In September 2017, Mai Junlong's second film "Wind Forest Volcano" began filming in Huizhou, Guangdong Province, and due to the recognition of the previous work "Zombie", Mai Junlong became recognized by the younger generation as "the most able singer to make movies".
"Wind Forest Volcano" gathered a super strong lineup: Gu Tianle, Jin Chengwu, Liang Jiahui, Liu Qingyun, Gao Yuanyuan five starring, the film was announced on March 27, 2018, when a reporter asked Mai Junlong when to release, he replied that it is expected in 2019, the result has been delayed until now, not only did not have the news of the release, but there was a rumor that the film was overspended, Mai Junlong's temper was unwilling to communicate with the actors, Ren Xianqi was angry, and Jin Chengwu refused to make up for the film.
At present, the total investment of "Wind Forest Volcano" has exceeded 400 million yuan, and the film has been "hidden" for more than 598 days from 2019 to the present, and it is said that the release date has been postponed to 2021.
From the perspective of market conditions, the prospect of "Wind Forest Volcano" is not optimistic, the main reason is still in the box office: at present, the domestic film producer can share about one-third of the total box office in the entire accounting system, that is to say, a domestic film needs 3 times the box office to return the cost. The total cost of "Wind Forest Volcano" is 400 million, so the box office of this film is basically a loss of money below 1.2 billion, and it can only make money above 1.2 billion. For the unusual "Wind Forest Volcano", whether it can achieve this box office goal is still unknown.
But for Mak Junlong, his original intention to inherit the essence of Hong Kong cinema and innovate the way film is expressed is still worthy of recognition. In March 2018, As a representative of young directors, Mak Attended the "Conversation with Young Filmmakers" event at the 22nd Hong Kong International Film and Television Festival, and was asked whether he made a film to win an award. It can be seen that for the movie, he has a passion and original intention.
< h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > script preparation for 5 years</h1>
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > had more than 30 meetings with actors before filming began</h1>
A few days ago, the Hong Kong media reported that Mai Junlong rarely communicated directly with the actors on the shooting scene, which has caused some actors to be dissatisfied, Leung Ka Fai and Jin Chengwu had differences with him for the sake of shooting problems, and Jin Chengwu was even more reluctant to return to Hong Kong to make up for the play.
For the rumors of discord between actors and directors, producer Xuan Jiazhen said: "The director is very talented, the requirements are so high, and the pursuit of perfection, many times the shooting will be very insistent, so naturally there will be differences with the actors, Mai Junlong has always made too many films, not enough experience, it is necessary to accumulate experience." ”
But in the lack of communication, the author is reserved, at the time of Mai Junlong's dialogue scene, he said that he would have 10 or even 30 meetings with the actors for a role, until the role in the movie became a living "person", he felt satisfied. "Making a film isn't just about creating scenes, it's about building every character. For example, this protagonist is 50 years old, so what are the details of his experience and his life? I want the actors to know more. For example, he likes to buy cigarettes and smoke, so where does he come from? Why are there these habits?"
Leung Ka Fai plays a psychologist serving the Police Force in the film, and Leung Ka Fai commented on Mak Chun Lung: "Mak Chun Lung's control over the characters is amazing, and at the scene, everyone will tell everyone about the past and present lives, causes and consequences of each character, (the character I play) There is a very heavy story behind it, and The delicate relationship with Gao Yuanyuan in the film is also a teacher and a friend and enemy. Liu Qingyun also broke such a detail: "Usually the car rollover scene does not have to be really filmed, he wants to really shoot, the car overturned, I am inside." ”
So it seems that it is biased to directly say that Mai Junlong is unwilling to communicate, every detail is refined, just for this script has been prepared for 5 years, he will even share the past and present life of a character with the actors, even if these contents will not be presented in the movie, he is also tireless. So how can you be reluctant to communicate?
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > does not pursue awards</h1>
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > just want to shoot what you want to create</h1>
"Wind Forest Volcano" is an unusual Hong Kong police film, in a steel factory in Huizhou, the art team in accordance with the real ratio of 1:1, lasted three months, perfectly restored the real scene of Causeway Bay in Hong Kong, and finally presented to everyone from the Causeway Bay subway station exit, to the city tram, to the famous Sogo Department Store, the entire scene is covered with artificial white snow, people can't help but think that they have really come to a snowy Hong Kong.
Different scenes, different stills, different character settings. Jin Chengwu plays the heir of a large consortium in the film, hoping to cleanse the family's disgraceful black history, and Gu Tianle plays a killer in the film, with a complex past experience. It can be seen that Mai Junlong prefers characters with contradictory emotions, which will also make the story more three-dimensional.
So far, all the materials exposed in the film are black and white tones, full of Mai Junlong's usual cold colors. Looking back at his debut film "Zombies", although it is a color shot, a large number of close-up shots still use black and white tones, and now he has placed this tone in the police film, which can realistically present the tense atmosphere between the front and the wrong. Mai Junlong also told everyone that the final film will be colored, not completely black and white.
