The main plot of the movie is written around the famous general Song Yi and the prince Cao Shijing, and the story of the Song brothers is just a brief side story.
With the assistance of General Song Yi, Prince Cao Shijing unified the fragmented kingdom and ascended the throne. Years of internal strife and war have made life miserable for people everywhere, and small countries in the north have even taken actions to send troops to launch rebellion.
So, Song Yi followed the king's order and led his troops northward, distributing relief food along the way, and finally arrived at the northern border to set up camp.
The border state was closed, and the advance team distributed food to the local beggar refugees according to Song Yi's orders. Song Zhao, played by Ji Li, lived among these beggars.
"Everyone, listen to me!" The assistant director held up a loud speaker and shouted to the extras, "When the filming starts later, the soldiers will distribute food to you. Everyone must rush to grab it. The more you grab, the better! After you grab it, you must eat it. Do you understand?"
The beggars had been hungry for a long time, and the army suddenly distributed food, so they must have wanted to create a scene of people scrambling for food.
The extras responded.
The assistant director then jumped off the stage and walked to Ji Li's side. "Did you remember what I just said? There will be a moving camera following you later, so pay attention to your position. There will also be a facial close-up at the end."
"Be smart and don't think you have any special privileges just because you joined the team temporarily."
The assistant director also heard about the "replacement if the performance is not good" thing this morning, and hinted, "It's best to get the group performance through in one take, leaving a good impression on Director Zheng."
"I understand. Thank you, Assistant Director."
This scene was not difficult, and the close-up shots were not difficult for Ji Li either. He had originally planned to do it in one go.
Qin Li saw the assistant director explaining the scene to the crowd from a distance, and after searching for a long time, he finally found his "brother" among a group of beggars.
Zheng Anxing sat in front of the monitor and called out, "Qin Li, come and sit down."
A staff member brought two chairs over, and Qi An sat down. "Is it almost time to start filming?"
"Almost done." Zheng Anxing pointed at Ji Li on the monitor in the upper left corner and said with a satisfied smile, "He looked quite handsome on the actor model card, but I almost didn't recognize him just now because of his beggar costume."
The implication is that he is still satisfied with Ji Li for now.
Qin Li took a sip of coffee and said nothing. "Let's wait until we start filming. Appearance is important, but acting skills are the key."
Zheng Anxing heard this expected answer and glanced at Qi An, who shrugged helplessly.
I don’t know whether to say that Ji Li is lucky or unlucky? Qin Li took notice of this first group scene.
Looking at the entire crew, everyone knows that Actor Qin has extremely high demands on acting details, and any dissatisfaction will require reshoots.
Such high standards are a pressure for actors, but they are also a rare opportunity to hone their skills.
The assistant director, who had made all the arrangements, came back and shouted, "Director Zheng, we can prepare for filming."
Zheng Anxing made an OK gesture and shouted into the intercom, "All departments, prepare for filming, script supervisor, clapboard."
Ji Li, who was at the shooting point, heard this and quickly sat down. He curled up and buried his head between his knees, but put his hands on his stomach and pressed gently.
The pain of hunger became clearer with the movement, and in a trance, he heard the director's "Action".
The sound of axles came from far away and finally stopped in front of the pile of beggars at the city gate.
The sounds of commotion could be heard from the surroundings. Song Zhao, played by Ji Li, raised his head weakly. His eyes were dull from long periods of fatigue.
After a long while, he finally turned his gaze to the soldiers on horseback. The other party jumped down from his horse and signaled his followers to lift the bamboo basket cover on the cart, revealing a large amount of dry food.
In order to achieve greater realism, the crew prepared hundreds of pancakes in advance and air-dried them overnight.
At this moment, the shriveled pancakes didn’t look good, but they still made the beggars instantly excited.
There is a cart full of pancakes, and you can even smell the fragrant wheat aroma. Ji Li swallowed his saliva, and his greedy gaze almost poked a hole in the bamboo basket full of dry food.
Director Zheng, who was sitting in front of the monitor, saw this scene and a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes.
