Chapter 59: The Drunken Scene p2
Director Pan greatly admired Mi Hongdou’s talent, acting skills, and comprehension. But for this scene of the lonely empress, he was still a little worried that she wouldn’t be able to get into character. After all, this was a solo scene for the young empress, with a wide range of emotions to portray. The script didn’t specify the transitions or the specific emotions, just that this segment required a lot of improvisation from the actress. Mi Hongdou couldn’t possibly be heartbroken because of Zhang Zijing. Relying solely on acting skills, switching between so many emotions would seem forced and unnatural. Director Pan was worried, so he talked to Mi Hongdou for a long time before filming, for the first time publicly agreeing with Pan Xiang’s suggestion, “If you don’t like Zhang Zijing, then look at someone you like through him.”
If you can’t immerse yourself in the role and feel the empress’s sadness over being forgotten by the emperor, then imagine the person you like, imagine them abandoning you.
Mi Hongdou thought for a long time, then asked to be left alone to prepare. She would try acting it out by herself, and when she felt ready, they could start filming. Director Pan agreed, but he secretly told the crew to start filming. Perhaps her own preparation would be better than a deliberate performance later? Having been tormented by Zhang Zijing and Jiang Duo for too long, Director Pan wouldn’t miss any opportunity for a good take.
So, the young empress leaned against the window, for a long, long time. Outside, night deepened, and the moonlight was just right.
The young empress’s expression gradually shifted from loneliness to sadness, then suddenly, a flicker of madness.
Yes, a flicker of madness that would be missed if you weren’t paying attention. Director Pan, staring intently at the screen, clenched his fists. He suddenly had a feeling that his decision to secretly start filming was probably the best decision he had made in days!
In the room, the young empress, after standing by the window for a long time, seemed to lose interest in the scenery outside. She walked back inside and sat at the table, which was laden with dishes, some the emperor’s favorites, some hers.
The empress sat upright, her expression composed, as if the person who had shown a flicker of madness earlier wasn’t her at all.
After a while, she gestured and pointed at the dishes, asking the servants to remove the emperor’s favorites. What was left were her own favorites. She looked at the table, the previously full table now sparsely populated with dishes. The young empress smiled self-deprecatingly. She cared so much about him, and he… She stopped a servant who was trying to rearrange the dishes. “Take them all away.”
Up to this point, the scene followed the script. According to the script, the servants would clear the table, the empress would stare at the empty table for a while, then, unable to control her emotions, her eyes would redden, and she would leave in tears.
The servant, following the script, was about to clear the table, but when she reached for the wine pot, the young empress stopped her.
“Leave this, take away the rest. You can all leave.” The young empress’s voice, without its usual forced authority, sounded tired and even a little weak.
This wasn’t in the script. The servant hesitated, then removed her hand from the wine pot and left with the dishes. The other servants looked at Director Pan, confused. He waved his hand with a dark expression, and they left too. Director Pan breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, he had switched to a close-up when Mi Hongdou changed her lines, otherwise, he would have had to call cut.
“That last servant was good, quite quick-witted,” Director Pan whispered to a crew member next to him, then quickly refocused on Mi Hongdou on the screen.
The room was empty, only a wine pot and two cups left on the table.
The young empress’s fingers traced the two cups, then she picked up one, played with it with an amused smile, and then, without hesitation, threw it on the floor. A crisp, shattering sound.
Then she picked up the other cup, reached for the wine pot, as if to pour herself a drink. But she stopped midway, as if remembering something. She looked at the broken pieces on the floor, then at the cup in her hand, and suddenly smiled, a bitter smile with a hint of indescribable sweetness. She gently placed the cup next to the broken pieces. Another crisp, shattering sound, the shards indistinguishable.
“Remind me to get a close-up of the broken pieces later,” Director Pan said, grabbing a crew member, his eyes glued to the screen.
“Okay.” The voice beside him was Ji Junxin’s.
