Chapter 3 Golden Finger

In her previous life, Chen Zhen was always idle, spending a lot of time reading online novels, so she was very familiar with the concept of a "golden finger." Of course, she never dreamed that something like this would happen to her. As a reader, she often complained that the author gave the protagonist too powerful of a "golden finger," making them too strong and reducing the enjoyment of the story.

Now, Chen Zhen would never complain about her "golden finger" being too powerful. She would even want an unlimited money cheat. If this mysterious power was bold enough, she wouldn't mind having a time-traveling trading system. It would be even better if she had a system that unlocked more functions as she approached her goals...

Unfortunately, compared to many characters in books, her "golden finger" is extremely humble. It basically only has one function.

Activating it is simple, just close your eyes and concentrate. Chen Zhen named it the "Performing Arts Space." As long as she thinks about entering it, the next moment she will find herself in a pitch-black space with countless DVD discs flying around, and she can easily select one with her thoughts.

These discs are not all-inclusive. Chen Zhen does not have a global film library for the next ten or twenty years. Most of the discs come from movies, TV shows, and stage plays she has watched, while a small portion comes from famous ones she has heard of but never had the chance to enjoy. In short, the entire library does not contain any movies that she has not seen or has no impression of, mainly based on her memory.

Chen Zhen's first golden finger is to rewatch old movies to her heart's content.

She randomly selected the classic blockbuster "Titanic" released in 1998. In front of her eyes appeared a large IMAX-sized screen, skipping the production company information at the beginning and starting to play this classic blockbuster from the beginning.

The flow of time in the space is about 3 to 1 compared to the outside world, which means Chen Zhen has about 4 to 5 hours to comfortably enjoy this movie. However, she did not watch it from the beginning but directly skipped to the scene where Rose and Jack are floating in the water, rewatching the touching confession.

Then she muttered, "Start simulating."

With a splash, Chen Zhen immediately fell into the water.

The heavy Edwardian costumes became even more cumbersome after being soaked in water. Although the water temperature was not low, the large studio had to have a fan to help with air circulation. A gust of wind blew, and she still shivered, lying on the wooden board without even the strength to get up.

"It's cold, isn't it?" Young Leonardo - Leo DiCaprio leaned over the edge of the board and spoke to her. His extraordinarily handsome face was only a few centimeters away from Chen Zhen. "Damn, I'm freezing too. Luckily, James finally decided to let us shoot in warm water, otherwise we would have gotten pneumonia."

Around them was a large group of actors, all floating and sinking in the warm water. Seven or eight cameras of different sizes were aimed at this large pool, with a track on the edge of the pool, an underwater camera at the bottom, and staff walking back and forth outside the pool. Vividly - or as Chen Zhen suspected, perfectly recreated the filming scene of Titanic. In the distance, she could even see James Cameron, the "King of the World," and another man discussing something with a serious expression.

This is the second function of the golden finger: recreating the filming scene.

Chen Zhen took the place of Kate Winslet in this scene, gave Leo DiCaprio a quick smile but didn't answer anything. In the distance, a loud voice came, "Attention, scene 293, take 6, action!"

"I'm cold," she urged herself to quickly get into character, tears streaming down her face as she recited the lines, "I'm cold, Jack."

"Listen to me, Rose." Leo's acting was just like in the movie. "You will survive..."

A five-minute dialogue scene was quickly shot. The director didn't shout "cut," but when the time set by Chen Zhen was reached, she returned to the entertainment space. In the space, there was already a sofa and some basic furniture. She sat down on the sofa and replayed the scene she had just performed.

The classic scene appeared on the big screen again, but Rose's face had been replaced by Chen Zhen's.

This is the third function of the golden finger: turning the filming scene into a complete film.

This is not simply rewatching the original footage, but completing the editing, post-production effects, dubbing, and final version of the film. There is no difference from the theatrical release version. In other words, what Chen Zhen sees is the version of "What if Jenny played in Titanic." If she wants, she can act out the entire movie from start to finish and then watch the theatrical release version.

Jenny is a German beauty, and her figure at this time is even more graceful than Kate Winslet, who is known as "Fatty Winslet" (of course, this nickname is unfair. In fact, Winslet's figure was quite standard when she appeared in Titanic, just "10 pounds heavier on screen"). The on-screen effect is more beautiful, but as Chen Zhen watches her own performance, her eyebrows furrow.

"The performance was exaggerated, stiff, and unnatural. The dialogue skills were also very poor," she criticized her own performance, "I failed."

Of course, this is normal. No one can become a lead actress in a big film right away. For most actors, it is a gradual process. Although there are some talented geniuses who can shine and skyrocket to success, actors are ultimately just technicians who need to go through practice to reach a proficient level and advance in their careers. Without enough training, even if they wear the emperor's robe, they won't look like a prince.

