Chapter 1858: Chapter 1845: Overtime (Part 4)
The two actresses are of similar age and status. Both hold two Best Actress trophies, but Xia Siyu’s box office is slightly higher, her leading film won the Golden Lion, and she herself clinched a Cannes Best Supporting Actress award, ranking slightly above Shang Feifei. However, her past reputation was not good, her loyal fan base is not as solid as Shang Feifei’s, so overall, the two are considered evenly matched.
Though the two actresses belong to different teams and usually don’t even socialize, they coincidently head to the set to practice dancing, observing the filming while they dance, causing all the actors and staff on set to feel immense pressure. Especially since even when their own scenes are completed they don’t leave; even if they don’t have scenes, they still hurry over to watch. Arriving early and leaving late, they’re more dedicated than clocking in for work.
They may have sensed it, as the two seem subtly in competition with each other.
But it’s not just their personal competition; they also drive the entire crew to compete. While the two are usually "overseeing" from the sidelines, it makes the actors unable to slack off or be careless because on one occasion, two people were performing a scene together, it wasn’t even Xia Siyu’s scene, yet, she pointed out one of them had mixed up lines. However, the person who mixed up lines didn’t make a minor mistake but rather switched two sentences, unnoticed even by the director, only causing the co-actor a brief moment of confusion.
Although movies nowadays are slightly better than TV dramas, with actors performing and then casually hiring a voice actor to dub lines afterwards, the actors’ voices are typically their own, unless the original sound doesn’t fit the conditions. However, even so, the sound is recorded post-production, not captured on site.
But the problem was, Xia Siyu noticed and pointed it out, leading to that take being scrapped and reshot.
During a break, the actor asked, "Ms. Xia, although I said my line wrong, logically it sounded fine. The director didn’t notice it, the co-actor might’ve noticed a bit but it didn’t affect anything. How did you notice?"
Xia Siyu was still stretching her legs on the side, calmly saying, "Oh, it’s nothing, I’ve read the entire script."
One sentence stunned everyone. Nowadays, just memorizing one’s own lines and performing according to the script, using their original voice, would make audiences cry tears of joy for such dedication. It’s rumored some masters can memorize the script of their co-actor. To better understand the context and mood at the time, to showcase the character, that’s dedication among dedication, a master among masters.
No one expected Xia Siyu to memorize the entire script.
Actually, Xia Siyu doesn’t have many lines in the script. Her outward character is that of a weak, timid female clerk who doesn’t even speak unless it’s brought up. Her other side, the psy-chopath killer, requires less dialogue, relying more on expressions.
But she read the entire script to attain a sense of "control." The psy-chopath killer she portrays pursues nothing less than total "absolute control." Her killing is for interest, meticulously selecting the right victims and crime scenes, even arranging the crime scene like a "piece of art." Each crime committed is as refined as crafting a "death overture," all while cleaning up thoroughly, leaving no clues for the police to catch her.
On the surface, artful ambiance, aloofness, arrogance, and ruthlessness are enough. But what Xia Siyu sought most was the "control" hidden beneath these killer tactics. Everything must be done with effortless grace, knowing all characters and reactions in the drama inside out.
She meticulously weaves her criminal web, apart from treating the crime scene like a work of art, the most crucial part is watching the police run around like headless flies and seeing the public fear impending doom.
This sense of control isn’t achieved by mere talk.
Xia Siyu is an actor with strong immersion and gets deeply into the role. But such psy-chopath killer business, she’s never done nor has the mindset for it. To align as closely with the character as possible, she can only choose these tedious methods.
Unfortunately, in the script, this killer’s favorite target to toy with is the police represented by the female lead. But they are mostly in Group A, so she temporarily hasn’t faced them, so she plays around with other actors here instead.
Once this spread out, Shang Feifei heard about it and was a bit surprised too. Coincidentally, the two had been in the crew for over half a month, their separate scenes were mostly done, now it was time to shoot scenes where they performed together.
Shang Feifei remembered this incident, so when the day arrived for them to act together, she went early to the makeup room to wait for Xia Siyu. She knew Xia Siyu was probably a "method actor," having heard some actors would hang out at a slaughterhouse for days to prepare for portraying a killer. While filming, they would have a "stranger come near" look.
Not long after, Xia Siyu arrived, still chirpy, discussing lunch with Wei Jingjing. She gained weight recently, just around the Golden Phoenix award time, appearing chubby and even ending up on trending topics, with rumors of her being "pregnant." To portray the killer, particularly transitioning from a timid to a cold, sharp person, she had to slim down a bit.
After all, a chubby Xia Siyu, with rounded facial contours, is vibrant and openly charming, which doesn’t at all resemble the rumored killer. She could only slim down a bit to bring out the angles while not being frail, needing some muscle. Otherwise, committing numerous crimes, a timid, delicate-looking young lady couldn’t have achieved all this. Shang Feifei remembered this incident, so when the day arrived for them to act together, she went early to the makeup room to wait for Xia Siyu. She knew Xia Siyu was probably a "method actor," having heard some actors would hang out at a slaughterhouse for days to prepare for portraying a killer. While filming, they would have a "stranger come near" look.
Not long after, Xia Siyu arrived, still chirpy, discussing lunch with Wei Jingjing. She gained weight recently, just around the Golden Phoenix award time, appearing chubby and even ending up on trending topics, with rumors of her being "pregnant." To portray the killer, particularly transitioning from a timid to a cold, sharp person, she had to slim down a bit.
After all, a chubby Xia Siyu, with rounded facial contours, is vibrant and openly charming, which doesn’t at all resemble the rumored killer. She could only slim down a bit to bring out the angles while not being frail, needing some muscle. Otherwise, committing numerous crimes, a timid, delicate-looking young lady couldn’t have achieved all this.
