"The Banquet", set.

After Zhang Yuan "accompanied" Zhang Ziyi to perform the first scene, he gained a preliminary understanding of the professional abilities of this most popular actress in China in recent years.

They really have something!
It should be said that among today's Chinese-speaking female stars, apart from the supermodel Gong Li, in mainland China, Zhao Wei is the number one actress in TV dramas and Zhang Ziyi is the number one actress in movies.

Zhang Yuan wasn’t sure how he compared with the older generation of artists.

But in the age group of twenty to thirty, Zhang Ziyi's abilities are indeed outstanding.

Also a member of the 96 Star Class of the Central Academy of Drama, he also had "in-depth" contact with teachers Zeng Li and Yuan Quan.

Zeng Li's performance was average, covering all aspects, but lacking a strong, memorable personal touch.

Yuan Quan has profound inner strength and a lot of spiritual energy. Moreover, beneath her steady appearance, she actually has a very lively and smart heart, so her performance is very energetic.

Zhang Ziyi is completely different. She is stronger than the other two in both personal ability and performance vitality.

The kind of performance tension that is like bamboo shoots breaking through the ground in spring.

Watching her plays gives me a very enjoyable feeling.

It is almost completely opposite to Zeng Li's lukewarm personality and performance style.

Zhang Yuan vaguely remembered that when he watched "House of Flying Daggers" in the cinema for the first time, he was amazed by Zhang Ziyi's dance with water sleeves and drums.

But the point is, in the plot, she is blind.

When seeing this, Zhang Yuan felt that Zhang Ziyi, the blind man, did not act very well.

There is no such aura as if he is really blind. It feels like he is just pretending to be blind.

He recalled the scene where Dong Jie played a blind girl in the movie "Happy Times".

That play was starred by Uncle Benshan.

Zhang Yuan will never forget the image of Dong Jie walking around the house in a vest and shorts after taking a shower.

The "blindness" in her performance is very strong.

Zhang Yuan made a comparison in his mind at the time and said that Zhang Ziyi was not that good either.

It wasn’t until later on that I realized that the little sister played by Zhang Ziyi was really pretending to be blind!

This meant that her role had to be played on top of that of a blind person, which made the performance much more difficult, but she performed it perfectly.

You know, she was only 25 years old when she played this role.

Actors are very particular about luck.

Some actors are very talented, but their peak comes too late, and they end up wasting themselves.

People like Zhang Ziyi are very talented and reach their peak early.

He is very capable and lucky, and he met a top director as soon as he debuted.

After losing the support of Zhang Yimou, his next phenomenal work will have to be "The Grandmaster" directed by Wang Jing.

It can be seen that even someone as strong as Zhang Ziyi would quickly fall into mediocrity without the support of noble people.

"Good, this scene is perfect!" Feng Xiaogang and brother Zhang Li, who was personally in charge of the camera, clapped their hands together.

Adjust your state and quickly enter the next game.

Today was pretty good, we shot two scenes back to back, and they were all in sequence.

The scene filmed was the murder of Queen Wan.

According to the suggestions made by Zhang Yuan at the previous study meeting, the script was temporarily modified to show Queen Wan being shot in the back, turning around with a horrified expression to the camera, and then falling to the ground and dying.

The ending is open, and it does not explain who killed the survivor of "Werewolf in the Palace".

"Director Feng, I have a small suggestion."

The makeup artist was putting back-stabbed makeup on Zhang Ziyi. Zhang Yuan touched his chin and found Feng Xiaogang, who was smoking and studying the camera with Zhang Li.

"Oh, tell me what you think."

These two brothers trust him quite a bit and have a good relationship with him.

Besides the fact that his words were meaningful, he could drink a lot and he could always make these two drunk.

"The purpose of our open ending is to let the audience guess for themselves, right?" He also lit a cigarette, joined the two of them, and passed some to them.

"Since you want everyone to guess, you have to give some misleading information."

"Just like a detective novel, all kinds of details are used to mislead the audience before the ending is revealed."

"Oh." Feng Xiaogang understood what he meant: "You mean, add some details."

"Let's talk about the details."

"For example, when Queen Wan was killed, the prop team is using an arrow."

"The arrow has no specific direction. Anyone can shoot an arrow."

"But if the arrows were replaced with the Yue sword used by the prince I play..."

"I understand!" Feng Xiaogang took a deep puff and put out the cigarette.

