1905 Movie Network Special Article 8.1, 8.4, 8.2! From "I'm Very Good in Another Country" to "Sanyue Has a New Job" to "Apocalypse", director Li Mo has almost handed over 3 Douban 8 points + works in a row. For young creators, this is not an easy thing, Li Mo himself said, quite unexpected, did not think about it, I am very happy that everyone can agree with the life ideas and values he wants to express.
Following "I'm Fine in Another Country", "Apocalypse in Dress" focuses the camera on foreigners. Xu Zixian, played by Han Dongjun, and Tang Ying, played by Cai Wenjing, are both "North Drift". "Pretending" is the key word of the two protagonists and even the entire crew. Whether they are protagonists or supporting characters, most of them are drifters, trying to "improve" and "show" their taste and ability by pretending.
"Fake it till you make it" is the English name of "Apocalypse" and the core value that the characters in the play believe in. And Li Mo bluntly said that pretending to have, until you don't need to pretend to have one day, this is the real meaning that the series wants to express.
North drift with cavity
"Pretense exists in everyone"
Li Mo came to Beijing at the age of fourteen, and his years of experience in drifting north have completely made his tone of speech and personality habits completely converge to "old Beijing". But when asked where he is from, he still says he's from Qingdao.
He believes that Beipiao is a drifting group, Shanghai drifting, deep drifting, and overseas wanderers are the same. Big cities are full of outsiders, which is the norm of the times. Although "Apocalypse" is set in Beijing, and most of the protagonists are "North Drift", the series itself does not want to be limited to the region, but wants to show the diverse postures of urban drifters. "These people need an outlet in the process of working hard in life and seeking themselves, whether they are facing emotional or health, career or economic issues."
"I am better than others, I am better than others, I understand better than others, I am more advanced than others, to highlight the sense of superiority and existence, it is probably the psychological logic of many people in contemporary society." Li Mo said.
Xu Zixuan, who was dressed as an elite, revealed in a few words on the plane that he usually only flies business class, not economy class;
Tang Ying, an urban beauty living in Guomao, will insinuate that the other party is just a "rookie" who tastes wine when she encounters a conversation at a bar;
The noble lady Meiling, played by Ni Hongjie, loves to "wear a concubine bag" in the "wife's circle", and she said that she only loves to eat "European citronella".
In the bustling city, everyone has their own mask. In Li Mo's view, pretense exists in everyone, exists in every era, or vanity is driven by vanity, or driven by self-protection. Sometimes, he also doesn't see pretense as something particularly negative, "everyone wants others to recognize their side."
Li Mo rose to prominence among young creators because of directing "I'm Good in Another Country", in fact, long before that work, he originally wanted to make "Apocalypse". When the producer offered him a bunch of novels to choose from, he immediately saw "Apocalypse." He felt from his heart that he was suitable for this work.
Whether out of initiative or passivity, whether out of social interaction or work, for a long time, Li Mo's life journey has been full of "pretending" flavor. He began thinking about this proposition at the age of seventeen or eighteen, and joked that he had "been professionally dressed for 30 years". The profound experience of dressing has made him confident in the creation of this theme.
"Mon Haixie white wine actually does not have tannins, rare Pidai concubine bags, in the noble lady circle is not worth selling." While the characters in the play pretend, in fact, many details are "missing the filling". "Because of the pretense, there are flaws. Pretending to be this thing is a relatively high-level, headless, there will always be someone more pretending than you. Li Mo analyzed when talking about "pretending".
Xu Zixian and Tang Ying
"Han Dongjun is the best candidate to play Xu Zixuan"
Xu Zixian and Tang Ying, two souls wandering in Beijing, met on the same flight, knew each other in the same world, and composed a romantic love song from mutual temptation to removing masks. Han Dongjun and Cai Wenjing's CP sense made many viewers call "Shangtou", and many topics about their sweet love and love appeared on social platforms.
