A still from the anime "The Three-Body Problem"

Nowadays, the "film and drama stage" has set off a sci-fi boom one after another. First, the popular film "The Wandering Earth 2" in the Spring Festival file caused heated discussions, and the cumulative box office has exceeded 40 billion yuan; Another TV series "Three-Body Problem" has triggered a wave of drama chasing, with an online score of 8.6 points; the upcoming sci-fi comedy movie "Space Exploration Editorial Department" is highly anticipated by fans with its word-of-mouth reputation. In terms of stage, works with sci-fi themes or sci-fi elements also appear frequently. Judging from the latest film lists released by major platforms, the sci-fi theme is also poised to take off. The exploration of domestic science fiction literary works has entered an "acceleration period", what are the new expectations next?

Guangzhou Daily all-media reporter Huang An

Domestic sci-fi film and television enter the "acceleration period"

Domestic sci-fi films and television have sprung up. From the end of last year to the beginning of this year, the animated version of "The Three-Body Problem", the movie "The Wandering Earth 2", and the TV series version of "The Three-Body Problem" were broadcast one after another, making "science fiction fans" shout "New Year".

Among them, the realistic expression and heavy industry aesthetic style adopted by "The Wandering Earth 2" have been well received, and the heated discussion has continued after its release, and the cumulative box office has exceeded 40 billion yuan, with an online score of 8.4 points. Due to the popularity of watching the movie, a few days ago, the film party announced that the key of the film will be extended to April 4 again.

The TV series "Three-Body Problem", which was broadcast at the same time, filled the gap of domestic sci-fi dramas. With a humanistic story and ingenious production, since the launch of the drama version of "The Three-Body Problem", the drama has broken the record for the highest popularity value of Tencent Video on the first day, and the Douban score has risen all the way, and more than 35,8 people have scored a high score of 6.<>.

The stage is also full of science fiction

In terms of stage, this past weekend, the latest sci-fi stage drama "Unicorn" won the love of the audience. "Unicorn" is adapted by the famous writer and chairman of the Guangzhou Writers Association Pompeii himself based on the original novel of the same name.

The biggest problem in science fiction dramas is how to show this "fantasy" word, and "Unicorn" solves this problem in the form of a dance team. There is only one robot visible in "Unicorn" (played by an actress), and the dance team concretizes the power of artificial intelligence, using dance to establish a poetry that is lacking in artificial intelligence movies, and also strengthens people's perception of the power of artificial intelligence.

It is worth mentioning that traditional puppet art can also be combined with modern technology. Not long ago, the puppet musical "One Day and One Night" created and performed by Guangdong Puppet Art Theater used innovative puppet expression techniques, integrated modern scientific and technological elements, designed a variety of puppet stunts, and made historic innovations in puppet modeling and props.

At the same time, the play also uses puppets to better express the scientific and technological elements in the repertoire, integrates singing, dancing, interaction and other performance forms, popularizes science and spaceflight, diving knowledge, and praises the spirit of scientific research in childlike and childlike fun, encourages children to attach importance to the learning of basic disciplines, and establishes lofty aspirations from an early age. After its premiere in Guangzhou, "One Day and One Night" was well received by audiences large and small, "Edutainment is a very meaningful experience for children!" ”

How is science fiction created? Still need to be deeply connected to reality

The biggest feature of science fiction works is full of imagination, how to bring these ideas and concepts to the screen? It's a huge challenge for creators. Talking about the "methodology" of science fiction? Many creators have put forward a point when sharing their experience: even the most imaginative sci-fi films must be deeply connected with reality.

Liu Cixin, the original author and producer of the movie "The Wandering Earth 2", once said, "A really good sci-fi film should look like a documentary". In this regard, director Guo Fan also believes that the most important thing is the realism of the lens. However, it is difficult to realistically simulate sunlight in the universe, and the brightness, distance and even fill light of the light source must be very accurate; It is also difficult to shoot underwater scenes realistically, not only with the limitations of the equipment but also to eliminate all safety hazards; It is even more difficult to produce near-real-life films, and in addition to the careful coordination of photography and lighting, the level of detail in visual effects and scene production must be as good as possible. Therefore, 26 visual effects companies, more than 2,<> visual effects lenses, more than <>,<> prop design drawings, and more than <>,<> film practitioners in front of and behind the scenes have worked together for four years to create another sci-fi movie "The Wandering Earth <>" that belongs to the Chinese.

"The Wandering Earth 2" producer Gong Geer said that he hopes to use a scientific design that is as realistic as possible to make the audience believe that this is possible as much as possible. For example, in order to truly show the wonder of the space elevator, the film's main creative team has done a lot of research to try to get closer to reality.

Director Yang Lei also proposed a creative principle at the beginning of the creation of the TV series "The Three-Body Problem": to use realistic methods to shoot science fiction.

"We've always been shooting live-action. The crew of "The Three-Body Problem" has made a total of 12 large-scale transitions across the country, involving almost 200 scenes, spanning most of China, and we feel that only by using real scenes can we maximize the charm of realism. ”

A large number of scientific and technological parts involved in the play, such as colliders, etc., the crew went to relevant scientific units for in-depth research to find a more realistic sense of substitution for Chinese audiences, "The fantasy part of the novel, we have to stand on the ground to express, not floating in the air." In his view, the landing of science fiction in China must be combined with China's own culture, combined with real life, and use its own attitudes and values to express Chinese's views on the future.

Industry insiders believe that "The Three-Body Problem" has received high praise, largely because it restores the realistic style in the original work. The lines, important scenes, and plot trends of the characters in the play are restored to the original to the greatest extent, and in many places they even replicate the design in the original work one by one.

