77 Roughly Right

During the lunch break, Yin Fenghua returns to his dressing room and instead of reflecting on his performance problems during the morning session, he takes it out on his assistant and a few junior staff members, complaining that the boxed lunch is not to his liking, that the air conditioning in the room is not warm enough, and shouting in front of the many teachers and students from the NATA, acting like a prima donna and looking down on artists in the traditional arts.

Yuan Ge watches in disbelief, and other than apologising to Professor Wang and the others on his behalf, there is nothing else he can do to change the behaviour of Yin Fenghua - an actor of their own choosing.

During the past few days of filming, Yin Fenghua has long seen through the tight financial situation of Dragon Dreams. With his seniority in the acting world and his close ties with the boss Chow Mingrun, he doesn't take Yuan Ge's heartfelt work seriously at all.

He didn't bother to hide his attitude either and it became increasingly obvious that he was just going through the motions. He sits lazily in his chair in front of the dressing mirror, his eyes half closed, looking wan and sleepy. The assistant brings in Zhou Yu's costume for the next scene for him to change into, but he waits a full fifteen minutes before opening his eyes, looking at the Jiangdong general's costume and helmet, and slouching to his feet.

Yuan Ge and the rest of the crew waited for a long time before finally seeing a listless Zhou Yu on stage. It is not that the costume doesn't fit him well, but Yin Fenghua's mental state is different from the heroic Zhou Yu he has in mind. No one knows where he has been fooling around after work these days, whether it is because he smoked and drank too much, or for other reasons...

However, these scenes have to be completed today no matter what. Professor Wang brought so many students and teachers to the set to help out, not taking a penny, doing art direction and making guest appearances, saving them a lot of money on their budget, and instead of being respected, they are taunted and ridiculed by Yin Fenghua. What's more, their new play, The Battle of Red Cliffs, which he placed in the film also failed to achieve the effect of showcasing Rong Qiuchen's sensational success in the capital, so how can he expect them to be willing to continue helping out tomorrow?

"Mr. Yin, I'd better tell you about the context of this scene first, so we can save time later."

"No need to tell me. The burning of Red Cliffs, even a three-year-old knows that story."

Yin Fenghua answers impatiently. When he sees that everyone is waiting for him, he doesn't want to be singled out by Yuan Ge to be lectured. "What you are trying to do is just to shoot a big scene. All you want is just the result of Qiuchen's winning. There's really no need to film so many details or focus on the opera singing itself. Getting it roughly right will do."

"Getting it roughly right will do" - Yuan Ge, an obsessive-compulsive perfectionist, can never tolerate such an attitude in his life. When he heard this, he was so exasperated that he almost snapped.

"Mr. Yin, you really don't read my script at all! After filming for so long, you have never understood my character Qiuchen. This scene, Qiuchen winning the Flowers of the Opera Stage, is the highlight of Qiuchen's life, condensing his glory before he entered the Rong Mansion. After the competition, Qiuchen was awarded the top prize by the Empress Dowager Cixi herself, and the seven brothers of the Jinyu Troupe soared to great heights, becoming the 'Seven Golden Flowers', and making the Jinyu Troupe a sensation in the capital. This is what made his later life seem all the more tragic. With such a reputation, he supported Liang Zitang, a down-and-out scholar, on his path to power and prestige, only to be betrayed by him, which in turn led to the tragic fate of the destruction of the Jinyu Troupe. By the way, do you know why Qiuchen played Xiao Qiao in one scene and Zhou Yu in the next?"

Yin Fenghua's gaze is dull, looking as if his brain is empty.

Yuan Ge has to answer the question himself, "Because that was the heyday of Beijing Opera. There were many opera troupes and many masters in the capital at that time, and the 'Thirteen Greatest Artists of Tongguang' were all highly skilled. Qiuchen was able to stand out from the crowd and win the Flowers of the Opera Stage because he was an artistic genius who could handle both a Sheng and a Dan role! Xiao Qiao was to showcase his stunningly beautiful Dan role, while Zhou Yu was to highlight his handsome and heroic Sheng role. The two masters of the Jinyu Troupe had trained seven great artists, some of whom excelled in the Sheng role and some in the Dan role, but only Qiuchen, a true all-rounder, excelled in both. This was the reason why he stood out and took the title of Number One Flower of the Opera Stage …"

Yuan Ge spoke for quite a while, doing his best to explain, but Yin Fenghua appeared uninterested. It was hard to say how much he had actually heard.

Once filming resumed, it quickly falls back into the same situation as the morning. The lead actor can't get into character and shooting is constantly NG'd. Either the stage style is out of place, or the look is not right, not to mention that he can't even remember his lines. The simple four lines of opera lyrics have to be repeated a dozen times, and it is Yin Fenghua who finally gets fed up first, and pushes the work to the sound department. He just mouths a few random numbers and let the lines be dubbed post production.

It was supposed to be a great scene, but it has dragged on from noon to sunset because the leading man keeps dropping the ball at the crucial moment. In the end, Yin Fenghua is the first to get impatient and simply gives up, leaving the young student who plays Zhou Yu earlier to continue the performance in his place.

"I can find a way to justify using a double for Zhou Yu's martial arts scene, but today it's all stage singing, using a body double just doesn't make sense. You just have to stick with it, get a few close-ups right and put some effort into singing the lyrics. Is it really that hard?!"

Yuan Ge is so exasperated that he is on the verge of an outburst. Just as he is trying his best to hold back his anger, Yin Fenghua says he has got a headache and insists that he needs to stop now. Seeing that it is getting late and the NATA students and teachers have been working all day as well, he has no reason to delay them any longer, so Yuan Ge has no choice but to grit his teeth and let the body double take over Yin Fenghua's Zhou Yu and continue to finish the filming.