Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 59: Replacement (Please read!)
Nicholas Tse encouraged him, "I know everyone's been having a hard time these past two weeks. Not only did you have to practice the drums, but you also had to deal with Lu Kuan and accept his unreasonable arrangements."

Both Edison Chen and Margaret Yuen were stunned. The latter was fine, but the former had been angry with Lu Kuan for a long time.

This tyrant on the set doesn't give face to anyone in the crew. Stars of his and Nicholas Tse's status are always treated preferentially everywhere, but on the set of "Explosion", his food, clothing, housing and transportation are no different from those of ordinary actors.

What embarrassed them most was that Lu Kuan often pointed out their performance mistakes without hesitation, reminding them not to steal the spotlight and the show, and not to focus on showing off and highlighting themselves while neglecting the creation of the overall picture.

It has become commonplace to shoot more than ten or twenty takes for one shot.

Ultimately, it is the gap in industry status between them and the film and television industries in Hong Kong and the mainland that prevents them from putting themselves on an equal footing and looking at problems. They always feel that they are here to use technology to alleviate poverty.

This can be seen from the incident in which Nicholas Tse and Zhang Weijian beat up Xiao Bailong just one year later.

Just imagine if Wang Jiawei, who is known for his slowness in filming, asked them to shoot dozens of takes, would they still be so angry?

This is roughly the law of the jungle, where the strong prey on the weak.

Nicholas Tse saw a hint of resentment on his face and said with some hesitation, "To be honest, I am very optimistic about this script and story. Otherwise, I wouldn't have taken such a low salary to work in mainland China in the first place."

Er changed the subject: "After such a long time of contact, I have doubts about Lu Kuan's directing ability. He doesn't understand actors, he doesn't understand acting, and there are even many parts of the script that need to be revised."

Nicholas Tse looked at Zhang Jianting and said, "Director Zhang and I share the same opinion on this point."

Zhang Jianting adjusted his glasses. In fact, he was the only one who was amazed by the script and coveted it. Liu Zeyu and Nicholas Tse were just like-minded opponents.

"Yes, Ah Zai is right, this script has a major omission."

Zhang Jianting confidently analyzed, "The image of a teacher as a dignified person is too dark. It won't work in East Asia."

"East Asia, whether in Hong Kong or mainland China, has been influenced by Confucianism for thousands of years, emphasizing respect for teachers."

"The creation of this character should be guided from the perspective of encouraging and educating the protagonist, rather than using such despicable methods to destroy the protagonist."

In Lu Kuan's Whiplash, the climax of the film is when the band teacher Zhuang Zhencheng tricks the hopeful drummer Xu Huan into performing on stage by deliberately giving him the wrong music score.

He wanted to completely destroy Xu Huan's career in front of a group of celebrities and music seniors as punishment for Xu Huan secretly reporting him for abusing students.

Edison Chen, Marie Ng and others fell into deep thought. They are also professional actors and have their own thoughts.

Impressions and opinions about the width of the road are one thing, but when it comes to actual work, one must also make judgments from one's own perspective.

Zhang Jianting is a senior manager within Eagle King. Apart from nepotism, the movie "Flying Dragon" directed and produced by him will be released next year. It is a $4000 million blockbuster film co-produced by Fang Long and Hollywood.

One is a Hong Kong director who has been famous in the industry for a long time and the son-in-law of a big boss.

One is a Taoist priest who has never even attended university and is a commoner.

Coupled with the three people's consistent dissatisfaction with Lu Kuan, the ending is self-evident.

"Director Zhang, whatever you say, we'll do it."

Liu Zeyu was shaking the scarlet wine in his hand with great pride. Hong Kong people are really resourceful.

He finally figured it out this time. Why bother going to that damn Beijing Film Academy? He could go abroad and get a degree in directing from the University of Southern California or New York University. With capital paving the way for him, what else could he want?
But first, he had to remove the thorn in his side, Lu Kuan. It had been a source of humiliation for him since the fourth audition! Zhang Jianting smiled and said, "It's simple. You can just hold him back on set and wait for the contract to be terminated. You'll be signed to a new contract for the new film that Liu Shao is investing in."

He plans to find another top screenwriter in Hong Kong to overhaul "Whiplash" according to his own ideas and completely change it.

You play the drums, I can play the piano or the violin, it's all based on the same principle.

Because the core of the story is contrary to the original, Lu Kuan writes about reflecting on the darkness of human nature, and he takes the route of a family-friendly chicken soup article, so the risk of plagiarism is very small.

"But... we all signed a three-fold liquidated damages agreement. If we voluntarily withdraw from the filming..."

This was the first time Yu Wenle spoke today. Unlike Nicholas Tse and Edison Chen, who have a wealthy family, he has to consider his own risks before participating in these conspiracies.

Zhang Jianting laughed and said, "Ah Le, you are now standing on Young Master Liu's territory, are you still afraid of this kind of thing?"

Liu Zeyu stood up and clinked glasses with him, then looked at his watch: "Please wait a moment, they should be here soon."

Both Edison Chen and Vivian Yu were a little confused. Is there anyone else?
"Young Master Liu! Director Zhang! Dear celebrities, I'm late!"

The heavy door of the box was suddenly pushed open. The sound came before the person arrived. When they looked closely, they saw a big-bellied man with a shaved head and a vicious face rushing in.

It was the thief who had a conflict with Lu Kuan at No. 88 Sanlitun, Zhang Tianshuo!

As the old saying goes, good news doesn't travel far, but bad news travels a thousand miles.

This person, who can be called the "rock godfather" of ancient times, is also well-known in the Hong Kong circle.

Although Nicholas Tse, Edison Chen and others have not often visited the mainland since their debut, they have heard the rumor that if they want to hold a concert in Beijing, they must first pay their respects to Mr. Zhang.

When he participated in this game, his position was very clear: black gloves.

Liu Zeyu laughed and said, "This Lu Kuan villain has achieved success. Not long ago, he also offended our Master Zhang in the capital. He even shamelessly said that Master Zhang is destined to have a disaster this year."

Liu Erdai said righteously, "Master Zhang is a man of justice. This time, he is acting on behalf of Heaven and clearing out this pest from the mainland entertainment industry!"

Zhang Tianshuo made a timely comment: "That's right! This matter is partly personal and partly official. Young Master Liu has already thought of a perfect plan for you all, it's guaranteed to work!"

What a bullshit plan! It's just an attempt to imitate some thugs and try to provoke the crew.

They send a dozen or so old men and women to your set early in the morning, doing nothing, and you can't move at all, and you dare not even push them away.

If some strong men could threaten or intimidate the employees of Qingying Studio, it would be fine if Lu Kuan could not make his movie.

Zhang Jianting smiled and said, "I've read your contract. One of the clauses says this."

"Except for force majeure, if normal filming cannot be carried out for more than a week due to reasons of the investors or the production company, and there is no obvious improvement, the actor has the right to unilaterally terminate the performance contract and obtain reasonable compensation according to the length of work."

Zhang Tianshuo patted his round belly proudly: "Forget a week, I'll keep him from working for a whole year!"

(End of this chapter)