Against the Current Hong Kong 1979

At Jackie Chan's command, everyone took their positions.

Zhang Shuai'an said to He Jiatong at the right moment, "Atong, come up the mountain with me later."

He Jiatong nodded: "Okay."

"You're Anzai's friend, right?" At this moment, Jackie Chan also saw Ho Ka-tung and reached out to grab him: "Your name is Ho Ka-tung, right? We met at the tea restaurant last time."

"Yes, it's me." He Jiatong was surprised that Jackie Chan remembered his name.

Jackie Chan beckoned his assistant director, Tang Yancan, over: "Tan, you take care of this guy and calculate his salary too."

Zhang Shuai'an gently kicked He Jiatong: "Aren't you going to thank Brother Long?"

"Thank you, Brother Long." He Jiatong snapped out of her daze.

Jackie Chan patted him on the shoulder and said, "Anzai is a talented person. If you follow him closely, you'll have your day."

"Thank you for your kind words, Brother Long," Zhang Shuai'an replied with a smile.

Jackie Chan left in a hurry to get his makeup done and change clothes.

Zhang Shuai'an followed the large group, carrying some props, and arrived at the film set on the mountain.

There is a large area of ​​buildings in the style of the Republic of China era, including everything from archways to low bungalows.

Of course, they are all just one mold, some even only have the wall in front.

Looking at these houses, Zhang Shuai'an felt that some of them looked quite familiar, as if he had seen them in Bruce Lee's movies.

That's normal, though, since part of this set was built specifically to facilitate filming movies for Bruce Lee.

"Hey, isn't this a bag of charcoal?"

As Zhang Shuai'an was looking at the buildings, a woman with a large face walked up to him with a microphone: "Would you mind giving an interview?"

"Who are you?" Zhang Shuai'an looked at her and felt quite unfamiliar.

The woman said somewhat displeasedly, "My name is Shao Yinyin. I worked in Shaw Brothers for several years, how can you not recognize me?"

To be honest, Zhang Shuai'an didn't recognize him at all.

He knew Shao Yinyin, but all he remembered was her face after a botched plastic surgery; just looking at it made him feel a little scared.

Naturally, it was impossible to associate this woman in front of him with the woman who, although she had a large face, was still quite attractive.

Zhang Shuai'an explained, "I'm sorry, I've only been in Hong Kong for about a month, and I really don't know many people from Shaw Brothers."

"Huh?" Shao Yinyin's face showed surprise. She hadn't expected Zhang Shuai'an to have such an identity.

Then she discovered something even more unbelievable: how could Boss Shao have cast him as the male lead in a hit TV series?

"How about you accept an interview with our newspaper?" Shao Yinyin felt that this handsome young man had a hidden gem, and she became even more excited.

Zhang Shuai'an asked curiously, "Which newspaper do you work for?"

"RTHK TV Weekly," Shao Yinyin replied.

Zhang Shuai'an nodded, then politely declined, "You're here to interview Brother Long, so don't waste your time on me. Brother Long will be up soon, so you should prepare your interview content."

With that, he ignored them and walked away.

Shao Yinyin wanted to chase after him, but her colleague behind her stopped her: "Jackie Chan is coming up. Don't waste your time on this guy. He's from Shaw Brothers."

Shao Yinyin had no choice but to temporarily abandon Zhang Shuai'an, put on a smiling face, and go to greet Jackie Chan.

"Anzai, come over here!" Deng Jingsheng stood on a two-story building and waved to Zhang Shuai'an.

Zhang Shuai'an immediately went into the building and found that it had indeed been furnished as a simple office.

He hurried upstairs and saw Deng Jingsheng sitting there drinking tea.

"We're not needed when filming action scenes."

Deng Jingsheng was easygoing and easygoing. He said with a smile, "We can figure out how to build the bridge here, write jokes and lines. Once we've written them, we can just have them sent down, and they can act them out."

Zhang Shuai'an was truly amazed by this model: "Won't this lead to contradictions or even a lack of coherence?"

"Yes, it happens all the time," Deng Jingsheng said with a smile, adopting a casual demeanor. "However, the audience doesn't care at all. They go to the cinema specifically for Ah Long."

As long as Ah Long fights well, fights for a long time, and fights spectacularly, the audience doesn't care about the plot or the logic...

What Zhang Shuai'an wanted to say was that it wasn't that he didn't care, but these days, apart from the New Wave generation, there aren't many old-school kung fu movies with plots that can withstand scrutiny.

With all the shows having terrible plots, viewers will naturally choose the one with the most exciting action sequences.

Zhang Shuai'an said, "This doesn't mean the plot isn't important; the audience's aesthetic sense evolves."

Indeed, this was the case. By the latter half of the 1980s, audiences had higher and higher expectations for film plots, which meant that many films had at least a complete script before filming began.

