Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Changes to Chapter 367 "Sword Rain"
Hearing Wu Yuchen say this, Zeng Li's worries subsided, and she asked Wu Yuchen, "Why do I feel that the style of your novel 'Reign of Assassins' is quite different from the previous martial arts films?"

Zeng Li auditioned for the role of Yu Jiaolong in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" a few years ago. Although she was not selected, she has read a lot of martial arts novels in recent years and has some knowledge of the subject.

Upon hearing this, Wu Yuchen gave Zeng Li a thumbs up: "Li Zi, you're amazing! You figured it out at a glance! I'm not planning to film 'Reign of Assassins' in the traditional martial arts style this time!"

That's right, the Chinese period martial arts film that Wu Yuchen plans to shoot next year is "Reign of Assassins".

The movie "Reign of Assassins" is considered one of the representative works of martial arts films. The film tells a series of stories triggered by a highly skilled female assassin who, after retiring from the martial arts world, possesses the remains of Rama, which everyone in the martial arts world desires.

After the film was released, audiences had mixed opinions about "Reign of Assassins".

When it was first released, many people said it was a bad movie, and its box office performance was mediocre. However, as time went on, the reviews for "Reign of Assassins" actually improved, with its rating on Douban being higher than that of "Hero," and many people even believed that this movie could be ranked among the top five martial arts films.

If Wu Yuchen were to give his evaluation, he would say that the film has a fairly strong plot tension and is quite unique among Chinese martial arts films. Its style is very different. For example, most martial arts films tend to be traditional, like those by Jin Yong, while *Reign of Assassins* constructs a unique and alternative martial arts world, reminiscent of Gu Long's martial arts novels, bringing a completely new experience to martial arts enthusiasts.

Traditional martial arts films are easy to make, as everyone can follow the same pattern. However, martial arts films that take an unconventional approach are not so easy to make. Their narrative techniques and atmosphere creation are very different from the martial arts films we usually see. If not done well, they can become terrible films. However, "Reign of Assassins" has succeeded in this regard, which makes it unique and its reputation has gradually improved.

This is one of the reasons why Wu Yuchen chose "Reign of Assassins" for his filming.

Of course, Wu Yuchen was also aware that the movie was being criticized as a bad film and had many flaws.

First and foremost, the plot is so outrageous. As netizens have said, if "The Promise" was a bloodbath caused by a steamed bun, then "Reign of Assassins" was a bloodbath caused by a penis.

The big boss in the movie is the leader of the assassin organization Black Stone. According to the setting, he is a person who is feared by the entire martial arts world or even the whole world. He dared to kill the entire family of the prime minister and could intimidate all officials. Isn't that powerful enough? It means that he is not afraid of the imperial power, has great strength, and can get away with killing the prime minister and go unpunished!

However, in the second half of the movie, the identity of this boss is reversed. He is just a lowly old eunuch who is hiding in the court and bowing and scraping to everyone. Moreover, the reason why he wants to seize the treasure, the remains of Rama, is that he wants to be reborn and become a normal man!

While the audience can understand it logically and emotionally, the key issue is that the first half of the film builds up the Black Stone organization to be incredibly powerful and its leader to be extremely formidable, only for the audience to feel, "That's it?" after the identity is revealed. It's like they just made a huge mistake!

While there's nothing wrong with a man pursuing reincarnation, this boss's charisma completely vanished later on, making the entire plot seem like a joke to many viewers. This is precisely why most viewers found the plot melodramatic and absurd.

So sometimes, the portrayal of the villain is really important, and the villain's charisma is also very important, otherwise it will drag down the quality of the whole movie.

Moreover, the script was not rigorous; the beginning of the previous film specifically stated that the time was the fifteenth year of the Hongwu reign.

Speaking of this, Wu Yuchen has to complain about the Taiwanese director's ignorance of history. He really thinks that Su Zhaobin and Wu Baige just randomly picked a time period to put on.

What year was the fifteenth year of the Hongwu reign? That was when Zhu Yuanzhang (the Hongwu Emperor) was still alive! Xu Da was still alive, Lan Yu was in his prime, Mu Ying had just returned from the Northern Expedition, and Fu Youde had 12 years left to live. At least half of the great generals of the early Ming Dynasty were at their peak!
How dare your Black Stone assassin organization be so arrogant, daring to slaughter the Prime Minister's entire family and threaten all the officials in the court? You've got to be damned! None of them are even close to being defeated by your few Black Stone members! Lan Yu alone could wipe out ten of your Black Stone members a hundred times over!

