"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight..."
The suburbs of GY City, a small town that once prospered in the 1980s because of its support for third-line construction and production activities On the school playground.
From time to time there were some harsh noises, and from the rusty loudspeaker, the gymnastics chants were playing loudly.
The protagonist Qinghong, played by Gao Yuanyuan, is a female high school student.
At this time, she was in front of the camera, standing on the playground with other extras, doing radio gymnastics.
The background of the story is set in the 1980s.
That is, director Wang Xiaoshuai’s own youth.
In fact, this film not only tells the story of what happened to himself and his parents, but is also more like the so-called "WHATIF" popular in later generations, which is a parallel world that has not happened yet.
When Wang Xiaoshuai was in junior high school, his parents moved him away from Guizhou. Later, based on his childhood painting foundation, he was admitted to the High School Affiliated to Central Academy of Fine Arts and then to Beijing Film Academy, which changed his destiny.
But what if his parents had not moved away from Guizhou?
Why didn't he enter the Central High School Affiliated to Central America?
He believes that there is a high probability that he will not become a director and will probably be an ordinary worker in some kind of factory near Guizhou.
The heroine Qinghong in the movie is actually who he imagined himself to be.
Yes, it is imaginary.
Because Wang Xiaoshuai is just thinking nonsense.
Even if he did not leave Guiyang, he would not be able to become a worker.
His father once taught at Shanghai Opera, and his mother is the technical backbone of the Magic City Factory.
Their family is not an ordinary family.
In that era, how could ordinary people have the time to let their children learn painting from an early age?
Half of what he has achieved today is due to the cultivation and relationships at home.
This is why many ordinary people hate scar literature and film and television works with related themes.
What everyone hates is actually not the "scars", because these scars are engraved in the blood of every Chinese person.
What everyone really hates are those guys who eat lobster, drink Maotai, wear Rolex on their wrists, wear Hermès around their waists, have fat heads and big ears, and talk about national affairs and their own experiences in the past. Sufferings, while magnifying these sufferings infinitely, never mention everything they own and obtain.
After putting aside Wang Xiaoshuai’s imagination of himself and his memories of his youth.
In fact, the story told in this film is quite realistic.
Because the good thing about this film is that it does not tell a big story, but tells small stories. It focuses on a few individuals and reflects the helplessness of that era from point to point.
Qinghong was born and raised in Guizhou, this is her home.
His friends and family are all here.
But my parents regretted that they came to the third front line rashly when they were young, so they always wanted to return to their hometown in Magic City.
As a result, a deep rift developed between Qinghong and her parents.
Her father even regarded the college entrance examination as the only springboard for Qinghong to return to the magic city, so he strictly guarded the private life of women. Not only was he filled with the authority of the feudal patriarch, but he was also constrained to a pathological level.
Xiao Gen from the machinery factory fell in love with Qing Hong. This conflict between father's love and love, staying behind and returning home eventually led to this tragedy of death and madness.
This is the story line that Zhang Yuan and Gao Yuanyuan will interpret.
Qin Hao is on another line.
The unemployed young man he plays, after making a certain rural girl pregnant, hooks up with Qinghong’s best friend.
The two of them thought they were crazy men and resentful women, but in the end, they were nothing more than yellow hair and a young lady.
Gao Yuanyuan is a bit mechanical, swinging her hands and feet widely.
Zhang Yuan has long discovered that your physical abilities are not very good, and you are very stiff.
How could I not have fallen in love with pottery and carpentry later on?
Now doing a broadcast gymnastics is obvious.
After all, this person had no acting foundation before entering the film and television industry.
She became famous because of one thing.
Face!
Like Liu Qianqian, she has average acting talent, which she relies entirely on her face to make up for.
When filming "The Legend of Heaven and the Dragon Slayer", this actor's acting skills were actually very average.
But as soon as he sat there and frowned, Su Youpeng felt that he was sorry for her...
I felt that Zhang Wuji owed Zhou Zhiruo too much.
I feel pity for you, but it is nothing more than this.
