Becoming a Movie Star, System Only Finished Loading After Ten Years

Han Jie originally thought Qi Hao would need quite some time to adjust, but unexpectedly, after a few scenes, Qi Hao had already found his footing.

He simply announced the start of filming.

In one afternoon, they actually shot several scenes.

This progress...

It's really a bit intimidating.

But Qi Hao's condition seemed a bit off, he was clearly somewhat immersed in the role, sitting silently in the chair even during breaks.

His eyes mixed with confusion, disdain, boredom, simplicity, astuteness, helplessness...

Is it necessary?

You don't have to be so into the role to act well, your acting is already quite good.

Choosing to immerse yourself like this is very dangerous.

However, Han Jie did not stop Qi Hao.

He believes Qi Hao knows his limits.

After all, Qi Hao has been acting for over ten years, and now he's a director; it's not so easy to get stuck in a role.

Mr. Tree is a character belonging to the forgotten village youth of society.

His sense of helplessness, inferiority, and insistence on dignity do not belong to a city youth like Qi Hao.

Since the immersion isn't that deep, naturally, he wouldn't be confused.

Of course, as Qi Hao increasingly immerses himself in the role, in these few days he has begun to slowly feel himself as Mr. Tree.

He grew up in a special family environment, where his father's strictness and older brother's rebellion left him with profound psychological shadows.

His father killed his older brother with his own hands.

After his father's death, he worked at a car repair shop in the village but was fired for injuring his eyes, losing his job.

The village's coal mining led to relocation, making his life even tougher.

He fell in love at first sight with the deaf girl Mei and got married, but on the eve of their wedding, he clashed with his younger brother, causing a fire, leaving him in a half-awake state.

Afterward, he suddenly gained fortune-telling abilities, becoming a respected "prophet".

After getting into character, Qi Hao interpreted the role more adeptly.

The unique standard concealment gesture he created for Mr. Tree became smoother.

He spread his arms, raised his hand, took a cigarette to light or smoke it, with eyes squinting as if he saw nothing.

On the surface, he seemed powerful and carefree, but in reality, he was down and out.

Through this exaggerated action, he hid his timidity and inferiority, giving himself a bit of pathetic momentum, starting to deal with all sorts of alarming characters.

"I feel the more you act, the better you get; why don't we re-film the previous scenes?"

Recalling Qi Hao's demand for the best performer title, Han Jie gritted his teeth and decided to reshoot all the scenes from the past two days.

But by doing so, the progress is sure to be dragged down.

"Alright, do as you see fit."

Qi Hao's fingers twitched twice, seemingly very uncomfortable without holding a cigarette.

But he resolutely didn't smoke when not filming.

Thus, Qi Hao was pulled onto the tree by Han Jie once more.

A frenzied performance.

An Feng could only describe her boyfriend this way.

Not sure if he's considered a boyfriend, since Qi Hao hasn't confessed to her, seemed to become lovers naturally.

She hadn't left the film crew these days.

From initially finding Qi Hao very disagreeable to now feeling this Qi Hao has a certain charm.

It can only be said a lover sees Pan An as his true self.

"OK, fantastic, you can come down now."

Han Jie was very satisfied with the effects of Qi Hao's filming this time, it was simply unexpectedly great.

The quality of a film has many factors, but regardless of how good the script or how capable the director is, without excellent actor performances it's nothing.

Qi Hao could at least add two points to the movie.

"Wait, let me stay on the tree for a while longer, shouldn't we reshoot it once more, I've just got a new feeling."

Qi Hao squatted on the tree, unwilling to come down.

"Then... shoot once more!"

Han Jie also wasn't sure if shooting once more would be better, but he couldn't resist the temptation that it might be better and decisively chose to shoot again.

Crazy, crazy, both of them were crazy.

When madman meets madman, it's a repeated grind of a scene.

Qi Hao's makeup was only partially semi-permanent, needing to be redone almost every day, so his working hours began at least an hour earlier than others.

And in the evening when it was time to stop work, he was unwilling to return to the hotel.

He and Han Jie hit it off immediately, deciding to continue overtime filming, and often went on till eleven or midnight.

The crew staff suffered greatly.

Their work has always needed preparation ahead of time, even when others finish work, they still need to clean up.

However, money truly can turn the world around.

When Qi Hao decided to give all those working overtime a high bonus, everyone's resistance to overtime shifted to eager anticipation.

Goodness me, Boss Qi really is giving triple the salary.

And Zhonghao Entertainment already had quite a few film production behind-the-scenes employees, who were also brought over.

Since these were people the company was already employing, the labor cost didn't increase much.

Although they couldn't work in shifts, one and a half shifts were still doable.

The first ten days were filmed very smoothly, the struggle appeared in the fact that after ten days it intermittently snowed.

Snow on the ground wasn't a problem, filming during snowfall was trickier.

"Director, director, someone is causing trouble."

Because of the sudden snowfall, the film crew was moving indoors and were busy, when someone shouted.

"Who the hell is causing trouble?"

Han Jie was in a bad mood, the smooth filming was interrupted by the weather.

It wasted Qi Hao's good condition.

"If they claimed our parked car was wrong and scratched their car driving by, they demand us to pay a hundred thousand!"

