Actor: Thank you.

The hero saves the beauty.

This topic is the most clichéd and timeless trope in movies.

Because it was used so often, many later films that had no romance or even few female characters became more popular.

Since it's a story of a hero rescuing a damsel in distress, then there must be a hero and a damsel in distress.

"This is Chan Ning," the director introduced Zhang Yuan as he led him to the actors' rest area.

Channing Tatum is known in the country as "Boss Qian" (a transliteration of his name).

Actually, he's not a boss, and he's not one of the richest male stars in Hollywood.

"Hi, nice to meet you." The guy was quite burly, so I bumped fists with him in greeting.

“Me too,” Zhang Yuan replied, sniffling as he spoke.

I was smelling his scent.

It smells like men's cologne, sweat, and American antiperspirant... It's good, but it doesn't smell like sesame leaves.

Because he remembered that this person had flown over the leaf and acknowledged it.

My brother is also in a tough spot. He has ADHD since childhood and has been taking Ritalin, which has caused some side effects.

I started using marijuana in my teens, but I think I quit on my own later.

The methylphenidate given to my older brother to make him feel dizzy is called a "smart drug" by some parents in China.

This drug can improve a person's concentration for several hours, but side effects include, but are not limited to, insomnia, nausea, headache, high blood pressure, depression, etc.

However, there are still a group of parents who, under the guise of doing what's best for their children and improving their academic performance, give their children large amounts of medication.

Some people even started eating it in junior high school.

All for the sake of improving their scores in the college entrance examination and getting into a better university.

Therefore, the problem with the poor is not only that they are not as well-off as the rich, but they are also physically inferior to the rich.

Using various methods that "consume lifespan" to engage in involution.

The children of wealthy families go directly to studying abroad; they don't take the college entrance exam like you.

These parents are incredibly foolish; they only care about the college entrance exam and don't care about or see the consequences.

After the college entrance exam, people are pressuring me to get married, even mortgaging the life savings of several generations of my family. Why do I want to get married? I don't know.

After pressuring people to get married, they're now pressuring them to have children. But why have children? They don't know.

If your body is ruined and you need drugs to improve your grades, then you shouldn't be studying.

Foreigners also overuse Ritalin, with a usage rate as high as 30% among children.

However, there are indeed quite a few people with ADHD here. Besides pharmaceutical companies wanting you to take more medication, they will relax the criteria for diagnosis.

In many places here in the US, lead water pipes from over a hundred years ago are still in use.

Eating artificially colored snacks for a few months can lead to serious problems. Here, from birth, people drink tap water that's been soaking in lead pipes every day. Do you think they can possibly be okay?

Channing plays the Duke, who is the male lead in this film.

He is also a well-known character in the G.I. Joe action figure series.

Not only were there dukes, but also baronesses.

Sienna Miller plays the Baroness, the eldest sister of the villainous Cobra unit.

This is the first instance of a hero rescuing a damsel in distress.

The woman playing the Duchess is a blonde with above-average looks among white people, but that's about it.

Fortunately, the movie gave her a complete makeover.

She dyed her hair dark brown, wore black-rimmed glasses, and a tight-fitting leather jumpsuit.

Wow...it instantly boosted my looks by two or three levels.

But just like a student taking Ritalin, external aids are never as effective as one's own abilities.

You can't be kissing and cuddling without letting the other person take off their costume.

"That's exactly what we want, the Baroness!"

This is not a good thing.

And my older sister is in a relationship, with the famous British top male star, Jude Law.

My older sister was also cheated on. In 06, Jude Law was exposed by the British media for sleeping with his family's nanny, who was his girlfriend at the time.

This is also a common practice among male celebrities in Europe and America; they have affairs with more than one nanny, and even with the nanny of their own children.

They got back together not long after breaking up because of this.

Zhang Yuan strongly suspected that his older sister was a sucker for Jude Law's looks, after all, her brother wasn't bald yet.

The director also called another pair of heroes who rescued a damsel in distress to his side.

Marlon Waynes, a Black man, plays the role of the parachute launcher.

He was the Duke's best friend.

The two male leads are one black and one white, and there are also people of Middle Eastern descent in the film, plus him, who is Asian.

Actually, the lineup is very politically correct.

However, since everyone in the group is good-looking, it doesn't seem too out of place.

See? Political correctness is acceptable, but it can only be a safety net, not the main theme.

Once the Heavenly Gang is overthrown, they deliberately find a bunch of ugly people to act in, and force the audience to watch and have their families praise them. If they don't praise them, they will accuse you of discrimination.

