Although it has not yet been finalized, "Sauce Garden Lane" directed by Chen Kexin and starring Zhang Ziyi is definitely one of the most watched movies this year.
It took nearly ten years from the initial preparation to the completion of the shooting, during which it was once shelved, and in addition to Zhang Ziyi sitting as the female number one, Lei Jiayin, Wang Chuanjun, Yi Yang Qianxi, Mei Ting, Zhao Liying, Yang Mi, Zhang Yu, Peng Yuchang, Yin Fang, Dapeng, Li Xian, Fan Wei...... The cast of "Sauce Garden Lane" is so strong that it can't be counted on two hands, and it is almost the "peak" lineup of Chinese films in recent years.
Then the question arises.
First of all, why can this story, one of the four strange cases of the Republic of China, assemble such a strong lineup? If it is said that it is conquered by the script, the ghost will not believe it! Compared with the quality of the script, actors, especially big-name actors, are more concerned about what director they cooperate with, what position they have in this project, how much right to speak, and even how much they are paid.
Yi Yang Qianxi, Zhao Liying, and Yang Mi are all real super-first-line actors at the moment, but whenever they change a project, it is a dream to want them to match. The reason for this is that in addition to cooperating with word-of-mouth director Chen Kexin, it must also be because "Sauce Garden Lane" is a big project aimed at the international market. As a result, the filing in China went very smoothly, and it was officially announced that it would be released within the year, which shows that it is not a big problem to take the dragon standard, China is already the world's largest film market, why not make box office at the same time? But the domestic release and overseas streaming media release are not an either/or relationship, and "Sauce Garden Lane" is still a big project going international.
And the leading actor Zhang Ziyi has insured this international project, and she is an international superstar! The star on the cast list is not ashamed to match her, so Chen Kexin saved up this game.
Secondly, why must it be Zhang Ziyi? Before this, Chen Kexin had never cooperated with her. In 2015, Zhang Ziyi was invited to play during the preparation, but it was shelved for a long time in the middle, and the project was restarted, and Chen Kexin still found Zhang Ziyi unwaveringly, and even the role was tailored according to Zhang Ziyi.
It wasn't until an exclusive interview with Chen Kexin and Zhang Ziyi in a fashion magazine came out that I found the answer in their sharing.
Chen Kexin revealed in an interview that "Sauce Garden Lane" wants to explore the issue of "critical point", the critical point of marriage, or the critical point of a relationship.
And from beginning to end, Zhang Ziyi was Chen Kexin's only choice, and Chen Kexin even said in an interview, "Looking for her, we didn't hesitate, and she didn't hesitate." I've always thought about her (characters). This sentence shows that Chen Kexin has already shaped the heroine according to Zhang Ziyi's image in the script creation stage.
As for the reason, Chen Kexin said that the heroine Zhan Zhou's role is characterized by stubbornness, and many works such as Zhang Ziyi's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" are stubborn characters, which should be more suitable and have confidence in her acting skills. And, although Chen Kexin didn't say it, as we all know, he is a particularly powerful "product manager", and he knows how a movie can succeed, he must also see Zhang Ziyi's status as an international superstar, otherwise, the range of actresses to choose from is really too big.
The third question is that anyone's success is not accidental, why can it be Zhang Ziyi who can become an international superstar.
Opportunity is one thing, after all, it was Zhang Ziyi who played "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" back then, not others, but opportunities are always reserved for those who are prepared. In the interview, Zhang Ziyi had a passage that touched me deeply.
When it comes to the challenges of Zhan Zhou's role, I can feel that Zhang Ziyi understands the role very thoroughly and has done a lot of homework. Her first step was to consult historical materials, learn a lot of things, and even read books such as "Independence and Belonging: The Spiritual History of New Women in the Republic of China" to understand the thoughts and actions of women in that era. In addition, I also watched a lot of documentaries, studied books on criminal psychology, and so on.
It can be seen that the homework done by a good actor is not limited to understanding the characters through the script, and a good performance must also go beyond the script and understand and shape the characters more thoroughly through a lot of preliminary preparation. Zhang Ziyi has done so much hard work for Zhan Zhou's family, how can "Sauce Garden Lane" not be expected?
Another interesting detail is that when Chen Kexin talked about the details of his cooperation with Zhang Ziyi, he mentioned twice that there would be differences between the two sides. "When talking about the script, we are not necessarily the same", "No matter how she comes every morning, she tells you how the scene is, maybe everyone has different opinions", indicating that Zhang Ziyi is not a very "obedient" actor, just completing the performance according to the script, she will put forward a lot of opinions on the script and the details of the performance, communicate with the director, and even have disagreements between the two sides, of course, Chen Kexin said more tactfully.
In front of Chen Kexin, I'm afraid there are few actors who have such a right to speak! But Zhang Ziyi has it, and in Chen Kexin, this is already very polite.
"The Climber" starring Zhang Ziyi and Wu Jing was released at the same time, which mentioned that Ren Zhonglun, chairman of Shanghai Film Group, personally revised the script day and night, and changed seventeen or eighteen drafts before and after, until Zhang Ziyi was satisfied, he officially signed a contract and took over the role in the movie.