Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 95 I'm Zha Zha Hui!
The movie "Run Lola Run" was actually filmed according to the video game's level-based format. That is, everything Lola encounters on her journey can be seen as a game level, and after failing the first two times, Lola simply reloads her save and starts over, until she finally succeeds in saving her boyfriend on the third attempt.

The save/load or time travel is a basic premise, which is clearly stated from the beginning of the film. If you nitpick this basic premise while watching the movie and keep questioning how you traveled back in time, you will find the movie very unpleasant and think it's all nonsense.
Fortunately, by the end of the century, this kind of setting had become widely accepted in movies; on the contrary, over 90% of young people thought it was super cool. If the movie had come out 10 years earlier, it might have been criticized for being too ahead of its time.

The reason why "Run Lola Run" was filmed in Hong Kong Island and Macau is because Lola, as a game character, has a confused sense of good and evil. She will do anything to complete the mission of saving her boyfriend.

In the first instance, she was willing to help her boyfriend rob a supermarket; in the second instance, she was willing to kidnap her father, a bank executive, to rob a bank for her boyfriend; and in the third instance, she did not commit any illegal acts and passed the test smoothly.

This actually implies that breaking the law will not end well, and that success can only be achieved by acting within the rules.

But considering Lola's chaotic behavior, aren't you inciting the audience to rob?
Moreover, the third time she earned money by going to casinos, so it couldn't be filmed in mainland China and most likely wouldn't be released. All of these factors determined that "Run Lola Run" was filmed in Hong Kong and Macau.

After arriving in Hong Kong Island with his crew, Wu Yuchen contacted Silver Screen, which had already been arranged.

In addition to casting the male and female leads, Wu Yuchen also cast several supporting roles in this audition.

"Ms. Li, is this your first time visiting Hong Kong Island?"

"Hey, back when I came here, I'd get out of a Mercedes and walk right into a five-star hotel, drinking XO, smoking cigars, and even the tips were hundreds of dollars. Five years ago, it would have been a piece of cake for me to book our entire crew to stay in a five-star hotel every day."

The person who said this was Li Chengru, the bank executive who plays the father of the female lead, Lola.

Li Chengru was once wealthy, running a large clothing business with $1300 million in his account, but it all vanished overnight in 93 when he speculated in foreign exchange.

Wu Yuchen smiled upon hearing this. He thought that the fact that Li Chengru could bring this up in a joke showed that he had come to terms with it and had a good mindset.

There is another important supporting character, the beggar who picked up the money that the male lead had lost at the beginning. He also appears quite a few times, and Ni Dahong was invited to play the role.

Besides these four people, Wu Yuchen plans to find other actors in Hong Kong and Macau. They are mostly minor supporting roles with few scenes. He can just invite some TVB actors, which is cheap and affordable, and he can also earn some extra money.

Some scenes were filmed on Hong Kong Island and some on Macau. The main task was to find suitable locations. Fortunately, someone from Silver City had already helped to roughly select some locations in advance, saving Wu Yuchen a few days of location scouting.

The male lead played by Fu Dalong is named Manny. The surname "Man" exists in China, and the name Manny sounds like "money" in English. Therefore, it implies that the entire movie's plot revolves around money.

At an intersection, Fu Dalong was standing in a phone booth, while Wu Yuchen was outside instructing the photographer:

"For this shot, the outer frame of the cross on the phone booth needs to be in the center of the frame. Then zoom out and shoot the entire intersection behind the phone booth. The intersection should also be in the center of the frame at the end, understand?"

The photographer nodded in understanding.

Then he spoke to Fu Dalong in the phone booth:

"Da Long, be careful where you stand later, don't block the picture of Satan that's posted inside the phone booth."

Fu Dalong glanced at the camera position and the image of Satan next to him, and expressed his understanding.

Wu Yuchen is describing the first scene that is about to be filmed. Manny is making a phone call in a phone booth. The cross outside the phone booth and the crossroads are symbolic. Jesus was nailed to the cross and suffered, which symbolizes that Manny has fallen into torment. And what Satan represents is self-evident.

There are many symbolic details like this in the film, and Wu Yuchen had to make sure they were explained before filming, otherwise there would be omissions if the actors or the cinematographer didn't coordinate well.

Li Xiaoran was also watching from the sidelines. Only now did she realize how different filming movies and filming TV series really were.

In the TV dramas she filmed before, even when watching the lead actors' performances, they were very casual, as long as they could express the plot.

However, when shooting a movie, the positioning, camera angles, colors, performances, and so on are far more important than when shooting a TV series.

