novellhall Chapter 295 brought the character to life.
Chapter 295 brought the character to life.
Chapter 294 brought the character to life (Happy New Year, please vote!)
Public opinion has completely reversed!
The top influencer's fans who previously ganged up to flood the comments section with negative reviews have no room for rebuttal in the face of undeniable achievements.
Their exaggerated box office figures, awards, and resources pale in comparison to Chen Xun's impressive resume!
Originally tightly controlled black keywords:
#ChenXunGoBackToHollywood#
It was eliminated in less than two hours.
#How outrageous are Chen Xun's achievements?#
#Chinese entertainment industry's dimensional reduction attack on Chen Xun#
#Turns out Chen Xun was the real top star#
Several new terms quickly rose to the top of the trending searches.
Chen Xun's Weibo followers surged by more than two million in just a few hours.
The supertopic was flooded with new fans, all casual viewers drawn in by his achievements, who left comments like, "Brother Xun, keep up the good work on 'Crosscurrent'! We'll always support you!"
"Finally, someone truly talented has arrived in the Chinese entertainment industry!"
Chen Xun felt a surge of warmth as he looked at the messages flashing wildly on his phone screen and at his fans' desperate efforts to protect him.
From the day he transmigrated here, he has been fighting alone.
He played a corpse lying on a film set in Los Angeles, was scolded by directors and discriminated against by his colleagues, but through the system and his own ruthlessness, he made it to where he is today step by step.
He was used to shouldering everything on his own and responding to all doubts with his work, but he forgot that there were so many people behind him who believed in him and supported him.
My phone started vibrating again.
It was Robert calling.
As soon as the call connected, Rob's urgent voice came through: "Bro! Did you see that? Public opinion has reversed! The fans are amazing!"
"Should we take this opportunity to issue a statement or have our PR team give it another push to completely stabilize our reputation?"
"Need not!"
Chen Xun leaned against the window, looking at the ever-flowing Yangtze River outside, and said calmly, "Tell the fans to stop arguing with the haters. It's unnecessary. There's no need to issue a statement. Saying more is pointless. Once 'Crosscurrent' is filmed, the work itself will be more convincing than anything else."
He paused, then added, "Could you contact Enlight Media for me and ask if they've finalized the voice actor for Qiu, the male lead in 'Big Fish & Begonia'?"
"I'm interested in this role, so I asked them to send me the script and character description."
"Which animated film is 'Big Fish & Begonia'?"
Rob hesitated for a moment, then immediately agreed, "Okay! I'll contact them right away!"
After hanging up the phone, Chen Xun closed Weibo and threw his phone on the table.
A breeze blew in through the window, carrying the dampness of the river water, and brushed against his cheeks.
The river surface in the distance had completely darkened, with only navigation lights flashing in the night, like stars scattered in the river.
At dawn, the river mist at Wusongkou had not yet dissipated.
Milky white mist, carrying the salty smell of the river, drifted over the deck of the Guangyun, enveloping the entire cargo ship in a hazy veil.
A 35mm film camera was mounted on the bow of the ship.
The camera is pointed towards the cockpit.
The director of photography squatted in front of the monitor, repeatedly adjusting the aperture, muttering to himself, "Wait two more minutes, let the fog dissipate a little more, and the light will fall perfectly on the ship's side, and the atmosphere will be there."
Yang Chao squatted on the deck, a cigarette dangling from his lips, his eyes fixed on the mist on the river.
Six months ago, he would never have dared to wait like this.
At that time, the budget was stretched thin, and the daily cost of film, boat rental, and staff salaries weighed heavily on his head.
Let alone waiting two hours for the right lighting, even shooting an extra take requires calculating the cost in your mind for a long time.
But things are different now. Chen Xun's investment of $100 million has directly increased the project's budget to $3500 million.
Million.
They can afford to rent top-of-the-line Panavisense film lenses and hire the most experienced sailing teams.
Even shooting in 65mm large format, something he never dared to dream of before, can be scheduled into his schedule.
With the money in place, he finally dared to unleash the obsession he had held onto for ten years regarding the artwork.
"Attention all departments! The fog has cleared! The lights are on!"
The director of photography suddenly shouted, "Ready to shoot!"
Yang Chao instantly stood up, cigarette between his fingers, picked up the walkie-talkie and shouted, "Chen Xun, are you ready? Scene one, shot one, action!"
In the cockpit, Chen Xun slowly raised his head.
[Gaochun in perfect condition now open]
One second he was confirming prop details with the production crew, but the moment he shouted "start filming," his entire demeanor changed.
He was wearing a faded navy blue overall, pulled up at the collar, revealing a white undershirt soaked yellow with sweat underneath.
His hair was messy, his stubble was bluish, his eyes were bloodshot from staying up all night, and he couldn't hide his fatigue and confusion.
