Chapter 175 New Film "The Magic Eye Detective"
Chapter 175
The whole thing unfolded in a very fantastical way, but the variety show ended up with high ratings because of it.
He Mian's agency is the same as Ye Liuchuan's. It can be said that since Lin Yuan's debut, there has been no cooperation between this company and Lin Yuan except for friction.
Who would have thought that our paths would cross so suddenly?
Currently, neither He Mian's agency nor Lin Yuan's studio intends to hype up this connection to the extreme. If it were someone else... that wouldn't be out of the question.
But when the subject becomes Lin Yuan/He Mian, something just doesn't seem right.
In short, it's very strange.
Only the audience was enthusiastic.
As it turns out, if the audience isn't interested in a couple, no matter how much marketing the agency puts in, the couple won't generate any buzz. He Mian and Lin Yuan had clearly competed at the Tung Blossom Awards, and He Mian's rejected drama "The Powerful Minister" made Lin Yuan famous, so they should have been quite at odds.
But for the audience, this flavor is actually more unique.
The awkward atmosphere actually made the two seem more genuine, with a sense of heartfelt emotion. And both are top-tier male actors in the industry…
In short, go for it!
Lin Yuan: "..."
It was indeed a bit awkward, but at least he wasn't in so much pain anymore. In a way, this was a very timely pairing, helping him escape his misery as soon as possible.
"Should we write a thank-you letter to He Mian?" He Xun asked. "If you're too shy, I'll ask him for you."
"No, no, no, please don't." Lin Yuan was speechless. He never expected that He Xun would become so eccentric one day.
The entertainment industry is a terrifying place; He Xun has been completely changed.
In response, He Xun said, "Whether it's ie or not, it's not as interesting as watching you make a fool of yourself."
Lin Yuan: "?"
Who exactly was he going to be a guest on the show for?
Oh.
It's worth mentioning that the ratings suddenly surged when the segment featuring He Mian and Lin Yuan interacted. In fact, the two didn't have much screen time, and they were only on screen together for a few minutes, but the audience still managed to get it.
Lin Yuan's fans didn't have much of an opinion on this.
Although he had clashed with He Mian's fans before, it's still better for Lin Yuan to be paired with He Mian than with Liu Jing.
Lin Yuan might not care about being drained of his life force, but his fans care about it very much.
After this incident, it seemed as if the ice between Lin Yuan and He Mian had been broken, and they were no longer strangers.
He Mian would occasionally like Lin Yuan's posts on WeChat Moments, and Lin Yuan would reciprocate by liking them too.
Because He Xun was also on the same variety show, when He Mian's new drama premiered, both He Xun and Lin Yuan forwarded and promoted it for each other.
This was a situation Lin Yuan had never anticipated.
It's... pretty amazing.
To some extent, this is probably the PTSD that filming "Up in the Clouds" brought to Lin Yuan. As long as he's not constantly being targeted and hyped, everything is fine.
...
"The Detective with the Magic Eye" is Lin Yuan's main project for the second half of this year. From signing the contract to confirming his participation in the production, the process took a full six months.
However, the production team had no choice but to patiently wait for Lin Yuan.
The production team had initially decided to cast Chen Cong as the male lead, but Chen Cong withdrew midway through the project and chose director Shi Jinglin's new work instead. The production team had no choice but to turn to Lin Yuan and try to secure his casting.
In any case, the production team of "The Detective" is more looking forward to a more well-known male lead.
Lin Yuan was the initial choice of the production team, but unfortunately, his schedule clashed with "The Storm," so they had to choose Chen Cong instead.
It took about two or three days after filming started for Chen Cong to decide to give up. The production team did the math and realized that if they looked for someone else at that point, it would be better to wait for Lin Yuan.
Fortunately, Lin Yuan had no other plans and readily agreed.
Shortly after the contract was signed, Lin Yuan won the Best Actor award at the Woolf Awards.
The entire crew of "The Detective with the Magic Eyes" immediately felt that the wait was worthwhile.
