China Entertainment 1997

The crew of "When Men Are in Love", the backyard of a certain factory

Cao Xuan wore one of the most popular hairstyles in the 1990s [Guo Tianwang Hair], wearing a floral shirt and bell-bottom pants, and chewed dried sweet potatoes produced in Weishi.

Looking playfully at the fat boss in front of him who was cheating and not paying back the money, he kicked the big brother who had just been patted and searched.

"This is boring, Mr. Wu. He can afford a new mobile phone, but he can't afford to repay our company."

"It was paid off by others, not bought by me. If you want it, just take it."

"Okay, I'll give you 90% of the new market price. What to do with the rest?"

"I have no money. If you really can't do it, just kill me."

The actor who guest-starred as the Fat Boss is an old acquaintance, Hong Jiantao of Kong Zheng. Back then, he could play Gao Yanei to a bone-tingling level, and now the little boss who owes money is even more difficult to mention.

Kneel down and beg for mercy, cry bitterly, be beaten and scolded at will, intercede and beg for mercy, but in one sentence, there is no way to pay back the money!

"I'm going to talk nonsense to Brother Xie Fochao. It's natural to pay back debts. I'm going to kill him with two hammers."

Huang Bo, who had a curly perm and said whether he was handsome or ugly, was holding a hammer in his hand and cursed in island dialect with a somewhat comical look.

His look and dialect are specifically designed to highlight the comical and exaggerated.

Originally I wanted to dye Huang Bo's hair yellow, but later considering that the 1990s had not yet reached that point, I specially gave Huang Bo a slightly ugly curl, and found a bit of the style of Geng Hao in "Crazy Racing".

As for the dialect, Cao Xuan asked him to speak it in order to highlight the characters, deepen the impression and enrich the comedy.

As for the other starring actors, most of them are in Mandarin. After all, it is a commercial film and a love theme, so it cannot be completely realistic.

Otherwise, Cao Xuan's Zaoshi accent, "Taiyang, my grandma's legs," is real and down-to-earth, but it lacks the romantic and warm atmosphere that a romance film should have.

Therefore, except for a few characters and prominent characters, the others mainly use Mandarin lines.

The confrontation between the two sides is actually staged.

The fat boss pretended to be poor and was so miserable that Cao Xuan and the others did not dare to kill him. They had no money and still broke the law.

Cao Xuan and Huang Bo Shuanghuang used coaxing and intimidation mainly to force people to pay back the money.

But seeing that ordinary threats don't work, then use your trump card - risk your life.

The fat boss bets that Cao Xuan dare not kill him, so Cao Xuan bets him that he really can't kill the fat boss, but he can kill himself.

As long as someone's life is lost, no one can escape the involvement. Everyone will bet on who is bolder and who can't hold on first.

"Big fat."

Cao Xuan stretched out his hand behind him, and Jiang Chao, who had a naive expression, handed over the two plastic bottles in his hand.

"Pooh."

After spitting out half of the dried sweet potato in his mouth, Cao Xuan raised his head and drank a few mouthfuls of the liquid inside. He coughed twice, his face turned red, he was breathing heavily, and he poured another bottle on his clothes and the ground with a fierce expression.

The fat boss smelled the smell and was shocked: "Gasoline, Gu Chao, you are crazy."

Cao Xuan took out a lighter and pressed his finger on the switch: "I'll count to three. You know the consequences. Even if I die, you won't be able to get away with it."

"one."

"You are so crazy. I don't care whether you die or not. If you have the guts, just order it. If the worst happens, I will hide out."

"two."

"Brother Chao, if it doesn't work out, can I pay back half of it? My child is sick, and the family can't open the door. If my child is sick, we don't even have money to go to the hospital."

"Three~"

"I'll give it, can't I just give it to you?"

The fat boss finally admitted defeat, and the slightly pressed lighter in Cao Xuan's hand returned to its original state.

"pass."

Chen Kexin, who was sitting on the monitor, shouted loudly, and Huang Bo next to him called out first: "Bring water quickly."

