"Miss Knightley?"

Ji Ming's verifying eyes amused Morris. He actually didn't expect that Ji Ming really didn't know Keira Knightley - after Ji Ming walked into this conference room, he just politely gestured to Kayla, and Morris had a guess.

When Kayla spoke, Ji Ming's reaction was even more obvious, even though the stage play was much more equal, but it was really not the attitude of facing a well-known movie star, he looked at Kayla, just like watching an ordinary actor who has been in the West End for many years but is still unknown, full of gentlemanly politeness and respect.

From everyone's smiles, Ji Ming got his own answer, the woman in front of him was indeed Keira Knightley.

A few years ago, that is, at the time when Johnny Depp was hailed as the first top in Hollywood, Keira Knightley, who was also the main actor of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series, was at the peak of her popularity. As for now, when she has given birth to two children and her production has been greatly reduced, she has been able to accept it calmly if she is not known to Ji Ming.

"I'm sorry, it's so rude. ”

Kate smiled and shook her head: "Not at all, seriously, I'm looking forward to it now." When I decided to go back to the UK to make a musical, I was worried that if someone always looked at me as a well-known film actor, it would be very uncomfortable. Now, I'm completely out of worry. ”

Ji Ming has some sympathy, and in the Chinese version of "Mo", there is such a problem.

Morris has been carefully observing the two, and there is no doubt that if he chooses one of the two, he will choose Ji Ming - Ji Ming's popularity in the United Kingdom, of course, cannot be compared with Keira Knightley, for a certain period of time, Kayla is the holder of the title of "British Rose" in Hollywood, and her predecessor is Kate Winslet, the eternal Rose in the Titanic. However, as far as a long-term project is concerned, Kayla's fame is not so important, but Ji Ming's ability and his understanding of the plot are more critical, which still does not consider that the project itself comes from Ji Ming.

But no matter what, the harmony between the two leading actors is a guarantee of all success.

"Kayla had appeared on Broadway, and she had been training for a long time in the movies, and she had a voice on Neverland—"

"He probably hasn't even seen it. ”

It's either possible, or I haven't seen it.

Ji Ming smiled.

"So she's a perfect fit for the role of Edge, like I told you before," Morris looked at Ji Ming, "When we balance this story, we have to make the other characters attractive enough, of course the plot arrangement is one thing, the actors are also the other, and Kayla will help do that." ”

"Of course, I'm sure. "Ji Ming is very popular.

Morris first told Ji Ming about Kayla's situation, and also made it clear in front of all the cast and crew that Ji Ming is the number one actor in this play.

"Ji Ming, a Chinese actor, in China, he is Leonardo DiCaprio is an actor like Hollywood, hundreds of millions of social media followers, and he himself starred in the first in the history of China's box office, science fiction films, and art films - 600 to 700 million pounds for single-market commercial films, and 200 million euros for pure art films. In addition to all the major awards in the field of Chinese stage performance, he is well known for his accolades in Cannes and Venice, and he is also the winner of the Italian David Award for Best Foreign Actor. Of course, he is also a high-level professional in the field of vocal technology and classical dance - by the way, he invested in an animated film that recently earned 5 billion yuan at the box office in China. ”

Morris's homework was done very solidly, obviously, he had not finished speaking, and the last half of the sentence, with a refreshing aftertaste:

“...... He is 22 years old and has been debuting for 3 years. ”

Wow.

Wow.

What a genius "child" who the mother!

"Oh, that's a cow beep. —From Ji Ming.

So everybody laughed, and the British liked this senseless sense of humor, mocking others or themselves, and they liked it.

The first meeting of the actors, as well as the first script workshop, was very efficient and rewarding. Everyone let go of their doubts and started to get into a normal working atmosphere — something that might not have to be experienced if it was just an ordinary West End project, but "Mo" is not ordinary.

This is especially true when rehearsals begin in earnest.

The challenge for the actors is too strong.

