Chapter 226 - Double Flight of Laughter and Applause

The combination of Lin Ming Yang and Al Pacino alone is enough to make the whole of Hollywood swoon. With such a luxurious cast and the classic 80's TV series as the basis, people have reason to believe that this movie will become another box office bomb in this summer's vacation. Before the film even started shooting, rumors about the film's production had already been swirling in the media. Who will be able to direct the movie has become a hot topic among movie fans.

When he learned that Cannell was going to make a movie version of "The Dragonauts," director John Singleton volunteered to take on the role of director for the movie. However, after the script was finalized by MGM, he suddenly resigned and left the cast.

The reason for his resignation was that he was extremely dissatisfied with MGM's finalized script, which was very different from the storyline he and Cannell had agreed upon. Cannell later recruited Joe Carnahan, who was similar in directing style to Michael Bay, to direct the movie. The debate over the director's choice came to an end.

But it didn't stop there. Changing directors in the middle of a movie is a big no-no in Hollywood, and a reporter rehashed the story at the opening of The Expendables.

The purpose of the opening conference is to announce to the public that the movie has officially entered the shooting stage. Under Lin Mingyang's authorization, MGM didn't make a big deal out of the event, but with several of the film's leading actors present, the event attracted a lot of reporters with its powerful starlight appeal.

The event site was a semi-circular stage, hanging in the center of a huge poster, Al Pacino, Lin Mingyang, Sharlto Copley and Quinton Jackson's head together, the center printed the title of the film, while the four corners of the four corners of the four characters in the film's name in a smaller font printed.

There were five chairs on the stage, Lin Mingyang and Al Pacino made some modest concessions, Lin Mingyang for the reason that Al Pacino is the head of "The-A-Team", left the center seat to Pacino, he himself sat on the left side of Pacino.

Once the two of them were seated, it was easier for the others, with director Joe Carnahan sitting to Pacino's right, Sharlto Copley to the far left, and Quinton Jackson to the far right.

At the beginning of the press conference, director Joe Carnahan introduced the basics of the movie, "I know that this movie brings together a superb cast of Hollywood actors whose acting skills and box office appeal are unquestionable, compared to which perhaps I'm the most unknown one here...I certainly don't want to mess this up, and would prefer to be able to make it with the the feel of the TV show at the time. So this time we put the location in Vancouver."

"Compared to the United States, Vancouver is a more conservative and quieter city, and there aren't many skyscrapers or modern transportation. So it presents a retro and old-fashioned feel. And this feeling is what the 1980s TV series "Skyfall" shows. And, in order to be as visually different as possible from today's movies, in the movie we will use a lot of gunpowder to create realistic explosion scenes. Of course there will be computer technology, but CGI is not the main focus of this movie. I still advocate a real explosion scene that requires that hard bridge visual feeling."

Joe Carnahan's microphone had just been put down, and a reporter on stage couldn't wait to raise his hand, and the moderator of the scene gave the opportunity to ask a question to a reporter sitting in the second row to the right. He wasn't the first person on the floor to raise his hand, but the host looked at him with a gentle demeanor and felt that his question shouldn't be too embarrassing for the few people on stage, unfortunately he was wrong.

The sharpness of this reporter's question was completely inversely proportional to his looks, "Mr. Joe Carnahan, as the director of this film, what do you think of the film's plot? It is said that your predecessor, John Singleton, gave up on this movie because the plot was too bad, what do you think about that?"

Joe Carnahan suddenly confused, he did not expect his speech just finished, there will be a reporter jumped out to "stir up the scene", for this question he was unprepared, for a time froze there.

Producer Cannell was not present at the scene, for this issue the most powerful natural Lin Mingyang, he took over the microphone from the host's hands: "This question is still by me to answer you... For Mr. John Singleton's departure and some of his remarks, as the film's investor, MGM expresses its deep regret, but here I would also like to reiterate that the producers are very pleased to see that Mr. John Singleton has left the film, and that the film is still in production. I would also like to reiterate the producer's position that as an action movie, the plot is a service to the action scenes in the movie. The most important thing in an action movie is to make people high as hell, and it would be boring to find suspense and connotation in it."

Lin Ming Yang coldly grunted, "I originally thought that this kind of boring talk should have no market in Hollywood, but now it seems that there are a lot more brainless guys than I thought..." as he said this his gaze was fixed on the reporter who had just asked the question, the sarcasm was unmistakable.

"Of course just because I say that doesn't mean that the plot of this movie is weak, that's not the case, in my opinion, the script story is explained in full, there's no tiger's tail, there's no beginning that leaves you guessing the end. I think with the 80's TV series as the basis, the plot of this movie will not be too bad, of course, if you are a TV series of the ashes of the fans, and there is a serious era complex, then it may be quite dissatisfied with such a remake and rewrite, but we have tried to do the greatest respect for the original, in addition to those classic elements, the movie should always have something new to present to the audience, and that's our attitude!"