Therefore, Wu Yuchen definitely needs to make changes in this regard. Firstly, the time setting can be vague, or even a hundred or two hundred years later, without specifying a particular time, just the mid-Ming Dynasty. At that time, imperial power was in decline, which would make people feel that Black Stone's power was more credible.

On the other hand, Wu Yuchen needs to change the big boss's character. Actually, the first half doesn't need changing; the key lies in the second half. He can be a eunuch, but not a minor one; he must be a powerful eunuch, even one with absolute authority! And the Black Stone organization is simply a tool he secretly created to serve himself!
In this way, it becomes reasonable for the Black Stone organization to dare to slaughter the prime minister's entire family and intimidate all officials. When the audience sees the boss's identity revealed in the second half of the story, it will seem justified.

It's easy to understand why eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty wielded immense power and acted as behind-the-scenes bosses; there's nothing wrong with it from any perspective, and the audience readily accepts this.

Then there's the question of the big boss's goals and pursuits. Why does he want to seize Rama's remains? It could be for his penis, that much is true. But it can't be simply to restore his own penis!
When a boss is in this position, the things he does and the goals he sets must be impressive, or in other words, they must be seen as having a great or grand pursuit in the eyes of the audience, even if they are unjust or evil, in order to establish the boss persona!

For example, Thanos in Marvel snapped his fingers and wiped out half of all life in the universe for a better future; in the Legend of Sword and Fairy, Bai Yue wanted to destroy the human world and reshape the universe for a better future! And then there are the goals of Madara, Nagato, and others in Naruto…

Although you might find it a bit far-fetched, these bosses' personas haven't collapsed, their charisma remains intact, and that doesn't stop you from thinking they're still very capable.

The reason our Black Stone leader wanted to seize Rama's remains, to restore his penis, and to be a normal man, was because he was no longer satisfied with being a eunuch. Although he already held immense power, he was not content with that; he wanted to go even further! He didn't just want to be a eunuch; he wanted to be a king!
It's crazy for a eunuch to want to be the emperor, but to the audience, his goal and pursuit seem lofty, and the villain's pretentiousness and character are established!
It's common knowledge that one cannot become emperor without the ability to produce an heir. But now, with the existence of Rama's remains—a contraption capable of regenerating severed limbs—the big boss's ambitions become a possibility, hence his relentless pursuit of Rama's remains. Why can't the Embroidered Uniform Guard and the Eastern Depot be deployed? Because these are official institutions; deploying them to search for Rama's remains would expose his treacherous intentions to his enemies in the court! Although the big boss wields immense power, he cannot be without enemies, so he must be cautious in such matters. Therefore, he has never used the Eastern Depot, instead relying on his own Black Stone organization to investigate the female protagonist.

In this way, only a small part of the BOSS's character design was changed, and most of the movie's plot did not need to be changed. However, the plot of the entire movie was made more logical and the logic was more reliable than the original work. No more viewers will say that the plot is ridiculous!

The second point of contention surrounding the film "Reign of Assassins" was its casting. While most of the actors were actually quite good, the majority of the dissatisfaction focused on one character: the second female lead, played by Barbie Hsu (Da S), who portrayed a beautiful female assassin!

Whenever Barbie Hsu appears on screen, it feels awkward and jarring. Her character is supposed to be a glamorous female assassin with a different kind of charm, but not only does she fail to showcase any charm, she doesn't even come across as flirtatious. According to many people, she just looks like a sexually frustrated woman addict!
Wu Yuchen has already resolved this issue by replacing the actress with Fan Bingbing, whose looks and charm far surpass those of Barbie Hsu. Yes, this is the second female lead role Wu Yuchen promised Fan Bingbing!
While Fan Bingbing's acting skills can't compare to Zhou Xun's, they're not bad either. She's perfectly capable of playing roles that suit her style and personality. In short, she absolutely blows Barbie Hsu out of the water!

Moreover, in every aspect, Barbie Hsu's qualities are no match for Fan Bingbing's!

Take, for example, the scene in the movie where the beautiful female assassin seduces the male lead. Barbie Hsu's performance made many viewers feel awkward, but if it were Fan Bingbing, it would be a completely different story.

