Chapter 134 Life on the Film Crew
The response to "Wilderness Expedition" was very enthusiastic. Many of their program clips were edited out and continuously promoted and spread through big data. Several endorsement deals came knocking on their door. Wei Ye still adhered to the principle of careful selection and chose a few brands with high national recognition and less likely to cause problems for them.
In particular, a national brand of mountaineering clothing also expressed its intention to cooperate, and it was not the short-term contract they had imagined, but a long-term endorsement.
Meng Fanxi squeezed out some time to finish filming several endorsement commercials, and then flew to Muzhou Mountain, the main filming location for the movie.
Li Yingqiu stayed by his side the whole time. Meng Fanxi was confused in his previous life and didn't want to trouble others, so he basically didn't have a long-term assistant. Only when he was very busy and Xu Jun was only taking care of Zhang Ruizheng did he apply for a short-term assistant.
Li Yingqiu has now passed the competitive selection process of Will Company with high marks. Currently, he is the only artist they manage, and after discussion, they do not need to provide an assistant for the time being.
Therefore, after joining the crew, Meng Fanxi had the fewest staff members among all the actors in the crew whose names were known. Even some artists whose names were completely unknown had at least two assistants with them.
Feng Mingxu is a very efficient director. After confirming that all the important actors had arrived at the film set, he held a script reading session that evening in the hotel's conference room.
Meng Fanxi met the male lead and the other two actors who played Bo Jin here. Xie Yunzhou was played by Rong Zhang, a young actor who is currently very popular. When Meng Fanxi looked over, Rong Zhang even nodded slightly to him.
Although they had never met before, Rong Zhang, as the male lead of this male-centric drama, truly excelled in every aspect, and Meng Fanxi returned the smile.
The seating arrangement for the script reading was based on the importance of the roles. Meng Fanxi had already memorized the script and brought his emotions into his lines during the meeting. His lines were clear and easy to hear, and with his clear voice, he perfectly portrayed the youthful and unruly Bo Jin. He could feel the surprised looks coming from all corners.
The script reading concluded smoothly, and experienced actors were able to gain a clear understanding of their future life on set and the quality of the script through these preliminary efforts.
Smooth and high-quality.
This is Meng Fanxi's feeling about the reading session. As expected of "The Travels of Yunzhou," he is already looking forward to the life that is about to begin.
Over the next few days, they took promotional photos and various pre-production promotional materials before filming officially began.
The opening ceremony went very smoothly. The crew invited many media outlets to film on site. They not only reported on the opening ceremony, but were also allowed by the director to film the first day of filming.
On the first day, Meng Fanxi had an unusually large number of scenes. Normally, his scenes should have been scheduled for later, but his scenes were placed as early as possible on the schedule.
Meng Fanxi's question was quickly answered. During the meal, Feng Mingxu specifically walked up to him and said, "Xiao Meng, your role is very important, and given your good performance, we've put you at the front of the schedule. You don't have any objections, do you?"
What could Meng Fanxi possibly object to after hearing this? Besides, generally speaking, being scheduled for the first day of filming means that the director trusts his acting skills. Otherwise, Chinese people still value a good start and don't want any retakes.
When Meng Fanxi came out after his makeup and styling, the staff who had already seen him couldn't help but marvel. How could the boy, who looked so pure and gentle in his casual clothes, become as if Bo Jin were right in front of them after changing his clothes?
The indifference in his handsome eyes, the way he flicked his sleeves always made one feel that he might be hiding some kind of hidden weapon, and the fleeting sinister look in his expression.
Bo Jin seems to be just like that, fearless and audacious. You never know whether you'll be met with his underhanded tactics or a direct attack in the next second.
When the reporters and media who came to take pictures saw Meng Fanxi come out, they all pointed their cameras at him. He is currently a popular idol, and this is his first film and television work. Many reporters wanted to dig up some news about Meng Fanxi's poor acting skills, which would definitely make headlines and earn a lot of traffic.
From the moment Meng Fanxi came out, something felt off. He and Rong Zhang seemed to be quite familiar with each other. The reporters were focused, waiting to capture small details on set while thinking about what to ask in the interview.
Meng Fanxi found acting with Rong Zhang very easy, even though he remembered reading in his previous life that Rong Zhang was very aloof in private.
After confirming the positioning, a shout of "Action!" and both players got into the zone.
This was a scene where the two had known each other for a long time, but in reality, it was their first scene together, and the audience held their breath in suspense.
When Meng Fanxi secretly destroyed Yunyu, he no longer had the puppet he had used during the audition. He was acting purely against thin air, but his performance convinced everyone that there must be something there. Then, Xie Yunzhou, played by Rong Zhang, appeared. The two of them moved naturally, and their lines and performances flowed smoothly.
This was a rather long scene, yet it was performed seamlessly without any interruption. The actor playing Bo Jin in the third stage watched it with rapt attention, even mentally adjusting his expected performance, as he couldn't afford to create any discontinuity with the previous two stages.
Feng Mingxu, who was sitting and watching the screen, smiled with rare satisfaction. The screenwriter next to him said in a low voice, "This drama has been successfully made."
