During the epidemic prevention period at home, chasing a good drama is also a good choice. Recently, following "In the Name of the People", the TV series "Breakout", adapted from the famous writer and screenwriter Zhou Meisen's novel "The People's Property", is being broadcast on Oriental Satellite TV, and while the plot of state-owned enterprise reform, clean government construction and protection of state-owned assets attracts everyone, Jin Dong, Yan Ni, Huang Zhizhong, Qin Lan, Geng Le, Chen Jin, Xi Meijuan, Han Tongsheng, Period, Wang Jingchun, Pan Zhilin, Chen Xiao and other powerful factions, old drama bones and new generation actors have also added a lot of highlights to this drama.
Screenwriter Zhou Mason
As a relay work of Zhou Meisen after "The Name of the People", and the stories all take place in the fictional city of Jingzhou, Handong Province, many viewers will inevitably compare the two works. In this regard, Zhou Meisen specifically emphasized in an interview with reporters that "Breakout" is not the second part of "The Name of the People", nor does it have any relationship, and it is more blunt that "The Name of the People" has become popular and has not brought pressure to himself, "I am a writer, and writers are always looking for and creating." ”
In addition, for the focus of everyone's attention, including the script creation process, whether the character events have prototypes and the actors' performances, Zhou Mason responded one by one.
1
"Breakout" was created during the filming of "In the Name of the People"
Reporter: Did the success of "In the Name of the People" put pressure on you to create the script of "Breakout" 4 years ago?
Zhou Mason: I don't think there is any pressure, because I am a writer, writers are always looking for and creating, and writers are essentially unable to accept the industrial production of TV dramas and the repetition of routines. Therefore, when writing "People's Property", I knew from the beginning that this was not a case-driven work, which may make some viewers say that it is a work based on writing people.
Reporter: When was the original work of "Breakout", "People's Property", created? The drama was renamed "Breakout" before it was called "People's Property", so some people also called "Breakout" "The Name of the People 2".
Zhou Mason: "Breakout" is a novel creation that began during the filming of "The Name of the People", which has nothing to do with "The Name of the People".
Reporter: "Breakout" is a story about the reform of state-owned enterprises in line with the changes of the times, carrying a major topic related to the people's livelihood and national plan, what is the original intention of creating such a theme? Are you having trouble creating?
Zhou Mason: This novel should be the least difficult and smoothest in my creative career, because the reform of state-owned enterprises has always been a subject that I am very concerned about, and it is also a field that I am familiar with, with a long accumulation time and decades of life accumulation, so it took only half a year to write. My parents, brothers and sisters are working in state-owned enterprises, I myself have worked in state-owned enterprises, grew up in this environment, the creation of "Breakout" for me, for me to be familiar with the road, like Lin Manjiang, Shi Hongxing, Qi Ben'an These characters have been in my mind for a long time, very smoothly out. I feel that as a writer, it is my responsibility and obligation to write out this period of history that I have experienced.
2
The story and characters have no prototypes, and they are fictionalized by integrating various companies
Reporter: For realist works, the most common question asked by the audience is "Are there realistic prototypes for stories and characters"?
Zhou Meisen: The big cases and important cases of state-owned enterprises have led to the loss of state-owned assets, I have seen this kind of case, and I have also conducted research, I have not written about any enterprise, my works have no prototypes, in fact, it is a synthesis of the stories of various enterprises and various characters, just like a writer said: the nose is in Zhejiang, the ears are in Shandong, and the eyes are in Shanghai... After all, "Breakthrough" is not documentary literature, it is a fictional story.
Reporter: The lines of this drama are sharp and the amount of information is also large, what skills do you have in line creation?
Zhou Mason: It's the same thing as writing a novel, a drama must write the lines well, writing good lines is the minimum effort of a screenwriter, you can't expect the actors to go to the scene for a meeting, and you can't expect the director to change the script for you. My script, every character, every line is polished for a long time, and I will read the lines to my family. The reading process is not the same as writing, and you feel good about the written language, but after letting the actor say it, you will find it a little awkward, so it is necessary to polish it repeatedly.
