034 The Birth of a Viral Catchphrase
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October 1st.
A day auspicious for opening a business and praying for blessings—a most propitious date.
“Boom, boom, clang! Boom, boom, clang!”
The rousing sound of gongs and drums suddenly rang out like thunder from a clear sky, instantly setting the atmosphere ablaze.
The grounds, which had been empty moments before, came alive.
A golden lion made its entrance first, at times crouching low, at times leaping into the air.
Immediately afterward, a colossal dragon dozens of meters long came roaring in, sometimes coiling and winding across the ground, sometimes raising its head and swishing its tail.
“Bravo!”
The golden lion leaped and tumbled while the giant dragon twisted and danced. One was vigorous, the other graceful; together, they complemented each other perfectly and drew cheers from the crowd.
“To all the gods and immortals, today marks the official commencement of filming for Little Big Soldier!
“Please bless the production with smooth sailing from beginning to end, and may the film astonish audiences everywhere when it is released!”
Unlike the simple ceremony held for the previous production, the launch ceremony for Little Big Soldier was grand and fervent.
Colorful flags fluttered throughout the grounds, while a huge banner bearing the film’s title billowed in the breeze.
At the carefully constructed launch platform, a camera stood in the center, covered by a length of crimson silk.
“Please welcome President Pei and Director Qian to unveil the red cloth!”
Amid a barrage of firecrackers, Qian Lang brought Pei Duoduo onto the platform to uncover the red silk draped over the camera. The entire set immediately erupted in enthusiastic applause and cheers from the crew.
Pei Duoduo, already thoroughly familiar with the routine, once again scattered red envelopes into the crowd.
“Thank you, President Pei! May you make a fortune!”
Every member of the crew casually picked up several hefty red envelopes.
Heh-heh. Money everywhere you looked.
And so, the launch ceremony concluded amid a wave of excitement.
“Have fun, everyone. I’m leaving first!”
Pei Duoduo waved goodbye to the others.
Since Qian Lang was in charge of the filming, there was no need for her to hang around and get in the way. She would be better off going back to research new ways to spend money.
At that point, several months still remained before the Lunar New Year holiday season, so filming did not begin immediately on the day of the ceremony.
Even so, not a single member of the crew was idle. The staff were either familiarizing themselves with the surroundings or setting up the scenes, and everyone was preparing for the start of filming the following day.
All the actors had arrived as well, remaining on standby at a moment’s notice.
Of course, it was not because they knew money would be handed out that day. The working atmosphere at Galaxy Pictures was simply too captivating.
“Director Qian, may I run through the scene with Brother Fang Long?”
Wang Bo held the script, looking somewhat nervous.
As a long-term contracted actor with Galaxy Pictures, whenever one of the company’s films had a suitable role for him, Qian Lang would naturally cast him.
This time, Wang Bo was playing a scout from the Liang state in Little Big Soldier. The role had less than five minutes of screen time, but Wang Bo was extraordinarily pleased. Not only did the character suit his acting style, he would also get to share a scene directly with Fang Long.
“Running lines with an award-winning actor? I couldn’t ask for more.”
Before Qian Lang could answer, Fang Long had already walked over to them.
After the launch ceremony, he could have gone back to the hotel to rest. But this film held extraordinary significance: it was the first movie produced by the Fang family’s stunt team, and everyone involved attached great importance to it. Naturally, Fang Long did not dare slack off.
He had fully embraced the spirit of ownership.
Whenever he saw something that needed doing, he would personally step forward to help, so long as it was within his abilities.
Now that Wang Bo had suggested rehearsing together, Fang Long was more than happy to oblige.
After all, Wang Bo could now be called Galaxy Pictures’ hottest rising star. Building a good relationship with him was practically another way of showing respect to Director Qian.
“Brother Fang Long, I’ve long admired you!”
When Fang Long approached, Wang Bo hurriedly wiped his hands, looking both flustered and reverent, before going forward to greet him.
“Mr. Award-Winner, I’ve long admired you!”
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Fang Long laughed and clasped both hands around Wang Bo’s outstretched hand.
The mutual professional flattery was truly something to behold.
Qian Lang looked forward to seeing what kind of sparks would fly between Fang Long and Wang Bo.
“Bring over the makeup and costume team!”
He gestured that the two of them might as well put on their makeup before running through the scene.
