Chapter 50: The wild goose plucking its hair (please recommend, please collect~)
Author: Box and Orange
Chapter 50: The wild goose plucking its hair (please recommend, please collect~)
After the actors were confirmed, a script reading was conducted under the arrangement of assistant director Dong Chunzhi.
This is also the first time that Li Xian, Tan Songyun and Bai Yu have seen the complete version of the script, apart from The Great Power.
The three young people were very excited, especially Bai Yu, who graduated from the Central Academy of Drama. He knew how difficult it was to get this role, so he worked very hard.
Zhang Hao made contact with a local school in Hong Kong Island. After returning from Hong Kong Island, he packed the four leading actors into this school where children from wealthy families in Hong Kong Island attend to experience life.
As preparatory work continues, many preliminary tasks are progressing smoothly. The designs of costumes, props, and art scenes have been finalized.
The production team consists of Liu Hao as the first producer and Chen Bowen as the second producer. The director is naturally Zhang Hao, with Dong Chunzhi from China Film as his deputy. In addition, there are three executive directors recruited by the crew, including Guo Fan.
The photography team is led by Lu Jianqiu, who we had a good cooperation with last time, as the photography director. He leads the photography team and cooperates with the director team to complete the shooting work.
Generally speaking, after the crew has determined the above three functional departments, the crew can be declared established. Other service channels will be determined by the artistic director according to the needs of the director.
Smaller film crews will outsource these tasks to some film crew service companies. In Hengdian, there are many large and small companies responsible for service.
A more ambitious crew would simply hire someone to customize the production, design the props and costumes according to the requirements, and ask a top makeup artist to determine the actors' makeup.
"Genius Gunman" is a modern-style fashion film. The costumes do not need to be specially designed. Art director Su Tong has completed these tasks very well.
I held several meetings with the main creative team to determine the shots and production schedule.
Finally, at the end of September, when the National Day was approaching, Zhang Hao flew to Hong Kong Island with the crew to prepare to start filming.
A film crew from the Mainland came to Hong Kong Island to film a movie. The main actors were all young actors from the Mainland and there were no local actors from Hong Kong Island. This crew aroused heated discussion in the entertainment circle of Hong Kong Island.
"Have you heard? There is a mainland crew coming to Hong Kong Island for filming."
"Isn't it strange? "Detective Dee: The Empire of Heaven" is also a film invested by a mainland company and is also being filmed."
"Oh, you don't understand. It was filmed by Mr. Xu and his team, and the leading actors were Hong Kong actors. I heard that there was not even a single Hong Kong actor in the crew."
Another person said something was wrong: "Isn't Qin Pei in this crew? I know the director. He is the director of "Manslaughter". I went to the cinema to watch his movie."
As mentioned before, a veteran actor from Hong Kong Island can save the crew a lot of trouble.
Qin Pei's two younger brothers are both well-known filmmakers in Hong Kong Island. He himself is also a prime supporting actor, starring in many film and television dramas, and has deep connections. When looking for extras, Zhang Hao tries his best to find local extras from Hong Kong Island.
This avoids a situation, that is, demonstrations. In the Hong Kong film industry, except for some sober people, many are very xenophobic, which inevitably leads to a lot of trouble.
On the day of the start-up, Qin Pei's younger brother Er Dongsheng happened to come to visit the class.
After walking around the set with Zhang Hao, Er Dongsheng chatted with Zhang Hao: "I watched your movie "Manslaughter" and I liked that style very much."
Crime suspense movies are still very popular on Hong Kong Island. "Manslaughter" is currently being screened in theaters on Hong Kong Island. As of September 30, it has taken in a box office of 3.37 million Hong Kong dollars.
Because there are no Hong Kong stars, this box office result is entirely due to the film's excellent quality.
Zhang Hao said: "Thank you, I also like your movie "Shinjuku Incident" very much. I also said that movie is the most profound movie since Brother Cheng Long started making movies."
"Really? Cheng Long must be very happy to hear you praise him. He mentioned you when he met me a few days ago, saying that you are the leader of the new generation of young directors in the mainland."
The two started a business exchange, and the atmosphere was very harmonious.
After the set was ready, Guo Fan quickly informed Zhang Hao through the intercom: "Director, the set is ready."
"OK, notify the actors to enter." Zhang Hao ordered into the intercom, and then invited Er Dongsheng: "Let's go and have a look together, and give me some pointers."
"Don't take it seriously, don't take it seriously, let's communicate with each other." Ye Dongsheng was very polite, and he didn't have the arrogance that Hong Kong filmmakers have when facing mainland filmmakers.
The opening scene is not difficult. It is a scene where the father played by Qin Pei sends Xiao Lin, played by Da Mi Mi, to school.
The heroine of the original version, how can I put it, has a very special appearance, with a very tough figure. If her hair was cut short, she might be a tomboy.
