Life in the Light and Shadow of Chinese Entertainment

Congratulations to actor Li Youbin on wrapping up filming!

The stagehand presented a bouquet of flowers to Li Youbin, who was still wearing his protective gear.

Li Youbin politely accepted it and then went into the dressing room to remove his makeup.

Wu Yang knocked on the door and entered, smiling, "I'm organizing a party tonight as a farewell for Teacher Li."

"Haha, Director Wu, you're too kind. I'll definitely be there."

Li Youbin is a national first-class actor. He came here to make a cameo appearance as the director of the Supernatural Management Center in the movie.

He didn't have many scenes, only a few shots of him commanding troops. Wu Yang initially just wanted to hire someone with the dignity of a soldier.

It's a down-to-earth role, but unfortunately Wu Yang's connections in the entertainment industry are still too limited.

In the end, it was Third Master who stepped in and invited Li Youbin over. After reading the script, Li Youbin agreed on the spot.

This can be considered as giving Wu Yang face. Giving a gift as a guest is just the norm, but hosting a banquet to see him off is the proper way to show good manners.

Friendships don't develop without communication and interaction!

Wu Yang didn't bring Liu Yifei that night, since Li Youbin didn't bring his wife either, and since it was a farewell party, he invited men.

It's better not to bring female companions, so Wu Yang invited his cousin Wu Jing, as well as Wang Yang, Zhang Jiayi, Liu Yijun, and Yu Hewei, these five future top uncles to accompany him.

Wu Jing plays the role of the armed captain of the Supernatural Management Center in the movie, who is a special forces soldier.

The armed brigade he led was dedicated to handling supernatural events, and the weapons they were equipped with also possessed supernatural powers.

Wang Yang, Zhang Jiayi, and Liu Yijun play the three leaders of the Sanqing Temple.

Each person leads a secluded sect and is a direct descendant of the Taiqing, Shangqing, and Yuqing sects!

Yu Hewei plays Tianpeng Laozu, who has gone mad from practicing cultivation, and there is also a scene in the play where a group of demons dance.

That was a short video Wu Yang was imagining of the future, and he deliberately added a funny scene to it.

The demon king who, unable to win her heart, resorts to force, is played by Duan Yihong. Duan's acting skills are very strong, and his portrayal of the neurotic demon king is exactly what Wu Yang expected.

He's a bit of a loner; after filming, he usually hides in his room studying the script.

So he wasn't invited this time, and these five future top uncles are currently only in the third or second tier.

They are all television actors, and they were both excited and a little nervous to receive Wu Yang's invitation.

What excites me is that I can act in Wu Yang's movie, a big production with an investment of 3 million yuan, and I am playing an important supporting role.

What worries them is that they are used to the way TV dramas are filmed, and they are worried that if they try to film a movie, there might be too many multiple takes.

Not only will it damage their reputation, but it may also cause them to lose a rare opportunity to get involved in the industry.

On the contrary, Wu Jing was very frank. Back then, all the movies he acted in in Hong Kong were movies. It was only after returning to the mainland that he could only start with TV series because he lacked resources.

Whether they were nervous or at ease, they didn't want to miss this great opportunity.

It was only from the script reading session that they discovered Wu Yang was neither arrogant as a child who had achieved fame at a young age, nor as unapproachable as they had imagined.

Wu Yang was present throughout the 8-day script reading session because the script lines needed to be revised in real time.

All the cast and crew members, including them, communicated with Wu Yang, whether they were veteran actors or not.

Even when facing students at the Beijing Film Academy, Wu Yang's attitude remained gentle, and any good suggestions he made were adopted.

As veterans of the entertainment industry, these five future top stars in the "uncle" circle may not have had much contact with famous directors.

I also learned about the habits of several big directors through various channels, such as Zhang Yimou's taciturnity, Feng Xiaogang's ruthlessness, Chen Kaige's autocratic style, and Ning Hao's love of money.

In contrast, Wu Yangjian is talkative and cheerful, and he dotes on Liu Yifei. He also maintains a proper distance from the various female students from the Beijing Film Academy and the glamorous female hosts, and never oversteps his bounds.

During script readings, he would often treat everyone to meals out of his own pocket, but he wouldn't bring Liu Yifei if it was a men's gathering.

Whenever there was a girl at the table, she would bring Liu Yifei with her.

After eight days of getting to know each other, the five future top figures in the "uncle" circle all agreed that Wu Yang was a person worth befriending.

They were also worth getting to know better, so when they learned that Wu Yang wanted to give Li Youbin a farewell party and asked them to accompany him, they readily agreed.

Wu Yang also highly approves of these five future top figures in the "uncle" circle, both in terms of their character and their work.

Wu Yang will not invite any celebrity whose career is about to collapse, no matter how famous they are.

Being invited by Wu Yang to act in a film, even if it's just a small supporting role, shows that the film won't collapse in the future.

Becoming friends with a complete stranger is actually quite simple; a few drinks are all it takes to turn them into drinking buddies.

As for whether they can become friends or even best friends, that depends on their character.

After all, it's easy for adults to make friends, fair-weather friends are easy, good friends are a bit difficult, and true friends are extremely difficult.

Friends like Zhang Jiayi and Liu Yijun, who have remained close friends since their humble beginnings and achieved great success, are a testament to this.

They are a minority in the entertainment industry; most drift apart due to their respective status and competition.

People like Wu Jing are actually quite similar to Liu Yifei. They became famous as soon as they debuted, but were rejected by their peers. They also couldn't make friends with people much older than them, so over time they could only make friends with people outside the entertainment industry.

"Director Wu, it's a pleasure to meet you. Please feel free to contact me if you need anything. See you later!"

Slightly drunk, Li Youbin was helped into the car by his assistant and said goodbye to Wu Yang outside the car.

"Take care, Brother Li, let's meet again sometime."

Wu Yang waved with a flushed face, and only returned to the hotel after the car drove away, since the party wasn't over yet.

Lee Yoo-bin is too old to drink much, but the five future top uncles in the entertainment circle still haven't had enough to drink.

Wu Yang invited them to keep him company. Although he didn't consider them outsiders, he couldn't just leave as soon as Li Youbin was gone.

Wu Yang understood this basic social etiquette.

When Wu Yang returned to the private room, he found that the wine bottles on the table had been cleared away by the waiter.

"You seem a little unsteady on your feet. You have action scenes to film tomorrow, so let's not drink. I've ordered some staple food. Let's go back to sleep after we finish eating."

Zhang Jiayi is the oldest among the five top male celebrities and is also the most familiar with Wu Yang, so she speaks very casually.

Hearing Zhang Jiayi's words, Wu Yang felt a warmth in his heart and smiled, "Then thank you five brothers for going easy on me. I'll have a good drink with you all after filming wraps up!"

"It's a deal!"

"It's a deal!"

"I think it's a good idea!"

Wu Jing and the others started making a fuss. Although they could still drink, they really shouldn't drink too much for tomorrow's action scenes.

Since we've already established a friendship, there's plenty of time for us to get together in the future. We all work and live in the capital, so getting together shouldn't be too difficult.

Most importantly, although "Journey to the West: The Love Story" is mainly about love, it spent so much money on special effects.

The storyline includes the war between demons and monsters, the battle between the demon race and the human race, and the magnificent and colorful world of the Three Realms.

Therefore, there are many action scenes, even if it's just silly self-gesturing in front of a green screen, it still counts as an action scene.