Rome wasn't built in a day, and Rome wasn't collapsed in a day.
It was past midnight, and Su Pei was still rushing the script at the hotel near the studio.
This fully enclosed room is small, fortunately it is only used by him. The luggage took up one bed, and various books and materials were piled up on the other bed. After he entered the room, he only slept on and off for three or four hours all day and night.
The old air-conditioning system was humming constantly, the thermos cup and electric kettle were empty, and he was too lazy to get up to boil water. He is more eager for a glass of wine than water, but at this time he can only suppress the urge to sip alcohol - the crew's progress is almost a week behind, and the filming must be accelerated. At dawn, he will send the new script to the director.
Su Pei has been a screenwriter for several years, and now the crew with whom he is filming a spy war drama with the background of the Republic of China.
The male and female protagonists are both newcomers, with little experience, but they can't stand the background. Speaking in the crew is more effective than his main screenwriter, and the script is changed as soon as it is changed.
First of all, the heroine thinks that she has little role in the role, and wants to play more. Later, the male protagonist felt that the character image was not perfect and needed to be revised. It's been tossing and turning, the script has been changed beyond recognition, and the story line has changed.
Su Pei is making up a few scenes of the male lead, and tries to write as many long lines of the male lead as possible to give him two more highlight moments.
Su Pei rubbed his wrist while staring at the computer screen, reciting the inspection lines in his heart. Then take a cigarette out of the cigarette case and light it. He has been quitting smoking in recent years, but when he first wrote the script, quitting smoking was bound to fail. He slowly enjoyed the tar and nicotine, and then took advantage of this gap to check the unread messages on his phone.
some ads.
Several loan repayment deadline notices.
Su Pei crossed quickly, not daring to take a closer look.
Little Cookie sent a message at half past nine.
"Dad, come on, come back early. I'm going to bed, good night."
Su Pei replied with the words good night. Look at the time, it's already past twelve o'clock, and Little Cookie should have fallen asleep early.
After the divorce, Little Cookie followed him. When he was on business trips, his mother would help take care of Little Cookie.
He opened the shopping website and bought another set of Lego for his daughter.
At this time, a chat message jumped out:
Are you in L city? I heard that He Yiming also went to L city these two days. Do you want to meet him for dinner
Su Pei held a cigarette and pursed his lips. The news was sent to him by his old college classmate and old friend Yao Zhicheng.
He Yiming is coming to L City.
Su Pei stared at the news. Now seeing He Yiming's name, he has a very distant and unrealistic feeling. Because now he often sees He Yiming in various news and hears He Yiming in other people's gossip. He Yiming's company has been successfully financed and listed, and He Yiming's net worth is soaring. He Yiming spent a lot of money to buy a mansion. He Yiming is rumored to have an affair with the actress.
Is the He Yiming that the public talks about really the same person as the He Yiming he met twelve years ago
After a few seconds, Su Pei realized that he was lost. After dusting off the ash, he replied to Yao Zhicheng: I'm busy in the crew, I'm afraid I don't have time.
Yao Zhicheng immediately replied: I think your unhappiness before is not a big deal, it will be good to meet and have a meal.
Su Pei smiled bitterly, and could only reply to him, "Understood, let's talk later, I have to catch up with the script all night."
In Yao Zhicheng's view, there is no deep hatred between him and He Yiming, and there is no difference between them. Be careful with a little conflict, just say it.
But he knew that in the many years after graduation, he and He Yiming had not only faced various changes in the outside world.
He couldn't even remember the first crack in their relationship. It turns out that friendship is the same as marriage. Small frictions accumulate over time, and they will turn into deep cracks.
He only remembered that they had a big fight when they got together last year. He Yiming was not optimistic about his screenwriting work. He drank too much and said some excessive things to He Yiming.
So he and He Yiming, his friend, can only blame time—time changes everything, and time erodes everything.
Su Pei extinguished the cigarette and stroked the keyboard with his slender fingers.
On such a night, it is best to sit on the balcony of an old but comfortable apartment, pour yourself a glass of wine, think about old people from afar, and even loss will become a decent mood.
Not like this moment. At this moment, he can only be busy with life, and the memories will only make his chest tight. This dull pain was not made up, it had become a real physical torture, and he consumed so much energy for it until he was exhausted.
Su Pei restrained himself from falling into this remorseful mood, staring at the computer screen. He told himself, think about the crew, think about the script to be handed in tomorrow, think about the handsome and stupid face of the male lead.
He finally hit the keyboard mechanically again.
When it was almost three o'clock, he finally finished the script and collapsed on the bed with clothes, unable to move any more.
In the early morning, Su Pei, who was asleep, was suddenly awakened by the vibration of his mobile phone.