Chen Zhen's performance was acceptable. She had studied acting for four years in her previous life and had some training during that time. However, after graduation, she completely neglected acting for ten years. Now, she has only been practicing again for less than a month, so her acting skills are lacking. However, she still has the presence of a female lead and can create a melancholic atmosphere. If it were someone else, they would probably end up acting in a comedy film and couldn't even finish their lines.

After watching the entire film again twice, Chen Zhen couldn't stand it anymore. She threw the remote control and said, "Simulated scene." She returned to the set of Titanic, and Leonardo DiCaprio smiled at her, saying, "Isn't it cold?"

"Just forget it," she replied irritably, then lowered her head to prepare herself. No matter how many times she repeated the simulation, Leonardo DiCaprio would only have those few lines.

This time, when she heard the familiar word "action," Chen Zhen muttered, "Memory injection."

With a loud bang, her mind was immediately filled with blurry and complex memories. It was as if she had instantly relived Rose's life in a dream, from the fallen youth and the oppressive and tense environment of her upbringing, to her mother's concern for money and power, and the vibrant love between her and Jack...

She was so cold, she couldn't stop trembling, both because of the cold and fear. She stared at her lover with all her strength, saying, "Oh, Jack, Jack, I'm so cold..."

"Listen to me, Rose," Leonardo DiCaprio held her hand, his eyes still shining. "You will definitely survive..."

The fourth function of the cheat code: simulating character memories and emotions. In Chen Zhen's opinion, this was also the core function of the cheat code.

Actors' performance styles can be roughly divided into "experiential" and "expressive." There is no definitive answer as to which style is better. Regardless of whether it's a black cat or a white cat, catching the mouse is what matters. However, most of what is taught in acting schools is expressive techniques, because experiential acting requires a higher level of talent and cannot be easily taught. This cheat code allows her to fully and completely immerse herself in the role, naturally expressing the character's emotions in the scene. In other words, it allows Chen Zhen to transform into the world's most authentic and versatile experiential actor. --Of course, in the world of entertainment, she is the only one like this.

She tried to summon this cheat code in reality but was unsuccessful. Chen Zhen couldn't read the script and instantly simulate the character's memories and emotions. However, this cheat code can still have an impact on reality. After simulating in the entertainment space and returning to reality, traces of emotions would still remain in her heart for a while before gradually fading away. In other words, as long as she carefully selects the films, such as those she had watched in her previous life, she can still use the experiential method to perform most scenes.

This is the most powerful card Chen Zhen has to try to "dominate Hollywood." Otherwise, she wouldn't even bother trying in this direction. She would just make herself look more beautiful and find ways to save money for a university course. During her studies, she would work hard to find a future husband from the law school, or else she could find another job after graduating.

So far, she has only discovered these four functions of the performing arts space, all of which revolve around one point - to help her perform well. Therefore, for Chen Zhen, her "golden finger" is only open in terms of acting, and there are many restrictions.

After watching the emotional performance again, she was still not satisfied with herself - even if she wasn't the director, she could feel that the performance after adding emotions was a bit too "loose". It didn't match Leonardo's performance. If before she couldn't let go and couldn't put emotions into it, this time it was overflowing with emotions, causing a mismatch in rhythm between Leonardo and her.

So, although this fourth function is the core, it cannot immediately turn Chen Zhen into an experienced performer. Being pure and being outstanding are two different things.

After trying four times, Chen Zhen finally felt satisfied with her performance in this crucial scene. She waved her hand and activated the combination of function three and function one, "Contrast playback."

Two frames appeared on the screen, one was the original version of Winslet and the other was the space version of Jenny Jane. Both said the same lines, "Oh, Jack..."

Although "Titanic" is a timeless classic, the acting requirements for the main characters are not high. In other words, acting doesn't determine the box office success. As long as it's above average, it's enough. So Chen Zhen believed that Jenny Jane's performance was already comparable to Winslet's. Although she is an actress of the highest level, her performance in "Titanic" is only this good because the film did not leave her much room to showcase her acting skills.

...However, she still felt a faint inconsistency in the Jenny version. It was this slight inconsistency that made her instinctively feel that the original version was more natural and excellent.

Where is the problem?

After watching the comparison three or four times, Chen Zhen finally came to a conclusion: the problem lies in bloodline and temperament.

Jenny Jane is a German beauty, but Kate Winslet is the English rose. In the role of Rose, the latter naturally has a higher degree of fit. Her pure aristocratic English, as well as her naturally classical temperament, add a lot of charm to Rose. But although Jenny Jane also had excellent makeup, she is from the United States and naturally has a kind of urban temperament unique to American girls. Fundamentally, it doesn't match the character of Rose.

Even with a "golden finger," it is impossible to overcome one's own limitations... Chen Zhen couldn't help but sigh: How difficult is it to make a name for oneself in the entertainment industry?

Chen Zhen can also hear the outside world's sounds in the performing arts space, such as phone calls and ringtones. After reviewing her performance a few more times, when she heard the alarm clock, she exited the performing arts space, drank the strong iced coffee from last night, tidied up, and rode her bike to work.