The progress of "The Swordsman" has entered a period of intensive filming of martial arts scenes. This part of the scene is mainly directed by deputy director Cheng Xiaodong. Qin Tianzhu took advantage of this break to go to Republic of China Town to visit the crew of "The Choice of Destiny".
"Decision of Destiny" is the company's number one drama this year, and it is also a completely original drama. Qin Tianzhu has no reference objects in his mind. The final quality depends largely on the skill of director Zhang Li . Qin Tianzhu went to visit the crew of "Decision of Destiny" because he wanted to have some confidence in his mind.
"The Decision of Destiny" is a Chinese drama, and its main location is the Republic of China Town. After nearly two years of intensive construction by Meihua Media, Republic of China Town can now provide more than 80% of the scenes in the play.
When he came to the crew, Qin Tianzhu first expressed condolences to all the creative staff of the crew on behalf of the company. This drama wants to bring freshness to domestic audiences who are used to watching Japanese dramas. The selection of actors does not pursue the resemblance of historical figures. It is precisely because of this that the cast list of the crew aroused heated discussion in the public opinion after it was announced in the media. Some felt it was novel, some felt awkward, some supported it and opposed it, and the two sides bickered with each other very lively.
??Among the cast, GMD is mainly composed of actors from Hong Kong and Taiwan. The main roles are Chiang Kai-shek, Wang Jingwei and Sun Wen. Chiang Kai-shek is played by Taiwanese actor Zhang Chenguang, Wang Jingwei is played by Hong Kong actor Li Zhixiong, and Sun Wen is played by Taiwanese actor Zhao Wenxuan.
Since the day they joined the crew of "Decision of Destiny", these three people were signed by Meihua Media at the same time, becoming the first batch of Hong Kong and Taiwan artists of Meihua Agency. Contrary to Qin Tianzhu's imagination, it is not difficult to recruit this group of well-known Hong Kong and Taiwan actors with rich acting experience, and it is not expensive to join the cast of "Decision of Destiny". Meihua Media signed them under its banner, and they themselves are very satisfied.
Speaking of which, the reason is not complicated. The market space for Hong Kong and Taiwan film and television dramas is getting smaller and smaller, and these older actors have fewer and fewer opportunities to perform. In contrast, the mainland's market is already large. The TV drama industry has developed rapidly in recent years, and the entire TV drama market is inflating instantly like a balloon. However, the training of film and television talents has not kept pace. The salaries of actors and behind-the-scenes staff have soared sharply, and have exceeded the salaries of Hong Kong and Taiwan film and television talents of the same level. The generous salary package has greatly attracted this group of senior actors who lack performance opportunities locally. The arrival of this batch of Hong Kong and Taiwan film and television talents has just alleviated the demand for talents in the mainland film and television market.
Qin Tianzhu, as the boss of the company, welcomed their arrival. Among the three, Qin Tianzhu was a little unfamiliar with Zhang Chenguang's name. When Zhang Li chose him to play Chiang Kai-shek, he was a little worried. But as soon as I saw him in person, this strange feeling disappeared. This face was too familiar to him.
"Uncle Guang, I grew up watching your dramas. I have followed Taiwanese dramas such as "Four Young Masters in the Capital" and "Priceless Love" since I was a child. The crew of "Decision of Destiny" has you and Uncle Wenxuan , with veteran drama stars like Uncle Zhixiong joining the cast, I think this drama will definitely be a great success."
Zhang Chenguang has the elegant temperament of a middle-aged man. Because of the need in the play, he had a shaved head at this time.
He said gently: "I should be grateful to Meihua Media for the invitation. There are so many performing arts spaces in the Mainland. There are various types of TV dramas, and they are booming and prosperous." Zhang Chenguang then felt a little lonely again. Said: "In contrast, Taiwan's TV drama industry is on the decline. The types of dramas are mainly puppet shows and idol dramas, with no breakthroughs!"
Qin Tianzhu understands Zhang Chenguang's worries very well with his memory that exceeds that of others by more than ten years. In the 1980s, Taiwanese dramas were also very popular and influenced a generation of Chinese. However, as we entered the new century, this influence slowly declined, and even the market on the mainland of Taiwan was difficult to maintain. The screens of the third channel were occupied by a large number of Korean dramas, Japanese dramas and mainland dramas.
