More than 30 kilometers east of Rome, on the banks of the Agnène River, lies the picturesque town of Tivoli.

As early as the 2nd century BC, Tivoli was a holiday destination for the ancient Romans, attracting many emperors and nobles to build villas and palaces here. To this day, the town of Tivoli still retains its Renaissance villas and monasteries, which attract many tourists.

Tivoli, with a resident population of less than 50,000, welcomed a Hong Kong crew in October. Half of the crew members are Jiahe and DreamWorks, plus local Italian actors and translators, as well as the stunt team and martial arts class brought by Kang Jianfei, with a scale of more than 90 people.

In one of the best hotels in town, Kang Jianfei, Wu Yusen, Lin Qingxia, Cheng Long, Cai Yongchang, Wu Chenggang and others gathered around a table. Kang Jianfei pointed to the map of the town and said, "We have been in the town for a day, and we are more familiar with various places. Cheng Long's retired Flying Tigers member Jack? Chen, who lives on this street in the east of the town, then goes west out of the city from this route, preparing to send Qingxia to Rome as a courier. When he drove here, he opened the package he was transporting, and after finding that the goods were a person, he immediately took Qingxia back to his residence, so the two were attacked there and fled. Now we're going to choose where to shoot that chase and fight scene in Tivoli. ”

Wu Yusen suggested: "The scene can be filmed in Villa d'Este, which is the most beautiful place in the whole of Tivoli. Moreover, the ancient buildings, fountains, gardens and other scenery inside can be used to design action scenes. We can shoot it like this, Cheng Long and Qingxia are chased by unknown villains, flee into Villa Este in a panic, and then escape from the town of Tivoli overnight after defeating the bad guys. ”

Although the script of "Deadly Express" has already been completed, the specific filming location cannot be predicted, so the details of the action scenes can only be decided on an ad hoc basis. Kang Jianfei talks to Cheng Long about movement design when he is in Hong Kong. It's just to talk about some general directions, and how to shoot the scene has to be discussed on the spot. Because Cheng Long's action scenes are not like others, he can make perfect use of on-site props to achieve unexpected laughter.

"Mr. Zhang, can you apply for filming in Villa d'Este?" Kang Jianfei asked an Asian behind him.

This person's name is Zhang Xiongguang, a tour guide in Italy for a Hong Kong travel agency, and he was hired by Kang Jianfei to be a translator and consultant.

Zhang Xiongguang said: "It's no problem to film in the Roman gladiatorial arena, Villa d'Este is originally a tourist attraction, as long as you apply to the town, you can get it in half a day." ”

Kang Jianfei smiled: "Then you will have to trouble Mr. Zhang." We are not familiar with this place. ”

Zhang Xiongguang promised: "No problem, I will go to the mayor early tomorrow morning, and I should be able to shoot in the afternoon." ”

"Don't worry, that fight will take two days to shoot." Kang Jianfei began to order, "Tomorrow morning, the machine will be officially started." Yusen, you're going to get the extras done. ”

"No problem." Wu Yusen nodded and said, he had been hidden by Jiahe Snow for nearly half a year. This time, Kang Jianfei asked him to come over as an assistant director, and he also worked very hard.

Kang Jianfei asked Wu Chenggang again: "Cousin." Did the Mitsubishi car arrive? ”

"Only Aaron's special Mitsubishi truck has arrived, and the rest of the cars may be two days away." Although Wu Chenggang still occasionally works as a lighting director, as long as Kang Jianfei has filming, he will come over to Kang Jianfei as a producer and field director, to put it bluntly, a full-time nanny is responsible for logistics and crew management.

There are two executive producers of "Deadly Express", in addition to Wu Chenggang. and Cai Yongchang from Golden Harvest.

Cai Yongchang was originally a staff member of the Propaganda Department of Shaw Brothers Company, and was He Guanchang's henchman when he was the director of the Propaganda Department of Shaw Brothers.

Cai Yongchang used to be a relatively capable middle-level staff member at Shaw Brothers. But now he has become a real power figure in Golden Harvest Pictures. For example, if a director wants to find Golden Harvest to invest in making a movie, then go directly to Cai Yongchang, as long as this person agrees, he can basically get the funds.

However, what satisfied Kang Jianfei the most was that after Cai Yongchang joined the crew of "Fatal Express" as a producer, he did not dictate the filming affairs, he just calculated the crew's usage with Wu Chenggang every day and sorted out the budget clearly.

To put it bluntly, Cai Yongchang is very clear, he is here to supervise the use of the film's budget, at most he urges the filming progress at critical times, or he helps solve it when the crew has difficulties.

Cai Yongchang said: "Mitsubishi's car should arrive the day after tomorrow, I'll call later." ”

Like Kang Jianfei, Cheng Long's car sponsor is also Mitsubishi, and there is no need to worry about sponsorship contract disputes when they cooperate.

Everyone discussed the scene to be filmed tomorrow again, and saw that the time was almost up, and then they went back to their rooms to rest.

Kang Jianfei unabashedly lived in the same room with Lin Qingxia, and the rest of the crew was already surprised, and only regarded them as a couple.

