"Uncle, you know that child star Leila Tong, right?" Zhang Tiancheng asked excitedly into his cell phone.
On the other end, Zhang Kailin, who had just gotten into bed, instantly grasped Zhang Tiancheng's idea.
"I know, but she's all grown up now."
"I know that, Uncle. I want to ask how old she is now."
Zhang Kailin thought for a moment. "Around eighteen or nineteen, I think."
"Let's cast her. I can rewrite the script and change the little girl into a high school student. At eighteen or nineteen, with some makeup, playing a high school student will definitely not be a problem. Then I'll change the little girl so that she looks just like the male lead's deceased wife, shifting the relationship from father-daughter to romance."
Zhang Kailin's eyes lit up. "Tiancheng, making that change doesn't alter the script's structure at all—that actually works. I'll contact Leila Tong tomorrow."
The next morning, Zhang Kailin brought Leila Tong to the hotel for an audition.
Leila Tong had just turned eighteen and two months, with a slight baby fat on her face and a hint of innocence that completely fit the vibe of a high school student. Her acting, though no match for veteran actors like Liao Qizhi, was still passable.
She had no ongoing work at the moment, so she signed the contract right on the spot.
With the cast assembled, Zhang Tiancheng relaxed. Every day, he followed Dick Wei and Zhao Youri to a nearby boxing gym to practice martial arts and action choreography.
Zhang Tiancheng had extraordinary physical fitness. After practicing Brazilian jiu-jitsu to stretch his legs, high kicks and whipping roundhouse kicks were a breeze for him, and even flying triple kicks could be executed with stunning form.
This left Zhao Youri and Dick Wei so astonished that their eyeballs almost popped out.
Dick Wei had initially looked down on Zhang Tiancheng a bit, but after seeing him pull off a flying triple kick, that contempt vanished completely. Having started out as a stuntman who made his living through action, if someone performed martial arts brilliantly, he would naturally respect them.
On March 4th, Hong Kong entered the humid spring season, where the damp climate could turn any home into a water curtain cave.
Inside a dilapidated building at the Clearwater Bay Golden Harvest Film Base, Zhang Tiancheng was in the resting area, giving acting directions to Leila Tong and Tian Li, while the crew members bustled about under Zhang Kailin's direction.
Aside from Dick Wei, the action design team brought by Zhao Youri, and Tian Li, the rest of the crew regarded Zhang Tiancheng with utter contempt. They naturally looked down on him as just an inexperienced punk and a Mainlander to boot. However, with Zhang Kailin present, they didn't dare show it openly and did whatever they were told.
"Leila, you need to appear a bit more lively."
Leila Tong nodded obediently.
"Tian Li, you need to play the role somewhat promiscuously and with a bit of a fiery temper, but in front of your daughter, you must reveal a deep sense of maternal affection."
"Understood, Director Zhang."
...
Not long after the direction session, Luk Kin-ching—the assistant director found by Zhang Kailin who would later become the director and screenwriter of *Helios* and *Cold War*—walked over.
"Director, time for the blessing ceremony."
When in Rome, do as the Romans do. Filming in Hong Kong had a traditional opening blessing ceremony, and Zhang Tiancheng didn't want to break with custom. If they had to worship, they would worship; it wouldn't take up much time anyway.
Zhang Tiancheng lit the first stick of incense, Zhang Kailin lit the second, followed by Dick Wei...
They hadn't spent money to hire reporters, and coupled with the fact that the cast members were all relatively unknown, no reporters came looking to dig up news.
The biggest name in the crew was probably Tse Kwan-ho, who played the triad boss's younger brother and had previously won the Golden Horse Best Actor award by defeating Leslie Cheung with his starring role in *The Mad Phoenix*. However, because he spent all his years performing in stage plays, he had no news worth reporting and virtually zero mainstream fame.
With no reporters around, filming began immediately after the blessing ceremony.
Once everything was ready, Zhang Tiancheng sat in the director's chair, picked up the megaphone, and shouted, "All departments ready. Action!"
Clack!
After the clapperboard sounded, Tian Li and Leila Tong began their performance in the center of the frame at the dining table.
Tian Li picked up her chopsticks and wolfed down her food, while Leila Tong, wearing a school uniform with her hair disheveled, ate very slowly.
After a couple of bites, Tian Li urged, "Eat faster, or you'll be going to school by yourself in a minute."
Leila Tong didn't speak; she simply accelerated her eating pace.
"Cut. Next scene," Zhang Tiancheng shouted through the megaphone.
Filming in Hong Kong had a tradition of seeking good omens by making the first scene very simple, striving to get it in one take.
This dining scene was straightforward, and the performances by Leila Tong and Tian Li had no issues. It was a one-take wonder.
The props crew immediately stepped forward to pack up, and the cameraman hoisted the equipment to the room directly across the hall.
After giving Luk Kin-ching a few parting instructions, Zhang Tiancheng stood up and headed to the wardrobe to change clothes.
By the time Zhang Tiancheng emerged in his costume, the crew was already prepared.
Zhang Tiancheng walked over to the camera position, which was the doorway of the room across the hall.
"Action!"
With a loud shout from Luk Kin-ching holding the megaphone, the sound of the clapperboard rang out. Zhang Tiancheng immediately slipped into character, pulling out the props-prepared keys to unlock the door.
Inside the room, two camera crew members hoisted their cameras, shooting Zhang Tiancheng's entrance from the front and the left.
Once in character, Zhang Tiancheng kept his head slightly bowed, a mess of unkempt hair shadowing his eyes and giving him a deeply decadent appearance.
