Chapter 40: Teacher Chen

Many people hold the misconception that actors from the older generation lacked acting skills.

In truth, it wasn't a lack of talent, but rather a limitation imposed by the narrow range of films and character types. The "heroic and flawless" were always heroic and flawless; the treacherous villains were always treacherous villains; and the Japanese invaders were always Japanese invaders.

If given the opportunity to showcase their range, look at someone like Chen Qiang. The veteran actor established two monumental villainous archetypes: Huang Shiren and Nan Batian. Logically, his image should have been set in stone, but later in his career, he starred in a series of comedies with Chen Peisi.

And there, you could see a truly adorable little old man, entirely different from his previous roles.

Take Feng Enhe, for example. He used to play righteous characters, but later, in *Lurk*, he played Station Chief Wu, instantly becoming the man who said, "Mount Emei, and it’s a solo photo, too! Quite the romantic flair!"

To be a great actor, both talent and hard work are indispensable.

Gong Xue did not come from a professional acting background; she had spent her time playing bit parts in a drama troupe and had only ever acted in one film. Beyond her good looks, she was lacking in almost every other aspect.

At this moment, as soon as Wang Haowei called out, she panicked, asking hurriedly, "Director, did I walk incorrectly?"

"It’s not about your walk. You’ve mastered the high heels well enough; your stride is quite steady..."

Wang Haowei gathered her thoughts and said, "It’s the feeling that’s off. You look like a local girl pretending to be an overseas Chinese, not someone truly back from the United States to sightsee. Take some time to internalize it, and we’ll try again in a bit."

"Alright, alright!"

Gong Xue quickly flipped through her script, sat on a rock, and began to deliberate.

But acting is not something you can just do because you want to; intuition is vital, and not everyone is a Zhou Xun.

After a while, they rehearsed again.

"3, 2, 1, Action!"

"Cut!"

This time, she lasted two minutes. Wang Haowei felt it was slightly better, but still unsatisfied. She walked over and said, "Come, let’s analyze this."

Wang Haowei sat on the rock as well, communicating patiently: "When we held our meetings to discuss the character, didn't we cover a lot of ground? You understood it well then; why is it falling flat now? The problem is that the traces of you 'acting' like an overseas Chinese are too heavy; your every gesture feels unnatural."

"I'm sorry, Director!"

"It's alright. This is only the first day of filming. You lack experience; it’s normal not to be in character yet. We don't need to rush; we'll give you time to slowly grasp it."

Wang Haowei had a good mindset. In this era, filming was slow, with everything polished bit by bit. Everyone was accustomed to it.

After a few more attempts, it still wasn't working, so she decided to film Tang Guoqiang’s scenes instead.

Chen Qi watched in stunned silence.

They had been out since dawn, setting up, rehearsing, fussing about, resting, rehearsing again, and by the time they finally shot a take, it was just one scene—Tang Guoqiang sitting on the Pillow-Stream Rock reading a book.

At five in the afternoon, they wrapped up!

Why stop? Because the clouds had thickened, the sun was obscured, and the light had dimmed too much to continue. In this era, outdoor filming was heavily dependent on natural light.

"Good grief!"

"In the future, only directors like Wong Kar-wai or Hou Hsiao-hsien would dare to film like this!"

Chen Qi helped move equipment, noticing that everyone else was unfazed and completely calm about it.

Back at the hotel, after dinner, there was nothing left to do. This kind of film-crew life made him feel quite unaccustomed. In his past life, he was always juggling projects—writer, producer—busy 24 hours a day, with no time to even look for extras.

Still, the leisure was quite nice.

He had time to write his own martial arts—oh no, his action novel...

***

"Knock, knock, knock!"

Around seven o'clock, as Chen Qi was writing, he heard a knock at the door. He went to open it, and found Wang Haowei standing outside with Gong Xue.

"Director Wang, is there something you need?"

"You saw how things went today. I was thinking of discussing it with you further to help little Gong find the right feel as soon as possible."

"..."

Chen Qi glanced at Gong Xue, who caught his gaze and shyly retreated a step.

"Oh, sure, please come in!"

Wang Haowei entered the room, took a quick look around, and smiled, "Little Chen, you’re quite tidy."

"It’s more comfortable this way. It shouldn't be dirty or messy."

He wanted to close the door, but paused and left it slightly ajar. There was only one chair in the room, and Wang Haowei, being tactful, sat on the edge of the bed, leaving the chair for Gong Xue.

She was 39 this year, a director, and married; one had to avoid idle gossip.

"You saw the situation today. I discussed it with little Gong earlier, but it still felt unsatisfactory. You are the creator of this character; what are your thoughts?"

"You mean regarding today's scenes?"

"Yes, little Gong's performance."

