They have become goddess husbands, who needs a superstar system

Chapter 494: Nowhere to be found after wearing iron shoes (two-in-one)

"Xiaoqiang, was it hard to be an extra in the past?"

Yang Yi chatted with Xu Xiaoqiang about the group performance experience again, a week later, on their way south to Jiangmen in the car.

There is no airport in Jiangmen, so after Yang Yi and Xu Xiaoqiang got off the plane from the Yangcheng airport, they got into the nanny car arranged by the crew.

The reason why only Yang Yi and Xu Xiaoqiang went together was because although the original work of the movie "Big Buddha Plus" was his, the director was replaced by Kong Yaojie, and the crew was also produced by Shi Yanqiu's Zhiqiu Film and Television. people.

Of course, for the sake of the continuity of the work and not destroying the original feeling, Kong Yaojie agreed to continue to use several starring actors in "Buddha Plus".

After simple preparations and filling in the additional character actors for the theatrical feature film, when Yang Yi comes back from the United States, "Buddha Plus" is ready to start filming!

As the producer of "Buddha Plus", Yang Yi still has to attend the opening ceremony. And for the subsequent filming work, although he may not be there every day, let alone watch all the time, he plans to visit the set if he has time.

Kong Yaojie is a director with a strong personal style. Although he had previously promised to put aside all his previous obsessions and make "Buddha Plus" in a down-to-earth manner according to Yang Yi's requirements, Yang Yi was still a little worried.

If you don't follow along and take a look, Yang Yi is also worried that he will make this film into a rural version of "Big Buddha", and it will also have a plot like the landlords in the old society persecuting the common people.

Yang Yi brought Xu Xiaoqiang with him because he had just started preparations for Liao Chunsheng's movie and there were not many filming opportunities. If he went to Jiangmen with him, he could be his assistant and follow him. From the perspective of film production, Go and have a long experience.

"Brother Yi, it's not bitter."

Xu Xiaoqiang scratched his head and smiled shyly at Yang Yi.

"It's impossible, right? How could it not be bitter? I heard from your elder brother that you had no place to live in Hengdian, so you had to sleep secretly in the park. He even improved your story in his script."

Yang Yi has read the revised script by Liao Chunsheng.

Xu Xiaoqiang's story gave him a lot of fresh inspiration. Liao Chunsheng and Yang Yi discussed writing these more real and painful plots into the script.

There is an interesting episode. A few days ago, Xu Xiaoqiang received his first month's salary after joining Mumu Film and Television. Although it was only a guarantee, it was still enough for him to repay Liao Chunsheng.

Liao Chunsheng did not accept the money he paid back, but used the licensing fee for using Xu Xiaoqiang's real story as an excuse to offset the two, and Xu Xiaoqiang reluctantly agreed to let go of his obsession with paying back the money.

"Actually, I didn't sleep for long. I just ran out of money, and then I met my eldest brother."

Xu Xiaoqiang honestly explained the situation at that time.

"As you said before, you might earn a hundred a day, or less than a hundred, right?"

"Yes, but sometimes you may not make money."

"If you calculate it this way, you don't make much money in a month. If you deduct the rent money, how will you pay for your daily meals?"

Yang Yi could see that Xu Xiaoqiang's life was difficult, and the clothes he wore were still the same POLO shirt he wore to their house last week.

"There will be lunch boxes to eat when filming. If you have lunch boxes, you won't be hungry."

"What about when you're not filming? And you won't be very hungry even if you eat a box lunch. You are young and strong, so you should eat a lot."

Although it was quite difficult for Yang Yi to live in a basement before, he never went hungry.

At most, I barely eat. Sometimes I come home late, so I cook a bowl of instant noodles, crack an egg, and put two vegetable leaves in it.

"In the beginning, I just ate steamed buns and drank water. Later, didn't I live in a group rental? Everyone said we could cook together, which would save money, and then we would have food to eat."

Xu Xiaoqiang seemed to think that having food was a kind of happiness, so a bright smile appeared on his face again, with dazzling white teeth, and Yang Yi's emotions were infected.

"Who cooks? What dishes are usually served? Will there be meat?"

Yang Yi thought that if he could make him smile so happily, these meals should be very delicious.

