It took 5 years, director Wang Baoqiang, can he turn over?
What is the most unpopular award in the Chinese film and television industry?
Without a doubt, the Golden Broom Award.
Last year, Bao Bell won the "Most Disappointing Director Award" for his remake of the Korean version of "Sunshine Sister Tao", and "bombarded" the organizer Cheng Qingsong in the circle of friends.
The Golden Broom Awards, organized by the magazine "Youth Film Handbook", have been held for 14 consecutive times since 2009.
In addition to Bao Bell, well-known directors such as Wang Shuo, Wang Jing, and Zhang Yimou have also been on the list.
This not very honorable award, few directors go to the scene to receive the award, so there has been no splash.
Until the 2018 movie "Big Trouble" won the award, Wang Baoqiang, who was a first-line star at that time, appeared at the award scene, and the Golden Broom Award was completely out of the circle.
His acceptance speech, which is still praised today:
"Why I have to personally accept everyone's criticism this year, I think it's because I love movies, I respect movies, I respect the audience, and I respect the seniors here."
"I'm also thankful to Golden Broom for giving me this opportunity to say sorry to the audience."
"I believe that if I work hard and continue to learn in the future, I will definitely become a more qualified director in everyone's mind, and I will also become a more qualified filmmaker."
The speech that dares to admit his own shortcomings and open-mindedness wins the favor of the audience.
The host on the side couldn't help but say, "Baoqiang, you are the conscience of the film industry." ”
Although "Big Trouble" encountered word-of-mouth Waterloo, after Wang Baoqiang's speech, many people supported him and were willing to trust the next work he brings.
Now, 5 years later, Wang Baoqiang has returned again with a new work and is about to meet us.
"In the Octagonal Cage" directed and starring Wang Baoqiang will be released nationwide on July 6, facing Gu Tianle's "Drug Sweep 3", in order to seize the advantage, Baoqiang seems to be very confident this time, and the Dragon Boat Festival has launched a large-scale screening in advance.
This time, can he prove that he is a qualified director?
In any case, Wang Baoqiang is announcing to netizens in a directorial way:
I am back!
01. A true story about fighting orphans
"In the Octagon Cage" is based on real events, the Liangshan "fighting orphan" incident that caused a sensation in 2017.
Six years ago, a short video went viral on the Internet.
Two children who were only 12 years old were held and wrestled fiercely in the octagon cage, and the scene was slightly cruel.
They are both orphans from Liangshan, Sichuan, adopted by a mixed martial arts club in Chengdu.
The club has adopted more than 400 children, most of them from poor areas of Liangshan.
Their coach and adoptive was named Embo, originally a soldier.
This video has attracted widespread attention and controversy, and even CCTV has continued to follow up with reports.
After the authorities intervened in the investigation, some of the children were taken back to their hometowns.
Surprisingly, they desperately wanted to stay in the club...
The whole incident has undergone many reversals of public opinion and was once an adaptation theme that was favored by netizens.
Now, finally, a movie has made it.
The film tells the story of Xiang Tenghui (played by Wang Baoqiang), a former fighting champion, who helps orphans who have no one to take care of in the mountains change their fate.
Initially, he listened to the advice of Wang Zong (played by Xiao Yang) and began to return to his old business, originally wanting to use the hired orphans to perform martial arts to accumulate wealth.
Unexpectedly, he accidentally discovered the talents of children, and Xiang Tenghui intended to train them to become professional athletes.
During the day and night together, he and the children gradually trusted each other and became each other's most trusted "relatives".
Unexpectedly, a piece of news broke the peace of their lives.
As videos of past martial arts performances were revealed, these "cruel and bloody" images stimulated the nerves of people who did not know the truth.
Overnight, the club became the focus of public opinion.
The fate of Xiang Tenhui and the children is once again subjected to a huge test, and about the future, where will their "way out" be...
How to film the truth behind the "Liangshan Fighting Orphans" incident is the biggest challenge in the adaptation of the movie "Octagon Cage".