"Uh, do you want the truth?"

"Don't be ridiculous! Did I come to you just for idle chatter?"

"..."

Chen Qi looked at Gong Xue and said, cold and merciless: "Stiff! Unnatural! Not grounded in reality! There is absolutely none of the heroine's spirit or temperament!"

With every word he uttered, Gong Xue’s face grew paler. She wrung her fingers and lowered her head in silence.

"Be more specific!" Wang Haowei prompted.

"You stayed at an international hotel for a week, observing the speech and mannerisms of overseas Chinese, and then you mimicked them... But personally, I think mimicry is only for initial preparation; it’s best not to bring it into the performance. If you mimic an overseas Chinese, are the audience watching you, or the person you're mimicking? An actor’s own traits are very important. Integrate what you’ve observed into yourself and grab onto one core trait—for example, confidence."

"Confidence?"

Gong Xue looked up, blinking. She looked quite pitiful after the criticism.

"Look at those overseas Chinese; don't they all walk with their heads held high, full of a sense of superiority? Because we were poor and they were wealthy, they naturally felt superior. But you cannot show that superiority, or you’ll become unlikable. You can, however, show a sense of confidence. Think about it: your father is a Nationalist military officer, you live a life of luxury in America and have received a higher education. You go up the mountain in a private car, stay in a luxury suite at the Lushan Hotel, with so many staff members waiting on you alone! How could you not be confident?"

"You have almost no dark emotions; everything about you is upbeat. If you express that, the spirit and temperament will be there."

"Keep going! Go on!" Wang Haowei urged.

Chen Qi wouldn't have volunteered this, but with Wang Haowei’s approval, he continued: "To express this, you don't need to overthink complex things. First, you must keep your chest out and head high, and be ready to smile. Second, your stride should be a bit wider."

"Stride?" Gong Xue was taken aback.

"Like this..."

Chen Qi stood up, walked to the middle of the room, pointed to his trousers, and said: "You’re wearing bell-bottoms. The legs are loose; if your stride is too small, the fabric tangles together, which looks terrible. Take a wider step and let the force of the high heels show. It’s that *tap! tap! tap!*—the sound of the heel hitting the ground. And the bag..."

Chen Qi grabbed his canvas bag, slung it over one shoulder as if it were a Louis Vuitton, and, wearing a pair of tattered slippers as if they were Hermes, he walked with his chest out, head high, hips swaying, taking long, confident strides—*piap-piap-piap!*

Objectively speaking, his experience with carrying a women's handbag was far beyond most women today. Most women currently didn't know how to carry a luxury bag with style.

"Walk like this, get onto the bridge, and then see the Pillow-Stream Rock. Wow, express amazement! Show a radiant smile, and it’s even better if you let out a silver-bell-like laugh—*hee-hee-hee-hee*..."

*Pfft!*

Gong Xue couldn't help it; she covered her mouth and giggled. Wang Haowei burst into loud laughter.

"Aren't you supposed to take photos? Remember, you’re holding an instant camera (instant cameras had been around for a while, and they’d bought this one in Hong Kong). Who in China has seen this thing before? But you are a wealthy young lady; to you, it’s just a toy. You need to show that you are very skilled at it and don't care much about it at all..."

Chen Qi looked at her, encouragingly: "The script is just the foundation; your own deliberation adds the bricks and mortar. When you stand in front of the lens, you are the master of this character. Don't be controlled by it."

"Who is Zhou Yun?"

"The role has been given to you; you are Zhou Yun. From tomorrow on, wear pretty clothes, put on a little hat, carry your camera, go sightseeing everywhere, and don't worry about a thing... What is 'finding the feeling'? This is the feeling!"

*Hiss!*

Wang Haowei remained in a state of surprise for several seconds, as if savoring the long string of advice he had just given. This wasn't the usual talk about "deep character analysis" or "theoretical interpretation" heard in meetings.

It was incredibly easy to understand, yet precise, layer by layer, breaking the scene down with absolute clarity!

"Little Chen! Where did you learn all this? I’ve been in the film industry for over a decade and couldn't explain it like you just did!"

"No, no, you’re too kind. I just love watching movies—I’ve seen at least eighty or a hundred—and I like reading miscellaneous books and letting my imagination run wild. It’s all just things I’ve figured out myself."

"Then you are truly remarkable!"

Wang Haowei praised him sincerely. One doesn't know what a genius looks like until they’ve met one. If someone like this joined the Beijing Film Studio, *hiss*!

"..."

Gong Xue stared at him, her heart surging with emotion.

He was so young, yet knew so much. The key was that she could actually understand him; it was as if he were holding her hand and teaching her how to act. What she feared most was having no direction, not knowing how to perform...

What an amazing person!