The movie " Customs Front " directed by Qiu Litao and starring Nicholas Tse , Jacky Cheung and others is currently in theaters. At last week's premiere in Beijing, Jackie Chan who came to support him sighed: "Today's Ting Fung can be said to be me back then. I finally have a successor."
The "fighting" tradition of Hong Kong action movies It has been passed down from generation to generation, and now it is Nicholas Tse who takes over. In "Customs Front", Nicholas Tse took on most of the action scenes and contributed many thrilling action scenes: being suspended in mid-air by a helicopter, fighting with opponents underwater for several minutes, "crossing the line of fire" on the battlefield... Worth mentioning Yes, Nicholas Tse serves as the action director of a movie for the first time, and these thrilling scenes are all designed by him and his team. This "Desperate Saburo" never shows mercy to himself.
Recently, Qiu Litao and Nicholas Tse accepted an exclusive interview with a reporter from the Yangcheng Evening News. Nicholas Tse shared many details of action design, and when talking about "Jackie Chan's successor", he modestly said: "He and the Hong Kong action filmmakers of that generation are irreplaceable."
Qiu Litao praised Nicholas Tse for being "efficient and careful" "
was the action director for the first time, and Nicholas Tse's performance was very reliable. Qiu Litao described Nicholas Tse's style on the set as a "literary action director": "I have seen many fiery action directors, but Nicholas Tse is not that 'kung fu guy' style. He never cursed once on the set and was very calm. . And the whole team is very quiet and polite." Nicholas Tse said with a smile: "I scolded enough during the audition. There was plenty of preparation time this time, and there were very few unexpected things happening on the set."
Nicholas Tse is used to being the first in kung fu. He spent several months leading the team to set up and test shoot in advance, and handed over the test footage of the action scene to the director before the official start of shooting. He admitted that not many people in the industry adopt this working method because it takes too much time. But this approach can greatly improve the efficiency of the filming scene and also allow the director, actors and action team to build full trust.
For example, there is a very difficult scene in the film: a helicopter lifts a large container to a height of 7 stories, and an off-road vehicle is hooked under the container; the container suddenly tilts to 45 degrees in the middle, and Nicholas Tse has to Roll over to escape. This scene was not that complicated originally, but Nicholas Tse added a lot of difficulty to it: "The director and screenwriter first conceived a framework, and I asked if I could roll off the container, so the team and I first found an open space and tried it. Try going through the shooting process to make sure it is safe and will not affect the shooting progress. "
Qiu Litao has always been known for his fast and accurate shooting. Even he praised Nicholas Tse for his efficiency and carefulness: "Even if I have tried it in the past. When it comes to filming, many people just give it a try, but Ting Fung did it very carefully this time. There was basically no confusion on what to do on the set, so the action scenes of "Customs Front" were shot very efficiently. No need to waste time."
Nicholas Tse formed his own action team.
The action scenes of "Customs Front" include racing, blasting, fist fights and other action scenes. "The whole family" is naturally indispensable. There are also many "going to the sky and going to the sea" scenes, which are dangerous. The index is not low at all. Making action movies requires tacit understanding. Only by having enough trust in the action team can we challenge the limits and shoot those thrilling action scenes. For example, in the blasting scene in "Customs Front", the blast point was less than one meter away from Nicholas Tse, and the blaster worked with Nicholas Tse many times. Nicholas Tse said: "If it were not Nicholas Tse but another actor today, he might not explode." Taking "Customs Front" as an opportunity, Nicholas Tse gathered a group of old acquaintances who have collaborated many times in the past to form his own action team , also collaborated with this team in the new movie "Rage Spread".
Hong Kong movies have always had a tradition of introducing the old with the new, especially in the action field. Nicholas Tse said that he learned high-altitude skills from the family class and learned experience in shooting explosion scenes from director Chen Musheng, which he applied in the filming of "Customs Front".In the past, Hong Kong films rarely filmed sea and underwater scenes, and "Customs Front" brought him a fresh experience. Nicholas Tse said: "Water is the most difficult thing to shoot because it is too difficult to control. Moreover, this movie was filmed around December 2022. The water temperature is very low, and I have to wear a short-sleeved customs uniform. It is really cold."
He mentioned the scene of a one-on-one fight with an opponent on a rubber boat: "This scene is very important about balance. The camera is mounted on the rubber boat, and the lens will move when I move it. On the one hand, I have to retain the shaky realism. , On the other hand, you have to be careful not to shake it too much, otherwise the audience will feel dizzy, so you really have to keep experimenting to find the most suitable feeling. "
took the initiative to take on a lot of difficulties when he was the action director for the first time. , How would Nicholas Tse rate his performance? He said with a smile: "I don't know how to grade myself." Qiu Litao gave Nicholas Tse full marks. In his opinion, Nicholas Tse added a lot of ingenuity to the action scenes of "Customs Front". For example, in a scene in the film where Nicholas Tse and Jacky Cheung fight in a dojo, the script was designed for the two to fight with bare hands similar to Aikido. Nicholas Tse proposed that they could fight with sticks. Qiu Litao said: "I was a little worried because it was easy to hit the fingers with the stick, and I didn't want the two actors to be injured. But actually Ting Fung's design was very good, because in the ending Jacky Friends didn't come out, but the one he used appeared on the screen. The stick implicitly echoes the mentoring relationship between Jacky and Nicholas Tse. "
Hong Kong action movies have a tradition of "fighting for one's life"
When talking about Jackie Chan praising him as his successor, Nicholas Tse's first reaction was: "Actually, no one can. Take over from him." This was not entirely polite. In his view, Chinese kung fu and kung fu movies used to be mysterious in the eyes of foreign audiences. Kung fu superstars such as Jackie Chan conquered Hollywood and audiences around the world with their dazzling fist and kick movements, bringing them unprecedented visual stimulation. But now the world's action trend has shifted from Kung Fu to the more practical MMA (Mixed Martial Arts). Coupled with the rise of CG special effects, actions are no longer uncommon. "In addition, many of our predecessors are martial arts practitioners who have practiced martial arts since they were young. They have very deep skills. Very few people can do it now. I think they can never be replaced."
From " Fury· From "Serious Case " to the current "Customs Front", Nicholas Tse still insists on using no substitutes and reducing the use of special effects when shooting action scenes. In Qiu Litao's view, he has continued the tradition of Hong Kong filmmakers such as Jackie Chan and used his body to challenge the limits of action. This is actually the inheritance of the aesthetics of Hong Kong action movies: "Our action movies always have a 'fighting' element, whether it is Jackie Chan or Ting Fung, they both have the courage to do this."
Nicholas Tse frankly said that returning to the field of action movies stems from his cherishment of action movies and the memory of his mentor, director Chen Musheng. "Action movies have won us a position in the world of cinema, and I don't want to see this unique advantage disappear. If today everyone gives up on action movies because they use CG special effects, don't want to take risks, or don't want to exercise their bodies, I will It would be a pity."
Text | Reporter Hu Guangxin