Holding a poetry collection with a worn-out cover, his fingertips unconsciously rubbed the edges of the pages. Behind him was a black-and-white portrait of his father, and in front of him flowed the Yangtze River.
This is Gaochun, who has just lost his father and was forced to take over this dilapidated boat, with no idea what lies ahead.
He didn't put on any performance; he simply sat in the driver's seat, his fingertips lightly resting on the steering wheel, his gaze passing through the front window to the misty river surface.
There are no lines or large movements.
But in the footage, the sense of disappointment, dejection, and resentment emanating from him was instantly revealed.
Yang Chao held his breath in front of the monitor, not daring to even breathe loudly, for fear of disturbing the state on camera.
Until Chen Xun slowly opened the poetry collection, his fingertips tracing the line: "I hate all people, I hate all books!"
Yang Chao suddenly shouted, "Cut! Perfect! One take!"
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, followed by soft applause.
The director of photography couldn't help but remark to the person next to him, "I've been making films for over twenty years, and I've rarely seen an actor who can sit still and portray an entire character's life story."
"Chen Xun's acting is absolutely amazing!"
Not far away, Xin Zhilei stood by the ship's railing, holding the script, and looked at it for a long time.
Her first scene wasn't scheduled to be filmed until the afternoon.
But she boarded the ship with the crew before dawn, just to see Chen Xun perform in this opening scene.
She read the script countless times, and she knew every line and every psychological shift of the character Gao Chun by heart.
But it wasn't until she saw Chen Xun on camera just now that she truly understood what it meant to bring a character to life.
She thought Gao Chun's dejection was a frown, slumped shoulders, and a hysterical breakdown.
But Chen Xun didn't.
He just sat there quietly.
With just one look, he perfectly captured Gao Chun's deep-seated disappointment and loneliness.
The real performance is never an outward scream, but something contained within the bones.
Chen Xun stepped out of the cockpit.
The stagehands immediately handed over water and towels.
He wiped the dew off his face, smiled, and thanked the staff, showing no airs of a Hollywood superstar whatsoever.
Turning around, she saw Xin Zhilei standing by the ship's railing and walked over with a smile: "Why are you here so early? We're not filming your scenes until this afternoon."
"I wanted to come and see Teacher Chen act, and learn something from him."
Xin Zhilei instinctively hugged the script tighter, her cheeks slightly flushed, and her voice was filled with undisguised admiration: "You acted so well in that scene just now!"
"When I was reading the script, I always felt like I couldn't quite grasp the atmosphere of the opening scene in Gaochun. But after watching you perform it just now, I understood it immediately."
"Don't call me Teacher Chen, just call me Chen Xun."
Chen Xun waved his hand, glanced down at the script in her hand, which was covered with annotations, even more so than the one in his hand. He smiled and said, "You've prepared for this role better than anyone else. Don't underestimate yourself."
"The core of Anlu's character is wildness, a vitality that is integrated with the Yangtze River, and you have captured that."
A simple sentence put Xin Zhilei's mind at ease after several days of worry.
To prepare for her role as Anlu, she spent a month traveling on the river.
I ate and lived with the boatmen, got two shades darker from the sun, and lost almost ten pounds!
But I was still unsure of myself, always afraid that I wouldn't be able to portray Anlu's spirit.
Many people in the crew privately discussed that she, an unknown newcomer, was just lucky to get the role of Chen Xun and Yang Chao.
Only Chen Xun saw all the effort she put into this role, and he pointed out her biggest confusion with just one sentence.
She watched Chen Xun turn around to talk to Yang Chao about the scheduling of the next shot. His back looked particularly tall and straight in the river mist, and her admiration for him grew even stronger.
Over the next few days of filming, Xin Zhilei's understanding of Chen Xun was gradually refreshed.
She originally thought that a big actor like Chen Xun, who had won an Oscar and established himself in Hollywood, would definitely have special treatment even if he didn't act like a diva.
But she didn't expect that, during the filming on the river under harsh conditions, Chen Xun could endure more hardship than anyone else in the crew.
The weather on the Yangtze River can change in an instant; one second it's sunny, and the next it's pouring rain.
In one scene, Gao Chun was repairing a ship's anchor in a downpour. Yang Chao originally wanted to find a stunt double or use a water truck to simulate the rain scene, but Chen Xun refused.
"A stunt double can't capture the feeling of being slammed by waves in the river. The rain from the sprinkler truck and the torrential rain on the Yangtze River have different textures."
He laughed and said, taking off his coat and jumping into the waist-deep river water: "I've been waiting for this rain; let's not waste this natural scene."
That scene took a full hour to film, and the river water in late autumn was icy cold.
The river wind, carrying a downpour, lashed against my face, making it impossible to even open my eyes.
