Against the Current Hong Kong 1979

Chapter 157 Your Hat Isn't That Green (3rd Update, Please Subscribe)

The crew of "Blood Simple" was also divided into two groups, A and B.

Team A was led by Zhang Shuai'an, and included assistant director Li Jian, James Cameron, cinematographer Zhong Zhiwen, assistant Monica, and other members.

Group B was led by Yu Yunhang and included art director Zhang Shuping, the foreign photographer, and other members.

Currently, Zhang Shuai'an is responsible for filming the main bar scenes, while Yu Yunhang is filming the scenes featuring Brigitte Lin.

The dance scenes were filmed over three consecutive days.

The many employees on set got to see all the perks, which was quite a treat.

Zhang Shuai'an naturally filmed two versions of this segment: a clean version and a pure version.

We'll see how the censorship is handled in different regions, and then we'll arrange different versions. Similar situations have actually occurred in Hong Kong films.

After filming this scene, the next scene will be a very important one in the film.

The office of bar owner Madian will feature five scenes.

The first scene is about a private investigator who, after secretly taking photos of Rayleigh and Elsa in bed, comes to his boss, Madian, to ask for money, and the two have a conversation.

This scene mainly showcases the personalities of the bar owner and the private detective, as well as the hidden conflicts beneath their transaction, and also foreshadows the ending.

In the second scene, the private investigator forged photos, claiming to have killed the adulterous couple, and returned to Madian to demand money. After receiving the money, Madian used the revolver he had taken from Elsa to kill him. However, he forgot the lighter under the fish, leaving a clue.

This scene is a crucial turning point in the entire film and a key foreshadowing of several subsequent plot twists.

In the third scene, Lei Li comes to the bar to ask Madian for his wages back, only to find that Madian has been shot and killed. Elsa's revolver is lying on the floor. He assumes that she killed him, so he kindly helps her dispose of the body.

The fourth scene involves a private investigator discovering a lighter left in the office, and Madian putting a photograph into a safe.

So they went back and broke into the safe to retrieve the photos. Just then, Elsa returned.

Elsa saw the safe had been smashed and assumed Rayleigh was trying to steal the money inside, which led to a confrontation with Madian. She tried to turn the combination lock, but couldn't open it.

The detective mistakenly believed that she had taken the lighter and the photos, so he followed her.

In the fifth scene, Lei Li learns something amiss from his friend Hei Ge, so he returns to his office, opens the safe, and finds photos inside, along with a lighter placed under the fish in the office. He realizes that someone has been watching them.

If these five scenes are filmed well, Blood Simple will be halfway to success.

The other major scenes are Lei Li burying the corpse, Lei Li and Aisha's bed scenes, and the final battle.

At this moment, many crew members were diligently setting up the office scene.

Zeng Mang and Tobin Bell were diligently going over their lines.

（老戏骨曾江，1934年9月2日—2022年4月27日）

(Tobin Bell, born August 7, 1942, is best known for his iconic role in the Saw series.)

"Although it wasn't written in the script, we probably knew each other a long time ago, and we may have even collaborated before."

Zeng Mang patted the script in his hand and spoke to Tobin Bell in fluent English.

"That's true." Tobin Bell's voice was deep and magnetic, a stark contrast to Zeng Mang's energetic tone.

"These days, anyone who can open a bar in Texas has at least some underworld connections."

Tobin Bell had clearly thought this through seriously, and continued along with Zeng Mang's words: "But he must have only been involved in the underworld and didn't have much power, otherwise he wouldn't have just run a small bar."

As a bar owner, there are some dirty tricks that are inconvenient for me to handle myself, so hiring others to do them is a natural next step.

Zeng Mang listened to the other party's words and couldn't help but nod: "The previous cooperation was probably not very smooth. We each had our own problems, but we couldn't find a better partner, so we continued this employment relationship with some bumps along the way."

"That's right." Tobin Bell agreed with Zeng Mang's reasoning, and he looked at the Chinese man in front of him with new respect.

He pointed at Zeng Mang and said, "You must have gone to university, you're very refined, but you haven't made any money. I, on the other hand, have worked my way up from the bottom, and this bar can bring in a steady stream of income."

So, you look down on me, but you have no choice but to make money off me; this is the inner conflict of your character.

As for me, although I made money, my wife ran off with someone else, and I couldn't suppress the inferiority complex in my heart anymore. I lost face in front of you, and now I dislike you even more.

The two continued to analyze the deep-seated contradictions between the two characters, becoming more and more detailed and engaging in their conversation.

In fact, their public personas and their experiences are quite consistent.

Zeng Mang graduated from the University of California, Berkeley. Although he studied architecture, he is indeed a highly educated person.

Tobin Bell never went to college; he climbed his way up from the bottom as an extra and hasn't made it big yet, but he has an exceptionally rich experience in acting and a strong sense of rough-and-tumble.

Zhang Shuai'an's casting choice turned out to be a lucky accident.

Before long, the office set was completed, and the exterior set and extras were also arranged by Li Jian and James Cameron.

Zhang Shuai'an walked up to Zeng Mang and Tobin Bell, and asked with a smile, "Gentlemen, are you ready?"

