Huayu: Starting with living with a girl from Taiwan

Chapter 125 Lin Mo, can you handle the next move?

Monday, the filming location of "Kung Fu Dunk" in Taipei.

The huge basketball arena of the sports center was booked by the film crew and set up as the venue for the game in the movie.

Filming in mainland China has been completed, and the crew has moved to Taipei to film the remaining main scenes, especially several key basketball game scenes.

So there are quite a lot of people on set today.

Before filming began, Lin Mo, Zhou Jielun, Chen Chuhe, Liu Genghong, and others were warming up by shooting hoops.

"Clang!"

Lin Mo took a shot from the free-throw line, but the basketball bounced off the front of the rim and flew away.

"Ouch, Lin Mo,"

Zhou Jie dribbled the ball over, a teasing smile on his face. "Have you been slacking off on practice lately? I remember your shooting was pretty accurate before, not like when we played one-on-one."

"Bang!" Jay Chou said, casually making a mid-range jump shot, which went in off the backboard. He raised his eyebrows triumphantly.

"Boom~"

Lin Mo missed another shot, then said, "On the contrary, it's because I've been hitting the ball too much..."

'

"Stop talking nonsense~ You acted in 'Hot Shot', tell me how you did the moves in the air later, the wires are making me uncomfortable..."

'

As Jay Chou was speaking, director Zhu Yanping notified everyone to gather and prepare for the official start of filming.

The first part mainly involves filming scenes featuring Lin Mo as Xiao Lan.

There are many shots showcasing ball skills and personal charm.

After filming began, Lin Mo's performance surprised and delighted Zhu Yanping.

Lin Mo seemed to instantly get into character in front of the camera.

His dribbling was sharp, his shooting motion fluid and graceful, and the disdainful yet arrogant smile he gave when provoked was captivating. Even his slightly aloof yet composed demeanor when accepting autographs from cheering female fans during a break on the sidelines...

Everything was handled perfectly.

The character of Xiao Lan is defined as a "pretty boy on the court" with outstanding basketball skills, handsome appearance, and an idol aura.

o

The kind of person who gets chased by female fans asking for autographs when they're out and about.

This kind of character design was a piece of cake for Lin Mo, who had just honed his skills on the set of "Hot Shot" and was also blessed with a sense of camera presence from the system.

"Cut! That was great! Lin Mo, you're maintaining a good form!"

Zhu Yanping looked at the close-up of Lin Mo on the monitor and couldn't help but nod in approval.

Many young actors tend to be stiff or overact in front of the camera, but Lin Mo's performance is very smooth and natural.

It has the charm of the character without being greasy.

In contrast, Chen Chuhe, who played Ding Wei, encountered some difficulties during the subsequent filming process.

Ding Wei is a complex character who experienced setbacks, became addicted to alcohol and became decadent, but later recovered with the help of the protagonist.

Chen Chuhe did a lot of research for this role in private, studying the character's psychology and practicing the state of decadence.

But when he was actually in front of the camera, facing the director and a large crew, he always felt a little restrained, his acting was a bit too obvious, or his emotional transitions were not natural enough, and he often stumbled over his words.

"Cut! Chu He, relax a little..." Zhu Yanping patiently instructed.

I took a few more shots, but the results were still not ideal.

Chen Chuhe himself was also somewhat anxious and frustrated.

Zhu Yanping, being experienced, could tell that Chu He needed to adjust his condition, so he waved his hand and said, "Chu He, you take a rest first. Teacher Zeng Zhiwei, come over and film a few clips of you and Jie Lun."

Chen Chuhe nodded, silently walked to the side of the stage and sat down, holding the script and frowning as he studied it. There were also instructors coming over to give him acting advice.

However, Chen Chuhe wouldn't listen.

Lin Mo actually felt that Chen Chuhe was quite suitable for playing a role like Xiao Lan, where all he had to do was look cool.

But replacing him now is clearly unlikely.

Lin Mo then walked over and sat down, sharing his impression of the character [Ding Wei] with Chen Chuhe, based on the effect that Da Ren Ge had created in the past, combined with his own analysis.

There's also the immersive acting technique I learned from "Grandpa" in the "The Ultimate Family" drama crew.

And also your own feelings about the camera.

I don't care about this or that, I'm just going to go for it!

