Chapter 77

At the Shaw Brothers studio, the Pacific Rim crew is in the midst of tense filming.

Regarding the film's shooting schedule, Jiang Heng's preliminary estimate is 100 days, which to outsiders still feels quite tight.

But Jiang Heng has a complete vision of the finished film in his mind, knowing exactly what needs to be shot and what does not, as clear as can be.

It's impossible for him to waste film like Wong Kar-wai, shooting a lot only to cut it all out, so the whole shooting process remains fairly smooth.

Inside the soundstage, Jiang Heng holds a wooden stick, demonstrating the fight choreography for Gao Yuanyuan.

This should be the action director's job, but Hung Jin-pao went to shoot another film, so Yuan De took over.

The latter intentionally stirred things up between Jiang Heng and Gao Yuanyuan, saying, "Director, you're about the same age, so you'll communicate better—why don't you do it?"

Jiang Heng thought, "What kind of reason is that?"

But with so many crew members on set, he didn't want to say more, so he walked up to Gao Yuanyuan and Wu Yan Zu to demonstrate and explain the moves.

Wu Yan Zu has studied martial arts, so grasping and performing the actions is no problem for him.

Gao Yuanyuan didn't come from a performing arts background and hasn't studied dance this time, yet her performance is surprisingly good.

Especially her current look—ear-length short hair, a dark vest and black pants—gives her a distinct beauty.

The "ferocity" she displays while wielding the stick adds charm, reminiscent of Zhou Zhiruo in The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber and Liu Sheng Piaoxu in The Number One Under Heaven.

Of course, there are also problems.

For actors without systematic martial arts training, the biggest issue is using too much force and not knowing how to pull back.

"Smack!"

But Gao Yuanyuan accidentally failed to pull her strike, hitting Wu Yan Zu with the stick again.

"Ah, sorry, sorry!" Gao Yuanyuan hurriedly bowed in apology, then looked pleadingly at Jiang Heng.

Jiang Heng, helpless, called out to a similarly dressed, slightly taller, thin male actor not far away: "You come!"

That person ran over, substituting for Gao Yuanyuan and Wu Yan Zu in the sparring—none other than the future "Suit Thug" Zhang Jin.

At this moment, Zhang Jin is merely a stunt performer, having doubled for Xiao Li Flying Dagger's Jia Yujun in The Flying Dagger of Xiao Li, and due to his slender build, he also doubled for Zhang Ziyi and Ye Ziqiang in Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.

Jiang Heng leading the Pacific Rim crew to film in Xianggang excited many local artists, who variously recommended and used connections to seek positions with the unit.

Jiang Heng indeed intended to look after them; as long as the conditions were comparable and they could be useful, he basically recruited them all, greatly boosting his reputation in Xianggang's entertainment circle.

Zhang Jin cherished this cooperation opportunity; when not on set, he paid close attention to Jiang Heng's movement explanations, and now stepping forward to spar with Wu Yan Zu, he actually passed in one go.

"Not bad!" Jiang Heng couldn't help clapping, and Zhang Jin hurriedly offered a few modest words.

Jiang Heng then said, "Your skills are good; when I start a new film later, you can join in!"

"Thank you, Director Jiang, thank you, Director Jiang!" Zhang Jin was overjoyed.

Wu Yan Zu wondered, "What film are you going to shoot?"

Jiang Heng chuckled, "A low-budget action film!"

Wu Yan Zu saw that it seemed he wouldn't be involved, so he held back his question.

To say the least, his current position is rather awkward.

In Jiang Heng's films, he's considered an international star, but it's just hollow fame without much box-office draw.

After all, audiences go to Jiang Heng's movies for the special effects, which ends up making Wu Yan Zu look like a vase.

These past few years he's also made a few non-Jiang Heng works, which can only be described as passable, with no real breakthrough.

Filming continued, consisting largely of indoor scenes for the male and female leads and supporting cast, including rough‑style factory interiors and high‑tech sci‑fi interiors, all shot at the Shaw Brothers studio.

But that offhand remark Jiang Heng made was heard by many on set, and it quickly spread throughout Xianggang's entertainment circle.

"He's going to shoot an action film?" In the tea restaurant, Ye Weixin unconsciously ignored the three words "low‑budget."

After all, for Jiang Heng, who directs and produces films costing over a hundred million US dollars, anything under a hundred million Hong Kong dollars can be called low‑budget.

"Yeah, a lot of people on set heard it; Director Jiang probably just thought Zhang Jin's skills were good and had this passing idea. But if you could bring a decent script over, you might actually get the investment!" said the person opposite.

Hearing that, Ye Weixin couldn't help clicking his tongue—he didn't have a full script at the moment, only an idea he'd been mulling over for a long time.

He had originally planned to write it out, but given the current sorry state of the Xianggang film market, even if he wrote it he feared he couldn't attract investment, so he kept postponing putting pen to paper.

Upon hearing that Jiang Heng was going to invest in an action movie, he thought there must be many people busy writing scripts right now!

If I finish writing it first and then go see him, I might miss the opportunity if I'm not careful.

Thinking this through, he immediately dialed Hung Jin-pao's number.

After all, Hung Jin-pao is the big brother of Xianggang's film world, having worked with too many people; Ye Weixin had served as assistant director on Hung Jin-pao and Mak Ka's film Skinny Tiger, Fatty Dragon, so they had some acquaintance.

After the call was placed, he outlined his idea.

Hung Jin-pao gave a wry smile, "You guys, you're all thinking the same thing—I have no problem recommending you, but as for who can win Director Jiang's favor, that's up to your abilities!"

Ye Weixin quickly thanked him, then a lightbulb went off: "Right, in my script I've specially written a role tailored for you; I'm sure once you play it, the audience will be dazzled!"

"Oh, what kind of role is it?"

Hung Jin-pao wasn't impressed; after all these years in the business, he's played too many roles.

Many roles have been eye‑catching, so he won't be easily fooled.

Ye Weixin then described his imagined black‑gang boss Wang Ba in detail; hearing it, Hung Jin-pao's interest was truly piqued—he really hasn't played a role like that in all his years.

He then asked for the story outline; Ye Weixin gave a rough summary, and Hung Jin-pao became increasingly convinced it was good.

"Where are you? I'll drive over to pick you up, and we'll go see Director Jiang together!"

Hearing that, Ye Weixin was thrilled; with Hung Jin-pao's connection to Jiang Heng, securing this investment would be no problem.

This meant that, in the difficult period when Hong Kong film output is declining year by year, he now had one more project ready to go!

"All right, I'm …!"

Ye Weixin gave the name of the tea restaurant, then waited quietly for Hung Jin-pao to arrive, while the friend opposite left early.

About half an hour later, Hung Jin-pao drove over, picked up Ye Weixin, and they went together to the Pacific Rim set.

"Director Jiang, I heard you're planning to invest in an action film but haven't found a script yet—I happen to have one right here!"

Jiang Heng raised his head, seeing Hong Jinbao and Ye Weixin arriving together.

He was both annoyed and helpless!

He had just said it casually, after all Zhang Jin really did have decent skill, and could even be called Xianggang's last action star.

When he had free time, investing some money, making a film wasn't a big deal.

He never expected that a casual remark on set would prompt many Xianggang artists to call him; he really had just said it offhand!

(End of chapter)