At the age of 65, Hu Mei, who had previously filmed "Yongzheng Dynasty" and "Emperor of Han Dynasty" with a Douban score of 9.4 and 9.2, condensed "A Dream of Red Mansions" into two hours and put it on the big screen. But the film was labeled a "bad film" by many people before it

But this movie was labeled as a "bad movie" by many people before it actually met the audience. Every exposure of the movie, from the casting to the title to the plot and schedule, was accompanied by controversy.

"I was very shocked when I saw someone dare to film Dream of Red Mansions." This sentence was once the first Douban short comment on " Dream of Red Mansions: A Good Match " on Douban.

When the controversy is so great and there is already a classic version, why do we need to make another "Dream of Red Mansions"?

We chatted with director Hu Mei.

"Cause controversy and attract attention, this is my purpose"

Global Network Entertainment : "Dream of Red Mansions" has already had more than 40 versions. When it is difficult to adapt and the pearls are at the forefront, why do we need to make another "Dream of Red Mansions" now? 》?

Hu Mei: I think the most important issue is not whether to make a film and television remake of "A Dream of Red Mansions", but whether to let this Chinese masterpiece, which stands at the pinnacle of world literary history, into the eyes of contemporary people.

Although the 1987 TV series "A Dream of Red Mansions" is very popular, no one has made a movie version of "A Dream of Red Mansions" for more than 40 years. If it were not filmed, "Dream of Red Mansions" would not be on the hot search, and many people would not pay attention to "Dream of Red Mansions". It is like a dusty treasure that will be forgotten over time. Although there are still many literary lovers reading "Dream of Red Mansions", the number of people who have read "Dream of Red Mansions" thoroughly today is very rare. "A Dream of Red Mansions" is mentioned in our university, middle school, and primary school examinations precisely because it is very important. But it is almost impossible for many people to read the original work with 120 chapters. Therefore, it is my purpose to make "Dream of Red Mansions" re-enter the public's vision and become a hot topic today, causing controversy and attracting attention.

Global Network Entertainment : This movie was controversial because of its casting when it first came out. After the movie was released, the various roles have also been controversial. What do you think of everyone's opinion that the casting is inappropriate?

Hu Mei: This is a matter of benevolence and wisdom. People who like it just like it, and people who don't like it just don't approve of it. Because every reader has an understanding of Lin Daiyu's image in their mind, but even if you propose a candidate you think is suitable, we still have to think about whether this person can play the role? What I am facing is a specific job. I have to find this person who can cooperate with me. Her age happens to be fourteen, fifteen, sixteen or seventeen years old. This is extremely difficult. There is also the issue of actor matching. If the generation and feeling of the person are right, then the relationship between their characters will work. If someone seems to fit together, but they don’t fit together well, there’s nothing you can do about it.

text is abstract and can stay in your imagination. But movies are representational. You have to find this person, which is extremely difficult. I hope everyone can be more tolerant.

Global Network Entertainment : The theme of this movie is "Conspiracy and Love". The movie uses the love story of Lin Daiyu and Jia Baoyu as the main clue, but why is the movie called "Golden Marriage" instead of "Wood and Stone Alliance"?

Hu Mei: If you have not read "Dream of Red Mansions", you may not know what the "Mu and Stone Alliance" is about. But even viewers who have not read "A Dream of Red Mansions" will know that it is a love story about marriage when they hear "A Good Marriage". Everyone will think that "A Good Marriage" should be a beautiful love story, but after watching this movie, you will know that it is precisely because of the fate of "A Good Marriage" and the concept of coming from a large feudal family that Bao Daichai became... The love tragedy of three people.

Then after watching this movie, you will know that the title is not worthy of the name. It reflects the front edge of wood and stone. The front edge of wood and stone is beautiful, free, and true love, but it was ruined by the golden match.So the title is also an irony and a criticism.

Global Network Entertainment : Every time there is a new version of "A Dream of Red Mansions" film and television works, they are inevitably compared with the old version. What do you think of this comparison?

Hu Mei: I think this is probably inevitable. Everyone has different aesthetics, literary accomplishments, and life experiences, and everyone has the right to make their own judgment. A 10-year-old child will have a 10-year-old understanding of "Dream of Red Mansions" they saw today, a 60-year-old person will have a 60-year-old understanding, and people in their twenties and thirties will put their real-life insights into "Dream of Red Mansions" "among. Everyone can have their own understanding of "Dream of Red Mansions", which will naturally lead to different preferences. I think this is inevitable, and I especially hope to hear the most authentic and direct feedback from the audience.

"I was shocked by the idea of ​​adapting it into a movie"

Global Network Entertainment : You started preparing for this movie in 2006, and it was not approved for filming until 2016. What happened in the meantime? It has been six years since filming started in 2018 and was released this year. What have you experienced during that time?

Hu Mei: The process of adaptation is mainly about choices. Cao Xueqin wrote "A Dream of Red Mansions" by "reading it for ten years and adding and deleting five times to complete it." I didn't originally think it would take ten years. I originally wanted to make a trilogy of upper, middle and lower parts, but maybe I didn’t understand it well at the time, so I wasn’t allowed to shoot it. Later, I wanted to make it into a two-part story like "Taiping Wheel", but the response to "Taiping Wheel" was not very good either.

