589: Chapter 589 Bombardment

In the morning light at the Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park in northern Los Angeles County, a highly anticipated film commencement ceremony was underway.

This desert area, located about 64 kilometers from downtown Los Angeles, was exceptionally lively today due to the arrival of the "mr. & mrs. smith" film crew.

In stark contrast to the low-key commencement of "la la land," which only had a handful of media outlets in attendance, Lin Chuyan had now risen to the ranks of international A-list directors, and the dozens of cameras and microphones from the media on-site were the best proof of this.

A notable change was that, unlike the difficult questions from the media during the wrap-up party for "la la land," the reporters had learned from their past mistakes and had all learned to conduct interviews with a more "gentle" attitude.

Of course, this blockbuster film with an investment of as much as 150 million US dollars had been in the spotlight since its inception.

The question the reporters were most concerned about was naturally the box office expectations: "Director Lin, 'la la land' created a box office miracle in the top fifty in film history. Are you confident in reaching new heights this time?"

Facing this straightforward question, Lin Chuyan displayed his usual composure: "Numbers have never been my pursuit, and I have no interest in money! I have never even touched money; what I care more about is how to tell this special story well."

Reporter: "..."

Damn, did he have to act so pretentious? Showing off right from the start?

"Director Lin, can you reveal any news about the new film? Any news at all is fine."

Lin Chuyan smiled and replied: "I have said before that the elements of the new film are comedy and action, and now I can add one more, and that is romance. I want to emphasize that romance is always the most important soul of my films."

"Director Lin, you are known for filming romantic love stories, but 'mr. & mrs. smith' tells the story of a killer couple who deceive each other and point guns at one another. Can such a setting still maintain your signature romantic style?"

Lin Chuyan still had a smile on his face: "I think your understanding of romance is a bit one-sided. I assure you: this will be a completely different kind of romance. Who says married life is destined to be dull? What I want to show is passion filled with the scent of gunpowder, letting the audience see another possibility for love in extreme situations."

As the film's female lead, Ruan Xingyu naturally also became the focus of media attention.

"Ms. Ruan, as everyone knows, you are an outstanding Singer, and entering the film industry was considered an accident. May I ask, do you have any plans to collaborate with other directors in the future?"

Ruan Xingyu subconsciously looked at Lin Chuyan beside her and answered with a smile: "There are no such plans for the time being. Music has always been my primary career, and making movies is purely out of interest. I think the act of making movies with my husband is interesting in itself, so I just continued."

The reporters present looked at each other: This couple is really good at humble-bragging... They just filmed because they thought it was fun? Just out of interest? And then won so many Best Actress awards? Give others a way to make a living! No, wait, she actually left a way for other actors to make a living, as she explicitly stated she wouldn't take on works by other directors.

After the media interview session ended, the crew held a simple commencement ceremony. By the time it was near noon, the first scene Lin Chuyan was to shoot was finally about to begin.

This scene told the story of a couple who hid their identities as assassins from each other, only to accidentally discover while executing a mission that their target was the same person. Without being able to clearly see each other's faces, the two exchanged gunfire, engaging in a fierce firefight. The target luckily escaped, and they began to investigate each other's identities, ultimately discovering in shock that the spouse they had slept in the same bed with for six years was actually a top assassin from a rival organization...

Choosing Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park as the filming location was mainly because they valued its unique desert landscape and strangely shaped rock formations. Lin Chuyan planned to complete the two most difficult scenes of the entire film here: one was the explosion scene, and the other was the shot where he shoulder-fired a rocket launcher to bombard his wife.

This also continued his usual filming habit—just like when he filmed "la la land," he would tackle the toughest bones first.

The good news was that he no longer needed to deliberately establish his authority on set; the entire team was convinced by his professional ability.

"Director, all the explosives have been set, ready to start at any time." The pyrotechnics expert ran over to report.

"Very good, be sure to ensure safety." Lin Chuyan instructed.

It is worth mentioning that this large-scale explosion scene in the film was shot for real; the team carefully arranged blast points within a diameter of about fifteen meters, using four different detonation delays to present the most shocking explosion effect.

Lin Chuyan was currently toying with a key prop—it was a rocket launcher, about a meter long, painted entirely in military green, and equipped with a scope. This specially treated, lightweight prop was both safe and realistic. Although it had no real warhead, it contained a special device inside, so when used, it would not only emit smoke but also simulate realistic recoil through compressed air.

He had already test-fired it once before, and the feel was quite good. The visual effect of the rocket explosion would be achieved through micro-explosives at a safe distance, combined with post-production special effects to enhance the flame effect. As for the tail flame and trajectory when the rocket was launched, that would need to rely on post-production computer effects to complete.

"Attention everyone! Filming is about to start!"

Director Lin put the rocket launcher back in the car's backseat and began the final preparations.

In front of the camera, Lin Chuyan perfectly portrayed the image of a husband suffering from the torments of marriage.

Having rarely received a mission that required traveling far away, he could finally temporarily escape from his family, stay away from his wife, and enjoy single life; he was so happy that he couldn't help but sway to the music while driving.

But he didn't know that his wife had already buried a large amount of explosives here and was waiting for the target to appear.

The cinematographer, Sand, was simultaneously capturing Ruan Xingyu's Acting. Her face was full of irritability: "Some idiot has barged in; he's going to detonate my explosives early."

On the other side, Lin Chuyan, wearing a floral shirt, a baseball cap, and windproof goggles, stopped the car and began to urinate on the spot without any regard for his image.

Ruan Xingyu, observing through binoculars, had an expression of disbelief: "Are you kidding me?"

Immediately after, Lin Chuyan returned to the car and suddenly pulled out the rocket launcher.

"Shit! Not a civilian." Ruan Xingyu immediately raised her gun, her sights firmly locked on her husband, without a hint of hesitation, "Idiot."

"Bang!" A shot hit him right in the chest.

The distant Lin Chuyan fell to the ground in response—fortunately, he had put on a bulletproof vest beforehand.

Lin Chuyan was also angry; he quickly crawled up from the ground, ripped off his baseball cap and goggles, shouldered the rocket launcher, aimed at his wife's location, and decisively pulled the trigger!

"Boom!"

Instantly blowing the small wooden shed where Ruan Xingyu was hiding into pieces.

At this very moment, the blast points carefully designed by the pyrotechnics expert detonated one after another.

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

"Boom!"

The chain of explosions from the inside out turned the scene into a sea of fire.

Lin Chuyan immediately hit the deck, covering his head with both hands to protect his eardrums.

"Cut! Sand, how was the explosion effect?"

Sand chuckled on the other end of the walkie-talkie: "Perfect, every camera angle captured it, the footage is definitely enough."

This result made everyone heave a sigh of relief. If such a complex explosion scene had to be reshot, it would not only be time-consuming and laborious, but production costs would also increase significantly.

After watching the playback on the monitor, Lin Chuyan clapped his hands in satisfaction: "Everyone, give it some effort, let's get two more takes of the rocket launcher shot, and we'll finish early today!"

Ruan Xingyu walked over and teased: "Is it fun to bombard your own wife with a big cannon?"

It must be said that her look was much better than Lin Chuyan's: neat, slicked-back long hair, fashionable sunglasses, a silk scarf tied casually around her neck, paired with a white tank top, cargo pants, and Dr. Martens boots; she exuded a unique charm.

Lin Chuyan's eyes lit up: "This angle is great! I'm going to post a Weibo."

Film promotion had already begun from this moment.

Lin Chuyan immediately uploaded a photo of the rocket launcher, with the caption: [What is it like to bombard your own wife with a rocket launcher?]

Netizens: ???

You two are really something!