Actor: Thank you.

I saw the two big bosses of the crew, Chen Kexin and Cheng Xiaodong, who had just had an argument.

Zhang Yuan didn't want to get involved, so he planned to come back later.

Unexpectedly, Chen Kexin called him to stop.

"You came just in time."

"Come in and give me your opinion."

Zhang Yuan: …

He felt like he might have run into a gun.

The director had spoken, and I had no choice but to go in.

Sat next to Director Chen.

"what's wrong?"

"Director Cheng, do you have any disagreements regarding filming?"

Chen Kexin raised her hand and pointed at him.

It has to be you!

I could tell the problem at a glance.

This kid has a good brain.

It was easy for Zhang Yuan to guess that it was because Chen Kexin and Cheng Xiaodong were both very professional people and had no private grudges against each other.

More importantly, since joining the crew, Director Chen has been "tortured" by everything from photography, props, costumes, to stage management.

The requirements were so high that several people threatened to resign.

It's really unbearable.

No matter how much money you offer me, I can't do it.

Everyone has a temper, not to mention that everyone in this crew is a master and has even worse tempers.

Cheng Xiaodong is known as the master of martial arts.

He and Yuan Hepin are basically the most prestigious martial arts directors in the industry.

Laymen generally put the two on a par.

But in fact, Cheng Xiaodong is not as good as Baye.

Because he also has a nickname, "Fire Captain".

"The Sword" directed by Patrick Tam, "Swordsman" directed by Tsui Hark, and "Hero" directed by Zhang Yimou.

He is the martial arts director.

But he was not the martial arts director originally chosen by the crew.

He is known as the "firefighter" in the industry because whenever there is a problem on any crew, he is the right person to turn to.

This guy can stabilize the situation in a short period of time and put on some pretty exciting fighting scenes.

He's a bit like Wong Jing in the martial arts industry.

But then we have to ask, why do we only look for him when there is a problem?
Because the first people you look for are always others.

Most of them are Yuan and He products.

But he is too busy and often cannot make time.

The crew is changeable, so the start time is not fixed and will be constantly adjusted.

Yuan Hepin was already very famous in Hong Kong in his early years.

Later, after he went to Hollywood and starred in "The Matrix", his net worth doubled and his market value skyrocketed.

There are too many films of his to look for.

Cheng Xiaodong can only pick up what others have left.

So from this angle, it can be clearly seen that Mr. Ba is much higher in level than him.

Including this film "The Warlords", the first martial arts director was not actually Cheng Xiaodong.

The first person to be sought was Yuan Kui, an old member of the Yuan Clan who had a very good relationship with Li Lianjie and had worked with him many times.

"A Letter to Dad" was directed by this director.

Yu Rongguang's unforgettable exaggerated actions in the film were all designed by Yuan Kui.

I have to say that the action designs by the Yuan family are indeed effective.

The two have actually been working together since "Fang Shiyu".

So later on, Lao Li went to Hollywood to shoot all the movies.

Including "Lethal Weapon", "Romeo Must Die", "Kiss of the Dragon", "The Untold Story", and "The Ranger", all of which are works by Yuan Kui.

The "Transporter" trilogy, which made Jason Statham famous and became a top action star, was also written by this guy.

Like Yuan Hepin, Yuan Kui gained recognition from Hollywood after going abroad with Li Lianjie, and he got a lot of roles.

So when looking for a martial arts director for this play, Lao Li also recommended Mr. Yuan Kui.

Zhang Yuan was very envious of this.

What is a big shot!

It means being able to control the entire crew.

He's not one of those small-time people who can look great just by changing the script.

Instead, the entire crew revolves around you.

You can choose your co-stars and staff members at your convenience.

Zhang Yuan can't reach this level yet.

But just before filming began, Hollywood approached Yuen Kwai about a movie.

When he heard that he could work abroad and earn more, he was immediately excited...

Li Lianjie also said that he might as well wait for you for a few months.

As a result, Yuen Kwai took over the action director job for Red Cliff, making the transition seamless.

The person that the eldest brother was looking for didn't come, so the second brother took over.

