Picture 丨 Wang Guangmei
preface
At 9:00 a.m. on October 21, 2006, comrade Wang Guangmei's memorial service was held at the Babaoshan Revolutionary Martyrs Cemetery, and Liu Shaoqi's special actor Guo Fazeng also came to the scene to send off Comrade Wang Guangmei.
When he was on the spot, Guo Fa once again remembered the scene of getting along with Wang Guangmei, and the tears couldn't stop flowing down, and he said in a choked tone:
In 2000, between filming, he also took Elder Wang to sing karaoke, and Elder Wang's loud singing voice seemed to echo in his ears all the time.
Who plays Liu Shaoqi, Wang Guangmei does not take a stance
In 1984, Wang Baohua, the director of the Beijing Television Studio, received a letter.
The letter said that the script about Comrade Liu Shaoqi has been written, and the funds have also been settled, and I would like to ask you to come forward to make this TV series with the team.
When Wang Baohua looked at the letter's name, Zheng Ming, he couldn't help but laugh out loud. It turned out that this Zheng Ming was an entrepreneur who had a relationship with Wang Baohua, and the two talked happily, leaving each other's addresses and phones!
In the spring of 1984, Wang Baohua traveled by train for work reasons. On the train, I met an entrepreneur Zheng Ming, who is very capable of talking about the mountains, from tiannan to dibei, Wang Baohua is bored and willing to chat with him. In the process of small talk, the two talked about today's film and television dramas.
Tu Shu Gu Yue plays Chairman Mao Stills
Zheng Ming said: "In the TV dramas I have watched, there are Chairman Mao, Premier Zhou, Chen Yi, He Long, etc., but I have not seen Liu Shaoqi. What are the requirements if I want to make a TV series? ”
After Wang Baohua heard this, he told him: "There must be three sons, a book, a ticket, and a team." It's the script, the money, and the crew in the popular sense. ”
Zheng Ming nodded after listening: "Brother, what kind of work are you doing, how do you know so clearly?" ”
After learning that Wang Baohua is the director, Zheng Ming was very happy: "Please tell me your address and telephone number, if you have the opportunity, you can cooperate." ”
Wang Baohua didn't think much of it, so he gave him his contact information.
Figure 丨 Wang Baohua
Originally, Wang Baohua thought that Zheng Ming said that cooperation in the future was a kind word, but he did not expect that Zheng Ming was really put into action.
After Zheng Ming returned to Mudanjiang, he asked someone to write a TV script: "You should quickly write out Liu Shaoqi's early years in the northeast, and I will find money to make it into a TV series." ”
After the script was written, Zheng Ming found the leaders of Mudanjiang City and told his ideas, and the city leaders also recognized it, so they promised the city to contribute 100,000 yuan. It was after all this was prepared that there was the scene in the previous article.
After receiving the script sent by Zheng Ming, Wang Baohua carefully read it many times and revised it. Wang Baohua decided to make the script into a four-episode TV series, but the 100,000 yuan fund was slightly tight.
In the face of the gap in funds, Zheng Ming said that I wanted to find a way, and finally they found Anshan Iron and Steel Company to pull investment, after learning of their intentions, Anshan Iron and Steel Company was also very atmospheric, giving them 250,000 yuan of shooting funds.
Picture 丨 Comrade Shaoqi in the northeast poster
In this way, the script is ready, the funds are also prepared and perfected, and the shooting team is also set up, but there is still a key problem that needs to be solved urgently: the protagonist who plays Liu Shaoqi has not yet been found!
As a director, Wang Baohua is well aware of the importance of the protagonist, so he said to the two assistant directors: "One person is responsible for finding actors who play other roles, and the other is specifically looking for actors suitable for playing "Liu Shaoqi". Let go and look for it, be sure to find the most suitable one, even if this person is in the United States, please invite him back! ”
It is this order of the director, the assistant director who is specifically responsible for finding "Liu Shaoqi", most of China is almost searching, and invited ten to look OK, but after the director has seen it, he said that he was not satisfactory. There was no way, the assistant director had to continue to run, to find the actor.