Dully placing the keys on a nearby cabinet, Zhang Tiancheng turned to go through the motion of closing the door, then walked toward the kitchen.
"Cut."
Luk Kin-ching's loud shout rang out, and Zhang Tiancheng instantly stepped out of character, walking behind the monitor to check the footage just shot.
There were no problems, so Zhang Tiancheng had Luk Kin-ching prepare for the next scene.
The next scene was a dialogue sequence between Leila Tong and Zhang Tiancheng.
Leila Tong's acting was quite good, and coupled with the fact that this scene didn't require much emotional fluctuation from Zhang Tiancheng, she easily held her own during their exchanges.
According to the shooting schedule, all the scenes arranged for the first day were very simple.
The first dozen shots went off without a hitch, and Zhang Tiancheng thought they would be able to wrap up the day peacefully.
However, when they reached the part where Tse Kwan-ho used the nozzle of a hair dryer to press against Tian Li's thigh, things went wrong.
It wasn't a prop malfunction that caused an issue for Tian Li, but a camera framing error.
"Cut! Let's take it again. Cameraman, watch the angle—I want a close-up of the hair dryer pressing against Tian Li's leg."
The cameraman didn't say a word; he merely curled his lip in disdain.
Aside from directing the crew members to work at the very beginning, Zhang Kailin had remained seated in the rest area without saying a word once filming started. This attitude gave the cameraman some ideas.
Soon, the second take commenced.
"Action!"
Clack, the clapperboard sounded.
Zhang Tiancheng was about to lower his megaphone, but upon checking the monitor, he instantly snatched it back up and roared, "Cut!"
Cut right after starting again. Everyone immediately looked toward Zhang Tiancheng.
Zhang Tiancheng lowered the megaphone, stood up, and stared expressionlessly at the cameraman.
"Did you not understand my request?"
The cameraman glanced toward the rest area, noticing that Zhang Kailin was still sitting there without even looking over, acting as if he hadn't heard a thing.
None of the crew members knew that Zhang Tiancheng was Zhang Kailin's nephew. To avoid overshadowing him and to keep things professional in front of the crew, Zhang Kailin always called Zhang Tiancheng "Director Zhang" and made Zhang Tiancheng address him as "Producer Zhang."
Unaware of their relationship and seeing Zhang Kailin adopt a hands-off attitude, the cameraman's boldness instantly surged.
"Yeah, I don't understand Mandarin, so I just went with my own feel. I felt filming Tian Li's expression looked better."
The cameraman spoke in Cantonese, his attitude extremely arrogant.
"Then fine, you can get the hell out. If you still don't understand, I can say it to you in English."
Having lived in Pengcheng for so many years, Zhang Tiancheng naturally knew Cantonese as well. He delivered this line in fluent Cantonese.
The crew members looked somewhat surprised. Up until now, Zhang Tiancheng had always communicated with them in Mandarin, leading them to assume he didn't understand Cantonese at all.
The Cantonese spoken in Guangdong differed somewhat from Hong Kong Cantonese, and the cameraman recognized it instantly, sneering, "Oh, so you're just a Mainland drifter."
In old Hong Kong films, the term "Mainland drifter" appeared quite often, and many people mistakenly thought it referred to all Mainlanders, when it actually referred specifically to people from Guangdong. Back in the day, the earliest people to smuggle themselves into Hong Kong were Guangdong natives who floated across the river using round floating objects like tires, leading Hong Kongers to dub them "Mainland drifters."
Zhang Tiancheng's face darkened. "You can get out."
The cameraman glanced over at Zhang Kailin, only to find him still sitting motionless as if he hadn't heard a thing. An idea instantly sparked in his mind.
Once the thought occurred to him, he immediately acted on it. He swept his gaze across the room and shouted loudly, "Everyone, this Mainland drifter thinks he can do it all by himself. Let's all walk out."
"Brother Quan, I'm with you." "Brother Quan, I'm following you..."
The entire camera crew chimed in to support the cameraman.
The props, art design, production, and sound crews hesitated slightly.
The production management team looked toward Zhang Kailin. Since he hadn't given any orders, they stayed put.
As for the action design team, Zhao Youri directly shouted in fury, "What the hell are you doing? Zhou Quan, if you don't want to work, then get lost. The rest of us still have families to feed."
Everyone was astonished. What was going on? Zhao Youri was actually standing with Zhang Tiancheng!
Zhang Kailin turned his head in shock, his gaze shifting back and forth between Zhao Youri and Zhang Tiancheng.
While Zhang Tiancheng, Zhao Youri, and Dick Wei had been practicing martial arts and stunts at the gym, Zhang Kailin had been busy with other matters and had no idea that Zhang Tiancheng's martial arts skills had earned the absolute respect of both Zhao Youri and Dick Wei.
People are easily swayed by the herd mentality: when someone takes the lead, others follow.
With Zhou Quan taking the lead, the camera crew followed him. However, with Zhao Youri taking the lead in standing with Zhang Tiancheng—coupled with the genuine scarcity of job opportunities nowadays—the members of the props, art design, production, and sound crews quickly dispelled any thoughts of walking out together.
Seeing that his objective hadn't been achieved, Zhou Quan flew into a rage of embarrassment and shouted angrily at Zhao Youri.
"Zhao Youri, what is your game? Are you helping a Mainland drifter bully us Hong Kongers?"
Just as Zhao Youri was about to retort, Zhang Kailin over there also stood up, preparing to come over and smooth things over.
But before either of them could move—bang!