Lin Mingyang's "aggressive" remarks shocked the journalists present, and his arrogant stance was backed up by his strength. In the following questions, the reporters' questions were obviously "calm".

"Funny elements were a signature of the 80's TV version of 'Dragon Squad' apart from the hot action, will the movie version continue this style?" After the previous questioner's experience, the next reporter's question was much more "cautious".

Director Joe Carnahan looked towards Lin Mingyang and realized that although Lin Mingyang was holding the microphone in his hand, he had no intention of raising it. After determining that Lin Ming Yang was not going to answer the question, he said: "Of course, these laughs are the essence of the movie. Without these funny lines, the movie loses half of its viewability. It can be said that the drama is a funny drama and the movie is a comedy movie. My biggest fear before we started shooting was that the movie would be missing the laughs and turn into a fiery, loud blockbuster. But happily, the script is hilarious beyond my imagination...I can tell you with certainty that every action scene in the movie will be blood-curdling, with big and small climaxes, and at the same time will make the audience burst into laughter."

Joe Carnahan here apparently had nothing left to ask, and over there Lin Ming Yang was grim-faced again, ignoring the reporters. The reporters naturally focused their questions on the "main character" Al Pacino, who had been ignored.

"Mr. Pacino, what made you decide to star in this film?"

As a veteran actor, Al Pacino has been dealing with this kind of questions for a long time, he smiled slightly, and returned in a half-joking tone: "MGM offered me a check for dollars that would make any Hollywood actor's heart flutter, it's an interesting movie, and the key thing is that I like the character in the movie very much... Whether it's in the movie or in reality, I'll prove that ginger is still hot!"

Al Pacino said this to give people the feeling that it is like a "demonstration" to Lin Ming Yang, in the face of his "provocation", Lin Ming Yang's face has been board finally showed a trace of smile. Al Pacino took the initiative to make a move, Lin Mingyang naturally did not retreat. The first Oscar competition between the old and new movie stars has been staged in advance before the movie has even started shooting.

Lin Ming Yang replied unwillingly, "In the script Colonel Hannibal is the soul of the A-Team, the guy who combines wisdom and power, I believe Mr. Pacino's firebrand acting skills can certainly make this character radiate extreme charm, and my mission in this film, Pike, the flamboyant, gangly and smart guy is to think of every possible way to to steal Mr. Pacino's thunder...maybe the camera will only have to linger for 3 seconds, and most of the people in the cinema's attention will be focused on my performance of this role!"

Lin Ming Yang openly declared that he would steal the limelight from the main character in the movie, while Al Pacino beside him sat smilingly, stating that he was under no pressure, and the two of them staged such an interlude, which made the atmosphere of the scene a lot lighter.

The reporters at the scene asked a few more questions to Sharlto Copley and Quinton Jackson, and the second half of the conference went quite smoothly. After the whole event, the crew collectively drove to Mexico, where the opening scene of the movie will be staged.

The first clip shot by the crew was Hannibal being tied to a chair and beaten up, and there was no Al Pacino's face in the shot, so naturally a body double was used for this performance.

In fact, until two Mexican mercenaries left Hannibal in an abandoned warehouse, ready to let the dogs bite him to death, tied to a chair Hannibal's face has never appeared. Until he broke free from the handcuffs, slowly walked out of the warehouse in a dark corner, the audience is familiar with the Al Pacino only with his signature smile "shine".

In the film as "head of the abductor" Quinton Jackson's debut way also let a person bright, if Al Pacino's appearance is quite a bit of nostalgia, then Quinton Jackson's debut can be said to be full of modern sense.

Accompanied by the roar of the motor, the yellow sports car in the Mexican town rolled up a gust of sand and dust, arrogantly leaving the trailing police car behind. Fists are thrown at each other at the drop of a hat, and the sudden fight at the car tuning plant, while seemingly inexplicable, fits the character of Quinton Jackson.

As a fighter, Quinton Jackson's fight scene certainly won't let the audience down, sandbag big fists swing cleanly, a few punks naturally very easy to be laid out by him.

In contrast, Lin Ming Yang's first appearance in the film is not so "glamorous", wearing pajamas and tied up in the middle of a pile of tires, with a noose around his neck and gasoline poured around him. This guy slept with the woman who was the target of his operation, and even after he was caught, he still laughed and cursed as much as he could, and he still looked like he was not afraid of the world when he was dying.

