Opening language:
During the Spring Festival of the Year of the Rabbit, the cultural market in Beijing is booming: the movie box office continues to soar, various exhibitions are open to welcome visitors, the ratings of many national dramas have surged, and various major dramas are competing for spring... Let the people of Beijing truly experience a cultural grand year.
In addition to the government's series of stimulus policies for the cultural market and the people's rigid demand for cultural entertainment during the Chinese New Year, what is the reason for the rapid popularity of the Beijing Cultural Year?
For literary and art workers and cultural market trendsetters, the opportunity has come, are they ready?
To this end, the Beijing Youth Daily launched a series of reports titled "Why Beijing's Cultural Year Is So Popular during the Spring Festival Art Appreciation" to analyze the inevitability of it from different fields.
"Produced in Beijing" performed well
According to the real-time data of Beacon Professional Edition, as of 20:54 on January 23, the total box office (including pre-sale) of the 2023 Spring Festival (January 21-January 27) exceeded 2.8 billion, and the box office of the six new films that have been released has all exceeded 100 million , and "Chinese Ping Pong", which was released on the third day of the Lunar New Year, has exceeded 20 million screenings and pre-sales.
There are 4 live-action films in the Spring Festival file on the first day of the Lunar New Year - "The Wandering Earth 2", "Man Jianghong", "No Name", "Exchanging Life", and 2 animated films "Bear Infested·Stay with Me "Bear Core"" and "Deep Sea ", these works can be described as "fairy fights", which made many viewers feel a little "difficult to choose".
According to the data of Maoyan Professional Edition, the box office of the new film in the Spring Festival in 2023 reached 1.349 billion on the first day of its release, with a total of 446,000 screenings and a total of 25.337 million moviegoers.
Six films that have already been released competed fiercely. According to Maoyan Professional Edition data, "The Wandering Earth 2" became the box office champion on the first day of this year's Spring Festival new film release, with a single-day box office of 476 million; The third title is "No Name", with a single-day box office of 136 million yuan.
It is worth mentioning that the outstanding performances of "The Wandering Earth 2" and "Manjianghong" are both produced in Beijing, and another animation film "Deep Sea" produced in Beijing was produced by Tian Xiaopeng, the director of "The Return of the Great Sage" and 1,478 Chinese animators behind the scenes. Seven years in the making, the world-leading "Particle Ink" makes the film present an unprecedented visual spectacle and aesthetic style, coupled with a warm healing attitude, which deeply moved the audience, making the film a word-of-mouth work for the Spring Festival. The later performance is worth looking forward to.
Looking at this year's Spring Festival archives, the quality of the films is high, the types are rich, and the story themes are diverse.
Chen Jin, a data analyst for Beacon Professional Edition, said that the good start of the Spring Festival is expected to lead the annual film market back to the prosperity and development before the epidemic, and drive the restoration of confidence in the entire link from the upstream production end to the theater projection terminal industry.
Chen Jin said that on the first day of the new year, the box office of the market has recovered to 93% of last year's first day of the new year, and the average ticket price has also dropped from 56.1 yuan on the first day of last year to 53.2 yuan, a decrease of 2.9 yuan.
The average number of people per show at the beginning of this year has increased significantly from 46 per show in 2022 to 57 per show. On the one hand, due to the rapid recovery of the market, the number of operating theaters with box office revenue has reached 11,469, and the number has returned to last year’s New Year’s Eve. 97% in the first day of junior high school; on the other hand, there are high-reputation works such as "The Wandering Earth 2" and "Manjianghong" driving the market. Considering that the average length of this year's Spring Festival film has reached an unprecedented 130 minutes, the ticket price has never been higher. It has fallen for the first time since 2016, which can be said to be a real "increase in volume without price increase".
Text/Reporter Xiao Yang
"The Wandering Earth 2" gained a good reputation after its release
Guo Fan: The best era of Chinese science fiction films has begun
"The Wandering Earth 2" was released on the first day of the Lunar New Year, and gained a good reputation, and the box office also topped the list that day.
