"Welcome Mr. Guo to the filming set of 'The Secret History of the Palace'! Applause!"
Guo Wenyuan: "..."
He seems to have only encountered such outdated lines when filming rural dramas.
The assistant pressed his forehead, unable to bear the sight, and quickly said to the director, "Director Wu, Mr. Guo is here to inspect the situation. There's no need for all this formality. You guys keep filming, we'll just watch from the sidelines."
The director realized that his attempt to flatter Guo Wenyuan might have backfired, so he didn't dare to try to curry favor with him any further and quickly told the crew to start filming.
Guo Wenyuan stood by with his arms crossed, watching.
The assistant was somewhat surprised to see that Guo Wenyuan was actually looking at the document seriously, and only then did he believe that he had really come to investigate.
The assistant looked around and then brought over a chair: "Mr. Guo, please have a seat."
Guo Wenyuan used to be able to float around freely, but now he can't. Plus, he's stuck with such a useless body. He's already feeling weak after walking for only a short while.
He lamented his poor kidneys as he unceremoniously lay down on the chair.
The director glanced cautiously at Guo Wenyuan and found that he had actually sat down and didn't seem to be leaving anytime soon.
The director suddenly felt immense pressure. He asked the script supervisor in a low voice, "Which scene was we shooting this afternoon?" After receiving the answer, he flipped through the script again and breathed a sigh of relief.
As its name suggests, "The Secret History of the Palace" is a palace intrigue drama that tells the story of an innocent young girl who enters the palace and gradually rises from the lowest-ranking concubine to a noble consort.
Since it's a palace intrigue story, there must be rivals. For example, the biggest obstacle in the heroine's advancement is the current Imperial Concubine. In her biography, the Imperial Concubine is described as alluring and beautiful, deeply favored by the emperor. In reality, she is an orphan of the previous dynasty who was sent to the palace to seek revenge. However, she falls in love with the emperor during their time together.
The actress who played the Imperial Concubine was Bai Shilan, an artist under Hua Rong's management.
Bai Shilan has a somewhat mixed-race appearance, but she still looks very good in period costume. In addition, she has a great figure due to her years of dance training, and she has a strong presence in front of the camera. At least in terms of appearance, she is very convincing as a charming and beautiful imperial concubine.
Furthermore, although she hadn't received formal training, she was very intelligent, quick to grasp concepts, and quite confident in herself. Especially after learning that Guo Wenyuan was coming, she put in an extra 120% effort, and both scenes went very smoothly.
Guo Wenyuan looked at it for a while before saying to his assistant, "Go and find the script for me to take a look at."
The assistant wanted to complain inwardly, "Do you even understand this?" But on the surface, she obediently went to the script supervisor and got the script.
Guo Wenyuan quickly flipped through the pages and came across the scene that was being filmed, and then watched it closely.
The assistant was surprised that he could actually understand it. Seeing that he was really engrossed in it, he unconsciously softened his movements and didn't dare to disturb him.
After a while, Guo Wenyuan closed the script and turned his attention to the scene being filmed.
Today's scene depicts the imperial concubine being framed by the female lead, her identity exposed, and the emperor, filled with shock and rage, ordering her execution. In despair, she commits suicide by running into a pillar, which is also a major climax of the entire series.
Perhaps because investors were present, all the actors gave it their all, and such a complex scene only required a few takes before it was done.
The director, satisfied, called "cut" and was about to announce the end of filming when he suddenly remembered there was a demanding person next to him. He quickly ran over and asked, "Mr. Guo, how did you feel about this scene?"
Guo Wenyuan frowned slightly, seemingly considering how to phrase his words.
Just then, Bai Shilan, who hadn't removed her makeup yet, walked over and said with just the right amount of shyness, "Hello, Mr. Guo. I didn't expect you to come to the film crew today. I feel so honored. I'm not a professional actress, so I don't know how well I acted. Could you please give me some pointers?"
Guo Wenyuan stopped thinking, looked at Bai Shilan, and asked in return, "Do you want me to give you some pointers?"
Bai Shilan nodded, tilting her head back slightly, revealing an expression of admiration.
The other actors wore expressions of envy, jealousy, and resentment. Everyone wanted to build a relationship with the investors, but Bai Shilan had already beaten them to it, so they could only stand there waiting unwillingly.
"Okay, then I'll just say whatever comes to mind."
Guo Wenyuan stood up, walked to the monitor, and skillfully opened the footage that had just been recorded.
"Let's start with this scene. The imperial concubine committed suicide out of despair, so what's with that heroic, death-defying look on your face?! Are you preparing to blow up a bunker?"
Bai Shilan's expression froze instantly, and a low chuckle rippled through the room.
Guo Wenyuan, however, seemed oblivious and continued speaking.
"And then there's this scene: the Imperial Concubine realizes she's been framed by the female lead and her identity has been exposed. Her emotions shift from initial anger to panic, but you just stared wide-eyed the whole time, your emotions didn't change at all. You're not a frog, why are you staring like that! To be honest, even a frog, if it finds itself thrown into a pot, besides staring, would at least thrash around a couple of times..."
"And the actor playing the emperor, even if you're just a background character, at least be a little more professional, okay? The woman you love most died in front of you. Even if she had bad intentions, you've still doted on her for so many years. Even if you can't feel sad, you don't have to have that 'hurry up and finish filming so I can get my lunchbox' look on your face, do you?"
Starting with Bai Shilan, Guo Wenyuan criticized the acting of almost all the actors.
At first, some actors secretly laughed at Bai Shilan for humiliating herself, but later, everyone became as quiet as chickens, and the huge filming set fell into silence.
The director tried to speak several times, but was silenced by Guo Wenyuan's gaze.
The assistant tugged at Guo Wenyuan's sleeve with a headache and whispered, "Mr. Guo... please take it easy..."
Guo Wenyuan was speaking with great enthusiasm when he was interrupted, which made him very unhappy: "What!"
Assistant: "Please don't judge this by movie standards; it's just a web series..."
"What's wrong with web series?" Guo Wenyuan asked coldly. "Just because they have less investment and simpler sets doesn't mean they can just throw things together carelessly?"
The director was about to agree with the assistant, but upon hearing Guo Wenyuan's words, he immediately fell silent.
Guo Wenyuan glanced at all the staff members present, but couldn't help but show a disappointed expression: "It seems that's what you all think?"
No one dared to speak. Someone in the crowd muttered, "Isn't this how all web dramas are? Our acting is considered pretty good..."
Guo Wenyuan sneered, "Who said all web dramas are like this?" He thought for a moment and decided to find an example, "The recently popular 'Honey' series, isn't the actress Chu Meibo, who plays Wen Nan, a very good actress? That's also a web drama!"
Everyone: "..."
This example is so compelling, it's simply irrefutable.