"Breaking through the Kanto": The story behind the TV series.
1. The production background and challenges of "Breaking through the East".
A historical drama "Crossing the Guandong" with the theme of Shandong immigrants is brewing in this context, which is a very innovative and challenging attempt.
This theme is not only historically significant, but also needs to fully restore the social landscape of that turbulent era in the first half of the 20th century, which brought great difficulties to the production of TV dramas. Director Kong Sheng and screenwriter Gao Mantang collected a lot of first-hand information for two years and repeatedly revised the script before they initially outlined this vast story framework.
In addition, the crew only has three shooting equipment, and the budget is less than other dramas in the same period, which is difficult to imagine in making a drama with such a major historical theme.
2. The hard work of live shooting
In order to ensure that the real style of that era is fully restored, the crew insists on using the real scene as the main filming location. They were meticulously filmed in 16 cities, from the Northeast to Shandong to Shanghai.
During the 148 days of filming, the cast and crew had to face changes in local weather conditions, as well as frequent geographical transitions. For example, moving from the cold region of Heilongjiang to the hot area of Shandong has brought great physical and mental challenges to everyone.
The actors are constantly completing complex scenes in different backgrounds, and every detail requires a high degree of realism. This kind of live-action framing makes the production difficult, but it is also an important reason for making it more realistic.
。
3. The character portrayal is meticulous
While controlling the structure of the whole play, "Breaking through the East" also attaches great importance to the meticulous shaping of each character. Zhu Kaishan, played by Li Youbin, is an example.
He not only learned Xi the mannerisms and spoken language of the peasants of that era, but also explored the inner motivation and growth trajectory of the characters. In addition, Zhu Yawen also has a wonderful interpretation of Zhu Chuanwu played by Zhu Yawen.
After learning that the character was going to die, he drew up a detailed performance plan and added more painful elements to the emotional expression, so that the audience could deeply experience the character's thoughts and feelings. These nuanced performances have greatly enriched the character depiction, and also achieved the height of the psychological description of "Crossing the Guandong".
。
4. Multiple major changes to the script
The completion of the script of "Breaking through the East" took twists and turns. Screenwriter Gao Mantang's original script was based on a single family narrative, which developed into a larger historical picture after many revisions.
In addition, there are also major changes in the plot arrangement. Originally, in "Breaking through the Guandong", Zhu Chuanwu's role did not have a doomous ending, but at the suggestion of the male lead actor Li Youbin, it was decided to sacrifice Zhu Chuanwu to add to the dramatic conflict.
This turns the original simple love line into a touching family and country feeling. Script revisions were originally a common occurrence in the creation of "Crossing the Guandong", but each change in "Crossing the Guandong" has a deep effect on the overall narrative structure and detailed arrangement, which has also achieved its enduring influence in the future.
Behind "Breaking through the East": the pursuit of quality and cultural connotation.
5. Production costs and actors' salaries
With its tortuous path of artistic exploration and brand effect, "Crossing the Guandong" became a good story in the film and television achievements of the 2000s. The total investment in this drama is more than 40 million yuan, which is not trivial in terms of production cost alone. However, veterans in various fields pointed out that the salary allocation is unusual. According to incomplete statistics, the core actors in the play, such as Li Youbin and other first-line male gods, are only paid 120,000 yuan per episode. And the main screenwriter Gao Mantang's remuneration for each episode is only 30,000 yuan. At the level of the film and television industry at that time, the rigor of salary control could be said to be extremely unusual.
6. Zhu Yawen's unpaid appearance and its influence
Among them, it is worth mentioning that Zhu Yawen, who played the role of Zhu Chuanwu, took the initiative to ask not to take a salary to participate in the performance. At that time, Zhu Yawen urgently needed a masterpiece to enhance his personal influence, and the content of the script deeply attracted him. Although the crew is sincere and still treats each other with symbolic remuneration, Zhu Yawen's spirit of dedication and art has deeply touched people's hearts. It is undeniable that it is with this work and excellent performance that Zhu Yawen has become popular in the entertainment industry since then and has become an eye-catching cutting-edge film and television king.
7. The profound connotation and cultural significance of "Crossing the Guandong".
The reason why "Crossing the Guandong" can leave a name in the history of film and television is not only because of its exquisite and delicate character depiction and twists and turns of the storyline. More importantly, it deeply interprets the cultural heritage and spiritual core of that era. This is not only a story about parting from home, but also a reproduction and transmission of the profound cultural context of the Chinese nation with the technique of images. Every detail is full of testimony and identification with the motherland. 15 years have not shredded its brilliance, and this drama also uses film and television language to tell our common history and identity. It controls time and space, and is deeply rooted in the heart of the value pursuit of all eras.