They both nodded at the same time.

"Then let's get ready to begin."

Zhang Shuai'an returned to his director's chair and directed Zhong Zhiwen to take his position: "Scene X, shot X, first time, Action!"

""

James Cameron immediately played a Teresa Teng record outside as background music.

The men and women in the bar started moving around, providing a lively backdrop for the office.

The camera pulls back, from shooting the bar dance floor through the window, back to reveal Tobin Bell's face, body, and legs crossed on the desk—then back to Zeng Mang entering the frame.

"Snap!"

Next is a close-up shot of Zeng Mang tossing a file folder on his desk, taking off his top hat, and sitting down very rudely.

The photo, due to inertia, peeked out from the file folder, leaving only a corner sticking out.

Filming can be paused here.

After adjusting the position, we continued filming.

The camera focused on Tobin Bell's crossed legs, shifting from relaxed to tense, then suddenly snapping back as one hand reached for a file folder.

Tobin Bell's profile appears in the frame as he slowly reaches out to take the photograph.

Then came a close-up of Tobin Bell's face, in which he looked somewhat surprised, indifferent, and a little annoyed.

He examined the photos one by one, half of his face in shadow. He paused silently for three seconds, then suddenly raised his eyes and stared coldly at the person opposite him.

We will insert one or two shots of Zeng Mang's micro-expression reactions here later.

Close-up shots of the photos will be taken later.

Since Zhang Shuai'an and Brigitte Lin hadn't filmed that bed scene yet, there were naturally no corresponding photos.

Zeng Mang saw a hint of anger in the other person's eyes. Instead of explaining anything, he said provocatively, "I know where to find nice picture frames."

The implication was clearly a sarcastic remark about Madian being cuckolded, yet remaining so calm and showing no sign of outburst.

Upon hearing this, Tobin Bell quickly folded the photographs and asked coldly, "Why did you take these photos!"

In the original version of this scene, the bar owner's voice was too gentle, sounding somewhat weak, which actually weakened the dramatic effect.

Tobin Bell's voice is hoarse and deep, and he often plays villains. When he says this, it has a sense of oppression, which provides a stronger tension for the reversal of his good husband persona later on!

"What do you mean by that?" Zeng Mang asked with a faint smile. "I'm just doing my job!"

Tobin Bell said coldly, "Just call them, wake them up, and let them know I'm here."

Why take pictures?!

Zeng Mang sensed the anger and offense in the other person's tone, and felt a little annoyed. He smiled and lit a cigarette: "I don't know, just consider it a bonus."

The lighter was casually placed on the desk.

The fuselage is engraved with a snake with its head and tail intertwined, along with a line of small Chinese characters: "Smoking is harmful to your health."

"How long have you been monitoring them?" Tobin Bell knew he couldn't reason with the other person, so he changed the subject.

"All night long."

At this point, Zeng Mang suddenly improvised, adding a line not in the script: "Young people have so much energy, they never get tired no matter how hard they work. It's really exciting!"

"In ancient China, there was a saying that we usually refer to a wife's infidelity as wearing a green hat."

"Madian, maybe you could wear one and cover up your bald head while you're at it."

As he said this, Zeng Mang looked at Tobin Bell, waiting for his reaction.

Tobin Bell pursed his lips and remained silent for a few seconds, his face expressionless, before suddenly smiling, as if in response to Zeng Mang's comment, "That's awesome!"

He forcibly suppressed the surging emotions in his heart and stared intently at Zeng Mang: "Do you know that in ancient Greece there was a custom where people would cut off the head of the messenger who brought bad news?"

Zeng Mang calmly smoked his cigarette: "This is a bit outrageous."

"Not outrageous." Tobin Bell was still staring at him. "At least it will make them feel better."

Zeng Mang suddenly laughed a few times, pointed at Tobin Bell and said, "First of all, I'm from Hong Kong, and Greek legends are none of my business."

While he was speaking, Tobin Bell got up, opened the safe, and took out a bag of money.

"Secondly, I'm not a messenger, but a private investigator."

Zeng Mang, still exuding confidence, said, "Thirdly, this isn't all bad news. You initially suspected she was with a black guy. Now it seems things are much better; she's a handsome Chinese-American. Your cuckoldry isn't so bad after all, is it?"

A flicker of disgust crossed Tobin Bell's eyes as he coldly said, "Take the money and get lost! We'll come back to you if we need anything else!"

As he spoke, he threw the bag of money out, and it hit the ground.

Zeng Mang's eyelids twitched almost imperceptibly, clearly indicating that he felt insulted.

However, he couldn't bear the insult for the sake of money. His expression changed several times, but he finally managed to defuse the situation with a hearty laugh.

"Hahaha, good, very good, excellent!"

As Zeng Mang spoke, he stood up, picked up the money, put on his top hat, grabbed a lighter, and turned to leave.

Before leaving, he didn't forget to say, "If you want to chop off my head, remember to call me! Not having a head might be a good thing, at least I won't be wearing a green hat."

9

He walked along laughing loudly.

"Click!"

Zhang Shuai'an shouted loudly, then clapped his hands and said, "Brilliant! Very brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!"

"One more time!"