Liu Dehua brought Cheng Xiaodong, whom he was familiar with.

The fire captain put out the fire again.

Brother Hua is also of good standard and can influence the decision-making of the crew.

Zhang Yuan was also envious.

He felt that one day he would have to form his own fixed team.

Since this person came here, he has been doing a good job.

The action design is quite neat, isn’t it all good? What happened?
After Chen Kexin pulled him aside and explained in detail, Zhang Yuan was completely stunned.

Not to mention Cheng Xiaodong, even if it were him, he would be angry too.

First of all, Chen Kexin is an "outsider".

Although he is an expert in making movies, he is a real amateur when it comes to action scenes.

Never did it at all.

If you haven’t done it, you won’t understand.

So many of the actions he imagined in his mind were simply impossible to do with existing equipment.

Because all three of their protagonists can fight.

Even though Brother Hua does not practice martial arts, he has been involved in many action scenes during his long acting career.

So the problem definitely does not lie with them and Cheng Xiaodong.

They had already quarreled about this.

Cheng Xiaodong finally slammed the table and told him clearly.

"If Li Lianjie and Zhang Yuan can't do the moves you ask them to do."

"You can look all over the world for it, but you won't find many people who can do it!"

Director Chen was left speechless.

Even if you don't believe me, you can't not believe these two.

These two martial artists, who are masters at that, are both dead, so what are we still talking about?

This is a solo fight scene between Zhang Yuan and Li Lianjie.

When they first met, Jiang Wuyang wanted to steal Pang Qingyun's official boots.

Finally, after a struggle, Pang Qingyun gave the boots to Jiang Wuyang.

This was the beginning of the brotherhood between the two.

And in the last scene, Jiang Wuyang assassinates Pang Qingyun before the other party takes office.

And in the final assassination scene, according to Director Chen's design, Jiang Wuyang had to wear the pair of official boots given to him by Pang Qingyun.

This pair of boots witnessed the friendship between the two from beginning to end.

When it comes to small details like these, Chen Kexin's ability is unquestionable.

At this point, "The Warlords" has been nearly half-filmed and the setting of the big scenes is about to begin.

Those war scenes.

What Chen Kexin and Cheng Xiaodong discussed just now was the shooting method of this part.

Director Chen’s request was very clear, just two words.

real!

His understanding of the play is the conflict between brotherhood and personal desires.

Of course, Pang Qingyun has more than just personal desires.

He also has ideals and wants to change the world.

But just like Song Yasi.

Want to change the world, and naively want to make changes under the old system.

The result is...

An imperial decree of peace, an imperial decree of peace, an imperial decree of peace!

Like the heroes of Liangshan, those who surrendered to the emperor or joined the army ended up being sacrificed after all the birds had flown away and the good bows had been put away.

This is what happens to those who surrender!
Chen Kexin also wants to portray this dark officialdom and world.

So for the big scene in his mind, he raised three fingers towards Cheng Xiaodong.

"There are three things I don't do when shooting action scenes."

First, because humans cannot fly.

Even the most powerful soldiers are still human, so during the battle scenes, the use of wires for aerial performances is not allowed.

Second, human strength is limited and armor has reasonable strength.

So the fighting scenes cannot be done by "going invincible" and mowing down enemies, nor can they have unlimited combos like in martial arts movies.

Third, all living things have the instinct to avoid danger, and their physical strength is limited. Therefore, it is not allowed to rush into a crowd for no reason and kill many enemies at once.

Chen Kexin’s idea is actually very reasonable.

All of his requirements are to ensure the authenticity of the war scenes.

He wanted to use the cruelty of war as a metaphor for the cruelty of officialdom.

That's the tone of the film.

But once these three requirements came out, Cheng Xiaodong felt that he was not a martial arts director.

He felt that at this moment he seemed to be Zheng the butcher and Chen Kexin was Lu Tijie.

But you didn't come here just to entertain me?
In addition to being the "Fire Captain", Cheng Xiaodong also has another nickname in the martial arts industry, called the "Wire King"!
His wirework skills are almost at the top level in the country.

