The national security anti-spy drama " Rival " directed by Qidao and starring Liao Fan , Zhu Zhu , Kai Kai Tai, Li Jian and others is currently being broadcast.
"Enemy" poster
"Enemy" is adapted from Lai Tsugumi's novel "Enemy: Mountains and Rivers Nameless". In the two-pronged plot, Guo Weijie, a rookie police officer from the National Security Bureau, accidentally discovers an old policeman while investigating the theft of aviation confidential information from Institute 901. Wu Yu may be involved. In the slowly unfolding plot, the audience follows the young Wu Yu back to 19 years ago.
19 years ago, when Wu Yu was arresting Yu Bailang, the engineer of the 14th Academy, and the suspect Zheng Jin who came to contact him, he came into contact with the third person who came to contact him - a "fisherman hat" with a mysterious tattoo on his back. He urgently pursued the murderer. At that time, Wu Yu accidentally "kicked" Zheng Jin to death. When the police investigated and monitored the incident afterwards, they did not see the mysterious man wearing a fisherman's hat that Wu Yu mentioned, nor the knife used to attack him, nor even the blood.
Wu Yu was unwilling to be framed by the police and began a long 19-year pursuit of the murderer. And the "bucket hat" that Wu Yu has been searching for for 19 years - Zhang Chi, is played by Qidao, who is also the director of this play.
From the brief exchange between Zhang Chi and Wu Yu in the first episode to the hearty fight at the end, there were 19 extremely torturous years in between. The two originally unrelated destinies were closely linked by the word "old enemy" Together.
Qidao plays Zhang Chi
. What is it like to be the director and starring at the same time? What is your interpretation of the director of the drama "Enemy"? Recently, The Paper had an exclusive interview with Qidao.
[Dialogue]
From " Infernal Affairs" to "Enemy", we know nothing about those unsung heroes
The Paper News: In March last year, the spy drama "Infernal Affairs" was launched. It is your directorial debut, creative It took more than seven years. This year's "Enemy" is also a "hard nut". It tells the story of the protagonist Liao Fan's 19-year pursuit of the murderer. Can you talk about the creation process of this drama?
"Infernal Affairs" poster
Qidao: The creative cycle of "Infernal Affairs" is very long. The script took seven and a half years to write. It took a total of 11 and a half years from the script to the release. The cycle of "Enemy" is much faster. Well, it took two and a half years from writing the script to releasing it. Around 2022, Mr. Yoritsugi read this novel to me, and we agreed to turn it into a TV series, and now it has finally come to fruition.
The preparation process for "Enemy" was very intense. Due to various reasons, it could only be filmed in a very short time, so I was extremely nervous. But our entire team is still very solid, and we also had some inspirations due to time constraints.
The Paper: From "Infernal Affairs" to "Enemy", the themes and year-to-year changes in the dramas are very large. Why are you interested in the theme of "Enemy"? Regarding chasing murderers, there have been many similar themes in recent years. What was more unique or attractive to you about the script and creation process of "Enemy"?
Qidao: What attracts me most about are the unsung heroes. They are so close to us, but we know nothing about them. We will get in touch with these national security police officers when we are creating. After hearing what they do, you will really admire them from the bottom of your heart. Some of them are very young, less than 30 years old, which is what attracts me. Secondly, their stories are mysterious and exciting, which ordinary screenwriters cannot write, so I feel very lucky to have encountered such a project.
Stills from "Enemy"
The Paper: During the process of contacting these national security police officers, what kind of materials did they provide for script creation or what suggestions did they make for drama creation?
Qidao: The National Security Agency is a very mysterious department. Before this work, we didn’t know what the gates of the National Security Agency looked like, as well as their police ranks, how they dress, and more specifically, what are their disciplines? What kind, how to enforce the law, what kind of weapons to use, they have to tell us bit by bit.
I contacted a 30-year-old national security police officer who told his wife that if you see me with strangers on the street, you must not come over. It can be seen that they need to be highly alert when performing tasks. Such stories make my hair stand on end. Because I did this play, I realized that they are around us, protecting our safety, but we don't know their existence.
Our scripts have also been strictly reviewed. When we can fully understand the emotions of the characters and understand the plot, we have simplified the presentation of some confidential content, such as investigation methods, which can only be briefly described and cannot be presented in detail. .
The Paper: So for example, for example, what is a certain confidential aerospace data, and what is the process of stealing and being tracked? It does not necessarily have to show its "tangible" content. Just pointing out this concept is already very impressive. Nervous.
Qidao: Yes, our drama is different from ordinary decryption dramas. Developing the aerospace industry is the hard work of several generations, and ordinary people know how serious this is to steal the country's confidential aerospace data. The whole process of their calculations is not only extremely important. If others get the results, they can also deduce the entire calculation ideas and crack more research and development products. This will undoubtedly cause huge harm to China's security. So I don’t think there’s any need to explain specifically what kind of data it is in the play, or how complicated the programming of this data is. It’s too professional.
