Strange Life of a Cat
Chapter 349 - Chapter 349 342

Chapter 349: 342 Chapter 349: 342 According to Yang Huaixi, this Mr. Jiang had quite a reputation, which made sense; anyone Yang Yi invited to the production team, whether they were involved in shooting or just delivering boxed meals, was no ordinary person. It had long been known that many in the production team could handle their professional duties as well as deal with emergencies such as fires and explosions–truly a group of exceptional individuals.

Mr. Jiang’s job in the crew was to load film into the camera to shoot, then study the action on the film, cutting out parts that were unsatisfactory or unacceptable, and connecting the satisfactory segments together for everyone to see.

During the filming process, as Yang Huaixi recounted, Mr. Jiang had once called a halt during an actor’s performance because he needed to change the film. And another time, when an actor was successfully slaying a spy in a scene, he stopped the shoot again, citing that he couldn’t see the actor’s knife clearly and asked the actor to “kill” the spy once more.

Both the actor and the “spy” lying bloodied on the ground quietly shed tears.

So afterwards, some actors would always ask before performing, “Mr. Jiang, have you loaded enough film?” or “Could you move the camera somewhere else where my actions can be seen clearly?”

Yet, this man had his own ideas, and it was very difficult for others to change his decisions. Of course, if the actor was a big name, he wouldn’t call a halt and would just cooperate; as for the lesser-known actors, sorry, they’d better listen to Mr. Jiang.

Zheng Tan approached Mr. Jiang, observing him. He wanted to understand this man’s temperament and his opinions about Ronald and himself, since it would be troublesome if Mr. Jiang called a halt at an inopportune moment.

The man fiddling with the camera noticed Zheng Tan’s gaze and turned his head to look. He was puzzled for a moment when he recognized the cat that Mr. Yang had mentioned. What did this cat want? Was it like the other actors who came to get on his good side before performing?

At this thought, Mr. Jiang smiled and shook his head, amused by his own idea, then turned back to continue fiddling with the camera. After a while, he noticed that the cat was still there, seemingly interested in watching him handle the camera.

“Do you understand what you’re seeing?” Mr. Jiang turned around and addressed the direction of the cat, glancing at the “Z” on the Black Cat’s collar, “Z, eh? It’s not your turn yet, go take a nap.”

After a pause, Mr. Jiang reached into his pocket, pulled out a bag of unfinished cookies, crouched down and extended them towards the Black Cat, only to find that the cat looked at the cookies disdainfully before turning and walking away.

“Hey, is this disdain?” Mr. Jiang said to someone nearby, “That look just now was disdainful, wasn’t it?”

“…It seemed so.”

When Yang Yi came by, Mr. Jiang told him about the incident.

Yang Yi glanced at the departing figure of the Black Cat and smiled at Mr. Jiang, “What do you think of that cat?”

“Quite good, fits the role.”

Although Zheng Tan walked away, his ears were still perked, listening to the conversation. Hearing Mr. Jiang’s and Yang Yi’s exchange, Zheng Tan was reassured. This man didn’t hate cats and had a decent opinion of him. Plus, considering Yang Yi’s influence, it was likely that he wouldn’t be “stopped” during his scenes. As for Ronald, since his name wasn’t mentioned, Zheng Tan didn’t yet know his thoughts.

A movie of an hour and a half, over a hundred scenes, hundreds to thousands of shots, some taken.

The order of the scenes wasn’t arranged sequentially; Yang Yi and Kong Han had their own schedule.

Since the start of shooting, Zheng Tan had observed the parts of the two main characters, as well as the scenes with Ronald, Tao Qi, Xue Ding, and others. Aside from being a bit more NG due to nervousness and adjustment at the beginning, everyone was doing quite well in the following days, and Kong Han didn’t put on a sour face either.

Although Zheng Tan wasn’t fond of Ronald as a person, when it came to acting, Ronald was passably good. It was uncertain whether it was because he was playing a role that resembled himself–a rich second-generation with arrogance and insolence–but his performance was decent.

The scene being shot now involved the male and female leads along with Xue Ding. As the neighbor of the male lead, Xue Ding’s supporting role was not minor.

Zheng Tan squatted next to Yang Yi, listening to him chatting softly with Old Wang. There were no other people around, and their quiet conversation couldn’t be overheard by anyone.

“That supporting actor isn’t bad, he didn’t get overshadowed by the two main actors, nor did he steal the scene, and his acting is also quite good,” Old Wang commented. He didn’t use many professional terms to make his assessment, just a simple comment.

Wei Wen and Shi Xiaotian had the talent, plus they had received professional education and training, and had acting experience; their ability was beyond doubt, and if they hadn’t the ability, Kong Han wouldn’t have let them play the main characters. Surprisingly, Xue Ding, who normally didn’t stand out, also received high praise from Kong Han and Old Wang. The “quite good” in Old Wang’s comment was already considered a high rating.

“A new discovery, started as an extra,” Yang Yi said. Though his face didn’t show it, from his tone, one could tell that he was quite satisfied with Xue Ding’s performance.

Hollywood movies sweep across the globe partly because of their actors. They not only have an international team of stars but also hundreds of thousands of contracted professional and semi-professional actors. The pedestrians on the streets, the soldiers in battle scenes, the tourists on the beach, the diners in restaurants that appear in Hollywood movies are almost entirely played by professional or semi-professional actors, not just any random passerby. Even those who specialize in playing extras in that industry can earn a middle-class income. This large, high-quality team of extras is an important component of Hollywood’s acting forces.

