Interview | Huang Wenbin The 42nd Hong Kong Film Awards ceremony was held on the evening of the 14th. Actor Lin Baoyi was nominated for Best Actor for his role as Zhang Jianhua in the movie "Under the Sun". Zhang Jianhua is the director of the "Caiqiao Home", a home for disabled

Written by | Huang Wenbin

The 42nd Hong Kong Film Awards ceremony was held on the evening of the 14th. Actor Lin Baoyi was nominated for Best Actor for his role as Zhang Jianhua in the movie "Under the Sun". Zhang Jianhua is the director of the "Caiqiao Home", a home for disabled people in the film. Lin Baoyi has never played a character born with amblyopia before, and has never played a role that he does not agree with. However, it was these unknowns that attracted him to take on the role. this role.

In the movie, although the character Zhang Jianhua does not have many roles, he has complex layers. At first he had a loving and gentle appearance, but later his cunning and cunning surfaced with the truth, and even his body language was thought-provoking.

's meticulous portrayal of this character allowed Lin Baoyi to be nominated for a mainstream film award for the first time in more than 30 years in the industry. Before hearing the news, he did not expect to receive such high recognition: "I never thought I would be nominated. In fact, many things for me came late, so it doesn't matter to me. I have been in the industry for so many years, and I can be nominated." The nomination is already a great encouragement to me. The important thing is to meet a character with a lot of creative space and grasp him well. "

Stills of "Under the Day", Lin Baoyi plays Zhang Jianhua

Lin Baoyi in 1991. Signed a contract with TVB and starred in popular dramas such as "Forensic Records", "Golden Branch Desire" and "Wonderful Hands". Coming from the golden age of Hong Kong dramas, Lam Baoyi believes that today's Hong Kong dramas are a bit outdated and in urgent need of innovation. The key to innovation is that the producers, directors and producers leading the projects are willing to try new styles.

He produced and starred in the web drama "Bridge of Sighs" in 2020. It still tells an urban love story, but it no longer focuses on the parents and shortcomings of old-school Hong Kong dramas. It also does not have the classic lines that often appear in TVB dramas. The drama uses a unique narrative The technique and image style received a high score of 8.6 on Douban. It may be difficult for anti-traditional Hong Kong dramas to attract Hong Kong drama audiences. Failure in ratings and reputation will inevitably have an impact on the careers of producers and actors. Therefore, Lin Baoyi described the experience of producing and starring in "Bridge of Sighs" as "an adventure." Even the widely praised works in his career, such as "The Golden Bough" and "Under the Sun", made him have similar worries before they actually met the audience. The

movie "Under the Day" was released in mainland theaters on the 12th of this month. It was directed by Jian Junjin and produced by Er Dongsheng. The film tells the story of news reporter Ling Xiaoqi who got clues about the abuse of residents at the "Caiqiao Home", a disabled institution. , a story about sneaking into the hospital disguised as the granddaughter of a demented old man, Tong Bo, to investigate the truth. From Ling Xiaoqi's perspective, the film presents the plight of disabled elderly and disabled people and the lack of social security. It also points to deep thoughts on the truth of news and the standards of news reporting.

Poster of the movie "Under the Sun"

Before the Academy Awards ceremony, Lin Baoyi accepted an interview with Interface Entertainment and shared the story behind "Under the Sun" and his views on the Hong Kong film and television industry.

01 I don’t agree with a role, and I feel horrible when I look in the mirror after get off work.

Interface Entertainment : In a previous interview, you mentioned that you refused to star in "Under the Sun". Why did you refuse at first but then acted again?

Lin Baoyi : It was many years ago that I first saw the script of "Under the Sun". At that time, the director sent me a roughly two-page story outline. After reading it, I told him that I liked the story very much. But I was working on "Bridge of Sighs," which was my first TV series as a producer, and I had a lot of work to do, and I didn't have time to do "Under the Sun." It's really God's will that

can play this role. Later, Louis Koo's Tianyi Film Company invested in this drama. Many years later, Louis Koo came to me to play this role. He said there was a very good drama, but I had turned it down before. I had forgotten what the play was, but he sent me the entire script to read. After reading the script, I thought this role was very good.I like new things and don’t like to perform similar roles and stories over and over again. I have never played a role like Dean Zhang before. It is a challenge for me. I want to try to see if I can do it well, so I called Louis Koo and said I could act.

