Chapter 142: The New Version of "Bright Sword" Begins Filming! 200 Million for the First 26 Episodes

As a junior screenwriter specializing in sensationalist anti-Japanese war dramas, how could Wu Xiang possibly not know this person?

Therefore, he immediately dispatched Li Xueer, instructing her to find this individual at all costs. And let me tell you, it was quite a difficult task.

Shino koji didn't want to act at first, but Wu Xiang told him straight out: "Kid, if you perform well, the money in the future will be huge!"

Wu Xiang's accent had even started to shift slightly, having dealt with too many Japanese people lately.

Shino koji was truly a penniless nobody at the moment. He could claim to not care about anything else, but money was something he absolutely had to care about. Moreover, he felt he could actually learn something here. He also knew of Wu Xiang, who had been staying in the country for nearly two years. How could Shino koji not know of Wu Xiang's great reputation?

"Wu-san! I simply hope to learn acting from you, I truly hope you can help me!" These were Shino koji's exact words.

Seeing his attitude was so good, Wu Xiang offered him a salary of 1,500 yuan per month, which naturally included room and board. He also told him that such a rate was already quite rare for a newcomer like him, so he should work hard.

Shino koji accepted the 1,500 yuan. The main reason was that he saw several of his compatriots in the crew, and Director Wu told him they were all professional graduates from the Film Academy, which was great for learning things.

Everything was fine, except for the "Wu-san" part that Shino koji kept calling him. Wu Xiang felt as if he had become Wu-sang from the dating show *If You Are the One*. Given how tall, grand, and mighty he was, he was clearly different from that guy.

What else could they call him? Xiang-san? That didn't sound right either. When the title "Director Wu" came out of Hao'er's mouth, it sounded like "misguided," which was also awkward. Oh well. Wu-sang it is.

Sometimes, tricking the little Japanese can be quite thrilling. Wu Xiang suddenly realized that this might just be another appealing aspect of shooting anti-Japanese dramas.

What role would Shino koji play?

Wu Xiang hadn't made this public yet; he had only shown the script to Shino koji, keeping it confidential for the time being.

Initially, Wu Xiang's idea was to have all the Japanese roles played by actual Japanese actors, which sounded great. But after interacting with the few Japanese people he managed to find, he changed his mind.

There was no help for it; these Japanese individuals lacked a certain aura. What kind of aura?

The aura of Yamamoto Ichiki!

In the classic version of *Drawing Sword*, the look in Yamamoto Ichiki's eyes and that ruthless edge of his—along with those bone-chilling jokes that made it impossible to laugh—were, to be honest, simply fantastic. After reviewing his fellow alumni, Wu Xiang found that none of them possessed this specific presence.

So, with no other options left, Wu Xiang asked Li Xueer for help once again to bring in Lu Peng, the actor who played Yamamoto Ichiki in the classic version!

After much deliberation, it had to be him. Aside from acting, Wu Xiang also gave Lu Peng a job as a consultant. This consultant's duty was to guide the Japanese actors. Wu Xiang's instructions were: "If you see anything wrong, just speak up. If those Japanese actors aren't performing well, don't worry about my face. Slap them across the face if you have to!"

Naturally, Lu Peng wouldn't be that uncivilized. He was a film studies Ph.D., highly cultured, and fluent in Japanese, making him well-suited to take on the role of a translator as well. Thus, he could perfectly fulfill the task Wu Xiang entrusted to him.

This time, Wu Xiang wasn't stingy. He offered Lu Peng a decent rate of 80,000 yuan, which was already quite substantial for a supporting role with fewer than ten episodes of screen time.

In fact, based on Wu Xiang's research into the classic version of *Drawing Sword*, that production didn't actually spend much money. Calling it a few million yuan was likely an exaggeration. Expenses for props and set design were genuinely minimal. Furthermore, the battle scenes were not massive; the maximum number of people appearing in a single shot never exceeded one hundred. In other words, there weren't many places that required heavy spending.

