America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 806 Horse Riding and Spear Techniques

As March arrived, Martin traveled to New York to join the cast and crew of "John Wick 3" at Bruce Scolin Studios, where they were rehearsing action sequences.

The film crew arrived in New York last year.

Martin arrived relatively late; actors like Menez and Blake Lively joined the crew last year and began rehearsing action scenes.

At the shooting range set up separately on set, Martin stood in front of the target with a shotgun in his arms, skillfully loading red-cased bullets into the chamber.

Marcus chimed in, "Chad designed a gunfight where you use a shotgun, requiring you to reload at an incredibly fast rate, fire rapidly, and simultaneously execute tactical maneuvers."

"That sounds a bit difficult." Martin placed a well-stocked rifle on the table, picked up a single-row rifle loaded with red-cased cartridges, and strapped it to his waist. "But that doesn't include me!"

He picked up his gun, aimed at the human-shaped target in front of him, and fired repeatedly.

Red shell casings fell to the ground, and humanoid targets fell one by one amidst the gunfire.

Martin moved quickly, holding a gun in one hand and grabbing a red-cased cartridge from his waistband with the other. Without even glancing at it, he completed the rapid reloading in just a few breaths.

Another human-shaped target was erected, and Martin turned his gun and fired again.

He had an excellent feel for the ball, hitting every target perfectly, and the human-shaped targets kept falling.

Blake Lively, dressed in leather boots and jeans, walked over from a short distance away, stood next to Marcus, and said, "He's a great shot."

Marcus, swaying his increasingly obese belly, said, "People with a talent for firearms and shooting like Martin are rare. Sometimes, innate talent is much more useful than hard training."

Blake Lively wholeheartedly agreed: "That's absolutely true, exceptional talent is a great asset."

The gunfire stopped, and Martin carried his shotgun back from the shooting range.

A voice loudly announced, "30 shots, all hits!"

Martin put down his gun and removed the empty magazine.

Blake leaned closer and said, "You really are exceptionally talented. You're good with a gun, accurate, fast, and have amazing stamina."

Martin pointed to the still-smoking muzzle of the gun: "You'd better be talking about a gun."

Blake's eyes darted around: "I was talking about guns, of course. You have a great talent with guns; Marcus just praised you."

She suddenly remembered the purpose of her visit: "The horses have arrived. Chad wanted to call you, so I came to give you a message."

"Let's go take a look first." Martin quickly packed up, handed the firearms to the gunsmith, and called Marcus to go to the stables.

For filming purposes, the crew temporarily built a stable at the Brooklyn Studios.

In addition, a street was built with sets and props for Martin to fight on horseback.

Whether it's a stable or a street, the price of building a set for filming is actually about the same as renting one from outside, but the filming time can be completely determined by the production crew.

Martin entered the stable where three strong black horses had already been led off the carriage by the horse trainer and temporarily placed inside.

Chad and Chen Hu are both here.

The former introduces Martin to the horse trainer and two jockeys, and the latter will also act as Martin's stunt double.

Except for a few action scenes, Martin could easily complete the rest of the circus acts. In his previous life, he was a professional stuntman, working for a long time as a stunt double in circuses and other performances.

However, very few film crews actually shot circus scenes anymore.

On the one hand, the actors are delicate and no one can bear the responsibility if something goes wrong; on the other hand, the horses are also delicate and expensive to rent.

Arriving at a glossy black horse, Martin asked the trainer to take him over so he could get to know the horse a little.

Although these are all domesticated horses, it still takes time.

Chad came over and asked Martin, "Is the circus okay?"

Martin said, "My greatest strengths are riding and marksmanship."

Blake Lively, who was standing next to him, shrugged, agreeing with his statement because she had actually experienced it.

Chen Hu asked Martin, "Have you ever done circus acts before?"

Martin thought for a moment and said, "I filmed it in Atlanta."

Menez leaned closer: "The late-night scene, I remember it was with a blonde actress, on horseback, it was quite amazing."

Chad, Chen Hu, Marcus, and Black were all somewhat surprised.

Martin didn't care. After all, although the film's initial sales were poor, its sales on videotape and DVD skyrocketed after he became famous.

He was still getting acquainted with the horses, taking a stroll around them every now and then.

Menez whispered to Chad and the others, "You guys can check it out on YouTube. There's a short video compilation there that includes all of Martin's most explicit scenes since his debut."

Blake recalled, "Aside from 'The Reader' with Kate Winslet, my other Hollywood roles weren't very daring."

Chad, who had worked with Martin for a long time, agreed: "The other scenes with a lot of nudity are mostly action scenes."

