I was just thinking about taking the arts exam and you said I've been playing supporting roles

Chapter 414 The Greatness of Humanity!

The following day marked the first day of filming for "A Trip to Hong Kong".

The film's schedule is mainly divided into three parts: the first part is filming Jackie Chan's scenes in an adapted script, then Chen Jin joins in, and finally Bale joins in.

Because Bale's previous film hadn't finished filming yet, and Chen Jin needed to build muscle.

This time, he plays a retired soldier who accompanies his pregnant wife back to the mainland to visit relatives.

Cheng Long remains a scavenger, but he was originally a weightlifter. In his youth, he was banned after accidentally taking performance-enhancing drugs during a competition, which led him to give up on himself and get hit on the head by a barbell, leaving him mentally challenged.

The scenes being filmed now are about his younger days, and he originally wanted his son to make a cameo appearance in the role.

However, Chen Jin politely declined.

After saying just one sentence, Jackie Chan abandoned the idea.

His son's situation has not yet been made public. Chen Jin mentioned it briefly, and Cheng Long already knew the seriousness of the matter.

Finally, the production team found a local extra to portray some of the highlights of Cheng Long's athletic career.

All of these will be shown in the final film. When Jackie Chan actually plays the role, he will also undergo makeup to gain weight in order to fit the image of a homeless person. He will also have several action scenes.

His scenes will be filmed in about ten days to two weeks.

Cen Yongkang and the others will fill in later, until Chen Jin successfully gains muscle and he wants to look like a retired soldier.

This is something to consider. Chen Jin received relevant training when he was working on "Jinling". With guidance from a teacher, it should be about half a month. In fact, he also exercised and worked out every day before.

He consistently followed the daily system instructions.

"Jacken, are you ready?"

David Leitch spoke to Jackie Chan, who was panting heavily and looking quite smug after finishing his makeup, saying that this was the first scene of the first day of filming for "Hong Kong Trip".

A custom-made high-speed rail prop vehicle has been towed to the film set.

If it weren't for this car, "Hong Kong Trip" could have started filming much earlier; the customization alone took more than a month.

It was built entirely according to the style of high-speed rail in mainland China.

Currently, the high-speed rail between Hong Kong and Shenzhen is obviously not yet open, so Chen Jin set the story of "Hong Kong Trip" in 2019, which is a zombie mutation film that takes place in the future.

This allows for a broader scope in the review process.

The futuristic setting, the fictional setting, the Hong Kong film elements, and the heroic sacrifice of retired soldiers—these are all layers of buffs, entirely designed to pass censorship.

"Okay, that's it!"

Jackie Chan gestured to David and the others. David looked completely disheveled, his hair covering his eyebrows and piled up greasy and messy on his head. He would be squeezing into the train car's toilet to film the first scene.

This is also the first time he has appeared on screen in a homeless movie. He hides inside the speeding high-speed train after seeing the zombies eating people outside.

He originally lived at the toll station next to the high-speed rail station, which allowed him to climb over the fence and enter the station.

"Lights, camera, get ready!"

"log……"

"..."

David Leitch was directing for the first time, and this was his first time directing a scene, so he looked especially serious.

After confirming every detail of the production, he picked up the walkie-talkie and shouted, "Action!"

Snapped!
The clapperboard was slammed shut, and Jackie Chan, playing the homeless man, instantly got into character.

He huddled in the high-speed train carriage restroom, shivering slightly. He looked filthy, and his clothes were covered in grease.

Boom boom boom!
The sudden knocking made Cheng Long flinch, but he buried his head even deeper: "They're all dead...they're all dead..."

He was muttering to himself.

boom--

The bathroom door was finally forced open, and an extra frowned as he looked at Jackie Chan, whose head was buried between his legs, and asked, "Sir?"

"They're all dead, all of them are dead!"

Cheng Long's lips trembled as he looked up in terror at the newcomer, his fingers unconsciously picking at the cold metal of the carriage.

"Sir, please show your ticket!"

A few more people gathered around the extras, all looking curiously towards the bathroom.

Cheng Long seemed not to see them at all, muttering the word "dead" over and over again. The fear in his eyes became more and more obvious, to the point that his hands and feet twitched slightly, and his fingers, which were picking at the metal sheet, trembled violently.

"Sir, if you haven't bought a plane ticket, you can buy one, or—"

Everyone is dead!

He turned and repeated himself, as if something terrible had occurred to him, and his fingers began to pick at himself even more frequently.

"What did you say?"

"Everyone's dead, hahaha..."

Cheng Long burst out laughing, and continued laughing while his body curled up more and more, his feet moving backward.