Of course, "flying paper" is always present on set, used for impromptu jokes and improvisations. In particular, many jokes in comedy films are thought up and added on the spot during filming.

Zhang Shuai'an asked for paper and pen, spread out the dozen or so sheets of paper, and began to think about how to "stitch" the shattered plot together.

The original film was a huge success, but why not add some advantages to it?

Zhang Shuai'an first confirmed the scenes that had already been filmed, such as the opening lion dance fight scene, the scene where Jackie Chan tearfully refutes his master, the scenes between Jackie Chan, Yuen Biao, and Shek Kin, and some minor scenes involving the main villain Huang Renzhi.

Some key scenes are left unfinished, such as the final showdown, which neither Jackie Chan nor Deng Jingsheng have decided on yet.

Also, Huang Renzhi's appearance hasn't been written yet, mainly because I haven't come up with any good ideas.

The first half of the story basically doesn't need any changes; just keep it as it is.

Zhang Shuai'an's task is to establish a main storyline and then bring the scenes that strayed from the main plot back into the main storyline.

After a moment's thought, Zhang Shuai'an picked up his pen and began to write.

Deng Jingsheng was also a little curious. Although he was a veteran screenwriter, he had developed the habit of writing and thinking on the spot in recent years. Sometimes, he didn't even know what the ending would be like until the deadline was approaching.

The story begins with a lion dance battle between two martial arts schools, followed by another lion dance battle. Jackie Chan discovers that his senior brother has betrayed his school and joined the rival Zhengfeng Martial Arts School, even capturing Caiqing for them. However, the truth is exposed, and the senior brother is forced to leave by his master...

These are the original storylines, and they've already been filmed, so they basically don't need any changes.

The following plot will require addressing some plot holes and issues that have appeared in the script:

The first problem is the main villain, the Golden Belt, which has absolutely nothing to do with the main plot of the movie; it's like he was forced into it.

He and Jackie Chan, who played the main characters, had absolutely no conflict, so they forcibly created a reason for them to fight.

The second problem is that the father and son, who were originally supposed to be the heads of the five provincial constables, disappeared halfway through the process. This is a serious mistake in both the plot and the character design.

The third issue is that Jackie Chan's character, the junior apprentice, comes out to find his senior apprentice, which is somewhat like a road movie. However, this process is purely a formality, and the gains made in the process do not contribute to the final ending.

Following the typical road movie formula, the protagonist learns some skills or gains some insights during the search, and finally uses these skills or insights to achieve the final "victory" in the grand finale.

For example, he learned the "legs under the skirt" technique from Li Lili's character, but only used it on two minor characters next to the villain, which was a waste.

For example, he learned the bench kung fu from Yuen Biao, but he didn't use it in the end either.

The last question is why Golden Leg didn't just kill Ah Long directly instead of fighting him for so long. The original fight scene was in a desolate mountain; Golden Leg could have easily killed Ah Long and the Crooked-Mouthed Advisor without any consequences.

The original version had these problems because nobody knew what the ending would be, and they were in a rush to finish filming. In the end, they couldn't even get all the actors together, and they couldn't fix the plot holes. They relied entirely on Jackie Chan's personal charisma and the fight scenes to cover it up.

The first three problems are easy to solve. Just make sure the plot is straight. It doesn't need to be too rigorous. As long as there's a passable main storyline, it's fine.

For example, it could be directly set that the Golden Leg Belt was the original headmaster of Zhengfeng Martial Arts School. It was because he was arrested that their martial arts school suffered a great loss of strength, and they had no choice but to bribe the senior brother of Weiyi Martial Arts School to cheat.

The lion dance head used this time was an iron key, which was said to have been made by the founders of the Wei Yi and Zheng Feng martial arts schools, symbolizing good fortune.

In reality, this is the key to a warehouse containing gold and silver treasures buried by the two founders of a martial arts school.

As for the location of this warehouse, only the two martial arts school owners knew. The owner of Weiyi Martial Arts School, who was also Ah Long and the senior brother's master, was an honest man, so he had no interest in these gold and silver treasures.

Zhengfeng Martial Arts School has obtained the key. All they need to do now is rescue Jin Jiaodai to retrieve the treasure. However, the school only has two instructors, while the escort for Jin Jiaodai consists of five or six constables, making their strength somewhat inferior.

At this time, the eldest disciple, who had been kicked out of the school, came to seek refuge at Zhengfeng Martial Arts School. This gave the crooked-mouthed advisor a wicked idea: to make the eldest disciple a scapegoat. So he recruited him to join his gang to intercept the prison cart carrying the golden-footed man.

After robbing the prison cart, the constables naturally had to report it. One of the constables had received money from Zhengfeng Martial Arts School beforehand, so he only described the senior brother's appearance and martial arts characteristics before issuing a reward.