"During this plot, the prince was already dead."

"But the queen was killed by his sword, and a contradiction appeared in the plot."

"This contradiction is enough to keep the audience guessing for a long time."

"Yes." Zhang Yuan nodded with a smile.

"I think not only that, but we also need to add some details to the previous plot."

“For example, the eunuchs look strange, the palace maids are missing, and the Yulin Guards behave unusually, which adds to the doubts.” Director Feng was inspired after hearing his words.

"Mystifying..." Zhang Yuan added.

"Yes, yes, yes. It's just a trick. I'll just let everyone guess."

"I don't even know the answer, whatever they guess is fine." Director Feng suddenly felt a sense of pleasure in fooling people.

Let the audience "think" for themselves, just like reading comprehension in Chinese.

Even the original author didn’t understand it, but the candidates and the test setters could understand it.

It made the original author "have a strange light in his eyes".

"By then, maybe we can use the topic of 'Who killed Queen Wan' to stir up some heat on the Internet," Zhang Yuan added.

Director Feng became more and more excited the more he thought about it. This way, he could add a sense of uncertainty to the story.

He thought to himself that Zhang Yuan was a smart guy and had figured out the audience's curiosity.

Moreover, using this opportunity to stir up hype is a very big picture-oriented idea, and may help the popularity and box office of the movie.

[Received thanks from Feng Xiaogang, +1 for reading people's expressions, +1 for understanding the script! ]

The three of them discussed for a while, and then Feng Xiaogang waved his hand and called Zhang Ziyi, the makeup artist, and the prop master over.

After talking about the creative ideas that the few of them had just come up with, Zhang Ziyi pursed her lips and looked at Zhang Yuan standing beside her.

"No wonder Quan and Li both say he's good. He's really different from other male actors."

"He's so young, but he can talk to the director, and the director is willing to listen to him..."

Zhang Ziyi also felt that the revised content was more interesting.

These ladies are very ambitious and are not content to be just actors.

At the end of last year, she won the position of Oscar lifetime judge with "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Memoirs of a Geisha", so she has been considering the transformation recently.

This is also one of the reasons why she left Zhang Yimou.

She knew she didn't have the ability to be a director, so her goal was to become a producer and investor.

Zhang Yuan is already involved in film and television investment, and has his own unique insights into scripts and characters.

Zhang Ziyi thought, such a person would most likely be useful to me.

With the "double recommendation" from Yuan Quan and Zeng Li, Zhang Ziyi is not only envious of his abilities, but also a little bit envious of his body.

But she has a boyfriend now, so she can't act rashly.

It’s not that she is a chaste and virtuous woman, but she doesn’t dare to do anything behind her current boyfriend’s back.

Because her current boyfriend, whom she has been dating for over a year, is named Huo Qishan.

The prop master and makeup artist worked together to change the makeup, changing the arrow that "pierced" Zhang Ziyi's abdomen into a Yue people's sword.

In fact, it was just a prop Yue Ren sword that was sawed in half on the spot, fixed to Zhang Ziyi's body front and back, and then dark red dye was smudged on the costume as blood. In this way, her seriously injured makeup was completed.

"Ah!" As the camera turned on, Zhang Ziyi's eyes widened, her face turned pale, her body trembled as if she was enduring the pain, and she slowly turned around.

Her expressions are spot on, and her emotional changes are very subtle, but...

"Cut!" Director Feng raised his hand and called for a stop.

"Not in good enough condition!"

"The tension is not enough, it needs to be strengthened."

They shot the scene five or six times, and Feng Xiaogang said the same thing every time.

Zhang Ziyi also went to the surveillance camera to check.

"I want that feeling of screaming your character to the end of his life, which is like the last bloom of fireworks before they go out. Do you understand?"

"It should be hideous and painful, with veins popping out and disbelief written all over the face."

It’s easy to make facial expressions. Zhang Ziyi is an international star who makes a living from this. She has a strong control over her facial muscles.

But it is not so easy to make the blue veins show. She held her breath and exerted her strength, and acted freely. The meridians on her face did appear, but it still did not meet Feng Xiaogang's requirements.

"How about having the assistant pinch my neck before filming begins?" Zhang Ziyi suggested, "This way the blood vessels in my face will be more obvious."

This old lady is quite cruel.

In order to film the scene, I took the initiative to propose the asphyxiation play...