Especially the video that caused controversy.
Judging from the trailer and behind-the-scenes footage, the story has both laughter and tears.
Yes, laugh point.
Around the plot of orphans being recruited into the club, this film has added a lot of laughs, and the picture of "master and apprentice wronged" is quite joyful.
Yes, tears.
In the trailer, the mountain child's line "You don't sell us then", a picture of gobbling up food, is distressing to watch.
It is not only inside the play that moves, but also outside the play.
There is a scene where only the child needs to eat half a steamed bun, and a six-year-old child eats it directly because he is reluctant to waste it.
With a sensible look, even Wang Baoqiang wet his eyes.
Yes, pain points.
In the trailer, there is a scene where Xiang Tenghui sits in the car and is surrounded and blocked by the media, becoming a "liar" criticized by the outside world.
It is even more infuriating to think of the current phenomenon of some amateurs being raped online by people who do not know the truth.
02, the main creative lineup is strong, the protagonist of the movie "super acting"
The main creative lineup of this film is strong, in addition to Wang Baoqiang as the director and starring, there is also a certain guarantee behind the scenes.
Director of photography Luo Pan, who once led the shooting of "Changjin Lake" and "King Kong River", won the Golden Goblet Award for Best Cinematography at the 17th Shanghai International Film Festival.
In terms of art, the film invited Sun Li, who has served as an art director for films such as "Chinese Partner" and "Nameless".
Martial arts instructor Zhuang Yuanzhang has participated in the filming of many well-known films, such as "Red Cliff", "Generation Grandmaster" and so on.
The actors are also quite capable of fighting.
Leading actor, in addition to Wang Baoqiang, there is also newcomer actor Chen Yongsheng who has performed brilliantly in the movie "Sniper".
In this film, he plays a sloppy character who launches a counterattack against fate with the help of Xiang Tenghui.
Although it did not appear in the latest trailer, from the line "Brother Sloppy, I think he is very good, I saw that he gave money to my sister that day", it can be seen that his character is a person with a story.
In addition, there is Shi Pengyuan, who played Yan Liang in "Hidden Corner".
He plays a fighting boy named Su Mu, who is also an "enemy" and friend of Sloppy Tiger.
For Shi Pengyuan, Wang Baoqiang was very satisfied, saying that the first time he saw him, he felt the bottom of his heart.
Spengyuan has studied martial arts and believes that this scene in the octagon will be very exciting.
Immediately after, there is the familiar Wang Xun.
He and Wang Baoqiang have collaborated many times, including "A Good Show" and "Detective Chinatown 2".
In the tidbit, he wears a middle-aged man's T-shirt.
It seems that Wang Xun also played a middle-aged uncle this time.
Xiao Yang, who has cooperated with Wang Baoqiang many times in the Tang Detective series, is also here this time.
This time, he played Tenhui through entrepreneur Mr. Wang, and it was with his financial support that Xiang Tenghui, played by Wang Baoqiang, opened the club.
Judging from the trailer, Xiao Yang's image of a boss is quite outstanding, and the rivalry with Wang Baoqiang is even more exciting.
As a work adapted from the "Liangshan Fighting Orphans" incident, the casting of the protagonist of the fight in "In the Octagon Cage" is also very important.
This time, Wang Baoqiang boldly used a group of mountain children as the protagonists of the movie.
These young actors were selected by him from 1,000 mountain children, and none of them had acting experience.
Most of them spoke nervously in front of the camera and completed the interview with the encouragement of the staff.
In the trailer shot, the immature faces with gray faces reveal expectations and are moving.
The picture of them training rigorously under the scorching sun and trying to find a new way out of life is both real and distressing.
03, 6 years of preparation, gain 30 pounds, Wang Baoqiang exposed his "ambition"
It is worth mentioning that this new film is the first realistic work directed by Wang Baoqiang.
The last "Big Trouble" was miserably hit by Waterloo, which indeed proved that he was unqualified as a director.
