The Paper's reporter Yang Kaiting
The domestic drama "Hidden and Great" ended, and finally got a good reputation of 8.2 points (97,000 people scored) on Douban, if there is no accident, it should be able to become the best spy drama of the year. A small person witnesses faith in the big era, adheres to the original intention, and grows up, which can more or less fit and resonate with every audience at present.
Poster of Hidden and Great
A good TV series, in its behind-the-scenes team, if the director has played a decisive role in the style and quality of the series, then the screenwriter controls the core expression of the series and the excitement of the story and characters.
The screenwriters of "Hidden and Great" are a couple, Pu Wei and Huang Chen graduated from Chinese opera together, and what is more amazing is that the two were actually born on the same day in the same month of the same year. The two have always written scripts and given interviews together, and in "Hidden and Great", the two have a clear division of labor, Pu Wei is responsible for building the story framework, and Huang Chen is responsible for writing the story.
The two said that the original intention of this story was to make up for the regrets left by the previous script. "A few years ago we worked on a team project to create a spy drama featuring women. That script love is almost all of it. As a male screenwriter, I'm somewhat useless. But at the same time, I was also touched by the large amount of information consulted in the creative process. So Huang Chen and I discussed and re-made a drama about the hidden front, talking about more and more complex emotions, such as comradeship, brotherhood, and mentoring; at the same time, we also talked about more about history and about the country, and wanted to make a script with a larger pattern. ”
Pu Wei and Huang Chen are both science students in middle school, and a lot of historical knowledge is now blurred. So for the creation of "Hidden and Great", a lot of preparation was really done. "In the early days, we went to Shanghai, went to the museum every day to take pictures, records, especially the police museum, involving the household registration department, police equipment, etc. This information is found from there; because I am not a Shanghainese, I have seen a lot of streets and buildings in the field; and then watch movies about old Shanghai, watch the people inside talk and do things, and the environment in which they live, such as "Under the Eaves of Shanghai", "Crows and Sparrows". In addition, a lot of information was collected, and a lot of books were bought, especially about the police, such as "Shanghai Public Security Chronicle", "A Hundred Years of Impressions of the Maritime Police", Wei Feide's trilogy on the Shanghai police, and also printed a very thick stack of Shanghai local history, all read and made detailed excerpts. It is precisely after such meticulous preliminary research and study that there are the praiseworthy details of the times and life in the later drama.
The Paper talked to the writers and listened to them talk about some of the creative details of "Hidden and Great".
Stills from Hidden and Great
【Dialogue】
From the perspective of a small rookie, tear open the mouth of the magnificent era
The Surging News: The small characters and life of "Hidden and Great", did they determine such a creative direction at the beginning?
Powell: Right. We belong to screenwriters with clear personal preferences, like to watch works that depict ordinary small people, and like to see the big in the form of small. So at the beginning, it was decided to write a little rookie, from his small perspective, to tear open the mouth of a magnificent era, and take the audience to enter and adventure together. From the idea of writing a police rookie on the first day to the final draft of the last episode, Gu Yaodong has never changed.
Huang Chen: We prefer works with a sense of reality. The background of the story can be completely fictional, it doesn't matter whether it is written in the sky or underground, and even the characters can not be human, such as the movie "Wall·e" (Robot Story) that we like very much. The work touches people's hearts because it has real emotions, real details. We want to tell a spy story with a sense of reality, in which people have families and lives, so special emphasis is placed on the details of life. For example, Fu'an Lane, such as the Gu family's three meals a day.
Whether it is the ignorant Gu Yaodong or the sophisticated Xia Jicheng, we try to create a real world and life for them; we also try to use such a realistic story to show the hidden and great warriors of that era, what they are spying on, why they are fighting.
Li Yifeng plays Gu Yaodong
The Paper: This work, in fact, is not suitable for being simply classified as a spy drama, as a screenwriter, will it be delineated as a genre?
Pu Wei: At the beginning of the creation, we did not consider the problem of genre. Our original intention is very simple, that is, to be a character of the growth. "Growing up" is the core of the story of "Hidden and Great"; "Man must be true to the dreams of youth", Schiller's words are the core of the spirit. With these two points, the script already has a complete kernel. As for the shell, it can be a modern life drama, or it can be a fantasy drama, a war drama, or a spy drama. I think any type is valid. Of course, there is a certain risk of not clarifying the typology at the beginning of creation, especially in the face of the market, "can not be classified" is a very real problem. In the end, we labeled it "spy war", but we still thought it was a story about growing up.
