Chapter 147: The Opening Move Puts Us at a Disadvantage; Interpreting the Script's Characters

After arriving on set, Su Mu first briefly acquainted himself with the actors and crew members.

Zhang Huaimou’s production team had a core backbone staff, while the rest of the positions were dynamically allocated and replaced according to the specific content of each shoot. Therefore, Su Mu was actually already familiar with many of them. For instance, he got along very well with the guys from the camera crew, as well as the young ladies from the makeup department and the logistics staff.

Su Mu was no longer a newcomer; he knew how things worked once he joined a crew. Don't underestimate the people in these seemingly insignificant positions—if they really wanted to play some small tricks to mess with you, you would be completely helpless. For example, if the minor close-up shots weren't properly lit for you, or if the angle was slightly off, your face would look terrible on camera. Or take the makeup artists; they were the ones you needed to stay on the best terms with. Otherwise, your face might end up looking completely different every day when you put on makeup for filming. If even one detail was lacking—whether it was the base tone or the placement of highlighting powder—the entire facial structure would be distorted. The naked eye might not always catch it, but under the lens, it would be crystal clear.

Therefore, Su Mu tried his best to mingle and blend in with them. Back when they were shooting *The Knockout*, whenever he finished filming a fish-slaughtering scene, he would always gift the fish to them as a late-night snack.

Of course, aside from the crew members, there were the other actors.

In the film *Goodbye Mr. Loser*, besides the male lead Xia Luo played by Su Mu, there were several other important roles:
Ma Dongmei, Qiu Ya, Yuan Hua, Dachun, Zhang Yang (Buck-tooth), Monte (the sissy), Teacher Wang, and Xia Luo’s mother.

These eight individuals occupied significant screen time. It could be said that it was precisely the support of these eight characters that ultimately allowed the comedic elements of *Goodbye Mr. Loser* to reach such a rich and full degree. Otherwise, relying solely on the male lead would not have formed a complete system. The strength of this film lay in the fact that the other characters, apart from the protagonist, were equally captivating.

Therefore, during the casting process, Zhang Huaimou had discussed the characteristics of these characters in the script with Su Mu in great detail. Su Mu had described them to Zhang Huaimou based on the templates of the actors from his previous life. After listening to his explanations, Zhang Huaimou selected the current cast lineup.

Compared to other productions, this cast might not have high name recognition. Most of them were older actors nearing retirement or minor actors who frequently played supporting roles. Initially, many people felt that there were better comedic heavyweights available for selection. But in the end, Su Mu and Zhang Huaimou did not do that. For comedic roles, choosing the most suitable person was what mattered most.

...

The booting ceremony was scheduled for two days later.

As per the standard procedure for the entire crew entering the set, a thorough read-through of the script was still required in advance. They needed to straighten out the sequence of the story arc and the positioning of each character, as well as address any issues within the script before filming officially began.

Oftentimes, even screenwriters and directors couldn't guarantee that a script would be perfected in every aspect. Certain details usually emerged during the filming process or were discovered by different people from various angles when reviewing the entire manuscript. Therefore, if one wanted to strive for perfection, continuous polishing and listening to opinions before shooting began were inevitable.

At this moment, all the actors were gathered around the conference table. Zhang Huaimou and Su Mu had not yet arrived. The people around were whispering and chatting with each other.

"I heard this script was written by Su Mu?"
"He wrote it. I heard it from a buddy inside the crew, and Su Mu is even going to serve as the co-director."
"That's not too surprising since he wrote the script anyway. But do you guys think Su Mu is serious? He actually wants to use this kind of cast to go head-to-head with Lin Haoming's *Elegy of Love*?"
"I'm a bit puzzled too. I watched *Elegy of Love*. Aside from Lin Haoming, the female lead is Lin Yun'er, the absolute pillar of Shangfeng Entertainment, and the supporting roles are all handsome guys and gorgeous girls with great traffic clout. That's why it managed a box office of five hundred million."
"Actually, it's not to say our side is terrible, but the competition for the New Year box office is really not that simple. Comedies can have breakout hits, but they're unstable."

At this moment, everyone around was whispering in discussion. The rivalry between Su Mu and Lin Haoming was long past being news. From an outsider's perspective, Su Mu's current move really didn't hold much of an advantage. Although his popularity had remained consistently high over the past half-year, and his funny moments in several live streams had gone viral among netizens—leading many to believe he genuinely possessed a comedic talent—discerning people could tell that this was just a desperate attempt to salvage his reputation for the sake of this film.

