Director Chen Xunqi, who was sitting in front of the monitor, was wearing an orange-red sweatshirt with a big "NEW" printed on the back of the clothes. In the monitor, Na Guangzi and Meng Guangmei were walking, and Ma Guoming and Tan Yaowen, who had not yet taken their turn to appear on camera, sat not far away and read the script.
After a short ceremony in the autumn rain, Chen Xunqi's new film "Beautiful War" began filming in Wuxi. This is also the first directorial work after he defeated undifferentiated thyroid cancer in his sixties.
"Beautiful War" is chen Xunqi's first work after suffering from cancer.
Chen Xunqi stared at the monitor while holding a walkie-talkie and communicating with the assistant director who was not far away from the shooting scene. Although the reporter was only a step away from him, he could not hear exactly what he was saying, and his voice was hoarse and faint.
"The cancer cells destroyed my vocal cords, and people used to be far away from the studio to hear me talking." Chen Xunqi said in an exclusive interview with The Paper the next day, "I think it may be that God told me not to curse people anymore." ”
Not only sitting in front of the monitor, Chen Xunqi would get up from time to time and walk over to the actors and photographers to say a few words, and the scene was filmed back and forth no less than twenty times.
Because they hoped to film the scene of the two male actors appearing earlier, the reporters who came to visit the class could not help but get anxious.
I remembered that a young TV colleague mentioned that only Chen Xunqi's interview could not be issued, and the implication was obviously that his weight was not enough to support a report.
In the 1996 production of "Shanghai Tango", Chen Xunqi is both a director and a star of the play.
After all, they have not experienced the "new world" opened by Hong Kong movies with the popularity of videotapes, nor have they experienced the ringing of the theme song of "Shanghai Tango" sung by Jackie Chan every night in front of the TV, and may not even know that he is the creator of the song "Heaven and Earth Alone" in "East Evil and West Poison" and "Journey to the West". Moreover, his most recent well-known film is still a well-known bad film, "The Army Order of the Female Generals of Yangmen".
However, in the eyes of many loyal fans of Hong Kong films, "he is the best soundtrack among Hong Kong directors, the best producer in the soundtrack, the best speeding director in production, the best screenwriter in the speeding car director, the most famous actor in the screenwriting, and one of the most successful directors among the actors."
Listening to Chen Xunqidong talk about his past filming experience, talking about his interactions with Jackie Chan and Wong Kar-wai, two friends with very different styles of works, and talking about the films he wants to make in the future, there are both suddenly cheerful shooting surprises and sentimentalities that witness the hero's twilight.
The Sagittarius who never stops taking risks
Chen Xunqi's genre positioning of "Beautiful War" is "fashion action film", the theme is "inspirational", the main line of the story is a supermodel selection competition, and the protagonist is a young model who has suffered a heavy blow from life and is back on her feet.
Chen Xunqi on the set of "Beautiful War".
Asked why he wanted to make this film, Chen Xunqi said: "From 1992, when I entered the mainland to make a co-production film "The Prodigal Son of the Border City", to the present, I have found that there has been a lack of films with inspirational and fashionable themes in China. I also talked to Jackie Chan about this aspect, and he also felt that the genres of movies are not diverse enough. He said that he was actually shooting comedy and action, so he would like to make "British Showdown" because this subject matter is different from those he shot before. He felt that actors should constantly prove themselves through different types of films. ”
"From my point of view, the idea is similar. I started doing film scores at the age of 15, and then I moved on to different positions as a character, producer, director, etc. Not to get more money, just not to see others doing unprofessional. Unconsciously, I have accumulated various experiences. I often tell young people, don't be afraid of losing, do more things, even if you don't have money, because this is an opportunity to prove your ability, but nine out of ten young people today can't listen. ”
"After I became a director, I started making romantic comedies. First of all, I cooperated with Ye Qianwen in "The Hollow Young Master", which was very successful in word-of-mouth and box office, but I was not willing to always play the eight-faced exquisite bubble girl master. So, in "Goodbye To the People", I designed my protagonist as a dumb man who drew comics. ”
"Goodbye Yiren" is the second work of Chen Xunqi as a director, and the screenwriter also includes the obscure Wong Kar-wai at that time. It was Chen Xunqi who saw the pearl and took him under his command.
Poster of "Goodbye To the Iraqis". Notice that there is Wong Kar-wai in the lower right corner of the screenwriting column, and there is also Wong Kar-wai in the lower left corner cast list.
