Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 252 You Can’t Disobey My Strength

After the filming of this last scene was completed, Gu Ming's mission was also accomplished.

Cheng Long felt the most regretful.

"Gu Sheng, aren't you staying? We've already agreed on the theaters for the show. Once it's edited here, we'll find a date for it to be released there. Who knows, maybe we can even go to the cinema and see Ying Zi!"

"I have a movie to shoot there, so it's not convenient for me to stay for long. If your movie is released, just send me the videotape."

Gu Ming paused, then smiled again, "You don't have to frown and look so worried. I've seen quite a bit of your film, and it's quite good. If it's released, it's bound to make several million Hong Kong dollars at the box office."

Cheng Long grinned, feeling both happy and ashamed.

I feel really ashamed to praise him so much before the movie is even released.

"Then it's settled! After this drama, I'll turn down all other film offers and wait for you to come find me!"

Gu Ming gave a thumbs up.

Just waiting for him to come!
Gu Ming came in a hurry and left in a hurry. Naturally, the events before and after the release had little to do with him.

However, Gu Ming dared to say that even if Jackie Chan did nothing, Funny Kung Fu Puppet Show would have still grossed 5 million in the local box office.

Moreover, this time, while the style remains unchanged, the script is more complete and the scenes are much larger. Compared with the original time and space, it will only be higher, not lower.

There were three of them when they came, and there were still three of them when they left. Yuan Qiu didn't have any good career prospects in Hong Kong, and she had some roles to film in Japan, so naturally she wanted to go back and continue her career.

He traveled back and forth until evening, when Gu Ming returned to his loyal Tokyo.

When leaving the terminal, Manatsu Ryu was still holding a book and reciting it.

Manatsu Ryu suddenly closed the book and couldn't help but say, "Brother Furuya, I can speak Chinese now!"

Gu Ming didn't take it seriously and replied perfunctorily, "Oh, that's impressive. What did you learn?"

"Hello! Thank you! Xiaolongbao! Goodbye!"

Gu Ming: ...?
Who taught him Chinese!

Gu Ming hesitated to speak, and finally had to pat him on the shoulder.

"Study hard! Learning never ends. This knowledge is so profound. Once you've mastered it, maybe you can even go to Hong Kong to film a movie. You'll be a world star in the future!"

Manatsu Ryuichi grinned and kept laughing foolishly.

……

……

In the blink of an eye, two weeks have passed.

After reshooting the literary scenes and re-editing, "The Kung Fu Puppet Show" was released as scheduled.

Of course, it is impossible to have a full-line screening. Jackie Chan is not yet in a position to achieve that.

Hong Kong's current cinema scene is largely dominated by single-room theaters, with no multiplexes. Aside from a few small theaters with only a few dozen seats, there are only a few of the most famous theaters: Golden Harvest, Shaw Brothers, and Golden Princess.

No matter which platform it is released on, anything that is good enough is considered outstanding.

Cheng Long went through most of the editing process and learned a lot from it, eager to learn.

The more he edited, the more confident Cheng Long became.

It was fine before I watched it, but now after watching it carefully, Jackie Chan feels that this film may not be as exaggerated as epoch-making, but it is definitely not bad!

Even without Wu Siyuan, he can still make movies. As long as he finds the right path for himself, he can also produce good works.

As for "The Young Man", after two weeks of release, its potential has basically bottomed out. The trend is very stable and it may be withdrawn from theaters at any time. It is similar to the original time and space. It has taken in more than 2 million at the box office and should be able to reach 3 million by the time it is withdrawn. If the overseas box office is included, the result will not be bad.

Of course, the box office returns in Japan and South Korea are the latest, and it will take at least a year before the films can be released and dividends can be received.

For example, when Jackie Chan's movies are introduced to Japan, they have to be re-dubbed, promoted, and even necessary shots are edited again.

The 1978 Drunken Master was not released in Japan until the end of 1979.

but no matter.

As long as the overseas copyright can be sold, Hong Kong people don’t care about the follow-up matters.

