"Ji Yan, good morning."
Good morning, Brother Xi.
Ji Yan and Xi Ming greeted each other quietly.
On this day, the two began filming their first scene together. The production team had notified them that the filming time was 9 a.m., but before 8 a.m., Ji Yan and Xi Ming appeared on the filming set at the same time.
After breakfast, Ji Yan and Xi Ming discussed some points that they might need to pay attention to when rehearsing their lines.
Although Ji Yan's experience was not as rich as Xi Ming's, his comprehension was quite good. With just a little reminder from Xi Ming, he basically understood. Ji Yan also took the opportunity to learn from Xi Ming as much as possible. In any case, it was a rare opportunity to work with an experienced and excellent actor like him.
"How do you plan to act this part?" Xi Ming circled a section of the script and asked Ji Yan in a low voice.
“I guess Li Yu is seen as a complete villain,” Ji Yan replied. “Director Qu felt there was no need to drag things out, and after thinking about it myself, it seems that’s indeed the case.”
Li Yu is a cold-blooded monster. There's no need to delve too deeply into the character's background; otherwise, it might lead the audience to make unnecessary assumptions.
Qu Xiyu is not the kind of director who hopes the audience will sympathize with the villains, and the script for "Black Curtain" has absolutely no intention of making Li Yu reform.
“Okay, then we’ll film it like this.” Xi Ming smiled slightly at Ji Yan. “I’m a little nervous.”
After joining the crew of "Black Curtain", Ji Yan learned more from Xi Ming, but in reality, Xi Ming was also observing him.
Being recognized by the Changkong Award speaks volumes about Ji Yan's talent. Xi Ming has seen all three of Ji Yan's films to date, and he can only sigh that for some people, acting ability is almost innate. Ji Yan's performance in "I, Nameless" still had a touch of immaturity, but his progress in the later films "Young Love Poems" and "The Vanished Murder" was quite remarkable.
Some actors struggle to grasp the basics even after filming numerous productions, but Ji Yan clearly belongs to the type who can quickly master filming techniques with just a short period of practice.
Because he is not formally trained, his portrayal of the character lacks the craftsmanship of a professionally trained actor; instead, it seems as if it were all natural.
Just as Ji Yan didn't want to be overshadowed by Xi Ming in their scenes together, Xi Ming, as a senior actor, also didn't want to fall behind Ji Yan in their scenes together.
Ji Yan's efforts in the "Black Curtain" crew were clearly visible to him. When it came to acting, Ji Yan was not perfunctory at all, but truly gave it his all.
A few minutes after 8 o'clock, Qu Xiyu also arrived at the filming location.
Ji Yan has never met this female director in an official setting. It is said that Qu Xiyu is very low-key in private and is not keen on participating in various activities. She often expresses indifference when it comes to award selection. However, the box office performance of several of her films is quite outstanding, and the word-of-mouth is also good. For directors, whether a film can win awards is not important. The key is that the film can be sold. Only in this way can it be considered for investment.
Take "The Vanished Murder" for example. The lead actor, Ji Yan, won the Best Actor award at the Chang Kong Awards. However, the film lost to "The Wind Blows the Border" and "Towards Dawn" in the competition for Best Director and Best Film. But this does not affect Lu Ming's status as the most sought-after director at present. His situation is completely different from that before the filming of "The Vanished Murder".
Qu Xiyu arrived early to prepare for the shoot. She briefly greeted Xi Ming and Ji Yan, asking them, "Is today's shoot all set?"
Ji Yan gave an OK sign, while Xi Ming nodded slightly.
But Qu Xiyu still called the two aside and briefly explained the general state she wanted.
Qu Xiyu wasn't worried about the two. Ji Yan and Xi Ming were both top-notch actors in the industry, so she didn't need to worry about their performances. Qu Xiyu understood this during the filming. The problem was mainly in their comprehension. Xi Ming and Ji Yan's understanding of the characters and the plot sometimes exceeded the framework that Qu Xiyu had set for the script.
The other party did indeed film very well, but like solving a math problem, although Ji Yan and Xi Ming were able to get the standard answer in the end, their performance was a bit beyond the scope.
"Alright, let's rest for another 15 minutes before filming."
At Qu Xiyu's command, everyone in the crew who was eating buns and drinking water stopped what they were doing, and the other actors who were working with the two also got ready.
In addition to Xi Ming and Ji Yan, the film "Black Curtain" also features many other talented actors. Ji Yan has many scenes with Huang Qiuhan, who won the Best Supporting Actor award at the Chang Kong Awards in the 1990s. Huang plays the top henchman of Li Yu. Xi Ming plays the righteous side, while Kong Fei joins the cast. Kong Fei was active in the film industry for several years, but took a break for a few years due to health reasons. When he returned, he couldn't find a suitable role.
Unlike typical Hong Kong action films, Qu Xiyu's movies do not feature romance scenes, a practice she has maintained since her very first film. This is because either she writes the scripts herself, or she selects a script and then completely rewrites it, imprinting it with her own personal touch. Qu Xiyu is not good at writing romance scenes, and she would rather omit this element than allow romance to affect the fast pace of the film.
