I am a Big Player
Chapter 674 - 665, Valiant Soldier_1

Chapter 674: 665, Valiant Soldier_1

"Don’t be nervous on stage," Zhao Fatty encouraged Ren He with his equally limited experience, "In this line of work, the timid starve and the bold thrive. Just don’t get stage fright, and no matter how you perform, it’ll be fine. Directors hate actors who get stage fright the most."

The set crew brought over 30 sets of armor for Ren He and the others to change into, and just by looking at the fine detail of the standard armor, Ren He understood that this might truly be a big production wuxia drama.

The set crew said coldly, "This armor is custom-made by a master, so take care not to damage it. If you wreck it, you can’t afford to pay for it."

Ren He curled his lip—while the armor was indeed valuable, the claim that they couldn’t afford it was a bit of an exaggeration...

But as good-looking as the armor was, it was also incredibly heavy. No wonder the production team needed specialized people to wear it, as those under 175 cm in height just couldn’t pull it off.

The dozen or so people Zhao Fatty had brought were between 175 and 180 cm tall, and Ren He, being 184 cm, stood out from the crowd. Additionally, after donning the armor, Zhao Fatty felt that everyone else looked awkwardly like a mix of modern and ancient people, but looking at Ren He, he felt as if Ren He was born to wear this kind of armor that made someone look valiant.

Zhao Fatty glanced at his own big belly and feared he couldn’t even fit into the armor!

"With a body like yours, you’re basically a walking clothes hanger. You’ve been blessed by the ancestors, you must treasure this!" Zhao Fatty urged repeatedly, terrified that the opportunity that had fallen into their laps, like what happened that morning, would fly away again.

Although he still had a bit of conscience and didn’t want to exploit these group actors, he also couldn’t afford to lose money every time someone left the group!

Ren He cheerfully replied, "Don’t worry, I’ll definitely perform well! Can count on it, I’ll treat you to a drink tonight!"

"Drink my ass, first get your acting right," Zhao Fatty glared, then muttered under his breath, "You bunch of broke asses... Treat me to a drink..."

At this point, the assistant director came over to brief them on the scene: "You’ll be playing Imperial Guards, and the protagonist is going to fight his way through here, ultimately killing all of you. Got it? In a moment, the wushu instructor will come to teach you how to perform. Make sure your actions are strong and brave. If anyone acts like they haven’t eaten, they can just leave right now."

"Got it!" everyone replied in unison.

These thirty men were made up of two groups, one was Zhao Fatty’s crew, and the other was another Group Head, Mr. Zhao’s crew. Who says there’s no conflict among group actors? There were already some minor frictions between the two groups now.

This prompted the assistant director to specifically call Zhao Fatty and Mr. Zhao over: "Keep your people in line. I don’t care about your personal issues, but if you mess up the scene, we won’t work with you again; then you can wait for your turn to drink the winds of the northwest!"

The two Group Heads quickly plastered on flattering smiles and assured the director it wouldn’t happen.

When the wushu instructor arrived, he first explained the choreography to the others and then turned to Ren He, "When it’s time, you’ll have a ten-move exchange with the protagonist. You have to make it look brave to highlight the protagonist’s bravado, understand?"

"Got it!" Ren He nodded. After all, the purpose of the green leaves is to set off the red flowers. If they picked ungainly characters to highlight the protagonist, it wouldn’t amount to much.

Then the wushu instructor demonstrated the movements to Ren He, while everyone else watched. Once Ren He had mastered the movements, they could start filming. Watching the instructor’s sweeping strokes and grand, powerful gestures gave off the aura of a war general on the battlefield, Ren He guessed this instructor must be a true practitioner of wushu.

"Come, try repeating the move I just did; after a few goes, we can try practicing the sparring routine..."

Before the wushu director could finish his sentence, he watched, wide-eyed, as Ren He picked up the prop knife and started chopping down just like he had demonstrated. With one slash forward, he created a huge whooshing sound. Even standing 5 meters away, the director’s instinct, honed through years of martial arts training, made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He had the feeling that if he had been standing opposite Ren He at that moment, he likely wouldn’t have been able to catch that blade!

"Have you practiced martial arts before?" The wushu director was stunned.

"No, I haven’t," Ren He replied truthfully. He really hadn’t practiced wushu, but he felt the need to explain further: "I do exercise regularly, and I’m pretty good at fighting..."

Everyone around them had darkened faces. Being pretty good at fighting, what the heck was that?

Little did they know, a middle-aged man nearby suddenly said, "Just like that, let Cheng Xin practice directly with him, and if they can shoot this scene well, consider it a pleasant surprise for today!"

"Yes, Director!" The wushu director respectfully addressed the middle-aged man, and Ren He then realized that this was the real director, although he wasn’t familiar with the entertainment industry of this era, so he didn’t know the director’s fame.

Zhao Fatty was overjoyed. He had been hanging around the director’s side and happened to overhear the great director privately praising Ren He’s actions to the assistant director.

Zhao Fatty couldn’t quite remember the exact words, but it was something like Ren He being one of the rare extras who could bring a true sense of power to martial arts moves, and if possible, they might give him more scenes.

Zhao Fatty knew exactly what this meant: if nothing unexpected happened, Ren He had a very good chance of becoming a regular cast member!

At this moment, half of Ren He’s face was hidden behind the solid helmet, but just his stance with the knife was enough to remind people of the unmatched warriors depicted in novels and tales.

By this time, the lead actor had already finished with makeup and came over. He was no pretty boy; carrying a horse spear with him, he walked with genuine martial prowess.

"Cheng Xin, you practice the routine directly with him," the director called out.

The actor named Cheng Xin nodded: "Okay!"

In the full view of the entire film crew, the wushu director personally walked Ren He and Cheng Xin through the routine twice: the two men fighting at close quarters, one wielding a horse spear, the other a long knife. In the end, Ren He was to be stabbed under the rib by the spearhead and retreat to the city wall, where he would then slowly sit down and die.

The wushu director said, "Cheng Xin isn’t a martial artist, so his final stab might lack precision and power, but don’t worry. The horse spear is custom-made; the spearhead isn’t that sharp, so it certainly won’t kill you. If it hurts, just bear with it."

Ren He nodded to indicate he understood. Extras were treated this way; some pain during filming was inevitable. Speaking of which, Ren He felt no fear of pain. After all, it was all about experiencing the life of a background actor. He’d just bear it and it would pass.

Once everyone was in position, the director held a megaphone from behind: "Action!"

Zhao Fatty let out a sigh of relief on the side. At this point, nothing should go wrong, right? Finally, another talent was emerging from his ranks. He wondered just how far Ren He could go on this path?