Peninsula all-media reporter Wang Yue
"Agent No. 5", "Red Flag Canal", "Circuit Inspection Group", "Human World"... More than 20 years after his debut, the powerful actor Yu Zhen has acted in a number of popular film and television masterpieces. Since his self-directed and self-acting reality drama "Outside the Drum Tower" was launched on Beijing Satellite TV, it has received rave reviews. The original Beijing style and the craftsman spirit of "art is greater than the sky" in the play resonate with people. A few days ago, Yu Zhen was interviewed by all-media reporters on the peninsula and talked about the behind-the-scenes creation.
Growing up in the Drum Tower area, Beijing opera is a complex
Talking about the opportunity and reason for directing and starring in "Outside the Drum Tower", Yu Zhen told reporters, "I have acted in a play called "My Second Brother and Second Sister-in-Law" before, and I met the famous screenwriter Wang Zhili. Many excellent Beijing-style plays such as "Love Full Courtyard", "Zhengyang Gate", "Little Woman Under the Zhengyang Gate" and so on are from Teacher Wang's hand, at that time, we often chatted, and I made an appointment with him to help me write a Beijing-style drama. I said I was a Beijing actor who grew up in the Drum Tower area. Teacher Wang Zhili decided to write the story of "Outside the Drum Tower". ”
During the writing of the script, Yu Zhen also became a director for the first time, and his debut work was "Impossible Task". When Wang Zhili finished creating the script of "Outside the Drum Tower", the originally invited director could not make the trip because of the schedule problem, and the producer Liu Guohua and the screenwriter Wang Zhili suggested that Yu Zhen himself direct the guide to try, "The Drum Tower is on the central axis of Beijing, I grew up in this area since I was a child, and I am too familiar with the life of that film, so I directed myself and made this play." ”
Yu Zhen grew up in a large courtyard, where 32 families lived, just like a family. There is something going on in the alley, everyone is word of mouth, and the human touch is particularly strong. "Over the past few decades, we have watched countries and cities develop rapidly. In "Outside the Drum Tower", in addition to the development and changes of our motherland and our Beijing, we can also see the growth and changes of people. Teacher Wang Zhili's script is very well written, writing that no matter how far you do your career and business, whether you do it well or not, you can't forget this. "Outside the Drum Tower" is closely related to traditional Chinese culture, saying that four apprentices make traditional Chinese furniture, they later went to other industries, and finally did not forget their original intentions, and returned to authenticity in a down-to-earth manner, such a theme story. ”
As the director and actor's biggest difficulty and challenge, Yu Zhen frankly said, "Actors are emotional, and actors live in roles. The director is rational, and the director is living in the play. As for me, I will live in this drama and live in the role of an actor, which is too difficult a challenge. Because you are a director, you have to direct the costumes, makeup, props, photography, art, recording and other departments of the crew, and you must be rationally saying how you should prepare. And the actor doesn't have to care about these things, you just play your role well. I jumped in and out, and this show really tested me. After filming this play, I will no longer direct myself, because I think there are deficiencies in every aspect, and I am still a person who pursues perfection, or I direct a play steadily, or I will act in a play steadily, which are two professions. But this experience was an important creative experience in my life, and I also gained a lot of valuable experience. Although it is hard work, now that I see this work successfully broadcast, my heart is still very sweet.
