Chapter 73: Boss Lu

On May 27, 2002, the updated *Whiplash* crew quietly held their opening ceremony at the Central Conservatory of Music studio.

There was no press conference, no ribbon-cutting or flower-tossing, and no celebrities stopping by to visit the set.

Having been through so much turmoil, everyone—from the hungry staff at the Youth Film Studio to young, inexperienced actors like Zhou Jielun and Liu Yifei—was determined to prove themselves.

And then there was Boss Lu; even though he was over sixty years old across two lifetimes, having his past-life dream finally come to fruition in this one still made his heart race!

The actors were in position.

In addition to Liu Yifei, Zhou Jielun, and Feng Yuan, two other drummers and band members were played by Huang Bo and others, replacing Chen Guanxi and Yu Wenle.

Yu Wenle’s contract was ultimately bought out by Liu Zeyu for triple the price.

Liu Zeyu was a fool with too much money, spending it just to save face.

Boss Lu didn't care; he didn't need a minor celebrity like that.

Huang Bo was recommended by Jin Zhiwen, who had also performed at the Sanlitun bar; he had a background in music and dance, and his acting was up to par.

Huang Bo had previously collaborated with Guan Hu on *Get In, Let's Go*, after which he returned to his hometown in Qingdao to open a factory.

Later, unable to give up his film dream, he returned to Beiping from Qingdao, enrolled in the vocational dubbing class at the Beijing Film Academy this year, and worked part-time at the Sanlitun bar in his spare time.

The preparations on set began in an orderly fashion.

Generally speaking, the on-set filming process for academic-style films is divided into blocking, lighting, rehearsal, fine-tuning, and the actual take.

Just like now, Lu Kuan was guiding the novice Zhou Jielun to find the rhythm for the blocking of the first scene, explaining as he had the stagehands stick tape to the floor.

Next came the arrangement and adjustment of the real-time lighting; if the requirements were high and the crew had a sufficient budget, the big stars' lighting stand-ins would step in to perform this step, ensuring the lighting met all the director's requirements for the camera.

While Lu Kuan was explaining the scene to the lighting crew, the sound assistant would use this time to attach wireless microphones to the actors with lines, and the art department would work with the camera operators to clear away clutter according to the previously established shooting plan, leaving space.

Once these two steps were completed, the positions of the camera crew and lighting were fixed, followed by a simple rehearsal by the actors.

For example, Zhou Jielun and Feng Yuan were currently holding their scripts in full makeup and running their lines; they were filming their scene together today.

Lu Kuan listened for a while and patiently guided the novice.

"Jielun, two requirements: first, make your articulation clearer."

It wasn't that Zhou Jielun was born with poor enunciation; it was a style he deliberately maintained.

In later years, he sang very clearly in *Curse of the Golden Flower*; when reporters asked why, Zhou Jielun bluntly stated it was the requirement of director Zhang Yimou.

Because the film's audience was broad and not just his fans, personal style had to yield to the director's requirements.

"Second, your tone and inflection need to have ups and downs, following the emotional shifts—for example, the two 'I'm sorrys' in this line."

"In the correct delivery, the first 'I'm sorry' must be much more urgent than the second, because the protagonist, Xu Huan, doesn't want to lose points in his teacher's eyes due to a mistake during their first meeting, right?"

Having achieved such mastery in music, Zhou Jielun’s vocal breath control was beyond doubt; he just hadn't grasped the knack of acting yet, but overall, his lines were passable.

"Okay, Director."

Everything was ready, and the first shot of the first scene began filming.

This was the first meeting between the devilish teacher Zhuang Zhong, played by Feng Yuan, and the drummer Xu Huan, played by Zhou Jielun.

"What is your name?"

"My name is Xu Huan, Teacher."

"I asked you why you stopped playing! You're just like a wound-up monkey, drumming blindly!"

Feng Yuan’s voice rose sharply, full of oppression and penetration.

Lu Kuan nodded silently behind the monitor; fortunately, there was a powerhouse actor to anchor the set, otherwise, the film's quality would be worrying with only traffic stars.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I thought I was just looking at the basics."

The timidity in Zhou Jielun’s delivery was actually quite good.

Just as Lu Kuan had considered before, Zhou Jielun’s life experience had many similarities with the film’s protagonist; in a sense, he was playing himself.

The character Xu Huan lost his mother early, while Zhou Jielun lacked fatherly love; this planted the seeds of an introverted and reclusive personality, which only gradually opened up and became lively after he achieved major success in the Chinese music scene as an adult.

"Cut, that’s a wrap!"

The crew members applauded; it was a very smooth start, and the performance of the novice Zhou Jielun was better than expected.

This was also thanks to the jazz drumming and basic acting lessons Lu Kuan had arranged over the past half-month.

The second scene was slightly more advanced in terms of filming content, at least for Zhou Jielun.

The plot involved Feng Yuan beginning to subject Zhou Jielun to cruel mental torture during their first rehearsal after recruiting him into the band, as a way to temper him.

Hearing the band’s performance, Feng Yuan suddenly called a halt, stroked his chin, and said to Zhou Jielun:

"Your rhythm is wrong. Tell me, did you rush the beat or drag it?"

Zhou Jielun shook his head blankly: "I... I don't know."

Feng Yuan flew into a rage and lunged forward, giving Zhou Jielun a huge fright.

"Start counting the beats!"

Zhou Jielun cowered, his voice trembling slightly: "Five, six, seven..."

"Screw you! Count four beats! Look at me and count!"

Feng Yuan cursed, his expression ferocious; Liu Yifei, sitting to the side waiting for her scene, felt herself shivering just watching him.

Zhou Jielun turned his head slightly as demanded, his lips trembling, fear written all over his face.

"Good, give me a close-up!"

A perfect medium close-up!

"Cut, that’s a wrap!"

It was an extremely smooth start, and soon it was time for the noon meal.

"Director Lu, you are really good at explaining scenes. The teachers hired by my company for the TV dramas I filmed before weren't as good as you."

In just one morning, Zhou Jielun was won over by his professionalism.

Feng Yuan also agreed: "The director’s ability to explain scenes is not low; at least it’s much stronger than the several TV drama crews I’ve experienced."

Liu Yifei watched everyone buttering up Lu Kuan with envy; in fact, she agreed too, but she couldn't bring herself to say it.

The young girl now habitually wanted to retort whenever she opened her mouth.

Previously, Xie Tingfeng, Chen Guanxi, and others had a preconceived bad impression of Lu Kuan, feeling that he had pressured them on price while they were mired in scandal and their market value was low.

They felt his credentials weren't enough to direct two young stars who had debuted for several years and had just appeared in *Infernal Affairs*, which was why they thought Lu Kuan was a fascist and a tyrant on set.

Lu Kuan, however, didn't feel he was doing anything out of line; on a film set, he was rightfully the dictator.

Hitchcock had a controversial personal maxim: actors are cattle.

He never shied away from showing his iron-fisted style when explaining scenes and directing rehearsals, being extreme and strict.

Of course, he claimed this was a legacy of the silent film era, intended to use a harsh environment to stimulate the actors' genuine emotions to match the true character images in the script.

Besides, even if that were the case, from a professional standpoint, the actors had no room to complain.

(End of chapter)