This director loves making friends.

While both "The Man from Nowhere" and "A Bittersweet Life" feature sharp, cold, and realistic fighting styles with authentic confrontations and bone-crunching punches, there are still some differences in their action sequences.

The male lead in "A Bittersweet Life" is a bodyguard for a mob boss. His fight scenes are incredibly powerful, with each punch feeling real and visceral, giving the audience a genuine sense of "pain."

The male protagonist of "The Man from Nowhere" is a retired top assassin who fights quickly and with each move deadly. He may not make the audience feel "pain," but he will make them feel "suffocated."

However, the two films share the same action style.

Both styles abandon flashy routines and emphasize "fast, accurate, and ruthless" deadly fighting techniques. When placed in the context of today's Hong Kong action movies, which combine the hard-hitting style of Southern martial arts with the standardized martial arts routines of Northern martial arts, they would definitely be considered a unique style.

To present a "cold and fierce" fighting style, apart from requiring the main action actors to have basic martial arts skills, it is actually not difficult to achieve.

First, simplify the action design, adopt short and direct attack routes, reduce unnecessary movements, and highlight the oppressive feeling of defeating the enemy with one blow.

Secondly, the camera work is well-coordinated with the editing, making extensive use of handheld tracking shots, close-ups, and rapid cuts, combined with shaky first-person shots to enhance the sense of presence and speed.

Third, wire work has not been completely abandoned. Some high-difficulty aerial maneuvers or impact reactions still require the use of wires, but the main fighting scenes maintain a realistic feel and avoid overly exaggerated movements that could lead to distortion.

Fourthly, there are requirements for the actors. The lead actor should convey the psychological tension of the character "silent killer" through suppressed expressions, cold eyes, and controlled breathing rhythm. In other words, the lead actor should ideally be "expressionless" and abandon the slightly exaggerated performances of actors in Hong Kong films.

Fifth, the film uses a cool blue as the main color throughout, creating a depressing, alienated, and decadent visual atmosphere. The film's visuals belong to the language of cinema and can highlight the cold and sharp fighting style.

Actually, this fighting style doesn't require that much in terms of the actor's basic skills.

An actor with no martial arts background can also make this kind of movie.

However, actors without a martial arts background will definitely need to undergo basic training before filming if they want to make this kind of movie well.

Even if Qin Keqing wanted to find a star without a martial arts background to play the male lead, given the current "frivolous" atmosphere in Hong Kong, very few actors would be willing to undergo three to five months of special training in basic skills for a movie.

This is also why Qin Keqing chose Lin Guobin without much hesitation.

If you're looking for Lin Guobin, no special training is needed.

The same reason Qin Keqing chose Zhao Wenzhuo as another supporting actor with major action scenes is that he doesn't need special training.

However, filming action scenes is not something that can be done overnight.

Before filming, break down the moves and practice them until you are familiar with them before you can start filming.

Otherwise, danger could very likely occur.

When filming action scenes in dangerous locations, an ambulance is usually on set.

Especially when filming action scenes involving "collisions," even with specially made props, there can still be dangers.

Just as Qin Keqing was slowly "polishing" his action scenes, Xie Fei came to visit the set.

"The movie 'A Bittersweet Life' is about to be released. When are you going to promote it? People from China Film Group wanted to invite you to promote it, but you turned it down."

Xie Fei watched the action scene being filmed for a while, and only after filming ended did he ask Qin Keqing a question.

"It's not that I'm refusing, but China Film Group wants me to go to several major cities across the country to hold meet-and-greets and promote the film. I'm currently filming a movie, so I really can't get away. At most, I can only spare a couple of days to promote it in Beijing and my hometown."

Qin Keqing explained to Xie Fei.

"Hehe, now that film studios have distribution rights, everyone wants to make more money and everyone wants to have a good first year to show their superiors. China Film Group has lost the right to centrally purchase and distribute films, so it can only focus on imported films."

Xie Fei smiled and glanced at Qin Keqing, then said, "Your 'A Bittersweet Life' is a Cannes award-winning film. The story is wonderful, the action is exciting, and it's a box office hit in Hong Kong, earning more than ten million more than 'Farewell My Concubine.' China Film Group must be taking it very seriously."

China Film Group (CFG) didn't want to be outdone by the smaller film studios just after the deregulation of centralized film purchasing and distribution. Furthermore, with "Farewell My Concubine" releasing on July 31st, directly competing with "A Bittersweet Life" which was released on the 30th, CFG was in a hurry.

Xie Fei, with his hands behind his back, shook his head and sighed, "I didn't expect your film to clash with Brother Kai's 'Farewell My Concubine.' I know what the higher-ups were thinking. They suddenly approved a release date of the 31st for 'Farewell My Concubine,' and didn't allow a premiere, a cancellation, or any promotion..."

