In the office.
"You want me to play the male lead, 'Zhang Haisheng'? Director Liu, are you sure you have the right person?"
"Positive!"
The screenwriter, Jin Qiqi, who was revising the plot, and Wang He, who was looking for female friends to act in the movie, all stopped their work and looked at Gao Fei, who had been chosen as the male lead.
They sized him up carefully.
Where else would they need to look for someone to play the male lead?
Boss Gao was already the perfect protagonist for the novel!
In terms of appearance, height, and temperament, Boss Gao fit all the criteria.
Seeing Gao Fei's reluctant expression, Liu Weiqiang continued to entice him, "Boss Gao, as the original author, if you play the male lead, I won't even need to direct you!
Not only will you not need direction, but as the original creator, Boss Gao, you'll have a great grasp of the scenes.
Furthermore, it will save the company a lot of money on actor fees."
"Boss, Director Liu makes a good point. Why don't you give it a try!"
"Xiao Fei, listen to Director Liu and give it a shot. No one is coming to audition for the lead role right now. As the heart of our company, you need to step up at this critical moment!"
Wang He and Jin Qiqi also spoke up.
Seeing the three of them trying to persuade him, Gao Fei couldn't help but sigh, "Everyone, it's not that I don't want to, it's just that I can't act at all!"
Originally, he could have used the system to simulate an acting emperor.
However, the aftermath of simulating five professions to an excessive degree previously, along with the lingering effects of being a Peking Opera master, had not yet subsided.
The Life Simulator in the system could not be activated for him for the time being.
Liu Weiqiang was determined to have Gao Fei as the lead and wouldn't easily look for anyone else.
Seeing Boss Gao's lack of confidence in his acting, he couldn't help but say, "Boss Gao, how about we try a scene?
Let's try the scene where the male lead has just been expelled from school and is going undercover to negotiate with a social gang!"
This scene was not in the original novel plot but was an addition made when the novel was adapted into a movie.
Gao Fei, pushed into a corner, no longer hesitated and listened intently to Director Liu's guidance.
According to Director Liu's requirements, the male lead had just been expelled from school and was a cynical social youth with a rebellious and slightly roguish personality.
Rebellious?
Roguish?
Gao Fei froze, his thoughts suddenly flashing back to the day he first activated the system.
The first time he used the system simulator, he chose to be born into a wealthy family to simulate being a top student.
However, the second-generation rich character in the simulator, instead of studying, eventually took to a life of crime.
At this moment, the feedback from his first simulation resurfaced.
Gao Fei opened his eyes, his steady gaze turning arrogant and unrestrained, a faint sneer appearing at the corner of his mouth, and his entire demeanor changing drastically.
In a brief moment, through the feedback experience, he now seemed like an old hand who had been in the underworld for many years.
Bang!
Gao Fei slammed the table forcefully and stood up, pulling a cigarette from the pack and flicking his finger, sending the cigarette flying into his mouth.
With the unlit cigarette in his mouth, he looked at Liu Weiqiang, Jin Qiqi, and Wang He with a fake smile.
"Difficult, huh?
Damn it, then don't do it!"
With a loud crash, the table with the documents on it was overturned.
Gao Fei's natural-born thug aura, coupled with the classic table-flipping move of Brother Crow from his past life, stunned everyone present.
"What the hell... is this called not knowing how to act?
He's practically brought the plot to life!"
Snapping back to reality, Liu Weiqiang exclaimed excitedly, "Boss Gao, you said you can't act!
When we start filming, you can just tone it down a bit."
"Boss, I really suspect you used to run with a gang before, you're just too much like a thug!"
"Brother, at first glance, you really do have the potential to be a gangster!"
Amidst everyone's praise, Gao Fei officially became the male lead of the movie.
...
The next morning, Kyoto Police Academy.
"Action!"
With a unified shout, the filming of Fly Crane Pictures' movie officially began this morning.
The police academy was the first filming location provided by the Kyoto Police Department to the company.
Choosing the police academy as the starting point was for two reasons:
First, it was necessary for the movie's plot.
Second, the students had not yet returned, which would speed up the filming progress.
Moreover, there were some students who remained at the academy and could participate as extras and fill in shots.
Liu Weiqiang was filming the scenes at the police academy depicting the male lead being expelled and the police looking for him to go undercover.
Political Education Department, Police Academy.
Various cameras, sound equipment, reflectors, and other gear were all ready.
Liu Weiqiang and the newly hired substitute director Zhou Zhen both sat down in front of the monitors.
"Scene one, take one, shot one, action!"
The film crew's clapperboard struck, and all equipment was activated.
Gao Fei, dressed in a black training uniform and with no makeup, entered the Political Education Department according to Director Liu's planned route.
As it was his first time filming, he appeared a little nervous.
However, this nervousness perfectly captured the protagonist's anxiety before being 'invited' to the Political Education Department for a lecture after committing a crime outside school.
Although his expression was controlled, Gao Fei was not a graduate of an acting academy after all.
He was stopped just as he began because he didn't find the camera.
Fortunately, everyone knew that Boss Gao had been roped in as the protagonist at the last minute and had not received any formal acting training, so no one complained on set.
Director Liu patiently explained to Boss Gao knowledge such as how to look at the camera.
After about four takes, the first scene was finally completed.
At the same time, in the chairman's office of Global Pictures.
"Boss, I just received news that Fly Crane Pictures has started filming this morning!"
Zhang Zhiwei, who was reviewing documents, frowned and looked at his assistant, asking, "Where are they filming? Who is the lead actor?"
"The filming location is Kyoto Police Academy. As for the lead actor, it's not clear yet, though there are some blurry photos!"
"Is the director still Liu Weiqiang?"
"No, it's Zhou Zhen, who was just sued and expelled from the company!"
The assistant handed over his phone, the screen showing several blurry photos taken from a distance.
Zhang Zhiwei glanced at them and sneered, "It seems that Young Wang has found some family connections to get the police academy to provide a filming location.
I didn't expect Zhou Zhen to dare to take on a role, it seems he really doesn't want to continue in the industry.
Have someone keep an eye on Fly Crane Pictures and find out which actors dare to take on these roles."
"Understood!"
At the headquarters of Paiwei International Pictures.
Zheng Ying, who had just finished a meeting, also received the news of Fly Crane Pictures starting filming.
As soon as he sat down in his office, he contacted Zhang Zhiwei, with whom he was in cahoots.
After a brief exchange, they once again planned to impose sanctions on Fly Crane Pictures.
The sanction was simple: find out which daring artist dared to take on the role and ban them.
Once the crew left the police academy, they would send their subordinates to intimidate the crew and actors.
Seven o'clock in the evening, it had already gotten dark.
After a day of shooting, half of the progress had been completed.
Everyone had finished their boxed lunches, and Director Liu began preparing to shoot the scene where the protagonist committed crimes outside school.
A street of roadside food stalls, a hundred meters away from the police academy.
After renting a roadside stall for filming, the crew members began busy with the set dressing.
Upon receiving news that the crew had left the school, Zhang Zhiwei and Zheng Ying both dispatched their subordinates to the filming location.