Menez continued, "That film should be called 'The Man from the City,' ostensibly Martin's debut." He glanced at the horses, lowering his voice further, "But I heard from Old Brooks that before that, Martin had filmed a rather explicit movie where he and Robert, the high priest of the Cult of Colour, lay on the ground as corpses, and then the male and female leads played cards in front of them..."

Marcus scratched his head: "What kind of Sacred Valley plot is this?!"

Blake's eyes lit up, however, and he was determined to find these films and watch them carefully.

The group was still discussing how, after Martin had become familiar with the horse, he should mount it as gently and slowly as possible, take control of the reins, and urge the horse to go outside.

Once outside the stable, there's a road built by the film crew for shooting.

Martin rode the horse for a short distance, then slowly increased the speed, letting the horse trot at a steady pace.

In his past life and in Atlanta, he filmed many scenes on horseback. In recent years, he has gained a lot of riding experience. Martin rode to the end of the road and then turned back. On the way back, he made the horse speed up again.

Chad was relieved to see Martin's skillful riding.

In scenes like this, the male lead can ride a horse freely, which makes filming much less troublesome.

Martin rode around the stable three times, then returned to the stable, dismounted, and said, "This is a good horse."

The jockey suggested, "You should set aside some time each day to spend with the horse, riding it around a few times a day. This will help you work together and will be beneficial for the filming."

Martin listened: "No problem, I'll come over for a while every day."

Others also tried riding horses, and left one after another after half an hour.

On the way to the studio, Blake Lively said, "I learned to ride a horse when I was filming Gossip Girl, but I wasn't very good at it; I could only ride on foot."

Martin was a little worried about her: "Don't sneak over here alone to ride a horse."

Blake said softly, "I can practice riding at night; it's boring during the day."

Martin also wanted to practice riding, and a golden horse or something similar would be nice.

Chad and the others followed from behind.

Martin then turned to Chad: "When will the circus filming begin?"

Chad said, "We'll shoot the circus first. The horses are expensive to rent, and we don't have much budget to spend on them."

The group entered the studio together. Inside the tall studio, the crew had used a lot of tempered glass and special glass materials to build a building.

The lights were then turned on, and the glass building shone with a dazzling array of colors.

Martin wanted to go up and take a look, but Chad stopped him.

The director said, "It's not finished yet. This is the location for the final action scene in the film, and it cost $350 million."

Martin, hands on his hips, looked at the glass building and said, "It's worth the price. So much glass reminds me of a Hong Kong movie I once watched."

Chad asked, "The Police Story?" Seeing Martin nod, he said frankly, "Actually, Tiger and I got the inspiration for this scene from that port city movie."

The action scenes in the third installment are even more intense than in the first two. The first two films had already established a strong audience base, and this film had a production budget of $9000 million.

The investments came from Davis Studios, Pacific Studios, and Gray Pictures.

In addition, Sofia's Wild Beasts House Entertainment also has some investment.

Martin signed an actor contract with the production team with a base salary of $20 million. The revenue sharing would start at $100 million in North America and would still be tiered, but could reach up to 20% of the North American box office!

This is what is commonly referred to as the "20 plus 20" superstar salary.

However, for the film to achieve this, it needs to gross more than $2.7 million at the North American box office.

Then there's a series of post-production revenue sharing, including DVDs, TV broadcasts, and online streaming, which accounts for 20% of the profits.

The first two "John Wick" movies were hugely profitable. Not to mention Martin Scorsese, the investor and the lead actor, Chad Smith, the director, has become a veritable multi-millionaire.

That concludes today's activities. As Martin returned to the hotel, Blake Lively also got into his car.

The two chatted about the filming of the movie.

As Cadillac opened the studio, Martin asked, "Have you been practicing swimming and surfing lately?"

"I can swim, and I'm pretty good at it," Blake said softly. "I haven't had time to practice surfing yet. It requires a lot of time for professional training, and I haven't had the time."

She quickly explained, "After auditioning for the film crew, I spent four months working out, practicing shooting and martial arts, and also learning basic dog training so I could communicate with the dogs during filming. In my spare time, I also managed my social media accounts to attract followers..."

Martin said, "After this film is finished."

Blake asked curiously, "Are you planning to make a movie about swimming and surfing?"

Martin simply stated, "The character is supposed to be a skilled surfer who enjoys pushing his limits on remote, wild beaches, and one day an accident occurred."

Blake nodded: "I understand. I will practice diligently after the film is finished."

She tentatively asked, "When will we have the script?"

Martin said, "I've spoken to Bradett, and he's already started writing the script."

Back at the hotel where the film crew was staying, the two went out for dinner to replenish their energy, and then returned to Martin's suite to practice riding together.

(End of this chapter)