Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 631 Anti-Japanese War Drama
Enter the village quietly, don't shoot!
Zhang Chen and Ning Hao visited the set without notifying anyone.

I wanted to give my good friend Lao Cao a surprise, and at the same time, I wanted to see the real situation of the film crew during filming.

The car stopped at the entrance of the August 1st Film and Television Base, and the two walked in. From a distance, they could see the busy figures of the film crew.

The film crew's perimeter was cordoned off with police tape and staff on guard. When they saw the two approaching, they waved to shoo them away, but suddenly recognized Zhang Chen and jumped in surprise.

"Director Zhang...Director Ning?"

The gatekeeper could barely speak the local dialect anymore, but Zhang Chen waved his hand dismissively: "They're filming inside."

"Ah, they're filming right now."

"Alright, you go ahead with your work, we'll go in ourselves."

Zhang Chen clearly intended to travel incognito, and the staff didn't dare say anything, sending someone ahead to lead the way.

The two entered the film crew's interior and found that a scene was being filmed: the Japanese army had captured Zhou Weiguo's father, and during the negotiation, the one-armed Zhou Weiguo shot off the hat of a Japanese officer.

The clapperboard snapped shut, and the camera focused intently on Cao Bingkun, who played the male lead Zhou Weiguo—his left arm hung limply at his sides, while the Japanese soldiers on the city wall continued their rant.

"Ready, set, action!"

Director Liu Jiang's voice came through the loudspeaker, carrying an undeniable air of authority.

He stared at the monitor with a slight frown. On the monitor, Cao Bingkun took a gun from his subordinate, his right arm muscles tense. With the sound of a gunshot, the extras playing Japanese soldiers in the distance exaggeratedly leaned back, their military caps flying off with a "whoosh," drawing an arc in the air before crashing heavily to the ground.

Just as Liu Jiang was about to yell "Cut!", a slight commotion suddenly came from not far away, interrupting the filming.

Liu Jiang frowned, turned to look at the recording team, and the person in charge shook his head. Liu Jiang wanted to explode on the spot.

The sound of "Snow Leopard" was recorded live. The performance in this scene was flawless, but it had to be reshot because the sound was wrong. How could he not be annoyed?

He turned his head impatiently, about to speak, but a curse word got stuck in his throat.

"Director Zhang...?"

Upon seeing the person's appearance, Liu Jiang was glad he hadn't cursed.

Zhang Chen and Ning Hao walked slowly from the back of the crowd. The commotion was caused by staff recognizing them.

"Director Liu, I'm so sorry, our mistake has affected everyone's filming..."

"It's alright, it's alright, Mr. Zhang, Director Ning, what brings you here! Please have a seat, I'll have someone bring two chairs right away."

Liu Jiang was stunned for a few seconds before he reacted. He quickly stepped forward, a warm smile plastered on his face, but his heart was filled with doubt:
Why did these two suddenly show up?

Logically speaking, whether it's a film company executive or a colleague visiting the set, they would communicate in advance so that the production crew could make preparations for receiving them. But he hasn't received a single word of it since this morning.

As he greeted them, he subtly winked at his assistant, signaling her to quickly arrange for tea.

"Hey, what brings you two here?"

At that moment, Cao Bingkun's voice rang out from behind, and then he rushed up and hugged the two of them tightly.

"What brings you here? We've come to see you! Young Master Cao is filming in Fengtai, so we had to come and visit the set!"

"You're smart enough to come empty-handed to visit the set?"

Liu Jiang was terrified. In the entire company, the only person who dared to speak to Zhang Chen and Ning Hao like that was Cao Bingkun, who was standing right in front of him.

This scene is the envy of countless people. Everyone knows that Cao Bingkun, Zhang Chen, and Ning Hao met when they were both struggling and are good brothers. Otherwise, why would Cao Bingkun be able to choose so many leading roles in good dramas at will?

