is directed by Chen Mingzhang, and the TV series "You Too Have Today" starring Chen Xingxu and Zhang Ruonan is currently on the air. The director of this drama has directed such high-quality films as "The Prince Turns into a Frog", "Destined to Love You", " Meets Wang Lichuan" Idol. Regarding directing "You Too Have Today" this time, Chen Mingzhang said that the character settings he gave to the heroes and heroines Qian Heng and Cheng Yao in the play are "ice and fire", and in his opinion, the two leading actors in the play are very consistent with the characters. , "Chen Xingxu doesn't even need to act, standing there looks like Qian Heng; Zhang Ruonan has her own wild power, which is also particularly suitable for Cheng Yao's character background."
The TV series "You Too Have Today" stars Chen Xingxu and Zhang Ruonan.
Theme: Reject industrial saccharine, the story must be logical
Beijing News : You have mentioned in previous interviews that you have always wanted to make an idol drama that “can be watched by adults too”. What characteristics do you think an “idol drama that adults can watch” should have?
Chen Mingzhang : In fact, this is what I have been doing. I just want to fill this market. Because I think adults have a need to watch idol dramas. However, the idol dramas on the market are relatively young. In addition to the age of the actors, there is also the logic of the story. Adults are more logical, so if you see a scene that is illogical, don't watch it. Idol drama seems to be a derogatory term now. Just find two actors and sprinkle sugar on it and call it an idol drama. Actually no, it can only be called sweet, which is very different to me. From a visual point of view, when choosing actors, I would like to find actors who are relatively mature in age. Once the actors mature in age, the content will be relatively mature. I have no desire to tell stories that are too young, but I want to tell stories that are more mature. So strictly speaking, "You Too Have Today" is my first work in more than ten years with a relatively young protagonist. Naturally, I will focus more on making the story more mature and logical.
Beijing News : What do you think is the difference between "You Too Have Today" and similar modern romantic idol dramas on the market?
Chen Mingzhang: The current market is at the stage when sweet pet idol dramas are most prevalent. If a certain type of drama occupies an excessive proportion, it will definitely be unhealthy. Nowadays, everyone's concept of idol dramas is that young actors spreading sugar and falling in love are called idol dramas. Therefore, there are many "children's dramas" on the market, but not many real "idol dramas". I want to make an "organic" idol drama. What is organic? That is, your sweetness is organic, not artificial, and rejects industrial saccharin. What impressed me deeply was a scene in the early stages of filming where the male and female protagonists had pizza on their first date. Generally, when idol dramas are filming eating pizza, he may feed her and she feeds him, which is sweet, and then it is set to romantic music. But for me, I will think about how to make this "sweet" organic. This "sweetness" is half of your efforts and half of my efforts. Love is when two people take a step each and go in both directions to complete an organic romance. Perhaps the biggest difference between this drama and other idol dramas on the market is that the sweetness is organic and the logic is clear. I hope to make an idol drama that not only children can watch, but also adults, because adults also have a need to watch idol dramas, and the demand is huge.
Beijing News : As a male director, how do you make an idol drama that women like?
Chen Mingzhang: Maybe I am a detail-oriented person, I am more careful. For example, when I was filming "Meeting Wang Lichuan", Jiao Junyan was clinging to Gao Yixiang , I would say, you play with his beard while talking, so that they look more like they are in love. Audiences often make comments when watching dramas, for example, the mother acted very well, and the daughter acted very well, but they are not like mother and daughter. They are a bit good, but the line does not hold up. So how to establish the line? I still have to rely on a lot of details. I am a director who likes to capture and magnify details.In addition, I actually don’t have that much “gender awareness”. Who has the advantage when it comes to love? I think the standard for a good story is that if this protagonist is male and that protagonist is female, it would actually work if you swapped the male and female protagonists in my story.
Chen Mingzhang believes that love is when two people take a step each and rush in both directions to complete an organic romance.
Original intention: Give me the opportunity to correct the name of the idol drama
Beijing News : What is it about the story "You Too Have Today" that attracts you?
