Chapter 340 Fighting
Jiang Xueruo is indeed quite capable. She was able to persuade Yang Junyi, who was about to retire, to come back, and even let him sign with Shiba Culture Company. The contract was not long, so he signed a short-term contract of one year first.

"I don't know if I can adapt to the current entertainment industry. Let's finish filming one movie first and see." These were Yang Junyi's original words. Jiang Xueruo did not continue to force him. She made up her mind and prepared to wait for the other party to see the strength of Xingchen Film and Television. Maybe he would change his mind.

After dealing with Yang Junyi, Jiang Xueruo went to win over the last treasure, Zhang Jin.

As the second weapon after "Peacock Feather", Jiang Xueruo plans to directly collect the original three treasures of Zhouyi to awaken the fans' beautiful youthful memories, and do it in a big way.

……

The capital's Huairou Film and Television Base, one of the filming locations for "The Blade Strikes Back".

Zhao Wenzhuo, Wang Qianyuan, Jing Chao, Su Chang, Zhao Liying, as well as martial arts directors Zou Zhaolong and Qian Xiaohao were all present. It was the first time that Gu Wei met some of them.

For example, Wang Qianyuan, who is standing before us, graduated from the Central Academy of Drama in 93 and is currently a graduate student in the directing department of the Beijing Film Academy.

In Hong Kong films, movie star Tony Leung Ka Fai is known as the "Actor with a Thousand Faces" in the eyes of the audience for his diverse character creation abilities and profound acting skills.

Not only can he perform with ease in different types of movies such as comedies, gangster films, martial arts films, and literary films, but he can also successfully portray diverse roles such as gangster bosses, chivalrous knights, emperors, and small people at the bottom of society.

Another Thousand Faces of Tathagata, Liu Xun, has never won an award, but in terms of acting skills, he is not inferior to Tony Leung Ka Fai at all, and even has the potential to surpass him.

Although Liu Xun has never played the leading role, no matter which movie he plays a supporting role in, his brilliance is no less than that of the leading role. And like Tony Leung, no matter whether the role is loyal, treacherous, good or evil, Liu Xun can handle it perfectly.

In later generations, Wang Qianyuan was implicitly known by domestic audiences as the mainland's "Thousand-Faced Movie King". No matter the role was big or small, good or bad, he could interpret it perfectly.

After all, he is a professional in “beating up” superstars, so his acting skills are beyond doubt.

"Director, I'll start then." Lu Yang strode forward and said.

"Let's start. You are the director, so you can make the decision yourself." Gu Wei waved his hand.

"Hi, since you're here, everyone is lining up to say hello to you. OK, all departments, get ready, and we'll start filming in five minutes." Lu Yang shouted loudly while holding the walkie-talkie.

"Got it, Director."

"Understood, director."

Listening to the feedback signals from various departments coming from the intercom, Lu Yang nodded unconsciously and sat in front of the monitor with Gu Wei.

Because all the scenes now have to be shot in the studio, and no actual outdoor scenes will be shot for the time being, anyone can play a role, the only difference is that some different props and scenes need to be prepared.

Next to them, three brothers wearing Feiyu costumes and holding embroidered spring swords attracted Gu Wei's attention as soon as they appeared.

The eldest brother Lu Jianxing, the second brother Shen Lian, and the third brother Jin Yichuan, three people, three different personalities, and three different destinies.

As the eldest brother, Lu Jianxing is calm and capable, and is determined to restore his ancestors' official status and bring glory to the family. His weapon is a two-handed broadsword, which, like his personality, shows his domineering and heroic characteristics.

Shen Lian is a cold and sharp character who will do anything to achieve his goals. His weapons are a one-handed sword and a Zhuge crossbow, which reflects his flexible and changeable fighting style and his unique advantages in pursuit and surprise attack.

Jin Yichuan's character is the most pure and kind, but he also has a true temperament. His weapon is a two-handed short knife, and his movements are fast, accurate and ruthless, which is consistent with his identity of suffering from tuberculosis but with a tortuous life experience.

Gu Wei can basically see the unique personality traits and fighting styles of the three brothers in "The Blade of the Assassin" just by looking at their outfits and the weapons they use. These traits are not only reflected in their words and deeds, but also in the weapons they choose.

"Not bad, I can see you put some effort into it."

After all the groups on the scene were ready, the filming of "Assassin's Blade" finally started. The first shot of the three brothers appearing in the movie was filmed. The father-in-law played by Wu Jing assigned a task to the three men to hunt down Wei Zhongxian.

Two cameras, in front and behind, were aimed at the three brothers and Wu Jing.

With Lu Yang's call of "atin", the script supervisor hit the board and the shooting began.

"I don't know why the father-in-law chose the three of us?" said Shen Lian, played by Zhao Wenzhuo.

Wu Jing: "Look at the way you three are doing, you are definitely not eunuchs."

Wu Jing, who was used to playing tough guys, was a little uncomfortable with the role of a eunuch and deliberately pinched his voice when speaking his lines.

...

