Huayu: King of Kung Fu

Chapter 144 You're a genius!

Before dawn, the convoy of the "Hero" film crew set off from their base and headed towards the Gobi Desert.

The filming location was on the northern slope of the Altun Mountains in Aksai County, which is more than 100 kilometers away from Qili Town, where the crew was stationed.

We set off in the morning, finished filming, and had to rush back in the evening; the back and forth took up a lot of time.

After driving for more than two hours, a town appeared in the distance on the Gobi Desert ahead, and it was quite large.

Lin Hu asked in surprise, "There's a town here?"

Driver Lao Liu, who had previously scouted locations with the film crew, replied, "That was an oil town built in the 1950s. It was completely relocated three years ago due to the depletion of oil reserves."

As soon as Lao Liu mentioned it, Lin Hu remembered that this place was quite famous in later generations.

After the oil company moved out, the theater, school, hospital and other buildings were preserved intact, turning the town into an abandoned town, which became a perfect filming location.

The oil town featured in the movie "Chronicles of the Ghostly Tribe" was filmed here.

It later became a popular tourist attraction, with many tourists making special trips to the oil town for adventure.

From the 1990s to the millennium, Zhang Yimou created numerous tourist attractions across the country through filming.

Wherever he films, the place becomes a hit, attracting hordes of tourists, making him a national cultural and tourism icon.

The object of the bureau's fervent pursuit.

Specifically, after the crew of "Hero" filmed on the northern slope of the Altun Mountains, a film and television city was built on the spot.

Many well-known films and television series, such as "Candle in the Tomb," "Dragon Blade," and "The Last Supper," were filmed here.

The convoy passed through an oil town without stopping, and after driving for another ten minutes or so, finally arrived at its destination.

The filming location was at the foot of a hillside, where dozens of military trucks were parked, and thousands of soldiers were lined up neatly in the Gobi Desert.

Zhang Yimou wanted to film large-scale scenes of the Qin army marching and fighting, and the armored corps stationed in Jiayuguan cooperated with the film crew by specially dispatching 1,000 officers and soldiers to participate in the filming.

These officers and soldiers stayed in the guesthouse in Aksai County. They would come early in the morning to cooperate with the film crew for shooting, and then return to the guesthouse to rest after filming.

After these soldiers changed into Qin army armor, Lin Hu stood on the edge of the Gobi Desert and looked out. He saw Qin soldiers dressed in black armor lined up in square formations, neat, solemn, and majestic.

"This is the mighty army of the Qin Dynasty!"

Lin Hu inexplicably thought, "If I were to lead this army back to ancient times, conquering the world would be a piece of cake, right?"

Zhang Yimou directed his troops to film the opening scene of the movie in the Gobi Desert, depicting the Qin army's thousands of horses marching, forming ranks, cavalry charging, and being hit by a barrage of arrows.

A grand spectacle unfolded simultaneously.

Lin Hu was preparing for his duel with Maggie Cheung when martial arts choreographer Ching Siu-tung asked, "Brother Tai, I've seen your movies, and I've noticed you've never been suspended by wires?"

In fact, Lin Hu had done wire work before. He often replicated various classic action scenes in the original timeline, and he often had to use wires, so his skills were quite proficient.

However, in this particular timeline, he had never used wire work, so he nodded and said, "When I first started out, I felt that wire work was becoming too common in movies, so I deliberately went against the grain and didn't use wires or stunt doubles. But recently, when I was filming a martial arts movie, I started using stunt doubles."

Ching Siu-tung said, "Director Cheung is pursuing an ethereal style, so wire work is a must."

Lin Hu nodded and said, "Then teach me!"

When it comes to wire work skills, Ching Siu-tung is undoubtedly the best in the Chinese film industry.

In films such as "Swordsman" and "Swordsman II," he brought to life the imagination of lightness skills from martial arts novels, creating many memorable scenes.