The phone is still vibrating. He grabbed the phone.
"Hey."
"Mr. Su." was the voice of the assistant screenwriter Xiaoyan.
"What?" His brain was dull, as if the high-intensity work day and night had drained his brain, and now there is only an empty shell left in his brain.
"The script, are you ready?" The young man's way of speaking was rude, but his tone was lively so he wasn't annoying. Su Pei sometimes feels that this is what he lacks now, a kind of life force that can be wasted carelessly.
He stretched his body and sighed: "What time is it?"
Xiaoyan replied: "At half past six, Mr. Su, you told me to call you at half past six last night. We have to be on the set before nine o'clock. Am I coming to see you now?"
He remembered that he did have to wake Xiaoyan up last night. The script has been revised, although it was too rushed in the end. Go to the set before nine o'clock and read the script to the director... Su Pei still felt that he had forgotten something important, which was very important.
But he didn't have the time to think carefully about what was going on. He hurriedly took a shower and went downstairs to meet Xiaoyan in the buffet area.
In the morning, Su Pei ate very simple, all he needed was a cup of coffee and two slices of bread. Then I sent the script to Xiaoyan's mailbox and asked her to print it out in a while.
Xiaoyan looked at the script that Su Pei had driven out on her mobile phone, and praised: "As expected of Mr. Su, he wrote several turns in one night. It's so wonderful... Why can't I write this line?"
Su Pei just drank coffee and didn't speak. He had to drink coffee early in the morning to refresh himself. But the coffee in this hotel is very thin, and he can only add more sugar to it, relying on sugar to activate his brain. Xiaoyan's compliment, he did not listen carefully.
"Mr. Su!" Xiaoyan suddenly lowered her voice as if remembering something very interesting, "You know what! I heard that Bai Wenchen will be on the set today!"
Su Pei smiled: "Is it so exciting?"
Xiaoyan didn't mind being teased, she said, "Bai Wenchen! It stands to reason that even if his company invested in our show, a busy man like him wouldn't come to the set. But..."
She lowered her voice and continued, "... Now there are rumors that Fang Ziling is Boss Bai's new love."
Fang Ziling is the heroine of their drama. Bo Wenchen has a wife and son, and has not divorced, but this does not prevent the rumors from spreading quietly.
"If Bai Wenchen really came today, wouldn't it prove that they did have a leg?" Xiaoyan came to a conclusion.
Su Pei said: "Then we can only wait and see."
Although he said that, his tone was very flat. His attitude towards such big gossip was too flat. Xiaoyan couldn't help but ask curiously: "Mr. Su, are you not interested in this matter at all? Or have you been in the crew for a long time and have seen more gossip than this?"
Su Pei raised his eyes and glanced at Xiaoyan: "You curled your hair today. When you woke up early in the morning and curled your hair, is it because Bo Wenchen is coming?"
Xiaoyan's face was covered with a layer of red that was pierced by the truth. She said, "I also pay attention to appearance occasionally... Don't change the subject! Are you not interested in gossip, or do you see too much gossip?"
Su Pei said, "I envy you very much. You have curiosity and imagination about everything."
Xiaoyan was puzzled: "What does this mean?" She wondered if Su Pei was criticizing her, and she didn't hear the overtones. But Su Pei's expression was always gentle, even sloppy, and he didn't seem to wake up completely.
Su Pei didn't answer her question after all, and they didn't have much time to chat leisurely. After printing the script, the crew driver came to pick them up to go to the crew. On the way to the crew, Su Pei took the time to polish the script at the end.
In the past, he didn't like to revise the script according to other people's requirements. If it was the director's request, he would pay it back. The fact is that besides the director and the producer, there are too many people to guide the script. He had to adapt for a long time before giving up the confrontation. After all, he came to be a screenwriter, not to write a masterpiece, but to support his family, so completing the script efficiently is a good thing for him and the crew.
The crew is preparing to shoot in a remote part of the scenic spot. The weather is getting colder, and there are few tourists in the off-season. When Su Pei arrived, only the crew members were busy, preparing for the official shooting.
The crew came one after another, and the group performances were already waiting. Su Pei sat aside, holding his laptop, wrapped his windbreaker tightly, and stood by the sidelines. While revising the script to be filmed in the past two days, he is waiting for the crew to come and communicate with him at any time, and make some minor adjustments to the parts that are to be filmed today.
After ten o'clock, the male and female protagonists finally put on their makeup and came to the set surrounded by assistants.
The assistant director was talking to the main actors, while Xiaoyan listened to their feedback. Su Pei sat not far away and just looked at them. Looking at the expression on the male protagonist's face, he already had a hunch that it would not be so smooth today.
