China News Service, Beijing, August 1 (Reporter Gao Kai) The pre-sale of the screening exceeded the 100 million mark, and the cumulative box office on the day of the premiere exceeded 350 million yuan, accounting for 93.5% of the total national box office on that day, breaking the summer season in the past three years. First-day box-office record for a sci-fi film.
With the debut of the new happy twist comedy "Walking to the Moon", this theater finally welcomes the long-lost popularity again.
Although it is yet to be answered by the market as to whether it can become another "rescue work" as expected from inside and outside the industry, from Shen Teng and Ma Li's re-cooperation on the big screen after 7 years, to the rather rare sci-fi comedy genre, happy Twist's high-profile new test of water is undoubtedly meaningful for itself and the industry.
Why choose sci-fi comedy?
What kind of challenges does the new attempt bring?
What are your expectations for this "moon landing"?
What hasn't changed even after going to the moon?
Around this twist on the moon, this website interviewed Liu Hongtao, CEO of Happy Twist Culture Development Co., Ltd. and chief producer of "Moon Alone".
Comedy + Sci-Fi New Genres and Script-Only Theory
The same small person perspective, the same exaggeration and delicacy, successive contrasts and inversions, plus Shen Tengma Li's unique tacit understanding, "On Earth" is still a happy twist-style comedy, but this is the most different happy twist. a work.
Among the many attention-grabbing labels of this new work, science fiction is undoubtedly the most striking one.
For this "ingenious" new type, Liu Hongtao said frankly, "The original intention was not for the new type."
"There is an unwritten rule in the creation of Twisted Flowers, that is, script-only theory. As long as the script is good, we are not limited to genres. At the beginning of 2018, a friend of Director Chiyu recommended him a Korean comic, and we quickly Decided to buy the copyright, and then quickly started to move forward. The reason why I decided to do it is that on the one hand, the material itself is very good, it provides a comedic imagination, including the feelings in it, which is very attractive. On the other hand , For Ma Hua, I hope every step can make a breakthrough to my past self, so this is a coincidence." Liu Hongtao said.
Photo courtesy of the interviewees of "Walking on the Moon"
In Liu Hongtao's view, the combination of sci-fi and comedy itself is a big challenge, "In fact, the genre of sci-fi comedy is relatively rare, and the combination of the two is not so natural, especially from the expression of film language. For example, sci-fi has a cooler tone, while comedy tends to be warmer.”
He bluntly stated that in order to achieve a true fusion of the two and tell the story in a movie way, "Lonely Earth" has made a lot of discussions and attempts in the adaptation and creation, "because the original work is a daily comic work, the content It is very complicated. We adapt it from the standards of the movie, and there is a lot of work to do. Since 2018, the script has been done for two years. The creative process is a bit like finding a needle in a haystack. Determining the story line that suits the movie, such as how to finally determine the combination of one person and one mouse, every step is a little bit of exploration.”
Liu Hongtao said frankly that the content of the script, including the "content" that the audience is thinking about, is also determined by the content of the script, "Shen Teng himself has become a very influential comedian, especially his partner with Ma Li, but how exactly? The use of actors is still up to the script, and this story can be said that the team thought it was the two of them right away."
From a speck of dust to a 4-ton truck
"I thought that the sci-fi elements were just like putting on a similar shelf. I didn't expect the twist to come true, and "Lone Walking on the Moon" could actually be viewed as a serious sci-fi film." Many viewers have a sci-fi setting for "Lonely Walking on the Moon" after watching the movie. , sci-fi elements, sci-fi scenes, etc. are quite "surprising".
"Lonely Walking on the Moon" is the film with the highest investment in Happy Twist so far. Liu Hongtao confirmed that the film has indeed put a lot of effort into sci-fi settings and special effects.
95% of the shots in the whole film involve special effects. At the same time, in order to simulate the real lunar surface, the crew also laid 200 tons of sand and gravel in a 6,000-square-meter studio to simulate lunar dust, and built a lunar base in 100% of the real scene.
"A particularly important feature of movies is that there must be a sense of reality in front of the camera, so that the audience will believe it. No matter how the story is created, no matter how the film is created, no matter what era it represents, if you want to attract the audience and make the audience empathize, you need to In front of the camera, all your designs, characters, modeling, clothing, environment, art, including your daily necessities, all must be believed by the audience, and only after believing can empathy be possible." Liu Hongtao said.
