The King of Directors 2000

December in Chongqing is quite cold, with the lowest temperature sometimes being only two or three degrees Celsius.

The hotel can turn on the air conditioning, but there is no way to turn on the air conditioning on the set. There is also no heating. At this time, the crew of "La La Land" can only hold on.

Film director Lee Sung-yew was in a similar situation. In order to keep warm, he not only put on thick thermal underwear, but also put on a down coat. There was also a heating fan next to the director's monitor.

His salary is very good and his job is easy.

Directing this movie, the filming work on the set should be the most relaxing one that Lee Sheng-yew has ever had in his career.

The movie has some difficult shots, which mainly rely on post-production computer special effects.

The film also has some large scenes with large numbers of people, which were mainly rehearsed by choreographer Mandy Moore with the actors.

Li Shengyao sat behind the director's monitor and just watched the big guys quietly.

As for the literary plays that require him to act, they are relatively simple. Most of the literary plays involve the male and female protagonists sitting together and chatting.

When two people have a good relationship, they share the same camera.

When the relationship between two people is not good, they fight front and back to reflect their opposing emotions.

All in all, it was really easy for Lee Sung-yew to shoot this movie on set.

The assistant director, lighting engineer, photographer, prop master and others on the crew were very excited. They all felt that the movie was progressing very quickly and the shooting went smoothly.

This makes them very enthusiastic about work, and they are always smiling after coming to work.

However, Li Shengyao was not in such a mood.

As the production of the film progressed, he felt more and more unsure.

In his previous life, "La La Land" was so successful not just because of its wonderful story and hard-working actors.

This movie is produced by Hollywood and also plays a very important role.

"La La Land" pays tribute to many classic musicals, and more importantly, many scenes were shot in famous Hollywood attractions.

Watching "La La Land", the audience actually has a sense of familiarity, always feeling that a certain scene seems familiar.

This is not a rich association of the audience.

Rather, the production team deliberately created such an effect. On the one hand, they paid tribute to classic musicals, and on the other hand, they looked for shooting locations for some classic Hollywood scenes.

Moreover, the lighting style of the movie is intentionally retro, giving people a feeling of the 1960s and 1970s.

Thanks to the spread of Hollywood movies, after the release of "La La Land", not only the story, but also the location background can make the audience feel familiar, which makes it easier for the audience to get involved.

This is something Li Shengyao does not currently have.

He will naturally pay tribute to classic musicals, but Chongqing is relatively unknown in the world.

Overseas audiences will not feel familiar with Chongqing.

The effect is naturally not as good as making a movie in Los Angeles.

Moving to Los Angeles and making movies again is definitely out of the question now.

In this comparison, Lee Sheng-yew does not feel that his film "La La Land" is more exciting. He is not proud and complacent. On the contrary, he is more worried, fearing that this film will not reach the level of his previous life. In this case, he What a waste of a good subject.

This morning, the crew of "La La Land" came to a bar where they would shoot an important scene.

This scene is the second time the male and female protagonists meet. The heroine glances at her for thousands of years and thinks of all the possibilities between the two people.

In the heroine's memories, there are no lines. Everyone is acting like a mime, but they all have expressions, body movements, and are dancing.

This scene is quite difficult and requires the actors to blend into it naturally and smoothly, creating the feeling of a beautiful dream.

And because there are so many people involved, if something goes wrong in a certain link, you have to start over.

At this time Mandy Moore took the actors to rehearse.

Li Shengyao sat aside and watched quietly.

Suddenly there was a burst of cold air, followed by a clicking sound outside.

This is……

It's raining.

I didn't expect it to rain at this time. If it rains in winter, it will be even colder.

Li Shengyao noticed that the workers were all rubbing their hands, and some were huffing and puffing, which was very obvious.

He thought for a while, then called Dapeng over, "Let's make some arrangements. We'll add a side dish for lunch and make a ribs and corn soup. Money is not an issue, but we have to provide enough ribs."

Dapeng stamped his feet and muttered, "Master, it's really cold in the south. Why isn't there a heater here?"

It's really cold when it's cold in the south, but it doesn't last very long.

The heating bill in the north is not cheap. It costs more than 3,000 yuan a quarter, and people in the south may not be willing to pay it.

Li Shengyao didn't bother to explain, "Go quickly."

Dapeng chuckled and then left quickly.

Lee Sheng-yew did not take this matter to heart. He continued to quietly watch Mandy Moore rehearsing with the actors.

