Huayu Entertainment: Rising Since 1998

Chapter 122 A Conversation Between Director Johnnie To and Zhang Ziyi

The onlookers applauded again upon seeing this.

"Great, great!" Zhang Yimou was the most excited and shouted his approval.

Zhang Ziyi, Zhang Manyu, Liang Chaowei, Chen Daoming and others were full of praise.

"This guy is really amazing," Zhang Ziyi thought, his perception of Zhou Yan was now completely refreshed.

I originally thought it was just because of her good looks.

I didn't expect it to be this strong.

That's martial arts skill, that's the level.

No wonder he is a national martial arts champion.

Tony Leung sighed, "Bullet didn't lose unjustly. If I were Zhang Yimou, I would also choose Zhou Yan."

"I didn't expect there to be such excellent martial arts actors in mainland China. It seems I underestimated them." Zhang Manyu has not collaborated much with mainland China and doesn't know much about them.

Zhou Yan did indeed make her look at him in a different light.

"It has to be Zhou Yan. I knew he could do it," Chen Daoming said with a broad smile.

This wasn't the first time he and Zhou Yan had collaborated.

We met on the set of "Young Justice Bao".

Moreover, the two have a good relationship.

Li Lianjie walked over and gave Zhou Yan a thumbs up, saying, "Your marksmanship is really amazing."

"Your swordsmanship is also amazing," Zhou Yan said with a faint smile, exchanging compliments with Li Lianjie.

"Let's grab a drink sometime," Li Lianjie said, now feeling quite fond of Zhou Yan.

He appreciated Zhou Yan's kindness and didn't let him lose face in front of so many people.

"Okay," Zhou Yan immediately agreed.

Zhang Yimou came up and once again expressed his high praise for Zhou Yan.

"Director, I think the two of them can really improvise," Cheng Xiaodong said, stepping forward and offering a suggestion.

"You mean—" Zhang Yimou's eyes lit up instantly.

"That's exactly what I mean. Their interaction was more exciting than the editing."

"But the filming is also quite difficult," Cheng Xiaodong cautioned.

"That's okay, we can shoot with multiple cameras and then edit it later," Zhang Yimou said, adding that he likes challenging shooting techniques.

That evening, Zhou Yan received a call from Fan Binbin, from which he learned that "The World's Number One" had sold for 3200 million.

"Have you given me the benefits?" Zhou Yan asked.

"Here you go, one anonymous card for each person. I will transfer the remaining money to the cards later."

"That's good," Zhou Yan breathed a sigh of relief.

"Preparations for 'Assassin Couple' can begin now. Once I finish filming my scenes here, we'll get ready to start shooting."

""

"Hmm," Fan Binbin and Zhou Yan discussed some more details.

Johnnie To was ultimately chosen as the director of "The Assassin Couple".

Zhou Yan initially chose director John Woo.

John Woo has been very successful in recent years. Last year, he directed the spy film "Mission: Impossible 2," which became the highest-grossing film of the year worldwide and won numerous awards.

However, the other party's price was too high, so Zhou Yan had no choice but to choose someone else.

[Nanhua Film & Television] The fact that they were going to make a movie was not kept secret; many people knew about it.

They don't know the specific details, but they can't hide the subject matter.

Knowing that [Nanhua Film & Television] was going to shoot a gunfight action movie, many people called.

Some volunteered themselves, some were recommended by others, and some inquired about roles.

Ultimately, after weighing all the conditions, [Nanhua Films] invited Johnnie To to direct "The Assassin Couple".

Zhou Yan is in charge of martial arts instruction.

Although Johnnie To's achievements are not as great as John Woo's, he has won numerous awards.

His 1999 film "The Mission" established his style of gangster and police films, for which he won the Best Director Award at the 19th Hong Kong Film Awards and the Best Director Award at the 37th Golden Horse Awards.

Their strength is evident to all.

After hanging up the phone, Zhou Yan turned on her computer and resumed studying English.

He has completed his writing assignment for this year and plans to take a break before starting again next year.

In order to learn English, Zhou Yan bought English teaching CDs and started learning from scratch.

In addition, he specifically bought English audio tapes to practice his listening skills.

The next day, Zhou Yan arrived at the dressing room early to put on makeup.

He wanted to finish filming his scenes as soon as possible and then leave.

Zhou Yan's pay wasn't much, mainly because her role was too small.

After Zhou Yan finished her makeup, she arrived at the film set to wait.

The staff busied themselves setting up the filming location and laying tracks.

Zhang Yimou was directing the operation on site.

With the venue set up and everyone present, filming officially began.

The ground was wet because it had just rained.

Rainwater dripped continuously from the eaves and fell to the ground.

Zhou Yan, Li Lianjie, and Cheng Xiaodong were chatting together.

They were all martial arts practitioners, so they had things to talk about.

"Filming is in progress! Filming is in progress!" the assistant director's voice rang out, calling everyone over to start filming.

Zhou Yan's first scene was a battle between Chang Kong and the seven masters of the Qin Palace.

Zhou Yan stood in front of the pavilion, while Hei Zi, one of the seven masters, stood not far away.

As filming began, the two men clashed.

Hei Zi wasn't a martial arts actor, so the two of them didn't move quickly. Their movements were methodical and precise, following established routines.

It took all morning to film the fight between the seven masters. The process was tiring and exhausting.

This afternoon, we're preparing to film the fight scene with Jet Li, which is the most exciting fight in the entire series.

Zhou Yan got a boxed lunch from the film crew, sat on a small stool, and ate while looking at the sky outside.

The sky was overcast and covered with dark clouds.

"It's raining," a voice rang out at that moment.

The staff put down their boxed lunches and got to work.

Some are building machines, others are moving things.

Zhou Yan looked at the scene outside but did not move.

The water flowed like a beaded curtain, drop by drop, strung together.

Ripples spread across the water that had fallen to the ground.

"What are you thinking about?" A voice came from that moment.

Zhou Yan couldn't help but look over, and it was Zhang Ziyi.

"I'm thinking about the plot," Zhou Yan said casually.

"Are you really only twenty?" Zhang Ziyi asked curiously.

"No," Zhou Yan shook his head.

"Um?"

"I just turned twenty-one, so I'm twenty-one now," Zhou Yan explained.

"You startled me," Zhang Ziyi laughed immediately.

"Which year did you enter at the Beijing Film Academy?"

"I was in class 00."

The two sat down and started chatting.

They talked about ordinary things, but it greatly brought the two of them closer.

The fight scene between Zhou Yan and Li Lianjie was originally scheduled to be filmed in the afternoon.

However, due to rain, the scene of playing chess in the sky was filmed at the last minute.

Fortunately, the rain came quickly and went quickly.

Filming for Li Lianjie and Zhou Yan's scenes has resumed.

The two men each held a gun in one hand and a sword in the other.

Back and forth.

It has both speed and power.

Absolutely fantastic.

Zhou Yan and Li Lianjie improvised.

There was no intention to hurt anyone; it was merely a friendly exchange.

Several cameras were turned on simultaneously, staff members held up microphones, and all staff members were on high alert, not wanting to miss a single moment.

On the other side, a musician sat in front of his instrument, playing along, while an assistant director filmed the scene opposite him.

Zhou Yan and Li Lianjie adjusted the speed of their moves according to the rhythm of the zither music.

It was almost over.

As the staff gestured to Zhou Yan and Li Lianjie, the two immediately understood.

Li Lianjie severed Zhou Yan's spear and plunged his sword into the man's heart.

Zhou Yan fell to the ground.