Chapter 232 Kung Fu Emperor (Monthly Pass Bonus!)
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Since the late 1940s, China's martial arts films have begun to revive.
In 1949, the famous director Hu Peng shot the first film featuring the legendary folk martial arts figure Huang Feihong - "Huang Feihong".
In the decades that followed, Wong Fei-hung became a famous brand in Chinese martial arts films. More than a dozen movie stars have played the role of Wong Fei-hung in nearly a hundred movies and TV series of this type, and many famous directors have also filmed films on this theme.
In theory, there is no need for Yuan Xiaoliang and Xu Wenguang to rehash a cold dish that has been rehashed countless times. Even if they do, there is no need to bankrupt themselves and invest everything they have.
But Xu Wen-guang had planned to make a movie of "Huang Feihong" a long time ago - Xu Wen-guang had already started conceiving of "Huang Feihong" about ten years ago. He really wanted to bring the character of Huang Feihong back to the big screen. Unfortunately, Xu Wen-guang had been struggling to find a suitable actor to play the role, so the plan had never been implemented.
At that time, Xu Wenguang wanted to find an actor with particularly good kung fu to play the role, and his temperament had to match Xu Wenguang's ideas.
Until recently, Xu Wenguang saw Xu Kai's performance in "Escape" and felt that Xu Kai's image was very similar to the Huang Feihong in his mind.
At this time, Yuan Xiaoliang was also seeking an opportunity to become a director, and the male lead chosen by Yuan Xiaoliang was also Xu Kai.
For this purpose, Yuan Xiaoliang even invested all his fortune.
Xu Wenguang and Yuan Xiaoliang were old friends, so Xu Wenguang found Yuan Xiaoliang and told him his idea.
As a result, the two hit it off.
Next, Yuan Xiaoliang and Xu Wenguang found the most critical person, Xu Kai, and then the two of them relied on the good relationship between Yuan Xiaoliang and Xu Kai to convince Xu Kai.
After that, Xu Wenguang and Yuan Xiaoliang persuaded Zhu Bing to play the role of Thirteenth Aunt.
Not only that, Xu Wenguang also persuaded Zhang You, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, to play Ya Casu, Academy Award winner Zheng Mao to play Zhu Rourong, martial arts star Xia Lingzhen to play Liang Kuan, and found the famous martial arts master Ren Xiaoguan to play the villain.
Just talking about the cast of "The Grandmaster", it can be said to be extremely luxurious.
From this, it is not difficult to see the ambitions of Xu Wenguang and Yuan Xiaoliang.
but--
Corresponding to this luxurious cast, the cost of "The Grandmaster" is also really high.
Not to mention others, the salary of Xu Kai alone, and the money paid to Xu Kai in the early stage alone, was as high as 15 million.
In this regard, Xu Wenguang and Yuan Xiaoliang are actually under great pressure.
yes.
Xu Wenguang and Yuan Xiaoliang were both very optimistic about Xu Kai and felt that the role of Huang Feihong belonged to Xu Kai, but to be honest, when they signed Xu Kai, Xu Kai's value was not worth that much.
This made the other two shareholders of "The Grandmaster" quite resentful at the time, and they almost withdrew their investment.
fortunately!
"Ten Miles of Foreign Lands" was a big hit, Xu Kai became an instant star, his worth soared, and he even became one of the top superstars in China.
In this way, Xu Wenguang and Yuan Xiaoliang, who signed Xu Kai for only 15 million plus 20% of the producer's shares, definitely got a great bargain.
This made the two shareholders like ducks with their necks pinched. They no longer dared to make a sound to interfere with Xu Wenguang and Yuan Xiaoliang's filming of "The Grandmaster".
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The crew of "The Grandmaster".
Xu Kai showed the demeanor of a master in his every move - under the direction of Yuan Xiaoliang, Xu Kai fully demonstrated his extraordinary martial arts attainments.
Xu Kai's kung fu includes long bridges, big horses, flips and leaps, and his moves are smooth and beautiful. In shaping the character's personality, he is able to better display that kind of calm and sophisticated temperament. He knows when to strike, and his moves are clean, neat, unrestrained and elegant.
To paraphrase Yuan Xiaoliang, "Of all the action actors I've worked with, I think the best and best fighter is none other than Yu Qingyun. Yu Qingyun has a deep martial arts foundation and knows so many martial arts. No matter what school, what Kung Fu, or what weapon, even if he doesn't know it, he definitely knows about it. He is simply a martial arts bible. Even if there is a martial arts he hasn't practiced, he will learn it in no time. In today's entertainment industry, Xu Kai is definitely the best martial artist, no one can compare to him. He is definitely a Kung Fu emperor that only appears once in a century."
With Xu Kai's kung fu as the foundation, the image of Huang Feihong as a master has come to life.
However, Xu Kai is not only an extraordinary martial artist, but also has superb acting skills.
At Xu Wenguang's suggestion, Xu Kai absorbed the strengths of Wong Fei-hung's portrayal by the older generation of actors, and emphasized Wong Fei-hung's bearing and demeanor as a martial arts master. At the same time, he successfully portrayed Wong Fei-hung's contradictory mentality of inferiority and arrogance in the era when Chinese and Western civilizations collided.
Compared to the Huang Feihong portrayed by the older generation of actors, Xu Kai's portrayal of Huang Feihong is more internalized, more emotional, and has more of the demeanor of a king. Through his eyes that see into the depths of the soul, he reflects the integrity of this national hero when the country is in crisis.
Moreover, unlike the previous Huang Feihong, Xu Wenguang added a lot of delicate and moving love between men and women into "The Grandmaster".
Under the guidance of Xu Wenguang, Xu Kai performed the role very subtly in handling the emotional context between Huang Feihong and Thirteenth Aunt. On the one hand, he always protects Zhu Bing and is the perfect hero in Zhu Bing's mind. On the other hand, Zhu Bing is an enlightener for him. It is because she brought advanced civilization from the outside world that Xu Kai began to think seriously about how to face and learn from the surging Western civilization. This makes Huang Feihong played by Xu Kai particularly vivid and more humane.
Of course, this is also because the relationship between Xu Kai and Zhu Bing is really similar to the relationship between Huang Feihong and Thirteenth Aunt, and the two of them did not feel any pressure at all when acting.
In addition to his extraordinary abilities and superb acting skills, Xu Kai also has a particularly positive attitude.
Because Xu Kai still has to film "The Chase", Xu Kai actually needs to have hair.
Moreover, Xu Kai has many other things to do that require him to look handsome and elegant.
Yang Xinchun therefore suggested that Xu Kai wear a headgear to play Huang Feihong.
But Xu Kai said, "The hood in "The Grandmaster" looks too fake, I'd better wear it in "The Chase", so he resolutely asked the stylist to shave his hair.
Not only that, Xu Kai did not use numbers to deal with the crew like other actors who were in a hurry to perform, but he performed with full lines every time and made sure every word of the lines was good.
In addition, Xu Kai never puts on airs as a superstar. He acts the way Yuan Xiaoliang and Xu Wenguang ask him to.
Even if Xu Kai had any ideas, he would fully communicate with Yuan Xiaoliang and Xu Wenguang.
If everyone has different opinions, Xu Kai will make certain compromises and concessions.
All in all, Xu Kai's performance made Xu Wenguang, who was working with Xu Kai for the first time, very satisfied. It also made Yuan Xiaoliang, who had strongly recommended Xu Kai but did not intend to work with Xu Kai, very pleased. The three of them worked together very happily.
On this basis, the filming of "The Grandmaster" went smoothly and quickly...
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(End of this chapter)
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