Stills of "Enemy"
The Paper News: In the creation, will you focus more on Liao Fan's pursuit of the murderer, or do you want to show more of the national security police officers?
Qidao: In terms of characters and story, we must be telling the story of two generations of national security police officers joining forces to capture overseas spies. The play is actually about three generations - from the generation of the deputy director to the generation of the deputy director. To the young police officers, from Luo Ping played by Zhang Zhijian to Wu Yu played by Liao Fan to Guo Weijie played by Kaitai , they are actually three generations. These generations of national security police officers are condensed into specific group portraits of the unknown heroes on the national security front line. Moreover, this drama is adapted from real people and true events. It can be said that "Enemy" is a bridge, showing these unknown heroes.
Stills of "Enemy"
The Paper News: "Enemy" The play now seems to have two clues, led by the young policeman Guo Weijie and the mysterious old policeman Wu Yu. The two intertwined cases involve the heavy burden of 19 years entanglement. What considerations were made in the structural design of "Enemy" and why did it take this form?
Qidao: Because Wu Yu was also young. From young to middle-aged, he persisted for 19 years. Now the new generation of young national security officers are beginning to follow in his footsteps. I think the difference between the old and the new is Inheritance is particularly important. This two-line narrative is to express the inheritance of this spirit; in addition, these two lines are complementary to each other. Guo Weijie found out which point Wu Yu appeared in, and they are all linked together.
"A beautifully shot main theme work"
The Paper News: In "Infernal Affairs", you are both the director and one of the starring actors. This time, you are both the director and the starring actor. Can you talk about the advancement of these two identities? Are there conflicts and difficulties in the process, and is it also a relatively novel experience?
Qidao: Although is the second drama, the biggest experience is tired, really tired.Because I am still a professional actor, and directing is a part-time job, I don’t want to give up my career as an actor. I still hope to create characters as long as my physical condition allows. However, the entire cycle of "Enemy" was very short, and it only took two months to shoot. , this sense of alternation between director and actor I originally enjoyed it quite a lot, but because of the large scale and short period of this drama, the pressure was also very high. We shot the whole scene backwards and backwards because there was a scene in the prison; we all had to shave our heads in the end. , so I filmed the elderly scenes with longer hair first, and then the bald ones.
Qidao plays various ages
The Paper: Actors, how do you evaluate the performances of the leading actors? For example, Liao Fan, Kai Kaitai, Zhu Zhu, etc. are the ones that everyone pays the most attention to.
Qidao: Liao Fan is really a textbook actor. He has handled Wu Yu of all ages in the past 19 years very well. Every scene is a highlight. You will be like him and Hu Xiafeng played by Li Jian many years later. In the scene at the bus stop, when Liao Fan took off his helmet, I get a sore nose every time I see this scene.
Wu Yu played by Liao Fan
The Paper: What was your experience of acting opposite Liao Fan?
Qidao: Let’s talk about the scene we saw on the boat 19 years later. The filming went very smoothly because the opponent actor was very good. I just had to accept what he gave me and truly feel it. The situation in that scene was that we both looked at each other and then we started to do it.
The Paper: Why did decide to play the role of Zhang Chi?
Qidao: Because he had a hard-to-surpass standard when choosing this role, that is, his height, body shape, and appearance should be closer to Liao Fan. Because in the plot, it was because young Guo Weijie saw Zhang Chi's profile that he mistook him for Wu Yu, which triggered the plot of investigating Wu Yu. We never found a suitable actor. Later, they said that my height and shape were similar to Liao Fan, so they let me play.
The character of Zhang Chi is also very well-written, very enjoyable and enjoyable, but before I had time to fully enjoy this character, I had to quickly peel it off and get into the state of shooting. Just like my scene in the cabin by the woods, 23 scenes had to be shot that day, so when I finished shooting other character scenes, I had to quickly separate myself from the director's role while the crew was preparing for the shooting of this scene. Jumping out of my identity and entering relaxed emotions and roles, I can't waste time on myself. I need to quickly adjust my state to leave more shooting time for other creative teachers.
Guo Weijie saw Zhang Chi’s side face and mistook him for Wu Yu
The Paper News: During the previous offline screening of , teacher Diao Yinan also said that this is a work with the main theme, and it is also a work that needs to be "photographed well" "Main theme work", what do you think of his expectations?
Qidao: We paid great attention when polishing the script. First of all, there should be no useless scenes. The plot must be rhythmic and fast; the lines must be concise; the characters must have distinct personalities, be full-bodied, and be very functional. It is clear that there can be no useless characters or useless lines. We have repeatedly emphasized these standards and continued to polish the play.
The Paper: As both a director and a starring actor, if you were asked to recommend the most interesting or unique aspect of this drama, how would you recommend it?
Qidao: I think this anti-special drama has a rare entry point in recent years. It tells the story of a national security police officer’s 19-year journey from resignation to undercover pursuit of the murderer. He switches between various identities. He went to many cities to capture spies, and he had a real prototype.