He's a Walter Reed Award winner for Best Actor.
The Wall Awards are not yet 100 years old; this year marks their 96th anniversary. Since the first edition, Wall Award winners have etched their names into film history.
Many of them are renowned film actors, elites from various countries, and their representative works include many masterpieces that are well-known to the Chinese people.
The production team of "The Detective with the Magic Eye" wanted to invite actor Lin Yuan, but they never expected that he would also receive a Wall Award for Best Actor.
Moreover, Lin Yuan has no other filming plans for the time being.
No one knows whether he will continue to release albums, film TV series or movies next. From this perspective, the "Magic Eye Detective" production team really got a great deal.
With He Xun among the main actors, marking their second collaboration after "The Powerful Minister," the film naturally generated a lot of buzz.
If the male lead were replaced by Chen Cong, it obviously wouldn't generate this kind of buzz.
When the controversy over the change of male lead first started, the production team of "The Detective with the Magic Eyes" had already garnered a lot of attention. At that time, Chen Cong went to work for Shi Jinglin. There were many opinions in the industry about the future direction of "The Detective with the Magic Eyes". Some felt that changing the actor was not a good omen, while others felt that "The Detective with the Magic Eyes" must have some major flaws, which is why Chen Cong did not hesitate to join Shi Jinglin's new work.
The number of people who are optimistic about this project is roughly equal to that of those who are pessimistic about it.
But ever since Lin Yuan won the Wall Award for Best Actor, the industry's atmosphere has suddenly changed, and "The Detective with the Magic Eye" has immediately become highly anticipated.
Some people now think that Chen Cong will regret turning down this project.
Some people said that it was fortunate that the male lead was Lin Yuan, because Chen Cong's popularity with the audience was far less than Lin Yuan's, and so on.
Chen Cong was quite unhappy, but no one cared whether he was happy or not; manuscripts continued to fly around.
Lin Yuan thus began a new filming schedule.
“Since I started filming ‘The Storm’ this year, I feel like I haven’t had a break.” He calculated the time and said, “I can hardly find a long vacation of more than three days.”
"The fact that you can use the word 'almost' means your agent is already quite good."
As soon as he put down his luggage, He Xun came to Lin Yuan's room to hang out with him. The two were very familiar with each other, and their respective managers were naturally also very familiar with each other.
When they first collaborated on "The Powerful Minister," He Xun didn't have much say in his own company. Now, however, he is the undisputed top star. If his agency does anything wrong, his fans will stand up for him and seek justice.
He Xun brought a game console, played games with Lin Yuan for a while, and sent a photo to Yu Ying.
Yu Ying has been elusive lately, and it's hard to find her for most of the day. It's said that the filming of her new movie has reached a critical stage, in which she plays a mother seeking revenge.
This time, she collaborated with another veteran actress, forming a revenge alliance.
While it's also a revenge film, Lin Yuan no longer takes on this genre. However, this film is different from "Mandala" and "Bloody Past". It is told from the mother's perspective, and the resilience and fighting spirit revealed in the script can shock everyone who reads it.
As soon as Lin Yuan saw the script, he understood why Yu Ying was so eager to film it.
Actors share similar aesthetic tastes, and Lin Yuan could immediately spot the unusual aspects of the script.
It's truly a pity for Ying to give up such a script.
...
Comparatively speaking, "The Detective with the Magic Eye" is a lighter script, but the plot is quite mind-bending.
Because it's a mystery film, the production team really wanted to turn it into a series.
The protagonist, Lu Zhuo, is the "Magic Eye" detective himself. He has an extraordinary pair of eyes that can always detect clues that ordinary people cannot. In addition, his eyes are not only good at observation, but also good at observing human nature.
Director Huang Ya-wen is a rare female commercial film director. In the general impression, female directors usually come from art films, and even if there are commercial film directors, they are mostly good at youth and emotional themes.
Although "The Detective" is not a more hardcore commercial film, in the eyes of the general public, it has nothing to do with female directors like Huang Yawen.