Similarly, the domestic film industry has its own team of over a hundred thousand extras, commonly referred to as “Beipiao” or “Hengpiao” among those in the circle. However, the quality of domestic extras is generally poor; most have not received specialized education and lack the basic qualities of an actor, serving as nothing more than live props in the filming process. Most extras don’t catch the eyes of professionals, but a small number, through long-term practice, have acquired certain acting techniques, bringing pleasant surprises, like Xue Ding.

Back when he was abroad, Yang Yi had specifically observed movie shootings there and had visited some filming sites after returning. He observed those extras, and Xue Ding was one that Yang Yi discovered at that time. He watched him for a while before deciding to sign him.

Yang Yi liked to discover talent.

“An old master of the performing arts once said, ‘There are only small actors, no small roles, on stage. Even if there is only one line, it must be performed to touch the heart. Even if one plays a supporting role or a bit part, the effort and passion poured in should be no less than that of a lead role,'” Yang Yi said. “Once, I found that this kid had practiced just the action of drawing a gun over a hundred times, just for a bit part as a detective.”

Yang Yi was impressed by Xue Ding’s seriousness.

Every year, so many actors, most with systematic training, even those professionally trained; but after a few years, some are very famous, some remain obscure, some are skilled in acting, while others are just filling a space.

Character and ability do not necessarily correlate, and neither do fame and talent always go hand in hand.

“Have you ever heard a saying?” Yang Yi asked.

“What?”

“Fools can’t put in foolish effort, because it’s the smart ones who can truly be meticulous in ways that may seem foolish.”

Old Wang laughed without a word. Back in his school days, he was known as a poor student, but now it seemed that many of his former classmates, those once proud contemporaries, were still toiling day and night for a single house.

Zheng Tan pondered thoughtfully at his side.

Another week passed, and finally, it was Zheng Tan’s turn.

Starting from the day before, Charlie was even more anxious than Zheng Tan, which amused Yang Yi.

Of course, perhaps to many people, cats don’t get nervous or realize what they are about to do. It’s natural to assume that it’s Charlie who’s nervous, which was understandable when people saw him looking that way.

Charlie felt like crying but had no tears.

After arriving on set, Charlie once again went over the scenes that Zheng Tan would be filming that day.

After a scene with Wei Wen and Shi Xiaotian, there was a rest, and then it was time for Zheng Tan’s performance.

Charlie clutched the script, his palms sweaty and the pages wrinkled.

Everyone around stretched their necks to see; even the actors who had just finished their scenes didn’t leave. It was their first time acting with a cat, and they found it quite novel. Even Yang Huaixi unusually refrained from discussing character lines with Tao Qi and Xue Ding, focusing on this side instead.

Where was the cat food? Where was the cat food that pet films usually needed?

The crowd was puzzled.

Old Wang brought Mika along, watching closely and eagerly from nearby.

Once Charlie gave the “ok” signal, Kong Han signaled everyone to get ready.

“Action!”

After waiting a few seconds, there was no movement.

The lump on the bed seemed as if it truly had fallen asleep.

The onlookers were also puzzled. Should they use some cat food to entice it?

Charlie and a few others felt extremely anxious. In the past, Heitan wasn’t like this; it would start as soon as they signalled the beginning. Could Heitan not understand “action”? That didn’t seem right either. Sometimes Xiao Guo would say “action,” and during documentary filming it was “action,” and sometimes they would just shout “a,” and the cat would cooperate and start acting. What was going on today?

From the side, Ronald, enjoying the situation as if it were a good show, sneered, but his agent tugged at his sleeve, causing him to purse his lips disdainfully.

Kong Han frowned, then turned to look at Charlie.

Charlie was sweating nervously all over. Seeing that Zheng Tan wasn’t cooperating after Director Kong had called “action,” and Kong Han was looking over, Charlie panicked and blurted out to Zheng Tan, “Z, it’s starting!”

Finally, there was movement on the other side.

In the somewhat disheveled room, on the not-too-large bed propped against the pillow, a pair of fuzzy, sharp black ears emerged from under a thin blanket.

The alarm clock rang.

The small bulge on the bed stirred, and a black triangular nose appeared from under the blanket, its long whiskers twitching twice as if uncomfortable.

The mouth opened wide with a yawn, revealing the sharp white fangs inside.

During the yawn, with its mouth wide open, the tongue covered with taste buds was clearly not human.

The half-open eyes were blurry with sleepiness. Looking towards the window, the pupils narrowed from ovals to slender slots due to the light streaming through, resembling the awakening predators in the jungle.

…

This scene, from getting out of bed to realizing the discomfort to standing in front of the full-length mirror, was shot no less than ten times. They filmed in separate takes, including a segment of walking upright, which they also shot in several attempts. It wasn’t that Zheng Tan couldn’t perform, but doing it all at once risked being regarded as a monster. Thus, Zheng Tan played dumb, performing only parts or not following the script, prompting Kong Han to naturally call cut.

But what Zheng Tan didn’t realize was that, in Kong Han’s and many others’ eyes, this was already a godsend. After this scene was finished, everyone around showered him with endless praise, which made Zheng Tan’s face burn with embarrassment.

It was really… too embarrassing. (To be continued. If you like this work, we welcome you to come to Qidian (NovelFire.net) to vote for recommendation tickets, monthly tickets; your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.NovelFire.net to read.)

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