Chapter 28

Chapter 29: The Conflict Between the Fifth Prince and Er Tai [Seeking Recommendations and Collections]

Liu Daowang stood to the side, seeing the scene, and said with concern, "Third Brother, will this cause any trouble?"

Liu Jiajun said confidently, "What's the big deal? Don't worry, the sky won't fall. The sky is still the sky of our Zhongjie Company."

In fact, Liu Jiajun had some personal conflicts with Sun Shupeng. Moreover, there was a rumor that he originally had a chance to direct "The Story of a Concubine," but Sun Shupeng took it away. It was no wonder he didn't show Sun Shupeng any good face.

At this moment, Liu Yuebing naturally found Liu Daowang to ask questions, not at all politely. He asked bluntly, "What did the prop team do? This is delaying the shooting, right? What are you trying to do? The director emphasized repeatedly in the meeting that the props must be handled responsibly. Did you remember that?"

There are rules in the production team, and not everything is handled by the director. The director is naturally in a high position, controlling the entire production team, but for minor issues, the assistant director or production manager usually handles them, such as props, lighting, or finding extras, even some less important supporting roles. The director generally doesn't get involved in every detail.

Therefore, to warn Liu Jiajun, Liu Yuebing took on the task of confronting the prop team, making an example of them.

Sun Shupeng had already made up his mind. If Liu Jiajun's people admitted their mistake, the matter would be dropped. After all, it wasn't a big deal, and getting the cameraman to admit fault would also establish the director's authority.

However, to everyone's surprise, Liu Daowang said without giving any face, "This isn't our fault. How much money did you give us? Buying a complete set of famille-rose lotus-patterned covered bowls is too expensive, and the budget isn't enough. It took me a lot of effort just to find these two."

Seeing that Liu Daowang still dared to talk back, Liu Yuebing's anger flared up, "Do you have a reason? What did you do earlier? Why didn't you say anything in advance? Do you still want to work here? If you don't, get out."

At this point, the cameraman, Liu Jiajun, couldn't stand it anymore. He stood up and said, "Who do you think you are? This production team isn't run by you. You can't just tell us to leave. Don't take a chicken feather for a command. It's not your place to be in charge here."

If the director remained silent any longer, the situation would be uncontrollable.

Therefore, seeing the tension between the two, Sun Shupeng immediately stepped in to support his subordinate, saying, "I assigned the prop team to the production manager. What's your problem with that? What can you do about it? I'm still the director of this production team, and I'm the one in charge. Wait until you become a director to talk. Liu Daowang, no matter what your reason is, delaying the shooting is a fact. You're fined 500 yuan. If you violate the rules again, you're out. A three-legged toad is hard to find, but there are plenty of two-legged people. Now, find me a pair of covered bowls immediately, or I'll deal with you."

Since Liu Jiajun didn't give him any face on the first day of shooting, Sun Shupeng wasn't about to back down easily. As the director of the production team, he had the final say, and without He Xiujun's intervention, everything was up to him.

Seeing Sun Shupeng's angry face, the cameraman seemed to consider that arguing over such a small matter with the director wouldn't be reasonable, and it wouldn't be easy to explain to the company. He knew the production budget was tight.

However, Liu Daowang had indeed delayed the shooting, and it was a fact. What a jerk, did he have to be so blatant about tripping up the director?

Are you a pig-brain?

Faced with Sun Shupeng's aggressive attitude, Liu Jiajun finally opened his mouth but didn't say anything else.

Seeing that his third brother didn't say anything, Liu Daowang naturally didn't dare to be arrogant and had to accept the blame.

After twenty minutes, they finally borrowed a pair of famille-rose yellow-ground dragon-patterned covered bowls from the Gong王府 (Gong Wang Fu). It was already quite difficult to find famille-rose yellow-ground covered bowls, let alone ones with lotus patterns.

Continuing, Su Youpeng relaxed and managed to deliver his lines without hesitation.

Zhao Wei picked up the teacup and said boldly, "To the most confused hunter."

Then, she looked down with a puzzled expression, her bright eyes flashing, and asked, "Why not use real wine? What's the point of drinking tea? Don't the Manchus drink from large bowls and eat large pieces of meat?"

When the director called "cut" this time, his anger hadn't subsided. He pointed at Zhao Wei without a smile and said, "Xiao Yanzi, what are you doing? Did you read the script? Why did you change the lines?"

