Hong Kong Entertainment: The King of Kung Fu

PS: The following chapters will write about the plot of Yang Ye and Sophie Marceau's filming of the movie "Lover".

Because the plot has been greatly changed, the original version of "The Lover" will be written in comparison with Duras's original work "The Lover of Northern China".

Some readers may look for these two books out of curiosity, but in fact there is no need.

Because Duras's narrative language style is unique, she will deliberately erase the storyline and place more emphasis on subjective feelings and psychological changes.

People who are not used to it will find it uncomfortable.

Hereby remind you!

……

Fang Yihua wanted to sign Priscilla Chan, but was easily snatched away by Yang Ye, making her teeth itch with anger.

At this time, Yang Ye had already taken Sophie Marceau to Vietnam to join Jean Jacques.

Vietnam was once a French colony. Although it became independent, the two sides are still inextricably linked.

Oh, as mentioned earlier, Duras’s lover’s name is Li Yuntai.

Jean-Jacques pointed to a blue house and said: "That's that house, that's where Duras and her Chinese lover Huang Shuili met."

Although Yang Ye himself didn't feel anything, he could understand this feeling.

Yang Ye shook his head: "Duras's first love was indeed Li Yuntai, but Duras told the specific process three times, each one different.

The details in it are no longer distinguishable. We tend to shoot according to the third view, and some details can be supplemented from the second view! "

This shows the Vietnamese people’s affection for France.

Li Yuntai's Vietnamese name is Huynh Thuy Le, which is transliterated as Huang Shui Li.

Goose yellow, head blue, lake blue, and bright pink are all used to paint the walls.

……

Sometimes the production company has already sent back a lot of money before the movie starts shooting.

Jean-Jacques smiled and said: "Everything went well. The government here was very cooperative. I even got a steamship."

Before the official filming of the movie started, Jean-Jacques took Yang Ye and Sophie Marceau to visit the places where Duras lived as a girl in order to better understand the plot of the novel.

……

Jean-Jacques said: "Duras himself is a master screenwriter. Her last book "The Lover in Northern China" was written in the style of a movie script. It even included suggestions for camera scheduling, and it made sense. It provided us with It saves a lot of things.”

Therefore, he asked Yang Ye and Sophie to come to Sadec for a visit. Although Yang Ye felt it was unnecessary, he still complied.

Later, they visited the elementary school where Duras attended.

But no matter how ordinary things are, they will become different as long as they are exposed to celebrities.

A very ordinary primary school, with yellow walls, blue shutters, and a low bungalow. There are many flowerpots made of coconut shells on campus, planted with colorful flowers.

In order to restore the style of French Indochina in the 301s, he worked hard to find information and acquired various retro items, including a Peugeot car.

Later, due to the popularity of the "Lover" novel and movie, this house was developed into an attraction.

So the old house is still there and can be seen from a distance. The eaves are full of purple flowers, which are very conspicuous, just like what is said in the novel.

Yang Ye asked Jean Jacques: "Mr. Arnold, is everything going well?"

Jean-Jacques really did his best for this movie.

The conversation between Jean Jacques and Yang Ye made Sophie feel very lucky.

Sophie Marceau visited with great interest and said she could imagine what it was like when Duras went to primary school here decades ago.

Jean-Jacques and Sophie Marceau are both distinguished French people, so the principal naturally welcomed them warmly.

This car is Yang Ye's car in the movie. It was obtained by Jacques from the Peugeot company and shipped to Vietnam by sea. It can still be driven.

Since Peugeot is Yang Ye's car sponsor, there is no charge for this old antique car, and Peugeot has to happily pay a sponsorship fee.

For example, when he visits the Sanwei Bookstore where Lu Xun studied, he will imagine what it was like when Brother Xun was studying here.

Sophie Marceau was surprised and said: "So everything in the novel is true?"

It is of course an honor to be involved in a project like this.

Because the original author, screenwriter, director, and male protagonist of this movie are all masters, she is like a transparent person compared to these people.

"Damn it, you're awesome, can this old antique do it?"

When Vietnamese people paint their walls, they like bright colors.

Jean-Jacques is a very serious director. In "At the Gate", he could not even go wrong with the medals that the actors need to wear in the film.

The French are the best in Vietnam!
Later generations of Vietnamese films have also made some achievements. For example, Chen Yingxiong is very famous in the international film industry. His film technology was brought back to Vietnam from France.

This is one of the benefits of hiring a superstar when making a movie.

Sometimes the studio makes money even before the movie is released.

For the past fifty years, Vietnam has been at war with little development.

