Reporter's visit

Hugo's standing ovation prompted the audience actors to also applaud, and when Al turned to see Hugo's excited expression, he couldn't help but smile and wave his hand, pretending to be serious, and said, "Shut up." This reprimand immediately made Hugo stiff in place as he realized that the scene had not yet been finished filming. He quickly closed his mouth tightly.

The on-site staff couldn't help but laugh at Hugo's childish behavior, making the atmosphere relaxed.

The tango scene was not easy to shoot. Martin wanted to present the essence of this dance from different angles, so Al and Gabrielle had to repeat the dance over and over again, and their performance had to maintain the same frequency, otherwise, it would not match the scene. This difficulty far exceeded imagination, but even so, Al persisted, demonstrating the true level of an excellent actor.

By the time the tango scene was finished, it was already dark, but today's scenes were not over yet, and there were still two scenes left to finish. However, Al and Gabrielle were tired after a whole afternoon, so Martin let them rest for fifteen minutes before continuing filming.

Al returned to his seat, lit a cigarette, and looked back at Hugo with an inquiring gaze. Hugo shook his head, "I don't smoke, I'm allergic." In fact, Hugo didn't know if this body was allergic to cigarettes or not, but he was allergic to nicotine before. He tried it once and ended up vomiting heavily, so he was completely immune to smoking. After crossing over, Hugo had no plans to try it again because he had become accustomed to not smoking.

Al looked at Hugo shaking his head repeatedly and said, "You missed out on one of life's great pleasures." This exclamation made Hugo laugh, just as his former bandmates from Glory or Death used to say.

During the underground band days, the hardships and difficulties of life often required cigarettes and alcohol to numb oneself, and sometimes even drugs to achieve the desired effect. Glory or Death's first guitarist, Zhang Xiaoya, fell into the world of drugs only to forever close his eyes.

"You've been looking at me like that. Do you have any questions to ask?" Al took a drag of his cigarette and casually asked. Although it was a question, his tone was firm without any hesitation.

Hugo scratched his head shyly, "Is it that obvious?"

"I almost thought you were watching Gabrielle just now. What do you think?" Al's words immediately made several staff members passing by burst into laughter, leaving Hugo looking embarrassed.

However, Hugo was not shy. Playing opposite Al was a great learning opportunity for him, and he wouldn't miss it. "I wanted to ask you, is there any secret to your acting skills? Your performance in the last scene was truly outstanding. How did you portray the character of the Colonel so well? And how did you use such subtle eye expressions and emotions to show the complexity of his inner thoughts? I watched you for a long time, but still couldn't figure it out."

In the past, when watching movies, Hugo could only observe superficial aspects. But being on set gave him a vivid impression of the impact of acting, sparking endless questions in his mind.

Al looked at Hugo through the smoke, raised his right hand holding a cigarette, and gestured with his index and middle fingers forming the shape of the number two, "Two points. Firstly, there is no secret to acting skills. Even if there were, it's something one has to figure out for themselves. What works for me may not work for you. Dustin, Robert, and I all have different understandings of acting. You don't need to ask so many questions."

Hugo knew this already. Everyone's approach to acting is different, some being expressive like Kate Winslet, others restrained like Colin Firth, while some are natural like Meryl Streep, and so on. Of course, these differences are not absolute, as actors can learn from each other, but ultimately they must develop their own style to express themselves on stage. Otherwise, they'll always be just an imitator. Perhaps acting starts with imitation, but it's the development of one's personal style that leads to breakthroughs.

"Besides, I've been acting for many years. How could I not accumulate some skills?" Al sneered disdainfully, causing Hugo to chuckle along with him. Al Pacino, fifty-two years old this year, had a thirty-three-year career as an actor and was not to be underestimated.

"Secondly, don't study acting techniques, study the characters," Al said concisely. Hugo eagerly looked at Al with a thirst for knowledge, but Al had no intention of explaining any further, "I am not a qualified acting teacher, even if you ask me questions, I can't answer them." After speaking, Al continued to smoke leisurely.

