Rebirth: I'm filming extra scenes on the set

Chapter 129: 2000 extras can't handle it, I'll do it. (Subscribe)
"I say, you three should not be affected by the laughter of the three adults."

"Come again."

Chen Kexin was a little anxious and had to come up with another one.

But a pity.

Here comes another one which is the same as yesterday.

I don’t know what magic the three actors who play important court officials have.

It was acting well originally.

but.

Their laughter seemed to have some magical power, not only interrupting the momentum of Jet Li's performance as Pang Qingyun.

Similarly, the three brothers were also shocked.

"Come again."

"Come again."

"Come again."

It got stuck 8 times in a row.

Chen Kexin pressed his temple.

Deputy Director Ye came over and said, "Director Chen, how about we end this shot with the three court ministers instead of the three brothers? We can reshoot this shot after Lianjie finds his form. What do you think?"

"Row."

The two literary scenes that took place two days after the filming started made Chen Kexin very depressed.

But the first three are already the top actors in the country.

You say their acting is bad?

Nor is it.

If you say that the acting skills of the three important officials are very good, it is indeed true.

But isn’t it a good thing to have great acting skills?
"Forget it, let's change the scene and shoot at another location."

Chen Kexin had no choice but to agree.

Fortunately.

After the transition, Jet Li performed well as the three Pang Qingyun brothers.

Especially Jet Li.

I don’t know if it was a sudden feeling or something else.

In the series of scenes after the transition, Jet Li showed acting skills that others could not even imagine.

“So impressive.”

“Is this still the Kung Fu Emperor?”

"I didn't expect Jet Li's acting skills to be so strong. He even overpowered Andy Lau and Jin Chengwu."

Everyone nodded repeatedly.

Chen Kexin and several assistant directors were also very satisfied.

In fact, before The Warlords, there was a lot of controversy about Jet Li's asking price of 1 million.

Although Chen Kexin believes that Jet Li is worth 1 million.

But he is also under a lot of pressure.

Not to mention the literary drama a few days ago, Chen Kexin once thought that she might have made a mistake.

Fortunately.

Jet Li is Jet Li.

The reason he became a Kung Fu superstar is not just because of Kung Fu.

Just like the scene after the transition, he proved to everyone that Jet Li is worth 1 million.

"Lianjie, you have performed well in these few games."

"I also feel that these performances were great."

"Keep it up."

Chen Kexin greeted Jet Li and said, "After you finish your literary scenes today, it's time for the martial arts scenes. But my thoughts may be different from most people's. The best label for you is that you are good at kung fu and you fight well, which the audience likes to watch. But our drama is a historical drama with a slightly more serious tone. As a general, although you have certain martial arts skills, you can no longer fight ten or a hundred like the martial arts masters you played before..."

"Director Chen, I have no objection."

Jet Li nodded.

Only Jet Li has no objection.

However, Chen Kexin and martial arts instructor Chen Xiaodong had serious disagreements.

"Xiaodong, we're going to shoot a martial arts scene tomorrow, let's talk about it first."

Chen Kexin invited Chen Xiaodong to his office.

As a well-known martial arts director in Hong Kong, Chen Xiaodong's fame is second only to Yuan Heping.

Many people don't even think that Chen Xiaodong is lower than Yuan Heping.

When it comes to martial arts style, many people prefer Chen Xiaodong.

of course.

This is off topic.

But speaking of this off topic, this also proves Chen Xiaodong's status in Hong Kong.

So even though Chen Xiaodong is a martial arts instructor, his status in the crew is very high.

Even director Chen Kexin has to refer to Chen Xiaodong's opinion.

"Tomorrow's scene is a siege, and we have recruited more than 2000 extras. I think if we want to shoot a siege, we should create a more grand and imposing scene."

Chen Kexin nodded: "Your idea is fine, but I want to focus more on the details. For example, when the two armies clash, the expressions of the soldiers, the movements of being beheaded... and so on. By the way, Xiaodong, can we use real swords on the scene?"

"Of course. However, you can only demonstrate with real swords. When you really want to shoot, you have to use a prop sword."

"How can a prop sword be used? I want to create a more realistic effect."

"Real swords and guns do work well, but it's hard to guarantee the safety of the actors. Once the actors are injured, it will have a greater impact on us."

“Is there a better solution?”

"In the general circle, most of the practices are to use real swords and guns for close-up shots, but without fighting. For long-range shots, props are used to allow for more action."

"That won't work. How can the close-up scenes produce a realistic effect without real fighting? No matter how intense the long-range fight is, it will just look like a game."

"Director Chen, you used to shoot literary dramas, and the fighting scenes were all done this way. You can't just stab an actor in the stomach for a real fight."

"I'm not that perverted. I just want to capture the real effect."

"..."

