The box office of the two "Manslaughter" both broke one billion, is there a third one?
Chen Sicheng said
On January 15, the film "Manslaughter 2", which was supervised by Chen Sicheng and directed by Dai Mo, starring Xiao Yang, Ren Dahua, Wen Yongshan, etc., was released on the 30th day. It also makes the audience even more curious, will this series continue?
Will there be a third part?
It's not easy for Xiao Yang to play the father in this series of films. The first film protects his daughter, the second film trades his life for his son, and which family member will be in trouble in the third film?
There is a lot of speculation about the future of the "Manslaughter" series. Under what circumstances will the third film continue to be filmed?
Producer Chen Sicheng told the Beijing News reporter: "I think it depends on the stories that can be encountered. I never said that I should deliberately pursue a big series, just like the source of "Manslaughter 2", I didn't say that because the first The success of the department, we must immediately continue the enthusiasm and do this thing, also because the partner presented the script of "In the Eyes" to us. We think this story can be tapped, and we can use what we want to express and create, It still has to be random.”
From rejecting the remake to accepting
The most important reason is to find the creative impulse
Since its release on December 17, 2021, "Manslaughter 2" has always maintained a very high attendance rate.
Time goes back to the time before the release of the film, facing the audience's full expectations, plus the realistic basis for the "dark horse of word of mouth", all walks of life have made fierce predictions about the box office of the new film. Chen Sicheng is relatively calm about this, he smiled. I told the Beijing News reporter, "I think a film has a life for it. After so many ups and downs, I am in a good mood now."
Chen Sicheng has never considered himself a person who can fully grasp the market, although many people think that he has the experience of creating series of movies with precision.
For ordinary audiences, "Manslaughter", which was released on December 23, 2019, was the last movie the audience watched in theaters before the epidemic, and the box office also exceeded 1 billion yuan, while "Manslaughter 2" was born in a "post-epidemic" environment. Times", he hopes that the audience can find some ordinary and powerful human light in the film.
Chen Sicheng recalled that after the success of "Manslaughter", many so-called remake projects found him, and his mentality at that time was contradictory: "Personally, I refuse to remake, I don't like watching it, especially some There are so many classic movies, why remake them?"
It was not until later that the producer put the script of "On the Brow" (released in the United States in 2002) in front of him, "I think there is a possibility to touch the remake, that is, to find a new direction, to find something that can make You have expressed (desire). "Immediately" is a movie from many years ago. It is full of local colors and class confrontation. The original film has the relationship between doctors and patients, and the relationship between father and son. There are many points that can be told. In fact, the creation , whether it is an original or a remake, the most important thing is whether the story told can move people, whether there is a new sublimation and expression on the basis of the story, this is even a measure of whether to touch the remake or not. This standard seems to be unimportant to Chen Sicheng. He found a reason that could make the team have the impulse to create, and when he understood the reason, he began to build and build: "The script has been done for a long time this time, and I have done 11 scripts. Moon is equivalent to a kind of originality. This time the rewriting story is longer than "Manslaughter", and the adaptation is much more difficult than the previous work. My dramas have always been selected before shooting, so that the right people can be in the right place. This is also a quality a director should possess.”
Because my child has a disease "misunderstanding"
Only got some heartfelt lines
In "Manslaughter 2", Xiao Yang's father, Lin Rilang, hijacked the entire hospital in order to save his son Xiaochong, who was in urgent need of surgery. Unlike the high-energy reversal of "Manslaughter", this one focuses more on The discussion of human nature strengthens the father-son emotion in the original work, and highlights the characters in ordinary families. Especially at the end, Lin Rilang gave his life to save his son, and the letter to his son deeply moved the audience.
There are naturally many discussions about this, such as whether Lin Rilang's behavior is considered extreme?
Do ordinary children and powerful children really have different fates?
Chen Sicheng shared with us a true story that he never mentioned, that was when he was filming "Detective Chinatown 2" (released in 2018), and he was in the post-production stage when he took a phone call: "I remember very clearly, at that time. I was doing post production in a studio at the Beijing Film Academy. I suddenly received a call and told me that my child might have a heart problem. At that moment, I was completely dumbfounded. I just stared at the screen. , suddenly there is a voice in my heart, 'If I want to use the rest of my life and my life for him now, should I change it?' You know that people who are like creatives often imagine, but I remember that at that moment I was completely indifferent. Hesitating, of course I am willing to change and give him the rest of my life, but fortunately it turned out to be a misunderstanding." Speaking of this, Chen Sicheng was a little moved, he said that all fathers in the world would be like Lin Rilang, just like that sentence The line "What would a father do for his child?!" Until now, Chen Sicheng still remembers the feeling at that moment in his heart, "So like "Manslaughter 2", I really cried every time I watched it."
As the audience can see, the "Manslaughter" series supervised by Chen Sicheng is full of discussions on social topics. Although the film is presented with the theme of revenge, it also highlights the exploration of genre films.
The English name of "Manslaughter 2" is "Fireflies in the Sun", which literally translates to "fireflies under the sun".
Chen Sicheng hopes to choose a dramatic story to tell everyone that all living beings are suffering, but human beings are always a community, and every audience can see the power of their own kindness: "I hope everyone can be like fireflies, and it is okay to face prosperity during the day. How about it, but in the face of adversity in the dark night, everyone can shine like a firefly."
Chen Sicheng, who has undergone a lot of experience, often says that he is often in a situation where "people and dramas are not divided", and he truly rooted his feelings for the movie in his heart.
