Recently, I was watching the web drama "Who is the Murderer", and I was really amazed by Xiao Yang.
After more than ten years of polishing, Xiao Yang is no longer the depressed "old boy", and he has long since escaped the shackles of "Little Apple", and now he can already be alone.
Born in 1980 to an ordinary family in Chengde, Hebei Province, Xiao Yang dreamed of becoming a painter as a child.
He admired one of his teachers, hoping to be able to teach people and create like him.
In 1996, at the age of 16, Xiao Yang came to Beijing. Pursuing his dream of being a painter, this year, he applied for the Central Academy of Fine Arts Affiliated High School and fell off the list.
Xiao Yang, who did not accept defeat, withstood the pressure and stayed in Beijing alone to re-study and prepare for the exam.
At that time, the living expenses provided by the family were limited, and Xiao Yang needed to pay rent and living expenses as well as high art tutoring fees, and his life was very difficult.
Xiao Yang and several classmates who were also studying shared a room in a small alley in Beijing, with no toilets and no running water.
Every day he went out to class before dawn and returned after dark, and the landlord and the old lady could only see him when collecting rent.
Kung Fu pays off.
The following year, Xiao Yang was admitted to caucus attached to the Central American High School as he wished.
This year, the 28-year-old Wang Taili came to Beijing again from Shandong with 1800 yuan to pursue his dreams, but the sky was always again unsatisfactory.
"The dream of the singer is broken, and it is okay to do something around the music!"
At this time, the two have not yet met, but the two people with an age difference of 11 years have taken root in Beijing.
Life is always in the search for the right direction.
After Xiao Yang entered the Central American Affiliated High School, his performance was very prominent, and his works were often exhibited on the school's publicity board.
Maybe it's because he has suffered too much in painting, so that he can't see the direction of life.
Therefore, when Xiao Yang filled out the college entrance examination volunteer in 2001, he filled in the film and television advertising director major of the Fine Arts Department of the Beijing Film Academy.
At that time, he definitely did not expect that in 20 years, he would make a movie with Andy Lau and still be tied for male number one.
During his studies at Nortel, Xiao Yang earned money while studying.
Because Xiao Yang has a foundation in art and his aesthetics are also online, he has not yet graduated and earned the first bucket of gold in his life.
In 2002, Xiao Yang, who was still a sophomore, was selected for the Taiwan China Times Advertising Golden Calf Award for his public service advertisement work "Loving the River", and he first appeared sharp.
In 2005, Xiao Yang, who was about to graduate, got the opportunity to shoot advertisements with Teacher Wang Gang, and his party A was Wang Taili.
Through contact, Wang Taili felt that Xiao Yang was a good child, a teenager and an old man, especially the two of them were very passionate about music, so they hit it off.
The two became 11-year-old friends and decided to pursue their dreams together. The two have different personalities and are good at different fields.
Wang Taili is good at writing songs, and Xiao Yang is good at filming, just complementary.
In 2007, Xiao Yang and Wang Taili each contributed 10,000 yuan to shoot their first original short film, "Memoirs of a Male Geisha".
In the 6-minute film, Xiao Yang and Wang Taili wear heavy makeup, Wear Japanese costumes, and pose as shy.
It was this 6-minute short film that quickly became popular on the Internet, and at that time, it also won the special prize of a certain platform, won a prize of 100,000 yuan, and the "Chopstick Brothers" group was officially established.
It was also this short film that gave the two people great confidence, and Wang Taili, who had already established a family at that time, was even more under great pressure from his family.
In 2009, the Chopstick Brothers filmed a 40-minute online movie called "Old Boy," which also became an important turning point in their careers.
To make a movie, you have to invest a lot of money, which is inevitable.
The film almost hollowed out their homes. During the filming process, the props were as cheap as possible, and as a result, when shooting a hot pot scene, the whole crew almost had carbon monoxide poisoning. Wang Taili danced in a shoddy wig, and when he was illuminated by the light, he spontaneously combusted.
Xiao Yang and Wang Taili wrote their dreams about music and the story of Michael Jackson into the script.
The two people are wearing school uniforms, staging a sense of youth that does not match their appearance.
Many viewers laughed and laughed and cried.
The vicissitudes of middle-aged men and the burden of family are vividly displayed in this 40-minute film.
As the song "Old Boys" sings: Life is like a ruthless knife, changing our appearance, and wilting before it blooms? I had dreams.