He poured everything into Chen Chuhe, leaving it to him to decide how much he could understand or what use it would be.

At first, most of the staff and other actors around them didn't take it too seriously when they saw Lin Mo go over to "discuss the scene" with Chen Chuhe.

Lin Mo is younger than Chen Chuhe. Although he has acted in two more dramas than Chen Chuhe, he is not very experienced and is not a professionally trained acting teacher.

What can he guide?

Everyone just thought it was a discussion and encouragement among the young actors, or Lin Mo kindly comforting Chen Chuhe who was feeling a bit frustrated.

However, what happened next surprised everyone.

When Chen Chuhe adjusted his state and stood in front of the camera again, his performance was completely different from before!

In the following performances, Chen Chuhe maintained a stable performance, even getting better and better.

He really brought out the character Ding Wei's struggles and inner conflicts in the early stages!

The crew quieted down considerably, and many eyes involuntarily turned to Lin Mo, who was quietly drinking water on the sidelines.

Everyone saw Lin Mo giving Chen Chuhe acting instructions just now. Could it really be effective?

Is Lin Mo really that knowledgeable about opera?

That's too weird.

Several on-set acting coaches who had been standing by, instructing the actors, now had somewhat subtle expressions, even appearing somewhat lost in thought.

I experienced a brief period of self-doubt.

They had just tried to guide Chen Chuhe, explaining his background, analyzing his motivations, and demonstrating his actions.

But the results didn't seem to be as immediate as Lin Mo's previous exchanges.

"Is it because we haven't acted in so long that we've forgotten how to teach others, relying solely on theory?"

In any case, the news spread like wildfire throughout the "Kung Fu Dunk" crew.

Over the next few days of filming, Lin Mo was consistently efficient and steady in completing his own scenes, but he was often bothered by Chen Chuhe with questions.

Lin Mo didn't hold back and said everything that needed to be said.

There's a scene where Li Tian, ​​played by Liu Genghong, says to Ding Wei, played by Chen Chuhe, during a free throw, "You must be having a tough time being pressured by me all this time."

"Actually, I've also 'slept with' your girlfriend."

Lao Liu had some trouble with this scene.

This muscular man seemed a bit reserved.

Lin Mo's mini-class has begun again.

He chatted away with Coach Liu for a long time, and Liu Genghong looked enlightened.

The following performance not only imitated Lin Mo's cheeky essence, but also added a line in the latter half of the dialogue: "Actually, you... I've also dominated you, it was very smooth~"

Zhu Yanping thought Liu Genghong's performance was great and praised him in front of everyone, saying that they would use this scene!

After several repetitions, everyone in the crew, from the director and screenwriter to the production assistants and lighting technicians, looked at Lin Mo with more curiosity and admiration.

Privately, someone started calling him "Director Lin," and the nickname gradually spread throughout the crew.

"Coach Lin, do you think my positioning later will look good on camera?"

"Coach Lin, do you think it would be better if I toned down the emotion in that line a bit?"

"Go away, stop yelling! Coach Lin was just being polite, you guys took it seriously!"

Liu Genghong and Chen Chuhe would sometimes jokingly help Lin Mo out of a predicament.

Anyway, after these few days of filming, Lin Mo has become quite popular with the crew of "Kung Fu Dunk".

The first-week sales figures for the EP "I Am Zeng Peici" have been released.

A total of 41,000 tickets were sold in Taiwan over seven days.

The total number across Asia was 260,000.

It's worth noting that Tsai E-ling's "Agent J" only sold a few hundred thousand copies in Taiwan, and that was still the top-selling book of the year.

For a newcomer who has just debuted, these statistics are nothing short of phenomenal.

Of course, Lin Mo estimated that the maximum amount he would get after that would be around 80,000 or 90,000.

In contrast, HIM International Music's "Garden Elf," which they poured massive resources into, flopped so badly it was unrecognizable.

It sold for less than 15,000 in Taiwan and less than 100,000 in all of Asia.

When Wu Laoba saw the report, he was so angry that he kicked the money tree in his office askew.

"Hold!"

I should have used the money I spent on promotion to buy albums; the numbers would have looked much better!

He felt a sharp pain in his chest from holding his breath.

Fortunately, HIM International Music has many artists.

This week they've already started promoting Yang Zongwei's solo album, which he recently signed.