Their male protagonist is very handsome, and he just moved his nose. The line from the forehead to the nose is really "shaved". Famous, young, handsome, and well-received by the company, he seems to have everything but a little acting.
Sure enough, the main scene of the supplementary filming, the male protagonist couldn't make it.
He should ask the heroine whether he stole the information with a stern voice, and quickly throw out a series of questions. While doubting the heroine, he should also suppress his love and ambiguity towards the heroine.
"Card!"
The director called the card again.
The male protagonist said the wrong line again, and his eyes were dull and even panicked - he was only mentally reciting the lines, how could he express the love suppressed in pain.
Su Pei rubbed his forehead. On the sixth card, Fang Ziling, who was playing against the male protagonist, finally couldn't bear it anymore. She tore off the shawl that was draped over her shoulders and said, "I want to touch up my makeup and take a rest!"
She was obviously unhappy, and the assistant quickly brought vegetable juice for her to drink. She smiled and said, "Who wrote this line? It's too embarrassing, isn't it? Teacher Su, your screenwriting team seems to be changing over and over again. The more complicated it is, I don’t know if the audience can digest it. Don’t let the audience ask if the screenwriter will write the script after the broadcast.”
Su Pei heard a lot of complaints and did not argue with her, but just talked with the director.
The director was half-joking: "Mr. Su, your lines are too complicated. You have to consider the actual situation when you write them."
Su Pei was helpless and offered to ask, "Do you want to change it?"
He has been numb.
The director thought about it for a moment, as if he was very kind, and said, "Well, this line is so good, I'm not willing to remove it. Think of a way."
After some tossing, the crew came up with an inscription board, and wrote a paragraph of the male protagonist's lines on the inscription board one by one, and then a staff member held it and stood on the opposite side of the male protagonist. The female protagonist stands. In this way, the male protagonist is only responsible for reading aloud affectionately, one camera is aimed at the male protagonist's face, and then a few shots of both men and women entering at the same time are taken. The director can cut this part out through post-editing.
During the filming, the agent and assistant of the male protagonist also deliberately cleared out all irrelevant personnel, and no one was allowed to use the mobile phone, for fear that someone would take it and put it on the Internet.
Everyone was doing it seriously, and no one showed contempt. Fang Ziling sat on the side and sneered: "Didn't you say that we need to speed up the progress today? Is this going to speed up or slow down? I still have a play waiting to be played."
As soon as she made a sound, half of the crew gathered around her to comfort her.
Xiaoyan whispered to Su Pei: "It's a good show, Fang Ziling is so tough, is there really Boss Bai to support her?"
Su Pei just smiled, he always felt that he had forgotten something, and the chaos in the crew made him unable to concentrate and think about what he had forgotten.
When all means were used, and today's reshoot was finally coming to an end, the legendary and famous Boss Bai Wenchen finally came.
As soon as the boss came, the atmosphere of the entire crew changed. Xiaoyan touched up her makeup and borrowed a pair of high-heeled shoes from the kimono team. Su Pei also closed the computer, stopped the assistant director, and said that he also wanted to see Bo Wenchen.
Xiaoyan looked at him with a smile, as if to say "I know you are still curious".
Su Pei didn't explain, he wanted to say that getting to know a big guy more was an extra opportunity. In addition, if there is a chance to talk to people like Bai Wenchen, it is also a good accumulation of material for him.
Bai Wenchen was talking to the director, accompanied by the two leading actors. They are discussing dinner for the evening. As soon as Su Pei passed by, the director immediately introduced him.
"This is our screenwriter Mr. Su Pei..."
But Su Pei didn't hear what the director was saying, and he didn't see Bo Wenchen in his eyes. He only saw another person beside him. He looked straight at that person, and finally remembered that he had forgotten. something important.
Su Pei finally remembered what Yao Zhicheng told him last night - "You should contact He Yiming."
He Yiming raised his head and looked at him. Su Pei smiled at him, but He Yiming just looked at him deeply.
He Yiming's eye sockets are deep, and his eyes are all aggressive as soon as they are sharp. But Su Pei couldn't understand He Yiming's eyes at the moment, he looked a little unhappy, even a little painful. Su Pei immediately remembered the last time he and He Yiming broke up unhappily.
"You know each other?" Bai Wenchen noticed his friend's silence.
He Yiming said, "Mr. Su is my senior. I didn't expect to meet him here."
His tone was calm, without the slightest "unexpected".
Su Pei thought that such a coincidence could only be found in a poor script. With He Yiming's character, this is by no means a coincidence.
The author has something to say: Su Pei is an emotional straight man
He Yiming is a deep cabinet with a big bend and a straight line