On the day when Funny Kung Fu Hustle was released, Jackie Chan dressed up, put on a hat, and ran to the nearest cinema to see the reaction in person.

“There are quite a lot of people!”

Cheng Long sat in the last row, looked around, and nodded secretly.

The theater with hundreds of seats was almost full.

A lot of complaints could be heard before the show even started.

"Why are you looking at Cheng Long? He found some guy to film a movie. We have no one left in Hong Kong!"

"Didn't you read in the newspaper that it wasn't Ga Zai they were looking for, it was a friend who came to help, and that Cheng Long wrote, directed, and starred in this play!"

"Then I don't care. I won't watch it if Ga Zai is around."

"Then let's go!"

"I won't leave..."

Cheng Long grinned and sighed secretly.

He still thinks that finding Gu Ming is definitely the right choice, but it is obvious that the audience does not quite agree with this.

As soon as the film opens, Chen Xinglong appears, which is also a characteristic of Hong Kong films, making a good first impression.

What follows are several scenes designed by Cheng Long and Gu Ming during this period, as well as the literary scenes he added later.

Seeing Cheng Long, a tall and strong man, being beaten by his grandfather and hiding under the stairs and not daring to come out, the whole cinema burst into laughter.

Given Cheng Long's portrayal, this scene is quite amusing.

Cheng Long nodded secretly, thinking that this reaction was just right.

This kind of scene is designed to be funny in itself. If the audience doesn't react, he will have to wonder if he made a mistake in filming it.

Afterwards, Chen Xinglong was invited by several minions he had beaten before to go to the martial arts gym to fight as a substitute.

Among these fighting scenes, one was designed by Cheng Long himself where a woman dressed as a man, one was a standard hard-core fighting scene, and the other was arranged by Gu Ming where he and Zhen Xialong fought with sticks.

After three consecutive fights, even the sound of chewing sugarcane was almost gone in the cinema.

Cheng Long grinned, his smile brighter than the one in the "Subor" game console advertisement.

The film goes on as usual. In the middle, Chen Xinglong's arrogance attracts Qing Dynasty killers, and his grandfather is killed. Chen Xinglong is rescued, and then he studies hard and practices martial arts, becomes stronger, and finally fights back.

The climax of the film thus arrives. The Qing captain dispatches his plainclothes guards, dozens of whom, armed with spears, take a step forward in unison.

"Wow..."

There were sounds one after another in the theater.

This is a rare scene in Hong Kong.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

The guards held spears and the sound of killing shook the sky.

Even Cheng Long, who participated in the editing, couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief at this moment.

motherfucker.

It looks so scary, how did he win the fight?

How do you play it? Of course, you don’t have to worry about authenticity, as long as it looks good!
When Chen Xinglong saw the large crowd, he turned and ran. The guards chased him, but soon the team was scattered and was defeated one by one by Chen Xinglong. With a wave of his hand, he found an opportunity to cut off all the braids.

There are also some humorous shots interspersed in it, such as two people's braids were tied together by Cheng Long, and they were all knocked unconscious one by one, Cheng Long ran into the watermelon field, and hit people with watermelons, etc.

The last row of soldiers were stabbed to death by the Qing court's own people, and five short figures emerged from behind them.

The Qing Dynasty’s number one killer!
The five-man sword battle was spectacular, and Chen Xinglong defeated them one by one with his Five Emotions Fist, and finally killed the villain, ending the play.

It wasn't until the lights in the cinema came on that Cheng Long breathed a sigh of relief.

Cool!
Looking at the reaction in the cinema, the discussion was buzzing non-stop.

Cheng Long listened carefully and found that the voices were almost all praises.

"So many people coming at me, I'm scared to death!"

"Who do you think is the best fighter in Hong Kong, Cheng Long or Li Xiaolong?"

"Nonsense, it must be Li Xiaolong, could it be me?"

"Which scene was shot by Gazi?"

"That last scene! It was full of Qing soldiers. It was so scary!"

"Those Tartar dogs deserve to be killed! Cheng Long acted well, and the filming was also great!"

