In contrast to Tao Cen's smiling face, the assistant beside her had a bitter and resentful expression. He looked at Jiang Se as if he was his mortal enemy. After noticing Mo Anqi's stare, he raised his head with pride and turned away.
Jiang Se smiled and turned his attention back to the script, trying to figure out Su Yi's mood in the next scene.
Tao Cen would be present in every important scene of hers, and Jiang Se would also come to observe and learn from every scene of Tao Cen.
Only by knowing yourself and your opponent can you perform better. Especially since the two of them happened to be playing opposite roles in this movie, in Jiang Se's opinion, this subtle hostile atmosphere is very necessary.
Huo Zhiming was taking notes for the next scene. When Tao Cen sat down, many staff members tried to come forward to greet him, but Huo Zhiming seemed not to notice.
He raised his wrist to check the time. It was already 1:40 in the afternoon, and there were still about 20 minutes before the shooting officially started.
Tao Cen noticed that the watch on Huo Zhiming's wrist was a very old model. The silver strap was polished to a shine. Even if it was well maintained, the traces of time could still be seen, and some of the engraved prints on it were a little blurred.
"Director Huo is a nostalgic person."
Tao Cen said this with a smile, and when Huo Zhiming heard her speak, he raised his glasses on the bridge of his nose with the hand holding the pen.
He turned his head to look at Tao Cen, pondered for a while, followed her gaze, and fell on his watch. Naturally, he understood what she meant by this:
"Old buddy, it's still useful and it moves accurately."
When not talking about movies, this eccentric old man is not so annoying. He pointed at his watch with the tip of his pen and said with some pride:
"If you adjust it every day, it's no worse than any famous brand nowadays, and you can use it for another ten years without any problems."
As he spoke, he lovingly wiped the watch cover with his sleeve. Tao Cen saw his action and chuckled softly.
"You're taking notes for the next scene?"
She glanced at the notebook in Huo Zhiming's hand. What was inconsistent with his strange temper was that Huo Zhiming had beautiful handwriting.
The handwriting was strong and powerful, obviously a skill that only people who have been immersed in this art for a long time can possess. It contained the story about "Su Yi".
Tao Cen was also familiar with the script of the movie "Criminal Suspect". In addition to the lines that Shen Xunran should memorize, she had also watched the plot of the movie many times and knew what scene Jiang Se would perform in the next scene.
This is not a secret, but Huo Zhiming put his pen into his notebook, clipped the notebook, and said with a half-smile:
"Yeah." The frames of his glasses slid to the sides of his nose, revealing a pair of wrinkled eyes, as if nothing could be hidden from his eyes.
Tao Cen pursed his lips and smiled faintly:
"The next scene, if I remember correctly, Jiang Se should be filming the scene of Su Yi's preparations before the 'big event', right?"
"Yeah, that's right." Huo Zhiming responded again, Tao Cen's eyes were still on the notebook in his hand:
"This scene mainly shows Su Yi's cautious and smart side." As she spoke, she kept her legs together and even pulled the collar of her turmeric windbreaker, giving off a kind of aura similar to Shen Xunran in "Criminal Suspect".
"Wu Chunhe received a 'death notice'. The police found through investigation that Wu Chunhe had a bad past in his early years. He used illegal means to frame someone, causing the victim to hang himself because he could not bear the burden."
When she talked about the plot, her expression was serious. Huo Zhiming also restrained the smile on his face, nodded, and listened to Tao Cen continue:
"If the 'death notice' is true and not a prank, and assuming that someone really wants to kill Wu Chunhe, then Su Mu's daughter Su Yi is the most likely suspect. She is very smart, had excellent grades and outstanding performance in college. With her own efforts, she was selected as an exchange student while in school, studied abroad, and was quickly signed by a large company after returning to China." Tao Cen adjusted her hair and got into the role in a second, as if Shen Xunran in the play really appeared in real life. Even without cameras and lights, she still behaved naturally and did not make people feel out of place at all.
"She went through such a big change, but she was able to endure it, not reveal any clues, and successfully graduated. This performance proves that Su Yi is a woman with a very strong will."
Huo Zhiming nodded again. He was interested in Tao Cen's words. The assistant director next to him looked at the time. It was already 1:45. Jiang Se would start his official shooting soon.
