novelinnhs Chapter 35 Father's Connections
Chapter 35 Father's Connections
In Kwun Tong, Kowloon, in front of an abandoned soft drink factory building.
The opening ceremony for "New Dragon Gate Inn" is underway.
After Wu Siyuan and Xu Ke finished offering incense, Lin Qingxia and Zhang Manyu stepped forward one after the other.
Originally, Tang Long should have gone first based on the importance of his role, but at this point, that doesn't matter; it's about who has the bigger star power.
This was the first time Tang Long had seen Brigitte Lin and Zhang Manyu since he traveled through time.
The former is over thirty years old, and while she exudes a heroic spirit, she also possesses the charm of a mature woman.
However, her age is a factor, and her skin is noticeably not as good as it used to be. If you look closely, you can see wrinkles around her eyes.
She was stunningly beautiful on camera, but off camera, she couldn't escape the ravages of time.
Zhang Manyu is still young, with a face full of collagen.
Tang Long didn't appreciate her beauty, but among Hong Kong actresses, she wasn't known for her beauty either.
Tang Long, Yuen Woo-ping, Donnie Yen, and others then offered incense in turn.
Xu Ke and Wu Siyuan joined hands, holding sharp knives, and cut from the head to the tail of the roast suckling pig.
A single, decisive cut symbolizes a good beginning and a good ending.
After the script supervisor finished distributing the pork, the most crucial step was unveiling the red cloth.
Xu Ke reached out and grabbed the red silk covering the camera, then forcefully lifted it, causing the red silk to fall to the ground and revealing the camera.
"Congratulations on the start of filming for 'New Dragon Gate Inn'!"
As Xu Ke made a loud announcement, firecrackers went off at the scene.
As the smoke cleared, the behind-the-scenes staff immediately got to work and took their positions.
Tang Long walked into the soda factory building, which had been transformed into the Dragon Gate Inn.
The inn has a lobby, second-floor guest rooms and corridors, kitchen and secret passages, as well as the innkeeper's room. All the necessary sets for the interior scenes are available.
"How is it? The renovation is pretty good, isn't it?" Xu Ke asked Tang Long.
"Excellent, very good."
"Of course, I personally oversaw its quality control."
"Damn it, did you steal a dog last night? Your dark circles are so bad."
Upon getting closer, Xu Ke noticed that Tang Long seemed rather listless today.
Tang Long felt a little embarrassed upon hearing this; he had been too emotional last night and stayed out too late.
"I was so excited about the start of filming today that I didn't sleep well last night."
"Is that so? I find it hard to believe."
"Oh, Director Xu, that's not important. I don't have any scenes on the first day of filming anyway. You should go and get ready for shooting."
"Okay, you better get some rest tonight, you'll have your scenes tomorrow."
Just as Tang Long was about to breathe a sigh of relief after Xu Ke left, Yuan Heping came over again.
"Ah Long".
"Eighth Master!"
"According to seniority, you should call me Senior Uncle."
"Master Uncle!"
"I've been hearing that A-Jia has a great nephew lately, and I never expected that we'd have the opportunity to work together so soon."
"My uncle praised me too much."
"Not only your uncle, but also Dong Wei, Meng Hai, and Zheng Ying have all mentioned you to me."
Although your uncle boasted about you in front of me, he didn't exaggerate too much.
The box office of "The Blade" at nearly HK$14 million is the best proof of this.
I've also read the script for "New Dragon Gate Inn," and it's excellent. I expect the movie to do well at the box office.
Tang Long was surprised to hear this, not expecting that Dong Wei and Lin Zhengying would mention him.
They are all influential figures in the martial arts world.
Lin Zhengying goes without saying, Dong Wei is already a well-known martial arts instructor in Hong Kong, and Meng Hai is a core member of the Hung Ga Ban.
The three of them had one thing in common: they were all students of Pink Chrysanthemum.
Tang Long's father may not be doing very well, but he has a wide network of connections.
He was also a disciple of Fen Juhua, and in addition, he was Tang Jia's brother, so the Yuan and Fen lineages had a strong relationship.
When Tang Long was unknown, he naturally couldn't inherit these connections.
Now that he has gained momentum, these connections are now considered connections.
"I heard from Director Xu that it was your suggestion to cast Zidan as Cao Shaoqin, and I'd like to thank you for speaking up for me."
Tang Long was somewhat surprised by this; he hadn't expected Xu Ke to do him this favor.
"Although I don't know Donnie Yen personally, I've seen his movies and know that he's a talented actor, just lacking an opportunity."
Moreover, strictly speaking, he and I are fellow disciples.
"Haha, that's right. I'll introduce him to you after work. You young people should have something in common."
"no problem."
"By the way, you are the screenwriter of 'New Dragon Gate Inn' and you also have a background in martial arts, so you must have some ideas about the action design of the film."
This is my first time working as an action director for a new martial arts film, so we can discuss things together.
"How dare I presume to teach my master?" Tang Long waved his hands repeatedly.
"I'm speaking from the heart. Since you call me 'Uncle-Master,' you're practically part of the Yuan family troupe."
Everything revolves around the film; let's put aside any sectarian biases for now. I'm not good at every approach; let's learn from each other.
Seeing that Yuan Heping's tone was sincere and not just empty words, Tang Long nodded.
He couldn't help but admire that Yuen Woo-ping was recognized as the top action choreographer, and few could match his humility.
Cheng Xiaodong couldn't do that.
You can discuss martial arts styles and shooting details with him, but you cannot interfere with his specific action design.
When filming "The Blade", Tang Long didn't dare to say anything more about this.
Seeing Tang Long nod, Yuen Woo-ping smiled, patted him on the shoulder, and turned to find Xu Ke.
Unbeknownst to Tang Long, his recent friendly conversation with Xu Ke and Yuen Woo-ping had caught the attention of some people with ulterior motives, causing quite a stir in their minds.
Brigitte Lin and Zhang Manyu exchanged a glance, both understanding the meaning in each other's eyes.
They all underestimated Tang Long.
I originally thought she was just a rising actor, but I never expected the relationship to be so deep.
Tsui Hark and Yuen Woo-ping are both influential figures in the industry, and he clearly has a very good relationship with them.
Without realizing it, they all began to value Tang Long much more.
Needless to say, the other supporting actors all surrounded Yuen Woo-ping with smiles on their faces after he left.
Filming started today, and Xu Ke didn't have any overly complicated scenes scheduled.
Moreover, to get off to a good start, the scenes arranged were mainly dialogue between Qiu Moyan and Jin Xiangyu.
Both actors are skilled and experienced, making filming a very smooth process.
On the contrary, it took the two of them longer to put on makeup and change clothes.
Perhaps it was because the character of Jin Xiangyu was more outgoing that Tang Long always felt that in their scenes together, Zhang Manyu overshadowed Lin Qingxia.
Seeing that Xu Ke didn't yell "cut," he suppressed his doubts and watched Xu Ke film the scene with peace of mind.
He noticed that after Xu Ke took on the role of director, his personality changed significantly, becoming more serious and irritable.
Xu Ke had noticed Tang Long long ago, but he had been focusing on directing the film without paying any attention to him.
Even after work and lunch break, he saw Tang Long still standing there and asked:
"You want to be a director?"
"That's the idea."
If I could direct, I could better bring the movies in my mind to life.
There's no need to painstakingly discuss film style and other issues with others anymore.
"Want to learn? I'll teach you."