"In five minutes, I had to do a dance that drained my whole body and sing a song on my own, and at the same time, I had to switch between reality and memories, and the point is, all three had to happen at the same time – Stewart, it was so hard. "The actor of Chunya Sensei, called Martha in the English version, is an actress in her early thirties, with a little fat accumulated on her waist and sweat all over her head.

Foreign musical actors act very hard, and if there is a horizontal line of hard work, European and American actors are probably a lot higher than Asian actors. Although their physical fitness is also stronger, it is clear that in "Mo", the degree of physical and energy consumption is higher than some of the advantages they have physically.

Stewart is the director: "I know exactly how difficult it is, Catherine, isn't that why we asked you to come?"

"Don't be obedient, if I can't jump, you won't look at me more. ”

Ji Ming listened to it.

Catherine looked at Ji Ming and nodded at Stewart: "This is a notoriously snobbish eye. ”

"Haha. ”

"Okay okay, rest for a while, let's try again, Mr. Snobbish begs you. ”

"Go ahead," Catherine took a deep breath, "I can't keep Ji waiting too long. ”

Soon, Catherine began to try back at the difficult performance she had just made.

"Their autonomy is very high," Tong Xinyu said to Ji Ming with a little envy, most of the previous dozen seeds, after participating in a few workshops, have already returned to China to work, Tong Xinyu stayed here to continue to follow the group, and will go back with Ji Ming later.

Ji Ming nodded, the autonomy that Tong Xinyu said is not just not afraid of hardship or tiredness, going over and over again, but indeed these actors will find a good performance state independently. Because they are very free, their bodies and voices are very free, and the director also gives them a lot of space, so they will find the most comfortable and effective performance plan according to their instinct and experience.

In China, many musical theater actors are from professional classes, and they act with a single look, if no one assists in the selection, they will be performed a hundred times, the good is still good, and the bad is still bad, which is determined by the general environment. For example, Catherine, she has been acting in musicals for ten years, counting the campus period, it has been nearly 15 years, and there are not so many musicals in China for people to act.

Chinese opera likes to say that it liberates nature, and it should probably go in this direction.

The efficiency of the crew's rehearsals also surprised Tong Xinyu.

The Chinese version of "Mo" and the English version actually have similar rehearsal time, more than a month and two months. But the content that was filled in during this time was very different.

The same is true of Catherine, who has acted in her scene today seven times. At the same time, before Ji Ming rested, he acted in two scenes, three times each, and the other actors, although Aiqi just danced, but also verified a lot of ideas, the red-haired Rui'er - the English version is called Peggy, and her male partner Robertson, danced until they were sweating profusely.

The rehearsal space is not large, but it is like a tight mechanical mechanism, and every gear is turning smoothly, which is the industrial foundation that has been built up over many years.

It was an eye-opener, just like at the beginning of this century, when the Film Bureau organized the sixth generation of directors to go to Hollywood to see Paramount on the set - a completely different film world.

When Ji Ming and Tong Xinyu returned to the capital, the actors of the "Silence" crew felt that Director Tong's eyes were green and like wolves.

Terrible.

Tong Xinyu did begin to adjust his own way, and the actors also fused and adjusted the Chinese stage performance methods they had learned with more Western performance methods in this more relaxed and demanding way—with the blessing of koi, this adjustment was carried out with difficulty but firmly. All the actors who remain in the crew will greatly benefit from this difficult period.

Including Ji Ming himself.

The first time he went to London to rehearse, Ji Ming was relatively silent, he was more observing, learning, thinking, how his West End colleagues rehearsed, how they performed, how they thought about the interaction between the stage and the audience, how they explored the depth and breadth of the performance - and then it all collided in his head.

A sense of harvest that has not been seen for a long time.

Especially like the short film "Bright Red" in which he acted in Cheng Kaige, which started his transformation from stage to film - this time, it is a transformation to a mature musical theater performance method, which runs through China and the West, and is rooted in Ji Ming's long-term accumulation and thinking about performance.

......

