Japanese Entertainment: From special effects actor to action superstar

Chapter 581 Crisis Public Relations Cost: Thirty Yuan

The incident last time was just a side story. After Jackie Chan returned, filming resumed as usual, and Jean-Claude Van Damme was able to perform his duties quite well, punching and kicking quite convincingly.

Filming was gradually approaching the final battle.

The original food truck was used to film the final battle in the castle, where Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao, and Sammo Hung used a three-pronged attack to defeat the villain.

Although it was a bit hasty, it wasn't excessive to have some groundwork laid.

Moreover, in this scene, Jackie Chan also had a textbook fight with the jet Benny, which can be called a classic action scene in the history of world cinema.

When the Americans later ranked action scenes in film history, they ranked this action scene very highly, even higher than the fight scenes in the Ong-Bak series.

So Gu Ming simply didn't care how the action scenes were arranged, letting the Jackie Chan Stunt Team improvise.

After all, they were doing a pretty good job to begin with! Maybe Gu Ming's involvement will just ruin it.

They are currently in France and have partnered with Nice to promote tourism in the area, so the fight scene naturally needs to be changed.

The location is the Belize Wine Estate in Nice, which is occupied by the Italian Mafia in the storyline.

The movie also features product placement for the Belize Estate, where two Italian guards named Mafia get drunk on wine and are casually hit on the head with a wine bottle by Jackie Chan.

—The label of Belize wine should be shown to the audience.

At the Belize Winery, the final battle scene is being filmed.

This fight scene features two characters separated: one facing the ultimate villain, the Italian Mafia leader played by Dan Shilang, and the other facing a ruthless killer played by Jean-Claude Van Damme.

After Gu Ming deals with Jean-Claude Van Damme, he will go to help. Then the two of them will take down Tuan Shilang together, marking the end of the story. Everyone will then make Provençal stew together.

Both sides have their own style. Jackie Chan naturally has his own style of humorous fighting, while Gu Ming's side goes head-to-head.

"...Then we'll exchange punches. I'll smash the flour sack in a bit, and the flour will fly everywhere, which will also have the effect of throwing away tile dust. At first, I'll be overwhelmed by you, but then I'll pick up the two-handed greatsword hanging on the wall, and the battle will turn around, and I'll finally defeat you. That's when we'll start using bullet time to film."

Bullet time animations of bullets look great, but punches look a bit less impressive. That's why you need to use powder to create the right effect and show the trajectory of punches and kicks. However, he's using swords instead of fists and kicks here.

As they were talking, Gu Ming glanced over and saw Chen Desen standing outside the film set looking in their direction with an anxious expression, as if he had something to say.

Gu Ming initially didn't want to pay attention, but seeing that Chen Desen wouldn't leave, he finally raised his hand to stop him.

"Wait a minute, Brother Long, what's going on?"

Cheng Long was also puzzled: "Ah Sen isn't usually this inconsiderate. Wait for me to go ask him."

Gu Ming wasn't in a hurry. He leaned against the railing and waited quietly for a moment. Then he saw Cheng Long jogging over, looking unusually nervous.

"It's over, Brother Gu! Something's happened!"

Cheng Long grinned, revealing a rather embarrassed expression: "I don't know who took the photos of us that day, but they've spread all over Hong Kong now! My godfather told me to go back and deal with it immediately!"

Gu Ming took a sip of red wine.

This is quite frightening.

Cheng Long said with a long face, "Wasn't the hush money enough? This Frenchman is so untrustworthy, he talks nonsense about everything!"

"Don't rush, I know you're anxious, but don't rush." ​​Gu Ming pressed his hands down to stabilize himself.

“You can’t go back to Hong Kong now. It would take too long to go back. A round trip would take at least half a month. We’re in France now, and we have to spend money on food and supplies every day. It’s not a small matter. We need to find another way to solve this problem.”

Gu Ming pondered this matter.

It's a big deal, but it's also a small one. No one makes a movie without getting beaten up; it's a common occurrence. But if someone deliberately stirs things up, it can be very troublesome. After all, Jackie Chan being beaten up by a Belgian will have an impact in Hong Kong. When the movie is released, it's hard to guarantee that the audience won't remember this incident.

You can't even beat a Belgian guy, and you expect us to watch your kung fu movies?

"In short, we can't admit that you were beaten up, not even if it was a mistake during filming. We need to find someone in France to do an interview first. After all, it's a long way off, and Hong Kong doesn't know exactly what happened in France. Right now, it's just a few photos and some random statements." Gu Ming said, "You go on camera with Jean-Claude Van Damme, do an interview, and then bring up this matter again. Then, have a fight. Of course, it doesn't have to be a real fight. He'll cooperate with you. You know better than me how to fight."

Cheng Long nodded at first, then shook his head.

"The French are so greedy, where are they going to find people to interview them!"

"Why would we need to find anyone? There are Frenchmen everywhere. We have cameras and videotapes. Let's just film it on location!"

This is called forged journalism!

After all, the internet doesn't exist now, so Hong Kong can't possibly get news from here in a timely manner.

Gu Ming and his group immediately agreed.

First, take a few photos and send them back as stills from the movie. Then, record an interview where the two of them fight, send the footage back to Hong Kong for broadcast, and finally mention the movie.

Do one thing as two.

Gu Ming looked at Jean-Claude Van Damme, who nodded in response.

What a joke! What is he afraid of? He's practically competing with Brad Pitt to be his male nanny; he even carries a proctologist's business card in his pocket.

One is a film actor with enormous influence in Hong Kong and Asia, and a certain reputation overseas in Europe and America; the other is a completely unknown newcomer like him. Even if he loses, it doesn't matter; he suffers no loss!

So what if we get beaten up?

……

……

“Jean-Claude Van Damme is very capable; he’s the European Karate Championship winner. If we’re making a movie, of course we’ll cast him!”

In front of the camera, Jackie Chan spoke candidly: "The scene you mentioned is a very exciting fight scene in the plot. I don't know which reporter took a picture of it and exaggerated it so much, but when the movie is released, everyone will be able to see that scene. It's very exciting, and I'm also very happy to have been able to work with Mr. Jean-Claude Van Damme on this film..."

After their explanation, the two pretended to spar a few moves in front of the camera, looking quite professional.

After filming was completed, Jackie Chan's expression did not show any relief.

"Brother Gu, do you really think this will work?"

"Give it a try, what else can we do? It's too late to run back to Hong Kong to resolve this now. If we waste half a month, who am I supposed to find to film the final battle? A stunt double?"

Gu Ming shrugged.

The film crew is shooting here, and they have to spend money every day!
Now that they've taken care of things on their end, they're just waiting for a response from Hong Kong.

If handled well, even bad things can turn into good things. By having Jackie Chan get beaten up, the movie might even generate a buzz.

"By the way, there's one more thing."

Gu Ming suddenly reached out and asked Cheng Long for money: "Give me thirty US dollars."

Cheng Long rummaged through his pockets and readily pulled out some money: "I do have some, but what do you need this for?"

Gu Ming shrugged.

"Public relations expenses!"

Ok.

Of course, it's Guan Chenglong demanding the money he owes for movie tickets!

(End of this chapter)