Chapter 245: Filming

Wu Yuchen didn't know what Jiang Wen was thinking. Now that the crew started to operate, Wu Yuchen had no intention of paying attention to him. For the filming of *Brotherhood of Blades* this time, Wu Yuchen didn't make any major changes to the script and story line, but it was different when it came to the specific details of filming.

For example, the scene being filmed now was the opening scene of capturing Xu Xianchun, and the momentum and formation were much larger than the original version. The opening scene of the original version was actually quite cleverly designed, using the pursuit of criminals to introduce the three brothers. It's just that the criminal Xu Xianchun being pursued only had two little followers by his side, and he himself seemed very useless.

Anyone who knew the character Xu Xianchun knew that Xu Xianchun was known as the "Five Tigers," a person of great power. Even if he was in trouble and wanted to escape, it was impossible for only two garbage followers to be left by his side, which was simply vulnerable. Although it was to reflect the ability of the three protagonists, how could such a weak opponent set off that the three brothers were capable enough?

There was one point that everyone should know: the filming cost of the original *Brotherhood of Blades* was only 30 million, and it was 30 million in 2013. Think about it, now in 2001, Lao Mouzi's *Hero* was 30 million USD, and there were *House of Flying Daggers*, *Curse of the Golden Flower*, including Chen Kaizi, Feng Xiaogang, and a group of people filming ancient costume movies. Which one was lower than 30 million?

The meaning of saying this was that the original *Brotherhood of Blades* crew was really poor. 30 million to film a martial arts movie, wishing to break one cent into two to spend, not willing to film any big scenes at all, and many story lines were cut.

But now Wu Yuchen didn't lack this bit of money. Since he wanted to film it, he definitely had to film it as well as possible. For the opening scene of capturing Xu Xianchun, the momentum must be big, and there must be action scenes and scenes. Not to mention a melee of hundreds of people, it was reasonable for Xu Xianchun to have dozens of people by his side, right?

Dozens of people in the street battle in the city could support the scene, and it could also highlight the ability and skills of the three protagonists. From the perspective of the movie, it was also a small climax for the audience to pull up, hooking the audience's eyeballs and emotions.

In this scene, the changes were actually not big, and the main ones who made moves were Zhang Guorong and Wu Jing. Zhang Guorong first showed his skills in the Shangshu Mansion to threaten, and then buried a foreshadowing of solving the documents. Then, after coming out of the Shangshu Mansion, he encountered people who intercepted the troops, killing while releasing signal arrows. Wu Jing blocked five or six people at the intersection, and the big brother Jiang Wen took the main force to arrest Xu Xianchun, which also fit his steady personality.

Of course, although the scene of this scene was larger than the original version, it still had to show that the three protagonists were at ease, setting off their skills!

This opening scene was filmed for three nights. It was a night scene, and there were many small problems in the crew just after opening, so it was intermittent, but Wu Yuchen also regarded it as the crew's running-in.

As soon as this scene ended, Wu Yuchen directly took the crew to start filming the next big fighting scene in the movie.

In this way, although Wei Zhongxian had many people, through the separation of high walls, it was reasonable for the three of them to face dozens of people, turning the impossible into the possible.

However, because only the three-person protagonist group was attacking Wei Zhongxian, it was impossible for the three people to kill hundreds of people, so it had to be designed.

At the beginning, it could be filmed first that Wei Zhongxian's troops were huge, highlighting the difficulty of completing the task. But when he stayed at night, there were only dozens of personal guards left in the high-walled courtyard where he was. The three brothers planned, set fire on the outside to attract the attention of the outside main force, sneaked into the courtyard, and blocked the door. Wu Jing guarded the entrance from the inside to drag down a part of the people, Jiang Wen dragged down another part, and Zhang Guorong's Shen Lian rushed into the building to attack Wei Zhongxian.

He used the method of jumping filming for *Brotherhood of Blades* this time, not the method of filming according to the story plot, and had already made a plan to film the big fighting scenes first.

That was when the three protagonists were trapped in the mansion and fighting, the outside Embroidered Uniform Guards shot arrows together, wanting to wipe them out in one fell swoop.

At this time, Wu Yuchen was saying to a young handsome man in ancient costume beside him: "Nie Yuan, your father is famous, and you are a young master. You look down on the lackeys of the imperial court like the Embroidered Uniform Guards. Later, you have to show your arrogance and prejudice under the polite demeanor. Do you understand?"

Now that the crew had been run-in through this opening scene, and this group of extras had become relatively easy to use after the first scene, naturally they had to take this opportunity to film the other two segments in one go.

Wu Yuchen looked up at Jiang Wen and asked with a smile: "Why? Can't you hold on?"

"Hoo! Wu Dao, you have been filming action scenes for half a month in a row, the intensity is a bit sufficient for us!" After finishing work today, Jiang Wen found Wu Yuchen and said.

