Author: Ning Xin / Editor: Yu Huadong
"When I was making a movie in Hong Kong thirty years ago, I hoped that Chinese would show it to audiences all over the world, even if there were no foreigners in it. Many things of humanity and feelings are common, there is no distinction between regions. ”
Zhang Jiazhen's tone was soft and low, and he told his point of view. This film production industry titan, who is the behind-the-scenes promoter of Wu Yusen and Zhou Runfa, has produced many far-reaching films such as "Across the World", "Mission Impossible 2", "Chibi" and so on, and has been called "Gold Medal Producer" by the Asian film circle.
In 2016, Zhang Jiazhen, who had been dormant for many years, founded Qiancheng Film and Television, and at the same time launched the "Cradle Plan" to support the new generation of outstanding directors. Three years have passed, and Zhang Jiazhen has made a comeback at this year's Shanghai Film Festival with his new work "Ice Peak Storm".
Zhang Jiazhen (second from left) and friends at a party
And this time, Zhang Jiazhen's goal is to support the new generation of directors and once again promote Chinese films to the world.
Grind the script until you are satisfied
It took 4 years of ingenuity
The film "Ice Storm" tells the story of the Himalayan civilian rescue organization "Wing Squad" in the Himalayas to fight for confidential documents and save regional peace, intending to show the struggle, pursuit, self-sacrifice and inheritance of human nature in extreme environments.
Promotional poster for the movie "Ice Storm"
According to Mirror Entertainment, in order to restore the real situation of the ice peak rescue, the filming locations of the film are in the snowy mountain area with extremely high altitude and severe cold climate, and ordinary people will be in a state of hypoxia for a long time, and the difficulties in shooting are self-evident.
Mountaineering themes, perhaps because the difficulty of shooting is too high, is still rare in the domestic film market. When talking about why he would take over this project in the first place, Zhang Jiazhen said that in addition to being impressed by the novelty of the subject matter, he was also because of director Yu Fei's attitude towards creation.
"He (Yu Fei) drew the whole script in the story version, drew three thick books, and at that time the script was not very perfect, so I gave advice, and he was willing to accept it. The whole script was revised with the team for more than 100 drafts, and it took a year and a half."
According to Zhang Jiazhen, in the process of film shooting, because of lack of experience, the early crew also took some detours; after he intervened in the project, he tried to use his own experience and resources to help them as much as possible. "From looking for investment, looking for a shooting team, and the main creative team, I am involved and assisting in the whole process."
Zhang Jiazhen and Yu Fei took a group photo
In addition to the particularity of the subject matter, the most attractive thing about the movie "Ice Storm" is the internationalization of the lineup, the male No. 1 Hiroshi, who is a well-known national treasure actor in Japan, has filmed films such as "Paradise Lost" and "Memoirs of a Geisha", and can invite Hiroshi to shoot this film, and Zhang Jiazhen has played a role in it.
In an interview with Mirror Entertainment, Hiroshi said that he was willing to come to China to shoot a film that he had never dabbled in because of "reassurance about Zhang Jiazhen's teacher."
Zhang Jiazhen also said that when looking for male actors in China in the early stage, because he was a young director and the theme was special, many people felt that they were hard and refused to take it. After identifying Hiroshi Hiroshi, Zhang Jiazhen flew to Tokyo with the script and the director, and the face-to-face communication impressed him.
In Shibuya, Tokyo, Zhang Jiazhen and director Yu Fei and Hiroshi Hiroshi met for the first time, and in the recollections of Hiroshi of the Service Station, before meeting, he thought that Zhang Jiazhen would be a very serious person, but he did not expect to be "very affinity and humility". Even though the filming of the film has ended, Hiroshi Hiroshi is still very touched to recall Zhang Jiazhen's friendly attitude towards all the crew members.
The heroine Zhang Jingchu, who cooperated with Zhang Jiazhen in 2016's "Rogue League", called Zhang Jiazhen her "teacher and nobleman".
"I have worked with Teacher Zhang Jiazhen three times, all the way down from "Rogue League", I feel that he is particularly persistent about movies, and he is a particularly good person. A bit like my teacher and elders, I can especially appreciate his care and promotion. For example, if he feels that you have potential in some way, he will always support you. The next two films I worked with Mr. Zhang have made great breakthroughs, and it is my blessing to meet him! ”
In "Ice Storm", Zhang Jingchu plays Xiao Bao, an independent woman with a very free spirit, who in her words is "a woman who can go far for love". Before she took "Ice Storm", she also knew very well that this was a film directed by a new director, but Zhang Jiazhen's support and help for the younger generations was already very well understood, so this was also one of the reasons why she took over the film.