Yet Su Mu didn't necessarily have to do this. If he had chosen another genre, he could have dedicated more energy to other preparations, which might have even seemed much safer. Instead, Su Mu acted as if he deliberately set a high-difficulty starting mode for himself. Not only did he choose the comedy genre, but he also didn't invest heavily in the star power or market value of the cast.

Of course, no one knew the specific details of the film's production budget. If they knew that this film was actually funded by four major conglomerate heavyweights, and that Su Mu alone pocketed seventy million yuan in remuneration, they might have vomited blood on the spot. They would truly have reason to suspect that Su Mu wasn't trying to compete with Lin Haoming at all, but rather purely using this opportunity to cash in.

However, details regarding specific remuneration and profit-sharing were kept strictly confidential. Many people only knew that Su Mu's salary wasn't low, but the exact figure had not been made public. Therefore, given the current situation, in the eyes of many insiders, Su Mu's choice undoubtedly put him at a disadvantage in the very first move of the chess match against Lin Haoming.

The actors present found it hard to imagine how the upcoming film could be shot in a way that would surpass five hundred million at the box office and defeat Lin Haoming.

Across the room, Zhuang Yan and Wang Ouyi had also arrived. These two film academy professors were among the earliest people to know Su Mu. Hearing the discussions around them, they too felt a bit of inner doubt.

Zhuang Yan looked around and then lowered his voice, saying, "Old Wang, why do you think Su Mu chose a comedy? I've read the script, and it's written pretty well, but I honestly can't imagine what kind of performance style these characters need to have to stand out. When it comes to comedy, if you can't manage to firmly plant the characters' labels into the audiences' hearts, it becomes extremely difficult."

Wang Ouyi noncommittally replied, "The script's creativity is good. The male lead goes back to his youth to make up for his regrets; I can still understand most of the rhythm and punchlines, and some of them are quite clever. It just feels like something is still missing... though I can't quite put my finger on it."

Zhuang Yan: "Perhaps we'll only be able to see it when filming starts."

Wang Ouyi: "I'm not sure. It depends on how this kid Su Mu conceptualizes it specifically. Wanting to flesh out all the characters relies on more than just the written expressions in the script."

Although the two professors spoke in low voices, the actors nearby could still hear them and inwardly agreed. Naturally, everyone present had read the script; many punchlines were classic, but there were some they couldn't immediately grasp.

In fact, this applied to both comedies and other genres alike. A gap existed between the script and actual filming. When shaping a character, a scene, or a dialogue, the text might only be a simple description. But during filming, there were numerous methods and pathways. Different performance styles yielded varying degrees of humor.

Then there were other techniques. For instance, the character of Yuan Hua: apart from describing the dialogue punchlines he needed for each scene, the script merely outlined his personality and psychological state within that context. Reading it might make one chuckle, but it wasn't that profound. Yet the final presentation on screen was that every time Yuan Hua made an entrance accompanied by that specific background music, people found it unforgettable and even addictive.

That was something beyond the script itself. How to construct it was the true core. And that was also what everyone was eager to see. The reason why most people present harbored doubts in their hearts was because, given their logic, they simply couldn't imagine how to construct it to make the entire film soar.

Just as they were thinking this, Su Mu and Zhang Huaimou pushed the door open and walked in.

"Director Zhang, hello."

Everyone subsequently stood up to greet them. Zhang Huaimou smiled and acknowledged the crowd. After introducing Su Mu to Zhuang Yan and Wang Ouyi, he directly got down to business.

"Alright, let's go through the script once first. Then, if you have any questions, you can bring them up, and we'll analyze and discuss them specifically. As you should all know by now, Su Mu is the screenwriter of the script, so he will be leading and giving targeted explanations later on."

After Zhang Huaimou finished speaking, those around him showed no surprise. In fact, many had been waiting to see how Su Mu would give his explanation, because there were indeed many parts they didn't understand.

Su Mu stood up. "Everyone, regarding this script reading, let me say a few brief words first. Content is something that is simply content..."

【Speech Proficiency +1】
【Skill Point +0.01】
"..."
"..."

Zhang Huaimou: "Ahem... Alright! Let's begin!"

Following Zhang Huaimou's intervention to smooth things over, the group began going through the script.

The first pass was to get a general overview of the story arc, which was breezed through in over an hour. The second pass involved adding the dialogue for every character in every scene. It was during this stage that the actors actively put forward their perspectives. Many issues often arose at this point, and it was even possible that the script would be revised through discussion.

The first person to raise a question was a female actress. She wore simple sportswear, but her overall body proportions were quite exceptional. Through her athletic wear, one could still perceive the steep slope of her curves! Zhang Huaimou's grasp of measurements was quite precise; at a glance, this was clearly the actress playing Qiu Ya.

