tearjerker director

After the movie is shot and released, publicity is naturally necessary.

Although there are many stars in the "Once Upon a Time" series, director Li Yi is undoubtedly the biggest.

In other words, Li Yi's movies are all the best.

"Once Upon a Time" is about to be filmed as a sequel, and it also involves the revival of martial arts, so there is a lot of heated discussion among the outside world.

For this reason, Six Princess's "China Film Report" specially invited Li Yi for an exclusive interview.

Li Yi did not refuse.

"Welcome to the "Chinese Film Report". If there is any type or subject of film that is the most unique landscape of our Chinese film industry, then it is undoubtedly martial arts films and kung fu films!
Especially martial arts, this subject and genre plays a decisive role in the history of Chinese films.

Because just as martial arts novels are unique to Chinese people, martial arts movies are also unique to China.

Unfortunately, in recent years, martial arts seems to have withdrawn from the mainstream stage. Whether on the big screen or the small screen, it seems that it is difficult to see traces of martial arts films.

For this reason, movie fans have lamented the death of martial arts. However, last year's movie "One Sword of the City" allowed us to relive our martial arts dreams. Recently, "Once Upon a Time in China" was also released, and it has received excellent reputation. Today's program The team was fortunate enough to invite the director of these two films, Director Li Yi! "

"Hello, Director Li, I finally got you!" Jiang Bing, the host of the film report, said with a smile.

"Hello, host!" Li Yi said with a smile.

After some routine, the topic officially started.

Jiang Bing asked the first question: "Why do you want to make a martial arts film? I mean, why not other types?"

In fact, what questions to ask have already been communicated before.

This question is not difficult to answer.Li Yi sat there relaxedly and said with a smile:

"I am also a martial arts fan. When I was a kid, I pestered my father to make me a set of Class [-] weapons!

Didn’t we all say that a man will remain a boy until he dies, and how many young people of our time did not have the dream of martial arts?
So some people say that martial arts is dead, but of course I don’t agree with it.

For this reason, I was also thinking about whether I could film a martial arts film myself, which would also fulfill my childhood martial arts dream. "

"Then why Huang Feihong?" Jiang Bing asked again.

"Huang Feihong is famous. At our age, in our boyhood, I think the martial arts character that everyone is most familiar with is Huang Feihong.

It can be said that Huang Feihong was the most photographed martial arts character in Hong Kong at that time.

Early martial arts films were divided into two types, one was the hero type and the other was the weirdo type.And all the Huang Feihongs have not jumped out of these two circles.

Moreover, except for Cheng Hu's Huang Feihong, who added funny elements, the other Huang Feihong is based on a template: he will never use force easily, and he will kill gods and Buddhas as soon as he takes action. He is invincible, and the deification element is too serious.

This kind of cookie-cutter story setting has also made many people lose interest in martial arts movies.

So I thought why not do a different Once Upon a Time?What about Huang Feihong who is interesting but still has the style of a great master?

Moreover, after "One Knife" was released, I discovered one thing. Many young people seem to have a similar understanding of history to those young people in Hong Kong in the 90s and [-]s, that is, they have no sense of history.

Especially after the release of "One Knife", I saw discussions about the word "China" on the Internet. This also allows us to see the blurred understanding of history and identity among some young people today, as well as the extreme polarization of value orientations.It seems to them that there is no need to understand the history of modern China and the process of establishing the country.

Even many young people don’t know when they started to become a generation that is tired of history. They don’t want to hear or understand modern history, or what happened in the time of their ancestors or grandfathers.

Especially now that our motherland has become stronger and everyone's living standards have improved, it has also led to many people seeming to have a "glass heart." The modern history of our country is undoubtedly a period that is difficult to bring a sense of "refreshment" to young people. History is more about frustration and depression.

This has led many people to choose to escape from that period of humiliating history and unequal treaties. How many young people can speak out?
But how can everyone regain their interest in this period of history?
I read some historical materials about Huang Feihong and found that the era he lived in was on the edge of the confrontation between Eastern and Western cultures.He should be a frustrated character rather than invincible, because on the one hand he cannot get rid of the deep-rooted traditional concepts of our country, and on the other hand he is shaken by Western ideas.I want to use a movie to revive people's interest in this period of history through a new historical figure and his story.

