Reborn Action Star: Starting in Hollywood

Joyful times are always fleeting. After Meng Tao and Depp's grand wedding, the crew immediately plunged into intensive filming.

Many of the scenes were filmed at night, which gave the crew a real taste of what "white-haired wind" meant!
It is called a "whiteout wind" because the strong wind carries ice crystals formed by the sublimation of the night, making it look like a vast expanse of white.

If we disregard the immense destructive power, it is still quite beautiful on its own.

However, when the "white blizzard" strikes at speeds of up to 110 kilometers per hour, it is truly unbearable.

Ice crystals and sand lashed against the windproof masks, even piercing the veils and causing small cuts on the faces of many crew members.

Fortunately, the wounds weren't deep, otherwise the whole group would have been disfigured.

So after filming, the first thing they'll probably do after leaving the Taklamakan Desert won't be celebrate, but rather arrange for collective medical cosmetic surgery.

In addition to the physical attack of the "white-haired wind," the low-frequency sound waves generated by the wind among the sand dunes also caused many crew members to feel dizzy and vomit.

It could be said that this was even more difficult to endure than facing a strong wind.

Because as long as you hide behind cover, even if the wind is strong, it won't reach you, but sonic attacks are truly unavoidable.

The filming these past few days has truly been tough on the crew.

But no one complained. Instead, they were even more enthusiastic about filming, simply because Lin Yuan had come to the set.

Although Lin Yuan was not scheduled to have any scenes in the following days of filming, he insisted on being on set every single day.

Lin Yuan's arrival did indeed bring tremendous encouragement to the entire crew:
After all, no matter how hard the filming is, can it be as hard as the quicksand scene that Lin Yuan filmed a few days ago?

That almost cost Lin Yuan his life. Everyone witnessed Lin Yuan crawling out of the sandpit covered in blood, and the shock of that scene was absolutely unparalleled.

During the subsequent medical team's rescue efforts, everyone witnessed several trays of blood-stained sand and shrapnel being taken out of the ward and carefully preserved. This further deepened the admiration and affection that every member of the crew had for Lin Yuan.

This makes it easy to understand why Lin Yuan is like a flag at this moment, playing a huge inspirational role wherever he goes.

However, most of the crew members were unaware that an even more thrilling action scene was about to be filmed.

It was 10 a.m. when a Mitsubishi Pajero drove out of the filming camp and headed due west towards the Dragon Scale Sand Dunes.

The tires of the Mitsubishi Pajero crunched over the hardened saline soil with a cracking sound, as if crushing countless ancient bones.

Seven kilometers away, the abandoned oil field, like the dried-up corpse of a giant beast, lies across the sea of ​​sand.

At first glance, the first thing you see are those towering drilling supports—once steel spears piercing the sky, now rusted into dark red remnants, leaning crookedly into the sand.

The wind whistled through the openwork of the support frame, and the rust, like dried blood, cast long, dark shadows on the sand.

Not far from the massive steel support structure are the wellheads that have long been sealed off, but black crude oil still seeps out from some cracks, congealing into asphalt-like crusts.

Occasionally, a lizard would dart out from the crack, its claws leaving tiny scratches on the sticky grease, which would then be smoothed out by the wind and sand in an instant.

When the sandstorms start, the entire oil field seems to come alive:
Rust fragments were swirled into the air, shimmering like blood mist in the sunlight;
The sound of sand hitting metal is like countless tiny gears turning;
The half-buried pipes trembled in the wind, emitting a hollow resonance, as if lamenting their former glory.

There is no life here, yet it is filled with a desolate magnificence.

This is a tombstone of human industrial civilization, or a dilapidated ruin after the apocalypse.

The sound of the Pajero's engine drew closer, startling a flock of crows perched on the support structure, which squawked and flew into the sky.

Inside the off-road vehicle, GAKKI pointed to the towering drilling rig and said, "Those iron frames are so rusted, can they still be used for filming?"

"I did a preliminary check, but there are many places I couldn't check thoroughly. I can only rely on Lin Yuan's skills to check it himself," Meng Tao said helplessly.

It wasn't that he was being lazy, but the crew didn't have enough climbing equipment. Meng Tao could organize people to knock and check the scaffolds near the ground, but he didn't dare to climb the ones at higher positions.

If something unexpected really happens, it would be a major accident.