He said it was "the most innovative phase" of his and Wong Kar-wai's cooperation. "The protagonist is often bullied in real life because he can't speak, but in the comic book world of the play-in-play, he is also a talking killer, and this contrast makes Wong Kar-wai feel very excited." Another behind-the-scenes hero of this film is Huang Bingyao, who was the screenwriter of the later "Truant Weilong". The first play he wrote was also my first play as an actor, and Hong Jinbao, Yuan Biao, lin Zhengying (1952-1997) they performed "Loser Boy". Wong Ping Yiu (1946-1991) was The funniest screenwriter in Hong Kong, and after his death, Hong Kong comedies experienced a great decline. ”
Although the director became popular at the beginning by shooting urban romance films such as "Goodbye to the Yiren", "Little Fox Fairy" and "Evil Man", just like Chen Xunqi's attitude towards the soundtrack of the movie, once he is good at one genre, he will immediately change to another.
"I can make 'Dragon Battle Overlord' (starring Chen Xunqi, Ren Dahua, and Ke Junxiong) and turn the jianghu film into another pattern; I can make 'Ghost Horse Bodyguard Thief Beauty' (starring Chen Xunqi and Zhong Chuhong) and bring the gunfight of police films from the street to the sea; I can shoot 'Best Thief Partner' (starring Chen Xunqi and Mo Shaocong) about car thieves, and I have been rated by British magazines as one of the two Hong Kong action directors who cannot be underestimated, the other is Wu Yusen; I can also not be a playboy in a big city. Run to the vast desert of Inner Mongolia to shoot "The Prodigal Son of the Border City". Later, I didn't know what was going on, when the Hong Kong action movie was very popular, I ran to the mainland to shoot 40 episodes of "Shanghai Tango". ”
"Shanghai Tango", Lin Xinru and Chen Xunqi
Some people think that too many "types of work" distract Chen Xunqi's talent, as long as he has been focusing on the field of film soundtrack that he is best at, he can always stand on the altar and not fall into the situation of being accused of making bad films. His explanation for this is: "I have never been obsessed with popularity and status. Maybe because I'm a Sagittarius, I just like to try new things and go on adventures in the wider world. ”
It's stupid, it's chivalrous
In the interview, Chen Xunqi repeatedly labeled himself with two labels, one is "stupid" and the other is "chivalrous".
The reason why he considers himself a "fool" is because he believes that making movies should not be made just to make money, for example, he wants to make inspirational films because he wants to "atone for the sins of Hong Kong movies". "This is what I felt when I made "Pepper Classroom" in 2000 (starring Chen Xunqi, Yang Gongru and Lei Songde). The previous "Ancient Puzzle Boy" series was all violence, group fights, tattoos, and I don't know how many young people with immature minds were poisoned. But filming "Pepper Classroom" made me think that the film should be able to play an educational role, and later this was also confirmed: in 2003, I made a TV series with Cao Ying, I played a taekwondo coach in it, I did not expect that later many people across the country actually went to learn taekwondo to strengthen their bodies because they watched this TV series, until now I will meet fans to tell me how many dan positions they have taken. ”
And the recent Wrestlemania! "Daddy" also gave me a lot of inspiration. Before the film was released in China, many people were not optimistic, thinking that no one wanted to watch the story of Indian girls practicing wrestling, and the result was 1.3 billion, proving that there is still a market for good inspirational films. ”
"Heroes of the Crowd", the left one is Cao Ying, and the right one is Chen Xunqi
Chen Xunqi regards himself as an "idiot", and because sometimes the opportunity to win fame and fortune is in front of him, he does not know how to grasp it. For example, there were rumors before that Xu Ke's "Qimen Dunjia" asked him to be the soundtrack of the movie, and this time I specifically asked him for confirmation in the interview, and he said that this matter was later yellow.
"A big director like Xu Ke came to me to do the soundtrack, and of course I was very happy. But at the same time, there was also a charity stage play "Little Mermaid" that came to me. This project is for children in poor mountainous areas, there is no money, the director is CCTV Shu Chang, she said big brother you come to help me. Weighing the two sides, I still chose "The Little Mermaid". Haha, on the one hand, the invitation of the big director, you can still get money; on the other hand, there is no money, but also to paste into the time, you say I am not stupid? ”
However, when Chen Xunqi was young, he once had a brilliant record of one person doing 70% of the Hong Kong film scores, and the work efficiency can be imagined. Asked why he couldn't do two projects at the same time, he said: "When I was young, I couldn't sleep for three weeks to write the soundtrack of a movie. Now that I'm a little older and my eyes are a little more expensive, it will affect the use of computers. And I am either not a person who does not agree to others, and if I agree, I will definitely devote myself to it, and I can only do one thing wholeheartedly. ”
Chen Xunqi in "The Prodigal Son of the Border City".
