Chapter 129 Li Changhe's Painstaking Efforts (Subscription Request)
Nowadays, the names of state-owned restaurants are all similar, all starting with "People", "Red Flag", "Long March" and so on.

The one that Gong Xue brought them to was located south of the General Political Department Art Troupe, adjacent to the Nanchang River.

Nanchang River is a section of the Changhe River in Beijing, and the name of this river is Changhe River.

The long river is more than 30 miles long. It draws water from the Western Hills, passes through Kunming Lake in the Summer Palace, then turns southeast from Haidian to inject water into the moat. It was once the royal river.

Li Changhe has always suspected that the name of his company, Changhe, was taken from this river.

But he had no evidence and never asked.

After entering the state-owned restaurant and ordering a few dishes, Gong Xue wanted to pay but was stopped by Zhu Lin.

"You already call me sister, how can we let you treat us today? We will treat you."

"Let's sit down and wait, and let your brother-in-law go and order."

Zhu Lin pulled Gong Xue to sit on one side, and after Li Changhe came back after ordering the food, he sat on the other side.

In fact, there was no need to order, as there were only a few dishes written on the menu on the wall, and Li Changhe chose three dishes.

One mapo tofu, one boiled chicken, and one sweet and sour pork tenderloin.

This sweet and sour pork tenderloin was recommended by Gong Xuelu, who said it tasted good.

Li Changhe smiled after listening to this. It is a well-known fact in later generations that people in Shanghai love sweet food.

"Your school is teaching you acting now. Did they mention any genres?"

After Li Changhe sat down, he thought for a while and asked Zhu Lin.

The main thing was that Zhu Lin didn't say anything at this time, and Gong Xue also kept her head down and didn't say anything, so Li Changhe took the initiative to control the situation.

"school?"

"No, are there different genres of performance?"

Zhu Lin shook her head. She had only been learning for a week and had not even taken a few acting classes yet.

Li Changhe nodded after thinking about it: "There probably isn't one in China right now, but I saw some in a document in the Peking University Library. I think there is a division abroad."

"Let me think about how to describe it to you."

Li Changhe guessed that there probably was no such professional division of performance genres in the country at present, and what he said about Peking University Library was just a term.

He was actually recalling some simple theories he had read in his previous life. He didn't understand the profound ones, but many novelists had written about some superficial things.

"The article I read said that performance is generally divided into two factions: one is the experience faction and the other is the expression faction."

"The general meaning of experientialism is actually to turn yourself into the role you want to play, abandon your own self, and substitute yourself into another person. This substitution generally does not refer to substitution of thoughts, but the complete substitution of the whole person's body and mind."

"Let me give you an example. For example, if you want to play a beggar, experiential actors often observe first, and then turn themselves into a beggar."

“How did this come to be?”

Gong Xue on the opposite side was listening very seriously at this time and asked subconsciously.

"It's very simple. You just become a beggar on the set, wearing rags and asking for food from the crew, or even begging on the street."

"Or if you play a disabled person, the experiential approach is often to observe and then consciously become a disabled person, needing help to walk, or even needing someone to carry you in a wheelchair."

“This state continued until the end of his performance, or the end of the whole play.”

Li Changhe remembered that a foreign actor played a disabled person in a wheelchair. Even after the filming, he still sat in the wheelchair in his daily life and asked the staff to help him. He completely transformed himself into the character in the play.

It sounded great, but he almost got beaten because the staff had to lift him up and down every day.

"The advantage of this acting method is that your performance will be very real. In many cases, you don't even need lines. Your every move is the best display of the plot."

"But the downside is also obvious. If you are too involved, it is often difficult to detach yourself emotionally. Many times, you will be immersed in a role for your entire life and cannot get out of it. Your entire life may be changed because of it."

"In the old days, we used to call this kind of person a drama maniac. He can't live without being crazy."

"The Soviet acting method that China used to be exposed to was the experiential school. There was a Soviet master named Stanev who seemed to be the founder of this category."

"It's Konstantin Stanislavsky. He has a book called 'An Actor's Work on Himself'. It seems our teacher is also going to teach this. It turns out that he is an experientialist."

Zhu Lin corrected Li Changhe at this time.

Li Changhe nodded: "The name is too long, I can't remember it, anyway, this is roughly what the experience school means."

"In addition to the experiential school, there is also the expressive school."

"This is relatively easy to understand. It is to act from the appearance. The core is still through observation. You build the image of the character you want to play in your mind, and then design a few action characteristics for him, such as making it more exaggerated and eye-catching."

