stonecrandall Chapter 270 New play and selection of minor protagonist
Chapter 270 New play and selection of minor protagonist
Within a month after returning to China, in addition to the release of "Embroidered Spring Knife", Wu Yuchen visited many remaining concentration camps from the Anti-Japanese War period in China.
Speaking of concentration camps, the first thing that comes to mind is Natri, the Jews who were persecuted in the concentration camps. But in fact, Germany was not the only one doing this during World War II.
Do you do less neon? Has China received less persecution? Not less. During the entire World War II, the number of direct deaths due to the war was 70 million, and China alone accounted for 18 million, equivalent to a quarter.
However, the persecution of the Chinese during World War II was not taken seriously internationally, and the tragic human tragedies that occurred in China seemed as if they did not exist compared to the Jews. Germany apologized honestly, but there are still many forces left in the country trying to deny its crimes. This is the power of the right to speak!
During its eight years in China, Neon also built many concentration camps, including Fengtian Prisoner of War Concentration Camp, Lushun Prison, Weixian Concentration Camp in Shandong Province, Jinan Concentration Camp, Shimen Concentration Camp, the former site of Bungalow 731, etc. Wu Yuchen visited them all.
To be honest, the more he watched and understood, the more he felt it was a hell on earth, which filled his heart with all kinds of negative emotions. If he stayed there for a long time, he might become depressed. It’s no wonder that Zhang Chunru, who later devoted himself to studying the Nanjing Massacre, suffered a mental breakdown and committed suicide. Alas...
Then Wu Yuchen shook his head. He had to withdraw his emotions and not be affected, otherwise it might affect subsequent filming.
The Chinese-language anti-war film he wants to shoot this time is to reflect the persecution China suffered during the Anti-Japanese War. But if you want to shoot from conventional angles, to be honest, those Jewish directors have shot most of the angles that should be shot.
For example, when filming "Rabe's Diary", it will feel like imitating "Schindler's List". If he wanted to shoot a Chinese-language film on the same subject to win the Olympics, he would have to find a new angle.
Fortunately, that's not the case... "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas".
This is a film that shows Natri's crimes completely from a child's perspective. Because it is a child's perspective, it is very pure. Many of the things he saw were difficult for him to understand, and they were gloomy and absurd.
The film never directly addresses cruelty and gore, which does not mean that it intentionally avoids these issues. It is just that children's eyes cannot interpret it. It can only convey the bloody cruelty of that era through some details and hints.
This is also something Wu Yuchen values about him. Many similar anti-war movies are shot with bloody violence, and they go straight to show the crimes of thugs. It’s not that shooting like this is bad, but to be honest, it’s not conducive to the dissemination of the movie. The film requires artistic processing, it is not a straightforward documentary.
Wu Yuchen also communicated with Spielberg before returning to China. When he was filming "Schindler's List", he also thought about whether to film more of Natri's various violent behaviors to show his crimes more vividly. . But it was eventually abandoned because the bloody and violent scenes in the movie would make it difficult to disseminate.
A more sophisticated approach is not to use a large number of bloody and violent scenes to cause discomfort and anger in the audience, but to involve the audience, mobilize the audience's emotions, and make the audience resonate and share the same hatred.
And this "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" perfectly fits this point. There is very little bloody violence in the whole film, but when you watch everything from a child's perspective, almost everyone can understand everything, which creates a strong feeling. resonance. After all, children’s emotions are the most sincere and touching!
This movie was released in 2008 and won many awards. The original novel was only published in 2006. The writing hasn't even started yet, so Wu Yuchen has no problem filming it.
The story framework basically does not need to be changed. The Chinese side of the concentration camp also exists. Of course, some details need to be changed. For example, in the original version, the father of the little boy is a Nacui officer. Here, he can be changed to a senior official of the Japanese and puppet troops. According to Wu Yuchen's visit and investigation, many concentration camps are actually guarded by puppet troops.
Most of the real elite Japs were sent to the front lines to fight tough battles, and many of the security managers in concentration camps and prisons were traitors and puppet soldiers.
As for the shooting location, this time I plan to set it near Fengtian. The three northeastern provinces have been occupied for 14 years. There are many concentration camps here. While persecuting the people of the northeast, brainwashing propaganda is also carried out. It is the most suitable place for the story to take place.