In contrast, although Da Mi Mi also appeared without makeup in accordance with Zhang Hao's request, he could not stand up to his young face and good conditions at this time.
So the makeup artist specially made Da Mi Mi's face darker, and through contrast, it showed that she was incompatible with this aristocratic school.
The school scenes were filmed at the old campus of Hongli Academy, a famous private school on Hong Kong Island. Hongli Academy is a famous aristocratic school. In the 1970s and 1980s, only white students were admitted here.
After the 1990s, local Chinese students gradually began to enroll.
After the handover, as the conditions of some people in the mainland became better and better, many wealthy families in the mainland also sent their children to this school and the surrounding aristocratic schools.
Hong Kong Island itself has an International Education Diploma. Middle school students can directly take the STIC exam and then apply for admission to well-known foreign universities. This is why Zhang Hao set his background in Hong Kong Island.
In a room designed as an office, the actors were all ready to take their places.
Zhang Hao looked at the scene and felt that there were a few books, so he shouted: "There are too few books. Is this a school? Get some books and put them here quickly."
"Okay director..." Several scene managers hurriedly found books, and then filled the room with books as required.
Zhang Hao glanced at the scene and waved: "Come over with the camera and take a look. How is the effect?"
Lu Jianqiu personally controlled the camera and made an OK gesture: "Okay, director..."
"Okay, we have officially started filming. Unrelated personnel have evacuated the scene." Following Zhang Hao's shout, the makeup girl who had finished applying the actors' makeup quickly walked away, leaving the space for the three actors.
An overhead camera revealed Xiaolin’s academic qualifications. In order to match her educational background, they were all in English.
At the same time, Qin Pei's father began to speak: "Since the first grade, her grades have always been straight A's. She has been a model student for the past three years. She recently participated in the district's math competition and won the first prize."
The camera showed Xiao Lin, played by Da Mi Mi. Wearing glasses, she smiled unconsciously when she heard her father talking about her achievements, feeling a little happy and proud.
Er Dongsheng watched the performance on the set. Although he did not see the effect of the scene through the camera, he felt that the girl named Da Mi Mi was still good at acting.
Playing with his brother Qin Pei, he was not overshadowed.
Of course, Qin Pei is an experienced actor and knows how to give his best performance without overshadowing the show.
Because Xiaolin's grades were very good, the school decided to admit Xiaolin and asked her if she would like to come to school. However, Xiaolin said that the tuition fee was very expensive and she needed to consider it.
The school leader was surprised and said: "Our school only requires 40,000 Hong Kong dollars per semester, which only costs 80,000 Hong Kong dollars per year!"
So Xiaolin showed her ability to be a top student for the first time. Not only did she pay for tuition, but she also paid for commuting expenses, lunch expenses, new school uniforms and new textbooks.
After calculation, it cost 120,000 Hong Kong dollars, which Xiaolin felt was not worth it.
Qin Pei's actions here were handled very naturally. He patted Xiaolin's hand under the table and signaled her to stop talking. But Xiaolin had her own ideas and made the interviewing school leaders confused.
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Thanks to the outstanding performance of the actors, this scene only took two takes, and Zhang Hao successfully passed it.
It's also because it's not too difficult. Generally, there is a step-by-step process when starting a movie. You shoot simple ones first to get in touch with the crew and improve the condition of the actors.
After that, the filming became more and more difficult, gradually increasing the difficulty of the scenes.
"That's a good shot. Let's take a break and let's continue." Zhang Hao clapped his hands and encouraged the actors.
As soon as she came to power, she held the script and pestered Zhang Hao to ask various questions. She didn't understand many things in the script, so she pestered the director openly.
Er Dongsheng greeted Qin Pei: "Brother, you are in good condition. The effect on the first day of filming was quite good."
Qin Pei is very modest: "It's all the director's good words and I just performed normally."
In line with the principle of plucking a goose's hair, Zhang Hao asked Er Dongsheng: "Director, are you interested in making a guest appearance?"
Er Dongsheng was stunned for a moment, then agreed: "Okay, what role should I play?"
"a teacher……"
Therefore, Er Dongsheng, who originally came to visit the class, was detained by Zhang Hao for three days and played a guest role in a few scenes.
After returning, Er Dongsheng was full of praise for Zhang Hao and said in front of the Hong Kong media: "Director Zhang is the most talented young director I have ever seen. In time, he will definitely become a film master."
Film master? Media reporters didn't believe it. Not everyone is qualified to be called a film master. The media just regarded Er Dongsheng's words as flattery.
Even after returning home, the Hong Kong media reports mainly ridiculed Zhang Hao, and also ridiculed Er Dongsheng, saying that he was old and could not speak with his brains.
There are also reporters who want to interview Zhang Hao and the crew of "The Genius Gunfighter", but the entire crew shoots in a closed environment and keeps news silent to the outside world.