Just when everyone gradually forgot about the cold, there was a sudden clicking sound outside.

Dapeng was very alert and took the initiative to run out to inquire about the situation. He came back soon.

"Master, the road is being built outside."

And roads are being built. Chongqing seems to be building roads every day.

"Isn't it raining? Why are you still working?"

"The continuous drizzle will not affect work."

Li Shengyao nodded speechlessly.

"Master, I think today's situation is quite similar to the day it was started."

If you think about it carefully, there are indeed some similarities.

Li Shengyao nodded, "It's okay, everyone can still take the opportunity to rest."

It's too cold, so the actors don't necessarily want to rest, and they can still move their bodies.

All the actors danced their own songs.

Mandy Moore couldn't adapt to the noise outside. She stepped aside, folded her arms, and thought about something.

A few days ago, Mandy Moore chatted with Li Shengyao and said that she had been working in China for nearly fifteen months and was a little tired.

Lee Seung-yew understood what Mandy Moore said. He found that filming musicals was more demanding and tiring for actors.

Not only Mandy Moore, Li Lianhua and Yue Ming are also very tired.

Fortunately, film production has reached a later stage.

Lee Sing-yew estimates that it will take two months to complete the on-set shooting, and it will be completed in a week at most.

He is quite satisfied with the progress of this shooting.

The main reason why the filming was so fast is that most of the plot focuses on the male and female protagonists.

That's right, there should be no so-called second male lead or second female lead in this movie.

All the supporting characters pass by in a hurry and are nothing more than symbols.

Except for the male and female protagonists, no other characters are important, and no character is worthy of in-depth study.

Under such circumstances, shooting is naturally faster.

Just like a movie, if 80% of the shots focus on Maggie Cheung, it will progress faster. With Maggie Cheung's acting skills, every scene can be passed quickly, which can save a lot of time.

Now everyone is quite tired, so we can only persist and give more encouragement.

Just like the next scene, it is relatively difficult.

But in order to let the actors not be burdened and get into the state better.

Li Shengyao didn't say anything, he just encouraged him.

The road construction workers outside were very efficient. They completed the destruction of the road section in less than half an hour, and the earth drilling machine went to other places. Mandy Moore then led the actors to rehearse. It can be seen that everyone is really tired, especially now that it is cold, and the actors need to wear summer clothes. Under such factors, the rehearsal effect is not very good.

When it was almost time to get off work in the morning, Li Shengyao and Mandy Moore discussed and planned to try acting again.

So the lighting engineer, props artist, and photographer equipped themselves to formally shoot this difficult group dance scene in the morning.

"start."

The assistant director shouted, and then the actors quickly came on stage and appeared in front of the camera one after another. They showed that they were in very good condition.

Especially the male and female protagonists, Yue Ming and Li Lianhua, performed the movie comfortably and relaxedly.

It was obvious that they enjoyed this scene.

Sitting behind the director's monitor, Li Shengyao was very satisfied. He felt that this scene could even be used directly.

"Okay, let's keep one promise and do it again."

The actors heard this and understood what Li Shengyao meant, and they were very excited.

Guaranteeing a shot meant that the results of the previous shooting were very good, so after the actors prepared for a while, they continued to shoot the second time.

The effect this time is still very good, better than the first time.

Li Shengyao saw this and was very happy. He clapped his hands and asked the actors to do it three more times.

The third and fourth time were both very good.

The fifth time was not ideal, but the second, third, and fourth times all reached a relatively high level.

Li Shengyao felt that no more filming was needed.

"Very good. Everyone performed very well. Passed."

The actors were relatively happy when they heard this, and then went to have lunch happily.

Lee Sheung Yew was very satisfied with the performance of the actors. He did not go to eat immediately, but sat down to review the morning's shooting and think about the afternoon scenes.

The scene shot in the afternoon was crucial.

In Li Shengyao's previous life, Sister Shitou won the Oscar, Golden Globe and Venice Film Festival for "La La Land".

A large part of the reason is that this scene was well performed.

This is the second time the heroine and heroine meet after several years. It is like meeting for the first time in a bar. The heroine is attracted by the hero playing the piano on the stage at a glance.

Then the male and female protagonists make eye contact, and they see a lot of things.

Although they are not really together, it seems that they can see their life together in their eyes.

There is a feeling that one glance lasts for thousands of years.

