Chapter 716 [Detective Chinatown 3] Filming Begins
May 2, Tokyo.
The flight from Beijing landed at Tokyo International Airport, and the crew of "Detective Chinatown 3" officially arrived.
In fact, as early as half a year ago, the staff of "Wei Ming Tian Xia" had already arrived in Tokyo and started to select locations, recruit actors, and build shooting locations.
During this period, Gu Wei also took the time to fly over twice to make some decisions.
Similar to "Detective Chinatown 2", the third film was shot in Tokyo and there was no doubt that some of the iconic buildings and venues here were chosen as the background of the story.
For example, the world's largest intersection - Shibuya Crossing, the famous commercial district Shinjuku, the two-dimensional paradise Akihabara, and the iconic Tokyo Tower, etc.
Crew hotel.
After arriving at the location, Gu Wei and his team first settled down briefly, and then the director team held a small meeting to sort out the recent shooting process.
"Okay, well done. Let's continue filming for the next two months according to the plan. If any problems arise, we can discuss and decide.
How's the Shibuya construction going?"
After listening to the report, Gu Wei asked Zhao Liang, the assistant director who was in charge of the overall preparation.
"The main subject has been completed, we can go and shoot at any time"
Shibuya is a relatively important location in "Detective Chinatown 3". There is a scene where the two protagonists are frantically throwing money down at an intersection.
However, Shibuya in Tokyo is like Times Square in New York, with a huge flow of people. 3,000 people pass through every minute, and more than 2.5 million people walk and stop here every day, so it is impossible to make concessions for Gu Wei and others to shoot a movie.
After discussion, the crew decided to recreate a 1:1 Shibuya in Tochigi Prefecture, a certain distance away from downtown Tokyo.
"Very good, that's all for now. Let's go back and prepare for tomorrow's official shoot!"
"Okay, Director~"
"I understand~"
After finishing the meeting with the director team, Gu Wei did not rest. He called a few main actors and introduced them to everyone. Then he had a simple script reading, mainly to sort out the content to be filmed in the early period.
"Baoqiang, this is Ms. Yui Aragaki.
Aragaki is very famous in our country."
We had worked together with Satoshi Tsumabuki in the second part, so there was no need for introduction. The main actors added to the third part were Yui Aragaki and Tony Jaa.
"Hello, Miss Xinyuan, you are really very beautiful. No wonder Director Gu chose you to play the heroine in the movie. He has great taste!" Wang Baoqiang said with a smile, praising two people in one sentence.
Gu Wei was there to help him translate.
In real life, there is no simultaneous interpreter like the one in "Detective Chinatown 3" that allows for seamless communication with just a small headset, so in addition to the staff and actors, there are also some hired translators in the crew.
After listening to Gu Wei's translation, Yui Aragaki opened her mouth slightly and showed a sweet smile.
"Thanks!
Mr. Wang Baoqiang, nice to meet you.
I've seen the movies you've filmed, they're really amazing, and your acting is superb!" She gave a thumbs up.
"Have the Japanese also seen my movie? It's so famous?" Wang Baoqiang looked at Gu Wei beside him in disbelief.
"Hehe~ Baoqiang, you have to have confidence in yourself. After all, you are a man who has won the Best Actor Award." Gu Wei felt that Aragaki Yui was just being polite, but of course he couldn't say that in front of Baoqiang.
After introducing the two, he greeted Tony Jaa, the couple Mu Cong and others. After exchanging a few words, everyone sat down and started reading the script.
The story of [Detective Chinatown 3] is not complicated. Gu Wei, Wang Baoqiang and Satoshi Tsumabuki just need to continue their previous performance style, mainly to help Tony Jaa and Yui Aragaki determine the characters' personalities and their positions in the movie.
"Gu Sang, do you think that the character I play, Xiaolin Anna, is a bad person?"
After discussing for a while, Aragaki Yui asked Gu Wei while holding her script.
"What do you think?" Gu Wei did not answer immediately, but asked back.
Aragaki Yui raised her head slightly and thought about it.
“I don’t think she’s a bad person.
Although the last scene revealed that she was the mastermind behind the whole case, whether it was the dead Su Chawei, the murderer Nguyen Van Gang, or Watanabe Katsu who was wrongly accused at the beginning, they were not good people.
Anna Kobayashi's family was torn apart by the yakuza when she was young, so this can be considered just revenge."
Gu Wei smiled and nodded.