Director Pan was startled and turned around. Ji Junxin, already changed and her makeup removed, was standing next to him, watching the screen intently.
The young empress looked at the broken pieces on the floor, seemingly satisfied that they were now in pairs, her expression softening.
A clear liquid streamed from the wine pot into the young empress’s mouth.
Director Pan was incredibly grateful that he had insisted on real food and water in the wine pot. Otherwise… they wouldn’t be able to continue filming.
Some liquid dribbled from the corner of the young empress’s mouth, and she quickly closed her lips, her movements slightly flustered and awkward. Her cheeks puffed out from the mouthful of “wine,” and she resolutely swallowed.
“Cough… cough…” She choked.
Director Pan felt the person next to him move forward and instinctively grabbed her arm. It was Ji Junxin.
“She’s just acting…” Director Pan whispered, trying to calm the anxious Ji Junxin. But… it seemed that Mi Hongdou had actually choked. The coughing, the choking, the effect was really good.
Look, Mi Hongdou’s nose was red, and tears welled up in her eyes, just like someone who choked on a mouthful of wine. Using water to create the effect of alcohol, whether intentional or not, it was impressive.
The young empress coughed a few times, her face turning red. But she didn’t put down the wine pot.
One mouthful after another… until the pot was empty. The young empress, her face flushed, stood up unsteadily and raised her hand, as if to throw the wine pot towards the broken cups. But she stopped midway, looked at the broken pieces, and then, abruptly changing direction, threw the pot to the other side of the table.
Then… she cried…
Real tears… Director Pan knew… the camera was zoomed in on her face.
Ji Junxin, whom Director Pan had been holding, started struggling again. He had to let go and whisper fiercely, “She’s acting so well! Don’t disturb her!”
Ji Junxin stopped struggling…
Director Pan, watching the screen, felt that he had been a bit too harsh, but apologizing seemed awkward. “Be good, I’ll buy you chestnuts later.”
Although Ji Junxin didn’t respond, Director Pan felt that she was now as obedient as a kitten.
It wasn’t silent, heartbroken tears, but loud sobs, her face buried in her arms on the table. A more realistic portrayal of drunkenness.
The young empress cried for a long time. Director Pan felt that this take was good enough.
Compared to the original ending of leaving in tears, the drunken scene Mi Hongdou added was brilliant. Ending the scene with the young empress’s heartbroken sobs was perfect!
If they could capture her tear-streaked face when she lifted her head, it would be even better. Director Pan, thinking this, didn’t call cut.
The set was silent, only the young empress’s sobs could be heard, so heartbreaking that it tugged at everyone’s heartstrings. A few older female crew members wiped their eyes.
Director Pan was about to call cut.
Just then, the sobs subsided. He waited.
The young empress slowly lifted her head.
As he expected, Mi Hongdou had truly cried, her face streaked with tears, her eyes red… Director Pan was about to praise her for controlling her movements when she collapsed, not ruining her makeup, when he saw… the bright red on her lips.
It wasn’t… lipstick. Could it be… Director Pan’s heart lurched. She didn’t have to be so dedicated, biting her lip until it bled. Although surprised, as an experienced and perceptive director, he signaled for a close-up of Mi Hongdou’s lips.
The young empress on the screen had stopped sobbing, but tears were still silently streaming down her face. If her earlier sobs were heartbreaking, then her current expression, numb and despairing, as if the tears were flowing involuntarily, was even more so.
This was it, an even better moment to call cut than before!
But Director Pan didn’t say anything.
As expected, Mi Hongdou’s performance wasn’t over yet.
The young empress stood up again, her body swaying, almost stepping on the broken pieces of the cup. Director Pan felt a little nervous and thought he should call cut. But he quickly realized that this near miss was also part of her act. After steadying herself, the young empress squatted down, picked up a shard of glass in one hand, then another shard in the other.
