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"I like both Shuquan Tiancai and baby cabbage" "Financial milk crocodile, I seem to have learned a lot of new terms recently"...... Recently, the TV series "Wind Chaser" ushered in the finale, but its topic is still undiminished, and it was named the best spy war drama this year by netizens. Yao Xiaofeng, the director of the play, was also taken by netizens to learn a lot of new knowledge points, he said that this drama made him feel the whimsy of the audience, and saw the infinite possibilities of the spy war theme.
Recently, a reporter from Modern Express interviewed Yao Xiaofeng to explore the story behind "The Wind Chaser".
△ Yao Xiaofeng
On Creation: A New Perspective on the "Financial Battlefield"
Modern Express: The spy war drama in the past two years has not been very popular, why did you choose such a theme?
Yao Xiaofeng: First of all, I am very interested in the history of modern China, and I have been collecting these materials and want to shoot stories about related themes.
One day, a script was suddenly handed over, which explained the struggle between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party from 1930 to 1935 from the perspective of financial and economic warfare. At that time, the script was not very complete, but I found it very interesting. After that, I flipped through a lot of books about China's financial history, economic warfare, and so on, and suddenly I had a very strong impulse: I wanted to shoot this story.
Modern Express: The struggle of "The Wind Chaser" focuses on the "money bag", did you worry that the audience would not find it exciting enough at first?
Yao Xiaofeng: In fact, trade wars, like hot wars on frontal battlefields, are brutal, and it does not mean that there are no sacrifices, no blood, and no destruction, but it can also destroy a world. Rather than showing a so-called legendary story and pursuing excitement, I now want to explore people's inner and spiritual worlds more and more, and I think this is more interesting.
In my opinion, "Wind Chaser" is not actually a spy war drama in the traditional sense, it combines a variety of elements of legend, history, and spy warfare, but we ultimately want the audience to see the "story of people". In that era, there were a large number of enthusiastic young people who paid the price of their lives to realize the ideal of serving the country. It is precisely because of such enthusiastic people that we can make social progress and make the country stronger.
Modern Express: How does "The Wind Chaser" fit in your mind?
Yao Xiaofeng: I also mentioned before that this drama is "a new exploration". First of all, as mentioned earlier, this script cuts into the struggle from a financial perspective, which is unprecedented. At the same time, I think "The Wind Chaser" is another story about faith. People can't live without faith, and without faith they are grass that drifts along. After having faith, you will take root in the water, you will not go with the flow, and you will have the ability to resist the wind and waves.
Talking about actors: "Uncle Circle Tiancai and Baby Cabbage" are both great
Modern Express: There is a lot of buzz about the characters on the Internet. The audience called Shen Tunan a financial giant and gave Wei Ruolai a friendly nickname: financial milk crocodile. What do you think of such a nickname?
Yao Xiaofeng: I particularly like it, the financial milk crocodile is slowly growing into a financial predator, the word "milk crocodile" is very good, and I admire the imagination of the audience. In the future, we should also pay more attention to the interaction with the audience and expand our imagination.
Modern Express: Can you talk about the growth of the "financial milk crocodile" in your eyes?
Yao Xiaofeng: When Wei Ruolai played this role, Shen Tunan asked him "Is it a prosperous or troubled time" during the interview. Wei Ruolai very cleverly avoided it, saying that I was only here to interview the staff, and I was not the president. As if this era pattern has nothing to do with him. In fact, it is precisely not, and it is also explained in our later plays, it is not that he doesn't care, but because he was at the bottom at the time, and he just wanted to live in a dangerous world. As an ordinary person, when he was involved in chaos and bloodshed, he went from being at a loss to being calm and calm to making a choice, reflecting the relationship between ordinary little people and the big era and the big world.
In fact, it is a question for each of us to recognize what the times we live in are like. This question should be considered not only for those powerful and successful, but also for every ordinary person. We want to tell this story, but also to talk about how an ordinary person should recognize the times and what choices he should make in the context of the big era.