After Yang Chong Wei was eliminated, Wu Laoba quickly signed a contract, which can be considered as doing a good job.

The album "Pigeon" was completed in a rush, and these songs were all collected by HIM International Music from musicians in Taiwan.

The title track, "Pigeon," was even arranged by Jay Chou's go-to arranger, Michael Lin.

Wu Laoba's plan is:

Riding on the wave of popularity from the final episode of "Super Star Avenue," the first solo album by Yang Zongwei, a member of the Super Star Avenue team, was released immediately after the show ended.

Next, HIM International Music plans to release a group album featuring the signed members of the Super Idol group.

Each of the top ten contestants will sing a song, which will make up a total of ten songs for an album.

Oh no, it should be the top eleven, ten songs.

This naturally does not include Lin Mo.

Wu Laoba was very self-aware; there was no possibility of cooperation between HIM International Music and Lin Mo anymore.

Unless one party admits fault first.

But how could HIM International Music bow down to a newcomer?

Just as HIM International Music was putting all its effort into promoting "Pigeon" and releasing press releases everywhere, Wu Laoba's assistant knocked on the door and came in: "Mr. Wu, I just saw the news that Comic International Music's new album by Hsiao Ching-teng... is also scheduled to be released next Monday."

Wu Laoba stared at his assistant without saying a word for a long time.

Then, he smirked and gave a cold laugh.

"Good, good, good—Lin Mo, you really know how to pick your timing."

He picked up the cigarette pack on the table, took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth, but didn't light it. Then he took it off and twirled the cigarette butt between his fingers.

"Who did they source the songs for this album from? Li Sisong or Li Weisong? Or did they source them from mainland China?"

The assistant shook his head: "I haven't heard anything about them looking for songs outside. Sony's channels haven't reported any new song and music purchase records either."

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Wu Laoba stopped flicking his cigarette.

He slowly raised his head, his eyes widening little by little, the whites of his eyes still showing bloodshot veins from not sleeping well for the past few days.

"Didn't you ask anyone to collect the songs?"

"You mean, all the songs on Hsiao Ching-teng's album were written by Lin Mo?!"

The assistant also felt that this was a bit outrageous.

A young man in his early twenties, juggling intense competitions and filming, still manages to maintain this level of creative efficiency.

Do they really think they're Jay Chou?

Jay Chou wrote fifty songs in ten days back then, and it was with Vincent Fang's help that he was able to write them.

But according to the information he received, that should be the truth.

The assistant could only nod reluctantly: "Currently... depending on the situation, this is the only possibility."

Wu Laoba didn't say anything, put the cigarette back in the cigarette case, and leaned back heavily on the leather chair.

He stared at the ceiling, his mind starting to analyze.

He admitted that he lost to Zeng Peici in the previous game [Garden Elf].

Firstly, that group had been inactive for too long, and their popularity was already low:

Secondly, the songs on the album are indeed mediocre, with no works by famous artists.

It can be said that he failed because of his "work".

But this time is different.

Yang Zongwei is the person who defeated Xiao Jingteng head-on in "Super Star Avenue"!

Although we only won once, a win is a win.

In terms of popularity, Yang Chong Wei has come all the way from the preliminary rounds and has quite a few die-hard fans.

In this respect, the two are about equal.

Most importantly, this album, titled "Pigeon," was personally overseen by him, costing a lot of money and utilizing the best resources that HIM International Music could mobilize to create it.

Besides the title track "Pigeon," the album also includes songs written by established musicians such as Huang Yunling and Zhou Chuanxiong.

The entire album's musical style was tailor-made for Yang Zongwei's soulful voice.

It can amplify the storytelling and explosive power in his voice to the extreme.

If—if Jam Hsiao's album really was produced entirely by Lin Mo...

Thinking of this, Wu Laoba's lips slowly cracked upwards, revealing a smile that was a mixture of ruthlessness and excitement.

Lin Mo, this isn't the stage of the beginner village in "Super Star Avenue".

This time, you're not facing the same contestants as you from the Super Idol group.

Instead, it's Huang Yunling, Zhou Chuanxiong, Lin Maike... mentors who can sit on the judging panel!

How can you, a mere twenty-something kid, challenge the works of these seasoned, market-tested producers with a song written by yourself?

You can't possibly have every song be that hit, right?

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