Chapter 8: Script Comprehension And Dialogue Training
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
"Brother Le, just now, the director...he told me to directly report to the crew."
"Puff! What did you say?"
Seeing that the extras had done their job, Liu Le headed out to smoke. Hearing Lu Ze words, he spurted out the iced tea he was drinking with amazement written on his face.
"He told me to report to the crew at five thirty in the morning tomorrow, saying that he will let me join…"
Liu Le carefully sized up Lu Ze then patted his shoulders with a chuckle as he said teasingly, "You kid are really lucky! Before you even got introduced as a special, you met a big shot in the grenade battle part, amazing!"
Was it luck? Lu Ze didn't think so. If he had not completed the positioning course yesterday, this so-called luck would not have fallen onto his lap. In the end, he came out somewhat stronger than the others and the director noticed him. This could only be attributed to the director having sharp eyes.
However, Lu Ze would not say so. He only giggled and picked up on Liu Le's words, "Brother Le, aren't you my big shot? If you had not gotten me this job, I would not have this fortune."
Hearing Lu Ze's words, Liu Le chuckled and patted his shoulders with a shake of his head, no longer mentioning this subject. He'd spend his entire youth mingling in Hengdian- a region which had heaps of monsters and ghouls lying in ambush- and thus, had long stopped deriving pleasure from boot-licking. Not to mention, Lu Ze was merely a kid and didn't look too good boot-licking.
"Alright, alright, there is still work for you in the afternoon. Do you want to go home and rest, or work?"
"I'll go home and rest. I'm awfully tired after running for so long in the trenches, and my head is still buzzing from yesterday's excessive drinking. I'll take half a day off."
Lu Ze declined Liu Le. Waving goodbye, he giddily made his way toward home in big strides. However, upon walking for a short while, he spotted Yang Dan from the corner of his eyes. At that moment, she was standing on the other side of the road, seemingly waiting for a shoot. However, her face didn't look so good.
Lu Ze didn't wish to annoy her when she seemed down. Therefore, he didn't greet her. However, as his gaze landed on Yang Dan's body, the latter, as if having felt something, turned around and faced directly at Lu Ze.
The two had already met eyes, and not greeting in this situation wouldn't look too good. Thereupon, Lu Ze waved his hand at her and yelled, "Sister Dan, waiting for work?"
Yang Dan forced out a smile. How long had it been since she had to wait outside the gates of film city for work? It had at least been a year or two. This time, she had to grind her teeth and come out here; forced by life, more clearly, forced by money.
Since she hadn't waited for work on the sidelines for a long time, she was feeling a bit ashamed. She was especially afraid of being spotted by the "Little sisters" and "Big sisters" of second fatty's group and being ridiculed.
Preserving face was not just for men, women needed it too.
So, running into Lu Ze, she still felt somewhat awkward. Although the two were on good terms, this instead made her feel somewhat down.
"The women muddling in Hengdian can trust nobody, because you never know when somebody, who had a really good relationship with you, will step all over you once their connections become better than yours."
These were the words of her previous apartment's roommate. After saying these words, she left saying that she was going back home, never to be seen again.
"You're working, sister Dan?"
"Eh? Yeah...yeah."
Due to recalling her memories, Yang Dan was somewhat absent-minded. For a moment, she didn't reply to Lu Ze, and then somewhat hurriedly nodded.
"I'm off work. I'll leave first?"
"Oh...alright! Be careful on the way."
Looking at Lu Ze's leaving figure, she let out a sigh of relief but still pushed her hat further down as she glared at the few extras who were staring at her chest like they had never seen a chick before.
…
Throwing the bag aside, Lu Ze thoroughly washed his body from the water basin. His body still had that awful, disgusting smell.
He then turned on the gas and boiled a pot of hot water, cooking two packets of instant noodles along with a slice of chicken sausage. Since he didn't like drinking the soup and liked strong flavours, the water in the pot was a bit lacking, making noodles somewhat stick to the pot.
After eating and scrubbing the bowl, he returned to his room and lay on the bed. Although he was staring at the ceiling, his mind had already drifted on a journey.
Today was quite good for him. This was his first time as an extra being called by the director after the shoot and asked to join the crew. Such an opportunity was extremely hard to come by for extras. This was the first time he'd tasted the sweet benefits of the system. An opportunity that had seemed eternally out of his reach had landed directly in front of him. And how much time did it take? Only two nights, or it could even be regarded as merely one night!
The old man simulation course didn't play any role today. Thus, considering it a matter of one night was not wrong. This kind of efficiency and speed completely captivated him. He wanted to learn more! Learn so much more!
"Host entering rest mode detected. Daytime, enter study mode or not?"
"Enter."
He instantly entered sleep. With a flash of white light before his gaze, Lu Ze arrived in the system space. Looking at the multitudes of courses before his eyes, his eyes flashed with an insatiable greed. He wished to do so much more.
Today, he would be shooting a war scene, which usually had some lines for the extras. Therefore, Lu Ze's eyes turned to Script Comprehension and Dialogue Training Course.
Unlike the positioning course, he saw a desk before him with bookshelves all around as soon as he arrived on the scene. He casually picked up a pile of bound papers from the desk and began reading. It was actually a script that he'd seen before.
As he flipped through, Lu Ze was stunned. In such a thick script, most of the pages were blank. Only five or six pages had words, describing the story's setting, main character's disposition, and dialogues.
"Conducting the first phase. Host is requested to read through the script, pick up the pen on the desk, and write the state of mind and tone to be used on the cover of the script."
"State of mind and tone, huh…"
Lu Ze sized the script for a moment. In his impression, the original main character ought to have been wrathful and had spoken with a roar. Thereupon, he picked up the pen and wrote three words.
"Wrathful, Unresigned, Roaring."
Slash!
The system silently lashed him, and the scorching pain immediately let him know that he'd been wrong. He madly turned the wheels of his brain, fearing the pain. At this point, he no longer complained along the lines of, "This is how the lead acted it out." Having mingled with various shooting crews, he was aware that the main lead's acting skills might be limited and the director could be forced to substitute for a different style. Such matters were not unheard of.
Therefore, even though he was familiar with the play, he carefully considered, inserting himself in the plot. If these dialogues were done according to the screenwriter's thoughts, or if they were done with the most realistic tone and state of mind, how should they be acted out?
"You've betrayed me! You keep saying that you love me! But, you're fooling around with this man! Is this what you call love? You tell me! Where is your love?!"
Looking at these lines, Lu Ze sank into thoughts while mumbling, "Your love...your love...How should these words be spoken…"
He picked up the pen with hesitation and crossed the previous words before writing,"Unresigned, frantic, insane, mocking, and ridiculing."
"Slash!"
"Frantic, envious, hateful, roaring."
"Slash!"
Writing a dozen times and suffering a dozen whips, Lu Ze fiercely sucked in a deep breath as he straightened his back and heedlessly wrote in a small corner of the cover,
"Expression cold, inwardly frantic, unresigned, and hateful."
The whip didn't come for him this time.
"…"
-- Gift
received