usenovelgroup Chapter 42: Filming Wrapped Up, New Ideas
Chapter 42: Filming Wrapped Up, New Ideas
The next day, Tang Long and Zhen Zidan were both sore all over.
It wasn't just the pain of being injured by each other, but also the aftereffects of exhaustion; it was clear that the remaining scenes couldn't be filmed today.
Xu Kejian wasn't angry at all, and arranged for assistant director Li Huimin to shoot some other finishing shots.
The two rested for two days before resuming filming.
After that fight, Donnie Yen's attitude towards Tang Long improved significantly.
Tang Long's strength was recognized by him.
However, it's impossible to make him completely submit; he still tries to outdo the other person even when filming.
After finishing work the day before yesterday, Yuen Woo-ping scolded him all night, making him realize that he had broken a taboo that day.
Now that filming continues, he dares not be willful anymore and tries his best to complete the task perfectly according to the director's requirements and Yuen Woo-ping's action design.
He stabbed and kicked Zhou Huai'an away, and that sentence:
"I am the greatest under heaven and earth, and you have brought this road to the underworld upon yourselves."
He spoke with exceptional force and his expressions were spot-on.
Later, the inn's butcher, Diao Buyu, cleaned Cao Shaoqin's left hand and left foot, leaving only the bones with traces of blood.
Of course, this is a prop that was made, and a lot of thought was put into making this mechanism so that the hand bone could still pierce and hurt people.
In the end, Cao Shaoqin was pierced through the throat by Qiu Moyan's alphabet sword by Zhou Huai'an, ending this decisive battle scene.
At the end of the movie, Jin Xiangyu burned the Dragon Gate Inn to the ground and followed Zhou Huai'an with Diao Buyu.
Filming for "New Dragon Gate Inn" also wrapped up amidst a flurry of activity.
It was already March, and the crew had been in mainland China for more than half a month.
Tsui Hark was in a hurry to film "Once Upon a Time in China" and didn't even have time for the wrap party before rushing back to Hong Kong.
The crew left all the follow-up work to Shi Nansheng.
Shi Nansheng was very experienced in this, so she first rested for two days and then held a lavish wrap party in Lanzhou.
After everyone had eaten and drunk their fill, they set off happily back to Hong Kong.
On the way back, Shi Nansheng found Tang Long.
"Ah Long, the production team only has a little over HK$600,000 left in the account. We don't have enough funds for subsequent publicity and distribution, so we need to invest some more money."
What is the budget for marketing and promotion?
Two million.
He still needs to invest 1.4 million, which accounts for 20% of the investment, and he needs to invest another 280,000.
"No problem, I'll transfer the money to the project account when I get back to Hong Kong."
Shi Nansheng liked Tang Long's straightforwardness, unlike some of the companies she had worked with before, which were stingy and calculating when it came to money.
Back in Hong Kong, Tang Long rested for a few days.
Filming martial arts movies is indeed very tiring. He spent more than half of the time being suspended by wires while filming "New Dragon Gate Inn".
Unlike "The Blade," which completely abandoned wire work in pursuit of realistic fight scenes.
The marks left on my body from being strangled haven't completely disappeared yet.
He doesn't need to worry about the post-production of "New Dragon Gate Inn"; Wu Siyuan will be in charge.
Even while filming "Once Upon a Time in China," Tsui Hark was also keeping a close eye on the film's post-production.
With a thriving film market, filmmakers are brimming with energy.
For Xu Ke, handling the post-production of a film is a piece of cake.
Having grown accustomed to being an actor, Tang Long was no longer willing to work as a stuntman.
Low income and dangerous.
For a moment, he had some free time.
Liu Jialing is filming again, and he seems to have nowhere to go.
Just then, Cheng Xiaodong summoned him, and he immediately rushed over.
"Hey bro, is post-production for A Chinese Ghost Story 3 finished?"
"It's finished. Director Xu was quite satisfied after watching it, and we're already negotiating the release date with Golden Princess Cinemas."
He really enjoyed filming this time; "A Chinese Ghost Story 3" is a true work that belongs to him as a director.
Although he knew that Tsui Hark's influence on the "A Chinese Ghost Story" series was too deep, the industry only needed to know that he directed the third installment.
After working on "The Blade" and "A Chinese Ghost Story III", his interest in directing increased significantly.
"Oh, right, here's the 300,000 you wanted."
Cheng Xiaodong then handed over a check.
"Thanks a lot, boss."
Tang Long put the check away; it was the money he had given to increase the investment in "New Dragon Gate Inn".
He was too embarrassed to ask Tang Jia for the money again, so he could only ask Cheng Xiaodong.
The only people he knew who were willing and able to lend him hundreds of thousands of yuan were Tang Jia and Cheng Xiaodong.
"I still admire you young people. You're fearless and dare to invest in movies as soon as you've made some money."
Not long ago, Andy Lau established his own studio, Teamwork Motion Pictures, and invested in the production of the film "Saviour of the Soul".
Now you're investing in "New Dragon Gate Inn," truly a new generation replacing the old.
"Boss, if you want to invest in movies, that's not a difficult thing."
"Forget about me. I know my own limitations; I don't have that kind of courage."
Tang Long admired Cheng Xiaodong's composure; in fact, his approach was the safest.
Others, after all, don't have his extraordinary insight; investing in movies is a high-stakes gamble, and the probability of losing is even greater.
Many people have gone bankrupt because of investing in movies. For example, Liu Zhengwei, who is currently enjoying great success, went bankrupt just two years ago.
And recently, Alan Tang's company was also swindled by Wang Jiawei, bringing him to the brink of bankruptcy, and he was so angry that he was hospitalized.
Investing in movies is not as simple as it seems.
Tang Long's investment in "New Dragon Gate Inn" was also a way of taking advantage of the film studio's resources.
He wouldn't dare let Tangde Pictures handle a film project on its own now either.
In his memory, projects that were guaranteed to make money might not be as successful if he were in charge, or even at all.
It's very upsetting when a big company holds you back.
The failure of Stephen Chow's "A Chinese Odyssey" was not solely due to the film being too ahead of its time.
Therefore, Andy Lau is quite courageous; he dared to start his own company and invest in movies without finding a powerful backer.
Although "Saviour of the Soul" made him money, the sequel "Saviour of the Soul 2" flopped at the box office.
His subsequent films flopped one after another, leading to the company's bankruptcy and leaving him with debts of 30 to 40 million Hong Kong dollars.
"I think you'll be investing in movies in the future. You need to manage Tangde Film Industry well."
For example, investing in "New Dragon Gate Inn" required hiring people from outside.
Tang Long nodded in agreement; Tangde Film Industry definitely needed to get going.
"Let's talk about it after 'New Dragon Gate Inn' is released. I don't have the money right now."
"Are you so sure that 'New Dragon Gate Inn' will make money?"
"I have confidence in this film."
Seeing Tang Long's confident demeanor, Cheng Xiaodong also felt a bit curious about "New Dragon Gate Inn".
He wasn't this confident with his previous work, "The Blade".
"Hey bro, are you available for the second half of this year?"
"Yes, you want me to make a movie?" Cheng Xiaodong's eyes lit up upon hearing this.
"That's right. During the filming of 'New Dragon Gate Inn,' I had a new idea, and I'm going to write it down."
"We'll officially begin preparations for this project after 'New Dragon Gate Inn' is released."
"What kind of story is it? Is it a martial arts story?"
"It's still a martial arts story, a tale about finding one's roots."
"Tracing our roots?"
"Yes, tracing our roots." Tang Long couldn't help but chuckle.