Return to Hong Kong Island for a Century

Chapter 166 Listen to Li's Opinion (Third Update, Please Subscribe and Vote)
"He's actually doing this for real!" Lucas looked at the crew preparing with some surprise after Li Song finished explaining the scene they were filming.

In Lucas's view, this dangerous situation was entirely avoidable.

Because the site was more than six meters above the ground.

This is very dangerous. If it were me, I would have filmed it shot by shot.

"Yes, Ah Long works very hard!" Li Song nodded. You could say that Ah Long has character issues, but he's absolutely dedicated to his work and his professionalism is unquestionable.

"Come on, everyone, try it out first!" Ah Long picked up the walkie-talkie and gave instructions.

"Don't pull the wires too tight, it'll look too fake," Ah Long shouted.

“Okay,” Yuen Biao and the others quickly replied.

If the wire is pulled too tight, you can fly over with just a flick of your toes, which would resemble the light-footed skills in martial arts novels.

"Start!!" Ah Long stood on a platform. It was a straight, deep pit, about three or four stories high. There were all sorts of barbs at the bottom, and some skeletons were submerged in dark water.

Some of the skeletons even emitted a green glow.

Obviously, it's impossible to pass underneath, and there are rocks on top.

With a starting signal, Ah Long took a running start and jumped towards a very short step next to him. He almost made it, swayed a few times on it, and then stuck to the very small step.

Ah Long pressed himself against the stone wall and glanced down, then quickly looked to the side, perfectly conveying his fear.

Then look at the platform you just jumped over, and then look at an even smaller step in front of you.

He hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and jumped over.

The camera showed that Ah Long did not jump onto the steps, but when the camera panned down, it was discovered that Ah Long was clinging to a rock below.

It was shot using multiple cameras and then edited.

Ah Long made an exaggeratedly frightened expression.

Lucas was also startled when he saw the scene.

Because the main character isn't visible in this empty shot, viewers will assume the main character has disappeared.

“Fantastic!” Lucas exclaimed.

Then Ah Long tried to climb the steps!
Instead, one hand slipped and fell. At this moment, the camera shot from above, capturing the danger in the pit below and Ah Long's current predicament. Ah Long is now covered in sweat.

Ah Long switched his hands and wiped them on his body, and everyone realized that his hands were sweaty and slippery. Then he turned around, bent his body, and jumped up.

Then Ah Long slumped down on the small steps and patted his chest.

Li Song had absolutely no problem watching Ah Long's performance.

Ah Long has the most expressive face in action movies. Even though he hasn't said a word, you can tell how much danger he's faced just from his expressions and body language.

Ah Long stood up again, stretched his arms and legs, and then leaped onto another small step.

Then a stone next to the small steps suddenly popped out.

Seeing this, Ah Long straightened his back and narrowly avoided the attack of the rock.

To put it bluntly, Li Song borrowed a lot of traps from escape games in this.

Lucas was also amazed, because Aaron didn't utter a sound during the match, but his performance was brilliant. His exaggerated expressions made people worry while also making them want to laugh.

Ah Long drew inspiration from Charlie Chaplin in terms of movements and expressions, because early films had no sound, so a lot of body language and facial expressions were needed.

This is unlike those later movies where people just stand there saying 12345 with stiff expressions, and the action scenes are all done with green screen editing and post-production special effects. Or they claim to be fantasy or martial arts stories with romance, but an entire episode consists of just a few people talking, which is incredibly annoying to watch.

The owner of Golden Harvest was standing right next to them, along with two reporters who were taking notes and taking pictures.

Li Song was well aware of the behavior of Hong Kong newspapers, but since he had brought Lucas along, he didn't care.

The reporter was writing in his notebook: "Mr. Lucas highly praised Aaron's acting skills."

"Third Uncle watched Ah Long make the movie intently, his eyes full of concern."

"Mr. Lucas praised Ah Long as being fantastic, the best kung fu actor he has ever seen!"

This is just one game in a lifetime.

