Chapter 171 Strange
With time running out, the main cast and crew all landed in Yunshan and assembled before 4 p.m.
Gao Yifeng didn't have time for formalities like a welcome banquet. He called the main and supporting actors together and said, "Come on, let's get to know our male lead again, Ji Cen. You should all have heard of him, so I won't go into details. For the next few months, our main goal is to reshape 'The Legend of the Heavenly Dragon' properly. No other thoughts are allowed."
“Probably not,” he said, looking at Ji Cen. “Ji Cen is young and has won many awards. His acting skills are definitely top-notch. It’s not just about completing filming tasks. You can also watch his shows more often when you have time and learn from him.”
Ji Cen quickly waved her hand: "No, no, no, I don't deserve it. Director Gao, you're too kind. I'm here to save the day, not to be a savior. Please don't flatter me. I'm young and inexperienced. I should be learning from the seniors in the crew."
"Hahahaha," Gao Yifeng laughed heartily, clearly in a good mood. "Alright, I won't talk about you anymore. Ji Cen,"
He turned to Jiang Chun: "This is Jiang Chun. You two must have met before, having been in the industry for so long. There has always been talk of you working together, and this is the opportunity. I hope you can create something special."
He then turned to Xia Mian: "This is Xia Mian. As you probably already know, he is the biggest victim of all the mess Tan Jingcheng made. But don't treat him like an ordinary person. His resilience is beyond that of ordinary people, and he is also very smart and learns things quickly."
Compared to when he first joined the crew, Gao Yifeng's evaluation of Xia Mian was polarized. Xia Mian herself couldn't stand it anymore: "Stop praising me, Director Gao. If you keep praising me, I'll fly to the sky."
"You... fine, I won't say it then. Anyway, you're all young people, you should be able to get along. Now, everyone, please go to the dressing room to get your makeup and hair done. We have several night scenes scheduled for tonight. Spring comes early next year, so we need to finish filming all the snow scenes before the snow melts. Please understand."
Upon hearing the director's words, a chorus of groans erupted on set, but no one truly showed any resistance; they all grabbed their valuables and headed straight for the dressing room.
Actually, Gao Yifeng didn't say something else: aside from being young, they don't have any competitive relationship. Tan Jingcheng always stirred things up because he was afraid of being "outshone" by Xia Mian. But with Ji Cen, that doesn't apply; she's already beyond the realm of a popular young idol, so the two of them can't compete with each other.
Moreover, Gao Yifeng knew perfectly well why Ji Cen had come to the rescue; out of respect for that powerful figure, Ji Cen wouldn't harm Xia Mian. In short, he could finally continue filming without any worries!
The solo shots filmed earlier can be reused, but the scenes with Tan Jingcheng and the scenes with multiple people need to be reshot.
Tonight's reshoot is a scene where the male lead and the male supporting character are vying for the female lead, which is one of the audience's favorite scenes.
In this scene, the male supporting character, Mo Yu, captures the female lead, Meng Yun, and takes her back to the Demon Realm, where he ties her up with a rope and walks around with her every day. The male lead, Yu Fu Immortal Venerable, receives the news and rushes to rescue her, but Mo Yu refuses to let her go. The two start fighting after a disagreement, creating a spectacular love triangle scene.
On set, with all the lighting and props in place, the script supervisor received the signal from the crew that they were ready via earpiece and clapped the clapperboard: "Scene 16 of 'Legend of the Dragon' - One take, one shot, action!"
Xia Mian gripped the rope in her hand, and at this moment, she finally felt a sense of reality that she could continue filming.
"My Lord Demon Lord, someone has broken into the Demon Capital!"
Outside the door, the little demon reported urgently.
"What's all the commotion about?" Mo Yu lay on his side on the chaise lounge, drinking and playing with ropes. "Isn't it a pleasure to have friends coming from afar?"
"That person has such a strong ethereal aura about him, I don't like it."
"If you don't like it, then kill it. It's a pity that immortal flesh is too tough and doesn't taste good."
The little demon exclaimed excitedly, "I've never eaten immortal flesh before! If you don't like it, could you give it to me?"
Mo Yu pulled the rope, and Meng Yun was staggered to the center of the front hall: "Here, this is your reward."
As soon as Mo Yu finished speaking, the hall door was pushed open by a force formed by true energy. The male protagonist walked in without looking to the side, his chin held high.
"So it's Immortal Venerable Yu Fu," Mo Yu said without even looking up, continuing to drink. "Welcome."
Yu Fu then looked at him, her eyes filled with a compassion that bordered on indifference: "Demon Lord, this does not seem to be the way to treat guests."
"The actions of the Immortal Venerable are not those of a guest."
That's it for this scene. The three main actors and the extras all performed well. The script supervisor yelled "Cut!" and we got it in one take.
Xia Mian breathed a slight sigh of relief. He had completed the scene with Tan Jingcheng with ease. But with Ji Cen, the feeling was completely different. He wasn't completely unable to keep up with the scene, but to be honest, it was somewhat strenuous.
"Well done, keep it up." At this moment, Ji Cen gave him a thumbs up.
If it were any other actor making their acting debut, they would be flattered to receive a compliment from a TV King. Xia Mian, however, simply thought the other person was very nice: "Thank you, senior."
"Don't call me 'senior,' it makes me sound old," Ji Cen said with a smile, throwing out a warning before heading to the next scene.
The next shot is a long fight scene, in which the screenwriter incorporated many clever touches. As a sword cultivator, the male lead didn't draw his sword, and Mo Yu didn't use any magical artifacts either. Instead, he used the rope holding the female lead as a weapon, drinking as he fought the immortal lord. The female lead was being tossed around by the rope, and the male lead did his best to protect her, already hinting at a two-man rivalry for one woman.
This kind of scene looks incredibly cool on screen, but it's actually very difficult to pull off. Especially the rope battle, which mainly relies on post-production special effects, but because Xia Mian's movements had to match the special effects, they still had to fight it out.
Xia Mian had previously learned martial arts from the instructor and still remembered the moves, but she hadn't practiced in a long time, so she was a bit rusty. While the director was explaining the scene to Ji Cen, she reviewed the details again.
But dancing with rope on your own is not the same as actually being on stage. During the filming, Xia Mian didn't control her strength well, and the rope accidentally hit Ji Cen's face.
He was terrified. Ji Cen gave him a look to continue. Xia Mian gritted his teeth and filmed the fight scene in one take.
After Gao Yifeng yelled "Cut!", Xia Mian rushed over, her face full of guilt: "Senior Ji, is your face alright?"
Ji Cen took the mirror from her assistant and looked at herself carefully: "It's okay, not even the foundation has come off, don't worry."
"I'd better take you to the hospital to get it checked out." After all, it's your face, and it's different from other things.
"Xia, why are you being so polite with me? Isn't it normal to get injured on set? Besides, I just told you not to call me 'senior.' I'm not some old fogey like Tan Jingcheng. We're not that much older than each other."
Ji Cen spoke very naturally, as if talking to a friend, even though they had only just met today.
Is it really okay to complain about another celebrity to someone you've just met?
Xia Mian noticed that Ji Cen's attitude towards him was a bit strange, as if she really wanted to get closer to him.
Ji Cen: "Just call me Brother Cen, like Jiang Jiang does."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com