Chapter 94: I

The movie "Run Lola Run" was actually shot using a video game level-clearing format, meaning everything Lola encounters on her journey can be viewed as game levels, and after her first two failures, she simply reloads to restart until, on her third attempt, she successfully saves her boyfriend.

This reloading—or time reversal—is a fundamental premise, clearly established from the film’s opening; if you watch the movie and constantly nitpick this basic premise, questioning how she just time-traveled back, you’ll find the film unbearable and think it’s nonsense.

Fortunately, by the end of the century, audiences had generally accepted this setup in films, and over ninety percent of young viewers found it incredibly cool; had the film come out ten years earlier, it might have been ridiculed for being too ahead of its time.

The reason "Run Lola Run" was filmed in Hong Kong and Macau is because Lola, as a game character, has a chaotic moral compass—she’s willing to do anything to complete her mission of saving her boyfriend.

In the first run, she’s willing to help her boyfriend rob a supermarket; in the second, she’s willing to hold her father—a bank executive—at gunpoint to rob a bank; in the third, she commits no illegal acts and succeeds smoothly.

This implicitly teaches viewers that breaking the rules leads to failure, and success comes only by acting within the system’s boundaries.

But from Lola’s chaotic behavior, isn’t this inciting the audience to commit robbery?

Moreover, in the third run, she earns money at a casino, so it couldn’t be filmed in mainland China and likely couldn’t be released there either—these factors collectively determined that "Run Lola Run" was shot in Hong Kong and Macau.

After Wu Yuchen arrived in Hong Kong with the crew, he connected with Yin Du.

This time, through auditions, Wu Yuchen hired not only the lead actors but also several supporting roles.

"Teacher Li, this isn’t your first time in Hong Kong, is it?"

"Hey, back then, I’d step out of my Mercedes and straight into a five-star hotel, sipping XO, smoking cigars, and giving tips in hundreds at a time. Five years ago, I could easily afford to house our entire crew in five-star hotels every day."

The speaker was Li Chengru, who played Lola’s father, a bank executive.

Li Chengru had once been wealthy, running a successful clothing business with $13 million sitting in his account, but in 1993, he lost it all overnight through foreign exchange speculation.

Wu Yuchen smiled upon hearing this—he felt that Li Chengru’s ability to joke about it now showed he’d truly moved on and maintained a good mindset.

Another key supporting role was the beggar who picked up the male lead’s lost money—he appeared multiple times, and Wu Yuchen had invited Ni Dahong for the part.

For all other actors, Wu Yuchen planned to cast locally in Hong Kong and Macau, mostly minor roles with little screen time; hiring a few TVB actors would be cheap and practical, and they’d see it as extra income.

This shoot involved scenes in both Hong Kong and Macau, primarily chosen for suitable scenery; fortunately, Yin Du had already sent people ahead to scout locations, saving Wu Yuchen several days of location hunting.

The male lead played by Fu Dalong is named Manny; there is indeed a "Man" surname in China, and "Manny" sounds like the English word "money," symbolizing that the entire film’s mission revolves around money.

At a crossroads, Fu Dalong stood inside a phone booth, while Wu Yuchen outside instructed the cinematographer:

"For the next shot, center the cross-shaped frame of the phone booth in the frame, then pull back to capture the entire crossroads behind it, and make sure the crossroads itself ends up centered in the shot—got it?"

The cinematographer nodded, understanding.

He then turned to Fu Dalong inside the booth:

"Dalong, pay attention to your position—don’t block the image of Satan on the wall inside the booth."

Fu Dalong glanced at the camera angle and the Satan image beside him, then nodded in understanding.

What Wu Yuchen was describing was the very first scene: Manny making a call inside the phone booth; both the cross-shaped frame outside and the crossroads behind carry symbolic meaning—Jesus crucified on the cross, symbolizing Manny’s current suffering, and Satan’s presence needs no further explanation.

This film is packed with such symbolic details, and Wu Yuchen had to explain them all clearly before shooting, or any misalignment between actor and cinematographer would result in missed elements.

Li Xiaoran was watching nearby; she now realized how vastly different filmmaking was from television drama production.

