Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 554 Time Travel is a Foresightful Concept

Yuen Biao joined the crew during the latter half of filming.

Filming in Hong Kong is quick and efficient; he even had a cameo role in a movie in Hong Kong before joining the main production team…

Although Yuen Biao had never filmed a movie in Japan before, he was truly relieved after arriving there.

He never imagined that he would be so popular and well-liked in Japan!

In Hong Kong, Yuen Biao never received the treatment of being cheered by the crowd, but in Japan, when he disembarked in Yokohama, he actually saw an audience cheering for him.

Even Yuen Biao himself wasn't entirely sure.

He's that popular in Japan!
So sometimes, audience tastes are hard to define. Who would have thought that in this era, Jackie Chan, with his big nose, and Yuen Biao, a young man, would be so popular in Japan!

Yuen Biao was quite self-aware; he was there to make a film, not to play around. He quickly arrived at the film set by car.

Knowing that Gu Ming could speak Chinese, he bowed to him upon meeting him.

"Hey Gu Ge, I'm here to act... Oh my god!"

Upon seeing the large ship suspended in front of him, Yuen Biao fell silent for a moment.

What is this?!

In his mind, Sanmao and Jackie Chan were already big names, and they invested a lot of money in making films. Their films were considered top-notch productions in Hong Kong.

But for such a large production, they didn't even mention using a single ship for filming!

Yuen Biao's thinking went a little short-circuited.

This doesn't align with his understanding!

Will we be able to recoup the costs of shooting something this big?
It's important to know that in the mid-to-late 1980s, Jackie Chan's films couldn't recoup their costs solely from Hong Kong.

Jackie Chan's own salary accounted for a large portion of the budget, and as audience viewing preferences changed, the investment needed to be even greater. Ultimately, the company relied on box office revenue in Hong Kong to offset costs and on overseas box office revenue to achieve profitability.

Gu Ming naturally didn't offer any further explanation.

Hong Kong is too small, but it is precisely because of its small size that Hong Kong people have a unique arrogance. Don't be fooled by their obedience when filming overseas; once they return to China, they start to put on airs.

Being hit by Hollywood films is actually a good thing; it's time for Hong Kong people to wake up.

Without the box office revenue, cheap manpower, and resources provided by the mainland, Hong Kong's film industry is nothing.

The box office potential of just one Guangzhou is comparable to that of three or four Hong Kongs.

Gu Ming didn't say much about this, but simply arranged Yuan Biao's work: "I've already spoken to some acquaintances. Your role is a modern marine who, after encountering a portal that opens and a demonic invasion of the modern city, is accidentally transported to ancient times by demonic technology. I'll arrange for you to film this scene at Yokohama Port, and then I'll transport you to the Sengoku period."

Yuen Biao: ?
The Warring States period?

He wants to go back two thousand years?
"It's not the Zhou Dynasty's Warring States period, it's Japan's Warring States period. Uh, it doesn't matter. Anyway, it's about sending you back to ancient times."

"Understood." Yuen Biao nodded.

I didn't really understand at all.

The concept of time travel only came about when Hong Kong released "A Step into the Past" in the 1990s.

Prior to this, Hong Kong did not know much about time travel; there were only some movies that featured similar themes.

Count it up.

The concept of time travel appeared in films from the 1980s, which was quite ahead of its time.

For example, the classic Hollywood time travel film "Back to the Future" didn't get released until 1985...

Fortunately, Yuen Biao has one good point: he says what he means and he doesn't put on airs.

As scheduled, Yuen Biao soon arrived at the Yokohama filming location and began his scenes.

The character played by Yuen Biao is named Lin, but he doesn't have a name and isn't given one. In the story, he can just be called Lin Sang.

As a naval officer, he was originally going to Yokohama, but he was unexpectedly caught up in this Phantom Crisis. In order to protect the people, Lin was accidentally drawn into the Phantom Space and arrived in Japan's Sengoku period.

Ultimately, it was through his efforts that Akechi Samanosuke was sent back to the Sengoku period from the modern era.

However, because his role is only a supporting character with a significant amount of screen time, filming will wrap up before the final battle, leaving only a few scenes without any action sequences.

