My stunt double
In the filming of the next scene, my stunt double was used for the first and only time. Actually, we had two types of doubles: some helped the team during rehearsals for scenes in which we ourselves later starred, or they replaced us in moments where only our torsos and not our faces were visible on camera. Others replaced us in the most dangerous stunts. I met with my backup a few days earlier, but I didn’t seem to be aware that he would do some difficult things for me. He was the tallest guy we could find in the entire team, he had a similar build, skin color and haircut (when viewed from the back). The biggest difference was that he didn't have a beard, and I constantly reminded the makeup people of this. I knew he was going to do the trick for me when I saw him with a similar goatee. You have to give this guy credit: he really got his money's worth that day. He was struck, take after take, by the main character, attacking from an incredible height. Each time he received a strong blow to the head, and then fell as if knocked down onto a hard metal grate. The cool thing was that upon re-watching, he looked exactly like me in terms of posture, uniform, hairstyle, skin color and build. Even I couldn't tell the difference between the two of us on screen.
Close-up with the main character
Just when I thought that I had managed to avoid serious injury, they informed me that it was necessary to film a close-up with the main character. He flew towards me from a high balcony, but they promised me that this time there would be no contact. This time, after all the recent incidents, I was a little afraid, but I took my word for it. The scene was difficult because the hero had to maintain a certain pose while flying. This required cables, the use of which does not always lead to the desired result. Each time he landed either too far away, too close, or in the wrong position. For me, the danger was that he was flying at me from above at high speed, and I was standing sideways, in the most vulnerable position. Several times he almost hit my left leg, with enough force to break it. At some point, something went wrong, and he accidentally kicked me in the jaw on the left side. The blow was so strong that my head was turned around, and then it fell back into place, just as we had rehearsed before. However, having received from the main character six times before, I was not so much worried as I was annoyed. The actor immediately apologized properly, and, to his credit, he never touched me again, despite the great many takes we filmed.
Last 3 days
After my death scene, I mostly did non-action scenes, like shouting orders to the stokers in Chinese. However, what was interesting was that I served as a translator for one of the foreign actors on the set of a major scene of his fight with the main character. The actor was new to kung fu and was mostly involved in acting, and since I studied kung fu for many years and made my own kung fu movie “The Dragon Must Sleep”, I had the opportunity to give him all sorts of advice . Dahai didn't speak a word of English, so I had to be nearby all the time, and since I had experience, I was often called upon to demonstrate various movements. From time to time, I would give advice to the foreign actor, Yuan Xiaochao, or Dahai during rehearsals regarding movements, ensuring mutual understanding among the team after the takes were filmed. It's strange, but after being on set for so long, and after what I had been through up to that point, I completely joined Sammo Hung's stunt team. It reminded me a little of the choreography help I provided while making my own independent kung fu film with my students, friends and family.
Posted by Keoni Everington
Source: theworldofchinese.com
Translation: EvilDollaR
Special thanks to DoD Favorit
Thank you! The series is finally over! It was extremely interesting! Thanks again!