Huayu: King of Kung Fu

Chapter 136 Chinese Heroes

Li Xiaoran's figure was so stunning that Wang Baoqiang almost got a nosebleed just looking at her.

Even though she dressed simply, she didn't seem like the gentle and kind daughter of a doctor.

Lin Hu made a last-minute decision to replace her, which left Li Xiaoran feeling very embarrassed and a little sad.

She had been in the industry for four or five years but hadn't played any good roles. She finally got a chance to appear in Lin Hu's movie, but was immediately dropped from the project.

Li Xiaoran asked somewhat nervously, "Director, is there something I did wrong?"

Lin Hu felt he had gone a bit too far; the other person had already started acting before he said it was inappropriate.

Changing actors on the spot would be so embarrassing for them!

Lin Hu thought for a moment and then added, "Don't misunderstand, I just suddenly realized that you're suitable for a role in the second part, so you can't appear in the first part."

Li Xiaoran was a little confused: "A role in the second part?"

"Yes, I like to think about sequels in advance for every movie I make. You have a great figure and are beautiful. You used to be in the Oriental Song and Dance Troupe, right?"

"right!"

"You have a background in dance, so you can film action scenes. There's a female martial arts master in the sequel; she's beautiful and highly skilled, and I think you'd be perfect for her—"

Lin Hu quickly thought of Ding Baiying from the sequel. This character was quite outstanding, and Li Xiao should be able to handle the role, so he suggested her.

He explained what Ding Baiying did for a while, then asked, "But filming action scenes is very tough, so it depends on whether you're interested!"

Seeing that Lin Hu had explained things clearly and didn't seem to be just making empty promises, Li Xiaoran said, "I do!"

Even if Lin Hu was lying, there was nothing she could do; it was all up to Lin Hu anyway.

Lin Hu nodded and said, "Then it's a deal. I'll contact you later!"

"OK!"

If Li Xiao is replaced again, someone else will have to be brought in to take her place.

Lin Hu thought for a moment, then contacted the crew of the neighboring drama "Clever Little Master" and borrowed actress Xue Jianing from that show to fill in.

Xue Jianing is very cute. She dated Hu Ge before, but after they broke up, when the media asked about Hu Ge, she said, "He's too famous now, so I won't get involved in his topics."

He doesn't try to ride the wave of popularity at all, earning him the nickname "China's Best Ex" from netizens.

Xue Jianing was still a newcomer and was inexplicably borrowed to the "Brotherhood of Blades" crew. She was a little nervous when she met Lin Hu.

Lin Hu was discussing the filming of an action scene with Yuen Woo-ping when he saw Xue Jianing arrive. He smiled warmly and said, "Thank you for helping me out."

Xue Jianing felt that Lin Hu was quite friendly, so she immediately relaxed and said, "I'm very happy to be able to act in your movie!"

""

"Go try on the costume and see if it fits."

Xue Jianing is a little shorter than Li Xiaoran, and the costume she wore was a bit loose, but it was still acceptable.

That's fine, Lin Hu was too lazy to ask someone else to do it, he explained the plot to her and started filming.

This character doesn't have many lines; all he needs to do is project a gentle and kind demeanor.

Xue Jianing is a sweet girl; just sitting there and smiling is enough to make her beautiful.

She sat there pounding medicine. Without the White Rabbit candy making Wang Baoqiang dizzy, he quickly got into the zone.

Lin Hu discovered that this kid really had talent. He looked at the beautiful woman with a silly smile, but he wasn't annoying at all.

Lin Hu led Wang Baoqiang out, and Xue Jianing caught up with them and handed him a sachet.

"What is this?"

"Cloves, musk, sandalwood, and some borneol added—wear it with you, and it will cure your cough!"

"Thanks!"

"My name is Zhang Yan. Please don't tell my dad, or he'll scold me for prescribing unorthodox remedies again."

The scene was beautiful, but in the next shot, Collin Chou carried Xue Jianing out of the house.

She tore her skirt to shreds, revealing her two long, white legs.

"You have good taste, kid. This girl—she's very attractive!"

