Release that Man

The young artist managed to get an extra role that had a few lines in the movie, and the reward of the day was already much better than he had anticipated. The dinner that night was a treat from his agent’s close contact. As valuable as the opportunity was, the young man knew how to act accordingly in such a situation. He did not shamelessly ask to follow along. Furthermore, the connections that the agent made would be used for his artists, right?

Therefore, after the casting, the young man very obediently said that he wished to return to the hotel to familiarize himself with the script. Only Luo Ce went along to the dinner with Ye Shuang.

Since Director Zhou and Celebrity Luo were both present, the rest of the crew and actors had to attend as well. Ye Shuang had to pay an extra thousand to ask the management to clear the screen that separated two private rooms so that they could fit in twenty people. At the dinner table, Ye Shuang introduced Luo Ce to the crew.

…

The next day, Luo Ce, who had received the implicit permission, started to appear at the set with his own artists. He said that he was there to visit Ye Shuang and the young man, but in reality… Well, everyone knew why.

Luo Ce’s company naturally had no problem with this. The agent’s time was freer compared to others, and Luo Ce was technically working. Visiting Director Zhou’s crew was such a rare opportunity, so they encouraged him to not waste such a precious chance. Therefore, when Ye Shuang arrived at the set from her hotel, she saw her cousin talking to the set manager and other crew members, but she was not surprised.

“Cousin Luo, you’re so early?” Ye Shuang greeted him.

Is this man that friendly with everyone‽ Yesterday, it was still Brother Luo, Luo Ce thought.

“Yes, you’re early as well.” Luo Ce ignored the question of salutation; after all, they would be cousins soon. “You have a scene to shoot today?”

“No.” Ye Shuang greeted the crew members who were shocked to see her. Then she pulled Luo Ce aside to find a place to sit down. “Honestly, I know nothing about acting, so I came to see if I can learn something or not from other people.”

Ye Shuang was technically a cameo and not an actor from an agency. She also did not have any plans to enter the business, so the crew did not have many requests for her. Thus, she could come and go as she pleased.

She was unlike Luo Ce who needed to brush up on his existence so that people would notice him. Even if he could not leave a good impression on the crew, at least he would be able to leave the impression that he was a very hardworking man. To be more direct, Ye Shuang had nothing to worry about since she did not plan to enter this field, so she did not feel any pressure around Celebrity Luo and Director Zhou. She did not feel the pressure to go the extra mile to improve others’ impressions of her.

Luo Ce was surprised. “Not even a little? Then that might be a little troublesome. Based on what I heard from Director Zhou, if Celebrity Luo is the pillar of the whole film, then your character would be the soul, if you fail…”

“Yeah, it’ll be horrible. Director Zhou will hate both of us for life.” Even though Ye Shuang said so, there was a smile that hung on her face.

“What has it got to do with me? Fine, you’re the one who introduced me to the crew.” Luo Ce did not know whether to laugh or cry. There was indeed such a culture in China. Suddenly realizing that Ye Shuang was even greener than he was, Luo Ce felt a pressure on his shoulders.

Everyone knew that Director Zhou had placed his hope on the character of ‘big brother’, or else he would not have made such a big commotion about finding Ye Shuang online. There had been a precedent of directors using a newbie actor for the main role—perhaps it was because the stars in the field did not fit the feeling he wanted, or he needed a new face for the role. In any case, no matter the reason, the thing Director Zhou did was not uncommon.

Of course, only those experienced directors or writers dared to make demands like these. Most films opted for household names to ensure ticket sales. However, hiring a newbie to play a character that was the soul of the plot? That was risky even for experienced director.

The main character had plenty of scenes since the whole movie revolved around this character’s journey, so it would be easy, even for a newbie, to get into the character. There were plenty of scenes to practice. However, things were different for the soul character. Ye Shuang only appeared in flashbacks. The public would not know what happened to the big brother—his life, his personality, his experience—so they could not relate to him unless the actor who played him played him very well. It required an actor who could embody the brilliance, pride, and emotions that were not even described in the script well.

Even if the movie goers did not know what kind of awards and success he had achieved, with just one look, they could sense his grace and pride. This was not an acting skill that a newbie could provide.

