Chapter 29: Cheers

  Two hours after the boot ceremony, the crew did not stop. "The Young Yang Family Generals" officially started filming. The first scene arranged by the director was He Mu's Yang Qilang chasing someone on horseback in the street. To watch this scene, Liu Shishi, who had planned to return to school immediately, decided to leave tomorrow instead...

  "Is the stand-in ready?" Director Li Guoli asked Assistant Director Tao Qudu.

  "Ready," Tao Qudu replied, "but He Mu asked you to come up."

  Li Guoli looked at He Mu, who had already changed into his costume, "The horseback riding stunt is very difficult and requires standing on the horse's back. Are you confident?"

  "No problem, my riding skills are pretty good." Thinking about those days when I fell off the horse's back, if I don't show my face on the horse's back, how can I be worthy of those horses that have fallen for me?

  Nowadays, actors are getting more and more delicate, even slightly dangerous scenes are done by stunt doubles, so the films are becoming more and more fake. Since He Mu dared to suggest not using a stunt double, Director Li would certainly support him, but if this kid makes a mistake and gets hurt, then sorry, he's out of the show, time to replace him.

  "Each department is ready... start!" With Li's order, the first scene of "The Young Yang Family Generals", He Mu's first performance in his performing career, began!

  Yang Qilang, born lively and lovely without a care in the world, is the family's joy. In this play, Yang Qilang's character setting is basically like this. His first appearance was to make a bet with someone, using his two legs to chase after a four-legged horse, performing an aerial pursuit show on the bustling streets.

  After a small test of "Female Guile", He Mu basically understood what acting was all about, and with the performance course he had just learned, he also gained a deeper understanding of acting. After the director shouted "start", He Mu ran wildly, closely following a man on horseback on the street, knocking over an old man's stall along the way, and then mixed in with a cute expression.

  This scene isn't that difficult, as long as He Mu can bring out the lively and mischievous feeling of Qi Lang. However, the director didn't pass him at first, asking He Mu to be even more mischievous, with richer expressions, and more raised eyebrows and winking eyes. He Mu thought for a moment, this kind of Qi Lang is a bit too much, but since it's the director's idea of Qi Lang, he can only follow his requirements. With his current status, he isn't qualified to give suggestions to the director, all he can do is obey. At this time, don't be stupid and say to the director: "I think this character should be like this..." at least wait until you've acted in two or three plays, and occasionally someone calls you "teacher" before saying that.

  The director was very satisfied with the second take, praising He Mu's expression as being spot on. He Mu also understood that as long as he maintained this acting style, he could basically handle the subsequent performances.

  The next act was a flying and wall-climbing performance on the street, which required the use of a wire. He Mu was eager to try it out, having never even used a wire when he was an extra, which had always been one of his biggest regrets. He was someone who loved to experience new things and explore the unknown, and liked to try everything he hadn't tried before.

  Watching those flying martial artists on TV makes them look cool and handsome, making one's heart yearn for it. But actually being suspended in the air by wires is not that great, your body is completely hung by a few lines, completely out of control, all you can do is pose and recite lines, at this time you will miss the feeling of having your feet on solid ground.

  Wei Ya also has basic requirements for actors, at least you can't be afraid of heights, and your physical fitness should be good. He Mu completely meets the standards, although the feeling of having no roots under his feet is not good. However, his childhood martial arts skills allow him to easily complete high-difficulty movements such as flying and wall-walking with the help of Wei Ya's guidance. It's just that some mistakes caused by lack of experience are not a big deal, and another take can perfectly meet the director's requirements.

  Next is the real show, Yang Qilang will jump from the roof to the horseback below. Originally, the director's arrangement was that He Mu would do the "jump" himself, but the scene on the horseback would be handed over to a stunt double, and at the time, the stunt double's back shadow plus He Mu's close-up of the upper body could be used through composite editing to get by.

  However, He Mu had to get on the horse himself. Wu Bei had made sufficient safety measures for him, ensuring that even if he fell off, he wouldn't die. Li Guoli's requirement was for He Mu to jump onto the horse and stand on its back with both feet, which was a bit too much, suddenly increasing the difficulty by a large margin just to show off. Fortunately, there was already a martial artist on the horse's back, so He Mu thought it through and figured that as long as he stood on the horse and held onto Wu Bei's shoulders in front of him, he shouldn't fall off, after all, he still had some basic martial arts skills.

  The director shouted, the horse rushed over from below, and He Mu jumped up from the rooftop. He seized the opportunity and stood accurately on the horse's back with both feet, then placed his hands on the shoulders of the martial artist on the horse's back. However, he underestimated the degree of turbulence when the horse was running. The horse had only run two steps when He Mu's body began to tilt uncontrollably.

  The surrounding crowd of extras, as well as the staff watching from outside, including several actors such as Liu Shi-shi, all gasped in unison, thinking that He Mu was about to fall off. Some covered their eyes, while others shouted "Be careful!" But just when He Mu's body had tilted 90 degrees, he miraculously pulled himself back up. The onlooker Wu Lang Chen Long exclaimed, "What great horsemanship!", because he saw clearly that He Mu had hooked his feet under the horse's spine and then forcibly pulled himself back up. The most impressive part was that after regaining his balance, he didn't sit down on the horseback but remained standing upright.