"Then use the characteristics you designed to showcase the character and bring him to life."

"This method is easier to master quickly. For example, when crying, you can practice by constantly recalling your sad memories and letting the tears flow. Whenever you encounter a crying scene in the future, you can use this templated form to perform."

"As far as I know, many actors in Hong Kong Island actually use this kind of performance-style method."

“The advantage of this method is that I can quickly integrate into the crew and complete the character performance.”

"As for the downsides, there aren't any downsides at the moment."

Li Changhe thought about the current market environment and immediately changed his words.

"Hmm? What do you mean there is no harm at the moment?"

Zhu Lin was also fascinated by what he was saying at this time and asked subconsciously.

"The food is here!"

At this time, the waiter shouted, then came over with the dishes and placed them on the table of Li Changhe and his friends.

"Let's eat first and talk while we eat."

"The downside of expressionism is that it is easy to learn but difficult to master. There are very few people who can truly become masters of expressionism. Most people only learn superficially, and their performances are awkward, with too many loopholes, and they don't look like the characters they are portraying."

"But the current domestic movie audiences are still at a very elementary stage, and they don't have a high level of appreciation."

“So, in fact, it doesn’t matter to them whether they are experientialists or performanceists.”

"They won't analyze whether your acting is realistic or not, so the shortcomings of the expressionist school are not considered shortcomings in China at present."

Ordinary people nowadays have no entertainment activities, and it is good enough to be able to watch a movie.

In the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s, everyone was scrambling to watch Hong Kong films. Even the worst films were still good ones, and people watched them with great interest, regardless of the difference in acting skills.

To distinguish such acting skills, one must be constantly influenced by films. It was not until those born after 95 and even 00 began to become the mainstream audience that they had such demands.

The more they watch, the higher their appreciation ability becomes. They can tell whether the performance is real or fake at a glance.

Then the terms "veteran actor" and "traffic star" were invented.

When people born in the 1970s and 1980s watched movies, they didn’t care how you performed.

Stephen Chow's exaggeration and nonsense are expressionistic, so just watch it as it is, it's fine as long as it's good.

“The difference between these two approaches, in my opinion, lies in the awards!”

"For professional judges, when they evaluate movies and judge your acting skills, they often focus on the character presentation. The experiential performance method often presents more realistic characters than the performance method."

"But this is a professional statement. In fact, there are many factors that influence the awarding of an award. Acting skills are important, but sometimes they are not important."

In the end, Li Changhe couldn't help but give them both a shot of prevention.

He doesn't want his wife to go crazy for some award. Abroad, this thing is a bait set by capitalists in the art circle.

In China, the bait is still the same bait, but the capitalists behind the scenes have been replaced. "Actually, this is too far away for you. We are currently a production studio making movies, so we just follow the studio's lead in what we shoot."

"Whether you are an experientialist or an expressive actor, there is one important thing in common, which is observation. As long as you observe carefully and understand the characteristics of the character, I think you can act it out naturally."

"There is a simple and practical trick for this, which is to write a short biography of the character."

"What is a biography?"

Gong Xue continued to ask subconsciously.

Zhu Lin also looked at Li Changhe with a puzzled look.

Li Changhe continued: "It is you who enrich the character's image."

"Take my own novel, The Death of an Educated Youth, for example. If it is made into a movie one day, how should the protagonist be portrayed?"

"I didn't write very specific things. He was an educated youth who went to the countryside. His family might have had good class backgrounds and relatives living overseas. But these were not specific enough. I just mentioned them briefly."

"Then if you were to play this role, Linlin, how would you play it?"

"If you don't have a clue, you can first write a character biography for him, that is, design a character experience for him yourself, and complete this experience for him based on the words revealed by the protagonist in my novel, such as how the family collapsed, what the protagonist witnessed at the time, and why he went to the countryside in the end."

"I didn't write these, but you can reverse-deduce them based on the novel and write them for him, analyzing this character. This is called a character biography."

"Once this biography is written, will all the experiences of this protagonist be formed in your mind?"

"Now I have a direction on how to act."

In fact, this kind of character biography is also written in a similar way in the online literary circles of later generations, that is, fan fiction.

If you like a character in a novel, you can expand the plot based on the background of the novel and create a fan fiction.

It's essentially the same idea.

"What I've said today is actually a general idea of ​​performance. But when you two are teaching or learning, there is no need to stick to a certain school. Can't the experiential school use the techniques of the expressionist school?"

