Huayu: Hard fight against Zhang Weiping at the beginning

Chapter 556 White House Guard Level
Two days later, KBS TV broadcast an interview with Zhang Chen.

The first Sino-Korean co-production of the zombie movie "Train to Busan" was announced. By the way, it was also mentioned that Xingchen Entertainment will cooperate with KBS on a TV series "Brilliant Legacy", and the script is written by the internationally renowned director Zhang Chen himself...

But he didn’t mention Zhang Chen’s final remarks.

They are not stupid.

If it fails to find a sense of presence, of course it won’t be broadcast.

But just because they don’t broadcast it doesn’t mean others don’t know about it.

I don’t know who posted the full video of the interview online, causing an uproar.

Korean netizens were somewhat upset. Is our Republic of Korea so bad in Director Zhang's eyes?

Chinese netizens, however, are gloating over the incident.

Yes, some kind-hearted netizens brought this complete video back to China.

Some netizens started to stir up trouble, saying that what Zhang Chen said was the reason why the story background could not be released in China.

But once the movie is made, can it really be released in the country?

Netizens began to @the Film Bureau, asking, "Will Train to Busan" really be able to be released in the country?

The Film Bureau publicly responded, why are you looking for me? It is the responsibility of the Optoelectronics Department to review movies.

Then netizens started @光電 again.

Optoelectronics does not respond.

It was impossible for Zhang Chen to respond.

Just think of it as putting some pressure on Optoelectronics and see if we can create a crack in the review system.

Zhang Chen was not in a hurry, but Diane, who was far away in Hollywood, was anxious first.

A call came in: "Zhang, we are working with Robert Kirkman on the development of The Walking Dead. If you make such a statement, it will easily make the audience think that you look down on zombie movies, thus affecting the ratings..."

Zhang Chen is now an internationally renowned director, and the video of him being interviewed in South Korea has also been moved to the United States.

The most important thing is that he is now a big director who is in the limelight, and what he says may really be misinterpreted.

"Well, what should I do?"

Zhang Chen didn't expect that his casual talk could lead to such serious consequences.

"How about this, I'll arrange for the media to interview you, and you explain..."

"That's all it can do."

Diane went to ABC Television, one of the three major television networks in the United States and also the network with the largest audience in recent years.

"Don't you like American zombie culture?"

"How is that possible? I am very interested in American zombie culture. I have watched Resident Evil and I Am Legend. The reason why I wanted to shoot Train to Busan was also inspired by this..."

"But you seemed to be very dismissive of zombies in the previous interview..."

Zhang Chen shook his head: "Because I am Chinese, Chinese people are not afraid of zombies~"

"why?"

“This has to do with Chinese horror and Western horror.

What is Western horror? Zombies, murderers, ghost masks..."

The reporter nodded.

"They are all carbon-based organisms~"

The reporter nodded again.

"Chinese horror, a pair of embroidered shoes.

Western horror is a physical attack, while Chinese horror is a mental attack.

It's no exaggeration to say that even if I encounter the strongest zombie on earth, I dare to fight him with an AK. But if I open the door and see a woman standing there in a red wedding dress with a pair of red embroidered shoes on her feet, I will just shoot myself.

It’s also Ghost Festival. I dare to go out in makeup on Halloween, but I must go home before dark on the Ghost Festival.

No one dares to dress up as a ghost during the Ghost Festival. First, they are afraid of encountering a real ghost. Second, they are afraid that others will think they are real. Third, they are afraid that while they are walking, there will suddenly be one more person in the team. Fourth, they are afraid that while they are walking, there will suddenly be one less person in the team. Fifth, they are afraid that when they pass by a mirror, they will find that they are the only one. Sixth, they are afraid that when they pass by a mirror, they will find that they are gone.

Western horror: five people go in, one person comes out.

Chinese horror: five people go in, six people come out.

After watching Chinese horror movies, you will find that you dare not look under the bed, dare not look in the mirror, dare not take a shower, dare not walk at night, dare not look back, and you will feel a chill on your back no matter what you do~"

The reporter was also a little creepy by what Zhang Chen said and felt a chill down his spine.

"I think I explained it clearly?"

"Now that I've explained it clearly, let's... change the subject~" The reporter felt a gust of cold wind nearby.

"of course can."

"Tell me about your new movie. I heard it's a story about the White House being attacked by terrorists..."

"Yes."

"But don't you think that's unlikely?"

"Of course~"

Zhang Chen did not deny it: "This is a movie, and it is exaggerated. The real White House is impregnable and of course it is impossible to break through, unless there is a war. I remember that the White House was burned down by the British in history, and the current White House was rebuilt later..."

Zhang Chen conveniently planted a thorn in the other party~
One of the most vulnerable points of "White House Down" is the possibility of capturing the White House.

Of course it is impossible in theory.

How could a country's highest authority be easily breached by a group of terrorists?

It just sounds fake.