Interface Entertainment : It is your first time to play a character who is born with a disability. What preparations have you made for this?

Lin Baoyi : Director Zhang has amblyopia, so I asked the film company if I could visit some groups with amblyopia and talk to them. The film company quickly took me to meet a friend with amblyopia. When we first met, we sat facing each other and chatting, and I could only see his upper body. We chatted for more than half an hour, and it was just time for lunch, so I proposed to have lunch together. From the moment my visually impaired friend stood up, I followed him and observed his behavior until the end of lunch.

Throughout the whole process, I used my brain to record all his body language. But I felt it was not enough, so I combined what I observed with what I imagined after reading the script, and then slowly added some body language. For example, you can see that Dean Zhang always tilts his head in the movie. That is because he He could see almost nothing with one eye, and he used to see with the other eye. The process is like cooking, adding a little oil and a little sugar until I think I can make a good dish.

Interface Entertainment : In the movie, Dean Zhang and his former colleagues said that he "loved his residents". He did support the institution, but he also violated the disabled people. What do you think of him? What about this contradiction in your body? How do you grasp the contrast between these two sides when creating a character?

Lin Baoyi : Maybe every good person in our eyes has a dark side, but we just don’t know it. One premise you need to know is that there are many nursing homes and disabled homes around us, but not every one of them can take good care of the residents because they are under operating pressure and have insufficient manpower. One caregiver may have to take care of dozens of residents. Personally, the dean and nursing staff are under great pressure. Dean Zhang is supporting the "Caiqiao Home", a residential home for the disabled, and he treats the residents sincerely. In my opinion, his violation of the mentally retarded girl Xiaoling was also out of a twisted love. I once asked some friends if they would find a girl like Xiaoling as a girlfriend, and their answer was no. Then who can give love to these disabled people? Only the dean can love them like this. This is how I convinced myself when I played the role of the dean.

Of course, it is absolutely wrong to violate a mentally retarded girl, but I cannot have this mentality when performing. I must tell myself that what I do is a good thing, because no bad person will feel that he is doing a bad thing when he does a bad thing. When I acted, I had to act as the dean, but I didn't identify with this role. Playing a role that I didn't identify with was a challenge I had never experienced before. When I saw what I saw in the mirror after get off work, I felt so horrified, so when I was filming this movie, I didn’t go out except for filming, and I didn’t dare to look in the mirror.

Stills of "Under the Sun"

Interface Entertainment: With this role in "Under the Sun", you were nominated for the Golden Horse Award for Best Supporting Actor and the Academy Award for Best Actor. This is more than 30 years since you have been in the industry. Come and be nominated for a mainstream film award for the first time. How did you feel when you first learned you were nominated? Do you think the award came a little late?

Lin Baoyi : I don’t think it’s too late. I never thought I would be nominated before. In fact, I came to many things very late, so it doesn’t matter to me. I have been in the industry for so many years, and being nominated is already a great encouragement to me. The important thing is to be able to meet a character with a lot of creative space and grasp him well.

My requirements for "Under the Sun" are not high. When I took over the filming of this film, I did not expect that it would be recognized by so many people. I originally thought that "Under the Sun" might be released in theaters within three or four days of its release, or a week at most. But I am very satisfied that it has achieved such good results.

"Under the Day" stills

02 There are indeed some old Hong Kong dramas nowadays

Interface Entertainment : You have played many different roles since you entered the industry. Which role impressed you the most?

Lin Baoyi : The role that impressed me most was Sun Baiyang in "The Golden Branch". This was my first time filming a costume drama, my first time shaving my head, and I had to go to Beijing and Hengdian for filming. Only then did I realize that... It is very cold to shave your head in the northern winter. The lines in this drama are also very difficult, so I was very impressed.

Actually, when I was filming "The Evil of the Golden Branch", I also thought that the effect of this drama might not be very good. I thought at the time, would anyone read such a heavy story, would there be an audience that would like it? I did not expect that "The Love of the Golden Branch" would become the beginning of Qing palace dramas. After that, many directors and producers in China began to shoot Qing palace dramas.