Cheng Long watched the two of them walk into the room holding hands, and couldn't help but shake his head secretly, he remembered Qin Xianglin, who was robbed of his love by Kang Jianfei. At the beginning, because of Qin Xianglin's relationship, Cheng Long also hated Kang Jianfei for a while, but now that everyone is cooperating, there is no need to mention that matter.

Cheng Long chased Teresa Teng some time ago, and the two also seemed to be filming for more than a month, but then it was over, mainly because their personalities and aesthetic tastes were too different.

Now that Cheng Long is back to being a single nobleman, he is quite envious of Kang Jianfei's Yanfu, and he can actually chase Lin Qingxia, a great beauty. If it weren't for Lin Qingxia's famous flowers, Cheng Long would probably take the opportunity of this cooperation to launch a strong pursuit offensive against Lin Qingxia.

Of course, these are all cranky thoughts, and after Cheng Long walked through Kang Jianfei's room, he went directly into Cai Yongchang's room next to him.

"Uncle Chang, it's going to start tomorrow, do you have anything else to order?" Cheng Long asked respectfully. Cheng Long is He Guanchang's godson, and Cai Yongchang has been He Guanchang's confidant for decades, so Cheng Long has a good relationship with Cai Yongchang.

Cai Yongchang used to be very high-profile in publicity, and at the beginning of its establishment, Golden Harvest cooperated with the Japanese film company to plan the "Sino-Japanese War" gimmick of "One-armed Knife vs. Blind Man", and this step was made by Cai Yongchang.

But Cai Yongchang, who is high-profile, is very low-key, and he is not very greedy for power, relying on the old and selling the old. smiled: "I'm here to help you beat the side drum, what can I command?" However, Ah Long, you are very good at making kung fu movies in the early Republic of China, but this time you are shooting a fashion kung fu comedy, so you have to summarize and learn more experience. Mr. Kang from DreamWorks is very skilled in making fashion kung fu films, and working with him is a great opportunity for you. ”

"I know, thank you Uncle Chang for reminding me." Although Cheng Long is a big boss, his learning ability is super strong. Although the "Killer Trench", which wanted to enter the Western market, failed, Cheng Long filmed with the Hollywood team for several months. What he learned was of great use to him.

Cai Yongchang asked again: "What do you think of this play?" ”

Cheng Long thought for a while and said: "A few days ago, I talked to Mr. Kang about fashion action comedy, and he proposed several winning elements, I thought about it carefully and found that he made a lot of sense. ”

"Oh, what winning ingredient?" Cai Yongchang suddenly became interested.

Cheng Long's memory is not good. Kang Jianfei almost forgot what he said to him one day, and hurriedly took out the small book he was carrying. "These elements are: Skill, Grassroots Hero, Social Justice, Compassion, Funny Kung Fu, Prop Field, High-Risk Action, Never Say Die, Fist to Gun." Mr. Kang said. As long as you can have half of these elements, then a fashion action comedy film can get a good box office. ”

Cai Yongchang asked, "How to solve it?" ”

Cheng Long looked at the annotations in the small notebook, and gradually recalled what Kang Jianfei said at that time-

"The so-called 'superb skills' are the key to the fame of an action star. Although Qingxia became famous in the West and Japan with the image of "Royal Senior Sister", she is not a real action star, because many of Qingxia's action scenes are stand-ins.

'Grassroots heroes' means to say. The screen image of the protagonist should be civilian, and there is only one martial god like Bruce Lee who will never be defeated. What is the more likable protagonist to the audience? is the kind of grassroots hero who will hurt when he hits his fist in the face, and run away when he sees the villain pulling out a gun, which will not only increase the comedic effect of the film, but also get closer to the audience.

'Social justice' is the words and deeds of the protagonist. To conform to the mainstream moral concept, it is the party that represents justice. Good guys fight bad guys, heroes fight robbers, this will never go out of style, relying on violence and ferocity to attract the audience can only be a temporary success, and it cannot be stable for a long time. Moreover, when filming the scene, it is best to arrange for the protagonist to be beaten by the villain first, after showing the viciousness and ugliness of the villain, so that the protagonist will fight back again, and it will also make the audience look like they have the same hatred.

'Benevolence' is similar to social justice, and the so-called benevolence is invincible. Zhang Che's kind of martial arts film, which is bitter and hateful, and kills all enemies, has also been popular for many years, but because it is too violent, it has also invisibly driven away some women and older audiences. For example, when the protagonist and the villain are fighting, the villain suddenly falls under the cliff and dies, and the protagonist rescues him out of human kindness, is this more acceptable to the audience? As for the villain being rescued, whether it is En will take revenge and be defeated by the protagonist again, or be grateful to Dade for helping the protagonist, this is a very interesting plot.

'Humorous Kung Fu' doesn't need to be mentioned, your movies such as "Drunken Fist", "Laughing Boxing Tricks", "Junior Brother Out of the Horse", "A Trick and Planning" and other movies have perfected the use of this element.

The 'prop venue' is extremely important, and most of today's movies are shot on location, like stairs, gates, containers, telephone poles, billboards, etc., these things are already there, and if they can be used perfectly in the scenes, it will make the action scenes more fluid and dramatic.

