047 Sudden Attack on Set

The Wandering Earth.

Without a doubt, it was the most unusual film directed by Qian Lang.

Yet its uniqueness lay not in the so-called extravagant spending.

Although constructing scenes like underground cities and space stations consumed massive amounts of funds, many hands make light work, and with so many bosses from Hong Kong participating, finances would never become a shackle.

Of course, it was not about building and dismantling sets either.

Many scenes in the movie did not rely entirely on special effects.

To present a genuine texture, very few buildings and props in the film were created purely out of thin air by computers. Nearly all of them had physical counterparts—either built as sets or referenced from real-world architecture—upon which computer-generated visual effects were subsequently applied.

Though slightly troublesome, as long as the budget was sufficient, Great Xia had no shortage of talent to help bring these visions to life.

After all, in the genes of the people of Great Xia, there were never any insurmountable obstacles, only questions of whether something was worth doing.

Not to mention how an investment of several billion instantly drew a passionate crowd eager to join.

Even back when Qian Lang filmed Little Big Soldier, a swarm of people had wanted a piece of the pie.

Otherwise, how could the Jackie Chan Stunt Team have been established so smoothly?

Thus, despite the massive funding gap for The Wandering Earth this time, Qian Lang had not taken it seriously at all, solving it perfectly with just a few casual phone calls.

However, the heads of Great Xia's top infrastructure firms burst into tears of frustration upon hearing the news.

They were all regretting why they hadn't cozied up to Qian Lang sooner.

Had they done so, how could they possibly have missed this golden opportunity to make a fortune?

A total project sum of a staggering four billion!

It was enough to keep them busy for an entire year!

Yet Qian Lang had simply had someone randomly find a design company.

And then, just as casually, that design company easily recommended a construction team.

Look at how casual that was.

Information is money!

Why wasn't that casual choice them?

Ah, the standard hindsight always kills!

Who would have guessed that a film crew could take on a multi-billion-dollar infrastructure project?

Forget it, they just didn't have that kind of fate!

Even when a pie fell from the sky, it failed to hit any of them, the tall ones.

Yet, in truth, they did not know that Qian Lang's original intention had been to commission top-tier Great Xia companies for the project.

Who could have known that his family and friends operated with such terrifying efficiency?

In a short span of time, they had somehow tracked down the very company they were currently cooperating with.

Although they had not yet made a name for themselves in the industry, the professionalism demonstrated by both the designers and the construction team was nothing short of astonishing.

One could only say that each generation produces its own heroes!

In terms of infrastructure, Qian Lang naturally had no objections.

As for the actor auditions, Goose Entertainment and the Beijing Film Academy possessed a keen sense of smell and immediately took firm control of that domain.

They did everything in their power to sort it out for Qian Lang.

With others to handle the grueling and exhausting work, he was naturally more than happy to enjoy the peace.

Moreover, the actors they recommended quite closely matched his original vision.

Therefore, once the studio was secured and the cast basically locked down, the opening ceremony could naturally be held.

On that very day, filming immediately plunged into a tense and lively atmosphere.

In his previous life, The Wandering Earth took four years to shoot, but in this lifetime, Qian Lang hoped to wrap it up within four months.

And this was precisely what Qian Lang considered the most extraordinary aspect.

In the past, he rarely ever scheduled night shoots when making films.

When the time came, it was time to rest; when the boxed meals were served, it was time to eat.

Yet this time, the entire crew lacked that leisurely vibe, with everyone racing against the clock to finish the tasks at hand.

Nobody would utter the word wrap unless they had put in over a dozen hours of work each day.

To maximize shooting efficiency, the crew even established a dedicated planning team whose daily task was to break down the filming schedule over and over again, and then supervise it relentlessly.

If a set failed to meet its daily quota, the corresponding assistant director, executive director, and actors would all face deductions from their performance scores.

These scores would ultimately be used for a unified final settlement of their pay.

To finish filming as swiftly as possible, the movie was shot simultaneously across three acts: the descent of the crisis, the unexpected peril, and the arduous rescue.

Each act was assigned an assistant director, and every individual scene had its own executive director.

It could be said that the size of The Wandering Earth crew reached a peak among all the films Qian Lang had directed.

They say many hands make light work.

Yet more people mean more eyes and chatter, and management difficulty rises correspondingly.

Case in point.

Not long after Qian Lang had fallen asleep, he was jolted awake by a burst of shouting.

Ever since filming began, he had set up a folding cot inside the studio, frequently pulling all-nighters and managing a meager two hours of sleep a day!

Were it not for the robust stamina of his youth, he surely wouldn't have been able to endure such a punishing routine.

"What's going on?"

Qian Lang rubbed his deeply sunken eye sockets.

"Nothing much, Director Qian, please get some more sleep."

Under the high-intensity operation, Chen Yuanyuan's face had also thinned into a gaunt oval, no longer resembling the round-faced girl she once was.

"Forget it, I've already slept for an hour."

With that, Qian Lang attempted to get up.

However, a misstep caused him to wobble and slump back onto the cot, a clear consequence of severe sleep deprivation.

"Director Qian, you really need to sleep more!"

Chen Yuanyuan couldn't bear to watch any longer. "Hao Han will keep an eye on whatever is happening!"

"This film has too much investment and involves too many stakes. The slightest mistake could lead to..."

Qian Lang refused to miss any chance to correct errors, handling every problem that arose on set himself.

Only by doing so could he live up to the investors' money, not let down President Pei, and ensure Galaxy Pictures suffered no mishaps on his watch.

The shouting outside continued, and Qian Lang motioned for Chen Yuanyuan to help him up.

With no other choice, the thin-faced girl complied.

"Do you know this armor cost four hundred thousand?! Can't you open your eyes when you're throwing things around next time?!"

Li Liangjie shouted with bloodshot eyes.

Standing opposite him was a short, dark-skinned middle-aged man wearing yellow work overalls.

He held two large sledgehammers, looking outwardly honest and simple, yet his eyes were as terrifying as a wolf's.

Qian Lang frowned.

"Where on earth did Hao Han go?"

Chen Yuanyuan muttered under her breath.

Situations like this were usually handled by him; right now, there was no telling where he had wandered off to.

"So what if I was dismantling things normally? Who asked you to leave your stuff lying here? You're telling me I can't see, what are your eyes for anyway?"

Swinging his sledgehammer, the middle-aged man stepped forward aggressively.

Startled, Li Liangjie instinctively retreated.

If he took a few blows from those hammers, he could forget about continuing with the movie.

"What's going on here?"

Qian Lang hurriedly spoke up to inquire.

Upon seeing Qian Lang, the middle-aged man not only failed to stop his movements, but instead whirled his heavy hammer and lunged menacingly toward Qian Lang's direction.

As he advanced, he bellowed, "Oh ho, reinforcements have arrived, but does the likes of me fear a few of you?"

"What are you doing?"

"Director Qian, watch out!"

It all happened too fast.

Who could have anticipated such a sudden assault on set, especially with Qian Lang too weak to react swiftly?

A disaster seemed imminent, leaving the surrounding people with enough time only to scream in alarm.