Chapter 61: How Could a Single "Tai Chi Master" Satisfy My Ambition! (Second Update)

Bazhou, Pijiaying Camp.

Strictly speaking, the spring had not yet completely passed.

However, if one were in the capital, they could already catch a hint of summer.

Now, here in Bazhou, located just over a hundred kilometers from the capital, there was still a lingering chill in the air.

After returning to the capital from Shashi and taking a brief rest, Ma Xun drove straight here.

I believe many people were unaware that there was even a film and television city in this place.

Yet, *Tai Chi Master* was currently being filmed right here!

As soon as Ma Xun arrived, his first impression of this studio was:

Small.

There was no helping it. Compared to the massive film studios of later years, this studio in Pijiaying Camp was pitifully small.

To put it bluntly... it was about the size of a middle school.

However, one should not underestimate this studio.

It had genuinely served as the shooting location for a few famous productions.

Before *Tai Chi Master*, this studio had also hosted the filming of *Minister Kou Lao Xi*.

The male lead of that television series was Ge You, who had just won the Best Actor award at Cannes.

*Minister Kou Lao Xi* was currently airing on television.

There were praises, but there were also criticisms.

As for Ge You's own evaluation of his performance:

He felt he had botched it.

Accompanied by that particular tone of voice used by Master Tang, it was simply perfection.

However, the viewership ratings for *Minister Kou Lao Xi* were actually quite high.

The cast of this drama was immensely strong.

Uncle Daoming, Li Chengru, Lu Su, Yan Shuangying... and the actresses included Qu Ying and He Saifei.

Speaking of Qu Ying, that supermodel with her pair of endless, long legs—

Oh my! Even thirty years later, they would still turn heads.

Yet, as Ma Xun thought about it, this Pijiaying Film City truly faded into obscurity in later years.

*Tai Chi Master* seemed to be the last moderately famous production ever filmed here.

From the perspective of the present moment, however:

This place was so small, and the surrounding scenery was characteristic of the typical North China Plain.

Aside from trees, there was nothing around except cornfields.

The terrain and landscapes lacked variety.

Indeed, it imposed severe limitations on filming.

As Ma Xun watched and pondered, his car drove into the studio.

There were a few buildings that looked like ancient Chinese structures.

They were probably restaurants or shops of some kind.

At the moment, however, the majority of the people wandering about were local villagers.

Having finished their farmwork, they would stroll over to the crew to look around.

If there was an extra's job available, they would take it.

There was no need to recruit background actors from outside, which could be considered a blessing.

"Ma Xun!"

Just as he parked the car, someone called out his name in a loud voice.

Ma Xun hurriedly looked over.

Who could it be if not Sister Hong?

"Why are you here?"

It was not strange for Ma Xun to ask this.

Because at the moment, Sister Hong should have been busy with the production of *The Soong Sisters*.

"Didn't I hear that you were coming? So of course I had to come over to lend a hand."

"Lend a hand? What is there to help with?"

Indeed, what a strange thing to say.

Ma Xun's words brought a smile to Sister Hong's face. Today, she was dressed in relatively casual attire, which made her look quite youthful.

As she drew closer, Sister Hong lowered her voice and said with a smile, "If I hadn't come, I was afraid those three girls would start fighting the moment they laid eyes on you."

"How could that be possible?" Ma Xun could only offer a helpless smile.

"How could it not!" Sister Hong wore an expression that clearly said she was not joking.

"Ahem, let's not make jokes like that. This time I'm just here to check out the filming, and besides—"

"Which of the three girls do you plan to see? You wouldn't happen to want all of them—"

"Aiya! Sister Hong!" Ma Xun was truly losing his composure at this point. "I'm here to see veteran Zhang Xinyan."

"Alright, alright, I won't tease you anymore."

Although Sister Hong said that, if you were to ask her whether she had been joking just moments before, she certainly would have answered no.

Since Ma Xun had put it that way, Sister Hong simply took the lead to guide the way.

Along the way, however...

"Brother Ma."

"Oh."

"Boss!"

"Hey."