Investigating the reason, Qin Tianzhu thinks that the main reason is that their local market is already small and divided by many TV stations on the island, making their strength even weaker. The market cannot grow with a small investment, and the types of TV series are mostly concentrated in the low-cost puppet show or idol drama types. This has also resulted in less and less room for development for senior local actors like Zhang Chenguang. Of course, another reason is also related to the "de-Sinicization" movement launched on Taiwan's main island after the new millennium, which caused Taiwanese costume dramas that were originally very influential in the Chinese-speaking circle to disappear.
¡°Perhaps it is the keen awareness of this industry development trend that makes Hong Kong and Taiwan film and television talents like Zhang Chenguang join the team heading west and north.
Qin Tianzhu welcomes this magnetic attraction to the mainland market. If his Meihua Media, and the entire Lingquan City, want to become an entertainment center in Asia and even the world, they need to embrace all rivers and open their arms to welcome outstanding talents from all over the world. Not only to attractIt is the film and television talents from Hong Kong and Taiwan in the Chinese-speaking circle, and it also needs to attract entertainment industry talents from Japan, South Korea, Southeast Asia and other places that are also in the Confucian civilization circle.
"By the way, Director Qin. Is there really nothing wrong with our "Decision of Destiny"? I read the script of this drama. Although the Chiang Kai-shek I played is a heroic image, he is not a big villain. And the role is very important, he is almost the leading actor in the first film, is this okay?"
This is a question that Zhang Chenguang has always wanted to ask after joining the crew. The Chiang Kai-shek he plays has a very full character, including the ideal and glorious side during the Northern Expedition, the ruthless and cunning side during the power struggle, and the warm and ordinary side in life. This was completely different from his expectation of playing a facially-shaped villain. What surprised him even more was that the character he played was actually the male protagonist in the first film. He had heard that this was a tribute drama.
"The screenwriting department of this drama is staffed by a party history group. If they pass it, then there will definitely be no problem!"
In fact, in domestic film and television dramas, simple facial expressions of GMD generals have long been stopped. In the early 1990s, Chiang Kai-shek's image was very full and three-dimensional in a domestic movie "Armageddon". However, Zhang Chenguang, a Taiwanese actor, was not very clear about these situations, so he had doubts in his mind. As for Chiang Kai-shek's role, it's not a problem. This is a trilogy of TV series about the history of modern Japan. The first part is called Blue Rise. The main plot revolves around the Northern Expedition. As the commander-in-chief of the Northern Expedition, Chiang Kai-shek is naturally the male protagonist of the first part.
Hearing Qin Tianzhu¡¯s explanation, Zhang Chenguang felt relieved and at the same time firmed up his plans for long-term development in the mainland.
When it comes to the controversy over the actors in this drama, the GMD side is relatively small, and the more controversial ones are the characters from the GCD side. In "The Choice of Destiny", the main characters of GCD are Zhou ENlai, Zhu D, and Mao ZD. Among them, Mao ZD is played by Wu Xiubo, Zhou Enlai is played by Yan Kuang, and Zhu D is played by Liao Fan.
Among the three young actors, Wu Xiubo is an old man from Meihua Media, Yan Kuang is a new artist signed to the company because of this drama, and Liao Fan is an artist under Yihua Brothers. Although the company's self-produced dramas mainly feature artists from its own company, they do not exclude artists from other companies. When the drama series needs it, it is normal business practice for artists under each company to communicate with each other and borrow from each other.
Wu Xiubo said with some annoyance: "Director, I'm under so much pressure. I really shouldn't have listened to your encouragement to play the role of Chairman. You see, the series hasn't even been released yet, and there's controversy over the role. It¡¯s so noisy.¡±
In the first part, Wu Xiubo didn¡¯t play much, and he wasn¡¯t even the main character on GCD¡¯s side, but in the second and third parts, he was the absolute protagonist. The influx of doubts from the outside world did have a considerable impact on him.
Qin Tianzhu smiled and said: "Didn't you say that you have played too many villains and you want to play a positive role? Let you play the chairman. You are absolutely great and upright. What else are you dissatisfied with?"