"Of course it can be used. In fact, acting is ultimately about display. Whether it is about experiencing the role or performing the role, the essence is to show the role. As long as the display is in place, it will be fine."

“An experientialist might make a character classic through unintentional actions, but an expressionist might also make a character popular through carefully designed features.”

"Today, I am only telling you about the general direction and genre of performance, but I am not asking you to choose a particular performance mode."

"I think the same old saying still applies to the acting industry: the best thing is what suits you."

"Don't be fooled. The entertainment industry is the best at deceiving people."

"For example, Linlin, someone is holding a script that is full of all the shortcomings of the Chinese people and all the bad things we did in the past, and is trying to trick you into filming it."

"He would say, we are showing human nature, reflecting reality, and recording history through art. Do you want to shoot it?"

"For example, Comrade Gong Xue, someone asked you to make a movie, asked you to take off your clothes in the movie, and even had some explicit scenes."

"The director tells you that this is a dedication to art, this is for the liberation of thought, and it is the key to breaking through the shackles of Chinese people's aesthetics. These big principles and big hats are put on your head to trick you into filming. Will you shoot it?"

“Then I definitely won’t shoot it!”

At this time, Gong Xue was still a naive girl and refused without hesitation.

“No one would take a photo of this, right?”

Zhu Lin asked in confusion.

"Of course some people will make it. Some people pursue fame, some pursue profit, some directors want to win awards, and some actors want to become famous."

"From what I know, in Hong Kong, actors are coerced and bribed."

"If the director doesn't want to film, he'll point a gun at you. If the actor doesn't want to film, the bullet will be delivered to your door."

"In fact, even in China, some people can deceive you."

"For example, Comrade Gong Xue, let me tell you now, if you shoot this movie, I can transfer you back to Shanghai, to your parents, to the Shanghai Film Studio. After hearing my conditions, will you hesitate?"

Gong Xue's heart trembled when she heard this.
She hadn't figured out how to answer yet, but Li Changhe continued talking.

"Even if you reject me the first time, I can still invite you the second and third time, repeatedly making offers to you until you agree."

"If you agree to it out of weakness and the filming is done, then you're on board. It doesn't matter whether the subsequent promises are valid or not."

"So, how do we choose scripts and roles? How do we tell if someone is lying to us?"

Zhu Lin continued to ask curiously. She had never considered these situations before.

"It's quite troublesome to completely identify this, but I'll tell you the simplest way."

“Just two words: I like it!”

“As long as it’s a story you like and you like the character, then you can shoot it.”

"If you don't like something, just reject it."

“Treat filming and acting as a hobby, not a career.”

"Because hobbies are motivation, and careers are shackles!"

After listening to Li Changhe's words, Zhu Lin and Gong Xue both had a thoughtful look on their faces.

They may not understand so deeply what Li Changhe said, but at least they have a general direction for the future.

Seeing how the two people were digesting his own views, Li Changhe breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

Today he had spent a lot of time and effort to instill some advanced ideas into his wife and Comrade Gong Xue, which could be considered as a preventive measure in advance.

The main reason is that he doesn't want to see his wife being fooled by others into winning a big prize abroad or something.

As for Gong Xue, it can just be considered a reminder.

He didn't know the girl's resume, but he had never heard of the future, which only meant that the girl didn't stay in the entertainment industry.

So there is probably a reason behind this.

Li Changhe didn't know the reason, he just hoped that his reminder could change the girl's fate.

Of course, it is also possible that they have retired from the circle on their own. Li Changhe thinks this is better.

This shows that this girl is not bothered by fame and fortune.

"Okay, let's eat first. The food is cold. I can slowly digest what I said later. Don't worry."

Li Changhe saw that the two people were still thinking, and said to them.

He just needs to plant a seed in advance and wait for it to take root and sprout.

"Well, let's eat. Come on, Xiaoxue, you love sweet and sour pork, right? Come and eat!"

Zhu Lin enthusiastically picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork for Gong Xue.

"Thank you, Sister Zhu Lin."

Gong Xue thanked him softly, and at the same time couldn't help but sigh in her heart.

This Li Changhe is really amazing and knows a lot.

No wonder Sister Zhu Lin, who is so beautiful, married him.

　Thanks to Yunzhu, Youchu, who are all my guests in the forest, Kan Hongchen Shuang, who have worries, Nanli, Jiumeng, Mo Shu, and Suigefeng for their rewards. I bow to express my gratitude!
　　
　
(End of this chapter)