Chapter 1175: A Small Favor

Zhao Fusheng let go of Tong Zhenbang's matter as soon as he decided to, because he knew very well that this was not a problem that could be solved in a short time; he had to play the long game, casting a long line to catch a big fish.

It was like the ancient story of killing three warriors with two peaches—he had already thrown out his peaches. Who would be the last one standing between Tong Zhenbang and Mr. Li didn't really matter to Zhao Fusheng.

As for Chen Shijie, Zhao Fusheng felt that if he had the chance, he must find a way to notify him.

But he had to wait for an opportunity, after all, Zhao Fusheng knew that Chen Shijie was now in a tiger's den, and meeting him alone was not easy.

As for Cao Jianguo, Zhao Fusheng hesitated for a long time about whether to notify him, but ultimately gave up the idea.

The reason was simple: Cao Jianguo was not alone; there were other people around him, and the more people who knew about this matter, the more troublesome it would be.

Secrets are always safer when fewer people know them.

…

…

Time passed quickly, and before long, National Day was approaching. The capital in late autumn had a unique charm. Walking on the streets, people's clothing was noticeably different from summer.

"Let's go, to the Beijing Film Academy." Zhao Fusheng said to Zhang Qian from the car.

"Okay."

Zhang Qian nodded. Although a bit puzzled, he still started the car.

The Beijing Film Academy, though just a simple name, was by no means simple in significance.

As one of the top domestic film and television schools, alongside the Central Academy of Drama, it had become a cradle for many young people pursuing dreams of stardom as the economy developed and people's lives grew wealthier.

You see, studying art was not easy at this time. Most people applied here after high school graduation, but unless they had been trained from childhood, relying solely on talent made it very difficult to enter such specialized institutions.

In short, to get into the film academy, you had to cultivate relevant skills from a young age. If you started preparing in high school, unless you were a natural-born actor—what they call being blessed by the ancestors—it was basically hopeless.

Talent, appearance, temperament, and even image—standing out among tens of thousands of candidates nationwide to get into Beijing Film Academy or Central Academy of Drama was extremely difficult. Especially for the acting department, which admitted fewer than a hundred students, sometimes only twenty or thirty, but had at least ten thousand applicants.

Students selected under such difficulty couldn't even guarantee they would stay in the industry after graduation, let alone become stars, which was even more a matter of luck.

From this, one could see the fierce competition in the film and television circle.

But Zhao Fusheng was going to the Beijing Film Academy today not to sign actors, but to pick someone up.

Parking the car at the gate, Zhao Fusheng took out his phone and sent a text message. Before long, Yu Feihong's figure appeared at the school gate.

"Kid, why are you so slow?" Yu Feihong got in the car, greeted Zhang Qian, then glared at Zhao Fusheng: "If I'd known, I wouldn't have asked you to pick me up."

Zhao Fusheng smiled wryly: "Sis, you came all the way back from the set just for the welcome party. It's a waste of time, and I have to drive you..."

Yu Feihong rolled her eyes at him: "What do you know? I'm a teacher; I have to come back eventually."

Zhao Fusheng fell silent, not expecting that Sister Feihong still cared about being a teacher.

"By the way, how's the filming going?" Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment and asked Yu Feihong.

"Not bad," Yu Feihong said. "Old Jiang joined the crew a few days ago, and now we've started filming the important scenes."

Many people have a misconception that during the filming of a movie, the director must personally oversee every shot. In fact, this is a mistaken belief.

Filming, especially making a movie, is an extremely complex process. Even a shoddily made film could be completed in a week, but if the director had to shoot non-stop for that week, he wouldn't hold up.

For example, scenes with a large number of extras would be unreasonable for the director to direct personally. At such times, an executive director or assistant director would step in to handle the scene.

The director, of course, is responsible for the male and female leads and the important scenes.

For instance, in the "A World Without Thieves" crew, before Jiang Wen, the director and male lead, arrived, no important scenes were shot; only group scenes were filmed, which Ye Jing could oversee.

In any film, before shooting begins, the role is greater than the actor. Simply put, when selecting actors, you look for someone who fits the script's requirements for the role, then have the actor learn and perform the lines to meet the film's needs.