After trying it twice, I found that it worked, but as soon as I let go, the blue veins caused by suffocation gradually disappeared, but the effect I wanted from the lens gradually increased.

"Why don't we find a rope and tie her up?" Director Feng suggested, "Let Ziyi have a little breathing difficulty, and then untie her quickly after the filming. Do you think that's okay?"

"I'm fine with anything." Zhang Ziyi agreed very professionally.

The makeup artist helped Zhang Ziyi take off her costume jacket and tied it tightly around her ribs with ropes, trying to create an effect similar to that of a body-shaping garment.

But the makeup artist was a girl and she didn’t have enough strength, so the effect was not good.

The prop master was too strong and was strangled by the international chapter. Seeing these amateurs wasting time, Zhang Yuan couldn't help it.

"Kidnapping requires skill..." he muttered.

"You can do this too?" Hearing him say this, Director Feng and Zhang Li turned their heads.

"Understood."

He walked up, greeted Zhang Ziyi, and asked the makeup and props staff to make room.

"Don't be nervous. My rope-tying technique is quite special. Although it is very tight and uncomfortable, it is very easy to untie."

"Okay!" Zhang Ziyi didn't hesitate at all.

Zhang Yuan picked up the rope and started wrapping it around her back.

"Do you think he can really do it?" Director Feng was still discussing it with Zhang Li.

"This kid is very serious when filming and never jokes. I guess he really knows how to do it."

"Who wants to learn to kidnap people for no reason?" Feng Xiaogang asked in confusion, "You remember, when he was in A World Without Thieves, he knew quite a few tricks."

Xiaoluanmen is the common name for theft in the underworld.

It is further divided into different categories such as wheel money, friends' money, black money, white money, and high purchases.

Wheel money is about targeting transportation.

Friends’ money means taking money from acquaintances or people you just met.

The ones who make black money and white money are the ones who work during the day and at night.

Gao Mai was a thief who specialized in stealing from gold and silver shops, jewelry stores, and pawn shops, among other big businesses.

The people from these sects could not divide the money among themselves after stealing. They had to hand it over to the local boss, who would then distribute it according to work.

The source of Zhang Yuan's craftsmanship was Huang Quezi, who was the national leader of the wheel money industry back then.

"Oh, there's something to say." After Feng Xiaogang's reminder, Zhang Li also recalled.

"He's good at handwork and knows how to tie people up... Could this kid have been a slacker in the past?"

"Biaocan" is the underworld name for kidnapping.

Although the two of them liked him very much, they became alert when they thought of this.

I quickly looked at his method.

Zhang Yuan was seen skillfully moving his body up and down around Zhang Ziyi, making several rope loops.

"Is this the legendary...being tied up?" Zhang Li murmured with his eyes wide open.

The so-called five flowers are five rope buckles.

One for the back of the neck, one for each wrist, and clasping the wrists together with the back of the hands counts as one. Finally, wrap it back around the neck, pass it through the rope loop on the head and neck, pull it back to the back, and then tie the total buckle, which counts as another one. This is how you do it. There are five buckles in total.

In modern China, the practice of tying up prisoners is used by veteran prison guards to deal with disobedient death row prisoners, and is only used by a few veteran escorts.

Feng Xiaogang and Zhang Li thought that this guy couldn't be a prison guard. He was tied up, so he must not be a good person!

Why don’t we call the police!
But as they watched, the two old brothers realized something was wrong!

"Why are there two circles on the chest?"

"How come it went around the waist and passed under the crotch?"

"Is this part of the "Hanging Up" thing?"

"its not right……"

As they watched, they found that Zhang Yuan's technique seemed somewhat familiar.

"Hey..." Director Feng forgot to light the cigarette he was holding in his mouth: "Is this the kind used by the country next door that's doing well?"

"It seems so. I saw it in a...movie!" Zhang Li also clapped his hands.

I've watched these two quite a bit anyway.

"Oh, so that's how it is. This guy is not a escort, he's just a playboy..." Feng Xiaogang showed a lewd smile.

The two brothers looked at each other and nodded vigorously. Then they became more serious and read it carefully with an eye of learning and research.

Zhang Yuan's "rope-playing" technique is indeed not a complete tying up.

This is called tortoise shell binding.

I learned this from Mr. Nakamura Shido, who came from a kabuki family and learned Cantonese from watching Shanghai TV, during the production of Huo Yuanjia.