When the idea of ​​adapting it into a movie came up, I was shocked. To be honest, we don't know if we can do this. Later, our screenwriter quickly came up with a plan, which started with the scene where Lin Daiyu's father died, she returned to her hometown to receive the inheritance, and entered Jia's house for the second time, and then flashed back to the first time she met Baodai. I think this is a really young and bold idea, and it gives our film a new lease of life.

Stills from "A Dream of Red Mansions: A Good Marriage", Bao Dai's first meeting.

I wasn’t very receptive to this idea at first, but later I felt that adapting it like this would be able to reflect our theme of “conspiracy and love”. Lin Ruhai's inheritance was handed over to the Jia Mansion, and the Jia Mansion built the Grand View Garden because of this property. This is the saying of "Jia Keng Lin Wealth". This matter has a shadow in the original work but is not stated clearly, but it is also logical. This is our play and adaptation. After filming

, I took this film to many domestic distribution companies, but they were unwilling to take it. Some people told me after watching the movie that it is difficult to distribute this movie because there are almost no stars except Guan Xiaotong and , and Guan Xiaotong does not have many roles. Almost all distribution companies were not optimistic about the box office. It was not until we met Yu Dong from Bona Pictures that the film entered the distribution stage.

Global Network Entertainment : You just mentioned Guan Xiaotong, why did you choose Guan Xiaotong to play the role of Yuanchun? Since it’s difficult to distribute without stars, why not use more stars?

Hu Mei: Guan Xiaotong is a very outstanding young actor. I have always wanted to work with her. Initially we chose Guan Xiaotong because she was considering playing the leading role. But we found that when we build a cast with Guan Xiaotong as the protagonist, a star cast will be formed. The star cast would embarrass me because the actors had to read the original work over and over before they could play "Dream of Red Mansions" well, but each star has their own acting experience. Nowadays, generally people can only join the team one week before the filming of a movie. I can neither train them nor tell them the profound thoughts of "Dream of Red Mansions" in a short time. So I want to find a group of amateurs, let them gradually learn to perform, gradually enter ancient society, and let them immerse themselves in all aspects of the feudal families of that era. So I organized a training class and conducted a nationwide audition, and selected young actors who fit the original work from more than 20,000 applicants. When they entered our training class, the average age was less than 15 years old.

Our selection process is very long, and the actors with the shortest training time have also been trained for at least 3 months.We know them intimately. We have teachers for piano, chess, calligraphy and painting, interpretation of original works, etiquette and style, acting classes, line classes, and physical classes. We will analyze each student's performance in stages to determine who plays which role and whether the combination is suitable.

I won’t comment on the acting skills of these children, but I think they all got into the character later on, and we allowed them to naturally return to that character.

"I have been working in movies for more than years, and I have never worried about whether it will be accepted by the audience."

Global Network Entertainment : When did you come up with the idea of ​​making "A Dream of Red Mansions" into a movie?

Hu Mei: I started to like "Dream of Red Mansions" when I was a child, but I was not a director at that time, and I never thought about making it into a movie. Later, I entered the Directing Department of Beijing Film Academy. In the first class, my teacher told us: "Anything that literature can express, movies can express." At that time, I had an idea: "A Dream of Red Mansions" Can I take pictures too? "Dream of Red Mansions" is really too broad and profound. It covers all aspects of feudal society, whether it is architecture, food, clothing, folk culture, traditional Chinese medicine, or the images of all social classes. It established the Chinese nation's understanding of the society 300 years ago. The desire for beauty is truly recorded.

"Dream of Red Mansions" is very complex and difficult to summarize. So when it is made into a movie, I think it is not too much adaptation, but too little adaptation. Nowadays, many art categories, including dance drama, Peking opera, drama, and Yue opera, are adapting "Dream of Red Mansions", which means that many art forms can carry the story of "Dream of Red Mansions". We want to present "Dream of Red Mansions" on the big screen because film and television are the communication media that the public is most frequently exposed to today. More importantly, film language is a world language communicated through audio and video, so it has the greatest possibility of reaching every corner of the world. Therefore, I hope to reproduce the treasures of our traditional Chinese culture on the big screen, hoping that it can infect young people around the world and make contemporary young people pay attention to traditional culture again.

Global Network Entertainment : You just mentioned that for "Dream of Red Mansions", "it's not that there are too many adaptations, but that there are too few adaptations." To what extent do you think you need to be faithful to the original work when adapting a famous work?

Hu Mei: It must be 100% faithful to the original work. When I say faithful to the original work, I mean spiritually, but the purpose of my adaptation today is to face the current young audience. I want to inherit the Dream of Red Mansions, so we can make some visual changes, such as colors and architectural styles. Because these things do not harm the overall situation. I think the spirit of the story must be faithful to the original work, but the expression of the story may be different from the original work.

Global Network Entertainment : This movie is such a major adaptation of the original work. Are you worried that the audience will not accept it?

Hu Mei: I don’t think about things that I can’t control. It's like an athlete entering the game. You can only think about how to do your best in the game, not whether you can get anything. For me, it's good to just get this done, so it's nothing to worry about and no need to worry about. I have been working in movies for more than 40 years, and I have never worried about whether I will be accepted by the audience. If you don't shoot well, it means you're not good. If the audience doesn't accept it, you should suffer. If the audience doesn't accept it, just learn from it yourself.