French sociologist Edgar Moran said stars are prisoners of glory.
Gong Li is an exception.
The writer Wang Anyi described her, "The circle of movies is not ordinary vanity, that grand ceremony is far away from heaven, a beautiful scene, beautiful as a cloud, feathers and neon clothes, Gong Lizi is a person in the light of the light." ”
On October 15, Gong Li starred in the black-and-white movie "Lyceum Theatre" was released, and last year, her starring "Win the Championship" was released, and the big screen was steadily produced.
Except for the movie screen, Gong Li almost never appears in the public eye. She doesn't weibo, doesn't participate in variety shows, and isn't a judge for the highly talkative actor selection show — although, as the first actress in the history of world cinema to win the highest awards for a film in Europe's three major film festivals, she is more qualified than anyone to sit on the jury.
She doesn't quite understand today's showbiz. I don't understand why I call the actors "artists", I don't understand why I value traffic so much, I don't understand why there is a phenomenon of "cutout" and "lip sync", and I don't understand why the crew has a "live performance instructor".
Gong li
In an interview in 2019, Gong Li said, "I am not a person in the entertainment industry, don't mix me with the entertainment industry." Of course, no one will confuse the most recognized oriental actress in the world film industry with the "entertainment industry". People praised her as the "first lady of the Asian film industry", the "film muse of the fifth generation of directors", or more simply and bluntly, called her "Gong Huang".
Gong Li maintained an estranged relationship with Vanity Fair, and honor and fame came to her voluntarily.
This is not surprising.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="24" > become the character</h1>
Gong Li returned with her works. This time, it is Lou Ye's spy drama film "Lyceum Theatre". In the film, she is a well-known actress in Shanghai during the isolated island period, Yu Yan, and her other identity is a spy.
Before filming, Gong Li spent nearly 2 months preparing for entering the role.
First, there is the feeling of finding a spy. "They're not like ordinary people... There is basically no expression on the face, the mood and sorrow are not on the face, very gentle. So when I'm acting, I've always focused on control and restraint of emotion. In an interview with Southern Weekend, Gong Li explained her acting ideas.
Stills from "Lyceum Theatre"
There is a scene in the film where a drunken Japanese soldier wants to take a picture with Yu Yan, the traitors on the table are responding, friends are stopping, and she, as the center of the storm, does not say a word or see waves on the side. This is exactly what Gong Li understands, and it belongs to Yu Yan's "restraint".
Second, you also need to learn the professional skills of spying. For example, hypnosis, she specially invited the most famous hypnotist in Shanghai to learn the essentials. For example, disassembling guns, Lou Ye said that she should take the gun when retreating, load bullets in the dark sky, and she trained in the black room for nearly a month. "We must practice, and we must be very professional in getting on the gun and the bullet, so that everyone can have a sense of trust and believe that she is a well-trained spy."
Later, when watching the film, Gong Li found that the shot of dismantling the gun was deleted and not used. She was also not annoyed, "This skill needs to be long on The body of the violin, and it doesn't matter whether it is shot or not." ”
She shared this story in the film master class at the 11th Beijing International Film Festival to tell the younger generations of actors how they interpreted the role and became the role.
The list of similar examples is endless.
Filming "Zhou Yu's Train", there is a scene where she plays on the tracks and waits for the train to come and then flashes away. Gong Li felt that the character she played was crazy, and the more dangerous the moment, the more crazy it should be, so when she was actually shooting, she had to dodge when she was about to be hit by a train, which scared the staff on the scene.
Stills from "Zhou Yu's Train"
Starring in "Memoirs of a Geisha", there is a scene where she performs a fan throwing for a guest, and she needs to throw both hands at the same time without looking at the action with her eyes. Gong Li practiced for five months, turned two thousand times a day, and finally completed the short 5-second shot in the movie, which is still regarded as a classic by fans.
In "Win the Championship", which was released last year, Gong Li played Lang Ping. Gong Li went to ningbo Beilun Gymnasium to stay with the women's volleyball team for ten days, observing Lang Ping's eyes, tone, walking posture, and understanding her spiritual world, she also wrote down all the words Lang Ping said in these ten days, and wrote down a whole book of notes. Later, according to Hui Ruoqi's recollection, when the women's volleyball girls first met Gong Li, who was wearing makeup, they all exclaimed in unison. It's too similar, on the set, the girls simply called her "Lang Director".
Gong Li played Lang Ping in the movie "Win the Championship"
Gong Li used "Win the Championship" to prove that a good actor can really become the character himself, even if the character already has its own realistic prototype. During the Tokyo Olympic Games, many netizens left a message that when they saw Coach Lang Ping on the volleyball court, "I don't know why Gong Li's face came to mind." Some volleyball fans even ridiculed when Lang Director made a mistake in command, "It is Gong Li who came today, not Lang Ping." ”
Some media mistakenly thought that Gong Li's line in "Win the Championship" was Lang Ping's original words, and ran to interview her. Lang Ping replied, don't ask me, that's what Gong Li said in the movie.
Stills from "Win the Championship"
"When we are strong in our hearts, we will not regard winning as the only value of the game." What confuses the media is this monologue by Lang Ping in "Win the Championship". The whole three pages of lines carry the theme of the whole movie, and Gong Li only shoots it once.
