Huayu: I'm reborn, but you still force me to be a scumbag?

Chapter 484 ACTION!

"In our village, we call that game 'Eagle Catches Chickens'."

"Because it's like a mother hen desperately spreading her wings to protect her chicks from being snatched away by a fierce eagle."

"The rules are simple."

"The children are divided into two teams: one attacking and one defending."

"There is only one attacker, and that is 'Eagle'. His goal is to break through the mother hen's blockade and grab the 'chick' at the back of the line."

"There was only one person on the defense, the 'mother hen,' who spread her arms wide and tried her best to protect the row of chicks behind her with her body."

"One by one, the chicks tugged at the hem of the person in front of them, hiding behind the mother hen and dodging left and right."

"There is no clear boundary between winning and losing in the game. Every time the eagle snatches a chick, the game starts a new round until the last chick is taken away."

"Sometimes, the hens are also taken away."

"That means the children are all gone."

"We used to play this game all the time."

"The choice of who is the eagle and who is the hen is usually made by rock-paper-scissors."

"The loser can only become that lonely, dangerous, and hated eagle."

"But when I grew up, I realized that everyone likes to be an eagle—but in this world, some people are chicks their whole lives."

……

"321."

"ACTION!"

……

Two red HK$100 bills were slammed onto the table, where plates were scattered everywhere.

The camera slowly pans upwards.

Chen Nuo was scooping rice from a plastic lunchbox, spoonful by spoonful.

But the action stopped abruptly the moment the banknotes were placed on the table.

His eyes fixed on the two Hong Kong dollars, he blinked hard a few times, then tilted his head to the right as if twitching, his facial muscles twitching slightly, and asked hesitantly, "Mom?"

The camera zooms in from the inside out, slowly revealing a panoramic view.

This is a cramped and small room with a low ceiling, walls blackened by cooking fumes, and an old-fashioned green fan hanging overhead. It is cluttered with miscellaneous items in every corner. Without needing to say much, it looks like a typical place in the photos.

In the close-up shot, Kara Hui is getting dressed in front of an old wooden wardrobe.

As she tied her belt, she said, "Today is A-Yuan's birthday. Take this and buy her a birthday cake."

Chen Nuo looked at the two banknotes on the table and said in a low voice, "No need, I have money."

"Here you go." Kara Hui put on the red dress and walked over. "With prices so high lately, how can your little bit of money be enough?"

Chen Nuo didn't refuse again. He simply reached out, slowly picked up the two banknotes, carefully folded them, and stuffed them into his shirt pocket. He whispered, "Thank you, Mom."

Hui Yinghong looked at him, gave a soft "hmm," turned around, picked up her handbag, and walked towards the door, saying, "Go early, don't keep A-Yuan waiting too long."

"Okay." Chen Nuo rubbed his eyes, looked at Hui Yinghong's retreating figure, and said, "Mom, when are you quitting your job?"

Kara Hui was putting on her shoes at the door. "Quit what? What am I supposed to do if I quit? What about all the money you were scammed out of? Who's going to pay the monthly interest?"

Chen Nuo clenched his chopsticks into a fist, staring intently at the empty bowl in front of him, and said in a muffled voice, "I earn my own money, I'll pay it back myself."

"You'll pay for it yourself?" Kara Hui smiled, put on her shoes, and turned around to say, "Don't touch it after you finish eating. Just leave it on the table and I'll wash it when I get back from work... I buy plates every month. I'm leaving now."

Bang.

The door is closed.

Chen Nuo sat at the table, stunned for a moment.

The mottled wooden table, bowls and chopsticks, and the profile portrait, against the backdrop of the cluttered interior, resemble an impressionist painting by Gauguin.

After pausing for a few seconds, he lowered his head, scooped the last mouthful of rice from the bowl into his mouth, chewed it twice, swallowed it slowly, and then stood up.

His movements seemed no different from those of an ordinary person, but upon closer inspection, a slight incoordination could be detected. His left leg moved a little slower, and his right hand trembled slightly when he raised it.

Chen Nuo slowly stacked the plates on the table, then placed the plastic lunchbox and chopsticks on top. He carried the plates in both hands and walked step by step toward the kitchen.

He walked very carefully, but just as he was about to step into the kitchen—

"Bang!"

His left hand suddenly trembled, and his index finger twitched uncontrollably, causing the plate and plastic lunchbox on top to slip from his hand and fall to the ground.

