So what if I work with celebrities?

To reflect the brutality of the Manchu Qing dynasty, Xu Zan went to great lengths in terms of costumes, props, and sets. He even placed a statue of Confucius behind the teacher's seat in the school.

He asked the painter to draw Confucius's hair in a pigtail style, a blasphemous act that startled the painter.

"Just draw it when I tell you to, stop with all the nonsense!" Xu Zan said, somewhat displeased.

"Director Xu, this...this...won't this have a bad influence..." the artist forced a smile.

"I'm trying to get the audience emotional! Just keep drawing!"

In addition, Xu Zan rejected the first routine designed by the martial arts instructor, which made Liu Jialiang very unhappy.

This scene depicts Yin Tianzhong, a subordinate of Zheng Chenggong, attempting to assassinate the imperial envoy in order to rescue righteous men, and engaging in a battle of wits and courage with the Manchu general Dalahan.

"Director Xu, Jia Rong and Hua Qiang's fight was very fluid and flawless. You can't just dismiss it with a single sentence..."

"Brother Liu, I want to increase the audience's resentment towards the Manchu general, so this part needs to showcase both Dalahan's martial prowess and his treacherous and cunning side! Could you redesign it?"

Xu Zan suggested several methods, such as using hidden arrows, throwing sand, and using nearby villagers to block the axe.

As the saying goes, "The higher-ups just give orders, but the people below run themselves ragged." Xu Zan's suggestion required choreographing a smooth, coherent, and aesthetically pleasing martial arts routine, which was no easy task.

Liu Jialiang sat there deep in thought, occasionally calling on the two martial arts instructors to spar.

It must be said that Liu's martial arts routines are more masculine than agile and lack elegance. In this respect, the martial arts designs of the Yuan brothers are more interesting.

By the 1990s, Cheng Xiaodong's martial arts routine designs had become incredibly imaginative.

Xu Zan had a complete picture of the evolution of martial arts choreography techniques in Hong Kong, but he didn't make demands that spanned different eras, since some techniques were no longer up to par.

The main plot of "The 36th Chamber of Shaolin" is that when he was young, under the guidance of his teacher, the monk Sande began to engage in anti-Qing and restoration work. As a result, his parents and relatives were persecuted by the government's henchmen. He went to Shaolin to learn martial arts and founded the 36th Chamber of Shaolin, which was dedicated to taking in lay disciples.

This is the story of how he went down the mountain to gather Lu Acai, Hong Xiguan, Chun Mi Liu and others to conspire to assassinate Dalahan.

The plot is relatively simple: a passionate heart, the tragedy of relatives and friends, learning martial arts to seek revenge, and the most interesting part is the scene of practicing kung fu in various places at Shaolin Temple.

"Han Sheng, you need to make your movements a bit bigger, but you need to tone down your expression!" Xu Zan said.

"Oh, Director Xu, are you asking me to play the clown?" Han Guocai said with a smile.

He was a very famous supporting actor in Hong Kong, having acted in more than 130 films in his lifetime. He was born in the same year as Dillon. In the 1980s, his career reached its peak. He starred in "The Evil" and "The Evil After the Evil". In the 1976 version of "The Return of the Condor Heroes", he played three roles (Qiu Qianchi, Qiu Qianren, and Granny Sun).

"He can't really be called a clown; rather, he serves as a seasoning in a depressing storyline."

It has to be said that some people are born to act in comedy. Han Guocai stands there like a comedian, even when he is delivering his lines in a serious manner.

For one location scene in "The 36th Chamber of Shaolin," the crew had to go to Tuen Mun to find a wooded area. Some local gangsters arrived on set within half an hour.

"Hey! Who gave you permission to film here? Don't you know this is private property?" Li Zhiqiang, along with several of his men, brandished steel pipes and stormed into the film set.

Producer Wong Ka-hei, accompanied by several stuntmen, blocked the group's path. "We're from the Shao family!"

"I don't care about your Shao family or Jiahe, once you're here, you have to listen to me! You can't use my territory!"

Li Zhiqiang gave a wink to the people around him. The gangsters, who fought every day, understood immediately and rushed over during the negotiations.

He had just joined the New Righteousness Society and was eager to make a name for himself, so he was always the first to rush to the front lines whenever anything happened within the society.

With his exceptional martial arts skills and ruthless nature, he became a minor leader of the Sun Yee organization in Tuen Mun in just a few months.

However, he suffered a loss this time. He didn't expect that this damn film crew would have twenty or thirty stuntmen, each wielding a stick, who beat the five of them pretty badly.

Li Zhiqiang and his brothers limped away, not forgetting to utter a threat, "You bastards, you just wait!"

