Huayu started as a lecturer at Beijing Film Academy

In Spring City, Yunnan.

The main creators behind Operation Mekong are Gu Zhongyu, director Dante Lam, producer Zhang Miao, blasting expert Chen Ke, action director Dong Wei, and our special art consultant Liu Yuejin.

Gu Zhongyu turned his gaze to the person in charge of the props group: "This is a documentary film, we must abandon those exaggerated weapons, such as firearms must be restored one-to-one, you can ask Brother Liu for more advice on this aspect."

"Okay!" The other party nodded, "In fact, we have been studying domestic weapons these days, and Director Liu also gave us a lot of advice..."

"No, it's not necessary. In fact, when we carry out regular arrests, we don't use domestic weapons."

Liu Yuejin waved his hand abruptly: "The weapons and equipment allocated to our special operations team are in accordance with international standards. Except for the submachine gun, which uses the domestic police sls5 submachine gun, the others are Czech or American weapons."

"..."

It's so embarrassing. Fortunately, I found an expert, otherwise I would be criticized for all kinds of props!

"Also, we don't need to go to Malaysia. The Thai government said it would provide us with filming assistance. We can just shoot in Chiang Mai! Of course, we can build the necessary scenes in China."

I don't know why the Thai government agreed to provide a force of about 800 people to assist in the filming.

It was a bit beyond the expectations of Gu Zhongyu and the public security department.

Gu Zhongyu was ecstatic after hearing the news, and tentatively asked if he could also give some convenience since there was another "Detective Chinatown" that would be filmed in Thailand soon.

The other party also agreed very happily!

It's no wonder that domestic colleagues love to go to Thailand to make movies. In addition to being able to shoot some themes that the mainland can't touch at all, they really support film and television dramas, and no matter whether they are domestic or foreign.

Now foreign film production teams that spend more than 50 million baht in Thailand can get a 15% tax refund. In addition, movies that promote Thai tourism can enjoy an additional 2% tax refund, and movies that employ Thai main staff can enjoy an additional 3% tax refund.

The cost of filming is also very low compared to that in China. The value of artists is dozens or even hundreds of times lower than that of domestic artists. The quality is also more professional and dedicated than that of domestic artists. Whether it is the local reception team or the post-production team, the cost performance is very high, so many film crews will hire Thai filming teams, local reception teams, post-production teams and Thai artists!

However, it is rare for a movie to alarm the Thai government to come forward directly. It seems that "Operation Mekong" has attracted a lot of attention!

As for the domestic scene, it is easy to understand. No matter how much face they give you, you can't perform an explosion scene on their territory. Moreover, according to Lin Chaoxian's idea, that explosion scene is very important and must be shot in real scenes.

"Director Liu, we need the Ministry of Public Security to arrange a few military helicopters. Don't worry, we will rent them at the standard price!"

This movie is fully assisted by the Ministry of Public Security.

Therefore, Liu Yuejin nodded for the right to use these necessary equipment.

"Everyone express their opinions and discuss what else needs to be resolved!" Lin Chaoxian almost finished his thoughts, and then signaled the rest of the team to speak up and express their opinions.

Several people present have read the storyboard script and have a direct understanding of what kind of movie they want to shoot.

This kind of preparation meeting is originally for solving problems. The crew needs to reach a basic consensus as soon as possible and work in one direction.

"One thing, are we too big? Look at this, Fang Xinwu used lynching, and Gao Gang actually shot a child to death! Is this too cruel?"

Zhang Miao has always wanted to discuss the script with Gu Zhongyu. Even in Hong Kong, where the scale is bigger, it is very rare to let children die directly in the movie, and it is easy to be criticized by the public.

A typical example is "The Secret Files of the Rat", which is one of the best Chinese CULT movies. The director Deng Yancheng is so crazy that in the last 20 minutes of the movie, he arranged for the hero's daughter to be burned to death by the gangsters in front of him!

Originally, many movies, no matter how heavy the taste is, rarely make a fuss about children in this regard.

But "The Secret Files of the Rat" doesn't care, and letting the hero witness the burning of his daughter is just the beginning.

Afterwards, the criminals brought the charred body of the hero's daughter to the hero.

