Notes · The Complete Record of the 601st Call

Author: Qu Jun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: Strongly produced by two major film groups; the Zou Jingzhi and Zhang Guoliu combination strikes again; a youth idol drama starring Zhou Bichang and Zhang Bozhi premiering nationwide in the summer golden hour slot on August 18; for behind-the-scenes highlights, see Notes – Full Record. Zhou Bichang’s happy and not-so-happy movie life; Zhang Bozhi’s on-set car accident and "corrupt" reality; Hu Ge’s first time on screen and "blood, sweat, and tears" details; "Pen Fans" visit the set; "Bozhi Fans" celebrate her birthday; Zhang Guoliu’s on-set "blood battle"; Feng Xiaogang saves the day; Guo Degang and Liu Yiwěi cameo in The 601st Phone Call. Behind-the-scenes of The 601st Phone Call is full of surprises, with a star-studded cast drawing eager anticipation from fans. Writing this work made me feel like an old mischievous kid who accidentally grabbed the tail of youth. Yi Shu, A Wen, Tian You—three characters, one normal, one poetic, one pathological. Life brought us vivid scenes; we should make use of them. Don’t let last year’s big event go to waste. – Zou Jingzhi
The story I’m about to write is a bit crazy for me. The movie is finally going to shoot Yi Shu’s love story, and it’s a story of melancholic love. Unlucky her, even her boyfriend is stolen away by a colleague. Under the setting sun, she can only sneakily watch them kiss passionately. Jia Nailiang, known as the "Super Boy," especially flew from Beijing to guest-star as Yi Shu’s ex-boyfriend. Zhang Meng, Miss Universe, like Zhou Bichang, rose to fame through a talent show. Though both come from humble backgrounds, she has an undeniable aggressive aura that can’t be washed away. In the movie, this manifests as stealing Yi Shu’s boyfriend. The scene first shot was Zhang Meng and Jia Nailiang passionately kissing in front of Zhou Bichang. When filming began, Zhang Guoliu deliberately turned his head to give Zhou Bichang a "warning": "Not kid-friendly! Don’t peek!" Zhou Bichang playfully covered her face with her umbrella, and from behind it came bursts of laughter from her and her assistant. After a while, she couldn’t resist peeking a few times, just in time to hear the director instructing them, based on the script, to hug and laugh like "silver bells." Hearing this, Zhou Bichang was instantly energized and started mimicking the "silver bell laughter" repeatedly. However, her amusement didn’t last long, as it was now her turn for a passionate scene. In the movie, Yi Shu sees her boyfriend being intimate with He Lin, reminding her of her past happy moments. But the shy Yi Shu, standing with Jia Nailiang, couldn’t smile. The director stepped forward to encourage her repeatedly, but she still couldn’t relax. To make the scene easier, Zhang Guoliu gave up on the kiss and had them hold hands, gently leaning their heads together for a hug. Even this level of intimacy had Zhou Bichang tensed, unsure where to put her hands or where to lean her head. When Jia Nailiang gently wrapped his arms around her waist, Zhou Bichang panicked. When Jia Nailiang tried to hug her, she stiffly turned her head and lightly touched his shoulder, as if hugging him. The director’s comment was fair: "It’s really hard on this kid; she’s almost developed a stiff neck from this." After struggling through this shot, Zhou Bichang returned to her lively self, joking with her assistant that her performance was "the coquettishness of a revolutionary female youth—the revolution female youth is the time doing this in public." This didn’t escape Zhang Guoliu’s ears, and the director immediately turned around, sharply asking, "So, you’ve already done it many times behind closed doors?" This completely silenced Zhou Bichang. P38-39