Many classics of domestic TV dramas are created by Zheng Xiaolong.
In 1990, Zhang Kaili Li Xuejian starred in "Longing", a crowded alley, which was Zheng Xiaolong's first time as a producer in a TV series.
He did not expect that the first work in his resume was so brilliant - he won the Golden Rooster Award that year, the Feitian Award the following year, the rating exceeded 98%, and the phrase "marry Liu Huifang" even became the mate selection standard at that time.
At that time, Zheng Xiaolong, although he was 38 years old, was also a newcomer who had just come into contact with TV dramas.
After that, Zheng Xiaolong seemed to open his own talent code for TV dramas, and in 1991 he filmed China's first TV series comedy "The Story of the Editorial Department", creating a generation of classics.
1993's "Beijingers in New York" set a number of ratings records while causing a boom in theater watching.
To know this drama, it was Zheng Xiaolong's mortgage that was filmed, because the whole process was filmed overseas, the cost was huge, until the time of broadcasting, Zheng Xiaolong himself had no bottom in his heart.
After that, from "Golden Marriage" to "The Biography of Zhen Huan", from "Red Sorghum" to "The Legend of Mi Yue", As long as Zheng Xiaolong's TV series was filmed, it became a representative screen classic at that time.
Some people say that Zheng Xiaolong was the first pioneer of China's television drama industry, whether it is "Longing" or "The Story of the Editorial Department", and then to the peak of the palace fighting drama led by "The Biography of Zhen Huan", Zheng Xiaolong has participated in it with an extremely important attitude.
Recently, what we have seen is the hit drama, "Meritorious Service" with a Douban score of 9.1.
The score of "Meritorious Service" is very strong, starting from the first chapter "Nengwen Nengwu Li Yannian" to the end of "Tu Youyou's Gift", the score not only did not decline, but even achieved a reverse fall and climbed up.
The hit and fire of "Meritorious Service", as the general director, Zheng Xiaolong has a great credit, because the overall tone of the play is controlled by him.
Zheng Xiaolong has always been an innovative and avant-garde director, and from the perspective of many screen classics he has created, the special perspective and understanding of the story are the reasons why these dramas can penetrate the hearts of the people.
In terms of casting, because "Meritorious Service" tells the heroic story of the first eight recipients of the "Order of the Republic", he strictly follows four criteria, namely, both moral and artistic, both divine and physical, superb acting skills, and the consent of the real prototype of the "Meritorious Service" or his family.
In the selection of actors, director Zheng Xiaolong attaches the most importance to the first criterion: virtue and art.
To play the first eight "Order of the Republic" recipients, in addition to acting, "virtue" is the most important aspect to be considered. The actors selected by the crew must have not had any scandals, have not had any bad deeds, have a good artistic style, and have high moral character.
Take Wang Lei, who plays Li Yannian, wang Lei graduated from Chinese opera and has never had any scandals since he entered the entertainment industry in 2004 to today. He is low-key and the characters he portrays are recognizable and well received by the audience.
In addition, Wang Lei is enthusiastic about public welfare, and when his hometown Dalian was looking for a "fire propaganda image ambassador", Wang Lei accepted the appointment without saying a word. Dalian Fire Brigade also praised Wang Lei: the image has always been positive, upward and inspirational, which is very consistent with the image of the ambassador established this time.
Guo Tao, who plays Zhang Fuqing, is also the same.
Guo Tao also graduated from Chinese opera and has worked a lot since his debut in 1991. His character and reputation have always been very good, and he is well known in the show business circle.
Guo Tao is also enthusiastic about public welfare, either to rescue disabled children, or to bring his son "stone" to pass on love. Whether as an actor or a father, Guo Tao is a role model.
Jiang Xin is more familiar to everyone, and she has been deeply concerned and loved by the audience for her participation in another palace fight drama directed by Zheng Xiaolong, "The Biography of Zhen Huan".
Although she plays the flying Concubine Hua in the play, Jiang Xin's character and audience popularity are very good, and many viewers can see her quality from the details of her relationship with the people around her.
But whenever he went out, Jiang Xin and his assistant were arm in arm.
When she participates in variety shows, she will not put on a show for the effect of the show.
In addition, Jiang Xin is particularly caring and has been doing public welfare silently over the years. Most of the time when doing public welfare is also to personally come to the scene and carry it on the shoulders, without a little star shelf.
In addition to these three, several other actors are like this, and it is precisely because of them that "Meritorious Service" can set a good example for the national audience.
Of course, virtue and art are the first, and the acting skills naturally cannot pull the crotch.
Take director Zheng Xiaolong's "Tu Youyou's Gift" personally directed, when the actor was first selected, Zheng Xiaolong personally asked Tu Youyou himself.
But because Tu Youyou has been focusing on scientific research and does not know much about actors, when he proposed "Zhou Xun", Tu Youyou asked "Who is Zhou Xun?" ”
Later, Tu Lao's daughter spoke: "Zhou Xun is good, and his acting skills are great!" Hearing her daughter's affirmation, Tu Youyou was also relieved to let Zhou Xun play herself.
