“Chen Cheng, you’ve performed quite well this past month.”
“Teacher Liu, it’s all thanks to your care.”
“What care? Most people couldn’t handle being a Stagehand. When I hired you, I thought you wouldn’t last three days. I didn’t expect you not only to stick it out for a month, but also… looking at your build, you’re pretty impressive.”
“It’s mainly because the film crew’s food is good. Look, I’ve even gained weight.”
“That’s not fat; that’s solid muscle. A few days ago, I heard you even lifted that stone lion. I didn’t expect to have hired a strongman… Anyway, how old are you again?”
“Nineteen. Almost twenty.”
“Twenty, huh? A young man destined for greatness. I reckon that in a few years, you’ll become the Overlord of the Stagehand world.”
“The Overlord of the Stagehand world? What’s that?”
“Still a Stagehand.”
“Pfft… Teacher Liu, you’re quite the jokester.”
“All right, I won’t mess around with you anymore. Work hard and keep it up.”
During the lunch break, the unit production manager, Liu Qiang—the man who had recruited Chen Cheng into the film crew—chatted with him for a while.
Chen Cheng smiled.
Although working for the film crew meant being a Stagehand at the very bottom,
it was still a film crew.
Whether they were Stagehands, background actors, or other behind-the-scenes workers,
every one of them possessed a strong artistic sensibility.
That was why
Liu Qiang, who was in charge of on-site work, had a distinct Stephen Chow style.
However, as the unit production manager, his work was even busier than Chen Cheng’s.
Being busy did not mean doing heavy physical labor.
The unit production manager was responsible for more than just logistics; he also handled on-set filming.
Although he did not need to operate the camera, whenever a problem arose during filming, the unit production manager had to rush over and solve it.
Thus, besides handling the film crew’s food, drink, and other daily necessities, the unit production manager was also responsible for order, safety, equipment, and more on the film set, ensuring that the production was completed on schedule and to the required quality.
At that moment, Liu Qiang encountered a somewhat tricky problem.
“Director Li, what’s the situation?”
“Producer Liu, it’s good that you’re here. Can you find a stronger staff member from your side to come over and help me pull the ropes?”
“The wire rig ropes?”
“That’s right.”
Director Li nodded. “We’re filming a wire-fu scene this afternoon. I tested it this morning, but I wasn’t satisfied with the result. The main issue is that lifting the actor into the air isn’t smooth enough, so the effect doesn’t look very good.”
“That’s easy. Director Li, don’t you have plenty of stunt performers there? Have them make a cameo and pull the ropes. Wouldn’t that do?”
“We tried. It’s still just a little short.”
Director Li spread his hands. “What I mean is, can you find a tug-of-war athlete? A weightlifter would work too. He can handle the front alone, while several people in the back hold the rope to ensure safety.”
“I see.”
Liu Qiang naturally understood what Director Li meant.
Normally, two or three people pulled the ropes during a wire-fu scene, using them to lift the actor into midair.
As for why they did not use a machine to pull the ropes—wouldn’t that save more effort?
Machines could indeed do it.
But machines had one drawback: they could not guarantee safety. If something happened and the machine failed to react in time, the consequences would be extremely serious. Therefore, most wire stunt ropes were pulled by people.
However, using people created a problem as well. Human strength was limited, so lifting an actor required two or three people working together. Although there was no issue with two or three people pulling at once, stricter Directors felt that their strength was not concentrated into a single force. When lifting an actor into the air, this often caused pauses and a lack of smoothness.
“Let me think.”
He rubbed his chin.
Finding a tug-of-war athlete or a weightlifter would naturally not be a problem.
The problem was, if those athletes had nothing better to do, would they really come over just to pull wire stunt ropes for him?
Of course, it would not be a problem if they paid enough.
But hiring a professional athlete like that would itself involve a considerable expense.
After all, filming was not something one could do however one pleased.
Naturally, the Director wanted to capture the scenes in his mind as fully as possible.