At once, Wang Bo grew somewhat uneasy. If he had been confident, he would not have suggested rehearsing first.
Fortunately, this was not the actual shoot. Otherwise, he might have needed to do countless retakes.
After steadying himself mentally, Wang Bo found himself looking forward to the performance that was about to begin.
“Coming!”
The makeup artist was a refined-looking young man.
After the trouble caused by the makeup artist surnamed Ge last time, getting hired for this production had required him to pass an interrogation from Chen Yuanyuan and Hao Han that was practically equivalent to a political background check.
As a result, whether in professional skill or time management, he was virtually impossible to fault.
He truly worked with speed, precision, and decisiveness.
In a mere ten minutes, Fang Long and Wang Bo had been transformed completely.
“They look exactly right! It’s as though the characters have walked straight out of history!”
Many of those present lit up at the sight.
Good heavens!
It would not have been an exaggeration to say the two had traveled through time from ancient days.
“Let’s have the other actors in this scene put on their makeup as well,” Qian Lang said. Since they were doing it, he might as well make the whole production complete.
“No problem!”
The makeup artist was energized by everyone’s approval of his work and became even more enthusiastic.
Before long, every actor in the scene was fully made up and ready.
“Is everyone ready? Scene thirty-seven, shot three, take one! Action!”
The script supervisor called out the shot information.
The actors immediately entered character.
At that moment, perhaps because of professional habit, the cameraman unconsciously switched on the camera and began recording.
Qian Lang simply went to watch the footage on the monitor.
On-screen, the little soldier played by Fang Long and the Liang-state scout played by Wang Bo were both kneeling on the ground. Yet their expressions could not have been more different.
The little soldier looked wary, while the Liang-state scout wore an utterly bewildered expression.
The contrast was striking.
The dramatic tension was there!
Qian Lang nodded inwardly.
“You two—one of you is no longer of any use!”
The scene cut to Young Master Wen, who coldly aimed a crossbow at the little soldier and the Liang-state scout kneeling before him.
“Ah!”
The little soldier cried out in fright.
The Liang-state scout, however, remained just as bewildered as before.
Qian Lang nearly burst out laughing.
It had to be said: Wang Bo’s acting style was rather similar to that of Brother Baoqiang. Both excelled at portraying characters whose innocence concealed a certain simple-mindedness.
Just looking at them was enough to make people laugh.
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They were born comedians.
Whoosh!
Young Master Wen’s crossbow fired an arrow.
Yet both men fell to the ground, each with an identical arrow embedded in his chest.
“Hm?”
Young Master Wen furrowed his brow.
He had clearly fired only one arrow, so why had two people fallen?
Could something be wrong with the crossbow?
Just as he was about to inspect it, the Liang-state scout sat upright.
“What’s going on here?”
With that, he fell backward onto the ground with a thud.
Hearing the commotion, the little soldier opened his eyes, quickly scrambled to his feet, and ran away.
“Cut!”
Qian Lang called a timely halt.
There was no need to rehearse the scene any further.
It had to be said that Wang Bo and Fang Long possessed remarkable chemistry. Their simultaneous collapse had nearly made everyone present lose control of their laughter.
Good heavens.
No wonder he was a little soldier so skilled in every kind of playing dead because he was terrified of dying!
And that single line—“What’s going on here?”—had captured the scout’s simple-minded bewilderment with astonishing vividness.
As for the rest, just from this one shot, many people could already imagine the audience’s reaction when they saw it.
They would be laughing uproariously on the spot!
“Brother Fang Long, your acting is superb!”
Qian Lang did not hold back with his praise.
He also gave Wang Bo his full approval.
“What’s going on here?
“What’s going on here?
“What’s going on here?”
Wang Bo repeatedly studied the script, savoring how the line might be delivered in different situations.
He did not have many lines in the film, but Director Qian had said this one would become a popular catchphrase. Should he not add a little more force to it, so that he could bring out its different layers?
And so, under the bombardment of Wang Bo’s repeated recitations, the entire crew unconsciously began asking, “What’s going on here?”
It had to be said: that line was so versatile that it seemed suitable for every conceivable situation.
When people were busy, time always passed swiftly.
After finishing a sumptuous boxed meal, the crew also wrapped up work for the day.
The film would officially begin shooting tomorrow.
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