On the other hand, Wang Baohua was not idle, asking his friends in the circle to see if there was any recommendation. Perhaps the Emperor Tian did not pay off, and wang Baohua was letting Wang Baohua find it. One day, Wang Baohua's friend called him and said, "When I was filming in Guangxi, I met a person who looked very much like Liu Shaoqi and could act. This man's name was Guo Fazeng, and he seemed to be from the Guangxi Repertory Theatre. ”
Figure 丨 Guo Fa Zeng
After learning this news, Wang Baohua was very excited in his heart and bought a ticket to Guangxi overnight. In order to ensure his sake, Wang Baohua called his classmates in the Guangxi Repertory Theatre overnight to inquire about Guo Fazeng.
When he learned that the other party was filming in Beijing, Wang Baohua immediately informed the assistant director, who went to pick up the other party to the Beijing Television Studio.
After Wang Baohua saw Guo Fazeng, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart: "It's just too similar!" However, Wang Baohua could not give Guo Fa zeng a guarantee ticket, and this role must be played by you: "This role is not ordinary, I said it alone, but also got the opinion of Comrade Wang Guangmei." Now there are a total of five or six candidates, and you are the one who is most like, wait for the final result. ”
Tu 丨 Guo Fa once played Liu Shaoqi stills
However, when Guo Fa was preparing to leave, Wang Baohua said to him: "Comrade Liu Shaoqi was in a difficult condition when he was in the northeast, and people lost a lot of weight. If you really want to play this role, you need to lose weight. ”
Guo Fa zeng attached great importance to this role, he thought it was the most important opportunity in his life, so after returning home, Guo Fa had practiced hard. When Wang Baohua saw him again, he was startled: "How did you get this, thin like this, not sick, right?" ”
Guo Fa once replied: "No, you see that my current weight is in line with the character image in the play." ”
Wang Baohua nodded.
Although Guo Fazeng's move made Wang Baohua very moved, it also changed the rules for him to audition with other candidates in the ring. After Guo Fa had auditioned, the videotape was sent up with other candidates, passing through one level after another. Finally, Wang Baohua brought six videos to Comrade Wang Guangmei's home and asked her to review them.
Wang Guangmei watched the video of the six people auditioning and did not say anything. However, this was a great annoyance to Wang Baohua, who couldn't help but ask: "You see, who among them is suitable to play Comrade Liu Shaoqi?" ”
Picture 丨 Wang Guangmei old photo
Wang Guangmei still did not express his position, but said: "Since you have chosen several, you must have your own ideas, and whichever you think is good, you will act." ”
Wang Baohua blurted out: "The second is better, Guo Fazeng, whether it is appearance or acting skills, is passed!" ”
Wang Guangmei still did not comment, only said: "I believe you will find the most suitable one." To do a good job in the work of the unsuccessful candidates, everyone is very enthusiastic and specially comes from other places. ”
Wang Baohua nodded, and finally determined Guo Fazeng.
Wang Guangmei: Fa Zeng can drink, bring wine
After Guo Fa came to the crew, Wang Baohua did not start filming immediately, but said to him: "If you want to play this role well, you must get close to and understand him, so that you can perform that feeling!" ”
Guo Fa once thought very much about Wang Baohua's statement, so he spent several months to get to know Liu Shaoqi, who often stayed in the library or archives all day to read materials, or to visit people who had worked with Comrade Liu Shaoqi.
Although Guo Fazeng looked very much like Comrade Liu Shaoqi, he did not understand him in detail, and it was with the understanding of these months that Guo Fazeng also had a clearer understanding of Comrade Liu Shaoqi in his mind.
Tu 丨 Guo Fa once played Liu Shaoqi Stills
Guo Fazeng himself is an actor from a professional college, coupled with the deepening of his understanding of Liu Shaoqi, he performed very well after the start of filming, and basically did not encounter too many difficulties. During the filming of "Comrade Shaoqi in the Northeast", Guo Fa met Wang Guangmei for the first time, and when they first met, Wang Guangmei asked him: "I heard that dieting has lost a lot of weight, be careful of your body!" ”
Guo Fa nodded, said it was okay, and said the situation of the crew in passing. The entire crew is making good progress, and it is expected that the TV series will be completed by the end of the year.
