Chapter nine hundred and thirteenth drizzle of Vancouver
It’s strange to say that Vancouver is 49 degrees north latitude and Beijing is 39 degrees north latitude. Vancouver is further north than Beijing and even closer to the Arctic Circle than Harbin, which is 46 degrees north latitude. However, Vancouver is not cold in winter, and the daytime temperature is generally maintained at
Above five degrees, even the lowest temperature at night is only around zero, rarely falling below zero.
Compared to the dry winter in Beijing, the weather here in Vancouver is very humid. It rains most of the day, similar to the kind of drizzle that makes prostate patients urinate endlessly. This is probably the so-called temperate maritime climate in geography books.
Bar.
He Xin set foot on the North American continent for the first time in his two lives. It is also the Western world. If Europe is compared to the south of the Yangtze River with its beautiful gardens, then North America is like the north of China, which looks rough and heroic. It’s just that the natives who originally lived on this land
Residents are rarely seen anymore.
He Xin was sitting on a comfortable sofa, and the tea on the coffee table next to him was still steaming. The room was very heated, and he was casually wearing a plaid shirt and a pair of khaki casual pants. One more thing, he was wearing
All they wear are costumes.
In fact, before he came to Vancouver, he started wearing Frank's clothes every day. His slightly messy hair and deliberately long stubble were dyed granny gray. At first glance, he looked at least ten years older.
age.
What was originally a sophisticated and mature man in his early thirties suddenly turned into a middle-aged man in his late forties. So much so that when he first came to UMass, when he entered customs, the immigration officer at the airport looked at the photo in his passport for a long time.
I guess he was allowed to enter the country after seeing that the front of his passport was densely covered with stamps from many European countries. I felt that this person was reliable. If he got a new passport, he might not be allowed to enter the country. It’s like adding cannabis these days.
Countries like this always feel good about themselves and seem to be superior to others. They always have some bad associations with people from third world countries, especially the Chinese.
This time he joined the set in advance. In addition to reading the script before filming started, he also mainly wanted to familiarize himself with the local environment. This was his first time coming to UMass, and it was very important for an actor to be familiar with the filming environment.
It's just that it's been three days since he came here, and it rains every day. He hasn't found time to go outside for a walk, so he can only stay in the hotel and read the script.
Of course, it’s not just as simple as memorizing lines, or memorizing lines is just the most basic part of all preparations.
The so-called preparation work, first and foremost, is to write a biography of the character and to understand the role played clearly.
A good actor, whether he is playing a leading role or a supporting role, even if the role does not appear many times and has few lines, he still needs to figure out: Who is he?
What's your personality like?
Where are you from?
What's your academic qualifications?
What happened in this life?
What influence do relatives and friends have on him?
How will his mood and expression change when faced with different situations...
Only by shaping the image of this character in your mind can you better adapt to the lines in the next film.
The script is logical; the story line is logical; dialogues and dialogues are logical; in long lines, the upper and lower sentences are also logical.
Reading a script is just like reading in school. You need to find the central idea, summarize the general idea of the paragraph, clarify the relationship between the context, and then go into your own lines:
Why should I answer this?
What was my mood when I answered?
What's my tone?
What was going through my mind when I said this?
How to make facial expressions?
How to perform the action?
Where does the emphasis of the tone fall?
How did I feel when the other party responded to my line? How will it affect my next line...
And this kind of work cannot be done once. You have to think about it repeatedly every time you read the script. For example, you may have this kind of emotion at the beginning of this scene, but when you watch it for the second and third time,
You will also find that you may be more ready to express it with another emotion, but when you read it for the fifth or sixth time, you may have another idea, or you may still feel that the emotion you felt the first time was more accurate, etc.
Then get specific to the lines: Why do you read this sentence first? How does this sentence affect the next sentence? How does the next sentence lead to the next sentence? What is the process of changing emotions and tone? And so on.
Think clearly and mark it directly on the script.
In this way, of course, when I read the script again, I often have pictures in my mind. As long as I follow this picture, the lines will naturally blurt out.