"Indeed, judging by the performance of our film, Anna Kobayashi is definitely not a completely bad person.
Because she did not receive the punishment she deserved.
However, human nature is complex. I have discussed good and evil, human nature and animal nature in the first two parts of "Detective Chinatown".
Although Anna Kobayashi is not a completely bad person, she is not a good person either.
She plotted to kill Su Chawei, seduced Nguyen Van Gang to kill, and framed Watanabe Katsu. It seemed to be just revenge, but the result was that the two leaders of the Southeast Asian Chamber of Commerce disappeared, and she eventually took over the power of the Chamber of Commerce.
Overall, Anna Kobayashi is an extremely intelligent woman with a strong desire for power."
“So she’s the villain in the movie?
But if the villain doesn't get punished in the end and instead commits the perfect crime, will that leave the audience dissatisfied?
The triumph of justice over evil is an eternal theme in movies. No matter how bumpy and difficult the process is, the result usually remains the same.
According to Gu Wei's setting, the final BOSS Kobayashi Anna in [Detective Chinatown 3] got everything she wanted and escaped legal sanctions, which became a victory for the villain.
Gu Wei smiled and shook his head.
“Not really.
I just tell you what the core of the character of Xiao Xiaolin Anna is like, but throughout the whole movie until the end when Qin Feng confronts her, you have to play her as a good person, a beautiful character who always stands on the side of justice.
When watching the movie, the audience will also think that she is on the good side, and even regard her as a partner of Qin Feng and Tang Ren.
Only after the two of them had their last conversation and Qin Feng expressed his reasoning, was Kobayashi Anna's identity truly revealed.
This reversal is exactly the effect I hope the movie can achieve.
Moreover, although Anna Kobayashi was the mastermind behind everything, legally she did not commit any crime.
The one who intended to frame Watanabe Katsu was Su Cha Wei, and the one who killed Su Cha Wei was Ruan Wengang.
One of them framed others for money and benefits, and the other committed murder for power and status.
Anna Kobayashi fanned the flames in the middle, but the final decision was made by these two people.
In other words, everything they do is caused by their own greed.
The last one to die and be executed is also the best outcome.
The movie effect I want to see is that after the audience knows that Anna Kobayashi is the mastermind, they will not hate her, but will only be amazed by the plot and her methods.
In the end, she tells Qin Feng about her childhood experiences, which also serves as a way to whitewash her character."
After hearing what Gu Wei said, Yui Aragaki nodded slowly.
"I think I understand. This means that except for the last scene, I have to act like a good person all the time."
"That's right.
This character is extremely intelligent and beautiful. She is set to be a white-faced villain, but for most of the first few moments she behaves like a white lotus. Only in the final conversation with the equally intelligent Qin Feng does her true nature reveal itself."
When Gu Wei designed this character, he referred to "Sinuo" in the first part and "Song Yi" in the second part. He felt that this kind of Kobayashi Anna would have more depth than the character in the original who killed people to avenge her father, and that a character with high IQ was also needed to be established in the third part.
The script reading on the first day went smoothly. As the director, Gu Wei helped everyone sort out the positioning of their roles, and everyone had some idea of how to perform after filming started.
The next day, the crew held a simple opening ceremony and officially started filming.
There are always problems when a new drama starts filming, and there is always a period of adjustment. The crew of "Detective Chinatown 3" comes from China and Japan, and the actors include actors from China, Japan and Thailand. The difficulty of filming is no less than filming "Detective Chinatown 2" in New York.
According to the established shooting plan, right after the filming started, the crew started with simpler shots, moving on to more complex ones.
“Today, I invited a great master to perform a prayer for the deceased President Suchavi.
Over the years, I have always treated him as my father." Outside the water house on the lake, Aragaki Yui was wearing a light green windbreaker and had a sad look on her face.
"Ms. Xiaolin, don't be sad.
If you want to cry, just cry as much as you want on my broad chest." Baoqiang, who was wearing a plaid gown, looked wretched. He always couldn't walk when he saw a beautiful woman.
"In order to find the murderer of Mr. Su Chawei as soon as possible, can I ask you what happened that night?" Gu Wei stood aside and asked in a serious tone.
The locked room murder case aroused his interest. He felt that as Su Chawei's closest secretary, a senior executive of the Southeast Asian Chamber of Commerce, and one of the people who was at the scene that night, Kobayashi Anna might be able to provide some clues.
"Need I say more? It's Watanabe Katsu!"
