Text/Yangcheng Evening News all-media reporter Hu Guangxin; intern Qu Jianghui
Video/Intern reporter Rao Pan; Yangcheng Evening News all-media reporter Song Jinyu
The biographical film "Mei Yanfang" will be released on November 12, with newcomer Wang Dani playing the absolute protagonist of the whole film - Mei Yanfang. As a biographical film, Mei Yanfang's casting almost determined the success or failure of "Mei Yanfang". But who is Dani Wang? Why her?
Although Wang Dani has been a model for 15 years, has walked on the show for many international big names, and has a small reputation in the modeling circle, her performance resume is a blank piece of paper. "Mei Yanfang" took more than two years to screen dozens of people from thousands of people to participate in the audition. Wang Dani passed the customs all the way, from a few thousandths to a few tenths, and then to a fraction. The decisive moment takes place during the final audition phase. This is a makeup audition, Jiang Zhiqiang invited the makeup artist who has been with Mei Yanfang for more than ten years, when Wang Dani wore a wedding dress and sang "Sunset Song", the makeup artist said to Jiang Zhiqiang: "Boss, I think Ah Mei seems to be back." ”
To play Mei Yanfang, a superstar of great status, no matter who will feel pressure, let alone a newcomer? But Dani Wang still took on this challenge. "If the facial features are the most similar, it must not be me." But the director and Boss Jiang kept telling me that this is not an imitation contest, and there is only one Sister Mei. Wang Dani said in an exclusive interview with the Yangcheng Evening News reporter, "This is a performance from the heart, if I can make the audience feel 'mei Yanfang's feeling' for a second, it will be very happy." ”
Why did the crew choose her? 】
The all-out attitude is very much like Mei Yanfang
Dani Wang originally received a private message from an audition on a social platform, which she did not know was the "Mei Yanfang" crew: "The private message asked me to audition for a movie. At first I thought it was a scam because I didn't know much about movies, and I checked the Internet to find out that it was a big company. I've been a model for many years, and I thought it was time to step out of my comfort zone, so I decided to give it a try. ”
Dani Wang is an experienced model. At the age of 17, she won the Asia Pacific regional championship in the elite model competition and signed a modeling agency in Milan to enter the European and American markets. With a height of 179cm and a cool high-end face, she quickly became the darling of international big names. But in all these years, she had never acted.
In her first audition, Dani Wang was asked to show a "southern tone" and performed a literary drama: she played a secretary and talked to the boss in the office. The second audition, she had to perform a dance scene and a chat scene; by the third time, she was given the task of dancing "Blazing Red Lips" and "Bad Girl" and singing "Like Water Flowing Year", at which point she slowly guessed: "This should be the rumored "Mei Yanfang" audition, right?" Wang Dani admitted that she has always regarded herself as a "hard runner": "Although I really feel that the crew will not choose an inexperienced person, I will do my duty every time I audition." And this serious attitude is one of the reasons why Jiang Zhiqiang and the "Mei Yanfang" crew chose Wang Dani. Jiang Zhiqiang said: "From the first audition to the final selection, it took more than six months, and each time we gave her two pages of the script and asked her to come back in two weeks. She hadn't sung or ever wanted to be a singer, but she sang well every time she auditioned. I don't think it's an accident, it must have been practiced hard. Her attitude is the same as Mei Yanfang's, and she must do her best every time she receives a challenge. ”
In addition, Wang Dani's life experience is also similar to Mei Yanfang. Growing up in a single-parent household, she said: "My mother worked hard to raise me and my brother, so I came up with social work very early, and when I was in school, I quietly went out to do the work of handing out leaflets, snacks and stationery as much as possible to buy myself." When I was in middle school, I studied while working, more mature than my peers, maybe this part is a bit similar to Sister Mei. In addition, our views on love also have similarities, all of them dare to love and dare to hate, and they have also had the experience of failure. ”
Similar experiences and temperaments made Wang Danni quickly find resonance. In the final audition of the wedding scene, Wang Danni's interpretation touched the people present: "I sang and sang and saw a colleague rush out, I didn't know what the situation was, and then the director told me that the staff went out and cried." It was the first time I felt how fascinating a sincere performance was. Looking back at that audition now, I actually had a lot of mistakes and omissions, because I had not yet officially conducted acting training at that time. But at that time, I really wanted to sing that song and say that paragraph, and I wanted to tell the audience the truth of 'cherishing the person in front of me'. ”
【How to "become" Mei Yanfang?】 】
"I keep chasing Sister Mei every day"
The process of "becoming" Mei Yanfang is not easy. Before the film began, Wang Dani spent half a year in special training. Her dance teacher, Mai Qiucheng, is a choreographer commonly used by Chan Wai Ting; her music teacher, Zhao Zengxi, who has worked with Zhang Guorong, Mui Yanfang and others, is also one of the music directors of Jacky Cheung's musical "Snow Wolf Lake"; her acting teacher does not need too much introduction - the old drama bone Liao Qizhi.
In half a year, Wang Danni practiced for more than six hours a day, and many times she added lessons to herself in order to completely absorb the learning content. She said: "I am constantly chasing every day, Sister Mei is too strong, I hope I can get closer to her." For example, dancing, Wang Dani, who has long hands and long legs, thinks that her hands and feet are "uncoordinated", and she began to learn from the popular dance steps in the 1960s and 1970s, so that her body could adapt to the rhythm, and then she began to practice Mei Yanfang's dance. The crew did a lot of data collection with her: "We watched a lot of Mei Jie's concerts, mV, and even watched mei jie and her brother (Zhang Guorong) go to some parties and dance selflessly, and learned some feelings from it." Wang Dani said: "Sister Mei's dancing is very powerful and in place, so I can only keep practicing until my body also has that strength." During the training process, Wang Dani practiced until her thigh strained, and continued to practice after physical therapy, "When you work hard to do something and finally do it well, you are very happy." It was a hard time, but it was also a good memory."