Generally speaking, for actors at He Xin's level, their lines are not required to be exactly the same as the script. They can even express themselves, adding or subtracting lines, speaking as smoothly as they want, and expressing emotions more clearly.
Following this line of reasoning, there are generally few major mistakes. Unless your understanding is inconsistent with the director's understanding, then there will be a process of mutual game, or mutual persuasion.
Of course, this refers to how a real actor prepares, similar to a traffic star who doesn't understand anything, so he can only be a puppet in the hands of the director. As for the lines... they don't exist, just have dubbing.
After so many years of accumulation, He Xin dare not say anything else. If the Chinese language test was only about reading comprehension and writing, he would definitely get high scores.
Just like now, he has a new experience every time he reads the script, and from time to time he takes a pen and draws on the script.
In fact, whether it is a high-quality literary film or a commercial film to make money, he takes every role seriously in terms of performance. Especially in commercial films, as an actor, he must at least be worthy of every audience who spends money to support him.
In his previous life, he had watched "Northwest". At that time, from the perspective of an audience, he felt that Frank, played by Wu.
, and found that it seemed too much for acting, or that he was playing Wu Xiubo, not Frank in the true sense.
The drizzle of rain beats on the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, making a soft and shallow sound, like a lullaby. Vancouver on a rainy day is enveloped in a melancholy atmosphere, like a separated person with homesickness, like a lover who has unrequited love.
Indescribable melancholy and loneliness, hazy and intermittent.
This kind of weather is most suitable for a person to sit quietly in the room and read a script. When tired, take a sip of tea and look up into the distance.
The five-star hotel where he stayed was in a very good location, and he could see the vast and mighty Fraser River not far away. The trees on both sides of the bank had lost their leaves, and their branches were majestic and layered. The pines and cypresses were still green,
In the rain, there is a faint black color, solemn and heavy. The cruise ship parked by the river, with its white hull, tall mast, and the bright sound of the flute, harmonizes with the color of the ink, and the eyes become particularly warm, quiet, and misty.
Further away is the sea, which is boundless and vast. On the other side of the Fraser River estuary, the distant mountains are as dark as black, and the white snow on the top of the mountain is spread layer by layer. In the distant sky, seabirds fly by, and there are no
The traces are only faint thoughts, which sway nimbly with its wings.
To be honest, there is nothing to say about the natural environment here. It is not cold in winter and not hot in summer. It is no wonder that this city has become the city with the largest concentration of Chinese in North America. Moreover, most of the ethnic minorities here are Asian, and there are no unrest-filled cities.
Nico. If he hadn’t known about the incompetence of the Canadian government in later generations, He Xin might have really chosen to buy a house here and take his family here for a vacation in his spare time to experience the difference.
of customs.
It is said that people will feel empty after doing something, such as reading a book, watching a movie, TV series, or having sex. In other words, the whole person will feel relaxed physically and mentally, with no desires and desires, and achieve a kind of selfless thought.
Realm, commonly known as "sage time".
He Xin's "sage time" is often presented in a kind of wild imagination, which is divergent thinking.
Just when he was finishing reading the script, holding a tea cup, looking at the beautiful scenery in the distance, and falling into divergent thinking as usual, the doorbell rang.
He put down the tea cup, walked over to open the door, and saw Xue Xiaolu's smiling face with the corners of his mouth turned up in an exaggerated arc.
"Xiao He, don't bother me?"
"No need to disturb. Director Xue, please come in!"
"I just happened to meet Xiao Lu downstairs. I'll give this to you."
When Xue Xiaolu entered the door, he handed him an envelope.
Mentioning Lu Xiao, He Xin knew without looking that the envelope contained a translation of his driver's license. It should be said that Chinese driver's licenses are not recognized in Canada, but Canada is also a country of cars.
The United States in the south is still vast and sparsely populated. In order to take care of the convenience of new immigrants or foreigners staying temporarily, your driver's license can be used here for three months as long as you prepare a translation. These three months are actually for you.
