Why does Tony Leung have such a good relationship with Wang Yibo? It's all told in "Life Halfway Up the Mountain"

Author/Ah Xuan

"[In the new year], you have to leave more good works for everyone to see, because I think you've been on an upward trajectory lately (laughs)."

In Tony Leung's 40th anniversary special program "Life Halfway Up the Mountain", Tony Leung and his long-time partner and friend Zhuang Wenqiang climbed and camped together.

Director Zhuang's half-joking sentence became a saying this year: Tony Leung's two starring works "Nameless" and "When the Wind Rises Again" have been released one after another, and "Goldfinger", which cooperated with Andy Lau after 20 years, is also expected to meet the audience in 2023.

What makes fans and fans happy is that Mr. Liang announced his entry into Douyin some time ago. For a while, netizens exploded: Is the "old society afraid of people" for many years going to become a social cow?

On Friday, Tony Leung's 40th anniversary special program "Life Halfway Down" produced exclusively by Douyin was launched, in this movie-like program, Tony Leung, who was originally not good at expressing in the eyes of the public, chose to open his heart.

On the way to the "mountaintop" of his acting career and life, he cherished every moment more and more, "everyone has made Tony Leung today".

Forty years in the industry, life halfway up the mountain

Go back in time to forty years ago, Tony Leung, in his early 20s, worked as an accountant, sales clerk and fashion seller. Although he didn't know anything about acting at that time, he couldn't help but be prodded by his friend Stephen Chow, and Tony Leung also applied for the TVB wireless artist training class.

TVB is a star-making testing ground full of talents, and the average busy work of 18 hours a day allows him to quickly adapt to the camera and hone his acting skills.

It's not without self-doubt, when "A Fei Zheng" read the lines 27 times in a pear eating scene, filming "In the Mood for Love" and eating 26 bowls of wonton noodles and almost spitting out, Tony Leung felt a blow in the "restart" over and over again, "Can't I act?" ”

But it is his efforts to strive for perfection and his inner sensitivity and delicacy that have made him gradually enter the realm of "acting without acting" on the road from film.

In order to become Ip Man in "A Generation of Grandmasters", Tony Leung practiced Wing Chun for three years until his eyes showed the confidence of a warrior; During the days of starring in "Wounded City", he was immersed in the decadence of the character and needed to take sleeping pills every day to fall asleep.

"Infernal Affairs" Chen Yongren complained to his boss about a scene, the script was originally written "I have been an undercover agent for 10 years", Tony Leung speculated about the struggle of the character's inner world, fed up with Chen Yongren who worries about life every day, and his emotions are more intense and angry, so there is the classic phrase "I have worked for three years and three years, three years and three years".

Forty years after his debut, he has appeared in more than 80 films and won numerous awards. In the show, many directors and creators who have cooperated with Mr. Liang, Zhang Yimou, and To Qifeng, all sent blessings for the 40th anniversary of Mr. Liang's debut.

In the eyes of everyone, Tony Leung is always humble and low-key in private, but he shines brightly in front of the camera, "each of his works is a very precious art".

Fans relish Lai Yiuhui's affection, Chow Muyun's forbearance, and Mr. Yi's ruthlessness, for Tony Leung, he values the power of the "present" more than nostalgic for the past or looks forward to the future, and enjoys the process of "climbing the mountain".

Life has come to the halfway point, and his attitude towards performance and life is constantly changing and maturing.

The melancholy and pessimism of his youth gradually dissipated, and now Tony Leung describes his feelings along the way as "very lucky", and he understands more and more that "doing things is not to have an expectation of it, but to have an explanation for myself", "I can choose what way I want to live".

Along the way, he decided to move in the direction that he had started: return to the stage of the TV series, live a more positive and optimistic life, and cherish his encounters with each work and character.