  Chen Long has acted in too many period dramas and martial arts films, riding horses is a piece of cake for him, but he doesn't have confidence that he can reach the level of He Mu. If it were him who encountered such a situation, at best he would get scratched, at worst he would break a bone, and if things went badly, his life would be in danger. In his impression, only the coaches who taught them horse riding could play tricks like this on horseback.

  Li Guoli shouted "Wow" afterwards and led the applause for He Miao's unexpectedly wonderful performance.

  Chen Long applauded, it was an admiring applause.

  Liu Shishi was applauding, her face flushed with excitement as she clapped.

  The pigeon was also applauding, but as soon as he thought of his own position, he immediately stopped.

  Hu Ge met Peng Yu-yen while filming "The Legend of Sword and Fairy". They became good friends because of this. Two months ago, when he heard that Peng would be playing the role of Yang Qi-lang, Hu was very happy as they could film together again. However, it was recently revealed from within the company that Yang Qi-lang had been replaced by newcomer He Mu from the investor's side, Huanrui Century Film and Television. Peng Yu-yen, who had excitedly gone to Beijing to sign the contract, returned to Taipei in disappointment.

  It was because of this that Hu Ge stood up for his good brother and cried foul, so from the start he didn't give He Mu any face. Even though now He Mu's riding skills and performance had conquered everyone present, including him, in his heart there was still a bit of discontent.

  He jumped off the horse and finished his performance with a lingering fear in his heart, thinking it was good that he had ridden a mule when he was young.

  The first scene was completed very quickly, greatly exceeding Li Guoli's expectations. Originally, it was estimated that even with a stunt double, they would need to film five or six takes, but unexpectedly, He Mu passed in just one take. Seizing the opportunity while it was hot, and with renewed energy, the director called out for the next scene, and He Mu once again threw himself into the second scene.

  The scene shifts from the street to a wine house on the side of the street, with new characters including Yang Liu Lang played by Hu Ge and Chai Jun Zhuang played by Lin Family Feather.

  Although this play is mainly about the first meeting between Yang Liu Lang and Chai Jun Zhu, it also needs to show the tacit understanding between Liu Lang and Qi Lang. Fortunately, Hu Ge's performance was quite professional, although he and He Mu were like strangers outside of the play, but in the play, they were like close brothers, making He Mu wonder if the person he knew before was not Hu Ge.

  In short, the two people's coordination was pretty good, and with a relatively difficult fight scene, they finished it in just one morning.

  In the afternoon, the crew was divided into two groups, A and B. Group A filmed Hu Ge, while group B filmed He Mu. Coincidentally, Tao Quan was in charge of group B, which marked the second collaboration between He Mu and Tao Quan.

  The afternoon's plot is much more relaxing, mainly Yang Qilang in the Tianbo Mansion with his mother, sister and sister-in-law chatting and teasing the silly son.

  For Hawick Lau, the more challenging part is the long dialogue, Yang Qilang is clever and talkative, he has a lot of lines in half an episode, more than all his lines in "The Lady Iron Chef" put together. Although he had already memorized the dialogue last night, filming isn't just reciting lines, it also requires expressions and movements, Hawick was a bit struggling at first but later got into the rhythm.

  For Tao Quan Duo, who is in charge of filming Group B, the biggest trouble is shooting scenes with little kids.

  The little girl Zhao Ziyu, who plays Yang Bamei, is only eight years old. Although she is very cute and has a talent for acting, after all, she is still a child, and her understanding is not as good as that of an adult. Sometimes what she does is not quite right, but you can't scold her too harshly, you have to discuss it with her in a gentle tone, asking if this or that way might be better, and whether the tone of this sentence could be more playful. All these things are not easy to deal with.

  Although the little actor gave the director a headache, he won the love of all the actors. Not only did Saihua and Da Sao, Er Sao and San Sao like him, but even Si Sao, who had not yet appeared on stage, liked him very much. It was often seen that Liu Po-shih would entice the little girl with snacks during breaks.

  Shishi is going to take a plane back to Beijing tomorrow, so He Mu found a good restaurant in the film city to treat her to dinner. She's a foodie and was thrilled when she heard about eating. Originally, He Mu also wanted to invite Tao Qudu, but he said he had to have dinner with several deputy directors. When he said this, his eyes sparkled mischievously, making people feel uneasy.

  Forget it, He Mu directly had dinner with Shi Shi, this restaurant He Mu had been to once when he was doing group performances, the signature dishes Mei Cai Kou Rou and Jiang Bao Zhu Ti were quite delicious. Just as He Mu was swallowing his saliva to order, Liu Shi's sentence hit him from heaven to earth, "He Mu, I'm a Hui ethnic minority, can't eat pork."

  He Miao was shocked, there are actually people in this world who don't eat pork!

  He Mu, who had been eating pork for every meal since he was young, met Liu Shi Shi, who never ate pork. The two had to make a compromise, and He Mu was the one who compromised.

  The two of them chose fish, beef and some vegetarian dishes. Watching Liu Shi eat beautifully, He Mu was so angry that he wanted to cry. He secretly vowed: From now on, I will never take Liu Shi out for dinner again!!!

  At night, back at Xiaobailou, Assistant Xiao Mi handed over He Mu's phone to him, "There were two people who called you during this time, I didn't answer."

  "Oh, just take it easy next time and clarify the situation." He Mu took over the phone and saw that there were two unconnected calls from "Li Pang" and "Yang Fen"...

  Call for recommendation votes, call for killing into 40 names!!!!!