Hugo's standing ovation triggered the extras on set to start applauding as well. Al turned around and saw the excitement on Hugo's face. He couldn't help but smile and waved his hand seriously, saying, "Shut up."
That scolding instantly froze Hugo in place, and he realized the scene hadn't finished shooting yet. Hugo quickly shut his mouth tightly.
Seeing Hugo's childish side, the staff members on set burst into laughter, lightening the atmosphere immediately.
This tango scene wasn't easy to shoot. Martin wanted to capture the essence of the dance from different angles, so Al and Gabriel had to repeat the dance over and over again. What's more, their performance had to stay synchronized the whole time, or it wouldn't match up. The difficulty was far beyond imagination. Even so, Al insisted on pushing through, showing the true standard of an excellent actor.
By the time the tango scene wrapped, it was already dark, but the day's shooting wasn't over yet—there were still two final scenes to complete. However, Al and Gabriel had been dancing all afternoon and were exhausted, so Martin let them rest for fifteen minutes before continuing.
Al returned to his seat, lit a cigarette, then glanced back at Hugo with a questioning look. Hugo shook his head. "I don't smoke. I'm allergic."
Actually, Hugo didn't know if this body was allergic or not—he just knew he had been allergic before. More precisely, allergic to nicotine. He had tried it once, just one puff, and ended up vomiting like crazy. So he had completely sworn off smoking.
Since transmigrating into this body, Hugo hadn't tried smoking either. He was already used to not smoking.
Al looked at Hugo shaking his head and said, "You're missing out on one of life's great pleasures." That sigh made Hugo chuckle. Back when he was with the band Death Or Glory, his bandmates used to say the same thing.
During his underground band days, life was full of bitterness and hardship. Most of the time, they needed cigarettes and alcohol to numb themselves—sometimes even drugs. The original guitarist of Death Or Glory, Zhang Xiaoye, had fallen into the world of drugs and eventually closed his eyes forever.
"You've been staring at me—got something to ask?" Al took a puff and spoke casually. Though it was a question, there was no hesitation in his tone.
Hugo scratched his head sheepishly. "Was it that obvious?"
"I almost thought you were looking at Gabriel. What do you say?" Al's words made the nearby passing staff burst into laughter, and Hugo could only respond with an awkward expression.
But Hugo didn't act coy. Acting opposite Al was already a valuable learning opportunity—he wasn't about to let it go to waste. "I was wondering—do you have any acting tricks? Your performance in that last scene was absolutely stunning. How do you grasp the character of the colonel? And how do you show such subtle emotions and expressions to reveal inner conflict? I've been watching for a long time but still can't figure it out."
Before, when watching movies, he could only observe the surface. But being on set, the impact of the acting was vivid and real. It made Hugo's brain spark with countless ideas and questions that kept flooding his mind.
Amid the swirling smoke, Al glanced at Hugo, then raised his right hand holding the cigarette. With his index and middle fingers holding the cigarette, he gestured a "two." "Two points. First, there's no trick to acting. Even if there is, it's something you discover on your own. What works for me might not work for you. For example, Dustin, Robert, and I all have different understandings of acting. No need to ask too much."
This, Hugo understood. Each actor has a different performance style—some are bold and expressive, like Kate Winslet; some are restrained and delicate, like Colin Firth; some are seamless, like Dustin Hoffman; and others are simply natural, like Meryl Streep, and so on.
Of course, such differences aren't absolute. Maybe actors have overlapping methods in their acting process, but no matter what, they must ultimately internalize it. Only then can they present it through performance and develop their own style. Otherwise, they'll always be imitators. Acting may start with imitation, but the real breakthrough lies in forming your unique style.
"Besides, I've been acting for years. If I hadn't built up anything, how could I do this?" Al sneered disdainfully, making Hugo chuckle.
Al Pacino, now sixty-two years old, had thirty-three years of acting experience—not to be underestimated.
"Second, don't study acting—study the character." Al stated it simply and clearly. Hugo looked at him with eager curiosity, but Al had no intention of elaborating further. "I'm not a qualified acting teacher. Even if you ask, I won't have an answer."
