After a wave of tiger operations, he "flickered" Andy Lau and Hisaishi Jean, and another good film was born

In the Chinese director industry, there are three "big flickers".

The first is an Australian Chinese director, Wen Ziren.

That year, he and his friend spent 2 days and 4,000 US dollars to shoot an 8-minute short film, which successfully "fooled" Lionsgate.

He then received an investment of $1.2 million, and it took only 18 days to turn the short film into a feature film, and the film eventually won $103 million at the box office.

This movie is the famous "Chainsaw", and Wen Ziren suddenly became the "king of horror movies".

Then he jumped out of the comfort zone of horror movies and shot two blockbuster movies "Fast and Furious 7" and "Aquaman" in succession.

Today, the "Great Flicker" has become a first-line director in Hollywood.

The second "big flicker" is the director of "The Wandering Earth", Guo Fan.

Guo Fan just debuted and made the youth film "You at the Same Table", with a general reputation, and many people define him as a bad film director who shoots pain literature.

The copyright of "The Wandering Earth" was originally in the hands of Ning Hao, and it happened that Guo Fan and Ning Hao went to the United States to participate in a director support program.

Ning Hao was busy filming "Crazy Alien" at that time, and Guo Fan got the copyright of "The Wandering Earth" after "rhetoric".

Everyone was not optimistic about him, only his friend Gong Ge was "fooled" into the crew by him, and when he came, he found that the crew was just him and Guo Fan.

Guo Fan continues to give full play to the characteristics of "big flickering".

A college graduate from Wuhan Optics Valley gave him special effects for free, and the photography teacher he knew brought millions of photographic equipment for free.

After the expansion of the crew, he lobbied everywhere, and three listed companies, China Film, Beijing Culture and Wanda, successively sent investment.

Then in the early stage of filming, the starring actor found that the project was like a pyramid scheme, and ran away with 150,000 liquidated damages.

Guo Fan used the 150,000 "flickering" to the two new leading actors, Qu Chuxiao took 100,000, and Zhao Jinmai took 50,000.

In order to attract actors, Guo Fan said that the blockbuster will invite Andy Lau and Tony Leung to star.

Many actors are attracted by this gimmick, including Wu Mengda, whose salary is only 200,000.

We all know the story that followed.

The filming process of "The Wandering Earth" overran many times, and at this time Wu Jing joined the crew, and also brought 60 million investment to extend the life of the project.

After the final film was released, it sold 4.5 billion at the box office, opening China's "first year of science fiction".

Guo Fan also specially thanked Andy Lau at the end of the film, which can be regarded as the "advertising fee" given to him.

Andy Lau, who learned the truth, was not ashamed or annoyed, but took the initiative to participate in "The Wandering Earth 2" and shined in the film.

Today, the "big flicker" of that year has become China's "godfather of science fiction films".

The third "big flicker" is a newcomer director Feng Zhaoyu.

Not long ago, the director's debut film "The River Does Not "Go Out" was released.

This film is a warm and moving movie, which made many people cry.

But you can't imagine that this film is actually a "flickering work".

The rookie director "fooled" three bigwigs in a row before making this amazing road movie.

The story has to start from the beginning, Feng Zhanyu has been unknown since graduating from Nortel, he has mixed in the major crews, is a generalist, actor, screenwriter, producer, executive director have done everything.

Like all filmmakers, Xiao Feng also wants to make his own films, but he has no background, no connections, and no resources.

When ordinary people encounter this dilemma, they will choose to live mediocre, but Xiao Feng has given full play to his ability to "thread the needle".

He first wrote a script, which was the prototype of "The River Does Not "Extinguish".

Then he took this script and began to prepare for the filming.

It's as difficult as picking up a mouse pad and wanting a computer.

The first big man he "flickered" was the famous photographer Li Pingbin.

When it comes to Li Pingbin, you may not be familiar with it, but you must be familiar with the works he photographed.

He has long photographed Hou Xiaoxian and Wong Kar-wai, and "In the Mood for Love" was written by him.

Feng Zhanyu recalled at the premiere: "I am a new person, I have no background, and I don't know if I can find him. ”

With the attitude of trying it out, many people got Li Pingbin's phone and personally wrote a letter telling the story of the movie.

In the end, Li Pingbin was moved by the story of the film and Xiao Feng's sincerity and decided to shoot this film.

The second big guy of his "flickering" is the famous composer Jean Hisaishi.