Their interception of the prison cart is a major scene, showcasing the formidable martial prowess of the Golden-Legged Belt.

The original film did a good enough job in this regard, so there's no need to change anything.

On the other side, Ah Long went out to find his senior brother. Because his martial arts moves were similar to his senior brother's and he was carrying the same fan, he was mistaken by some constables for his senior brother or his accomplice.

Next, no major changes are needed, but some unnecessary scenes need to be cut.

Ah Long misunderstands with the constables, and then, by a twist of fate, gets into a fight with the father and son of the Five Provincial Constables. He eventually escapes to a nearby house, which happens to be the house of the Five Provincial Constables, thus walking into their trap.

Once Jin Jiao was freed, the eldest brother was no longer useful and was naturally discarded. The eldest brother escaped by chance but was seriously injured and also fled to the constable's house.

The eldest brother reunites with Ah Long and learns from him that Golden Leg is going to destroy Wei Yi Martial Arts School because the treasure is buried underground.

The constable and his son went to arrest Jin Jiaodai and his gang. Ah Long and his senior brother begged Li Lili to release them so they could go to the martial arts school to rescue their master and the others. Li Lili was kind-hearted and knew they hadn't actually committed a crime, so she let them go.

Upon returning to Weiyi Martial Arts School, they were shocked to find that the head constable and his son, along with their master and fellow disciples, had all been knocked to the ground.

At first, the eldest brother dealt with Jin Jiaodai, while Ah Long dealt with the two henchmen.

Ah Long used the "Skirt-Hidden Leg" technique he had learned before to take down the two thugs, but unexpectedly, his senior brother was instantly killed by the Golden Leg Belt due to his unhealed injuries. The senior brother told Ah Long that the Golden Leg Belt had a hidden health problem, and the longer he could last, the greater his chances of winning.

The final battle took place right in the martial arts school. Ah Long used the terrain to fight a war of attrition with Golden Knuckles, and with his tenacious and never-give-up spirit, he managed to kill Golden Knuckles.

This largely explains why Jin Jiaodai didn't kill A Long from the beginning.

First, he was highly skilled in martial arts and extremely arrogant. He was very disdainful of the fact that Weiyi Martial Arts School actually regarded a good-for-nothing like Ah Long as the future.

Secondly, the martial arts school was located in a busy area, and he couldn't afford to waste too much time. He had just unearthed the treasure and was only thinking about getting away as soon as possible.

If we wanted to kill Ah Long, we'd have to kill everyone at the martial arts school, including the constable and his son, which would be a waste of time. So defeating Ah Long and leaving as soon as possible is a more worthwhile option.

After reviewing the plot, Zhang Shuai'an handed the written outline to Deng Jingsheng for review.

Deng Jingsheng had been observing from the sidelines, and now he picked up the plot outline written by Zhang Shuai'an and began to read it carefully.

"You're a fucking genius, Anzai!"

After reading it, Deng Jingsheng couldn't help but give it a thumbs up in admiration.

This plot isn't anything special; given enough time, most Hong Kong screenwriters could write it.

The fact that such a meticulous plot could be woven together in such a short time using only a dozen or so "flying papers" is truly remarkable.

At the same time, it basically retained all the existing scenes and left enough room for action scenes in the middle and the final battle, which is something that not everyone can do.

"I'm going to find Ah Long!"

After reading it, Deng Jingsheng could not contain his excitement and immediately ran downstairs.

At that moment, Jackie Chan, dressed in beggar's clothes, was being interviewed by Shao Yinyin when Deng Jingsheng rushed over.

Mars, standing nearby, was also somewhat taken aback and asked, "Mr. Deng, what's making you so agitated?"

Deng Jingsheng said, "It's nothing major. Anzai just finished outlining the script, so we can start setting up the set in advance and have enough energy to shoot the later scenes."

Upon hearing this, Jackie Chan apologized to Shao Yinyin, then walked over and took the papers that Deng Jingsheng handed him.

The handwriting on the paper was neat and beautiful.

Jackie Chan first skimmed through it, then looked at it carefully again: "It's much clearer now. I was wondering how to connect these scattered plot points, but now it's saved me a lot of time."

"Anzai, you're really amazing!"

Jackie Chan suddenly had a lot of ideas, and he called Tang Yancan over and instructed him: "Yancan, based on this script, calculate the number of scenes for Tian Sheng, Shi Sheng, and Jin Jiaodai, and then coordinate their schedules so we can finish filming their scenes as soon as possible."

"No problem." Tang Yancan nodded.

Jackie Chan then turned to Tang King-shing and said, "Go talk to On-jai and tell him to enrich the details and dialogue based on the plot he wrote. We'll film the rest according to his script!"