The director and King of Heaven Liu and others quickly stood up to greet and say hello.
Yang Zhen: "Let me introduce everyone, this is our boss at Star Entertainment, President Yang, Yang Chen."
King of Heaven Liu quickly shook hands with Yang Chen and greeted him, saying, "Hello, President Yang. I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time, and today I finally get to meet you in person. President Yang, your screenplay is really well-written. I was very moved after reading it. I thought President Yang would be a person with rich life experience, but I was surprised that you’re so young."
Yang Chen: "Haha... I was also moved by their story. Humanity and true feelings are universal, regardless of age. I have loved watching your movies since I was a child, and today I finally get to meet you in person."
King of Heaven Liu: "Haha... thank you, thank you, thank you for liking them, President Yang. If this collaboration goes well, I hope we can have more opportunities to work together in the future."
Yang Chen: "Absolutely, if we have a pleasant collaboration this time, we will definitely have more opportunities to work together in the future."
King of Heaven Liu: "Alright, then I won’t keep you from getting your makeup done, President Yang."
Yang Chen nodded and said, "Mr. Liu, please feel free."
Director Peng Zhenzhen quickly stepped forward to greet Yang Chen.
"Hello, President Yang. I am the new director signed to the company, Peng Zhenzhen, responsible for directing ’Lost and Lonely’. I am very happy to meet you, President Yang, and I hope you can look after me a bit more in the future."
Yang Chen nodded and said, "Do a good job directing. This film will be shown in theaters, and it’s a good opportunity to prove yourself."
Peng Zhenzhen was overjoyed and said, "Really? I thought this kind of literary film wouldn’t make it to theaters."
Yang Chen: "I just bought stocks from Yida Film, I’m a shareholder, so if I want them to show it, they have to show it."
Peng Zhenzhen: "Ah? I also bought stocks from Yida Film, but I don’t have that kind of authority."
Yang Chen: "Is that so? Did you also acquire 29% of the equity?"
Peng Zhenzhen: "..."
That left Peng Zhenzhen speechless with just one sentence.
Peng Zhenzhen blushed and said awkwardly, "I don’t have that much money. I was being naive; I thought President Yang, like me, bought stocks in Yida Film. Turns out I’m just trading stocks, and you’re holding controlling shares. I’m relieved then, and I will do my best to make this film the best it can be."
Yang Chen: "Hmm. Alright, tell me how I should perform."
Peng Zhenzhen: "You don’t need to act, just be yourself as usual. Just show your most ordinary side. If you can recall the scene at that time, and perfectly recreate it, that would be the best."
Yang Chen: "Oh, that’s simple. As long as Mr. Liu has no problems, I can do it in one take."
Peng Zhenzhen: "Haha... that’s great. We could see President Yang and King of Heaven Liu playing on stage. We’ll put on your makeup first, then you go through your lines with King of Heaven Liu, and then we can start shooting. Is that okay?"
Yang Chen nodded and sat down to get his makeup done.
Since Yang Chen is personally involved, he doesn’t need to memorize lines. He can just perform according to the scene at that time.
King of Heaven Liu, on the other hand, was not an eyewitness and had a fixed script, so Yang Chen had to coordinate with him. Otherwise, it would be comical if they each said their lines during the shoot.
Yang Chen, as a ride-hailing driver, doesn’t need much makeup, just enough to be camera-ready.
But King of Heaven Liu’s makeup was more complicated because he was playing a rough and weathered man, with weathered and dark skin, stubbly beard, and a tired look, all of which needed to be carefully styled.
The summer night was relatively short, and it was already bright out by five o’clock.
By this time, Yang Chen and King of Heaven Liu were both ready, and the director ordered the shoot to start immediately.
Yang Chen was just being himself, while King of Heaven Liu was acting as another person, making his role notably more difficult.
The director hadn’t pointed out any issues, but Yang Chen immediately noticed that King of Heaven Liu’s walking posture was incorrect, or rather not like the uncle searching for his son.
Yang Chen clearly remembered that when he saw the uncle, his back was hunched, sometimes looking back for incoming traffic, his face expressed a calmness and indifference after going through many trials, and his eyes conveyed a sense of tranquility and bewilderment.
It was clear King of Heaven Liu hadn’t grasped the essence of the character yet.
Yang Chen quickly shouted, "Stop! Stop! I need to explain to Mr. Liu how to act in this role."
The staff were all stunned, did they hear that right, he wants to teach King of Heaven Liu how to act?
Although everyone was surprised, and some even thought Yang Chen was overestimating himself, he was, after all, the boss, and everyone had to listen to what he said.
So Director Peng Zhenzhen stopped the shoot and said with a smile, very humbly, to King of Heaven Liu, "Mr. Liu, sorry, it’s President Yang’s first time shooting, he’s not very experienced, and he wants to discuss the plot with you."
King of Heaven Liu: "Alright, alright, alright. President Yang is an eyewitness, so he must have more accurate ideas. I’m very interested to hear his thoughts."
Yang Chen got out of the car and walked over, pulling King of Heaven Liu aside, and said with a smile, "I don’t know what rules you actors have, so if I’m being impolite, please forgive me."
King of Heaven Liu: "No, no, you experienced it yourself, so you surely know better how to make it authentic."
Yang Chen: "It’s like this, I’ll tell you about the scene and my feelings when I saw Uncle Zhang, and then you can consider how to act it. Is that okay with you?"
King of Heaven Liu: "Sure! Sure, President Yang, please go ahead."
King of Heaven Liu put on a serious listening posture.
"When I saw Uncle Zhang, he was hunched over, with an expression full of life struggles..."
Yang Chen described the scene and his feelings in detail, emphasizing several very important facial expressions and demeanor.