Hisaishi has dubbed works such as "Kikujiro's Summer", "Spirited Away", "Sky Castle", and "The Sun Also Rises".

The reason why these films have become classics is indelible, and he is also a composer of Japan's national treasure.

In the eyes of ordinary people, it is almost impossible to invite this big guy out of the mountain.

But Xiao Feng just wanted to give it a try.

He went to Japan in person, and many people found Hisaishi, and the answer was that the old man must have read the script in person before deciding whether to continue to talk about cooperation.

Xiao Feng immediately translated the script into Japanese and gave it to Hisaishi Jean.

The old man was also moved by the story of the film, and finally used the text as inspiration to score the film and compose the theme song.

He "fooled" the third big man, which is the Andy Lau we are familiar with.

Andy Lau has been supporting new mainland directors over the years, and Ning Hao grew up with his help.

Feng Zhanyu was probably also inspired, so he contacted Andy Lau through his own producer.

Andy Lau was also moved by this story after reading the script.

He wanted to do something for the film, so he followed Hisaishi's steps, filled in the lyrics for the theme song, and sang it himself, named "Slowly".

"Under the roof, the best years. I can't walk into this home for no reason..."

This simple lyrics and melodious melody add a lot to the whole film.

After a tiger operation, the rookie director successfully found three bigwigs in the circle to endorse the film, and "The River Does Not "Extinguish" has carried a "chosen son" quality since its release.

Of course, the iron also needs to be hard by itself.

Wen Ziren or Guo Fan, of course, they will market and package themselves, but in the end they all hand over weighty works.

The same is true of newcomer director Feng Zhaoyu.

He impressed his predecessors with sincerity, in his own words:

"Everyone in this movie fulfilled their dreams, and I fulfilled them."

But this is not the end, the success or failure of a film should ultimately be left to the audience.

The film has held screening events in Beijing, Shanghai, Ningbo, Hangzhou and other places.

Pico also walked into the cinema to watch the movie for the first time.

In my opinion, this is perhaps the best road movie of 2023.

What is a road movie?

In short, it is a movie whose main plot takes place on the road.

Zhao Benshan's "Fallen Leaves Return to the Roots", Xu Zheng's "Ji Series", Ning Hao's "Heart Flower Road Fang", and Han Han's "After the Meeting" are all excellent domestic road films in the past ten years.

But unlike all of them, "The Stream Does Not "Extinguish" paves at least three paths.

The first path is to shoot outside the film.

Director Feng Zhao has been wading through mountains and rivers for 4 years, and invited three bigwigs to help the film.

We can no longer see the prototype of the script, but it is certain that the director has integrated the bitterness and bitterness of this road into the filming of the film, so the effect presented by the film is particularly real.

The second path is the main line of the film itself.

The director found the old actor Yang Xinming and the young actor Hu Changlin, and started this wonderful journey with a combination of one old and one young.

The story is set on the eve of the 2008 Olympic Games.

In order to attend the funeral of his comrades-in-arms, the old man Zhang Dachuan stepped on the train to the north from the southern town.

And the naughty little grandson Komatsu also followed his grandfather's footsteps and stepped on the train, and the story unfolded.

This line is the mode of traditional road films, and the basic creative idea is summarized in two words, that is, "adventure".

The protagonists encounter various crises during the journey, and then in the process of dealing with the crisis, they understand each other, sublimate their emotions, and finally have an understanding of life.

But the director of this film did not fall into the stereotype when shooting this line, but adopted the shooting method of life flow, and the shooting was extremely bland and restrained.

In "Fallen Leaves Return to the Roots", Uncle Benshan embarked on a journey with a corpse, which is "strange" enough.

In "People on the Road", Xu Zheng and Wang Baoqiang played two pairs of living treasures, all the way to the whole work, all the way to play treasures, but also "strange" enough.

In "After the Meeting", a group of three people drive on the fictional easternmost island in China, and this setting itself is very "strange".

But in contrast, the journey experience of the grandfather and grandson in "The River Is Not "Extinguished" is somewhat "unremarkable".

It is nothing more than that the grandfather was lost, and the grandson searched for a long time and found that the old man was bragging with passengers in the carriage;

is nothing more than meeting a scammer, cheating his wallet away, and meeting a foodie played by He Saifei, rubbing and drinking;

It is nothing more than that the old man was warned to drive at tortoise speed on the highway, and the grandson drove illegally and hit a stone on the side of the road;

It is nothing more than grandpa and grandson stealing watermelon in watermelon, peeing together on the side of the road, and the old man also wet his pants;

These plots are too life-like, without too strong dramatic conflicts.

