Chapter 6: I Thought You Were Better Than Me As A Director! (1)
After the break, Chu Xiaxing touched up her makeup slightly and returned to the crew for the next round of shooting.
“You Who in The Distant Heart” was a low-budget science fiction romance drama that told a love story between an earthling heroine and an alien hero. The director was a greasy and arrogant middle-aged man who bragged all day long. The male protagonist was a square-faced, wheat-skinned, 18-line fresh meat. The script was illogical and messy. All in all, it had the complete elements of a flop drama.
Of course, Chu Xiaxing also contributed to the drama’s downfall. After all, she was a little-known actress who was popular with haters now. Her reputation was not good either. Every day, she went on like floating in the water. She could just fool around, and it would come to an end. Could she expect to produce a rare work with this trash deployment?
“Well, let’s change the scene and take the next shot!” The male director, surnamed Wang, was sitting leisurely behind the monitor. He held a paper script in one hand and a walkie-talkie in the other. The assistant beside him carried a small fan to keep him cool. The guy looked like an emperor.
In Chu Xiaxing’s eyes, Director Wang was a jerk who had no ability. The other party probably had never directed a drama. Before, he just fooled around in the crew and didn’t look like a prince at all despite wearing a dragon robe.
The camera team set up the equipment while director Wang turned the script and shouted, “Let’s see. Whose turn is it…”
Chu Xiaxing had seen the notice earlier. Without waiting for Director Wang to speak, she walked in front of the camera and found her position. Cao Yangang, the leading actor, was also doing a drama for the first time. He incompetently wandered around Chu Xiaxing. Every time he faced the camera, he acted awkwardly.
Director Wang stared at the screen on the monitor and said, “Hei, you go a little further to the left. Now a bit to the right…”
Cao Yangang looked at Chu Xiaxing and then at Director Wang. He pointed at himself blankly and said with confusion, “Me?”
Chu Xiaxing: “It’s you.”
Director Wang: “Of course it is you! Who else can it be!?”
Cao Yangang suddenly realized his error. He clumsily adjusted his position. “Oh, oh, oh…”
Director Wang frowned and said, “No, no. You better go back. No, to the left, just take a step back.”
When he saw the director frown, Cao Yangang suddenly became more nervous. He immediately stepped back.
Director Wang looked at the monitor screen. He touched his chin and complained, “What’s the matter? Why are you so awkward? Can you really act?”
Cao Yangang had never acted in a drama before, and he took Director Wang’s words as an imperial edict. He still had not taken his place correctly, so his forehead was sweating. Although Director Wang was a jerk who was strong in appearance but weak in reality, it was enough to frighten a little actor.
Cao Yangang said with a guilty conscience, “…Director Wang, what did I do wrong?”
Director Wang: “Let me think. You take a step towards the rear…”
Chu Xiaxing just listened to the director’s random instructions. She didn’t expect that such a simple shot would take so long. With a sigh, she reached for Cao Yangang’s clothes and asked him to walk two steps to her side. She looked at Cao Yangang’s blank face and said, “Look at the lens behind me.”
“Didn’t I tell you to go to the rear? Why are you still moving there…” Director Wang stared at Cao Yangang, who was moving in the monitor, and was about to flare up. But he then saw the current shooting scene clearly, and his voice gradually decreased. He said surprisingly, “Hey, this seems to work as well. Let’s try to take a shot like this first.”
Chu Xiaxing: “…” What did he mean by trying? Was all his drama just a try?
When Chu Xiaxing listened to Director Wang’s stupid words, for a time, she wanted to beat the other party. However, she thought of her promise with Han Chuning that she would never fight randomly in the crew, so she suppressed her fiery temper.
The crew was a place where rules were kept. It was disrespectful for the cast to contradict the director at will unless the cast was far superior to the director.
When the filming of the scene was finally finished, Chu Xiaxing was very upset. She said in a slightly irritable way, “Jingjing, make chrysanthemum tea for me tomorrow. I feel like I’m going to suffer excessive internal heat.”
Assistant Li Jing: “Okay. It’s really too hot recently. It’s hard to avoid getting excessive internal heat…”
Chu Xiaxing: “No, my internal heat is because I’m angry.” She was going to explode if she continued shooting like this. Every day felt like playing a house game.