The two argued about the next day's filming until late at night, but could not reach a consensus.

This also caused.

The two of them already had conflicts, and when they started filming the next day, it was a mess.

First of all, it is difficult to fully mobilize the 2000 extras.

Needless to say, the two people have different philosophies.

One is more real.

The other wanted to shoot a big scene.

After four hours of filming, Chen Kexin was so angry that he yelled, "Chen Xiaodong, do you know how to be a martial arts director? Who will watch the footage you shoot like this?"

Chen Xiaodong was also angry: "Chen Kexin, don't think you can talk nonsense just because you are the chief director. You used to shoot literary dramas, you don't know how to shoot martial arts scenes. How can you use real swords and guns to point at actors? Will you be responsible if they get hurt? It's a joke."

"Then what did I ask you to do?"

"I am only responsible for matters within my professional field. I cannot force you to do anything that is not within my professional field."

The two quarreled.

The actors and assistant director quickly grabbed the two of them.

"calm down."

"Directors Chen, stop arguing. We are all here to film the movie."

"Let's discuss how to shoot it."

It's normal to have quarrels on the set.

Whether it's a quarrel between the director and the actors, or between the director and the martial arts instructor.

Many times after an argument, we have to continue working.

Most of the crew.

The chief director has the highest authority, so when it comes to quarrels, the chief director definitely has the upper hand.

But it’s different in the crew of The Warlords.

Although Chen Kexin is the chief director, theoretically, his authority comes first.

But just because Chen Kexin is the most authoritative person doesn’t mean that others are so easy to bully.

For example, Jet Li.

Even though Jet Li is just an actor, who here dares to mess with him?

Not to mention the chief director, don’t dare to offend him.

Even the producer and the showrunners don’t dare to mess with him.

no way.

His status and fame have reached a certain level.

Except Jet Li.

Martial arts instructor Chen Xiaodong is no pushover either.

His status among Hong Kong's martial arts directors is even higher than Chen Kexin's status among Hong Kong's directors.

If everyone can get along well and reach an agreement, Chen Xiaodong will naturally listen to Chen Kexin.

But Chen Kexin is so aggressive, and Chen Xiaodong is not a man without temper.

After a disagreement, the two started arguing again. "Directors, please listen to me."

At this time.

Jet Li came out and said, "I think both Director Ke Xin and Director Xiao Dong are right. Director Ke Xin, I have been shooting martial arts scenes for so many years, let me tell you something. Generally, when shooting martial arts scenes, we follow what Director Xiao Dong said. We can use real swords and guns, but we can't use real swords and guns completely. After all, we are shooting a movie, not risking our lives."

"Director Xiaodong, you know this. But the new director is best at shooting literary scenes. He is very good at shooting details. Without these details, the film would have no texture. How about this, the two of you split up. One is responsible for shooting the details, and the other is responsible for shooting the big scenes?"

As the biggest star in the crew.

It's still possible if Li Lianjie comes out to mediate.

The two directors thought about it and adopted Jet Li's plan.

Just a pity.

Jet Li's plan looks good.

But in actual operation, we also encounter a series of problems.

Because the two directors had conflicts, they often did not communicate much with each other.

Plus, this is a big-scale play.

Thousands of people were confused by the different demands of the two directors.

The shoot was originally planned to take 5 days, but it took 20 days and it hasn't been completed yet.

at this time.

Producer Huang Jianxin came forward.

"Director Chen, we've been shooting a 5-day scene for 20 days and it's not even finished yet. Can you explain this to me?"

"Let me show you the financial data for the past 20 days. Not to mention other expenses, the expenses for extras alone are horrific."

"We've spent so much money here, and there are still so many scenes to be filmed. What are you going to do next?"

Filming is not like treating someone to a dinner.

When treating someone to a meal, you should do what you can.

Generally, we will make a rough estimate of the funding for the filming of a movie before filming.

Although the estimate cannot be considered the actual filming funds, it is basically the same as the estimated funds.

If you differ too much from the estimated funding, the producer will definitely not agree.

Because this is related to the question of whether costs can be recovered.

This is not.

Seeing that it took 5 days to shoot a 20-day scene, it was obvious that the budget would exceed, so producer Huang Jianxin had to step in.

"Director Huang, I'm sorry. I didn't want this to happen. I have a big problem here. Before filming, I underestimated these fighting scenes. I didn't expect that these fighting scenes would be so difficult to shoot."

Chen Kexin had a terrible headache.

Talk about it.

Chen Kexin had never filmed a martial arts scene before.

He is good at filming emotional scenes.

For example, "Sweet Honey".

The Warlords was his first martial arts drama.

But he didn't expect it.

Such martial arts scenes were beyond his imagination.

"You and Director Xiaodong should discuss this again and make an effective plan. We will give you another five days. The martial arts scenes have not been filmed yet, so you can do whatever you want."