Good guy!
You came up and said no wire use was allowed, now you ruined my martial arts skills!
Isn't this just like when Qiao Feng arrived at Juxian Manor, you didn't allow me to use the Eighteen Dragon Subduing Palms, and you only allowed me to use the Taizu Long Fist?

Apart from wire work, this guy is best at acting in unparalleled roles, after all, he has shot a lot of martial arts films.

The protagonist performed some sword moves and stabbed more than a dozen people in a row... This kind of scene is his forte.

"Swordsman", "New Dragon Inn" and "The Deer and the Cauldron" all follow similar routines.

Especially in "New Dragon Inn", the butcher cut Zhen Zidan's hands and feet into pieces with a sharp knife.

In the second part of Stephen Chow's "The Deer and the Cauldron", Feng Xifan controlled the Liuhe Boy to fight against the "Master of Freebies" Chen Jinnan.

He is almost the only one in the world who can perform this kind of super fast-paced fighting scenes.

It was thanks to these things that he won the Best Martial Arts Director Award at the Hong Kong Film Awards several times.

Not only are we not allowed to use wirework, we are also not allowed to open the Wushuang.

This is equivalent to asking Liu Yan to film a movie, and then making her wear a turtleneck sweater that covers her cleavage.

Then why did you ask me to come here?
Cheng Xiaodong got angry on the spot.

You are probably trying to make things difficult for me, Fat Tiger!
You are just an amateur guiding the experts.

Chen Kexin also insisted on not giving in, and the two started arguing.

"You tell me, should the crew listen to me?"

“Whether you can do it or not, and your personal style, should all be based on the needs of the crew.”

"Rather than highlighting his personal abilities."

Chen Kexin was spitting heavily as she talked about this with Zhang Yuan. She was kind of showing off and was feeling uncomfortable, so she wanted to talk to someone about it.

I'm just an insignificant little actor and I can't control you... Zhang Yuan was helpless.

what can I say?
Besides, you two can't listen to me even if I say so.

But he heard it too.

There is no problem with their abilities, but there is a problem with communication.

They are all big names in the industry, both are very powerful and neither of them is willing to give in.

It's like getting married and living together.

In a couple, there must be one who is strong and one who is weak, so that they can be a good match.

If both of them are weak, nothing can be done.

If both of them are strong, they will quarrel all day long.

At this time, we need to find a third party to ease the relationship between the two people.

I don't want to be the middleman!
Zhang Yuan rolled his eyes.

I'm sorry, Mr. Li!
"Director Chen, I think both of you have no problem with this."

"Just need a translator."

"Translation?" Chen Kexin was puzzled.

"Yes, to put it simply, you and Director Cheng have different understandings of fighting scenes."

“You have a picture in your mind, but it’s hard to describe.”

"He has experience, but he doesn't know what you want."

Hey... Chen Kexin thought it made sense.

Moreover, Zhang Yuan said nice things and was trying to give good advice, rather than treating people differently according to their circumstances or saying one thing to one person and another thing to another.

On his side, he helped to scold Cheng Xiaodong.

Because if you scold him in front of me, you will scold me in front of him.

He felt a little favorable towards Zhang Yuan's words.

This young man has a clean heart.

And he was smart and saw the problem immediately.

"So, you two need someone who understands both literary and fighting scenes, who can speak and think, to help you communicate."

Capable of both literature and martial arts... Chen Kexin looked at him.

Are you bragging about yourself?
"I have little experience, so I can't take on this responsibility."

"I mean Brother Li Lianjie."

"Oh..." Chen Kexin nodded.

Just like the problem he saw between him and Cheng Xiaodong just now, Zhang Yuan still has strength in his eyes!

Since joining the crew, Li Lianjie's acting skills have been unparalleled.

He and the character of Pang Qingyun are so perfectly integrated that it is difficult to distinguish between the real and the imaginary.

Chen Kexin felt that Li Lianjie's knowledge and understanding of the character even surpassed that of him, the director who also participated in the scriptwriting.

He reached the peak of his career when he debuted, but after working with the Hong Kong circle, he found that mainland actors were treated differently.

The income of a small stage manager is higher than that of the leading actor.