Chu Xiaxing drank tea to lower her anger. She tried her best to adjust back to the old Buddhist state. This drama had shattered all her actor fantasies. She felt that she had made the right choice to be a director in the past so that there would never be a fool to tell her what to do in the crew. At most, she could deal with the producer and the management.
“You are so amazing. Every time you pass with only one take. You have the talent of being an actress!” Cao Yangang also took a break after filming. He saw Chu Xiaxing not far away and couldn’t help but step forward to praise.
Although Chu Xiaxing had decided to fool around in the cast of “You Who in The Distant Heart,” her acting skills were more than enough. Even Director Wang couldn’t find fault by beating a group of little-known actors. Cao Yangang was not as good as Chu Xiaxing. Every shoot had to be done several times painfully. In addition, Director Wang often had no idea, which really tormented the crew.
Chu Xiaxing took a sip of tea. She glanced at Cao Yangang in front of her and said, “Really? But you are actually not suitable for this kind of drama.”
Cao Yangang had always had a naive personality. He was not angry when he heard the straightforward comments. On the contrary, he had a good temper and said, “I may not have the talent of an actor.”
Chu Xiaxing: “No, I mean your appearance is not suitable for acting in idol dramas. You didn’t choose the right genre.”
Cao Yangang’s facial features were not refined enough. He was more inclined to the temperament of a tough guy who was a little naive. To be honest, his appearance was directly related to the cast’s appearance. If he played some tough and down-to-earth roles, he might be able to make a comeback. However, it was ridiculous for him to play the role of a pretty boy.
“Oh, you meant that.” Cao Yangang scratched his head foolishly. He then asked curiously, “Right, how did you know where I should stand just now? Director Wang didn’t even have any ideas at that time!”
Director Wang often randomly tried the actor’s position on the set. Occasionally, he would come up with new ideas, wanting to boldly try other shots. He often acted on his impulse and finally discarded them all.
Chu Xiaxing just secretly pointed out Cao Yangang’s position, which surprised him, so he asked quietly. Her mind was like a bright mirror [1. something that provides clarity and insight]. Every time, she would accurately point to a position, as if she had a screen in her mind. She was even clear about the scene of each person.
Chu Xiaxing blew her top when she recalled the messy shooting. She frowned and said in a cold voice, “Because he is a pig and has no idea.”
As a director, Director Wang couldn’t even talk about a drama. She feared that he was even worse than a pig. Pig’s meat could at least be sold at a high price, but he was just a useless good-for-nothing. Some directors would do the sub-shot scripts, and the more experienced ones had the sub-shots in their minds. Only those who had no idea, like Director Wang, would try on the spot. It wasted everyone’s time.
Had Chu Xiaxing expressed her dissatisfaction so directly, like in the past, she would have scared the people around her to silence. They would not dare to speak in front of Director Chu.
However, Cao Yangang was a natural-born fool. He seemed to be born insensitive to the atmosphere. Instead of shutting up, he happily reminded her, “You talk like a child. I know you are angry with the director. It’s okay for us to have a private talk, but you’d better be polite in front of Director Wang.”
Cao Yangang only thought that Chu Xiaxing had just started working and didn’t know how to restrain herself. He didn’t have the ability to observe words and expressions like Xia Hong. He was naturally immune to Chu Xiaxing’s aura, truly regarding her as an ordinary girl.
He didn’t think that Chu Xiaxing had much lethal power. He mistakenly thought she was upset and emotional when filming and was afraid that she would offend Director Wang and be punished. Hence, he kindly mentioned it.
“…” Chu Xiaxing looked at Cao Yangang in disbelief. She didn’t expect that she would one day fail to control even a little-known actor. Furthermore, she was evaluated as a “child” by the other party.
Chu Xiaxing looked at Cao Yangang’s stupefied appearance. She felt both angry and funny, “Lad, there’s a reason why you won’t be popular in the future. You really can’t read people at all.”
Xia Hong was from a well-to-do family. Although he didn’t understand Chu Xiaxing’s details, he could smell the crisis and knew who could be provoked and who could not. Cao Yangang’s radar was quite slow. He couldn’t read people’s eyes at all, and he couldn’t judge the situation, which was very fatal in the film and television industry.