Ning Hao then looked at Liu Jiang: "Director Liu, my car is at the door. I brought some fruit for the crew in the trunk. Could you please send someone to unload it?"

"no problem."

Liu Jiang immediately tossed his car keys to his assistant to handle the matter, while simultaneously announcing loudly and tactfully, "Director Zhang, Director Ning is visiting the set and brought everyone fruit. Everyone, please take a 20-minute break!"

A cheer immediately erupted from the crowd.

A few people sat down and chatted: "What's wrong? I heard you're not taking on spy dramas anymore?"

Old Cao laughed and said, "I've filmed enough of the same old stuff over and over again. I wanted to try something different, so this time I chose a war drama."

“It’s not easy to become famous for a war drama. In recent years, only one drama, ‘Bright Sword,’ has become famous.”

"That's not necessarily true."

But Lao Cao had a different opinion: "You probably haven't read the script for 'Snow Leopard.' This play is really interesting. I've studied the script carefully, and I feel that the character of Zhou Weiguo is like an ancient knight-errant..."

Ning Hao was taken aback. He hadn't read the script, but Zhang Chen knew the story of "Snow Leopard," and Cao Bingkun was right.

The character Zhou Weiguo is modeled after the chivalrous heroes in martial arts novels.

What settings do top-tier martial arts masters typically use?
He's highly skilled in martial arts, incredibly intelligent, handsome, and has amazing luck!
Zhou Weiguo was pretty much like that.

Born into a wealthy family, he is also a second-generation rich kid with outstanding personal skills.
With unparalleled marksmanship, he's fluent in both Japanese and German, and possesses top-notch military command skills—he's got all the hallmarks of a protagonist, just waiting for a great mission to be bestowed upon him.

In terms of plot, it also makes many outstanding contributions, and can turn the tide no matter how bad the environment is.

In the very end, Zhou Weiguo said he was going to retire and continue his studies. Isn't that the epitome of "leaving without a trace after accomplishing one's task, keeping one's name and deeds hidden"?

So carefree.

To put it simply, if "Snow Leopard" weren't a war film, but a martial arts film, this plot would still fit perfectly.

Old Cao was still enthusiastically telling his story when Ning Hao couldn't help but say, "Old Cao, don't you think your show is a bit too exaggerated?"

Zhou Weiguo lost an arm, yet he can still wield a rifle with such accuracy, even knocking off a Japanese soldier's hat. His skills are even better than before he was injured.

Liu Jiang's smile froze for a moment, and he awkwardly rubbed his hands together: "Director Ning, we're just trying to highlight the heroism of the protagonist. Anti-Japanese war dramas need these kinds of exciting scenes; audiences love to watch this."

"Even if you like watching, you have to be logical, right?" Ning Hao put down the fruit in his hand, walked to the monitor, and pointed to the footage that had just been filmed. "Look, Zhou Weiguo lost his left arm. Although he mainly exerted force with his right arm, holding a rifle with one hand requires a strong sense of balance and arm strength, not to mention accurately hitting a moving target's hat."

In reality, even experienced veterans would find it difficult to perform at this level after losing an arm. Furthermore, the Japanese soldiers' reaction was too contrived; the trajectory and angle of the hat flying off were clearly pre-designed special effects, lacking any sense of realism.

Liu Jiang's face turned even redder as he argued, "Director Ning, you know how fierce the market competition is these days. If there aren't any memorable scenes in the show, it's hard to attract viewers. This kind of 'miracle operation' may be a bit exaggerated, but it can make the audience remember the main character and increase the ratings."

Zhang Chen actually understands Ning Hao very well. They are both filmmakers, and filmmakers have to pay attention to logic. They can't stand this kind of thing; it's too fake.

A man with a missing arm, wielding a rifle with one hand, and even managing to shoot off a Japanese soldier's hat with a single shot—a typical absurd plot twist.

There's no such thing as a "miracle drama" yet, but if you call "Snow Leopard" a miracle drama, most people probably wouldn't disagree. The biggest characteristic of miracle dramas is portraying all the Japanese soldiers as mentally challenged, and this drama has the same problem.

