young, and honor his teachers?

Yu Weizhen might not be joking. Everyone knows he has some martial arts skills. If it were a real fight, Lin Puyan knew his old bones couldn't withstand it.

"Setting off personal grudges is unacceptable..."

"What are you saying?"

Yu Wei would never hit his loyal readers; at most, he would make a few perfunctory gestures, but he wouldn't put in any real effort.

He didn't actually hit anyone, but he didn't know if the others hit him or not. You should know that other students were involved in the scene where he hit the teacher.

If someone were to take advantage of the chaos and kick Lin Puyan a couple of times, Yu Weike would not take the blame.

The filming has just started and the extras haven't all arrived yet, so we can't shoot any group scenes today. We can only shoot a few individual outdoor shots.

"We'll film the scene where they sing on the radio first."

Qi Yunming made simple arrangements. This scene mainly focuses on the reactions of the main actors when they hear Xia Luo singing, and each person will have their own shot.

The first scene filmed was Qiu Ya and Yuan Hua on the rooftop. Qiu Ya, who was complaining to Yuan Hua, interrupted his rant with "Don't talk" after hearing Xia Luo's song. This scene was quite classic.

"What a realistic scene..."

They don't feel immersed in other dramas, but they have all experienced this situation firsthand. They had the same reaction when they first heard Yu Wei sing.

What does it mean when a student who is at the bottom of the class suddenly becomes exceptionally talented?
"Wei Zi, tell me, did you secretly reincarnate like Xia Luo?"

Zhang Lingye silently put his arm around Yu Wei's shoulder. When he heard Yu Wei sing in the recording studio, he was just as surprised as Xia Luo in the movie.

"You found out all of this. You were thirty years old when you were kept and used by a rich man until you died. I was reborn to save you..."

"cut."

If you were to say Zhang Lingye was a rich woman, would you really believe it? But what about a rich man?
Qi Yuan and Chi Leying's performance officially began. They hadn't acted together before, so their chemistry was noticeably lacking. It took about three takes before they got into character.

The poem "A Spray of Plum Blossoms" should be played here.

"Are you alright these past few classes?"

Qi Yuan looked up at the sky at a 45-degree angle and began to verbally condemn Xia Luo's "shameless behavior." This scene was his comfort zone, after all, he had always acted this way.

"Don't worry, before I destroy someone, I must first make them arrogant!"

"Fortunately, he won't dare to do anything to you at school yet..."

After that line, Charlotte should have directly asked "Is Qiuya there?" on the radio, but that was done in post-production dubbing; here, they only needed to perform without props.

Qi Yuan and Chi Leying did a good job of portraying the stunned reaction upon hearing the broadcast, but they could never recreate the scene of listening to songs later on.

The performance relied entirely on their imaginations, as they hadn't even heard the songs. How could they imagine them? Yu Wei's style was too different, and they didn't know what state they should be in at this moment—whether they were amazed or simply immersed in the music.
At times like this, the director would need to offer some guidance, but Qi Yunming had already disappeared. It should be said that after arranging what to film that day, he vanished.

Yu Wei's worst fears have finally come true: Lao Qi has started slacking off again, and the "bad movie radar" is going off.

Old habits die hard; a rotten orange is a rotten orange...

Well, it didn't come to that extent. Qi Yunming knew he was too lazy to deal with it, so he specially invited Yu Wei over. That's what he does.

Now, everyone must obey my orders!

Yu Wei stepped in to take charge, seamlessly connecting with Qi Yunming's work. While instructing Chi Leying and Qi Yuan on how to act, he even understood camera direction.

His actions were completely unexpected by everyone else on set, except for Zhang Lingye and assistant director Lü Zhou, who were unsurprised by it.

They're all back. Qi Yunming isn't here, so Yu Wei simply stopped acting altogether.

"Qiuya's eyes should reveal her appreciation and changed opinion of Xia Luo, while Yuan Hua should unconsciously show his disappointment while pretending to be serious."

Yu Wei's explanation was very comprehensive. This scene is the key moment when everyone's opinion of Xia Luo changes, so you have to act out the corresponding changes while listening to the song.