"Cut!!"

David shouted through a megaphone, and Jackie Chan's first scene came to an end.

Assistants and staff immediately rushed forward to ask Jackie Chan about the situation, but David was looking at the monitor, deep in thought. He felt that in the scene just now, Jackie Chan had captured the fear he felt when he was reading the script about the appearance of the scavenger.

But I always felt that something was missing.

However, Jackie Chan's moves just now still surprised David and the rest of the crew.

Many people have forgotten that he also has acting skills because they have seen his action movies and his workaholic nature.

Leaving aside the Golden Rooster and Hong Kong Film Awards, since one is politically correct and the other is a local competition, there must be some personal votes involved. He has won Best Actor before; and in the early days when the Golden Horse Awards were more prestigious, he won Best Actor twice in a row.

Old Long has a strong foundation in acting, especially in his comfort zone—the police.

His portrayal of the police officer was very convincing.

The two Golden Horse Awards he won for Best Actor were for Police Story and Serious Crime District.

To be honest, his portrayal of the police officers in these two movies was truly outstanding, a very complex character, not just a stereotypical one.

"David, how are you?"

Jackie Chan didn't wipe off his dirty makeup. Instead, he went to the director. No one else dared to move, because the director hadn't said "okay," and they might need to film another take.

"Very good, but I always feel... something is missing!"

David was also very direct. Although he is a fan of Jackie Chan, he didn't have any bias when it came to Jackie Chan's performance.

He felt that the other person's performance exceeded his expectations, but he overlooked a detail that might not be related to acting skills.

"Let me take a look!"

Jackie Chan is also a director, so he knows very well that if a director feels there is a problem, it must be because something has been overlooked.

The two of them sat there and watched the same segment again.

"I see!"

“Stink!”

Jackie Chan suddenly stood up and patted David on the shoulder: "Scavengers do smell. It's not that the extras didn't act well, it's that I don't smell!"

"Gangzai, go to the trash can and get some swill!"

Cheng Long called out to one of the stagehands.

David doesn't understand Chinese, let alone Cantonese.

So he didn't know what Cheng Long was going to do until he saw a guy holding his nose and holding a package with stinky water dripping from it. Only then did he realize that Cheng Long wanted to drip swill on himself.

"No, no, no!"

David rushed forward to stop him, but it was clearly too late.

Cheng Long had already poured the swill on his head and body.

He rubbed it with his hands and smelled it; it really did smell bad, and he felt nauseous.

"That's okay~~~"

"You'll get used to it!" Jackie Chan smiled at David, who shrugged and said helplessly, "Jacken, I could actually tell the extras to act disgusting!"

"No, the most realistic reaction is better. Sometimes, the right combination of props can have a better effect!"

Jackie Chan was laughing, while David Leitch shrugged, but in his heart, he admired his idol even more.

There's a reason why he's worthy of being adored by movie fans worldwide.

For such a big star to make these sacrifices for filming, although it may not seem like much, in the eyes of foreigners and some staff members on the sidelines, at least Jackie Chan has the qualities of an actor.

"There's an old Chinese saying, 'The play is more important than anything else.' As long as the play is filmed well, the actors actually have to do something!"

Jackie Chan smiled at David and said, "Shall we continue filming the scene we just shot?"

"Ok!"

David took a deep breath, realizing he had actually been taking things too seriously.

It's understandable to be serious when it's your first time filming, but that scene should be passable.

"I'll discuss it with Chan later..."

David was a little unsure about the appropriate level of balancing filmmaking.

This is quite normal, since it was his first time acting. He knew it was a commercial film and that it was unlikely to win any awards, so he didn't need to be too serious about the details of his performance. What the audience wanted was excitement and thrills.

Unlike art films, which rely heavily on the actors' performances.

But he felt that acting was also quite important, which is why he was conflicted.

The scene was filmed smoothly very quickly.

After receiving guidance from the executive director, the extras experienced the real stench emanating from Jackie Chan and successfully portrayed the feeling of disgust.

This is precisely David's understanding of the character in the script.

He is a piece of trash from the bottom of society who exudes a "stinking" aura. Many people keep their distance from him. Even the high-speed rail leader in the story uses him to tell the male lead's daughter that if she doesn't study, she is very likely to become such "trash" in the future!
But it was precisely this kind of garbage that ultimately saved many people.

The brilliance of humanity is not measured by wealth or status, but by the greatness of the soul at a particular moment.

……

The day's filming ended quickly.

Jackie Chan is very dedicated and shoots very quickly. He completed all the storyboards on the call sheet before 4 p.m.

