There's a saying that actors fall into two categories: naturally gifted actors and hardworking actors. The former are born with artistic talent and acting ability, and when they stand in front of the camera, they naturally immerse themselves in the role.
This statement is actually quite amateurish. In reality, even the most talented actor, without proper guidance and practice, will feel as awkward and helpless in front of the camera as a beautiful gorilla.
This has nothing to do with talent. It's like a baby who is born with a talent for mathematics but is thrown into the mountains and isolated from the world, unable to read or write a single character—then he will never become a Hua Luogeng or Chen Jingrun.
No matter how hard Shang Yechu worked as a comedian in her previous life, or how much she was ridiculed, her more than ten years in the entertainment industry brought her countless experiences. It was precisely because she was clumsy that she had to work twice as hard, practicing mechanically and repeating the process constantly, engraving the filming experience into every pore of her being.
As soon as the director yells "action," she knows where to stand; as soon as her co-star moves, she knows how to respond; she knows when to play the supporting role and when to be the main character, and what expressions will make her seem emotionally expressive without stealing the spotlight...
These are things that cannot be mastered overnight. Whether it's shouting "Rise, my subjects!" from home draped in a bedsheet or ascending the throne in front of countless eyes on a film set, though both are essentially performances, the actual execution is vastly different. One minute on stage requires ten years of practice off stage. From the very beginning of acting, it has been an art that demands dedicated time and effort.
It's safe to say that among artists of Shang Yechu's age, apart from child stars, no one has more acting experience than Shang Yechu.
These things had long since become muscle memory for her. Even though Shang Yechu tried her best to appear mediocre, in Zheng Bohan's eyes, the moment Shang Yechu stood there, even without her costume, she already looked like a maid. The moment she opened her mouth, a worried, loyal servant appeared before him; the moment she looked up, Zheng Bohan felt that he himself was the brainless beauty in the script!
An actor who can get into character within seconds of randomly picking a role!
Not to mention, Shang Yechu's Mandarin is quite standard, with clear pronunciation and perfectly controlled tone and emphasis in every sentence. While his appearance isn't outstanding, he has a tall and upright posture and dignified demeanor. These easily overlooked qualities are actually pluses in the eyes of a normal director.
Although Zheng Bohan acted crazy and tried to take advantage of his senior, he wasn't completely foolish. Any actor with some talent would cherish their reputation, and Zheng Bohan knew that since this was his first time transitioning to directing and his preparations were so rushed, he probably wouldn't be able to find a good team.
Therefore, he has tried to lower his requirements for choosing actors. Fame and status are irrelevant, and as for looks, there aren't many ugly actresses in the entertainment industry. As long as they can act, that's fine.
To be honest, Zheng Bohan's casting process was as haphazard as a village folk dance performance. He was already quite surprised that he managed to find actors of this caliber.
The “average performance” in Shang Yechu’s mind and the “performance” in Zheng Bohan’s eyes are completely different things!
Jiang Lei is alright. Zheng Bohan thought to himself, although she's a bit plain-looking, what does a maid need to be a beauty queen for? He'd interviewed a whole bunch of "actors" with wildly different features today, and finally found someone who was somewhat presentable.
Shang Yechu revealed a perfectly timed expression of surprise and bowed to Zheng Bohan, saying, "Thank you, Director! Director, may I go and get the script now?"
Zheng Bohan twirled the pen in his hand and waved his hand, saying, "No need. Go next door and add Xiao Yu's contact information. He'll let you know later."
To be honest, Shang Yechu strongly suspected that Zheng Bohan might not have a complete script at all, or even just one episode's script.
While inwardly complaining, Shang Yechu thanked him again before leaving.
Xiao Yu was the assistant who yawned on the phone. When Shang Yechu spoke to him, she noticed a paper registration form in front of him with the names of three or four artists listed. Li Kui's name was among them.
That was all Zheng Bohan had gained today. Shang Yechu thought to herself that, considering the number of people who auditioned, the acceptance rate was already quite high.
Shang Yechu tried to get some information out of Xiao Yu, hoping to find out if the project was indeed titled "Yun Qing Ji." Ultimately, she failed. Shang Yechu finally realized that the drama probably didn't even have a title yet!
Zheng Bohan was too reckless. This just goes to show that intellectuals are truly not to be trifled with; they act on a whim, and if there are no opportunities, they'll create them to seek revenge!
Shang Yechu told Jiang Lei about her selection and sincerely thanked Jiang Lei for her promotion. Although the WeChat account she added was Jiang Lei's work account, and the other party might not even have time to read Shang Yechu's messages, she still had to make this gesture.
Getting the role but not even knowing what the script is is a novel experience for Shang Yechu.
Shang Yechu honestly couldn't recall the role of the maid in a TV series she'd watched over a decade ago. Judging from the dialogue, this maid named Yuzhu seemed to be somewhat intelligent. She probably wouldn't be cannon fodder.
Shang Yechu did vaguely remember the character Li Kui. Li Kui's role wasn't insignificant. Since her salary was 100,000 yuan, Shang Yechu estimated that she could earn around 5,000 to 10,000 yuan for this drama—oh, not counting taxes.
No matter how much money it has, it's still just worthless cryptocurrency. Shang Yechu is still a penniless nobody with personal assets of no more than three thousand.
The penniless businessman Ye Chu glanced at the sky; it was getting late. He didn't have to work as an extra today, so he decided to go get some food.
-----
Shang Yechu sat in a restaurant near the film studio and ordered a high-sugar, high-oil braised pork hock with rock sugar to celebrate getting her first non-extra role.
Whether "Yun Qing Ji" is plagiarized is still questionable; everything I've seen today seems off. Eating is the most important thing, eating is the most important thing.
The rock sugar braised pork hock was crystal clear and glossy. Shang Yechu picked up a piece with her chopsticks, put it in her mouth, and found it to be rich in aroma, chewy and tender. It was fatty but not greasy.
As Shang Yechu savored the braised pork hock, he recalled the details of his interview that day.
When she delivered the maid Yuzhu's lines, Zheng Bohan immediately followed with his own lines without the slightest pause, hesitation, or stumble.
The role of the maid was something Shang Yechu randomly flipped through. The chances of director Zheng Bohan and her just happened to be on the same page were slim. Moreover, Shang Yechu clearly noticed that Zheng Bohan uttered that line offhand; he hadn't even looked at the script!
A director's familiarity with the script is of course the most basic requirement, but Shang Yechu rarely sees directors who can recite it from memory like Zheng Bohan, even for film directors whose scripts are relatively short.
A drama that claims to have taken only three months from creation to filming, and which hasn't even had a title yet, has its director spouting off about the script... What's the logic behind this?
Shang Yechu picked up another piece of the tenderly stewed meat and chewed it slowly.
An idea suddenly popped into her mind.
What if... this script already existed?
Or what if this script was actually written by Zheng Bohan, or even written a long time ago?
Wait a minute, speaking of which, who was actually in charge of the script for "The Legend of Qingyun"? Despite the huge plagiarism scandal in the previous life, Shang Yechu had never heard of this screenwriter's name.
Shang Yechu called out, "Boss, a bowl of rice, please. Thank you."
"Okay, large bowl or small bowl?" the owner asked enthusiastically.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