Chen Xunqi considers himself a "chivalrous guest", because he has been learning from his teachers all the way since he was young, because of the good amount of alcohol, but also because of his understanding of the spirit of chivalry. He said: "When I was filming "The Prodigal Son of border city" in the past, I drank the whole Inner Mongolia film factory down by myself. In the northeast, I filmed the TV series "Dream Break Heaven" (starring Zhang Fengyi and Su Jin) about human snake stowaways, and I can also drink everyone on the Dalian set. ”
In his view, "stupid" and "chivalrous" are not contradictory, because "chivalrous spirit is selflessness, for their own ideas and people in need of help, such as Akira Kurosawa's "Seven Samurai" is about chivalry." Even Hollywood took it for remakes, proving that this spirit is precious."
I don't like working with big stars
Chen Xunqi's first two works, "Yangmen Women's General" and "Fate is a Game", one big name gathered, the other used newcomers, the result was Waterloo. And this just-started "Beautiful War" still uses a newcomer - the model debut of Hiroko as the protagonist, Chen Xunqi said that he never liked to use big-name actors. I think that it was he who first brought Taiwanese artist Ye Qianwen to the Hong Kong film industry ("Hollow Young Master"), and it was also he who found Chen Chong as the heroine ("Evil Man") in the era when there was no "co-production".
"Evil Man" Chen Chong and Chen Xunqi
"In my directing career, I only used big coffee twice to hinder the requirements of investors, one was to shoot "Ghost Horse Bodyguard Thief Beauty", used Zhong Chuhong, the result was very successful, and the film was sold to Europe; the remaining one was a failure, that is, to shoot "Yangmen Female General"."
"And in recent years, I have more and more found that the concept of 'no big coffee' is right, you see a lot of movies without big coffee have been successful, such as "Thirty-three Days of Lost Love", "My Girlhood", "Left Ear", and then a relatively recent example - "Love Saint", which has won more than 600 million at the box office."
As for "Yuanlai is a Game", Chen Xunqi attributed the reason for the failure to "no publicity": "In fact, after I finished filming, I spent 2 million less than the budget, and I threw this money to one of the investors to let him do online publicity, and the result was a failure." This movie was finally released without any publicity, and there were many problems with the land theater in the middle... In the past, I will not say more, I feel that I have learned a very valuable lesson. ”
Chen Xunqi and Meng Guangmei.
Chen Xunqi hopes to use the lessons he learned in filming "Beautiful War", because he has great expectations for the film at the box office. He said that his thinking has undergone some changes, and now he realizes that only when the work achieves high box office and his popularity increases, "can he have the strength to help people who need my help."
"I used to be too low-key, so low-key that people took photos with me and called me 'Lin Zixiang'. Speaking of this, Ye Qianwen's first kiss on the screen was with me, and I later joked that Ye Qianwen fell in love with the moustache at that time, so Lin Zixiang should thank Chen Xunqi. ”
Ye Qianwen and Chen Xunqi. There are still people who can't tell Lin Zixiang and Chen Xunqi.
Two good friends
"Beautiful War" has just started filming, but Chen Xunqi's work schedule for the next few years has been fully arranged, the first of which is to cooperate with his two friends. The "friend" in his mouth is no one else, it is the literary film master Wong Kar-wai and the big brother of the Hong Kong film industry Jackie Chan, and the two who seem to have the opposite style to outsiders are also Chen Xunqi's confidants. What he wants to work with Wong Kar-wai is a film about martial arts, but what he wants to work with successfully is a literary film.
Chen Xunqi said that Wong Kar-wai had already approached him and asked him to shoot the second part of "A Generation of Grandmasters". In fact, Wong Kar-wai's invitation is not surprising, in addition to himself, Chen Xunqi is undoubtedly the most suitable candidate, after all, Wong Kar-wai, who did not understand martial arts, wanted to pat Ip Man, and the first helper he found was Chen Xunqi, who practiced martial arts.