The protagonists of this movie are undoubtedly two little boys. One is the son of a high-ranking puppet military official who guards the concentration camp, and the other is a prisoner in the concentration camp.
These two young actors are the top priority. The requirement given by Wu Yuchen is boys between 1992 and 1994.
It's not like Wu Yuchen didn't try to search for the performance of actors in previous lives in his mind, but to be honest, he didn't remember that there were a few actors born in the past few years who had excellent acting skills. Basically, they all followed the route of fresh meat and traffic.
But even if he had it, he wouldn't dare to use it directly. Who knows what they looked like when they were children? How is your acting skills? Therefore, as early as half a month ago, Wu Yuchen had already asked the crew to start nationwide auditions.
One should be more handsome and good-looking, looking like a child raised in a well-off life, with an innocent temperament; the other should be thin and frail, or a little carrot-head, which will make people feel sympathy when they look at it. .
There were also some important supporting roles, but Wu Yuchen did not hold any auditions, such as the role of the little boy's mother, and directly called Gong Li to make an appointment. An elegant and solemn woman around 40 years old, Wu Yuchen could not think of anyone more suitable than her.
Although no one around Wu Yuchen had asked for this role. For example, Jiang Qinqin expressed her desire to play, but her age was not suitable at all, and Wu Yuchen did not agree at all.
"Director Wu, I really didn't expect that I just played my mother once in the last movie, and this time you asked me to play my mother again~" Gong Li said with a smile to Wu Yuchen.
Two years ago, she acted in "Pretty Mom" and won many awards.
"Haha, Sister Li, you are not playing a poor mother this time, but a noble lady, but your care and love for your children are the same. I thought of you immediately!"
Wu Yuchen and Gong Li walked into the room chatting and laughing. This time, they decided on Gong Li in advance and let her join the audition judges to choose the "son" together with Wu Yuchen.
The selection of the two young actors took a week of picking and choosing. Gong Li took a piece of information and said to Wu Yuchen: "I still think this is good."
Wu Yuchen looked at the photos on the profile, and his performance in today's audition immediately came to mind. He nodded and said, "This Dong Zijian is really good. He is thin and small, and he is quite cute. His acting skills are beyond those of his peers. Let him play it." That little carrot head from the concentration camp is really suitable.”
Speaking of which, Dong Zijian has a very good background. His mother is Wang Jinghua, who is known as the number one agent in the Mainland. Many crew members want to give her face.
But to Wu Yuchen, Wang Jinghua is nothing in front of him, and he doesn't need to look at her face at all. He only likes Dong Zijian because he is really suitable. Perhaps because he was influenced by the family atmosphere and was exposed to a lot of performing arts, he showed his talent at a young age.
"Okay, this role is decided for him."
Wu Yuchen agreed, and then asked Gong Li: "Sister Li, which one does your son like?"
Gong Li pushed over the three documents she had left in front of her: "Well, I think the three of them are pretty good."
Wu Yuchen picked up the three materials and looked at them all. Fang Xi, Lin Dongyang, and Wei Zhe, these three little boys have very good images and temperaments, and their performance during the audition was also very spiritual, which left a lasting impression on him. Got the number. Well, none of them are familiar names to Wu Yuchen in his previous life.
Wu Yuchen took three pieces of information and said to Gong Li: "Sister Li, these three are good. I will add two more and let the five of them come to try again tomorrow. Look at them, you and Dong Zijian chemical reaction.”
Gong Li also nodded. Many actors are like this. They are very good when performing alone, but once they play together, the feeling may be different. Different people will have different chemical reactions and different effects.
"Director Wu! Thank you. It's such a blessing to have Zijian fall into your eyes!"
Wang Jinghua has also worked on many film crews and is used to big scenes. But when I heard that my son had been selected by Wu Yuchen to be one of the leading actors in his new drama, I was so excited that my face turned red.
It is because she is a top agent that she knows how big the gap is between other directors and Wu Yuchen in the Chinese film industry. The media outside are hyping up who is the number one director, Zhang Yimou or Wu Yuchen. This is not controversial at all in the industry.
You ask these actors, if they were spotted by both Wu Yuchen and Zhang Yimou at the same time, who would they be willing to act in, it would definitely be Wu Yuchen!
Box office, Oscar, Hollywood, with these words in front of you, any actor who hesitates is disrespecting his own future and prospects!