Luo Ce realized that things were more difficult than he thought. If acting was that easy, then everyone would join the entertainment business. In other words, Ye Shuang had to master her acting in mere days or no matter how handsome the big brother was, he would end up as part of the background.

“I heard from the manager that Celebrity Luo is going to rest for three weeks, so they’ll be shooting your scenes in this period of time?” Luo Ce fell silent for a moment before finally giving his advice. “An acting class is too late now, but splitting the scenes into individual cuts and mastering them should be doable. How many scenes are you involved in?”

“I died at the start of the film, and then there will be three flashbacks. If the director thinks I’m good enough, there will be one final scene where I appear to take advantage of Celebrity Luo,” Ye Shuang concluded easily, not hiding anything from her cousin. Finally, she asked, “What did you mean earlier?”

“…I meant, learning how to act now will be too late, but if we just focus on these few scenes and practice the expressions and actions beforehand, it should be enough to handle the real thing.”

Ye Shuang understood it immediately. “So a pre-planning‽”

Acting could be divided into natural talent or hard work. The best acting naturally came when the actors morphed into the parts themselves. However, if the scenes weren’t that many and the actor wasn’t that experienced, there were some shortcuts to take. In other words, Luo Ce’s meaning was Ye Shuang did not know how to act, but she only needed to know what kind of expression to give and actions to do when it was her turn.

An actor was supposed to familiarize themselves with the script to put themselves into the story, but if an actor wasn’t that talented, they could just memorize what they themselves were supposed to do and ignore everyone else.

After all, Cousin Ye doesn’t intend to pursue a career in entertainment.

After Luo Ce came up with a plan, he explained to Ye Shuang, “If you were my artist, I definitely would not suggest something like this because every cut is an opportunity for them to learn. But since you’re not planning to enter this field, there’s no point in you practicing your acting skill. You only need to do what you’re expected to do… so the point now is how to make sure your acting is satisfactory enough.”

Ye Shuang was speechless. “I feel like things aren’t as complicated as you think. Cousin Luo is asking me to imitate others, right‽”

Imitation? Then again, the explanation made sense as well. Imitate what kind of expression and reaction the ‘big brother’ should have, practice it many times, and then do it for the camera. Even though this might not help Ye Shuang own the character, at least there was only a small chance of things going wrong.

Luo Ce was satisfied with Ye Shuang’s innovation, but he did not understand why Ye Shuang would come to the set for imitation. “Xiao Ye, your idea is not bad, but all the characters have different personalities, and none of them are playing the ‘big brother’.”

“I don’t mean that.” Ye Shuang scratched her head. How was she suppose to explain this? “For example, what do you think of Celebrity Luo’s title of the best electricity-filled gaze in the business?”

“Celebrity Luo is famous for his acting skill, and naturally, his gaze cannot easily be imitated.” Luo Ce was confused by what Ye Shuang was saying.

“But from how I see it, his gaze is nothing more than a more literary way of putting things.” Ye Shuang smiled. “Gaze is part of the eyes, and eyes are a spherical organ filled with gel, covered with a layer of cornea… The electricity is inside his eyes? Don’t tell me Luo Mingxin’s eyes carry their own spotlight or electrical charger‽ No, at the end of the day, his ‘acting skill’ came from his muscles.”

“Muscles‽” Luo Ce did not know how to react to this.

“The tensing or relaxing of the muscle around the eyes can create changes in the shape of the eyes, but the key lies in the brows. In any case, everyone’s facial expression is decided by facial muscles. Take, for example, a smile. Some might have a big smile and others a reserved laugh; the difference is the level of muscular movement. Of course, a person’s looks play a role as well.”

Ye Shuang glanced at Luo Ce, who looked at her like she was some kind of mad person. She thought about it. Words alone did not seem to explain her ideas well. Therefore, she leaned her body slightly forward and made a melancholic and heavy-hearted expression that Luo Ce was familiar with. With her head lowered and her tone as deep as a lovelorn prince, she said, “Therefore, acting skill is nothing other than how good you can control your expression…”

Luo Ce was stunned by both the things that Ye Shuang said and her current expression. This saddened gaze, this loving expression… It was identical to the last scene in Celebrity Luo’s most famous work, the reason he was called the most electrically-charged gaze in the business.

This was… the perfect imitation.