"Teacher Su Mu, my name is Lu Juan, and I play Qiu Ya. I want to know... where should Qiu Ya's affections ultimately belong? I feel her overall emotional trajectory is rather chaotic."

Su Mu: "Her feelings are supposed to be chaotic in the first place."

Lu Juan: "......?"

Su Mu: "Qiu Ya's messy relationships with several supporting characters at the end constitute the biggest punchline of the film itself, so she doesn't need clear-cut emotions."

"Teacher Su Mu, in the story arc, the male lead Xia Luo becomes famous and makes money later on by relying on songs. But I see that these songs of yours are all original compositions. Slipping them in like this might make it hard for the audience to fully comprehend."

Su Mu: "Hmm, Director Zhang and I have looked into this issue. We will only retain 'Only Once'. As for the other tracks, we'll select a few popular music pieces from that era to replace them."

"I'm Feng Kaili, the actress playing Ma Dongmei. I don't have any problems with the lines, but I'm having a bit of trouble grasping the characteristics of this character."

Su Mu: "Can you do a continuous, rapid laughing sound like 'Ha~ha~ha~ha'?"

Feng Kaili: "I can..."

Su Mu: "That'll work. Ma Dongmei needs to give off a fierce and tough vibe, but during her student days, she has to act shy amidst that toughness. If you can nail that balance, it will make people laugh until their sides hurt. Furthermore, throughout the entire film, you are the one who truly makes the audience realize the profound meaning of reality, because in the end, you are the only sober person. Pay attention to the contrast between the front and back halves of the story."

Feng Kaili: "Understood."

"My name is Song Chuan. For the character of Yuan Hua, do you think some of his lines fail to deliver the punchlines? Many scenes don't feel all that funny."

Su Mu smiled: "That's because there's no background music yet. The character of Yuan Hua will become a classic. You're Song Chuan, right? Grasp it well, and I'll tell you how to play it when the time comes."

Song Chuan: "Alright..."

"My name is Fang Zhigang, playing Zhang Yang. There's that scene where he gets together with Xia Luo's mother, and then that line: 'Starting today, we'll drop the seniority terms. I'll call you brother, and you call me dad...'"

"Pfft—hahaha!"
"Hahaha!"

Everyone around burst into laughter. They didn't even need the context of the story scene; just taking that single line out made it feel extremely amusing.

Su Mu: "This line is indeed the finishing touch for this character. However, your appearance will still need some alteration. Zhang Yang has buck teeth."

"I'm Chu Ming, playing Dachun."

"I'm Ge Zhou, playing Monte. Does this character undergo a sex change later on? I noticed his subsequent relationships are a bit messy..."

Su Mu smiled: "The character of Monte is set up as a sissy, but he's also an interesting hidden thread in the story—a clue left for the audience to ponder themselves. However, there are many details, and you need to keep a few points in mind. At the very end, the male lead is diagnosed with HIV at the hospital, and then Qiu Ya and Yuan Hua's expressions change drastically. It seemingly appears to be just a misfortune among those three, but have you guys ever thought about where this disease came from?"

"!!!"
"???"

Everyone was left completely dumbfounded.

Su Mu: "It comes from Monte. Monte used to be a man, and by the later stages of the story at the class reunion, he has become a woman. But there was a segment in the middle where he spent some time alone with Yuan Hua... So it was he who gave it to Yuan Hua, Yuan Hua gave it to Qiu Ya, and Qiu Ya gave it to the male lead. The chain of transmission runs in exact reverse order."

"!!!"
"!!!"
"!!!"

The entire room was stunned.
*What the heck, things like this actually exist?*

Even Zhang Huaimou frowned upon hearing this. To be honest, he had read the script no less than a dozen times, but this layer of hidden subtext hadn't even crossed his mind.
*As expected of you, you really know how to play.*

...

Su Mu answered everyone's questions one by one. Some had doubts about the characters, while others offered views on minor bugs in the script. Yet Su Mu was able to provide prompt solutions for all of them, even breaking down the character profiles and explaining how to magnify their highlights. Some things might not have been understood at first, but after careful rumination by the actors later on, they suddenly realized the brilliance behind them.

Zhuang Yan and Wang Ouyi exchanged glances. Initially, they still had some things they wanted to ask, but in the end, they just smiled and kept quiet. With Su Mu's ability to be meticulous to this extent regarding the script, these characters would probably find it hard *not* to become popular.

...

Two days passed in going over the script. Afterward, the crew held the booting ceremony.

*Goodbye Mr. Loser* officially began filming...

***

*PS: Thank you all for your votes and tips!*
*(End of this chapter)*