For example, you often hear that an actor lost a certain amount of weight or made some change for a role, all to match the character's needs in the script.

But once the crew is formed, this situation changes.

To be precise, during casting, actors can make any change to fit the role. But once filming begins, the importance between actor and role shifts.

Many young directors, fresh out of school or used to shooting TV dramas or commercials, like to follow their own ideas, making actors perform according to their demands, claiming it's to help them improve.

Improve my ass!

Not every actor is called Liang the Best Actor, and not every director is called Wong·You're Screwed·Sunglasses·Kar-wai.

If you give an actor a note with your requirements and expect them to deliver a performance, then that film is purely aiming for Cannes.

A qualified film director, after the crew is successfully formed and filming officially begins, should adjust the role according to the actor's characteristics to complete the film.

The national master is a great director; in terms of using color and lighting, no one in the country surpasses him. He once said that a good film director may not know how to teach actors to act, but he must know whether an actor's performance is right or wrong.

In simple terms, you may not be able to explain a scene, but you need to know what a good scene looks like.

The importance of a director to a film is undeniable.

A good director can truly tap into an actor's potential. It's like Bole and a swift horse: even if the horse has the ability to travel a thousand miles a day, without Bole discovering it, it would remain unnoticed.

The most obvious example is the young idols. Among them, why are Liu Haoran and Zhang Yishan called young idols with acting skills, while someone like Skr is called expressionless?

The reason is simple: it's because of the different directors they encounter.

Not to mention Zhang Yishan, the directors Liu Haoran encountered, whether Chen Kaige or Andrew Lau, were all experienced directors who naturally had ways to tap into an actor's potential. As for Chen Sicheng, although Zhao Fusheng despised his character, he had to admit the guy had some skill as a director.

As for Skr, he probably doesn't need acting skills to get by in the circle, since he's a super god whose album sales could surpass Lady Gaga's by more than ten times. Even though the songs were taken down after a few days and the data reset, he once had his glory.

The "A World Without Thieves" crew didn't have that problem. No matter what kind of young idol, once in Old Jiang's hands, their edges would be smoothed out.

Moreover, with a bunch of big shots from the Beijing circle around, the younger generation in the circle probably wouldn't dare to cause trouble on set.

"By the way, Baobao's scenes haven't been shot yet. Do you want to go take a look?" Yu Feihong saw Zhao Fusheng lost in thought and asked with a smile.

"Uh, better not," Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment and shook his head. "If I go, she probably won't be able to focus on filming."

That was true. Zhao Fusheng knew Fan Baobao's personality too well. If he went to watch her film, she'd be so nervous she'd mess up dozens of takes. Then Old Jiang wouldn't know whether to scold her or not, which would be troublesome.

"If you have nothing to do, how about making a trip to the southwest for me?" Seeing this, Yu Feihong didn't pursue the matter. After all, it was between Zhao Fusheng and Fan Baobao; she was just making a suggestion. Instead, she brought up something else.

"Southwest?" Zhao Fusheng frowned. "What's going on there?"

"It's like this: one of the Hope Schools we donated to needs to be inspected, and our foundation needs someone there. So I thought you could go check it out," Yu Feihong explained to Zhao Fusheng.

This was a rule Zhao Fusheng had set earlier: for all Hope Schools funded by the foundation, a foundation member must be present during the inspection.

The purpose was simple: to ensure the quality of the school buildings.

In Zhao Fusheng's words, the geological environment in the southwest was special, and they had to ensure that even in an earthquake, the school buildings would not collapse.

Although Yu Feihong took Zhao Fusheng's words as a joke, she was genuinely concerned about the quality of the Hope School buildings and absolutely would not allow any corner-cutting.

There had been a problem in one county before, and Yu Feihong immediately threatened to report it to the Ministry of Education, scaring the county into returning the embezzled funds.

This time, she had originally planned to go herself, but the crew was pressing her, and as the female lead, she couldn't get away. That's when she thought of having Zhao Fusheng go in her place.

Upon hearing Yu Feihong's words, Zhao Fusheng was momentarily stunned, then smiled.

"Alright, I'll make the trip then."