In her previous TV dramas, even when focusing on the lead actor’s performance, everything was casual—just conveying the plot was enough.

But in film, positioning, framing, color, and performance are all far more meticulous.

Watching Wu Yuchen now giving orders and explaining every detail, she suddenly realized that without him, she might never have reached this higher realm of cinema for years.

Li Xiaoran took a deep breath; she might not understand much, but she trusted Wu Yuchen completely—he told her what to do, and she did it. She knew she had to give her all in this role, not just for herself, but for Wu Yuchen, who had chosen her as the female lead.

Basic actor training emphasizes voice, diction, physique, and expression; Li Xiaoran’s physique was certainly fine—even better than many actors—and her voice was excellent; some actors have issues with tone or breath control, like tiring quickly when speaking long lines, but her mother had trained her since childhood.

Her dialogue delivery was weaker, but fortunately, "Run Lola Run" had no long monologues—most lines were natural and conversational, with seventy percent being motion shots.

Her only weakness was acting; Wu Yuchen couldn’t teach her many techniques overnight, so she needed to follow the method acting path—immerse herself in the role, so her own behavior would unconsciously become Lola-like, making filming smoother later.

Wu Yuchen had already begun this process the moment he cast her as the lead, analyzing the character and rehearsing scenes—like emphasizing that Lola was a love-struck girl who would do anything for her boyfriend.

"Cut!"

"Li Xiaoran, pay attention to your expression when running—your beloved is waiting for you to save him; you need to look anxious, furrow your brows!"

"Cut!"

"When running here, show determination!"

"Determination, not anger—don’t clench your teeth so tightly!"

Wu Yuchen started by shooting Lola’s running scenes; during motion, he focused on Li Xiaoran’s full-body movements, not demanding high facial expression yet, allowing her a gradual transition into the role.

Shooting running scenes tested not just Li Xiaoran but also the cinematographer; sometimes they shot from a moving car, but other times the cinematographer had to carry the camera and run alongside her, filming while running, keeping it as steady as possible—it was physically exhausting, and even Wu Yuchen took turns with the cinematographer!

…

"Hui Zai, can you ride a bike?"

"Of course I can!" Zhang Jiahui nodded eagerly.

"Good, we need you for half a day’s shoot—five hundred yuan. This is a mainland crew—do as the director says. Can you handle it?"

"Top Brother, I’m good!" Zhang Jiahui immediately grinned in agreement.

"Yin Du has a rule: no discrimination against fellow countrymen, got it?"

"Top Brother, how could I ever discriminate? We’re all just trying to make a living—whoever feeds us is the boss!"

"Good, I see you’ve got brains—come with me!"

Zhang Jiahui’s eyes lit up with joy as he hurried to follow; now, any opportunity to act, he’d take!

Zhang Jiahui was a contracted minor artist with TVB, with no fame of his own, but he dated Guan Yonghe, whose fame far surpassed his; he was often mocked for being a gold-digger.

In 1995, when their relationship deepened, he visited her family home—and was stunned: her house was luxurious, even her bathroom was bigger than his rented room!

Feeling utterly inadequate in terms of fame, career, and family background, Zhang Jiahui silently fled to South Africa. Eight months later, when his sister developed cancer, he rushed back to Hong Kong—only to find Guan Yonghe had been caring for his sister in the hospital all along, even lying to her: "He asked me to take good care of you."

Zhang Jiahui was moved to tears, never mentioned breaking up again, and vowed to make something of himself, to prove himself worthy and not disappoint his girlfriend.

Wu Yuchen’s next scene involved Lola running into a young thief stealing a bicycle—a nod to the Italian classic "The Bicycle Thief."

But he never expected that Yin Du’s search for a young man to play this minor role would turn up "Zha Zha Hui"!

"Director, I’m Zha Zha Hui!"

Wu Yuchen smiled at Zhang Jiahui’s eager grin, recalling his famous line: "I’m Zha Zha Hui—if you’re my brother, come and chop me!"

Wu Yuchen told Zhang Jiahui:

"Your role isn’t hard, but you’ll need to deliver your lines in Mandarin. Can you do it?"