Just like Liu Qianqian has dressed up, and when she stops there, you say she is Wang Yuyan, and the audience will believe it.
In fact, when the appearance is excellent to a certain extent, it will affect the performance.
The audience’s focus is always on their faces, which makes them easily distracted.
So in this film, Wang Xiaoshuai actually deliberately made Gao Yuanyuan look ugly.
He is dressed in a rustic style, always wearing a dark red woolen coat.
The hair style is also a regular women’s medium to short hair.
If her fashion dress is eight points and her ancient costume is ten points.
Now it's probably only five points.
And it can be clearly felt that, in the same acting, her performance is not as natural as the group of actors behind her.
Because those extras were not randomly recruited.
Wang Xiaoshuai relied on his father's connections back then to recruit professional actors directly from the Guizhou Repertory Theater to perform the supporting roles.
"Stuck!" Wang Xiaoshuai shouted stop, and Gao Yuanyuan stopped.
The sixth set of radio gymnastics music next to my ears stopped.
"You will still do radio gymnastics for a while, but your mood will change." Director Wang explained carefully.
There are two sex scenes in the film, one at the beginning and one after Qinghong has experienced the shock. The two scenes have the same scene and the same clothes, but the emotions are completely different.
"Hey, I understand." Gao Yuanyuan replied absentmindedly.
At the same time, she was still looking around, as if looking for something?
What are you looking for?
People.
Who?
Of course it’s Zhang Yuan!
The beasts in the mountains are swallows in the clouds, cattle and sheep on land are fresh from the sea, monkey head bird's nest, shark fin, bear paw, scallop and deer tail tip.
Ask, which of these things tastes best?
The answer is the same as which car drives the fastest in the world.
The latter answer is: a borrowed car.
The answer to the former is: from someone else’s bowl.
Liu Qianqian said with her face that she was a loser.
But I always think about proving myself through performance and hard work.
People just don’t care about what they own, but they are eager for what others have.
And what about Gao Yuanyuan?
Emotionally, this beauty, who has received so many love letters since she was a child that she could put them up against a wall, has long been accustomed to men liking her.
After all, falling in love with her at first sight is very common, but not having feelings for her is rare.
Liu Qianqian's stubbornness is mainly reflected in her career, while this one's stubbornness is mainly reflected in her emotions.
The more than 800 people surrounding me have long been tired of it, how boring it is.
Hey, this one you have is pretty good!
The pork belly in my own pot is fat and greasy, while the pork belly in other people’s bowls is delicious and tempting.
This is an idea that comes from a mixture of her pride and desire to conquer.
Just like many men chase girls, not because they really like them, but to prove their abilities and satisfy their vanity by chasing excellent girls.
So, after spending several months together on the set of "Eternal Dragon Sword", she knew that Zhang Yuan had excellent appearance and outstanding abilities, both of which were attractive enough.
Blocking "a sword" for her made her unforgettable.
But this time when we meet again, there is Wang Xiaoshuai, the suitor and director, by her side. For her own benefit, she can only suppress this good feeling temporarily.
Anyone who can hang out in this circle is not stupid.
But when she learned from teacher Yao Anlian that Zhang Yuan and Cheng Hao were a "couple".
Zhang Yuan's attraction to her suddenly increased sharply, rising rapidly with a geometric coefficient!
Gao Yuanyuan felt that her unicorn arm might not be able to hold it down anymore!
As the saying goes, "If you encounter strength, you will become stronger, and life or death is unknown."
Cheng Hao's appearance is considered top-notch in the entertainment industry where there are so many beauties.
This further aroused classmate Zhou Zhiruo’s fighting will.
"Obviously I met him first!" Gao Yuanyuan thought.
"He was hurt because of me."
"Why did I fall into that person's hands?"
How could she have the time to film now? She was always thinking about Zhang Far away.
Due to my lack of concentration at work, the broadcast gymnastics scene took eight takes.
But Wang Xiaoshuai held her in his arms and didn't say much.