In addition, Zhou Weiguo is just too awesome.

Even though my arm is broken, it doesn't affect anything.

He could hold his own against Takeshita Shun in a sword fight.
Holding a rifle in one hand, he could easily shoot off the Japanese soldier's hat.
Zhang Chen could understand that these were all things the screenwriters wanted to create for the audience to enjoy, and they were indeed enjoyable, though a bit exaggerated.

Although exaggerated, it was still within the scope of war films, unlike those later absurd dramas that frequently featured "tearing apart Japanese soldiers with bare hands" or "killing people with embroidery needles." Zhang Chen wondered if the screenwriter was from Hong Kong.

This is a war film, not a martial arts film. Zhou Weiguo is not a master of internal martial arts, much less the Invincible East.

But Zhang Chen also understands Liu Jiang, adding a touch of martial arts romance to the realistic portrayal.

If we use novels as an analogy, anti-Japanese war dramas are similar to the "feel-good" stories in novels—they're a bit lowbrow, but they're definitely enjoyable to watch.

This kind of drama can't compare to serious dramas like "Bright Sword," but in terms of being entertaining, the serious drama industry can't match it.

"Alright, Haozi, Director Liu Jiang's previous work, 'Before Dawn,' was very serious, which shows he understands serious dramas. The style of 'Snow Leopard' is actually an experiment by the company, and we don't know the specifics."

Zhang Chen could only try to smooth things over; the facts would prove everything.

Of course, not everything that exists is reasonable. There are instances where bad money drives out good. Zhang Chen reminded Liu Jiang that exaggeration is acceptable in a few cases, but most of the time it should be reasonable.

For example, how could the uniforms of the Eighth Route Army always be so clean?

As for the food, it wasn't exactly fancy, but it had to be appropriate for that era.
Especially transportation. Zhang Chen remembered a ridiculous anti-Japanese war drama starring Nicky Wu in his previous life, where Wu drove a sidecar motorcycle, scaling walls and rooftops with incredible agility—it was incredibly awkward to watch!
With Zhang Chen stepping in to smooth things over, Liu Jiang naturally nodded in agreement.

Suddenly, a series of light footsteps were heard, mixed with the slightly excited whispers of the young people.

Looking back, I saw seven or eight young people dressed in temporary costumes from the film crew quickly approaching, their faces showing a mixture of nervousness and barely concealed anticipation.

At this moment, Cao Bingkun smiled and put his arm around the shoulder of one of the boys wearing glasses, saying to the two of them, "Chenzi, Haozi, let me introduce you. These are students from our Beijing Film Academy. They are here during the holidays to intern on set and also work as extras to experience the atmosphere of filming."

"Hello, Senior Brother Zhang! Hello, Senior Brother Ning!"

The students greeted each other in unison, their voices full of youthful energy.

The bespectacled boy leaned forward, nervously rubbing his hands together: "Senior, I'm a third-year directing student. I especially love your works, particularly Director Ning's 'Crazy Stone.' I've watched it at least five times. The camera work and narrative pacing are amazing!"

Generally speaking, Zhang Chen has a higher status than Ning Hao, and any compliments would be directed at Zhang Chen, while the person in front of them speaks highly of Ning Hao.

The flattery worked well, and Ning Hao immediately said, "You're studying directing? Filming for 'Ghost Blows Out the Light' starts in a few months. Interested in interning on set?"

"Is that okay? That would be wonderful."

The boy with glasses was overjoyed.

Those who study directing don't necessarily end up directing movies after graduation. Most end up shooting commercials, and the lucky ones might get a chance to direct TV series. Those who can actually direct movies are extremely rare.

With just one sentence, Ning Hao took a huge step forward. Although he is still far from directing a movie, at least he has become involved in the film industry.

The bespectacled student's plight immediately touched everyone, and they all introduced themselves.