Lin Yuan smiled and said, "It's nothing, I'll go up and take a look in a bit."

"Is your body... really alright?" Director Miller asked hesitantly.

Unlike the other crew members, he had personally witnessed Lin Yuan's injuries up close.

Director Miller found it hard to believe that Lin Yuan had almost fully recovered in just ten days.

"It's almost healed. It wasn't a serious injury to begin with, just some superficial wounds," Lin Yuan replied with a smile.

He still had two bandages on his body, one on his head and the other running diagonally from his left shoulder to his right waist, then wrapped around his waist several times.

The truth is that Lin Yuan has fully recovered.

However, in order not to frighten the crew and to create a better effect during filming, he deliberately left the two bandages on.

"Let's stop the car and go down to take a look at the site."

Although director Miller was still worried, he knew he couldn't stop Lin Yuan, so he could only try his best to cooperate.

The more meticulous the work, the more secure Lin Yuan would be, and at least he could feel more at ease.

"Crench!"

The Mitsubishi Pajero stopped, and director Miller opened the car door and jumped out.

"Clang!!"

Director Miller lost his footing and almost fell to the ground.

For an elderly person like him, falling down is not a good thing.

So he looked down at his feet, somewhat annoyed, to see what it was that almost made him trip and fall.

"This is... an old, discarded iron pipe?" Director Miller asked.

The abandoned oil pipeline meanders like a snake, half-buried in the sand, with parts broken and the rusted, jagged edges of the cross-section exposed.

Sunlight streamed in through the opening in the pipe, forming beams of light inside, where dust particles floated.

“Director, this used to be an abandoned oil field, so naturally there are oil pipelines running in all directions,” GAKKI-chan replied.

"No, what I mean is, could these abandoned pipes affect the location of lightning during filming, increasing the risk of electric shock?" Director Miller asked.

GAKKI was also taken aback when she heard the director's words.

She didn't expect that once director Miller got into character, he considered issues even more meticulously than she had.

She didn't even consider the possibility of lightning, but director Miller raised his concerns first.

Meng Tao squatted down and carefully inspected the pipeline before standing up with a somewhat serious expression: "It could indeed have an impact, but it's difficult to assess. Metal is bound to conduct electricity, but with the tall drilling support standing next to it, it's like a lightning rod, so I think the overall risk shouldn't be too great."

Lin Yuan chimed in, "Yes. Crawling into the scaffolding is so high that it can attract lightning immediately. Besides, even if the pipes are somewhat dangerous, we can't possibly remove them all one by one. Just be careful during filming." Hearing Lin Yuan and Meng Tao's words, GAKKI-chan and Director Miller could only nod in agreement.

In a couple of days, they will be filming a scene here during a thunderstorm, with sandstorms raging across the desert.

Lin Yuan will be entering this oil field during a thunderstorm, no wonder director Miller is worried about the risk of electrocution.

"Lin Yuan, after you've already conquered heaven and earth, are you now challenging yourself to be struck by lightning?" Meng Tao said with a smile.

“Don’t worry, as you know, this drilling support can form a ‘Faraday cage,’ so the risk of electric shock is actually very low,” Lin Yuan said.

“That’s inside the cage. You’ll inevitably have to go outside during the climb, so it’s hard to say what will happen then,” Meng Tao said immediately.

"I'll be careful, don't worry about it. Let's double-check the shooting schedule with the director, that's the important thing." Lin Yuan didn't give Meng Tao any room to persuade him.

Director Miller could only present the shooting plan and reconfirm the shooting details and camera positions based on the actual environment.

A rare thunderstorm is expected a few nights later, which is exactly the right timing for this scene.

The plot summary of this scene is roughly as follows:

Lin Yuan needs to cross the "Death Black Wall" sandstorm zone to retrieve the "black box" hidden in the abandoned drilling base, which contains the core data of the Immortal Joe's energy network.

After Lin Yuan overcame numerous difficulties to obtain the "black box," the men of the immortal Old Joe arrived, blew up his off-road vehicle, and gave chase to him.

Lin Yuan had no choice but to surf through the Dragon Scale Sand Dunes during a thunderstorm, using only an iron plate, and eventually shake off all his pursuers.

This is a 17-minute action sequence consisting of a series of thrilling scenes, and it is also the most exciting scene in the entire Mad Max: Fury Road.

