Chapter 8 Remember the Year when the Apricot Blossoms and Light Rain Fell

Chapter 8 Remember the year when the apricot blossoms were in the rain...

For the sixth-generation directors like Wang Xiaoshuai, the performance level of the actors in their films is not the most important.

Their films pay more attention to abstract artistic conception, experimental shooting techniques, and the light and shadow art brought by lighting, picture, composition, blank space and other techniques.

Although most of their films start from the perspective of small people, the whole film shows the big proposition of criticizing a certain social phenomenon.

Simply put, their films sell the overall story, the self-concept reflected in the film, and are used to output values, social views and showmanship.

They are not movies like "Coming Home", "The Godfather", "Joker" and "Shutter Island" that look at the acting skills of actors.

So their films generally find it difficult to bring out any acting school, nor can they bring out the best actor and actress, which is the strength of the fifth-generation directors.

Even after watching their films, the audience rarely remembers the actors, and most of the actors who participated in the filming are still unknown after the filming.

So "Seventeen-year-old Bicycle" found four leading actors who had never learned acting, and it did not delay the filming of this movie at all.

Except for Zhou Xun, the other actors only need to act as themselves, and they don't need to contribute advanced acting skills, including Wu Yuan.

But the problem lies in this "acting as oneself"!

Sitting in the grove beside Houhai, Wu Yuan looked at the lake with a melancholy face, sighed and stretched out his hand to stop.

"Director, give me a few minutes to adjust."

Wang Xiaoshuai, who was sitting behind the monitor, poked his head out, looked at Wu Yuan in confusion, and waved his hand impatiently as a response.

Wang Xiaoshuai thought that this scene would be the most difficult one for Wu Yuan and Gao Yuanyuan to play against each other, but he didn't expect that the difficult part was that Wu Yuan couldn't show the immaturity of a young boy!

In his opinion, how could it be difficult for Wu Yuan, a junior who was admitted to the Film Academy at the age of 16 and had never heard of falling in love, to act in such a scene?

Just act as yourself!

Gao Yuanyuan, such a beautiful woman, kissed him in front of him, how could he not have a faster heartbeat, a short breath, and a nervous mentality?

Wang Xiaoshuai was originally afraid that Wu Yuan would be too shy and nervous, which would ruin the mutual affection!

There was only one sentence in the script for this scene: "Xiao Jian and Xiao Xiao sat by the lake. After a while, Xiao Xiao took the initiative to get up and walked into the grove. Xiao Jian followed and stood side by side with her.

Then it was "nervous and shyly approached Xiao Xiao's cheek, wanting to kiss her cheek, and the ambiguous atmosphere of youthful first love lingered around the two of them..."

There was only one sentence in the script, but in fact this scene took more than a minute to shoot, and the two did not have any dialogue throughout the whole process. It was all based on demeanor, expression, and micro-movements to express the lingering affection between the boy and the girl. The ambiguous feelings and atmosphere around.

Gao Yuanyuan did it very well, whether it was the shyness of a girl or the courage to close her eyes and hint that she could kiss, she acted very well, showing the feeling of a girl's spring love, bold and shy.

Hey, but Wu Yuan's acting was wrong everywhere, his face didn't blush, his heart didn't speed up, and he didn't feel nervous at all when he leaned close to Gao Yuanyuan's cheek.

How does this look like an innocent 18-year-old boy?

"He is just a playboy who has seen countless girls and has a thicker skin than a city wall! ”

This is what Wang Xiaoshuai said when he was scolded.

Wu Yuan had to NG eight times, wasting two boxes of 400-foot film!

If this director didn't scold, it would be a ghost!

And Wang Xiaoshuai was not wrong at all!

Although Wu Yuan is 18 years old physically, his mental age is really not that young.

Although the things he experienced in the dream were all a dream, after waking up, they only became a deep memory in his head.

But Wu Yuan, who has recalled these memories many times in the past two years, has unconsciously matured a lot mentally.

Not to mention anything else, after the coal boss entered the film industry in the dream, the industry opened up a blue ocean. He went from assistant director to executive director, and I don't know how many actresses knocked on his door.

Although he never took the initiative to rule anyone, there are always people who take the initiative to offer it to him!

Those who can mix in this circle for 20 years are no longer pure!

It's not that I don't believe there is true love in the circle, but I won't be excited and nervous when I see a star.

Even if the person filming with him is 21-year-old Gao Yuanyuan, who is young and beautiful, Wu Yuan also It is difficult to produce the excitement, nervousness and anticipation of a little boy just with an admiring gaze.

He really doesn't know how to act the emotion of a young boy facing the girl he likes for the first time.

Wu Yuan has not learned the most basic liberation of an actor's nature!

After asking the director for some adjustment time, Wu Yuan quietly looked at the lake and thought about how to play this scene well.

Although he has not learned it, he has seen a lot of it. He also knows that there are method actors and experience actors.

He can't do anything about the method actor, because he has never learned any method.

But there can be experience actors!

Wu Yuan tried to look through the memories in his dreams, trying to find the experience of the first time the little actor knocked on his door to "discuss the script".

I remember that it was the summer of 2005.

To be ashamed, Wu Yuan was still a virgin at that time.

There was no way. When he was studying at the Film Academy, because he was the youngest in the school, he was a freshman at the age of 16 or 17. Other students thought he was too young, and he was so focused on studying that he didn't have a relationship for four years.

