Huayu: Starting with Xiang Yu, the Hegemon of Western Chu

After the wrap party, the actors in the crew all went about their own business, rushing to their next appointments.

Chen Mo, however, remained in Hengdian.

His decision not to return to Yanjing these past few days was made on short notice.

He had informed Shen Yu beforehand, and Shen Yu didn't ask why, just sent a "okay" message, followed by a second message: "You won't have any work in the two months leading up to the New Year, so have fun by yourself."

Chen Mo felt a surge of joy.

That's one good thing about Shen Yu.

Let go completely when it's time to let go.

He hasn't had much to do these past few days; he's mostly just wandering around.

Hengdian is an interesting place.

Dozens of film crews are shooting throughout the year, and the streets are filled with extras in costumes from morning till night.

In the morning, you might see an old man dressed in Han Dynasty armor squatting down eating tofu pudding at a roadside stall, and in the afternoon, you might bump into two young men dressed in Ming Dynasty eunuch costumes buying iced cola at a convenience store.

Chen Mo is here looking for his own material.

He spent the entire year on set, learning a lot from books and veteran actors.

He knew this method of learning was useful, but he also knew there was another kind of nourishment he hadn't received.

He's just an ordinary person.

Chen Mo believes that actors need to cultivate their own material.

You can't rely solely on the script or the production team for source material; you have to look at passersby.

Watch how ordinary people walk, answer the phone, squat down to tie their shoelaces, and bargain with the vegetable vendors.

What he owes this year is the part about seeing real people.

Acting is a stage of emotional output; for every output, there must be an intake.

And actors' exposure often happens in these everyday moments.

A good actor cannot live without life.

So this morning he strolled over to the Ming and Qing Palace area in Hengdian. Hundreds of extras in costumes walk by there in a morning. He sat down by the window of a milk tea shop on the street, ordered a hot cup, and just watched.

He had been watching for almost an hour, staring at a young man dressed as an eunuch smoking in front of the noodle shop across the street, when suddenly a hand landed on his shoulder and patted him.

"Chen Mo."

Chen Mo was taken aback.

He turned his head.

The person standing behind him was wearing a dark blue windbreaker, a woolen hat, and had a bluish stubble on his chin, with a smile on his face.

Xu Zhinian.

Chen Mo was stunned for two seconds before he reacted and exclaimed in surprise.

"Old Xu?!"

What are you doing here?

Xu Zhinian chuckled as he took off his woolen hat and pulled up a chair to sit down.

"I'm here to check out the venue."

"What venue?"

"You forgot my script?"

Chen Mo slapped his forehead.

He almost forgot.

The script that Xu Zhinian bought for one million from an angel investor had been rumored to be starting filming two months ago. At that time, Chen Mo was filming the scene where Zhu Zhanji was seriously ill. There were a lot of big and small things going on in the crew. In addition, he basically did not log on to social media when filming. For important matters, someone would call to contact him. Xu Zhinian also knew Chen Mo's personality, so he did not notify him in a special way.

"Is it powered on?"

"next week."

"In Hengdian?"

"Mm." Xu Zhinian nodded.

Chen Mo glanced at him.

I haven't seen this guy for half a year. He's more robust than before, his skin is tanned to a wheat color, his jawline is more defined, but there's a layer of dark circles under his eyes. It's typical of the script preparation stage. It's not that he has nothing to do, it's that he has so much to do that he can't sleep well.

Chen Mo laughed.

"Zhinian, you look so weathered."

Xu Zhinian chuckled: "It was all a setup."

"Investors?"

"The investors are fine, it's the production team that's troublesome."

Xu Zhinian rolled his eyes at him and put his hat on the table.

"And you?"

"We just finished filming, how did you find me?"

Xu Zhinian pointed to the glass window of the milk tea shop.

"I was passing by and thought I'd stop by for a coffee; it was purely coincidental."

Chen Mo: "..."

These chance encounters are a unique feature of Hengdian.

This place is only so big, the probability of people in the industry bumping into each other is ridiculously high.

The two sat and chatted for a while.

Xu Zhinian said he had something to do in the afternoon and needed to go to the film crew's location to check out the venue.

Chen Mo then told him to go about his business.

When the two got up, they agreed to have dinner together that evening to catch up. After agreeing on a place, Xu Zhinian took the coffee that the shop assistant had packed and left.

Chen Mo then slowly finished the now-cold milk tea.

At 6:50 p.m., Chen Mo arrived at the Sichuan restaurant.

He ordered two dishes to start with, and would order the rest when Xu Zhinian arrived.

Xu Zhinian had not arrived by 7:10.

At 7:20, Xu Zhinian had not yet arrived.