"So sure?"
"There was no one else in the room that night. We rushed in immediately after hearing the president's shout."
"Click!" The assistant director's voice came from the loudspeaker.
Gu Wei walked in front of the camera and carefully reviewed the footage.
"Yui-chan, come and see." He called Aragaki Yui over and replayed the previous scene.
"Like I told you yesterday, for more than 90% of the first scenes, you shouldn't involve any murderer or mastermind.
You have to imagine that you are Su Chawei's closest secretary. Now that your boss has been murdered, you are very sad and think that Watanabe Masaru is the murderer, but you will cooperate with all investigations because you also want to know the final truth and want the truth to come to light.
So, the emotions here should be somewhat sad, but the tone shouldn’t be too harsh.”
"And Baoqiang, don't overdo it with your speech and actions. Too much is as bad as too little. Tang Ren's character style is already established. While he likes beautiful women, he's not a pervert. We don't want to bore the audience."
After Gu Wei finished speaking, Aragaki Yui and Wang Baoqiang thought about it for a while, and soon everyone started filming the previous segment again.
After a few difficult days at the beginning, the filming of "Detective Chinatown 3" slowly got back on track.
Since the first film was shot in Thailand, the "Detective Chinatown" crew has had rich experience in shooting abroad.
The requirements for shooting in Tokyo are stricter than in Thailand, but more relaxed than in New York.
The cost of "Detective Chinatown 3" has increased compared to the second part, with the production cost reaching 100 million US dollars, so the crew is also very generous in spending money.
When money is not an issue, filming will go very smoothly because most things can be solved directly with money.
At night, the crew stayed at the hotel.
After a day of filming, Gu Wei held a meeting with the director team, sorted out the next day's filming tasks, and then returned to his room.
After washing up, he was preparing to work for a while. Being a director is different from being an actor. There are too many things to worry about, so since his debut, Gu Wei has filmed the "Detective Chinatown" series of movies, and this is the third one.
As an actor, all you have to do is act well. As long as your schedule is right, you can act in three or four plays a year. If you are like Yang Mi and Shuangzi, you can act in more than ten plays a year.
But being a director is different.
He is a very prolific director who can produce one film a year.
Because there are so many things to worry about when making a movie, from preparation, casting, location selection to shooting, post-production, and release.
It's very normal for a film like Guo Fan to take three or four years to make a movie.
As soon as I sat down and opened my laptop, a message came in on my phone.
Gu Wei opened Line and saw a message from Yui Aragaki.
"Gu Sang, I have something I want to ask you about filming. Is it convenient for you to come over?"
The corners of his mouth curled up slightly: "Of course, I'll wait for you in the room"
After a while, Yui Aragaki came to Gu Wei's room wearing a white halter dress and holding a script.
There was no one around, so she threw herself on Gu Wei.
"Don't you miss me?"
"Of course not. The crew has just started filming. I'm the director and I have too much to do every day. I'm already full of work and don't have time to think about anything else." Gu Wei held up Yui Aragaki's perky buttocks and explained while looking into her big watery eyes.
"I know being a director is very busy, and I understand your hard work, but I really miss you.
Gu Sang wants to compensate me." Yui Aragaki said in a soft and coquettish voice.
"Whatever you want, I can do it"
"Gu Sang owes me a hot spring trip." Aragaki Yui said with a turn of her eyes.
Apparently, the last hot spring trip left her with a very good impression.
"no problem.
But this isn't really a request, is it? Do you want to change it?"
"No, I want this, and you have to make it up to me tonight."
“I’m happy to help.”
As he was speaking, Gu Wei had already carried Aragaki-chan to the bedroom. Her white dress slid down smoothly, revealing the beautiful scenery underneath.
With a slender waist, long beautiful legs, a chest that can be held in one hand, and fair and smooth skin, the whole person looks like a gift from God.
"Director Gu, is this considered an unspoken rule?" Yui Aragaki asked with a smile while lying on the bed.
"As the heroine, Miss Yui, would you be willing to be taken advantage of by me, the director?" Gu Wei pressed Aragaki Yui under him, their noses touching, and they could feel the hot breath from each other.
Aragaki Yui swallowed her saliva. The tight touch had already made her face and body turn red.
"If it's Gu Sang, there's absolutely no way I can refuse."
"Then let me test your artistic attainments, Yui-chan."
After teasing her, Gu Wei lowered his head and kissed her deeply.
(End of this chapter)
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