novellhall Chapter 4 Jing
Chapter 4 Jing
Looking at Ji Qingxu chatting with the film crew's martial arts instructor in the distance, Li Milu felt a pang of regret. He was too young, not even an adult yet. Otherwise, she would have found a way to win first place.
Ji Qingxu, who was chatting and laughing with Kou Zhanwen, noticed a "greedy" gaze fixed on him. He casually glanced around and saw that Li Milu was staring in his direction. He thought to himself, "I'm not an adult yet, but if I were, I'd show you what I'm made of."
After an hour's break, the crew resumed filming, and Ji Qingxu went to his position to be ready to be called upon at any time.
Looking at the scenes being filmed on set, and recalling the script he had seen from his senior brother Kou Zhanwen, Ji Qingxu had a nonsensical idea.
Did Chen Kai get the idea to film "The Promise" while filming this TV series?
Because the currently filming drama "Lu Bu and Diao Chan" is a fantasy romance period drama. That's right, the drama mainly tells the story of the love and hate between Lu Bu and Diao Chan.
When Ji Qingxu saw the script, he felt it was somewhat absurd. As one of the Four Great Classical Novels, "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" is a household name in China, and the story of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" has been adapted into film and television.
However, a renowned director who won the Palme d'Or descended to earth to make a TV series, but focused on the relationship between Lü Bu and Diao Chan.
The most outrageous thing is that Lu Bu is a wild "wolf child" with divine power, Diao Chan knows magic, and characters such as Dong Zhuo and Cao Cao also have various fantastical settings.
It has to be said that Chen Kaige has a very creative mind, but as one teacher said, adaptation is not random rewriting, and fiction is not nonsense.
Although Ji Qingxu had never heard of this drama in his previous life, he always felt that this kind of adaptation might backfire.
Of course, despite his inner complaints, Ji Qingxu actually found the show quite interesting as long as it didn't deduct from his salary.
......
As time went by, it was soon the end of February, and Kou Zhanwen also ushered in the moment of wrapping up filming.
"Cut!"
"That's a wrap! Congratulations to Kou Zhanwen on completing filming!"
"Splash!"
Seeing Kou Zhanwen bowing to those around him, Ji Qingxu clapped his hands loudly.
When the applause stopped, Kou Zhanwen walked over to Ji Qingxu.
"Let me remove my makeup, then we'll go back."
"Okay."
......
Back at the hotel, Ji Qingxu joked, "Senior brother, is there a wrap party tonight?"
Kou Zhanwen smiled and said, "Yes, my senior brother is treating us today."
Upon hearing this, Ji Qingxu waved his hand and said, "Never mind, I was just joking. Let's have a simple meal and go back tomorrow."
Kou Zhanwen glanced outside the room and said, "Don't worry, Director Chen had the producer give me some money. It's not much, just enough for a meal. It's not just the two of us; we'll invite all the stuntmen from the crew later."
Upon hearing this, Ji Qingxu gave a thumbs up, "Senior brother has the most face."
Kou Zhanwen laughed and said, "What face do I have? We've worked hard for four months, and if we can't even get a meal..."
Seeing that Kou Zhanwen smiled and didn't continue, Ji Qingxu couldn't help but shake his head, thinking about his month-long experience on set. "So stingy."
The production cost of "Lu Bu and Diao Chan" was advertised as 3000 million yuan. In the future, this amount of money would be more than enough to make a movie or even to pay a top actor. However, in 2000, spending 3000 million yuan to make a TV series was an astronomical figure.
Despite the large investment, the crew was very frugal with accommodation and food. Apart from the main cast and crew who stayed in hotels, the rest of the crew, including stuntmen, prop masters, and stagehands, lived in cheap houses with large communal rooms where dozens of people slept in one room.
The boxed lunches I ate mostly contained very little meat, mostly vegetables, and not much oil.
The pay is also low, with extras earning the least, 15-20 yuan a day.
Ji Qingxu's salary is 100 yuan a day, and even the salaries of some well-known artists in the crew are the same, not high.
Although it's unclear how much the other actors were paid, his senior apprentice, Kou Zhanwen, who played Zhang Fei and was also the martial arts director for the crew, only received 10 yuan for four months of filming.
