The Rise of Chinese Entertainment in 2008

When Jing Tian and Hao Hao tasted the hot dry noodles, they both questioned the meaning of life.

Hao Hao asked suspiciously, "Why does it taste so bad? Could this place not be authentic?"

"It shouldn't be."

Jing Tian said, "Senior Brother Gu should know, so he didn't order it."

Hao Hao then realized what was happening and scolded, "Senior Brother Gu, you're so mean! Tian Tian dragged me all the way here to support you, not only did she not want any payment for her role, but she also paid for her own plane ticket, and you didn't even remind us."

"Hao Hao, what nonsense are you talking about?"

Jing Tian blushed and tugged at Hao Hao.

"It's not my fault. People are naturally curious. Even if I warned you, would you have believed me?" Gu Ning said.

Just like when he first arrived in Beijing, some people told him that douzhi (fermented mung bean juice) was unpalatable, while others said that douzhi was delicious.

Gu Ning couldn't resist trying it once.

Even if everyone says something tastes terrible, most people will still want to try it to see just how bad it is.

"Senior Brother Gu, is the Yellow Crane Tower not fun either?" Jing Tian asked.

"How so?"

Gu Ning pondered for a moment and said, "If you just want to enjoy the view of the Yangtze River, then you can go. But if you're going to see historical sites, then don't go. The current Yellow Crane Tower was built in 85, so it's not much older than ours."

"Forehead…"

Upon hearing this, the two were instantly disappointed; their desire to visit the Yellow Crane Tower stemmed from Li Bai's poem.

"Alright, order something else," Gu Ning said.

The two didn't insist and each ordered a bowl of noodles with soybean paste.

After dinner, Gu Ning led the two to the hotel where the film crew was staying.

"The conditions are so-so, I'm sorry to have to make do with the two junior students," Gu Ning said.

The film crew booked a very ordinary hotel, which wouldn't be considered bad by the average person.

However, those who can attend art schools come from relatively wealthy families, so for Jing Tian and her friends, the conditions were considered quite poor.

"It's okay, I've acted before, and I even stayed in a tent in the wild before," Jing Tian said nonchalantly.

"I'll take you to your room."

Gu Ning led the two to the room and then left.

Hao Hao closed the door and said with a smile, "Sweetie, Senior Brother Gu is quite considerate. He actually prepared a new set of bedding for us. I'm really benefiting from your kindness."

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

Jing Tian, ​​feeling somewhat embarrassed and annoyed, reached out and tickled her.

"ah…"

Hao Hao was ambushed and let out a scream, immediately retaliating.

The two wrestled in bed for a while, until Jing Tian, ​​exhausted, begged for mercy.

"Sweetie, you don't actually like Senior Brother Gu, do you?" Hao Hao asked.

"Don't talk nonsense."

Jing Tian shook her head and said, "I've only just met Senior Brother Gu. Wouldn't it be embarrassing if he heard us?"

"So you came all this way to play a role with only a few scenes?"

Hao Hao said, "As a newcomer, I need this kind of opportunity. You've already starred in a TV series and a movie, what's the point of playing this kind of role?"

"I came here to keep you company, didn't I? I knew I shouldn't have come," Jing Tian said reproachfully.

"Okay, okay, I was wrong."

Hao Hao said, "I'm going to take a shower and get some sleep. Senior Brother Gu said we'll be filming late tonight, and the scenes are quite important, so I need to be well-rested."

……

The entire crew was overjoyed to learn that two female students from the acting department had joined the production.

There were only two female makeup artists in the entire crew, and they were both of average appearance.

After dinner, Gu Ning called Xu Zheng, Wang Baoqiang, Jing Tian, ​​and Hao Hao over.

Both of them played airport staff members; one played the one checking in, and the other played the one conducting security checks.

Gu Ning explained the play to the four of them in detail, especially to Jing Tian and Hao Hao.

After working together for a while, he has come to highly approve of Xu Zheng and Wang Baoqiang's acting skills.

Jing Tian and Hao Hao are both considered newcomers.