“Let’s go, pack your things and go to the machine shop.”
The crew only had a big machine, and the cameraman picked it up and left.
Compared with the grand scenes of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes", it is indeed extremely shabby.
But the reason why Zhang Yuan is willing to make this film is actually the same as Gao Yuanyuan.
Artistic films are meant to win awards!
If you win domestic and foreign awards, the actor's popularity will greatly increase, and the commercial value and remuneration will also increase.
Even if you don’t win an award, walking on the red carpet in places like Cannes can increase your commercial value and exposure.
At the same time, you can also step into the small circle of literary and artistic films. Otherwise, if you are a commercial film director, artistic film directors will not dare to approach you for filming because they cannot afford the salary.
At the same time, those who make literary films actually look down upon those who make commercial films. This stuff has its own chain of contempt.
Winning an award is not something you can do just once. There will be opportunities in the future.
People have to pursue something. Zhang Yuan not only wants to make money, but winning prizes is also one of his goals.
Everyone soon arrived at an abandoned factory called "State-owned Xinxing Optical Instrument Factory".
These are all real scenes found by the crew, not built later.
There used to be a factory here.
This is why the film "Green Red" always feels like a documentary, because except for the actors, everything else is real!
"Zhang Yuan, you are here." Gao Yuanyuan was looking for him when filming just now, but she never saw him.
"You are wearing something..." Gao Yuanyuan looked up and down.
At this time, Zhang Yuan was wearing white washed blue work clothes. The top had many pockets and black buttons, which was very characteristic of the times.
His hairstyle was also treated to look like it was falling down.
"It's still pretty good-looking, but a little dull." Yuanyuan said with a smile.
Just stay silent...Wang Xiaoshuai on the side also saw Zhang Yuan's appearance.
Because this character is a reserved, inferior, but paranoid little person.
Almost completely opposite to Zhang Yuan's own character.
Director Wang thought that he, like Gao Yuanyuan, had a too good image and was afraid of appearing in front of the camera.
Now that I have put on clothes and makeup, it really looks like that.
"Why is your face so dirty, like a tabby cat?" Gao Yuanyuan found several dark oil marks on his cheeks.
As he said that, he wanted to raise his hand to wipe it for him.
Tsk!
Wang Xiaoshuai frowned when he saw the two people moving intimately.
But the next second, Zhang Yuan's words made him relax a lot.
“Don’t rub it, I did it on purpose.” Zhang Yuan gently opened her palm.
“The character I play, Xiao Gen, is a factory fitter.”
“Working in front of an old-fashioned stamping machine all day long.”
“It’s normal to have grease on your hands and body.”
“This is because I just spent a few hours getting familiar with the machine. I deliberately "It's done."
"If you wipe it for me, it will be in vain."
Oh... Wang Xiaoshuai looked at Zhang Yuan in surprise.
After receiving the investor's request, he went to see Zhang Yuan's previous performances.
The impression is just one word, handsome!
Having filmed so many costume dramas, being chic and handsome is a must.
And when he was researching Zhang Yuan, "A World Without Thieves" and "Kung Fu" had not been released, and he had not seen Zhang Yuan's contrasting image and performance in these two movies.
So in his mind, Zhang Yuan is that kind of idol actor.
Now that I see him taking the initiative to study characters and being willing to "destroy his image" to get closer to them, it's a bit hard to accept for a while.
“Is this still the kind of idol actor that I imagined with a lot of troubles and troubles?”
The key point is that Wang Xiaoshuai discovered that he and the character designed by the art director were just in work clothes.
But he himself flattened his hair and added these dirty marks, which made him look more like a worker than their design.
Wang Xiaoshuai discovered that the images of ordinary workers in Guizhou in his childhood were actually duplicated with the "connected household" actor in front of him.
"It's interesting."
Wang Xiaoshuai smoked while waiting for the camera crew to finish preparing.
"Zhang Yuan is ready, shooting will start immediately."
Soon, his first scene as the male lead will begin.
The content of this scene is also very simple, it is the work content of filming Xiaogen.
