novelraw Chapter 57 Hat Trick and Mr. Donkey
Chapter 57 Hat Trick and Mr. Donkey
"I actually have a story."
He Xi dismounted, casually took out a cigarette, and held it in his hand.
Liu Hongmei, with great foresight, took out a lighter and lit it for him.
As the smoke rose, He Xi slowly began to tell her story.
"It is said that in a remote mountainous area far from the hustle and bustle and war during the Republic of China era, there was a simple and ordinary school."
"There are only the principal, his daughter, and three teachers in the school. The teaching and living conditions are very difficult."
"In order to make a better living, they named a donkey and reported it to the authorities to receive a salary without working."
"Then one day, an official was sent from above to inspect the school. In order to cover it up, everyone went to the coppersmith who came to the school to repair the bells..."
This story is naturally called "Mr. Donkey".
In the original timeline, Happy Twist Theater polished the script for five years and honed it through hundreds of performances. Finally, riding the wave of the success of "Goodbye Mr. Loser," they brought the story to the big screen.
The box office surpassed 100 million yuan in 7 days, eventually accumulating 1.73 million yuan.
For a low-budget art film with an investment of only 1000 million yuan, no star power, and no special effects, it is definitely a huge success.
Moreover, the story is ingenious and original, and the actors' performances are also excellent, ultimately earning high praise.
Nearly 100 million people on Douban gave it a high score of 8.3.
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon only scored 8.4 points.
Of course, this movie is not without its flaws. There were some technical shortcomings in the process of turning a stage play into a movie, which resulted in some issues with the final quality of the film, making it a little awkward for the audience to watch.
Otherwise, the box office would only be higher.
However, He Xi doesn't need to consider making movies right now; he just needs to write a stage play script.
After listening to He Xi's general explanation, Liu Hongmei's eyes lit up instantly.
"This is great, I want it! I want it!"
"Axi, give it to me!"
Please!
Faced with such a request, He Xi naturally could not and would not refuse, and immediately performed a hat trick.
"Hey, wait a minute!"
"I meant I wanted a story, not this..."
"Wait a minute, it won't work..."
"No, you've got it wrong..."
The next day, Liu Hongmei left with a piece of manuscript paper in her hand, her steps faltering.
He Xi wrote down the story's direction, characters' personalities, important lines, and key points and conflicts of "Mr. Donkey".
She just needs to go back and find someone to enrich the content and complete the dialogue.
He Xi didn't have time to write the complete script, nor did she know what the original stage play script for the story of "Mr. Donkey" actually looked like.
Writing it this way saves time and effort.
After seeing Liu Hongmei off, He Xi went to the film set.
He has a scene to perform today, and it's a big one, where he's practicing swordsmanship with three generations of Wudang disciples.
The location is Jietai Temple.
Just over a month ago, this was the Shaolin Temple where Tianbao and Junbao fought against the Arhat Staff Formation.
Now, however, this place has become Wudang.
What remains unchanged is that both versions feature Zhang Sanfeng and Li Lianjie.
On the open ground, He Xi changed into the yellow costume of the senior disciple, put on ancient makeup, held a long sword, and stood on the training ground.
They don't even need to make any expressions; they naturally exude beauty and wisdom, embodying heroism and chivalry.
Behind him were hundreds of extras dressed in gray Taoist robes, who were on average half a head shorter than him.
At the director's command, He Xi and the extras simultaneously raised their swords and began practicing Wudang swordsmanship.
The moves weren't particularly complicated, but their synchronized movements were quite dignified and imposing.
He Xi, standing at the very front, was even more striking, appearing exceptionally different from the crowd.
"Sure enough, no matter how you look at it, I still think Ah Xi is more handsome!"
In the distance, Li Zi was waiting in the wings.
Watching He Xi practicing swordsmanship in the arena, her eyes couldn't help but well up with tears.
Just then, a loud "click!" came from the side.
"Director, my movements just now weren't quite right. I'll pay attention next time."
He Xi was the first to apologize.
If someone is told to cut halfway through a scene, regardless of whose fault it is, as the lead actor in the scene, he absolutely has to show some attitude.
Director Wang Jing beckoned He Xi to his side and pointed to the monitor, saying something to him.
"Xi-zai, your movements were perfect, the technique was spot-on, and the execution was fluid. You looked great on camera, very sharp!"
"But the problem is, you're the villain, you're a supporting character!"
"Making you look so handsome will distract the audience."
"so……"
He Xi pouted.
Is it my fault?
"So, you need to overact a little here..."
Wang Jing thought for a moment, then pointed at He Xi's face.
"Frown over and make a fierce expression."
He Xi complied accordingly.
Wang Jing frowned.
"Still handsome, but... much better than before."
"Departments, let's do one more."
Soon, He Xi began wielding his sword again.
Li Zi, waiting in the distance, still had tears welling up in her eyes.
"Even when he frowns, he looks so handsome..."
More than an hour later, the training scene was successfully filmed.
Because there are too many people, some mistakes will inevitably occur and we will have to start over.
Moreover, the entire scene needed to be filmed from four or five different angles, which naturally took more time.
Wang Jing was quite satisfied with the final shooting results.
He Xi is handsome and skilled in fighting, but no matter what, he is ultimately just a villainous supporting character.
Moreover, they were newcomers with no reputation.
People are watching this movie mainly because of Jet Li; not many will care about the villain's appearance or screen time.
Even though he surpassed Li Lianjie in every aspect of hardware.
Moreover, even if someone notices it, the audience will feel even more satisfied when the villain is defeated.
Thinking about it this way, Wang Jing felt that there was no need to deliberately vilify Song Qingshu, and it was even possible to appropriately beautify him.
This will make the flipping process even better.
Thinking of this, Wang Jing called He Xi and several extras over and asked them to film some more close-up shots.
"This time, act more elegantly, give me the impression of a refined gentleman, and let's see how it goes."
He Xi didn't know what Wang Jing was thinking, so she could only perform it again as requested.
With professional-level villain acting skills as a foundation, plus the support of high-energy performance, dealing with Wang Jing's demands is nothing, and any other demands can be easily handled.
However, this extended the filming time.
By the time all the filming tasks for the day were completed, it was already past 10 p.m.
After practicing swordsmanship all day, He Xi returned to his room, washed up quickly, and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
More than an hour later, there was still no knocking at the door.
Meanwhile, Liu Hongmei didn't sleep. Instead, she found several familiar screenwriters and worked through the night to expand the script for "Mr. Donkey".
Although it was late, the screenwriters were all very energetic, even excited!