The corpse prop now looks very rough, but in fact, the most pungent thing is not the corpse, but the sentence the criminals said next:

"(Imitating the girl's tone) Dad, I'm so tanned, do you still recognize me?"

This scene can be said to be the pinnacle of Chinese cult movies. Even in Europe and the United States, few people dare to play like this, unless they don't want to mix, because this has even violated the law!

So Zhang Miao thinks that the bravery of drug police can be shown in other ways. Is it too cruel to use a child to talk about it?

"The main theme! It's not the main theme that has been castrated without bloody scenes, but the main theme that completely gambles on national dignity! If we are not cruel to the enemy, what is the meaning of the peace and stability exchanged for the death of our heroes? If we don't shoot children, the children's self-explosion attacks are disrespectful to the lives of our soldiers. The more merciful we are to the enemy, the more cruel we are to ourselves!"

Gu Zhongyu said this in a sonorous voice: "And to be honest, the script you see is the script after I compromised for dozens of steps. The original script I prepared was much more bloody than this one!"

"Well said!"

Liu Yuejin applauded, "We just want to scare those drug dealers! Which of those anti-drug police officers did not hand over their lives to the country, fighting those drug dealers day and night with their lives. Some of them could not even engrave their names on their tombstones after death, for fear that drug dealers would retaliate against their families. I just want to tell them that if you dare to make trouble, I will dare to torture you in 100,000 ways."

All the people present were inspired by Liu Yuejin's words!

Gu Zhongyu was also excited for a rare time, and his mood could not calm down for a long time.

"By the way, Mr. Gu, have you thought about the specific release date of the film?"

"Do you have any suggestions?"

Gu Zhongyu did not answer, but asked a question instead.

"Or, let's do it next year during the National Day..."

National Day?

To compete with Hong Kong囧?

Gu Zhongyu shook his head directly: "There will be many big movies released next year, including Hollywood blockbusters, and there are also many good domestic films. It is very important to choose a good schedule!"

Next year's National Day, several known movies "Lost in Hong Kong", "Nine-story Demon Tower", "Saving Mr. Wu", "Minions", and Zongheng's own movies may be scheduled for release, which is not an ideal schedule.

After thinking for a while, Gu Zhongyu said, "During the early promotion, don't announce the specific release date for the time being. We not only have to look at the actual work progress of the crew, but also have to consider the release time of other movies... Director Lin, it depends on whether you can complete the task!"

It's already June now, and it would be best to complete the shooting task within four months, so that it can be arranged for next year's summer vacation.

"Okay!" Lin Chaoxian nodded and added, "I will do my best, but everyone may have to work harder..."

The topic gradually turned to the actors.

"In addition to Gao Gang and Fang Xinwu, I need a lot of actors with some acting skills for the other members of the special commando team in the movie."

In fact, when they met before, they only discussed the actors for the two leading roles, and now it's time to discuss most of the supporting roles.

"The length of the movie means I can't give these supporting roles much space to express their personalities, so it's unlikely to find some big names. Let's try to find actors who are a little famous and have some acting skills, but not big names. Zhou Yiwei, Yu Bo, Zhu Yawen, Ren Tianye... are all fine. We'll see who has a suitable schedule and invite them."

Zhang Miao nodded: "I think so too. In fact, many movies now are willing to use some young actors. Do you think we should also follow the trend and find a few young actors?"

Lin Chaoxian immediately shook his head like a rattle: "No, this is a police and gangster movie. If there are young actors, it will be too inconsistent!"

Gu Zhongyu also rejected this proposal. The young actors now are just sand blown up by the wind. Sooner or later, they will fall to the ground. Most movies starring young actors can't support the box office at all. There are occasional exceptions, and the people who contribute to the box office are definitely not going for the young actors.

"Okay, let's continue talking about the actors. Wang Zhi is a good fit for Guo Bing. Who can we get for Fang Xinwu's girlfriend?"

This role has very few scenes. Gu Zhongyu thought about it and decided to ask Yaya to make a cameo appearance. He had promised her before. Although the appearance time is short, it can be regarded as the "second female lead"!

After finishing these things, Gu Zhongyu took a plane back. On the way, he posted a Weibo with a photo of Gu Zhongyu, Deng Chao, Yu Bo, Wang Baoxiang, Chen He, Zheng Kai and Bai Lu eating hot pot together.