Although Lin Hu had actually been suspended by wires before, he still felt he benefited greatly from his conversation with Cheng Xiaodong, after all, Cheng was an expert.

Cheng Xiaodong first explained some basic principles and techniques to Lin Hu, and then tried hanging him up.

Lin Hu swayed in the air for a couple of moments, then became quite adept at hanging, and after a while, he was moving with effortless grace.

Zhang Manyu was incredibly surprised and said, "You actually learned it in one go? I almost died back then."

Cheng Xiaodong was so surprised that he immediately cursed, "Damn, you're a genius!"

Lin Hu simply smiled calmly, keeping his achievements and fame hidden.

Zhang Manyu truly deserves her title as a film queen.

In the movie "Hero", everyone is showing off and no one speaks properly.

Although she was instructed by Zhang Yimou to deliberately maintain a blank expression, she made full distinctions between Wuming and Feixue's two duels in the Qin army camp—one when Wuming was agitated and the other when he bravely faced death—by using different expressions and movements.

Zhang Manyu is not an action actress by training. Although she has filmed many action scenes as a Hong Kong actress and is quite skilled, she seems to be performing in slow motion in front of Lin Hu.

When Lin Hu was filming action scenes with her, he would just leave the sword there for her to use, and then guide her with the rhythm, making her follow his movements.

Zhang Manyu performed the entire action sequence flawlessly, without a stunt double, under Lin Hu's guidance.

Wuming killed Feixue, and with a clang, sheathed his sword.

Zhang Manyu was both surprised and delighted, saying, "I've been acting for eighteen years, and I've never felt like this before. It's so comfortable filming action scenes with you!"

Lin Hu said with a smile, "Actually, I've been practicing martial arts since I was a child, and I've been practicing for about seventeen or eighteen years now."

Cheng Xiaodong found it unbelievable and said, "I think your movements have surpassed A-Jie's in terms of accuracy and speed."

Lin Hu smiled modestly and said, "I'm young. When you worked with Brother Jie back then, he was already over thirty."

Soon, Lin Hu became a treasure in the "Hero" crew, and everyone liked him very much.

He knows the movie "Hero" very well and can talk to Zhang Yimou about the plot and creative concepts.

"Hero" is a Rashomon-like story, in which the truth of the story is revealed through the accounts of each person.

Since everyone was talking about the same thing, Zhang Yimou chose to use colors to distinguish them.

The nameless one tells the first story, fabricating that Broken Sword and Flying Snow's love turned to hatred, using red to represent desire and jealousy.

The King of Qin saw through Wuming's lie and imagined a story of love and mutual respect between Broken Sword and Flying Snow, where they would sacrifice their lives for each other. He used blue to represent melancholy and deep affection.

When Lin Hu discussed creative concepts with Zhang Yimou, he hit the nail on the head and revealed Zhang's intentions.

Lin Hu talked to martial arts director Ching Siu-tung about action design concepts, speaking eloquently and logically, some of which Ching Siu-tung had never even heard of.

Lin Hu and Jet Li filmed action scenes together. Jet Li is a genius martial artist, while Lin Hu is an unparalleled master. Their action scenes were absolutely spectacular and incredibly entertaining.

Zhang Yimou, watching from the monitor, was beaming with excitement, saying that he had come to the right people by hiring the two of them.

When Lin Hu was with Zhang Manyu, he became a devoted fan. He knew Zhang Manyu's preferences well and took good care of her.

This prompted Maggie Cheung to exclaim, "If I were twenty years younger, I would definitely date you!"

Actually, Lin Hu is attracted to mature women. Zhang Manyu is only 37 years old, so it's not impossible for him.

However, one of them is an action star and the other is an international film queen. Their fame is too great, and there is a huge age gap between them. If they were to date, it would be too shocking. Let's forget about it!

Lin Hu preferred to linger around Zhang Manyu rather than pay much attention to Zhang Ziyi, which made her increasingly jealous.

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