As for the cast, Teacher Li Youbin's commercial value hadn't been developed yet at the time. Although he was a Best Actor winner for *Armageddon*, Best Actor titles weren't worth much back then, and his pay rate wasn't high. It wasn't until after this television series that his market value began to rise.

Teacher Zhang Guangbei was even more so. He was also part of the state-owned system and was even less commercially famous than Teacher Li Youbin.

As for Teacher He Zhengjun, who played Zhao Gang, and Wang Quanyou, who played Ding Wei, although they had acted before, they truly didn't have much fame at the time. As for You Li, who played Kong Jie, he had acted previously, but before filming *Drawing Sword*, he was actually serving as the vice president of the Shenzhen Tourism Association. When Li Xueer's team contacted him, he thought they were discussing some tourism business.

Look at a group like this—how high could their salaries possibly be?

Aside from Lu Peng, most of the actors playing Japanese soldiers were hired temporarily as extras, costing barely any more than standard background performers.

Additionally, there is another piece of evidence proving that this show was a low-budget production: *Drawing Sword* is the most frequently re-broadcast television series in the domestic market. This is a record that no one else can surpass!

Why was it broadcast so many times?

The reason was that the broadcasting rights were cheap—exceptionally cheap. Coupled with its high viewership ratings, television stations loved to air it repeatedly.

The classic version was a low-budget masterpiece, but now that Wu Xiang had arrived, he intended to craft this production meticulously. Even if there was no way to make it rival *Band of Brothers*, it had to at least come close, right?

This was Wu Xiang's vision. Leveraging the advantage of his rebirth, he wanted to leave television stations with an eternal classic!

Located in Yu County, Zhangjiakou, Hebei, there is a fascinating place featuring rolling loess earth, mountains, and rivers. Crucially, it also contains an ancient fortress named Shangsu. This was the filming location Wu Xiang chose for the new version of *Drawing Sword*.

In fact, this was also the filming location for the classic version of *Drawing Sword*. It was chosen primarily because of its terrain, landscape, and the almost entirely preserved ancient architecture and cultural style, making it exceptionally suited for shooting this television drama.

Wu Xiang had thoroughly studied the TV series, so naturally, he knew this was an outstanding choice.

The *Drawing Sword* crew had already moved in. The villagers of Shangsu felt a great sense of novelty. As for the local village officials and staff, they provided enthusiastic cooperation because orders had come down from above: this film crew had significant backing, so they must not be neglected. If handled well, their region could appear on television, which was an extremely exciting prospect.

How did Wu Xiang manage to coordinate with the local officials once again?

This matter was primarily because Wu Xiang had sought out Commander Huang prior to filming. Oh, he couldn't be called Commander of a Regiment anymore; he had to be called Commander of a Division, as he had received a promotion.

When Wu Xiang went looking for him, he naturally came asking for personnel. When shooting a drama like this—even if the scale wasn't massive like the original *Drawing Sword*—you still had to approach the military. Background extras simply couldn't compare to real soldiers.

Besides, the story involved horseback riding and combat, so Wu Xiang needed Division Commander Huang to help him contact the soldiers of the cavalry battalion once more. He had to use them; there were no other options.

This time, he didn't need many: just the cavalry battalion, plus one additional infantry battalion, and that would suffice. Once military units were involved, the local authorities naturally had to be informed. Moreover, this region was highly experienced in filming, particularly when it came to anti-Japanese war dramas.

They were even more experienced than Wu Xiang. Do you know how many television shows and movies have been filmed in Yu County?

To name just a few, Jiang Wen's *Devils on the Doorstep* was shot right here, along with *Little Soldier Zhang Ga* and *Guerrillas Behind Enemy Lines*. This place served as the domestic production base for anti-Japanese themed film and television works. Its history since the founding of the People's Republic of China was essentially the history of anti-Japanese dramas.

Wu Xiang, of course, knew all about this place. He used to visit frequently, but his arrival this time was entirely different.

