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Chapter 245 Shooting
Wu Yuchen had no idea what Jiang Wen was thinking. Now that the production was starting up, Wu Yuchen had no time to pay attention to him. For this filming of "Brotherhood of Blades," Wu Yuchen hadn't made any major changes to the script or the main storyline, but the specific details of filming were different.

For example, the scene being filmed now is the opening scene of capturing Xu Xianchun, which is much larger in scale and scale than the original. The original opening scene was actually quite cleverly designed, using the pursuit of a criminal to introduce the three main brothers. However, the criminal being pursued, Xu Xianchun, was only accompanied by two low-level henchmen, making him seem rather useless.

Anyone familiar with Xu Xianchun knows he's known as one of the Five Tigers, a powerful figure. Even if he were down on his luck and wanted to escape, it's impossible for him to have only two weak and easily defeated followers left. While the intention is to showcase the trio's prowess, how can such a weak opponent highlight the brothers' true abilities?

One thing everyone should know is that the original "Brotherhood of Blades" only cost 30 million yuan to make, and that was in 2013. Think about it: in 2001, Zhang Yimou's "Hero" cost 30 million US dollars, and then there were "House of Flying Daggers," "Curse of the Golden Flower," and even period films made by Chen Kaige, Feng Xiaogang, and others—which of those cost less than 30 million yuan?
What I mean is that the original "Brotherhood of Blades" production team was really poor. They spent 3000 million yuan to make a martial arts film, and they were so stingy that they couldn't bear to film any big scenes. In addition, many storylines were cut.

But Wu Yuchen isn't short of money these days. If he's going to make a film, he wants to make it as good as possible. The opening scene where he captures Xu Xianchun needs to be big and spectacular, with both action and scale. Even if we don't expect a hundred-person brawl, it's reasonable for Xu Xianchun to be surrounded by dozens of people, right?

The street fighting in the city was enough to hold up the scene with just a few dozen people, and it also highlighted the abilities and skills of the three main brothers. From a cinematic perspective, it also created a small climax for the audience right from the start, grabbing their attention and emotions.

In this scene, the changes weren't significant; the main fighting was still between Leslie Cheung and Wu Jing. Leslie Cheung first displayed his skills and intimidated others at the Minister's residence, then laid the groundwork for resolving the paperwork issue. After leaving the residence, he encountered a group of men attempting to intercept him, unleashing a killing spree while simultaneously firing signal arrows. Wu Jing blocked five or six people at the intersection, while his elder brother Jiang Wen led a large force to arrest Xu Xianchun, consistent with his composed character.

Of course, although this scene is larger in scale than the original, it still needs to show that the three main brothers are handling things with ease and highlight their abilities!

The opening scene was filmed over three nights. It was a night shoot to begin with, and the crew had a lot of minor issues since filming had just started, so the filming was intermittent. However, Wu Yuchen took it as a way for the crew to get used to each other.

As soon as this scene ended, Wu Yuchen immediately led the crew to begin filming the next big fight scene in the movie.

This time, when he was filming "Brotherhood of Blades," he did not use the method of shooting in sequence according to the storyline, but rather shot in a skip-shooting manner. He had already made a plan to shoot the big action scenes first.

Now that the crew has finally gelled through the opening scene, and the extras have become more effective after the first take, it's time to film the other two scenes in one go.

The first scene is the arrest of Xu Xianchun, and this second scene is the real climax of the movie: the assassination of the Grand Eunuch, Wei Zhongxian!
Wei Zhongxian is definitely a more formidable figure than Xu Xianchun. Since the previous battle to capture Xu Xianchun involved dozens of people, Wei Zhongxian will surely have to level up in this battle as well, facing hundreds of enemies.

However, since only the main trio ambushed Wei Zhongxian, it was impossible for three people to actually kill hundreds of people, so this scene had to be designed.

The initial shots could showcase the sheer size of Wei Zhongxian's army, highlighting the difficulty of the mission. However, by the time he settled in for the night, only a few dozen of his personal guards remained within the high-walled compound. The three brothers devised a plan: they set fire to the outer perimeter to attract the attention of the main force, then infiltrated the compound and blocked the entrance. Wu Jing held off a portion of the guards at the entrance, Jiang Wen held off another, while Zhang Guorong's Shen Lian rushed into the building to assassinate Wei Zhongxian.

In this way, although Wei Zhongxian had a large number of men, it was still reasonable for three people to face dozens of men by separating them with high walls, turning the impossible into possible.

The main scenes filmed here are the outdoor fight sequences. The scene where Shen Lian and Wei Zhongxian confront each other inside the building will be filmed in a specially prepared interior location. To be honest, the original production team was really poor; the building accommodations they arranged for Wei Zhongxian were quite dilapidated. Even in his impoverished state, his living conditions were still far superior to ordinary people. This time, naturally, they're going to put on a much better set. The original *Brotherhood of Blades* didn't have the budget for set design, but Wu Yuchen certainly doesn't.

