Chapter 524: Chapter 398: Rehearsing and Shooting Simultaneously
"Teachers You and Mr. Zeng, I am Xue Yun."
Zhou Yun stood between the two, addressing the individuals seated on either side.
You Jiang and Zeng Lili glanced at each other simultaneously, one on the left and one on the right.
You Jiang was the first to stand up and come over. He smiled gentlemanly at Zhou Yun and said, "Hello, Director."
Zhou Yun extended her hand graciously and said, "I’ve long heard of your reputation, and finally, I have the opportunity to work with you, Teacher You."
"Long heard of my reputation? The reputation of an old cow eating young grass, or the one with no shame at all?" Zeng Lili spoke in a sarcastic tone, swaying her hips as she slowly approached with her arms crossed over her chest. "Director Xiao Xue, this is our second time meeting."
Zeng Lili offered her hand to Zhou Yun for a perfunctory handshake.
You Jiang, annoyed but wary, glanced at Zeng Lili and forced a smile at Zhou Yun, saying, "Director Xiao Xue, you’ve met Zeng Lili before?"
"Of course, we need to talk about my role before we officially start shooting, right? I’m not like some people, too busy fawning over their little girlfriends," Zeng Lili said with a smile to Zhou Yun. "Director Xiao Xue, can we start filming tomorrow? This place is so remote, it’s utterly dull being here alone."
Zhou Yun replied, "We can start filming tomorrow."
"Good," Zeng Lili shrugged, "It’s more straightforward talking to you. If only there were no men in the world, oh, that’s not right, I shouldn’t be so absolute. I mean, it would be nice if there weren’t certain men in the world, don’t you think, Director Xiao Xue?"
Zhou Yun: "..."
She smiled faintly, her chin lifted slightly, as if to say: Really?
"Teacher You, Mr. Zeng, let’s have a meeting in an hour to discuss tomorrow’s shoot," she proposed without taking sides, acting on her own thoughts.
You Jiang, hands in his pockets, nodded and said, "I’m okay with that."
Zeng Lili raised her eyebrows in surprise, gave a yo, and asked, "Isn’t Teacher You going to spend time with your girlfriend later?"
You Jiang, clearly impatient, said sternly, "When I spend time with my girlfriend is none of your business, Zeng Lili. Have you had enough?"
Zeng Lili responded with a smile, "Of course, it’s none of my business. But I’m curious, when will you break up with that girlfriend, the one you’d rather cheat with than be apart? I’m just curious, Teacher You."
You Jiang snorted in disdain and said, "Do you think she’s as bitter and spiteful as you? Our relationship is just fine, so you don’t need to worry."
"What do I have to worry about? I’m only wondering if Teacher You has grown any wiser and fixed your habit of falling for every girl you see," Zeng Lili smiled sweetly. "Oh, Teacher You, don’t get angry. Why get so upset? You think I still have feelings for you? Tsk, tsk, you really don’t understand women. What I want is just to see you down on your luck; women can hold grudges, you know. Right, Director Xiao Xue?"
"You’re insane," You Jiang finally snapped, "Are you crazy? We’ve been broken up for so long and you’re still so obsessed."
"Obsessed?" Zeng Lili shook her head, smiling contemptuously. "You really think it’s just obsession? Then you don’t know me at all."
"I never understood you, you’re a lunatic," You Jiang said angrily, pointing at Zeng Lili. "The one thing I regret most in my life is that I once was with you."
"The truth finally comes out, You Jiang. How I pressed you to tell the truth before, and you wouldn’t. Now you finally have!" Zeng Lili glared fiercely at You Jiang. "You never loved me! You liar!"
You Jiang’s face tightened, his fists clenched, as he spat out the words, one by one, "I truly fucking regret ever knowing you."
You Jiang turned on his heel and left with a livid face.
Zeng Lili’s jaw trembled slightly.
Zhou Yun glanced at the retreating figure of You Jiang and then looked at Zeng Lili.
Zeng Lili’s eyes began to redden, rapidly filling with tears, but she roughly wiped underneath her right eye with her hand, turned her head, and said to Zhou Yun with a desolate smile, "Sorry about that, Director Xiao Xue. You’ve had to witness quite the farce."
...
"Cut!" Xue Qin’s voice came from behind.
You Jiang had also returned.
Zhou Yun and Zeng Lili exchanged a smile.
Zeng Lili’s assistant immediately came forward and handed her a tissue.
Zeng Lili took the tissue and wiped her eyes.
"You all acted so well." Xue Qin came over and gave the three a thumbs up, "Teacher You and Mr. Zeng truly are powerhouse actors, delivering emotions on cue."
Zhou Yun said with a smile, "I was startled myself, truly, the way emotions erupt on command and then just as quickly can be reined in. In the hands of these two teachers, emotions are like Play-Doh, molded into any desired shape."
"That’s an exaggeration," Zeng Lili gave them a playful glare. "Though indeed, it’s been a long time since I’ve had such a craving for acting."
"You really did perform well," You Jiang said with a smile.
Xue Qin suggested, "Let’s take a look at what we’ve just filmed."
The three of them followed Xue Qin to review the footage.
Zhou Yun asked Xue Qin, "Director, do we need to do another take?"
"No need, that’s a pass," Xue Qin said, "I have no objections."
A scene, passed after just three takes.
Zhou Yun was astonished.
It might be normal for other crews, but for Xue Qin, it was quite rare.
After all, when Xue Qin filmed "Falling Leaves", it would start from a dozen takes per scene.
Seeing the surprised expression on Zhou Yun’s face, Xue Qin smiled and said, "What, didn’t expect me to approve so quickly?"
"Yes, you usually wouldn’t pass a scene without doing a dozen takes," Zhou Yun said bluntly.
Xue Qin explained, "That film needed meticulous shooting, this one doesn’t work with that approach."
Zhou Yun asked curiously, "Why is that?"
Xue Qin explained, "That film wasn’t particularly dramatic to begin with, it was all about capturing people’s states and emotions. This one is primarily drama-driven, as long as the characters are portrayed accurately, any way of acting is correct. If we nit-pick too much, the result would be the actors growing increasingly fatigued, losing their vitality."
Zhou Yun kind of got it, but not really.
The filming progress for "Behind the Scenes" was very fast, even faster than the schedule initially set.
While the outside world was buzzing with comments, the crew of "Behind the Scenes" seemed to be cut off from it all, and every day Zhou Yun arrived at the set, she could see relaxed and joyful smiles on everyone’s faces.
In fact, you can really feel whether a movie is going well during the shooting process.
Every evening, Xue Qin would lock herself in her room and write scripts, while Zhou Yun, along with You Jiang, Zeng Lili, and Wang Jing, the main cast, would find a place to rehearse.
Every scene was the result of their collective rehearsal.
In such a creative atmosphere, Zhou Yun almost forgot that she had a very popular TV show currently airing.
"Don’t forget about the gala the day after tomorrow," Zhou Lan said to Zhou Yun on the phone that night.