Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 244 Turning the Tables as Director Jiang?
Although Wu Yuchen was away from Beijing for the past few months, the "Brotherhood of Blades" crew didn't just stand still. Several main actors, including Leslie Cheung, Jiang Wen, and Wu Jing, were all undergoing training.

Wu Jing was fine; having practiced martial arts since childhood, he had a foundation and found training here quite easy. It was Zhang Guorong and Jiang Wen who suffered the most. Zhang Guorong had previously filmed period action dramas in Hong Kong, and being a very serious person, he never complained about the training. Jiang Wen, however, struggled. He had never filmed action scenes before and it took him quite a while to see results; now he looks quite professional.

Actually, there was another one, Zhao Wenzhuo. He joined the training group relatively late because he was filming "Wind and Cloud" before. Moreover, he had a martial arts background, so he was naturally much faster at getting into action than Jiang Wen and Zhang Guorong.

However, after training and enduring hardships together, they quickly bonded and got along well. Today, after practice, they chatted and joked around here. As soon as they stopped, Jiang Wen beckoned them to gather around, saying:

"Come on, let me tell you all about your roles today!"

After spending some time together, the group got to know Jiang Wen quite well. He had a strong desire to express himself and often pulled them aside to chat about this and that. During this period, he talked most about the movie "Brotherhood of Blades." If you didn't know him, you would think he was the director of the movie.

This wasn't the first time Jiang Wen had pulled them aside to analyze the script and characters. Wu Jing smiled and asked, "Big brother, which aspect are you planning to discuss today?"

Jiang Wen played the eldest brother Lu Jianxing in the movie, and Wu Jing now simply calls him eldest brother.

Jiang Wen picked up the knife from the ground and pulled it out: "Today I'll tell you about the weapons we each use and the meanings behind them!"

In the film *Brotherhood of Blades*, the three main brothers are all members of the Imperial Guards, and everyone knows that the Imperial Guards use embroidered spring knives. However, "embroidered spring knife" is actually a general term, not referring to a specific type of weapon. Each character in the film uses a different weapon.

"Weapons and symbolism?"

Upon hearing this, Leslie Cheung became interested and picked up his own sword to examine it. He had been so focused on practicing since arriving that he hadn't really considered this angle—could weapons have symbolic meaning?

Jiang Wen placed the knife in his hand in front of everyone and tapped it with his finger:
"Look, our leader Lu Jianxing's weapon is a goose-wing saber that needs to be wielded with both hands. The blade is thick and heavy, with great killing power. His swordsmanship is wide and sweeping, and his attack patterns are well-designed and conventional. This perfectly matches Lu Jianxing's mature and steady personality. He is loyal, responsible, and very principled!"

Leslie Cheung pushed his weapon forward and asked, "What about mine?"

Jiang Wen took the weapon, drew it, stroked the blade, and said with a smile, "My second brother, Shen Lian, uses a goose-feather saber. The goose-feather saber is shaped like a goose feather, with a straight and curved blade and a reverse edge at the tip. It is lightweight and easy to carry, suitable for mid-range attacks, and can be used for slashing, chopping, cutting, and thrusting. When combined with a single-handed crossbow for pursuit and surprise attacks, the offensive tactics are varied and there is a lot of room for maneuver. It suits Shen Lian's character of being secretive, clever, and unpredictable."

Leslie Cheung watched as Jiang Wen spoke eloquently, and after recalling his own portrayal of Shen Lian, he felt that Jiang Wen's words made perfect sense, and couldn't help but nod in agreement.

Seeing this, Wu Jing immediately gave Jiang Wen a thumbs up and said, "Big brother, you're amazing! Tell me about mine!"

Jiang Wen chuckled, calmly taking the twin swords from Wu Jing's hand, clinking the swords together in his left and right hands, and said to Wu Jing:
"As the saying goes, 'the shorter the blade, the more dangerous it is.' Jin Yichuan's Mandarin Duck Short Swords are suitable for close-quarters combat, often putting him in life-threatening situations. In addition, a single sword depends on the hand, while two swords depend on movement, allowing for more varied movements to complement the agility and versatility of the two swords. This aligns with Jin Yichuan's lively personality, his identity as a fugitive, and his tuberculosis."

As Jiang Wen spoke, he pointed to the long sword Duan Long was using: "And this Miao sword your senior brother uses, its blade is long and slender, shaped like a rice seedling, with the part near the edge unsharpened. It combines the characteristics of both a sword and a spear, and can be used with one or two hands. In battle, its power is immense, far surpassing that of ordinary weapons. It is worthy of Ding Xiu's status as a great master."