Stills of "The Desire of the Golden Branch"

Interface Entertainment : "The Desire of the Golden Branch" and the Hong Kong dramas you have acted in, such as "Inspection Record", "Miao Hands of Benevolence" and "Jewelry", are not only well-known in Hong Kong, China, but also in the three countries on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. The land was all the rage. But now that the glory days of Hong Kong dramas seem to have passed, what do you think of the saying "the decline of Hong Kong dramas"?

Lin Baoyi : Today’s Hong Kong dramas are indeed a bit old. Part of the reason is that most of the entertainers and behind-the-scenes staff in Hong Kong came from some performing arts schools in Hong Kong, so the shots, the tone of speaking lines, and the way of performance all have the same routine, so the things that are filmed It's quite similar.

Hong Kong dramas must be innovative. If there is no innovation, when the audience turns on their mobile phones or TVs, they will feel that what they see is similar to a certain drama a few years ago, except that some actors have been changed. I myself am the same. If I feel that the stories of some movies and TV series seem to have been seen before, I will not watch them. I think there should be innovation, new actors and new directors, and not just the same few people who come and go.

Interface Entertainment : What do you think is the key to innovation in Hong Kong dramas now?

Lin Baoyi : I think the directors, producers and investors behind the scenes are very important. Because a drama is led by directors, producers, and investors. If they stick to the past and just want to repeat the previous content, Hong Kong dramas will not be innovative. We actors are actually very passive and cannot ask investors to invest in new dramas. Only when directors, producers and other leaders come out to wave the banner and say that they need to lead new trends, use new ways of filming, or discover some new actors, will actors have new room for performance, and so will Hong Kong dramas. Possibility of innovation.

Interface Entertainment: Is it because you are relatively passive as an actor that you started to serve as a producer? "Bridge of Sighs" is the first drama you produced. Did it meet your expectations?

Lin Baoyi : Being the producer of "Bridge of Sighs" is a big adventure for me. I remember that the last scene of "Bridge of Sighs" was shot in Belgium. On the day of filming, everyone was very happy, but I told everyone that it is possible that after filming this scene, we will have no scenes to shoot. Because "Bridge of Sighs" is too new for Hong Kong dramas, the way it tells stories is "brain-burning" in the words of many people. Some scenes appear many times. I didn't understand it when I read the script for the first time. I don't know if the audience will accept this approach. But luckily, "Bridge of Sighs" won the hearts of many viewers after it was aired, and I am satisfied with its results.

"Bridge of Sighs" poster

Interface Entertainment : "Bridge of Sighs" has investment from mainland companies. Do you think cooperation with the mainland will be the direction of innovation for Hong Kong dramas?

Lin Baoyi : In fact, "Bridge of Sighs" was filmed by a company in Hong Kong, but the production company had investment from a mainland video platform. The entire scene of "Bridge of Sighs" was mainly shot in Hong Kong and Belgium. There will definitely be something new when you go filming in the Mainland, because there are many big cities in the Mainland and there are many scenery that you can shoot that are not seen in Hong Kong dramas.Different cities have different beauties. I have been to Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Guangzhou, etc., and I have seen many different sceneries, but in Hong Kong, the same sceneries I kept taking pictures of. I also hope to have the opportunity to film in the mainland, but I still have to look at the plot. For example, "The Love of the Golden Branch" was filmed in Beijing and Hengdian, and "The Jewel" was filmed in Qingdao and Tibet.

Interface Entertainment : In recent years, many directors and actors from Hong Kong have come to the mainland to develop. Why do you think there is a trend of going north to develop?

Lin Baoyi : After all, Hong Kong is only a small part of China. There are only a few companies investing in movies and TV series. In the past, TVB had up to five or six dramas shooting at the same time, but now there are even fewer. There are more crews in mainland China. I remember one year when I was in Hengdian, I heard that there were more than 20 crews filming at the same time. There are many film and television companies in Beijing and Shanghai, and there are more investors, so there will be more opportunities. I think it is normal for people to go to a place with more opportunities to find a job.