73-year-old Zhang Yimou still can't stop.
At the beginning of the year, his "Manjiang Red" sold 4.544 billion, beating "The Wandering Earth 2" to win the championship of the Spring Festival file.
Recently, he announced that he would start filming the online drama "League of Legends" in September.
That's right, it's the esports theme of the same name.
Zhang Yimou said that he hopes to make the whole drama "very handsome, cool and sassy".
As soon as the news came out, the voice of online ridicule and controversy continued.
Some people say that Zhang Yimou can't even play the game, how to shoot?
Some say he's just a name;
Some people say that this is not Zhang Yimou's late festival is not guaranteed, but this game is not guaranteed at night.
But unexpectedly, in mid-April, Zhang Yimou appeared in the LPL Spring Finals with his team to experience the enthusiasm of the game competition.
The exuberant energy of the old strategists makes it difficult for young people to match, and the professionalism also makes us admire.
But objectively speaking, the decline of his creative power is also an indisputable fact.
This decline manifests itself in two ways.
The first is the subject matter of the shooting.
Before that, Lao Mozi has always been a tide maker, leading an era.
In the 90s, he made literary and art films, using works such as "Red Sorghum", "Ju Dou", "Big Red Lantern Hanging High", "Alive" and other works, knocking on the door of the world and letting the world see Chinese films.
In the 00s, he shot commercial films, using works such as "Heroes", "Ambush on Ten Sides" and "Full of Golden Armor in the City" to open the era of blockbuster Chinese films.
In 2016, he used a "Great Wall" to bring together representatives of various dimensions such as Matt Damon, Andy Lau, Wang Junkai, and Jing Tian.
The purpose is to make an international commercial blockbuster that goes abroad and try to take a new path.
The first two times he succeeded, the third time he failed.
Wang Jing said in "Round Table Party" that "The Great Wall" was filmed halfway, and Zhang Yimou knew that the shooting was smashed, and finally he finished the filming hard.
Zhang Yimou himself said in "Thirteen Invitations" that when he saw the script, he knew that this was an "outdated script at the bottom of the box", which was difficult to get.
But "simultaneous release in more than 150 countries and regions" moved him.
He felt it was a rare opportunity to showcase Chinese cinema.
Unfortunately, the door that slowly opened was only half opened and closed heavily.
Left Zhang Yimou's sigh, I don't know which latecomer can open it again.
After that, Zhang Yimou did not lie flat on the merit book, but changed his shooting strategy.
He no longer rushes forward, but moves closer to the sinking market and shoots some commercial genre films that are safe and infallible.
"Shadow", "Sniper", "Above the Cliff", "Rock Solid" ...
Including this year's "Manjiang Red", all of them are works of this sequence.
The characteristics of these works are that the Douban score is mostly concentrated around 7.5 points, and the themes are varied.
But there is not much breakthrough in itself, and there are occasionally some small thoughts of Zhang Yimou in the details.
In this year's Spring Festival, the "big pattern" "The Wandering Earth 2" lost to "Man Jiang Hong" of the "Little Chicken Thief".
Many people are screaming for small broken balls.
Zhang Yimou, who used to be a representative of innovation, was branded as an "old school" this time, which is really embarrassing.
Zhang Yimou's current choice can certainly be beautified as "returning to the original intention".
But the crueler truth is probably that his current creativity can no longer support his film ambitions.
You can only blossom more in the subject matter, taste it slightly, and even shoot online dramas and TV series to make up for the exhaustion of movie inspiration.
Second, this decline is also reflected in the "conspiracy girl".
Zhang Yimou once said his criteria for choosing actresses.
He said he was looking for a "big-screen face."
He would select 10 to 20 people from thousands of candidates to shortstand, and then use a camera to shoot them from all angles, compare them repeatedly, and finally find the "big screen face".
The selection system looks extremely stringent.
The host asked: "What is the screen face?" ”
The old strategist hesitated for a long time and said, "It's not clear, it's a feeling." ”
Gong Li is the most successful girl.
Zhang Yimou not only treated her with heart, but also with affection.
In the years of cooperation, the two also fell in love vigorously.
In the movie "Letter to Dad", Jet Li directly ridiculed:
"The surname Gong is my son? That Gong Li can't become my sister, and Zhang Yimou can't become my brother-in-law. ”
Although the relationship between the two ended in nothing, Zhang Yimou recorded the most beautiful Gong Li with the camera.
Gong Li is a mixture of three qualities.
On the one hand, she is dignified and elegant, with an atmospheric beauty that looks at everything.
This is also the origin of the title "Gonghuang".
On the other hand, she has an enchanting figure and is an absolute sexy girl.
On the other hand, her beauty is very down-to-earth, with a "village flavor".
Zhang Yimou gave full play to Gong Li's characteristics.