Modern Express: I heard that during the filming process, Wang Yibo's professionalism and professionalism made everyone full of praise. Can you talk about this cooperation with Yibo, and did he perform as well as you expected?
Yao Xiaofeng: Yibo is very good, Wei Ruolai is a person with extraordinary talent, super memory, and strong logical analysis ability, which is similar to Yibo in many places. Yibo loves dancing and is very persistent in what he likes, and I think he should be able to do so as long as he is determined. I asked him if he would like to act in a period drama, and he said that I would like to work with the director. I think it's good to go both ways.
To be honest, when we first started filming, we ran in over and over again, and after about half a month of filming, he basically found his feelings, so he didn't need to say too much. His sincere and serious attitude was recognized by everyone.
△ Stills from "The Wind Chaser".
Talking about Characters: Rejecting "Face-Painting"
Modern Express: The female characters of Shen Jinzhen, Niu Chunmiao, and Su Cishu in the play are very eye-catching. What are the considerations for their setting?
Yao Xiaofeng: Take Su's dictionaries, she is a wife of Xianshu, and she knows very well what the identity of her husband and sister-in-law is, but she can't say it. She also knows very well what kind of world her husband is facing, but she can only silently give moral support behind the scenes. She is such a very traditional and intellectual woman, and it is precisely because of her appearance that she can show the true humanity of Shen Tunan and Shen Jin. We didn't give her too much space, but Gao Lu did a very good job of making the character three-dimensional.
Modern Express: Some viewers said that when they watched "The Wind Chaser", they felt that every character and even the villain was flesh and blood, how did you create a group portrait?
Yao Xiaofeng: I don't like face-painted characters very much when filming, and I always think that the villain is also very interesting, and his personality is more multifaceted. The villain in the play, Lin Qiaosong, is a character I like very much, he is a mirror of Wei Ruolai, and he can take care of each other. To a certain extent, he has the same passion and a strong desire to explore as Wei Ruolai. He is also from the grassroots and wants to get ahead, but he doesn't have the same opportunity as Wei Ruolai, and no matter how hard he tries, he will fail. Because of these unsatisfactory conditions, he had a psychological distortion and extreme thoughts to take revenge on the people around him. He is not only a task-bearer, but also has a lot of distorted perspectives on the world.
Talking about the future: "I will tell a lot of stories about Nanjing"
Modern Express: Did you find yourself surprised by the explosion of "The Wind Chaser"?
Yao Xiaofeng: "The Wind Chaser" is actually a story of a young man pursuing faith, and in the process of filming, I also once again reviewed the efforts of that generation of Communist Party members, which really made people full of respect and enthusiasm. At first, I just wanted today's young people to see this film, to like it, and to draw some strength from it, but I didn't expect it to trigger such enthusiasm, which was really unexpected for me. This also shows that with this kind of story with real sources and a good-looking plot, everyone can better enter the inner world of the characters and imperceptibly feel the power of faith.
Modern Express: After the success of "The Wind Chaser", will your drama continue to delve into the direction of history?
Yao Xiaofeng: I'm a little broader. In the past, I have filmed a lot of modern urban scripts, and I will not give up this type of drama, and I will continue to do it if there are good scripts and breakthroughs. In the next few years, I will focus on other genres, such as history and suspense.
△ Yao Xiaofeng
Modern Express: As a native of Nanjing, will your future drama be related to your hometown?
Yao Xiaofeng: My new drama "Going North" is expected to be broadcast this year, the drama was filmed in Suzhou, and it tells the story of Jiangsu and the canal.
Later, I also have a key plan, which is to shoot the book "The Gate of Yifeng" by the famous writer Ye Zhaoyan, who is also from Nanjing. If all goes well, I will tell a lot of stories about Nanjing in the future.
Modern Express/Modern + reporter Song Jingwei Zhang Wenying
(The director's picture is provided by the drama party, and the stills come from CCTV)