Isn't this clearly an attempt to have your "A Bittersweet Life" overshadow "Farewell My Concubine"? Sigh, seeing the two of you going head-to-head is the last thing I want to see.

Qin Keqing could tell that Xie Fei still had feelings for Chen Kai, after all, he was a student Xie Fei had taught.

"Is that what the above means?"

Qin Keqing remembered that in her previous life, "Farewell My Concubine" was also released in July, but it didn't seem to be on July 31st.

"What else can you do? Have you ever seen a movie scheduled to be released on a Saturday? And you can't even have a premiere, can't be cancelled, can't promote it? Isn't this blatant suppression?"

Xie Fei sighed again as he spoke.

"Actually, it's no wonder the higher-ups are so angry. What you film is not important; these things can be discussed and changed. But if you submit a completely unrelated fake script for review in the early stages, and then win an award after filming, and then use the prestige of the Palme d'Or to force the higher-ups to approve it and want it to be released, that is indeed a bit of bullying."

Hearing Xie Fei say this, Qin Keqing still couldn't believe it. The reason why "A Bittersweet Life" was "jumped the queue" to be released on July 30 was to counter "Farewell My Concubine".

"Forget it, let's not talk about this anymore."

Xie Fei waved his hand. When Qin Keqing said she wanted to release the film in July, Xie Fei genuinely wanted to help. He even contacted leaders at China Film Group and the Film Bureau. But who knew things would turn out like this…

We've been tricked!

Xie Fei opened his briefcase, took out two magazines, and handed them to Qin Keqing, saying with a somewhat serious expression, "Open to the page I folded; is that the article you wrote?"

Qin Keqing found it strange; why did he suddenly become so serious?

He took the magazines Xie Fei handed him, glanced at them, and found they were the French "Cahiers du Cinéma" and the British "Screen Daily".

These two magazines are among the most authoritative in the European and even the world film industry.

Cahiers du Cinéma is the world's most influential art film criticism magazine. It proposed the "auteur theory" and nurtured the French New Wave. It is known for its in-depth film reviews and annual top ten lists, and is extremely famous.

Screen Daily is a highly influential professional publication in the global film industry. During international A-list film festivals such as the Berlin Film Festival and the Cannes Film Festival, Screen Daily publishes "Screen Report Scores," which are an important reference for film fans and industry professionals to judge the reputation of films.

In addition to ratings, the publication also releases lists of potential blockbuster films, market transaction information, and in-depth industry analysis, making it a valuable reference for the industry.

Upon seeing Cahiers du Cinéma, Qin Keqing immediately understood what was going on. He had also asked his "good friend" Pierre Lissent to help him publish his article in Hong Kong in an important journal.

Pierre Lissent called me a while ago and mentioned this matter, proudly saying that he helped Qin Keqing "deconstruct" that article in the director interview section of Cahiers du Cinéma in the form of an interview.

The regular sections of Cahiers du Cinéma include “Auteur Studies,” “Film Analysis,” and “Director Interviews.”

"Director Interviews" are on-site interviews with important directors who are currently filming new movies.

Qin Keqing flipped through the folded and marked pages of "Cinema Handbook" and saw that it was an article from the "Director Interviews" section.

This is an "interview" with director Qin Keqing, who is currently filming his new movie "Uncle"!

Qin Keqing never expected that even the renowned "Cahiers du Cinéma" could fabricate an interview to publish that article without actually conducting one.

As a close confidant of Gilles Jacob, the artistic director of the Cannes Film Festival, Pierre Lissent's connections and influence are truly impressive.

He then opened another issue of "Daily Screen," which featured in-depth industry analysis and included an editor's note that read:

This is a highly forward-thinking and insightful article, which sparked heated discussions within the editorial department, with differing opinions.

CGI is poised to go from being an "embellishment" to a "dominant force," and may even reshape the global film landscape—a prospect that seems somewhat radical and utopian in the current climate.

But just like the initial skepticism encountered when sound films first appeared, technological waves often disrupt the existing order before they are fully understood. We appreciate this dimension of thinking that breaks out of the traditional framework.

Let's wait and see!

Qin Keqing was somewhat surprised. Pierre Lissent hadn't said that the article would be published in Screen Daily. How come Screen Daily not only published it, but seemed to value it highly?

Ok?

"Could it be that Peng Jiesi used her connections in the UK to do this? It probably is."

Qin Keqing only asked Peng Jiesi to publish those two articles in Hong Kong newspapers, but she didn't expect that Peng Jiesi would also use her connections to publish them in the British newspaper "Daily Screen".