"To be honest, I don't think I can think about what my life would be like without movies, especially now, and I still do. Movies have greatly enriched my life experience. I belong to or live in Travel, or people who travel in spirit. I watched countless movies, and then I was eager to try it and shoot it myself. I never felt that this matter was a job for me. The sense of awe is indistinguishable. Just like a movie What is, what is life, what is work, for me, it's all mixed up."
【dialogue】
Only by exchanging hearts for hearts in creation can we fight wits and courage with the audience
1. The commonality of the "Manslaughter" series is to talk about children's affection and confrontation with adversity
Beijing News: There are many shadows of "Manslaughter" in "Manslaughter 2". For example, the story takes place abroad. Jiang Haowen, who played the mayoral candidate in the first film, finally became the mayor in the second film. This connection was specially arranged. ?
Chen Sicheng: Actually, when everyone is watching a movie, these details are not important, the main thing is to focus on the commonalities.
The story of "Manslaughter 2" took place, and we did not target any country; but this series has a commonality of talking about children. For example, it is said in the film that "some children are not ordinary children." characteristics, there is also a sense of confrontation between people from different classes, the efforts of a father and a mother to defend their family, the efforts made in an extreme dramatic situation, this sense of confrontation in adversity is what this series Inherited.
The Beijing News: The light of "Manslaughter", how should "Manslaughter 2" be undertaken?
The market response of the previous work was very good, and there must be a lot of pressure on the sequel.
Chen Sicheng: I don't think it is necessary to deliberately cater to the market. What's more important is to tell the audience what is good (movies).
The most important thing for creators should be the same as Xiao Yang's role in shaping the characters, exchanging hearts for hearts, and moving the audience with sincerity and sincerity.
We keep talking about what to give the audience?
What is our upgrade?
Every time is a challenge, and I don’t think every film will be a success. Every creation is like walking on thin ice, but the important thing is to show sincerity and dedicate it to the audience. I believe most audiences can feel it.
Beijing News: The mental process of creating this series is to constantly challenge?
Chen Sicheng: Actually, I think it is very difficult, because every time we need to surpass and surpass, we have to "fight wits and courage" with the audience every time, to play games, to surprise them, to face their doubts, the process is very difficult, but We will try our best to do it.
The "Manslaughter" series can even be called the "Don't mess with the filmmakers" series
Beijing News: Maybe at the beginning, no one thought that "Manslaughter" would become a series?
Chen Sicheng: The "Manslaughter" series is different from the "Detective Chinatown" series.
The most important thing for the "Manslaughter" series is to find a confrontational theme, and a common theme is the protection of family affection.
At this level, people would think that the two films are different, not like "Tang Detective" are all in a unified universe, it is a genre marker in a vertical genre.
So whenever this work is done, it must be a new story, and the unchanging core is that a person sacrifices himself for his family, and the love of his parents will be eternal.
Beijing News: Some viewers think that the story of "Manslaughter 2" may not have much to do with "manslaughter". Where do you think "manslaughter" is reflected?
Chen Sicheng: The most interesting thing about creation should be thousands of people.
Everyone has a different answer.
I think "manslaughter" also has multiple meanings. First of all, Lin Rilang must have been killed by mistake. He finally saved his son by sacrificing his life.
Of course, people were constantly "manslaughtered" in the process, including some onlookers outside. They are a bit like the people who eat melons on the Internet today, and they may be instantly misled by news.
At first they thought Lin Rilang was a robber, but later they said he was a hero. For the sake of the children, everyone supported him again. There are many metaphors in this "manslaughter".
Beijing News: Li Weijie in "Manslaughter" is a movie fan, and Lin Rilang in "Manslaughter 2" is a screenwriter. The two protagonists are both filmmakers. Is this an echo?
Chen Sicheng: Haha, we need to upgrade the identity of the characters. It is also possible that the identity of the characters in the later films is the director. He joked that the "Manslaughter" series can even be called the "Don't mess with the filmmakers" series (laughs).
Beijing News: The lines of "Manslaughter 2" are mixed in many languages, including Thai and Chinese lines. Is the reason for this multilingual mixing due to cultural integration?
Chen Sicheng: Cultural integration, we want to put the story in the living environment of overseas Chinese. In fact, no matter where you are abroad, there will be a Chinese area, which is very interesting. The Chinese have strong survival ability and cultural influence. Organically combine local culture with Chinese culture.
Whether it is the "Tang Detective" series or "Manslaughter", I hope to continue to pay attention to the integration of Chinese culture. Our important mission now is to convey the culture to others, let Chinese films go out, and let more of foreign audiences to see.
2. Try the newer movie, "Mozart in Outer Space" will be very different
Beijing News: Most of the industry thinks you are a director who can grasp the pulse of the market. Many works can win high box office. Are these box office figures a major driving force for your creation?
Chen Sicheng: Including the "Tang Detective" series, it is my attempt to develop the film industry.
As far as my own personality is concerned, I prefer to try newer movies.
So don't judge me too early. I'm still relatively young and I'm a young director (laughs). I will continue to use new works to try to communicate with the world.
For example, "Mozart in Outer Space", which will be released this summer, will be completely different from my previous films when you see it.
Beijing News: Do you have clear creative requirements for yourself now?
For example, how many works must you insist on shooting in a year?
Chen Sicheng: There is no requirement, just do it if you are interested, but now, I think there are quite a lot of projects that I am interested in.
(laughs) I also feel that time is a little short, but overall it’s okay.
Beijing News: Are you really not tired of tossing about movies all the time?
Chen Sicheng: I can only say that I still enjoy it. I don’t feel tossed about it. To put it bluntly, when you make a movie, you treat it as work and work. You will definitely feel tired and exhausted, but I don’t. I always feel this way. It's what I would most like to do.
The Beijing News senior reporter Zhou Huixiaowan