After "Age of Awakening" came out of the circle, Long Pingping, who became an "Internet celebrity": future creations dare not follow through
The most "out of the circle" TV series in 2021 is "The Age of Awakening" directed by Zhang Yongxin and written by Long Pingping. After the show was broadcast at the beginning of last year, it was searched almost every day and won with a high score of 9.3. Douban's 2021 annual national drama number one.
At the same time of the double harvest of word-of-mouth ratings, the two martyrs Chen Yannian and Chen Qiaonian are also known to more people because of this drama. During the Qingming Festival last year, the tombs of the two martyrs were filled with flowers in the Longhua Martyrs Cemetery in Shanghai; at the same time, when When many viewers asked the question "Is there a sequel to "Awakening Age", more people gave them the most appropriate answer - our happy life now is the best sequel to "Awakening Age".
All this made Long Pingping, the screenwriter of "Awakening Age" gratified, but also moved.
He was amazed at the ideological empathy between today's young people and young people a hundred years ago. He also deeply felt that film and television workers should have the responsibility and obligation to provide valuable works. Young people want to understand history and need to draw strength from history. .
Long Pingping, former Deputy Secretary-General of the Literature Research Office of the CPC Central Committee, Director of the Third Edition Research Department, Distinguished Professor of Tongji University, has participated in the documentary "Deng Xiaoping" and "A Hundred Years of Xiaoping", and also wrote the film "Deng Xiaoping" and the TV series "Historical Turning Deng Xiaoping in .
In June 2021, when he won the 27th Magnolia Best Screenplay (Original) Award for "Age of Awakening", Long Pingping humbly stated that he was an amateur screenwriter, dipped in the light of history, and a wonderful historical figure.
Long Pingping believes that director Zhang Yongxin has made a lot of effort in the second creation, showing a good artistic talent.
After "Awakening Age" came out of the circle, he was busy a lot, and he received invitations for film and television dramas almost every day, but not many really moved him.
In an exclusive interview with a Red Star News reporter, Long Pingping said that he had become an "Internet celebrity" in a daze, and he should still come up with works worthy of his popularity, "You can't make bad movies, right? I won't go for it either. If other things can’t do well, take each work seriously.”
"Age of Awakening" did not cater
The brilliance of history is the core
Red Star News: How do you feel when you come to Chengdu to participate in the College Student TV Festival?
Long Pingping: This is my first time to participate in the TV Festival for College Students. This year, I will go to 5 provinces to participate in similar activities.
Although it is very tiring, I still want to participate in the College Student TV Festival.
After the broadcast of "Awakening Age", it has attracted the attention of many college students. I have received many phone calls and letters from college students and young people. I don't know where they found my phone number.
What moved me was that they said that through "Awakening Age", they learned about the struggles and sacrifices of the pioneers more than 100 years ago, and the difficulty of living a happy life today.
Red Star News: "The Age of Awakening" is very popular with young people. Did you think of it when you created it?
Long Pingping: I didn't expect it.
At the time, I expected that the drama might have a strong response among party members, cadres, and intellectuals.
It is true that this drama has its particularity and is a project to fill in the blanks, but can young people accept it?
To be honest, I'm not too sure.
After the script came out at that time, many people said that the play was very ideological, but whether young people like it or not, can they understand it?
I'm at a loss.
I'm still unwilling, I'm in my 60s, and I can't help but burst into tears when I write this drama.
During the filming, the director, producer, and many young actors were also very moved, so why can't our show impress young audiences?
I was really nervous when it aired.
Unexpectedly, young people gave me a lot of confidence.
It happened to be the Spring Festival when it was broadcast, and it was broadcast intermittently. The 43 episodes were finally broadcast for 47 days, and there was less than one episode a day, which is rare.
On the Internet, on the barrage, there are "requests", and there are many short video explanations.
Many friends sent me messages, saying that three generations of a family were watching, and they were looking up information while watching.
