When production began and the script was written, you had expected Hot trash, especially after the great deal of... problems that plagued it, from pacing issues, to the overtop campiness, to even the character motivations.
Not to mention the corny, almost racist dialogue that should never have been put to paper in the first place.
Then, after an hour-long conversation with Bruce, along with a twenty-day writing spree from Ni, the script that came through was... bearable.
It was a simple revenge thriller, nothing more, nothing less, it wasn't going to recreate the wheel.
And it had a few very good lines.
Reward: The Script is... passable, and will not be rewritten.
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You had never doubted Bruce for a Second, and it showed in every frame that had his face plastered on it. He was calm, cool, and collected, but when he spoke, he was effortlessly cool, with grace and an easiness that truly showed how much he was going to change.
There were many layers in his performance, and from the few lines of dialogue that spoke about his past, a very rich one.
And then James died (in the film of course), and he went into a rage that was legendary.
His killing spree of the scum may not win him any awards in the states, but he showed pain, heartbreak, and in the very end, remorse for his actions during his suicide run towards the police, which will end his life.
Chang was not just a character, it was Bruce himself, taking all his anger and frustrations, not only at Hollywood and his broken career there, but at coming to terms with it, and proving that Hollywood missed out on possibly one of the greatest talents of this generation.
And you were happy to be on set every day of filming in the brutal 1-month long production.
The same could be said, not only for the co-star of this production, James Tien. While he was considered the go-to badass in the film, He had a playful charm, and a decent amount of charisma that oozed well on screen, though it was to an extent not as powerful or captivating as Bruce, if only for his lack of screentime.
However, he used every bit of that screen time to perform a good man, a flawed man, and above all else, a man who just wanted to do good, not only for his family but for his community.
And his eyes when he was killed. Damn, they were haunting.
Tony was just there, not because of anything bad, it was just that everyone around him was far more interesting as a character, but he made himself memorable by discovering the body in the Ice factory.
He made it count.
The Leading lady in the Film had a passable performance. And while you liked it, there was a very clear drop in the quality of her performance, compared to everyone else.
Unfortunately, the script was very weak in that department, and while Maria was talented, she was given very little, and what little she got was overshadowed by everyone.
She was a pretty face that became the love interest of Bruce's character.
You hadn't expected her to steal the show in the leading ladies' department. No one really did, if you were being honest.
Really you hadn't, she was supposed to be a side character, according to the director, but in her few minutes, she not only gave crucially critical development to the plot, and pushed the stakes up even further for the regular people who were being extorted by the Big Boss, but also just by being friendly.
You really liked how she acted her scenes, and so did the director.
And then there was the big boss himself, the villain in the story. He was supposed to be some villain, cardboard cookie-cutter drug dealer, and runner, who used the Ice factory he owned to peddle his evil narcotics through Asia.
But Han did something no one expected. He added layers to his character. He played him like a mobster from the 30s, a generous man to his community, but his acts of charity hid a dark side, a monster that mutilated men, women, and children alike to hold onto his power.
He was a powerful force, that not only felt dangerous with his very name being whispered with fear and horror, even by his men.
Plus how he handled you during your brief prologue was something amazing, and made you want to work with him again.
And the final fight scene was a sight to behold, with not a single wasted movement, not a single lingering frame. Just two men wanting to kill each other.
And it was awesome!
Bruce "The Goose" O'Brian SP=
110
And then there was you.
The Decoy protagonist. The guy that should have been the hero but cut down in the first few minutes to make way for the real hero. Those were story beats that you have read before in books and seen on TV and in movies.
But being one, was something to behold.
With the script changes, you now were a cerebral detective, a man who was ready to discover the terrors that awaited him, and moved with a suave cool energy, that his cheap suit and laid-back demeanor hid.
Every ounce of energy, your energy portrayed a man who was competent, skilled, and above all else, a man who could have easily been the hero.
Never in your life has the Decoy Protagonist been used to such perfection, and that was not because you were playing said decoy.
You left all the effort on film, and it showed.