The novel's author, Shui Qin, was also present. She strongly agreed with the screenwriter's words: "I originally thought no one could play Bo Jin at this stage. When it was announced that Meng Fanxi would play the role, I was half-believing and half-doubting. It wasn't until I saw his performance that I was completely convinced. The director really has a good eye."
Feng Mingxu smiled but remained silent. He had always been very arrogant, believing that his choices were never wrong, but deep down he knew that he wasn't really sure when he sent Meng Fanxi the audition invitation.
It was just a fleeting thought after watching a stage clip called "Wings" in "Team Up," but thankfully I didn't miss it.
After a day of filming, Meng Fanxi had no more scenes to film, so he planned to rest early to be in good shape for tomorrow.
On the way back to the hotel, they suddenly ran into Rong Zhang, who appeared out of nowhere. After spending a day together, Meng Fanxi greeted him naturally: "Brother Rong, are you going back to your room too?"
“…Hmm,” Rong Zhang hesitated, “I’m very happy to be in the same production team as you.”
Meng Fanxi walked forward calmly, but was surprised in her heart. Why did Rong Zhang suddenly say this? A series of messy guesses surfaced in her mind.
"Hehe." Meng Fanxi chuckled awkwardly twice, and then Rong Zhang said, "I only knew you were good at singing and dancing and had superb acting skills before, but I didn't expect you to be so good at acting as well."
Um?
Meng Fanxi was filled with questions. Why did the more he talked about it, the stranger it seemed?
"Uh, thank you."
"...Could you give me your autograph?"
"???" Meng Fanxi looked at Rong Zhang and saw that he took out their group's support merchandise from the wide pocket of his coat.
The peripheral item was a small knitted banner, which was sold on the official website along with their debut album. There were group banners and individual banners.
Different banners correspond to different cartoon characters. At the time, this merchandise was portable, compact, and cute, and it sold out several times despite being restocked.
...The thing in Rong Zhang's hand is a support item with his cartoon image printed on it.
Seeing that Meng Fanxi seemed stunned, Rong Zhang explained, "I am a big fan of 'Teamwork,' and I even voted for you back then."
A hint of...shyness flashed across her face?
"Thank you." Meng Fanxi took the pen and signed his name, momentarily stunned and unable to put the cap back on.
Rong Zhang then took out another banner: "If you don't mind, could you sign this one too?"
It was clearly a banner printed with their cartoon characters.
Meng Fanxi seems to understand his 'background' now, and the group is biased towards Meng Fanxi.
I'm a fan of the group, but Meng Fanxi is the main member of the group.
Meng Fanxi shook his head. Was this the time to be thinking about these things?
The problem is that Rong Zhang actually watches talent shows, votes for them, and even 'shyly' asks for autographs?
Meng Fanxi felt his worldview had been turned upside down, but Rong Zhang looked at him with a pitiful expression, like a poor little fan who couldn't get a response.
He cleared his throat: "Brother Rong, no need to be so polite. Thank you for your support. I just didn't expect this."
Rong Zhang then leaned closer, as if sharing a little secret, "Actually, a lot of people in the industry voted for you. Back then, a few of us even created a group to share our experiences. But I won't say who they are, lest you get scared."
Meng Fanxi: "..."
Thank you, I was already scared.
After returning to his room, Meng Fanxi chatted with his teammates who had asked about the first day's events. Fortunately, he hadn't been too affected. He told his teammates about it, and they were also surprised, but they quickly accepted it, saying that he hadn't truly grasped the extent of his current popularity yet and that he might need to hold a concert to truly witness his current level of fame.
The mention of the concert successfully diverted Meng Fanxi's attention. Wei Ye seemed to already be doing the preliminary preparations for the concert, and while doing so, he proudly exclaimed that there aren't many people who have the ability to hold large-scale concerts right after their debut.
Li Yingqiu is not a professional in acting, but Meng Fanxi values his perspective as an audience member. After all, the play is not performed for professionals, but for a broad audience and fans of the novel.
After receiving a positive review from Li Yingqiu, Meng Fanxi began preparations for the next day and then went to bed early.
Meng Fanxi's fans on the forum had long known that there would be a media visit today, and they were all on high alert. Some veteran fans explained to everyone that the first day of a media visit can basically reveal the quality of the production team, and the media would love for something to happen on set to stir things up, so the actors were under tremendous pressure that day.
Numerous vivid examples have shown that actors who perform poorly on the day of a media visit are harshly labeled as having bad acting skills, giving the audience a preconceived notion before the show even airs.
Some fans on the forum were industry insiders who found out that Meng Fanxi had a scene that day, which made everyone even more nervous. The number of posts kept increasing, and they were all asking if the production team or the media had any news.
After waiting a day, all they got were bland, normal media reports. Before the new fans could even react, the old fans were already celebrating: "He made it through! Vansie definitely pulled through! And he did a great job!"
Many fans still don't understand: "Why do you say that?"
"No news is good news. If he had performed even slightly worse, the media wouldn't be so quiet now. Expecting a hit story is even more impossible. A hit story would require either Will or the production team to put in some effort, but in my opinion, Will and Director Feng are both the kind of people who don't put too much effort into marketing. So don't worry."
...
Meng Fanxi had an exceptionally smooth start on set, and the process was very seamless. After two weeks on set, all of his teammates came to visit him.
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