Chapter 342: Contrast

After the 57th Berlin International Film Festival concluded, Cao Yang stayed in Berlin for two more days, mainly for social networking; this is the same all over the world.

Afterwards, he did not go to the U.S. to work on the post-production for *New Pirates of the Caribbean*, but returned to the country first.

In Hollywood, for a film with such a massive investment as *New Pirates of the Caribbean*, most directors have actually finished their work once filming is complete; even if they participate in post-production, it is at most just offering suggestions.

Only special directors who possess final cut authority participate in post-production.

That’s right, in Hollywood, directors with final cut authority, especially in big productions, are a very special and rare existence.

However, having final cut authority does not mean one must do everything personally; one only needs to grasp the general direction.

Currently, the main post-production work for *New Pirates of the Caribbean* involves the editor working with the visual effects team to first produce a rough cut of about four to five hours in length, and only then will Cao Yang take over the work.

Returning to Jingcheng, Cao Yang first spent two days accompanying his parents.

Then, his mother would "inadvertently" mention from time to time that his childhood friends, elementary school classmates, middle school classmates, and the children of so-and-so who were even younger than him, had all gotten married, and that so-and-so already had children...

Cao Yang felt a bit overwhelmed and could only play deaf and dumb, offer perfunctory replies, and change the subject...

Finally, his mother still asked that question: "Have you started dating? You aren't young anymore; it's time to consider your personal affairs..."

Cao Yang could only use work as an excuse to go find his girlfriend...s in Jingcheng.

Yu Feihong is now the most "Buddhist" A-list Best Actress; it seems that after winning the Venice Best Actress award, she has no more ambitions.

She takes on movies as fate allows, accepts advertisements as fate allows, and as for attending events, she avoids them if she can.

Logically speaking, with her "Buddhist" attitude, she should have gone out of style by now.

However, perhaps because she is tied to the title of "Four Great Qingyi," or perhaps for other reasons, not only has she not gone out of style at all, but her advertising fees are second only to Gao Yuanyuan.

And the ones seeking her out are all the most high-end endorsements.

Therefore, she can be considered the most carefree living actress in the country.

While Li Xiaoran, Gao Yuanyuan, and Dong Xuan might be very busy during the New Year period and not necessarily in Jingcheng, Yu Feihong is definitely in Jingcheng.

Cao Yang also likes coming to Yu Feihong's place.

Watching her cook in the kitchen, eating and watching TV with her, cuddling her on the sofa while listening to her talk about cooking techniques, or listening to her complain about TV dramas...

It seems that here, Cao Yang's heart can also calm down, and he no longer thinks about numerous troublesome matters.

Of course, what Cao Yang likes most is when the now seemingly more intellectual, quiet, and gentle Fairy Feihong transforms into a female knight.

The contrast in image, personality, and behavior is very easy to make people get hooked.

The stronger the sense of contrast, the more it can stir up a man's emotions.

A so-called good woman is capable in the parlor and in the kitchen; a lady in the parlor, and in bed... well, anyway, it's quite interesting.

Of course, no matter how strong the female knight is, she will eventually fall off the horse.

In fact, the moment the majestic female knight says she can't take it anymore, that is the moment that can best stir a person's emotions.

Whenever this happens, Cao Yang feels his confidence explode, full of drive, and his sense of satisfaction is extremely strong.

This is also a special manifestation of the beauty of contrast.

Old Tian called Cao Yang, saying he wanted to get together alone.

Cao Yang was a bit puzzled; hadn't they just gathered at Old Situ's house two days ago? But since Old Tian wanted to gather alone, then they would gather.

It was still that small private kitchen restaurant they often went to before.

Cao Yang observed Old Tian; he didn't look like anything was unusual, so maybe he just wanted to get together.

Old Tian was very proactive this time; when Cao Yang arrived, he had already ordered the dishes, and once the food was served, Cao Yang discovered that Old Tian had also ordered two small bottles of liquor.

"Didn't you quit?"

Cao Yang looked at the two bottles of Red Star on the table and asked with slight confusion: "When we were eating at the teacher's house the day before yesterday, the teacher asked who wanted liquor, and you even pretended to wave your hand and said you had quit."

"Hey, you brat, you're doing this on purpose, right? I'm not stupid; it's the New Year, I don't want to get scolded."

Old Tian pushed one bottle to Cao Yang, took one for himself, and said: "Are you drinking or not? If not, both bottles belong to me."

"Maybe the teacher saw that you've been performing well lately and wanted to reward you with a drink?"

Cao Yang snatched a bottle and placed it under his feet to keep Old Tian from drinking it all.

"Who knows if the old guy is sincere? Maybe it's because I've been performing well lately and he hasn't scolded me in a long time, so he needs a legitimate reason to scold me; he might be fishing for a trap."

Old Tian was talking nonsense with a straight face.

