Chapter 79: Sister Li Wants a Child

The localized script of "Room" tells the story of a girl named Zhang Jing who is deceived by a neighbor and subsequently imprisoned in a tiny room for seven long years.

During this period, she is violated and gives birth to a son, Zhang An.

Like all mothers, Zhang Jing tries her best to create a safe and happy environment for her child to grow up in; although they are trapped in a room of less than 10 square meters, Zhang Jing creates a magical world for her son through imagination.

However, as he grows day by day, Zhang An's curiosity makes him no longer satisfied with this world, so Zhang Jing carefully plans and takes Zhang An to escape from the room that imprisoned them.

Yet, after escaping, this mother and son, who have been detached from society for too long, realize that the real world is what they fear the most.

Zhang An is a 5-year-old boy who has never left the room since the day he was born.

He believes that everything inside this room is real, and everything outside of it is illusory.

However, when his mother suddenly tells him that there are other real things existing outside this room, how will Zhang An react? This is a realistic fairy tale that can be interpreted from the perspectives of psychology, anthropology, sociology, political science, etc. The tone is close to "Life is Beautiful," where the father or mother tries their best to bring happiness and hope to their child in an extreme environment.

It is also one of the few films in Wei Jin's mind that is suitable for chasing awards after localization; after all, parental love knows no borders.

On March 18, when Wei Jin arrived at the set, the crew had already set everything up in an orderly fashion.

The Producer this time is still Chen Zhiming. Now, Chen Zhiming rarely serves as a producer, putting more thought and energy into the management of the company.

In the past two years, the company has also recruited many industry personnel with production experience, mostly arranging them in crews where the company participates in investment. Wei Jin does not have many requirements for producers; as long as they can assist well, that is enough.

However, for Wei Jin's films, Chen Zhiming insists on being the producer; let's call it him not forgetting his original intention.

Several actors had already joined the crew a few days in advance: Feng Yuanzheng, who plays the perverted neighbor Lao Ma; Zhang Guoli, who plays the heroine's father; Zhang Kaili, who plays the heroine's mother; and Wu Lei, who plays the son Zhang An, were all somewhat immersed in their roles at this time.

"Teacher Guoli, Teacher Feng, Teacher Kaili, I will have to trouble you all this time."

Wei Jin said, bowing in salute. Art films are very demanding on actors, and these people staying immersed in their roles for a long time has a great impact on them.

"Director Wei is too polite. The script is excellent; it is my honor to participate."

Zhang Guoli tidied up his emotions and said somewhat politely: "Old Zhang is right. A good script is hard to come by. If there are such plays in the future, just come to me."

Zhang Kaili seemed a bit more active, which counted as giving Wei Jin a boost.

"Director, you follow strict standards, and I will cooperate fully."

Feng Yuanzheng, on the other hand, had a serious face. Although he didn't say much, his attitude was extremely upright; he is a pure actor.

On the other side, Ceng Li also brought Wu Lei over. Looking at how close the two were, Wei Jin felt reassured; the child's role is too important in this play.

"Director Wei, we are all ready. Please give your orders."

Once Ceng Li said this, the others also stared at Wei Jin with burning eyes. Seeing that the entire crew was emotionally prepared, Wei Jin did not say more. After holding a simple opening ceremony with everyone, he announced that "Room" had officially started filming.

The shooting of art films is not quite the same as commercial films. Art films mainly rely on the actors' acting skills. If the actors' performances are smooth and their emotional expression is on point, then it is quite fast to shoot.

Conversely, if the actors cannot reach the state the director wants to express, then it has to be polished over and over again. There are even cases where an art film takes several years to shoot, or cases where the actors have mental problems halfway through.

However, none of this happened on Wei Jin's set. After all, he chose veteran actors, and even Ceng Li, whose acting skills were slightly immature, had rich practical experience and had started to enter the state two months early, so the overall shooting progress was faster than Wei Jin imagined.

Today, they are shooting the scene where the movie plot begins. The cameraman controls the lens to look down from a high altitude at the sleeping mother and son.