"Oh, this place is relatively backward. There are some older things that are still in use and have not been eliminated!"

Sadec City, Vietnam!

This mood is probably similar to that of Sophie Marceau now.

After visiting the elementary school, they found a restaurant to eat.

A large piece of grouper, braised in braise, served with a large plate of raw mint leaves.

Take a bite of grouper and chew on a few mint leaves.

This mint can remove the residual fish taste in your mouth, and when you take a second bite, the fish taste will always be new.

Several people have never tried this way of eating, and it feels very novel.

After dinner, everyone sat and drank tea and chatted.

Sophie sighed: "This place is so beautiful!"

Jean Jacques said: "Yes, the sky is blue, the air is fresh, and the sun is bright."

Sophie said: "There are flowers everywhere, flowers are wrapped around the telephone poles, and the walls of the courtyard are covered with flowers. It is so romantic and suitable for falling in love. No wonder Duras fell into an unforgettable love here."

Yang Ye didn't say anything, but complained in his heart: "Nima, city people like to show off when they go to the countryside. Do you really want to let you live here for a year and a half?"

……

This time, there was no need to worship God when the filming was started, but it was started directly because the filming team was from France and Yang Ye only participated as the leading actor.

Jean-Jacques had already built a temporary dock on the edge of the Mekong River, and also brought in an old-fashioned ferry. It made a clanging sound while driving, and black smoke continued to emit from the chimney.

An old-fashioned bus slowly drove onto the ferry, and then Jane, played by Sophie Marceau, stepped off.

Jean-Jacques is a maniac about details, and he restored the props in the movie to the extreme.

Sophie Marceau wore a brown silk dress, sleeveless, bare chest and shoulders.

Wearing a men's soft felt hat with a wide black sash around it.

An old pair of black satin and gold dancing shoes inlaid with fake gemstones, the heels completely smoothed.

Jean Jacques is exactly the same as in the novel, restored one to one.

He also specially gave a few close-ups, as if to tell the audience: "Look, I am just so detailed!"

……

After Sophie Marceau appeared on the stage, she leaned against the railing of the ferry and looked at the scenery.

Yang Ye appeared in a luxury car, a black Peugeot 301, which was definitely a status symbol at the time.

The driver opened the car door respectfully, and Yang Ye calmly walked out of the car.

His outfit is exactly the same as in the novel, with a beige silk suit, reddish-brown British leather shoes, and the look of a British banker.

Unlike the original Liang Jiahui who was very timid, Yang Ye's current expression is very confident.

In Duras's third story, she describes the appearance of the male protagonist as follows: He is different from the one in the book, stronger, less timid, and more bold. Prettier, healthier, more photogenic, the girl opposite, less shy.

Therefore, Yang Ye's acting is very different from Liang Jiahui's:
Liang Jiahui first stared at the girl from a distance, then approached the girl very uneasily, took out a box of cigarettes, and said in a trembling voice: "Miss, do you smoke?"

While talking, his hands kept shaking, so much that the cigarette case almost fell into the Mekong River.

However, the girl didn't even pick him up!
Then Liang Jiahua was so nervous that he licked his lips and trembled, and forced himself to find various topics to strike up a conversation with, such as I like your hat, it's very creative, you are so beautiful, and so on.

However, the girl still ignored him.

After chatting up a few words with no results, Liang Jiahui felt frustrated and planned to give up.

At this time, the girl reluctantly asked: "Who are you?"

The Liang family turned around with a look of surprise on their faces, and explained in a loud voice that they finally hoped to send the girl to Saigon.

……

Liang Jiahui acted according to the novel, and there was nothing wrong with his acting.

What Yang Ye performed was very different from Liang Jiaqi's.

... Yang Ye and Sophie Marceau looked at each other and smiled at each other.

Then Yang Ye walked over and handed the cigarette: "Do you smoke?"

Sophie Marceau declined.

Then the two continued to stare at each other, Yang Ye's expression was calm, and Sophie's expression was fierce.

After watching for a while, they all became curious about each other.

Sophie took the initiative and asked: "Is this your car?"

Yang Ye said: "Yes, it's a Peugeot."

I'll make an advertisement first and then talk about it. Peugeot gave me one million US dollars, so this advertisement must be tough!

Then both parties tell each other.

Yang Ye told Sophie that he lived in Shadec, in a big house by the river.

Sophie told him that she was boarding in Saigon, what school she went to, her whole family was born in Indochina, and so on.

Then Yang Ye said: "If you want, I can take you back to Saigon!"

Sophie replied: "I would love to!"

……

The two plays are about the same thing.