Cao Yang nodded along, "Hmm, that makes sense. Don't talk about the teacher; if I don't scold you for a while, I feel like something is missing in my heart. I can understand the teacher's feelings."

"Go away, I'm your punching bag, right?"

Old Tian poured himself a small cup, took a tiny sip, and couldn't help but close his eyes and smack his lips.

"Comfortable..."

"Damn, Old Tian, you wouldn't have really quit drinking from the last time we met until now, would you?"

Seeing Old Tian acting like an old drunkard who hadn't had a drink in eight hundred years, Cao Yang couldn't help but ask.

Old Tian ignored Cao Yang, opened his eyes, took another small sip, and let out a long breath.

He picked up a chopstick of food, threw it into his mouth, and while chewing, said: "From the last time we ate here until now, it's been almost five months. I put all my heart and soul into the movie; where would I have time to drink?"

Cao Yang gave Old Tian a thumbs up.

Old Tian picked up his small liquor cup, downed the rest in one go, hissed through his teeth, and couldn't help but start counting on his fingers.

"I remember the last time we met here was early September, and it was also that day we decided to use Fu Dalong to play the male lead."

Old Tian seemed to be lost in memory, then shook his head and gave a self-deprecating smile.

"This kid Fu Dalong... how should I put it, his acting is okay, and his explosive power is sufficient, but he's just prone to getting carried away and is easily unable to hold back."

Then, Old Tian gave a smug smile and looked at Cao Yang, saying:

"Do you know? Since September... oh, you were there too, since September I started explaining the scenes and characters to the main actors. Do you know how long I, along with that kid Ning Hao, spent explaining the scenes to them?"

Cao Yang secretly curled his lips.

I certainly know.

You still have the nerve to say that. You signed a four-month schedule with Hui Yinghong from Xiangjiang. At the time, it was agreed upon: two months for scene training and two months for filming.

For *Pieta*, a film with an uncomplicated plot and no large-scale scenes, two months of filming time is considered very generous.

But look at you; you started gathering the actors to explain scenes in September and kept going until mid-December!

Good heavens, for such a simple movie, you actually broke it down and chewed it up, explaining it for a full hundred days and then some.

The movie hadn't even started filming yet, and you had already used up three and a half months of the four-month schedule Hui Yinghong gave!

Do you think her agency wouldn't have any objections?

Fortunately, this was a script written by Cao Yang, and he was also the film's producer and supervisor, so he could keep things under control; otherwise, it would definitely have been another troublesome matter.

"I explained it to them for a full one hundred and seven days before I was satisfied with their performance and officially started filming."

Old Tian picked up the small liquor bottle, filled his small cup again, lifted it to smell the aroma, and put it down.

"One hundred and seven days. You haven't seen the footage, so you might not know, but that kid Fu Dalong, he's made it!"

After finishing, Old Tian, slightly excited, picked up his cup, tilted his head back, and downed it in one gulp.

He exhaled, picked up his chopsticks, grabbed some food, and started crunching it in his mouth.

Cao Yang's heart stirred. To be honest, he felt that Fu Dalong's acting was sometimes very good, and his explosive power was quite good, but he just wasn't stable enough.

Unlike Duan Yihong; no matter what role Duan Yihong plays, at least his acting is always on point.

However, for the male lead of *Pieta*, just in terms of image, Fu Dalong is quite suitable. If he keeps a buzz cut, it's very easy for him to portray that feeling of being fierce and ruthless.

Listening to Old Tian, he spent almost three and a half months "training" Fu Dalong?

"Fu Dalong's performance was very vivid?"

Cao Yang couldn't help but ask.

Old Tian laughed out loud and wanted to fill his small cup again, but unexpectedly, he poured out all the liquor from the small bottle, and the cup still wasn't full, so he couldn't help but mutter a few words under his breath.

Afterwards, he turned his head and looked at Cao Yang with eager eyes.

Cao Yang picked up the small bottle of liquor from the floor; Old Tian's eyes lit up, then he saw Cao Yang put the bottle into his pocket.

"Fu Dalong's performance was very vivid?"

Cao Yang pretended not to see Old Tian's expectant gaze and asked again.

Old Tian was a bit depressed; he grabbed some food and threw it into his mouth, deliberately chewing it very loudly.

After swallowing, he said: "It's more than just good; he brought the character's changes and contrast to life!"

Then, he looked at Cao Yang with eager eyes again, gave a fawning smile, and said:

"I asked you to eat today because tomorrow I'm going to enter the editing room for post-production. I plan to eat and sleep in there, and I will definitely follow the script completely to edit out an incredibly brilliant story.

Anyway, I'm entering the editing room tomorrow, and once I enter, I won't be coming out..."

Old Tian hinted wildly, wanting Cao Yang to give him the liquor; he wanted to have a good drink before entering the editing room for post-production.

"So you're entering the editing room. Then I'll wait for your good news."