But this way of shooting life flow makes people feel a small freshness.

Because all the plots are like real things happening around us, the sense of substitution will be stronger.

Like most road movies, the combination of grandpa and grandson is typically mindless and unhappy.

At the beginning of the journey, both dislike each other and quarrel at every turn.

After the journey, the two also completed the reconciliation, and this journey of redemption healed everyone on and off the screen.

However, if the film is just shot like this, there is actually no big difference from ordinary road movies, it is nothing more than putting the seasoning lightly.

The most amazing thing is that the director also paved the third way.

This line is the hidden line of the whole film, which actually explores the relationship between the Chinese family.

It's an extremely broad topic, but the director fits it into the context of the road movie.

For example, at the beginning of the film, the director spent a lot of ink when explaining the background of grandfather and grandson before departure, which is to show the audience the emotional crisis encountered by the family.

A family of four seems harmonious, but it is actually full of dangers.

The old man fought in the Korean War when he was young and was a hero in everyone's heart, but in his twilight years, he gradually became disconnected from society and became stubborn.

The little grandson is in the rebellious period, secretly photographing the beautiful girls in the class, writing some meaty love letters, and secretly modifying the report card, which makes people break their hearts.

The son is very tired in the middle, and there is a generation gap with the old one, and he is helpless to the small one.

Unfortunately, I am under great pressure at work, and I often have to participate in the wine bureau in order to get a sales order, and I can't sign an order if I get drunk.

The whole family, in mutual disunderstanding, came to the brink of collapse.

The departure of the grandfather and grandson broke the tranquility at home, and the couple couldn't do anything in a hurry, but gained the ability to rethink life.

What is the purpose of the hard work every day? Who is it showing with a face every day?

This blocked mental path was also opened little by little in the calm thinking.

For example, there is an intermission in the middle of the film.

Grandpa and grandson did not go all the way north to Beijing, but stopped at their aunt's house in Tianjin on the way, and also witnessed the crisis in her family.

The aunt and uncle are divorcing, and the aunt has been hiding from the grandfather, but after the old man moved in, he judged from the lack of toothbrushes in the bathroom that there was a problem with the couple's relationship.

One holds back and does not say, the other pretends to be confused, and the atmosphere in the Chinese family is not good at expression, which is presented to the audience through these scenes.

The most extreme thing is that the old man did not break this layer of window paper until he left.

His confusion instead gave his daughter room to breathe.

The contradiction between the husband and wife was also solved because of the father's short stay, and this blocked mental path was also unblocked.

For example, in the second half of the film, the grandfather and grandson finally came to Beijing, but unfortunately missed the funeral of their comrades because of the old man's negligence.

This also reveals a paradox in life, many people and things that we have in our hearts and minds are often inadvertently missed.

With the help of his grandson, the old man came to the tombstone of his comrades.

His journey is actually in search of the glory that has been lost.

In the end, I found that these glory was not in Beijing, thousands of miles away, but in the eyes of loved ones in daily life.

This blocked heart path has also been opened.

Seeing this, we understand the cleverness of "The River Does Not "Extinguish", and its three roads have their own characteristics.

The first path is the director's original intention, which is an origin.

The second road is the main line of the film, which is a clue;

The third road is that the whole family is connected into a network line, which is a section of the whole society.

The director starts from a touch point generated in his own heart and continues to spread;

Finally, from point to line, from line to surface, layer by layer, he transformed his personal emotions into a narrative of the times that can resonate emotionally with three generations.

The background of the Beijing Olympics carries this big emotion well.

As a result, Guangweizheng's slogan settled in a down-to-earth daily narrative, complex social issues dissolved into a humorous and witty gag, a film can be big or small, this is an excellent life flow road movie.

From the perspective of the lineup, the film brings together Yang Xinming, Tu Songyan, Yang Tongshu, He Saifei, Lin Yongjian, Dai Lele and many other powerful actors, and the performances of the actors make the theme of the film flow more delicately.

Of course, in this fast-food era, this kind of slow-paced and weakly conflicted road movie is difficult to be liked by the market at once.

The data also reflect this difficult situation.

6 days after the film was released, word of mouth gradually improved, but the proportion of films fell all the way.

I look forward to such a good domestic film, which can get more support, and don't leave any regrets for Chinese films.

I believe that as long as you look at it with your heart, you will be deeply moved by it.

Text/Pippi Film Editorial Office: A Chicken

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