Will many people still satirize that this is a science fiction film?
But is it true?
In real history, in November 2009, at a state banquet hosted by Okanagan for the Prime Minister of India, a Virginia couple who were not on the invitation list were able to pass through multiple security checks, ate and drank to their heart's content at the banquet, and greeted and took photos with celebrities such as Vice President White House Chief of Staff Emanuel.

Magical or not?
But it’s true!
There are many similar true stories, and there have been many lawn intrusions at the White House.

The intruders were all ordinary people, who came either to attract attention or to play a prank, but without exception, they broke through the blockade and entered the lawn area in front of the White House. At the closest, they were only a few dozen meters away from their target.

Not every Secret Service agent guarding the White House is Ethan Hunt.

Just this year, an FBI agent had his car and gun robbed in front of him.

Reality is so magical.

The agents aren't that strong either.

(Those who are interested in this aspect can read my book "Counter-Terrorism", which contains a lot of relevant information.

When I was writing that book, I looked up banned words every day, such as how to make a bomb, the structure of a grenade, how many levels of security there are at the White House, and whether I would be on GA’s watch list.)

……

Zhang Chen calls Dong Jianqiang every day to learn about the situation in the country.

These days, the discussion about film censorship has been very heated.

Everyone is waiting for Optoelectronics to make a statement.

Tomb-raiding movies, zombie movies, horror movies, you can't ban them all, right?
Can we choose the lesser of two evils?

Zhang Yimou was very efficient. After agreeing to take over "Aftershock", he immediately took people to interview the survivors of the earthquake.

After the Olympics, he was promoted to a national director and his film remuneration also soared. Now the fee for directing a play is a sky-high price of 2000 million, and there is still a shortage of demand.

But it's worth the price.

Zhang Chen was also saving him, so that his reputation would not be ruined by a movie like "Three Guns" when his popularity was at its peak.

"Director Zhang wants to use newcomers for the cast of Earthquake. I have recommended Li Yiyao from the Central Academy of Drama as you said, but whether she will be chosen depends on her own luck..."

Li Yiyao is Mao Xiaotong, now a junior at the Central Academy of Drama and a miserable person.

She and Angela Chang can be said to be the most miserable female stars.

Mao Xiaotong was a premature baby and was not welcomed.

When she was just over one year old, her biological father threw her into a trash can. Her mother picked her up and saved her life. Later, her mother divorced her father and raised her alone...

It's not easy to survive, and I suffered a lot.

It’s really not easy!

Later, she became famous because she exposed the scumbag and her father demanded 5000 million yuan in alimony.

Then let's go to hell together, this is what a father said.

To be honest, if his father helped his daughter in this way, Zhang Chen would admire him.

But the fact is, no~
I just have such a bastard dad~
As a reborn person, Zhang Chen should not have a helpful plot.

But I really can’t do that to someone so miserable.

Good people should not be let down~
……

Canada, White House location

The crew of "White House Down" restored the front half of the White House here in a 1:1 ratio. All the outdoor scenes of the attack on the White House were filmed here, and after that they would move to the studio to shoot the interior scenes. Today we are going to shoot a scene of an armed truck raid.

In the original, "Olympus Has Fallen" is not as good as "White House Downfall" in all aspects, except for the action design, the former is ten blocks ahead of the latter.

Roland Emmerich may be a master of disaster films, but his design for action scenes is really mediocre.

The action scenes in "White House Downfall" are exciting, but I didn't have any impression of them after watching them.

If I have to give a score, I can only say it is around the passing line.

"Olympus Has Fallen", you can say that his IQ has declined, but you can't say that his action scenes are not good to watch.

Whether it's the support from aerial gunboats, the ground armed truck raid, or the hand-to-hand combat of the protagonist Mike Banning, the rhythm is very well controlled.

Of course, Zhang Chen would inherit such merits and carry them forward.

He converted the two armored trucks into four.

Double the firepower~
Four trucks lined up in a row and rushed towards the White House, lined up in a row amid the guards' announcements.

Tire burst
The steel plates on the car body popped open, revealing shooting holes.

The flames of the M134 were spitting out, and the four trucks immediately turned into four machine gun fortresses, sweeping the nearby people and horses to the ground.
This one shot alone can fill your adrenaline pumping~
But it’s definitely not that intense when it’s being filmed, and it’s going to be chopped up into many shots.

Everything is ready

The stage manager claps: "Scene 4, shot 6, first take..."

The "scene" here refers to the scene. According to the general classification method, scenes shot in the same place are considered the same scene.

Then the entire White House counts as one.

But this will result in a lot of shots of the White House scene.

So for the convenience of division, the outside of the White House is one scene, the inside is the second scene, and the secret passage is the third scene. Anyway, do whatever is convenient.

Zhang Chen: “Action~”

Filming begins

Four trucks lined up and drove quickly.
The policeman behind the roadblock waved and asked the truck to stop, but the four trucks showed no intention of slowing down and continued to move forward after crashing through the roadblock.

Zhang Chen: “Click~”

Watching the replay, Zhang Chen looked at the security consultant next to him.

After the security consultant reviewed the footage, he said it was fine. Zhang Chen announced, "This scene is over~"

The security consultants are specially hired retired police officers from the District of Columbia.