This boy is quite good at it. The movement of his throat is not exaggerated, and it is so subtle that it seems like a natural reaction. However, one can easily see from his eyes that he is attracted by the food.
He glanced at Qin Li beside him, who was as serious and expressionless as always.
The leading soldier's voice rang out, "We are the Red Wing Army of Bang State. Following General Song Yi's instructions, we came here in advance to distribute relief food to everyone..."
Before he could finish his words, the beggars rushed forward out of control, one after another, almost overturning the cart.
"Give me!"
"Give them all to me!"
"Don't grab it!"
"Give me some to save my child, he's really starving to death!"
There was a chaotic quarrel in his ears. Ji Li held his breath and squeezed into the crowd. He used all his strength to grab a small half of a pancake, and then he crouched down and squeezed out of the crowd.
Perhaps because of the fierce competition, his steps were a little unsteady, but his eyes staring at the food in his hand were filled with unprecedented excitement.
Suddenly, someone bumped into his shoulder hard, and half of the pancake fell unexpectedly onto the dusty ground, and was stepped on by a beggar who came later without paying attention.
Ji Li was stunned.
——Bang!
There was a muffled sound behind me.
The extras used too much force and ended up overturning the cart, causing all the undistributed pancakes to fall to the ground.
When the assistant director saw this scene, his brows furrowed.
It’s a mess, everything is a mess!
The extras are, and so is Ji Li.
He is indeed a newbie with no experience. He was so stunned that he couldn’t even act when something accidentally fell to the ground?
"Director Zheng, this..." Just as the assistant director was about to speak, Qin Li, who was sitting in the front row, spoke up, "Don't say cut yet, wait a little longer."
Zheng Anxing seemed to have noticed something as well. He leaned forward unconsciously and fixed his eyes on the upper left corner of the monitor just like Qin Li did.
That was the mobile camera that followed Ji Li.
Song Zhao, played by Ji Li, was stunned for a few seconds, then stiffly pinched his empty palms and opened his eyes wide in disbelief.
Then he knelt on the ground with a bang, and gathered the crushed pancakes on the ground with his hands. He held them in his palms like treasures, smiled foolishly twice, and then stuffed the broken pieces of pancakes into his mouth frantically.
The pancake that fell to the ground and was stepped on was covered with sand and dust, it was so dirty. But he seemed not to notice and stuffed all the biscuit crumbs into his mouth urgently, wishing his cheeks would burst.
His eyes gradually turned bloodshot red, and when there was no food in his hands, he began to cover his mouth tightly, as if he was a ferocious hungry beast trapped at the critical point, afraid that someone would snatch the food from his mouth.
Several experienced extras noticed Ji Li's actions and immediately started grabbing the pancakes on the ground. The rest of the people were inspired and followed suit, scrambling to eat.
The chaotic scene seemed particularly real.
The food fell to the ground and the director didn't say NG. The staff watching were surprised. It was not until this moment, as they stared dumbfounded at Ji Li's crazy behavior, that they finally understood -
Ji Li plays a beggar who is also a refugee persecuted by the war. The country was in turmoil and endless conflict, but in the end, it was the people who really suffered.
Their families were broken up, and they had to flee everywhere, without ever having a stable place to live or food source. Millions died in war or from famine.
Under such circumstances, how could any refugee dislike dirty food?
For them, it was simply a chance to survive.
"Cut! Passed!" President Zheng An breathed a sigh of relief. Very good, this was exactly the effect he wanted.
"Qin Li, what do you think?" he asked Qin Li beside him. It's not that he, as a director, had no opinion, but that the latter was also very professional in filming.
Zheng Anxing is not the only director in the industry who has said that if Qin Li stopped being an actor, he could become an excellent director.
"As long as you think it's okay." Qin Li responded calmly, but his eyes moved from the monitor to the shooting site, and his eyes were slightly deeper.
After hearing the director shout "Cut", Ji Li quickly spat out the food in his mouth. It's just that the dry pancake crumbs got stuck in his throat, choking him. He hasn't stopped coughing since then.