"No problem! No problem!"

Zhang Jiahui patted his chest in assurance—he understood Mandarin but spoke only Cantonese, so he’d need to practice the lines; but they were just a few lines—he could learn them word by word!

Half an hour later, after the assistant director explained the scene and Zhang Jiahui had rehearsed his lines, he put on a red Manchester United jersey, mounted his bicycle, and was ready.

This scene shows the female lead encountering this bicycle thief three times; each time, different words or actions lead to drastically different outcomes for him.

"Three, two, one, action!"

Around the corner, Li Xiaoran sprinted onto the sidewalk, and Zhang Jiahui appeared at the intersection riding his bike; he saw her running, pedaled closer, and grinned:

"Hey, beautiful, need a bike?"

Li Xiaoran glanced at him while running but ignored him.

Zhang Jiahui gestured to show how effortlessly he was riding:

"Only a hundred yuan—it’s like brand new!"

Li Xiaoran snapped impatiently: "No!"

Zhang Jiahui shrugged, then sped past her.

"Cut!"

The scene was simple—passed after two takes.

This was their first meeting; Wu Yuchen will later insert a series of photos after this scene showing how he got caught stealing the bike, beaten up by thugs, ended up in the hospital, met a nurse, dated her, reformed for love, and eventually married.

After Li Xiaoran rested, they moved on to the next scene.

"Action!"

Same scene again.

"Hey, beautiful, need a bike?"

This time, Li Xiaoran immediately said no, but Zhang Jiahui kept talking:

"Only a hundred yuan—it’s like brand new!"

"Stolen!" Li Xiaoran shouted while running, exposing him.

Zhang Jiahui’s smile vanished; embarrassed, he scowled and sped away.

"Cut!"

This was their second meeting; the thief’s fate changed because the female lead spoke differently.

After this scene, Wu Yuchen will again insert a series of photos showing Zhang Jiahui’s future: perhaps he became wary after her words, avoided getting caught, but became a homeless beggar—poor, scavenging for trash, no girlfriend, stalking women on the street for fantasy, eventually addicted to drugs, dying during an injection.

Finally, they shot the third encounter.

This time, Li Xiaoran swerved to avoid a group of nuns ahead, accidentally bumping into Zhang Jiahui as he rode by.

"Hey hey hey! Watch where you’re going!"

"Sorry!" Li Xiaoran called out while running.

Zhang Jiahui didn’t try to sell his stolen bike this time; he sped past her and turned at the next intersection, taking a different path than before.

The camera followed Zhang Jiahui as he stopped at a roadside burger shop:

"Boss, fries and a Coke."

As he turned around, he noticed a scruffy beggar standing beside him; the beggar smiled at the boss and called out:

"One more!"

Ni Dahong put down his bottle, sneered, and muttered to himself: "I’m such a bad guy!"

Ni Dahong looked up and saw Zhang Jiahui staring at him; he grinned excitedly and said:

"Life’s sometimes crazy, isn’t it? Want a drink? My treat!"

After speaking, Ni Dahong held up the banknotes in his hand and flashed them.

Zhang Jiahui stared at the banknotes in his hand for two seconds, then turned to look at his bicycle.

“Bro, want a bike? Special price—only 200!”

Ni Dahong glanced at the bicycle, his eyes lighting up with interest.

“Done!”

This third encounter led the youth to sell his bike to the beggar who had picked up Manny’s money; later, the beggar, riding the bike around aimlessly, would end up right in front of Manny—such was the strangeness of fate!

This scene wasn’t difficult at all; the main challenge was Li Xiaoran running back and forth and needing rest—it took just over an hour to finish shooting.

Wu Yuchen walked over and complimented Zhang Jiahui: “Good performance—I see great potential in you.”

Zhang Jiahui quickly clasped his hands together in thanks: “Thank you, Director! Thank you, Director!”

“After this, go with the assistant director to take photos—once that’s done, you’re finished.”

Wu Yuchen wouldn’t personally shoot the series of photos showing Zhang Jiahui’s different fates—if the crew couldn’t handle such a simple task, they could pack up and leave!