In "Red Sorghum", she plays Jiu'er, who has a wild beauty, and the splashing hormones are intoxicating;
In "Ju Dou", she is village and desire, interpreting the aberrant love of her aunt and nephew under the oppression of the old era;
In "The Red Lantern Hangs High", her appearance is weak, and the hard bones on her body pierce the restraints of feudal millennia on women;
In "Qiu Ju's Lawsuit", she went to the countryside a month in advance to experience life.
Liu Peiqi's shooting diary wrote that the first time she went to visit the crew, she didn't recognize her at all.
Not bathing and rubbing her nose with her sleeve, she has fully integrated into rural life.
When it came to "Full of Golden Armor in the City", she directly incarnated as Gong Huang, brought a group of palace maidens, and came to "the city is full of white rabbits".
Then came "Return", she returned to the basics, removed the sexy charm, and played a wife who insisted on love in the sad years.
Gong Li's beauty and brilliance are peerless, setting a benchmark for future Mou girls, and Zhang Ziyi is known as "Little Gong Li".
It has always been rumored that Zhang Yimou's team went to Nortel to cast that year, and the first choice was the Chinese opera school Hua Zeng Li.
As a result, Zeng Li was not there that day, and his roommate Zhang Ziyi became a maid as a "substitute", and starred in "My Father and Mother" and became a hit.
In Pico's view, this rumor is not reliable.
Zeng Li is recognized as a beauty, but she is not the "big screen face" in Zhang Yimou's mouth.
In Zhang Yimou's words, "A particularly brilliant beauty in life is not necessarily suitable for the big screen." ”
This can be glimpsed from her subsequent works, and her presence in film and television dramas is not strong.
On the other hand, Zhang Ziyi, three-dimensional facial features, resembles Gong Li, has a recognized movie face, Zhang Yimou chose her is expected.
Compared with Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi's drama path is not so wide.
In "My Father and Mother", she can also play a pure love girl.
But after that, she almost only played one type of role - a stubborn woman who was crazy about love.
"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is, "Ambush on Ten Sides" is, "2046" is, and so is "Grandmaster of the First Generation".
Fortunately, she played this type of role to the extreme and became the queen of the three golden shadows.
And with the help of Ang Lee and Jackie Chan, he established a firm foothold in Hollywood and also gained the name of "International Chapter".
But Zhang Ziyi's plasticity is not strong.
When she jumps out of her comfort zone and plays other roles, it often makes people play.
For example, she tried comedy in her early years, one "Very Perfect" and one "Very Lucky", all of which received mediocre responses.
Later, she participated in "The Climber" as the heroine, which caused doubts on the Internet because of the scene.
The year before last, she put down her body to act in "Shangyang Fu", and as a result, she played a girl at an age, which made it difficult to say a word.
Going around in circles, Zhang Ziyi is still suitable for continuing to play, the kind of bitter and bitter role.
In the past, she was a girl with a bitter hatred, now she is a young woman with a bitter hatred, and she may be a bitter grandmother in the future.
In fact, between Gong Li and Zhang Ziyi, there are several less famous maid girls.
One is Wei Minzhi in "No One Less".
This is a vegan actor, and Zhang Yimou's evaluation of her is "not beautiful, and her figure is not good".
Zhang Yimou's choice of her shows that Lao Mozi chose an actress, not simply to choose a beauty, but to choose a role that is more in line with the script.
After Wei Minzhi finished acting in this play, he almost left the show business circle, leaving a glimpse of shock.
At that time, "Zhiyin" magazine also wrote a character manuscript specifically for her "Cheer for you, the only girl who has not been popularized".
The other is the Dong Jie we are familiar with.
In order to shoot "Happy Time", Zhang Yimou held a grand casting event across the country, and in the end, Dong Jie stood out and became the best girl in a thousand miles.
It is a pity that "Happy Time" is Zhang Yimou's artistic struggle.
At the beginning of filming, he first determined the ending of the film, and shot the entire film for this ending, and the response was extremely poor after its release.
Zhang Yimou had to compromise with the market.
In February 2001, 60 days after the film's release, the original cast was reconvened to reshoot the end of the film, which also set a precedent for the remake of a Chinese film after its release.
As a result, the remake did not reverse the decline, and the final film ended dismally with a box office of 5 million.
At that time, Zhang Yimou gathered stars to shoot "Heroes", which won 250 million box office, opening the era of Chinese blockbusters.
Dong Jie played a blind girl in "Happy Time", as if it were some kind of metaphor, she was not seen by more audiences.
After that, she became popular with "Gold Fan Family", and was put on the cusp because of the divorce incident, but the "conspiracy girl" label on her body is rarely mentioned by everyone.
The one who really carried the banner of the Mou Girl was Zhou Dongyu.
