There was originally a lull in his schedule, but with the news of his nomination and the upcoming release of "No Bait," Xiao He suddenly became incredibly busy again.
Once he had dealt with most of the matters in China, he flew to the United States in a flurry of activity.
The filming location for Fortuna Furious 7 was Napa Valley, California, USA.
This place boasts beautiful scenery and is the birthplace of wine. Vineyards, mountains, and valleys complement each other, completely isolating you from the hustle and bustle of the city and exuding a rustic charm.
The filming location was atop a hill, inside a magnificent castle in light colors. The imposing building was surrounded by grapevines, with a vast vineyard behind it, as well as the ruins of buildings left over from the old century.
It is said that this is the ancestral castle of a mysterious wealthy family.
A large part of the story will unfold in the castle—
Facing the ancient castle, which far exceeded his expectations, Xiao He finally understood why wealthy people could ride horses and gallop freely in their manors or castles. The area was much larger than he had imagined, and even driving a race car around the bends and showing off skills here would be no problem at all.
The thought of them potentially racing around this castle in the future, or even weaving through the vineyards and enjoying thrilling and challenging racing experiences, made Xiao He gasp and exclaim in disbelief.
The first person to think of combining racing cars, castles, and vineyards was a genius!
Mr. Jamies, who had already received the news, was waiting in front of the castle gate, waving to them from the shuttle bus.
Today, Mr. Jamies was wearing a very eye-catching black tuxedo, which, combined with the castle behind him, really gave him the look of a noble butler. When he saw Xiao He, he naturally smiled and said, "Mr. Xiao, it's been a long time."
"Long time no see, Jemmes. How has Director Tannis been lately?"
Xiao He ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ also asked with a smile.
“The gentleman is doing well lately.” Jamies made room for her. “I heard that you performed ‘The Twelve Mirrors’ at your birthday party a while ago. He was very surprised. After watching your performance, he said he couldn’t wait to meet you.”
Perhaps it was the dazzling red on the racetrack that inspired the aging director with the promising future and potential of the young man. So, director Tannis always held goodwill expectations for this young Chinese actor, as if he were seeing a muse he had never met in his youth during the last moments of his creative slump.
It's a pity that he had already added scenes for Xiao He once, to the point where there was nothing more to add. Otherwise, watching the stage performance of "The Twelve Mirrors," Tannis felt that he could create even more and newer works.
However, those scenes definitely won't be shown in Fortuna D.C. 7.
Xiao He shouldn't just be a supporting character.
"Oh right, I haven't congratulated you on being nominated for Cannes yet."
This time, Jamies' attitude towards Xiao He also changed subtly, showing more sincerity and respect.
"Haha, thank you."
Xiao He didn't say anything polite, just nodded and thanked him.
The group took a shuttle bus directly to the other side of the castle.
It was only then that Xiao He learned that they would be staying in the castle for a period of time, and the production crew had prepared rooms for them.
Such a lavish and extravagant approach is truly astonishing.
Xiao He tentatively asked, "This castle looks like private property. Is it okay for the film crew to shoot here?"
The interior of the castle is clearly very well maintained, unlike a tourist attraction open to the public.
Sure enough, Jemies tilted her head slightly and said with great pride, "Of course, no problem. This is Mr. 【Name】's property. We can take pictures here as he pleases."
Xiao He: "I see."
Hehehe, the last one this extravagant was Director Zhuang's independent island.
Damn it, how come all these people filming are so rich?
No, to be precise, they're so rich that they still come to make movies.
Xiao He sighed silently.
It was Liu Rulan, who had been silent all along, who took over the conversation at this moment.
"Mr. Jamies, what are the next plans for the production? May we meet with Director Tannis now?"
All this time, they have never met Tannis in person; on the contrary, it was Jamis who communicated and interacted with them from beginning to end.
Jemmis smiled and explained, "Director Tannis is currently filming in Group A, while we are in Group C, temporarily led by assistant director Benson. I can introduce you to him in a moment."
As a racing-themed movie, Fortuna D.C. 7 was filmed in a wide variety of locations. Since racing filming is very time-consuming and labor-intensive, it is quite normal for the crew to be split into multiple filming locations.
According to the current plot, Xiao He only needs to film the dialogue scenes for Group C here first, and then wait for the main cast from Tannis's side to move over. After the castle scenes are finished, he will need to follow the main cast and director Tannis to the next location to continue filming.
As for the castle here, it's actually from the later stages of the project.
"Ford v Ferrari 7" mainly tells the story of the protagonist, Anneveld, who, after experiencing a tumultuous career over the past few years, finally decides to retire from crime and leave familiar Los Angeles with his lover and children.
But the shadows of the past still lingered in his heart.
Although Anneville retired many years ago, he made a name for himself in the Los Angeles street racing gangs by leveraging his status and abilities as a retired race car driver, and even successfully helped the police solve several major cases, allowing himself and his family to clean up their act.
But in his heart, the memory of his embarrassing retirement from the team is still a thorn in his side, and it is also the reason why he is unwilling to leave Los Angeles.
Therefore, this story is not only the final story of the "Fast & Furious" series, but also a return to the beginning, officially unraveling the past of the protagonist Annivel's retirement.
It is an end, and also a beginning.
In fact, with the development of the times, the "Fast & Furious" series has gradually evolved from the early pure racing competition into an action blockbuster. The elements it contains are no longer simple racing, beautiful women, and high-speed sports, but more fighting, bloodshed, violence, crime and special effects.
This time, director Tannis gave the protagonist, Anniwell, enough tenderness, allowing the story to return from crime adventure to the essence of racing.
Of course, the required fighting and special effects will still be there.
Xiao He plays a Chinese-American race car driver named Shan Cheng. He is one of the more important supporting characters. He initially comes to help the villainous gang deal with Anniville, preventing Anniville from participating in the final race. However, his character is reversed at the end, and everyone finds out that he is actually Anniville's fan.
Initially, Shan Cheng chose to become a race car driver because he idolized Anniwell. However, he never expected that Anniwell would encounter a career crisis and silently retire without any explanation, which made Shan Cheng very sad and even disappointed. But later, when Anniwell's friend asked him for help, he agreed without hesitation, volunteering to go undercover and infiltrate the race. At a crucial moment, he betrayed Anniwell, helping him escape and allowing him to participate in races without any worries.
It's clear that Shan Cheng's scenes were added and modified. Xiao He guessed that before director Tannis saw him, the character was really just a villainous race car driver, with most of the scenes focused on racing. It was only later that inspiration struck, and Tannis reshaped his character and added plot twists, giving him more screen time.
The addition of scenes to Dan Cheng adds more layers and drama.
This posed no challenge for Xiao He.
He simply stood at the foot of the castle, looked up at the top of the castle, and took a deep breath.
Judging from the plot, it seems they have another fight scene on the top of the castle later?
So tall!