"We take turns cooking, and I will also cook a little. There is no meat to eat, and meat is precious! I just buy whatever vegetables are cheap. One week, one of our fellow villagers said that potatoes are very cheap, so he bought a big bag of potatoes. , and then everyone ate potatoes for a week.”

Xu Xiaoqiang recalled that he couldn't stop having fun.

"Eat potatoes for a week? How?"

Yang Yi was taken aback for a moment.

"At first, we ate fried shredded potatoes and fried potato slices, but then I couldn't eat anymore. I said I knew how to bake potatoes, and then we ate baked potatoes for two more days. I really couldn't eat them anymore. One time, there was vinegar in the lunch box. Shredded potatoes make me want to vomit just looking at them.”

These stories of Xu Xiaoqiang actually sound a bit sad, but when he told them, his two little eyes were particularly bright and pure, and he had a sincere and cheerful smile.

Yang Yi looked at it and felt that life was not bitter. It was rare to have such a person who could enjoy hardship.

After Yang Yi took Xu Xiaoqiang to Jiangmen, Liao Chunsheng's movie "I'm Not a Passerby" was officially launched.

The crew members settled in Hengdian. Shen Qiushuang led a group of people to do a second location scouting, while Liao Chunsheng interviewed actors for the film with Le Zehan and Wen Jingchen, an intern director assistant who had just finished the college entrance examination and came to intern.

"It's difficult! Zehan, it's really difficult to choose such pure amateur actors. They do have the unpolished quality that I want, but they lack some fire in their acting skills." Liao Chunsheng interviewed One day, my back hurt from sitting so much. After the last batch of actors who came to audition left, he stretched out and shook his head with Le Zehan with a wry smile.

"It's not easy to make your film well. It tells the story of ordinary people, right? It's a false proposition for ordinary group actors to counterattack. Yi Ge is the best case of counterattack. , but he is not an ordinary person, he is a handsome guy, a professional actor from Beijing Film Academy, and he is also a genius! In your story, the counterattack is a completely ordinary person, ordinary appearance, ordinary With a background and ordinary acting skills, such a person can counterattack with his own efforts. Tell yourself, do you believe there is such a story?"

Le Zehan shook his head.

He was originally not optimistic about this project. However, because Yang Yili supported Liao Chunsheng in filming the story of his dream despite all opinions, and the production cost was not high - Liao Chunsheng decided to use the most common actors in Hengdian, including special guests and extras. Come and star in this movie - so Le Zehan reluctantly agreed to make this movie.

You can't look at "I'm Not a Passerby" as a commercial movie. If you want to make it, then make it into a slightly commercial and artistic film!

Just like Yang Yi's debut film "Space Exploration Editorial", it was shot at a low cost and there is not much pressure to repay the money. If the box office can explode like "Space Exploration Editorial", it may really make money. Some!

"Made, it's almost time to turn on the phone, and you're still here to pour cold water on me, right? Can't you encourage me? Say something nice and give some good advice?"

Liao Chunsheng laughed and cursed.

"Then you have to put the ugly words first, right? Of course, your script is not entirely without merit. Its story is quite down-to-earth, and down-to-earth movies have been very popular in recent years."

Le Zehan changed the topic and started to talk about some serious analysis.

Wen Jingchen was sitting next to them listening just now and thought they were going to quarrel. When he first arrived, he was very gentle. He didn't know how to persuade him, and he didn't dare to persuade him. He sat there in silence and was extremely nervous. He was always worried that he would bring disaster to Chiyu.

Unexpectedly, Le Zehan and Liao Chunsheng did not really quarrel. Even Liao Chunsheng could joke and scold him back, and then the two discussed the matter and continued the discussion.

"I read a survey a few days ago, and I think it makes sense. What was popular on the Internet in the past? It was elite culture! You can see that in many different fields there are people who are more capable of leading the topic. The so-called KOL.”

Le Zehan said.

"Yes, opinion leaders. When I was buying mobile phones or computers, I would always watch the review videos of KOLs. Until later, I felt that their videos had no useful information at all. They were all just casual content. They took money from manufacturers and were ignorant. I brag out of conscience. Then I never watched these videos again. Anyway, today’s mobile phones are pretty much the same, you can buy any one and use it.”

Liao Chunsheng nodded.

