Directed by Li Kai and adapted from the short story of the same name by Qingshan (Baby Anne), the love movie "August Weiyang" starring Zhong Chuxi, Luo Jin and Tan Songyun was released nationwide on April 16. It has also been exactly 20 years since the publication of the novel "August Weiyang" in January 2001. As an early famous writer in China, Baby Anne is a labeled existence, "Farewell to Vian", "August Weiyang" and "July and Ansheng" are all books that some post-80s and 90s often read at that time, and her words have influenced the dress, life attitude and emotional outlook of many young girls (including some boys) at that time. 20 years later, the generation that once read Baby Anne has entered the workplace, or worked alone or started a family, Baby Annie herself also changed her name to Qingshan, she said that she reached a new stage of life, so she decided to change her name, because she is also different from the one in her 20s.
Poster of "August Weiyang".
Over the years, Baby Anne, who is a wife and mother, has acted in a low-key manner and has not talked much. The previous film adaptation of her novel of the same name, "July and Ansheng", was a great success, perhaps this is already the peak of her topic heat. In recent years, she has kept a distance from the media in addition to her diligent writing, not signing for sale, but not exposing much, but the new books and old works have always sold well, selling more than 10 million copies. Through the release of the movie "August Weiyang", the Beijing News reporter exclusively interviewed the writer who rarely accepted interviews and the director of the movie "August Weiyang" Li Kai, who talked about the film and his own story.
"August Weiyang" was written overnight, and the director had "staying power" after reading it.
If you were to ask Baby Anne what impressed you most about August, she'd tell you two words — speed. This novel was written by her 20 years ago, when she vaguely remembers that she is in a more decadent mood, which is taken care of in the words and screens of the book: the frank and rebellious Wei Yang (Zhong Chuxi) and xiao Qiao (Tan Songyun), who longs for marriage, are girlfriends with very different personalities, and the strong collision of personalities makes the simple and ambiguous emotions more mellow, and the arrival of Xiao Qiao's boyfriend Chao Yan (Luo Jin) makes the emotions of the three more subtle.
Although Wei Yang and Xiao Qiao's views on love, life, etc. are very different, but the two yin and yang have become very good girlfriends, this relationship and confusion is defined by Baby Annie as two doppelgängers of their own inner emotions, Baby Anne said: "This novel I wrote quickly overnight, the different heroines in the early novels are basically some of my own inner doppelgangers, just like July and Ansheng are also." More than twenty years ago, I did not use my heart to design and create characters, but only used them to project and express my heart, and writing is a way for me to express myself. ”
Stills from "August Weiyang". Wei Yang and Little Joe.
Maybe Baby Anne herself could not have imagined that one day this overnight short story would be adapted into a movie. Probably in 2006, on the train to Yunnan, the girl sitting opposite director Li Kai was crying with a novel in her hand, and he forgot the girl's appearance, only remembering that the novel in her hand was called "August Weiyang". "What kind of book can make her cry like this?" With this curiosity, Li Kai found a bookstore as soon as he got off the train and bought a collection of Baby Anne's novels. "After watching 'August Weiyang', in fact, I didn't feel so deeply at first, but when I put down the novel and wandered alone in Yunnan, my mind was always haunted by the love-hate entanglement between Weiyang, Xiao Qiao and Chaoyan about loneliness, fate and reincarnation, which made me who was lonely at that time have a huge resonance." Because of the particularly strong staying power of the novel, Li Kai was deeply drowned for many years, and after returning from Yunnan, he made up his mind to make this novel into a movie: "At that time, I didn't know Baby Anne at all, and I couldn't contact her, and I couldn't do anything with the novel collection, and one day I accidentally found her mailbox on the title page of the novel collection, so I wrote a long letter to Baby Anne with the mood to try it out, expressing my urgent desire." I'm thankful that she actually wrote me back after a long wait! And so my dream began. ”
She didn't suggest the script, and the director had read all her novels
In fact, to make "August Weiyang" film and television, in the eyes of Baby Anne, it is a thing that is linked to sincerity and naturally comes to fruition, she has no specific plan for how to turn the novel into a film and television work, even if the world knows that the marketization of the novel will bring more readers to the writer, the film and television works have the novel IP as the foundation can also have fans "endorsement", but unlike many authors, this is not a problem that Baby Anne cares about. She also did not worry about whether "August Weiyang", which became a movie, would be compared by the audience with the love films that are now flooded in the film market, and she would not even think deeply about the advantages of this novel becoming a movie. She only knows that "Li Kai told me that he liked this novel very much, and insisted on it very sincerely for many years, I authorized it", she said that she had never made any suggestions for film adaptation, to turn the work into a movie or even a very pure thing, it depends on whether the other party has sincerity, whether it is really liked, and whether the understanding of the text can reach a basic consensus.
Stills of the two heroines riding motorcycles in "July and Ansheng" and "August Weiyang".