The success of "The Age of Awakening" surprised me at the ideological empathy between today's young people and those of a hundred years ago. The ideas and party-building spirit of these pioneers have been recognized by contemporary young people.
I also deeply feel that young people want to understand history and need to draw strength from history; second, they need life goals, role models, and guidance. Our film and television workers should provide valuable works. sense of responsibility.
Red Star News: The main theme drama has been recognized by young people, what do you think?
Long Pingping: Actually, there is no so-called cater to our creations.
My unit is the Literature Research Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and its main job is to compile and edit the writings of leaders. The most important thing is to be rigorous, and we cannot say unfounded words.
The reason why "The Age of Awakening" has such a big response is that in the final analysis, this history is wonderful.
First of all, I have to move myself, and then I can have such a creative passion.
When you write, it is impossible to think about who you are writing for. From my professional point of view, it is to respect history, which is a correct view of history.
When I was writing it, I kept reminding myself that this drama is very complicated. First of all, we must respect history, be in awe of history, and make great things happen, right?
Major events, important people, major decisions, time, place, and characters must be supported by real historical data. This is the foundation.
To be artistic on this basis, it is the most difficult thing to combine historical reality with artistic reality, because you only have historical materials, textbooks have them, and there are conclusions, you don’t need to copy them, right?
You have to make it artistically, have a storyline, have ups and downs in the fate of the characters, and have the characters with distinct personalities... You have to rely on these things to form a story and move the audience.
Therefore, a lot of energy is placed on artistic processing. How big is the space between reality and art?
How much room is left for your artistic processing?
The scale must be grasped.
I'm not a professional screenwriter, but I may be a little more emancipated than a professional screenwriter in this type of subject matter.
Because I know in my heart, I used to review film and television works of this kind of subject, and I know what to write and what to avoid. In terms of grasping the scale, I may have a certain advantage over professional screenwriters.
Confused into a "net celebrity"
Creation still won't be "in the future"
Red Star News: After the broadcast of "Age of Awakening", how has your work changed?
Long Pingping: There are a lot of projects coming to the door, there are too many, but I also have a few projects I am working on.
What has been determined so far is the TV series "Battle for Shanghai", and another is a movie that tells the stories of the three Communists Chen Yannian, Zhou Enlai and Zhao Shiyan when they were young.
They studied in France and established the "Chinese Youth Communist Party in Europe" in France. Later, they returned to China to participate in the revolution, and Zhao Shiyan and Chen Yannian sacrificed one after another.
Whenever I see these young revolutionaries giving their young lives for their ideals, I always cry.
Red Star News: It is said that Chen Yannian was the one who most wanted to write in "Age of Awakening"?
Long Pingping: Yes, what I want to write most is Chen Yannian... In order to study Chen Yannian, I followed the trajectory of his life. All the former residences where Chen Yannian worked and lived, Shanghai, Beijing, France, Guangzhou, I each go everywhere.
It can be said that the study of Chen Yannian had a great influence on me.
Why do you say that?
When Chen Yannian chose ideals and beliefs, he was the most typical and extreme idealist, and his experience was much richer than that of his contemporaries.
Red Star News: What is the creative direction in the future?
Long Pingping: I may not write works other than major themes, and for the time being, I will focus on major themes.
Red Star News: Will the release of "Age of Awakening" put pressure on your future creation?
Long Pingping: Of course there is pressure. I have become a "net celebrity" now, right, everyone knows you, and now I don't mention my original unit when people introduce me, I just say that the screenwriter of "Age of Awakening", so everyone is right Your expectations are too high, you can't make bad movies, right?
I'm also getting old. From my experience, I won't take every work seriously for other things that I can't do well, but can I achieve the "out of the circle" like "Awakening Age" "Degree?
I have no idea.
TV shows and movies are not the work of the screenwriter alone.
The role of the screenwriter in the TV series may be slightly larger, but it is only a basic work. "Awakening Age" is a little special because the subject matter is so important that I need to participate in the whole process.
