Li Baotian: Principles are the bottom line I stick to!
What had been a steadily rising career trajectory changed dramatically in 2005. Li Baotian had a series of disputes with the producer Times Spring Company because of his appearance in the TV series "The Minister of the Imperial Mission", and this dispute that seemed to be for economic interests actually stemmed from the deep-rooted stubbornness in his character.
In 2004, Li Baotian was invited by Times Spring to serve as the artistic director of the play and play the role of villain. The two parties reached an agreement that the episode was set at 30 episodes and agreed on the remuneration.
However, at the end of 2005, the production team privately extended the plot to 33 episodes, without consulting Li Baotian or paying for the additional episodes.
In Li Baotian's eyes, this has constituted a serious breach of trust and disrespect.
So, he resolutely took Times Spring to court and demanded that they pay three times the new salary as punishment. However, the result ended in his own defeat, and the court ruled that Li Baotian had breached the contract and needed to pay a huge amount of compensation to Times Spring.
This was undoubtedly a heavy blow and made Li Baotian feel disappointed. But we must understand that for him, the monetary interest of 1.9 million is far less than the weight of defending the principle. He is already a well-known actor, and he is not worried about having no resources.
Just for the sake of mere interests, he doesn't need to go this far and risk resistance from the industry. Therefore, the reason why he angrily resorted to the law is a matter of principle and sticking to his bottom line.
This also highlights the indomitable side of his character.
Young Li Baotian: He was addicted to drama and broke with his family and ran away
In 1952, Li Baotian was born in a family of high-ranking military officers, and could have enjoyed food and clothing, and enjoyed glory and wealth. However, the youngest son of this family has a perverse personality, and at a young age, he was addicted to opera performances that were despised by society at that time, and dreamed of becoming a big actor.
Although it was just a childish dream, it brought a huge rift to this originally harmonious family. His parents strongly opposed Li Baotian's study of drama, especially his father, who was furious and angrily scolded him for not becoming a big actor.
may have been unscrupulous for a while, but it deeply hurt Li Baotian, who had strong self-esteem.
Since then, father and son have broken up. 15-year-old Li Baotian ran away from home with a dream of drama, fell into the quagmire from a privileged life, joined a Bangzi troupe with no food and clothing, and began a wandering life.
In the troupe, as a newcomer, he was ostracized, fasted all year round, and had to endure the ridicule and bullying of his teammates. This kind of day and night toil and displacement loneliness should have broken him as a teenager.
However, Li Baotian does not seem to be shaken by these external circumstances, and his fanatical love for drama in his heart. He puts himself into the understanding of the performance and the role at every turn.
Perhaps it is because of his extraordinary enthusiasm that he has finally gained recognition and become one of the pillars of the troupe.
Just when the relationship between father and son eased somewhat, and Li Baotian also found a piece of his own world, fate gave him a new blow - his father died of illness. All of a sudden, this hard-won stability and happiness disappeared.
At the age of 32, Jin Ling started again, and the Chinese opera set off
In 1978, Li Baotian, who had experienced all kinds of twists and turns, came to a new turning point in his life. This year, with the change of the social environment, the Central Academy of Drama began to recruit new students on a large scale.
As a fledgling young actor, Li Baotian still has a passion for art and impulsively applied for the Chinese Opera Performance Department.
At that time, he was 32 years old, much later than the average person who was studying in graduate school. And due to the frequent changes of environment in his early years, his cultural foundation is also very weak. However, he did not let these objective conditions shackle him, which stimulated his innate fighting energy.
Li Baotian took every opportunity to make up for Xi cultural courses, and often stayed up all night studying on his own in the library. He knew in his heart that this might be his last chance, and it was also his chance to prove himself to fate.
With the blessing of this momentum, he finally passed the entrance examination of Chinese opera as he wished, and spent 4 years of his study career in the academy like a fish in water.
If it is said that being admitted to Chinese opera fulfilled his childhood dream of learning opera, then staying in school to teach after graduation is another milestone in Li Baotian's life. As a professional teacher of Chinese opera, he has been given more opportunities to get in touch with film and television drama performances, and has begun to emerge in many works.
Many films such as "Ju Dou" and "Old Man Ge" have won Li Baotian the highest honorary awards at heavyweight film festivals at home and abroad, and his acting skills have finally been widely recognized by his peers in the industry and international peers.
"Prime Minister Liu Luoguo" is red through half the sky
1993 was a memorable year for Li Baotian, this year he successfully jumped to the throne of a first-line star in the film and television industry with the role of Liu Luoguo in the costume drama "Prime Minister Liu Luoguo", and his popularity increased rapidly, and he gained fame and fortune.
However, he insisted on his principles, but he once again paid a heavy price for it.
After the broadcast of "Prime Minister Liu Luoguo", it sparked heated discussions, and the tacit cooperation of the trio of Li Baotian, Zhang Guoli and Wang Gang also made the audience full of praise. could have taken advantage of the victory to chase and catch the ride of this drama to achieve better results, but Li Baotian chose to give up starring in the sequel immediately.
In the eyes of the outside world, this is a tantrum and unreasonable.
In fact, for Li Baotian, it is the opposite. He believes that it is not easy to successfully create a classic character, and that repetition will only detract from its charm. And as an actor, adapting the original author's story itself without authorization is also not allowed.
Therefore, from the perspective of maintaining artistic principles and his own professional ethics, he is unwilling to play Liu Luoguo again.
As a result, the other leading actors with vested interests ignored Li Baotian's principled position and took over the sequel themselves. This made Li Baotian the target of public criticism, not only with partners who have cooperated for many years, but also regarded as a sinner who "destroys the market environment", and the limelight is incompatible.
In fact, Li Baotian's choice is only because he has an almost paranoid adherence to his professional bottom line and artistic beliefs, rather than being pretentious. When interests and principles conflicted, he did not hesitate to choose the latter.
It is precisely because of this loyalty to his heart that he will take the initiative to choose to block his own path again and again, and it has also achieved his unique artistic temperament. This is also the strongest footnote to his unmoved interests.
Tied up, Li Baotian said
After the case of "The Minister of the Imperial Mission", Li Baotian not only lost the lawsuit for compensation, but also encountered a collective boycott in the industry. All of a sudden, the once glorious world has now become what people call a "drama bully".
He had to withdraw from the public eye and fade out of the entertainment industry.
In this regard, Li Baotian did not choose to continue to be obsessed. He put down his body, lived in seclusion in the mountains, and lived a life of painting and reflection.
This passionate tone reveals the persistence and openness in his bones. He has no regrets, nor is he ashamed, because his choice is only an adherence to the principles of art. Even as he grew old, his hair was pale, and his smile was fading, he still went his own way and never gave up defending his true self.
Li Baotian's life can fail and fall, but he has never chosen to change the true self in his heart. It is this stubbornness and persistence that illuminates the scenery of his life and achieves an admirable artist spirit.
This is also the true meaning behind the banner of "principle" in Li Baotian's life.