There's a rumor circulating online that Chen Cong ultimately turned down "The Detective" because the film's director and screenwriter were both women, and their fame was far less than Shi Jinglin's.
In this case, Shijinglin is naturally more attractive.
Huang Yawen had probably heard this claim, but she did not comment on it. Even when reporters pressed her for answers, she remained silent, making it impossible to guess what she was thinking.
Now that Lin Yuan has been chosen as the main character, Huang Yawen doesn't want to say anything more.
She has directed several low-budget commercial films before, some of which earned more than 100 million yuan at the box office with a budget of more than 10 million yuan, and others that earned more than 50 million yuan at the box office with a budget of 8 million yuan. Overall, she made a profit, so some investors are willing to help her direct this film, "The Detective with the Magic Eye".
However, compared to those big directors who rake in billions, Huang Yawen's achievements are not particularly impressive.
"The Detective with the Magic Eye" is her chance to prove herself.
She is clearly capable as a director.
There are no directors who can guarantee profits. Some directors in the industry have very impressive financial figures on paper, but only heaven and earth know how much money their films actually make.
On the contrary, it is directors like her who have no money to buy publicity and release their films quietly that can guarantee that they make money.
The case in "The Magic Eye Detective" is a typical locked-room mystery, a type of case with many classic works that many viewers have already seen, making it very difficult to create something new.
Therefore, in addition to the cases, the script also needs to focus on the protagonist Lu Zhuo, showcasing his personality traits and exploring his background... In the history of detective novels, the reason why the works of famous authors are so impressive is not only because of the ingenious cases, but also because the detectives have their own unique charm.
Lu Zhuo is the kind of detective Huang Yawen wanted to create—carefree and unrestrained, yet delicate and sensitive, with a seemingly nonchalant exterior concealing a heart of justice that no one can surpass.
After meeting Lin Yuan once, Huang Yawen admitted that the reason she put Lin Yuan first among the candidates was because she had seen him act in "Major Case".
Huang Yawen is also a fan of crime dramas.
"Major Cases" is an episodic series, with each case spanning several episodes, and is about the same length as a movie. Although Qiu Heng, played by Lin Yuan, is not a detective, his character is equally vivid and belongs to the sensitive and delicate type.
Huang Yawen especially liked the confrontation between Qiu Heng and the murderer in the final case of "Major Case".
In that scene, Qiu Heng revealed his dark side—righteous indignation cannot subdue a murderer; to make a murderer fear, one must sometimes be more ruthless than the murderer.
Detectives are inherently figures who walk the line between right and wrong.
The more delicate, sensitive, and intelligent a person is, the more easily they suffer, because they perceive things that ordinary people cannot perceive, and they cannot confide in ordinary people; they can only digest these things on their own.
Lu Zhuo is just that kind of person.
If Qiu Heng were the kind of upright character who exudes a strong sense of justice and is incredibly intimidating, Huang Yawen wouldn't consider Lin Yuan.
Lin Yuan could only sigh that every step he had taken as an actor had actually been seen and had not been wasted.
Playing a role well can earn him more opportunities.
After receiving the script for "The Detective with the Magic Eyes," Lin Yuan began to study it carefully. Although Huang Yawen thought that Lu Zhuo and Qiu Heng had similarities, the two characters were different after all.
The term "magic eye" sounds mysterious and enigmatic. The director said that in order to increase the character's mystique, she would consider adding a touch of metaphysics.
Whether the audience believes it or not is fine; it's best if they argue with each other, as this will cause the film's popularity to soar.
Lin Yuan: "..."
That sounds very irresponsible.
Well, if he were a viewer, he'd probably be curious too.
Of all the actors, Lin Yuan's script was the most complete. There were eight main actors in the film, and apart from Lu Zhuo himself, all of them were suspected of being the murderer.
Currently, only Lin Yuan knows who the murderer is.
"It can't be me, can it?" He Xun probed indirectly.
"Guess?" Lin Yuan remained silent.