The staff rushed over to bring a bottle of mineral water. Cao Xuan took it, spit out the water and rinsed his mouth, then swallowed it slowly and complained.

"This wine is really strong."

In the plot of the movie, the two bottles just now were gasoline, but in fact, they were dyed and they were white wine that looked like gasoline.

At first, he used water, but after Cao Xuan tried it twice, he couldn't arouse the pain caused by drinking gasoline as quickly as possible.

The kind of feedback given quickly by physiological instinct can be performed with acting skills, but it is not that vivid.

So Cao Xuan thought about it for a while, and then used strong liquor instead. He took a few sips, and the physical stimulation produced combined with his acting skills was almost the same as drinking real gasoline.

After using water to relieve his physical discomfort, Cao Xuan put on his military coat and ran to the monitor to watch the replay.

"How about this time?"

"It's very good. It was done in one go. The feeling of wanting to go all out came out. The tension was very high."

Chen Kexin, who was wearing glasses, gave him a review, and the two discussed based on the plot just now.

After the crew of "When Men Fall in Love" started filming, Cao Xuan's performance at the beginning was not good. It's not that his acting skills were bad, but that he was familiar with TV dramas and was a little uncomfortable with movie acting.

Film shooting is much more difficult than TV dramas, requiring actors to give the audience as much information as possible with their performances within limited time and shots.

For the same thing, TV dramas have enough time to explain things clearly. 10 minutes is not enough for half an episode, and half an episode is not enough for one episode. After all, things should be explained clearly.

Movies don't have that much time. According to the storyline, you may only be given two minutes or less for something. If you don't understand it, the following plot may be missing.

This requires actor performance, on-site director scheduling, post-editing, and even audience understanding, so that everyone can work together to complete this clip.

Cao Xuan, who had never been involved in film acting, took more than half a week to slowly adjust and became increasingly grateful to have found Chen Kexin.

Director Chen’s character will be put aside for now, but there is no problem with his directorial skills.

At present, in the mainland film industry, except for the three famous directors Zhang, Chen, and Feng, most of the directors are making art films. Even those three famous directors are not purely commercial.

Under such circumstances, the commercial film thinking of Xiangjiang directors has some advantages over those of mainland directors in the film market-oriented environment.

If you are looking for a director with a background in literary films, he will explore the behind-the-scenes depth of each character, the human nature, and the general environment. The finished product may not necessarily be bad, but the tone of the movie will be different.

Chen Kexin could relatively understand Cao Xuan's considerations for this movie, and was able to produce Cao Xuan's requirements to the greatest extent, and also checked for Cao Xuan's omissions and corrected the problems he didn't understand.

For this alone, Cao Xuan felt that the 2 million directing fee was not in vain, not to mention that it would be easier to get into theaters with the name of Xiangjiang Director.

In the current mainland film market, except for the three famous directors mentioned above, most mainland directors are not popular.

Because their movies have no box office and theaters make little money, they pay more attention to Hong Kong and Taiwan directors, especially Hong Kong directors, because their movies have more box office.

From 2001 to 2010, on average, more than half of the top ten box-office movies in mainland China were produced by directors from Hong Kong.

Although the overall performance is not as impressive as the three famous directors, it cannot stand up to the large base. Hong Kong circles are unparalleled in the film industry, and this group of Hong Kong directors is also one of the reasons.

At this stage, Hong Kong directors have not collectively gone north, but Hong Kong films are famous and recognized by various theaters.

Although Cao Xuan and Hu Jing are famous enough to knock on the doors of theaters, there is Chen Kexin who is even more famous.

Cao Xuan originally approached him for this reason, but now it seems that compared to the bonus from theaters, Chen Kexin's personal directing level is more helpful for the movie "When Men Are in Love".

The two discussed the scene just now, then added two more camera shots, and then started filming the next scene.

After receiving the money, Cao Xuan left a wad of money to treat the fat boss's son.