Before he could clear out all the sand in his mouth, Ji Li's face was almost wrinkled with discomfort.
"Get him a bottle of water." Qin Li blurted out, "Hurry up."
The stagehand finally reacted and ran to Ji Li with a bottle of mineral water.
When Ji Li saw someone helping him, he immediately gave them a grateful look. He squatted beside the sewer and rinsed his mouth repeatedly before he thanked the staff in a gentle voice.
"You're welcome. You acted very well," said the stage manager.
Ji Li curled his lips. He looked at the director and Qin Li not far away. After a slight hesitation, he walked over and asked, "Director, Qin... Teacher Qin Li, can I watch the replay of the scene just now?"
It is a habit that Ji Li develops to review his work after shooting. Even though this time it was just an insignificant supporting role, he didn't want to take it lightly.
"Of course." Zheng Anxing had a very good impression of Ji Li. He asked the staff to bring a small stool and asked the other person to squat between him and Qin Li.
"Thank you, director." Ji Li sat down and stared at himself in the playback without distraction.
The young man was squatting in the front left. Now all that could be seen was a small, shaggy head with a wig. Qin Li's gaze, which was originally directed towards the monitor, unconsciously fell down.
The tuft of hair on the other person's head was shaking slightly, which was a contrast to his performance just now...
cute.
The moment this word came out, Zheng Xing'an interrupted him, "Ji Li, you get into the role very quickly, which is a rare talent among new actors."
Many newcomers always feel nervous when they join the crew for the first time, and it is easy for them to feel unable to relax.
Ji Li smiled politely, neither agreeing nor denying.
He knew better than anyone that what others called "talent" was actually the result of his hard work day after day.
"Ji Li, your backpack." The staff handed over his small black bag.
"Thank you." Ji Li was almost driven crazy by the hunger in his stomach, and quickly took out a small loaf of bread from his bag.
He was just acting, he didn't intend to really starve himself to death.
As Ji Li was unpacking the outer packaging, he muttered, "Fortunately, we filmed on time as announced. If it had been delayed any longer, I wouldn't have been able to bear it."
The speaker may not mean it, but the listener may take it seriously.
Qin Li asked subtly, "You didn't eat breakfast for this role?"
"…I was hungry for two days in a row." Ji Li looked at Qin Li and told the truth. He doesn't think that this is a sign of sympathy. All his hard work is open and aboveboard. What is there to hide?
This time, Zheng Anxing and everyone around him looked over.
Qi An was amazed. "Starving for two days? This kind of perseverance is not something that ordinary people can do."
Ji Li was really hungry. He was chewing the bread with all his heart. He couldn't free his mouth, so he had to nod.
Seen from the side, the young man's face was still dirty, but his cheeks were round and plump, moving from time to time, which inexplicably added a sense of lively humor, making him look like a little squirrel eating.
Qin Li had to look away and silently swallow the smile.
There were footsteps coming from behind, and Xiao Linsen, who had been sent to find backup actors, came back. He was holding his phone happily, completely ignoring Ji Li who was squatting in the front row, and started talking.
"Director, Brother Li, I have found a backup actor for Song Zhao, it's the talented actor Zhou Qingming."
"He just got a new drama a while ago, and it's in Hengcheng. I mentioned that you might want to change actors, and the agent said that he has no new drama schedule these two days, so he can come and fill in."
“…”
Qin Li and Zheng Anxing looked at each other and fell silent.
Just when Xiao Linsen was confused, Ji Li, who was sitting in the front row and was a section shorter than him, collected the remaining half of the bun and turned around slowly.
Qin Li is the largest investor in this play and has more say than the director in some aspects.
Ji Li was fully aware of this and looked directly at Qin Li. There was a hint of confusion in his clear eyes, and he asked softly, "Teacher Qin Li, did you intend to replace me from the beginning?"
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Brother Li: ...Baby, listen to my explanation [Suddenly panicked.JPG]
Asi: My brother Li has a sharp eye! My brother Li makes decisive decisions! I want to replace my brother Li! My brother Li got slapped in the face! [Waving flags and cheering.GIF]
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