In fact, before filming "Meritorious Service", director Zheng Xiaolong did a lot of work, he read the relevant information of all eight meritorious characters, extracted highlights from their careers, and took them as the main line of each story.
The reason for choosing Zhou Xun is that on the basis of understanding the story of Tu Lao's career, I believe that Zhou Xun has both a strong sense of shaping and a strong desire to create, which is crucial for the unit of "Tu Youyou's Gift".
This is not the first time that Zhou Xun has cooperated with director Zheng Xiaolong, in 2014's "Red Sorghum", Zhou Xun has already cooperated with Zheng Director once, so the two are familiar with each other, and the chemical reaction is naturally more sufficient.
But after all, shooting such a big drama is the first time, I did not expect to shoot on the first day, I encountered difficulties.
Because there are too many professional words involved in the play, some lines, Zhou Xun can't get over it, and even leads to heavy worries at night and can't sleep well.
Originally, medical vocabulary was difficult for actors, and Zhou Xun said bluntly that he had acted for so many years and was the first time he had encountered this situation. After learning and adjustment, the shooting went smoothly.
There is also a problem during the shooting process, that Zhou Xun is too "spiritual".
Zhou Xun was originally famous for her "spirit", and the little Taiping she played is still one of the most classic roles on the screen.
However, in "Tu Youyou's Gift", every time there is such a scented aura shot, it will be shouted by director Zheng Xiaolong.
Because as a scientific researcher, Tu Lao's research is very focused, even in life, she is also a very simple and simple, time-saving person, never waste time elsewhere, and even queue up such things are not willing.
Through the guidance of Zheng Dao, we can see a vivid and three-dimensional, very personality, and especially real Tu Youyou in the play.
The two scenes are impressive, the first is Tu Youyou picking up her daughter and walking on the road with her daughter on her back, although Zhou Xun's eyes are still cold, and her mind is still thinking about experiments, but it is obvious that from her eyes, she can see the light of maternal love and the apology for her daughter.
For a moment, on a snowy day, you could see Zhou Xun's tears, but this tear was fleeting. Watching her turn her head and look at her daughter, was it a moment of heartbreak.
The second scene is Tu Youyou reading family letters.
This scene actually has an emotional progression, when it was first taken out, although Zhou Xun's eyes were full of tears, but the emotions were obviously not full enough to infect the audience.
As the background music and narration progressed, reading the part about parents, the feeling of indebtedness to parents came instantly, and Zhou Xun did not make a sound, just silent tears, wiped with his hands.
After reading it, I covered my face and sobbed, and when I took off my glasses, my face was full of tears, and many viewers couldn't hold back at this time.
This is the infectious power of the drama bone.
In addition to Zhou Xun, who plays Tu Youyou, and Tong Dawei, who plays Academician Sun Jiadong, when he was young, he did have some similarities with Academician Sun.
Wang Lei, who played Li Yannian, and Lei Jiayin, who played Yu Min, also received a lot of praise for their calm and sophisticated acting skills.
In addition to the high standards of casting, director Zheng Xiaolong also gave full play to the essence of his "detail control" in "Meritorious Service".
He demanded that the entire "Meritorious Service" must be realistic, according to his requirements, realism is to use the logic of real life to create, and the costumes, scenes, and character language must truly reflect the characteristics of that era.
Wang Lei played Li Yannian's hometown dialect and received a lot of praise.
Before Zhou Xun started filming, he first had to study at the Institute of Chinese Medicine.
In "Shen Jilan's Proposal", in order to restore the style of Xigou Village at that time, after many searches, the crew finally took Shuangjiequan Village in Pingshun County, Shanxi Province as the main filming location.
The prop teacher also re-pasted the house with mud, paved the cement road with loess, found the old spinning wheel of forty or fifty years ago, and found someone to teach the actors how to do it, and all the props made a mottled feeling.
It is these details that give the whole play soul and also give the actors great help in performing.
Without these strict props control, without director Zheng Xiaolong's strict obedience and chemical control, "Meritorious Service" cannot give us such a strong sense of immersion, and naturally there is no super high rating and topic degree today.
Facts have proved that under the overall control of Zheng Xiaolong, "Meritorious Service" is a success, which not only allows audiences throughout China to know the eight recipients of the first batch of "Order of the Republic" again, but also makes us appreciate the dedication and sacrifice spirit of the older generation of scientists, the older generation of revolutionaries and laborers.
Thanks to "Meritorious Service", let us see the multi-dimensional and vivid merit.
Their spirit is the backbone of the Chinese nation.
It is precisely because of the continuous inheritance of this spirit that the Chinese nation can always stand tall among the nations of the world with a posture of self-reliance and self-improvement.
(Rotten Tomatoes Editorial Board: Yang Yang)