After that, Al went on smoking leisurely.
Hugo was momentarily stunned, then laughed and didn't ask more.
He easily understood Al's first point. This was also something Hugo had come to realize after years of watching and imitating performances. But he hadn't had many acting opportunities to put it into practice. He remained a skilled imitator. Still, even as just an imitator, Hugo's talent had already been recognized in two auditions. As long as he got enough time and opportunities, Hugo's exploration of acting would definitely not stop here.
But the second point was something Hugo couldn't quite grasp. What did it mean not to study acting, but to study the character? Weren't the two things integrated and inseparable? Hugo understood that what Al probably meant was that he should study the character thoroughly and carefully. In fact, he had been doing just that and consistently continued to do so. But to convey the essence of a character, acting was a necessary bridge. Without excellent acting, no matter how deep the understanding of the character was, it couldn't be expressed—right? If you separated acting from the character, then what was it all about?
Hugo began replaying Al's performance and his own in his mind, trying to understand what Al had meant by that statement. He was so absorbed in his thoughts that he didn't notice the commotion around the set, nor did he realize that Al had left.
"Hugo, Hugo Lancaster!" The call beside him interrupted his thoughts. Hugo's first reaction was that Martin was ready to start filming again, so he immediately said, "I'm ready!" But when he turned around, it wasn't a crew member or script supervisor—it was a stranger's face.
Hugo initially thought it was a staff member he didn't recognize, but the vintage camera hanging from the person's chest made him realize something was off. Sure enough, the man immediately said, "Good evening, I'm Nicholas McCallum from the Los Angeles Times."
"Oh, that disgusting reporter!" Hugo blurted out his first reaction, and he could instantly see the smile on Nicholas's face stiffen slightly, causing both men to pause. This was the same reporter who had repeatedly criticized Hugo in the Los Angeles Times and clearly didn't think much of Hugo's prospects in "Scent of a Woman."
At this moment, Martin and Joseph came over. During filming, Joseph always stayed with the other staff, so Hugo hadn't seen him all day. When Martin was still three steps away, he already said, "Hugo, this is today's scheduled interview from the crew. Please cooperate."
Joseph, standing beside him, also nodded in affirmation.
Hugo guessed this must be part of the movie's early publicity. Many films start promoting themselves even before production begins, gradually releasing some news or photos from the set. During the shooting process, public interviews are arranged to keep the audience's interest high. Actually, "Scent of a Woman" hadn't done this frequently since Universal Pictures hadn't expected the film to make much at the box office. Still, routine publicity was necessary, and today was Hugo's first since joining the crew.
But why the "Los Angeles Times"? This was New York! Had all the New York media been ignored? After all, New York was the media capital of the world! And why Nicholas McCllaum? Wasn't this deliberately creating trouble for Hugo?
"What about the shoot?" Hugo instinctively asked.
Martin chuckled and said, "Don't worry, there's plenty of break time." After saying that, Martin shook hands with Nicholas as a friendly gesture and then turned and walked away.
Joseph gave Hugo a look, silently asking, "Do you want me to stay?"
Though Hugo and Joseph hadn't yet built strong rapport, he could more or less understand the intention. An agent supervising an interview was often a way to protect the artist. But Hugo still shook his head. What needed to be faced would come sooner or later, and he couldn't always rely on Joseph.
Joseph nodded, pointed to a spot not far away to indicate he'd be nearby if needed, and then turned and walked away.
"So, now it's just you and me." Nicholas smiled. "Though I've been writing about you for months, today is actually our first meeting. I'm quite pleased—your real-life charm is rather impressive."
Facing Nicholas's flattery, Hugo simply pressed his lips together and nodded slightly with a faint smile, probing as he said, "Your words in the newspaper weren't nearly as friendly as your smile today, so I'd say our previous 'meetings' weren't all that pleasant, were they?"
An interview this was Hugo's first official interview. But the person sitting across from him was Nicholas. Isn't that what you'd call a narrow escape from an enemy?
...
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