America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 387 Wearable Cameras

Warner Bros. Studios, Davis Studios, rented a small soundstage specifically to serve as Chad Stahelski's project training ground.

Martin, Bruce, and Bradt stood at the edge of the training field, intently watching the group of people practicing their routines.

Chad, wielding a prop gun, is the male protagonist and is surrounded by a group of assassins.

Chen Hu, who was leading the charge, had his medium-length hair loose and charged at Chad from the front.

Following behind were stunt performers such as Lewis and Buck, who had served as Martin's stunt double on several occasions.

Marcus, who has become Chad's assistant, is approaching.

Chad was changing his magazine when Chen Hu rushed forward, and the two engaged in close combat, locked in a fierce battle.

Buck and Lewis rushed up as well.

The actions of the group were all part of a pre-planned routine. Chad snapped Chen Hu's neck, elbowed Lewis in the chest, and kicked Buck to the ground while simultaneously changing the magazine.

He turned and made a firing motion, and Marcus, who was about to peek out to shoot, seemed to be hit by a bullet and fell to the ground with a thud.

Chad then pointed his gun at the heads of the four men and fired a shot at each of them.

Unlike previous Hollywood action movies, the action design in this project will absolutely not give the enemy a chance to fight back.

Those brainless plots where characters die from talking too much, having a saintly heart, or being careless and letting the defeated enemy take the opportunity to counterattack are all rejected during the action design stage.

Brandt approached Martin and said, "Boss, we conducted a survey on the website, letting movie fans vote for their most hated movie plots. The kind of plot where the two main characters in the movie 'House of Wax' give up on finishing off the enemy is ranked very high."

Martin nodded: "I'm sick of seeing that kind of design."

Chad, Chen Hu, and Marcus arrived at this moment.

Marcus said, "On the battlefield, you must show no mercy to the enemy, or you will be the one who dies."

Chad chimed in, "The protagonist is already set up as an assassin; if that kind of plot appears, the character will completely fall apart."

Martin took the prop gun from Chad, struck a few shooting poses, and said, "This movie is all about that exhilarating, satisfying feeling."

Chen Hu, who had followed Yuen Woo-ping for quite some time, asked, "Like 'The Killer' and 'Hard Boiled'?"

Martin said, "I've seen both films, they're similar."

Chad, who has watched a lot of action movies recently and knows a lot about them, chimed in: "In terms of action design, we need to be close to real combat, but we can't overemphasize realism for the sake of a realistic style."

Martin completely agreed: "This is, after all, a movie. While maintaining a realistic fighting style, it must also consider the audience's viewing experience. It needs to be fierce and intense, and the action also needs to be relatively visually appealing."

Chen Hu was in charge of designing close-quarters combat routines: "I agree. We can appropriately refer to some Hong Kong action movies in this regard."

Martin joked, "Don't design it like Jack Chen, after all, the protagonist is an assassin."

Chen Hu added, "Not the furniture store war god."

Others didn't understand what he meant, only Martin and Chad, who had watched a lot of Hong Kong movies, understood.

Afterwards, the group went to the video editing room to watch the recordings.

Chad and his team have designed a large number of gunfights and action sequences in recent months, most of which have been recorded through rehearsals.

Halfway through the video, Chen Hu and Martin went to the training ground to practice.

Action directors also need to understand the extent to which actors are capable of performing certain actions.

Chen Hu had Martin practice several difficult moves according to his routine, which gave him a better understanding of Martin.

After he called a halt, he said to Martin, "Your fundamentals are much better than Keanu's. When we were filming The Matrix, I was training Keanu and the others, and what I taught was even more difficult than what they practiced."

Martin, who had worked as a stunt double for many years in his previous life and had been training his body since Atlanta, said directly, "I have practiced a lot of action fighting routines and have maintained training for many years, so I have a certain foundation."

Chen Hu replied, "Your foundation is very good."

Martin is only 26 years old and often trains with Bruce. Not to mention high-difficulty moves, even the execution of ordinary moves is beyond the reach of ordinary action actors.

"Let's continue." Chen Hu returned to the training field: "I need to understand your body better and design a more suitable fighting routine for you based on your characteristics."

Martin continued practicing the action routines as Chen Hu demonstrated.

Chen Hu would occasionally call a halt and come over to talk to Martin, discussing some ideas for action routines.

Martin used to be an action star himself, and sometimes he would offer constructive suggestions.

Of course, the action scenes back then didn't improve over time; instead, they became increasingly weaker, and only a few actors could truly carry the show.

Later on, actors became too precious, and not only agencies but even production crews dared not let them take risks.

After all, even a minor scrape on the finger can cause a huge uproar.

After noon, Martin closed the door again to discuss the script with Chad and Brad.

Brad has completed the first draft of the script. The main plot is very simple, using a small amount of dialogue to connect the action scenes designed by Chad's team.