Although it was only a few minutes, Ah Long was already drenched in sweat.

Ah Long rested for a while, and then filming officially began.

This time, Ah Long had an accident and fell straight down.

Fortunately, they were being suspended by wires; Lucas and the surrounding staff were also startled. Li Song noticed that the group of people suspended by wires were all Ah Long's brothers.

On set, if you don't have trustworthy brothers, something bad can happen in a heartbeat, or the fake props will turn into real ones.

Take wire work as an example; you need quick eyes and hands, and you need to be able to hold on in case of an accident.

Moreover, all equipment must be carefully checked before filming.

Ah Long's act of filming is tantamount to entrusting his life to his brothers.

After reshooting twice, Ah Long looked at the results and was quite satisfied!
"How about it!" Ah Long then turned his gaze to Li Song and Lucas.

Lucas gave Aaron a thumbs up: "You're amazing!"

"I think your movie will do well in Hollywood."

I really like your style.

“Very good, Ah Long, you shot it very well, it’s exactly the effect I wanted,” Li Song replied.

"Thanks!!"

"Thank you!!" Ah Long grinned happily when he heard the two say that.

The two reporters quickly jotted down the conversation, exaggerating it a bit, of course.

Then Lucas toured the entire studio.

You get what you pay for; these props look incredibly realistic.

No wonder the boss of Golden Harvest invested so much this time.

Li Song had no objection to the large investment, because nowadays the larger the investment, the more exquisite the film can be.

Unlike some later productions that had huge investments but turned out to be a pile of shit.

I have no idea where all that money went.

Moreover, this movie has its own way of making it a box office hit.

It's a sure-fire way to make money, so investing more money is no big deal.

Golden Harvest was still filming other movies, while the three Hui brothers were filming a comedy in another studio.

At noon, Mr. Zou treated everyone to lunch. Mr. He, Mr. Zou, Li Song, Lucas, Aaron, Xiao Si, Danny, and their agents were also present.

"Mr. Li, Mr. Lucas, welcome, welcome." Mr. He Guanchang greeted Li Song and Lucas warmly.

"I had some business to attend to at the company this morning and couldn't get away. I hope you can understand," Mr. He continued.
"Mr. He, you're too kind. We're just taking a stroll," Li Song replied with a slight smile.

Lucas nodded, and then they shook hands.

After some polite exchanges, Li Song refused to sit in the main seat, so Boss Zou took the main seat, with Li Song, Boss He, and Ah Long sitting to his right.

On the left are Lucas, Shields, Danny, and their agents.

"Mr. Li, I heard that the second book in the Treasure Mystery series, National Treasure, will be released next month."

"Don't you know about the film copyright?" Boss He asked Li Song in a low voice.

"Let's read the novel first!" Li Song definitely wouldn't discuss it now; he wanted to let the box office speak for itself after the first film was released.

Moreover, the subject matter of the second National Treasure film is more suitable for Hollywood.

"Li Sheng is truly a genius!"

"I originally thought Uncle San was an old man, but I didn't expect him to be such a handsome young man." Upon hearing Li Song's words, Boss He naturally knew what the other party was planning.

Actually, Mr. He was just asking casually, because there would be a great risk in talking about the second movie before the box office results of the first movie were in!
So he began to praise Li Song!
"Luck, luck!" Li Song smiled slightly upon hearing this.

Then everyone ate and chatted while eating. Boss He and Boss Zou didn't ask Li Song any other questions.

Ah Long had many questions for Li Song, but the environment wasn't right.

Xiao Si was puzzled. Could it be that the famous director and the fictional character Lucas had come all the way from America just because Li was his friend?
Xiao Si knows that Hollywood is very realistic; even good friends are just ordinary friends if they have no value to you.

"Mr. Lucas, when will you be filming your next movie?" Xiao Si's agent asked.

"I don't know, I haven't decided yet because I have too many ideas. I want to hear Li's opinion first." Lucas knew what the other party's agent meant, so he answered.

(End of this chapter)