At Yokohama Port, Yuen Biao filmed within the designated area as planned. Although it was called a "lockdown," it was really just a matter of setting up a cordon, and the area was not very large so as not to affect the normal use of Yokohama Port.

The passing travelers quickly noticed the filming taking place.

Naturally, I also saw Yuen Biao.

Although the whispers were indistinct, one could still occasionally hear words that Yuen Biao could understand.

Many tourists watched from behind the cordon, which put a lot of pressure on Yuen Biao.

Later generations often say that the Japanese have good manners, but that's a load of rubbish. Many people say that the garbage in Japan is thrown away by people from the Zhou Dynasty, but during a certain period, tourists from the Zhou Dynasty were not allowed to travel to Japan, yet there was still a large amount of garbage in Japan. It seems that the people from the Zhou Dynasty may have mastered time-space teleportation technology, casually throwing garbage from their homes, which then landed precisely on the streets of Japan.

"Hey buddy."

After barely managing to film one scene, Yuen Biao finally managed to get a little closer and greet someone.

"Could you please ask those enthusiastic viewers to move aside? It's so difficult to film like this!"

The assistant silently tilted his head slightly.

What are you saying!
He doesn't understand Cantonese!

Yuen Biao clicked his tongue.

What should we do? The Japanese can't understand him!

After finally finishing the first day of filming, in the evening, Yuen Biao went to find Gu Ming with a downcast look on his face.

He really wanted to find someone to resolve this matter, but he felt it wasn't appropriate to bring it up.

At this moment, Gu Ming was discussing tomorrow's filming plan with Fukasaku Kinji. The two of them stared at each other, one big eye and the other big eye.

Shinji Fukasaku said, "Do you think this is appropriate? Although we can't make that ship actually fly, you really have to hang on it."

"I think it's fine. It's okay for the sake of the filming effect. I don't need a stunt double."

"I'm worried because you don't use a stunt double!"

Kinji Fukasaku felt this was troublesome enough.

Tomorrow we're filming the scene of Akechi Samanosuke boarding the airship to fight Oda Nobunaga, but the takeoff scene is a bit difficult to film because it would be more noticeable if we used a platform or wires.

Gu Ming's solution was to use a wire harness, but not a full wire harness; instead, he would have the child grab a rope and climb up while being suspended by the wire harness.

“What if you get injured? How will the film be shot? How will you get to Cannes? Am I supposed to go? Of course, I have no objection.”

Gu Ming could only try his best to convince Fukasaku Kinji that nothing would happen.

Gu Ming glanced up and saw Yuen Biao standing by the door. He waved to him.

"What's going on, Brother Biao!"

Yuen Biao quickly waved his hand: "No, no, no, I'm not Brother Biao."

"Yeah, Brother Biao, what's wrong?"

Yuen Biao couldn't help but raise his hand to cover his face.

After thinking about it, I realized something was wrong, so I decided to protect my thighs first.

He briefly explained the situation.

Gu Ming leaned back instantly.

"Seriously? The Japanese have no manners at all, it's laughable. Don't worry, I'll have someone arrange it tomorrow."

It's a small matter; Gu Ming doesn't even need to make the trip himself.

Since Yuen Biao had arrived, Gu Ming made sure he sat down.

"That's right, there's a special scene tomorrow."

Gu Ming briefly recounted the story of climbing the boat by grabbing the rope.

Yuen Biao hissed.

This……

It seems pretty ordinary!

Hong Kong's action stars are the most dedicated. What Kinji Fukasaku desperately tried to stop was very common in Hong Kong; people often jumped from the third or fourth floor.

Kinji Fukasaku remained silent for a moment.

After a long while, he tentatively asked a question.

"Does Hong Kong never care about human life?"

“Mr. Fukasaku,” Gu Ming interrupted, “From another perspective, could we also say that this is a kind of fanatical love for action movies? It is precisely because of this disregard for life that we are able to make those popular action movies? In Japan, I can’t expect everyone to be so disregard for life, but I can at least expect myself to be. Therefore, this shot must be filmed according to my requirements.”

Kinji Fukasaku, overwhelmed with shock and utter incomprehension, silently waved his hand.

Given the current situation, it seems that we have no choice but to continue filming in this manner.

(End of this chapter)