But Liang Jiahuai's version was about licking the dog and kneeling down, but Yang Ye's version was going in both directions.

……

The scene of crossing the river was quickly finished, and the stage manager paid the extras and asked them to leave.

The crew began to prepare for the next scene.

……

This scene is completely different from the original version.

The original version is:
After the girl got on the bus, Liang Jiahui started to talk loudly, constantly expressing himself, telling about his life in Paris and Saigon, in order to attract the girl's idea.

The girl basically didn't speak, and then Liang Jiahuai saw the girl's little hand on the chair.

He looked out the window, put his hand on the chair, slowly moved over, and carefully touched the girl's hand.

The girl didn't move, so he plucked up the courage and took the little hand in his.

The car sped all the way to its destination.

The girl got out of the car, said "goodbye" and left without looking back.

……

Yang Ye’s version is:
After getting in the car, Yang Ye stopped using honorifics and addressed you directly.

He saw the marks of poverty on the girl's body, the scuffed shoes, the cardboard suitcase, the man's hat, and he smiled!

"You're going to wear these shoes to school?"

The girl also laughed awkwardly: "Yes!"

"Just wear this hat?"

"Yes!"

The girl laughed to hide her embarrassment.

After Yang Ye laughed at the girl, he closed his eyes to rest and stopped talking.

At this time, the girl looked at his hand on the chair, took the initiative to grab it, and looked carefully at the large gold ring on his ring finger with a large diamond on it.

rich!

Yang Ye let the girl touch his hand without any expression.

Then they started chatting and developing feelings for each other.

The girl wanted to kiss Yang Ye, but Yang Ye noticed it and said, "Close your eyes!"

The girl closed her eyes obediently and allowed himself to be manipulated.

……

When filming this scene, Yang Ye wanted to hold Sophie Marceau in his arms and gently touch her face and lips.

Well, it feels very sensual to the touch!

……

But Yang Ye didn't kiss the girl. He stopped and asked her how old she was.

Knowing that she was only fifteen and a half years old and a minor, we didn't go any further.

The two stopped talking and were silent to each other.

After arriving at their destination, the two parted ways.

At this time, we also need to add the narration of the elderly Duras:

The story has already happened, it is inevitable.

A love story, a dazzling love.

It never ends.

Never forgotten.

……

This scene is very simple to say, but it involves a lot of dialogue and is not easy to shoot.

Sophie Marceau's acting skills are also not good. For example, when Yang Ye laughed at her for being poor, in order to cover up her embarrassment, she should laugh, but she couldn't laugh correctly, and it took several takes to pass.

Another example is that when Yang Ye touched her, her expression was wrong, causing Yang Ye to touch her more than a dozen times before the director called her clear.

Yang Ye was a little embarrassed: If I continue to touch it, this beautiful face will be bald by my touch.

This director will give out benefits!

……

Later, there are the boarding school scenes. These were only shot on location, and the specific content will be left until we return to Hong Kong.

The crew built a China Street in the style of Indochina in the 1930s at the Grand View Studio in Hong Kong, and all the scenes about China Street were filmed there.

Why not shoot it in one take in Vietnam?
Because Vietnam does not have this condition, in order to restore the Indochina style of the 1930s, a large number of props need to be produced.

It is not difficult to make these props in Hong Kong, but it is too troublesome to transport them to Vietnam.

It’s better to just shoot in Hong Kong and solve any problems at any time.

There is also the issue of actors. The crew needs many foreign actors, which are difficult to find in Vietnam today.

This is nothing in Hong Kong.

The girl's family, a mother and two brothers, need three white people to play the roles.

This is easy. There are a lot of British and Australian people in Hong Kong, many of whom are also keen on filming and often appear in movies and TV series.

In addition to Chinatown, the heroine's family scenes were also filmed in Hong Kong.

The most important thing, Yang Ye and Sophie's gun room, was also shot in the studio of Daguan Studio.

All in all, the crew only had less than a month to plan for filming in Vietnam.

……

Filming continues.

Now filming the scene where Yang Ye meets the girl for the second time.

Although they met for the first time, the two fell in love with each other.

But because the girl was underage, Yang Ye restrained his desires.

So he drove over and waited at the school gate, wanting to see the girl again.

The girl also saw Yang Ye's car.

She stood still at first.

Then he slowly walked towards him who was sitting in the car window and put his hand on the car window.

Then she moved her hand away, put her mouth against the glass, closed her eyes, kissed her, and never moved away.

……

Yang Ye sat in the car and watched Sophie Marceau kiss him through the window glass.

A faint lip mark was left on the transparent glass.

His desire suddenly rose! (End of chapter)