On June 20, the blockbuster new Chinese film " the hedgehog " in the main competition unit of this year's Shanghai International Film Festival held its world premiere at Shanghai Cinema SHO. Director Gu Changwei attended the media meeting with leading actors Ge You, Wang Junkai and the original author of the novel Zheng Zhi to talk about the experience and process behind the creation of the film.
(from left to right) Ge You, Gu Changwei, Wang Junkai, and Zheng Zhi attended the media meeting of "Hedgehog"
"Hedgehog" tells the story of Wang Zhantuan, played by Ge You. Due to an adventure in his early years, he became a "devil" and "devil" in his family's mouth. Heart disease. When the nephew Zhou Zheng, played by Wang Junkai, was growing up, his parents always warned him to stay away from the Wang Group to prevent being possessed by evil spirits. Zhou Zheng, on the other hand, is out of tune with his surrounding environment because of his stuttering and academic performance. Two people "stuck" in life and family love accompany each other and warm each other.
"The Hedgehog" poster
The "Stuck" Man
"The Hedgehog" is Gu Changwei's creation that returns to serious issues after 12 years. It seems to have a certain similarity with its famous masterpiece "Peacock" from the title to the theme. "Echoing each other from afar", using animals as images, people who are unwilling to accept fate but do not accept mediocrity, are scarred and upright in the "battle" with the world.
Wang Zhantuan is a strange person in the world. He sometimes goes crazy and behaves strangely, but he is uniquely sober. Zhou Zheng is a sensitive and silent young man who stutters and is autistic, but has a silent rebellion. Because of a hedgehog, Zhou Zheng made the same mistake as the King Fighter and finally became the King Fighter. Just like the frustrated Wang Cailing in "The Beginning of Spring" and the three sisters in "Peacock", the choices of Zhou Zheng and Wang Zhantuan's life and destiny in "Hedgehog" continue the consistent strongness and compassion in Gu Changwei's previous films.
Gu Changwei said at the meeting, "This general environment will pay more attention to the whole. In order to make the whole exist more dynamic and valuable, in fact, each individual needs to find his own comfortable position and be able to enjoy the life process." "Hedgehog" pays more attention to the value and meaning of personal existence, their choices, and the environment and people they have to face in this choice process. "
"Hedgehog" is adapted from the work "Xian Zhi" by Northeastern novelist Zheng Zhi. β Regarding this story, Zheng Zhi answered that what he wrote was βWhen a good person suffers misfortune, and when a person is incompatible with the world, how can he find his inner strength, climb out of the trough of life, and move on?β .
Stills from "The Hedgehog"
Northeastern writer Zheng Zhi, who has had many novels adapted into film and television works, was pleasantly surprised that "The Hedgehog" changed the literary background of the original work. "This is not the first time I have experienced a work being adapted into a movie. But "The Hedgehog" is the most special and emotional one. Its biggest difference lies in the change in the background of the story. The original novel has a more pessimistic perspective on fate. This is different from the original novel. I personally have a lot to do with it. But Gu Changwei added a touch of warmth to the background from the perspective of the director. It is not a change in the plot, but the inner feeling after watching the movie "
" I will never be obsessed with anything again. "Everything is stuck", this touching line in the movie, Zheng Zhi said that it was written to himself, "But after watching the movie, I will feel that it is for all viewers."
"It is not easy to meet a good story. Read it." "When I read Zheng Zhi's novel, I felt like I was lucky." Gu Changwei said that although the process was difficult, "now that the film can meet the audience, I feel a sense of harvest and joy."
(from left to right) Wang Junkai, Ge You, Gu Changwei, Zheng Zhi attended the premiere of "Hedgehog"
Wang Junkai "burned with inferiority" and Ge You "changed as a person"
Ge You contributed an impressive performance in the film. He is deep, melancholic, and extremely simple, which is completely different from the comic image in the audience's previous impression. Talking about this performance, he said that "the most impressive thing about this character is that this person is different from ordinary people." Wang Zhantuan has always lived in his own world, "When you say who he is, most people will answer that he is mentally ill. I don't think it is that simple."
This is the second collaboration between Ge You and Gu Changwei after " Farewell My Concubine ". Ge You said, "More than 30 years ago, you didn't need to ask the photographer for the performance. This time you have to ask the director." He talked about working with Gu Changwei The method is, "Don't panic or be busy. It's very comfortable to film together. It gives you a lot of time and leeway, and you can be more energetic to perform more." "
Ge You plays Wang Zhantuan
Ge You, who is almost 70 years old, told the fans that as he gets older, his acting career will inevitably become narrower, "If you are 30 years old, you can play an 80-year-old with makeup, but if you are 80, you will definitely not be able to play a 30-year-old. But if there is a suitable role, I will take it. Although he accepted the role casually, Mr. Ge said, "I still like this industry." When I meet a character, I become a different person, not me. This is the interesting thing. "
Wang Junkai also said that this time he challenged Zhou Zheng, a character with complex physical and psychological difficulties. In order to find the feeling of stuttering, he did a lot of homework before shooting, "including chatting with the director and looking for it on his own. Some videos to learn from. There are many types of stuttering. The director also gave me a book about stuttering, in which the degree and performance of each type of stuttering are different. Some keep saying one word continuously, while others get stuck every two words. "During the filming process, Wang Junkai will also give different processing methods on the scene to discuss with the director for better presentation effects.
"In my understanding, Zhou Zheng himself is a character who seems to be very well-behaved, but in his heart A very rebellious child. He had low self-esteem because of his stuttering, which also had a great impact on him. But despite his low self-esteem, the fire in his heart is still burning. Controlling this level is a great challenge for me. " Wang Junkai said.
Wang Junkai played Zhou Zheng
and he benefited a lot from working with veteran actors. At the press conference, he revealed, "During filming, there was a conference room for the crew to discuss roles. Everyone would go there when they were free. Sit down, uncle will be there every day. He thinks about it every day and thinks about tomorrow's play every day. "Wang Junkai still remembers that there was a scene in the film where the Wang Troupe had to sing in the street, and Uncle Ge actually ran downstairs and sang in the crowd. "This attitude is very worthy of learning for young actors. It is really a pleasure to work with him. , a profoundly beneficial experience. "
Zheng Zhi said that he experienced the "pleasure of working with excellent people" in the crew this time. He said that in recent years, he has given his annual "social quota" to the crew, and the creative rhythm is about 10 Months of writing, and two months of participating in adaptation work. "The more you write novels, the more you will become more and more lonely, and you will work by yourself behind closed doors every day." However, in the "Hedgehog" crew, Zheng Zhi felt "pure creation." I have never experienced this state in my previous film adaptation work." He said, "The process of filming "The Hedgehog" was the most enjoyable experience of working on a film in the past few years. "