Huayu 02: The Days of Extreme Pulling and Rolling with the Fairy

Mid-October

From the initial difficulty in getting the machine running until now, twenty days have passed, and the break-in period is over.

The crew has entered a highly efficient production state, and one-fifth of the indoor scenes have already been filmed.

For all the indoor scenes, Xie Jin filmed them on sets built in her own studio.

With this setup, the view outside the window can achieve the desired atmosphere of day and night, dawn and dusk simply by adjusting the lighting and color temperature.

These days, things have been quite lively in the entertainment circle.

Zhang Yimou's "House of Flying Daggers" started filming half a month ago, and Zhang Ziyi seized the opportunity. These days, she speaks fluently in front of the camera and is in the limelight.

That's understandable, considering the cast includes Wu Chengwu and Andy Lau, and it's a Zhang Yimou film; anyone would be excited.

Zhang Yimou started filming his own movie, and Andrew Lau's "Infernal Affairs 3" started filming right after. It is said that it has invested 70 million Hong Kong dollars, with six film stars in the cast and a huge publicity campaign.

Xie Jin glanced at the newspaper as several dramas that started filming around the same time as hers began production.

There's no need to mention Huang Lei's version; the rest are Jiao Enjun's "Wudang" and the sequel to "Starry Night Pigsy" starring Huang Haibo.

What Xie Jin was really looking forward to was the most inconspicuous drama in the whole thing.

"Ma Dashuai," hailed as the second masterpiece of magical realism after "One Hundred Years of Solitude," was also obtained by Xie Jin through connections, who managed to find Zhao Benshan's phone number.

I have to make a cameo appearance no matter what!

"Hello, is this Dr. Zhao? My heart is sinking!"

A hearty laugh came from the other end of the phone: "Director Xie, your heart won't be cold anymore after eating chicken stew with mushrooms."

At this time, Zhao Benshan couldn't be called Uncle Zhao yet; he was only 46 years old and still considered to be in his prime. The middleman hadn't said what Xie Jin was up to, and he wasn't sure what Xie Jin was doing either.

"Director Xie, what are your instructions?"

"Hey bro, how's filming 'Ma Dashuai' going?"

Zhao Benshan speaks in a friendly and approachable manner, exuding a江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry) vibe. He says things like, "It's alright, just messing around. You're a professional, come and get some pointers from me."

"Forget about giving me direction, just reserve a role for me. I'll come visit you after I finish filming here."

Zhao Benshan was stunned for a moment, but quickly realized that this was interesting. They were not from the same circle, so why was he interested in "Ma Dashuai"?

The two chatted for a few more minutes. Old Zhao was a man of the martial arts world, and he was happy that Xie Jin was willing to make a cameo appearance. He also patted his chest and assured Xie Jin that if his apprentice needed him, he could just say the word.

"Brother, I need your help once we're past Shanhaiguan... I'll take care of things for you. I'll stew some chicken for you when we get home."

.........

.........

In the "Difficult to Coax" team, photographer Du Jie is the senior's go-to photographer, and he is very capable. He and Lin Mu work together very well.

My senior brother has been in a very good mood lately. Ever since he bought a house and joined Vision Magic, he has been able to settle down and focus on creating.

  

He was filming in the front studio while she was drawing storyboards in the back studio. Filming was expected to start at the end of the year.

From the very beginning, these two meticulous individuals were aiming for cinematic-quality visuals.

Basically, as long as the actors don't make any mistakes, filming can proceed quickly. Sometimes, even if Xie Jin thinks a shot is perfect, the two of them will still argue with the director that it wasn't filmed well.

Xie Jin really admires such meticulous technicians.

"Card!"

Xie Jin watched the replay once and found that Xie Jin was in good condition with no problems: "Let's eat! Let's eat quickly and then rest for a while. I made pigeon soup today, everyone go and have a sip. We all have a lot of work to do this afternoon."

Xiao Liu and her aunt sat at Xie Jin's table, next to the art director and photography director. Xiao Liu pouted, looking extremely aggrieved.

I glanced at the fish-flavored eggplant, potato and pork rib dish, braised chicken pieces, and steamed fish pieces in Xie Jin's bowl.

Then look at the boiled broccoli, boiled carrots, boiled chicken breast, and boiled shrimp in my insulated lunchbox.

The more I look at it, the angrier I get. This pale, white chicken breast looks like it's about to jump out and bite me.

Xiao Liu blinked, ready to stir up trouble. "Xie Jin, why aren't you eating chicken breast!"

"I'm not fat, I need to eat well to build muscle," Xie Jin said, finishing one box of lunch and opening another.

Seeing him eat so heartily, Miss Liu became even angrier.

Director of Photography Du Jie and Art Director Lin Mu exchanged a glance, then both lowered their heads and remained silent.

Although the boss and Ms. Liu didn't seem to have any special relationship, their intuition told them that it was best to keep quiet.

After all, the director has quite a temper when he's working, but he seems to have no temper at all with Miss Liu.

Xiao Liu raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean? Xie Gouzi, do you think I've gained weight?"

Liu Xiaoli glanced sideways and said, "It was 50 this morning, it was 48 before."

"Well... I drank too much water, and the scale broke."

Cameras can distort and widen a person's face; a pretty girl in real life can look fat immediately on camera.