"White House Down" is a movie, and movies are bound to have some exaggeration, but while being exaggerated, it must also be as close to the facts as possible.

The crew hired several experts in White House security strategies.

The White House security is divided into three levels, which are respectively managed by the FBI, the Army Command and the DC Police Department, and are divided into the outer circle, inner circle and core circle.

The exterior of the White House is under the jurisdiction of the DC Police Department, while the interior is the territory of the Secret Service.

According to experts, about two or three blocks near the White House are designated as pedestrian areas.

The White House is surrounded by Lafayette Gardens to the north, the Great Lawn to the south, the Eisenhower Executive Building to the west, and the Treasury Department to the east. Large, retractable iron stakes are installed at each entrance to block private vehicles, which greatly reduces the possibility of a car bomb attack on the White House.

Above the White House is a no-fly zone.

It was this area that the armed trucks broke through.

After the first barrier is forced through, the guards behind will raise large iron stakes.

So Zhang Chen specially arranged terrorists to attack these guards and prevent them from raising the large iron stakes to ensure the smooth passage of the armed trucks.

Anyway, just make the plot as reasonable as possible.

As for why the number of trucks increased from two to four, it was because the guard force of the White House was too large.

The White House covers an area of ​​5100 square meters, but the number of security forces responsible for it reaches an astonishing people.

You read that right, ten thousand people.

That's equivalent to two guards per square meter. With this density alone, it's impossible to break in without sending an army.

Terrorists launch surprise attacks, relying on time differences.

This point has been emphasized throughout the original movie. The terrorist leader once said that the response time of the White House guard force was 18 minutes, and they took over the White House in 13 minutes.

Zhang Chen had a similar idea. Although he didn't have to face 10,000 people at once because of the time difference, the number of people would definitely be quite large.

Then we increased the firepower by increasing the number of machine guns from two to four.

Next, the seventh and eighth shots were done in one go.

"The first scene of the tenth scene of the fourth scene..."

"Action~"

This scene shows a heavy truck with a flat tire, turning into a machine gun fortress.

The tire burst went smoothly, but I didn't expect an accident to occur at the machine gun port.

The muzzle of one truck’s machine gun failed to pop open, rendering the entire shot unusable.

I can only reshoot~
All four trucks had their tires replaced.
It was an hour later when we took the second shot.

That's what filmmaking is like, it's always full of surprises.

After a busy day, the scene was finally filmed.

On the way back to the hotel, Zhang Chen, Jason and David took a car.

David Heyman closed his eyes and rested, while Jason and Zhang Chen told jokes.

Jason: "Let me tell you an American joke~"

"OK."

Jason: "Do you know what 6.9 is?"

Zhang Chen: “What is it?”

Jason: "A good thing was ruined by a decimal point~"

puff~
David, who had been resting with his eyes closed, couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Zhang Chen also understood the joke and said with great interest: "Then let me tell you a Chinese joke~"

Jason shrugged, and David also cast a curious look at him. The old man no longer closed his eyes to rest.

Zhang Chen: "How many steps should be taken to put an elephant into a refrigerator?"

The two were stunned: "How is it possible?"

Zhang Chen shrugged: "Open the refrigerator, put the elephant in, and close the door."

The two people opposite were shocked and realized their own stupidity.

Zhang Chen continued: "Then let me ask you again, how many steps should be taken to put a giraffe in the refrigerator?"

Jason got smarter this time: "Uh, open the refrigerator door, put the giraffe in, and close the door."

Zhang Chen: "No, no, no, open the refrigerator door, take the elephant out, put the giraffe in, and then close the door."

Two people downtime~
Zhang Chen continued: "A lion had a party in Africa, and all the animals were invited. Who didn't go in the end?"

David: “Elephant?”

Zhang Chen: "No, it's a giraffe, it's locked in the refrigerator."

Jason: "Oh, fuck!"

Zhang Chen: "At this time, there was a girl named Sala who needed to cross the river. The river was full of crocodiles, but she was unharmed. Why?"

This time, neither of them dared to answer casually. Jason answered tentatively: "Because...she is not easy to mess with?"

Zhang Chen: "No, because all the crocodiles went to the party~"

"Oh, Wattefak~"

Zhang Chen laughed at the two people's angry expressions, and then the two of them laughed too.

Jason laughed and said, "I'm going to write this down. This joke is so cool. It's actually a TV series..."

David was also delighted.

At this time, his phone rang. After hanging up, David said, "I just received a notice from the company that 2012 has applied for the Oscar next year. Zhang, you'd better start preparing your speech now. 2012 will definitely win the technical award~"

David said it with great confidence, and Zhang Chen didn't find it strange.

Judging from the special effects scenes shown in "2012", the performance awards may have nothing to do with them, but as for technical awards, such as best special effects, if "2012" can't win them, then no one can win them.

"2012" is truly the best movie of last year, no doubt about it.

Technical awards are different from performance awards in that they rely on hard skills.

It’s clear at a glance whether it works or not.

(End of this chapter)