"That..."

"Good, keep up the good work on your acting."

Sister Hong was truly adept at guiding the way; Ma Xun wound up bumping into Li Xiaoran, Hao Lei, and Gao Yuanyuan in quick succession.

What a coincidence!

As for Ma Xun's facial expression, words simply could not describe how dramatic it was.

He had managed to run into all three young women.

Sister Hong stood by with a beaming smile, utterly unafraid of stirring up trouble.

Fortunately, Ma Xun was genuinely here on business this time, so he merely reminded them to focus on their acting.

As for anything else... aren't we just maintaining the ordinary relationship between a boss and his signed artists?

As for Sister Hong...

"Just wait until we get back, I'll deal with you properly!"

Although Ma Xun's words sounded rather harsh, Sister Hong was not the least bit frightened.

Instead, her smile only grew brighter.

Naturally, wouldn't such "punishment" fall right into her expectations?

However, there was no time to elaborate on any punishment right now.

Veteran Zhang Xinyan had arrived.

"Teacher Zhang, this is the Mr. Ma I mentioned to you."

"Oh my, hello there, Mr. Ma."

The introduction simply referred to him as Mr. Ma.

This was indeed rather peculiar.

In reality, however, Ma Xun had previously instructed Sister Hong and his three female artists:

Never reveal his real name.

They could call him Mr. Ma, but they must not say Ma Xun.

After all, given the current circumstances, Ma Xun was still in partnership with Sun Donghai.

It was best for him and Sister Hong's side not to be fully exposed just yet.

Veteran Zhang Xinyan did not mind; there were plenty of bosses in the industry who preferred things this way.

As long as the money was paid, nothing else mattered.

Ma Xun then began to discuss the filming with veteran Zhang.

The old man and the young man walked and talked along the edge of the studio.

The drama *Tai Chi Master*.

It would indeed become very popular later on, but the flaws of this production were also quite obvious.

Actually, without Ma Xun having to point them out, anyone familiar with the show could easily spot them.

The cinematography was rather mediocre.

Many of the camera angles were very simple.

The strength of this drama lay in the excellence of its action sequences.

After all, it was directed by Master Yuen, the universe's premier martial arts choreographer.

Wu Jing was truly capable of fighting, and moreover, he wasn't just able to fight.

During his early martial arts training, one of his specialized disciplines had been Tai Chi.

Although practitioners who learned martial arts in those days generally mastered many routines of various fist techniques, they still had their respective areas of expertise or weaknesses.

Jet Li did not know Tai Chi.

Despite starring in the film *The Kung Fu Cult Master*, which featured Tai Chi, he had mentioned when discussing the film later that he had simply learned it on the spot on the set.

The martial arts performed by Zhang Wuji in that film were not real Tai Chi.

Yet, everyone believed they were.

Meanwhile, Vincent Zhao excelled at Tongbei fist.

When the Nine Gates Inspector fought Fang Shiyu, viewers were genuinely worried that Fang Shiyu might be beaten to death.

The one who truly excelled at Tai Chi was Wu Jing.

The reason *Tai Chi Master* became a hit was entirely due to its brilliantly choreographed action scenes.

Master Yuen was already formidable to begin with, and the opponents arranged for Wu Jing were also immensely powerful.

Teacher Yu Hai started as an opponent and later became his master.

Then there was the final boss, Benny Urquidez.

This man was a real-life world kickboxing champion.

The character Fujinaka in *Fist of Legend* had left an unforgettable impression.

As for the script... wasn't it basically *Stealing Kung Fu*?

This was a very old-school martial arts story.

It was entirely certain that no copyright had ever been purchased.

They had even gone ahead and changed the name of the male lead.

Leaving all that aside for the moment:

"Teacher Zhang, I have a few superficial suggestions, and I was wondering if you'd care to hear them."

"That's not a problem at all. After all, you are the major investor and big boss."

Veteran Zhang's attitude was quite agreeable.

However, Ma Xun could tell that the old man did not take him seriously at all.

"Since you are directing this martial arts drama, it isn't my place to talk too much. When it comes to action choreography, you are second to none."