On October 23, Ji Ming returned to the National Theater - speaking of which, after "Thunderstorm", he has never acted in Mandarin works. "Silence" actually has the participation of Mandarin, but it is not deep, there is a production director, who is an experienced executive director of Mandarin, and it can be regarded as a small exploration of Mandarin musicals.

"It's very spirited. Zhou Shaohong looked Ji Ming up and down, today he wore a casual suit, which is a rare formal suit. Because today the theater is going to hold an internal first-class actor certificate awarding ceremony for him, although the scale is not large, but the level is not low.

Zhou Yuan personally attended, several vice presidents such as Vice President Ge, and those who were at home also attended, in addition, the first-class actors of Mandarin, including Li Xuejian and Wang Ying, and several teachers who could come, including Zhu Man and Zhao Han, were also present.

"We have added another first-class actor to our academy this year, which can be said to be of great significance to the cultivation of talents in the academy, breaking the theory of seniority, advocating that the capable go up, the mediocre go down, etc. Comrade Ji Ming joined Mandarin before graduating, it can be said that he has grown up in Mandarin completely, he has made outstanding achievements and excellent market response in the field of drama performance and film and television performance, and is a rare good actor and successful actor who has received both high professional recognition and great audience recognition......" Zhou Yuan's heartfelt words are also very moving, Ji Ming actually agrees very much, if it weren't for the help and open-mindedness of the hospital, his road would indeed not be so smooth, after all, the background of Mandarin and drama has blocked too much bloody rain for him, not to mention, Mandarin has stood up to endorse him several times, and it is even more affectionate.

So when he said his feelings, it was completely from the bottom of his heart.

"Thank you Dean Zhou, thank you to the National Theatre, thank you to Sister Zhou and other colleagues in the hospital, really, only thanks. When I was just starting out and was penniless, I was given so much trust and support, and after I achieved some results, I was given so much freedom and space...... All along, they have loved me and cared for me infinitely...... I will still do more work in the field of stage drama, and I hope to have the opportunity to make some good dramas and musicals with the theater in the future...... Please continue to help me and spur me on, thank you. ”

Applause, applause.

Juman sat down below, his heart was complicated and indescribable. When she came to play the youth version of "Thunderstorm", she never imagined that three years later, she would witness him get the first-class actor title certificate in the conference hall of the National Theater.

It's just fantastic.

Thinking about the movies, the awards, the numbers, the news that pops up in her ears and in front of her all the time – she has witnessed the birth of an industry legend.

Speaking of which, she has been interviewed many times for performing the youth version of "Thunderstorm" with Ji Ming, and described over and over how incredible Ji Ming was at that time:

"He seems to be improving rapidly every moment, and when you look at it again, you will find that he is better at acting"

"He even started directing the performances of those of us full-fledged actors"

"No one is dissatisfied, really, his performance is so convincing"

"In fact, everyone is very happy, because it is true that we have made great progress at that stage, and our understanding of the stage and performance have benefited us for a lifetime."

"That was the first time I saw a true genius."

Because of this experience and the progress she made at that time, she became a young actor who was focused on training Mandarin, and participated in two key plays, with a promising future - when she reunited with her Chinese opera classmates, those colleagues who were still silent, as well as those who had already changed careers, were very envious of her, applied what she had learned, and truly became an actor who relied on acting to eat and make a career by acting.

Everything seems to be able to be said from Ji Ming walking into the door of the small rehearsal room, the first time she saw Ji Ming, how similar she was to Ji Ming who was taking a group photo at this time - how could he be so handsome?

It's so handsome!

Ji Ming took his certificate from Zhou Yuan, then took a photo with Zhou Yuan, then took a photo with the leaders of the Academy, then took a photo with all the people, then took a photo with the first-class actors, and then took a photo with the young actors - finally it will be placed on the propaganda board and website.

"Comrade Ji Ming, a young actor in our hospital, was successfully rated as a first-class actor!"

So, the whole network was shocked.