The Rise of Chinese Entertainment in 2008

When Gu Ning said she was going out for a late-night snack, the crew cheered.

"Stop howling and hurry up and pack your things. If it gets too late, we'll only be able to eat at roadside stalls," Gu Ning said with a laugh.

"Street stalls are just street stalls. I feel that the food at those open-air food stalls tastes better than some big restaurants."

"No, that won't do. Young Master Liu is paying today, we can't let him get away with this."

"Ha ha…"

After resting for a while, Wang Baoqiang went to help, but Gu Ning gave him a couple of words of advice and then left him alone.

"Senior Brother Gu, Senior Brother Liu."

While Gu Ning and Liu Sanxi were talking, Hao Hao came over and said, "Tian Tian isn't feeling well, so we'd like to head back first."

Upon hearing this, Gu Ning looked at Jing Tian, ​​who was not far away. When he saw that Gu Ning was looking at him, Jing Tian quickly lowered his head.

"It's so late, how can we sleep if we don't eat something before going home?"

Liu Sanxi said, "I'll go talk to Jing Tian."

Hao Hao glanced at Gu Ning and then chased after her.

"nailed it."

After about ten minutes, Liu Sanxi found Gu Ning and said, "I managed to keep him here. How are you going to thank me?"

"Thank you my ass."

Gu Ning said disdainfully, "I wonder who it is, always trying to get close to Hao Hao whenever they get the chance. Last time she was dumped, she drowned her sorrows in alcohol, acting all lovey-dovey. And now, just a few days later, she already has a new target?"

"You don't understand. As Mr. Lu Xun said, the best way to forget a relationship is to start a new one."

Liu Sanxi whispered, "What do you mean I was dumped? That's a breakup. You're not allowed to say that in front of them."

"When did Lu Xun ever say that? And breakup? Was it a one-sided breakup?"

Gu Ning said disdainfully, "Get back to work. I can't be bothered to talk about your petty squabbles."

"I can't reason with someone like you who's never been in a relationship," Liu Sanxi muttered as he walked away.

"Only a fool would want to be in a relationship." Gu Ning shook her head.

Half an hour later, the crew packed up and headed to the seafood porridge shop that Liu Sanxi had booked.

This congee shop, named Yipinxian, has two floors and mainly serves seafood congee, as well as various snacks and desserts.

When they arrived, it was already four in the morning, and there were no other customers in the porridge shop.

After everyone ordered their food, they found seats and sat down.

Gu Ning, Liu Sanxi, and Jing Tian sat at a four-person table.

"Director Gu, what do you think of Hao Hao and my performance just now?" Jing Tian asked.

"That's good, and these two roles don't require much acting skill," Gu Ning said.

"..."

Hao Hao gritted his teeth and said, "The last sentence could actually be omitted."

"Ha ha."

Gu Ning laughed and said, "Just kidding. But I suggest you do more TV dramas in the future and don't rush into movies. Even if you do act in movies, don't play the lead role."

Why?

Hao Hao asked doubtfully, "Isn't film a better way to showcase acting?"

Jing Tian looked at Gu Ning with a puzzled expression. Her company's plan for her was to first gain fame through singing, and then act in movies.

As a result, her EP failed to make a splash, and her movie flopped.

The company then gave her a role in a TV series, but it was just an experiment and not a concrete plan.

Gu Ning, however, advised them to focus on acting in television dramas rather than movies.

"Because there's a big difference between movies and TV series, they require a higher level of acting skills," Gu Ning said.

"Senior Brother Gu, aren't you just indirectly saying we have no acting skills?" Hao Hao said irritably.

"You have too little experience and knowledge."

Gu Ning shook his head and said, "Art originates from life. For example, if I ask you to play a character who can cook, but you've never even cooked, how can you act well?"

"But actors play different roles, so they can't possibly know all of them, can they?" Hao Hao countered.

"The experience and knowledge I'm referring to don't mean you have to actually know them just by talking about them."

