Chapter 66: Not Knowing How to Be Gentle and Tender
The filming location of "The Misty Forest" was set in an abandoned sanatorium in the suburbs. The gloomy environment just fits the atmosphere of the script.
On the first day of filming, the atmosphere should have been tense and orderly.
However, as soon as Lin Xiao appeared, this order was immediately broken.
She arrived late, accompanied by a young boy who looked quite young, with a bit of timidity in his eyes and a deliberate imitation of Lin Xiao's demeanor.
This is the new guy she forced into the group, named An Rui.
"Oh, what a shabby place this is. It's so dusty that my nose is going to be allergic!" As soon as Lin Xiao got out of the nanny car, he fanned his nose with his hands, frowning and looking disgusted.
Her assistant quickly opened a parasol, and another assistant took out a small fan and blew it at her.
An Rui followed her closely, wrinkled his nose like her, and agreed in a low voice: "Yes, Sister Xiaoxiao, the environment here is indeed not very good."
Behind the surveillance camera not far away, Su Yu's face had already darkened.
Gu Manman stood next to Su Yu, looking at Lin Xiao's behavior, without saying anything, but her eyes became a little colder.
Zhou Mubai was holding a walkie-talkie, communicating details with the lighting team. He didn't seem to notice the movement here, but his slightly furrowed brows showed that he was not completely unaware.
The first scene is An Rui's.
It was a simple cut scene that only required him to say two lines and make a terrified expression.
"Action!" Su Yu shouted.
An Rui stood in front of the camera with a stiff expression, evasive eyes, and stuttering lines, not even showing the basic sense of fear.
"Cut!" Su Yu frowned, "An Rui, you're not in the right mood! You saw something scary, not constipated!"
An Rui shrank his neck when he was yelled at and looked at Lin Xiao for help.
Lin Xiao immediately walked over in high heels with a fake smile on her face: "Director Su, don't be so fierce. An Rui is still a newcomer. You have to give him some time to adapt."
As she spoke, she walked to An Rui, patted his shoulder, and comforted him softly: "It's okay, An Rui, don't be nervous, try again."
Then she turned to Su Yu, her tone was a bit like pointing out Jiang Shan: "I think that emotion just now is actually okay. It doesn't have to be so exaggerated. Sometimes a more restrained fear is more advanced."
Su Yu's anger suddenly rose.
"Lin Xiao, are you the director or am I the director?"
"Do you think it's okay? If you think it's okay, then you can play the role instead?"
The smile on Lin Xiao's face froze: "Director Su, what do you mean? We are discussing the role..."
"I don't need to discuss this with you!" Su Yu interrupted her, her voice cold and hard, "Either you stay here quietly, or go back to your rest car!"
"And you!" Su Yu turned her gaze to An Rui and said bluntly, "You'll be given five minutes to adjust. If you can't make it in the next take, you'll have to shoot other people's scenes today!"
An Rui's face turned pale in an instant.
Lin Xiao was so angry that his face turned blue, but looking at Su Yu's stubborn look that seemed ready to explode at any moment, he finally held back and pulled An Rui aside to mutter.
Gu Manman gently touched Su Yu's arm: "Calm down."
Su Yu took a deep breath and suppressed her anger: "Look at her! And that An Rui, he is just a piece of wood!"
Zhou Mubai came over at this time: "Do you need my help to take a look?"
Su Yu glanced at him, then looked at Lin Xiao, who looked grim, and An Rui, who was about to cry, and nodded: "Okay, Director Zhou, you have a lot of experience, you can give it a try."
Zhou Mubai walked up to An Rui and said, "Don't be nervous. Relax a little."
He did not talk about the play directly, but asked a few questions about the character's background, guiding An Rui to understand the character's inner state at the moment.
"Imagine that late at night, you are walking alone in a completely unfamiliar place where something terrible has just happened. There is no sound around you except the whistling sound of the wind blowing through the window..."
Under his guidance, An Rui seemed to slowly find the feeling. His eyes were no longer so wandering and his body relaxed a little.
Lin Xiao watched from the side, folding his arms and curling his lips.
"Okay, let's do it again." Zhou Mubai stepped back.
"Action!"
This time, An Rui's performance was obviously much better.
Although it was still a little immature, at least it conveyed the feeling of sudden fear, and the lines were also much smoother.
"Cut! Passed!" Su Yu's voice finally softened a little.