Looking at Wu Yuchen, who was giving orders and explaining things, she suddenly realized that if it weren't for him, she might not have reached the higher realm of film for several years.

Li Xiaoran took a deep breath. She might not understand many things, but she trusted Wu Yuchen completely and would do whatever he told her to do. She knew she had to give it her all this time, not only for herself but also for Wu Yuchen, who had chosen her as the female lead.

Actors' basic skills emphasize voice, stage presence, and physical expression. Li Xiaoran's physical form is definitely not a problem, even better than many actors. Her voice is also very good. Some people have problems with timbre and breath control, such as getting tired after speaking for a long time. But she was sent by her mother to be trained when she was a child.

She's a bit lacking in dialogue, but thankfully this "Run Lola Run" doesn't have long monologues; it's all very natural and 70% of the footage is action.

The only thing lacking is acting. Wu Yuchen can't teach her many techniques all at once, so he has to let her take the method acting approach and get into the role. In this way, her various behaviors will unconsciously become like Lola's, and the subsequent filming will be very smooth.

Wu Yuchen had already done this when he selected her as the female lead, analyzing the character and giving her various acting instructions, such as instilling in her that Lola was a love-struck person who was willing to give anything for love and her boyfriend.

"Crack!"

"Li Xiaoran, pay attention to your expression when you run. The person you love most is waiting for you to rescue them. You need to look anxious right now, and furrow your brows!"

"Crack!"

"You need to show a determined look when you run here!"

"It's about being resolute, not angry. Don't clench your teeth so tightly!"

Wu Yuchen started by filming the scenes where Lola was running. When she was running, he filmed Li Xiaoran's entire body movements, without requiring her to have high facial expressions, so that she could gradually get into the role.

Filming running scenes was a challenge not only for Li Xiaoran but also for the cinematographer. Sometimes they could film from a car, but other times the cinematographer had to carry the camera and run alongside her, filming as they went, while maintaining a steady pace. It was physically demanding, and Wu Yuchen and the cinematographer took turns working together!
……

"Hui-zai, can you ride a bicycle?"

"Yes, yes!" Zhang Jiahui nodded quickly.

"Okay, 500 yuan for half a day of filming. It's a mainland production crew. We'll do whatever the director says. Can we do it?"

“Brother Ding, I can do it!” Zhang Jiahui immediately agreed with a smile.

"There are requirements from Yindu: you can't discriminate against fellow countrymen when you go there, do you understand?"

"Brother Ding, how dare I discriminate against others! We're all just trying to make a living, whoever feeds us gets to be the boss!"

"Alright, I see you're a smart kid. Come with me!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jiahui's eyes lit up with joy, and he quickly followed. He's now willing to take any opportunity, no matter what it is, as long as he can act!

Cheung Ka-fai is a minor actor signed with TVB, not very famous himself, but he's dating Kwan Wing-ho, a woman far more famous than him. This has led to gossip and accusations that he's a gold digger.

Later, in 95, when their feelings were running high, he visited Guan Yonghe's parents. Zhang Jiahui was completely stunned. Guan Yonghe lived in a luxurious mansion, and even the toilet was bigger than his rented room!

Feeling inferior to his partner in terms of fame, career, and family background, Zhang Jiahui fled to South Africa without a word. Eight months later, when his sister was diagnosed with cancer, he rushed back to Hong Kong Island, only to find that Guan Yonghe had been taking care of his sister in the hospital, even lying to her that "he told me to take good care of you."

Zhang Jiahui was so moved that he burst into tears. He never mentioned breaking up again, but he vowed to make something of himself and prove himself so as not to disappoint his girlfriend!
Wu Yuchen's next scene is where Lola encounters a young bicycle thief while running, a segment that pays homage to the classic Italian film "Bicycle Thieves." However, he never expected that his request for Sil-Metropole to find a young man for this minor role would result in Nick Cheung!
"Hello director, I'm Nick Cheung!"

Wu Yuchen smiled as he looked at Zhang Jiahui, who was giving him a fawning smile. He couldn't help but smile back, remembering Zhang's classic line, "I'm Zha Zha Hui, if you're a brother, come and chop me up!"

Wu Yuchen said to Zhang Jiahui:
"Your role isn't difficult, but you'll have to speak Mandarin for a few lines later. Can you handle it?"

"No problem! No problem!"

Zhang Jiahui patted his chest and assured everyone that he could understand Mandarin, but he only spoke Cantonese, so he would have to practice his Mandarin lines later. But it was only a few lines; he could learn them by following along word by word!