Even the crew felt helpless; this was truly a classic case of extortion.

"I'll go take a look."

Han Jie got up and followed them out. Qi Hao thought for a moment and had Tang Chuan and Feng Bufan follow as well.

In fact, when a film crew starts shooting in a new location, they often encounter trouble.

It's particularly severe in Xiangjiang.

In the past, it wasn't unheard of for the lead actor to be kidnapped from the crew.

You had to pay some ransom, more or less.

This kind of thing isn't absent in mainland China, but it's often dressed up a bit better.

For example, someone might deliberately get injured in front of your moving car and demand compensation for medical and emotional damages. To keep the peace, the crew often pays a few thousand yuan to ward off disaster.

This time asking for 100,000 yuan right off the bat is really a bit too much.

Let's just say, Shanxi is a bit more ruthless.

However, the excuse given by the other party is technically legal and compliant.

In the countryside, the crew's cars won't be parked as neatly as in the city, and there are no painted parking spaces, plus there are often large vehicles around.

A fender bender isn't impossible.

"Damn it, a beat-up Santana, just a little paint scratch and a dent, and they want me to pay 100,000..."

Followed by a string of curses.

"Did you give it to them?"

Qi Hao frowned a bit too, remembering that when they filmed "Steel Piano," they also ran into something similar.

At that time, it was resolved quickly when Zhang Meng brought in Zhao Benshan's connections.

Directly paying money isn't necessarily bad.

The main issue is assessing the other party's integrity.

If spending money can settle it, then it's not a big deal; crews are usually pretty solvent. A few thousand or ten thousand isn't a concern.

The problem is, some people get a taste for it and it becomes addictive.

"No, I threatened to call the police, and they got scared off."

Han Jie also understood that those people were likely not satisfied and might come back to cause trouble.

But he was indignant; he was a local from Shanxi, and being extorted at home felt shameful to him.

"Is it really chaotic here?"

Qi Hao wasn't really sure, but everyone viewed this place filled with Coal Bosses with a critical eye.

Especially after watching movies like "Blind Shaft."

"It's gotten better over the years, but there are still some who don't do legitimate work. Don't worry, they bully the weak but fear the strong..."

Han Jie thought Qi Hao was scared.

A gentleman does not stand under a dangerous wall.

Especially someone with net worth over a billion yuan like Qi Hao.

"Be safe, arrange for more staff."

All Qi Hao could say was that since hidden dangers are hard to guard against, no one knows what might happen tomorrow.

This world isn't short of lunatics.

Qi Hao went to find An Feng.

An Feng had left twice in the past few days but came back as her scenes hadn't been shot yet.

Ms. Liu wasn't aware of her daughter's filming situation and didn't interfere with her joining the crew.

She had been to the set once and frowned continuously seeing the working environment.

The crew was filming in a village, staying at a motel rented out in the county.

The county didn't even have a budget hotel, so the conditions couldn't be great.

"Qianqian, why not shoot your scenes in the next few days and wrap up early?"

Qi Hao said reluctantly.

The two hadn't had any intimate acts, but they ate and chatted together often, making life feel quite pleasant.

It also reminded Qi Hao that he wasn't Mr. Tree.

"Why would I, wasn't it said my scenes would be shot later?"

An Feng didn't know someone had caused a commotion today; she was currently squatting by a stove roasting sweet potatoes.

For someone pampered from a young age, it was a novel experience.

"The temperature is dropping, see your hands are a bit red from the cold."

Qi Hao casually checked An Feng's temperature; her hands were soft, not cold at all.

"No way, I'm roasting sweet potatoes, it's quite warm."

An Feng wasn't afraid of the cold since her nanny van came over, equipped with a bathroom and AC for resting.

If Qi Hao was hungry, he'd come up and make some noodles.

Seeing An Feng unwilling to leave, Qi Hao had to be honest:

"Someone just stirred up trouble, and I fear more might follow. As a young girl, it's best you don't stay."

"Huh, will it be dangerous? Can't you call the police?"

An Feng was startled; despite the dozens in the crew, in this remote village, they weren't much of a match.

"The police have been notified, but it probably won't help much. I'll contact Boss Gao later to see if he has connections."

Since it was a Shanxi matter, Qi Hao decided to seek help from Boss Gao.

Though it felt like using a cannon to shoot a mosquito; Boss Gao's connections often dealt with multimillion or billion-yuan deals.

"Oh right, Gao Fei previously said to contact her if needed." An Feng recalled, determinedly saying, "I'm not leaving, if I go you won't even have a place to nap at noon, and you don't have a nanny van."

"It's okay, you can leave the nanny van."

Even if Qi Hao turned to Gao Yang, solving the issue wouldn't be immediate, and who knows what might happen next.

"Wow, you really are a jerk."

An Feng made a funny face and continued roasting sweet potatoes.

Qi Hao had no choice but to call Gao Yang, and in just over an hour, the issue was reportedly resolved.

The troublemakers would behave now.

Several even got themselves invited to spend New Year's Day inside.

The truth is, Qi Hao had another reason for wanting An Feng gone.

He soon had scenes with the film's female lead, Tan Nao, including a bed scene, and didn't want An Feng to witness the filming.