In fact, when Wu Xiubo took over this role, he felt pretty good and thought it would be a huge challenge for his acting career. However, during this period, I have been questioned a lot by the news media and online comments, and I have become a little less confident.
"Uncle Bo, the controversy facing you outside shows that our choice is very subversive and completely overturns the inherent image of the chairman in the minds of the audience. We said that this drama should bring freshness to the audience. Now it seems that this The goal has been achieved. I am sure that despite the huge skepticism about our drama now, when the drama is launched, it will definitely attract a large number of curious viewers to see what is going on. This will help improve the quality of our drama. Our ratings are good.¡±
After Qin Tianzhu finished speaking, he looked around Wu Xiubo in costume for a few more times, "Actually, you are somewhat similar to the chairman. Your face shape and skin color are suitable, and your age is similar to that of the character in the play. And you have a pill on your chin. A mole gives you a certain charm of a chairman. So, you must have confidence in yourself."
After encouraging Wu Xiubo for a few words, he looked at Liao Fan's makeup with great interest. Among the several actors, Liao Fan is a bit younger in age, and there is a gap between him and Mr. Zhu in this historical period. For this reason, the crew specially made some aging treatments on the makeup. There doesn't seem to be anything wrong. It should be said that the professional capabilities of various behind-the-scenes jobs in the company are getting higher and higher.
Among the three young actors, Qin Tianzhu is most concerned about Yan Kuang.
This actor has a good image and temperament. He achieved excellent results during his studies in theater and became famous at a young age. However, in Qin Tianzhu's memory, it was not until around 2010 that he became famous with the two dramas "New Water Margin" and "The Princess of the World". well known to domestic audiences. Qin Tianzhu felt that his road to stardom was a bit tortuous and he had wasted a lot of time, so it was necessary to give him a hand. In terms of image, Yan Kuang and the Prime Minister are both rare and handsome guys, which is appropriate.
his guideYan Zhangli asked about Yan Kuang's performance.
"Not bad. I have to say, Xiao Qin, you still have a certain eye for people. Yan Kuang is a very capable actor. Although he was a bit stiff when he first played the role of Prime Minister, there are several talented people in the crew. Under the guidance of experienced actors, I quickly got into the mood and performed the connotation of the role.¡±
This is good, this is good. After listening to Zhang Li's introduction, Qin Tianzhu felt relieved. This kind of main theme drama is quite demanding on acting skills. If Yan Kuang gives the audience the feeling of being in an idol drama because of his youth, it will be a complete failure.
Throughout the "Decision of Destiny" trilogy, most of the characters in the play are played by experienced and famous actors. However, this drama is long and requires a lot of investment, so Qin Tianzhu still hopes that it can exert a certain star-making ability. Zhou ENlai, played by Yan Kuang, is the second male lead in the entire series and the second male lead in the first part. He is the star that Plum Blossom Company deliberately wants to promote in this drama.
Opportunities have been created for actors. Qin Tianzhu very much hopes that Yan Kuang can perform this role brilliantly so that he can shine as soon as possible.
Qin Tianzhu patted Yan Kuang on the shoulder: "Brother Kuang, work hard and seize the opportunity!"
"Okay, Director Qin. I will definitely live up to Director Zhang's expectations, and I am very grateful to the company for its full cultivation!"
Yan Kuangzheng was wearing the uniform of Whampoa Military Academy. He looked heroic and heroic, and his answers were resounding.
Qin Tianzhu asked Zhang Li: "Is this drama going to be finished soon?"
"We will finish filming at the end of this month and do post-production in June so that we can catch up with the July 1st schedule!"
Although it is a series, the crew of "Destiny" does not plan to shoot three series in a row. They need to take a look at the market response to the first broadcast. If the effect is too poor, the project will still be axed by the company.
How has the market response to "Destiny" been? Qin Tianzhu was in a state of confusion. In a sense, "Destiny" is the first original drama produced by Meihua. It is a work that relies entirely on the power of the company. Qin Tianzhu is both full of hope and uneasy about it. This kind of uncertainty worries , he hasn¡¯t experienced it for a long time. It feels like starting a business for the second time, as if time has returned to the year when I was filming "The Boy Who Meets Me", when I was full of longing. (To be continued. Please search Piaotian Literature, the novels will be better and updated faster!)