"..."

Cheng Long felt relieved.

Audiences generally don’t care much about the people behind the scenes, but since this scene can be discussed, it proves that Gu Ming’s strength still impressed these audiences.

Cheng Long didn't dare to stay for long, so he quickly put on his hat and slipped out through the side door.

After walking a few steps, Cheng Long saw a few people at the corner. He quickly dodged and hid by the wall.

It turned out to be Sammo Hung and his fellow Hung Clan members.

Unexpectedly, Sammo Hung also watched the movie just now.

This made Cheng Long curious about how his senior brother would evaluate the film.

But he heard Hong Jinbao cursing loudly and was very angry.

"This bastard is playing tricks on me! He actually has a trick up his sleeve! Can you guys pull off that scene?"

"I can't do it... One person against dozens, it's very difficult to coordinate. You have to be diverse but not chaotic, and you have to be organized and defeat them one by one. You have to make sure the audience doesn't feel confused. You can't do that without a certain level of skill."

"It's just a grand spectacle! I'll go get a hundred people for the next show, and I guarantee it'll be even grander and more extravagant than his!"

Several people hurriedly tried to persuade Hong Jinbao not to act on impulse.

A grand occasion doesn’t just require a lot of people; a small number of people can also create the feeling of a grand occasion.

However, some shots can only be effective with large-scale panoramic views. For example, in the Decisive Battle series of movies shot in China, the panoramic marching shots cannot be shot with fewer people.

After Sammo Hung and his men left, Cheng Long emerged from the shadows, looking somewhat smug.

"Just say I can do it!"

People in the theater came out in twos and threes, looked at him, and suddenly pointed their fingers.

"Look, it's Cheng Long!"

Cheng Long was startled and turned around quickly, fleeing along the fire escape, but was chased into the toilet by several people.

Cheng Long looked around and saw that there was nowhere to run. Fortunately, there was a small ventilation window on his back. Cheng Long quickly did two triangle kicks, opened the ventilation window and escaped, leaving the fans helpless.

……

……

"Tickets for the hilarious comedy are hard to come by, and Cheng Long escapes by jumping out the window!"

Putting down the newspaper, Luo Wei smiled for the first time.

"It seems that Ga Zai is quite capable after all. Ah Long, I saw the movie too, and those fight scenes were really good. It made at least over a million Hong Kong dollars yesterday! Look, I still think highly of you. Find a Japanese to be the action director, and I'll help you suppress those tabloids. And this movie finally became a success."

Cheng Long responded, somewhat reservedly.

Luo Wei reached into the drawer, pulled out a bulging envelope, and handed it to Cheng Long.

"Well, you did a good job on this play, and I won't treat you unfairly. Take this money and spend it. If you need anything for the next play, just ask!"

Cheng Long thanked Luo Wei and said goodbye, then walked out of the office.

After leaving the house, Cheng Long flipped through the envelope and couldn't help cursing in his heart.

The box office sales on the first day reached one million, and he ended up giving him a red envelope with 20,000 yuan in it.

What a joke!
Although he has some personal grudges with Sammo Hung, Cheng Long really can't help but consider Sammo Hung's proposal now.

Go to Golden Harvest! Golden Harvest invested in him to start a satellite company, giving him autonomy. He can handle everything from filming to release on his own. No one else is paying him tens of thousands of Hong Kong dollars for a movie anymore. It's like giving alms to a beggar!
I can’t stay here with Luo Wei for another day, I really have to go to Golden Harvest!

As for the 20,000 Hong Kong dollars, Cheng Long had no intention of keeping it. He burned a set of videotapes, packed them together with an envelope containing 20,000 Hong Kong dollars, sent them onto the cruise ship, and packaged them across the ocean, ready to mail them to Gu Ming.

Logically, if the box office is a big hit, the main creative team will all receive red envelopes. Now that Gu Ming has passed away first, this red envelope can be considered as a replacement for Gu Ming.

Cheng Long knew it very well.

He couldn't perform those scenes with his current abilities!

(End of this chapter)