Logically speaking, Huo Zhiming should be doing the preparations before filming, confirming and adjusting the lighting and other positions again, but he was still sitting there without moving. The assistant director couldn't help but step forward to remind him:
"Teacher Huo..."
As soon as he opened his mouth, Huo Zhiming raised his right hand, signaling him not to speak for the time being, and then made a gesture for Tao Cen to continue speaking.
"While we were investigating whether Su Yi had written those 'death notices', another murder case happened in Wangjin, where a man was killed in the hotel."
In the early stage of the movie, the audience was given a hint about this murderer, which made the audience associate this murder case with Su Yi, the suspect in the "Wu Chun and Death Notice" incident.
However, after investigating the crime scene, no information related to Su Yi was found.
The police collected fingerprints, hair, bloodstains, and fibers at the scene, but did not find any trace of Su Yi. However, the next scene to be filmed today is closely related to this incident.
Jiang Se's scene in the afternoon was about her taking a bath, wearing a bathrobe, and removing the hair on her legs and arms.
It is for those reasons that this scene is so crucial.
"Assuming that Su Yi is the suspect in the murder case at the Paifeng Motel, the fact that no hair of hers was found at the scene, combined with her behavior of shaving her hair, does prove that Su Yi is a cautious person." Tao Cen talked for a long time but didn't get to the point. The assistant director was already getting anxious.
No one understood why Tao Cen suddenly started discussing the plot with Huo Zhiming at this point in time.
Even Song Yi, who came with them, was puzzled. When Tao Cen said this, he paused for a long time and looked up at Jiang Se. She had already changed into a bathrobe, and her long hair was wet. The script supervisor was still telling her the precautions for the next scene, and she was listening carefully.
The makeshift restroom had already been heated in advance, and if you listened carefully you could hear the sound of water dripping.
Jiang Se's graceful figure was reflected in the mirror. She was not wearing any makeup, and her face was so tender that it seemed as if water could be pinched out of it. The skin on her calves was as white as cream, and wearing slippers did not reduce her aura at all.
The smooth black hair fell flat on her back, still dripping with water. From Tao Cen's perspective, he could see that the belt of the bathrobe showed off her slender waist. Jiang Se's long hair, with a part of its ends exposed at the side of her waist, was still dripping with water and sinking into the bathrobe.
There was admiration in Tao Cen's eyes. Even a woman like her would find such a beauty beautiful. She was as pure as a lotus flower emerging from clear water. How much did her thick long hair add to her beauty
She reached out and touched the ends of her hair. Tao Cen had very good hair quality. As a woman, especially an actress who relied on her looks to make a living, Tao Cen cherished her appearance much more than the average person. She spent a lot of money on hair maintenance every year. Her hair was clearly visible on every strand, waist-length, and curled into big waves, full of charm.
Women have an inexplicable concern about their hair. To grow hair as long as Jiang Se's, it would take at least three or four years to grow it to this length.
I heard that Xia Chaoqun was trying to get her to endorse a well-known French shampoo brand, an opportunity that many foreign actresses would be desperate to get, and Tao Cen was also trying hard to get it.
This time, Xia Chaoqun did not accompany Jiang Se to the crew for filming, but flew to France to discuss the spokesperson issue with the people at the shampoo brand headquarters.
Mr. Zhou from the company told her that it was very likely that Xia Chaoqun would negotiate for Jiang Se to be the spokesperson for this product. Firstly, she had been in contact with this shampoo brand for several years, and this brand had also been examining Jiang Se for a long time. Since more than two years ago, when she was filming "God's Redemption", she had been observing the possibility of Jiang Se becoming a brand spokesperson until now.
A few days ago, when the advertising blockbuster shot by Jiang Se for Leopard was exposed, one of the shots caught the attention of the person in charge of this shampoo brand.
Before Jiang Se was about to put on Leopard, she unbuttoned her suit jacket, took off her high heels, and removed the clips from her hair, letting her hair fall. The head of the shampoo brand thought that Jiang Se was so attractive that people couldn't take their eyes off her.
Xia Chaoqun seized this opportunity and realized that there was a possibility of a deal, so he flew to France.