This high-quality short film has a hit rate of more than 10 million, and "Old Boy" has also become the annual hit, and has been covered by countless people with tears.
The Chopstick Brothers have also begun to appear on various mainstream stages.
What really made the two people explode was a very highly sung song.
In 2014, the Chopstick Brothers became popular because of the theme song "Little Apple" of "Old Boy's Raptor Crossing the River", which suppressed the phoenix legend's "The Most Dazzling National Style" and became a new generation of square dance divine comedy.
The Chopsticks Brothers thus embarked on the peak of their music career, appeared on the CCTV Spring Festival Gala, and became the first Chinese-language artist group to appear on the stage of the National Music Awards, and won the "Best International Pop Music of the Year Award".
It was also this year that Xiao Yang, as a representative of young directors, was assigned by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television to study in Hollywood with Guo Fan, Ning Hao, Chen Sicheng and Lu Yang.
Later, Guo Fan made "The Wandering Earth", Chen Sicheng and Xiao Yang filmed "Manslaughter", and Lu Yang filmed the "Embroidered Spring Knife" series.
It was also from this time that Xiao Yang completely transformed.
In "Detective Chinatown", he played the greasy policeman Kun Tai with a separate hair, and Xiao Yang's role in "Detective Chinatown 2" was comparable to Liu Haoran and Wang Baoqiang, especially his gaze staring into the abyss.
In "Manslaughter", he played the all-round father Li Weijie, who played Zhi Yong Shuangquan and had explosive acting skills. It is this film that makes everyone realize the different Xiao Yang.
In the 2020 Golden Rooster Award and the Hundred Flowers Award, he was nominated for the best actor with Huang Xiaoming, Zhang Yi, Zhou Runfa, Yi Qianxi and others twice with "Manslaughter", but twice lost to Huang Xiaoming's "Fire Hero".
In the next two years, Xiao Yang was even more like an open hanging, and his masterpieces continued.
The Spring Festival movie "Surging Crowds" even tied with Andy Lau as the male number one, Xiao Yang played the dragon set "Chen Xiaomeng" in the movie, and the story has his common life trajectory with Wang Taili.
It was a real life that was on the verge of collapse on the road to chasing dreams.
This film is of great significance to Xiao Yang, which marks his cumulative box office exceeding 10 billion.
Andy Lau even said before the Golden Rooster Award: I am willing to exchange my life's happiness for Xiao Yang to win the award.
Why does Andy Lau trust Xiao Yang so much?
Because when filming "Surging Crowds", Andy Lau saw Xiao Yang's professionalism and determination to be open-minded.
There was a scene that needed Xiao Yang to be slapped continuously by Andy Lau, director Rao Xiaozhi asked for "real fight", Andy Lau was heartbroken, but Xiao Yang said that he was not strong enough, and came again, it is said that after filming, he was slapped more than 30 times!
The next day, Xiao Yang's face was swollen.
Andy Lau praised: "He trusts me too much, he is wholeheartedly involved in this role."
Now Xiao Yang is not only an actor, he is also one of the producers of the film.
Whether it is "The Crowd" starring Xiao Yang or "My Sister", even the big hit movie "Send You a Little Red Flower" that he did not participate in has also invested.
And these three movies are very profitable, especially the small-cost literary and art film "My Sister", the shooting cycle is only a few dozen days, no need for additional scenery, there are not too many first-line actors, but the box office is as high as 800 million yuan, as an investor and starring Xiao Yang, the net worth has already exceeded 100 million.
"When I was 16 years old, if someone told me that when you grew up, you would make movies with Andy Lau, and then you both played male number one, I would definitely scold that person." 」
Where there is an overnight fame, all the anti-heaven changes are thick and thin, there is no running dragon set of years, there is no glory on the podium.
Xiao Yang has come all the way, with professionalism and steady fighting, gaining the recognition of the audience and the industry. Of course, the hardships behind this are also unimaginable to ordinary people.
In Dou Wentao's words: "If you want to understand the suffering of the world, go and see the history of Xiao Yang's struggle." ”
The end credits of "Old Boys" at that time read: "Dreaming is the same thing as a classic, it will never fade because of time, but it will be more precious."
10 years ago, a song "Father" by the Chopstick Brothers sang the voice of many people. I believe that 10 years later, the father played by Xiao Yang will also be able to touch people's hearts and look forward to Xiao Yang's wonderful performance in "Manslaughter 2".