Half an hour later, after listening to the assistant director explain the scene, Zhang Jiahui, who had already practiced his lines, put on a red Manchester United jersey and got ready to ride a bicycle.

This scene depicts the female lead encountering the young cyclist three times, and each time she says or does something different, it significantly alters his fate.

"3, 2, 1, action!"

At the corner, Li Xiaoran ran out onto the sidewalk, just as Zhang Jiahui, riding his bicycle, appeared from the intersection. He watched Li Xiaoran run towards him, rode his bike closer, and called out with a smile:

"Hey beautiful, do you need a bicycle?"

Li Xiaoran glanced at him as she ran, but ignored him.

As he spoke, Zhang Jiahui gestured to Li Xiaoran, making an expression that showed how easily he could ride a bicycle:
"It's only 100 yuan, and it's just like new!"

Li Xiaoran shouted impatiently, "No!"

Seeing this, Zhang Jiahui curled his lip, then sped up and overtook Li Xiaoran.

"Pass!"

This scene was very simple; it only took two takes to get it right.

这就是两人的第一次相遇，之后吴宇辰还要给张佳辉补上几张照片接到这段戏后面，大概内容就是他因为偷自行车被几个壮汉逮到暴揍，鼻青脸肿的他去了医院，因此认识了一位小护士，然后他和小护士约会，为了爱情洗心革面，并且最终结婚。

After Li Xiaoran had rested, they continued filming the next scene.

"action!"

The same scene.

"Hey beautiful, do you need a bicycle?"

This time, Li Xiaoran directly said no, but Zhang Jiahui kept saying:

"It's only 100 yuan, and it's just like new!"

"It was stolen!" Li Xiaoran shouted as she ran, directly exposing the theft.

This caused Zhang Jiahui's smile to vanish instantly. Feeling embarrassed, he made a displeased expression and sped away.

"Pass!"

This is the second time the two have met, and the young car thief's fate is changed because the female protagonist said something different.

After this scene, Wu Yuchen will also add a series of photos of Zhang Jiahui, showing that he may become wary because of Li Xiaoran's words and not be caught and beaten by the car owner, but he becomes a homeless man. He is not only poor and has to pick up garbage, but he also has no girlfriend. He can only follow women on the street to satisfy his desire. In the end, he becomes addicted to drugs and dies while getting an injection.

Finally, the filming of their third encounter took place.

This time, Li Xiaoran didn't want to run into the group of nuns that appeared ahead, so she went around them, but in doing so, she bumped into Zhang Jiahui who was riding a bicycle.

Hey! Watch out!

"I'm sorry!" Li Xiaoran shouted as she ran.

This time, Zhang Jiahui didn't intend to sell the stolen bicycle to Li Xiaoran again. He accelerated and overtook her, then turned at the next intersection and took a different route than the previous two times.

The camera followed Zhang Jiahui, who this time stopped at a burger joint on the roadside:

"Boss, one order of fries and a Coke."

As soon as he turned around, he saw a disheveled beggar standing next to him. The beggar smiled and called out to the shopkeeper:
"One more!"

Ni Dahong put down the bottle in his hand, then chuckled and muttered to himself with his head down, "I'm such a bad guy!"

Ni Dahong looked up and saw Zhang Jiahui looking at him. He smiled excitedly and exclaimed:

"Life can be really crazy sometimes, can't it? How about a drink? It's on me!"

After saying that, Ni Dahong held up the banknotes in his hand and showed them to everyone.

Zhang Jiahui stared at the banknotes in his hand for two seconds, then turned to look at his bicycle:

"Hey buddy, wanna get a bike? I'll give you a special price, only 200!"

Ni Dahong looked at the bicycle with interest in his eyes.

"Pass!"

This third encounter led the young man to sell the bicycle to the beggar who had found Manny's money. Later, the beggar, having received the bicycle, would ride it aimlessly and eventually end up in front of Manny. Fate is truly wondrous!

This scene wasn't difficult at all. The main thing was that Li Xiaoran had to run back and forth and take breaks. It only took a little over an hour to film.

Wu Yuchen walked over and praised Zhang Jiahui, saying, "You did a great job. I think you'll be famous in the future!"

Zhang Jiahui quickly clasped his hands together in gratitude: "Thank you, director! Thank you, director!"

"You'll go with the assistant director to take photos later, and that's it."

Wu Yuchen didn't take those photos that showed Zhang Jiahui's different fates himself. If the subordinates couldn't do this kind of photo-taking job well, they could pack their bags and get out!

(End of this chapter)