Following this scene, they continued filming a third outdoor fight scene, in which the three main brothers are tricked into entering Yan's mansion, leading to a fierce battle. Unlike the previous two scenes, which were filmed at night, this one was filmed during the day.

The historical figure Yan Peiwei was based on was a local hero with considerable reputation, who also kept dozens of strong men in his household.

At this moment, Wu Yuchen was speaking to a handsome young man in ancient costume beside him: "Nie Yuan, your father is highly respected. You are a young master who looks down on the Imperial Guards, these lackeys of the court. Later, while maintaining a polite demeanor, you must also show your arrogance and prejudice. Understand?"

Nie Yuan listened to Wu Yuchen's teachings and nodded repeatedly in agreement. He was just an actor who had just started to make a name for himself in the industry, so he was naturally very obedient in front of the great director Wu.

After Wu Yuchen finished speaking, he waved his hand, telling him to go and prepare properly. He watched Nie Yuan's retreating figure; in the original version, Nie Yuan played Zhao Jingzhong, and to be honest, he did a really good job. Therefore, Wu Yuchen thought of him for this role of Yan Gongzi, which had some screen time.

This Young Master Yan isn't just a minor character; he not only fought with Shen Lian here, but he also has another identity: he's the initial crush of the female lead, Zhou Miaotong—in modern terms, the god-like figure of the goddess Shen Lian, who's a total simp. The actor they cast in my previous life was really unsuitable. He wasn't ugly, but he certainly didn't match Zhou Miaotong's god-like appearance; he lacked any presence whatsoever.

Nie Yuan is different. He is a true ancient costume male god. When he puts on ancient costume, he is a handsome young man. Moreover, he can play both civil and military roles. He has played a scholar, an emperor, and Zhao Yun with a white horse and silver spear. It is perfect for him to play the male god Yan Gongzi in Zhou Miaotong's story!

After Nie Yuan left, Wu Yuchen was communicating with the visual effects team: "For the arrow rain scene later, can we achieve camera tracking? We need to show the momentum of the arrow rain being fired simultaneously, and also track the camera angle after the arrows are shot to show their lethality when they enter the human body."

The overall fighting style of "Brotherhood of Blades" is actually quite realistic, with very little use of special effects. After much thought, Wu Yuchen realized that this was the only place where special effects could be used to depict a rain of arrows.

The scene depicts the three main characters fighting inside the mansion when the Imperial Guards outside unleash a massive barrage of arrows, attempting to silence them.

While it's impossible to unleash a barrage of arrows like in "Heroes," surely a few hundred Imperial Guards outside could manage a volley of a hundred arrows? A few hundred arrows, though not as many as ten thousand, would cover a courtyard and be visually impressive enough to create a sense of overwhelming force.

The original version's sparse archery scene looked really weak and ineffective, so it naturally needs to be improved here. This also adds a certain degree of plausibility to the plot: the three main characters are trapped in Yan's mansion and fighting against dozens of strong men. Some are killed by the three, but in reality, many more are shot to death from outside.

"Phew! Director Wu, you've been filming action scenes for half a month straight right from the start. That's quite intense for us!" Jiang Wen said to Wu Yuchen after finishing work today.

Wu Yuchen looked up at Jiang Wen and asked with a smile, "What? You guys can't hold on anymore?"

Jiang Wen waved his hand: "Hey, wasn't this all the training I did for months? We're finally done filming!"

"But it's not over yet. The few group fight scenes on location have just ended," Wu Yuchen said, reminding him not to let his guard down.

These three large-scale outdoor fight scenes took more than half a month to film. After filming was completed, Wu Yuchen actually breathed a sigh of relief, feeling that he had finally cracked a tough nut in the film. In fact, half the credit for this part of the film should go to the action director, since Wu Yuchen could only describe the scenes he wanted, and the action director had to design the specifics of how to fight and how to film them effectively.

There will still be action scenes, but most of them will be solo fights, without involving many extras, which will reduce the difficulty of filming. Wu Yuchen will film them in sequence according to the location.

"No pain, no gain, I understand," Jiang Wen said, then chuckled and said to Wu Yuchen, "Director Wu, I have some ideas for the dialogue scenes later on..."

Wu Yuchen immediately raised his hand: "Stop, stop! Don't get any ideas! You are Lu Jianxing now, play Lu Jianxing well!"

Jiang Wen's eyes darted around, but he didn't argue further. He simply nodded and said, "Fine, I am Lu Jianxing!"

Wu Yuchen stared at Jiang Wen a few more times, thinking about how Jiang Wen had been honest and diligent during the past two weeks of filming, so he didn't think much of it anymore.

After filming three large-scale battle scenes on location, the first scene we filmed back home was the appearance of the female lead, Zhou Miaotong.