The filming here was mainly the outdoor fighting part. As for the scene where Shen Lian and Wei Zhongxian confronted each other in the building, it had to be filmed in a specially arranged indoor scene. Speaking of which, the original crew was really poor. The residence arranged for Wei Zhongxian in the building was really broken. Even if people were down and out, their food and clothing were not comparable to ordinary people. This time, it was naturally necessary to arrange it well. The original *Brotherhood of Blades* had no money to arrange, but he, Wu Yuchen, didn't lack this money.

But Nie Yuan is different; he is a proper costume drama heartthrob. Once he puts on historical attire, he is a graceful young gentleman. Moreover, he can act in both literary and martial roles; he has played a scholar, an emperor, and also the white-horse-riding, silver-speared Zhao Yun. Having him play the role of Young Master Yan, the heartthrob of Zhou Miaotong, is just perfect!

This person Yan Peiwei, historical prototype Yan Peiwei, was a hero in the city and had quite a reputation. There were also dozens of strong men raised in the mansion.

After Nie Yuan left, Wu Yuchen was communicating with the visual effects people: "Later, for this part of the arrow rain, can it be done with perspective tracking? Not only to show the momentum of the arrows being fired together, but also to track the perspective after the arrows are fired to show the lethality of them shooting into the human body."

Although it was impossible to play any "ten thousand arrows fired together" like in *Hero*, the Embroidered Uniform Guards had hundreds of people guarding outside, so it was possible to have a hundred arrows fired together, right? Hundreds of bows and arrows were not as many as ten thousand, but covering a courtyard, the momentum shown from the visual effect was almost enough.

The sparse arrow shooting in the original version was really looking very weak, without any lethality. Here, it was naturally necessary to strengthen it. And this also gave this plot a certain rationality, that is, the three-person protagonist group was trapped in the Yan Mansion and fought with dozens of strong men. Some people were killed by the three, but in fact, many were shot to death by the outside.

The overall fighting style of "Brotherhood of Blades" is actually leaning towards realism, and there is very little room to use special effects. After much thought, Wu Yuchen decided this is the only place where special effects can be used to showcase the rain of arrows.

After Wu Yuchen finished speaking, he waved his hand and let him go to prepare well. He looked at Nie Yuan's back. In the original version, he played Zhao Jingzhong. To be honest, he played it really well. Therefore, this time Wu Yuchen thought of him for this role of Young Master Yan, who had some scenes.

And after this scene, he continued to film the third outdoor fighting scene, which was the three protagonists being deceived and falling into the Yan Mansion, having a good fight. Unlike the first two scenes, the first two scenes were night fighting, while this one was daytime.

Nie Yuan listened to Wu Yuchen's teachings and nodded repeatedly. He was just an actor who had just emerged in the circle, so he was naturally obedient in front of Wu Dao.

This Young Master Yan is not just a bit-part player. Not only does he have a fight with Shen Lian here, but he also has another identity: he is the original crush of the female lead, Zhou Miaotong. In the words of later generations, he is the heartthrob of the goddess that the simp Shen Lian loves. In his past life, the actor chosen was truly unsuitable. It's not that he was ugly, but he really didn't look like the heartthrob Zhou Miaotong would love; he lacked any sense of poise.

The first scene was the opening capture of Xu Xianchun, and this second scene was the real climax of the movie, attacking the big eunuch, the nine-thousand-year-old Wei Zhongxian!

Wei Zhongxian was definitely a more awesome character than Xu Xianchun. Since the capture of Xu Xianchun in the previous scene had already been upgraded to dozens of people, then this Wei Zhongxian must also be upgraded to face hundreds of enemies.

Jiang Wen waved his hand: "Hi, didn't we practice for several months just for now? It's finally finished!"

"It's not over yet, it's just the end of the few group fighting scenes in the outdoor scene." Wu Yuchen said, telling him not to take it lightly.

These three outdoor big fighting scenes took more than half a month to film. After filming, Wu Yuchen actually breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, which could be considered as gnawing down a hard bone in the movie. In fact, half of the credit for this part of the scene should be placed on the action director. After all, Wu Yuchen could only say the scene he wanted, and how to fight and how to film well had to be designed by the action director.

Next, there would still be fighting scenes, but most of them were single-handed, not involving so many extras, and the difficulty of filming would be reduced a lot. Wu Yuchen would film according to the location.

"Bitter first and sweet later, I understand."

Jiang Wen said, and then smiled again, saying to Wu Yuchen: "Wu Dao, I have some ideas about the literary scenes behind..."

Wu Yuchen raised his hand directly: "Stop, stop, you don't have any ideas! You are Lu Jianxing now, play Lu Jianxing well!"

Jiang Wen's eyes turned, but he didn't refute anymore, just nodded: "Okay, I am a Lu Jianxing!"

Wu Yuchen stared at Jiang Wen for a few more times, thinking that his filming for more than half a month before was also honest and diligent, so he didn't think much about it.