In fact, there are fewer and fewer movies showing stories about this historical background. Why, I think it is probably because of the market.

Because people don’t seem to like watching it.

Why choose this historical background of the late Qing Dynasty?

Because the Qing Dynasty was on the verge of collapse and slanderous and treacherous ministers were in power, we cannot deny that there were also some loyal ministers with backbone and arrogance.

Such as Tan Sitong in "One Sword Allures the City", and Liu Yongfu in this.

"Yongfu is skinny and thin, but he is extremely courageous and trustworthy, so all his troops try their best."

If we want to show you this fragment of history, there must be something that attracts everyone, so there is no doubt that a folk hero and a world hero can attract everyone.

There are Tan Sitong and Wang Wu in A Sword of Allure, and similarly there are Huang Feihong and Liu Yongfu in Once Upon a Time.

The birth of a folk hero must be led by a famous hero, and Liu Yongfu fits this kind of hero very well.He once injured his leg in a war and came to Baozhilin to see a doctor. From then on, he formed a fate with Huang Feihong. This is also consistent with history itself.

What Liu Yongfu projects on Huang Feihong is our traditional patriotism.

At that time, although China was bullied by foreign powers, just as there were good people in China, there were also good people among foreigners.

What I hope is to look at this story and this history from a relatively objective perspective. "

"Like a missionary?" Jiang Bing had obviously done his homework.Li Yi nodded and said, "Yes, missionary!"

"To embody Western ideas in a short film, missionaries are undoubtedly the most effective. This missionary also has a special role, that is, he will become the person who influences the traditional concepts of Once Upon a Time.

Of course, in troubled times, some people contribute to the country, while others take advantage of the country's difficulties to make money.

For example, the Shahe Gang in the movie, they are the representatives of "the gangsters" in troubled times.

It can be said that to a certain extent, these traitors are more despised and despised than the evil-doing foreigners. However, in troubled times and when the country is in trouble, such people always emerge in endlessly.The Shahe Gang is a representative of this type of people. There are many such examples in history. From a movie perspective, this type of people is also very suitable for the villain's power.

And if someone makes trouble, someone has to suppress it.

Therefore, the government and official admirals came into being to suppress the militia. They had bad roots and were ruthless, which paved the way for the later confrontation between the government and the people.

After talking about the "bad guys" in the country, in this era, since there are some people who are trying to make money at home when the country is in trouble, there are also people who are making money from foreigners.

The Shahe Gang is on the one hand. Do you still remember the Chinese people who gave speeches on the stage?
He is a typical broker who sells compatriots. I remember when I was reading the information, I saw that at that time, many people who came back from abroad poisoned their compatriots, saying that there was a golden mountain on the other side of the sea and the ground was full of gold.The addition of the broker makes the story of the broken rivers and mountains more real and full. "

"What about the theater troupe? Why did you choose the theater troupe?" Jiang Bing asked again.

"We know that the prosperity of opera also started in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, when there were pear gardens all over the place. A pear garden team, as a symbol of the mainstream entertainment culture at that time, also wanted to use this to highlight the people of that time who were still intoxicated when the country was in ruins. The sadness of Yu Mi Mi's voice.

In such troubled times, there is another role that is indispensable, and that is the busker who lives in the world.Different from the opera troupe, the buskers actually represent another type of people.

So I created Yan Zhendong, a martial arts master.After guns and other lethal weapons broke into China, such people not only had no food to eat, but also lost their principles and dignity.

Moreover, people like Yan Zhendong are also in sharp contrast to people like Huang Feihong. They are both extraordinary in skills, but why did Yan Zhendong and Huang Feihong end up going in two completely different directions?
This is also an issue I want to explore through the movie. The biggest difference between Yan Zhendong and Huang Feihong is that Yan Zhendong’s ability to survive is martial arts, but Huang Feihong is not!

His martial arts is not a means of making a living, and Bao Zhilin itself is not a martial arts school, but a medical school.

Of course, for a mature movie, love is often indispensable.

The thirteenth aunt in history was named Mo Guilan, a native of eastern Guangdong.