Huang Jianxin had a cold face and gave Chen Kexin a death order.

It's not that he's cold-blooded.

The producer's money doesn't just come from the wind.

Keep shooting like this.

Not to mention the release.

The producers must be screwed by this drama.

……

"Xiaodong, I have to apologize to you for what happened before. I was too reckless before, and I misjudged these martial arts scenes. Director Huang from the production company talked to me today, and he only gave us 5 days. If these martial arts scenes are not finished in 5 days..."

Found Chen Xiaodong, Chen Kexin said.

Although it was not said later, Chen Xiaodong also knew what it meant to them.

See Chen Kexin apologize.

Chen Xiaodong also said: "But as a new director, I am also wrong. Although I have shot action scenes for many years, I have never taken on such a large scene. Among the more than 2000 extras, it was a bit tricky for me, which also caused chaos in the shooting."

Although the two had quarreled before.

But the two have been in the industry for decades and have extremely professional qualities.

They both knew that everyone was there to make the film and had no bad intentions, they just had different ideas.

"In that case, Xiaodong, let's discuss how we should shoot the following scenes and come up with a strict shooting plan."

The misunderstanding was resolved, and the two discussed the film again.

But a pity.

The misunderstanding between the two was resolved, but the subsequent fighting scenes were still not easy to shoot.

"I feel like the subsequent fighting scenes will take at least another 10 days."

"I also feel that it may even take more than 10 days."

"What should I do?"

"I have a headache, too."

Chen Kexin touched his head.

Chen Xiaodong suggested, "How about we find the producer and talk to him about whether we can give him another five days?"

"Probably not."

Chen Kexin shook her head: "Director Huang gave me a financial report, and the crew's funds were seriously overspent. If we continue to shoot like this, the producers may even withdraw their investment."

"Withdraw investment, how can this be possible?"

"Forget it, forget it. I think I should resign from the position of chief director and let someone else take over."

Chen Kexin was completely disheartened and felt that he had reached the darkest moment of his life.

Knowing the situation, his wife Wu Junru and her good friend Tsui Hark rushed to the crew of The Warlords as soon as possible.

"Ke Xin, what's your situation? I heard you want to resign as chief director?"

Wu Junru objected, "It's just a little trouble. How can you quit as the chief director just because of this trouble?"

Tsui Hark also said: "I understand your situation. In fact, I have encountered this before. But this kind of thing is not unsolvable. Don't act on impulse. I believe that the producer does not want to see you resign."

But Xu Kexin shook his head helplessly: "I know, this is a lose-lose situation. But what should we do now? I estimate that it will take another ten days to shoot the subsequent fighting scenes. But before that, we have already shot for more than 20 days. Otherwise, Xu Ke, you are good at shooting fighting scenes, you can take over."

"Neither can I."

Tsui Hark shook his head: "I have filmed many martial arts scenes. They look grand, but they are all special effects and not real. But here, I just took a look, there are more than 2000 extras. If it were me, I wouldn't be able to direct them."

"Are there other directors in the industry who are good at this?"

Tsui Hark thought about it, then shook his head.

Although Hong Kong films have been produced for many years, many big productions have been produced.

But this kind of big production focuses on the actors.

It is rare to see such films that require thousands of extras to appear in any given scene.

Not to mention that Tsui Hark has no experience.

Most Hong Kong directors have no experience in directing thousands of extras.

"So, you know how difficult it was for me to shoot these fighting scenes."

This is no longer a question of whether or not to shoot.

This has become a question of how to effectively manage more than 2000 extras.

"Think about it again, think about it again, there must be a way."

Wu Junru massaged Chen Kexin's shoulders and asked him to relax: "Kexin, didn't you say last time that there was a very capable young man in your crew? He is your first assistant director."

"Oh, you mean Chen Cheng."

"Yes, yes, yes. Didn't you say that last time? You said the young man was quite capable. Although he was only in his 20s, he had participated in several large crews."

Chen Kexin smiled bitterly: "Chen Cheng is quite capable, but he has been isolated by our producers in Hong Kong for more than a month. So, he doesn't talk much most of the time."

"what……"

Wu Junru was a little confused.

Then it all came to light.

The conflict between Hong Kong and the mainland has existed for a long time.

"what……"

Although Chen Kexin said so.

but.

When Wu Junru asked about Chen Kexin, Chen Kexin suddenly remembered something: "It seems that this guy worked in the crew of the Golden Armor directed by Zhang Yimou as the art director."

"Curse of the Golden Flower, it is said that 9000 extras were used in the filming of this movie."

"so much?"

"No."

"Does Chen Cheng have any experience?"

"How about we talk to him?"

The three of them looked at each other and nodded.

(End of this chapter)