Chapter 161: Da Mi Mi Wraps

The Inception crew now also counts as a gathering of beauties.

Although Monica Bellucci is older, she is still mature and gorgeous, with timeless charm.

Megan Fox has a hot figure, sexy and alluring.

Yang Mi is in the prime of youth, very spirited.

Originally, in history, she would appear a year later as Guo Xiang in The Return of the Condor Heroes, winning countless fans.

With these three beauties constantly wandering before his eyes, Jiang Heng also felt a bit distracted.

The shot he designed for Yang Mi is simple: it's one of the passerby couples in the hotel scene of the second dream level that Cobb designed for Fischer.

In this scene, Cobb proactively tells Fischer that he is currently dreaming, and they are his subconscious defenders, protecting his thoughts from intrusion.

Meanwhile, Arthur and Ariadne in this dream level are also being watched by the people in the hotel (Fischer's subconscious).

The female lead played by Ellen Page, after being tricked into a kiss, shows a hint of a smile—absolutely perfect.

"Click, click!"

Jiang Heng replaced that black male-female pair from the original version, adding another black character elsewhere.

Although this shot was just a stand-in and didn't involve an actual kiss, Megan's performance always fell a bit short.

Yuan Hua also chuckled: 'Exactly, Miss Megan Fox is filming her first scene, and it's a kiss scene—Director Jiang, you'd better teach her well!'

What made her even more envious was that the person acting opposite Yang Mi turned out to be Jiang Heng.

This was Jiang Heng's own call, because the shooting requirements for this segment in the script were 'stand-in shooting' and 'light kiss'.

After Ariadne kissed, she noticed those people were still watching them.

When filming this scene, Megan Fox showed some resistance; the actor playing Arthur, though also quite handsome, was far inferior in status and ability.

Assistant director and action coach Yuan De rubbed his bald head, chuckling: 'All right, Director Jiang, go up close and tell her.'

Yang Mi, watching from the side, felt suffocated and turned to leave.

In the original plot, when a black male-female pair linked arms and walked up the stairs looking over, Arthur tricked Ariadne into kissing him.

But since she appeared alongside Jiang Heng, Yang Mi believed it would be enough to make her famous in the Chinese-language entertainment world, making this Hollywood trip worthwhile.

Megan Fox, however, didn't care about anything—she was just too hot.

Jiang Heng had no choice but to stand up, sit in the actor who played Arthur's previous seat, say Arthur's lines, and as he turned his head sideways, Megan's face had already come toward him.

In this scene, he escorted Yang Mi up the stairs, glancing sideways at the camera.

Arthur said it was fine, but it was also worth it, then got up and left.

Her mother followed behind, and only after Yang Mi stopped did she say: 'How old are you, girl? Don't think about useless things. This trip not only gave you on-screen footage, but you also appeared alongside Jiang Heng—you've already made your gain. You now count as having wrapped filming; I'll go book tickets for them tomorrow, and we'll head back to the country!'

Although the shot is very short, when cut into the final film it amounts to only one or two seconds.

After several NG takes, Megan Fox suggested letting the director act opposite her.

Yang Mi's shots were easy to film, but Megan Fox's side kept having problems.

Yang Mi, however, was somewhat reluctant to leave: 'Mom, can I stay two more days?'

'No, your scenes have already wrapped; what reason or qualification do you have to stay? You must leave!'

'Then maybe there will be a wrap-up banquet!'

Yang's mother laughed in exasperation, pointing a finger at her forehead: 'With just a three-second bit part, you actually feel entitled to a wrap-up banquet?'

Da Mi Mi said: 'No matter how many seconds, it's still filmed with Jiang Heng; once the movie releases, who knows how many will envy us!'

Yang's mother was speechless, saw no point in arguing, and went straight to find the production manager.

The production manager looked at the schedule and said: 'Hmm, that's right; Director Jiang arranged it—tomorrow we'll hold a wrap-up banquet for Miss Yang Mi and book your tickets for the day after tomorrow. Does that work for you?'

Yang's mother was astonished, while Da Mi Mi's eyes lit up with delight: 'I—I actually have a wrap-up banquet? Really?'

The production manager nodded: 'Yes, Director Jiang arranged it; the location is set in Chinatown, and only the Chinese cast and crew from the production will go.'

Yang Mi exclaimed: 'Great! I've long wanted to go to Chinatown for a meal—I'm sick of the hamburgers and chicken cutlets from the crew.'

The next day, Jiang Heng led Wu Yanzu, Yuan De, Yuan Hua, Yang Mi and her mother, along with the Chinese cast and crew, to a Chinese restaurant in Chinatown.

It wasn't specially arranged as a wrap-up banquet for Yang Mi; mainly, filming in Hollywood requires resting on weekends.

Here, the crew clocks in and out, with daily work hours strictly limited to under ten hours; overtime earns a subsidy.

Yuan De and Yuan Hua were initially unaccustomed to this, but Jiang Heng quite liked this work rhythm.

When filming domestically, he often gave the crew time off.

However, considering most other crews work nonstop shifts, Jiang Heng's crew basically rests one day every week or so, which isn't really standing out.

Inside the Chinese restaurant, everyone booked a large private room and ordered dishes such as General Tso's chicken.

During the meal, they first celebrated Yang Mi's successful wrap, wishing her smooth sailing upon returning home.

Da Mi Mi was overjoyed, saying many moving words.

Afterwards, everyone chatted about yesterday's filming; Yuan Hua chuckled: 'Megan Fox's intentions are too obvious—Director Jiang, you should act when the time comes!'

Yuan De expressed the same view, laughing as he spoke about it.

First, these two have known and worked with Jiang Heng for many years, earning his trust, and they often joke around in daily life.

Second, in their view, spreading rumors or even developing a real romance with actresses during filming is no big deal.

Back in their early days, they hung out with Cheng Long and Hung Jinbao, and had already seen it all.

Furthermore, coming from a stunt background, they'd witnessed too many stunt brothers injured on set, and women running off with money, so they don't believe in romance at all.

Cheng Long has openly told the media that he only let his guard down with his wife after twenty years of marriage.

Yuan De and Yuan Hua may not be as extreme as Cheng Long, but they are certainly greatly influenced as well.

Jiang Heng naturally felt some stirrings too, but of course he couldn't discuss such flowery romance in front of the girls.

He simply said: 'Stop the nonsense, eat!'

Yuan De and Yuan Hua exchanged a glance, their expressions somewhat lecherous.

The next day, Yang Mi and her daughter took a flight back to the country; after a nearly day-long flight, they finally arrived at Shoudu Guoji Jichang.

Li Shaoju brought the driver to the airport to meet them; seeing Yang Mi approach, he first gave her a hug, then pushed her away to look her over, saying, "This girl, you've gotten so thin from hunger, how's it been over there, are you used to it? How much screen time do you have?!"

Three seconds!

Three seconds?

Li Shaoju was stunned; flying all the way to Haolaiwu, staying a week with the crew, just for a three-second shot—too stingy!

Yang's mother held back a laugh and said, "En, just three seconds—not only is the time short, she doesn't even have a line!"

"Ah, you didn't even get a line?" Li Shaoju had a particularly speechless expression.

Yang Mi nodded, pursing her lips in a pitiful way and said, "Yeah, I don't have any lines, but fortunately these three seconds are on stage together with Director Jiang, I'm holding his arm!"

(End of chapter)