The Director, Lo Wei was skeptical to bring in a foreign martial arts student and actor onto his set, at the behest of his star, when he had no real talent.
He would learn to trust Bruce's Judgement from here on out when it came to regarding talent.
And he said you had a future in this business, if not in America, then in Hong Kong.
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The same could not be said about the chemistry between the two men.
They did not act like family, not close family, not even family at all, just two strangers that seemed to battle each other for dominance.
But there were flashes of a familial connection on screen. So there was that.
But you could not say the same about Tony and Bruce. They became friends talking about some poetry and TV during the breaks between filming and that friendship, like all great films, carried over onto the camera.
They were truly comrades in arms, and they were wonderful.
There was no romantic bone between them, Hell they struck as more as two people who were just working with each other, and not even that well.
In fact, there was some hostility on set where the two would not even interact with each other on set.
How could Bruce be so charming, but so horribly dense? He was very much trying to keep an arm's length away from every one of the female costars so there could be no nasty rumors that could be used against him by the press or one of the crews with a grudge. He loved his wife too much to try and bring her into that drama or have her question his loyalty to her.
Even then, there was a real friendship blooming beneath the surface.
There was hardly but ten minutes of total screen time between the two of them, but you'd think that they had been enemies for decades.
The two men had a hatred for one another on camera, and Bruce's ability as an actor, along with Han's reputation built up throughout the movie, was a sight to behold.
There was true animosity that was brewing, and every second of it was captured on film.
Of course, what needed to be said about you and Han, your dreaded rival!
In the film, of course. You both shared precisely two minutes together, and already the detective met his Moriarty, and your proclamations before he executed you were something you rarely got to do in any work outside of Hamlet.
You channeled every bit of your talents into this film, and of course, there was something that you were happy and proud of.
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You did not like what they did, cheating out on the production design. From the cheap and itchy suits and outfits to the clearly lower-end designs, you were left wondering where the hell would the pomp come from.
At least you looked a little older than a teenager, and the makeup really allowed everyone to look that much better on film.
But it wasn't much.
But where the budget went was the locations of the film itself in Thailand. Every location, from the Ice factory, to the Brothel (Which was a real Brothel, they dropped ten thousand to rent it for three days for filming, with all the prostitutes working as extras, and being paid for a day's work for each day of filming)
Even the mansion where the final fight was a real place, in one of the Parks in the nearby city.
Everything about the locations and where you shot was perfectly picked out.
To say that the choreography was steller was really underselling how well Bruce and company planned out the action set pieces. It was phenomenal.
The stunt team even hated Bruce when he Arrived and took over for coordination duties.
However, after a fight where Bruce kicked one of them across a room, they would soon follow Bruce Lee into hell, or at the very least, into any danger their bodies required of them.
You really like them, and your fight was not only exhilarating but artistic. This was an artist at work when commanding the human body, and others for the film.
He made you seem superhuman.
But that is why when he did his stunts, in the Ice factory, and against Han...
He was Super Human. He moved faster than cameras, he moved faster than you could even physically see.
The Director, like you, had heard stories about the Green Hornet and asked him to slow down, if only for the camera to catch him, which pissed Bruce off.
In protest, he did an entire take going at full speed.
No one saw it, not even you, for you blinked and it was over.
Bruce came up with a few ideas in the production.
He would make funny sounds that indicated action, a huawa! and YAHWA!
Or something like that.
He said it gave him a character tick and help out the stunt team during fights.
And enjoyed it because it was so fun to do.
Flaws During Production=41
There were really no flaws that happened during production. No hurdles to jump over, no walls to climb, nothing. Anything bad that could have happened just... didn't.
Well, besides Bruce really missing his family. But your presence was something that helped him out with his pain and homesickness.
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Due to Production Quality, the Film will be released in July of 1971.
Do you want to negotiate with the Director to Reshoot your Scenes?
[]Yes
[]No.
A/N:
For this decision, I'll slap a thirty-minute moratorium on to invite some discussion.