By 7:30, Chen Mo had already eaten half of the stir-fried pork.

He took out his phone, found Xu Zhinian's chat window, and typed.

[Chen Mo]: Mr. Xu?

[Chen Mo]: Have you forgotten about what happened between us?

Two minutes later, Xu Zhinian returned.

[Xu Zhinian]: Brother, it's really not that. Something came up, I'll be there soon.

[Chen Mo]: The food is getting cold.

[Xu Zhinian]: (Emoji: Look how impatient you are!)

Chen Mo placed his phone face down on the table and picked up another piece of food with his chopsticks.

Xu Zhinian has had this problem since college; being late for meals is the norm for him. If he arrives on time, Chen Mo should be worried that something has happened to him.

It took less than twenty minutes, then thirty minutes to arrive.

The moment Xu Zhinian pushed open the door to the private room, Chen Mo glanced at him.

The kid looked like he'd been twisted in a hand; his hair was messy, his eyes were bright, but there was a layer of oil on his forehead, clearly indicating he'd rushed over.

He sat down and grabbed a glass of cold water, drinking it all in one gulp.

Chen Mo: "What happened?"

Xu Zhinian wiped his mouth with his hand: "There's been a problem with the film crew."

"What went wrong?"

"One of our lead actors was injured this afternoon."

Chen Mo stopped using his chopsticks.

"Which one?"

Xu Zhinian pulled a script from his crossbody bag and slammed it on the table.

"Feng Yuxiu".

Chen Mo took the script over.

The title of the show is printed on the cover: "Kung Fu Jungle".

He recognized the script.

Xu Zhinian had shown him the earliest version before. At that time, the script was still being revised, but the script in front of him was clearly the final version that the production team had finalized.

Feng Yuxiu is the villain, a martial arts fanatic.

This character has a significant role and many scenes with other characters, almost forming a dual male lead structure with the protagonist.

Chen Mo flipped through the script.

"Who was originally scheduled to book it?"

"Wu Jing".

Chen Mo nodded.

Wu Jing is one of the most famous martial arts actors in China. He is in his early thirties and has been acting in martial arts films for more than ten years. He is quite skilled. He is suitable to play Feng Yuxiu. He is the right age and has the right presence. He does his own martial arts moves.

"How did he get hurt?"

"I twisted my back while filming for another crew the day before yesterday."

"serious?"

"He can't act; the doctor told him to rest for three months."

Chen Mo frowned.

"How much longer until your team starts up?"

"Seven days."

silence.

Neither of them spoke.

Finding a martial arts actor in China to replace Wu Jing at this time is really difficult, no wonder Xu Zhinian is anxious.

As the writer and director of his first drama, he cared about it even more than the director.

After a few seconds, Xu Zhinian spoke.

"Chen Mo."

"Um?"

"If not, how about you play Feng Yuxiu?"

Xu Zhinian felt a little embarrassed when he said this, so he quickly added a sentence.

"Pay the salary as usual, I'll talk to the director, how about that?"

Chen Mo put down his chopsticks.

He didn't answer immediately.

He stared at the five words on the script cover for a few seconds.

He quickly went through the character of Feng Yuxiu in his mind.

The core of this role is that the character must have a foundation in martial arts.

It's not just for show.

They've actually practiced.

He needs to be proficient in both Southern and Northern styles of martial arts, as well as techniques like thievery, clubbing, and grappling. He can't just go on stage like an actor who's only had three months of martial arts training; he has to be genuine.

No, he can't act like that.

He raised his head.

"Knowing the Years".

"Um?"

"I can't act."

A hint of disappointment flashed in Xu Zhinian's eyes.

Chen Mo said, "The role of Feng Yuxiu requires real martial arts skills. You know me, don't you know how good I am?"

"Don't you always say that you have to practice boxing every morning?" Xu Zhinian asked back.

"That's the Eight Pieces of Brocade... If I actually went up there and fought someone, I'd be kicked to death like a stray dog ​​in less than three seconds."

After holding it in for a long time, Xu Zhinian slowly extended one hand and raised the middle finger.

"Hold......"

Chen Mo didn't tolerate it and pretended to reach out to break it, which startled Xu Zhinian, who quickly withdrew his hand.

"Your brother Nian really doesn't have time to mess around with you."

Xu Zhinian sighed.

Chen Mo didn't tease him anymore and thought for a moment.

"How about this? I've met a few action directors on set this year. They have a lot of connections, so they can help us see which action actors are available right now."

"Um."

"Give me a list of requirements, approximate screen time, and salary range, and I'll take this to ask around."

"OK."

Xu Zhinian finally breathed a sigh of relief, and the two of them hurriedly picked up their chopsticks to eat.