Hugo was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and didn't ask any more questions.

Hugo easily understood the first point Al made, as it was a small insight he had gained over the years by observing and imitating acting techniques. However, he didn't have many opportunities to act, so he remained at the level of an excellent imitator. Nevertheless, Hugo's talent was recognized in two auditions, and he believed that with enough time and opportunity, he would continue to explore the path of acting.

But the second point confused Hugo. What did it mean to study the characters instead of acting techniques? Aren't these two things intertwined and inseparable? Hugo understood that Al meant for him to carefully study the characters, which he did and continued to do, but acting is a necessary bridge to showcase the essence of the character. Without excellent acting, even if one understands the character deeply, it cannot be displayed, right? How can acting techniques and characters be separated?

Hugo began to recall Al's previous performances and his own, repeatedly replaying those scenes in his mind, trying to understand the meaning behind Al's words. He was so focused on his thoughts that he didn't notice the commotion around the set, nor did he notice Al leaving.

"Hugo, Hugo Lancaster!" A nearby call interrupted Hugo's thoughts. Hugo immediately thought that Martin was ready to resume filming, so he quickly said, "I'm ready!" But when he turned around, he saw a stranger's face instead of a crew member or assistant.

Hugo initially thought it was a staff member he didn't know, but the vintage camera around the person's chest made him realize something was wrong. Sure enough, the person then said, "Good evening, I am Nicholas Allum, a reporter from the Los Angeles Times."

"Oh, that disgusting reporter!" Hugo blurted out, and he could see Nicholas's smile freeze slightly, causing them both to pause for a moment. This was the same reporter who had been criticizing Hugo in the Los Angeles Times for a couple of editions already, and was obviously not optimistic about Hugo's prospects in the movie "Scent of a Woman".

At this moment, Martin and Joseph walked over together. During the filming process, Joseph always stayed with the other crew members, and Hugo hadn't seen him all day. Martin spoke up when he was still three steps away, "Hugo, this is the interview arranged by the crew today. Please cooperate."

Joseph, who was standing next to him, also nodded in agreement.

Hugo guessed that this was probably one of the early publicity activities of the crew. Many movies start promoting before they are even produced, releasing some news or set photos from time to time. During the filming process, they also arrange some public interviews to keep the audience excited about the movie. In fact, "Scent of a Woman" didn't do this frequently, because the production company Universal Pictures didn't plan for the movie to be successful at the box office, but routine publicity was still necessary. Today was Hugo's first time participating in such an activity since he joined the crew.

However, why was it the "Los Angeles Times"? This was New York, weren't the New York news media being left out? You know, New York was the capital of world media! Also, why Nicholas Allum? Wasn't this deliberately causing trouble for Hugo?

"What about filming?" Hugo asked subconsciously.

Martin chuckled, "Don't worry, there's still enough time for a break." After speaking, Martin shook hands with Nicholas, showing his friendliness, and then turned and left.

Joseph glanced at Hugo and asked with his eyes, "Do you need me to stay by your side?"

Although Hugo's understanding with Joseph was not enough, he could generally understand the meaning. The presence of the agent during the interview process was often a kind of protection for the artist. However, he still shook his head. Anyway, what needs to be faced will come sooner or later, and he cannot always rely on Joseph.

Joseph nodded and pointed to a nearby location, indicating that he was available anytime, and then turned and left.

"So, it's just you and me now," Nicholas smiled. "Although I've been writing about you in the newspaper for a few months, today is our first meeting. I'm very happy, and your personal charm is really amazing."

Facing Nicholas's compliments, Hugo pursed his lips, smiled lightly, and probed, "Your words in the newspaper are not as friendly as your smile today, so I guess our previous 'meeting' wasn't so pleasant, right?"

Interview, this was Hugo's first interview in the true sense, but the one to initiate it was actually Nicholas.