Chapter 74: Tyrant on Set, Scolding Liu Yifei to Tears

Boss Lu modestly said, "Everyone is a natural actor; it just depends on how one discovers it."

He took the opportunity to encourage the two rookie actors as well:

"Mr. Feng knows that one of the things Grotowski said most often during his teaching career was that everyone can be an actor, and everyone has a rich mine hidden within them, waiting to be discovered and excavated."

Feng Yuanzheng agreed, "Director Lu is right. For a newcomer, Zhou Jielun has already performed quite well. Keep it up!"

The first day of filming passed in such a tight and busy manner. Early on the 28th, the actors finished breakfast and rushed to the set. The call sheet, also known as a production schedule in Hollywood crews, was posted on the bulletin board outside the studio.

A complete call sheet generally includes the day's shooting plan, sequence, scenes, involved actors, and preparations for costumes, makeup, and props; it may even include weather alerts provided by the logistics team.

For directors who place great importance on lighting effects, they even calculate the light conditions for every hour from a professional perspective to assist the filming process.

The call sheet is the highest behavioral guide for the entire crew for the day; every action and preparation by crew members must revolve around it.

Of course, the call sheet is also frequently updated, especially in large crews, as too many unpredictable things happen.

Lu Kuan paused in front of the call sheet. According to this shooting schedule, they could wrap up in about 25 days, which is not considered too fast compared to the 19-day speed of the original work.

The submission deadline for this year's Venice Film Festival is around the end of July, so with the post-production time, there is no major problem with submitting at the last minute.

Even if the time passes, it is not impossible to negotiate. Do not think that only the domestic scene is a society of human relationships; if you miss the submission deadline for an international film festival, you can still find famous directors and judges to delay the submission of materials.

Furthermore, the current selector for the Asian region, Marco Müller, is a pro-China filmmaker with a standard Beijing accent who likes to wear traditional Chinese-style clothing. The annual Chinese-language films he serves as festival chairman and selector for have all had very good results.

Today's filming continues with the breakup scene between Liu Yifei and Zhou Jielun.

Xu Huan, played by Zhou Jielun, wants to focus on drumming, so he proposes a breakup to Yu Yan, played by Liu Yifei, at a Starbucks.

The two sit opposite each other; Liu Yifei is immersed in sweetness, completely unaware of what is about to happen.

"I don't think we should be together anymore."

Liu Yifei's smiling expression comes to an abrupt halt.

"Cut!"

Lu Kuan holds the walkie-talkie: "Liu Yifei, your expression changed drastically after just one sentence. Don't you know how to leave room for the performance that follows?"

"Understood, Director."

The young girl sticks out her tongue, secretly cheering herself on.

She knows her acting skills are not good enough, but ever since Lu Kuan started leading her in morning exercises and teaching her acting, she has been working hard and has never slacked off.

For this supporting role with less than 10 minutes of screen time in total, she wrote over 30,000 words of character biography; one cannot say she hasn't put in the effort.

But when the real test came, she still showed her weakness.

"Get ready, one more take!"

Lu Kuan behind the monitor shakes his head slightly. Although her performance is an improvement compared to her immaturity in *The Noble Family*, it has not yet fully met the requirements of the big screen.

Since he has invested in Red Star Dock, Boss Lu cannot allow her to continue creating those innocent and naive images within her comfort zone like in later generations.

Whether for her own development or for Lu Kuan's money-making plan regarding the Red Star Dock artist Liu Yifei, he must solidly help the young girl improve her acting skills.

"Cut!"

"Cut!"

Liu Yifei's face looks a bit ugly. At first, she was incredibly confident; she felt that after such a long time of hard work, she should be rewarded.

At the very least, she should be better than Zhou Jielun, who is just starting to act in movies, right?

She didn't expect that Lu Kuan, who usually jokes and banters with her, would completely transform into a tyrant on set, unable to tolerate even the slightest mistake on her part.

Lu Kuan stands up directly from behind the large monitor and doesn't even want the walkie-talkie anymore.

He walks up to Liu Yifei with a livid face and launches into a storm of criticism: "You only said one sentence and your expression changed so drastically. Do you think your performance is reasonable?"

The young girl instinctively wants to find an excuse: "I... he proposed a breakup, shouldn't I have this expression..."

Lu Kuan mocks: "Then why didn't you just cry out? Do you still remember what a character's chain of action is? Do you remember what emotional progression is?"

"You have read the script. The male lead still has so many lines to follow. Your face turned like this after the first sentence; tell me, what are you going to act for the rest?"

Liu Yifei's case is a typical example of spoiler-style emotional projection.

She has read the script and already knows what the male lead is going to say later, so she involuntarily displays all her expressions and psychological states, ignoring the layers and progression of the performance.

"I... I understand..."

Liu Yifei's aggrieved tears well up in her eyes. She also knows she was wrong, but she just couldn't control herself for a moment, wanting to prove herself in front of Lu Kuan.

Actually, she has a strong-willed personality, and she remembers every word Lu Kuan said in jest about her poor acting skills.

Other members of the crew, including Feng Yuanzheng, remain silent on the side, watching the usually relaxed and humorous Director Lu outputting a torrent of criticism toward the actor.

Liu Xiaoli is a dancer by trade and knows the rules of a film crew. In this situation, even if Liu Yifei is embarrassed, she will absolutely not interfere.

"Continue! We don't eat until we finish today!"

Hollywood crews are strictly controlled by union systems, and overtime for cast and crew must be paid. Boss Lu doesn't care about that and arranges a 996 schedule directly.

The performance continues. The beginning is a repetition of Zhou Jielun's lines. This time, Liu Yifei clearly slows down the rhythm of her emotional expression, and her face does not collapse as suddenly as before.

Liu Yifei's expression gradually changes along with the description and anticipation of their future, her eyes filled with disbelief.

She does not know why the two of them, who were in the heat of love just a second ago, have reached this point.

"You know you can't succeed with me? Are you so sure this is a fact?" The girl is making a final attempt to hold on.

What she gets in return is an unhesitating affirmation: "Yes."

She picks up her bag and turns to leave. A single tear falls perfectly from her beautiful face, captured by Ning Hao's over-the-shoulder close-up.

Everyone holds their breath, looking at Lu Kuan.

He watches the playback on the large monitor for a long time before picking up the walkie-talkie: "Keep one take for now."

Lu Kuan is still not satisfied.

Just as Liu Yifei got on the right track, Zhou Jielun started to flop a bit.

It is indeed very difficult to act with two newcomers, but this is a helpless move.

Fortunately, the anchor of this movie is Feng Yuanzheng's character.

Zhou Jielun lets out a long sigh of relief. Lu Kuan's requirements are too strict; even though he was just scolding Liu Yifei, he, as the scene partner, could also feel the immense pressure.

"Yifei, keep it up!"

The little heavenly king has become familiar with her during this time and does not hesitate to offer his encouragement.

"Thank you, Brother Jielun."

The two rookies have even started to huddle together for warmth.

She glances at Lu Kuan's position with a sense of trepidation, not expecting Lu Kuan's voice to come over the walkie-talkie again: "Little Liu, Jielun, come over here."

(End of chapter)