In terms of danger, it may not surpass the quicksand fighting arena, but in terms of visual impact, this scene is definitely the most spectacular in the entire film.

Even among all of Lin Yuan's action scenes, it ranks among the best.

The normal action scenes are divided into three parts:

The first part is "Thunderstorms in the Desert".

This is the starting point of the entire action sequence. Lin Yuan will drive an off-road vehicle, bravely venturing into the lightning-prone area, to the location where Immortal Joe hides his secrets.

The main highlight of this part is watching how Lin Yuan drives through dangerous terrain, including strong winds and thunderstorms.

The wind was extremely strong that night, and the leading edge of the sandstorm formed a terrifying "death wall".

Under the electrostatic adsorption of high-altitude thunderclouds, sand grains will form a moving sand wall up to 1200 meters high, with internal friction generating a 2000 million volt electrostatic field, and blue electric arcs between the sand grains moving like snakes.

Charged sand grains collide with high-altitude ice crystals, forming a ball lightning matrix at the top of the sandstorm, which randomly strikes down with lightning bolts every tens of seconds.

Lin Yuan was about to drive through such a raging natural wilderness.

From a visual impact perspective, this is enough to blow everyone's mind.

But Lin Yuan knew that the first part of the filming was not dangerous.

The film crew has already buried a number of discarded metal frames for attracting lightning in the area where the vehicles will pass.

Therefore, the lightning did not actually strike the vehicle he was driving.

Even if you are struck by lightning, there is no need to worry, because the vehicle itself is a "Faraday cage," and the people inside do not need to worry about being injured by lightning.

In this scene, what's truly demanding is the driving skill of the vehicle.

But for Lin Yuan, this was completely within his comfort zone.

The second part of the filming, known as "The Steel Graveyard," is where things get more dangerous.

Or rather, it's quite dangerous.

Because once Lin Yuan drove to the bottom of the drilling rig, he had to drive up the rig and climb to the top to retrieve the "black box".

In this scene, Lin Yuan had to climb the 105-meter-high drilling scaffold with his bare hands amidst strong winds and thunderstorms.

And this drilling support must be a natural lightning rod, even with the protection of the "Faraday cage" effect.

However, no one can guarantee that no accidents will happen during the climb.

Even though Lin Yuan wears insulated gloves and boots when climbing, in case of an accident, these things seem to only provide peace of mind.

As we all know, insulation is relative. As long as the voltage is strong enough, no matter how insulating the material is, it can be broken down.

Lightning can easily exceed 2000 million volts, and the voltage of the strongest lightning can even rival the output power of a small nuclear power plant.

It's fair to say that the filming of this second part was incredibly dangerous.

However, according to the principle that the most exciting and dangerous moments are always saved for last.

The third part, known as "Thunder Surfing," completely exceeded director Miller's expectations.

According to the plot, after Lin Yuan arrives, crawls into the top of the support structure, and retrieves the "black box".

The war boy who arrived at the scene used a rocket launcher to destroy Lin Yuan's off-road vehicle.

Having lost his means of transportation, Lin Yuan could only use a dilapidated steel door panel as a surfboard to glide at high speed across the desert, shaking off the War Boys' pursuit.

The reason we were able to film surfing in the desert is that to the west of the abandoned oil field lies a continuous desert stretching for over 5 kilometers with a downward slope.

Surfing is an extreme sport that is both highly entertaining and extremely dangerous.

Surfing in the desert is even more exciting.

What's more, it was "Thunder Surfing" being chased by more than ten motorcycles.

Director Miller is 100% certain that if this action scene can be filmed according to the design, then the box office and critical acclaim of "Mad Max: Fury Road" will be a sure thing and absolutely unshakeable.

This is more than just a movie; it's an epic tale of humanity challenging its own limits and conquering nature.

"Lin Yuan, I'm truly impressed by you," Director Miller exclaimed.

If it were someone else, after surviving a life-or-death crisis a few days ago, they would definitely be more cautious and even unwilling to take any more risks.

But Lin Yuan can then throw himself into his new work without any psychological burden.

“Don’t worry, I’m confident in this scene,” Lin Yuan said. “I’ll go up to the drilling rig first to check the extent of the corrosion and determine a climbing route.”

Lin Yuan didn't want to dwell on this issue any longer, so he began his preparations. (End of Chapter)