Director Pan was glad that he had all cameras rolling. Otherwise, this change in angle would have required two separate takes. Heh, after so many NGs, he had learned his lesson. Having all cameras rolling made it easier to capture unexpected brilliance. He hadn’t been able to salvage anything from Zhang Zijing and Jiang Duo’s NGs, but he had found a treasure.
Then, the young empress did something that seemed a little childish. Holding a shard in each hand, she tried to put the two obviously mismatched pieces together, turning them this way and that. They clearly didn’t fit, how could they be put together? Everyone could see it, but the young empress seemed not to understand. She didn’t try other pieces, just stubbornly and childishly tried to fit these two together. From the frequency of her movements and her expression, it was clear that her initial patience was giving way to increasing frustration. Her movements became rough and clumsy, like a child’s, the two shards clattering against each other. The young empress looked fragile and pitiful.
She was drunk. Although everyone knew Mi Hongdou was drinking water, they all felt that she was drunk.
Perhaps because her movements were too rough, one of the shards slipped from her hand and fell to the floor. The young empress looked down, confused, as if she couldn’t recognize which piece it was. Then, unexpectedly, after a brief moment of confusion, she suddenly threw the other shard to the floor in a fit of anger, stood up, and walked towards the bedroom.
Silence. Was she going to hit someone? … For some reason, many crew members had this thought at the same time. Even Director Pan couldn’t deny that this thought had also flashed through his mind.
After a few steps, Mi Hongdou stopped and closed her eyes. A few seconds later, when she opened them again, although there was a hint of fatigue, it was her usual gentle gaze.
Director Pan, for some reason, breathed a sigh of relief. Then he heard Ji Junxin’s even louder sigh of relief.
Ji Junxin quickly ran towards Mi Hongdou, and this time, Director Pan didn’t stop her.
This time, it was truly over. It was brilliant… this impromptu performance was truly unforgettable. Director Pan suddenly believed Qiao Rubai’s words. “Even if Zhang Zijing and Jiang Duo’s performances are mediocre, the other actors’ performances are enough to make this film a success.”
Yes, perhaps they really could do it.
As Director Pan walked over to praise Mi Hongdou, he heard Ji Junxin checking the wound on Mi Hongdou’s lip, softly complaining that she was too immersed in the role and had hurt herself. Director Pan felt a little awkward. Although it would have been a bit much, when the young empress was clumsily trying to piece the cup together earlier, he had thought that adding a scene of her accidentally cutting her hand would be perfect. Of course, it was impossible, since it wasn’t planned, and if Mi Hongdou cut herself, it would be a real injury. He had considered adding it in post-production, but it didn’t feel right. This naturally flowing scene wasn’t suitable for any additions. And Mi Hongdou would probably find it difficult to recreate the same emotions.
“Director Pan, I’m ready. I know how to act this scene now. Let’s begin.” Mi Hongdou took the tissue from Ji Junxin, dabbed at the wound on her lip, and said to Director Pan sincerely.
Are you kidding me? Director Pan was stunned.
He told Mi Hongdou that her earlier performance had already been filmed, and it was excellent, there was no need to reshoot. He thought she would be happy, but she wasn’t. Mi Hongdou said that she was just trying to find the right emotions, that she hadn’t followed the script, which seemed inappropriate… and she felt that her portrayal of the emotions, especially the resentment she often struggled with, was a bit over the top.
It was indeed inappropriate for a complete newcomer like Mi Hongdou, with no previous works, to improvise. But it was truly brilliant. Especially after the heartbreaking sobs and confusion, after the young empress’s pitiful vulnerability, that sudden outburst of anger was shocking and revealed something deeper, something beyond the scene itself.
“Pan Xiang told me about her ideas for this script. I didn’t quite agree with them before, so I never mentioned it to you.” Director Pan hesitated, but seeing Mi Hongdou’s anxious expression, he continued, “Now, let me tell you what Pan Xiang said.”
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