Zhang Yimou chose Gong Li and Zhang Ziyi, everyone understands, has good looks, good figure, and a strong aura.
But when he chose Zhou Dongyu, many people couldn't understand it.
An ordinary high school senior, the only specialty is gymnastics, his appearance is average, and his figure is "nailed".
Not to mention the entertainment industry, even if it is placed in ordinary people, it is not a big beauty.
But this just shows Zhang Yimou's unique aesthetic.
It is rumored that when Zhang Yimou filmed "The Love of Hawthorn Tree", he first handed an olive branch to his milk tea sister Zhang Zetian, but chose Zhou Dongyu after being politely refused.
In fact, the old strategist identified Zhou Dongyu at the beginning.
At that time, Zhang Yimou said to the people in the team, don't look at her small, but she was born for the big screen.
When she acts crying, she can perform a rich sense of layering, which is particularly moving.
Later, Zhou Dongyu really did not live up to Zhang Yimou's expectations.
Her performance in "Mountain Tree Love" is still a little jerky, and the real trick is in "July and Ansheng".
An Sheng, who is bohemian and full of self, was played by her, and also took the opportunity to win the Golden Horse Movie Queen.
After that, she was out of luck.
and won the Academy Award and the Golden Rooster Award with "Young You", becoming the third "Three Golden Shadow Queen" after Zhou Xun and Zhang Ziyi, and the fault is ahead of other actresses of the same age.
In the recent "King of the Long Sky", Zhou Dongyu did not have many scenes, but he had a strong sense of existence, and the only few scenes injected female warmth into this hormonal male drama.
After her first year, her transformation has just begun.
周冬雨之后的倪妮，是张艺谋大导演时代“审美”最后的“倔强”。
Ni Ni has surprised countless people in "Jinling Thirteen", but her problem is her lack of stamina.
Leaving this film, she instantly became a beauty without too many characteristics, and in a series of subsequent film and television works, her role was more like a vase.
Ni Ni's lack of stamina is to some extent a serious decline in Zhang Yimou's aesthetics.
He can choose a tailor-made actress based on a play.
But there is no ability to tap Gong Li, Zhang Ziyi, such era heroines who can last for a long time.
After we look at it, Zhang Yimou chooses a mou girl, showing two characteristics.
First, he no longer has absolute choice, and is often wrapped up in capital.
Jing Tian in "The Great Wall" is the best example.
Second, the girl he chose has shown a decline in "stamina".
Although Ni Ni in "Jinling Thirteen" opens high and goes low, she still has a sense of existence, and she can still become the focus of a skit at the Spring Festival Gala.
And Zhang Huiwen in "Return" is now almost in the state of "finding no such person".
I finally participated in "Ode to Joy 4" this year, and I couldn't wait to turn over.
Of course, Liu Haocun may be an exception.
Many people say that she is Zhang Yimou's "return to light" in aesthetics.
Liu Haocun looks pure and lovely, his eyes are smart, and the aura shown in "One Second" makes people see the appearance of Gong Li and Zhang Ziyi.
She later starred in "Above the Cliff" in the second palace, which can be seen Zhang Yimou's appreciation for her.
Immediately afterwards, he collaborated with Yi Yangqianxi on "Send You a Little Red Flower", with Han Han on "Four Seas", and with Jackie Chan on "Dragon Horse Spirit".
If it weren't for the negative news that affected the wind review, with her appearance and resources, she seems to be the next generation of big heroine.
But objectively speaking, throughout Liu Haocun's performances in recent years, she only inherited the fur of the Mou girl, and did not capture the soul of the Mou girl.
After the stunning appearance of "One Second", her subsequent performances were unsatisfactory.
Especially in "Above the Cliff", she is almost outside the entire performance, and it is foreseeable that her resources will suffer a shrinkage crisis after her.
And Zhang Yimou himself is also keenly aware of his aesthetic decline.
In the movies "Shadow", "Sniper" and "Manjiang Red" over the years, he did not hold a new girl.
Either directly use mature actresses, or simply go to "Mou Boy".
"The sign of a man's aging is the degradation of women's aesthetic judgment."
Unfortunately, 73-year-old Zhang Yimou encountered such a dilemma.
Starting with Gong Li, and finally Ni Ni, the "aesthetics" of director Zhang Yimou has ended.
His subsequent movies are likely to lack the taste of a conspiracy girl, which is a pity.
After all, the years are not spared, and all indications are that the 73-year-old Zhang Yimou can never go back, belonging to his era of big directors, in fact, it has long ended.
However, no longer rushing forward, sinking into the market, turning to making some typed commercial films with guaranteed quality and quantity, and continuing to exert spare power for Chinese films, is not it another best road for great directors.
Text/Pippi Film Editorial Office: A Chicken
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