Seeing this, people from all groups on the scene were trying hard to hold back their laughter, but Lu Yang, who was sitting in the director's chair, had a stern face, and Director Gu next to him didn't laugh either. Plus, this was the first shot of the first scene, so no one dared to laugh out loud.

Wu Jing continued his previous performance, or rather, he was not fighting alone at this moment, there were three other brothers accompanying him.

Next to her, Su Chang, who had put on makeup and was wearing props and costumes, was memorizing her lines in a corner of the studio. She would have her scene soon, and director Gu Wei would be there too. She couldn't rehearse it seven or eight times and still not get through it. If Xixi found out, she wouldn't know how she would mock her.

Not far from Su Chang was the chubby-faced girl Zhao Liying. As a newcomer to the company, she had only met directors Lu Yang and Wu Jing twice and was a little familiar with them. Many of the others met for the first time today and were a little nervous at the moment.

Holding the script in her hand, the assistant beside her introduced the people present to her remotely.

"Look over there, the popular actress Su Chang. Apart from Liu Yifei, she is the most popular one these days. She always stars in movies directed by big names. Yingbao, this is what you should learn from."

"there…"

Listening to the assistant's constant nagging, Ying Bao didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Come on, it took others so many productions to have their current fame and status. It was good enough for him to have a role to act in. He didn't even think about surpassing anyone else.

"Click, passed, next one." As director Lu Yang shouted loudly, everyone applauded. The first shot was shot so smoothly, which was also a good sign.

.........

At the end of March, the film market of this month was deserted, and no domestic blockbusters achieved high box office.

After the release of the only Hollywood blockbuster "Battle Los Angeles", it had good box office and instantly made domestic films popular.

There is no way, the gimmick is too strong. Chinese audiences still like to see aliens invade the earth and turn Los Angeles into ruins.

Although the film has average reputation and its Douban score is not high, its box office performance is still good, and it is expected that it will not be difficult to reach the previous life's performance of 220 million.

But things will be different in April, as the 4 million-yuan-invested "Warring States" and 1.5 million-yuan-invested "Guan Yunchang" will both be released.

The special effects of Xingchen Film and Television Company have also become the focus of the Starry Night publicity.

However, there were some changes in the promotion of another movie, "Guan Yunchang". The Hong Kong crew placed Jiang Wen, who was originally a supporting role, on the same level as Zhen Zidan.

The reason is that because of the high box office of "Let the Bullets Fly", they hope to take advantage of the influence of this movie.

In addition to the film promotion, the Academy Awards ceremony in Hong Kong also came to an end.

Several nominated mainland actors, such as Deng Chao, Wang Xueqi, Zhang Jingchu and others, did not win any awards and were at most considered supporting roles.

What’s most amusing is the Best Actor Award at the Academy Awards.

Chef Xie actually defeated Chow Yun-fat, Cheung Hok-yau and Cheung Ka-fai with "The Insider" and won the Best Actor trophy. This really surprised and puzzled many people.

When he received the award, he pretended to be cool again. At the award ceremony, he said, "I am very grateful to my wife for accompanying me here today. You have always been beautiful, but you are especially beautiful tonight." At that time, Cecilia Cheung cried in the audience with red eyes.

Unfortunately, the mainland media did not report this incident. Instead, they couldn't help but mock it because of the award issue.

"The Hong Kong film industry has completely declined, but these people are still complacent and self-deceiving, sacrificing their reputation to promote their own actors." "This Best Actor award is a bit exaggerated!"

After seeing the news, Gu Wei didn't care. In the Hong Kong circle, there are a bunch of veteran actors who love acting the most, no matter which aspect.

However, what interested him most was Chef Xie's declaration of gratitude to his wife. As far as he could remember, the two of them had a divorce case about a month later. Now they were very sweet and loving, and maybe they had already signed a divorce agreement in private. It was quite embarrassing to think about it.

Guangxian finally decided to invest in this script directed by Chen Jiashang. There was no other way. Wang Changtian couldn't bear to watch others eating meat.

At the same time, Yang Mi also responded that she was willing to play the leading female role with a salary of 8 million, which is considered relatively high among young actresses.

"Guangzhou's latest film, The Four, has a budget of 90 million yuan, and the special effects shots are produced by Xingchen Film and Television Company."

"Following the film 'Painted Wall', the group will once again launch a new film project, which will still be directed by director Chen Jiashang."

"Currently, Yang Mi has been cast as the female lead, and auditions are underway for the remaining roles."

As soon as Guangguang announced the news, the media and the Internet in the circle reported it extensively.

Although the cost of this movie is not too high, the investment of nearly 100 million yuan still attracted the attention of a large number of actors in the circle.

"It's a pity that the heroine was taken by Yang Mi. This guy is so quick."

Without a main female lead role, female stars are not as motivated to compete as male stars.

But people from Hong Kong Island kept contacting Chen Jiashang, planning to arrange some people to go in.

There are even Hong Kong directors who have said that mainland companies provide the funding, while Hong Kong provides the directors and actors, which is a perfect match. They called on everyone to learn more from the Light Media Group.

Upon hearing the news, major companies in the industry scoffed and were too lazy to respond.

