Huayu: Reborn in 97, transferring to the Central Academy of Drama's star-studded class

Stephen Chow once said the following in an interview:

"Actually, I treat many of my other films as serious dramas, but I just don't understand why people always think they're comedies."

The first half of the speech was normal, but the second half was Stephen Chow's own dry humor. He knew that he was making a comedy, but there's a saying that goes something like this.

The core of comedy is tragedy.

But Stephen Chow's brilliance lies in the fact that he never directly presents tragedy to you, but rather turns it into a funny joke that makes you laugh, but upon reflection, a bitter feeling arises.

Most importantly, Stephen Chow's tragedy isn't despair; it tells you that even in the face of adversity, you must "strive! Fight!" It tells you, "What's the difference between a person without dreams and a salted fish?" It tells you, "Your destiny is in your own hands!"

He inspires everyone with the simplest and most straightforward words, instead of teaching you so-called grand principles.

This is Stephen Chow over the past century.

Jiang Lai remained silent for a long time. The word "decency" was like a wake-up call for him, enlightening him and making him realize the truth.

He finally realized that whether it's comedy or tragedy, whether it's exaggerated and outward performance or introverted performance, it's ultimately about portraying a character, not just a form.

This brings us back to what Jiang Lai learned at the beginning: start with the people, come from the masses, and go back to the masses.

As they prepared to film again, Jiang Lai crawled back into the dilapidated shed.

He hadn't noticed before, but now he realized that although the room was full of junk and had a strong odor, everything was arranged very neatly.

Considering the old man who lived here, all his words and actions, and even that nearly frayed old man's shirt, everything about him was the best he could do to be "presentable," because he was going to meet guests today.

Jiang Lai suddenly understood his fourth senior brother.

The announcement to begin was made from outside, followed by a knock on the door.

"Bang bang bang!"

Jiang Lai rubbed his face and went to open the door.

The moment he opened the door, his face went blank, his eyes filled with weariness and numbness, turning him into a salted fish, full of passion but already defeated by reality.

Stephen Chow appeared slightly different; this performance was completely different from his previous ones, yet he continued delivering his lines without being affected.

"Good morning, Fourth Senior Brother!"

Upon seeing his junior brother whom he hadn't seen in a long time, and who had brought outsiders with him, Jiang Lai forced himself to put on a fawning smile.

"Wow! Good morning, Xing-ge! Long time no see! How can I help you?"

"Let me introduce you to a hunk, this is..."

"Bang!"

The door was closed.

Hearing the call to stop, Jiang Lai opened the door and poked his head out, "How was it, Stephen Chow?"

Stephen Chow smiled and silently gave a thumbs up, while Uncle Da next to him also smiled and clapped.

Jiang Lai was relieved.

After the shot was over, the costume crew came up to change Jiang Lai's clothes; it was a loose, oversized, and ill-fitting suit.

It wasn't easy for Jiang Lai to find a suit a size too big. He specifically looked for an oversized suit, and to make it as realistic as possible, he even put it in a pile of clothes for a long time, so the fabric was full of creases.

As the scene transitions to the door closing, Stephen Chow and Ng Man-tat are hit on the nose by the sudden slamming of the door, and both of them fall sideways while covering their noses.

The door opened again, and the fourth senior brother instantly changed into a suit and tie, even tidying his hair up neatly.

Jiang Lai walked over to Uncle Da, an outsider, and warmly extended his hand, "Hey, what's your name?"

Uncle Da loosened his grip on my hand, saying, "Just call me Ah Feng."

Jiang Lai began to display the typical street smarts, saying whatever came to mind.

"Brother Feng, right? Who in the financial world doesn't know Brother Feng! Look at his IT-style outfit!"

Uncle Da looked at himself in surprise, dressed in a gray jacket and sweatpants, while Stephen Chow chuckled under the guise of covering his nose.

"Brother Feng is a football coach."

Jiang Lai's expression changed slightly, his enthusiasm waning somewhat. "A football coach, huh? Who in the football world doesn't know Brother Feng! I've been watching Brother Feng play since I was a kid. You kick the ball with both feet, right?"

Uncle Da nodded, and Jiang Lai turned to Stephen Chow, "See, I wasn't lying!" He then frowned and asked, "What kind of favors are you asking?"

"I'm thinking of teaming up with you to play soccer."

Jiang Lai's expression completely changed. "You want me to play football? I've been a gangster for half a year with nothing to do, and you want me to play football?"

Stephen Chow explained, "No, if you used your Ghostly Grappling Hand as a goalkeeper..."

