Just after the heavy rain, a thickening smog enveloped the city, blurring it into pollution.
Cars are still coming and going on the city's main roads. In front of the traffic lights at intersections, the dense traffic turns the road into a battleground ready to go.
When the color of the traffic light changes, all the vehicles at the intersection immediately rush out.
An old bus was also driving along, and suddenly it bumped violently due to the potholes on the road, bang bang.
On the bus, Lei Yue sat in a seat at the back, looking at a well-thumbed book in his hand, with pages full of notes and annotations.
[One person walks through an empty space and another person looks at it. This is already a drama.]
This is one of Lei Yue's favorite books, the classic "Empty Space" by theater master Peter Brook on theater theory.
He has read it countless times, but he will gain new insights every time he reads it again.
The bumps just now did not interrupt his reading. He was reading intently, and the voice of the bus's arrival announcement and the conversations of other passengers seemed faint.
Lei Yue was reading the book while thinking about the gun scenes he had practiced recently, turning page after page.
The bus passed one stop after another, with passengers getting on and off.
At this time, Lei Yue was turning the pages of a book when the car made a hissing sound and stopped. He vaguely heard the driver shouting loudly after the arrival announcement:
"Is there anyone else getting off at the North Gate Station of Film and Television City?"
Film and Television City? Suddenly, Lei Yue came back to his senses and quickly raised his head to look out the car window.
What I saw outside was no longer the cramped and noisy urban village, but the spacious North Gate Square of Dongzhou Film and Television City.
"Wait!" Lei Yue stuffed the books back into his backpack, picked up his backpack, got out of the car and walked away, his steps hurried but his expression full of energy.
The Film and Television City is divided into three main areas: Ancient Fashion Street, Modern Street and Modern Street, and the North Gate is the entrance to Modern Street.
There were quite a lot of people around the bus station, some getting on and off the bus, some waiting for ride-hailing services, and tourists in the square gathered in groups, taking pictures with their mobile phones and cameras, looking forward to meeting celebrities.
"Friend, I'm here, where are you?"
Lei Yue also looked around while walking, and also raised his head to pay attention to the sky, trying to find traces of crows.
However, when he walked through the square and arrived at the ticket gate at the entrance to Modern Street, he didn't find anything, and the pistol hidden in his arms didn't react in particular.
"Don't worry, that friend is definitely here. This place is huge, and I haven't even entered it yet."
Originally, you had to buy tickets to enter the film and television city, which was not cheap.
But Lei Yue raised his cell phone and showed the ticket inspector a temporary electronic work permit that Sister Hua had sent previously, which was valid for that day.
"Actor?" The uncle ticket inspector was simply stunned. He looked at the screen of his mobile phone and then at his bad face. He scanned his work permit with a hand-held ticket inspection machine. It was indeed valid, and then he was stunned to let him pass.
When the tourists queuing up in front and back heard this, some people were surprised to see who the actor was. Do they know who such a tall boy could be?
But immediately, the expressions of these tourists changed dramatically, and they hurriedly turned their heads and lowered their heads.
Lei Yue smiled at them, strode across the gate, and walked faster and faster toward the streets lined with modern buildings, his smile that others said was scary and growing wider and wider.
"Thank you for the past and look forward to the future. Hello from Dongzhou Film and Television City!"
Not far away, Lei Yue heard the sound of "Action" and "Cut" horns, and then saw several film crews filming on the street.
Outside the blockades set up at each studio, tourists were crowded around, while security guards maintained order and asked tourists to keep quiet and stop filming.
Lei Yue came to work, so he kept pace and did not join in the fun.
After walking briskly for more than ten minutes, he arrived at the section of road that Sister Hua had posted earlier.
There are some cafes, restaurant-like shops, and neon signs on both sides of the street, which are dazzling to the eye, forming the street scene of a restaurant and commercial street.
Lei Yue looked around, slowed down and walked to another studio, where there were also some tourists watching.
He looked around and saw that a scene in which the characters were walking and talking on the street was being filmed in the studio. The director, photography, lighting, sound recording and other film crews were surrounding the two actors, and various photographic equipment were busy but running smoothly.
"It turns out that filming a scene requires such a big fight." An aunt among the tourists sighed, ignoring the security guard's warning.
This kind of battle is not big anymore. Lei Yuexin said that the crane has not been deployed yet.
As a failed art student, he still knows a little more than Auntie.
Let’s take this as an example. Different from real streets, the streets here have space for camera cranes, rail cars and other equipment, and there are also enough power sockets.
The layout of the interior scenes of many buildings can also be changed to meet the dynamic design of each crew when shooting.
He had noticed when he visited before that there were many considerations made specifically for film and television shooting, so there were hundreds of crews busy here all year round.
"Where's Sister Hua?" Lei Yue walked around and couldn't find anyone, so he pressed his phone to send a message:
[Sister Hua, I’m here [smiley face]]
After a while, there was no reply.
Lei Yue was a little uneasy, so he had to continue walking forward, paying attention as he walked.
When he came to another studio on this section of the road, he was stopped by the security guard for poking his head out: "Stand aside and watch, don't cross the line!"
Suddenly, he saw a familiar figure, Sister Hua, over there!
She was a woman who looked to be about twenty-seven or eight years old. She was neither tall nor short, with a strong figure. She wore a brown coat with jeans and a black waist bag. She had a very capable temperament.
I heard that Sister Hua used to be a celebrity agent, but later she couldn't stand the celebrity atmosphere, so she became a "group leader". She was involved in everything from amusement parks to film and television studios.
Sister Hua is very beautiful. In the past, when we were chatting, we often joked, "Sister Hua is so beautiful, don't worry about it and become an actress."
