Chapter 42 Montreal
The straight-line distance between Los Angeles and Montreal is approximately 3965 kilometers, and it takes about 6 hours to reach the destination by flight.

Montreal Airport, also known as Montreal Trudeau Airport or Trudeau Airport, was formerly known as Dover International Airport.

It is located in Dover, west of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

The temperature in Los Angeles in November is around 11 degrees Celsius, compared to Montreal in November, where the temperature has dropped below zero.

November 11, Montreal Airport.

Gu Wei and others set off from Los Angeles in the morning and arrived in Montreal after a 6-hour flight. It was almost evening.

"Phew, it's so cold."

Gu Wei unconsciously tightened his coat as he walked out of the airport.

I turned around and looked at the other crew members, most of them were like this.

Together with the crew members, we took a car to the hotel where we were staying.

"Ryder, what's the temperature outside right now?"

Gu Wei asked in the hotel room.

"Boss, it's only minus five or six degrees outside now."

"But according to the forecast from the Meteorological Bureau here, this year's winter in Montreal will be one of the coldest on record."

Before coming here, Reid collected a lot of meteorological information about this place.

"I understand. Go and inform the crew to keep warm."

In the hotel room, Gu Wei said as he took off his coat.

"Okay, boss."

Ryder responded and left the room.

"Senior, have you arrived yet?"

"Well, just arrived in Montreal," Gu Wei replied to the text message.

"Film well in China. When it's your turn, I'll notify you in advance."

"Okay, senior."

"Dong dong."

There was a knock on the door.

Gu Wei got up and opened the door.

"Dennis."

Gu Wei was a little confused.

"director."

Dennis Quaid, 48 years old, has had two marriages. After divorcing his ex-wife Saul, he married Meg Ryan in 1991. This actress is known as the "sweetie" in Hollywood. She was extremely beautiful when she was young, but her beauty period was short-lived.

Dennis looked like an uncle, but he was very talkative and humorous. He was very polite to Gu Wei. Gu Wei asked the waiter to bring a bottle of red wine, and the two started drinking and chatting in the room.

The next morning, Gu Wei got up, washed, had breakfast, put on his snow suit, took the crew members, and set off for the shooting location.

The crew has already built a studio at the shooting location in advance, and the shooting equipment has also been in place.

Filming crew is in progress.

The first few shots went smoothly, and the lead actor Dennis's acting was good, meeting Gu Wei's requirements.

However, the following snowstorm shots encountered shooting difficulties.

The temperature in Montreal in November has not yet reached its lowest point, and it doesn't snow much.

"Tom, add another snow machine, there's not enough snow."

Shooting now, Gu Wei said to Tom, the person in charge of logistics.

"Okay, director."

Two snow machines blew winds of eight kilometres an hour.

The male protagonist Dennis was wearing thick warm clothes and an eye mask, but he was still almost unable to open his eyes due to the strong wind.

Gu Wei sat in front of the camera, looked at the scene on the screen, and shook his head.

"Click."

"Click."

During the whole day, they shot five or six shots of the snowstorm. Dennis was shivering with cold, but still failed to achieve the ideal state for shooting.

Gu Wei thought for a while in the studio, trying to come up with a solution.

"Dennis, the temperature is still not low enough. Let's shoot other scenes first. The snowstorm scene can be postponed."

In the studio, Gu Wei, wearing thick warm clothes, looked at Dennis and other crew members in front of him and spoke directly.

"Okay, director."

As the filming of "The Day After Tomorrow" continued, Warner released behind-the-scenes footage and photos of the crew from time to time, attracting reports from Hollywood and domestic media.

.........

On December 12, the movie "Infernal Affairs" was released in Hong Kong Island. It is a police and gangster film produced by Media Asia Film Distribution Company and directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak.

It is called the savior of Hong Kong films.

In China, the popularity of the movie "Hero" has been widely discussed.

There have been many comments online, and a large number of viewers are looking forward to this domestic commercial blockbuster and the new work of director Zhang Yimou.

December 12th afternoon, local time.

The domestic blockbuster "Hero" was officially unveiled in the Great Hall of the People. The film was screened in the screening hall on the third floor of the Great Hall. More than 600 media outlets from home and abroad attended the event, and Phoenix TV's leading actress Lu Yu was the host.

All major film and television companies in the industry were invited, including China Film, Huayi, Guangguang, as well as Star Media and Hairun, which were established just last year.

As for the big directors and famous artists, there is no need to mention them.

Xingchen Film and Television Company also received an invitation letter in advance, and manager Wang Chen attended the premiere on behalf of Gu Wei.

Mobile phones and watches are not allowed on site.

After the film ended at 3: p.m., a press conference was held with the participation of Chinese and foreign journalists and some movie fans. The press conference was hosted by Lu Yu and the venue was covered with huge posters of "Hero".

Overall, the scene was grand.

For the next hour or so, the main creative team accepted a barrage of interviews from reporters.

When the press conference ended in a warm atmosphere, a faint scent of "Hero" still remained in the air in the venue.

