Huayu: Starting with Hijacking from "The Story of a Noble Family"

Almost two hours later, the bus stopped in front of the Tianjin Astor Hotel.

The Astor Hotel was originally built in 1863 and was renovated by Li Hongzhang in 1886 into the most luxurious hotel in Tianjin at the time. It was renovated again a few years ago, preserving cultural relics such as the Victorian-style decorative wooden staircase and the early Otis elevator.

This hotel will not only serve as the residence for the main actors, but also as one of the filming locations.

Xu Heng got out of the car and went to the front desk with the others to check in.

Afterwards, I went to my room and tidied up a bit.

He stayed in a luxury suite, which is the treatment the male lead should receive.

After tidying up, I glanced at the time and saw it was already 7 p.m., so I went down to the hotel lobby.

After a while, the other main actors who were staying there also arrived, and under the arrangement of the production crew, they took a car to the nearby hotel where the producer and director were staying.

Filming will officially begin tomorrow, so there will be a launch banquet later. The producers, directors, screenwriters, assistant directors, etc., will not be staying at the same hotel as the actors.

As for ordinary staff, they naturally stay in ordinary hotels or guesthouses.

A dozen minutes later, Xu Heng and the others arrived at the location.

The producers and directors are definitely the last to arrive; the ordinary staff have already arrived.

A little while later, the producer, director, and others arrived, and the opening banquet officially began.

As the male lead, Xu Heng naturally sat at the main table, where he was joined by three familiar faces: producer You Jianming, director Li Dawei, and screenwriter Liu Guoquan; the female lead Dong Jie; the male lead's father Kou Zhenhai; the male lead's mother Wu Jing; and an assistant director.

Xu Heng ate a little something, chatted casually with the others at the table, and then went back to the hotel. The other main actors did the same.

After all, filming starts early tomorrow morning, and they all have scenes to shoot.

The next morning, before dawn, Xu Heng got up.

After having breakfast at the hotel, we boarded a bus to the filming location.

He also took out the script on the way; the shooting schedule for today had been issued yesterday.

The filming location was Yangcun Film and Television Base. The interior of Jin Mansion was built here, while the exterior scenes were filmed at Tianjin University of Foreign Languages.

"Xiao Xu is very hardworking!"

Seeing Xu Heng like this, Kou Zhenhai, who plays Jin Quan, the father of the male lead, chuckled.

He is nearly 50 years old, and his most famous role is undoubtedly Lu Zhenhua, the father of Xiao Yanzi and Ziwei in "Romance in the Rain".

He didn't have any objections to the fact that the male lead was a newcomer; he just needed to do his job well.

However, he certainly hopes that Xu Heng's acting skills won't be too bad, so that everyone can save trouble and avoid having to reshoot repeatedly.

If the show does well, everyone benefits!

"Teacher Kou, this is what I should do; after all, this is my first time acting!"

Xu Heng smiled as well.

Normally, he doesn't want to offend others for no reason, unless they offend him.

Hearing their conversation, Dong Jie's expression changed slightly.

This wasn't her first film, but it was only her second.

Moreover, as a "Zhang Yimou girl", she is now paired with a newcomer, who is a student without any background, so she can't help but feel a little dissatisfied.

Although Xu Heng was cast as the male lead first, she was cast as the female lead later.

"Xiao Xu has such great looks, and her debut role is the lead. Plus, she's a student at the Beijing Film Academy. Her future is limitless. She might even become a star after this drama airs!"

This time, it was Wu Jing, who played Mrs. Jin, the mother of the male lead, who spoke up. She had a pretty good impression of Xu Heng, much better than she had of the female lead, Dong Jie!

Dong Jie's expression changed again.

Her first film was also a leading role, and it was a Zhang Yimou film, co-starring with "King of Comedy" Benshan and veteran "Best Actor" Li Xuejian.

The movie has already been released, but she's not even close to being famous, let alone popular. Her fame isn't much higher than that of Xu Heng, a complete newcomer!

She's not like Xu Heng, who has formal training in acting!

"Then I'll take advantage of Professor Wu's kind words!"

Xu Heng was still smiling, but how could he not know Kou Zhenhai and Wu Jing's intentions?

At yesterday's opening banquet, Dong Jie, the female lead, only had eyes for the producer, director, and screenwriter. She was somewhat perfunctory towards the assistant director, let alone the two supporting actors, Kou Zhenhai and Wu Jing.

It's normal for Kou Zhenhai and Wu Jing, as veteran actors, to feel unhappy, so they're just using him as a tool!

However, the assistant director really didn't have much power on set, let alone the two supporting actors.

The entertainment industry never looks at seniority, only at current popularity and whether one has resources and power.

Dong Jie was able to appear on the Spring Festival Gala twice, and the second time she was able to become the future Chef Xie's "bride". Later, she became a "Zhang Yimou girl".

It's impossible to say that he didn't have any powerful backers!

Of course, Dong Jie didn't take him seriously either, but he was the same way.

Dong Jie, who is only 22 years old now, is indeed quite beautiful, and her temperament as a top-notch innocent girl is also outstanding. Otherwise, she would not have become a sensation in her previous life with the role of Leng Qingqiu.

Unfortunately, he is not tall, his body proportions are average, and he is somewhat thin.

Not to mention that in her previous life she cheated on her husband with an ugly man and then turned around and accused him.

"hehe……"

Noticing Xu Heng's gaze and his utterly unashamed attitude, Wu Jing knew perfectly well that her and Kou Zhenhai's feelings for each other had not been kept secret from anyone.

Knowing that Xu Heng looked young but wasn't so easily fooled, Kou Zhenhai could only give an awkward smile and remain silent.

Nearly an hour later, the bus arrived at Yangcun Film and Television Base.

At this time, the set design and lighting staff had already arrived on site and started working, and the makeup team had also arrived.

Xu Heng and the others first arrived at the dressing room. As the male lead, he naturally had his own private dressing room, and his makeup artist was also his own.

Upon seeing Xu Heng, Liu Changzhen, the male lead's personal makeup artist, immediately smiled and said, "Little Xu is here!"

Good morning, First Clinic Sister!

Xu Heng greeted him with a smile and sat down to begin applying makeup.

Liu Changzhen is a well-known makeup artist in the industry, a senior makeup artist at Beijing Film Studio, and a national senior makeup artist. She is known in the industry as "Sister Yizhen". She has done makeup for actors in many films and TV series, such as the 87 version of "Dream of the Red Chamber", Chen Kaige's "Farewell My Concubine", Wong Kar-wai's "Ashes of Time", Stephen Chow's "Forbidden City Cop", and Zhang Yimou's "The Road Home".

On the day of the final audition, Liu Changzhen did his makeup and styling. Later, when he tried on costumes and had his makeup done, the two met several more times and are now quite familiar with each other.

Most importantly, Xu Heng was very generous. The LV bag worth more than 10,000 yuan that Liu Changzhen had placed on the dressing table was a gift from him, which was almost equivalent to Liu Changzhen's monthly income.

The key is that you can only earn such a high income if you get work from film crews. If you do makeup for a stage play, more than 10,000 yuan can be equivalent to two or three months' income, not to mention that you can use that much money to buy a bag!