Yu Zhongsheng is a craftsman who sticks to the bottom line, and this spirit is rare
In addition to being a director, Yu Zhen starred in "Outside the Drum Tower" as the master brother Yu Zhongsheng, "Yu Zhongsheng is a carpenter-turned-craftsman, he lives outside the Drum Tower, and has loved ancient furniture since he was a child. He is a more stuffy person, more recognized by death, and does things one by one. Later, with the development and change of society, his fate also changed, he did a lot of industries, such as roadside pancakes, and then sold eggs, raised ostriches, made a green family industry chain, and cooperated with others to become a listed company, and his career became bigger and bigger. But at this time, he found that everything was gone, love was gone, brotherhood was gone, including family affection was gone, and he suddenly found that the most important thing in life was emotion, not to see how big your career was and how high your status was. Teacher Wang Zhili's characters are very solid, and such a story is very touching to me. He said, "The most attractive charm of Yu Zhongsheng is that nails are nails, rivets are riveted, meticulous, and whatever you do must be done steadfastly." When interests conflict with the bottom line they hold, interests must make way for the bottom line. This is the root of the character of Yu Zhongsheng, no matter what industry he does, what he does, this is what he insists on. This kind of spirit is quite rare in the present. ”
This play involves a lot of traditional carpentry craftsmanship, Yu Zhongsheng is also a carpenter, in fact, this is exactly in line with Yu Zhen's hobby, he revealed, "Player tools are my biggest hobby. After graduating from Chinese opera, I entered beijing renyi to perform drama, and later I had the privilege of meeting the screenwriter Zou Jingzhi, who likes traditional Chinese culture, including old furniture, he also wrote a lot of plays, and then through him, I met Teacher Wang Gang. I played with them in the old furniture very early, called "play" in Beijing, and they taught me hand in hand, so that I had some understanding of my hometown. In addition, almost all of my spare time is spent in the furniture city or the carpentry workshop with Teacher Zou Jingzhi. Start by looking at wood, what kind of wood, what time, what material, and then how to do it? What are the characteristics of Ming and Qing dynasty furniture, and what are the characteristics of the Republic of China? Really fun. I've been sticking to this hobby for so many years, so it's a little accumulation in my usual life. ”
Carry forward traditional culture and help Beijing's central axis to apply for heritage
"Outside the Drum Tower" has a lot of golden sentences rich in life philosophy, which are thought-provoking, and Yu Zhen is also very touched, "The phrase 'if you fight for a small thing, you will lose the avenue' is really too good, which means that if you are preoccupied with some small things and chase the immediate interests too much, you will lose bigger things, lose the avenue, and even trap yourself." Nowadays, people are easily confused by what is in front of them and do not know what the root of life is. For example, Yu Zhongsheng is a carpenter, and his original intention is to do a good job in every carpentry work on his hand, and to do his job well and calmly. If you concentrate on doing this well, you will definitely get what you want, instead of doing this and doing that. There is also an old saying - 'it is not advisable to solve the knot of the wrongdoer', which has been said for many years, but it is too difficult to really do it. In the play, Yin Dongyi, the second disciple played by Hai Day and me, has been fighting and fighting with each other because of hatred, and finally the fight is both defeated and injured, and it ends up empty. Brotherly fighting is a constant occurrence in the present, fighting around, what is gained, what is lost? This is still instructive for us. ”
For the value and practical significance of traditional Chinese culture conveyed by the play, Yu Zhen said, "There are many traditional Chinese cultures and traditional crafts, which contain exquisite skills and revered craftsman spirit. For example, furniture, porcelain, purple sand, these things are our traditional Chinese craftsmanship, exquisite workmanship, are the world's sought after luxury goods. At present, many large museums abroad have Chinese Ming and Qing dynasty furniture museums. Choose one thing, for the rest of your life. Through "Outside the Drum Tower", we can see what is the spirit of craftsmanship, and then it may inspire the audience: Am I also so serious about the profession I have done and done a good job with my heart? Even if we shoot scenes, we must also be meticulous and down-to-earth to get every shot, every prop, and costume to the best. For example, "Outside the Drum Tower" needs a lot of rosewood furniture and huanghuali furniture to appear in the camera, and these precious furniture are the real products borrowed by the crew. When returning, we will carefully wrap it in a quilt and then transport it to avoid bumps. This is also a manifestation of the spirit of craftsmanship. ”
2022 is a key year for Beijing's central axis to apply for heritage, and the Bell and Drum Tower is an important scene of the play. The broadcast of "Outside the Drum Tower" at this time is also a boost to the application for heritage on the central axis of Beijing. "I hope that through our play, the audience can understand what the Bell and Drum Tower is and how beautiful the central axis of Beijing is." Yu Zhen said.