Zhao Wei looked at the director innocently, seemingly unaware that she had changed the lines. She frowned and asked, "Director, the script seems to say that."

Sun Shupeng, furious, threw the script and said, "What does the script say? Look carefully. The script says to drink from large bowls and eat large pieces of meat, not to change the lines. Not a word of Auntie's lines can be changed."

In the filming of Qiongyao dramas, there was an unwritten rule: the lines designed were the lines designed, and not a word could be changed. Whoever changed them would be in trouble.

Zhao Wei picked up the script and looked at her lines, and indeed, it said to drink from large bowls.

Because the phrase "drink from large bowls and eat large pieces of meat" was more familiar, she couldn't change it immediately.

But Zhao Wei immediately admitted her mistake, saying it was her fault. As a newcomer, she had no reason to argue with the director. She wasn't yet in a position to be above the director.

Next, Xiao Yanzi (Zhao Wei) had a long monologue about forming a brotherhood with the Fifth Prince and others. This showed her professional skills, as the director thought it was impossible to get it right in one take, but Xiao Yanzi (Zhao Wei) managed to do it in one go.

This relaxed Director Sun Shupeng's frowning face.

Su Youpeng, having relaxed, delivered his lines smoothly, and there were no issues with forgetting or stumbling over words.

Attitude determines everything.

Lingfei Juanzi then said, "From now on, it will be busy. There are many rules to learn. The first thing is that you can't wear Han Chinese shoes anymore."

But then something happened. It was Er Tai (Liu Hanmin) who spoke next.

Liu Hanmin, eager to show off, had been frustrated by being NGed several times and not getting a chance to perform. Finally, it was his turn, and he let loose.

With a broad smile and very expressive gestures, he said, "And our language, Manchus can't not speak Manchu."

Cut

The director got angry again, "Liu Hanmin, what are you doing? Are you exaggerating so much? Did you read the script carefully? Did you pay attention to your coordination with the other actors? Your expression needs to be more restrained. Don't be so exaggerated. Learn to coordinate with the other actors and be mindful of your status. Among the four of you, one is a prince, one is a princess, and one is a lady. Your status is the lowest, so be more humble and don't cause trouble."

Although Liu Hanmin verbally agreed, his indifferent expression showed that he didn't take it seriously.

It seemed that fate was against Director Sun Shupeng. Next, either Su Youpeng would forget his lines or Liu Hanmin would overact.

They NGed seven or eight times.

Even Juanzi, who played Lingfei, and Xiao Yanzi (Zhao Wei) NGed once.

The director's face turned black from all the NGs.

After more than ten takes, not a single one was usable.

Empress Dai Chunrong frowned and said, "This is bad. A few people NGing has started to affect each other. Moreover, Liu Hanmin doesn't restrain himself and stands out too much. Even if one take is usable, Liu Hanmin's performance is the most prominent, which is not good because his status is the lowest. He can't be too arrogant."

Dai Chunrong didn't say everything, but it seemed that Liu Hanmin was trying to overshadow Su Youpeng, and even Juanzi and Zhao Wei.

It was just that Su Youpeng, being a singer, seemed to be overshadowed because he wasn't as experienced in acting.

This wasn't a good sign for a TV drama.

Finally, the director couldn't hold back and threw his teacup, pointing at the four actors and saying, "You all need to focus. Take a twenty-minute break. If you can't get this scene right after twenty minutes, we'll keep shooting until it's done."

Since they were mostly newcomers who needed to be taught how to act, the director, Sun Shupeng, understood that a break was necessary to break the cycle of NGs.

At this point, the director, having vented his anger, sat down and sulked.

Cao Guoli couldn't just sit idly by. She looked at Zhang Tielin and said, "Teacher Zhang, you and Teacher Dai, please help them improve their acting. Otherwise, if the shooting can't continue, the director won't let it go."

Zhang Tielin and Dai Chunrong were both experienced actors with a lot of experience in acting.

At this moment, Liu Hanmin was complaining, "Su Youpeng, what's wrong with you? You've NGed so many times. Is acting that difficult? Aren't you holding everyone back?"

In fact, Liu Hanmin had also NGed many times, but he ignored it. His NGs were due to his exaggerated performance, not because he couldn't remember his lines.

Su Youpeng, being a big star and the biggest star in the production, naturally wasn't one to take a loss, but he didn't care.

However, someone couldn't stand it. Alon directly retorted, "You should take care of yourself. You call yourself a professional actor, but your performance is so exaggerated that even the director can't stand it."

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