But back to reality, the heroine followed her husband and left the bar. Before leaving, she turned around and looked at the hero. She felt regret, fantasy, sweetness, and finally recognized herself as she was now, grateful and calm.

She was relieved.

The performance in this part is very exciting. In Li Shengyao's opinion, it is the most exciting performance of the young generation of female stars in Hollywood.

Although my eldest cousin won the Oscar earlier than Sister Shitou, my eldest cousin has never given such a profound performance.

If we want to talk about the level of acting skills, Li Shengyao approves of Sister Shitong more.

This scene naturally requires very strong actors.

Li Shengyao believes in Li Lianhua's acting skills, but it's really hard to say whether it will work or not.

Li Lianhua has mainly been in Hollywood in recent years and has not received any good films. His most famous role is King Ada in "Resident Evil 5".

Under such circumstances, it is unknown whether Li Lianhua can maintain her acting skills.

Of course, Li Lianhua's previous performances were very good, and Li Shengyao felt that he could look forward to it.

Don't put pressure on actors, just let them perform well.

Soon after, Li Shengyao came to the lounge to eat his lunch.

At this time, Li Lianhua and Xu Yueming were also in the lounge. They had both had lunch. Xu Yueming closed his eyes and rested, while Li Lianhua was listening to music with headphones.

Li Lianhua seems to have never released an album, but before she entered the industry, she used to be a music teacher and she has always liked singing.

When Li Shengyao saw this, he smiled and did not bother him.

"Director, I'm a little nervous about the next scene."

He had just finished eating and threw the lunch box into the trash can. Li Lianhua opened his eyes and took the initiative to talk to Li Shengyao.

It seems that she was not very engaged in listening to the song just now.

Li Shengyao nodded, "What are you worried about?"

"That expression is too difficult. I'm afraid I won't be able to perform it."

Director Lee Sheng-yew has always been very clear about the level of performance he wants his actors to achieve.

In the afternoon scene, Lee Sheng-yew directly pointed out what kind of performance Li Lianhua needed.

Li Shengyao heard Li Lianhua's words and asked, "You should have been prepared for it a long time ago, right?"

"I've prepared it, but I just showed it to my sister. I don't know whether it will work or not."

"It's okay. Let's take our time. Just be prepared."

Li Lianhua stepped back after hearing what Li Shengyao said.

Soon after, it was time to go to work in the afternoon, and Li Shengyao and the actors went to the filming set. The set workers prepared and the actors put on makeup.

Li Shengyao took the script and talked about it with Li Lianhua and Sui Yueming.

After telling the play, it’s time to walk around and rehearse.

Mainly Li Lianhua and Yue Ming, overall it is relatively simple. The final effect depends on the performance of the two actors.

After an hour, Li Shengyao felt that it was almost done and arranged for the actors to officially shoot.

In the eyes of everyone, the actors officially started their performance.

The first time it was performed was not very effective. After Yue Ming played the piano, he got up and walked so anxiously that he almost walked off the stage.

The effect was not very good the second time. This time Li Lianhua looked very exaggerated, her expression was too floating and superficial.

"Take a 20-minute break and then we'll continue filming."

Lee Sheung Yew noticed that the actors seemed to be in poor condition, so he announced a longer break to give the actors more time to adjust.

The break is over.

The actors completed their make-up and then filmed the third take.

The effect this time is obviously better, the actors' movements and emotions are all online.

Li Shengyao clapped his hands and applauded, "Very good, let's do it again."

The next four shots were taken in succession, and all four shots were very good, achieving Lee Sheng-yew's ideal effect.

Regarding the heroine played by Li Lianhua, The Last Look is Ten Thousand Years.

Li Shengyao was stunned for a moment.

He has never liked Li Lianhua's appearance. In Li Shengyao's view, Li Lianhua's appearance is too dull, and her figure is too flat and weak.

Director Li never thought Li Lianhua was feminine.

Bu Huo Gang's scene made Lee Sheng Yao discover the charm of an actor. For the first time, he felt that Li Lian Hua Gang was very charming and an actor worthy of attention.

The onlookers also recognized Li Lianhua's performance, and after regaining consciousness, they applauded one after another.

Li Shengyao was originally worried that today's scene would be difficult to shoot, but he did not expect that after a small setback, the effect was very good and unexpectedly outstanding.

This gave him a little peace of mind.

The location and scenery are definitely not as good as the American version, but the actors are not inferior, so we can still look forward to it.

(End of this chapter)