But Sister Hua always dismisses her. She always wears a bare face, and even uses ordinary rubber bands to tie her ponytail.
At this time, Sister Hua was talking to a bald middle-aged man who was either a field manager or an assistant director, and they were trying to make peace from time to time.
Lei Yue stood still and waited until the director shouted "Cut!". The groups of people who had been gathered around dispersed, and the entire set became even busier.
Sister Hua also finished speaking to the man, turned around, crossed the blockade, and strode past the tourists.
"Sister Hua! Morning." Lei Yue immediately caught up with him.
Seeing Sister Hua turning her head to look back, he quickened his pace and said with a smile: "I, Lei Yue, am here to play a part-time role with you."
"Oh, I remember you, I remember you."
Sister Hua responded loudly, looking at the rotten face of this boy who came closer. It was not covered with hair as before, but was completely exposed, with the medium-short hair pulled back.
But she didn't take it seriously, kept walking, and said to Lei Yue who was following beside her:
"You're so handsome, how could you forget? To be honest, if you're so handsome, you can't be a part-timer, but I think you're diligent and smart enough, so I wanted to give you a chance."
"Thank you, Sister Hua." Lei Yue nodded repeatedly.
Although Sister Hua seemed to be teasing him, he felt no malice.
He knew that Sister Hua was a good person. She never owed him any salary and did not discriminate against him. Instead, she took good care of him. Otherwise, she wouldn't have given him a chance. Why bother with him?
"Let me tell you the market situation first." Sister Hua spoke very quickly, crackling:
"Here, actors are divided into different levels. The lowest level is extras, who have no lines and serve as backdrops for 50 yuan a day.
"The ones above the extras are 'qunte'. They are specially commissioned by the masses. They have lines. A group of ordinary people shout and kill together. A group of Japanese soldiers are beaten to death and scream. It's like this. It costs 80 yuan a day."
Lei Yue nodded and said yes to show that he was listening. Sister Hua walked so fast that he, with his long legs, could hardly keep up.
Sister Hua continued: "Further up are 'small specials', which cost 150-300 yuan a day; medium specials, which cost 400-800 yuan; and large specials, which cost more than 800 yuan.
"Further up, there are roles, then leading roles, stars, people make a lot of money, these have nothing to do with you. Do you understand?"
"Yeah..." Lei Yue responded again, for now, it doesn't matter for now.
"And you." Sister Hua glanced at him, as if there were eyes under her feet. At the same time, she stepped over a pile of cables on the ground, avoiding several people in the electrician team, and said:
"I can only be an extra, just a background board. It's 50 yuan a day. If I'm lucky, I might get some extra work. I'll pay for it every day. There's no contract. Is it possible?"
"Are you in charge of the food?" Lei Yue asked. The job recruitment information said that he was in charge of the food, but he wanted to hear it with his own ears.
"I don't care about the crew." Sister Hua suddenly lost her temper. "Generally, I don't care. If you don't care, I'll buy it for you privately. That's all."
"That's done!" Lei Yue nodded immediately, his ambition surging, "Sister Hua, I can do any kind of work, whether it's hard, tiring, or dangerous, as long as there's something fun to do."
"Okay, okay, as long as you say this, it will be enough." Sister Hua strode again, "But there are thousands of extras shouting this in the film and television city, and it may not be your turn to work hard."
The distance between extras and stars is sometimes unfathomable, and sometimes it can be reached overnight.
This is a land of dreams and a place of dreaming.
"Then why are you following me?" Sister Hua suddenly seemed to be angry. She stared at her eyes and pointed in the direction with a wave of her finger, "Go over there and prepare!"
"Didn't you see that the assistant director asked me to find someone just now? There is no need to change costumes for modern dramas. You are the only one who is an extra and a passerby.
"Pull your hat up, pull your hair down, cover your face, and go over there. As long as the assistant director doesn't have any objections."
After saying this, Sister Hua was about to walk away, but stopped again, took out an unopened mask from her pocket and gave it to him, "By the way, put this on."
"Oh!" Lei Yue's heart was excited, he took off the mask and put it on.
While he was busy covering his face, he walked towards the studio where he was just now, but suddenly he remembered that he didn't even know the name of the crew or what they were filming.
All I know now is that it's a modern drama, just filming a street scene.
Lei Yue quickly turned around to ask, "Sister Hua, what is this scene about?"
"Ah!" Sister Hua was startled, and now she was really angry, "What do you care about this? You are just a human background, covering your face, and just keep it there!"
"Oh..." Lei Yue suddenly didn't dare to say anything.
Sister Hua's eyes widened a little wider, and her tone became serious:
"Let me warn you first, don't think you are Zhou Xingxing, don't be smart and talk about Stannie or Brooke. No one here really cares about the performance of an extra, especially you!"
She paused and said, "The director will notice you so much that you may not be able to stay any longer."
Lei Yue could only nod again, but there was always some expectation in his heart.
Sister Hua is a veteran, and she can spot all these young people pursuing their dreams at a glance.
She chuckled, "It's okay for you kid to mix with me, but you have to remember that I have a few rules here."
"Okay." Lei Yue was a little curious.
“The first rule of the Huajielong Group is to make money honestly!”
Sister Hua almost spat out her words, "The second rule of Sister Hua's dragon set is to make money honestly!"
After she finished speaking, regardless of whether he heard it or not, she turned around and strode away to another production crew on this section of the road.
Lei Yue watched that resolute figure walking away, and he breathed a sigh of relief, as if he had been trained as if he had not taken any acting classes in the past ten years.
"What are you still doing!" Suddenly, Sister Hua's voice came again.
In a nervous and expectant mood, Lei Yue rushed towards the busy and crowded studio over there, heading towards his first acting role in his life.