“You should be quite suitable for acting as a comedian. Maybe you can be a professional.” Chu Xiaxing joked. She knew that Cao Yangang had no evil intentions, so she didn’t get angry. She just thought that the other party’s vision was too limited. It was easy for him to follow the wrong leader.
If an actor followed the wrong person at the beginning of his career, he would undoubtedly take many detours and suffer a lot. There were too many decent liars in the entertainment industry. If one had no ability to judge people, sooner or later, they would fall.
Cao Yangang seemed confused and touched his head. He felt that Chu Xiaxing was a little arrogant. But when he thought that she had real ability in acting, he attributed it to the talent of the other party. It was inevitable that she would be haughty and aloof.
In the hot summer, with the hot wind blowing on the face, the afternoon on the set became more and more difficult to endure. In addition, the shooting location was so hot that it could make people faint. The staff were sweating on their foreheads while the cameramen held their collars and fanned wildly to get some coolness.
Chu Xiaxing sat and waited in the hot sun. Beads of sweat dripped down her nose, causing the little makeup artist to frequently come over to do retouching. Everyone’s mood was a little irritable. She stared at Cao Yangang shooting on the set.
Cao Yangang’s face had turned red, and he was panting. He just finished a lap vigorously and looked anxiously at Director Wang in the shade, hoping that the shoot would pass. The performers around him were also sweating. They were running while wheezing and panting.
Director Wang sat under the sunshade. He crossed his leg, looked at the replay, and muttered, “Not good. Let’s take another one…”
Cao Yangang asked for advice modestly, “Director Wang, which part is no good?”
Director Wang: “Hard to say, let’s just take another shot…”
What he meant by another take was wanting Cao Yangang and the group of actors to run a lap again. Everyone was uncomfortable walking under the scorching sun, let alone running desperately. Cao Yangang didn’t know how to improve. He opened his mouth and wanted to ask for help again, but he was perfunctorily led by Director Wang.
Assistant Li Jing stood beside Chu Xiaxing and whispered, “Filming is so frustrating. It goes round and round every day…”
Li Jing had never been in a crew before, and she didn’t know how a drama was shot, either. It was natural that she couldn’t understand Director Wang’s ways.
Chu Xiaxing: “You’ll move in a circle if you follow the wrong leader.”
Chapter 6: I Thought You Were Better Than Me As A Director! (1)
After the break, Chu Xiaxing touched up her makeup slightly and returned to the crew for the next round of shooting.
“You Who in The Distant Heart” was a low-budget science fiction romance drama that told a love story between an earthling heroine and an alien hero. The director was a greasy and arrogant middle-aged man who bragged all day long. The male protagonist was a square-faced, wheat-skinned, 18-line fresh meat. The script was illogical and messy. All in all, it had the complete elements of a flop drama.
Of course, Chu Xiaxing also contributed to the drama’s downfall. After all, she was a little-known actress who was popular with haters now. Her reputation was not good either. Every day, she went on like floating in the water. She could just fool around, and it would come to an end. Could she expect to produce a rare work with this trash deployment?
“Well, let’s change the scene and take the next shot!” The male director, surnamed Wang, was sitting leisurely behind the monitor. He held a paper script in one hand and a walkie-talkie in the other. The assistant beside him carried a small fan to keep him cool. The guy looked like an emperor.
In Chu Xiaxing’s eyes, Director Wang was a jerk who had no ability. The other party probably had never directed a drama. Before, he just fooled around in the crew and didn’t look like a prince at all despite wearing a dragon robe.
The camera team set up the equipment while director Wang turned the script and shouted, “Let’s see. Whose turn is it…”
Chu Xiaxing had seen the notice earlier. Without waiting for Director Wang to speak, she walked in front of the camera and found her position. Cao Yangang, the leading actor, was also doing a drama for the first time. He incompetently wandered around Chu Xiaxing. Every time he faced the camera, he acted awkwardly.
Director Wang stared at the screen on the monitor and said, “Hei, you go a little further to the left. Now a bit to the right…”
Cao Yangang looked at Chu Xiaxing and then at Director Wang. He pointed at himself blankly and said with confusion, “Me?”
Chu Xiaxing: “It’s you.”
Director Wang: “Of course it is you! Who else can it be!?”
Cao Yangang suddenly realized his error. He clumsily adjusted his position. “Oh, oh, oh…”
Director Wang frowned and said, “No, no. You better go back. No, to the left, just take a step back.”