According to Kou Zhanwen, the majority of the investment in this drama was taken by Chen Kaige and Chen Hong. Chen Kaige is the director, and as the Palme d'Or winner, he certainly wouldn't accept a low salary for his first time making a TV series. Chen Hong plays the female lead, Diao Chan, and is also the producer of the drama.
In addition, art direction, costumes and makeup also accounted for a large portion of the expenses. The person in charge of this area was Ye Jintian, who won the Hollywood Academy Award for Best Art Direction for "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon". He had worked with his senior brother Kou Zhanwen on the "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" set. Kou Zhanwen was the Chinese action director in charge of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon".
This TV series also used some special effects, which cost a lot of money.
Despite the seemingly large investment, very little money was actually used for filming. Given Ji Qingxu's limited understanding of film crews, he always felt that the money was not being used for the right purposes.
The thought that even a big director like Chen Kaige's crew was so unreliable made Ji Qingxu subconsciously think that the entertainment industry was really damn dark, no wonder those coal bosses were ripped off so badly.
If I ever make money in the future, I will definitely not invest in movies or TV series.
Opening a hot pot restaurant or a bar can result in losses of millions, and that's assuming you're the boss yourself. If you were making a movie, damn, losing tens of millions would probably be a piece of cake.
"What are you thinking about? Hurry up and pack your bags. We'll leave after breakfast tomorrow morning."
"Okay."
......
"Dear passengers, we have arrived at Beijing Station. Please prepare to disembark if you are traveling to Beijing..."
Hearing the announcement, Ji Qingxu couldn't help but stretch as he got off the soft sleeper. They had finally arrived. The K102 train from Wuxiao to Beijing had taken 25 hours, and Ji Qingxu was almost numb from sitting so long. And this was with a soft sleeper ticket; he couldn't even imagine what it would have been like to have a hard seat.
"See, if only I had listened to me and bought plane tickets, we would have arrived last night."
Upon hearing Kou Zhanwen's words, Ji Qingxu shook his head, "There's not much difference. Including waiting time and the time spent getting to the airport, it will take about ten hours. At least we can sleep on the train."
"That's true. Traveling to Hengdian for filming is always a hassle. Come on, let's hurry back. You're young and it doesn't matter, but I, your senior, can't quite handle it."
"Senior brother, you fell asleep as soon as you got on the train yesterday morning, and you slept like a log."
"Haha, senior brother is too old, he can't compare to you."
"..."
The two chatted and laughed as they walked toward the exit with their luggage.
After getting off the train, Ji Qingxu was momentarily dazed as he looked at the two red signs that read "Beijing" in the distance.
The Beijing Railway Station has since become a national key cultural relics protection unit. Seeing the bustling and slightly dilapidated Beijing Railway Station today, Ji Qingxu feels as if he is witnessing history.
"Junior brother, what are you looking at?"
"They're here!"
......
"Little chick, are you really determined?"
Looking at the white-haired, resolute-faced old man in front of him, Ji Qingxu nodded and said earnestly, "Grandpa Wu, I want to go to school."
After scrutinizing Ji Qingxu for a while, seeing that the little guy didn't flinch under his gaze, Wu Bin laughed heartily. "Good, good! Your grandpa named you Qingxu, which comes from Zhu Xi's poem 'Thoughts on Reading,' specifically the line 'How can the canal be so clear? Because it has a living source.' He hoped you would be intelligent and energetic, excelling in both literature and martial arts. Unfortunately... well, it's not too late. Grandpa Wu will find someone to take care of the rest. Little chick, once you're really going to school, you can't give up halfway."
"Grandpa Wu, don't worry, I will definitely get into university and live up to your and your expectations."
"Grandpa Wu will remember your words. If you can't do it, Grandpa Wu's whip will not be merciful."
Upon hearing this, Ji Qingxu subconsciously grinned. Back when the original owner came to Wu Bin to say that she had dropped out of school, Wu Bin whipped her.
"No problem, Grandpa Wu."
......
In March 2001, with Wu Bin's help, Ji Qingxu was able to attend a high school in Beijing to study for his second year of high school. His school registration was still in his hometown of Shicheng, Hebei Province, and he would have to return to Hebei Province to take the college entrance examination.
From then on, Ji Qingxu became a diligent high school student who went out early and returned late at night. He attended classes at school during the day and had tutoring sessions when he came back at night. The same was true on Saturdays and Sundays. At the same time, Ji Qingxu also temporarily said goodbye to the entertainment industry.
......