After finishing the three group battle scenes on location this time, the first scene to be shot upon returning is the entrance of the female lead, Zhou Miaotong.

Zhou Miaotong's identity is that of a government-registered courtesan at the Nuoxiang Pavilion of the Jiaofangsi. However, this character's identity in the original version was quite thin, serving only as a plot device. Now, Wu Yuchen has added a dance scene based on her background.

"Action!"

At this time, in the lens, Zhang Guorong came to the Jiaofang Division and was standing in front of a door. Following his line of sight, looking through the opened door, he could see the room decorated very luxuriously, and in the center, Jiang Qinqin, who was dressed in plain clothes, was dancing gracefully.

And the song played on the side was *Song of Li Yannian*:

There is a beauty in the north

Peerless and independent

One look tilts the city

Another look tilts the country

How can one not know the city and the country

Beauty is hard to get again

The ancient and vicissitudes song, no need for gorgeous skills and singing, sing with emotion, return to simplicity. Jiang Qinqin, who was dancing alone, also matched the ancient style and charm of the song, light and light, independent from the world.

Oh, another name for it later was more popular, *Song of Beauty*, which was used in *House of Flying Daggers* and was one of the famous scenes in the movie. Wu Yuchen didn't care about *House of Flying Daggers* now, anyway, he used it first.

The Jiaofangsi is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites and is responsible for playing music and performing during ceremonies and when welcoming distinguished guests. Having Jiang Qinqin make her entrance with a dance is very consistent with Zhou Miaotong's identity as a government courtesan, and it will also leave a deep impression on the audience.

Zhang Guorong just watched from the outside and didn't break in. And after Jiang Qinqin returned to the room and saw Zhang Guorong, she didn't find it strange. While walking towards the bed, she said:

"You are the most interesting person. You spent money to come to Nuoxiang Pavilion but didn't go to bed. You are the only one."

This posture showed that the two were no longer strangers.

Zhang Guorong didn't answer her, but said in a low voice: "You shouldn't have been so prominent."

Obviously, he was talking about Jiang Qinqin's dancing just now.

Jiang Qinqin sneered: "In this Jiaofang Division, can it be up to me?"

Then she turned back to look at Shen Lian: "Officer Shen, you can block one or two, but can you help me block the dignitaries in this full Beijing city? Can you afford to offend them?"

Jiang Qinqin's words left Zhang Guorong silent; he is only a minor official in the Embroidered Uniform Guard. A few years ago, he could still protect Zhou Miaotong, but now that she has grown into a woman and become increasingly beautiful, it is no longer possible for a small Embroidered Uniform Guard commander like him to keep her safe.

After a moment of silence in the room, Jiang Qinqin said again: "Mother wants to promote me as the top card... Officer Shen, do you have any regrets? Even if you want to touch me again in the future, there will be no chance."

Jiang Qinqin's words were stinging, but Zhang Guorong didn't refute a word, and the relationship between the two seemed a bit subtle.

At the same time, these words revealed several pieces of information: first, Shen Lian has blocked guests for Zhou Miaotong more than once and has spent a lot of money on her, yet he has never touched her. Second, the Jiaofangsi is about to promote Zhou Miaotong to be the top courtesan, and once she becomes the top courtesan, she will inevitably have to entertain guests, which is not something Shen Lian can stop.

Although not explicitly stated, there is an underlying meaning: the Zhou Miaotong before him is still a virgin under Shen Lian's protection, which is precisely why she was chosen to be promoted as the top courtesan.

The reason why Wu Yuchen set it up like this was naturally to increase the audience's acceptance of the female lead. After all, in terms of Chinese concepts, many people still couldn't accept a prostitute as a female lead. In his past life, many people complained that Shen Lian was a "licker" (sycophant), and he was licking a "public bus" (promiscuous woman), and harmed his brothers for the sake of licking a prostitute, which attracted a lot of criticism. Here, he simply made a slight change and patched it up.

The next moment, Zhang Guorong said slowly: "I will redeem you."

Jiang Qinqin showed a mocking smile on her face: "My flag officer, with your salary, redeem me? Besides, this is a Jiaofang Division brothel. Without the document from the Ministry of Justice, no one can get out."

Zhang Guorong remained silent, his hand gripping the teacup tightening. In truth, he had already resolved the paperwork issue—that was the deal he made with the Minister when he made the initial arrest. But now that Zhou Miaotong is to be promoted as the top courtesan, her value will naturally be much higher than before. He needs money, a lot of money!

This buried a foreshadowing and motivation for Shen Lian's subsequent behavior of reaching a deal with Wei Zhongxian.

In the original version from his past life, there was no direct explanation for Shen Lian's urgency to get money, but now Wu Yuchen has added a reason: because of the change in the Jiaofangsi's plan to promote Zhou Miaotong as the top courtesan, Shen Lian must speed up his money-making efforts and secure a large sum to redeem her.