"The 'middle-aged f4' group mainly shown in the drama is in a relatively important position in the industry in the age group of Zhao Hui and others. In this industry, there will be the temptation brought by money and power; everyone They all have their own personalities, origins, and attitudes towards power and money.” On the morning of April 29, director Teng Huatao was interviewed by reporters and talked about the topics discussed in “City Within a City” in his eyes, “These four people have distinct characteristics. Things are the theme we want to express. "
"City Within a City" is adapted from the novel of the same name by Shanghai writer Teng Xiaolan, and is set against the background of financial reforms around 2018. Before this drama, Teng Huatao directed "Heart Residence", which was also adapted from Teng Xiaolan's novel. "At that time, I learned that Teacher Teng also had a work called "City Within a City". Because I was interested in the characters in it, I always wanted to make a financial-themed drama." He said, "The novel tells the story of the financial city in Lujiazui, Shanghai. The story of the two generations working in the bank represents the changes in China's finance during a specific historical period. The dilemma and complex human nature of these people during the changes are what I want to express most."
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"City Within a City." "Preparations started in 2018, and the difficulty of adapting it exceeded Teng Huatao's expectations. "I have been looking for a direction for a long time since I started preparing. There were several times when the direction failed, I was very decadent, and I retreated several times. If Mr. Yang hadn't been so determined to go on, maybe we would have It just gave up halfway." The "Mr. Yang" he refers to is Yang Wenhong, the chairman of Xingge Media and the producer of "City Within the City".
For Teng Huatao, "City Within a City" cannot be simply classified as a banking industry drama or a business war drama. Previously, he directed the TV series "Ups and Downs" with the background of state-owned enterprise reform, starring Zhang Jiayi, Wang Zhifei, Bai Baihe and others. ""Ups and Downs" is a bit in the direction of business war, and it is not very successful. I analyzed afterwards that maybe the 'war' of business wars is not so closely related to the audience." When it comes to urban dramas, Teng Huatao believes that the first task is to establish a connection between the characters and the audience, and first complete the characters' fate and complexity.
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In the play, the "middle-aged f4" in the financial circle is composed of Zhao Hui ( Yu Hewei ), Miao Che (Wang Xiao), Su Jianren ( Feng Jiayi ), and Xie Zhiyuan ( Tu Songyan ) Frequently out of the circle, the game between the four old classmates and the complexity of human nature revealed have become content that netizens talk about.
Teng Huatao used the word "hunting" to summarize the core plot of "City Within a City". "The special industry of banking is very close to money. What I am interested in is the hearts and minds of this group of people who have the power to decide how money is used." He lamented, "Some people are positive, and some are negative; some maintain financial order, and some destroy financial order. . How to hunt among a group of people who have the power to make decisions? Are you willing to be hunted, or are you brave enough to resist hunting? This 40-episode TV series tells the story of a pros and cons game, and the threshold is not that complicated. "
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Specific. Generally speaking, Zhao Hui, played by Yu Hewei, is the most complex character in the whole drama, and is also what everyone often calls a "grayscale character." In the play, Zhao Hui not only sticks to his ideals, but also faces various complicated situations such as the huge medical expenses for his daughter's eye disease and the pervasive traps of Xie Zhiyuan and others. He is the character Teng Huatao most wants to portray. "I like to photograph the complexity of human nature in real life. When faced with various situations, everything is not black or white." In Teng Huatao's view, Zhao Hui is a person who particularly hopes that his white shirt will not be stained with dust or black. Human beings, but this kind of idealism, whether he can persevere to the end when facing a pressure-filled environment is a test of human nature. "Zhao Hui has ideals, but he makes compromises in reality, and keeps turning gray until he gradually slides into darkness. Teacher Yu's performance can complete our ideas very clearly. After you grasp the core of the character, the character It will appear more real and not like a made-up character."
Teng Huatao said that from the beginning of the script to the post-production shooting and editing, he was also thinking about a question - if he were Zhao Hui, would he make different choices? "You will feel that every choice he makes It's very reasonable; but you also know that the so-called reasonableness is wrong and is one of the steps that will make your white shirt gray or black. People will take chances, but in reality there will be other forces dragging you forward. This complexity is very fascinating to look at. "
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This kind of "choice" also applies to Tian Xiaohui, a newcomer in the workplace. "What this character wants to express is a choice problem of the new workplace version and the naive version. When she made the first small mistake, she might not have I have thought that the future will slide into a deeper place step by step, and this is the meaning of understanding not to do evil for small things. "
Compared with the intrigues of Xie Zhiyuan and Wu Xianlong, Su Jianren in the play is loved by many viewers. "In the context of the financial reform in 2018, Xie Zhiyuan and Wu Xianlong represent bad capital characters; each of them does something to seduce Zhao Hui. Almost all of them have real cases. "Teng Huatao introduced that Su Jianren is a relatively simple character, "He has no desire for material or power. He is a very pure and emotionally demanding person. When I was writing the script, I also thought this character was very cute. "
As for the master-disciple relationship between Zhao Hui and Tao Wuji, Teng Huatao believes that the two are mirror images of each other. When Zhao Hui sees Tao Wuji, it is like seeing himself when he was young; Tao Wuji has always been idealistic He believed that he could become Zhao Hui in the future. "He thought that Zhao Hui would develop according to his imagination and adhere to the ideals of banking or finance; but later he discovered that the master was not that simple. "
"City Within the City" is not the first time Teng Huatao has filmed in Shanghai. He revealed that this drama is very different from previous filming in Shanghai. "Shanghai is China's financial center and is also becoming an international financial center. Although I am not from Shanghai, I really like photographing Shanghai and presenting the characteristics of the city and people to audiences across the country. In "City Within a City", I made small changes and deliberately avoided things that are particularly Shanghai-specific. Because in this drama, it is no longer a Shanghai with purely Shanghai characteristics, but can be understood as a financial center, a place where money is dealt with. "
Teng Huatao introduced that the meaning of "City within a City" is firstly the physical concept of "city within a city", which is about Shanghai, the financial center of the city; and when expanded, for the characters in the play, this means Everyone has a "city" in his or her heart. "Whether you are trapped in the city or outside the city; do you want to connect inside and outside the city, or do you want to get out and go in? Each character may be in a different city. In the city. I think there is no more appropriate name than this. "
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