When he saw the director frown, Cao Yangang suddenly became more nervous. He immediately stepped back.
Director Wang looked at the monitor screen. He touched his chin and complained, “What’s the matter? Why are you so awkward? Can you really act?”
Cao Yangang had never acted in a drama before, and he took Director Wang’s words as an imperial edict. He still had not taken his place correctly, so his forehead was sweating. Although Director Wang was a jerk who was strong in appearance but weak in reality, it was enough to frighten a little actor.
Cao Yangang said with a guilty conscience, “…Director Wang, what did I do wrong?”
Director Wang: “Let me think. You take a step towards the rear…”
Chu Xiaxing just listened to the director’s random instructions. She didn’t expect that such a simple shot would take so long. With a sigh, she reached for Cao Yangang’s clothes and asked him to walk two steps to her side. She looked at Cao Yangang’s blank face and said, “Look at the lens behind me.”
“Didn’t I tell you to go to the rear? Why are you still moving there…” Director Wang stared at Cao Yangang, who was moving in the monitor, and was about to flare up. But he then saw the current shooting scene clearly, and his voice gradually decreased. He said surprisingly, “Hey, this seems to work as well. Let’s try to take a shot like this first.”
Chu Xiaxing: “…” What did he mean by trying? Was all his drama just a try?
When Chu Xiaxing listened to Director Wang’s stupid words, for a time, she wanted to beat the other party. However, she thought of her promise with Han Chuning that she would never fight randomly in the crew, so she suppressed her fiery temper.
The crew was a place where rules were kept. It was disrespectful for the cast to contradict the director at will unless the cast was far superior to the director.
When the filming of the scene was finally finished, Chu Xiaxing was very upset. She said in a slightly irritable way, “Jingjing, make chrysanthemum tea for me tomorrow. I feel like I’m going to suffer excessive internal heat.”
Assistant Li Jing: “Okay. It’s really too hot recently. It’s hard to avoid getting excessive internal heat…”
Chu Xiaxing: “No, my internal heat is because I’m angry.” She was going to explode if she continued shooting like this. Every day felt like playing a house game.
Chu Xiaxing drank tea to lower her anger. She tried her best to adjust back to the old Buddhist state. This drama had shattered all her actor fantasies. She felt that she had made the right choice to be a director in the past so that there would never be a fool to tell her what to do in the crew. At most, she could deal with the producer and the management.
“You are so amazing. Every time you pass with only one take. You have the talent of being an actress!” Cao Yangang also took a break after filming. He saw Chu Xiaxing not far away and couldn’t help but step forward to praise.
Although Chu Xiaxing had decided to fool around in the cast of “You Who in The Distant Heart,” her acting skills were more than enough. Even Director Wang couldn’t find fault by beating a group of little-known actors. Cao Yangang was not as good as Chu Xiaxing. Every shoot had to be done several times painfully. In addition, Director Wang often had no idea, which really tormented the crew.
Chu Xiaxing took a sip of tea. She glanced at Cao Yangang in front of her and said, “Really? But you are actually not suitable for this kind of drama.”
Cao Yangang had always had a naive personality. He was not angry when he heard the straightforward comments. On the contrary, he had a good temper and said, “I may not have the talent of an actor.”
Chu Xiaxing: “No, I mean your appearance is not suitable for acting in idol dramas. You didn’t choose the right genre.”
Cao Yangang’s facial features were not refined enough. He was more inclined to the temperament of a tough guy who was a little naive. To be honest, his appearance was directly related to the cast’s appearance. If he played some tough and down-to-earth roles, he might be able to make a comeback. However, it was ridiculous for him to play the role of a pretty boy.
“Oh, you meant that.” Cao Yangang scratched his head foolishly. He then asked curiously, “Right, how did you know where I should stand just now? Director Wang didn’t even have any ideas at that time!”
Director Wang often randomly tried the actor’s position on the set. Occasionally, he would come up with new ideas, wanting to boldly try other shots. He often acted on his impulse and finally discarded them all.
Chu Xiaxing just secretly pointed out Cao Yangang’s position, which surprised him, so he asked quietly. Her mind was like a bright mirror [1. something that provides clarity and insight]. Every time, she would accurately point to a position, as if she had a screen in her mind. She was even clear about the scene of each person.