The next day, the movie was officially released and word of mouth about the movie emerged.

"As expected of Lao Mouzi, the scenes are really grand." "The color of the movie is very good, but the story is average."

"Except for the big scenes, I didn't understand the rest."

"Wind, wind, strong wind!"

The audience's reviews after watching the movie were mixed, and thanks to a large number of comments from netizens, it continued to attract many people to the cinema.

Starting from "Red Sorghum" in 1988, including "Raise the Red Lantern" in 91, "Qiu Ju's Lawsuit" in 92, and now this movie "Hero", director Zhang Yimou has always been in the leading position in China, except for director Chen Kaige.

Of course, at this stage, Gu Wei’s status in China is not as high as that of director Zhang Yimou.

Firstly, Gu Wei is currently banned from directing in China, and the only award he has won is the Berlin Golden Bear Award, and almost no other awards.

Secondly, there are too few works. Including "The Day After Tomorrow" which is currently being filmed, there are only 4 works in total.

In addition, the ranks of domestic directors are strictly based on seniority, and Gu Wei is at a disadvantage in terms of age and qualifications.

……

Montreal, Canada.

The crew of the movie "The Day After Tomorrow" has been filming for more than a month, and the local temperature is slowly dropping, currently reaching more than ten degrees below zero.

"Tom, the forecast reports that there will be a heavy snowstorm around 2 p.m., notify the crew to be prepared."

"Okay, director."

Tom, the crew's on-site management leader, replied. Even though he was wearing thick warm clothes, Tom's cheeks were still red from the cold.

We arrived in Montreal in early November, but the filming of the movie was not smooth. Although the local temperature continued to drop, it did not snow much, so we were shooting other scenes in the early stages.

In order to perfectly capture the snowstorm scenes in the movie.

Gu Wei and the crew have been waiting for an opportunity.

Although the filming cost of this movie is very high, nearly 90% of the funds will be used on on-site shooting and post-production special effects production.

The filming is expected to take about six months, three of which will be spent in Montreal.

While Gu Wei was filming, Warner Bros. also dispatched other personnel to various parts of the world to shoot scenes in batches, including Tokyo, the British Isles and other places.

In the movie, the streets of New Delhi were also set up in a studio in Montreal.

Gu Wei asked Warner Company to airlift a lot of handicrafts, rickshaws, cars and other props from abroad.

Many foreign expatriates were hired as extras.

In addition to covering the entire scene with snow, it is also necessary to use artificial snow spreading to create the effect of fluttering snowflakes.

On December 12th, Canadian time, heavy snow began to fall in Montreal from noon, and the snowfall reached its heaviest around 20 pm.

Gu Wei stayed in the studio, looking at the heavy snow outside. All he could see was a sea of ​​white.

"All departments, get ready. Filming will begin in ten minutes."

"Tom, get the blower ready."

Gu Wei, wearing a thick snow suit and gloves, picked up the walkie-talkie and spoke.

"receive."

In the studio, Dennis and several other actors gestured to show that they understood.

"Watch your expression, Dennis."

"Click."

"Do it again, props team, get ready."

"Tom, turn up the air volume."

Gu Wei shouted over and over again in front of the camera.

As time passed, Gu Wei was immersed in the filming of the crew. Taking advantage of the rare heavy snow weather, he prepared to complete the shooting of most of the blizzard scenes in the movie.

...

Early January, Montreal hotel conference room.

"Director, most of the snowstorm scenes for the movie have been shot. We can prepare to leave for New York."

David, the assistant director of the crew, was talking while drinking a cup of coffee.

“How’s the set construction going in New York?”

Gu Wei turned and asked the staff next to him.

"Director, the set has been completed and we can start filming anytime."

"Ok."

"The director and the crew that went to Tokyo and the British Isles to shoot the film have already shot some of the scenes for the film and it is currently being produced at Warner headquarters."

A young, good-looking white assistant reported.

"Okay, the filming plan is going smoothly. Notify the crew and actors to arrive in New York before the end of the month."

After hearing the assistant's report, Gu Wei gave direct instructions.

"No problem, Director."

"Okay, director."

Next, Gu Wei discussed a few more issues with the crew members and then directly adjourned the meeting.

After returning to the hotel room, Gu Wei took out his cell phone and called Liu Yifei.

After a while, the call was connected.

"Xixi, how is the progress of Tianlong's filming? Can it be finished before the end of the month?"

"Senior, the filming has basically finished. Director Zhang said that it will be finished before the end of January."

Liu Yifei's sweet voice came from the phone.

"Okay, come directly to New York after the filming is finished, and I will send you the shooting address."

"However, according to the shooting schedule, you definitely won't be able to celebrate the New Year in China this year."

Gu Wei gave a special reminder.

"No problem, Senior, I'll be there on time."

Gu Wei felt relieved after hearing Liu Yifei's answer.

The two chatted on the phone for a while. Thinking about the filming tomorrow, more than ten minutes later, Gu Wei hung up the phone and got up to wash up.

...

(End of this chapter)