Chapter 168 New Crew, New Look
Chapter 168
The TV drama market is constantly changing, and even insiders may not be able to tell the difference.
"Mandala" and "Just You" sparked a boom in urban revenge and youth campus themes. In the second half of last year, one project after another was launched, with the fastest one airing in October.
This year, audiences have grown tired of these types of content, and they have completely lost their appeal.
Ultimately, although these dramas and "Mandala" belong to the same genre, their quality varies greatly. Some campus dramas are forced to incorporate melodrama, while some revenge dramas are dominated by family ethics. It's no wonder that viewers don't like them.
The period drama that Lin Yuan took on, although family drama made up a significant portion of it, didn't have any melodramatic elements; it was simply a microcosm of a generation's struggles.
Lin Yuan admitted that he was not good at filming melodramatic scenes.
He has looked back on the TV series and movies he has filmed. Most of the time, his performance style is relatively restrained and not outward. When filming melodramatic subjects, Lin Yuan feels that he needs to raise his emotions to a very high threshold.
It's fine if it's just melodramatic, but if he has to recite those idiotic lines, I definitely can't help but burst out laughing.
The title of this drama is "Ascending to the Clouds".
As the title suggests, the drama tells the story of the development of the aviation industry. The life of the male protagonist, Yang Ji, changes constantly with the times. He is one person, but at the same time, he can represent many people.
The moment Lin Yuan saw the script, he felt that it was a very heartwarming drama.
As a modern person, he only knows that the domestic aviation industry is already very developed, and he is used to this situation, but he doesn't know what it was like at the beginning.
This must have involved the efforts of many people.
Whether it's the hardworking protagonist, his supportive family, the dedicated university professors, or his colleagues after he starts working... these are all very warm-hearted people.
Lin Yuan concluded that as he got older, he always preferred to watch things that were heartwarming, like love and hate; things that were too emotionally draining were simply not suitable for him.
After Lin Yuan's boastful words, He Xun silently dropped the link to "Hate": "What exactly are you talking about?"
"Has it flared up again?"
Lin Yuan: "...You don't understand me."
"…………"
Since then, the group has been completely silent. The group members have expressed that they can no longer stand Lin Yuan's pretentious behavior.
With Lin Yuan as the lead actor, the cast of "Ascending to the Clouds" is naturally top-notch.
"Ascending to the Clouds" was a collaboration arranged before Lin Yuan won the Wall Award. At that time, with Lin Yuan's name on the project, "Ascending to the Clouds" had already attracted a group of talented actors and idols.
Before filming even began, Lin Yuan quietly won the Best Actor award at the Woolf Awards, further elevating the status of "Up in the Clouds."
Feng Zeng mentioned to Lin Yuan that many actors were secretly trying to get on board with "Shang Qingyun".
Lin Yuan couldn't interfere with the production team's choices, but he didn't really like it.
Generally speaking, projects that are highly regarded by everyone and that everyone wants to get involved in are likely to end up becoming a mess.
Since the production team can replace actors at the last minute, they can also change the script at the last minute, and the bottom line will be broken again and again... Lin Yuan felt that the script of "Shang Qingyun" was already quite perfect, and at most a few details needed to be changed. There were not many things that needed to be changed.
Despite thinking this to himself, Lin Yuan did not interfere with the crew's actions.
He's neither a tyrant nor a domineering figure on set. To put it bluntly, everyone on the crew has their own role. As an actor, he fulfills his duties as an actor and doesn't interfere with the director's or screenwriter's authority.
An actor's interference with the script is simply to give himself more screen time, but he doesn't care at all whether the overall style of the script will be affected.
There's another reason—currently, Lin Yuan is the most prominent actor in the entire cast. If he doesn't do anything, the other actors won't do anything either.
But once he breaks the rules of the production crew, everyone else will follow suit.
Lin Yuan didn't want to see this happen.
“The crew didn’t change many people,” Feng Zeng told Lin Yuan. “Those who got roles before were all tough guys.”