Zhou Miaotong's identity is that of an official courtesan in the Nuanxiang Pavilion of the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment institution). However, in the original version, this character's identity was rather underdeveloped, serving mainly as a plot device. Now, Wu Yuchen has added a dance scene based on her identity.

"Action!"

At this moment, the camera shows Leslie Cheung arriving at the Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment venue), standing in front of a door. Following his gaze, looking through the open door, one can see a luxuriously decorated room, and in the center, Jiang Qinqin, dressed in a simple dress, is dancing gracefully.

The song being played on the side was "Li Yannian's Song":
There is a beautiful woman in the north

Unparalleled and independent

A single glance could topple a city

A second glance could topple a nation

How could one not know the power of beauty to topple cities and kingdoms?
Such a beauty is hard to find again.

The ancient and weathered melody doesn't require fancy techniques or vocal styles; it's about singing with emotion and returning to simplicity. Jiang Qinqin, dancing alone, perfectly complements the ancient and elegant style of the song—serene, serene, and detached from the world.

Oh, its later name was quite popular, "Beauty's Song," which was used in the movie "House of Flying Daggers" and is one of the most famous scenes in the film. Wu Yuchen doesn't care about "House of Flying Daggers" now; he just used it anyway.

The Jiaofangsi, under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Rites, was responsible for playing music and performing during celebrations and when welcoming distinguished guests. Introducing Jiang Qinqin with a dance would be very fitting for Zhou Miaotong's status as a courtesan of the Jiaofangsi, and would also leave a lasting impression on the audience.

Leslie Cheung simply watched from outside and didn't rush in. When Jiang Qinqin returned to the room and saw Leslie Cheung, she wasn't surprised. As she walked towards the bed, she said:
"You're the most interesting person. You come to Nuanxiang Pavilion, pay money, and don't sleep with anyone. You're the only one like it."

This gesture showed that the two were no longer strangers.

Leslie Cheung did not answer her, but said in a low voice, "You shouldn't have stood up for yourself like that."

He was clearly referring to Jiang Qinqin's dancing earlier.

Jiang Qinqin chuckled and said, "In this brothel, do you think I have any say in things?"

Then she turned to Shen Lian and said, "Lord Shen, you can handle one or two people, but can you really handle all these high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital? Can you afford to offend them?"

Jiang Qinqin's words left Leslie Cheung speechless. He was just a minor official in the Imperial Guard. A few years ago, he could protect Zhou Miaotong, but now that she had grown up and become increasingly beautiful, it was no longer possible for him, a mere captain of the Imperial Guard, to protect her.

After a moment of silence in the room, Jiang Qinqin said again, "Mother wants to promote me to be the top courtesan and sell me for a good price... Lord Shen, do you regret it? Even if you want to touch me again in the future, you won't have the chance."

Jiang Qinqin's words were barbed, but Zhang Guorong didn't refute them at all, suggesting that their relationship was somewhat delicate.

These words also revealed several pieces of information. First, Shen Lian had blocked customers for Zhou Miaotong more than once and spent a lot of money on her, but he had never touched her. Second, the brothel was about to promote Zhou Miaotong to be the top courtesan, and once she became the top courtesan, she would inevitably have to go out and entertain customers, which was not something Shen Lian could stop.

Although it wasn't explicitly stated, there was an underlying meaning: Zhou Miaotong, under Shen Lian's protection, was still a virgin, and therefore would be chosen to be the most beautiful courtesan.

Wu Yuchen's reason for this character design is naturally to increase the audience's acceptance of the female lead. After all, in China, many people still can't accept a prostitute as the female lead. In the previous life, many people criticized Shen Lian for being a simp, especially a "public bus" (a derogatory term for a womanizer), and for harming his brother in his pursuit of a prostitute, which attracted a lot of criticism. Here, we've simply made a slight change, a patch.

The next moment, Leslie Cheung slowly said, "I will redeem you and get you out."

Jiang Qinqin gave a mocking smile: "My lord, with your meager salary, you think you can redeem me? Besides, this is a brothel under the Ministry of Justice. Without a document from the Ministry of Justice, no one can leave."

Leslie Cheung remained silent, his grip on his teacup tightening. He had actually resolved the paperwork—the deal he'd struck with the Minister when he initially took the person. But now that Zhou Miaotong was to be promoted to courtesan queen, her price would naturally be much higher than before, and he needed money, lots of money!

This foreshadows and sets the stage for Shen Lian's later deal with Wei Zhongxian.

The original version of the previous life did not directly explain Shen Lian's urgency to make money here, but now Wu Yuchen has added a reason: because of the unexpected change that the Jiaofangsi wanted to promote Zhou Miaotong as the top courtesan, Shen Lian had to speed up the process of making money, and he needed to make a large sum of money to redeem her.

(End of this chapter)