He was a major director now!

Truly a major director. How many people in the entire country had box office earnings exceeding one hundred million? And he was still so young. Thus, the local officials proactively came out to welcome him, surrounding him like stars around the moon.

"This really is..." For some reason, Wu Xiang suddenly felt a sense of returning in glory to his hometown.

Since people were being so enthusiastic, they decided to hold a grand ceremony—the boot-up ceremony!

Originally, when Wu Xiang directed films in the past, he hadn't paid much attention to this aspect. Everyone was a student—college students at that—so when starting a film shoot, why bother with elaborate ceremonies? At most, they would just take a group photo and call it a day.

But things were different this time. They needed to make it grand.

Aside from burning incense and paying respects to deities, they even prepared a sacrificial offering: a sizable pig's head!

Wu Xiang initially said it wasn't necessary and that he didn't believe in such things, but the local residents wouldn't agree. Every production did it this way; if you didn't do it, what would happen if something went wrong?

The strength of the masses is formidable, so Wu Xiang went along with it.

There wasn't actually any Buddha statue; they simply lit incense and bowed. Wu Xiang went first, and then everyone else followed.

After burning the incense and bowing to the pig—since there was no Buddha—their production finally began!

"Drawing Sword, Episode 1, Scene 8." With a sharp *clack*, the slate clapped, and the action commenced. The clapperboard operator this time was Shen Yuxing. Since he was a guy who wanted to learn everything, Wu Xiang simply assigned him to work as the script supervisor first.

A good comrade needed to be cultivated, after all.

"Action!" That was Wu Xiang shouting.

"Brothers! They always say the little Japanese are good at bayonet fighting, but I refuse to believe in superstition! We all carry one head on two shoulders; who is afraid of whom?! Our New First Regiment wasn't scared into existence! Never mind a few little Japanese devils, even if the King of Hell himself shows up, I'll still pluck a few whiskers from his chin! When two forces meet in a narrow path, the brave will win!"

Teacher Li Youbin used his raspy, gong-like voice to bare his teeth and roar out this lengthy line of dialogue. This scene took place right before the New First Regiment's counter-charge in the first episode, and it possessed immense momentum.

"Good! Next, everyone follow my command." Wu Xiang paused the shot for a moment, then gestured to a wide-angle setup in the distance to signal the start. "One, two, three! The brave will win!"

"The brave will win!"

With a mighty roar, countless Eighth Route Army soldiers emerged from the pre-constructed trenches, each wielding a broadsword and looking exceptionally heroic!

"Very good!" Wu Xiang immediately had that side pause, then turned back toward Teacher Li Youbin's position. "Where's the clapper?"

Shen Yuxing, who had just run over to the distant setup to clap the slate, sprinted back immediately.

With a *clack*, "Action!"

"Charge!!"

Teacher Li Youbin let out a mighty roar, then leaped out of the trench!

"Charge!" Following behind him, the Eighth Route Army soldiers rushed out one by one like fierce little tigers.

Simultaneously, the machine guns mounted on the trenches opened fire with a *ta-ta-ta*, spewing streams of angry flames!

"Cut! Okay! That's a wrap! Stay right where you are, everyone!" Wu Xiang called out, and the crew immediately began packing up equipment.

"Change locations!"

Why?

To shoot the wide landscape shots. Since the close-up charges had just been filmed, naturally, they needed to capture the panoramic perspective to match.

"Alright, one, two, three!" Wu Xiang grabbed a large megaphone on the hillside and roared down below, "Action!"

"Ahhhhh..."

A massive crowd surged forward in a wave. This was over a thousand people, and the scale was far grander than the classic version of *Drawing Sword*...

***

**Author's Note:**

Thanks to brother Long Shao for another tip, thanks to 'Da Hao Ji Dan Bing' for the tip, thanks to '00wei' for the tip and review, and thanks to 'Qian Jin Ding' for the tip. Black Car expresses his heartfelt gratitude to everyone!