Crackling and popping.

The sound of porcelain shattering was particularly jarring in the cramped space.

The young man stood there, stunned, staring at the scattered shards of white porcelain on the ground.

He didn't say a word for a long time.

Pang Ho-cheung looked at the pair of dull, lifeless eyes on the monitor, sighed, and put the walkie-talkie in front of his mouth. "CUT! Tell Brother Noh that the expression is spot on. I love it! I think we can get it right in one take."

After saying that, he paused and then asked, "But would you like to do it again? If he's not satisfied, he can roll it again."

The reply from the walkie-talkie was: "Received."

Then Pang Ho-cheung turned around, looked at the sea of ​​heads, and said, "Alright, that's enough. Go away and do your own thing."

It turned out that there was a group of people of all shapes and sizes standing behind him, but no one made a sound, as if no one was there.

Only after he finished speaking did the group suddenly come to life, and they walked out in twos and threes, talking as they went.

"Wow, that's amazing! You're so into it! That look in your eyes just now, you really looked like you were stunned. You're completely immersed in the role! And this is only the first shot! Have you guys seen it before?"

"I've never seen a ghost. Even looking at it through the camera, my heart is clenching."

"You wouldn't believe it until you hear it, the slight tremor in his hand looked so real, I thought he really had some kind of aftereffect."

"And that drop in the stock price was just right, and the camera angle was perfect. The timing was absolutely brilliant."

“I don’t know how this scene will turn out in the final cut, but I think it will be very touching. This dramatic scene is definitely Oscar-worthy.” They chattered on like a bunch of country bumpkins who had never seen the world. But Pang Ho-cheung knew in his heart that these people were actually all well-known veterans in the industry.

They are the golden team that Milkyway Image has used for many years, plus some senior technicians borrowed from TVB. Lighting, props, script supervisor, track laying, focus pulling, clapperboard, everyone in every position is a seasoned veteran.

These people are witnesses to the golden age of Hong Kong cinema and also to the most glorious period of TVB.

They worked with "Mad Detective," experienced the sword fights of "The Mission," strolled through the old streets of Hong Kong with "Sparrow," and witnessed bloodshed in the streets of "Big Event." They were driven to desperation in "Exiled" and kept their nerves on edge during "Running Out of Time." Starting with the night patrols of "PTU," they witnessed the establishment and collapse of rules in "Election."

To hear such words from these people is not something any Hong Kong Film Awards Best Actor could pull off.

Seeing this, Pang Ho-cheung felt a little more at ease and turned to ask the old man sitting next to him who hadn't spoken until now, "Officer To, do you think there's a problem?"

Johnnie To chuckled and said, "You're the director, so you make the decisions. I'm just observing."

Pang Ho-cheung was never exactly a model child; he was considered ugly and a scoundrel, so he was constantly being criticized at home, at school, and in nightclubs. Women called him a lecher, men called him a bad guy, his parents called him useless, and his brothers called him a loser, but no one ever called him stupid.

So when he heard Johnnie To say, "You're the director, you call the shots," he immediately understood the implied meaning.

He grinned and said, "Officer Du, didn't you say I live too fast?"

Johnnie To laughed and said, "That's not what I meant. It's just that some people, even if you think they've gone too far, they themselves might not let it go."

As soon as he finished speaking, as if to confirm his statement, a voice came from the walkie-talkie: "Director, Brother Nuo said he wants to watch the replay."

Pang Ho-cheung was taken aback.

Looking at Johnnie To next to him, he's practically growing a beard so he can stroke it and smile.

Pretending to be a sage or a genius, you're not good enough to be Zhuge Liang.

Pang Ho-cheung cursed silently in his heart.

……

……

The play "Eagle Catches Chickens" is naturally quite different from the original "Squid Game".

For Chen Nuo, the biggest difference was the protagonist's character design.

In the original version, Sung Ki-hoon is a middle-aged, down-on-his-luck gambler who lives a destitute life, is estranged from his daughter, and has almost nothing. He enters that game out of despair.

But in "The Eagle Catches the Chickens", Xie Jiajun is a kind-hearted young man in his twenties.

He was young, hardworking, filial, and even a little too docile.

Apart from having a puppy love with a waiter at a tea restaurant when I dropped out of junior high school, and taking on a huge debt for someone a few years later to help a friend, I have hardly ever done anything out of line.