Chinese technology makes Chinese science fiction movies full of confidence

In 2019, the movie "The Wandering Earth" was released, and Chinese science fiction film and television officially opened. Nowadays, domestic science fiction has developed greatly, Fu Ruoqing, chairman of China Film Group Corporation, believes that behind Chinese science fiction movies are made in China, "The Wandering Earth 2" not only highlights the fighting spirit of self-reliance and self-improvement of science and technology, but also further stimulates the deep power of cultural self-confidence.

The rapid development of Chinese science and technology has contributed inexhaustible power and source to the imagination of science fiction creators, and gradually increased the trust and sense of identity of the whole society in the science fiction literary genre, providing a better environment for the development of domestic science fiction film and television works. "If we had filmed our science fiction stories ten or twenty years earlier, the audience would not have believed it. But in recent years, the audience has learned more about our achievements in Chinese science and technology, and they have become more confident, which provides soil for science fiction film and television works. After having soil, there will be a more sense of substitution for science fiction content", Yang Lei, director of "The Three-Body Problem", believes that science fiction film and television creation is a reflection of the development of science and technology in China.

The construction of "cosmic level" in "The Wandering Earth 2" is backed by the escort of domestic construction machinery. It is reported that in "The Wandering Earth 2", XCMG Group has invested 42 models of 61 host equipment, more than 400 sets of parts and workshop props, 61 sets of three-dimensional models, and 319 staff to allocate and guarantee resources for "The Wandering Earth 2" from various aspects such as time, painting, equipment, personnel, logistics, and on-site execution. In addition, the details in the film also require the great support of many scientific advisers.

Director Guo Fan said, "It is precisely because of the development of science and technology in our country that the audience can believe in the emerging technologies that appear in the film. Inside and outside the play, Chinese science and technology make Chinese science fiction movies full of confidence"!

On the other hand, with the development of science and technology, the public's interest in science has also greatly improved, and domestic science fiction film and television dramas have brought niche science fiction scenes out of the circle and become a new way for the public to popularize science, which is also a major reason why science fiction works are popular with the audience.

After the release of "The Wandering Earth 2", the audience was quite interested in concepts such as "space elevator" and "moon engine". "The first time I saw the long shot of the space elevator, I got goosebumps," one parent shared with a laugh, "The scene of the moon engine explosion was so real, my son asked me if it was filmed by satellite." It is the love and persistence of all filmmakers and audiences for science fiction movies that has promoted Chinese films to gradually embark on a more standardized path of industrialization.

In addition to the realization of various imaginary visual wonders, the core of these film and television works is still emotional expression. In "The Wandering Earth 2", whether it is the love between Han Duoduo and Liu Peiqiang, or Tu Hengyu's father's love, or the sentence "I am here, I am always there" in the face of disaster, it can cover many warm emotions and have the power to soothe people's hearts. "The core of a movie is to express emotions, so as long as it is called a movie, it must have a temperature." Director Guo Fan frankly said that the core emotions of "The Wandering Earth 2" are inseparable from the theme of companionship.

The emotional details in the TV series "The Three-Body Problem" also enhance the audience's sense of closeness, which not only immerses fans of the original book, but also makes more audiences fall in love with sci-fi dramas.

The new sci-fi work is worth looking forward to

The popularity of "The Three-Body Problem" and "The Wandering Earth 2" has undoubtedly injected more confidence into sci-fi film and television creators, and next, many new works have been put on the agenda.

Produced by Wang Hongwei and Guo Fan, directed by Kong Dashan, and starring Yang Haoyu and Arya, the sci-fi comedy "Space Exploration Editorial Department" will be released on April 4. The movie "Space Exploration Editorial Department", as director Kong Dashan's first feature-length work, has won many awards at the Pingyao International Film Festival and Beijing International Film Festival with its imaginative ideas and unique atmosphere.

The film tells the story of Tang Zhijun, editor-in-chief of the editorial board of the science fiction magazine "Space Exploration", who has been obsessed with finding extraterrestrial civilizations for decades. One day, he receives an anomaly signal that seems to come from the depths of the universe, so he gathers his fellow fallen companions to embark on a journey to find aliens again with that question that puzzles him. Fans commented, "It blends absurd humor and science fiction into an idyll." ”

And after "The Three-Body Problem", all parties are also striking while the iron is hot, and a batch of sci-fi dramas are on the way. For example, the list of sci-fi dramas under development released by Tencent Video includes the "Three-Body Problem 2" and "Three-Body Problem" series of extra-drama "Three-Body Problem: Great History", the Nebula Award long-form work adaptation "Stars", the classic sci-fi IP "Time Abyss", etc., as well as the original sci-fi dramas "Yuandu", "Binary" and "Perfect Body".

As for "The Wandering Earth 3", which the audience is most concerned about, director Guo Fan has said many times that the production cycle of "The Wandering Earth 3" may be the same as before, and it is estimated that it will take another four years. Recently, during the Wuhan roadshow, he also revealed that because during the "The Wandering Earth 2" roadshow, the main creators casually answered a large number of audience questions, and inadvertently leaked a lot of clues buried for "The Wandering Earth 3". In this regard, Guo Fan said that he watched Station B a few days ago, and was surprised to find that some netizens connected the questions answered by the main creators every time, "resulting in the outline of our third episode becoming more and more obvious, we don't know what to do now, maybe we need to rewrite it when we go back..."

Although it sounds like a joke, Guo Fan said that the third episode must not live up to the audience's expectations, ""The Wandering Earth" has not been easy along the way, the audience has given us great tolerance, when we do the second episode, the mentality is not to fail the audience, then the third episode is the same reason, I hope everyone can do their best." ”