Observation and Learning

Lin Yuan was riding in the car driven by Zhang Ziyi as they sped through the streets of Hong Kong. The filming location for today was a bathhouse.

The story of "Rush Hour 2" picks up where the previous film left off.

The plot is roughly as follows: The detective played by Jackie Chan and the Black detective played by Chris Tucker have become partners.

The two come to Hong Kong for a vacation but get caught up in a bombing case.

The villainous big boss in the film is played by John Lone, and Zhang Ziyi plays the villain boss's capable female enforcer.

The scene to be filmed today at the bathhouse is a fight scene where Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker team up to fight gang members.

By the time Lin Yuan and Zhang Ziyi arrived at the filming location, the scene had already begun.

This was Lin Yuan's first time watching Jackie Chan film an action scene up close, and he was naturally extremely curious, focusing all his attention on observing and learning.

Although he had filmed some action scenes himself, he had never filmed a group fight like this. Learning even a little from Jackie Chan would help him avoid many detours.

Jackie Chan, wearing a bathrobe, was being beaten by a group of gang members, also in bathrobes.

At first, Jackie Chan fought the gang members methodically.

But being outnumbered and outmatched, he was quickly kicked near a pile of chairs.

Then, the "Furniture City God of War" mode was officially activated!

He first used chairs in various creative ways to fend off his enemies, then used a metal trash can as a weapon, kicking enemies away one by one.

Seeing that the situation was unfavorable, more enemies swarmed in.

Jackie Chan immediately performed parkour and rolls amidst a pile of sofa chairs, creating distance from the enemies to defeat them one by one.

The entire action sequence flowed extremely smoothly and continuously, and the choreography was humorous and interesting, clearly bearing Jackie Chan's signature style.

Style?

Lin Yuan suddenly realized something, a thought flashed through his mind, but he couldn't quite grasp it.

He didn't dwell on this point but continued to observe the filming with humility, especially how Jackie Chan utilized the camera, which greatly inspired Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan noticed that throughout the fight scene, Jackie Chan rarely used rapid camera cuts.

Instead, he relied more on character blocking and movement, which not only made the fight scene more tense and exciting but also enhanced the sense of continuity in the visuals.

For example, when Jackie Chan repelled an enemy from the left side of the screen, he would arrange for another enemy to enter the frame from the right side in advance.

This ensured that as soon as one enemy was repelled, another enemy's attack would immediately follow.

This way, the action wouldn't stop, and the characters would always be in the midst of the fight, thus creating the excitement of the action scene.

Perhaps this was the skill of an action master in scene staging.

While benefiting greatly, Lin Yuan couldn't help but admire it.

"Cut!"

With the director's command, the action scene's filming concluded perfectly.

Jackie Chan stretched his arms and walked out from the set.

He saw Lin Yuan and waved hello.

At this moment, a member of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team stopped him and said, "Brother, the gang members came again last night..."

"We'll talk about this later, I need to handle something first." Jackie Chan interrupted him, went to a cabinet, took out a document, and walked towards Lin Yuan.

"Did you rest well last night?" Jackie Chan asked with a smile.

"If I couldn't rest well in your mansion, Brother, how could I possibly survive in my humble abode?" Lin Yuan replied with a smile.

"That's good, I was worried you wouldn't be used to it. By the way, this is the agreement for this collaboration. Take a look and see if there's anything you find unsatisfactory." Jackie Chan handed over the document he was holding.

"Crash!"

As Lin Yuan took the document and was about to open it, the floor-to-ceiling glass door beside them shattered.

A group of people in black suits, armed with steel pipes and knives, rushed into the filming location, surrounding the crew.

Lin Yuan roughly counted them; there were about seventy to eighty gang members. The leaders had bulging waistbands, suggesting they were carrying firearms.

What was going on?

The gang members in black suits parted, and an old man in a Tang suit walked out.

"Third Master Tang, why are you here?" Jackie Chan's expression turned very grim.

"Some people, the more successful they become, the more stingy they are. I can't just stand by and watch someone break the rules!" said the old man, known as Third Master Tang.

"I brought the film crew to Hong Kong to promote Hong Kong and Chinese culture to the world. I don't owe you anything, and I won't pay a single cent of protection money."

Jackie Chan had always opposed these gang members. He had experienced his film reels being stolen and his location shooting crew being constantly harassed in the past.

But he had refused to yield back then, and he certainly wouldn't bow his head today.

"Then there's nothing more to say? It seems you won't change your mind unless I teach you a lesson." Third Master Tang said.

"I warn you not to mess around. If you create negative international public opinion, you'll regret it!"

"Don't worry, I won't touch those foreigners. But that sweet young girl might be in trouble."

Third Master Tang pointed at Zhang Ziyi with his hand, "Take her back and have some fun. When you get the money, you can send her back."

"You're going too far!"

Just as Jackie Chan was about to step forward, he was blocked by five or six gang members.

Staring at the cold gleam of the cleavers, he didn't know what to do for a moment.

Although he often fought against multiple opponents in movies, it didn't mean he could actually fight several enemies armed with sharp weapons in reality. That would be suicidal.

And although there were nearly twenty members of the Jackie Chan Stunt Team in the film crew, they were all unarmed. How could they fight against gang members who outnumbered them at least three to one and were armed?

"What are you doing? Let me go!" a large man holding Zhang Ziyi dragged her away.

This was the first time she had encountered such a situation, and completely unprepared, Zhang Ziyi's face turned ashen. Big, fat tears streamed down her face.

"Brother, please save me. Don't let them take me away."

"Let her go!"

Jackie Chan was about to charge forward but was immediately forced back by the cleavers, his face turning ashen.

The entire film crew, intimidated, dared not speak despite their anger.

"Cut!"

Just as Zhang Ziyi was about to be dragged out the door, a wooden stick suddenly swept across, hitting the large man's wrist with a crisp sound of bone breaking.

Zhang Ziyi looked up with tear-filled eyes and was surprised to find Lin Yuan standing in front of her, holding a wooden stick he had pulled from a broom.

She paused for a moment, then immediately pushed Lin Yuan hard towards the door.

"Little brother, don't worry about me. There are too many of them. Run quickly!"

But Lin Yuan was as if nailed to the floor. Despite her pushing several times, she couldn't move him.

Lin Yuan noticed that even though she was in danger, her first thought was his safety.

It was worth it to stand up for her today.

Lin Yuan pulled her behind him, pushed her back into the middle of the film crew, and then said, "It's okay, I'm here. No one can hurt you."

Actually, Lin Yuan hadn't expected today's events to happen.

With Jackie Chan's fame and status, who would dare treat him like this abroad?

But in Hong Kong, his hometown, it had actually happened.

Perhaps this was human nature. When you rise to prominence from here, people who saw your humble beginnings naturally feel you're not that great anymore.

Knowing someone too well strips away their halo.

This matter originally had nothing to do with Lin Yuan, but since Zhang Ziyi was implicated, he had to get involved.

He stood alone, holding a wooden stick, fearlessly facing a group of thugs in black suits.

"The local gangs are really impolite."

"You might not listen to me now, but you'll listen carefully later."

(Sigh, some people in the comment section find this plot point unbelievable. But this is a true event, and reality always surpasses imagination. If you're interested, you can search for it on Baidu.)

Thanks to the book friend [20240418191746608] for the reward.