“This little fellow has some impressive skills. His physical fitness is even better than that of those stunt performers.”
Watching Chen Cheng’s movements on camera, Director Li praised him.
The Assistant Director also nodded. “He really is impressive. Even Director Xie praised him.”
“Haha, our Director Xie has always been extremely demanding. He rarely praises anyone.”
Director Li laughed heartily, then thought for a moment and said, “Do this: call Producer Liu and tell him we’d like to borrow the little fellow for a few days.”
“Director Li, you mean…?”
“The male lead had several martial arts scenes before, didn’t he? Looking back, those scenes were filmed, but the results weren’t very good. On top of that, the kid has taken leave for the past two days, and the schedule ahead is tight. There are still several martial arts scenes to film. The little fellow is about the same build as the male lead and has quite a good presence. Let him serve as the male lead’s stunt double for a few days.”
“Director Li, I think that will work.”
The Assistant Director nodded as well, then called Liu Qiang from the production side.
After receiving the call, Liu Qiang summoned Chen Cheng and explained the situation to him.
However, after listening, Chen Cheng shook his head like a rattle. “Teacher Liu, I think I’d better pass.”
“What?”
Liu Qiang thought he had misheard. “Pass?”
“I’m saying, have you gone foolish from working as a Stagehand? Do you really want to be a Stagehand forever?”
Liu Qiang was somewhat baffled.
Chen Cheng said somewhat awkwardly, “Teacher Liu, actually, I don’t really want to become an actor. I want to work behind the scenes.”
“Behind the scenes?”
“Teacher Liu, didn’t you say it before? An actor’s career is actually very short, while behind-the-scenes personnel are in shorter supply. Rather than compete with a huge number of actors, it would be better for me to work behind the scenes.”
“Good boy, you’ve got quite a few ideas of your own.”
Looking at Chen Cheng, Liu Qiang finally understood why Chen Cheng wanted to be a Stagehand.
Indeed.
The film and television industry was one in which the division of labor was extremely detailed.
In many people’s eyes, the only ones they saw were the actors.
But in reality, actors merely worked in front of the screen, while a great many people worked behind it.
Just like him.
He had never acted and had not come from an acting background.
However.
As a unit production manager, even ordinary actors truly could not afford to offend him.
Even the male lead had to behave himself somewhat when he saw him.
At the same time, he wielded considerable authority across the entire film set.
“Fine. If you really want to work behind the scenes in the future, I can certainly give you a hand. However, I already promised Director Li. This time, go to Director Li first. After you return, you and I can have a proper talk.”
“This…”
Chen Cheng was still hesitant.
Liu Qiang glared at Chen Cheng. “What? You still won’t agree?”
“Teacher Liu, the main issue is that I’m afraid of dying.”
“What does that have to do with being afraid of dying?”
“It has everything to do with it. Teacher Liu, how could being a stunt double be that easy? As a stunt double, I’d definitely have to perform some dangerous moves. If something went wrong, I could be injured at best, or finished at worst. Well, Teacher Liu, how about you find a stunt performer to be the stunt double instead?”
All right.
That was the real reason Chen Cheng did not want to go.
In fact.
When Director Li had asked Chen Cheng a few days earlier whether he was interested in becoming a stunt performer, Chen Cheng had refused then too.
The most important consideration was that the profession of stunt performer had an exceedingly high risk factor.
Why had the profession of stunt performer come into existence in the first place?
It was precisely for the purpose of performing relatively dangerous actions.
Thus, stunt performers made money by putting their bodies on the line.
“Pfft… I, I…”
Pointing at Chen Cheng, Liu Qiang was both amused and exasperated.
After quite some time, Liu Qiang finally said, “Your physical fitness is pretty good, isn’t it? Besides, Director Xie, the action choreographer, praised you today and said you have martial arts talent. He even said you might become a famous action actor in the future. You’re only being asked to serve as the male lead’s stunt double, and you’re already scared?”
“Teacher Liu, it’s precisely because my physical fitness is fairly good that I’m even more afraid.”
“All right, all right. Look at how timid you are. I checked the filming schedule for the next few days. Although you’ll be serving as a stunt double, there aren’t many dangerous shots. At most, you’ll have to ride a horse and perform a few on-set fight moves. Besides, you’re serving as the male lead’s stunt double, not as a stunt performer who gets beaten up. The male lead definitely won’t have too many dangerous scenes. So hurry up. If you’re still afraid, I’ll fire you.”
“Then… all right, all right.”
There was no helping it.
For the sake of his livelihood, Chen Cheng could only agree with gritted teeth.
…
Fortunately.
It was indeed as Liu Qiang had said.
Chen Cheng was serving as the male lead’s stunt double, so he received special protection for the male lead’s scenes.
Thus, during the stunt-double work on the second day, although there were some relatively dangerous actions and shots,
with a series of safety measures and Chen Cheng’s own physical fitness, all the shots were completed quickly.
“Chen Cheng, have you trained before?”
The action director came over and excitedly slapped Chen Cheng on the shoulder.
As an action director,
he had rarely seen an actor with martial arts talent in recent years.
Or rather,
some stunt performers had decent martial arts talent, but all they displayed was martial arts talent.
In his eyes, an outstanding action actor needed not only martial arts talent but also an exceptionally strong personal presence.
Being able to fight was merely the foundation.
Just look at Jet Li.
Was Jet Li the actor with the best martial arts talent?
That was difficult to say for certain.
But Jet Li was definitely the action actor with the strongest presence among actors.
Therefore,
after the action director finished instructing Chen Cheng through several martial arts scenes, he was still somewhat unsatisfied and asked, “Chen Cheng, do you know how to wield a sword?”
“Uh, not really.”
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t. I’ll teach you. I’ll demonstrate it once first, then you can practice the moves.”
“Director Xie, I’m afraid I won’t remember them.”
“Remember as much as you can.”
With that,
Director Xie took out a prop sword and began flourishing it on the film set.
“Well? Did you see that clearly?”
“Not very clearly.”
“That’s all right. You give it a try.”
Handing the prop sword to Chen Cheng, Director Xie stepped aside.
Although Chen Cheng had never practiced with a sword before, his physical fitness was fairly good now, which had given him considerable interest in various martial arts.
Not to mention,
at that moment,
just as Chen Cheng was preparing to try wielding the sword, a 【Beginner Swordsmanship】 icon appeared in the “physique” section of the System.
A progress bar was displayed below it, and its current progress was 1%.
At the same time,
below the progress bar were the sword forms that the martial arts choreographer had just taught Chen Cheng.
Following the sword forms provided by the system panel, Chen Cheng raised the sword and began to swing it.
Although he was somewhat awkward at first, the more Chen Cheng practiced, the more he got a feel for it, and the better it felt, the faster he practiced.
It was not until Chen Cheng stopped
that his 【Beginner Swordsmanship】 progress bar had reached 10%, while his physique attribute had also increased by 0.1 points.
The martial arts choreographer beside him stared fixedly at Chen Cheng, nearly drooling.
“Director Xie, are you…?”
Returning the prop sword to Director Xie, Chen Cheng instinctively took several steps backward.
The film crew was simply too complicated.
Everyone had all kinds of interests.
A chill ran down Chen Cheng’s back.