In the script co-written by Pang Ho-cheung, Wai Ka-fai, and Yau Nai-hoi, Tse Ka-chun suffers from mild cerebral palsy from fetal stage, but miraculously recovers to almost normal condition thanks to his mother Ah-zhen's decade-long rehabilitation training and meticulous care. Now, he only occasionally experiences some incoordination when walking or using his hands, but this does not prevent him from being an ordinary person who strives to live a fulfilling life and works diligently.

He is neither clever nor good at scheming; he is the perfect embodiment of the saying "a kind person is easily bullied."

He was the purest and cleanest "chicken" in the entire flock. And because of this, he was destined to be constantly pushed to the brink of life and death in this world of "eagles".

In Chen Nuo's view, these changes to the original version have both advantages and disadvantages.

The downside is that it deviates from the original successful template, making the outcome after the broadcast less certain.

The advantage is that Xie Jiajun's character is more in line with his own age, so he doesn't have to spend two hours applying old-age makeup every day before going to work.

However, he hesitated for a long time before deciding what to choose, and still couldn't make up his mind.

Most people in this situation would probably just have to gamble. But he's not an ordinary person. He has a few friends who know a fair bit about this.

For example, Quentin Tarantino, and the Nolan brothers, Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Nolan.

After swallowing his pride and calling to ask for advice, Chen Nuo finally made up his mind and chose the current version.

Just as Quentin Tarantino pointed out, Xie Jiajun's character is somewhat similar to Forrest Gump in "Forrest Gump," and the script's trajectory more or less leans towards the "fools are lucky" and "kindness is rewarded" Forrest Gump-style plot. This is undoubtedly exactly the kind of feast that North Americans love to enjoy.

Hearing Quentin say that, Chen Nuo felt reassured.

Later, in deeper discussions with the Nolan brothers, he realized that it was 2012, not 2021. The global cultural climate was far from being as open as it would be ten years later, or rather, not as closed off as it would be to the point of wanting to tear everything apart. Therefore, hastily releasing a series as highly bloody, desperate, and dystopian as the original would not be easily accepted by mainstream audiences in Europe and America.

Amidst the cruelty, the enduring warmth and hope represent the aesthetic direction that is more readily accepted by people in Europe and America today.

If we were to completely copy the original setting, it might not necessarily be a good thing.

Having listened to his friend's advice and become what he is now, Chen Nuo no longer has a fixed impression in his mind. All his creations are done by himself, based on his own creativity. He doesn't really know what the final product will be like.

Especially since he was the executive producer, and this was his first scene, which he had only acted in once, the young director called him over, and he was a little worried about not coming to check the monitor.

Not only did he come, but Kara Hui also came.

After watching it once, Kara Hui rewound the monitor and pointed at the screen, saying, "I didn't act well in this part."

It was the moment the woman smiled as she left the house.

"Shall we do it again?" Kara Hui looked at Chen Nuo and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Mr. Chen. I feel a little confused, I shouldn't have laughed."

She said that because the scene of her leaving the house and Chen Nuo's long series of actions and inner monologues were both connected in one long shot. If they had to reshoot for her smile, then Chen Nuo would have to re-act everything.

Chen Nuo shook his head and said, "It's okay, we should definitely do it again. I didn't perform well here either."

He rewound the image and pointed twice more.

Whether it was two-time Hong Kong Film Awards Best Actress Kara Hui, Johnnie To, Pang Ho-cheung, or the crew who had gathered there at some unknown time, everyone perked up and went to see the place he mentioned.

One was that Xie Jiajun accepted the money from Ah Zhen, and when Ah Zhen left, he rubbed his eyes and wiped away his tears.

One was that he tried to persuade Ah Zhen to quit her job, but Ah Zhen disagreed. He clenched his fist, expressing his anger at the swindler and his guilt towards his mother, saying that he would earn money to pay off the debt himself.

At this moment, a group of veterans from the Hong Kong film industry were gathered around, but they looked at each other and no one spoke up at first.

Finally, Pang Ho-cheung broke the silence, asking, "Where?"

Chen Nuo was absorbed in his own feelings and didn't notice the atmosphere around him. Looking at the screen, he said, "Director, don't you think this is a bit too much?"

Pang Ho-cheung hesitated for a moment, then said, "Really?"

Ps:

I thought about things a bit more today, so I wrote less.

(End of this chapter)