That's it.

Films like "The Little Black Mermaid" and "Snow White" are examples of this.

The story of Mulan, starring Sissi, was actually quite bad, but it was only because of the contrast with other films in the same genre that it stood out.

If the film is delayed for a few more years, Disney might have to find someone with the looks of a certain talk show host to play Mulan.

This black guy named Malone is the famous black actor from the spoof comedy "Scary Movie".

When it comes to parody comedy, he's a top star.

However, his acting skills are not bad. In the masterpiece "Requiem for a Dream", his performance was outstanding, playing a guy who was addicted to drugs.

In "Scary Movie," he always played a drug addict.

Because he was playing himself!

As soon as the black man walked over, Zhang Yuan wanted to cover his nose.

He smelled of hemp leaves.

I guess the guy had one while the crew was taking a break.

The key point is that the old black man was also very enthusiastic, hugging and greeting him.

This made Zhang Yuan want to change his clothes.

It had a strange, foul smell.

"This is Rachel." The director then introduced him to the actress who plays "Scarlett," the red-haired woman, in the film.

He shook hands with the other person lightly, and the other person turned and left.

"She just got divorced and is a bit depressed," the director explained.

Zhang Yuan glanced at the other person's back.

This woman, like the older sister who plays the Baroness, was originally blonde.

But after dyeing her hair bright red, her overall appearance improved significantly.

The character Scarlett O'Hara is a high-tech techie in the film.

And this Ms. Rachel herself has a double degree in mathematics and economics from Columbia University.

Put economics aside for now, as for mathematics, if you don't know it, you'll never know it, no matter how hard you try. Even if you devour altruistic theories, it won't help.

This clearly shows that the actor himself is quite intelligent, and the production team specifically chose someone whose temperament is similar to that of the character.

This young lady played the lead role in Jim Carrey's famous film "Dumb and Dumber".

This also shows that even if you are beautiful and smart, it's useless. You still have to leave and face the messy realities of life.

Zhang Yuan watched the other person's swaying figure as they left.

Red hair is great; it makes the skin look whiter.

Moreover, according to traditional Chinese virtues, "kick down the door of a widow and dig up the grave of someone without children."

Widows are more likely to evoke a man's protective instincts, which is why the Japanese like this subject matter.

Although she wasn't a widow, she had just gotten divorced and was pregnant.

This is precisely the time when care and heart-to-heart talks are needed.

I am good at "talk therapy".

It wasn't for riding foreign horses; my main purpose was for cultural exchange.

What, are bedroom arts and methods of prolonging sexual intercourse no longer part of traditional Chinese culture?

The focus is on communication...

Now that we've changed our clothes, we can't not take pictures.

The film crew was in a huge soundstage... bigger than the largest soundstage at the Beijing Film Studio.

But in Hollywood, that's just considered large; there are also extra-large sizes.

The production team built an entire special forces base and a Cobra base. In the story, the GI base is located deep underground in the desert, while the Cobra base is under the Arctic ice.

This setting is just like something out of a comic book.

Therefore, there will be two "siege battles".

One instance involved the Cobra unit using drilling rigs to dig a tunnel through GI's home base.

One of them was Duke and Parachute Leading their teammates to attack Cobra's lair.

The attack on Cobra's lair is extremely exciting and is basically a model of Hollywood special effects blockbusters.

The Duke engages in hand-to-hand combat with soldiers inside the base, deploys a parachute to pilot a supersonic fighter jet in pursuit of missiles, and features a fully special-effects-driven submarine battle beneath the ice.

Launching simultaneously across land, sea, and air!

Furthermore, this film was widely referenced by many later special effects films, especially superhero movies.

Many of the shots in the scene where Scarlett is riding a motorcycle in Paris are similar to those in the scene where Black Widow is riding a motorcycle in Avengers: Age of Ultron, and both of them have red hair.

The Duke's hand-to-hand combat with the super soldiers has many scenes reminiscent of the Hydra base and the final airplane scene in Captain America: The First Avenger.

The shots of the black guy chasing the missile with the parachute rope have several striking similarities to Iron Man chasing the nuclear bomb in "The Avengers".

James Wan heavily borrowed the underwater submarine battle theme from Aquaman.

This film was used as a superhero textbook.

Therefore, it can be said that the plot of this show is very cartoonish and formulaic.

But at the time, the filming techniques, especially the post-production special effects, were truly amazing.

