Chinese entertainment: Top stars have no holidays

The online uproar has no immediate impact on Jiang Bai, who is still filming on set.

He's become famous, but his life and work won't change much in the short term.

He won't be able to start a new phase of work until at least "Sewing Machine Band" is finished filming.

Various job offers and audition invitations were sent to Xu Xu's desk.

However, he was in no hurry to let Jiang Bai choose.

Let the bullets fly for a while.

It's not too late to choose a new drama after "Rush to the Dead Summer" has completely finished airing and his fan base and popularity have stabilized.

Xu Xu has also temporarily declined several brand endorsement offers.

Signing endorsement contracts with Jiang Bai now is like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs.

The entire production team at the Cute Studio had great confidence in Jiang Bai.

They have full confidence in the "A Little Thing Called First Love" project, which the studio has poured its heart and soul into preparing.

It is believed that the drama "A Love So Beautiful" will further boost Jiang Bai's popularity, and may even propel him into the top ranks of popular dramas.

Jiangbai's commercial value is not limited to this; the longer it goes on, the higher its value will become.

Dai Lu is urging the production team of "A Love So Beautiful" to finish post-production as soon as possible, hoping that the drama can be broadcast during the summer season in July or August and make a big splash in the student market.

Only then can we discuss endorsements and new film contracts, and thus negotiate better projects and prices.

Therefore, despite the outside world's commotion, various production companies and commercial brands have set their sights on Jiangbai.

But Jiang Bai himself stayed in the film crew and did nothing else.

He stayed in Ji'an for more than twenty days.

The filming of these past twenty-odd days completely overturned Jiang Bai's understanding of acting.

He had acted in TV series, including a big-budget production with an investment of 300 million yuan, but when he actually joined the crew of "Sewing Machine Band," he realized that movies and TV series are two completely different worlds.

TV dramas prioritize efficiency, producing a dozen pages of script per day, and moving on to scenes as soon as they're acceptable, with little time for polishing.

In film, the focus is on every glance, every movement, and every detail. The director doesn't aim for "completion," but for "perfection."

There is an important "mass fight" scene in the film, which is the climax scene where the main characters clash with the demolition team in order to protect the giant guitar.

For this one scene, the crew filmed for a full 7 days and tried 52 times before finally getting it right.

Before filming began, Da Peng gathered all the actors together. He didn't talk about too many techniques, but just asked everyone to get into the mood and treat each other as real "enemies".

During filming, both the extras and the lead actors gave it their all, pushing, yelling, and colliding with each other with real force.

Towards the end of filming, both sides were red-eyed and started fighting, turning their fake act into a real fight. The scene was filled with shouts and the sounds of props colliding, and it was so intense that the assistant director had to shout himself hoarse to pull them apart.

Jiang Bai, being present in the scene, truly felt the "madness" of filmmaking.

Everyone is willing to go all out for the sake of a realistic shot.

What impressed him even more was the dedication of the entire crew.

When filming the scene where the giant guitar was forcibly dismantled, the nighttime temperature in Ji'an was only 10 degrees Celsius. The cold wind, mixed with rain, was bone-chillingly cold when it hit the body.

The lead actors, Jiang Bai, Da Peng, Na Zha, and Qiao Shan, wore thin costumes and spent the entire night in the rain.

On camera, they were covered in mud and shouting at the top of their lungs; off camera, everyone was freezing, their lips turning purple and their bodies shivering, but no one called for a stop, and no one asked for a stunt double.

For a short, few-second drunken scene, Da Peng personally took on the role, drinking one glass of prop liquor after another, 15 times in a row, until his eyes were unfocused and his steps were unsteady, capturing the most realistic sense of collapse. After filming, he squatted on the set and vomited uncontrollably.

When filming the scene where he was beaten up, Qiao Shan insisted on not using a stunt double and personally took the beating himself.

One scene was filmed more than thirty times. His back and arms were covered in bruises, and by the end he could barely stand. He laughed and said, "It's okay, it's more realistic to actually get beaten up."

Jiang Bai saw it all and kept it in mind.

This is just a commercial comedy film; it doesn't have grand special effects or an exaggerated budget.

The effort and sincerity put into the production team far exceeded that of the so-called "300 million big-budget TV dramas" he had filmed by ten or even a hundred times.

The perfunctory work, excessive use of body doubles, and green screen acting that are common in TV drama productions are completely absent in this production.

Everyone was putting their heart into their roles and the work. This atmosphere also made Jiang Bai unconsciously calm down and polish every expression and every line of dialogue.

What truly thrilled the entire Ji'an was the grand finale of the film, featuring a chorus of five thousand people singing and playing music.

To recreate the passionate scene of "ten thousand people rocking" in the script, Da Peng gathered five hundred professional musicians from all over the country.

It includes members of independent bands, low-profile musicians in the industry, and celebrities who like bands and make guest appearances.

The remaining 4,000-plus extras were almost all local residents of Ji'an.

Five thousand people gathered in the square, with guitars, basses, drum kits, and keyboards all in place, creating an extremely spectacular scene.

For this small town, this was a once-in-a-lifetime event; everyone on the streets was talking about the film and the group of filmmakers who were crazy about their dreams.

During breaks in filming, setting up the location takes a lot of time.

To keep the 5,000 people entertained, Da Peng, along with Jiang Bai, Qiao Shan, and others, performed one song after another on stage, just like at a concert, led by music director Ying Jun.

Rock, pop, folk—whatever song can get the atmosphere going, they'll sing it. The audience below the stage will wave and sing along, and the square will always be filled with passion and cheers.

Unfortunately, the weather was uncooperative, with several sudden downpours during filming.

Five thousand people were crammed into the empty square. There were no rain shelters or places to take shelter, so they had to temporarily stop work and wait for the rain to stop before setting up and filming could resume.

Their clothes were soaked, their instruments were damp, and the venue was muddy. One difficulty after another arose, but no one complained and no one left.

Everyone was gritting their teeth and persevering, just for those few minutes of screen time.

Finally, all the scenes in Ji'an were successfully filmed.

The main crew packed their bags, preparing to move to Beijing to film the last few scenes.

The main focus is on the beginning of the movie, specifically on the work of Cheng Gong, the agent played by Da Peng, in Beijing.

And there are some Easter eggs, such as Song Qian, a former idol who returned to China, making a cameo appearance as a dance teacher.

And then there's Ruth, who's still relatively unknown, who had a cameo role as a nurse in this movie.

She mainly acted alongside Fan Wei, who also made a cameo appearance. Their scenes were mostly filmed against a green screen, and were later edited to show them in a hospital and a hot air balloon.

Jiang Bai couldn't see either of them; they weren't even in the same group filming.

For his scenes, the production team mainly built several streets in Beijing to simulate Ji'an. This was to control the construction period and make filming more convenient.

In the scenes set in the capital, Jiang Bai's character has very few scenes and almost no room to develop his role.

The time, place and people are favorable.

Jiang Bai formally asked the crew for leave, which was readily approved by Da Peng.

On the day of departure, the crew's bus carried most of the staff to the airport and flew to Beijing.

Jiang Bai, accompanied by his assistant and management team, boarded a flight to Shanghai alone.

Now that "Rush to the Dead Summer" has finished airing, his commercial value can begin to be realized!