Reporter: Some of the lines are very interesting, are they played by actors on the spot?
Zhou Mason: I can responsibly tell you that all the original lines of the script are not allowed to play on the spot, and director Shen Yan will not allow them to play on the spot.
3
The heroine who needs to have human fireworks name Yan Ni to play Shi Hongxing
Reporter: "Breakout" can be said to have gathered many powerful actors in China, how to evaluate the performances of several leading actors?
Zhou Meisen: Yan Ni, Huang Zhizhong, Jin Dong, Qin Lan, Period, as well as Gao Xin, Geng Le... I was very satisfied with the performances of these main actors and exceeded my expectations. Huang Zhizhong is an actor I respect very much, and I have seen many of his plays. In this play, he played a character full of tricks and wrists quite well; Jin Dong showed the complexity of Qi Ben'an, a character who was not without weakness and hesitation, nor did he not want to retreat, but he finally adhered to the principle and chose to fight to the end; and Yan Ni, she successfully created a flesh-and-blood female executive image with distinctive characteristics. The sense of contrast presented by some supporting actors also surprised me, such as the period, in the past I knew that he was a cross-talk actor, but in this play, his every move was all drama; Geng Le, in the past, I knew that he was a "rock" youth, but looking at niu Junjie he is playing now, such a special character; Chen Xiao, not at all the handsome little student I remembered in the past, in this play, he performed all the vicissitudes of the human world.
Reporter: See a comment that Yan Ni's performance is "too strong"?
Zhou Mason: Maybe some of our audiences don't quite understand why Shi Hongxing is performing like this? At that time, when I decided to play the actor of Shi Hongxing, I asked the filmmaker to choose Yan Ni by name, because the image of the heroine I wanted to depict was not the stereotypical, one-sided, domineering, and stereotyped image of the past, I needed a protagonist who was emotionally rich, had human fireworks, and could adapt to the plot. It turned out that I was right to choose Yan Ni, and she played the role of Shi Hongxing very well. Especially in the scenes where Shi Hongxing ended, her performance was shocking. If you are an actor with poor skills, it is absolutely impossible to show that decisive and complex side.
Reporter: With the broadcast of the drama, Shi Hongxing and Niu Junjie, who are clamoring for divorce every day, but support each other at key moments, have countless circles of fans, such as "Shi Hongxing Niu Junjie wants to divorce again", "Shi Hongxing bowed to Niu Junjie for the first time", "Niu Junjie went all out to maintain Shi Hongxing" and other topics frequently appeared on the hot search list. What do you think is the reason for the popularity of CP?
Zhou Mason: This is a pair of joyful enemies, and the script provides the basis for Yan Ni and Geng Le's performance, and they also deeply understand and successfully shape their respective roles.
4
There must always be writers who pay attention to real life, and my works strive to tell the truth
Reporter: Beginning with the novella "The Land Of Sinking Land" published in 1983, you have devoted yourself to creating novels and plays that reflect the political and economic development and the wave of reform in our country.
Zhou Mason: There must always be some writers who pay attention to real life and pay attention to the problems that the people are concerned about, and cannot pretend not to see. But as a writer in the era of reform and opening up, I have responsibilities and obligations. As for the creative experience, I think it is most important to grasp the essence of the times.
Reporter: In both "The Name of the People" and "People's Property", you have fictionalized the story of "Jingzhou", and the characters in the works often intersect, will you also form your film and television works into the "Jingzhou" series in the future?
Zhou Mason: I will not engage in any industrial production, this is a matter for cultural entrepreneurs. But writers always have their own literary territory, And Jingzhou is my fictional literary territory, and I put one story after another into this territory.
Reporter: Are there any new works recently?
Zhou Meisen: Yes, it is a TV series "The Great Game", when "Breakout" was broadcast, "The Great Game" was completed, starring Qin Hao and Wan Qian, the production unit is still Yaoke, this work 40 episodes, is also worth looking forward to.
Pocket Lanzhou Lanzhou Morning News reporter Li Jie