The reason we say they are considered to be, is because both of them have acted, especially Jing Tian, ​​who starred in a movie before entering the Beijing Film Academy.

I recently finished filming a TV series, in which I also played the lead role.

But it's hard to say how good their acting skills are.

Although these two roles do not require high acting skills, they only need to keep smiling and say their lines.

However, the scene where Wang Baoqiang drinks milk can only be filmed once. If something goes wrong and it needs to be reshot, he won't be able to drink it anymore.

As for why Wang Baoqiang, whose identity has been changed to a construction worker, would still bring milk.

This is easy to arrange; just set it up so that his coworkers bought it for him before he left.

Faced with injustice, the workers were helpless and dared not go with Niu Geng to the contractor's hometown to demand their wages.

But they also hoped that Niu Geng could get his wages and help them get their wages as well.

Therefore, before Niu Geng set off, they bought him some food and drinks.

"Baoqiang, don't put too much pressure on yourself. It's okay even if this scene doesn't turn out well," Gu Ning said.

Actually, all that was needed for this scene was a camera cut. He remembered that in the original version, Wang Baoqiang had drunk about half of the wine when the camera cut to him.

This gives the audience the impression that even if they don't finish the bottle, such a big bottle is still impressive if they drink half of it.

Gu Ning felt that although switching the camera several times would weaken the effect, no one would take it seriously.

"No need, Director, I believe I can do it," Wang Baoqiang said firmly.

He came from humble beginnings and cherished every opportunity. Even though Gu Ning had said before that pretending to drink a little wouldn't have much of an impact.

But he still wanted to do his best.

Seeing that Wang Baoqiang still insisted, Gu Ning didn't try to persuade him anymore. It didn't make sense that the actors themselves had high standards, but he, as the director, had to lower them.

Next, Gu Ning carefully explained the play to the four of them and had them rehearse it several times.

Jing Tian tried several times but struggled to project that stunned, dumbfounded look, while Hao Hao did a much better job.

Gu Ning immediately assigned roles, with Jing Tian playing the staff member handling boarding passes and Hao Hao playing the security check staff member.

At 9 p.m., the film crew headed to the airport.

First, the scenes on the plane were filmed on an airplane, arranged by the airport.

Gu Ning simply hired a flight attendant from the flight crew to play the role of the flight attendant, mainly to save money.

After filming wrapped, the airport waiting area was deserted, so the crew moved to the waiting hall to continue filming.

During the filming of the scene where Niu Geng is checking in, Jing Tian burst out laughing, resulting in several takes.

Gu Ning was so angry that she almost cursed, but she held back and kept a cold face throughout the scene.

But the more she did this, the more nervous Jing Tian became, and her smile became very stiff during the shoot.

Gu Ning simply announced that she would take a break and let her rest.

After a ten-minute break, we took the photos again, and finally we got it right.

Next, they filmed the scene where Wang Baoqiang drinks milk.

I had to do a few takes at the beginning, but as long as I could get the part about drinking milk right on the first take, it was fine.

After Wang Baoqiang finished drinking his milk and Gu Ning called "cut," she quickly went over to him and asked with concern, "Baoqiang, are you alright?"

"I didn't..."

Wang Baoqiang chuckled and shook his head, but before he could finish speaking, he covered his mouth and ran to the trash can to vomit.

Everyone rushed over, and Gu Ning quickly shouted, "Call an ambulance!"

"No...no need...vomit..."

Wang Baoqiang waved his hand and vomited again.

After a while, he looked up, grinned, and said, "I will never drink milk again in my life."

Many of the extras playing passengers couldn't help but cry.

They didn't understand why Wang Baoqiang, a big star, would work so hard.

"Are you really alright?" Gu Ning asked.

"It's nothing, I just drank too much and it got stuck in my throat. I'll be fine once I throw it up," Wang Baoqiang said with a smile.

Gu Ning patted his shoulder, turned around and said, "Alright, the airport scene is finished. Pack up, Young Master Liu will treat everyone to a late-night snack."