The characteristic of the tortoise shell bondage is that it is sexy... No, it is that after being tied up, it does not affect the movement.

When Zhang Yuan got this attribute, he felt it was useless.

After all, he couldn't bear to use it on his own woman.

Well, I’ll use it today!

After tying up the international stamp, he moved around a few times.

It was a little difficult to breathe, as my lungs were feeling very tight, but it didn't affect my ability to walk or raise my hands, which was magical.

As soon as breathing became difficult, the blue veins on his face immediately bulged.

This is exactly the effect Feng Xiaogang wanted.

After Zhang Yuan finished, he wiped the sweat off his face. When he turned around, he saw Director Feng and Zhang Li giving him a thumbs up and giving him a sly grin.

Let’s take the photo right away.

It only took two or three shots, very smoothly.

It is common for actors to need external support when filming, and it is not surprising.

After the filming, Zhang Yuan came behind Zhang Ziyi and gently pulled the reserved end of the rope. The entire rope wrapped around her body loosened instantly, and with a tug it was detached from the other person's body.

"How magical..." exclaimed Zhang Guoji.

Then he looked at Zhang Yuan with a sly smile and whispered in his ear.

"Have you used this trick on our Quan and Li?"

Zhang Yuan: …

slander!

This is absolutely slander!

Be careful or I’ll sue you for defamation!

Although this technique was not very serious, Zhang Yuan felt that he was the only serious person on the entire set. The rest, from the leading actors to the director and the director of photography, all cast timid glances at him...

The first day’s scenes weren’t too rushed, it was mainly to get everyone acclimated to the set.

After the show, Feng Xiaogang invited everyone to have dinner together.

The three from the music group were also there.

While eating, drinking and chatting, Zhang Yuan discovered that Zhang Jingying could drink very well.

After all, he used to be a resident in a bar, so he can't do without some alcohol tolerance.

Tan Dun is just average.

Tengger, this grassland man, is an absolute giant!

Everyone is familiar with Teacher Teng. His representative works include "Invisible Wings", "The Sun Never Sets" and "Learn to Meow"...

This guy can drink more than two kilograms of ordinary liquor, and can still play and sing freely after drinking it.

You can drink 70-degree alcohol by the pound.

He is addicted to alcohol and spends hundreds of thousands of dollars on drinking every year.

At the crew's dining table, he opened his mouth after drinking and showed everyone his best Mongolian "Hoomai" song.

The deep and melodious voice seemed to make everyone feel as if they were instantly on the vast and boundless prairie.

"How did he go from 'Paradise' to 'Learn to Meow'?" Zhang Yuan was listening.

"Could it be that Invisible Wings is broken?"

In fact, this strong, brave and ambitious man also has his weaknesses.

Teacher Tengger's transformation actually originated from the death of his young daughter.

Nothing can make a man more heartbroken than the death of his daughter.

A daughter is different from a son. She is the apple of her father's eye.

Seeing a little girl die beside him, even the strongest man would collapse.

What's more, this man had his daughter when he was in his forties, so he doted on her.

Perhaps, Mr. Tengger is just entertaining the public by amusing himself, while completing self-dissolution at the same time.

After all, after this incident, nothing in the world was difficult for him anymore.

What's the point of putting on cat ears and singing "meow meow meow"...

Seeing that Zhang Yuan had a good alcohol tolerance, Brother Teng dragged him to drink until he was drunk.

Before leaving, she even left him her phone number and said that they could have a drink together sometime in the future.

After eating and drinking, everyone returned to the hotel where they were staying.

After taking the elevator upstairs, Zhang Yuan went to the smoking area at the end of the corridor to have a cigarette to refresh himself.

Tenger drank so much that he became dizzy.

At this moment, the elevator door less than five meters away from him opened.

A tall and slender figure with cascading black hair stepped out of the elevator.

He was wearing a mask, sunglasses and a baseball cap, a standard celebrity outfit for going out.

This person glanced at Zhang Yuan, was stunned at first, and obviously recognized him.

But instead of saying hello, he turned around and left, quickly disappearing at the end of the corridor.

Zhang Yuan narrowed his eyes and felt that the back figure was very familiar.

It seems like I have just seen it recently, and it feels familiar yet strange.

After he put out the cigarette and his mind became clearer, he pondered for a while and finally remembered who the other person was... (End of this chapter)