Movies and TV series need the help of directors and actors in secondary creation, photography and art, etc. This is not the screenwriter's job, but in any case, a good book is the foundation.
This point, I still know in my heart, I will not hand over a work that I can't live with myself.
So my principle is not to sign contracts with people, I am not bound by you.
After signing the contract, you will give me a lot of conditions, when will the manuscript be submitted, and for these, how can I write what I want to write?
Something I approve of myself?
Right!
For example, "Age of Awakening", the book has been approved. I only signed the contract at this time. I must add a sentence. If there are important changes, it must be approved by me.
I am responsible for this, and this will not change. Anyone who comes to me, I will insist on this.
From party historian to screenwriter
"It's also what the job demands"
Red Star News: You used to be an expert in party history research, why did you embark on the path of screenwriting?
Long Pingping: This is also the need of my work. I specialize in the study of Deng Xiaoping. In the past, our "oldest three" were called chronological biography, "Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping", "Deng Xiaoping Chronicle" and "Deng Xiaoping Biography".
With the development of the times, there are more and more various media, and there are more requirements.
My earliest involvement was in Deng Xiaoping-related documentaries and documentaries. I made many documentaries, mainly as general writers, such as "Deng Xiaoping", "Hundred Years of Xiaoping", "Eternal Xiaoping" and so on.
The earliest I participated in was the 12-episode large-scale TV documentary "Deng Xiaoping". This is a classic among the classics. pass.
Then there is the movie "Deng Xiaoping", which was released in 2003. Frankly speaking, many people have been working on it before, but they have failed many times, so this task was handed over to me, and another colleague and I came to be the screenwriter. The director, starring Lu Qi, won almost all the awards, and Lu Qi also won the Hundred Flowers Award for Best Actor.
After that, we made the TV series "Our Years in France". When planning this TV series, there was a movie called "My Years in France", which showed the story of Deng Xiaoping's work-study program in France. Big, there are many children of the older generation of revolutionaries who are talking about this movie.
why?
Because there were many leaders who went to France for work-study programs, and Deng Xiaoping was very young at that time, he was more of a follower, which seems to be an incomplete presentation of that period of history.
At that time, an idea was put forward, and I hoped to add it to fully present this history.
So the TV series has changed from "mine" to "our", so who is this "we"?
That's too much. Zhou Enlai, Cai Hesen, Zhao Shiyan, Chen Yi, Nie Rongzhen, Li Lisan, Li Weihan, Wang Ruofei... We held a special meeting to invite the children and descendants of these revolutionaries who went to France to study and study. More than 100 people came. people.
Red Star News: What kind of awakening do you think the young people of today should have?
Long Pingping: I always say this sentence, awakening is a process, there is no past tense, it is social progress, a prerequisite for a person's progress, and awakening is required at any time.
You have to be sober to know your position, sober to know what you are going to do, why are you alive?
What are you doing alive?
What can be done and what cannot be done?
You can't be confused. The opposite of sober is confused. Can a confused person make a difference?
impossible!
Therefore, awakening is a prerequisite for a person's progress.
As an individual awakening, I think you can't just think about yourself, but also link your personal destiny with the social state. You can only play your value when you put it in a big environmental background and think about your social responsibilities. , to realize such a value among a group.
The awakening in "The Age of Awakening" is the background of "a great change that has not been encountered in three thousand years" and "a great and powerful enemy that has not encountered in three thousand years". For thousands of years, Chinese civilization has been our glory, but today it has become a burden, carrying this burden to catch up Times, what should we do?
The old way cannot be solved, we must find a new way. What is the new way?
Only by using the most advanced concepts, the most advanced ideas, the most advanced systems, and the most advanced people can we achieve national rejuvenation.
In the past, building a party was just a sentence, and it was the product of the close integration of Marxism-Leninism and the Chinese workers’ movement. The Sixth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the Party had a new formulation, and a sentence was added in front of this sentence—the Chinese people And in the great awakening of the Chinese nation, this shows how important awakening is!
Red Star News reporter Qiu Junfeng