His "arrogance" is naturally based on the trust of Hannibal, but the end is a bit "miserable". He was sandwiched between the tires rolled down the hillside, and finally was rescued on the car has fallen seven dizzy, did not say two words on the wild vomiting.

Lin Mingyang's entrance is a "bad" one, and Sharlto Copley is not much better. He plays a nervous pilot, posing as a doctor in a mental hospital to mend Quinton Jackson's wounds, and even burns half of Lin's sleeve off, and when he finally learns from Hannibal that he can return to the battlefield, he's so excited that he's holding the propeller of his airplane.

Sharlto Copley's performance in District 9 has won him a lot of fans, and his nerve-wracking performance and terrific flying skills in this movie really make a difference, and without him, people wouldn't know how many times to die.

The four leads' very different appearances tie the opening story together, and the helicopter chase is the first action-packed climax of the movie. Whether it's rolling to avoid the helicopter gunship's strafing, or turning off the fire in the air to avoid the missiles, the movie's action scenes are imaginative and exciting at the same time.

Of course, while the action is exciting, director Joe Carnahan hasn't forgotten the promise he made to the press that the movie would include a lot of funny lines in the performances. When the A-Team's helicopter takes off from the roof of a hospital, the aircraft's tail swept away a water tank and smashed it squarely on Quinton Jackson's car, turning the tough tuned SUV into a pile of scrap metal in no time at all.

Sitting in the airplane, Quinton Jackson screamed for Sharlto Copley to be slaughtered, to which Sharlto Copley replied, "Who told you to park here? This is a handicapped zone!"

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This opening story provides a general introduction to the identities of the four protagonists, and then the plot moves to the point where the filming of the movie shifts from Mexico to the Middle East. The film is set on the eve of the U.S. withdrawal from Iraq in order to reflect the "changing times" of the era.

The A-Team is given a new mission this time. According to top-secret information, during the Iraq war, a black army affiliated with the U.S. has seized the Iraqi money-printing machine and used it to mass-produce counterfeit U.S. banknotes. Although Pike's ex-girlfriend warned them not to get involved at this point, the A-Team members decided to act privately after deliberation. After careful planning, they succeeded in getting their hands on the money, but the situation went in an unforeseen direction. The banknote printing plates are robbed, and the A-Team's boss even dies in a bizarre accident.

After this, all four members of the A-Team were court-martialed and sentenced to prison, but how long the U.S. The CIA agent Lynch, who had previously encouraged the A-Team to rob the banknote printing plates, approached Hannibal and provided him with clues about the traitor, and with the assistance of the other side, Hannibal succeeded in escaping from prison.

In order to shoot this scene, Al Pacino can be said to have made a lot of "sacrifices", he was in the movie for the first time naked on camera, although just a quick glance in front of the camera, but still make up for the fans of the heart of a regret.

A-Team's collective prison break has become the third plot climax of the movie following the helicopter chase, Baghdad to seize the U.S. currency printing plate, and the A-Team's several "living treasure" escape method is also incredible.

Pike, played by Lin Mingyang, continues to enjoy his life in prison, successfully hooking up with a female prison guard and receiving presidential-style cell treatment in prison, and during the sauna, he was hijacked by Hannibal along with the sauna.

In Hannibal Parker, Lin Mingyang and Al Pacino staged a short "duel" between the director Joe Carnahan, taking into account the age of Al Pacino, and did not arrange for him to be too difficult action, and in order to prevent him from performing when the physical exhaustion, Lin Mingyang in the play by his "The movie was a great success, and the director, Joe Carnahan, took into account Al Pacino's age and did not give him any difficult moves.

After convincing Pike, the two plan a rescue together during Quinton Jackson's prison transfer. They used a javelin hook and rope to pierce the rear door of the prison van, and Quinton Jackson flew away holding onto the yanked rear door before the escorting guards had time to react.

Quinton Jackson did not use any stunt doubles in this scene, and accomplished this thrilling action performance with only his own excellent performance. Although he was unharmed, the whole crew sweated for him during the shooting.

And the most interesting prison break belonged to Sharlto Copley, who, after the court-martial, was readmitted to a mental institution. After receiving a hint from Hannibal, he encourages the entire patient population to collectively request a 3D movie. Knowing that he will escape, Sosa, Pike's ex-girlfriend, who arrives on the scene, is hard pressed to find any cracks.

Hannibal several people hard with a kind of other people can not imagine the way to break in, 3D movie in the slowly approaching car suddenly become real crashed through the wall rushed in, all the psychiatric patients there cheered loudly, this is probably the most realistic they have seen a 3D movie, while Sharlto Copley take advantage of the chaos from Sosa eyelids under the ground secretly slipped away, in a group of people dumbfounded under the eyes of the long gone.