In an interview with the 1905 Film Network, Li Mo bluntly said that he always felt that Han Dongjun was the best candidate to play Xu Zixuan. At the beginning of the casting stage, he had already begun to notice this returnee guy, but unfortunately missed it at that time due to the schedule. Later, Han Dongjun, who ushered in a gap, naturally became "Xu Zixuan".
Li Mo once wrote a short biography for "Xu Zixian" and lived in the house of Beijing CBD New Town International, which his parents bought for him with most of their life savings. The seemingly generous external material conditions are not a symbol of him as a "big money", on the contrary, he is not even a middle class, and the rich second-generation character is deliberately disguised.
When Han Dongjun was young, he studied abroad alone. He went to work to keep himself alive abroad. "It's not that his family conditions are not good, but his family is definitely not a rich second generation." Li Mo said that the experience of wandering in a foreign land when he was a teenager filled Han Dongjun with an aura similar to Xu Zixuan.
Cai Wenjing in Li Mo's eyes, self-motivated, intelligent, independent, these are the characteristics of Tang Ying. "She is not a soft, weak girl, she is tough on the inside and always wants to make herself better." He said so about Cai Wenjing.
As a director, he confessed that he is not very good at teaching actors, and will only show them personally. He often plays "Tang Ying" on the set and plays with Han Dongjun. But many surprises were made by the two actors colliding with each other.
In one scene, Xu Zixuan pulled the exhausted Tang Ying to the hotel to rest, and the latter woke up and saw Xu Zixuan in confusion, and couldn't help but blow on his face. This is Cai Wenjing's improvisation. Later, Xu Zixuan confessed to Tang Ying, and blew the other party's face before kissing her. "It's something I think is so wonderful that I can't teach it." Li Mo said with a smile.
In the huge city of Beijing, one is a gentle and mature investment bank executive, and the other is a rational junior lawyer. They are all independent individuals, love is not their necessity, meet the luck of life. "See each other like a mirror, support each other, help each other, and constantly correct yourself." The director explained, "There is no one who is worthy of their love or not, they are the same kind of people. And it is precisely because they are the same kind that it is possible to come together. ”
Original works and adaptations
"The biggest change is the proposal scene at the end"
"Apocalypse in Style" is adapted from Liu Cuihu's novel of the same name, and the original book with a score of 7.8 is the overall champion of the second long-form rally on Douban Reading. The reason why the series can rush above 8 points, in addition to high fidelity, also relies on reasonable adaptation.
Whether it is the Spirit Hall meeting, the banquet of the Great King, or the ring of friendship between Xu Zixian and Tang Ying, and the plot full of pink bubbles when the two are ambiguous, the series has restored these famous scenes one by one.
Li Mo's adaptation of the original work is mainly reflected in two points.
The first is to delete golden sentences. Many beautifully written and thoughtful sentences were deleted by him. In his opinion, in film and television dramas, everyone does not come to get an education, but to watch the story.
The second is to adjust the relationship between Tang Ying and Lin Xinzi, from girlfriends to cousins, aiming to interpret that women help each other more than competition.
The biggest change in the series to the original book is the addition of a marriage proposal scene in the finale.
"This is very, very important for me, marriage proposal is not marriage, these are two things, quite different. The proposal represents a determination, a will, a transformation. After proposing, it does not mean that they will eventually get married, but it means that after experiencing so much, both of them have grown. ”
Li Mo bluntly said that many people around him are unwilling to look at their true selves with a good attitude, often thinking that men will fall after they have more, and women can be objectified and examined. But he doesn't share that view.
"People will go through the process of growth, and the turning point to promote growth is not ethereal, a beautiful love, by no means made in heaven, never because I met you, but in the process of meeting, you found each other and found yourself."
A foreign land that houses souls from all over the world. The pretense reflects the variety of different strata of society. For urban men and women, pretending to have until you don't need to pretend one day is originally an upgrade of self-confidence and a sublimation of pursuit.
From "I'm Good in Another Country" to "Apocalypse", from the friendship between the drifters to the love between the drifters, Li Mo said that the story of the stranger is not over. The next work, the affection between drifters, is about to become a new clue.