Huayu: I rely on hit-movie tactics to interweave...

Chapter 80 Unexpected Incident, Personnel Change

In mid-July, after filming wrapped up in Beijing, Liu Yu and the crew moved to Hong Kong for "Lucy".

This was not a spur-of-the-moment decision.

There was a scene in the script involving an underground laboratory. Liu Yu looked at several set designs, but he wasn't satisfied with any of them.

Later, art director Lao Chen said, "There's an old factory building in Hong Kong with enough ceiling height and the steel structure is still there. We can clean it up and turn it into a laboratory."

He personally flew to Hong Kong to see it. The factory was located in East Kowloon. It was an electroplating plant built in the 1970s and had been abandoned for almost ten years.

Most of the exterior wall tiles have fallen off, revealing mottled cement, and the iron windows are rusted beyond recognition, but the internal structure is indeed sturdy, with a floor height of seven meters and intact main beams.

Liu Yu stood in the middle of the factory and walked around. His feet were covered in thick dust. He looked up and saw the light coming through the high windows making the dust in the air look like floating gold foil.

He made the decision on the spot: this is the place.

The production crew sent people there a week in advance to clean and reinforce the area, brought in lighting equipment and camera tracks, and erected several steel structure partitions on the ground.

When Liu Yu arrived, the factory had been transformed into a cold-toned underground laboratory. The walls were painted grayish-white, and rows of storage shelves lined the walls, filled with test tubes and petri dishes. In the center was a long stainless steel table, on which were placed…

There were several props and instruments made from old computers, their screens glowing blue.

The entire scene looks like both a research institution and an abandoned factory, which is exactly the kind of texture that Liu Yu wanted, somewhere between reality and fiction.

The weather in Hong Kong in July is even more humid than in Beijing. The damp and sultry air, mixed with sea breeze, pours in through the broken windows of the factory, and the air conditioners simply can't keep it cool.

When Liu Yu entered the factory, a thin layer of sweat instantly appeared on his forehead. He stood in front of the monitor, wiped the sweat with the back of his hand, glanced around to make sure everyone was in place, and then picked up the walkie-talkie and shouted.

"All departments in position. First battle ready."

The filming in Hong Kong went smoothly for four days.

The filming pace was slightly faster than in BJ because the location rental period was limited, and the day's scenes had to be completed according to the schedule.

Liu Yifei is in good form, and her action scenes are becoming increasingly polished. In one scene where she needed to jump from a second-floor platform, she went up to check the height herself, then turned to Sammo Hung and asked, "Should we jump right away or rehearse it first?"

Sammo Hung said, "Let's go through it once first to get a feel for the ground."

She nodded, walked through the steps, her knees bending steadily when she landed, and after standing up, she dusted off her hands.

Liu Yu said, "Okay, let's start filming."

On the afternoon of the fifth day, things happened without any warning.

The scene to be filmed that day was a major one, in which the female lead was being chased in the laboratory and had to climb over the control panel before running towards the escape route.

The movements are not complicated, but the rhythm is fast, with two turns and a roll in the middle.

Liu Yifei had already gone through the process this morning and felt there weren't any major problems.

At lunchtime, she sat on a folding chair in the corner of the factory eating her boxed lunch. As she ate, she raised her hand and rubbed the back of her neck, pressing her fingers on her cervical spine twice, and her brows furrowed slightly.

Liu Yu passed by and saw her rubbing her neck, so he stopped.

"Does your neck feel uncomfortable?"

She put down her hand that was rubbing her neck, lowered her head and continued to pick up her rice. "It's nothing, I probably didn't sleep well last night, and my pillow was a bit too high."

"The stunts this afternoon are quite demanding. If you feel you can't handle it, we can use a stunt double."

"No need. I can take the photos." She said decisively, then looked up at him. "Really, no problem. I'm just a little stiff when I wake up in the morning, but I'll be fine after I warm up."

Liu Yu looked at her for two seconds, then turned and left without asking any further questions.

He took a few steps and then stopped, turning back to see her shovel a couple of mouthfuls of rice from her lunchbox, then raise her hand to rub her neck.

This time, the kneading time was two beats longer than last time.

At 2 p.m., all the lights in the factory were turned on, and the tools and instruments on the operating table were rearranged.

Liu Yifei stood at the starting position and took a deep breath.

Sammo Hung checked the steps with her again. She vaulted over, landed, turned around, and ran towards the escape tunnel.

She nodded, her expression focused.

Liu Yu sat behind the monitor, holding a walkie-talkie in his hand.

"All departments are ready. Real filming."

Liu Yifei started running, braced herself against the edge of the control panel, and flipped over.

The moment she landed, her movements clearly paused for a moment. Her knees didn't fully cushion the impact when she landed, causing her to tilt half an inch to the left, but she quickly regained her balance.

She didn't stop, turned around and ran towards the escape route, completing the second half of her action.