Not only them, but also Teacher Wang, who is eating eggs and listening to music, will have to go through a change from shock to relief, from "What is this kid up to now?" to "He's got some skills."

Qi Yuan and Chi Leying seemed to be deep in thought upon hearing this. As expected of the screenwriter, she had a very accurate grasp of the characters' psychological activities.

This is what real filming is like. A few days ago, Qi Yunming just sat there watching without saying anything, and they were like headless flies.

Yu Wei is willing to explain things clearly, and this clear understanding of what he should do naturally improves his work efficiency and quality.

A director is not such an inconvenient thing. It would be better to let Yu Wei also work as an assistant director, since he really knows his stuff.

The Azure Heaven is dead, the Yellow Heaven shall rise! In the year of Jiazi, all is well under heaven! Congratulations, Yu Wei can now become emperor!
Honestly, even if Qi Yunming really started directing the filming, they might not listen to him. After all, his reputation as the king of bad movies is too great. If they listened to his arrangements, they might end up making a mess of things.

Yu Wei was different. Everyone present respected him, and they listened to whatever he said, whether it was right or wrong.

The so-called right to speak is illusory; only public credibility can determine how many people obey arrangements.

Needless to say, the actors, with Yu Wei as their role model and friend, definitely had to trust the second brother's judgment at this time!
The staff hesitated for a moment, but after thinking it over, they realized that Yu Wei and the director's family were on the same page, so listening to him would definitely be fine.

Both groups quickly accepted the shift in leadership, and they listened to whoever could make the best film.

"Okay, you guys can't come up with anything to perform, so I'll just play a short piece on the spot."

To make this song-listening scene more vivid, Yu Wei simply let them experience it from the characters' perspectives; their feelings while listening to the songs were the same as the characters' feelings in the play.

Everyone was overjoyed to hear this; being able to hear Yu Wei sing on set was an unexpected and delightful surprise.

The artists had all heard him perform before, but for the staff on set, this was a real eye-opener.

"This kid uses both kindness and severity."

Lin Puyan felt a pang of emotion. He had suffered under Qi Yunming's leadership on set for a long time. He thought that since Qi Yunming was the one who had to stabilize the overall situation before rewarding merits, what role did the director play?

"As long as it can be filmed well, whoever is capable can do it."

Meng Han, who was standing to the side, watched Yu Wei tuning the guitar with great interest. "How do you know this isn't what Qi Yunming expected?"

He knew he wasn't good enough, yet he secretly slipped away. Wasn't that just giving Yu Wei a chance? Who knows, maybe the son-in-law and father-in-law are in cahoots. Don't meddle in things you shouldn't.

Yu Wei, holding his guitar, gazed intently into the distance and began to sing softly.

"I once dreamed of traveling to the end of the world with my sword

Look at the prosperity of the world
Young hearts are always frivolous

Now you call the world your home.

The onlookers were secretly amazed; the song was quite interesting. When they were reading the script, they thought it was an exaggeration that a song on the radio could attract such a large crowd both inside and outside the school.

After all, the sound quality of the campus radio station wasn't great, but Yu Wei's opening lines instantly drew them into that scene.

The venue was completely silent, with only Yu Wei's singing and guitar chords echoing through the air.

After playing a short piece, Qi Yuan and Chi Leying instantly found their rhythm, and their reactions during filming were quite natural.

"Okay! Pass!"

When Yu Wei finally uttered those words, everyone present was stunned, feeling a mix of emotions, but it didn't seem so bad...

Qi Yunming didn't return until almost noon. When he arrived at the rooftop where the filming was taking place, he found that the main crew had already left, and only the staff were moving equipment.

"Where are they?"

There's no need to move equipment during a break; you can't just quit like that, can you?

"We've finished filming, and we're already filming the next scene."

The staff member scratched his head, also confused about what was going on. It seemed that efficiency was actually higher when the director wasn't around. Was this something to be said?

"Did you finish filming?"

Normally, they take forever to shoot just a few establishing shots. He's only been gone a short time, and they finished shooting so quickly. How did these people manage that...?

It's actually faster when I'm not around, isn't that awkward?
(End of this chapter)