Things were starting to look ugly. While blockbuster films could still draw people to theaters, the rise of Youtube and Bittorrent had savaged the rest of the industry, destroying the rental income most studios relied upon to break even. And while the big studios had adjusted with ever more extravagant productions, the reality for most directors was less pretty. Unable to cast big name stars, smaller productions were forced into hiring cheaper and cheaper actors, to the point that the cast for this particular production resembled nothing so much as the extras from a George A. Romero flick.
Learning Chinese? Our lesson today is an advanced listening test set at a video shoot. Your challenge is to listen to this fast and colloquial clip and try to figure out who is being filmed and why? If you think your Chinese is good enough to tease out the answers from our one-minute dialogue take a listen and see how you do on our accompanying quiz. These aren't easy questions, so if you get anything wrong consult our transcript to see what you missed. We think you might be surprised at the results.