Chen Mingzhang : It was Ningmeng Film and Television who first approached me and wanted to open up a new track for idol dramas, and at the same time, I particularly emphasized the comedy label. Because I have done a lot of idol dramas before, but doing a good comedy is more attractive to me. Personally, I think comedy is the most difficult type of drama. In my early days as a drama director, many of the idol dramas I did were based on comedy. I always considered myself a comedy director and wanted to bring emotion and laughter to the audience. Another reason is that I am labeled as an idol drama director, but what has made me uncomfortable in the past twenty years is that the word idol drama has become a derogatory term. "Ah, you are just a person who shoots idol dramas..." I have heard many similar ridicules, and this is something that I care about very much. "You Too Have Today" can redefine the three words of idol drama and enhance the gold content of these three words of idol drama. In an era when idol drama has become a derogatory term, creating a template that idol dramas can refer to gives me the opportunity to rectify the name of idol dramas. This is the most important meaning of my participation in "You Too Have Today".
Beijing News: You have been filming idol dramas since you entered the industry. Have your original intentions changed? What do you think the existence of idol dramas means to the real world?
Chen Mingzhang : When I first entered the industry, I didn’t have the concept of “idol drama”. I just explored it slowly, and only when I matured did I start to put some of my own thoughts into it. I would like my work to be seen by more people, so that after enjoying the romance, the audience can gain something, not just a sweet smile. Many people ask me, are you a romantic by nature? Do you naturally believe in love? No, it’s just because I don’t believe in love that I shoot “Love”. I hope you can live in a very pleasant world while watching my works, and you turn off the TV, close the computer, open the door and leave. Go out, the real world is not like this.
Chen Mingzhang wants to enhance the quality of idol dramas through the creation of "You Too Have Today".
Style: Romantic, more realistic
Beijing News : You are affectionately called the "Father of Idol Dramas" by many viewers. Do you think you are filming idol dramas 20 years ago or ten years ago, and you are filming idols now? How has your mood changed compared to the show?
Chen Mingzhang: In fact, the changes in the market are that everyone is becoming more and more impatient. In the current short video era, it is too common to watch a movie in three minutes. The biggest challenge now is how to retain the audience and make them have the patience to read your product. That’s why I say that filming is about filming people, not scenes or plots. Because as long as you like the person in the play, you will care about everything he does, instead of using plots such as a car accident today and an explosion tomorrow to attract the audience. What I am doing is to make the audience like my character, and then care about everything he does, the difficulties he encounters, and how he solves his problems. I hope that I can still use the traditional "writing about people" method to make the audience have the patience to finish my play because they like the characters. It's hard, but I'm still trying.
Beijing News: As the audience changes, are the routines of previous idol dramas still applicable now? What can be done to make idol dramas new and attractive?
Chen Mingzhang : In fact, no matter how old the audience is, they all have a need to watch idol dramas, so this category will not be eliminated. It’s just that the demand is soft, but everyone has their own aesthetics, so if you make something very old-fashioned now, the audience may not like it. You have to come up with new things within the old structure, and this is what we hope to be able to do.Therefore, we should discuss some social cases in idol dramas. In the past, for example, in idol dramas about lawyers, the lawyer industry might just be a background. But that is not possible now. You have to have a solid case, and the logic of the case must be very strong. . (That) you didn’t have to do this before, but now you just have to provide harder logic so that the audience wants to see how the case develops.
Beijing News: "You Too Have Today" is not only an idol drama, but also involves the lawyer profession and social topics. How to reconcile romanticism and realism during filming?
Chen Mingzhang: This is indeed a difficulty in operation. Many idol dramas only use the lawyer industry as the background. The essence is to fall in love, but each of our cases has representatives of some social groups. They give this product some Express. So when we are working on a legal case, we try to make it as realistic as possible, but through music and rhythm, we incorporate some romance and joy into the realism. Our cases also organically follow the emotional process of the male and female protagonists. Each case will cause the collision and change of the male and female protagonists' concepts. Until the end, the female protagonist defeats the male protagonist to some extent and completes the shaping of the character arc. The Lord will also realize that His old ways were wrong. Therefore, every case is indispensable.
The story of "You Too Have Today" takes place in the legal industry.