Huang Jiaxi, representing the Shaw Brothers, returned to apologize to Xu Zan, saying, "Director Xu, I'm sorry you were frightened. That's how it is on the outskirts of Hong Kong."

"That's what stuntmen do—shoot movies and protect the crew!" Liu Jialiang said.

"That guy must be a hothead. Producer Wong said that when Shao's films are made, if he had any sense, he would have tried to negotiate and ask for some money to leave."

"Do you know which club he belongs to?" Xu Zan asked.

Many martial arts instructors shook their heads. This person came and started smashing things without saying anything. Plus, he looked to be only eighteen or nineteen years old. They had no idea who he was.

"Does anyone know any of the local gangs? Go ask them. Don't let them cause trouble for a few days while we're filming!" Xu Zan said, looking at Liu Jialiang.

He pointed to a martial arts master, who took the order and ran down the mountain to inquire.

"Alright, alright, everyone, let's get back to filming!" Xu Zan shouted.

……

Li Zhiqiang and his brothers limped into a restaurant, and as soon as they entered, someone called out:

"Hey, isn't this Pighead? You really got beaten up like a pig's head? Hahaha!"

"Fuck you. Are you looking for death?" Already furious, Li Zhiqiang grabbed a steel pipe and charged forward.

The other party was from the Digital Head Society, so they were naturally not afraid, and seven or eight people around them stood up in a flash.

"Brother," one of Li Zhiqiang's underlings pulled him back, "a wise man doesn't fight a losing battle."

Li Zhiqiang suppressed his anger. His injuries made it unwise to fight, but the thought still infuriated him. He sneered, "There's a film crew shooting up on the mountain. Big-headed dog, you think you're so capable? Go and take them down!"

"Damn it, fine, we'll take it. We at Digital Head don't want you Shin-Yi to be so humiliated!"

Big-Headed Dog declared that this area would henceforth belong to Number Head, and that the people of Faith should get out as soon as possible. He then led his henchmen straight up the mountain.

Soon, dozens of people were seen gathered there; this must be the film crew.

Unlike Pighead, who is simple-minded and attacks without thinking, he observes the composition of the crew and what kind of film they are making.

A group of men with shaved heads, wearing fake braids and dressed in ancient costumes, rode tall horses at a gallop.

"Is that person Liu Jialiang?" Big-Headed Dog asked.

"It seems so, it's too far away to see clearly."

"Damn it, I told you to spend less time rolling around in bed and more time exercising." Big-headed dog slapped his underling on the head.

If Liu Jialiang is involved, it must be a Shaw Brothers film, and most likely a big investment. Damn it, that pig-headed idiot is up to no good, trying to screw me over here.

But I've already made a boast to the people of Xinyi. If I don't go, what will the people around me think? That I'm not even as good as that pig-headed guy?

The big-headed dog and his men shouted, "Stop! Stop! Who gave you permission to film here?"

Tang Weicheng, riding a tall horse, saw several people suddenly rush out in front of him and hurriedly tightened the reins, almost crashing into them.

"Damn it, are you guys looking to die?" Enraged, he jumped off his horse, ready to beat up those bastards.

If it weren't for the other martial arts instructors stopping them, a fight would definitely have broken out.

The big-headed dog straightened its back, its already protruding mouth now glaring at the people, "Who's the boss here? Who gave you permission to film here?"

He saw the crowd make way, and at the end of the crowd stood a young man, a few years younger than himself. He was a little surprised, and quickly scanned the crowd to find Liu Jialiang standing next to him.

"Who's the director?"

As everyone's gaze fell upon him, he saw the young man smile and say:

"I am the director—Xu Zan!"

Big Head Dog had indeed heard of Hsu Tsan's name; it seemed that the movie he had taken his girlfriend to see before was directed by him, and he was a director from Taiwan.

"This place belongs to Digital Head. Who gave you permission to film here without my permission?" Big Head Dog was full of confidence, being a native of Taiwan.

"Oh, I thought it was under British control in Hong Kong!" Xu Zan sneered. "Digital numbers, huh? It's not like I don't know your big brother."

Upon hearing the number, Huang Jiaxi immediately said, "We're from Shao's film crew, and Fan Sheng and I are very close!"

Big-Headed Dog thought for a while before remembering who Fan Sheng was. This person was indeed the person in charge of the Number Head Plum Blossom Group in his early years.

We have to give face to this veteran of the martial arts world, but we can't just leave in such a humiliating way.

Huang Jiaxi noticed the man's relaxed expression and said with a smile, "Since you're Fan Sheng's son, take this money and have some tea with your brothers!"

The big-headed dog reached out to catch it, when suddenly a book came flying at him. He dodged to the side, glaring angrily, and yelled:

"What do you mean?"