Try new genres
Help the director to know his own film
In some previous interviews, Zhang Jiazhen once said that as a producer, he should be "invisible" and try not to interfere with the director on the set, and for young people, he is more willing to give them some help.
Although the "Cradle Project" was launched in 2016, Zhang Jiazhen's attitude towards the selection of young directors has always been very rigorous. Like the director of "Ice Storm" Yu Fei, although he is not from a science class and is himself a vice president of a game company, Zhang Jiazhen sees the shining point of telling stories with images in him.
The script of "Ice Storm" has been repeatedly polished for nearly two years, and in the process, Zhang Jiazhen has done like a teacher, teaching young directors how to use film thinking to tell stories.
In Zhang Jiazhen's view, how the director recognizes himself is particularly important. A movie must have a core theme, even if there is a story prototype such as "Ice Storm", the director needs to tell a complete story to the audience. Inspired and guided by Zhang Jiazhen, director Yu Fei revised the original script and established the core theme of "how far can you go for love", which has gradually improved into the current story.
Zhang Jiazhen appeared on the red carpet of the Shanghai Film Festival with the creator of the movie "Ice Peak Storm"
In zhang jiazhen's experience of 40 years of practice, he has witnessed the rise and silence of generations of directors, and his accumulated rich industry experience has allowed him to bring a pair of torch-like eyes, which can clearly see the strengths and weaknesses of each director. In his view, the current young directors should not be limited to one style, and young directors should learn to "let go" of themselves.
"My goal is simple, I hope that new directors will continue to try different types of plays, and each director has his strengths and weaknesses, so I hope to help them make their work well." 」
Zhang Jiazhen's role in supporting young directors is more like a lighthouse lighter and a guide. In his view, the role of the producer must not only be responsible for the director, but also have its own control and understanding of the market, because the producer also needs to explain to the investors and the audience. In the current stormy Chinese film market. Zhang Jiazhen felt, "Now is the best time."
Excavate "human nature" to return to the original intention
Let the world see Chinese movies
In an interview with Mirror Entertainment, Zhang Jiazhen was a little tired because of the high-density publicity of "Ice Peak Storm", but he still maintained a polite demeanor, and occasionally when he spoke, he would say "I'm sorry" to reporters.
"When I was in Hong Kong, I said I wanted to introduce those movies to foreigners and the whole world, and people said that you can't dream, I called the United States to introduce the director of Hong Kong, but the other party reacted flatly, and at that time, I was holding my heart, and I must show foreigners the charm of Chinese films."
When promoting Wu Yusen's films, the process was not smooth, because gunfight films as a new genre of Chinese films, foreigners are actually not particularly familiar with, nor do they have acceptance, so Zhang Jiazhen thought of a way: he did not go to the film dealers who bought Bruce Lee action movies at that time, but went to find film critics to write film reviews, when the film dealers watched the films, they sent these film reviews to them, one by one, and finally received unexpected effects, Wu Yusen's films also opened a way out internationally. This gave The Hong Kong films of the time a chance.
And now, Zhang Jiazhen's original intention has not changed, he wants to let more audiences around the world see Chinese films. "Ice Peak Storm" is also An attempt by Zhang Jiazhen for a new theme.
In the plot of "Ice Storm", people face an extremely sinister natural environment, feelings and reason, life and death and sacrifice, big love and small love, in which complex human struggles are the most wonderful places in the whole film when the contradiction is catalyzed.
The crew of "Ice Storm" filmed on the set
The film "Snowstorm", also produced by Zhang Jiazhen and directed by young director Cui Siwei, released on May Day this year, tells a contest of good and evil that exposes complex human nature, and the film won the highest award" "New Wave Award" at the 23rd Busan Film Festival.
In Zhang Jiazhen's view, the core of the film's resonance is "human nature", not how international the lineup is. He gave an example of the current internationally recognized Japanese and Korean films, such as Lee Cang-dong and Kore-eda's films, which are very localized, and why international audiences can resonate is because of the "human nature" of human emotions.
Zhang Jiazhen said that when Wu Yusen's gunfight film was internationally recognized, in addition to the exquisite action scenes, what was more important was the brotherhood between men and men, and the key to how to "guide them to see the advantages in the movie" was to find and love a movie.
Zhang Jiazhen believes that the key to making Hollywood and the world recognize Chinese films at the moment is to dig out the unique emotional and spiritual core that belongs to Chinese films.
What Zhang Jiazhen is doing now is also the sense of responsibility of a veteran producer, that is, to support excellent film works by discovering young directors step by step, and in the future, the voice of Chinese films will once again be heard in the world.