Character design: The way to avoid clichés is to look for the character’s shortcomings
Beijing News : In your opinion, how should this type of drama, especially the setting of the cold boss and the innocent rookie heroine, avoid clichés?
Chen Mingzhang: The male protagonist of the drama "You Too Have Today" is a commonly known as "cold and cold boss". With these classic and traditional labels, how can you be different from others? I will want to find more flaws in him, because it is easier for the audience to believe and empathize with people who have flaws. For example, our male protagonist is very good at fighting lawsuits, but he can't eat spicy food. He sweats every time he eats spicy food, and he has to compete with others to eat spicy food. He can't swim, and the heroine has to save him when he falls into the water... I like that there are many shortcomings. The protagonist, because when you watch this drama, you can see the character setting that is different from other idol dramas.
Cheng Yao's initial character design is that of a newbie in the workplace. What impressed me deeply was her style setting on the first day she went to the company. I feel that if a person is very talented, he must put on some nice clothes on the first day when he goes to the company, and then kick off his shoes first thing when he gets home. Also in the first episode, when she first appeared, her former boss asked her, wearing heavy makeup, to accompany a client to drink. But when she saw the "male publicist" in the next seat (she misunderstood the male protagonist as a "male publicist") who was so persistent and wouldn't do something if he said he wouldn't do it, she thought why should I do it, so she fell out. So he poured wine, even sprayed it, and wiped off his lipstick while walking. The design of this process reflected Cheng Yao's straightforward character.
In "You Too Have Today", Chen Mingzhang presents the characters' personalities through a large number of details.
Beijing News : The "power relationship" between the male and female protagonists in the play has actually been significantly reversed as the female protagonist grows up. In the end, they grow in both directions and stand side by side. What kind of emotional resonance do you think it can give to young people today? ?
Chen Mingzhang: I think every couple ends up becoming their significant other. In real love, the characters progress and change by thinking about each other, being influenced by each other, and the two people grow together. To a certain extent, living as the other person, I think is the greatest romance. Qian Heng will also become very cute in the later period. He is arrogant at first, and then slowly becomes warm and gentle under the influence of Cheng Yao, even a little arrogant like a little princess. It turns out that the hot-tempered Cheng Yao has become more and more mature, and even finally defeated this gold-medal lawyer who has never failed. This is also a kind of equality in the relationship. This era often talks about equal relationships between men and women. If an assistant lawyer associates with a very powerful lawyer, everyone may feel that they are not equal.But in the process of handling cases and getting along with each other, the two gradually became equal. This is an internal and external equality. Cheng Yao finally made Qian Heng understand that many things were wrong in the past, so this was quite enjoyable to watch.
Beijing News: What special requirements do you have when choosing actors? How to stimulate actors' performance ability?
Chen Mingzhang: I think as long as young actors are serious, even if they don’t have much acting experience, I am willing to tolerate and help them. Because I used to be a theater director and I believe more in theater practice, I like to call a dozen main actors to do a lot of improvisational exercises. I won't let them get into the role right away, but start with improvisation to see what each of their acting styles is, what they are good at and what they are not good at. In fact, for me, those three days of practice were more about me asking for help. I needed to understand each person, use their strengths and avoid their weaknesses, and set up roles based on what they were good at. And through this process, actors can be forced to think, instead of passively accepting the script. Maybe it is better to think once than to read the script twenty times. You don’t have to follow the script. Those three days are a time for actors to think. process.
Like Ruonan, she has a slow personality, but on the second and third days, I can quickly see her changes, hard work and positivity. I will know her attitude towards facing challenges, so I will have confidence in her work in the next three months because she is working hard. Xingxu showed a high degree of confidence at the beginning. Sometimes when I wanted to do some exercises, he would raise his hand and ask me to try it. This allows me to see his enthusiasm for the character, and then he will have some changes when facing difficulties, and he will upgrade himself. For example, he will have the habit of performing in costume at the beginning, and I will ask him to speak with confidence, so that he can have the aura of a lawyer. They are completely different people, but after those few days of rehearsal, I was able to gain great confidence in their work, because they are people who are willing to overcome difficulties and perform positively.
Beijing News reporter Liu Wei
editor Tian Sini
proofreader Liu Jun