Therefore, actors' faces are generally very, very small, even unhealthily thin.

This is how the audience sees the normal state when they are on camera.

In other words, Lei Jiayin's head isn't actually that big, and Guo Jingfei's face isn't that big either... it just looks very big on camera.

Xie Jin actually hopes that the hamster can persevere, otherwise she will regret it after the broadcast.

Du Jie whispered, "Director...we've finished eating..."

Are you finished eating? What am I supposed to do if you two leave? Should I let her eat or not?

Before Xie Jin could speak, his mother-in-law coughed and said, "Du Jie, can you really be full from eating so little? You'll be tired this afternoon, so sit down and eat properly."

Xie Jin glanced gratefully at his mother-in-law, who gave him a reassuring look.

Unfortunately, Miss Liu caught Xie Jin's look and glared at him fiercely, baring her teeth.

She sulked, stuffing the shrimp and chicken breast into her mouth, her little mouth puffed out like a hamster's, and stormed off with the remaining broccoli.

"Captain Huang! Sucking sucking sucking sucking!"

Hearing Miss Liu's call, a big yellow dog wearing a pink dress ran in from outside the shed.

That's right. Ever since Da Huang started clinging to Xie Jin after that drinking session, he's basically secured a stable job for himself.

Miss Liu was so fond of it that she named it Captain Huang.

They even took a lot of clothes from their own pets. Captain Huang, a perfectly normal male dog, was dressed up like a sweet girl.

Fortunately, Miss Liu gives it any food she can find, and these days Captain Huang just follows her around like a shadow.

Xie Jin loves dogs, and the more she raises them, the more she loves them. But now she gets angry just looking at them. They used to be so majestic, but now they've even put on a bow tie?

Captain Huang squatted on the ground, drool dripping onto the ground, his big tail wagging so hard it almost flew up.

This kind of country dog ​​with a strong family tradition will never eat food from a person's hand, no matter how tempted it is; it will just keep patting the ground with its big paws.

It didn't finish the broccoli until Ms. Liu put it on the ground.

"shake hands"

"Woof!" Big Yellow cooperated perfectly, stretching out its right paw before extending its left paw.

"Playing dead"

"Woof!" As soon as Xiao Liu raised his finger, Da Huang immediately collapsed to the ground.

Looking at the boxed lunches in the distance, Xiao Liu suddenly felt a surge of malice. Captain Huang was so clever...

The big hamster quietly whispered in Captain Huang's ear, "Captain Huang, you're the best dog! Go and fetch that for me."

Captain Huang shook his head. Damn!

Even a good dog wouldn't steal chickens or do anything underhanded; a dog has its limits.

I can accept cross-dressing, but stealing Lao Xie's lunchbox is absolutely out of the question.

Don't think about it.

Captain Huang turned his back to Xiao Liu, pretending not to understand.

"Bad dog! You're a big bad dog! Don't you have any conscience? Who feeds you all the good food every day? You can't even steal a small lunchbox, how can you be a captain?"

"I'll share the chicken leg with you, I'm really not lying to you this time. I'd be a dog if I ate it all myself."

Don't give me that! You lied to me last time. You didn't share a single bite with me after I stole the lunchbox!

What's wrong with the puppy? Is being a puppy shameful? Puppies don't eat alone; you're even worse than a puppy.

.......

Xie Jin, standing behind, curled her lip and said, "Tsk tsk tsk, I never thought some people would actually incite a puppy to commit a crime."

"Captain Huang, good job! Here's an extra chicken leg for you."

汪

Caught red-faced, Xiao Liu said, "I...I was just checking if it was smart, don't make false accusations."

"Oh? I'm making false accusations?" Xie Jin said, pulling a packet of instant noodles out of her pocket.

"Tsk tsk tsk, it tastes like Brazilian barbecue, I don't like it either."

Xiao Liu swallowed hard. She'd been overindulging in food the past few days and had actually gained weight...

Old Liu was furious. These past few days, she's been in the group, constantly supporting Xie Gouzi.

That's outrageous!

Xiao Liu coughed slightly: "If...if you don't like it, but Captain Huang does, I'll keep it for him."

"Really? Then I'll believe you this once. After all, why would a person steal a puppy's food?"

"Really... I don't like instant noodles either."

Xie Jin handed the instant noodles to the hamster and then went to chat with her mother-in-law.

Xiao Liu found a corner and prepared to steal some food, while Da Huang stood beside him, so anxious he was almost talking.

Old Xie said it was for me?

"Hmph, I won't share with you, just to annoy you! I'll just eat your instant noodles!"

Wang!

"If you're in a hurry, just say something reasonable. Tell me what you want to eat and I'll give it to you."

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mid-November

Since filming began, more than half of the indoor scenes featuring the two have been shot. Xie Jin estimates that filming will wrap up between February and March.

Yu Dong seems to have gotten carried away by the sweet romance novel he read, as he keeps showing up at the film set every few days.

"The Golden Rooster Awards are about to begin. Are you confident about your performance?"

It's hard to say for Xie Jin either. The films competing for the Golden Rooster Award this year are quite diverse. There are a few popular themes, such as the 98 flood relief. To be honest, if political considerations are involved, Xie Jin might not necessarily win an award.

"We'll see, maybe."