Liu Yu stared at the monitor and pressed the intercom button.

"Click."

He stood up and walked to the main scene.

Liu Yifei stood at the entrance of the escape tunnel, with her back to him.

As he approached, he noticed that her shoulders were trembling slightly, and her right hand was pressed against the back of her neck, her fingers pressing hard on a certain spot, as if she wanted to press that spot to relieve the pain.

"Liu Yifei, turn around."

The moment she heard his voice, the trembling in her shoulders stopped for a moment, and then she slowly turned her head.

Her face was paler than before, and there was sweat on her forehead, whether from the heat or pain, it was hard to tell. Her lips were slightly pursed, as if she were biting down on something and refusing to let go.

"Does your neck hurt?"

"Hmm." She said this in a lower voice than usual, the last syllable sound as if it had been swallowed up.

"Teacher Hong, come and take a look."

Liu Yu waved to Sammo Hung, then looked at her and asked, "Can you still stand?"

"I can stand." She said, lowering her hands from her neck as if to prove she was alright. "That's it."

I felt a jolt when I landed, and my neck felt a little stiff.

Sammo Hung strode over. He was an expert and could tell what was going on at a glance.

He squatted down and pressed his hands on the area where Liu Yifei's shoulders and the back of her neck met. After pressing for a few moments, he turned to Liu Yu and said, "It's a cervical spine problem. It seems like an old injury, and the shock triggered it."

Liu Yu stood to the side, his face darkening.

How serious is it?

"It's hard to say right now. You need to go to the hospital for an X-ray. In principle, you can't do any more strenuous activities. With the cervical spine, one or two misalignments are fine, but repeated misalignments can easily lead to chronic problems."

Liu Yifei stood there listening, her face as white as damp paper.

She suddenly spoke up, "I can still film. Didn't we finish the second half of that run? I can film it again."

Liu Yu glanced at her, a very brief glance, as brief as a beam of light without warmth.

"Stay here and don't move."

He turned to Sammo Hung and asked, "Mr. Hung, is the stunt double here today?"

"Yes. A backup plan was arranged this afternoon."

"Have her put on her costume and prepare for the vaulting action. We'll finish the dialogue scenes after Liu Yifei has recovered."

o

Liu Yifei said from behind, "Director Liu, I'm fine."

Liu Yu turned around and looked into her eyes. "Your hands are shaking as you stand here, and you're telling me it's okay?"

"I did the move just now. I was shaken a little when I landed, but it was just a little shake."

Her tone suddenly became a little urgent, "I practiced for more than two months, not to just stand on the sidelines and watch others film for me."

"You trained for over two months, not to injure yourself on set."

Liu Yu's tone didn't rise, but every word was delivered with conviction: "If you force yourself to finish this scene now, you won't be able to move your neck tomorrow. Who will film the dialogue scenes for the next twenty days? Think it through yourself."

She looked at him, her lips moved as if she wanted to say something. Her hand was still pressed against her neck, her fingertips slightly white.

She didn't speak in the end, lowered her eyes, bowed her head, and then raised it again, her voice much softer than before.

"What about the action scenes that follow?"

"Use a stunt double. If you can film it yourself, do it. If you can't film it, wait until you're healed before doing it."

"What if you can't film even after the injury heals?"

Liu Yu looked at her and paused for a moment.

"If you can't film even after your injury heals, then you can act in dialogue scenes. Use a stunt double for the action scenes, and do the scenes where your face needs to be shown yourself. The audience is looking at your face, not your legs."

She was silent for a moment, then nodded, making a decision she had to make.

"it is good."

The afternoon shoot proceeded as planned.

The stunt double was a Hong Kong girl named Ah Ling, who was a gymnast and whose figure and features were similar to Liu Yifei's.

After she changed into her costume, she stood next to the control panel, and Sammo Hung explained the action breakdown to her.

Ah Ling nodded, walked to the starting position, took a deep breath, started running, vaulted over, landed, and turned to run towards the escape tunnel.

The movements were executed cleanly and crisply, a beat faster than Liu Yifei's, and the rhythm was smoother.

Liu Yu sat behind the monitor and watched the playback once, then said, "The stunt double part is done."

He turned his head and glanced at Liu Yifei sitting next to him.

She sat in a folding chair, a heat patch on her neck, quietly watching the stunt double complete the action. Her face was expressionless, and her eyes followed Ah Ling's movements.

She looked very carefully.

"The dialogue scenes will be reshot tomorrow, so you should go home and rest today," Liu Yu said.

She looked up at him, as if she wanted to say something, but then swallowed it back, and finally just nodded, "Okay."

Liu Yu stood at the factory gate and watched her get into the car. The car lights flashed briefly, and the car merged into the evening traffic.

He took out his cigarette case, pulled out a cigarette, lit it, and took two puffs.

He smoked half of his cigarette, put it out, and turned to walk back into the factory.