Therefore, his son has entered Wu Yuchen's new drama, which can be said to be the beginning of Tianhu. Although the development of a child star may not be smooth sailing, with her knowledgeable mother paving the way for him, as long as his son is willing to develop into the entertainment industry in the future, it will definitely be smooth!
Looking at Wang Jinghua who was nodding and bowing to him, Wu Yuchen also shook hands with her gently, and then said with a smile: "No need to be like this, Zijian is also a kid who has talent. But filming in the next two months may have to be a bit difficult. Is that acceptable?"
"Don't worry, Director Wu, hard work and hard work are the basic qualities of an actor. If I can learn from you and accept your guidance, the child will benefit a lot in the future!"
One day later, after careful screening, the candidate for the male lead, the little boy, was finally decided. Fang Xi was the best performer in all aspects.
After the little boy was selected, his parents were even happier than he was. They took the little boy and expressed all kinds of thanks and assurances to Wu Yuchen.
Wu Yuchen smiled. This time he chose an amateur actor. He didn't know if it would change his destiny and become an actor in the future.
Then he shook his head and stopped thinking about it. There was no telling what would happen in the future. The most important thing for him was to film the current drama well.
"Hey, brother Wu, how do you like your new play?"
"Hahaha, thanks to Brother Han, we have just decided on the actors for the two children." Wu Yuchen replied to Han San with a smile.
"That's good. Children's dramas are the most difficult to film. Finding two suitable young actors is already half the battle. I see that your mind is now focused on this new drama, "Xiu Chun Knife" You haven’t paid attention to the box office yet?”
When Wu Yuchen heard this, he also smiled calmly and said: "Brother Han is taking care of "Xiuchundao", I guess there will be no problem!"
"You! Okay, this time I'm not telling you about the box office of "Xiu Chun Dao". Brother Wu, I want to ask you, are you sure this drama of yours will be nominated for the Olympics this year?"
"Yeah, what's wrong?" Wu Yuchen asked.
"Well, if you are determined to compete for the Olympics, I will reserve this spot for you. I just came from "Hero" and asked about the quota for this year's Olympics."
Wu Yuchen understood when he heard what Han Sanping said. Every year, each region can only send one film to participate in the Oscar competition for best foreign language film. In the previous life, this year's Mainland China gave away "Hero", but now that Wu Yuchen is involved, there will be some troubles.
Wu Yuchen pondered for a moment, and then said: "Brother Han, I won't hide it from you. My movie reflects the theme of the Anti-Japanese War. I will definitely win the quota for review this year. As for "Hero", you Tell them, let them take the route of Hong Kong Island!”
The investor of the movie "Hero", Anle Film and Television, is itself a Hong Kong Island company. At the same time, among its cast members, Jet Li, Tony Leung, Maggie Cheung, and Yan Yan are all permanent residents of Hong Kong Island, and there are many more. The staff are also from Hong Kong Island, so they fully meet the conditions for applying from Hong Kong Island.
Of course, whether he can compete for this spot depends on Jiang Zhiqiang's ability. However, Wu Yuchen estimated that with Lao Mouzi's reputation and Jiang Zhiqiang's connections, the problem should not be big.
In fact, if you work it out, the drama "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" can also be admitted to Hong Kong Island. But the theme of this drama is a serious theme of the Anti-Japanese War, so Wu Yuchen definitely wants to let him represent the mainland in the competition. This meaning is different, and he will definitely not give up this spot.
After hearing this, Han Sanping agreed: "Okay, brother Wu, it's settled. But you have to hurry up when shooting, there are only three months left before submission."
"Don't worry, there are no big scenes in this drama. I have already arranged all the scenes. It mainly depends on the performance of the young actors. I expect it to be completed within 2 months."
Han Sanping nodded, and then reminded Wu Yuchen:
"Brother Wu, your film is based on the theme of the Anti-Japanese War, but it has attracted a lot of people's attention. There are also many people above who want to see your finished product. I won't say much else. , the main issue is this scale, not to follow the footsteps of "The Devils Are Coming".
Wu Yuchen laughed directly after hearing this: "Hahaha, Brother Han, which movie has been blocked since I made movies? I guarantee you that if this movie of mine can't pass the review, then what about the other Anti-Japanese War movies? Don’t even take pictures!”
The film he chose, "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas," can almost be said to be the smallest of the many anti-war films. If this can be stuck, he will make a big scissor scene!