Zhang Chen chatted casually with them: "Don't be so reserved. We all work in the film industry, so let's just chat casually. Since you're students at the Beijing Film Academy, you must make some short films on campus, right?"

These words immediately opened up a floodgate of conversation among the students. Li Wei, who had been slightly shy just moments before, immediately chimed in: "Yes! Last year we made a short film about old Beijing hutongs, about a grandfather and grandson, and it even won an award at the school's film festival! But filming was really difficult. We didn't have enough funding, so we borrowed all the equipment from the school, and the actors were all classmates. We often filmed until midnight, running around in the hutongs."

“Funding and equipment are indeed major challenges for students’ creative work.”

Zhang Chen nodded, his tone full of understanding, "When I first entered the industry, I was just like you. I asked my teachers for help and borrowed equipment from the school before I was able to finally make 'The Descent'."

But remember, these difficulties are actually valuable experiences. They will help you understand more clearly what you truly want to express, and will also teach you to better cherish and utilize resources when facing larger projects in the future.

Ning Hao chimed in, pointing to the "Japanese soldier" uniforms worn by the students with glasses, and joked, "Although the roles you're playing now have few scenes, it's still a good opportunity to experience the creative process."

Just like the Japanese soldier you just played, even though you were just standing in the background, you could observe the main character's performance, figure out the director's direction, and even think about how you would portray his psychological activities if he had more screen time.

Accumulating these details will benefit you when you become directors or actors in the future.

The bespectacled student's eyes lit up, and he nodded quickly: "You're absolutely right! I used to think that being an extra didn't require much skill, that you just mechanically followed the director's instructions. But now that I think about it, every role has its value. Even background characters can make the whole scene more realistic through subtle movements and expressions."

"There's also a script!"

Another boy excitedly said, "When we read the script for 'Snow Leopard,' we felt that some plots were particularly intense, but some parts, just like you just said, were a bit too exaggerated."

We even discussed privately how we would adjust those 'miracle drama' plots to make them more logical while still maintaining dramatic conflict.

Zhang Chen pressed on with interest, "Oh? What good ideas do you have? You can share them."

The student scratched his head somewhat embarrassedly: "We think that after Zhou Weiguo lost his arm, it's not necessary for him to still be able to accurately shoot off the Japanese soldiers' hats. We could change it so that he can use his familiarity with the terrain to set traps or use his wisdom to guide his comrades to complete the mission."

This approach highlights his bravery and wisdom without violating realistic logic. Instead, it better reflects that during the War of Resistance Against Japan, the martyrs won through courage and strategy, not through 'superpowers.'

After listening, Zhang Chen couldn't help but applaud: "This is an excellent idea! The fact that you can think like this shows that you are not just 'watching the show,' but are actually using a professional perspective to analyze and judge."

In fact, the most valuable thing in making movies and TV series is this spirit of daring to question and being good at thinking.

Don't be bound by established patterns; dare to express your own ideas, even if they are not yet fully developed—they are still an important step in your growth.

Ning Hao added, "And you must remember that the audience's aesthetic standards are constantly improving. They are no longer satisfied with simple 'enjoyment,' but value the connotation and authenticity of the work more."

As future filmmakers, your responsibility is to create works that are warm, profound, and sincere, using film to convey truly valuable messages.

The students listened attentively, taking out their phones to take notes and nodding in response from time to time.

Sunlight shone on their young faces, reflecting the sparkle in their eyes.

Ning Hao looked at them and it was as if he saw his former self.

There was a time when I was just like them, with a face full of innocent foolishness, yet brimming with passion.

Before we knew it, we had been chatting for almost half an hour.

Zhang Chen glanced at his watch and said with a smile, "It's getting late, we need to continue shooting the stills. Director Liu, you guys continue, don't worry about us, we'll just wander around a bit~"

"Okay, Director Zhang~"

The film crew is back in operation, but everyone is much more serious than usual, after all, the big boss is nearby.

(End of this chapter)