Ma Xun gave a thumbs up.

Veteran Zhang let out a hearty laugh, accepting the compliment.

Then, Ma Xun pulled a small notebook from his pocket.

It was quite thin, with very few pages.

"Teacher Zhang, I happen to be quite passionate about cinematography. If you don't believe me, you can ask Sister Hong; she knows for sure.

Here are some little 'suggestions' I wrote down. Have a look, if you will."

Ask Sister Hong about cinematography?

It was probably for the best that Sister Hong didn't hear that remark.

Of course, Ma Xun's actual intention was simply to pass these "suggestions" on to Zhang Xinyan.

The old man cheerfully took the notebook and began to read. Written inside were notes such as: *'When two characters are dueling, each should occupy 50% of the frame'*, and *'When an important character makes an entrance, you can film their feet first, striding with the wind to indirectly set up their formidable presence...'*

Well now~ there was actually some substance here.

"Mr. Ma, have you genuinely directed film and television before?"

Zhang Xinyan even confirmed it in his own mind.

Ma Xun could only offer a smile. "I just hope that our production can turn out even better."

He was actually being modest.

Many of the dramatic dialogue scenes in *Tai Chi Master* were truly quite ordinary.

The cinematographer for this drama didn't amount to much in later years, either.

Because there was nothing inside their head, after all.

One had to remember that film and television were, after all, a visual art.

Even if the camera equipment used for television dramas couldn't compare to feature films, they still couldn't afford to be crudely and carelessly made.

In fact, many excellent domestic television dramas in China employed extremely meticulous camera work.

Allow me to mention an example that many people probably wouldn't believe.

*Ma Dashuai*.

Upon hearing this title, many might feel it was terribly rustic, or simply think of Uncle Biao and Uncle Benshan.

In reality, however, many of the shots in this drama were exceptionally sophisticated.

For instance, the scene where Ma Dashuai and Uncle Biao sit on a pair of benches.

They each sat on their own bench; the benches were white and identical, and the two of them within that frame were in absolute balance!

Ma Xun dared say that if you were to take this single shot out and present it internationally to globally renowned cinematographers, one hundred percent of them would gasp in astonishment.

Wasn't this the style of Wes Anderson?

One must realize that it was ten years after *Ma Dashuai* that Wes Anderson's *The Grand Budapest Hotel* caused a sensation at the Oscars.

What made it famous were precisely these kinds of flawlessly balanced camera compositions.

Looking back, the reason *Ma Dashuai* later became known as "Ma-ology," praised by many and enduring through the test of time, was because the creators genuinely possessed exceptional skill!

Turning back to the current production of *Tai Chi Master*.

Aside from its outstanding martial arts action, the rest of the show was fairly average.

Ma Xun was now stepping in to reinforce this very weakness.

He didn't expect them to achieve the caliber of *Ma Dashuai*, but at least he wanted to ensure it wasn't too embarrassingly sloppy.

After all, he was counting on this drama to turn a massive profit!

Veteran Zhang read through the notes for quite a while, increasingly feeling that there was real value in them.

"Mr. Ma, these suggestions of yours are truly wonderful."

Hearing this, Ma Xun could tell that the old man's attitude toward him had changed.

In that case, it was time to bring up another matter.

"Teacher Zhang, I hope you won't take offense, but how much further development do you think traditional martial arts films have if they continue to be shot this way?"

Wasn't that question asking for offense?

Yet, the moment Zhang Xinyan heard it, his eyes lit up.

"Mr. Ma, I suspect you don't merely want to dabble in *Tai Chi Master*, do you?"

Upon hearing this, Ma Xun nodded. "Teacher Zhang, to be honest with you, I've always wanted to adapt and film the martial arts works of Louis Cha or Gu Long!"

On the mainland, Gu Long's works had been adapted before, but Louis Cha's works never had been!

When veteran Zhang Xinyan heard this, he smiled most happily.

"Good! Mr. Ma, you truly harbor great ambition! This old man will certainly lend you a helping hand!"