Chu Xiaxing blew her top when she recalled the messy shooting. She frowned and said in a cold voice, “Because he is a pig and has no idea.”
As a director, Director Wang couldn’t even talk about a drama. She feared that he was even worse than a pig. Pig’s meat could at least be sold at a high price, but he was just a useless good-for-nothing. Some directors would do the sub-shot scripts, and the more experienced ones had the sub-shots in their minds. Only those who had no idea, like Director Wang, would try on the spot. It wasted everyone’s time.
Had Chu Xiaxing expressed her dissatisfaction so directly, like in the past, she would have scared the people around her to silence. They would not dare to speak in front of Director Chu.
However, Cao Yangang was a natural-born fool. He seemed to be born insensitive to the atmosphere. Instead of shutting up, he happily reminded her, “You talk like a child. I know you are angry with the director. It’s okay for us to have a private talk, but you’d better be polite in front of Director Wang.”
Cao Yangang only thought that Chu Xiaxing had just started working and didn’t know how to restrain herself. He didn’t have the ability to observe words and expressions like Xia Hong. He was naturally immune to Chu Xiaxing’s aura, truly regarding her as an ordinary girl.
He didn’t think that Chu Xiaxing had much lethal power. He mistakenly thought she was upset and emotional when filming and was afraid that she would offend Director Wang and be punished. Hence, he kindly mentioned it.
“…” Chu Xiaxing looked at Cao Yangang in disbelief. She didn’t expect that she would one day fail to control even a little-known actor. Furthermore, she was evaluated as a “child” by the other party.
Chu Xiaxing looked at Cao Yangang’s stupefied appearance. She felt both angry and funny, “Lad, there’s a reason why you won’t be popular in the future. You really can’t read people at all.”
Xia Hong was from a well-to-do family. Although he didn’t understand Chu Xiaxing’s details, he could smell the crisis and knew who could be provoked and who could not. Cao Yangang’s radar was quite slow. He couldn’t read people’s eyes at all, and he couldn’t judge the situation, which was very fatal in the film and television industry.
“You should be quite suitable for acting as a comedian. Maybe you can be a professional.” Chu Xiaxing joked. She knew that Cao Yangang had no evil intentions, so she didn’t get angry. She just thought that the other party’s vision was too limited. It was easy for him to follow the wrong leader.
If an actor followed the wrong person at the beginning of his career, he would undoubtedly take many detours and suffer a lot. There were too many decent liars in the entertainment industry. If one had no ability to judge people, sooner or later, they would fall.
Cao Yangang seemed confused and touched his head. He felt that Chu Xiaxing was a little arrogant. But when he thought that she had real ability in acting, he attributed it to the talent of the other party. It was inevitable that she would be haughty and aloof.
In the hot summer, with the hot wind blowing on the face, the afternoon on the set became more and more difficult to endure. In addition, the shooting location was so hot that it could make people faint. The staff were sweating on their foreheads while the cameramen held their collars and fanned wildly to get some coolness.
Chu Xiaxing sat and waited in the hot sun. Beads of sweat dripped down her nose, causing the little makeup artist to frequently come over to do retouching. Everyone’s mood was a little irritable. She stared at Cao Yangang shooting on the set.
Cao Yangang’s face had turned red, and he was panting. He just finished a lap vigorously and looked anxiously at Director Wang in the shade, hoping that the shoot would pass. The performers around him were also sweating. They were running while wheezing and panting.
Director Wang sat under the sunshade. He crossed his leg, looked at the replay, and muttered, “Not good. Let’s take another one…”
Cao Yangang asked for advice modestly, “Director Wang, which part is no good?”
Director Wang: “Hard to say, let’s just take another shot…”
What he meant by another take was wanting Cao Yangang and the group of actors to run a lap again. Everyone was uncomfortable walking under the scorching sun, let alone running desperately. Cao Yangang didn’t know how to improve. He opened his mouth and wanted to ask for help again, but he was perfunctorily led by Director Wang.
Assistant Li Jing stood beside Chu Xiaxing and whispered, “Filming is so frustrating. It goes round and round every day…”
Li Jing had never been in a crew before, and she didn’t know how a drama was shot, either. It was natural that she couldn’t understand Director Wang’s ways.
Chu Xiaxing: “You’ll move in a circle if you follow the wrong leader.”
