On the evening of December 27, Shanghai Original, Shanghai Production, Wong Kar-wai served as the director of a domestic TV series for the first time, and "Flowers" starring Hu Ge, Ma Yili, Tang Yan, Xin Zhilei, Zheng Kai and other actors was broadcast. Before the broadcast, the main creators gathered at the Peace Hotel, the position of Mr. Bao in the play, and held the premiere, and the main characters on Huanghe Road and Jinxian Road all attended to talk about the people and things in the story of "Flowers".
Hu Ge as Ah Bao
Hu Ge plays the protagonist Ah Bao in the play, Ah Bao caught up with the tide of the times, left hand foreign trade and right hand stocks, and soon became the president of Bao. Hu Ge explained that in his heart, Ah Bao is difficult to summarize in one or two sentences, "He is an ambitious person, and he is a motivated person in the Pentium era, but regardless of the ups and downs, the most important thing in his heart is friendship." He revealed that Mr. Bao's heavy feelings will also be what the audience will be moved by at the end of the series.
Hu Ge said that one of his favorite stills posters is Ah Bao walking in the corridor of the Peace Hotel, with his back to the camera, "This photo shows Ah Bao's back, and there are many aspects in his heart that are not easily shown to outsiders, which is the embodiment of the complexity of this character and the embodiment of the charm of this character." ”
"Flowers" poster
Mr. Bao has three women who are closely related to him in Shanghai, namely Reiko, the proprietress of Night Tokyo, Miss Wang, a staff member of the Foreign Trade Building, and Li Li, the proprietress of Zhizhenyuan.
Relationship diagram of the characters of "Flowers".
Ma Yili plays the role of Lingzi, the proprietress of Tokyo at the Jinxian Road Hotel, Po describes herself as Zhu Bajie, and Lingzi is Sun Wukong. Hu Ge explained that it is described as this because in the play, Lingzi is very capable, and every time she quarrels, Ah Bao loses, and in any case, "it is Lingzi who goes to settle things for Ah Bao".
Regarding the relationship between Ah Bao and Lingzi, Hu Ge said, "Mr. Bao and Lingzi are very relieved, relaxed, and secure together. "There is something in Night Tokyo that particularly attracts Bao, as for what, the audience can go to the play to find it, "Night Tokyo is a bit like a sheltered harbor for Mr. Bao, and the Yellow River Road is like a battlefield. ”
Ma Yili also affirmed this statement, "After a man finishes a war, he needs a place to rest." In a poster, Reiko took Mr. Bao to Zhujiajiao to hold a shareholders' meeting in Tokyo at night, and she was still carrying the bean curd and pickled cucumber bought for Mr. Bao.
Po and Reiko
Miss Wang, who works in the Foreign Trade Building, is another trusted friend of Mr. Bao, and in a poster displayed at the scene, Bao accompanies Miss Wang to sit on the side of the road.
Po and Miss Wang
Hu Ge explained, "Ah Bao and Miss Wang are two little guesses, they were very young when they first met, and she helped Ah Bao with a lot of things. In Tang Yan's own heart, "Miss Wang is very straightforward, very principled in life and work, has a bottom line, dares to rush, and is responsible." ”
Zheng Kai plays Bao's rival Boss Wei in the play, and he also affirmed Miss Wang's personality, "The export trade must go to No. 27 on the Bund, and Miss Wang and Mei Ping must be found, but they are very principled, and the ham sent by customers is thrown out." ”
This is Tang Yan's first time performing in Shanghainese, Zheng Kai joked that Tang Yan speaks very quickly in Shanghai, "Her speech speed is second only to Fan Xiangyan, and she is one of the fastest actresses I have ever seen." Even worried that Tang Yan would not have time to speak Mandarin. Tang Yan said that she was also worried about what to do when dubbing, but later when she really went to dub, she found that as long as she entered the play, she was still the same character, and if she played it again, there would be no problem.
Tang Yan also said that before joining the group, she also did her homework on the work of the Foreign Trade Building in the 90s of the last century, listened to her parents tell the stories of that era, and the group also invited the white-collar prototype who worked at No. 27 Bund to tell the actors about history. Dong Yong, who plays the role of a small boss in Hangzhou in the play, said, "No. 27 on the Bund is a witness to the history of that era, and all things imported and exported have to pass through this building. ”
Xin Zhilei plays the role of Mr. Bao's important competitor: Li Li, the owner of Zhizhenyuan. Speaking of this character, in a poster, Li Li seems to be walking side by side with Mr. Bao, Xin Zhilei explained, in fact, Li Li is always one step ahead of Bao, which is also the director's request to Xin Zhilei on the scene, "The director said that Li Li wants to press Mr. Bao one step and the feeling of pressing him." ”
Po and Lee
Hu Ge explained, "Most of the scenes with Xin Zhilei are very tense, the sense of confrontation is very strong, the director asked Xin Zhilei to give a sense of oppression on the spot, and I can't loosen up, the feeling of hostility, but as we get to know each other better, it turns out that there is a long story behind her, and Mr. Bao seems to see himself in this story." Xin Zhilei described that Li Li and Bao are always like a pair of magnets, repelling each other and attracting each other.
In addition to the interpretation of the characters, there are also some interesting facts about the road and food. An important stronghold of "Flowers" in the play is Jinxian Road, Ma Yili explained that this is a very quiet road, "The fireworks are very strong, everyone is like a family, in addition to Tao Tao, there is also Linghong, and the landlord Mr. Ge, they all eat in Tokyo at night like a family, especially the popular and warm road." Hu Ge, Chen Long and other actors all said that this road is quiet in the middle of noisy, and they often go shopping. Huang Jue also recalled that the first meal he ate in Shanghai was invited by his good buddy Liao Fan to eat on Jinxian Road.
The scene also served the actors the "famous dish" in the play - Night Tokyo Bao Zong Rice, which is a simple dish that often appears on the dinner table of a generation in Shanghai, but it is a good childhood memory for many people. Ma Yili, the actor of Reiko, the night Tokyo boss who made this dish in the play, is still eating soaking rice for breakfast, "I want to eat soaking rice at any time of the day, and when I go to relatives and eat a lot during the Chinese New Year every year, I must take out the leftover cold rice, soak it in boiling water, and serve it with side dishes." A bowl of rice is called a stomach. ”
Although director Wong Kar-wai was not at the scene, there was also a VCR, he said, ""Flowers" tells the story between 1993 and 1994, 1994 was a year full of harvest, 30 years have passed, I hope everyone's 2024 is as good. ”
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Director Wong Kar-wai VCR sends blessings. (01:09)
"Flowers" has landed on CCTV-8 at 19:30 on December 27, and Tencent Video will broadcast exclusively on the whole network. From January 2, 2024, Dragon TV and Jiangsu Satellite TV will follow at 19:30 every day. Viewers can choose between Mandarin or Shanghainese versions on different platforms.