After graduation, his grades were not good enough for the school to ask to stay on campus, and the job assignment was no longer available. He was unwilling to join a film studio within the system, so he could only look for work in Beijing, Hengdian, and Xiangshan, starting from the lowest level of photography assistant.

It was not until 2005 that he became the assistant cameraman of the crew of "Legend of Heaven and Earth".

It was a night with apricot blossoms and light rain. Wu Yuan was about to take a rest after finishing the shooting process for the next day, when there was a gentle knock on the door.

At that time, he had no reaction at all until he opened the door blankly and saw an actress wrapped in a bath towel with dripping hair.

"Teacher Wu, the shower in my room's bathroom is broken for some reason. It ran out of water halfway through the shower. Can I borrow your bathroom?"

What was his reaction at that time?

"Shy, flustered, nervous, uneasy, and mixed with a few traces of fear..."

Recalling his immature and somewhat panicked self at that time, Wu Yuan finally found the feeling.

The following shooting went smoothly.

"Okay, I feel it this time!"

"But, Junior Brother, who told you to kiss her?"

Wang Xiaoshuai's words woke Wu Yuan up and pulled him back from his dream.

When he came back to his senses again, he found that his lips had been lightly imprinted on Gao Yuanyuan's left cheek.

"I've said it before, like a kiss, it's like kissing, but in fact it's not kissing!"

Wang Xiaoshuai winked and teased: "But I can understand that it's normal for young people of your age to be unable to control themselves when they get so close."

"Come on, let's do it again, this is the last time!"

Wu Yuan then noticed that Gao Yuanyuan's face in front of him had turned red.

"Why didn't she hide?" Wu Yuan had a question in his mind, but he extinguished it in an instant.

"Sister Yuanyuan, I'm really sorry, I have no experience in acting, I was too involved just now, I'm really sorry." Wu Yuan apologized decisively.

Gao Yuanyuan lowered her head, bit her lips with her silver teeth, and said softly: "It doesn't matter, it's all for filming."

After she finished speaking, she raised her head and took deep breaths to adjust her emotions and state.

Wu Yuan didn't know what to say anymore, and looked awkwardly at the swallows flying over the lake in the distance.

After this scene, which Wang Xiaoshuai praised as the most difficult scene to shoot, was completed, the filming of Wu Yuan and Gao Yuanyuan's group was on the fast track.

In just a few days, the two's rival scenes were all shot, and Cui Lin also joined the filming.

The rival scenes between Wu Yuan and Cui Lin were not easy to shoot. They were not about love, but about various chases and fights.

Not only fighting with him, but also fighting with gangsters and second-rate guys!

In the last days of filming "Seventeen-year-old Bicycle", the two shot various teenage chase scenes, which lasted for several days!

They really had to run right after eating, and they were still running at three in the middle of the night. They ran until they vomited and then continued running. It was because they were both only 18 years old that their physical fitness was really strong, otherwise it would not be enough for Wang Xiaoshuai to torment them.

Moreover, the other young extras who filmed the beating scenes had no experience, and they hit too hard to make it realistic. Wu Yuan and Cui Lin were inevitably beaten, but Wang Xiaoshuai didn't care and thought it was more realistic!

After a few days of tossing back and forth, both of them were covered with scars.

In Wu Yuan's words, I have never been beaten like this in my life and in my dreams!

Fortunately, after all these scenes were shot, "Seventeen-year-old Bicycle" was finally completed.

The shooting lasted a total of 14 days, and it was completed one day earlier than Wang Xiaoshuai expected!

When the shooting was completed, Zhou Xun was no longer in the crew. Only Wu Yuan, Gao Yuanyuan and Cui Lin, as well as the actors who Wang Xiaoshuai brought to play supporting roles in the Beijing Film Studio, attended the closing banquet together.

"The actors' work is done."

During the dinner, Wang Xiaoshuai raised his glass frequently to drink with Wu Yuan, patted his shoulder vigorously, and said encouragingly: "For this movie, both I and the investors are aiming for the three major European film festivals."

"If nothing unexpected happens, this movie should participate in the Berlin Film Festival next year!"

"If you are lucky, you and Cui Lin can get a nomination for the best newcomer."

"In February next year, senior brother will take you to Berlin to play!"

Wu Yuan grinned: "Okay, then wait for good news from senior brother!"

As for "Seventeen-year-old Bicycle", others don't know, but he knows it very well!

This is the movie that won the 51st Berlin International Film Festival-Jury Grand Prix!

Wu Yuan thinks that although his acting skills are not very good, his performance in this movie is not worse than the original actor Li Bin!

Who asked Wang Xiaoshuai to meet Wu Yuan first this time and like him again!

Li Bin is also a layman who is not a professional actor. He doesn't know acting at all, and his acting skills are not as good as his!

Since Li Bin and Cui Lin can win the [New Talent Actor Award] at the Berlin Film Festival, so can he!

Speaking of which, this actor who was originally chosen by Wang Xiaoshuai in his life trajectory is not widely known for the art films he has made, but for Lu Xiaoqian in "Magic Phone"!

Wu Yuan sipped his wine while thinking that when Wang Xiaoshuai is going to shoot "Qinghong" in a few years, he must find a chance to dig out Li Bin and introduce him to Wang Xiaoshuai.

Li Bin's performance in "Qinghong" is still remarkable.

I believe Wang Xiaoshuai can train him well!