Huo Zhiming beside him was still waiting for Tao Cen to continue speaking, and the staff around him seemed to be hesitant to talk. Tao Cen knew it clearly, but he allowed himself to be distracted.
She also remembered the commercial Jiang Se shot for Leopard. At the end of the commercial, ELYSEES chose to let go gracefully. That kind of free and easy attitude went against her beliefs.
Afterwards, a reporter named Tao Tao from Longxing Studio once wrote: Using advertising to interpret human nature, if one day Tao Cen faces the same situation as ELYSEES, what will she choose
Many people may be curious about this question. After all, time is merciless and the disciple will always surpass the master.
As she gets older, even if it’s not Jiang Se, there will still be outstanding juniors who will take her place sooner or later.
Some people always think that people should follow the will of heaven, know what to do, admit defeat and acknowledge their age at the right time, and retire when they achieve success. They think that it is a decent and elegant behavior, and it is also the choice that most people would make.
But she is different from those people, she will fight through all obstacles and until she is exhausted!
"What a beautiful girl."
Tao Cen smiled and praised, pointing in the direction of Jiang Se, and spoke without hesitation, as if he was not afraid of being heard by others:
"You are on the right track. Su Yi shaved the hair off his arms and legs, being careful not to leave any evidence of his 'crime' anywhere. But Director Huo, you overlooked one thing."
When it comes to plot and logic, Huo Zhiming's expression becomes much more serious:
"Which one?"
"Her arms and legs were shaved, but she still had hair."
She laughed, her voice a little soft and chilling:
"Perhaps you don't know much about women, especially those with long hair. No matter how healthy their scalp is, the amount of hair they lose every day is still beyond your imagination."
Huo Zhiming was stunned for a moment, thinking about something, and Tao Cen continued:
"Since Su Yi had to prepare, he should have done it more thoroughly. In order to leave no trace at the crime scene, it was not enough to just shave off the sweat hair, but he also had to shave off the hair to be considered a more detailed preparation. If he wanted to show the special side of the character, he might just shave his leg hair, which would not show his desperate 'determination' for revenge, nor would it highlight the specialness and complexity of Su Yi's character."
Tao Cen talked for a long time and only explained his meaning at this time.
"You mean, we should prepare Jiang Se's bald head first, then prepare the wig, and let her cut it off bit by bit?"
The assistant director spoke rashly, but Tao Cen ignored him and waited for Huo Zhiming's decision.
Through this period of time together, she has a certain understanding of Huo Zhiming's temperament, he is serious and competitive.
In the first scene of "Criminal Suspect", he filmed over and over again because of a small stone, and refused to stop until Jiang Se finally walked around the stone subconsciously. Only then did the scene pass in Huo Zhiming's eyes.
He likes real things. If he had listened to his own advice in this scene and wanted Jiang Se to 'shave his head' to show Su Yi's determination to fight to the death and his indomitable will, in order to shoot this scene that would satisfy him, would he have done as the assistant director said and temporarily asked the makeup artist to make Jiang Se's head bald, then put on a wig and gently cut a section of the wig to fool the audience
There was a mocking look in Tao Cen's eyes. This stubborn old man was now facing the principles of filming. Would he change his usual style and character because of his special regard for Jiang Se
She crossed her legs, no longer showing Shen Xunran's previous righteous attitude, but a look of watching a good show.
"But this will waste time, right?"
Before the assistant director understood Tao Cen's intention, Song Yi had already understood what Tao Cen meant. She was taking Huo Zhiming's character into consideration.
The suggestion she made was not a brainless attempt to frame Jiang Se, but rather it was well-reasoned and based on facts.
If it were another director, he might not care about such a small matter. He might also do as the assistant director said, use montage shooting techniques, make a feint, cut a segment with a wig, let the audience imagine what Su Yi would look like with a shaved head, and then connect it with other plots.
But he is Huo Zhiming. His seriousness and perseverance have been deeply experienced by everyone in the crew during the two months of working with him. In his opinion, this approach may not be shocking enough.
He had lowered his head in thought, apparently considering the feasibility of what Tao Cen said.
This kind of scene seemed very scary to Huo Zhiming's assistant. (To be continued)