"Yes, these KOLs used to dress very fashionably and talk like elites. Their videos were really popular before because the amount of information available to everyone was too little and everyone was willing to believe them. But not now. Now, on the short video platform, anyone can shoot and post videos. It is very comfortable for ordinary netizens to watch, and they don’t need to use their brains. As a result, those videos that look superior will naturally lose their market, and people don’t like such people. , don’t like videos like this that have nothing to do with their lives. On the contrary, those joke videos based on ordinary people’s lives can become popular.”

Le Zehan is talking about the changes in the market in recent years.

Liao Chunsheng continued to nod thoughtfully: "You mean, my movie is about ordinary group actors and a life-like story, instead of filming the luxurious life of a well-known star, so it is more realistic." It resonates with the audience, right?”

"The market is indeed heading this way, but I still have to put a question mark on whether your movie can resonate with the audience. But there is a big question. I just thought of it after watching your audition today! Like I just said Those joke videos, although many of them are very down-to-earth stories, the people who make the videos are not ordinary!"

"For example, if his shooting, camera operation, and editing can become popular, all technical techniques must be very skilled. It is not something that an ordinary person can shoot with a mobile phone. And his actresses do not necessarily have to be She has the level of looks of a female star, but she is definitely better-looking, and her acting skills must be passable.”

"For example, I saw a video about dressing up that went viral. Its routine actually uses jokes to create contrast. The story can be clichéd, down-to-earth, and the scene can even be set in the countryside, but if you look at its starring role, He was originally a very professional male model, but he deliberately pretended to be ugly for the sake of the story, pretending to be slovenly and slovenly, and then created a strong contrast."

"But your casting idea is not like that. From the beginning, you want to cast ordinary people with no characteristics. That's why I tell you to find some actors like this to play the male and female protagonists. Supporting actors and actresses, after watching it, will the audience still be attracted to it? Will they believe the counterattack story you tell?"

Le Zehan circled around and returned to the basin of cold water he had poured on him just now.

Of course, this time Liao Chunsheng understood and fell into deep thinking.

"What do you mean, I want to find actors with good acting skills and good image to play this play, instead of real extras like the ones written in the script, but I just need to make them look ugly in the play?"

Liao Chunsheng thought for a while before asking aloud.

"That's right, you really can't find extras. If you look at their acting, you can't pass it yourself. You can't stand it anymore, how do you still expect the audience to pay for your movie?"

Le Zehan smiled and nodded.

"But the problem now is that our budget is not high, and it is expensive to find better actors! We can't just call Brother Yi, Brother Ye, Brother Ma, and Brother Jun back to star in my movie, right? Theirs If their faces appear on the big screen and they are said to be extravagant actors who cannot stand out, the audience will be disappointed."

Liao Chunsheng smiled bitterly.

"I'm Not a Passerby" can't be compared with "Space Exploration Editorial Department". When Yang Yi filmed "Space Exploration Editorial Department", everyone got almost zero salary, but they made money later. Yang Yi gave more than It only reflects the value of their remuneration at that time.

Now even if everyone can continue to star in his "I'm Not a Passerby" for free, Liao Chunsheng is worried that the result will not be good.

Now let alone Yang Yi and Ye Fuming, even Ma Shiqing and Zhang Jiajun are both well-known stars.

Xu Xiaoqiang even recognizes them singing "Old Boy"!

A movie like "I'm Not a Passerby", which tells the story of an ordinary bit player's counterattack, is really not suitable for actors who may look familiar to the audience.

"If you say so, it is indeed a big problem!"

Le Zehan also encountered difficulties.

If you choose actors well, you have to spend more money, and more money means soaring costs. Soaring costs will very likely result in them not being able to recoup the money later, and making a loss-making movie that will ruin their Mumu Film and Television brand.

The producer Le Zehan does not allow such a situation to occur!

"So I think it's better to be patient and interview these actors to see if we can find the right ones for our movie. Maybe we can also become the future movie kings and queens."

Liao Chunsheng smiled, his smile a little helpless.

"Finding a best actor among hundreds of thousands of extras in Hengdian? Your difficulty is similar to finding a needle in a haystack. Why don't we go shopping on the street? Maybe we can see the beauty Bai Yueguang who is still struggling in the extras and can play you well. This heroine is Tingting.”

Le Zehan stood up, stamped his feet, and was ready to go looking for food.

(End of this chapter)