Not only with He Xun, but no matter who asked him, Lin Yuan maintained a mysterious attitude and didn't say a word.
Lin Yuan guessed that the production team did this in the hope that the actors would maintain a high level of enthusiasm for filming.
If an actor doesn't know whether they are the murderer, they will suspect that they are the murderer and then do all sorts of things that make the audience wonder. If they know from the beginning that they are the murderer, the actor will unconsciously exude a sense of security.
The one who knows they are the murderer will be trembling with fear and try their best to make themselves look more like the murderer.
But this is not the effect that a good detective thriller aims to achieve.
Whether it's a detective novel, a detective drama, or a detective movie, the most consistent thing is always that—before the truth is revealed, everyone looks like the murderer.
The dead are an exception.
The first thing Lin Yuan did upon joining the crew was to design the character's image and take costume photos.
Since he already has the cool nickname "Magic Eye Detective," his appearance naturally can't be too ordinary. The production team decided from the beginning that Lu Zhuo couldn't have black hair.
Even if black hair is absolutely necessary, a cool hairstyle must be designed.
Either they're sky-high or they're prickly; Lin Yuan personally thinks they're both too childish.
Dyeing his hair blonde might suit him better, but with his face like Lin Yuan's, blonde hair would make him look too lively.
Lin Yuan: "No one says that the Magic Eye Detective can't be conventional, right?"
Why does it have to be so childish?
He has a mature, calm, and composed personality; the term "chuunibyou" (a Japanese term for someone with delusions of grandeur) has nothing to do with him.
"Are you sure this is describing yourself?" He Xun looked at him with a puzzled expression.
"Who else could it be but me?" Lin Yuan asked rhetorically.
He Xun remained silent.
In short, Lin Yuan tried one look after another, putting on wigs of all colors, even colored ones. Lin Yuan felt that if it were nighttime, he might be mistaken for a feather duster by the old ladies on the street.
It's so cringeworthy and anime-like.
Considering that Lu Zhuo was an eccentric, Lin Yuan accepted the production team's design.
Putting everything else aside, at least the character Lu Zhuo has a strong presence.
Moreover, he already has the nickname "Magic Eye Detective," which is a kind of shameful play for Lin Yuan. If he plays it a little more... he can barely accept it.
This is the professional ethics of an actor.
Who knows, one day in the future, his photo with the Wall Award will be displayed alongside Lu Zhuo's colorful hair.
If an actor is good enough, all their quirky behaviors will be attributed to art. But if they do their job poorly and then act quirky, the audience will just think they are being dramatic.
In the end, Lin Yuan's hairstyle was decided to be green highlights. In his imagination, he transformed from a feather duster into a parrot. However, the stylist's technique was good, and Lin Yuan felt that Lu Zhuo's image was quite present in the camera.
It is indeed very cringeworthy.
Lu Zhuo not only has a bizarre appearance, but also a bunch of strange T-shirts, with menus printed all over the chest, from chicken burgers to chicken legs to whole chickens, featuring the whole chicken family.
With his parrot-shaped hairstyle and chicken-themed family T-shirts, Lin Yuan felt he could be respectfully called a beast.
In short, the production team did this to continuously deepen the audience's impression of Lu Zhuo.
This can also be used as a selling point after the movie is released.
Lin Yuan agreed to everything; on the film set, he was now a walking parrot.
He Xun would occasionally make a few teasing remarks to him, and Lin Yuan accepted them all.
Anyway, he has played too many serious roles. In this year's "The Storm" and "Up in the Clouds", the roles he played were even more serious than in previous years.
To date, Lin Yuan has almost exclusively played leading roles, which means he is far removed from unconventional characters. The reason he had this opportunity in "The Detective with the Magic Eye" is simply because the main plot of the film is solving a case, and the case itself does not revolve around the character of Lu Zhuo, which gave Lin Yuan such room to perform.
He wouldn't have had this opportunity with other films.
So, although Lin Yuan complained a lot, he was actually quite happy inside.