Gathering big trucks, and the most representative police film in Hong Kong films, Mai Junlong's "Wind Forest Volcano" has been regarded as an award-winning hit since the beginning of filming. But he didn't think much of it. "In Hong Kong, the chances of small productions winning awards are relatively small. So, before making a movie, I would think, is the purpose of my film to win an award or to be exciting? I choose the latter. He said: "The audience does not necessarily like to see the award film, the one who does not win the award is not necessarily very bad, the requirements of different types of films are not the same", if the film is made to put the award in the first place, then in Mai Junlong's view, such an "idea is too arrogant".
To be sure, "Wind Forest Volcano" is still Mai Junlong's "personality work", and he said that he will not change anything to cater to the award. "Filming is to create what you like, what you want to share, don't have to pursue everyone's favorite, don't use awards as the driving force, you shouldn't think about anything." 」
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > cost has exceeded 400 million yuan</h1>
<h1 class= "pgc-h-arrow-right" > box office needs 1.2 billion yuan to return the money</h1>
Mai Junlong's original intention of adhering to the original idea is worth affirming, but the total investment cost of the film has exceeded 400 million, which is a rare large investment in the co-production.
Executive producer Xuan Jiazhen responded: "This play is still continuing to be done in the later stages, it has not stopped, but it is too complicated, it takes time to complete, and the funds are no problem." This movie is indeed overspended, now the total cost is about 400 million, the director's requirements are so high, everything is well watched, so the post-production needs more time to do, this play will not be able to meet with everyone next year at the earliest. ”
In front of "Wind Forest Volcano" is an unknown market prospect. Referring to the same type of movies, "Cold War 2" has accumulated a box office of 670 million yuan, "Sweeping Drugs 2" is 1.3 billion yuan, "Apostle Walker 2" is 700 million yuan, "Chasing the Dragon" is 570 million yuan, "Bomb Disposal Expert" is 400 million yuan, and "Peerless", which occupies the golden slot of National Day, is only 1.2 billion yuan... It can be seen that it is not easy for Hong Kong-made police films to exceed 700 million yuan at the box office.
In the case of the current cost of more than 400 million yuan, under the sub-accounting system of the Chinese film market, it must be three times the cost, that is, more than 1.2 billion yuan at the box office, in order to return the cost.
How did that third come about? First of all, a movie ticket is sold, the relevant taxes and special funds are to be directly crossed out, the rest is called the dividable box office, and for the dividable box office part, according to the current market situation, 57% is distributed to the theater, the remaining part of the money also needs to be distributed to the distributor, and then the rest will be given to the film party.
Therefore, will 1.2 billion yuan be an astronomical amount that is out of reach for the "alternative" "Wind Forest Volcano"? Everything can only be revealed if it is released.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > Mak Chun-lung's subversion and inheritance of Hong Kong films</h1>
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > deserves recognition anyway</h1>
Everyone has super high expectations for the works of director Mai Junlong, most of which are derived from the previous work "Zombies". In 2013, "Zombie" was released in Hong Kong, the expectations of the outside world before the release were not high, the starring actor was an old predecessor whose appeal was no longer as good as it was, and the theme was a zombie film that had long been in recession, but the final effect was unexpected.
As a trendy post-80s generation, what we see in "Zombie" is his nostalgic heart. The feelings for Hong Kong films revealed in the images, sounds, and editing are not deliberately expressed, but from the heart, the scenery of Qian Xiaohao in the movie is in stark contrast to today's downfall, and the difference between reality and nostalgia makes everything seem to be fake and true, and this feeling and creativity are difficult to match even in large-scale productions.
And this time in the creation of "Wind Forest Volcano", he did not just want to copy the original traditional police films, he wanted to use the film to show Hong Kong to a greater extent, deconstruct Hong Kong, and reverse the traditional performance angle of such themes. "I created a very cold world because the weather, the day and the night all affect the state, thoughts and worldview of the characters. From this point of view, I slowly established the worldview of "Wind Forest Volcano". ”
The four characters of "wind, forest, mountain, and fire" come from Sun Tzu's Art of War: "Its disease is like the wind, its xu is like a forest, its aggression is like fire, and its immovability is like a mountain." It is said that the army charges forward to fight the war, and there are four things that need to be done correctly. "Wind Forest Volcano" moves the ancient story into modern society, talking about the conflict between the police and the thief, the right way and the evil way.
In the past few years, we have always heard people say sighs such as "Hong Kong films are dead", but at the same time, we have seen the super tenacious life resilience of Hong Kong films countless times in works such as "Bomb Disposal Expert", "Peerless", "Cold War" and so on. Although the Hong Kong in these movies is no longer the bloody jianghu in the hero films of that year, nor the youth years in the movies of Gu Qiuzai, it is still full of unique charm. In this regard, "Wind Forest Volcano", which carries the hope of the innovation of police films, is still worth looking forward to.
I hope that all difficulties will become a thing of the past, and in 2021, we will successfully meet "Wind Forest Volcano"!