Even disregarding the impact of the Woolf Award-winning actor, "Up in the Clouds" is still one of the best scripts in the industry.
The drama "Mandala" boosted the popularity of actresses Shi Ran and Yuan Yuan. Shi Ran has given good performances in urban dramas and period dramas, and she seems to be developing in the direction of Qingyi (a type of female role in Peking Opera).
But everyone knows that Lin Yuan has a more significant role in "Mandala" and is the absolute male lead.
But when a show becomes a hit, it can elevate the entire cast of actors to stardom.
Besides, the atmosphere in the film crews that Lin Yuan participated in was mostly harmonious, and there weren't many unpleasant things.
Scene-stealing, hidden main characters, male and female leads making way for supporting characters... these kinds of things will absolutely not happen.
The female lead, Qi Lian, in "Just Right" is already quite famous, and she landed several commercial deals with this drama.
Whether it's an idol drama or any other kind of drama, no matter how much criticism the subject matter receives, as long as it becomes a hit, it's not a problem.
“The production crew also cares about your attitude,” Feng Zeng added.
Although Lin Yuan didn't say anything, he gave the production crew plenty of face.
But for some people, silence itself is an attitude.
The production team didn't contact Lin Yuan, but they did try to gauge Feng Zeng's reaction. Feng Zeng casually mentioned something, and the production team became less proactive.
In the entertainment industry, Lin Yuan is not considered an authority. He has a shallow foundation and not good resources. However, he has accumulated enough goodwill among the audience and made many good connections in the industry.
Every time he achieves something, he generates profit for the production team.
In some ways, Lin Yuan Studio has also become a towering tree.
Most of the film crews and directors he's worked with have to respect his ideas.
...
"Ascending to the Clouds" has a lot of content and a relatively long filming period. Yang Ji also has a complete growth storyline, which is somewhat similar to "The Powerful Minister".
However, the atmosphere of this drama is completely different from that of "The Powerful Minister". The script ends abruptly when a certain type of aircraft is developed, and the story and characters remain at their most beautiful moment.
Lin Yuan cut his hair short and put on simple work clothes.
Lin Yuan already had a sunny face, and after his makeup test, the director called out "suitable" several times.
His youth was filled with sunshine, and in recent years Lin Yuan's features have gradually matured, making him even more suitable for the role of Yang Ji.
Yang Ji in the drama is a simple and honest person who strives for good.
Lin Yuan had short, slightly prickly hair. When he smiled, he revealed a set of bright white teeth, radiating the simple and honest charm of that era.
Like "The Powerful Minister", the story of "Ascending to the Clouds" also begins with the examination.
Yang Ji participated in the college entrance examination in the year or two after the 1970s.
The bicycle bell rang incessantly. After the news of the resumption of the college entrance examination came, the lights in Yang Ji's backyard never went out. When he ran out of materials, he would borrow or copy them. When he didn't have a bicycle, he would walk around and find his former teachers to teach him.
This section seems somewhat redundant in the context of the entire script of "Ascending to the Clouds," but the screenwriter believes it needs to be retained.
Lin Yuan shared the same view.
The beginning of the script sets the tone for the entire story. "Ascending to the Clouds" is both heartwarming and passionate, and this atmosphere has been present since the very beginning of the story.
Everything must have a beginning and an end.
In this scene, Yang Ji has caring parents and friends who work hard together. Although they have different aspirations, they are all equally determined to achieve their goals.
Without the company of his friends, Yang Ji might not have worked so hard to get to this point.
...
Li Xinjin, the director of "Ascending to the Clouds," is in his forties, of medium height, and has a face that is easily lost in a crowd. However, he has a good reputation among directors, especially for his period dramas.
No one who saw him for the first time would think he was the legendary director Li Xinjin.
Before this collaboration, Lin Yuan and the director met once, either at a TV drama awards ceremony or the Tung Blossom Awards. One of the director's dramas won an award, and Lin Yuan also won an award. When they chatted backstage, they mentioned that they might have the opportunity to collaborate.