Sit at the press all day punching parts.
The crew pulled an old-fashioned punch press from the factory warehouse, the kind with a large pulley drive machine on top.
This thing is very noisy, which is rare nowadays.
In the dilapidated old factory with blue and gray tones, Zhang Yuan sat in front of the machine.
Unlike Yu Min, a "lighting maniac" who can use more than a dozen fill lights to take a close-up shot of a character.
In the scene arranged by Wang Xiaoshuai, only on Zhang Yuan's left hand side, a small desk lamp of about ten watts with white light appeared.
Other than that, the blurred sunlight in the background, shining lightly on the ground through the factory gate, is the only source of light.
Lighting is very simple.
"ACTION!" Wang Xiaoshuai gave the order, and the camera began to rotate steadily.
This film also used a film machine.
Zhang Yuan got the order and started working.
Put the metal part under the punch press, pull the pull rod, the blade head will fall down, and a regular round hole will be carved in the metal piece.
The left hand picked up the punched metal sheet, and the right hand, which was wearing dirty gray labor protection gloves, picked up a vernier caliper from the table beside it, gestured towards the round hole, and confirmed the size. Within a reasonable range, the metal piece was placed in a blue plastic basket nearby.
After completing this set of procedures, the next cycle begins, and so on.
His face was expressionless and his eyes were blank.
The shoulders are slung, and the waist is bent.
The hands are half drooped, and the whole person is listless and cold.
It seems more like a machine than that machine!
It is the standard image of an office worker who is in the workplace but whose soul is outside.
"Okay..." Wang Xiaoshuai stared at the monitor, squinting.
He didn't expect that the male protagonist would show his hands to him as soon as he came up.
“This situation is so right.”
“I haven’t been in class for ten years, and my eyes can’t be so despairing.”
I have been working on the flowing water mat for a long time. , how can it be normal.
Most people can't stand this kind of mechanical boring, repetitive cycle of more than ten hours a day.
Except for those who couldn't bear it and ran away, the rest were completely numb and their eyes had lost their brightness, as if they were soulless bodies.
“His numb feeling is very good.”
“It’s so similar to the old workers I’ve seen!” Wang Xiaoshuai turned to the assistant director and said.
"It's not bad. I didn't expect that this guy looks good and his acting is not bad."
Who needs to hone his acting skills when he can usually rely on his face to make a living.
Once you get used to making a dollar, you can't go back.
“Is it because of this that Xingmei insists on him playing the role?” said the assistant director.
Wang Xiaoshuai thought for a while and shook his head: "Li Bing can do it too."
He was still thinking about his queen actor.
"Although he is not bad, if Li Bing was used, this film would have been finished long ago." Wang Xiaoshuai was still angry about this.
"Stuck!"
Wang Xiaoshuai shouted stop, and Zhang Yuan also hurried over to watch the replay and listen to the director's opinions.
Everyone gathered in front of the monitor.
After watching it for a long time.
“Tsk.” Director Wang habitually touched his lips and made a dissatisfied sound.
"I always feel a little weird."
"Is it a problem with my performance?" Zhang Yuan asked proactively.
Wang Xiaoshuai heard what he said, but thought this young man was good.
Generally, young actors hide away when the director is dissatisfied, for fear of talking about themselves.
It was better for him to take the initiative to ask without being afraid at all.
The explanation is to put the shooting effect before the individual.
This is very professional.
"Well, your performance is not a big problem, it's just that the picture looks weird."
"Is there a problem with the props?" the assistant director asked.
“It seems not.”
"But I always feel that the picture is missing something." Wang Xiaoshuai pondered.
"Go and adjust the position and angle of the machine, and I'll take a look."
"Okay!" The props man became busy.
After three shootings, and adjusting the prop position and shooting angle each time, Director Wang was still dissatisfied.
Just when the assistant director, cameraman and props brother were all worried.
Zhang Yuan, who had been a fitter for several hours, scratched his head and said.
"Director, I seem to know what the problem is..." (End of this chapter)