Lin Hu gave Xue Jianing a red envelope containing 3000 yuan and said, "Jianing, thank you for coming to help."

You're welcome. Call me again sometime!

"OK."

The crew continued filming the fight scenes between Collin Chou and Wang Baoqiang, and Xue Jianing was not in a hurry to leave, standing aside and watching with great interest.

She had never seen action scenes filmed before, and now she realizes that while the fight scenes in movies appear fluid and graceful, they are actually quite fragmented when filmed.

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The actors would stop fighting mid-action, and sometimes stunt doubles would be used. For some shots, both the lead actor and the stunt double had to do it, and whoever did it best would be used.

She really wanted to see Lin Hu film action scenes, but unfortunately Lin Hu didn't appear; only Collin Chou and Wang Baoqiang were fighting.

There are many action scenes in "Brotherhood of Blades", but the main characters are three brothers, and Ding Xiu and Zhao Jingzhong also have their own action scenes, so Lin Hu doesn't have to fight from beginning to end.

This gave Lin Hu room to maneuver. He prioritized filming his own scenes, and when "Fast & Furious" was released, he handed the crew over to Yuen Woo-ping to film the action scenes of other actors.

Hong Kong has long divided films into two parts: dramatic scenes and action scenes.

Since most directors don't understand martial arts and can't provide any guidance, they have to rely on martial arts choreographers.

The martial arts choreographer also performs the duties of a director; he is responsible for designing action scenes, camera movement, and editing.

In the early days, during the era of Chang Cheh and King Hu, directors would be on set to supervise and give instructions to the martial arts choreographers.

In the later stages, the action scenes gradually became controlled by the directors, and the dialogue scenes became increasingly difficult for the directors to handle.

In the movie "Fist of Legend", Gordon Chan was not even present during the action scenes; he left after filming the dialogue scenes.

A month or so later, Yuen Woo-ping told him that filming was finished, and he went to the set to announce the end of filming.

Although Lin Hu did not intend to do this throughout the entire film, it was still necessary for him to have Yuen Woo-ping and others film action scenes when he went out to promote his new movie.

So, in mid-June, Lin Hu handed the crew over to Yuen Woo-ping and went to Los Angeles alone to participate in the promotional activities for "Fast & Furious".

The Fast and the Furious franchise has also been imported to China and released simultaneously with North America.

There is currently no domestic film protection month, so Hollywood blockbusters can be released openly during the summer vacation.

Just as Chen Long brought the concept of the Lunar New Year film season, Hollywood brought the concept of the summer film season.

As a B-movie, "Fast & Furious" was originally planned for a spring release.

The response during the limited screenings was overwhelming. Seeing the potential for profit, Universal Pictures immediately postponed the screenings to late June to compete in the summer blockbuster season, increasing the advertising budget and launching a full-scale advertising campaign.

On June 18, "Fast & Furious" held a high-profile premiere at the Chinese Theatre.

Paul Walker, Lin Hu, Maggie Q, and Michelle appeared on the red carpet.

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This is Lin Hu's first Hollywood film. Many Chinese media outlets were present at the event. When Lin Hu and Michelle appeared on stage, the reporters excitedly took photos of the two of them together.

Starting in the mid-to-late 1990s, Chinese filmmakers began to venture into Hollywood, with behind-the-scenes figures such as John Woo, Ang Lee, and Yuen Woo-ping achieving great success.

Chinese actors such as Chen Long, Jet Li, Lin Hu, Chow Yun-fat, Michelle Yeoh, and Zhang Ziyi have successively appeared in mainstream Hollywood theaters.

According to these Chinese media outlets, Hollywood has entered a Chinese era.

So they were very excited and reported on every little thing these Chinese actors did in Hollywood.

Domestic readers also enjoy reading it and feel very proud.

Lin Hu was alright; he didn't feel particularly proud of it.

However, China at that time was poor and weak, and needed heroes to boost national confidence and longed for Chinese people to become famous in the world.

In this era, Chen Long, Yao Ming, and Liu Xiang are all Chinese heroes in people's hearts.

Lin Hu would be happy to be one of them!