Furthermore, this type of Miao sword also has another name, the Imperial Guard Sword, which is said to have been designed by Qi Jiguang to combat Japanese pirates. It was named the Qi Family Sword during the Republic of China era. This also foreshadows the origins of the third brother and his senior brother.

Upon hearing this, Duan Long was intrigued: "Brother Wen, do you mean that Ding Xiu and Jin Yichuan both came from the Qi Family Army?"

Jiang Wen smiled and waved his hand: "With Ding Xiu's appearance, how could he possibly be a member of the Qi Family Army? But the master they mentioned is probably connected to the Qi Family Army!"

Everyone present had already been piqued by Jiang Wen's words, and Zhao Wenzhuo, who hadn't been mentioned yet, immediately asked:

"If that's the case, then I have a question. The character I play, Zhao Jingzhong, is clearly a eunuch, so why is my weapon a long spear? That doesn't quite fit the general impression people have of eunuchs, does it?"

Jiang Wen smiled, showing no sign of being stumped. Seeing everyone looking at him, he pointed to the spear standing not far away and said:

"The main villain, Zhao Jingzhong, wields a long steel spear with a white tassel. When we think of spears, we usually think of them as the 'king of weapons,' but because they are swift, agile, and unpredictable when wielded, they are also known as the 'thief of weapons.' Moreover, Zhao Jingzhong's spear can be disassembled into two short spears, which perfectly matches Zhao Jingzhong's two-faced and treacherous character."

Seeing everyone's thoughtful expressions, Jiang Wen continued speaking eloquently:
"Another point is that Zhao Jingzhong, as a eunuch, has to use a gun even though he has no gun. This design is also a metaphor from the director, which means that he is destined to be powerless with the gun and will not succeed in either doing things or killing people. He has failed to achieve his goals several times."

Just as the group was about to speak, a cheer came from behind them: "Well said!"

The group turned around and stood up, respectfully greeting each other, "Hello, Director Wu!"

Wu Yuchen strolled over, smiled and nodded at the group, then said meaningfully to Jiang Wen, "Jiang Wen, you've done a really thorough job preparing for Lu Jianxing, you even did the homework for everyone else!"

Jiang Wenhao laughed heartily, "Hahaha, I've been taking a look at the script since I had nothing else to do. Director Wu, your script is very meticulous in its details!"

Wu Yuchen said with a smile, "We have to do our research. I'm afraid it won't stand up to scrutiny from some people. If they raise questions during filming, how am I supposed to film it?"

Jiang Wen pretended to be nonchalant and said righteously, "How could that be? Anyone who dares to question you, Director Wu, I, Jiang Wen, will be the first to object!"

Zhang Guorong and others who were listening to the conversation between the two felt that the atmosphere between Wu Yuchen and Jiang Wen was a bit strange. It seemed that Director Wu was giving Jiang Wen a warning? But Jiang Wen's expression didn't seem to be the case.

The group wasn't sure if this was Wu Yuchen's style—to put the actors through a wringer as soon as they joined the crew—so they were all on edge and became more alert.

Wu Yuchen's words were indeed a slight warning to Jiang Wen. He sensed Jiang Wen was trying to turn the tables and become the director, which was unacceptable! This production team was definitely under Wu's control! However, after hearing Jiang Wen's words, he ignored him and smiled at the others, saying, "I just asked about your training results over the past few months, and they're excellent! Get ready, the press conference for the start of filming is the day after tomorrow!"

Upon hearing this, everyone couldn't help but smile. After training for so long, it was finally time to start filming!

……

As Wu Yuchen's highly anticipated martial arts film, the press conference for the start of filming of "Brotherhood of Blades" was naturally quite lively. There wasn't much to say initially, but because news about "Hero" had been circulating for the past few months, everyone was comparing the two upcoming martial arts films, so the reporter brought up this topic:
"Director Wu, I heard that 'Hero' has a star-studded cast including Jet Li, Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, and Chan Siu-ming. Many people think that 'Brotherhood of Blades' has a weaker cast than 'Hero.' What do you think of this statement?"

"Director Wu, with 'Hero' and 'Brotherhood of Blades' in pre-production at the same time, and you and Director Zhang Yimou filming martial arts movies at the same time, is there any competition involved?"

"Director Wu, Zhang Weiping has stated that 'Hero' is aiming for the Oscar for Best Picture, and doesn't seem to care about 'Brotherhood of Blades'. What's your opinion on this?"