Allow time to retake your driver's license test.
He Xin has a lot of driving scenes in the film, and it would be impossible for him to do it without a driver's license. A translation can be used for three months, which is enough for him.
"Director Xue, you've been working hard these days! What would you like to drink, coffee or tea?"
Xue Xiaolu came here a year ago and didn't even return to China for the Chinese New Year in order to prepare for it. He Xin felt a little bit sorry. The back-and-forth on the launch date was mainly because of him.
Xue Xiaolu waved his hand and said with a hearty smile: "Nothing."
As he said that, he looked at the half cup of tea on the coffee table and said, "I'll drink tea too. I've been drinking coffee all these years, so it's just a good time to change my taste."
He Xin made a cup of tea for Xue Xiaolu. It was a good quality West Lake Longjing tea, but February happened to be the time when the tea leaves were dry. The old tea had been stored for almost a year, so the color was a bit dull when brewed.
"Thanks!"
Xue Xiaolu thanked him, and then took the initiative to report without waiting for He Xin to ask: "The shooting scene has almost been set up, and the people are still arriving one after another. The next busy thing is the audition work of the actors..."
When filming abroad, it is impossible to find all actors in China, and many supporting actors can only be found locally. Fortunately, there are many Chinese in Vancouver, and many actors from Hong Kong and Bay Area have settled here, so it is very convenient to find actors.
In addition, some local white actors are needed.
He Xin doesn't need to worry about this kind of thing. After the main actor is decided, Xue Xiaolu can make the rest himself.
As for the many behind-the-scenes staff, they could only arrive in batches one after another due to visa and itinerary constraints.
After hearing Xue Xiaolu's report, He Xin nodded and said politely: "Anyway, these things can only be done for you."
This "North West" is Xue Xiaolu's second work. Although the filming has not officially started yet, after the preliminary preparations, it should be said that everyone is very happy to work together. He Xin has always upheld the principle of leaving professional matters to professional people.
.Although Xinhao Media is not an investor in the movie, except for assigning producers and finances responsible for logistics work, they hardly interfere in other matters, which also allows Xue Xiaolu’s voice to be implemented to the greatest extent among the crew.
This kind of treatment was not available to Xue Xiaolu when he was filming "Ocean Paradise" because that time there were not only constraints from investors, but also Li Lianjie. Many things were often not decided by the director Xue Xiaolu.
So Xue Xiaolu felt particularly comfortable and motivated this time.
"Xiao He, what you said is unreasonable. In fact, I am very grateful for your trust in me this time."
Xue Xiaolu picked up the cup, blew on the tea leaves floating on it, took a sip, and said, "Oh, by the way, has Jiang Qinqin, the character of Zhou Yi, responded?"
According to the position in the script, the character Zhou Yi should be regarded as the second female lead. She is one of the two expectant mothers preparing to give birth in the confinement center together with the female lead Wen Jiajia. The company executive, female Lily, is what Wen Jiajia calls her.
"White-haired Witch" is the character played by Hai Qing in the original version.
He Xin first considered that Jiang Qinqin was here and was recovering well, so he wanted to invite her to act. Of course Xue Xiaolu welcomed this suggestion with both hands and feet, don't forget that "The Crowd" had just been released.
With a box office of 1.002 billion, it became the first domestic film to exceed 1 billion, and set a new box office record for domestic films.
As the leading female lead in this film, Jiang Qinqin is now very popular. Her original agency terminated the contract automatically because the previous contract with her expired at the end of last year. At this moment, she would even regret it. If she knew that "
"The Crowd" would be so popular. At that time, they wanted to keep Jiang Qinqin no matter how much they paid. Now it's too late to say anything.
In addition, in terms of media, Jiang Qinqin is recuperating abroad due to health reasons, and did not even participate in the promotional activities before the release. Now I want to interview people, but I can’t find them, and they have terminated their contracts with the agency. Although Jiang Qinqin’s whereabouts have now been
I narrowed it down to Irvine, Los Angeles, USA, but still couldn't find anyone.