Soon, Zhang An, who has long hair and is as pretty as a girl, wakes up, and the camera gives a close-up.

"Mom, I'm 5 years old."

Zhang An said to his mother who was still sleeping. Ceng Li, whose face was a little pale, woke up upon hearing this, smiled at her son, hugged him in her arms, and sighed: "Yes, you are already so big!"

"I'm grown up now!"

Zhang An emphasized again. "Cut, that's a wrap, not bad."

This waking-up shot is very simple; for the two of them, it counts as a warm-up.

"Li Jie, Little Lei, both of you performed well. Try to keep a relaxed state afterward, just like in everyday life. Little Lei, your performance is excellent, keep it up."

Wei Jin affirmed the performances of the two, especially the child actor Wu Lei.

After more than two months of getting along, the bond between Ceng Li and Wu Lei as mother and son was cultivated very well. Wu Lei basically gave a natural performance, appearing exceptionally real, and he himself has acting experience and is no stranger to the set, which saved Wei Jin a lot of trouble.

"Brother Wei Jin, I know, I will perform well."

Although Wu Lei had just turned 6, he was not ignorant and would not waste the opportunity.

"Hmm, what a good boy!"

Wei Jin touched the little boy's head; it must be said, it felt quite good.

The subsequent shooting went very smoothly, basically all daily life between mother and son.

Wu Lei and Ceng Li's performances were really good, especially Wu Lei; that kind of child's curiosity and innocence about a small space was perfect under the lens.

This also surprised Wei Jin. During this time, he had repeatedly watched the original version in his mind many times. The original little boy's performance was truly excellent, and Wei Jin was afraid that Wu Lei wouldn't be able to achieve that effect, but he didn't expect constant surprises.

"Little Lei, you performed great. Keep it up. After we finish work, brother will take you to eat something delicious."

After finishing a shot, Wei Jin said to Wu Lei with a smile: "Thank you, brother. It's just that this hair is a bit long, it's inconvenient."

Wu Lei said, shaking his long hair, feeling a bit troubled.

Upon hearing this, Wei Jin hurriedly arranged for the makeup staff to come and help, then looked at Ceng Li:

"Li Jie, your performance today was also very good. It seems you are getting along very well with this little guy."

"Hmm, Little Lei is very obedient and also very sensible."

Ceng Li looked at Wu Lei, who was walking into the makeup room, with a gentle look in her eyes.

At this moment, Wei Jin felt the maternal love radiating from Ceng Li. He walked up and gently pulled Ceng Li into his arms.

As the movie continued to be filmed, Wei Jin clearly noticed that Ceng Li was becoming more and more immersed in the role. During this time, the look in her eyes when she looked at Wu Lei was as if she were truly the child's mother.

This is of course good during the filming process, but after work at night, in Wei Jin's room, Ceng Li seemed unable to step out of the role, constantly immersed in the tragic life of the character Zhang Jing.

Wei Jin felt a bit gratified; this movie would definitely become the peak manifestation of Li Jie's acting skills. At the same time, he felt a bit worried; many actors cannot step out of their roles for a long time, leading to mental instability, and some even die young. The actress who played Lin Daiyu is the best example, and Wei Jin did not want his woman to go down this path.

Gently holding Ceng Li, Wei Jin's hands were a bit restless, trying to use this way to make Li Jie pull herself out, but the effect was not very obvious. Ceng Li gave almost no reaction, instead staring at him blankly, asking somewhat pleadingly:

"Xiao Jin, tell me, will we have our own children?"

"We will, Li Jie, I promise."

Wei Jin's words were categorical, his tone sincere and firm.

"Good, you must not lie to me..."

Having received the promise, tears flowed down Ceng Li's face involuntarily.

"Mm."

That night, Wei Jin held Ceng Li as they fell asleep, the two of them quietly feeling each other's body heat. The new book is now live, three chapters are presented, I ask all readers for a subscription, follow-up read, and collection, this newbie author thanks you!

(End of this chapter)