Starting in August, set designer Mike Devins had already been working at an abandoned resort in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
His task was to build a snow mountain castle from scratch to serve as a filming location.
At the beginning, producer Charles Roven suggested, "Gilbert, could we use green screens combined with miniature models? That would be more convenient."
But Gilbert declined. "Charles, we should stick to our own characteristics and shoot on location. Besides, our budget is sufficient. Practical shooting isn't any more expensive than using green screens."
Charles Roven shrugged. "Alright then, as you wish, Gilbert."
And so, Mike Devins received the task: to spend three months building a snow mountain castle here before November.
Beforehand, art director Selena led several architectural designers to the site for inspections and designed the blueprints for the snow mountain castle according to the terrain.
The designers drew inspiration from European castles, combining them with the simplicity of modern architecture to create a structure that was both classical and full of modern flair.
The entire building was constructed from gray-white lightweight bricks. When it snowed, viewed from afar, it seemed to merge seamlessly with the surrounding snow-covered mountains, an extremely magnificent sight.
However, Mike Devins had also received another instruction: during construction, holes had to be reserved for planting explosives, so that the castle could be blown up during the final shoot.
Because there would be only one chance for the explosion, Mike Devins and visual effects supervisor Chris Corbould used computer 3D simulations in advance to model the entire explosion process.
They then conducted on-site rehearsals using miniature models, finally determining the locations of the explosive charges and the required quantities to ensure the explosion would achieve the intended effect.
Hard work pays off. Before November arrived, the snow mountain castle was finally completed.
Gilbert was extremely satisfied with the layout and praised Mike Devins enthusiastically. "Mike, you did an amazing job. This is exactly what I wanted."
Mike Devins did not take all the credit for himself. "This was the result of cooperation between all departments, and the hard work of the laborers. They worked the hardest."
When the crew arrived in Calgary, a heavy snowfall was drifting down, covering the entire land and cloaking the snow mountain castle in a layer of silver.
"This snow came at just the right time," Gilbert instructed the crew. "Get ready. We're going to face a serious challenge."
On the first day of shooting, the weather was exceptionally cold. The actors wore heavy costumes as they skied back and forth through the snowfields and forests.
The gunfight and combat scenes were especially difficult on the snowy ground. After every take, the actors had to spend a great deal of time recovering their strength.
Gilbert handed Tony Leung a cup of ginger cola. Considering the cold weather and the likelihood of accidents during filming, the logistics team had specially prepared ginger cola to ward off the cold.
"How does it feel to shoot here?" Gilbert asked.
Tony Leung took the ginger cola, drank a sip, and immediately felt the chill leave his body.
He smiled and said, "Awe-inspiring. That's my evaluation. I've been making films for twenty or thirty years, and honestly, this is the first time I've had such a magical experience.
The combination of technology and filmmaking, plus genius-level artistic creation—everything complements each other perfectly."
Gilbert replied, "In fact, it's not that Chinese-language cinema lacks films of this scale, but most of them rely on manpower to achieve it.
A film isn't decided solely by the director, screenwriter, and actors. It involves all aspects, such as engineering, architecture, and cutting-edge computer science.
I think the decline of Hong Kong cinema has a lot to do with its excessive focus on individual centrality."
The biggest reason, in fact, is that the Hong Kong film market cannot serve as a solid foundation the way the North American market does for Hollywood. Countless examples have proven that a strong domestic market is the key to Hollywood's global dominance.
This is also one of the reasons why, despite how poor many Chinese-language films are today, Gilbert still believes that Chinese-language cinema will eventually break through.
Once the current generation of old holdovers gradually fades away, and once directors and creators of Chinese-language cinema led by Guo Fan grow up, Chinese-language cinema will usher in a new chapter.
Of course, behind this lies the continuous rise of China's overall strength. As a cultural calling card, film has never been just film itself.
This Hollywood journey also gave Tony Leung many reflections, and he had also exchanged ideas with the young mainland director Guo Fan.
Honestly speaking, he had never seen anyone at Guo Fan's age who possessed such clear logic, sober self-awareness, a spirit of hard work, and abundant energy.
Perhaps the Gilbert standing before him could be considered one as well—but Gilbert's experiences were not something that could be replicated.
Tony Leung greatly agreed with something Wong Jing once said. During a certain interview with reporters, Wong Jing had remarked:
"A director like Gilbert—no matter whether you put him in Hong Kong or send him to the mainland, he wouldn't be able to grow. Only in an environment like Hollywood could he be given the opportunity to maximize his talent.
The lack of emphasis on talent is also one of the reasons why we can't produce geniuses."
Of course, Wong Jing was later harshly criticized by netizens, but what he said truly made a lot of sense.
Just like Guo Fan—without his Hollywood experience, would he have been able to rise to prominence so quickly?
After a brief period of adjustment, the scenes involving the snow mountain castle entered the fast track. Although the weather was freezing, there was not the slightest complaint among the crew.
Firstly, the pay was generous, and secondly, everyone was already accustomed to filming in all kinds of harsh environments.
Their director, after all, was different from other Hollywood directors. He was obsessed with practical shooting, loved grand spectacles, including blowing up the already constructed snow mountain castle.
Ellen Page knew that the snow mountain castle was going to be blown up, but she thought it would be done using a miniature model. She never imagined that the fully built one would be blown up.
Seeing Ellen Page's shocked expression, Leo couldn't help but laugh. "This is nothing. In The Dark Knight, the hospital the Joker blew up was a real hospital. This guy has always been this crazy—this unbelievable."
Before filming, Gilbert requested the addition of eight high-speed cameras.
"I want to see the flight path of every single brick." He pointed at the storyboard while discussing it with the cinematographer, John Schwartzman.
"It collapses starting from the northeast corner, the shockwave flips over the castle dome on the west wing, and in the end the main tower is crushed and disintegrates as if squeezed by a giant."
John Schwartzman indicated that he understood and went to arrange the camera placement.
Gilbert then called over the safety officer and the meteorological expert. "Is there any chance our explosion could trigger an avalanche?"
The meteorological expert replied, "Don't worry. Calgary is not a high-incidence avalanche area. The explosion scene shouldn't cause one."
Gilbert stroked his chin and pondered. "What if I want to trigger an avalanche, but without it being too dangerous?"
The meteorological expert was instantly dumbfounded. "What do you mean?"
"Let's do it this way." Gilbert clapped his hands and said to the safety officer. "See which area is safe and suitable for filming. We'll artificially create an avalanche."
"Crazy—this is truly crazy," the meteorological expert muttered to himself.
Thankfully, the film industry provided an outlet for Gilbert's destructive impulses. Otherwise, he would definitely be a socially dangerous maniac bent on destruction.
...
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