"this……"
He Xin paused for a moment. He had called Jiang Qinqin several times before, but the other party's phone was turned off. He was worried at first, thinking something had happened, so he quickly called Xiao Tang again and found out that Jiang Qinqin was fine, but
The phone was turned off, sometimes it was said that it was forgotten to be turned on, and sometimes it was said that the phone was out of battery, for various reasons. And each time, Jiang Qinqin could not say a few words, so she would hang up the phone in a hurry, although her voice and tone sounded normal and full of energy.
He Xin always felt that the other party seemed to be deliberately hiding something from him.
He was a little worried and wanted to go over for a visit, which was one of the reasons why he joined the group early this time.
At this moment, facing Xue Xiaolu's expectant gaze, he said a little embarrassedly: "She hasn't replied yet... In this way, I will go over to visit her in two days. If she can't do it, I will ask her later.
Tong Liya comes over, what do you think?"
"Little Tong..."
However, Xue Xiaolu showed hesitation. If divided according to the cast, it would be enough for Tong Yali to play the second female lead like Zhou Yi, who does not have many roles. And if Tong Yali was not a contracted artist of Xinmiao Studio, she might not be willing to take such a role.
Take it.
But He Xin's previous expectations for her were too high. With He Xin, Jiang Qinqin's "The Crowd" is ahead of her. If He Xin and Jiang Qinqin collaborate again on "Northwest", how much the box office will be increased by then! On the other hand,
Tong Yali is far less sensational than Jiang Qinqin.
Xue Xiaolu was somewhat unwilling to give in. He hesitated for a moment, and said in a half-joking tone with anticipation: "It would be best if it's Jiang Qinqin... But if she really can't come, can you ask Cheng Hao to work hard for you?"
"Uh...this definitely won't work."
Of course He Xin understands Xue Xiaolu's thoughts, and as a commercial film, Jiang Qinqin is undoubtedly the best candidate for what attracts audiences to pay for tickets, star lineup, hits, sensational effects, etc. As for Cheng Hao, besides Wan
With tags such as "People's Charming" and "Tokyo Movie Queen", their star couple also have their own aura and are very topical.
But he could only shake his head: "On the one hand, the child is still young, and she has already accepted a movie, which will be filmed in the first half of this year. The other most important thing is that she is still working on her thesis during this time, which is really too busy.
No time left."
"paper?"
Xue Xiaolu was stunned for a moment, and then he realized: "Look, I almost forgot that Cheng Hao of your family has already been a teacher of China National Theater for a long time. Hey, so she is planning to be evaluated as an associate professor, right?"
Xue Xiaolu is an associate professor in the Literature Department of the Film School and knows a lot about this aspect.
"The lecturers who were just evaluated last year are still far from associate professors."
"Oh, yes, it would be good to accumulate more achievements in scientific research now. There is currently a shortage of teachers in the acting department with practical experience like her. In the future, she will only win the honor of Tokyo Best Actress, let alone the associate professor.
Yes, even a professor is qualified enough." Xue Xiaolu said with a smile.
What she said is indeed true. Nowadays, teachers from both Nortel and the Chinese Opera Department of Acting, although they are all from the acting department and have at least a master's degree or above, but those who have real acting experience are really good. Over time, they often become
The theoretical knowledge is very rich, but when it comes to actually performing on stage, it may not be as good as those students who have performance experience.
Teaching takes a lot of time and energy. Who among the truly famous and successful star actors is willing to sacrifice a lot of their time to make money to teach? So stars like Cheng Hao, who has won the Best Actress at the International Class A Film Festival,
Teachers are extremely precious, and they are also a resounding signboard and the best image promotion for the school.
It is not an exaggeration to say that just because Cheng Hao has won the honor of being the best actress in Tokyo, as long as he has accumulated a certain level of teaching experience and the students he teaches are outstanding enough, he will be qualified to be appointed as an associate professor or professor even if he does not have a paper. Because