In "Life Halfway Up the Mountain", we see a more realistic and three-dimensional Tony Leung who is more willing to open his heart. In front of acquaintances, he was lively and talkative, and after winning the Cannes award, Tony Leung was so excited that he called his mentor Lin Lizhen at 2 o'clock in the middle of the night to share the good news;

He is not always emotionally restrained, after the completion of "Goldfinger", Tony Leung, who has always liked to leave quietly, grabbed Zhuang Wenqiang to take a photo, "Many people often take for granted that there will be "tomorrow", but not necessarily tomorrow!" So why not make a memorial (now)? ”

He even had a bit of "skin", when Zhuang Wenqiang wished him more work in the future, "Don't do this!" Liang Chao smiled, he hoped to have time to sail out to sea, or gallop on the snow.

In the nearly 90-minute program, the audience not only recalled Tony Leung's movie-like acting career, but also was attracted by his wise and transparent philosophy.

"I feel that the years have only left a mature charm in Mr. Liang," one netizen commented, "I appreciate his attitude towards life: life is not repeated, cherish the present, and don't let yourself regret." ”

Mr. Liang

I didn't expect you to be such an "old society fearful"!

Nagging still remembers the day Tony Leung settled in Douyin, Andy Lau also borrowed the line meme of "Infernal Affairs" on Douyin and shouted through the air, "I thought I would have to wait for you for three years and three years, but I didn't expect you to arrive so soon!" ”

Andy Lau finally waited for Tony Leung, which is even more joyful for fans who are looking forward to Mr. Leung's active business.

However, everyone is also curious, as an "old society fearful" who rarely appears outside the spotlight, can Tony Leung cope with the enthusiasm of social media netizens?

Unexpectedly, Mr. Liang frankly confessed his "social fear" on Douyin, and as a "comer" to teach everyone tips for dealing with strangers' socialization.

Later, in the movie "When the Wind Rises" Douyin live broadcast, he reproduced the "three-piece set of social fear" of smiling, waving, and comparing hearts, fully grasping how to tactically understand the host's questions, so real and humorous Mr. Liang who can not love!

Across the screen, the fans' screaming confessions seemed to open their voices, "This is really Tony Leung, ah, ah~ He also said that he wanted to see me!" "Idol, you're finally here!" TikTok year is more, we are willing to wait! ”

Considering everyone's enthusiasm for interacting with Mr. Liang, Douyin specially launched the #Tony Leung Movie Character Challenge on the site, netizens can not only participate in the reinterpretation of the classic famous scenes of "Chongqing Forest", "In the Mood for Love" and "Infernal Affairs", but also "change" into the character image of Mr. Leung through the transformation of his face into special effects.

For a while, many experts and fans rushed to participate, and Meniere's version of "Chongqing Forest" was full of nostalgia and art, and was ridiculed by everyone as "how many Wong Kar-wai were eaten"; The most beautiful flight attendants Jiang Chubby and Leng Shao interpreted "In the Mood for Love" with a bit of comedy taste, Shao Yuxuan "incarnated" Andy Lau begged Tony Leung to "give a chance", allowing netizens to dream back to the excitement of the rooftop confrontation in "Infernal Affairs".

Up to now, the number of views of topic-related videos has exceeded 280 million times, no wonder everyone is worried, "As soon as Tony Leung opens Douyin, it's all himself!" ”

I have to say that Douyin knows how to play with ingenuity and a sense of premium.

The day before the exclusive documentary short film "This Moment, Tony Leung Says to You" was launched, Tony Leung issued a preview in the form of Morse Code on Douyin, full of mystery and reminiscent of the popular movie "Nameless", Tony Leung's Director He is an underground worker with secrets.

In the six episodes of "This Moment", which have been played 110 million times on Douyin, Tony Leung looks back on his upbringing, and after rich and mature experience, he does not enjoy comfort, but thinks about how to jump out of his comfort zone and meet more role challenges, "Success is built on constant failure (foundation)." ”

"Mr. Liang has always had light in his eyes." In the comment area, some netizens felt, "He is the most real star I have ever met, and I can see that these sharing makes him very happy and thinks about the problems very deeply." ”

With the launch of Tony Leung's 40th anniversary special program "Life Halfway Up the Mountain", art posters and collection ticket stubs drawn by art creators on Douyin also made a surprise appearance:

"Heroes" focuses on the world's broken sword, 663 in "Chongqing Forest" who is forever in uniform, Mr. Ye who sees heaven and earth and all living beings in "A Generation of Grandmasters", and many classic images played by Tony Leung, presenting a more personalized character charm under the artist's new creation.

