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Audiences familiar with Hong Kong-made films must have seen films directed by Li Lizhi. In the 1990s, he collaborated seamlessly with Stephen Chow, and familiar works such as "Tang Bohu Dian Qiu Xiang", "God Eater" and "The King of Comedy" have long become masterpieces of Hong Kong-style comedy. Since "Shaolin Football" in 2001, Li Lizhi has not cooperated with Stephen Chow, and the frequency of filming has begun to decline, slowly fading out of the public eye. But that doesn't mean he left comedy, and over the years he taught micro-filmmaking in the mainland and taught others to make comedies. Nandu reporter found in an interview with Li Lizhi that after so many years, this former leader of Hong Kong-style comedy has not given up the exploration of comedy creation. Written by: Trainee reporter Liu Yifan Intern Mei Lingshuang
1
What is a "nonsense" comedy?
"It's just doing ridiculous things very seriously."
Southern Metropolis Daily: Many people will refer to Hong Kong's comedies in the 1980s and 1990s as "nonsense" comedies, do you think it is accurate to use the word "nonsense"? How do you define it?
Li Li held: "Nonsense" is traditionally called "cold face laughing craftsman", and Xu Guanwen is one of them. This style likes to act with a straight face, no expression but funny. Zhou Xingchi established a funny status in the "Gestapo" with me, and it is also the prototype of "nonsense". At that time, the gold medal producer Liu Jiahao allowed me to change the script, and I was watching Leslie Nelson's American comedy film "Bald Detective" series, and I learned a lot from it. When it came to "He Comes from the Jianghu", I also added a lot of "nonsense" into it. Although there was no word at the time, this style was found in this play. The original outline and theme of our comedy were the main drama. Everyone is very serious about filming, but the seriousness and seriousness of Star Ye and are always very funny. The so-called "nonsense" is actually a very serious way to do very absurd things, such as "Tang Bohu Dian Qiu Xiang" in which Xingye brushes chicken wings with a brush and sells himself to bury his father for "Xiao Qiang".
Nandu: How did you "bridge" when you created comedy? Are there any special method steps?
Li Lizhi: At present, many Hong Kong directors in the mainland have been trained in the "wooden alley" of television stations. Different dramas, after filming one after another, and can not rest for three years. Everyone shoots under high pressure, and there are occasional sparks of "instant inspiration", which is a great pleasure when we create. Our work looks effortless, practically twelve points of force. Star Ye and and I all worked under very serious dramatic requirements, with characters, times, places, and themes. Now many of the web dramas that advertise hong Kong-style "nonsense" are actually fake, and it is a farce to find a man to dress up as a woman, wear a costume to talk about fashion dialogue, that is not "nonsense", that is a farce.
Nandu: What ideas do you think are particularly hilarious?
Li Lizhi: We must establish a very solid foundation for drama. The characters of comedy must be extreme, such as Yin Tianqiu of "The King of Comedy" is a dragon runner, but he is more pursuing and the most "mean" than the protagonist. After the extreme, there is a sense of contrast, such as Ah Qi in "Domestic Lingling Paint", he is a spy but does not use a gun.
2
Comedy just has to be funny?
"Behind a good comedy there must be emotional resonance"
Nandu: What do you think a good comedy needs to be funny?
Li Lizhi: If you are simply funny, and the emotional drama cannot resonate, there will be no breakthrough at the box office. There must be emotional resonance behind a good comedy. The audience should identify with this relationship, for example, after you watch "Tang Bohu Dian Qiu Xiang", you must really see that Tang Bohu loves Qiu Xiang, and He Jinyin in "The King of Destruction" really loves Ali. That emotional line also takes twelve minutes to do. For a director, the biggest achievement is whether the role can penetrate the hearts of the people, just like "The True Colors of Heroes" is not Zhou Runfa, the red is Mark Brother. If you can remember that the protagonist is yin Tianqiu after watching "The King of Comedy", I will be very happy.
Nandu: You like cameos in movies, do you just think it's funny, or is there something else?
Li Lizhi: I was influenced by Hitchcock, who liked to make cameo appearances. I don't want to appear only in the last rolling credits, I want to have an image left for my relatives or children later. The initial cameo was purely for this selfish purpose. When I write a script, I usually show it to the actors once, because my shooting time is tight, and I don't have so much time for the actors to act in different effects for me to choose. The director was under a lot of pressure, but I was relaxed as an actor. Many directors have given me the opportunity, and I am very grateful to Gu Dezhao for letting me make a cameo appearance in "The Great Inner Secret Agent Zero Zero Hair", giving me an arbitrary role in styling and dialogue. Director Liu Zhenwei gave me the opportunity to shoot "Night of the Returning Soul", and it was very cool and enjoyable to be able to shoot opponent scenes with Xingye.
3
Who has the strongest comedic skills?
"Wu Mengda is a genius among geniuses"
Nandu: You've worked with so many comedians, who has the deepest comedic skills?
Li Lizhi: Of course, Wu Mengda in heaven. I really admire that he never has to take the script on the spot, obviously he was still drinking with others at two or three o'clock last night, where did he have time to read the script? He can really memorize these lines, even the opponent's can be matched, he is a genius among geniuses. In addition, he has a good personality, and the children are close to him, and no one will say bad things about. He plays a supporting role in every play, but each role can be different. His rivalry with Star Ye is really tireless, and I still remember it vividly.
Nandu: In recent years, comedy films represented by Shen Teng and Jia Ling in the mainland have achieved box office success, do you have any mainland comedians who you particularly appreciate?
Li Lizhi: I still like Ge You. Of course, Shen Teng and Jia Ling are also very good, but I think Ge You's cold humor and style are very international, foreigners know Ge You, but Shen Teng and Jia Ling may be limited to the mainland, or even limited to the north. Ge You and Feng Xiaogang's cooperation of "Party A and Party B", "Not Seen and Not Scattered" and then "Non-sincere Do Not Disturb" are all wonderful. The same director and the same actor work together for a long time, and you can see the formation of their style, which is rare.
4
What is the difference between Mainland comedy and Hong Kong comedy?
"Hong Kong makes people laugh by its actions, and the mainland relies on dialogue"
Nandu: How do you think there is a difference between comedy in mainland China and comedy in Hong Kong?
Li Lizhi: Hong Kong's "nonsense" comedy, we define it as action comedy (action comedy), as the name suggests, action comedy is not just reading dialogue, but relying on action to make people laugh. However, comedy in the mainland may still be based on dialogue.
Nandu: In recent years, you have founded a "micro-film education studio" in Guangzhou, bringing over the model of cultivating film talents in Hong Kong.
Li Lizhi: Guangzhou and Hong Kong are very close, and everyone speaks Cantonese, so I came to Guangzhou to see if I can pass it on. "Micro film set" is now mainly to receive orders (orders). At present, I am actively negotiating "Foreign Daughter-in-law Local Lang", and I have made two cameo appearances before. This drama is really rare, more than 4,000 episodes, it is shot in the studio three cameras synchronously, very close to my previous situation of shooting dramas on TVB, I have a lot of feelings for this shooting method. In addition, I am very interested in new things, such as the current emerging industry "script killing". I like acting training because I'm happy to see that the children have resumed social activities and increased interaction between people, and I hope I can participate in it.
Nandu: Is it still possible to cooperate with Star Ye?
Li Lizhi: Wu Mengda didn't have a chance, but Xingye and I are both alive, and I think it is open to cooperation. But if Stephen Chow were the director, the two of us directors wouldn't work together. Unless he's the lead actor in my movie, I'm the lead actor in his movie.