Getting baby Anne's authorization is something that Li Kai has never thought of and cherishes, and he especially thanks Baby Annie for not interfering with her adaptation from beginning to end: "She has given me the greatest freedom and respect in creation, which is her quality that impressed me and I am truly grateful." "Li Kai said that although the novel "August Weiyang" is not long, how to use the audiovisual language of the film to express emotional entanglement, to the greatest extent to retain the beauty of the original novel, filter out the inappropriate plot inside, every step of the adaptation is full of challenges." To this end, I read all the novels that Baby Anne wrote at that time, fully digested the style and essence of her works, and interviewed many female friends to understand their views on "August Weiyang". After all, this is a novel from twenty years ago, and how to make the current young audience love this story takes a lot of thought. ”
Li Kai said that he has read "August Weiyang" countless times, and the relationship between the three characters: Weiyang, Xiao Qiao, and Chaoyan is the most classic love triangle, which is not particularly complicated. The pain of the original family, the two sides of the personality, the inner desires, and the impermanence of fate make the three characters in the film full of contradictory complexity. Wei Yang is cold and lonely on the outside, but in fact, he longs to hug in his heart; Xiao Qiao is sunny and lovely on the outside, but in fact he longs for safety in his heart; he is sensitive and gentle on the outside, but in fact, he longs for truth in his heart. Baby Anne told the Beijing News reporter that in the early novels, the character setting of men is basically the tool for women's own growth in the book, allowing them to discover and complete themselves, just like the Chaoyan played by Luo Jin, who abandoned his girlfriend who was going to get married and chose to face his emotional truth frankly, it seems that the character has his own scumbag attributes. "In fact, many male actors are discouraged from such roles, and finally on a dark and windy night in one month, I met Luo Jin, who actually rode a heavy-duty Ducati (a famous Italian motorcycle brand) and drove by, which immediately let me find the common attributes of Chaoyan and Weiyang." Li Kai recalled: "Luo Jin sat down and looked at me and seriously explained his understanding of Chao Yan's role. Telling me, 'I may not be able to play this role well, but I will do my best', at that moment, my mind came up with the picture of Chao Yan riding a motorcycle and taking Weiyang to Shanghai at night. ”
Stills from "August Weiyang". Face to face.
Writing is controversial, and words are read to confidants
In 2014, Baby Anne officially changed her pen name to "Qingshan", she said that life is worth celebrating, and it is also a mountain peak that needs to be climbed continuously. This new pen name is my own further understanding of life. In 2019, Baby Anne published the novel "The Valley of Summer". Some commentators have said it's largely her autobiography, and many of the characters in the book are different silhouettes of her. For the current creative status, Baby Anne also admitted: "Over the years, my works have not decreased, and I have published core long works like "Shamo Valley", which are more weighty in the later period, and this year will also publish essay collections and Q&A collections. In the mature period like now, I think my creation has reached a stage of weight. Readers have been there for many years, but it is a question of whether young new readers are interested in the kind of works that I have created that my spiritual exploration points to, and the present era is much more impetuous and material than before. ”
Stills from "August Weiyang". Wei Yang and Xiao Qiao on the roof.
Among the well-known Chinese writers, Baby Anne must be a non-negligible existence, her words have influenced the lifestyle of many post-80s and post-90s people, many people like to imitate the dress of her heroine, and she herself has also been given the label of "literary and artistic young women", and was asked whether she would think of her own text having such a powerful influence when she first created it? Baby Anne said lightly: "When writing, you don't think and expect these things, and the text will automatically flow to the people it can influence, and give them penetration and infection." In the early years, my works soothed and supported the inner emotions and emotions of many people, and over the years, I hope that my works can be like a lamp, bringing them the motivation and direction of their own spiritual exploration. "There's also a lot of controversy along the way, and some comments say books aren't as good as before, will these affect you?" Some people always use labels such as literature and art to define you, are you afraid of being labeled? Do you think the word can define you? The reporter asked curiously. Baby Anne replied without hesitation: "For more than twenty years, my writing has been subject to controversy, and I am used to it. Readers who appreciate and need my work have always been there, and can last for so many years, I think the text is for confidants to read, and the rest, love can say whatever. ”
【Interview】
Further explore your own mind and help fellow travelers with your writing
Beijing News: You seem to have maintained a sense of mystery in rare media interviews, why do you insist on alienating exposure?
Baby Anne: I didn't deliberately keep the mystery up mys, and I would consider engaging more with my readers so that I could give them more perspective, like I've had a writing course myself. But I just want this communication to be pure and quiet, rather than superficial and only for business, because most of the forms of exposure will now be mutated into the latter.
Beijing News: Why did you change your pen name, does the current "Qingshan" represent your new life stage?
Baby Anne: I have a new stage in my life, and the same is true of writing, some people may cling to the gains of the past, but I like the exploration and exploration of the unknown.
Courtesy of Gyeongsan (Baby Anne) herself
Beijing News: The emotional portrayal in your pen is particularly specific, how did these materials come about? Is your authentic personality similar to your work?
Baby Anne: This material comes from a variety of sources, but it needs to be sorted, filtered and refined by me. I may belong to the kind of person who is good at observation and delicate in heart, but more importantly, writing needs to be learned and trained, which is like life, life is the same.
Beijing News: For creation, do you have further goals in mind?
Baby Anne: I want to go one step further, one step further, and then in a writing way, to inform and help strangers who are on the same path.
Beijing News reporter Zhou Huixiaowan
Edited by Huang Jialing Proofreader Lucy
Source: Beijing News