"Better to have nothing than something bad"—that's Qu Xiyu's style.
Therefore, there are very few female characters in Qu Xiyu's films. Even when there are, they are either heroic policewomen or ruthless villains. They all have a lot of presence on the big screen. However, because the characters are so distinctive, Qu Xiyu's films often attract actresses. After the film is released, the actresses who starred in it usually gain a large number of fans.
In "The Curtain", there is a female character named Jing Qiong, who is one of the strategists of Li Yu's faction. She is a ruthless woman who is no less ruthless than Li Yu.
In other words, in "The Curtain Calls," Li Yu and his faction are all mentally unstable, with very few characters who are even remotely sane.
"Filming begins."
In this scene, Gu Chao, played by Xi Ming, finally realizes that something is wrong with Li Yu. He risks everything to find Li Yu alone, but Li Yu is waiting for him like a rabbit waiting for a trap. The two then engage in a battle of wits.
In the script, this is also a foreshadowing of Li Yu's eventual defeat to Gu Chao. In this scene, Li Yu's faction has a stronger aura and more people, but he is deceived by Gu Chao's bluff. If he could kill Gu Chao here, the ending would definitely be rewritten.
Ji Yan's image is also different from the previous ones.
In terms of appearance, there was not much change in this scene. The makeup artist also asked Qu Xiyu whether it was necessary to add more shadows to Ji Yan's face to highlight the villain's status. Qu Xiyu did not hesitate at all and directly interrupted this idea.
Therefore, without any changes to his appearance or styling, Ji Yan needs to directly demonstrate the evil of Li Yu's character.
This is very different from Cheng Yuan in "The Vanishing Murder," even though he also plays a character representing evil.
Ji Yan took a deep breath, waiting for Qu Xiyu's instructions.
In this scene, Gu Chao waits for Li Yu at the usual spot, both of them fully aware of the change in their identities.
The bar was dimly lit, and the handsome men and beautiful women danced listlessly. Gu Chao lit a cigarette, but perhaps because the lighter was out of gas, he couldn't light it after two attempts.
Just then, a figure silently approached and lit a cigarette for Gu Chao.
The camera only showed half of Li Yu's profile, but perhaps because his whole body was in shadow, Li Yu's appearance gave people a strange sense of eeriness.
It's hard to describe in words the atmosphere that Ji Yan sketched out in just a few strokes, but even though his face wasn't fully revealed and no one could see his eyes, the character's dark and intimate atmosphere was perfectly conveyed.
Perhaps the word "composed" best describes Ji Yan's performance at this moment.
His portrayal of Li Yu was so grounded and steady that he was able to hold his own against Xi Ming's performance. As a result, there was no sense of either of them being weaker than the other in terms of presence; on the contrary, they were evenly matched.
Even though the scene being filmed is extremely short, the atmosphere is definitely there.
The actors in the "Black Curtain" crew are almost all very talented. Some of their skills are things that can't be taught in textbooks, but their years of filming experience have given them a unique understanding of acting.
"Li Yu".
The moment Li Yu appeared, Gu Chao knew his identity, but he wasn't flustered at all when he accepted the cigarette. The cigarette was held between his fingers, and the aroma instantly filled the small bar area.
"Brother Gu." Li Yu chuckled, and the camera slowly moved to him, giving him a clear close-up.
At first glance, his face was still the same face. Although he was smiling, there was no smile in Li Yu's eyes, like a cold, deceptive machine.
“It’s you.”
The moment Gu Chao finished speaking, Li Yu subtly twirled his finger, and a small-caliber pistol deftly moved between his fingers, suddenly pointing at Gu Chao's temple: "Brother Gu, don't be so serious. We've cooperated quite a few times before. Can't you forgive me for any mistakes I've made?"
Li Yu's fingers were long and slender, unlike the hands that usually wield knives and guns. Yet, even as he spoke casually, the pistol did not move an inch from the valley facing the sun.
Gu Chao remained calm. He reached out and gently grasped Li Yu's hand, which was resting on the trigger: "Since you've put it that way, let's have a good talk."
The two were like old friends who could sit down and have a heart-to-heart talk, with no intention of killing each other.
Li Yu looked quietly at Gu Chao.
At this moment, Gu Chao also quietly looked at Li Yu.
The smile on Li Yu's face slowly disappeared, his expression turned cold, and his eyes were fixed on Gu Chao like a venomous snake. At this moment, he shed his usual carefree demeanor, and his evil side was magnified infinitely.
This face is very young, but as the behind-the-scenes boss, Li Yu's most obvious aura is the coldness around him. It seems that he is a person without any emotions. Even just a glance at him at this moment will make the people around him feel a chill down their spines.
It was just a simple performance, yet a person's temperament could undergo such a dramatic change.
Qu Xiyu stared at the monitor without saying a word. At this moment, everyone's eyes were focused on Xi Ming and Ji Yan. How would this scene be filmed? They were really looking forward to it.
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