It also leaves room for a sequel, touching on the assassin world controlled by the high table.

Martin asked Chad, "When exactly can we start filming?"

"I plan to officially begin preparations in October, and start filming in March or April next year." Chad has already made a fairly detailed plan: "The first film will cost no less than $3000 million, and there are too many large-scale action scenes."

Martin nodded in understanding; the visual effects presented in action movies are always directly proportional to the amount of money spent.

Chad added, "There's another condition: your salary consists of a base pay and a share of the profits later; otherwise, it will be an additional $1000 million."

Martin stated directly, "I'll handle the funding; you take care of the film production."

Chad felt an inexplicable pressure: "Martin, this is my first time directing a film. Don't make it a hundred million dollars. I can't handle it."

"No way." With Martin's influence, it wouldn't be difficult to attract tens of millions of dollars in investment from Kelly, Louise, and Sophia.

He reassured Chad, "Don't worry, we'll use $3000 million as our investment benchmark."

Chad breathed a sigh of relief; if he were to invest more than $1 million, he would definitely suffer from chronic insomnia.

Given Martin's current status and influence, he can afford to flop a movie.

But for this new director, his debut film was a flop, and so was his future.

Martin then asked Bradett, "Is there a problem on your end?"

Bradt said, "Time, I need some more time to carefully polish the script."

"Okay." Martin glanced at the digital calendar on the wall: "The final draft of the script will be completed in December."

Making the script and storyline more reasonable, or at least logical, is a true test of an action film screenwriter's skill.

That is, to make the characters fight in a way that is consistent with the plot logic.

In the late afternoon, Martin left the studio and went to the Warner building to find Louise, planning to spend the weekend at her house together.

Upon entering the lobby of the Warner building, he unexpectedly ran into an acquaintance.

U Maung Than, an investor from Myanmar, came over to shake hands with Martin and greeted him, saying, "Long time no see."

Martin shook his hand and asked, "When did you arrive in Los Angeles?"

Wu Maoting said with a smile, "I came here last month. First, I helped Dani, my daughter, with some things at school, and then I came to Warner."

Although he no longer invests in Martin, he has no intention of completely severing ties. He specifically stated, "I am very grateful to Infernal Affairs for the great benefits they have made. It was you and Ms. Mel who gave me the opportunity to invest in Hollywood and establish a cooperative channel with Warner."

Martin smiled and said, "You're welcome. This was a win-win investment, and Mr. Wu's financial support helped me establish myself in the film crew."

The two did not work together again, but they were not enemies either.

Wu Maoting added, "People from Warner Bros. came to Hong Kong specifically to find me, strongly inviting me to participate in the investment of Terminator 4. I couldn't refuse their kind offer."

Martin said, "Warner Bros. invited me."

"The male lead?" Because of the previous success, Wu Maoting still trusted Martin and asked, "You're playing the male lead in this film?"

Martin shook his head: "The schedule didn't work out, so I turned down Warner Bros."

Wu Maoting sighed softly, "It's such a pity, we can't continue our cooperation."

"Perhaps there will be opportunities to collaborate in the future." Martin couldn't say much more, and instead asked, "When will the project enter the filming stage?"

Wu Maoting said, "It will probably take some time. The male lead, Bale, reportedly experienced a huge emotional shock during the filming of his last movie due to excessive pressure..."

At this point, he suddenly remembered: "Bale starred in the same project as you?"

"The role is too stressful and mentally taxing." Martin's expression instantly turned serious. "I've seen a therapist several times, but I still often wake up from nightmares at midnight."

He didn't need to exert any effort at all; he suddenly smiled and said, "It's like a completely new personality has been born inside my body."

Even a warlord like Wu Maoting felt a pang of unease upon seeing Martin's smile, and said, "If there's a problem, get treatment immediately."

Seeing that Martin's smile was becoming increasingly sinister, Wu Maoting quickly ended the conversation: "It's almost time. I should go upstairs and talk to the Warner people about the collaboration."

"Go ahead." Martin's voice remained unchanged, but the tone was quite strange.

Wu Maoting turned and left, secretly beckoning to himself. Several subordinates quickly came over and blocked his back.

Martin's phone rang; it was Louise calling. He answered, "I'm in the lobby. Let's meet in the underground parking lot."

The two took the elevator to the underground parking lot.

Midway through the conversation, Bruce asked, "Are you staying at Louise's tonight?"

Martin said, "She won't let me come back."

Bruce said, "I'm free to do whatever I want tonight. I'm going to Venice to look for gold."

"Good luck, buddy," Martin kindly reminded him, "Don't break it."

Bruce asked, "I remember you bought a head-mounted camera?"

Martin said, "It's in the vault. Go find it yourself."

Arriving at the underground parking garage, Bruce drove off alone in his Cadillac Escalade.

Martin met up with Louise, and together they went to Sherman Oaks.

(End of this chapter)