Huayu Entertainment: The Birth of a Succubus Top Star

In order to persuade Zhao Jinmai to participate in the filming, Guo Fan had assured her parents that he would tutor her in her studies while on set.

He also boasted about how many highly educated people were in the production crew.

As a result, a lot of people were completely lost when they first started using it.

When Gu Zhiyan arrived, Guo Fan and the others dumped the headache of tutoring Zhao Jinmai on him and dispersed.

"Brother, sometimes I don't understand what they're saying. Can you explain it to me?"

Zhao Jinmai blinked her big eyes, looking at Gu Zhiyan with anticipation.

Fourteen or fifteen years old is the age when people start idolizing celebrities, and Zhao Jinmai's idol is Gu Zhiyan. She is a die-hard fan of Gu Zhiyan.

She has collected a huge amount of Gu Zhiyan's posters, albums...

With Gu Zhiyan joining the crew, Zhao Jinmai could get up close to her idol and even receive personal guidance from him. She was overjoyed.

"Ahem, of course, no problem. Let me take a look at your textbook first."

Faced with the adorable little girl's expectant and trusting eyes, Gu Zhiyan certainly couldn't show any fear.

To be honest, after looking at the homework that needed tutoring, Gu Zhiyan understood why a group of highly educated people were having such a hard time.

You need to use junior high school knowledge to solve junior high school problems, and you can't go beyond the syllabus.

High school is probably the peak of most people's knowledge accumulation in their lifetime!

High school seniors are knowledgeable in astronomy and geography, can read classical Chinese poems, and can solve geometry problems.

Those who get into university spend most of their time playing games or dating, and gradually forget most of what they learned in high school.

Those who didn't get into university have entered the workforce and are now focused on making money; what they learned in high school has long since vanished into thin air.

Even highly educated people can only specialize in one area, and have basically forgotten about other subjects.

This could lead to situations like those encountered by the "Wandering Earth" production team, where the knowledge they possess is too advanced to be compatible with lower-level concepts.

Fortunately, Gu Zhiyan has an exceptional memory; she hasn't forgotten much of her previous knowledge, and she can basically memorize the junior high school knowledge points just by flipping through the textbook.

After tutoring Zhao Jinmai, the little girl looked at Gu Zhiyan with admiration: "Brother, you're so amazing! You're much better than those uncles. I can understand everything you say."

To be honest, Gu Zhiyan found this kind of gaze quite pleasing; it was a gaze devoid of any impurities.

Gu Zhiyan didn't explain why she couldn't understand what the group of middle-aged men were saying; she figured she wouldn't understand anyway.

"Those uncles are really capable too. You read your book for a while, I'll go find the director."

When Gu Zhiyan found Guo Fan, she immediately mocked him.

Although he knew the reason, it didn't stop him from making sarcastic remarks.

Guo Fan didn't feel embarrassed at all, and even said with a smile, "It's good that you're here. You've done me a great favor. From now on, I'll leave Xiao Jinmai's homework to you."

"Then should I get another salary?" Gu Zhiyan joked.

"I have no money, but you can take my life!" Guo Fan said, adopting a "dead pig doesn't fear boiling water" attitude.

"Oh dear, I'm really at a huge loss then."

"Haha, you're an investor in this movie, which helps save costs. Come on, let me show you around and show you our results."

After going around the set, even though she had seen the movie "The Wandering Earth" in her previous life, Gu Zhiyan was still deeply shocked by everything about the film crew.

The space station's core module, the astronaut training module, the internal structure of the Earth engine, the underground city and steering wheel of the transport vehicle...

The production team also used the terminal building of Qingdao Liuting Airport, which is now closed and about to be relocated, to build the core scene of "Frozen Shanghai".

Adhering to the prop design philosophy of "real-life locations preferred over CGI," the film is imbued with unparalleled realism and weight through a large number of physical props.

The production team built several complete transport vehicles with different functions. The vehicle designs were inspired by mining trucks and armored vehicles, emphasizing sturdiness and practicality.

The interior is complex, featuring a real, operable steering wheel, buttons, and screens.

Designed and built by a professional company, the exoskeleton armor is not just a simple garment, but a movable metal frame with a sophisticated mechanical structure, weighing tens of kilograms.

Each spacesuit costs between 40 and 80 RMB and features a complex mechanical structure and lighting system, resulting in excellent visual effects.

These props abandon smoothness and flamboyance, emphasizing "usability" and "durability" in extreme environments. They have a rough sense of practicality, structural and mechanical beauty, and a sense of vicissitude and the beauty of the traces of time, full of the romance of heavy industry.

The crew's dedication and pursuit of excellence are evident in the set design and props; the success of "The Wandering Earth" is no accident.

The subsequent filming made Gu Zhiyan realize that not only were the sets and props meticulously crafted, but the entire crew and actors were working incredibly hard.

Director Guo Fan often only gets 2-4 hours of sleep a day.

He also personally revised the storyboards and concept designs.

His office and bedroom were covered with storyboards and concept art. He would work as soon as he woke up, and if he got sleepy, he would take a nap before continuing.

His routine on set was "filming during the day, holding meetings at night, and editing photos in the early morning."

Due to limited budget and lack of experience, he not only directed but also often acted as a producer, planner, and even personally modified props and adjusted scenes, participating in every aspect of the process.

Guo Fan is more like a professional manager than a director.

"The Wandering Earth" involves 3000 concept design drawings, 8000 storyboard sketches, 10000 props, and the management and coordination of a large number of special effects shots. Traditional directors who focus more on the artistic aspects of script, acting, and cinematography would definitely not be able to handle it.

Guo Fan possesses strong project management skills; he plans, allocates resources, and controls schedules and costs like a CEO.

Of course, we cannot ignore his core artistic pursuits as a "director".

His uniqueness lies in his deep integration of the rationality of a "manager" and the sensibility of a "director".

In fact, this was out of necessity. Given the underdeveloped state of China's film industry, he had no choice but to do the work that should have been supported by a mature industrial system.

He didn't want to be a manager, but the environment forced him to become such an "all-around" leader.

If Gu Zhiyan hadn't known what would happen next, she would have been worried that he would suddenly die one day.

The actors also had a tough time, as they had to wear "space suits" weighing 60 to 70 kilograms while filming.

These clothes are very troublesome to put on or take off, and sometimes require the help of two or three people to complete, so even during breaks, they cannot be taken off.

This also made going to the toilet a hassle, and to solve this problem, everyone wore adult diapers.

This feels like a return to my childhood!