Guo Baochang's bumpy creative road
In 1940, Guo Baochang, an orphan in Beijing, was born.
He was originally born in a poor working family, his biological father died early, and his biological mother was unable to raise him, so he had to sell him to a family in Hebei, and later was sold to Lejia, the richest man in Beijing and the giant of the Chinese medicine industry, and became an adopted son.
The old lady of the Lejia family passed on the smart and clever Guo Baochang to the fourth master, Le Jingyu, and let him live a rich and decent life.
At the age of 12, Guo Baochang officially stepped into the gate of the mansion in Beijing. The fourth master, Le Jingyu, loves this naughty and clever adopted son very much, and even renamed him "Baochang", hoping that he will have a bright future.
Guo Baochang was carefully cultivated by the fourth master, and was excellent in character and learning, and later entered the Beijing Film Academy to study Xi film and television production in the college entrance examination. The political movement of the 1960s changed the trajectory of Guo Baochang's life.
Because of his family background, he was branded as a "rightist" and sentenced to three years in prison and sent to a remote rural area for reform.
In prison, Guo Baochang did not forget his original movie dream. He began to write a novel "The Gate of the Mansion", which was set in the setting of a family sponsor. However, his wife, out of jealousy, burned the manuscript while he was unprepared.
After the Cultural Revolution began, Guo Baochang was sentenced to life, but he still buried himself in writing, and then created the second and third drafts of "Mansion Gate", which were burned by the Red Guards.
After the vicissitudes of life, Guo Baochang has experienced repeated torture of creation and disillusionment, but his persistence and enthusiasm for this work have never been worn out due to adversity.
Broaden the future and support the future generations
After the reform and opening up, Guo Baochang was sent to the remote and backward Nanning Film Studio in Guangxi. The conditions here are simple, Guo Baochang can only shoot some documentaries that no one cares about, and his dream of directing is difficult to realize.
However, he is not discouraged and is committed to discovering young talents with potential. After all, after many years of ups and downs, he understands the hardships and lengths of the film industry better than anyone else.
In the early 80s, the Cultural Revolution ended, and Beijing Film Academy resumed enrollment. Among the first batch of college students, Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige and others stood out and were assigned to the Guangxi Film Studio where Guo Baochang worked.
Guo Baochang keenly discovered that these young people have extraordinary talents, but they did not know that they would become new stars in the film industry after the reform and opening up. In order to give Zhang Yimou and them a chance to display their talents, Guo Baochang went through several twists and turns, and finally said that the senior management of the factory would allow these "new humans" to shoot their debut film independently.
The success of "One and Eight" opened a new chapter in the history of Chinese cinema. Many years later, Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige became famous, and they deliberately took time to come to the crew of "Mansion Gate" to help in order to repay their mentor's kindness.
Defeated and defeated, buried in hard writing
In 1994, Guo Baochang decided to return to his old business and began to write "Mansion Gate" for the fourth time. He locked himself in a cramped rented house in Beijing and lived an ascetic life.
During the day, he nibbled on the old godmother's baked cakes and drank boiling water in the cauldron to maintain food and clothing; At night, I write as if no one was around. In this way, Guo Baochang worked behind closed doors for 8 months, and finally completed the creation of this painstaking work.
In 1996, with the joint efforts of his director and starring Chen Baoguo, the crew of "Mansion Gate" started shooting in Beijing. However, the good times did not last long, and during this period, the capital side regretted and was unwilling to invest again, which led to the sudden rupture of the crew's capital chain, and the work had to be stopped after only three episodes.
In order to wait for the crew to resume work, Chen Baoguo turned down all the film contracts for three years, and his life fell into difficulties. And Guo Baochang also ran around the market, hitting doors everywhere and hitting walls, unable to get enough investment.
In 2000, CCTV decided to take over the investment in "Mansion Gate", giving Guo Baochang hope. But he had to accept the request to change some of the leading actors, including the important role of his second grandmother, which was originally designed for his wife.
In this way, the crew of "Mansion Gate" went through a lot of hardships and started filming for the second time in July 2000, and finally finished.
Celebrities gathered, and the popularity was unprecedented
In 2003, "Mansion Gate" immediately caused a sensation after it was broadcast on CCTV in prime time. This family epic TV series is based on the background of old Beijing, and tells the vicissitudes of a medical family for a hundred years.
The joining of many top actors and the integration of superb acting skills have made it a rare high-quality masterpiece in recent years. As expected, the ratings of "Mansion Gate" surged like cavalry after the broadcast, occupying the top three on the list every day.
The popular first-line actor Chen Baoguo is the biggest highlight of this drama. He successfully created the complex and three-dimensional image of the big boss Bai Jingqi, a complex and three-dimensional old Beijing man, so that the audience will never forget this temperament.
Bai Jingqi, a century-old man, is still vigorous and energetic, standing up when his family and society are shaken, bringing countless resonances to his love-hate character.
The role of the second grandmother played by Siqin Gaowa has also attracted much attention, she is wearing the halo of a wealthy hostess, but she contains sorrow in her heart, and she is the watchman who protects the rise and fall of the family in the second half of the Dinghai Divine Needle.
In addition, popular characters such as Yang Jiuhong and Bai Sanye also amazed the audience and couldn't calm down for a long time.
During the filming of "Mansion Gate", five generations of directors such as Zhang Yimou and Chen Kaige also deliberately took time to come to play tricks to repay the kindness of their mentor Guo Baochang.
Their joining makes the atmosphere of the crew more active, which is a good story. In the end, "Mansion Gate" successfully created a precedent for Chinese family-themed TV dramas, and was called the Chinese version of "Dream of Red Mansions" by later generations, and its influence and classic status are undoubted.
How many years have passed, every time I revisit it, it will still be moving and unforgettable.