That's right, the Running Man team gathered for the first time!

...

The birth of a new variety show is not as simple as imagined.

Especially for a large-scale reality show like "Running Man", you always have to consider the guests!

What if the ratings and influence of "Running Man" do not reach the expected effect, and no guests are willing to come?

So, when determining the candidates at the beginning, the person in charge Wang Jun and the director Lu Hao had already thought of a foolproof plan, and they must get Gu Zhongyu on the carriage!

Deng Chao was the captain they had decided on from the beginning. They were also quite satisfied with Wang Baoxiang and Chen He. Although Bai Lu was a relative, Blueberry TV had examined all aspects of this little girl's personality and found that she was a pure and lively person, perfect for variety shows!

But Yu Bo had nothing to do with them, and he was also the deputy captain!

Yu Bo's character was a capable person, and his counterpart was Kim Jong-kook of Han Country. I don't know who would be better when the two of them started to tear off the name tags...

According to Blueberry TV's plan, Running Man is a seasonal variety show. They spent so much money, and they spent 200 million yuan on Banana Entertainment alone. In addition to the remuneration of several fixed guests, the cost of each episode, after twelve episodes, is 400 million yuan. Don't even think about it.

In order to show the difference of the Chinese version of Running Man, director Lu Hao prepared to play with the earth. The cost of shooting the first few episodes was directly 5 million yuan!

This time, Blueberry TV has put all its efforts into producing this variety show!

Gu Zhongyu arrived at the Blueberry TV Building, and Wang Jun and Lu Hao were already waiting at the door.

The two saw Gu Zhongyu as if they had seen a lucky star. This year's "Yu Zui" has stabilized the ratings of Blueberry TV. Although they are not from the film purchasing department, Gu Zhongyu contacted the top management through their relationship, so the two were also credited.

"Come, let's talk about the character setting."

Wang Jun couldn’t wait to enter the office!

“Aren’t you waiting for them?”

Gu Zhongyu thought he would discuss with all the regular guests to determine the character settings and so on.

"It doesn't matter. The production ideas of the Korean version are already very mature. We can just follow the original version. Of course, it must be in line with our actual situation."

"Then let me briefly talk about my ideas first, just to start a discussion. We will discuss it together later!"

"The ability is Yu Bo, the team leader is Deng Chao, I am responsible for complaining and showing IQ. After all, everyone must not be very relaxed in the first two episodes, I will be responsible for guiding everyone; in fact, there are many cards that can be played among these six people. For example, Deng Chao and Yu Bo are both born before 1980, so they can be considered as the elderly group. Chen He and Zheng Kai are classmates, and they can also form a brotherhood. Wang Baoxiang can make jokes and occasionally do stupid things. Bai Lu is the happy fruit. Let her laugh more. I think the show effect will be very good."

"In short, there are many cards that can be played. Let's play them!"

Wang Jun and Lu Hao smiled at each other and sighed.

It seems that Gu Zhongyu is serious and does not just want to make a quick buck. Otherwise, he would not have considered so much.

Running Man has a huge influence, with fans in almost all of Asia. As long as the Chinese version starts filming, it will definitely be compared.

Gu Zhongyu's joining also means he has to bear some risks and infamy.

"By the way, I can't be a permanent member. Let me make this clear first."

Gu Zhongyu just opened his mouth, and Wang Jun immediately became anxious: "Teacher Gu, we agreed before..."

"Listen to me first."

Gu Zhongyu thought about this question for a long time: "First of all, I am not only an actor, but also have several companies. I am busy every day. It is really difficult to find time to shoot a regular variety show. However, you can rest assured that I will withdraw at the right time, and I will also arrange a very suitable guest to replace me."

Wang Jun and Lu Hao looked at each other: "Teacher Gu, I don't think anyone is more suitable for Running Man than you."

"Don't worry, when a program is on the right track, the withdrawal or replacement of one or two people will not have such a big impact!"

That's right. The Korean version of Running Man was also an eight-member group at the beginning. Later, Songzhongji withdrew, and the impact was not too big. As long as the audience is used to it and the style of the program remains unchanged, everyone will keep watching it.