Chen Xun soaked in the river for an hour.
Start over and over again!
Until Yang Chao shouted "Perfect".
They were then pulled ashore by the staff.
When he came up, his lips were purple from the cold, and he was shivering all over. But his first words weren't about being cold. Instead, he went to the monitor, looked at the playback, and said to Yang Chao, "In that shot just now, was my action of pulling the anchor a little too hastily?"
"Should we add another one?"
Looking at his face, which was purple from the cold, Yang Chao felt both touched and helpless. He waved his hands repeatedly, saying, "No need to patch it! This is the best one! Go change your clothes and drink some ginger soup, don't catch a cold!"
Xin Zhilei stood to the side, holding a bowl of ginger soup that she had prepared beforehand. Her hands were trembling as she handed it over.
She has seen too many actors who use stunt doubles or simply read numbers during filming.
I've never seen anyone like Chen Xun, who's already at the top of the industry, yet still willing to go to such lengths for a single shot.
That night, Chen Xun still caught a cold and had a low-grade fever.
But the next morning, he still showed up on set on time.
His condition was not affected at all; he jumped into the river when he wanted to, and got soaked in the rain when he wanted to, without uttering a single complaint.
From that day on, when Xin Zhilei looked at Chen Xun, her eyes held not only respect but also genuine admiration.
She began to carefully write down every word Chen Xun said about acting in her notebook.
During breaks in filming, I would sit quietly beside him and watch how he worked with the director to refine his shots and how he adjusted his performance.
He listened to every word he said when he talked to the director of photography about lighting and the texture of film.
She discovered that Chen Xun's knowledge extended far beyond just acting.
He understands film photography.
Knowing which film type can capture the misty atmosphere of the Yangtze River, knowing how to adjust the aperture, and being able to capture the emotions in Gao Chun's eyes in backlight.
Moreover, he understands camera movement.
He was able to offer precise advice to Yang Chao and use a long take to capture the tension between Gaochun and Anlu across time and space.
He even knew the rules for sailing on the river.
The best time to shoot boats is when the river current is fastest, and even veteran boatmen can't help but give it a thumbs up.
What touched Xin Zhilei the most was filming her first scene with Chen Xun.
The scene depicts a boat from Gaochun docked at Jiangyin Wharf. Anlu knocks on the cabin door late at night, wanting to board the boat and travel upstream.
In the script, Anlu knocks on that door with a disheveled appearance and a stubborn determination to gamble everything.
After three takes, Xin Zhilei still couldn't find her rhythm.
Either they are too outgoing and lack the tenacity that Anlu has in his bones, or they are too reserved and lack the courage to fight when they have nowhere else to turn.
Yang Chao called for a stop, his voice tinged with urgency.
Xin Zhilei stood in the cabin, her face flushed red and her eyes red.
The more anxious she became, the less she could focus, and she almost crushed the script in her hands.
The staff around were all quiet, and no one spoke.
But Xin Zhilei felt that everyone's eyes were on her.
The pressure is so great that I can hardly breathe.
She even began to doubt whether she could play the role of Anlu well, and whether she would drag the whole crew down.
Just as she was at a loss, Chen Xun walked over.
He pulled up a small stool, sat opposite her, and asked softly, "Why do you think Anlu knocked on Gaochun's door?"
Xin Zhilei paused for a moment, then subconsciously said, "Because she needs to go upstream, and there are no boats left, so she can only take a boat from Gaochun."
"wrong!"
Chen Xun shook his head, looked into her eyes, and said, word by word, "It's not that she didn't have a boat to ride; it's that when she saw Gao Chun's boat and saw Gao Chun himself, she felt that he was the same kind of person as herself."
"They are all people drifting on the river, without roots."
"She wasn't knocking on a cabin door; she was looking for someone who could understand her."
"You don't need to portray her disheveled state; you need to portray her steadfastness, so that even covered in mud, she feels she is equal to the river."
One sentence instantly enlightened Xin Zhilei.
She stood there, stunned.
It felt like something exploded in my mind, and all the things I couldn't understand before suddenly became clear.
When filming resumed, she stood outside the cabin door, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door.
The moment the door opened, she looked at Chen Xun inside. She didn't cry, she didn't panic. She just raised her chin, looked at him, and said the line: "I want to take your boat to Yibin."
His eyes held a mixture of embarrassment, stubbornness, and a resolute determination to go all in.
"Cut! That's perfect! This take is great!"
Yang Chao shouted excitedly.
Xin Zhilei breathed a sigh of relief, her eyes instantly reddening.
She looked at Chen Xun, who was looking at her, smiling and nodding, his eyes full of affirmation.
At that moment, Xin Zhilei felt that Chen Xun's figure was incredibly tall!