Run, Best Actor!

In October 2010, the short film "Old Boys," written, directed, and starring the Chopstick Brothers, garnered over 100 million views online within five days of its release. The film was hailed as a tribute to a generation's youth, and the Chopstick Brothers became the spokespeople for "nostalgia, youth, and dreams," winning the hearts of generations from the 1960s to the 1990s. The release of this short film brought them widespread fame.

However, short films are only popular online, and many people in reality do not approve of this type of film.

To truly become a director, you need to shoot a feature film first.

The transition from a short film to a full-fledged theatrical release may seem simple, but the difficulties involved are considerable.

In the past two years, the two have produced micro-films such as "The Winner" and "Father", and also participated in film and television works such as "Modern Times" and "Airplane Airplane". While accumulating fame and experience, they have also made friends with people from all walks of life in the film and television industry.

Their ambitions are quite grand. In the theatrical film, Xiao Dabao and Wang Xiaoshuai, these two old boys, are going to "cross the river like a dragon"—to have some fun in New York, the United States!

Therefore, the film needs more financial support.

Therefore, it is natural for wealthy patrons like Liu Taile to be eager to befriend him.

Moreover, they really liked the script for "The Thinker in a Wheelchair" and readily accepted Guo Fan's invitation.

Even their behind-the-scenes team joined the production, making the entire crew even stronger.

As far as Liu Taile knew, Guo Fan had even tried to negotiate the price with Xiao Yang and the others!

That guy's reasons were quite valid—

Firstly, since we are both alumni of the Beijing Film Academy, we should take care of each other.

Secondly, if the Chopstick Brothers' team doesn't have any work, it will also be a burden for Xiao Yang and Wang Taili.

Now Guo Fan is offering them jobs in a science fiction genre they've never worked with before, so participating in this project is like giving them training.

Xiao Yang and Wang Taili were probably confused by Guo Fan, and in the end they gave him a 20% discount.

Liu Taile was completely convinced by Guo Fan's words.

Guo Daji truly lived up to her reputation!

"I don't have much acting experience, so if there's anything I can't do during filming, please feel free to give me your guidance, Brother Xiao and Brother Wang."

Before the official filming began, Liu Taile spoke to Xiao Yang and Wang Taili.

"Oh, Brother Le, you're too kind. It's nothing."

Xiao Yang smiled, revealing her dimples. "Brother Le, relax, let's take it slow. Acting isn't difficult at all."

"That's right. Just imagine yourself as Wang Xiang in the script, imagine him becoming one with you, imagine what he should say and do in that kind of scene."

Wang Taili interjected, clearly indicating that the guidance was for the experiential learning approach.

He probably thought Liu Taile was an amateur who hadn't had much experience with acting before, so he figured he could just use the method of experiential learning.

Because this is the most effective way to perform.

"Yes, I wrote a short biography of the character before, so I think there shouldn't be any problems with that."

Liu Taile was also well prepared.

He knew he couldn't fight a battle he wasn't prepared for.

"Wow, it's written in such detail!"

After flipping through Liu Taile's "Wang Xiang's Biography," Xiao Yang praised, "Then there shouldn't be any problem, Brother Le. Brother Li and I will also take you with us when we're filming later."

"OK!"

Liu Taile made a hand gesture.

"Alright, all departments, take note! Scene 1, Shot 1 of 'The Thinker in a Wheelchair,' action!"

Guo Fan sat behind the monitor and announced the start of filming.

Gong Ge'er, who was also working as a stage manager, clapped the clapperboard while Liu Taile and the other two began their performance.

This scene took place in a melon field, where three people secretly went to steal melons.

"No, is it really okay for us to do this?"

Liu Taile, who plays Wang Xiang, asked hesitantly, "Is this theft? If we get caught, we'll have to go to the police station."

"Oh dear, how much can a melon be worth? It's not even enough to cover the cost of detention."

Xiao Yang, who plays Zhang Yong, squats in the melon field, patting the melons with her hands to pick out ripe ones, while replying to Wang Xiang.

"Exactly! We can just pay the melon farmer when he arrives!"

Wang Taili, who plays Li Gan, said the same thing while picking melons on the other side.

"It's settled then. If the melon farmer comes later, we'll just pay for it."

Wang Xiang said.

"Okay, okay!"

Zhang Yong didn't turn around, but waved his hand and replied, "Hey, I think this melon is perfect, definitely ripe, and sweet!"

"Mine is better, and bigger too!"

Li Gan over there also picked out a melon he liked.

"Hey you guys, what are you doing? Stealing my melons?"