Chen Kexin later said that he had never made a heavy scene in his life. "At that moment, I thought to myself, there are two kinds of directors in this world, who have filmed Gong Li and those who have not filmed Gong Li. I am fortunate to belong to the former. ”
There is no higher praise for an actor.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="135" > choice</h1>
In her 33-year acting career, Gong Li has played female students, aunts, single mothers, dye shop hostesses, Shanghai Beach dance hall pillars, deaf and mute children's mothers, Japanese geisha, drug lords' mistresses, business strong women, goblins, queens, spies, sports celebrities... Wait a minute.
She never stuck herself in a certain type of role, nor did she want to play too flat roles, so she refused many scenes, including even many later global classics. The "007" series of movies had sent out invitations to her, but Gong Li felt that "the role is too simple, there is no chance for me to play".
Screenshot of "Interview with Yang Lan"
Yang Lan talked to her about this in the interview program, and asked: Some films are commercial films and will not be so challenging in art, but it is well invested and has a good box office, "it is good for your popularity and so on, why not take it?" ”
Gong Li replied: "How much box office this play has, how big a sensation it is, it is none of my business, but the process of filming is that I have truly experienced the life of another person." I love the process of filming, and if that role isn't good, I don't want to live a simple life without any meaning. ”
She also did not want to star in the movie of "the stars gathered", "I can't play, there is no place for me, and going with the flow means nothing to me."
Gong Li played Feng Wanyu in the movie "Homecoming"
Gong Li, whose preparation time is too short, also does not act. In 2013, Zhang Yimou invited Gong Li to star in "Homecoming", playing a mother with amnesia. She initially refused because "I must have a process of experiencing the life of a person with amnesia, acting as soon as I come up, I can't do it."
Usual film and television projects, it is difficult to ask Gong Li, she has maintained a very low output, often not a year to see a work. She said that I will not consume myself casually, "if I shoot any scene, attend any occasion, and do everything, the explosiveness and freshness will really be gradually weakened." ”
Although she maintained a high standard of screening for her work and team, the results did not seem to be satisfactory. Compared with the stunning appearance of "Red Sorghum", "Qiu Ju Fights a Lawsuit" and "Farewell to the Overlord" when she first debuted with Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige, the works she has participated in in the past 20 years are indeed slightly mediocre.
Gong Li played Jiu'er in the movie "Red Sorghum"
Some foreign media commented that Gong Li needed to find a certain balance between her excellent performance and her overall mediocre work. "'Miami Storm' is not bad, but Gong Li is sensational, 'Zhou Yu's Train' is confusing, but Gong Li's performance is unforgettable, 'Memoirs of a Geisha' is too weak, but Gong Li is explosive." The actors and the work should complement each other, and if the performance becomes the only bright color in a movie, it is really not a big success.
However, this cannot be completely blamed on Gong Li's provocative vision. In the 33 years she has been in the industry, the environment for film creation has also undergone drastic changes.
Gong Li played Qiu Ju in the movie "Qiu Ju Fights a Lawsuit"
Gong Li, 40, once admitted that she did miss her and Zhang Yimou's glorious times. "It was a real collaboration, a real creative process, and then we didn't have to worry about the box office. It's impossible to go back now, you can't just make movies for movies, and now we can't make "Qiu Ju Fights a Lawsuit" anymore. ”
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="136" > answer</h1>
In August last year, the topic of "Gong Li's figure" was the first hot search on Weibo. Some media captured the figure of Gong Li and her French husband shopping abroad, and described her as "happy and fat".
The reaction of netizens was extremely fierce. Unlike the harsh requirements for other actresses' body management, people have complained about the wording of the text, defending Gong Li, "Don't be so malicious, she is also an ordinary person." The comments with the highest number of likes basically said that Gong Li was "healthy and beautiful", saying that she was still full of aura after she was fat.
Some media captured the figure of Gong Li and her French husband shopping abroad
The reason why Gong Li is not harshly reprimanded and is "tolerated" by people is precisely because she never relies on her perfect body and exquisite facial features to maintain her charm as an actor.
Her charm is rooted in the complex and charming screen characters, rooted in her stubborn or indifferent or proud demeanor in interpreting the role, rather than the novel makeup and good curves.
For example, Yu Yan in "Lyceum Theatre", in order to rehearse the play within a play, left the old-fashioned Qi bangs, wearing ordinary overalls, because it is a black-and-white movie, there is no thick makeup on the face, but Gong Li has created a contrasting actress image with elegant and capable behavior.
Gong Li is the answer model for many myths in today's showbiz industry.
Do actors eat youth rice in this line? Is it inevitable that you will not receive good roles when you get older? Gong Li used "Win the Championship" to prove that stoic and powerful middle-aged female characters can also become the focus of the audience's attention.
Do artists have to maintain a high level of exposure to maintain popularity? Gong Li used her well-known box office appeal at home and abroad to prove that a good actor does not need to sacrifice his private life to win public recognition.
In the newcomer showbiz, what do you need to do to ensure that you are not forgotten and eliminated? Gong Li used her film status and prestige to prove that strength and works are the longest way to stay in the hearts of audiences.
Thank you Gong Li, thank you for still being active, slowly but continuously bringing us excellent performances, showing the excellent qualities of an actor.
Thank her, as a model and answer, to tell us what an acting practitioner can be like and what it should be.
Author | Wu Tang
Edit | Lu Ming
Typography | Eight pounds