Some netizens found that the movie screening hall and seat number on the ticket stub correspond to the release time of many of Tony Leung's movies. This special gift for fans, Douyin really cares!

From Andy Lau to Tony Leung

Why do celebrities and Douyin always go in both directions?

In the comment area of Tony Leung's Douyin, Nag noticed that many people left messages saying that they had just finished watching "Nameless", and Mr. Liang's Douyin wanted to go to the cinema again to see "When the Wind Rises Again".

This wave of "Tony Leung fever" among young people, Douyin has contributed a lot.

As a short video platform with more than 600 million daily activities, Douyin not only has an absolute advantage in breaking the circle of film and television content, but also amplifies the IP influence and traffic value of artists through customized gameplay in star entry and daily operations.

As one of the most outstanding actors in the Chinese film industry, Tony Leung is humble and low-key in private, and the public's impression of him is more in classic roles, and in private he seems to be "not good at words" and "afraid of dealing with strangers".

In the in-depth cooperation with Douyin, the platform uses customized short videos, documentary short films, 40th anniversary special programs and other content to let users see the true and honest, wise and humorous personality charm of Tony Leung outside the spotlight.

Focusing on Tony Leung's own slow-hot and thoughtful personality, the content customized by Douyin follows the slow life style, telling it in the form of a dialogue record, conveying the artistic texture of a biographical film.

Through the second creation of content by netizens, Tony Leung's related topics triggered a wider range of social communication and topic fermentation inside and outside the site, and for a while it became a trend to become "Tony Leung's Douyin Branch".

With nearly 5,000 artists stationed on the platform, Douyin has rich experience in the field of star operations. Andy Lau, who began to cooperate with Douyin in 2021, has accumulated more than 100 million views for his first live broadcast, and more than 350 million views for the "Sing Me to You" live concert, setting a new record for online concerts.

Last year, Maggie Cheung, Na Ying, Chen Weiting and other celebrities have successively settled in Douyin, Liu Genghong, who danced the fire "Dragon Fist" and "Bencao Compendium" gymnastics, rose tens of millions of fans in Douyin a week, and the live broadcast of "Canglan Recipe" "Di Xin Gravity" CP on Douyin made many people vertically enter the pit to chase dramas, and they died of death.

Celebrity entry is the standard for the operation of major platforms, why does Douyin not only attract stars but even create countless stars?

This is not only due to the platform's huge traffic pool, but also the "private customization" created by Douyin for artists. Based on the characteristics of celebrities and users' in-depth insights into celebrity impressions, the content created by Douyin for artists is highly consistent with their personalities, and can explore and refine the unknown shining points of artists to enhance word-of-mouth communication.

Taking Tony Leung's "social fear" as an example, netizens know that because of his childhood growth experience, Mr. Leung has changed from a once lively child to an introverted personality and does not like to talk.

But in Douyin's exclusive documentary short film "This Moment, Tony Leung Says to You", he truthfully confided his inner OS: "I don't like to talk" actually don't want to talk, and outside the red carpet and spotlight, he enjoys the joy of being alone.

Such a confession also poked the resonance of many people off the screen: Tony Leung, who wants to be an ordinary person, isn't it me who is lively around but wants to be quiet?

Through customized content, Douyin narrows the distance between artists and the public, on the one hand, it enhances the stickiness of users and fans to the platform, enriches the entertainment content ecology of the platform, and on the other hand, helps artists highlight the charm of personalization, solidifies fans and even explores commercial monetization.

It is not difficult to understand why the Douyin platform and artists always go in both directions. After watching "Life Halfway Up the Mountain", I look forward to Mr. Liang's next business on Douyin, talking about the daily life of making movies, or the fun facts of climbing mountains and going to the sea, Douyin in hand, isn't the joy of "sharing the moment"!