The opportunity just happened like that.
After meeting with the director, Lin Yuan also met with the other actors in the crew.
He didn't know most of them and had never worked with them. Feng Zeng kept telling him who they were from, which company they worked for, and which projects they had been involved in... In short, Lin Yuan realized that these actors were indeed all very talented.
No wonder he noticed the director was frowning; he probably felt... things weren't going well.
With so many actors, coordinating their roles is indeed challenging.
Having a large crew certainly has its advantages—the crew of "Ascending to the Clouds" was quite well-funded, and the treatment was almost the best Lin Yuan had ever received in any crew.
Lin Yuan wasn't cold or hungry, and when the weather got hot, the production crew even provided him with a motorhome.
Lin Yuan originally thought he had become successful, but later he learned that well-known actors in the crew all received the same treatment.
Now actors' salaries are all written into their contracts, and actors try to take advantage of the production team whenever possible. Only someone like Lin Yuan, who has the title of a big star, hasn't received the corresponding treatment.
The production team was poor at the beginning, they didn't have much money. Later, it was all because Lin Yuan became famous too quickly.
"What kind of life did I live during 'Bloody Past'?" Lin Yuan exclaimed with deep emotion.
Agent: "...Stop bringing up 'Bloody Past' for everything, I can't be bothered to listen."
"Ignoring the final pain."
Agent: "Don't complain, or people will think you're always yelling."
Lin Yuan: "..."
Given the large size and diverse personnel of the "Ascending to the Clouds" production team, Feng Zeng specifically reminded Lin Yuan not to put on an easy-going face and assume that everyone in the crew could be a friend.
"I know, I know, I'm not stupid."
Feng Zeng: "..."
That's what he's most worried about.
They say they're not stupid, but once they start acting stupid, they exude stupidity from head to toe, and you can't stop them.
Although Lin Yuan had been in the entertainment industry for quite some time, he hadn't encountered any dirty dealings and had made his name through his acting skills. In his agent's eyes, Lin Yuan was a very simple person.
But the atmosphere on the set of "Up in the Clouds" was different.
There are many characters in "Storm", but Fang Qi is in charge of everything, while in "Ascending to the Clouds", the Eight Immortals each show their unique abilities.
For example, the male actors who played Yang Ji's friends could only play supporting roles in the drama, but on gossip forums, they were all considered the princes of their respective companies.
Overall, Lin Yuan is the lead actor, so there shouldn't be too many problems. However, Feng Zeng always felt that Lin Yuan might have been deceived by someone.
Lin Yuan: "?"
He finally couldn't help but ask his agent, "What kind of persona do you see me in?"
She sounds like the innocent, naive, and naive type.
But does that style even sound like it has anything to do with him?
Even Lin Yuan himself could hardly imagine it.
"Don't worry," Lin Yuan reassured his agent repeatedly, "there won't be any problems."
As it turns out, he was just boasting.
Filming had only been going on for two days when the crew was already bustling with activity.
However, this matter has nothing to do with Lin Yuan; the problem lies with other people.
There are three male actors playing the protagonist's friends. One of them chose to work in the same industry as the protagonist and is considered a major supporting actor. The other two correspond with each other and have fewer scenes. The other two had zero interaction with each other throughout the entire production.
Male actor C and main supporting actor A are brothers, so C tries to win A over while treating male actor B coldly.
Lin Yuan: "..."
He heard from his agent that B and C seemed to have dated the same person and had previously had a conflict over a role.
Why did they have to put them together?
Although listening to gossip was quite interesting, Lin Yuan was happy to continue listening, but the situation was happening in his own film crew, which made things less than ideal.
"Because he is the crown prince."
"The struggle for the crown prince position has always been like this," Lin Yuan remarked, a comment from an outsider.
But the fire eventually burned him.
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Author's Note: Update! [doge][doge][doge]
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