Three days after joining the crew, Logan Hunter began to miss home.
After talking with Ethan Collins that day, he believed the other party's lies.
Originally I thought that since I was staying at home anyway, I might as well go out and find something to do. As for exposing my identity... it doesn't matter. Ethan Collins has already made arrangements. He is a little actor who looks like the president of Tu Group, and his stage name is Mai Sang.
When he got the script, he thought it was quite interesting.
This script was the most Long Aotian one among the bunch of scripts he had revised before. He played the protagonist, and Ethan Collins helped him organize the game.
At that time, Ethan Collins vowed that various factors that needed to be considered, such as ratings and acting skills, would not affect the main investment. He said that there was only one purpose, which was to let him have fun.
So Logan Hunter enthusiastically memorized half of the script that day, and he didn't touch those things again during the next half month of preparation. Despite this, when he arrived at the hotel arranged by the crew, he still maintained extraordinary enthusiasm - he still didn't feel like he was actually acting, and even felt like he was here for a vacation.
The hotel looks like it hasn't been renovated in more than a decade. The reception hall is just a plastic table casually placed in the corridor. After entering the room, the white walls and black bed look quite clean, as if it was an old cadre's office converted into what it is now many years ago. The wall-mounted air conditioner is humming, and the overall environment is not bad.
Seeing two beds in the room, he asked:
"It's a double room. Who's my roommate?"
Xiaohu, the new assistant who is responsible for taking care of his daily life, quickly explained:
"The crew has arranged for two people to share a room, but Mr. Yang has made special arrangements, so you will stay alone."
Logan Hunter nodded. He had just put down his things and wanted to eat some fruit to rest when he heard Xiaohu opening the door and greeting him warmly from outside:
"Hey, is that Director Jiang? Wow, Teacher Qi is here too... Oh, is that Mai Sang? He's in the bathroom, please wait... Ah, you're out."
"Hello." Logan Hunter jumped out immediately when he heard Director Jiang's address, holding the apple and trying his best to act obedient, "I'm Mai Sang, nice to meet you, what are your names?"
The middle-aged man with a calm face did not answer, but looked him up and down. The woman standing next to him also made similar movements although her vision was more hidden.
An indescribable discomfort ran from the soles of his feet to his back. Logan Hunter felt like a piece of pork on a chopping board, being turned over and over by someone to measure where he was fat and where he was lean. Although the process was quick and the two men withdrew their gazes after weighing them, Logan Hunter had not yet gotten over himself from that very substantial scrutiny.
The middle-aged man nodded at him calmly:
"My name is Jiang Zhenxin, the director. This is Qi Yuan, the teacher who will be in charge of your performance."
... Logan Hunter, who had just arrived and was inexplicably treated with awe, greeted the two people separately, "Hello, Director Jiang, Hello, Teacher Qi."
"Xiaomi, there is something I want to say first."
Jiang Zhenxin spoke expressionlessly:
"I don't care how or what method you used to get in. My mission and idea is to make this movie a success. Mr. Yang came to meet me specially before and discussed some conditions and told me about your special situation."
"ah?"
"You are not a professional actor, and you have no acting experience in the past. None of this matters. Actors in the crew do not have to be professional actors. Practice is the best way to learn. I don't care what your background is. I just want an actor who can act well."
"You're right, but..."
"Mr. Yang thought so too, so I suggested that he find you an acting teacher. I didn't expect that he would invite Teacher Qi to come over, so..." Jiang Zhenxin interrupted the young man in front of him and continued, "Before your play begins, Teacher Qi will give you some special training according to the needs of the play, and I will also adjust your condition. I hope you can cooperate well and become a qualified actor as Mr. Yang expects."
Logan Hunter: Wait??? That’s not what my brother Yang told me!
"The shooting will start at 7 o'clock tomorrow morning. I will meet everyone. I will try on the makeup in the afternoon. Remember to read the script. Come to my place at 7 o'clock tonight for a reading. Teacher Qi, please take care of him."
"I will. Director Jiang, take care."
...
Director Jiang gave a lot of instructions and left, leaving Qi Yuan, who looked like the dean of studies, standing there.
The woman pulled out a stack of scripts from her bag like a magic trick, and then smiled "kindly":
"Mai Sang, I will help you finish your character biography before seven o'clock. After seven o'clock, you can listen to Director Jiang and the screenwriter's understanding of this character. This will make it easier for you to immerse yourself in this role. The rest of the script is still being rushed, so we will mainly sort out some of the character's early things."
"Without further ado, let's get started."
"Ah? Now?"
"Of course." Qi Yuan's glasses reflected a sharp light, "What else do you want?"
Logan Hunter could not help but be intimidated by the powerful aura of the man in front of him. He thought that he could not lose the battle, so he immediately stepped forward and began to demonstrate:
"Okay! I will definitely work hard!"
Qi Yuan smiled:
"That would be great."
...
Logan Hunter found that he had thought acting was too easy before.
That day, Qi Yuan forced him to finish reading the entire script that he had not finished before. Not only did he compile preliminary biographies of the characters, but he also rehearsed the opening scene. When Logan Hunter was reciting the lines, he felt that he was in pretty good shape. Qi Yuan just smiled and said nothing.
When reading the script that night, Jiang Zhenxin was constantly mentioned by name, and the screenwriters all looked at him with sympathy - an expression that was like "it turns out we are not the most miserable, there are people who are even more miserable than us."