Sure enough, at the end of the year, the first Liu Shaoqi TV series was filmed. However, if this type of TV series wants to be distributed to a national audience, it needs to be reviewed by the relevant departments before it can be done. To this end, the Beijing Television Studio handed over the filmed TV drama to the municipal party committee for review, and the Propaganda Department of the municipal party committee did not say anything after reading it, and then sent it upwards.
Therefore, the Central Propaganda Department, the Ministry of Culture, the Ministry of Radio and Television, plus the Central Literature Research Office were held for review, and the Minister of Radio, Film and Television personally came out to sit in the seat. After watching this TV series, no one said a word, but was thinking about something. Finally, the staff of the Central Literature Research Office said: "We have seen this script before, and the content of the shooting is as untrue as the script." ”
Figure 丨 Guo Fa's image in the play
Finally, the minister of radio and television made a decision and said:
I have seen many movies and television showing underground workers, in which underground party members go in bars and dance halls, and there are beautiful women around. The film "Comrade Shaoqi in the Northeast" is very accurate in the arduous danger of the underground struggle.
After evaluating the film, he commented on the actor Guo Fa in the play: "The actor who plays Liu Shaoqi is amiable and credible, and it is rare! In the end, the film passed the review and began to officially meet with a wide audience of friends.
After the filming of "Comrade Shaoqi in the Northeast", Guo Fa sent a set of videos to Wang Guangmei. Later, Guo Fa's TV series of Liu Shaoqi and Wang Guangmei's had videotapes. So what is The attitude of Wang Guangmei after Guo Fa once played Liu Shaoqi in his debut?
For Comrade Liu Shaoqi, played by Guo Fazeng, Wang Guangmei is recognized, and the two have also become very good friends. Sometimes, when Guo Fa once went to visit Wang Guangmei, he happened to meet her family to open a meal, and Guo Fa stayed there to "rub" the rice. Wang Guangmei was also very happy, so she said to the nanny: "Aunt Zhao, Fa Zeng was a drinker, bring the good wine stored in our family!" ”
Picture 丨 Wang Guangmei
This short sentence is enough to show how Wang Guangmei's attitude towards Guo Fazeng is.
In the days that followed, Guo Fa was an actor, and it was difficult to have a spare time. Many directors and TV stations have come to him and said, "We are also going to shoot Liu Shaoqi's films there, and we will definitely ask you to perform when the time comes." ”
Indeed, later Guo Fa had already played Liu Shaoqi in dozens of movies and television, and accumulated a lot of experience. However, among the special actors at that time, the most famous one was not Guo Fazeng, but Wang Tiecheng, Gu Yue and others.
Of course, from the perspective of shaping characters, Liu Shaoqi does not have Chen Yi's humor and boldness, nor chairman Mao's humor and dashing, and does not see the edges and corners of his personality, so it is difficult to play. Many of Guo Fazeng's friends also saw this problem, so they said to him: "In those movies at the moment, Liu Shaoqi is a supporting role who walks around with a cigarette mouth and inserts a few words. If you want to impress the masses, you must have the emotional impact that can impress today's audiences, and you lack a good book and a good director. ”
Figure 丨 Guo Fa zeng in his later years
Regarding this statement of his friend, Guo Fa once agreed in his heart, but this kind of thing can not be sought, and he can only handle the work at hand first, thinking about other things.
After years of training, Guo Fazeng's acting skills have become more and more exquisite. In 1992, a director named Zhang Jinbiao approached him, and Xiaoxiang Film Studio wanted to shoot China's first film featuring Liu Shaoqi, "44 Days of Liu Shaoqi", and asked him to star.
After Guo Fa had read the script, he immediately decided that this was the script he was looking for, and he agreed at that time.
In 1992, guo Fa, a special actor who played Liu Shaoqi, in order to perform "The Forty-Four Days of Liu Shaoqi", in addition to consulting the literature, also consulted Liu Shaoqi's wife, Wang Guangmei, to listen to her opinions. Wang Guangmei, who was still alive at the time, later gave Guo Fazeng the clothes that Liu Shaoqi wore before he died.
Figure 丨 Guo Fa zeng old photo
It is Guo Fazeng's efforts that make him show superb acting skills in the play, and this film has also become Guo Fazeng's masterpiece!