Huayu98: Starting with mentoring pop divas

Natalie, who was being supported by Li Shuo to the point of needing to lean against the wall, checked all the documents and paperwork for the Toyota Land Cruiser and confirmed that everything was in order.

She had always wanted to buy one of these "big guys" to drive, but her mother wouldn't allow it. She pretended to be arrogant, but secretly she was delighted and drove off after saying she wanted to familiarize herself with the car.

After watching her leave, Li Shuo returned to the room to confirm the extraction.

[Host Rank: "Slightly Famous" - Randomly draw 10 tangible rewards of Natalie Portman, a target of goodwill.]

[Peace Doves *5 (from Martians Attack on Earth)]

[Host Position Upgrade Assist Card *1 (from "First Lady")]

Fluent in English (British English) (from "The Black Swan")

[Smiling Masks *3 (from V for Vendetta)]

I tried saying a couple of sentences about my newly acquired English proficiency.

"Well... it's not entirely useless. I've been using one more ingredient in my cooking lately."

Wow, this has a really authentic British vibe!

Then, out of curiosity, he took out the rank upgrade assist card.

The back of the card reads: "Can assist the current host's grid efficiency. Use?"

Li Shuo was momentarily confused, but thinking that the system wouldn't cheat him anyway, he chose to use it.

He watched as the card magically disappeared, and sat there waiting for a while, but nothing happened.

Never mind... I'll just wash up and go to bed first.

More than a week later.

Standing by the tent at the filming location in the forest, Li Shuo remarked that Natalie Portman's salary was absolutely worthwhile!

The "remake" of the Blair Witch Project went more smoothly than expected.

Efficiency stems primarily from Natalie's highly motivated execution, which is fully unleashed by her high salary.

Leveraging the connections she had built after filming "Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace" and the title of "producer" given to her by Li Shuo for this film project, she secured the actors with almost a single phone call through the American Actors Guild.

They easily selected one woman and two men, all around twenty years old, who were all new actors eager for opportunities and highly cooperative.

To avoid the same troubles that followed the original film, Li Shuo had prepared a contract in advance, clearly stating that this was a "mockumentary" performance.

Furthermore, confidentiality agreements must be followed before the film's release. Before its large-scale theatrical release, the true identities of all actors used in the film cannot be revealed, and they cannot discuss the filming process.

For this, Li Shuo offered each person a total salary of $5000, with additional fixed bonuses if the box office was good!

This is quite generous for new actors, considering that the original cast members each received only about $500.

While the film's high profits were one aspect, what Li Shuo cared about most was the boost to his status and the impressive resume it would bring him afterward!

I remember that day Natalie drove the crew two hours northwest of Boston.

Finally, we arrived at this remote town called "Pine Barrens".

The town is densely forested, and there is indeed a strange legend of the "Old Woman in the Woods" from the colonial period, which perfectly matches the story of the "Blair Witch".

Li Shuo was standing at the entrance of town when he was surprised that the location scouting issue, which he thought would take the most time, was solved by her so efficiently...

To accomplish all this, Natalie simply posted a request for help on an ethnic forum in the United States, and a distant relative connected her with someone based on her described needs—for a fee, of course!

As for the "resident actors" in the town, Natalie had already made arrangements with them in advance while still in town.

The mayor didn't mind the terrifying legends about the town in the script at all. On the contrary, he thought it would bring fame to the town and directly helped mobilize the residents to cooperate in the performance and the setting of some props!

Just as Li Shuo was satisfied with Natalie's execution ability, Natalie also realized that she had underestimated Li!

She thought he was just a novice dabbling in the field, and had already planned ahead that if he couldn't keep up due to technical issues, she would arrange for a professional to step in.

But after witnessing Li Shuo's various operations, which were selected by the system and enhanced by the cinematography skills of Hong Kong filmmaker Cheng Siu-keung, they felt that the level of this elementary school "boss" was unexpectedly good!