Photo courtesy of the interviewees of "Walking on the Moon"
In order to build the foundation of empathy with reality, in the film, "all kinds of details are determined after continuous discussion and trial", Liu Hongtao introduced, "For example, the 'dust' on the moon in the movie, we first determine the color of the moon surface, and then It is to design various terrains on the lunar surface. The top of the rock structure is particles, and then the top is dust. If coal ash is spread, there will be dust during the shooting. Hundreds of people are running around, the dust is flying, and nothing can be photographed. So we Look for black stones in Shandong, then grind them into granules and powders, and lay them down layer by layer to form the moon surface.”
What impressed Liu Hongtao in particular was the lunar rover, an important prop in the movie. "The design of the prop car needs to be imaginative about the future, and it is necessary to study materials, colors, industrial design, machinery, etc. In Qingdao Oriental Movie Metropolis, props engineer Cui When Wenliang showed the 4-ton lunar rover, he said, "If you give me another chance, I can make this rover move.
"That scene was so impressive, I was very moved, everyone's mentality is to complete a work, not to pick up the work.
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In addition to the hardware details, "Lone on Earth" also strives to be "tight and airtight" in terms of science fiction logic, Liu Hongtao said, "What the audience may see in the last movie is only the tip of the iceberg, and most of it is below the sea surface, science fiction movies. That's it, it needs to build a comprehensive and complete world view around the story, which includes an imagination of the future society as a whole, the level of science and technology, the level of industry and people's life, education, entertainment, including language. In terms of this, we have had a long discussion and hired experts in all aspects, including scientific advisors, to help us.”
As a producer, in Liu Hongtao's view, in the process of film industrialization, the final completion of a film depends on whether the countless details of a complex project can be disassembled into the most reasonable and perfect deal with.
Controversy and Evolution
The popularity is high and the box office is prosperous. "Lone on the Moon" is undoubtedly the most discussed film this summer, and the voices in it naturally have their own characteristics.
Some audience members said, "The production is upgraded, the feelings are lofty, this is the best movie of Mahua", and some audiences bluntly said, "The joke is not pure, it is not the expected Mahua." In this regard, Liu Hongtao said that he is always watching various evaluations, " It’s normal and good for a movie to be controversial, and we care about the audience’s opinion.”
In Liu Hongtao's view, the comedy of happy twist has always been seeking new ideas, "For example, the first movie "Charlotte Trouble" we released in 2015 was a hilarious comedy. Realistic things; In 2016, "Donkey Gets Water" was launched, which is an absurd comedy and pure realism, but it belongs to the kind of cold comedy, which is completely different from the previous hilarious comedies; "The Iron Fist" is an action comedy, this film is not only rich in genre, but the industrialization of our entire production has been significantly improved. We have always been brave and willing to innovate and change."
Talking about the "twist style", Liu Hongtao said: "As a happy twist, the team always hopes to focus on reality, and let the audience feel the joy, emotion and thinking brought by comedy in a good story that pays attention to reality. It can bring some new feelings to the audience." In his opinion, Happy Twist's understanding of comedy style is actually constantly "evolving", "This is a very open system, and we hope that the style will become more and more rich. On the other hand, I hope to make a powerful comedy in the continuous exploration by trying to deepen the industrialization of the whole production."
After four years and five months of polishing, "Walking to the Moon" appeared on the big screen here with its current appearance. The film currently has a Douban score of 7.0, and the box office is climbing.
From the golden partner of Shen Teng and Ma Li, to the top-notch image of the kangaroo "Gangzi", to the many romantic scenes spread out in space, it is not difficult to imagine that, as a summer C-movie, "Walking on the Moon" will definitely be released this summer. Leaving a lot of memories for people.
For the Chinese film industry, this "Twisted Moon Landing" may not only be a box office boost, but also in terms of genre, sci-fi + comedy, whether it is a comedy movie or a sci-fi movie, "Moon Alone" All provide new ideas; and on the road of film industrialization, when more individual memories eventually become industry memories, a new world will eventually be completely opened up.
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