Gu Ning smiled and asked, "Does Emperor Hui of Jin know?"

Upon hearing this, the two shook their heads. They did know something about emperors like Emperor Wu of Han and Emperor Taizong of Tang.

The only clue is that he was from the Jin Dynasty.

You've all heard the saying, "Why not eat meat porridge?"

"I've heard of it!"

The two nodded.

"Meat porridge is also known as meat congee."

Gu Ning said, "When a natural disaster occurred, a minister submitted a memorial saying that the people were suffering from the disaster and could not get enough to eat. We must provide disaster relief immediately, otherwise the people would rebel."

Upon hearing this, Emperor Hui of Jin asked in bewilderment, "Since the people are starving, why don't they eat meat porridge?"

Hao Hao chuckled and said, "What a foolish emperor! He can't even afford rice, so how could he afford meat porridge?"

"Many people in later generations did indeed call him a foolish emperor because of this."

Gu Ning said, "But Emperor Hui of Jin wasn't stupid; it was a problem with his perception."

In his eyes, meat porridge was the worst thing, just like how ordinary people would think that the emperor was using a golden hoe to hoe the ground.

"With limited life experience, when trying to understand a character, one naturally brings in their own preconceived notions."

"I see."

Jing Tian said, "It's like how we can often lie to our parents because we know them so well and know how to lie to them."

Upon hearing this, Gu Ning and the other two looked at Jing Tian. Judging from her words, she had lied to her parents quite a bit.

"Am I wrong?"

Jing Tian felt a little nervous as the three people were watching her.

"You're right."

Gu Ning nodded and said, "Most children find it easier to lie to their parents because they know what to say that will make their parents believe them."

The same applies to playing certain roles; if you have a good understanding of the character, your expressions and body language during the performance will be just right.

"But if you act in a TV series, you might lack sufficient knowledge about the character's background and profession, and you'll face the same problem, won't you?" Jing Tian asked doubtfully.

"TV series are relatively long, and in most TV series, the growth and changes of the characters are based on a lot of plot development."

During filming, you can gradually get into character.

The movie is only one or two hours long, so there isn't much time or screen time for the actors to develop their skills.

"If the acting isn't good enough, the changes in the character will seem very abrupt," Gu Ning said.

The two nodded in sudden realization.

"Alright, let's stop talking about this."

Liu Sanxi laughed and said, "Tomorrow's filming is going to be very interesting. Would you two junior girls like to come along and check it out?"

"Senior Brother Liu, tell me, what's so interesting about it?" Hao Hao asked curiously.

Liu Sanxi explained the plot of tomorrow to the two men, who immediately became interested and expressed their desire to join the crew to see what was going on.

At this time, the porridge and snacks they ordered were also served, and the group ate and chatted.

By the time we finished eating and returned to the hotel, it was already daylight.

Gu Ning told everyone to go back to sleep quickly, as filming would begin at 2 PM.

……

After washing up in their room, Jing Tian and Hao Hao lay in bed but couldn't fall asleep at all.

"Senior Brother Gu is amazing, he knows so much."

"Yes, yes, your Senior Brother Gu is amazing. I'm so sleepy, let's go to sleep."

Hao Hao can barely keep his eyelids open; all he can think about is sleeping.

"What did you say?"

Jing Tian said, "As Senior Brother Liu said, Senior Brother Gu, as a new director, needs to be stricter in managing a film crew."

"You were feeling wronged before, but after Senior Brother Liu said that Senior Brother Gu is always like this, you immediately stopped being angry."

Hao Hao couldn't help but rub his forehead and say, "The books all say that women's IQ drops when they're in love, and now I believe it."

"I already said no," Jing Tian retorted weakly.

"Ha~"

Hao Hao yawned and said, "If there's no one, then there's no one. I'm going to sleep."

Jing Tian opened her mouth, but was too embarrassed to disturb Hao Hao. She thought about random things for a while, and then blushed and closed her eyes.