Jiang Lai interrupted impatiently, "What kind of Ghost Shadow Grappling Technique is that? It happened so many years ago, I don't even remember how long my master has been dead!"

Uncle Da stepped forward to add, "Listen to me, we're participating in the biennial Super Bowl this time, and we've won a million-dollar prize!"

"Really?" Jiang Lai sneered, tugging at Uncle Da's coat mockingly, "That's why I've always said you're the most shrewd, always so successful, always dressed in a suit and tie, look how handsome you are!"

He took two steps back. "Back then, our master told us to carry forward Shaolin Kung Fu. Now you two are taking this mess to football. You're really insightful."

...

"Okay! This one's done. Everyone take a break. Come on, Da Ge, I have another idea. Let's discuss it."

The crew took a break, and Stephen Chow pulled Jiang Lai and Uncle Da aside to excitedly discuss their new ideas.

Stephen Chow is always like this when he's making movies. He'll suddenly have inspiration, and the script is just a rough framework. A lot of the content is improvised on set.

Jiang Lai got into character, and this simple scene passed by easily.

Before leaving, Jiang Lai asked the film crew to give the old man an extra thousand yuan as a token of their gratitude.

The film crew moved to different locations for filming without stopping, and arrived at a wasteland in Xiangshan Park.

The area was overgrown with weeds, and it took the film crew several days to clear a space for them, and they even brought over two goalposts.

The scenes to be filmed here are the training scenes of the fellow apprentices.

The script didn't have any special requirements for this part; it was really just everyone brainstorming ideas.

Every day when the film crew arrives, the first thing they do isn't set up the equipment and start filming, but rather a group of people sit down and discuss what to film.

Today, Stephen Chow came up with an idea: he kicked a ball high into the air and it wouldn't fall down, while his fellow apprentices waited boredly below.

Huang Yifei came up with an idea tomorrow: several fellow apprentices would practice dribbling, bump into each other, and then get into a fight.

The filming during this period was full of laughter and joy. The funniest idea was to give Lin Zicong the character that he loves to eat raw eggs.

Stephen Chow was asked to practice controlling his footwork with a raw egg. When the egg broke on his shoe, Lam Tsz-chung leaped and licked it clean. This incident led to several comedic moments.

The egg shattered on his crotch, and as Lin Zicong rushed over, another egg was thrown into the mouth of his third senior brother, who was covered in golden bells. So Lin Zicong tackled his third senior brother.

Then, several people gathered around the two to watch them kiss. Jiang Lai suddenly had a brilliant idea to add a scene for himself, asking the crew to find a camera to take pictures.

The ones who suffered the most from this joke were the third senior brother and Lin Zicong.

The third senior brother kept getting eggs thrown at his face, and the strange white liquid all over his face was really something else.

Then there's Lin Zicong, who, after potato chips, ate eggs until he felt like he had no will to live. The key is that this disgusting way of eating eggs has completely traumatized him.

Despite training, the players' football skills showed absolutely no improvement.

Besides mastering Stephen Chow's footwork, he also developed a technique that ensures he hits the bullseye every time.

After training, there was definitely a need for real combat, and thus a classic scene was born.

"Bang!"

A wrench fell to the ground.

Everyone looked at each other in bewilderment, while the four-eyed guy calmly picked it up.

"Don't be nervous, everyone. I'm a car mechanic, and this wrench is what I use to tighten screws."

"That makes sense, doesn't it?"

"Bang!"

Another hammer fell to the ground.

The group looked at each other in bewilderment once again.

"As I just said, it makes perfect sense for me, as a car mechanic, to have a hammer by my side."

Jiang Lai, watching from the side, almost couldn't help but burst out laughing.

In the blink of an eye, more than a month has passed since filming began. Fan Bingbing's scalp had grown a layer of stubble, which Stephen Chow then shaved off completely.

After waiting for so long, we're finally going to start filming her scenes.

In Shishan Subdistrict, the film crew booked the security booth in the Xiangshan Garden parking lot and completely transformed it into the Sweet Heart Steamed Bun Shop.

Jiang Lai met a legendary figure, Bao Jiang.

This expressionless face, even more comical than Wang Dachui's, is absolutely hilarious. He was chatting and joking with Bao Jiang when Fan Bingbing ran over.

Wearing a greasy wig that half-covers her face like Sadako's, and with red and white pimple makeup on her face, she tilted her head playfully and asked:

"Is it pretty?"

Jiang Lai's lips twitched. "Great, now I can dress up as a ghost when I go out at night."

Fan Bingbing rolled her eyes, looking even more horrified.