After returning from the "Blue" concert, Ji Yan quickly joined the cast of "The Long Song of Tears" to fill in for the crew.
Just as Li Xiang described, the production team paid him an extremely high salary, dozens of times more than when he filmed "I, Nameless," which also made Ji Yan realize the wealth and power of the TV series production team.
"What do you mean by 'wealthy and powerful'?" Chu Yunquan said expressionlessly. "The actor in front breached the contract, and the production team can collect a large sum of breach of contract fees from him."
However, in Ji Yan's eyes, who was used to Zhu Shuguang's stinginess, the "The Long Ballad" production team was an absolute money-making machine.
"The Long Song of Lament" is a historical drama about political intrigue. The film was mainly shot in a studio, with a few war scenes set on the grasslands. Ji Yan, who plays Qin Xin, mainly has dialogue scenes, and he filmed them at the film and television base in City A.
Before coming, Ji Yan carefully reviewed the script he had on hand.
In the script, Qin Xin is just an ordinary character. After more than ten years of hard study, he finally passed the imperial examination and ranked thirteenth in the top tier. However, his teacher, Jia Zhong, was imprisoned for offending a powerful minister.
Jia Zhong had several disciples, some of whom were already serving as officials in the court, while others were exceptionally talented in literature and everyone knew they had bright futures. Among the students, Qin Xin's literary talent was not considered outstanding, but when the entire court was afraid of the powerful minister's authority and dared not speak out, Qin Xin struck the drum to appeal for justice, listing several of the powerful minister's crimes. In doing so, he also tolled his own death knell.
"Xiao Ji, you've never filmed a period drama before, have you?" Chu Yunquan asked.
Ji Yan shook his head: "Director Chu, this is my first time filming a TV series."
Filming period dramas is much more troublesome than modern dramas. Ji Yan has to get up at least an hour early to put on his costume and hair ornament. Fortunately, he has lost weight recently, so the costume fits him perfectly.
The stylist was immediately impressed when he saw his new look.
The original actor for the role of Qin Xin was quite good-looking. The stylist estimated that after he left, the crew would not be able to find a suitable replacement for a while. However, Chu Yunquan, instead of taking any action, found an actor who was even better looking than the original actor.
Ji Yan is already tall and has a good physique. When the costume is put on him, the image of a slender and handsome scholar is instantly established. Regardless of Ji Yan's acting skills, his image is definitely in line with the role of Qin Xin, and even better than the production team originally expected.
Good-looking actors have a natural advantage.
...
Shortly after joining the crew, Ji Yan's first scene was officially filmed.
In this scene, Qin Xin, as Jia Zhong's student, hears for the first time that Jia Zhong has been framed and imprisoned.
"start!"
As soon as filming started, Chu Yunquan's expression became much more serious. He kept his eyes glued to the monitor, ready to give instructions to Ji Yan on set at any moment.
The camera focused on Ji Yan.
Ji Yan held a brush and was meticulously copying the scroll.
He came from a poor family and always cherished books. He held the book with great care, and while copying, he kept his eyes fixed on the book while carefully writing the words.
Seeing this scene, two words came to Chu Yunquan's mind—uprightness.
"The Long Song of Lament" is a serious drama, not an idol drama. The reason why the previous actor could not meet his requirements was that he was too casual when filming these scenes. He was pretty, but he had too much of a refined gentleman vibe. Chu Yunquan felt that with the other party's filming style, it wouldn't be surprising if a few pink-clad girls ran in the next second.
Ji Yan is much better.
Chu Yunquan is a TV series director. TV series have a fast pace and cannot pay as much attention to details as movies, so he can't scrutinize every single frame. But even if the requirements for details are not that high, the overall atmosphere still needs to be captured.
While copying the book, Ji Yan still dared not slack off in the slightest. However, before he had even finished copying a single page, footsteps came from outside the window: "Brother Pingyuan, something terrible has happened!"
"Wait until I finish copying this page of the book."
"The teacher has been captured by that treacherous Ji Xie. Ten days later..."
Ji Yan's nose twitched, and a drop of ink splashed down, immediately staining an entire page of his paper.
His previously calm eyes were now tinged with surprise and doubt: "Is this really true?"
“Brother Zhongheng and Brother Lianzhi are working hard for our teacher. We have no power or influence, and we don’t know any important people in the capital. We really don’t know what to do.”
"Even if it's just a small contribution, I will do my best." Ji Yan rolled up the page, but accidentally tore it, so he rolled it up again.
Chu Yunquan was immediately satisfied.
This action wasn't in the script; the details depend on the actor's performance. He felt that Ji Yan did a good job in this aspect—although Qin Xin came from a poor family, he was not a reckless person. On the contrary, he was calm. However, as he worked tirelessly for Jia Zhong, his respected senior brothers were either arrested or humiliated, and Qin Xin's scholarly anger could no longer be contained.
Ji Yan's action perfectly reflects Qin Xin's personality; upon hearing this news, he was not as calm as others might expect.
...
Ji Yan stayed with the crew of "The Long Ballad".
In fact, Qin Xin's role wasn't that big. The reason for the week-long filming period was that the "Chang Ge Dang Ku" crew was filming several scenes at the same time, so on average, Ji Yan had to film a little bit every day, but the scenes weren't continuous.
The scenes from the previous days were all setup; the climax came when Qin Xin struck the drum to appeal for justice.
Ji Yan had never filmed a TV series before, so he was quite curious about the filming of such a long series. Since he had nothing else to do, he would wander around here and there every day to see how other veteran actors filmed.