Just then, the shouts of melon farmers suddenly came from afar.

"Oh no, they're here!"

"The wind's getting strong—time to get out of here!"

Upon hearing the reprimand, Zhang Yong and Li Gan actually ran away!

"No, hey you two, damn it, wait for me! I can't get out of this field!"

Wang Xiang cried out in despair, but those two scoundrels ran off without stopping.

Then, several melon farmers carrying pitchforks surrounded Wang Xiang.

"that……"

Looking at the melon farmers with their unfriendly expressions, Wang Xiang couldn't help but swallow hard.

For a moment, even the figure sitting in the wheelchair seemed to shrink.

He stammered, "I...I'll pay..."

"Great, that's awesome, that's a pass!"

Guo Fan's cheerful voice came from behind the monitor.

"Wow, Brother Le, that was a great performance!"

Xiao Yang walked back and exclaimed in surprise, "That one felt so silky smooth!"

"Yes, I didn't feel like we were acting at all."

Wang Taili echoed this sentiment, saying, "I initially thought our acting skills had suddenly improved, but upon closer inspection, something doesn't seem right."

"Oh, have we gotten carried away by Brother Le?"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Yang's eyes widened, and then she stared at Liu Taile.

"Hey, don't say that!"

Liu Taile quickly waved his hand and said, "It's probably because we played well this round."

But in his mind he was thinking: This master-level performance is really impressive!

"That performance was fantastic!"

Guo Fan walked over, clapping his hands, a bright smile on his face. "Brother Le, Brother Xiao, and Brother Wang, I just checked, there's nothing that needs changing, that one's on. A great start!"

Keep it up, you must keep this momentum going!

"Yes, we'll try our best to maintain that."

Xiao Yang replied, glancing at Liu Taile with a look of inquiry in her eyes.

He's not stupid; his sense of acting is actually much stronger than his sense of directing.

Overall, he would rate his own performance on the previous point as just average.

Wang Taili's acting skills are not as good as his.

In the past, at least one condition would have been acceptable.

These days, getting a perfect shot in one take is a talent that even the two "Chopstick Brothers" couldn't possess.

Judging from this, Liu Taile is quite an extraordinary young man!

It's one thing to be a gifted athlete, but now it seems he also has extremely high performing talent!

Now that he's entered the entertainment industry, he'll definitely become a prominent figure!

"Hey, by the way, Brother Le, where did the 'stealing melons' part come from?"

Wang Taili asked curiously, "This part is really funny."

"Yes, this is a story about Yu Hua, Mo Yan, and Shi Tiesheng (who was alive at the time) stealing melons together."

This scene in the actual script was clearly added by Liu Taile, and it originated from a short joke that circulated online in later years.

It tells the funny story of Yu Hua, Shi Tiesheng, and Mo Yan stealing watermelons together.

"Tie Sheng is very greedy. He was caught stealing watermelons, and Mo Yan and I ran away, but he stayed in the watermelon patch." — Yu Hua

"Yu Hua took me to steal watermelons. When we were discovered, he ran away and left me in the watermelon patch. He didn't treat me like a disabled person, nor did he treat me like a human being." — Shi Tiesheng

"Yu Hua is a terrible person. He took me and Tie Sheng to steal watermelons. After we were discovered, I wanted to push Tie Sheng away with me, but Yu Hua grabbed me and ran, leaving Tie Sheng alone in the watermelon field, like a badger that Runtu had targeted." — Mo Yan

The same event, viewed from different perspectives—doesn't it feel like Rashomon?

For a moment, many people believed it to be true, but then Xun Ge appeared.

"Later, Runtu told me that there was a very large badger in his watermelon field that wouldn't run away when it saw people." — Xun Ge

All I can say is that netizens are quite talented.

Shi Tiesheng criticized Yu Hua in his book, saying that he didn't treat him as a disabled person, but he also didn't treat him as a human being.

Then the story that follows.

If it weren't for the addition of Xun Ge (a famous Chinese comedian), this news could easily be mistaken for the truth.

"Alright, let's keep going and move on to another location to start filming the other scenes."

After Guo Fan and the others had rested enough, they spoke up.

"Alright!"

Everyone responded enthusiastically.

In Beijing, the filming of "The Thinker in a Wheelchair" is progressing smoothly.

Meanwhile, in Shanghai, the "Tiny Times" film crew ran into trouble.

The actor playing an important role is suddenly taken away by Uncle Hat for investigation.

More importantly, Uncle Hat later found leaves in his luggage!

And it's oil weighing over one kilogram!

Clearly, this guy is in big trouble!

Yes, it's that guy surnamed Ke.