Transcending Boundaries: Journey to the Infinite

Untitled Part 19

Got It

Yang Chu didn't agree immediately. Instead, he walked around the spots that Jack had pointed out earlier, getting a sense of the place. After that, he nodded, "I'm good with it."

"OK! Go ahead and get changed. You're about the same height as Wu Zi. This film has a lot of action scenes, so being his stunt double will pay well. Costume, get Chu into the main actor's outfit. Also, his hair is too short—get him a wig to avoid any continuity issues."

Seeing that Yang Chu had no objections, Jack called out to someone on the sidelines. Then, as if remembering something, he added, "Oh, and Chu, the camera will be on the right side. When you leap into the office, make sure your back is to the camera. After landing, do a turn and wave."

Not long after, Yang Chu came out from a small room, dressed in the new outfit and wearing a wig.

Other than being a bit slimmer and the clothes not fitting perfectly, from behind, he looked almost identical to Wu Zi, the lead actor.

"Action!"

"Scene 3, shot 4."

"A!"

Snap—

In the somewhat chaotic set of the public office area, a sudden gunshot rang out from an office on the side.

The police officers in the public area heard the sound and rushed toward the window of the office where the shot came from.

Yang Chu stood on a high platform behind a burly middle-aged man, the leader of the group. As soon as the clapperboard went down, Yang Chu stepped onto the man's shoulder.

The burly middle-aged man, obviously an experienced actor, immediately reacted with surprise and acted as though he was bracing for impact. Then, Yang Chu stepped onto a desk and did a twisting sidekick.

With a crash, the office window shattered. Yang Chu kicked through it, sending the blinds flying. He then landed smoothly with a graceful spin, extending his arm without bending his knees much.

"Cut!"

The assistant director in charge of the scene shouted for a stop from outside the public office area.

"Good."

Upon hearing "cut," the burly middle-aged man who had just taken Yang Chu's kick lightly moved his shoulder and praised him with glowing eyes.

"Nice!"

"Impressive," commented some of the stunt crew who had been watching from the side.

They were all stunt professionals and could immediately tell if someone had real skills.

The move seemed simple, and many present could probably pull it off easily. But for this film, this was the first appearance of the lead actor, meant to showcase his agility and skill.

So, the key was whether the move could be done smoothly and beautifully.

"We should do a slow-motion close-up of that," suggested the burly middle-aged man to the scene's director.

As Yang Chu walked out of the small office, he even approached him and patted him on the shoulder. "Among all the people I've seen, including my fellow stuntmen and brothers, not many can do better than you. Jack here is our best, but even he might struggle to make it look this good, right, Jack?"

He turned to the stunt coordinator, Jack, who had been standing nearby, seeking his opinion.

This comment drew the attention of the surrounding crew and stuntmen, who all turned to look at Yang Chu. Some even glanced at Jack.

It was clearly a high compliment.

Jack's face fell, and he looked at the burly middle-aged man with a mock-complaining expression, "Boss, does this mean I have to give up my title of 'Treasure of the Team' to Chu?"

"Hahaha..."

Everyone on set burst into laughter; there were no hostile or jealous expressions.

In the world of stunts, respect is earned by skill. If someone else can do what you can't or does it better, you don't even have the right to sit in front of them. If they come up to you, you have to make way.

"Alright, next scene."

After a brief bout of laughter, the shooting continued.

Wu Zi, who had been waiting on the side, entered the office to film the close-up, following Yang Chu's final move.

Yang Chu stepped aside and observed the set. It was his first time seeing how a film was made up close. Unlike the movies he'd seen, where everything flowed smoothly, filming often involved numerous takes.

Sometimes an actor would break character and laugh; other times, a prop would be misplaced, or the lighting wasn't right. Sometimes someone would step out of frame or mess up their lines. What you see in the final cut is entirely different from what happens during filming.

From this, Yang Chu understood why his earlier stunt received such high praise. Pulling off a complex and beautiful action sequence in one take is much harder than these dialogue scenes.

Not to mention, resetting props isn't easy.

If an action scene is done in one take, it saves a lot of time and effort.

By around 4:30 in the afternoon, the office scenes were finally wrapped up, and with nothing else scheduled for the day, the crew started packing up.

"Chu!"

Not long after the wrap, Yang Chu was still on the sidelines waiting for Fish Head Xu when the director—the burly middle-aged man—and Jack walked over together.

"I really liked your move today. Well done," the burly man said with a smile, gesturing to Jack.

Jack understood and pulled some Hong Kong dollars from a pouch he carried. He handed them to the burly man.

The burly man glanced at the bills, raised an eyebrow, and then grabbed two more, each worth 500 or 1,000 HKD, from Jack's pouch and shoved them into Yang Chu's hand. "Fish Head Xu said you needed money for food. I'll pay you 3,000 for today. Be here early tomorrow."

Having bought quite a few things recently, Yang Chu had an idea of local prices. Most people earned between 8,000 and 15,000 a month. For less than half a day of work, for just one stunt, he earned 3,000.

"Master, Ah Sa is here. He heard you're shooting a new film and wanted to come and show support."

A tall, muscular young man approached the burly man.

"What's he doing here? Looking for another cameo role? Is he a gangster or a movie maniac?" The burly man muttered in annoyance, mixed with a hint of helplessness. Then he turned to Yang Chu and said, "I've got high hopes for you. Keep it up." He left with Jack and the young man.

Shortly after they left, Fish Head Xu, seemingly finished with his tasks, came over to Yang Chu, asking excitedly, "Chu, did you get paid?"

Yang Chu didn't hide anything and said directly, "3,000."

"Not bad," Fish Head Xu grinned, clearly pleased with the amount. He raised his thick eyebrows at Yang Chu and said, "Didn't I tell you? With your skills, being a stuntman suits you perfectly. It's dangerous, but the pay is good. You don't know, but with inflation, it's not like it was over ten years ago when you could earn a month's salary in a day. Now it's hardly increased at all."

"Risking your life for money," Yang Chu replied, now understanding the concept of being a stuntman—putting your life on the line for a living. The pay was naturally decent.

"Alright, don't spend your money like I did when I was young—like 'overnight tea,'" Fish Head Xu advised Yang Chu.

"Overnight tea?" Yang Chu was unfamiliar with this term.

"Overnight tea. It's wasted after a night. The money goes into your pocket and is gone by morning."

Fish Head Xu explained, then waved it off. "Forget it, let's not talk about that. With your big appetite, what you earn is probably just enough to cover your meals. Come on, it's still early. I'll take you to visit my big brother's set."