Putting aside Jackie Chan's fame as an actor, David Leitch and Chad were impressed by his acting skills.

He was just filming; he didn't put on any airs.

Just as Jackie Chan came out of the shower, David was heading to the gym to discuss his filming experience with Chen Jin.

After all, this guy is also the producer and executive producer of this movie. In Hollywood, the role of the producer is very crucial, and the director also routinely reports on the daily shooting progress, etc.

"Perfect timing, let's go together!"

Cheng Long invited David to go and see how Chen Jin's training was going.

He had also gone through the process of building muscle before.

"Jacken, I still feel that the scene this morning was a bit offensive to you!"

"Actually, the filming was already pretty good, it's just—"

"No, no, no, David!"

"You don't need to take it to heart, really, this kind of thing happens all the time in my previous filming!"

Cheng Long didn't take the incident of being splashed with swill to heart at all, but he didn't expect these foreigners to remember it to this day.

If you pull someone out from the film crew, they won't really think much about this.

There are extras who have it even worse.

What's wrong with him?

Tell Chen Jin about something like this? Wouldn't that make him laugh his head off?
Cheng Long felt that Chen Jin would definitely understand.

The two chatted all the way, and soon they heard the sound of barbells hitting the ground. Chen Jin was training there, sweating profusely, with several coaches and instructors around him. His team was quite experienced.

They were looking for instructors specializing in rapid muscle gain and military training.

"Hey, you're finishing work so early today?"

After finishing a training session, Chen Jin lay there talking to Cheng Long and David, her face contorted in pain.

"Hahaha!"

Jackie Chan couldn't stop laughing at his expression, while David said somewhat helplessly, "Because Jacken exceeded my expectations of him. He is truly an excellent actor. It is an honor for me to work with him, especially since he was the lead in my debut film!"

"Don't say that!"

Cheng Long smiled and patted David on the back, while Chen Jin shook her head while groaning. How come this foreigner knows how to flatter as soon as he comes to China?
"what's the situation?"

After a while, I finally regained some control over my body.

Chen Jin sat there, pointed to the empty cushion in front of her, and David and Cheng Long sat down.

Incidentally, he also told Chen Jin in detail about some of the things that happened during the day's filming.

"Big brother, you've worked hard!"

Chen Jin said admiringly to Cheng Long, and then said, "David, actually, what Big Brother did was right..."

“I know he did the right thing, but there could have been other ways, like talking to the extras about it. I think he could have acted it out!”

"Actually, the eldest brother isn't the key figure in this scene!"

As the "screenwriter" who has studied "A Trip to Hong Kong" for a long time, Chen Jin certainly has the right to speak on this matter.

He let David direct just so he could have some fun being a hands-off manager. It's not that he can't direct; in fact, he'd be better at producing than directing, as he could control the whole situation and have more confidence in the work.

Like now, he needs to persuade David of some new director ideas.

"A scavenger despised by everyone ultimately displayed the most glorious aspect of his humanity!"

"This kind of disdain requires the cooperation of others; it's useless for the eldest brother to act alone!"

"Moreover, it's not that commercial films don't need acting at all; it's just that compared to commercial films, they have some clever aspects that don't require acting to showcase!"

"However, the richness of the characters depends on the actors, the plot, and the other characters to drive the story forward!"

David was actually very clear about these points.

He just doesn't quite know how to strike the right balance!
"The characters are crucial in this script!"

"So our main characters definitely need to portray the underlying logic of those characters!"

"Take my eldest brother, for example, everyone dislikes him!"

"I will defend my country and risk my life!"

"Bale, the most complex character, from his initial selfishness to the eventual blossoming of his humanity, all of this needs to be portrayed through acting!"

These foreigners still don't understand the emotions and feelings of people in East Asia!

It seems I'll have to keep an eye on it myself.

Because homelessness is so common in the United States, they take it for granted, even though they are saving humanity, it's actually quite normal.

There are truly talented individuals among America's homeless population; the elite American education system simply chooses to ignore them.

East Asia is different!
A homeless person is someone who is despised by others.

This gap in understanding leads to gaps in understanding of filming techniques.

David initially thought he only needed to depict the plight of homeless people, but the way a homeless person, who was despised by everyone, was ultimately brought to the forefront is actually more moving.

This is an incredibly satisfying contrast.

"Understood!"

"Now that you say that, I know how to film from now on!"

Focus on the details of the characters, rather than the visuals and conflicts that North American Hollywood excels at!
There's a lot of character development in North American art films, but very little popcorn entertainment, and that's why!

(End of this chapter)