I don't know how to describe that feeling. It's like the storyboard and shooting effects are already in my mind!

Moreover, he is also a very competent director!

On the first day of filming, in the hotel room that served as the base, Li Shuo gathered the three main actors together and gave them a detailed explanation.

He took out a piece of white paper and drew three simple symbols.

Triangle (Sylvie): You are the driving force behind the team. Stubborn and controlling, the camera, as the central prop, represents your control! Your fear isn't the witch, but the feeling of "losing control"!

Wavy Line (Jonathan): Unstable Factor. Seemingly humorous, but inwardly irritable and easily angered. You are the first to snap under pressure within the team.

Circle (Allen): The reconciler and the collapser. Attempting to maintain peace, but succumbing to negativity under absolute fear. Your surrender is the collapse of the last psychological defense.

"Remember your shapes."

Li Shuo put down his pen in front of the whiteboard.

"For the next eight days, you only need to remember the shape of your respective personas. All conversations, arguments, and breakdowns will grow from this basic emotion. Don't 'act' out of fear. When you are lost, hungry, or hear strange noises, just act out the most extreme state of your persona."

Only Li Shuo knew that the original director's so-called vague instructions and room for improvisation actually left many flaws in the film...

If it weren't for the strong publicity, the rumors would have been debunked long ago.

During the following days of filming, Li Shuo methodically directed and operated the filming equipment.

A 16mm handheld camera captured this "documentary" quality footage very well.

A Hi-8 home camcorder allows for casual and spontaneous recording and interviewing!

When Natalie looked back, she was unknowingly drawn into this terrifying journey!

The camera work captures the escalating fear to the point of breathlessness, the provocative "tent under attack" scene with its swaying movement, and various very realistic instantaneous reactions.

Moreover, Li Shuo even filled the "pitfall" that almost led to a lawsuit between the actor and the original team after the movie became a big hit!

The original director's method of throwing the actors into the forest and creating real anxiety through reduced food, giving them only an energy bar and an apple for the last few days, and deliberately harassing them at night, was actually somewhat incongruous.

Li Shuo took the opposite approach. He provided ample portable food, hired Hollywood special effects makeup artists at high salaries, and informed them of all the key moments for external intervention.

He even established a safe word and declared: "Use it when fear is no longer an act, and you genuinely feel psychologically hurt. I'll always find a way to address the sense of realism!"

Once inside the forest, Li Shuo's methodology proved its power.

The actors are very clear about the "story points" they need to reach each day.

How they argue, how they get lost, and how they discover the strange marks that Li Shuo placed in advance are left to them to improvise based on the "character shapes" given by director Li Shuo in advance.

In this way, the highest performance efficiency is extracted under the premise of safety and controllability.

The result was actually a lot of great performances, and it even sped up the filming schedule!?

The original plan was to shoot footage for two weeks, but today the entire ten-day shooting period has been completed.

The last shot is the classic scene of "Allen" facing the wall eerily in the corner of the abandoned forest house.

When Li Shuo calmly announced "Filming wrapped" over the radio, the three actors, who were exhausted but also excited, were somewhat dazed.

Is filming over already? I'm a little reluctant to see it end!

Without any hesitation, Li Shuo immediately handed the final payment check to the three lead actors and reiterated the confidentiality agreement.

Watching their grateful expressions as they left together, Natalie couldn't help but think, "This independent film project, which I originally thought would be very tough, is actually more like a camping trip than a reality, considering Li Shuo's cooking skills that everyone looks forward to every day!"

She shook her head and began packing up her equipment, preparing to send Li Shuo back to his estate in Boston's Back Bay.

He needed to rush back to provide materials for the movie-themed background website that had already been built.

Just then, Li Shuo's phone rang in his pocket, sounding particularly abrupt at the edge of the empty forest.

Li Shuo was also curious... Only his father and cousin knew this American phone number, but they had just finished talking on the phone not long ago.