Cao Yang pretended not to understand Old Tian's hint and said with a smile: "I'll keep this bottle of liquor for now; when you come out next time, this will be your celebration drink."

"Go away, does your family use this small bottle of Red Star for a celebration drink?"

Old Tian muttered under his breath, said nothing more, and just kept crunching on his food.

After the meal, Cao Yang drove Old Tian back, and afterwards, he didn't go to Yu Feihong's place, but went to where Gao Yuanyuan was staying.

Gao Yuanyuan had returned to Jingcheng today.

As soon as he entered the door, Gao Yuanyuan jumped onto Cao Yang in one leap; fortunately, Cao Yang was prepared, knowing Gao Yuanyuan liked to play this game.

Gao Yuanyuan hugged Cao Yang's head and kissed him a few times before asking with a smile: "Haven't seen you for so long, did you miss me?"

"What do you think? You returned to Jingcheng in the afternoon, and I came over in the evening."

Cao Yang supported her bottom, carried her to the sofa in the living room, and set her down.

Gao Yuanyuan wrapped her arms around Cao Yang's neck and acted spoiled: "I don't want that, I want you to hold me."

Cao Yang kissed her on the face, then gave her bottom a pat, and said, "Be good, I'm going to take a shower first. Later, not only will I hold you, I can also carry you."

"Hee hee, are you capable of that?"

"It's not like you haven't tried it before."

Perhaps because they hadn't seen each other in a long time, Gao Yuanyuan was very wild that night, fighting repeatedly despite repeated defeats.

She wished she could drain Cao Yang dry.

Cao Yang slept until ten in the morning and was woken up by a phone call.

He took a look and saw that it was actually Chen Shu calling.

Chen Shu had once played the lead dancer in Cao Yang's *Black Swan* and had collaborated with Cao Yang.

"Chen Shu?"

"Hello, Director Cao. I'm calling you now; I hope I'm not disturbing you?"

Cao Yang glanced at Gao Yuanyuan, who was still sleeping soundly; she seemed to have heard the female voice coming from the phone and was now moving her head closer to this side without a sound.

"Is there something the matter?"

Cao Yang asked.

"Director Cao, it's like this: I was chosen by Director Feng as the female lead for *Assembly*, but I didn't have any scenes before the New Year, so I only joined the crew after the New Year."

Chen Shu organized her thoughts and continued, somewhat dejectedly: "I had already been with the crew filming for five days, but today Director Feng called me in for a talk and said my image was too 'Westernized' and didn't fit the character's positioning, so he asked me to go back."

"Go back?"

"Yes, Director Feng wants to terminate my contract."

Chen Shu said in a low voice: "After Director Feng finished talking to me, his assistant chased after me and told me to call you."

Cao Yang frowned.

He naturally understood what was going on.

In the domestic film and television industry, even if an actor signs a contract, it doesn't necessarily mean they are guaranteed to play the role; there are plenty of people who get replaced before filming starts, or even after filming for many days.

When a role is replaced like this, the excuse is naturally that it doesn't fit the character's positioning, but in reality, it is very rarely the true reason.

A small portion is due to the actor's own issues—for example, being "difficult." This means they might not have a huge status, but because they are slightly popular, they act entitled, make a fuss, and cause trouble, leading the director and producers to lose their patience.

Of course, in a typical crew, if an actor with a very high status acts entitled and makes a fuss... then it's not an issue at all! The director just has to suck it up.

Most cases of being replaced are because someone was inserted by the investors.

What, you say that if you signed a contract and the crew dares to replace you, you'll make them pay damages and sue the crew?

You can sue, and you can even win, after all, there is a contract in black and white.

But if you really sue, even if you win and get the penalty money, your acting career is basically over—I'm afraid no crew will ever dare to use you again.

Therefore, if you still want to survive in this industry, when you get replaced, you can only consider yourself unlucky. Never mind the penalty money; you even have to return the deposit you received for your salary to the crew!

Reality is just that messed up.

That is why these actors desperately want to become famous. If you become someone like the Four Dan Actresses or the Three Great Leading Ladies, ordinary crews wouldn't even be able to hire you, so how could the issue of being replaced ever happen?

Thinking of how "Little Steel Cannon" had his assistant secretly tell Chen Shu to call him, Cao Yang knew exactly what was going on.

That bastard "Little Steel Cannon"—it must be that he couldn't handle it himself and was forced by pressure to change the role.

But perhaps he favored Chen Shu's acting skills more; well, the probability of that is very small.

As one of the few major directors in the country, "Little Steel Cannon" absolutely detests others interfering with his films, even if the person interfering is his financier—

During casting, you can offer opinions and you can insert people; I will consider giving her a role. But once I have finalized the actors, if you insert someone else to replace them, that is a bit too disrespectful to me.

"Little Steel Cannon" is a smart man; since I can't handle it, I will let someone who can handle it step forward.

As a director, the thing one fears most is this kind of situation.

(End of chapter)