Chapter 111: Filming

The first scene is the mother-daughter pair played by Fan Bingbing and Hui Yinghong.

The two conspire to swindle the museum curator, letting him become immersed in a "romance" with Fan Bingbing.

Out of so many actresses, Lin Nan felt Fan Bingbing was the most suitable.

Not just because of her external conditions, but also that attitude of being able to let go.

In the frame, she quickly takes off her coat, wearing tight-fitting clothes underneath, with a curvaceous figure, convenient for action...

"Props department, check complete."

"Safety measures, check complete."

"Emergency team, ready."

"Guo Fan, go keep an eye on the secondary camera for Liu Dehua and Luo Jin's side."

Lin Nan said while holding the walkie-talkie.

"Director Lin, I'm already here at the monitor."

"Good."

Lin Nan looked at Fan Bingbing, and the latter gave an OK gesture.

The script supervisor understood, and the camera crew was ready.

"Action."

Fan Bingbing stepped one foot onto the window; under the tight-fitting suit, her good figure was exposed without reservation.

"Shoot quickly."

"You've improved!"

"When will you be able to shoot one?"

Buckling the rope, the wire-work scene began.

Several pre-positioned cameras perfectly captured this high-altitude shot.

The most important part of the first day's shooting task was this museum heist scene.

For these actors, the dramatic parts were not difficult.

Zhang Hanyu often plays upright figures; having him try the villain leader this time was quite challenging.

Any actor with ambition yearns for a breakthrough in their roles.

From the moment he started casting, Lin Nan hoped this film would have a grander feel overall.

Although it is about a group of thieves, he did not want the resulting effect to be "small-minded."

Quite a few media outlets wanted to come in to visit the set, but they were all blocked in the end.

Liu Yifei did come over to take a look every now and then.

Lu Yang, not sure what triggered him, prepared to move the start date up to this month.

Liu Yifei is the producer and has to stay with the crew for a while.

But the filming location for *Brotherhood of Blades* is far away; it requires going to the film studio.

"You are the producer, not the lead actor; once you arrange the work, you can take two days off every week to come back."

Lin Nan's words made Liu Yifei's eyes light up; it really could be done that way.

"Hmm, then that's it; I'll come back to see you then, haha..."

Outside, the promotion for the New Year's slot has entered a white-hot stage.

And the appearance of two movie trailers made the domestic film and television industry look on.

With an investment of 300 million USD, the so-called 3D epic masterpiece *Avatar* is coming!

The few minutes of promotional footage were completely another world, leaving people stunned.

Lin Nan heard that the Cameron team specifically developed a 3D camera for this film; that is truly insane.

"Director Lin, this film looks very... it's too shocking."

On set, when everyone discussed it, they couldn't even find words to describe it.

"It is shocking; everyone can go see it when it comes out, I estimate it will leave everyone dumbfounded..."

Lin Nan replied with a smile. The domestic film industry really cannot remain stagnant this time.

"The break is about enough, let's get to work."

When Lin Nan wrote the script, he gave deep characterization to the images of Liu Dehua and Liang Jiahui.

Those who can become the leader of a team are all deep-thinking and cunning.

Both of them could handle it very well.

"Senior Sister Dan Chen, make your gaze and tone sharper; you just came out from 'inside'."

"Yes, I know, Director Lin."

Compared to Liu Dehua's team, the team with Liang Jiahui, Wu Jing, Zhang Yi, and others was a bit more "wild."

On the basis of being thieves, they had a bit more of a bandit nature.

"Cut."

"Zhang Yi, be more fierce toward the 'female clerk'; you almost exposed yourself just now."

When filming the scene where Liang Jiahui and the others rob the jewelry store, the only flaw that appeared was this scene with Zhang Yi.

"Director Lin, let's do it again; I guarantee this time will be a one-take pass."

The filming of *The Thieves* was proceeding exactly according to plan, in an orderly manner.

With Guo Fan, the assistant director, helping, some unimportant shots could even be filmed simultaneously, further increasing filming efficiency.

There was no shortage of hot news in the industry.

In the last two years, South Korean girl groups and boy groups have been prevalent, even sweeping across all of Asia, and the domestic scene has been deeply influenced.

Recently, the lawsuit of Han Geng sneaking back to the country and suing to terminate his contract attracted the attention of the entertainment circles on both sides, and even the authorities.

The domestic public also saw for the first time the training mechanism for South Korean trainees, as well as artist contracts that were so harsh they amounted to exploitation and extortion—no different from bloodsucking.

Many in the circle sighed; it was only because Han Geng wasn't "one of theirs" that he got away, otherwise, the South Korean entertainment company might have "dealt with" him in who knows what way.

Immediately following this, major domestic talent agencies began to vie to offer olive branches, and signing bonuses rose again and again.

"Has this reached the price point of an A-list movie star?"

"More than that. The quotes for endorsements and advertisements are even higher; it's mainly because there are many young fans..."

Lin Nan listened to some people on the crew chatting and inexplicably thought of the word "traffic"; this should be the first generation, right?

The media reported the scene of the *Brotherhood of Blades* launch, and there was a group photo of the entire crew online.