"If they want to dream, let them do it. A bunch of people came here to beg for food, and now they want to sit at the table?"

I don’t know who secretly spread this news, but for a while, Hong Kong directors were in a state of limbo in the circle, which was really embarrassing.

"Female version of Wuqing, only a Hong Kong screenwriter could come up with this script, it's really creative."

"Yang Mi plays Wuqing. I don't think the Four Famous Detectives will fall in love with each other. I can't imagine it." Some netizens speculated wildly.

“Maybe it’s true!”

...

Overall, the first day of filming was quite successful.

However, problems began to arise from the second day.

After all, this is a martial arts film, so various fighting scenes are inevitable. Most of the fighting in this movie is done with weapons, and there is very little hand-to-hand combat.

Therefore, all kinds of action designs and routines have to be designed by Zou Zhaolong, Qian Xiaohao and others. As for Wu Jing and Zhao Wenzhuo, both of them are martial artists, so it is naturally not a problem.

However, Wang Qianyuan, who played the eldest brother, and Jing Chao, who played the third brother, had never practiced martial arts. Sometimes a scene had to be NGed many times, and after filming a shot, the two were so tired that they couldn't even lift their arms.

"Director, how about using stunt doubles? They are responsible for showing their faces, and Xiaohao and I will do the fighting scenes." As the crew's martial arts director, Zou Zhaolong made a suggestion.

There is no way around it. Even if today's actors work harder, to be honest, there is still some gap between them and the old Hong Kong actors.

In addition, since many people were filming an action scene for the first time, it was inevitable that they could not keep up with the pace and wasted time.

"Director, I'm fine. I don't need a stand-in."

"Me too, Director."

After hearing what Zou Zhaolong said, Wang Qianyuan and Jing Chao said at the same time that although they were very tired, they still refused to be substituted.

At this moment, Lu Yang was a little conflicted. If he wanted to shoot high-quality fighting scenes, the more rigorous the action was, the better. It would also be beneficial for long-shot shooting if the actors appeared on camera in person. If they used stand-ins, it would be troublesome for post-production editing and it would also be easy to be exposed.

But there is no need for a stand-in. The two people in front of me obviously can't keep up, and I guess the situation will get worse later on.

"Director Lu, I have a suggestion." Qian Xiaohao at the side suddenly said.

As an actor who was once very popular in the Hong Kong circle, although Qian Xiaohao has retreated behind the scenes, he has always been involved in the production of movies. Unfortunately, the incident at the time had too much impact on him. After the storm slowly subsided, the Hong Kong circle lost its former glory. Qian Xiaohao, who has no resources in the mainland, can no longer keep up with the development of the times.

Therefore, Qian Xiaohao is grateful for being able to join the crew and participate in the martial arts direction this time. Seeing that the crew is facing difficulties, he naturally wants to help solve them.

"Oh, tell me about it." Lu Yang asked curiously.

"Give up those fancy moves and use bold and sweeping techniques instead. Since our movie has the background of the imperial court and the army, we can naturally make use of some military skills. Perhaps it will have a different effect." Qian Xiaohao saw the problem at a glance and said it directly.

"That's a good idea." Hearing this, Lu Yang's eyes lit up. He had always been thinking about shooting in a unique martial arts style and deliberately pursuing detailed fighting scenes, but he had overlooked this point.

In fact, the story style of commercial blockbusters is really important.

Some people in later generations analyzed the rise of Marvel and the decline of DC, and believed that the film style was an important reason.

Marvel has been using Hollywood's mature industrial routines, cool fights, dense jokes. Marvel is very clear about what it wants, building the Marvel Universe bit by bit, and producing one standard commercial movie after another.

But DC always wants to play with depth. After the huge success of the "Batman" trilogy, it couldn't find the right balance between depth, dark style and funny elements.

The highly anticipated "Justice League" cost $3 million to produce, but its global box office was only $6.58 million, which is simply weak compared to Marvel's "Avengers".

"What else?" Lu Yang asked impatiently, looking at Qian Xiaohao with more and more satisfaction.

Zou Zhaolong on the side smiled at Qian Xiaohao and motioned him to continue.

"I think we can design a few unique moves for each character based on their different backgrounds, such as..."

The more Qian Xiaohao spoke, the brighter Lu Yang's eyes became. Haha, it was a real decision to invite them to be martial arts directors in the first place. They are all really capable.

"Okay, Brother Long, I'll leave this to you two. Hurry up and design the moves, and then let them practice first." After listening to this, Lu Yang made the decision without any hesitation.

"Okay, director."

Zou Zhaolong agreed immediately, but he planned to hand the matter over to his deputy Qian Xiaohao.

The Light Media Group wanted to invite him to star in the movie "The Four" and serve as the film's martial arts director. He had originally considered joining the crew of "Knife of the Assassin" and planned to refuse it outright.

Although there is little conflict in the shooting schedules of the two films, it is also a basic ethics for actors to avoid overlapping shooting schedules.

Now that he has Qian Xiaohao, Zou Zhaolong has come up with a good idea to have the best of both worlds.

...

(End of this chapter)