Putting aside acting skills, Fan Bingbing's looks and charming temperament alone are enough to convince male viewers. Moreover, Bingbing is now very good at seducing people, something Wu Yuchen has already fully experienced!

There are scenes in the movie where she seduces the male lead. How to portray seduction and flirtatiousness without making the audience dislike her? Wu Yuchen believes that Fan Bingbing can definitely do it well!
The previous film, *Reign of Assassins*, was credited to Wu Baige, but he was actually only the producer; the screenwriter and director were Su Zhaobin. Both are from Taiwan, and it's natural that they would favor their own people. Choosing Tai S for the role was precisely for this purpose. Wu Baige does indeed have this flaw—he's very protective of his own people, as seen in *Red Cliff* and *Reign of Assassins*. Or perhaps it's just that many Taiwanese filmmakers are indeed quite clique-like.

However, this time, with "Reign of Assassins" in Wu Yuchen's hands, he will definitely choose the most suitable roles, and the focus will inevitably be on the mainland.

Some netizens have commented that the female lead, Michelle Yeoh, is too old, and they're unfamiliar with the male lead, Jung Woo-sung. Wu Yuchen understands why the producers made these choices. The film's rights are intended for sale in Europe, America, Japan, and South Korea, so both Michelle Yeoh and Jung Woo-sung were chosen with the international market in mind. Furthermore, Michelle Yeoh is quite well-known and has considerable star power among actresses; she's also an action star, making her a suitable choice.

However, Wu Yuchen won't be using Yang Ziqiong anymore. Another reason he made "Reign of Assassins" was for Zeng Li. Zeng Li hasn't acted in many of his movies over the years, and her wish is to be his leading lady, so Wu Yuchen naturally wants to fulfill her wish.

Using Zeng Li would definitely eliminate any complaints from viewers about the female lead being too old. As for whether Zeng Li, who isn't photogenic on the big screen, can carry the role, that's not a problem at all. The female lead in "Reign of Assassins" is a former assassin who underwent a face transplant—plastic surgery—to become an ordinary-looking woman who just wants to live a simple life.

In other words, this role doesn't require good looks, since, to be honest, Yang Ziqiong, who played this role in her previous life, wasn't exactly a beauty.

For Zeng Li, the only requirement was...

Wu Yuchen smiled and asked Zeng Li, "Lizi, do you remember practicing martial arts when you were competing for the role of Yu Jiaolong a few years ago?"

"Of course I remember, but I just didn't catch Director Li's eye~" Zeng Li was quite open-minded about not being able to compete with her roommate Zhang Ziyi. She had seen Zhang Ziyi's hard work back then.

Wu Yuchen said with a smile, "You have a lot of action scenes this time, so you're going to have to put up with some tough times!"

The spectacular fight scenes in the film *Reign of Assassins* are widely acknowledged. The greatest credit undoubtedly goes to the martial arts choreographer who designed this style of action, such as Xi Yu's 42 unpredictable water-repelling sword techniques (and the flexible water-avoiding sword); the magician Lian Sheng's bizarre magic tricks (and the magic rope and flaming knife); and Lei Bin's flying needles, Jiang Asheng's jagged sword, and the Wheel King's treasured sword. Even minor supporting characters with limited screen time are distinctive and memorable, drawing much discussion from the audience.

However, this also owes much to the outstanding performances of the actors, with the female lead naturally bearing the heaviest burden!

"I'll definitely practice hard and won't let you down when you film next year!" Zeng Li was also determined. Wu Yuchen had specially tailored this movie for her, and she was determined to give the best performance!

Wu Yuchen nodded and said nothing more. In fact, Zeng Li had already started practicing martial arts again at Wu Yuchen's suggestion half a year ago. With another six months until filming next year, a full year of preparation time should be enough for Zeng Li to make the necessary preparations.

Moreover, even Michelle Yeoh doesn't perform all the action scenes herself; some of the more difficult ones are done by stunt doubles.

As for the male lead, Wu Yuchen doesn't plan to use Jung Woo-sung from South Korea anymore. With him, the great director, personally directing, why would he need a South Korean actor? His own appeal is top-notch!

Wu Yuchen felt no remorse for taking Wu Baige's credit for "Reign of Assassins," since he had already made him the director of "Taken," which was more than enough compensation for him!

(End of this chapter)