But the movie must be artistically processed, so after much thought, she was finally portrayed as a person who returned from abroad and was a distant relative of Huang Feihong, so as to represent modern women's love ideas and be able to better relate to Huang Feihong from the East. Feihong had conflicts.

The role of Thirteenth Aunt is very crucial. The missionary is an "outsider". He can bring an impact to Huang Feihong's traditional concepts, but it is difficult to influence Huang Feihong step by step all the time.

Huang Feihong is a conservative person. If you want such a person to change, from resistance to gradual acceptance, it requires a subtle process. Undoubtedly, Aunt Thirteen, the person around her, influences intentionally or unintentionally all the time, which makes it more effective!

In fact, there are many lines in the film. Maybe it’s because I want to show too many things, so the first film may have certain flaws in the plot. In the film, there are family and country interests, conflicts between China and the West, and gangs in power. , there is the turmoil between the government and the people, the decadence of the countrymen, the voice of decadence, the brokers who harm the people, the tug of war between the great powers and the Qing court, the justice brought by the missionaries, the sadness of the wandering world, the touching love, and the "man" The motivating voice of "strengthen yourself"...

It's really difficult to combine these into a two-hour movie. "

"So what about Huang Feihong's character and the action design of the movie? How did you come up with it?
The fighting scenes in the movie are very different from those in the past. At the same time, the character of Huang Feihong is also different from the traditional image of Huang Feihong. How did you come up with it? "Jiang Bing asked again.

"First of all, we all know that Huang Feihong is a master of medicine and martial arts, and this cannot be changed. So what does a master of the first generation look like?

Mr. Yu, you should know, right?
He can be regarded as a grandmaster-level figure, but his usual personality is not like what is shown in many movies. It seems that a grandmaster must be unsmiling and serious.On the contrary, he is usually humorous and a bit playful.

Most of the time, the impression we see of the first-generation masters is that they are older, the kind of old-timers.

It seems that no matter how good a young man is in martial arts, he is at best a top master rather than a master.

When Huang Feihong appeared in the movie, he was not an old master. He was just a young man. So how to highlight his grandmaster demeanor?
On the one hand, it is due to his virtue, and on the other hand, it is naturally due to his martial arts.

We all know that a person with high martial arts skills may not necessarily be called a grandmaster. If you want to become a master, you must have high moral character and high prestige, and at the same time, you must have the matching martial arts.

Therefore, my idea at the time was that personality cannot be the biggest factor affecting his becoming a grandmaster.

He is young, so he must have the mentality of a young man. For example, he will sometimes be a little bit shy, and sometimes he will be silent, but this does not prevent him from becoming a great master.

So his fighting moves are very crucial.

His martial arts moves do not necessarily have to conform to the martial arts methods, but each move must be beautiful and visually appealing, making people feel that he is a great master at a glance.

For this reason, I also thought about arranging a unique move for Huang Feihong, or a famous move. In the first part, it has not been shown yet, but Yan Zhendong only mentioned it. The Shadowless Kick is Huang Feihong’s unique move. It's also his signature move.

In the past, martial arts movies were all about confrontations with real swords and guns, and the flashes and movements basically did not rely on wires, so it was difficult to see scenes of flying over the wall and jumping up and down.Moreover, without the help of Wire, it is difficult to show great power in movements, and it is difficult to move smoothly.

At the beginning of the millennium, there were actually many martial arts films, and they were all blockbusters, and the use of Wi-Fi was already very mature.

However, those movements that are purely for viewing and simply beautiful are not worthy of the title of a great master. Therefore, how to find a balance between impact and beauty has also become a question for Yuan Ba ​​Ye and Yu Lao. The biggest headache for these martial arts instructors.

In fact, Diaowei Ya and Diaowia Ya are also different.

In many of our current Xianxia dramas, Wei Ya performs actions. Most of the time, they are relatively simple actions. However, Wuxia and Xianxia are different, because Xianxia mostly pays attention to a visual effect in a flashy way, while martial arts, on the other hand, Every move must be particular about, and both parties must be doing move versus move, routine versus routine.

This is also the most difficult part of this kind of movie. For safety reasons, we have to conduct safety inspections before every shooting to ensure that there will be no accidents. But even so, there are no big accidents, but small accidents! "

(End of this chapter)