This time through the return of realistic themes, we also see that Wang Baoqiang, from actor to director, wants to start again.
After returning to the screen as a director and actor, his "ambition" has also been exposed.
First, be a good director.
Judging from the behind-the-scenes footage, Wang Baoqiang has made a lot of efforts to make this realistic movie.
For example, mindful casting.
The most attractive thing about reality movies is authenticity, and Wang Baoqiang also knows this, he knows that sincerity will always move people.
In previous interviews, he also said:
"This is a movie for ordinary people, and it must be made like ordinary people!"
Therefore, he chose an amateur child from the mountains with no acting experience without hesitation.
In his opinion, the film needs the most original acting skills as support.
As a director, he also cares about the health of these young mountain actors.
Finding that the children only had vegetarian dishes in their bowls, asked the staff to add more meat to them.
In addition, Wang Baoqiang specially moved the filming location from Beijing to Sichuan, and also went to Liangshan Zhaojue County for filming.
From these aspects, it can be seen that Wang Baoqiang's ultimate pursuit of restoring authenticity.
Second, be a director with acting skills.
Wang Baoqiang's acting skills needless to say, he starred in "Blind Well" at the age of 20, and won the Golden Horse Award for Best New Actor.
The movie "Hello! The smoking action in "Mr. Tree" was once selected by Hokuying as a textbook-level shot.
In addition, Wang Baoqiang has also played many impressive roles.
For example, the thick and honest stupid root in "No Thief in the World".
Xu Sanduo in "Soldier Assault" is simple and stubborn.
Niu Geng, a milkman collecting debts in "People on the Road".
The god-nagging Tang Ren in the "Detective Chinatown" series.
It turns out that he can not only play comedy and grassroots roles, but also handle more complex roles.
This time, Wang Baoqiang is more "ruthless".
His character transforms over time into a middle-aged businessman.
At the shooting scene, he had white sideburns, wearing a dark green polo shirt, and his belly loomed.
Don't say, it's really like a middle-aged uncle who is blessed.
The picture of wearing sunglasses down the stairs even made many netizens think that he and Uncle Da were somewhat similar.
It is reported that in order to interpret more realistically, he specially gained 30 pounds for the new role, which will also be the first time the audience sees the fat Wang Baoqiang.
In the tidbits, Wang Baoqiang has the action of smoking again, which is very different from the previous one, with more of the temperament of a big brother.
In the trailer, the silent tears are seen while driving alone, and the performance shows Tenhui's sadness and helplessness in falling into the storm of public opinion, and the worry about the future of the orphans.
Third, bring the public's attention back to his work.
Looking back at Wang Baoqiang's twenty-year acting career, we can see that his resume is very glamorous.
In 2020, at the age of 38, he became the 8th 10 billion box office actor in the mainland, adding a milestone mark to his career.
Instead, his private life took a heavy toll.
In 2016, Wang Baoqiang issued a divorce statement, exposing that his wife Ma Rong and his agent Song Zhe had an improper relationship and transferred his property.
The divorce incident made a lot of noise and dragged on for nearly 2 years before the dust settled.
Unexpectedly, after the divorce, Ma Rong is still challenging Wang Baoqiang's bottom line.
It is like directing and acting in a good drama of "being subjected to domestic violence", trying to smear Wang Baoqiang and ruin his career and reputation through fake black materials.
Influenced by his personal life, Wang Baoqiang has been relatively low-key in recent years.
Because of the lack of exposure, any little bit of the latest emotional dynamics will be magnified by the outside world ten times attention.
So much so that in recent years, the gossip surrounding Wang Baoqiang once overshadowed his works.
After 6 years, he returned again with a realistic theme, apparently also wanting to draw the public's attention back to his works.
So, can Wang Baoqiang, who suffered from Waterloo in his directorial debut this time, have a beautiful turnover?
I hope we can see a different Wang Baoqiang on the big screen.
Bluestone Movies | Mei Liqing
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