yournovel Chapter 76, Start-up
Chapter 76, Start-up
May 6th, Bangkok, sunny.
The film crew booked an abandoned dock area on the banks of the Mekong River. The area was surrounded by three layers of barbed wire, and a dozen black vans were parked around it, with the film's title logo and Bona Film Group's logo affixed to their sides.
The film crew set up a prayer altar in the open space in the middle of the dock. On a long table were roast suckling pig, fruit, pastries, and white wine. Behind the table hung a red cloth with the four characters "大吉开影" (Good luck on the start of filming) written in gold ink, which shone brightly in the tropical sun.
When Gao Huan arrived, it was not yet seven o'clock. The sun had just risen, turning the surface of the Mekong River into a flowing golden light.
He was wearing a gray crew-neck T-shirt, with a light black jacket over it, dark gray cargo pants, and a pair of old boots.
With his hair cut short and his back of the head and sideburns shaved neatly, he looked several years older than his actual age.
Yangyang Jin followed behind him, carrying a thermos and a portable fan.
She kept nagging all the way from the hotel to the film set: "It's so hot in Bangkok, aren't you just asking for trouble by wearing a jacket?"
Gao Huan didn't answer, but simply pulled down the zipper of her coat as a response to her words.
A number of people were already standing in front of the altar.
Director Lin Chaoxian stood at the front, wearing a light blue short-sleeved shirt with the cuffs rolled up to his forearms, sunglasses, and an unlit cigarette between his fingers.
He was talking to a man wearing a baseball cap. The man had his back to Gao Huan, but judging from the outline of his shoulders and his posture, it should be Zhang Hanyu.
As Gao Huan walked over, Lin Chaoxian saw him first. He took off his sunglasses, looked him up and down, and then smiled.
"This is our Fang Xinwu."
Zhang Hanyu turned around and extended her hand.
His hands were large, and his handshake was firm, as if he were greeting someone he had known for a long time.
He spoke softly, but every word was clear: "Director Lin mentioned you to me, saying that you practiced Thai for more than a month for this film."
"I'm still learning," Gao Huan said.
"As long as we can communicate, that's fine."
Zhang Hanyu released his grip, took a half step back, and glanced at him again. "With your physique, you don't look like someone playing an intelligence agent; you look like someone playing a commando."
Gao Huan looked down at himself.
"Intelligence agents also need to be able to fight."
Zhang Hanyu paused for a moment, then smiled, a smile that deepened the lines around his eyes.
"Okay, I'll wait and see."
The worship ceremony officially began at 8:00 AM. Lin Chaoxian stood in front of the altar, lit three incense sticks, and bowed three times towards the Mekong River.
Behind him stood the entire film crew—the photography team, lighting team, art team, action team, and acting team, more than a hundred people, standing neatly under the scorching sun of over thirty degrees Celsius. No one held an umbrella, no one wore a hat, and no one spoke.
Gao Huan stood next to Zhang Hanyu, holding up three incense sticks in his hand.
The smoke from the incense sticks rose into the hot air and dissipated with a gust of wind.
He bowed his head slightly in the direction of the Mekong River.
为了那13个名字。那13个在2011年10月5日死在湄公河上的中国船员，他们死在异国的河面上，死在毒贩的枪口下。
Lin Chaoxian placed the incense sticks into the incense burner, turned around, faced the entire crew, and said, "Wishing you a successful start to filming, and hoping everyone can make a great film."
There were no unnecessary words, no sentimentality, and no applause.
The only sounds were the waters of the Mekong River and the red cloth bearing the inscription "Good Luck for the Start-up" swaying gently in the wind.
The lead actress, Feng Wenjuan, stood at the front of the crowd, wearing a loose black T-shirt and with her hair cut into a buzz cut so short that you could see the color of her scalp.
She looked thinner than in the photos, with a jawline so sharp it looked like it had been cut with a knife.
She saw Gao Huan looking at her, smiled, and scratched the back of her head. "How is it? Handsome, right?"
Gao Huan nodded. "Handsome."
Feng Wenjuan laughed even louder.
"You're saying that as if you're praising yourself."
The first scene after filming began was a chase scene in the dock area.
More than 300 extras were scattered throughout the pier, including Thai police officers in uniform, locals in floral shirts, and fruit vendors pushing carts.
Gao Huan's character has to walk through the crowd, chase a suspect dressed in dark clothes, cross a pier full of fishing boats, climb over two iron fences, and finally subdue the person in the gap between shipping containers.
Lin Chaoxian's approach to filming action scenes is different from that of many directors in China.
He doesn't rely on the speed of post-production editing; what he wants is the tension of live-action filming.
If a shot isn't done well, we do it again; if an action isn't executed correctly, we do it again; if someone isn't in the right position, we start all over again.
On his first attempt, Gao Huan got stuck when he tried to climb over the first iron fence; the fence was a little shorter than he had expected.
When he jumped, his toes caught on the edge of the railing, and he fell forward.
He didn't fall; he braced himself with his hands, rolled once, stood up, and continued running.
Lin Chaoxian peeked out from behind the monitor, didn't call "cut," and kept his eyes glued to the screen, waiting for him to finish running that section.
"Second time, pay attention to the height of the iron fence."
After the second run, Lin Chaoxian called a stop.
He walked up to Gao Huan, took off his sunglasses, and looked at his knees.
Gao Huan looked down and saw that his right knee was scraped, not deep, but blood was seeping out, sticking out conspicuously in the grayish-white dust.
"Does it hurt? Should we get it treated?"
"It's okay, let's keep filming, it'll fit the scene even better."
Lin Chaoxian looked at him for two seconds and nodded.
"Run it a third time. Memorize the route around that iron fence, go around it, and don't jump."
After completing the third run, Lin Chaoxian sat behind the monitor, watched the playback, and then looked up and shouted, "Passed!"
The entire action group glanced at Gao Huan's knees simultaneously.
The blood had dried halfway, forming a dark red scab covered in ash, making it look far more gruesome than the actual wound.
The assistant director handed over a pack of wet wipes. Gao Huan took it, bent down and wiped the blood and ash off his knees as casually as if he were wiping a drop of water on a table. Then he waited for the next scene.
Zhang Hanyu walked over and handed him a bottle of water.
"Have you acted in action movies before?"
"I acted in 'Brotherhood of Blades'."
"Ancient costume action is different from modern action. Ancient costume action relies on wire work and choreographed moves, while modern action relies on real fighting and grappling."
Zhang Hanyu paused for a moment, then said, "The way you climbed over the fence just now didn't seem like the first time we were filming a real scene."
Gao Huan unscrewed the bottle cap and took a sip of water.
"I've practiced it."
"How long have you been practicing?"
"This film has only been in preparation for a little over a month."
Zhang Hanyu looked at him but didn't say anything more.
But as he turned and walked back to the rest area, there was a small smile on his lips, as if he had seen something worth remembering.
When he finished work in the evening, Gao Huan sat on the steps by the dock, took off his boots, and soaked his feet in the water of the Mekong River.
The river water wasn't cold; it was lukewarm and carried a smell of mud, sand, and diesel fuel.
The setting sun turned the sky a fiery orange-red, and the fishing boats on the river lit up their lights, twinkling like scattered gold dust on the water.
Yangyang Jin walked over and sat down next to him.
"Brother Huan, do you need to get your knee injured today treated?"
"No need, it's scabbed over."
"You need to be more careful. Are you really not in pain?"
Gao Huan looked down at the wound on his knee that had stopped bleeding and suddenly remembered the wounds that often appeared on his body in the orphanage in his previous life.
Back then, nobody cared about me.