This does not indicate whether the fat boss’s words are true or false, it is just to show that the male protagonist [Gu Chao] has a bottom line in doing things and is kind-hearted.

Including the previous debt collection, Cao Xuan also mainly used scaring. His trump card was to hurt himself. After receiving the money, he would keep some of it when seeing the client's difficulties.

Asking for debt is a profession, keeping money is human nature.

This is the characterization of the male protagonist, a good man who is in a gray area but has a bottom line.

In addition to the above-mentioned clips, there are several other clips, all of which show the male protagonist's debt collection methods from the front or side.

Subsequent family background and other people's opinions will also gradually outline and enrich the image of the male protagonist in the minds of the heroine and the audience.

He was naughty since he was a child and didn't like to study. He dropped out of school early but couldn't find any serious job. He was deceived and led astray. However, his personality did not allow him to hurt others, so he found another way to engage in a [self-mutilation style] debt collection method. He was fierce and domineering. Beneath the surface is a warm and kind heart.

This is not only for plot considerations, but also for audience perception and review.

There is no way, if he is really a gangster who has done all the bad things, even if the prodigal son comes back, the male protagonist himself will not be that likable, and the taste of this romantic movie will be compromised.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a literary film, you can even design conflicts and plots to be more intense.

But for commercial films, public perception must be taken into consideration, and the image design of the male and female protagonists must be reserved. The scale is too large, and many people may not be able to accept it.

………

After filming the scene, Hong Jiantao wrapped it up, Cao Xuan personally sent flowers, and everyone took a group photo together.

This time, he happened to be filming in a neighboring city and was planning to return to Beijing after filming. Hearing that Jiang Chao was here, he stopped by to visit the cast, but was tricked by Cao Xuan into a guest role.

Cao Xuan knelt down, cried, and received a few punches, but he confiscated a dime, but Cao Xuan still felt grateful.

"This movie is good, Jiang'er. Act well. If you get noticed by that person, your chance to get ahead will come."

Before leaving, Hong Jiantao called over his colleague and brother Jiang Chao to give him a few words of advice.

The two dramas "Love Through Time" and "The Unruly Princess" made Hong Jiantao famous for a while, and also made him realize the strength of Fanxing. This time when Jiang Chao had the opportunity, he naturally had to mention it more.

"Don't worry, Brother Hong, I will work hard."

Jiang Chao is not stupid. He knows that the opportunity is rare. Although he is not very good at flattering and socializing, he understands that he must play the role well first.

Only by presenting the character perfectly can he have a chance to be favored by Cao Xuan. On the other hand, he is not a handsome guy or a beautiful woman, nor is he outstanding, so what can he do to impress Cao Xuan.

Jiang Chao's route is right. In the past few days since he joined the team, Cao Xuan has noticed his efforts.

Although the henchman [Big Fatty] he plays is mostly in the background, he will be meticulous every time he moves and shoots repeatedly. Even if the camera does not catch him, he will not relax and go all out.

Although he was not eye-catching, his down-to-earth attitude made Cao Xuan have a good impression of him.

Don’t underestimate this good impression. In the future, Fanxing and even Guolan will participate in the production and investment of films and TV shows, which may add up to more than a dozen films every year.

Cao Xuan said a word, Jiang Chao has no shortage of film appointments.

It's hard to say who plays the leading role, but the supporting roles are good enough. After accumulating one film after another, his reputation will not be weaker than that of some second-tier stars.

Jiang Chao understands this truth, and Huang Bo understands it even better. Moreover, he is good at communication and his performance of the character [Curly Hair] is also very brilliant.

At least these days, Huang Bo's cast and crew are very popular. Cao Xuan even recognized him as a fellow villager. When he opened his mouth or closed his mouth, he said "Bo'er" or "Huang Bo'er" with a Daoshi accent. He was a man of the hour in the crew.

Even Liu Denghui chatted with Huang Bo in private and thought that no matter how hard he worked, he might be signed by Cao Xuan to Fanxing. At that time, his title of Nortel Bole would be really stable...

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