Artists under the Rebirth of the Coal Boss

Chapter 195 The Grand Curtain of an Era Slowly Unfolds!

Since the 2010s, the martial arts industry in the entertainment sector has begun to decline completely.

What the market lacks are martial arts actors who can perform hundreds of high-risk stunts a day, actually jumping and falling, and risking their lives to the point of hospitalization.

Instead of martial arts superstars like Chen Long and Li Lianjie who make tens of millions for a single film.

The reason for this phenomenon is quite simple.

Costs have increased.

A monthly salary of a few thousand yuan allows you to jump from several floors, traverse gasoline fires, and engage in high-speed car collisions.

At best, it can cause broken bones and muscles; at worst, it can lead to cerebral palsy and permanent disability!

People would rather do a triathlon than do this kind of work.

You're risking your life for just a few hundred dollars?
…………

Actually, since the 2010s, film crews have been less willing to do these things; they can just use a green screen.

In the past, if someone was paralyzed, disabled, or even killed, it would only cost tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of yuan to settle the matter with the family. After some bribing around, it would be as if nothing had happened.
Anyway, they all came from poor backgrounds, so they were skilled in martial arts. They were out of touch with the world, simple-minded but strong, and generally easy to fool.

If there were no physical disabilities, just broken arms and legs, or a few broken ribs, it could be used as promotional material for movies and TV shows, using the real fighting and stunts as a selling point!

…………

When the mobile internet era arrives, everything will be in trouble!!

Damn it! These poor bastards have gotten to using cell phones! They've all gone bad!!
The world is cold and indifferent; people are becoming more and more focused on rewards than loyalty!
They can't even tolerate the slightest fatal flaw!! Perfection lacks any spirit of artistic dedication!

He only broke a few bones, yet he started writing short essays;
If the person becomes paralyzed or disabled, their impoverished family members will go to great lengths, appealing to government officials, using Weibo, Bilibili, Douyin, Zhihu, recording videos, and live streaming – employing all sorts of methods.

If it sparks public outcry, it could even ruin the entire project!

Let's just use a cheap green screen; it's safe and inexpensive...

…………

The most typical example is "The Sword and the Brocade," which uses cheap green screen effects, slow motion, and fight scenes that only retain the starting and ending postures plus spinning jumps, replacing the traditional martial arts move breakdown...

Despite its sloppy action scenes, it still garnered 70 billion views, averaging 9745 million views per episode, making it the top-rated online drama for period martial arts series in the past seven years!
The production company made a fortune!

........................

Lin Xingzhu lit a hard white cigarette and pondered deeply.

Zhang Youqian on a Dell Inspiron 1420 laptop.

Looking at Tiger Eye Vision Group's latest renaming plan and investment scheme for Zhuozhou Film and Television City, it mentions a large-scale campus recruitment program, which accounts for 30% of the staffing and labor costs.

School of Mathematics and Statistics, Huazhong University of Science and Technology; Chu Kochen Honors College, Department of Information and Electronic Engineering, and Department of Control Science and Engineering, Zhejiang University;

The School of Mathematical Sciences at Xiashi University forms its core, along with the School of Physics and Mechanical Engineering and the School of Information Science and Technology; Harbin Engineering University integrates engineering and mathematics, with majors in underwater acoustics engineering and information and communication engineering.

This was completely beyond Zhang Youqian's expectations; no wonder the CCTV deputy director had such a strong opinion!

…………

Zhang Youqian couldn't help but say, "Brother Zhuo, spending so much money to hire college students majoring in science, engineering, and mathematics, and having them make up such a high percentage of the three expenses..."

"Shouldn't film and television majors recruit more behind-the-scenes staff from the top three art colleges or other art schools?"

Lin Xingzhuo exhaled a puff of smoke and, seemingly unrelated to the question, replied, "What do you think best reflects the gap between the Chinese and American film industries?"

Although Zhang Youqian is a licensed lawyer with a law degree, she now works as a professional agent for Tiger Shadow Star Brilliance and is constantly learning about the industry. After thinking for a moment, she said:
"Star Wars, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Jurassic Park, Titanic, The Lord of the Rings trilogy..."