'High-risk maneuvers' literally mean something that a person can't, such as falling from a three-story building, or sliding down a rope from a skyscraper. This kind of shot is easy to hurt, but once it is filmed, it definitely catches the audience's eye.

'Never say never' is in a spiritual sense, just like you did in "Senior Brother Out of the Horse", you were beaten by the villain for more than ten minutes and did not surrender. At this time, the audience's mood is already very depressed, looking forward to the protagonist being able to fight back, and the protagonist can win a full house once he wields power.

'Fist vs. gun' is the most important thing in fashion kung fu films, that is, what should fists do with modern weapons? The best way to deal with it is to get rid of the opponent's gun, or use words to provoke the opponent's fist to move......"

Cai Yongchang listened to Cheng Long's retelling one by one, and a sudden expression appeared on his face. He used to be in charge of the publicity department at Golden Harvest, but in the past two years, he has gradually begun to shift to the production direction. Countless films have been studied, but no one has ever summarized the elements of genre cinema so clearly.

In particular, Hong Kong's fashion kung fu comedies are still in the exploration stage, and this year only Sammo Hung's "Five Lucky Stars" has been a big success.

And Kang Jianfei actually said the important elements of this type of movie such as a few family treasures, for professionals like Cai Yongchang and Cheng Long, its meaning is simply to listen to your words and read a book for ten years.

Whether it is He Guanchang or Cheng Long, they already have routine experience in kung fu comedy, but most of them think that the audience will buy it when they shoot like this, but they have not formed a theoretical thing, and what Kang Jianfei said can become a guiding program.

Cai Yongchang looked at what Cheng Long recorded in his notebook over and over again. finally couldn't help but sigh and said: "Mr. Kang is really a strange person, and the most rare thing is that he doesn't hide his secrets." ”

Because of Qin Xianglin's relationship, Cheng Long heard a lot about Kang Jianfei's "evil deeds". For example, Kang Jianfei invited a prostitute to frame and smear Qin Xianglin, and Cheng Long knew very well about the twists and turns, so he still despised Kang Jianfei's character.

But this did not affect Cheng Long's admiration for Kang Jianfei. If a person has status and ability, then his character can be ignored to a certain extent.

Not to mention. Cheng Long is now in a very awkward stage. The popularity of "A Strategy" and its sister chapters cannot hide the decline of kung fu films in the early Republic of China. Coupled with the success of Hong Jinbao's "Five Lucky Stars", Cheng Long was even more eager to make a fashion kung fu comedy, but he never made up his mind.

Why can't you make up your mind to transform?

Because Cheng Long is a signboard of Golden Harvest, he cannot and must not fail. In case the filming of a fashion action comedy fails, then Golden Harvest will lose more than just that bit of box office. There is also the popularity that Cheng Long has accumulated over the years.

This is also the premise of Golden Harvest asking Kang Jianfei to direct "Deadly Express".

First of all, Kang Jianfei's grasp of the box office is obvious to all, and he has successfully directed fashion kung fu films such as "Royal Sister", and he also has a certain influence in the European and American markets.

Then I looked for Lin Qingxia to be the heroine. There are also some other well-known European and American movie stars joining, which minimizes the possibility of failure of this film.

From another point of view, even if this movie hits the streets, then Golden Harvest can also blame the reason for the failure on the director Kang Jianfei, but Cheng Long is a victim who was affected by Kang Jianfei, just like a few years ago Golden Harvest pushed the reason for "Killer Trench" on the street to Hollywood collaborators.

It can be said that in order to make Cheng Long's smooth transformation and allow Cheng Long to enter the Western market, Golden Harvest has taken great pains and calculations.

However, Kang Jianfei is not a fool, when negotiating with Jiahe, he also won Cheng Long's three-film contract. Although Zou Wenhuai requires that these three films must be co-produced with Golden Harvest, there is no doubt that the copyright owner is DreamWorks.

He Guanchang naturally told Cheng Long about Jiahe's calculations, so Cheng Long put his posture very low in this cooperation, led by Kang Jianfei everywhere, and also patted Kang Jianfei from time to time.

Although Cheng Long has not fully paid attention to the subtlety of these winning elements of fashion kung fu comedy summarized by Kang Jianfei, he already has a relatively clear idea of how to start this kind of film.

Therefore, Cheng Long's contempt for Kang Jianfei's character is contempt, but in this matter, he not only admires Kang Jianfei very much, but also has gratitude in it.

"But why did Mr. Kang tell me this?" Cheng Long pointed to the small notebook and asked suspiciously, "The less people know about this kind of good thing, the better, so as not to teach the apprentice to starve the master to death." ”

Cai Yongchang didn't know why Kang Jianfei was so kind, but these theories couldn't be faked, and his impression of Kang Jianfei was getting better and better.

"You didn't show this to your godfather?" Cai Yongchang asked.

Cheng Long shook his head and said, "Not yet, I want to wait until the filming of this drama is over, and confirm it while filming." ”

Cai Yongchang said: "Put this notebook here first, and wait for me to copy it down and send it back to Mr. Zou and Manager He." (To be continued......)