Listening to these miscellaneous questions, Wu Yuchen gave a brief answer:

"First of all, I don't think our cast is inferior to anyone else's. The actors for each role in 'Brotherhood of Blades' were carefully selected by our crew to be the most suitable. Simply comparing their salaries is too superficial."

Secondly, it was a coincidence that Director Zhang and I both chose to shoot martial arts films at the same time, but it can also be said that we shared a common goal: to better promote Chinese culture abroad.

However, the idea that we're competing is nonsense. In fact, we sat down and had a friendly discussion not long ago. "Hero" and "Brotherhood of Blades" are not in the same style, and everyone will see when the movies are released.

As for Zhang Weiping…

Wu Yuchen smiled and shook his head: "Zhang Weiping cannot represent Zhang Yimou. I have never believed a single word he said, and I advise everyone not to take it to heart."

The reporters wanted to ask more questions, but Wu Yuchen didn't want to waste any more time and led everyone away.

That evening, Zhang Yimou even called Wu Yuchen to explain that Zhang Weiping's words were purely for publicity and hoped that Wu Yuchen wouldn't misunderstand.

"Don't worry, Senior Brother Zhang, I never took his words to heart. Go ahead and film, Senior Brother Zhang, I'm really looking forward to those scenes you described to me!"

After hanging up the phone, Wu Yuchen sighed. He couldn't comment on the relationship between Zhang Yimou and Zhang Weiping. But looking at Zhang Yimou's experience, after he got together with Zhang Weiping, almost everyone around him was driven away by Zhang Weiping, and he made enemies everywhere, all under the guise of doing it for Zhang Yimou's own good.

At first, everyone thought it was Zhang Weiping's true nature, but considering the later developments, it seems that Zhang Weiping wanted to alienate Zhang Yimou so that he could control him alone.

However, Wu Yuchen couldn't possibly revolve around Zhang Yimou. He had already reminded him once before, and he couldn't bring it up again and again. Zhang Yimou had to make the decision himself.

At this moment, Jiang Qinqin, who was next to Wu Yuchen, clenched her little fist and said, "Honey, our 'Brotherhood of Blades' will definitely be better than 'Hero.' We'll leave Zhang Weiping and those reporters speechless!"

Wu Yuchen smiled and shook his head slightly: "If you want us to be better than 'Hero,' then play your role well. How's the dance I had you practice?"

Jiang Qinqin patted her chest and assured him, "Honey, don't worry, I've been practicing this dance for months, I'm sure I'll dance it beautifully!"

"Okay, I'll be watching your performance then!" Wu Yuchen said with a smile. This was a scene he specially added for Jiang Qinqin to increase her presence as the female lead. If she didn't perform well, she would definitely be met with his angry scolding.

……

"Stop! Stop! Costume designer, come here! What's wrong with these clothes?" Before filming even started, Wu Yuchen called for a halt.

The head of the costume department rushed over immediately. When he saw Wu Yuchen pointing at Jiang Wen's clothes with an unfriendly expression and questioning him, he said cautiously, "Director Wu, as you requested, the clothes for the three main characters are all distressed."

"Where's the patch? I specifically emphasized that Lu Jianxing's collar needed a patch? Where did it go?!"

The person in charge then realized what was happening and quickly apologized, "Director Wu, I'm so sorry! We'll add it right away!"

"You're delaying things! Hurry up!" Wu Yuchen cursed, watching the costume designer hurriedly take off Jiang Wen's clothes and rush to finish the costume.

Although preparations for "Brotherhood of Blades" had been underway for some time, some problems inevitably arose once filming began, resulting in a less than smooth start and causing Wu Yuchen some frustration. However, he also knew that part of the reason was his absence during the pre-production phase, so many aspects couldn't meet his requirements without his personal supervision, and now he could only address them one by one during filming.

At this moment, the three brothers were standing together, and Wu Jing asked curiously, "Big brother, why do you have patches on your clothes?"

Jiang Wen didn't even turn his head before replying, "Because we're poor! To get promoted, I gave most of my salary to my superiors to bribe officials, so I'm strapped for cash. The patches on my clothes show how frugal I am. And the fact that all three of us are dressed up shows that we three brothers are short of money!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Jing gave a look of sudden realization, and Leslie Cheung also remarked, "Mainland production crews are really meticulous. In Hong Kong, no one would even notice these kinds of details."

Jiang Wen wasn't surprised at all, because he himself was a super detail-oriented person, nitpicking even if a shirt had an extra or missing button. Wu Yuchen's behavior was exactly to his liking, but how could he possibly find fault with him?

(End of this chapter)