That evening, Liu Yu made a phone call to Sammo Hung.

"Teacher Hong, please re-arrange the action scenes for the next few days, and reduce her amount of action to the minimum. Replace her with a stunt double if possible, and let her only film scenes where her face must be shown."

"Okay. There's a fight scene later, with a close-up shot, she'll have to do that herself. I'll have a stunt double do the rest."

Sammo Hung paused for a moment on the other end of the phone, "Director Liu, you did the right thing today. Given her condition, if we let her force herself to continue..."

"Going there will only cause more trouble later."

"I know."

Liu Yu hung up the phone and stood at the hotel room window looking out.

Hong Kong's night view is always very bright. He saw people working overtime in the office building across the street, with the windows lit up one by one, like an unfilled chessboard.

The next morning, Liu Yifei arrived at the film set.

Her complexion was better than the day before, and she still had a heat patch on her neck, but she could move more freely than yesterday.

She walked over to Liu Yu, her voice muffled, like someone struggling to stay awake due to insomnia.

"Brother Liu, I'm sorry about yesterday."

"You haven't done anything to wrong me." Liu Yu was looking at today's schedule without looking up. "You're injured, not slacking off."

"I felt I could still film."

"Your belief that you can film and your actual ability to film are two different things. Your belief that you can film takes courage, while your actual ability to film depends on your physical condition. When your physical condition is in control, courage has to take a step back."

She lowered her head and thought for a while, then said, "Then let me reshoot that dialogue scene from yesterday today. I'm ready."

The morning's filming went so smoothly that Liu Yu was somewhat surprised.

Liu Yifei was in much better condition than yesterday. She got all the dialogue scenes in one take. In one scene with improvised dialogue, she added a line on the spot. After saying it, she paused for a moment, then turned to look at Liu Yu on the monitor.

Liu Yu pressed the intercom and said, "Go."

Her expression suddenly relaxed, finally confirming that she could still stand in front of the camera and act properly.

In the afternoon action scenes, Ah Ling continued to film the parts where she jumped and ran.

Liu Yifei sat on the folding chair next to her, holding a glass of warm water, watching Ah Ling complete the movements again and again.

Her gaze followed Ah Ling's body movements, as if she wanted to remember those actions with her own eyes, to remember the rhythm they should have.

Once, when Ah Ling was climbing, she landed a little crookedly. She suddenly said, "Lower your center of gravity a little more, bend your knees and you won't wobble."

Liu Yu, sitting behind the monitor, heard this and his lips twitched, but he didn't say anything.

Ah Ling adjusted her center of gravity as she had instructed, and sure enough, she was more stable than last time.

When they finished work that day, Liu Yifei came over and stood next to Liu Yu, watching him pack up the machines.

She didn't say anything, she just stood there.

Liu Yu put away the last batch of footage, then turned around and saw her.

"What's wrong?"

"I sat all day today, watching other people film for me."

Her voice was soft, "I suddenly feel like all the things I practiced before were wasted."

Liu Yu put down what he was holding and turned to look at her.

"What you've practiced is ingrained in your body; no one can take it away. Stunt doubles film the action sequences, you film the person. Action sequences can be replaced, but the person cannot. The audience remembers your face, not the stunt double's legs."

She paused for a moment, as if to process the weight of those words.

"Will I still be able to film action scenes in the future?"

"Once you're healed, you can film as much as you want. Acting is a lifelong pursuit, a few more days won't make a difference."

She lowered her head and thought for a while, then looked up and smiled.

The smile wasn't big, and it was much more relaxed than the day before.

"Then I'll focus on recovering first. Once I'm healed, I'll film all the scenes you didn't let me film."

"Okay. I'll wait."

After getting off work, Liu Yu stood at the factory gate for a while.

Hong Kong summer nights are very humid. The sea breeze, carrying a salty smell, blows in from the distant harbor, feeling like a thin layer of moisture on your face.

He took out his phone and called Zhang Yan.

After the call connected, a familiar voice came from the other end: "Why did you think of calling at this time?"

"Mom, it's nothing, just wanted to let you know I'm filming in Hong Kong and everything is going well."

"That's good. Have you eaten? Don't keep thinking about work; eat when it's time to eat."

"I've eaten. Mom, how are things on your end?"

"Everything's fine. Your dad's been fishing these past few days. He leaves at five every morning and comes back with a bucket of small fish, saying he'll make soup for me."

Liu Yu leaned against the wall, listening to the voice on the other end of the phone, without answering.

After saying a lot, Zhang Yan suddenly paused. "Liu Yu, is something the matter?"

"No. I'm just a little tired from filming and wanted to hear your voice."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone, then Zhang Yan's voice came through again: "Rest if you're tired. Don't push yourself. Mom's not here with you, so take care of yourself."

"Okay," Liu Yu said. "Mom, I'll hang up now. You should go to sleep early."

"Okay. You should go to bed early too."