But as the production side, their task was to make the best film possible with the least amount of money.
Therefore, the production side could not necessarily satisfy every idea a Director had.
Otherwise,
what would they do if the Director said he wanted to film a comet crashing into Earth?
Moreover, this production had already gone slightly over budget. Although today’s matter was minor, if they approved it and the production manager asked about it later, he would still be reprimanded.
Yet refusing to approve it also posed a problem.
Although the Director could not exactly be called the head of the film crew, he was absolutely one of the most central figures in any production.
If the Director became unhappy and failed to shoot the film well, it would affect only his own performance.
But if the film itself turned out badly, it would affect the production side’s investment.
Liu Qiang could clearly distinguish which mattered more.
“Oh, I’ve got it.”
While Liu Qiang was caught in a dilemma, he suddenly thought of Chen Cheng.
That’s right.
That kid was pretty strong. Why not bring him over and let him try?
“Chen Cheng, come over to the film set for a moment.”
With a phone call, Liu Qiang summoned Chen Cheng over.
“Chen Cheng, you’ll pull the wire stunt rope in a moment.”
“Okay.”
Chen Cheng nodded.
As a Stagehand, he usually was not the one who pulled the wire stunt ropes; other Stagehands handled that. But there was no problem with him doing it now.
Chen Cheng nodded, but Director Li beside him looked at Liu Qiang. “Producer Liu, why did you bring over some inexperienced kid? Can he really do it?”
Director Li looked at Chen Cheng doubtfully.
In his eyes,
although Chen Cheng was no longer as thin and frail as before, judging by his overall build, he seemed only a little stronger than an ordinary person.
He had just brought over several physically capable stunt performers, yet none of them had been satisfactory.
There was even less chance that this inexperienced kid could do it.
“Producer Liu, don’t underestimate him. A few days ago, he lifted that stone lion your people made.”
“You mean the stone lion at the entrance?”
“That’s the one.”
“He lifted it?”
“Not only did he lift it, he even carried it onto a vehicle.”
“…”
All right.
Director Li did not believe him.
Not only did he not believe him,
he also shot Liu Qiang a sidelong glance, wondering inwardly whether the man had simply brought over some random Stagehand to fob him off.
All he had asked for was an athlete, not a celebrity. How much more could that really add to the filming costs?
“Director Li, why not give him a try?”
“Fine. Let’s try it.”
Although Director Li was somewhat dissatisfied, since Liu Qiang had put it that way, he no longer insisted.
However, he still did not entirely trust Chen Cheng and was also concerned about safety, so he said, “Young man, how about this? I’ll have someone tie the wire stunt rope to a stone. Try it first.”
“Director Li, you really have thought this through.”
Liu Qiang said with a smile.
Chen Cheng, standing nearby, also indicated that he had no problem with it.
…
A dozen or so minutes later,
the film set was ready.
Several production staff members used wire stunt ropes to secure a stone weighing 170 jin.
Quite a few staff members and actors stood nearby, along with several stunt performers and a group of background actors there to watch the spectacle.
The stunt performers in particular
started teasing Chen Cheng when they saw him. “Producer Liu only found this guy?”
“Heh, he’s probably trying to fool Director Li and save money.”
“Exactly. These production people don’t know anything about filmmaking. All they know is how to save money by any means necessary. Damn it, yesterday’s boxed meal had only one meat dish and three vegetable dishes. My mouth was so bland I could hardly stand it. I heard this guy took a kickback.”
“Don’t make reckless accusations without evidence.”
“There’s no evidence, but everyone says so.”
The group watched the spectacle while chatting about Bagua.
But before they could finish their gossip,
a cry of astonishment erupted from the crowd… and in an instant, everyone was in an uproar.
The stunt performers took a proper look and saw that the stone weighing more than 170 jin had been pulled steadily and incredibly smoothly into the air.
What left them even more dumbfounded was…
Chen Cheng was using only one hand.