He would occasionally look in the mirror to see if his new hairstyle had been ruined.
Feng Zeng: "..."
The agent said he had nothing to say and even wanted to show this side of Lin Yuan to the fans.
It's hard to imagine anyone connecting the Lin Yuan of this moment with the Lin Yuan at the Wall Award ceremony.
A strange person.
Lin Yuan can be genuinely serious when he's serious, and he can also be genuinely chuunibyou (a Japanese term for someone with delusions of grandeur) when he's being silly.
In the story of "The Detective with the Magic Eyes", there are seven other characters besides Lin Yuan, including He Xun, as well as rising star Zhong Heng, veteran actors Li Ping and Wei Qinqin. In terms of cast, "The Detective with the Magic Eyes" is a well-balanced cast, with men, women, young and old.
The unique feature of the "locked room mystery" mode is that everyone is cut off from the outside world. In this space, the killer can act freely, and even if everyone is on high alert, they still cannot stop the number of people from decreasing.
The story of "The Detective with the Magic Eye" is set in a dilapidated building, a place that resembles a pit.
Unlike typical locked-room mysteries set in suburban villas or houses across bridges, in "The Detective with the Magic Eye," everyone faces a desperate situation.
It's not enough to just wait for someone to come and rescue them; they must save themselves.
There is only one escape exit, but it cannot accommodate so many people, so someone will inevitably have to sacrifice themselves.
In this situation, who should be the victim?
The murder happened at this exact moment, so without hesitation, the victim was naturally the murderer.
The detective's job is to identify the murderer.
Lin Yuan felt that the script of "The Detective with the Magic Eye" was special because there was a huge plot twist at the end of the story.
That was something he couldn't figure out no matter how hard he tried—in order to make this movie well, Lin Yuan had actually studied a lot of detective novels.
In summary, as long as you can thoroughly understand the most classic stories, you can basically guess the murderer's motives and methods.
When filming "Major Cases," Lin Yuan had already watched quite a few detective works. However, most of the cases in "Major Cases" were adapted from real events, lacking the suspense of detective reasoning.
"The Detective with the Magic Eye" is quite unique.
Compared to art films, commercial films are indeed easier to make. The character of Lu Zhuo does not require him to show any profound acting skills. It is enough to make the character a bit eccentric and show the contrast between Lu Zhuo's true personality and his image when solving cases.
It's not difficult at all, and you can even pretend to be profound.
Of course, this was Lin Yuan's idea; other actors might not have thought the same way.
An actor who primarily plays serious roles may not be able to play comedic roles well. According to Lin Yuan's experience, it is easier to play a role from a serious perspective, as long as one continuously invests in the emotions and reaches a certain level. However, it is necessary for the actor to step back and play a lighthearted role, which may be difficult for the actor to grasp.
Many industry professionals, including film critics, have analyzed Lin Yuan's acting skills, believing that he is a thread-thread type of actor. His performances are more precise and complex, and he can convey different emotions through his eyes. However, he also has an infectious quality. When he needs to give up precision, Lin Yuan will also give up and let the character explode. It is difficult for the two to coexist.
Acting is a technical skill, but it is not rigid; actors must learn to use it flexibly.
After filming began, the cast and crew quickly became acquainted.
In the movie, Lu Zhuo encounters two students from an adventure association at a university. He joins them on their search for a lost treasure. Along the way, he meets a family of three, a group of hikers who happen to be nearby, and a passerby who happens to ask for lodging.
These people seem to have no connection, but as the plot progresses, their connection gradually becomes apparent.
Everyone else seemed normal, except for Lin Yuan, who had a head of green hair. When the first murder occurred, he was the first person suspected.
Confined spaces can easily incite people's violent tendencies; these are spaces outside the bounds of the law.
If the person who knows the evidence dies, the murderer will naturally be able to escape.
At the beginning of the shoot, everything was naturally very easy.
But at this moment, Lu Zhuo was already observing people.
This is his habit.
