After a long day's work, Shen Fang and Tian Xian, the two idle folks, asked the owner to prepare some hearty dishes for them. A whole roasted lamb, roasted beef ribs, several specialty side dishes, and a few snacks—all things Shen Lanlan had bought during her trip.
After washing up and changing into comfortable clothes, Lao Zhangzi and the others came downstairs, looking at the delicious food.
"Junior brother, you're so thoughtful. I'm starving today. It was too hot at noon, so I didn't eat anything. Now that the weather has cooled down, my stomach is growling. Let me have a piece first."
Zhang Yimou tore off a piece of lamb leg and began to chew.
Chen Daoming glanced at Zhang Yimou and said, "I, as his mentor, haven't even had the first bite yet. Director Zhang, this is outrageous."
Zhang Yimou smiled and handed the lamb leg in his hand to Chen Daoming.
Chen Daoming handed a dirty look to Zhang Yimou.
Liu Qianqian attentively served Maggie Cheung a glass of plum juice. Maggie Cheung took a sip and praised it.
"The sour plum drink you make there tastes really good."
Chen Fang smiled and said, "It's a special product made by our Liangpin Shop. It's a sour plum drink paste. Just mix it with water, chill it, and you can drink it. It's a ready-to-eat product."
When Zhang Yimou heard that there was plum juice, he handed over the cup.
"Give me a drink. Eating mutton and drinking plum juice is just right to cut through the greasiness."
Shen Fang poured a glass for Lao Yizi and the others.
Liu Qianqian sat next to Maggie Cheung, looking at the goddess with admiration.
"Sister Manyu, the fight scene with your Sister Zhang today was so amazing! They were flying around on wires. So cool!"
Liu Qianqian should have kept quiet, because as soon as she mentioned Maggie Cheung, she started criticizing Zhang Yimou.
"Director Zhang, wasn't it supposed to be cool, handsome, and stylish? How did it turn into an action movie? Didn't you say it was just a matter of striking a pose? Goodness, my back is almost broken today. I'm not a trained action actor, flying around like this... You're kidding me."
Zhang Yimou ate a bit too quickly and choked, so he quickly drank a glass of plum juice to help him swallow.
“Manyu, since you’re cool, handsome, and the world’s number one female swordsman, you’re bound to have action scenes. Flying around isn’t that normal.”
"But you have way too many action scenes. Eight out of ten scenes involve wire work. Director, I'm 40 years old, can you do less of these? Also, could you buy me some good sunscreen or something? This weather is awful. I just went up there, and the next second I feel like I'm going to get sunburned. I feel like I've aged several years just from filming this movie."
Zhang Yimou smiled and said, "Sunscreen is no problem, but Maggie Cheung, we've already filmed this much, so you'll definitely have to finish filming the rest of the scenes. I'll apologize to you after that."
Maggie Cheung rolled her eyes at Zhang Yimou: "Director Zhang, you're just good at fooling people. I admire you so much, and all you do is fool us actors."
Jet Li nodded repeatedly: "Yes, Director Zhang, I'm a professional action actor, and all my scenes are internal. There are so few fight scenes, while Maggie Cheung has so many. Give me some more screen time. I want to look cool in the film. With such a big investment and you directing, you should at least make me look cool."
Zhang Yimou raised his glass and clinked it with Jet Li's.
"No problem, we'll add more scenes for you later."
Maggie Cheung looked at Liu Qianqian jokingly.
"Sisi, if Director Zhang asks you to act in a movie in the future, you must not listen to his nonsense. Don't be fooled by his honest and simple appearance. He's a liar who only knows how to deceive people."
The little fool nodded upon hearing this.
"I know, Sister Manyu. Director Zhang is a big liar."
Everyone burst into laughter upon hearing this.
Liu Xiaoli rolled her eyes at her naive and innocent daughter. Then she glanced at Zhang Yimou.
"Director Zhang, our Xixi is quite innocent. Please remember to cast her if you find a suitable role in the future."
At this time, the 14-year-old fairy still had the adorable clumsiness unique to primary and secondary school students. Although she could be incredibly clever at times, she was mostly quite silly and believed whatever others said.
Shen Fang pinched Liu Qianqian's little face.
"Teacher, all the seniors are here. Today, please teach our Xixi how to cry. Today, Xixi tried to imitate the crying scenes of Sister Maggie Cheung and Sister Zhang, but she couldn't cry after trying for a long time."
Chen Daoming ate some food and smiled, saying, "Crying scenes are arguably the simplest acting technique."
"I have summarized three tips for your reference."
Liu Qianqian looked at Chen Daoming with an eager expression and even put a piece of beef on his plate.
Chen Daoming smiled and said: "The first method of role immersion is to deeply experience the character's feelings, truly understand the character's sadness, and let the tears flow naturally. This is what is called getting into character."
The second method is to evoke emotions: If you can't get into character, try to evoke your own emotions. Recall sad things in your life and make yourself cry involuntarily.
The third method is to use eye drops. Although this method looks fake, it's a good option for novice actors who simply can't cry. Alternatively, playing sad music or tunes can instantly create a melancholic atmosphere. Of course, this is generally used by actors who aren't good at acting, and I don't really recommend it. If you can't even act a good crying scene, what kind of acting are you?
Then
To cry convincingly, you must immerse yourself in the role, truly listen, see, and feel. Put your own emotions into the performance, experiencing the characters' feelings at that moment. Empathy will naturally unleash the most genuine emotions, bringing the audience to tears. Secondly, explosive emotion is also crucial. When everyone's emotions reach a certain climax, a single tear naturally slides down, accompanied by somber background music; it's impossible not to feel sad.
Some actors, whose acting skills are still developing, have to resort to props. One method is to smear onions into their eyes during a performance, then add a sad expression to make it look like they're actually crying. Another method involves eating wasabi, which supposedly causes tears and snot to flow together, creating a truly realistic and convincing performance.
You need to develop the physical sensation of crying. Focus your awareness on the bridge of your nose between your eyes, making your nose feel sore. Then, move your throat; this is the process of preparing for the crying scene. Don't rush yourself, but remind yourself not to cry too quickly.
Liu Qianqian nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.
Then he muttered to himself: mustard, onion, mustard, onion.
Shen Fang exclaimed, "Good heavens! Is he planning to use props and external force to achieve the effect of crying in a scene? That's not good for his health!"
Maggie Cheung touched Liu Qianqian's face.
"Actually, crying scenes are really simple. As long as you think about unhappy things or things that move you when you're acting, and you clear your mind, you can shed tears. It's not that difficult. It's difficult for those who don't know how, but easy for those who do. When I first started acting, I didn't know how to film a crying scene. The director slapped me across the face, and I burst into tears. After that, whenever I filmed a crying scene, I would think about the director slapping me, and I would cry immediately."
"It hurts, it hurts so much."
Upon hearing this, Liu Tianxian looked at Zhang Manyu in horror. A big slap?! Someone wants to give me a big slap?! Just thinking about it makes me cringe.
It's a joke; Tianxian has never been hit by anyone. Neither her parents have ever laid a finger on her. If a stranger were to give her a hard time, she'd definitely fight that person to the death.
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