With these special effects and the quality of the studio sets, you can't blame Zhang Yimou and Chen Shiren, these old directors, for being "foreign-worshipping."

The gap between China and the world that they witnessed when they were young was so vast that it left an indelible mark on their minds.

Not to mention them, even Zhang Yuan, after wandering around the scene, felt it was extraordinary.

How much money will that cost!

Hollywood at its peak was incredibly powerful.

"Next, you and the Baroness will jump from the sky bridge to the ground."

The director was giving him instructions.

The scene to be filmed is the Cobra team's retreat from the special forces base after they seize the nanobot warheads.

Ghost and the Baroness are both high-ranking officers and key combatants on Cobra's side.

Zhang Yuan glanced at the sky bridge the director was pointing to; it was a real scene.

It's about 2 meters or 3 meters above the ground, roughly the height of a one-story residential building.

I will prepare a soft cushion for you.

"Shoot it in two shots."

"One of them is you who jumped."

"One is to roll up."

"They can be pieced together later."

This section is mainly to showcase the White Ghost's exceptional skills.

"NO, NO, NO..." At this moment, a fat man came forward, raised his index finger, and kept shaking it.

He even spoke with a slight Italian accent.

Director Stephen frowned as soon as he saw him.

The man who came was named Lorenzo, a name that immediately suggests he was Italian.

Lorenzo was the chief producer of "G.I. Joe".

That's why the director tried to win over Zhang Yuan right from the start.

"The storyboard shooting was just so-so."

"In my experience, it's better to use special effects to connect them."

"So we need to use a green screen."

That's where the trouble lies.

Who has the final say, the director or the producer?

This producer put his hands on his hips, stood there, and started rambling on.

The director kept rubbing his eyebrows.

But there weren't many options.

Because Lorenzo is not only the producer of "G.I. Joe," but also the producer of the "Transformers" series.

He also produced Keanu Reeves' "Constantine".

And then there's the Meg series, all of them are this guy.

He is a loyal special effects artist.

Furthermore, they have access to a large number of post-production resources.

Therefore, disputes on set are also a struggle for interests.

Often, the debate over policy is simply a struggle over interests.

Just like the debate between Li Hongzhang and Zuo Zongtang over land defense versus sea defense in the late Qing Dynasty.

On set, a debate has arisen regarding production techniques.

Is it splicing together footage or splicing together special effects?

Zhang Yuan glanced at the director and producer.

Then he discovered that the director and producer were also watching him.

Zhang Yuan: …

When there's nothing to do, he patrols with his smelly feet; when something happens, he's Brother Fuhai.

Why are you looking at me when you encounter this unfortunate problem?

I'm new here, I don't know anything.

I'm a farmer...

“Zhang Yuan, you have filmed a lot of action scenes. I have seen your performance in ‘Rush Hour’.”

"How does Chen Long usually film these kinds of movies?" the director asked him.

Stephen knew that Chinese people, especially Chenlong, were known for their love of real-life photography, so he asked this question on purpose.

Zhang Yuan cleared his throat and glanced at the producer, who was squinting at him.

You're trying to make things difficult for me, Fat Tiger!

Am I really going to offend someone as soon as I get here today?
"A true-to-life shot of Chenlong."

The director laughed, but before he could laugh for long, Zhang Yuan chimed in.

"But the fight scene on the Eiffel Tower was filmed in a studio with a green screen for special effects because the actual shooting didn't look good."

The producer smiled.

Take a look.

Chenlong also did special effects.

Director Stephen raised an eyebrow and looked at him.

Didn't you say you were on my side?

Zhang Yuan is also innocent.

This producer is easygoing and overweight, and looks like Grand Tutor Dong. What can I do?

But he knew that wouldn't work.

On the first day, they suffered a setback in their very first scene, and then some bad luck followed.

This isn't China; there's no way to use connections to smooth things over here.

After that, forget about riding a foreign woman; I'd be lucky if she didn't make things difficult for me.

Two white people are fighting, and I, a yellow-skinned person, am unlucky... Ouch.

Zhang Yuan felt like he was hallucinating from over a hundred years ago.

At this point, the only options seem to be A or B.

But who is Zhang Yuan?

He chose "or"!
"Actually, based on my experience shooting action films in China, there is a third way to shoot this scene."

"I don't need to take on any acting roles."

"No special effects are needed."

The director and producer both looked at him.

What did you say, kid?

Zhang Yuan pointed to the sky bridge, which was more than two meters high.

"I'll just jump down from up there, film it in one shot, and that'll be it." (End of Chapter)