In fact, until one week before the film was released, Guo Fan was still busy making final changes to the film. In an interview with reporters, he said that he only slept an average of four hours a day during filming.
At the same time, he also said, "Science fiction films need the endorsement of national strength."
Filming science fiction into future history
In 2019, "The Wandering Earth" ignited the enthusiasm of the audience during the Spring Festival with blood and emotion.
After four years of preparations for filming, "The Wandering Earth 2" gathered the original crew to upgrade and return. The film revolves around the prequel of "The Wandering Earth". The engine is being built, and mankind will face the dual challenges of doomsday disaster and life survival.
As for why "The Wandering Earth 2" was developed in a prequel manner, Guo Fan explained that first of all, "The Wandering Earth" has very little space to show the world view. "I especially want to expand the world view through the prequel." The second reason is that I hope Wu Jing can return to "The Wandering Earth 2".
Third, if you write a sequel, it is difficult to create a plot conflict when the script advances to the journey of 2500 years.
So after all considerations, I decided to make a prequel.
From the perspective of the story, "The Wandering Earth 2" has more expressions, and it is a tentative step forward in the text creation of science fiction.
Guo Fan explained: "As a science fiction film, the motif of "The Wandering Earth 2" is about the relationship between people and technology. After watching "The Wandering Earth", I also communicated with Liu Cixin. Teacher Da Liu told me that he The ideal appearance of sci-fi films in my mind should be like documentaries. If sci-fi films are made into the history of the future, then sci-fi films will be more meaningful to us. Therefore, making future documentaries and future history has become a part of our entire history. The goal that the crew worked hard for."
Metaverse, artificial intelligence... Nowadays, more and more people live in the virtual world. Guo Fan said with a smile, "Our life today is surrounded by various virtual and digital technologies. Have you ever thought that To what extent will we be separated from the real world when the virtual reaches? If other people's definition of "person" is different from our definition, what is the meaning of "person" to us? What is the meaning of life? These thoughts may all be Put it into story creation."
Instead of going from 1 to 2, start from 0
"The Wandering Earth 2" is fully upgraded on the basis of "The Wandering Earth", and more imagined visual wonders are realized one by one.
The cosmic expressway space elevator crosses the sky, connecting the earth and the universe; the impressive planetary engine in the previous game has been optimized by the team in all directions, and it is even more magnificent.
The opposite of "big" is the team's display of "small". The extremely fine prop details and design craftsmanship are amazing.
The improved spacesuit designed and produced by the team has more texture, and the diving suit weighing more than 80 kilograms that appeared for the first time also makes the underwater exploration plot better presented.
There are also artificial intelligence mechanical dogs stupid, door frame robots that show Chinese design inspiration...all put the audience in the real science fiction world.
Director Guo Fan and the behind-the-scenes team built 102 sci-fi main scenes, with an area of more than 900,000 square meters.
The team drew a total of 5,310 conceptual designs, 9,989 shot drawings, produced more than 6,000 visual effects shots, and produced 95,000 props and costumes.
The crew has 1,189 permanent staff members during filming, and more than 22,000 extras.
Talking about the technical upgrade of "The Wandering Earth 2", Guo Fan said: "We didn't start from 1 to 2, but from 0. The first film was the beginning, and the second film was just doing it and it became a new start. Because when you take a small step, you will find that in order to perfect this small step, a lot of new things need to be involved. So, we started the process of trial and error again, and this process became a process from scratch start."
The technology gap with Hollywood is gradually narrowing
As a science fiction film, visual effects must be an important factor that needs to be considered.
Guo Fan believes that Hollywood directors and special effects teams also have levels. "In my opinion, they are mainly divided into two categories: James Cameron and others. Compared with "Avatar 2", there is still a gap of 20 to 30 years. The gap is mainly technical, and the rendering engine is not a generation. However, it is gratifying that this gap is gradually narrowing at a speed visible to the naked eye. What I am most proud of is the technical legacy left by the first episode. For example For example, we had no way to make spacesuit props when we were in "The Wandering Earth", but we can already mass-produce them in the second episode... It can be said that the innovation and combination of new technologies can bring about the progress of the film industry."