"The Long Song of Lament" has invited almost all the top actors in the industry. The actor playing the emperor is Zhang Guoren, a double winner of the Chang Kong Award and the Huayi Award. The actor playing the prime minister Ji Xie is the winner of the Huayi Award for Best Actor and the Kou Zheng Award for Drama. Kou Zheng is one of the most famous playwrights in contemporary times, and the Kou Zheng Award is one of the most prestigious awards in the drama industry.
As for Qin Xin's mentor Jia Zhong and the various ministers in the court, they were all highly experienced, and even a slight frown from their eyebrows could be a dramatic gesture.
Actors who are younger and less experienced simply cannot keep up with these actors, so even the young actors in the "The Long Ballad" crew are all very talented.
Ji Yan had only been in the production team for a short time and didn't know many actors, but gradually, he became acquainted with Yu Chao, the actor who played another disciple of Jia Zhong.
Yu Chao asked Ji Yan, "You know the actor who played Qin Xin before, right? Wen Xiang, you two came from the same show."
Ji Yan shook his head: "I know him, but I haven't heard that he played Qin Xin before."
What a coincidence!
“You probably haven’t been paying attention to the news online,” Yu Chao reminded Ji Yan. “Take a look when you have time.”
Ji Yan's only source of gossip is Weibo, but he doesn't like to look at Weibo much during filming because he feels that filming requires building up emotions, and once he scrolls through Weibo and sees the jokes, all the energy he had been holding back is gone.
The Weibo homepage was calm, and Ji Yan didn't see any news related to himself. However, when he searched his name in the search box, the first result was "Ji Yan Wen Xiang".
Upon clicking, Ji Yan discovered that behind-the-scenes photos of him filming "The Long Ballad" had been leaked online, and several marketing accounts on related trending topics were titled—"Did 'The Long Ballad' change actors midway through filming? Was Wen Xiang's role allegedly snatched away by Ji Yan?"
Ji Yan didn't see any comments from his own fans; almost all the comments came from Wen Xiang's fans.
"Feather Brother has been preparing for this drama for a long time. What does it mean that @Changge Dangku official Weibo suddenly changed the actor? Please give our Feather Brother an explanation."
"Wen Xiang has always been diligent and hardworking since he started acting. His representative works include 'Deep in the Mountains' and 'Asking the Immortals.' He was nominated for Best Actor in a TV Series, and his acting skills have always been recognized by his co-stars. In order to film 'The Long Song of Tears,' Wen Xiang paid out of his own pocket to hire a famous teacher for guidance. After joining the crew, he worked hard and even completed the water scenes seriously. Replacing an actor halfway through the production is the greatest harm to an actor's hard work. We ask the 'The Long Song of Tears' crew not to ignore the demands of us fans and to give Wen Xiang equal treatment."
"Just because Ji Yan is more famous than Wen Xiang's younger brother, does that mean he can just steal other people's roles?"
Several fans even tagged Ji Yan, demanding that he give Wen Xiang an explanation.
Ji Yan: "..."
He sometimes feels that for some celebrities, fans are not people who like or admire them, but rather their parents. No matter what happens, the fans rush forward headlong, while the celebrities stay behind and remain silent. After the incident is over, the fans are pushed out to take the blame.
Ji Yan had just finished reading this message when it became clear that more netizens were paying attention to it, because it didn't take long for the message to appear at the bottom of Weibo's trending topics list.
Ji Yan's fans naturally noticed this as well.
Ye Ying reacted quickly and immediately issued a statement in the name of DW Entertainment, saying that Ji Yan accepted the invitation from the "Chang Ge Dang Ku" production team in a normal manner and there was no situation of stealing someone else's role.
While issuing the statement, Ye Ying also tagged Wen Xiang and his agency, Hege Entertainment.
Waka Entertainment is considered one of the top star management companies in the industry. Compared to such a giant in the industry, DW Entertainment is just a small player. However, Ye Ying is not afraid of the other party at all.
Previously, Ji Yan was already unhappy with Ji Ruan's repeated attempts to take advantage of Ye Ying. However, Ji Ruan's identity was special, and the relationship between the Ji brothers was involved, which was somewhat of a family matter. If she directly confronted him, it might affect Ji Yan. But now, Wen Xiang's fans were all adopting a critical attitude towards Ji Yan. Did they really think they were easy to bully?
Moreover, the production team of "The Long Ballad" had already made it very clear that Ji Yan was there to save the day.
Even though she went to the rescue, she still ended up being targeted. Ye Ying couldn't help but think that Ji Yan really did have a knack for stirring up trouble.
...
Marketing accounts would naturally welcome such a scene; it would be even more exciting if Ji Yan and Wen Xiang were to fight.
In the entertainment industry, when it comes to competition for resources, even glamorous celebrities will show their true colors. They might suddenly burst into tears during an interview or be asked to pack up and leave halfway through filming. Bystanders are often left speechless.
"Ji Yan has already explained the situation, and now the pressure is on Wen Xiang."
"@Wenxiang@Wenxiang@Wenxiang, don't be afraid, we support you!"
"DW Entertainment even tagged Waka Entertainment, so it seems like Wen Xiang is the one in the problem?"
"Do you know how much effort Yu Hao put into this role? Don't dismiss Yu Hao's efforts with just one question. Even though Yu Hao has acted in many idol dramas before, the fact that he was able to get the role in 'The Long Ballad' means that the industry has recognized his strength."
As night fell, Wen Xiang himself remained silent, but Hege Entertainment did issue a brief statement.
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