Even extras in Hong Kong who play the role of a corpse can earn 50 yuan a day.

But his monthly salary is only 48.

Moreover, during the filming of "Shaolin North and South", mainland actors were bullied by Hong Kong director Liu Jialiang, who was famous for scolding anyone he collaborated with.

This director asked the mainland actors to arrive on the set at 3 o'clock to wait for the sunrise shooting, but he himself, the director, did not arrive until 10 o'clock.

In the imperial capital in November, dozens of mainland actors waited in the cold wind all night.

Moreover, he relied on the fact that he had practiced martial arts before. According to his status, he and Master Zhao Zhilin in "Kung Fu" were brothers in the same school, and both were descendants of the Hung Gar lineage of Huang Feihong.

So I never follow a routine when filming.

Every time they fight, they really fight, as they please, claiming that this is the on-the-spot effect they want.

Moreover, his hands and feet were extremely heavy, and he often injured his co-stars.

Wu Jing started swearing after working with him.

Chen Long was filming "Drunken Master 2" with him, but he ran away halfway through the filming.

Because he insisted on following his own routine, Chen Long wouldn't let him.

As a result, he turned around and filmed "Drunken Master 3" in a huff, but it was a complete failure and also implicated the lead actor Hua Ge.

Just think about it, Chen Long, Li Lianjie, and Wu Jing.

After working together, these three people all started cursing, and you can tell what kind of style this person is.

Because of the movie "North and South Shaolin" directed by him, Li Lianjie was seriously injured, his spine was dislocated and his bones were fractured, leaving him with serious illness.

It was also because of Director Liu's unfair treatment that the young Mr. Li became resentful.

The people of Hong Kong bully us, and the sports department takes away all the expenses of their performances outside and only gives them a fixed salary.

Pressure from both inside and outside, coupled with Li Lianjie's personality problems, led him to emigrate decisively.

So after getting the role of Pang Qingyun, the more Lao Li watched it, the more he felt that this was me!

Pang Qingyun was bullied by the Kui Camp and suppressed by his superiors, and his ambitions could not be realized.

In fact, even the fact that he abandoned his brothers is similar to him.

He himself did not abandon his brothers, he only abandoned his first wife...

"Loyalty weighs a thousand pounds, but it cannot compare to a chest weighing four ounces."

This was the headline given by Hong Kong media on the day when Li Lianjie and Li Zhi got married.

Lao Li's ferocious and ruthless state in the film somewhat seems to be a release of the emotions that have been suppressed in his heart for many years.

Pang Qingyun is the hidden side of Li Lianjie's personality.

"Makes sense."

"I'll go talk to Lian Jie about it." Chen Kexin agreed with him.

Zhang Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, finally getting himself out of trouble.

"By the way, what do you want from me?"

Only now did he remember.

"The Golden Horse Awards will be held in a while." Zhang Yuan thought about it and adjusted his statement.

“The Disciple is also in the running.”

He didn't mention "The Apple" but "The Disciples".

Because Chen Kexin is the producer of "The Disciples".

This is your play, and I am going there for your crew...

"So I was wondering if I could take some time off to go there."

"Ah, this..." Chen Kexin thought, the crew's progress was already slow, and you, the leading actor, have to take leave.

"Brother Hua didn't seem to mention this." Director Chen replied.

Liu Dehua also starred in "The Disciples".

"I don't know about that." Seeing that he was unwilling, Zhang Yuan had no choice but to say it clearly.

I don’t pretend anymore, I show my cards.

"In fact, in addition to "The Disciple", there are three other nominated works, "Apple", "Returning to the Roots", and "Secret", in which I participated."

Chen Kexin raised her eyebrows.

Zhang Yuan, that’s fine, Zhang Yuan!

The Golden Horse Awards aren’t given to you, are they?

You were involved in four plays alone.

"You...I understand." Chen Kexin agreed helplessly.

Can't stop it!
Four crews are waiting for him, what else can I say.

He achieved his goal and ran away before the other party regretted it.

The next day, during the break, Li Lianjie came to his side.

She smiled and put her hand on his shoulder.

"You were the one who introduced me to be a translator?" (End of this chapter)