Science fiction films need national strength as an endorsement
From "The Wandering Earth" to "The Wandering Earth 2", Guo Fan said that he is very pleased with the development of Chinese science fiction film and television in the past four years.
Guo Fan believes that the "difficulty" in the production of science fiction films is not only on the technical level, but also an important factor, that is, science fiction films need national strength as an endorsement. Sometimes, the audience can have a sense of empathy, which has something to do with a country's technological level and comprehensive strength."
Guo Fan thinks, why can American Hollywood produce so many sci-fi films?
It is because these films appeared when the national power of the United States was taking off. "Its strength endorses its sci-fi films. Now, we Chinese filmmakers have also ushered in such an opportunity. It can be said that the best era of Chinese sci-fi films has begun. "
Text/Reporter Xiao Yang Intern Liu Yu
Director of "Deep Sea": Innovation is the story, aesthetics is not the trend
Seven years ago, "The Return of the Great Sage" was born.
After that, director Tian Xiaopeng almost disappeared, until this year's Spring Festival, he returned to the public eye with his dream-fulfilling work "Deep Sea" that has been polished for seven years.
On the eve of the film's release, Tian Xiaopeng shared the creative process of the film.
Tian Xiaopeng hopes to use innovation as the creative driving force to tell a story about the sea, "At least in terms of expression, I want to create a different sea, not a traditional, physical sea, so I am looking for what kind of ocean It can carry this sense of novelty and fantasy.”
The core starting point of the amazing use of colors that subverts the popular aesthetic trend is still to serve the story, characters and emotions: "The colorful sea water you see today has a very important relationship with the theme of the story. The world created by a girl, so she will use her mind to process this world too much." Although fashion trends prefer a low-saturation, high-level sense, in Tian Xiaopeng's view, "The height of our film's aesthetics must be for the story. Service, what it wants to express is the sharp contrast between the extreme splendor and the gloom in the dream."
Regarding the technological innovation "Particle Ink" that has sparked widespread discussion among fans, Tian Xiaopeng still insists on the concept of applicability and serving the theme: "Actually, it still serves the story. I hope that everyone can see that these colorful things are flowing. There are changes, and the sea world, including the protagonist, is alive."
Text/Reporter Xiao Yang
"Anonymous" Wang Yibo: Fighting and fighting against pressure
The movie "Anonymous" was released on the first day of the Lunar New Year. Wang Yibo, one of the leading actors, said: "I hope everyone will watch "Anonymous" more. Those who don't like me can watch me get beaten, and those who like me can watch my movie this time. Performance."
"Anonymous" focuses on the treacherous hidden front, and tells the story of underground workers risking their lives to send intelligence and defend the motherland with their lives and blood.
The film is written and directed by Cheng Er, starring Tony Leung and Wang Yibo, with Zhou Xun and Huang Lei as special stars, and starring Sen Bozhi, Dapeng, Wang Chuanjun, Jiang Shuying and Zhang Jingyi.
For the selection of actors, what Cheng Er pays attention to is that the actors should have a unique temperament, and the second is to conform to the setting of the filming city.
Wang Yibo was Cheng Er's initial and final choice, "the perfect candidate".
Cheng Erkua Wang Yibo is very humble and calm beyond his age, "It is very important for a director to fully devote himself to the filming and not be disturbed by extra things. I think Yibo is really good at this point. done."
Wang Yibo said frankly that in the crew of "No Name", "It is the most stressful time in my life since my debut." Especially knowing that there will be many rival scenes with Tony Leung, he is very nervous.
This pressure continued until the end of the filming, "the pressure is always there, in fact, this pressure can help me in this role."
Every time after filming, Wang Yibo would watch the replay carefully, "What impressed me the most was the first day of filming. We were going to shoot the scene of lifting people in the morning. The director showed me a picture before shooting that scene. It was a very far shot, a few people rushed out to shoot, and were knocked down and lay down. The scene was very similar to a documentary, which left a deep impression on me. When I watch the monitor later, I will pay more attention to how to adjust my performance .”
Text/Reporter Xiao Yang Coordinator of this edition/Man Yi