Chapter 173: Cameo

"But I can't act, so I guess Director Jiang won't let me be the female lead, haha!"

Da Tian Tian laughed self‑deprecatingly, striking a carefree pose that made the people around her stare.

Next to her, Liu Yifei wore a shocked expression, unaware that this was Da Tian Tian's usual temperament.

When filming "Warring States" in 2011, Jing Tian saw Sun Honglei drinking tea on set and went over to greet him.

She said earnestly, "Brother Honglei, I'm not very good at acting; could you teach me?"

Sun Honglei retorted, "You can't act, so why do you want to be an actor and film? And take such a high salary?"

That sentence made the atmosphere on set extremely awkward.

Later, at the press conference, there were various veiled attacks.

They called it taking people's money and averting disaster.

Sun Honglei's market price at the time was three to four million, and the salary for "Warring States" was said to be ten million or twelve million.

Da Tian Tian said, "Sister Yifei said big productions are fun and asked if I'd be willing to come over!"

"Warring States" investors gave no response; as for Jing Tian, she has already begun collaborating with Cheng Long, Zhou Runfa and other big names and is moving into Hollywood.

Having said that, she pointed to Kou Zhanwen, who was not far away wearing a motion‑capture suit, and asked, "What kind of clothes is he wearing?"

Jing Tian was simply curious about special‑effects filming and asked Jiang Heng whether he could let her cameo as a little sprite, even if the face stayed hidden.

Perhaps Sun also realized the issue; later in an interview he said he was initially stunned by the money, but then returned the money he had been hit with.

Even though the two traveled thousands of miles to visit the set, Jiang Heng could not, like a tyrant CEO, give the crew a holiday to stroll with them; filming that needed to continue would still go on.

Of course, still not famous!

On set, the two, led by staff, came up to Jiang Heng.

As for the ultra‑realistic facial expressions, facial motion capture is still required.

Jing Tian reached out to feel the fabric, then touched the white reflective markers on her arm and asked with a smile, "Will wearing this be stuffy?"

Of course, such a complicated principle, even Da Tian Tian might not understand, so they were too lazy to explain.

"Oh, and then we can film a monster several meters tall?"

Jiang Heng laughed, "Of course it's not that simple!"

Kou Zhanwen just gave a dumb smile; the big boss said nothing, so he wouldn't steal the word.

"How did you two get here?" Jiang Heng was genuinely a bit surprised.

He couldn't tell that this girl's background was solid, so he intentionally stepped closer.

Kou Zhanwen has been mingling in the entertainment circle for years; his eye for talent is still there.

The principle is roughly the same: place facial markers and use a helmet equipped with capture cameras.

Taking so much money and then sabotaging the set is rather unscrupulous.

Liu Yifei glanced behind Jiang Heng at Zhang Yuqi, who looked cautious, and said, "The crew is on break, so we came to take a look!"

Jiang Heng smiled, "It's not that; this is a black tight‑fitting suit, relatively breathable. It just allows reflective markers to be stuck anywhere on the body!"

Motion capture only obtains movement trajectory data; later it must be combined with a 3D model.

Jiang Heng heard that and was indeed a bit tempted.

The film indeed has many little sprites; beside the nine‑tailed fox played by Zhang Yuqi, the setting calls for two female demons.

But they're just background roles; since they haven't filmed that part nor hired relevant actors, letting Liu Yifei or Jing Tian cameo…

Jiang Heng's gaze flickered between Jing Tian and Liu Yifei; the latter said, "I don't want to play a female demon; is there a fairy role?"

Jing Tian was puzzled, "Playing a female demon is so fun; you can even eat Tang Seng's flesh!"

Liu Yifei laughed, "Since you love playing female demons so much, when we shoot Daughter Country later, you can play the Scorpion Spirit, jump out and snatch Tang Seng away!"

Jing Tian turned to look at Ding Haifeng nearby and shook her head vigorously, "Hmm, Teacher Ding's Tang Seng is too massive; I couldn't grab him!"

Ding Haifeng heard that and was both amused and helpless; he only knew the girl had a strong background but was unfamiliar, so he said nothing.

In Jiang Heng's mind, the line suddenly popped up, "I'm not a delicate queen; I have strength and means."

Seeing Jing Tian's smiling face again, he found it quite amusing.

"Hmm, maybe we can try it then!"

Jing Tian, with a surprised face, asked, "Really? Didn't you say I have no acting skill and can't act in movies?"

Jiang Heng was puzzled, "Did I ever say that?"

Jing Tian replied, "You never said it, but what you want to say is written all over your face!"

She immediately hummed, "You all think I'm a naive sweetie, but I'm actually very clever!"

Jiang Heng's ears were still sharp; hearing Jing Tian's muttering, he was both exasperated and amused.

"Your current acting needs improvement, but I believe after a few years of honing, I can teach you properly; playing a supporting role will be doable!"

Jing Tian, delighted by the words, said, "Really? Then I look forward to it. We agreed that when you shoot Daughter Country, you must cast me as the Scorpion Spirit queen!"

"Mm‑hm, definitely definitely!"

Jing Tian asked again, "By the way, who will play the Daughter Country king then? Sister Yifei? She's so beautiful; playing the king would be no problem!"

Saying that, she glanced at Ding Haifeng nearby and whispered to Jiang Heng, "If you play Tang Seng, Sister Yifei would be so happy she'd refuse any salary!"

Liu Yifei's cheeks flushed slightly; she reached out and gently tapped Jing Tian's arm, "Don't talk nonsense!"

Jing Tian laughed, "I'm not saying anything nonsense!"

Jiang Heng gave a wry smile, "Then maybe we can try it then!"

The few were chatting casually in the set's lounge area; the surrounding people weren't far away, and some topics weren't easy to discuss at length.

Jing Tian, with a carefree demeanor, still knew the limits; seeing Jiang Heng not laugh, she dropped the topic.

She immediately brought up the cameo again, and Jiang Heng couldn't help feeling a bit uneasy.

Beside the nine‑tailed fox, even if not using four female demons to attend, at least two are needed.

If only Jing Tian were to cameo, we'd probably have to pick someone from the on-site staff.

Fortunately, the makeup team has many girls, so we can only pick from them.

Unexpectedly, the assistant director walked over again, with a strange expression on his face.

"Um, Director Jiang, Tang Yan and Yang Mi have come over, also saying they're here to visit the set!"

Jiang Heng, hearing this, became even more dazed, and asked Liu Yifei, "You guys are taking a day off, right?"

Liu Yifei hurriedly explained, "It's just one day, but I have no schedule tomorrow, so I don't need to stay at the crew!"

Jing Tian also hurriedly said, "My screen time is even less!!"

Jiang Heng gave a wry smile, no need to guess, Tang Yan and Yang Mi will both have suitable excuses.

Not long after, the two arrived together, and what they said was similar to Liu Yifei and Jing Tian.

Jiang Heng directly said: "Alright, since you've come all this way, don't just idle around; all of you cameo a role. Jing Tian, Yang Mi, you two will play the two little imps beside the nine-tailed fox spirit later. Liu Yifei, Tang Yan, you two cameo as fairies, any objections?"

"No objections!"

"No objections!"

(End of chapter)