"Well, there's also Avatar, which will be released at the end of this year. The industry generally expects it to surpass the level of Chinese special effects in 2004, Kung Fu Hustle." Lin Xingzhuo said noncommittally, "I feel that what best reflects the difference between the two systems is not these purely special effects blockbusters, but the Mission: Impossible series."

"This series almost exposes the biggest gap between the Chinese and American film industries. The Chinese entertainment film industry will not be able to produce such a film within ten years."

Zhang Youqian opened a bottle of Nongfu Spring Water Soluble C100 and said, "Tom Cruise's Mission: Impossible series? That movie seems to focus on realism, with low investment in special effects, right?"

Lin Xingzhuo said, "Yes, it's because of this movie that all the thrilling and exciting scenes were filmed on location, with almost no AGC special effects used."

"To achieve this kind of fully live-action operation, a lot of mathematical modeling in mathematics, physics, fluid dynamics, and aerodynamics is needed."

"For example, the scene where Tom Cruise jumps from one high-speed plane to another high-speed plane."

"For this stunt scene, from what angle, with how much force, in what direction, what should the plane's speed be, and what should the wind force be that day..."

"This conclusion was reached after repeated experiments and calculations to achieve torque balance."

Zhang Youqian took a sip of C100 and said, "Brother Chen Long should be able to do this kind of action scene too, right?"

Lin Xingzhuo, with a cigarette between his fingers, waved his hand and said, "This is not a creation based on a single dimension."

"The films made by Chen Long in his era and the films made by Tom Cruise now are completely different things."

"And then there's the Twin-Bone Dragon, with its extreme resilience and incredible physique, a legendary monster that appears only once in a century in the Chinese entertainment industry!!"

Zhang Youqian asked, puzzled, "Is it really that exaggerated?"

Lin Xingzhuo took a drag of his cigarette and said, "The classic scene of climbing the Burj Khalifa in Mission: Impossible was even questioned by Chen Long as to whether it was filmed against a green screen."

"Because this thing is beyond his comprehension; it takes an industrial film technology team to shoot those kinds of scenes."

"Falling from a dozen stories high, they can still survive thanks to the stuntmen risking their lives for filming, relying on their strength and resilience to learn from mistakes!!"

"But what about hundreds of floors? How can they withstand that? Won't they die?"

"Shooting this scene requires precise calculations of the material, its toughness, and the direction and angle of the force. Otherwise, even a slight mistake or the rope's material toughness might cause an immediate failure."

"Not to mention Tom Cruise's classic scene of jumping off a cliff on a motorcycle and then skydiving."

"This was done by first performing mathematical modeling calculations on a computer, and then verifying it through hundreds of experimental tests before filming."

"If we followed the methods of Hong Kong action films during their golden age, how many lives would be lost for just one shot? How many lives do you have to live on?"

Zhang Youqian clicked her tongue in surprise. Although this viewpoint sounded unconventional and completely contrary to the older generation of celebrities' ideals of daring to fight and risk their lives, it was still a different story.

But upon closer examination, it does make sense.

If we don't use mathematical models to calculate this, and instead have people carry the load, how many lives would be lost for just one shot...?

Zhang Youqian nodded and said, "The experiential approach of stuntmen risking their lives and making mistakes through physical experimentation during the golden age of Hong Kong films is no longer suitable for today's super action scenes; the risks are too high!"

Lin Xingzhuo stubbed out his cigarette and said, "The old-era powerhouses, represented by Chen Long and Li Lianjie, have completely aged, and the era of the Dragon Tiger Martial Artists' life-or-death struggle has come to an end..."

Zhang Youqian felt her throat was a little dry, and her gaze toward Lin Xingzhuo became even more intense.

…………

Lin Xingzhuo was simply lamenting the passing of a golden age...

Zhang Youqian, however, interpreted another layer of meaning based on Lin Xingzhuo's display of superstar qualities and ambition!

She felt as if she were witnessing history, as a new era of Chinese-language action films, named after Lin Xingzhuo, was slowly unfolding...

(End of this chapter)