The Paper: The name "Hidden and Great" was questioned in the early days as whether it was adapted from a Korean movie, in fact, it is completely possible to change the name to avoid such misunderstandings, why did the team insist on using this name?
Powell: Because there really isn't a better name than that. Although the story is completely different from the Korean movie version, the spirit of the expression is the same. In this part of China, there are also a group of hidden and great warriors who have fought for peace.
The Paper: Can you talk about the difficulties that you have in the creation of this work? And do you think you have left any regrets?
Pu Wei: The first difficulty is that I was very impressed, that is, after Gu Yaodong learned that Chen Xianmin had been wrongfully arrested, he should do this. This problem has stuck us for many days. We thought of many kinds of solutions, but we were always dissatisfied, and we always felt that they were either clichés or not like what Gu Yaodong did. Then one day I said, if I were Gu Yaodong, I would go to the rescue, Chen Xianmin was arrested because I was arrested, then no matter whether it was three or seven twenty-one, I was going to save him, even if I couldn't save him, I would have to try, this is Gu Yaodong. After saying that, I suddenly became enlightened. Because of this, we have thoroughly clarified the image of Gu Yaodong. After this, how Gu Yaodong did things and how to choose was also clear.
As for regret, it may be the control of the narrative rhythm. Maybe next time can be better.
Screenshot of Hidden and Great
If there is a quarrel, the solution is to cook together
The Paper: As creators, what are your two favorite characters in this story?
Pu Wei: Gu Yaodong and Xia Jicheng are our favorites. In addition, I also like the role of Zhao Zhiyong, he has always been with Gu Yaodong to write with reference, many times we will put the multiple choice question in front of him and Gu Yaodong at the same time, he is not only a mirror of Gu, but also a type of condensation, personally feel that it is still a relatively plump role.
Wang Takizheng plays Xia Jicheng
Niu Junfeng plays Zhao Zhiyong
Huang Chen: In addition to the "Dongji Love Song", after chasing the drama these days, I like Ding Fang, played by Shi Shi. When writing the script, my imagination of this character was more free and arrogant. The actor gave her innocence and cuteness, and there was also a bit of cute stupidity similar to Gu Yaodong.
Shi Shi plays Ding Fang
The Paper: How do the two generally divide their work in cooperation? How do you resolve disagreements about your creations?
Pu Wei: Simply put, I am responsible for structuring the story, and Huang Chen is responsible for writing. Similar to repairing a house, I came to design it, and Huang Chen realized it. This is a basic division of labor, but in practice, each step is actually completed together. It's just that because each has its own strengths, our workload will be different at different stages.
Huang Chen: When you encounter disagreements, you have endless discussions. As long as the deadline is not reached, we will continue to discuss, without setting time limits for ourselves or prescribing who must listen to whom. Because we found that as long as the discussion continues, there will be a result that is agreed upon by both sides. The price, of course, is that sometimes a plot gets stuck for days. Often because of differences, they will be very angry, and the solution is to cook together. In our house, Pu Wei is in charge of cooking, and I am responsible for laying the groundwork. When it is time to eat, the re-angry will also consciously go to the kitchen to work, there is no problem that cooking cannot solve.
The Paper: In such a story of the times, what is the message that you most want to convey to the current audience?
Pu Wei: We don't want to tell the audience anything because our own life experience is still shallow. I just want to express something through the script that I value or am touched by. For example, "faith", such as "warmth". If people who watch the play can also feel the strength and comfort brought by faith and warmth, they are already very happy as screenwriters.
The Paper: There are many good works in TV dramas of the same theme, are there any works that inspire you, or do you appreciate them very much?
Huang Chen: There are two works that are very important to me. The first is the character relationship between Yu Zecheng and Lü Zongfang in "Latent". The role of Lu Zongfang can be regarded as the germ of Xia Jicheng's role. Another work is "The Grand Budapest Hotel", and the relationship between Gustav and Zero has also inspired me a lot.
Editor-in-charge: Cheng Yu
Proofreader: Luan Meng