The reading lasted until two in the morning. The screenwriters were assigned tasks and went back to work overtime, while the others all went back to their rooms to sleep. Logan Hunter, who was extremely sleepy, was too tired to deal with the others. Fortunately, Xiaohu was obviously an assistant who knew this well. He sent him into the room and took care of all the remaining chores.
I was woken up at six o'clock the next morning. I went to attend the opening ceremony while dozing off with breakfast in my mouth. The cold wind woke me up, and I perked up and went through the process with everyone else.
Since then, Logan Hunter has hardly had a good night's sleep.
He seemed to have entered a large-scale acting training class, with everyone staring at him non-stop. The biography was just the beginning; the actual practice that followed was the torture.
The makeup trial took an hour, and Xiaohu caught him to take pictures, saying that he would "send them to Mr. Yang." He was still thinking about retouching the pictures when Jiang Zhenxin called him over to discuss the script. From the director to the producer to the instructor to the photographer to the lighting, no one treated him as a vase sent by the investors. Everyone expected him to be a professional actor.
The distance between the lens and the camera and how to move without running out of the camera were explained to him in detail by the photography boss and the lighting boss, each holding an apple box. Both of them looked like tough guys with fierce faces, especially the lighting boss, who showed an attitude of wanting to fight after just a few words when he saw that Logan Hunter didn't understand. Logan Hunter thought that he had a bad temper, but at this moment he managed to suppress the irritability of being "cheated" and listened to the other party's instructions earnestly like an apprentice.
The first scene is a humiliating scene where the protagonist loses his power and is mocked by his family members. This part is the young men’s teasing of the protagonist, so there are not many actors in the scene.
However, although there seemed to be only a few people in the camera, there were actually a lot of people present. There were two people holding microphones alone, not to mention the staff pushing the track camera, the lighting team helping with the boards, the script supervisor, and other personnel on standby.
They were chatting well before, but when facing so many people at once, Logan Hunter felt the pressure instantly. The script supervisor came over with the clapperboard and shouted:
"'The Immortal Becomes a Demon', one scene at a time, begins!"
The clapperboard was slammed down with a sound, and the girl holding the board disappeared in front of the camera in three seconds like a monkey. Logan Hunter, based on his previous limited experience with Qi Yuan and the script, moved forward with difficulty, holding on to the wall.
The script describes the protagonist Wei Li who stood up for his brother Wei Fei, but was poisoned and lost the feeling in his legs. Since then, he has been unable to leave the courtyard where he lives. This scene describes Wei Li's current situation and is mainly about showing his pity.
The camera followed behind him. Logan Hunter was thinking about the script and his own lines in his mind. According to the plot, he met the direct descendants of the Wei family, including his former fiancée Grace Chen. This role was played by a very spiritual young actress. The moment she saw him, guilt and avoidance flashed across her face, and she subconsciously took a step back.
The supporting actors also got into character and came out to mock in order:
"Wei Li, you dare to come out in this state?"
"That's right, why don't you just stay in your half-acre lotus pond? A waste like you, even if you are recycled, is only good enough to feed the stinky fish in your stagnant water!"
The young men all laughed and looked at Wei Li with contempt.
"Shut up!"
Wei Li shouted, and slowly raised his head, a fierce light flashing through his slender eyebrows. He clasped his five fingers against the wall, as if he wanted to integrate his hatred into his bones, and then...
I just forgot the words.
"Kacha, NG."
Director Jiang called for a stop.
The person who was lying on the ground pushing the camera immediately pushed it back, the staff holding the recording rod also began to retreat, and the people who had surrounded the scene before returned to their positions. This time Jiang Zhenxin did not come to explain the scene to him, and Qi Yuan asked the props team for sandbags.
"Put some pressure on him and find the feeling."
Xiaohu quickly came over with a sandbag to bandage his legs. Qi Yuan also took this opportunity to pull out her own stool and sit next to him to chat:
"The lines are the foundation of your acting. Forgetting the lines will interrupt your role-playing. However, time is tight, so I won't talk to you about how important it is to memorize the script. I'll have someone type the lines for you behind the camera later, but you must forget that this is a filming location. You must do your best to immerse yourself in the role. Do you remember the character biographies we picked out yesterday?"
Logan Hunter held the script and nodded silently.
"Wei Li was once a child of destiny. He was arrogant and looked down on everyone. But once his genius halo disappeared, he became a 'waste'. He was full of hatred and a fighting spirit. It's not enough to convey it with your eyes. You don't have that ability yet." Qi Yuan said, "But fortunately, the cruelty you have when you look at people is innate, so you just need the camera to help adjust the angle when taking a close-up shot. Do you remember the method I told you yesterday?"
"Remember." After tying the sandbags on his legs, he glanced at the scene where so many people had to work hard for the NG, and lowered his eyes slightly, "If my eyes are not enough, my body will make up for it. I will just treat it as a group of hooligans provoking me to fight. I don't fight back not because I can't, but because I don't care."
"Yes, that's the feeling." Qi Yuan patted his shoulder, "Take your time, everyone is here to practice with you."
Logan Hunter clenched and loosened his jaw calmly, and with the heavy sandbags on his legs, he slowly walked to where he should stand, standing facing the wind with an expressionless face.
The camera was pointed at him, and the script supervisor with a clapperboard ran in and shouted:
"'The Immortal Becomes a Demon', one scene, two takes, begins!"
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