Liu Yifei and Lu Yang, one as producer and one as director, naturally stood in the core positions.

Next were the actors standing according to the size of their roles.

Although Yang Mi was the female lead, she was still on the periphery.

Everyone online was saying that this was the first time Lin Nan Film had started so many films at once; now only *Lost on Journey* was still waiting for a start date. For a period in the future, the theaters would all be showing Lin Nan Film's movies...

*Source Code* didn't even last a month before it was pulled from theaters.

"*Source Code* grossed 52.4 million; it is reported that the film's production cost was only 10 million..."

"Director Guo Fan's first film box office surpasses Director Lin's debut work *Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind*!"

The members of *The Thieves* crew were all congratulating Guo Fan. The latter was also very excited and treated everyone to a big meal.

"For this seduction scene, Luo Jin, let go a bit; you're both men, there's nothing to be embarrassed about..."

When Lin Nan said this, there was a burst of laughter all around.

"Action."

In front of the camera, Fan Bingbing and Luo Jin prepared to go hunt for prey and bring back a few wallets.

The original plan was for Fan Bingbing to make a move, using her beauty to seduce, and Luo Jin to take action.

Who knew they would run into someone with an abnormal orientation. Alright, the two immediately swapped task contents.

In the end, Luo Jin sacrificed himself for art and was forcibly kissed...

"Cut. This take is a pass..."

Lin Nan said with a smile.

He would try his best to keep this shot during editing; a guilty pleasure...

Wu Jing is an action actor; wearing a tank top, his muscles were quite prominent, and he and Zhang Yi cooperated very well.

One was responsible for the action scenes, the other for the comedy.

The filming speed began to accelerate.

In two weeks, more than half of the scenes for *The Thieves* had been completed.

Outside, the highly anticipated *A Simple Noodle Story* held its premiere in the capital.

Although Zhang Weiping is not well-liked, for the sake of Zhang Yimou's face, a great many people went.

At the premiere, the industry learned for the first time the investment amount of this film: 28 million.

This is the lowest-cost film among all the commercial films directed by Zhang Yimou.

The Zhao Family Troupe was indeed as the media had previously reported; they asked for almost no salary.

With this investment cost, plus the reputation of Zhang Yimou, there was no need to overthink it—this film would definitely be a huge success.

Lin Nan specifically checked on the reviews for the premiere while on set, but there was almost nothing online.

Upon asking around, he learned that the premiere had only shown a ten-minute trailer; the full film could only be seen in theaters after a few more days.

Liu De and the others all decided to go see Zhang Yimou's new work when the time came; after all, it was Zhang Yimou.

After more than twenty days of filming, "The Thieves" reached its first wrap-up scene.

The characters played by Liang Jiahui and Hui Yinghong both had pasts they could not bear to look back on.

Even the worst of people have a glimmer of kindness in their hearts.

These two characters developed feelings for each other during this criminal act of theft...

The man protected the woman as they fled, and they finally reunited in the car.

One died from a gunshot wound, while the other lamented that good dreams are easily broken, stopped trying to save themselves, and let the car speed along until it crashed...

Although the car crash segment required post-production special effects, the "imaginary object" performance by the two was very brilliant.

They truly acted out a romance between a man and a woman who met too late, yet were content...

"Cut."

As Lin Nan shouted the word "cut," applause erupted all around.

"Hurry and help deal with that blood pack; it's still flowing."

Lin Nan urged them.

He saw that Liang Jiahui had already started doing it himself, not needing the logistics staff at all.

A group of actors all gathered around.

"Mr. Liang, Sister Hong, congratulations to you both on wrapping up!"

The two wore smiles as they hugged every actor one by one.

"I'm very happy to have worked with Director Lin. These twenty-plus days were very satisfying. Looking forward to the next collaboration."

"I am also very grateful to Director Lin for giving me this opportunity. Thank you."

Liang Jiahui and Hui Yinghong thanked Lin Nan respectively; after wrapping up today, they would be leaving the crew.

The media was very well-informed; in less than half a day, relevant reports appeared online.

"Director Lin Nan tries out the Hollywood filming model for the first time; efficiency is high, and progress is fast."

"The 'The Thieves' crew: Liang Jiahui and Hui Yinghong wrap up and leave the set today."

"Director Lin remains a 'quick-draw'; 'The Thieves' will likely wrap up in mid-December..."

According to Lin Nan's script, after Liang Jiahui "went offline," the characters played by Zhang Yi and Wu Jing would follow Liu De's team.

For the sake of revenge, and also to find the reason for the betrayal.

Liu Yifei called to "complain."

"You have no idea, I'm flustered all day long; I don't even have time to go back and slack off.

Just like this, the crew expenses for this period of the original plan have already exceeded the budget by over seven hundred thousand..."

"Haha, the first time is always like this. You work hard, and in the future, you'll be able to assemble your own crew and act in whatever you want."

He heard Liu Yifei's crisp laughter coming from the other end of the phone.

"That's exactly what I'm thinking...

You have to come find me after you wrap up!"

Lin Nan understood clearly; she wasn't asking him, she was ordering him.

"Fine, I'll come find you then. And I'll bring along your clumsy..."

"Mm, I'll be waiting for you..."