An Rui felt relieved and quickly bowed to Zhou Mubai: "Thank you, Director Zhou! Thank you, Director Zhou!"
Zhou Mubai just nodded faintly, turned around and walked back to the monitor.
Lin Xiao snorted, twisted his waist and walked over, saying in a sarcastic tone: "Ah, Director Zhou is really good, he can discipline people with just a few words. Unlike some people, they only know how to scold people fiercely and don't know how to be gentle with women at all."
Her words were obviously directed at Su Yu.
Su Yu's expression, which had just relaxed, darkened again, and the knuckles of her fingers holding the walkie-talkie turned white.
Gu Manman pulled her and signaled her not to be impulsive.
Seeing that Su Yu ignored her, Lin Xiao felt bored and turned her attention to the props team.
"Hey, what kind of crappy chairs are these? They're so uncomfortable to sit on!" She pointed at an ordinary folding chair in the lounge area, looking critical. "I'm the leading actress! Don't you even have a comfortable chair? How can I rest? How can I stay in the best condition for filming?"
The guy from the props group was embarrassed: "Sister Xiaoxiao, this... the conditions of the crew are limited, and everyone has the same chair..."
"What do you mean everyone is the same? Can I be the same as them?" Lin Xiao raised his voice, "Hurry up and change me to a softer one! Otherwise I won't shoot the scene this afternoon!"
She spoke in a loud voice and the staff around her heard it and looked at her sideways, but they dared not say anything.
Upon hearing the news, Sister Chen rushed over and tried to comfort her with a smile on her face: "Oh, my aunt, it's not a big deal. I'll ask someone to find you a comfortable sofa chair. Please calm down first."
Lin Xiao hummed in satisfaction, turned around and told his assistant, "Go, get the massage cushion from my RV and use it as a cushion first!"
The entire crew wasted a lot of time because of her actions.
Su Yu was so angry that she whispered in Gu Manman's ear: "Fuck! You really think you are a dish! What the hell!"
The filming continues.
Perhaps because Zhou Mubai was present, Lin Xiao's behavior in the afternoon was much more restrained. Although he still complained occasionally, he did not act like a blatant trouble like he did in the morning.
Finish work in the evening.
Su Yu was so tired that she collapsed on the chair. She took the water handed to her by Gu Manman and took a few gulps.
"Damn it, I'm so tired!"
"Filming with her is more tiring than doing it a hundred times myself!"
Gu Manman smiled and said, "At least nothing happened this afternoon."
"That's all for Zhou Mubai's sake?" Su Yu snorted, "Look at the way she looks at Zhou Mubai. She wants to cling to him."
At this time, Sister Chen came over with her usual friendly smile on her face.
"Thank you for your hard work today!" She raised her voice and clapped her hands, attracting everyone's attention. "It's the first day of running-in, so it's inevitable that there will be some bumps and bruises, but the overall progress is still good! Are you all exhausted?"
The staff members responded one after another with relaxed expressions on their faces, and the tension of the day was finally relieved.
Sister Chen's smile deepened: "To reward everyone, I'll treat you tonight! Let's go to the five-star hotel near the studio, have a good meal, and relax!"
"Wow! Sister Chen is so generous!"
"Great! I'm just hungry!"
There was an immediate cheer from the crowd.
Lin Xiao was being helped by her assistant to remove her hair accessories. Hearing this, she raised her eyebrows and looked at Sister Chen: "Oh? Which one? How is the environment? Are the sanitary conditions up to standard? I won't go to that kind of dirty place."
An Rui beside her nodded in agreement like a chick pecking at rice.
Sister Chen's smile remained unchanged, and her tone was still polite: "Don't worry, Xiaoxiao, this is a newly opened five-star hotel with first-class environment and facilities. It is guaranteed to be clean and comfortable."
Lin Xiao nodded reluctantly and said nothing more.
Su Yu rolled her eyes imperceptibly and complained to Gu Manman in a low voice: "Virtue! Give her face."
Gu Manman didn't respond, but just watched Zhou Mubai packing up equipment with several staff members. He took off his coat and wore only a simple white T-shirt, with his sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his strong forearms. His profile looked particularly soft in the afterglow of the setting sun. He seemed to notice her gaze, raised his head and looked over, smiling at her.
Everyone started packing up and walked towards the parking lot in twos and threes.
Although the day's shooting was full of twists and turns, a hearty dinner and the opportunity to relax helped ease the tense atmosphere.
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