Lu Zhuo's walking posture was so light and airy that the director specially brought in an action director to correct Lin Yuan's walking posture—just to show Lu Zhuo's unconventionality.
Actually... Lin Yuan still doesn't understand what kind of image Lu Zhuo has in Director Huang Yawen's mind.
In the movie, Lu Zhuo might exude a unique aura, but in real life, if someone like that appeared, Lin Yuan suspected he would become a frequent visitor to the police station.
...
Although there was a long wait at the beginning because of Lin Yuan's availability, the other actors also adjusted their schedules. Once filming started, everything went smoothly.
The character Lu Zhuo has no romantic storyline. In this story, he is not familiar with anyone and is just an oddball.
The others, however, had different connections, each with their own ulterior motives.
"The Detective with the Magic Eye" doesn't demand much from Lin Yuan's acting skills, but it's not the same for the other actors. Everyone has their own secrets that they want to hide and don't want to be discovered, so they can't act too simply.
Lin Yuan, on the contrary, became the most relaxed person in the crew.
Among the main actors, Zhong Heng, who plays a student, is the youngest and a newcomer among newcomers. Huang Yawen asked Lin Yuan to mentor him.
On set, Lin Yuan and He Xun were always together, and over time, it became a situation where they took care of Zhong Heng together.
In the script, the student played by Zhong Heng appears innocent, but he is actually a cunning person with ulterior motives. He entered the building with ulterior motives, but unexpectedly found himself in a difficult situation.
Zhong Heng and Lin Yuan had only been chatting for a short time when Zhong Heng came to him to ask if he was the murderer.
“He won’t tell me,” He Xun laughed. “I’ve asked him so many times, and he’s never told me once.”
Does it really matter whether someone is the murderer or not?
"It's like reading a mystery novel; can you fall asleep before you see the ending?"
Lin Yuan: "..."
He really couldn't refute it.
Zhong Heng is only in his early twenties and has not yet graduated from film school. He is just a junior, but his agency has already arranged for him to act in big projects.
On the one hand, he was a child star and had accumulated a lot of popularity before. On the other hand, he was also lucky. He got a role during college, and the drama became a hit, which also boosted his popularity.
Because of his young age, his agency was willing to invest resources in him and was very optimistic about his future development. Coincidentally, the production team of "The Detective with the Magic Eye" was looking for young actors, and Zhong Heng was recommended by the agency.
Zhong Heng's first scene in "The Detective with the Magic Eyes" was a scene with Lin Yuan.
At the beginning of the story, the student played by Chung Heng is a blank slate, and even when the first murder occurs, no one suspects him.
In the script, Lu Zhuo got involved in the incident because of his acquaintance with him. At the beginning of their acquaintance, the student was young and innocent, and seemed to be a person without any guile.
Logically speaking, as a child star, Zhong Heng's acting skills should be flawless, but Huang Yawen entrusted him to Lin Yuan because he had a problem.
He'll get too much and too many different things.
In other words, Zhongheng only knows how to add, not subtract.
His representative role during his childhood was an overly profound one, as was the drama that became a hit during his university years, where the character was quite different from him.
In terms of acting skills, Zhongheng is actually quite capable.
The director felt that his acting was too profound in the early stages, which could easily arouse suspicion. In the beginning of the story of "The Detective with the Magic Eye", everyone looked normal except for Lu Zhuo.
But as the story unfolds, everyone gradually realizes that among this group, only Lu Zhuo is probably normal.
Lin Yuan was deeply grateful for this.
He has played so many characters who are the only abnormal ones among a group of people. Now he has suddenly become the normal one. It's simply... touching and brings tears to my eyes.
This fully demonstrates the production team's favoritism towards him.
Even though Lu Zhuo has an unusual appearance and is eccentric, he can tolerate it all.
-----------------------
Author's note: Here I am! [glasses][glasses][glasses]
The premise of "The Detective with the Magic Eyes" is inspired by Haruo Yuuki's "Ark," and the final twist was very interesting and memorable.
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