Interview
"Yunnan Worm Valley" director Fei Zhenxiang: Adventure movies are my idol drama
China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily reporter Jiang Xiaobin
"Pleasant to the eye", this is one direction of the adventure genre that I pursue.
The characters are clean and the actions are simple, a group of people who dare to be aggressive, overcome difficulties when they encounter difficulties, and then move on.
When Hu Bayi, Fatty Wang, and Shirley Yang sat around the copper pot for boiling the meat again, the audience had reason to believe that the heat of lamb on the chopsticks came from the last "Longling Misty Cave", and this The "Yunnan Worm Valley" will still have a familiar taste.
Director Fei Zhenxiang has already filmed 4 "Ghost Blowing Lantern" series of web dramas in "Huangpizi Tomb", "Anger Qingxi Xiangxi", "Longling Miku" and "Yunnan Worm Valley".
He counted. In the past five years, he traveled north and south and spent no more than two months at his home in Beijing.
The audience may not know that Fei Zhenxiang also has a hidden identity as an actor. He was born in a family of Liyuan. He played "Little Stone" in Xiaolou's childhood in the middle of "Farewell My Concubine".
Hu Bayi and Fatty Wang were children who grew up in Beijing hutongs, and they had local characteristics in their spoofing. This was very kind to Fei Zhenxiang, and he also said the same when he was a kid.
As for the copper pot-shabu-shabu that runs through the head and tail, he has a deeper understanding, "I used to lose meat when I was a kid. When I shabu-shabu, the chopsticks did not leave the meat, for fear that it would run away."
In an exclusive interview with a reporter from China Youth Daily and China Youth Daily, Fei Zhenxiang said that before young people chased after watching "Tomb Raider" and "Indiana Jones", our adventure films are also maturing.
China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily: The story goes on, the actor is the "iron triangle" of the previous film, the director or you, what are the advantages of the original crew?
Fei Zhenxiang: In the series, it is best not to change people. It runs through, the main creator has a tacit understanding, and the audience does not play.
For the entire series, I want to shoot a "growth" story: Hu Bayi and Fatty Wang in "The Tomb of the Yellow Skin" are still very young, young and energetic. They broke into an adventure for a few pounds of fruit candy. The world, this is also in that era when materials are scarce, people are in a real state of youth; starting from "Longling Lost Caves", they gradually matured, and found themselves poisoned, and embarked on the road to search for the dust beads. It can be said that that moment , They have a common goal, and the "iron triangle" has officially "formed into a group."
China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily: In addition to the same starring role, what other ways are there to make these shows a consistent look and feel?
Fei Zhenxiang: When the audience is watching, they will find some stalks that take on the upper part from time to time.
For example, in "Longling Miku", Fatty Wang brought two pants, and when he arrived in "Yunnan Worm Valley", Fatty Wang said that the place was so trendy that he had to bring three; in the flashback plot, Hu Bayi was a child for a week. The details of not going to school are also repeatedly mentioned...
The characters in the play are like my relatives. I remember all the lines they said, and the actors also remember it. This is how the tacit understanding is formed.
It also becomes a kind of special pleasure for the audience to look for these details when watching a drama.
China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily: In "Yunnan Worm Valley", the interaction between Hu Bayi and Shirley Yang has increased. What do you think of the emotional drama in the adventure drama?
Fei Zhenxiang: In "Longling Misty Cave", Hu Bayi and Shirley Yang began to admire each other, and "Yunnan Worm Valley" began to like each other. After all, everyone experienced life and death and was bound by a common destiny. In the process of upgrading and fighting monsters, Mutual trust and understanding will be improved, this is human nature.
However, I control the degree to the stage when they have reached the beginning of their love.
This is not a romance movie, and it is impossible to have a pure love story.
In fact, in many successful genre films, such as the "007" series, "Tomb Raider" and "The Smiths", the heroes and heroines support and trust each other in desperate situations, and fall in love in adventures. This is their love. Way.
China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily: The protagonists are taking risks, what risks are the creators taking?
Fei Zhenxiang: We use the visual effects of the movie to produce the scale of the online drama, and we are short of money and time.
The amount of special effects in "Yunnan Worm Valley" is too large. A 120-minute movie has about 40 minutes of special effects. We spent more than 500 minutes doing it in the same time. Because of the tight budget, there were fewer people.
We are not taking risks, but more like a belief.
During this process, there will definitely be mixed reviews, but I will not stop shooting because people scold me. I still have to humbly accept everyone's suggestions and work hard to move forward.
Each part of the "Ghost Blowing Lantern" series has strong regional characteristics. Going north and south, I like to shoot in places where no one is there. The production team is about to become an "engineering team".
When filming "Longling Miku", a fishbone temple was to be built halfway up the mountain, and the mountain had to be "cut into pieces"; when filming "Yunnan Worm Valley", the forest ranger took us to see the scenery, and we had to carry a knife and gun to enter the mountain. I saw a sign on the ground saying "There are elephants in front of me".
The land we finally selected was 40 minutes away from the drop-off point, and the drop-off point was already our own way.
China Youth Daily·China Youth Network: When filming online dramas with original novels, book fans and drama fans will have different opinions. What principles should be followed for adaptation?
Fei Zhenxiang: On the premise that there is a very successful IP and many fans of the original works, mature film and television works should have a continuous function for the growth of characters.
Everyone has his own imagination when reading books, and our adaptation is very careful.
First of all, we must respect the original work. The relationship between the characters, the location of the story, and the main plot of the original work cannot be changed. In this regard, we are relatively conservative.
In "Yunnan Worm Valley", how the map is taken step by step and what dangers are encountered at each step are all respects for the original work.
The newly added plots, such as the lines of the villagers in "Longling Miku", and the Zhalongzhai people in "Yunnan Worm Valley", actually have similar functions.
We believe that logically, there is a goal in front and chasing soldiers in the back to have a better rhythm.
The current audience level is very high, and the comments and opinions made are not about the beauty of the actors, but about the structure of the story and the rhythm of the plot, just like creating with us.
Young people watch American dramas, British dramas, Japanese dramas, and Chinese dramas should also go to the world.
The audience has a higher level of appreciation and different opinions, whether praise or criticism, can help us improve, and can help national dramas to the world.
China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily: The original work has a lot of horror plots, how to deal with it when it is made into a drama?
Fei Zhenxiang: Our positioning is an adventure film, not a horror film, so it will be suitable for audiences of all ages.
We are looking for an intermediate value, the original horror element, mainly from the atmosphere, not deliberately scary.
China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily: In addition to adventure, what else do you want to bring to the audience?
Fei Zhenxiang: "Pleasant to the eyes", this is one direction of the adventure film I pursue.
The characters are clean and the actions are simple, a group of people who dare to be aggressive, overcome difficulties when they encounter difficulties, and then move on.
To some extent, this is somewhat similar to the "idol drama" in my mind.
I don't think that idols are beautiful people. I think that idols are positive people who can set an example for young people in their daily lives.
Hu Bayi and Fatty have times of decline and misery, but as long as they have a breath, they will still persist.
They take risks in mysterious places. For the audience, difficulties in work and difficulties in life are also risks. They also need such wisdom, courage and courage.
China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily reporter Jiang Xiaobin