"I took the place of him as a pioneer, running all over the country, looking for all kinds of masters. At that time, thanks to the help of Teacher Wu Bin, he was the teacher of Jet Li and Wu Jing, and he was also my teacher. We reached out to every sect through him. I found that although there are many strange people, not all of them can be bounded with the "Generation Grandmaster", so I screened several schools that were suitable and took Wong Kar-wai to visit them one by one. ”
"I myself became friends with these high-ranking people, and I also selected some favorite sects to learn the art, such as the Shape Meaning Liuhe Fist handed down from Yue Fei at that time, hitting people like hanging pictures." Wong Kar-wai asked me, 'Then Wing Chun can't play at all?' I said, 'Yeah, I've only been beaten up against them.' Of course, this is a joke, in martial arts, no sect is stronger or weaker, only good and bad practice. ”
Chen Xunqi
Chen Xunqi said that the reason why he is willing to do so hard is because "Generation Grandmaster" is a martial arts movie. "Martial arts movies are different from martial arts movies, Jackie Chan's martial arts movies are only "Drunken Fist" and "Snake-shaped Executioner", and the other "Police Stories" are all martial arts films. Wu Jing's "Tai Chi Master" is a martial arts TV series, and the ones made by Liu Jialiang (1937-2013) are also martial arts movies. Martial arts films can express the traditional Chinese martial arts culture and play a role in inheritance. Just like Jet Li's "Shaolin Temple", without this movie, there is no Shaolin Temple today's glory. Without "Generation Grandmaster", most people would not know the Bagua Palm and the Shape Intention Fist. But why are there so few martial arts movies now? Because among talented directors, there are too few people who really understand martial arts. Ming martial arts are the treasures of traditional Chinese culture, but now they are all promoted by some businessmen, and programs such as "Wulin Feng" and "Kunlun Decision" are not at all for the sake of martial arts to make sincere contributions. He added, "Although Wong Kar-wai does not know martial arts, he is very persistent about movies and is an out-and-out pioneer." ”
If the relationship between Chen Xunqi and Wong Kar-wai is also a teacher and a friend, then his relationship with Jackie Chan is more like a close brother. Although Chen Xunqi is two years older, he also calls jackie Chan "big brother" by people around him. But unlike others, he didn't always listen to "Big Brother".
"There is a wealthy businessman in Hong Kong who likes to associate with actresses, and when I was filming "Flying Eagle Project" with Jackie Chan, he came every day to wait for the big brother to eat supper. The eldest brother asked me to go with me, which meant that I knew, that is, I wanted me to get acquainted with him, so that he could invest in my filming. But I don't think it makes sense, after all, people come to the scene as your fans. Later, this rich businessman invested in a film company run by Cheng Xiaodong and Du Qifeng, and made a play, which was directed by Cheng Xiaodong and starred by Li Ning, called "Seven King Kongs". That company ended up losing two hundred million, but the rich merchants didn't care. But for me Chen Xunqi, you want me to please someone who just uses movies as tickets, and I can't do it. ”
Chen Xunqi blamed the box office failure of "Fate is a Game" on insufficient publicity.
Chen Xunqi filmed "The Origin is a Game", and Jackie Chan is also both a producer and a publicity platform for the film. However, when Jackie Chan asked him for help, Chen Xunqi asked him to "wait a minute."
"Jackie Chan came to me and said, the sequel to our "Zodiac" (Chen Xunqi is one of the screenwriters) will not be filmed first, I want to make an alternative literary film, you come to help me." I think of Jet Li's "Ocean Paradise", which was very bad at the box office. I asked him, 'Big brother, is there any need?' He said, 'I'm not making a scene for the box office now, so be at ease.' I said, 'Then you still want me to make "Beautiful War" first, because Chen Xunqi also needs popularity to play his best." I hope that Chen Xunqi, who is by your side, is still the Chen Xunqi you invited to shoot "Flying Eagle Project", or the Chen Xunqi who you asked me to help shoot "Drunken Fist 2" at that time. He should be the general by your side, not the attaché. ’”
On the set of "Drunken Fist 2", Chen Xunqi, Mei Yanfang, Jackie Chan, Dillon. Chen Xunqi said: "'Drunken Fist 2' was directed by Liu Jialiang, which was filmed very well, but it was not the style that Jackie Chan wanted, and later he asked me to re-cut it all, and helped Mei Yanfang and Dillon to make up a lot of shots. ”
Many people may find it difficult to understand, 65 years old is not young, not to mention that it is still a serious illness, Chen Xunqi originally did not have to work so hard. However, throughout the interview, he did not mention "retirement", and he seemed to be completely unaware of his age, but instead had the ambition to catch up with and surpass the filmmakers of his predecessors. He said: "Film is my lifelong profession. Since God didn't let me die, he wanted me to continue to struggle. As a Chinese filmmaker, I want to be better than Akira Kurosawa. ”