In the face of such a well-known real person as Mei Yanfang, Wang Dani did her best to achieve both form and spirit, and her body movements, tone and even tone were infinitely close to Mei Yanfang, but she would not be reduced to an imitation show. Wang Dani also watched a lot of Mei Yanfang's interview programs, studying the latter's personality, speaking method and tone, "I studied with the team for a long time, how to add her characteristics to the role, how much to add, we tried a lot of versions. The version you see now was voted by the team, and everyone thinks it is most appropriate." In the movie, there are many classic songs of Mei Yanfang, such as "Heart Debt", "Bad Girl", "Flaming Red Lips", "Sunset Song", etc., in fact, most of them are sung by Wang Dani. After the post-mixing, it is even difficult to tell whether it is Wang Dani's voice or Mei Yanfang's original voice. She said: "I sang live in every concert scene in the film, and I also went to the studio to record songs, and I am very grateful to the team behind the scenes for their post-production. If there is a second or two that can make the audience 'misunderstand', that is enough. ”
During the entire shooting process, Wang Danni reproduced nearly 100 sets of Mei Yanfang's shapes in total, and the film did not show all of them. As a model, Wang Danni is particularly touched by the style: "One day I took a lot of CD cover photos of Mei Jie, some neutral, some feminine, some Middle Eastern style, and some feminine style. I think Mei Jie is too powerful, in that era she was so daring to wear, and can control so many different shapes. Her favorite is the leather dress style in "Bad Girl": "When I collected information, I found that Mei Jie's performance actually broke the conservative thinking of that era, making people think, wow, the original girl can also be so stylish, you can wear jeans, wear chains." 」 To some extent, Mei Jie led the neutral trend of the year. ”
【How did you perform in the first filming?】 】
When filming Zhang Guorong's funeral scene, he cried and shook his hands
Wang Dani remembers a phrase that Liao Qizhi often said when she performed - "Believe": "Believe that your character is real, and the scenes you face, the mood of the moment, the opponents and the words you say are all true." I started absorbing it all the way from the time of special training, and by the first day of shooting, I was very sure that I wouldn't think about it too much. ”
The first scene in which Wang Dani officially began filming was a scene of the fledgling Mei Yanfang preparing to visit the stylist Liu Peiji for the first time: downstairs in a tenement building in Tsim Sha Tsui, she hesitated and thought of meeting this famous stylist who was "a little difficult" in the legend, and she couldn't help but be a little nervous. Wang Dani said: "Whether it is for me or for the team, this scene is a warm-up, and we are all groping for how to find the feeling of that era. She has always been calm, but director Leung Lok Man and producer Jiang Zhiqiang were very nervous at first. Jiang Zhiqiang said: "The other day everyone was worried, because this film is almost all on her. The director was nervous on the first day, and the next day he told me, 'You can rest assured, don't use it'; on the third day, he said that Danni Wang's performance exceeded expectations. ”
Director Liang Lemin consciously used new actors in "Mei Yanfang", Liao Ziyu, who played Mei Yanfang's sister Mei Aifang, and Liu Junqian, who played Zhang Guorong, played Zhang Guorong, and also had a lot of rival scenes with Wang Dani. Several peers work together and it's easier to get involved in the role. For example, an important turning scene in the early part of the film: young Mei Yanfang and Mei Aifang stand in the middle of the road, watching the Opposite Stage Theater imagine the future. In fact, only a triangular safety island was built on the set, and the "Lee Stage" was a green screen - the real Lee Stage was dismantled as early as 1991, and the film used special effects technology to restore this former landmark building. Wang Dani said: "The crew put a fork on the green screen and told us, 'That's the roof of the Stage, you look at it and talk'. It really can only rely on imagination. Fortunately, my sister (referring to Liao Ziyu, who plays Mei Aifang), is very devoted, and we take each other to act, and we enjoy the process of acting very much. When filming the scene where Mei Aifang died in the hospital, Wang Danni had completely entered the play: "We became friends outside the play, and we were sisters in the play." Having experienced such a happy day together before, I suddenly knew that my sister was leaving, and I didn't want to face it. That was also the last scene of fish (Liao Ziyu), after filming, we hugged and cried together for a long time, there was too much reluctance. ”
The friendship between Mei Yanfang and Zhang Guorong is also an important clue in "Mei Yanfang". From singing together in a nightclub when they were a fledgling, to the two collaborating on "Rouge Buckle", to the sudden death of Zhang Guorong in April 2003, the film has been presented. Mei Yanfang and Zhang Guorong in the play are also relatives and friends, and Wang Dani and Liu Junqian outside the play also support each other. She remembers the scene at Zhang Guorong's funeral very much: Mei Yanfang looked at Zhang Guorong's coffin and said a touching monologue. At the shooting scene, Liu Junqian was actually lying in a coffin. "He actually didn't have to come to this scene, but in order to make me have stronger emotions, he came. I remember it was very cold and I could only hear the sound of air conditioning. There were white lilies along the way, and I walked in all the way, my hands shaking. The scene was painful, I couldn't face my best friend and left like this, and I cried sincerely and finished the line. After the shooting, Ah Qian got up and appeared in front of me, and I completely cried until I broke down. I cried on the spot for a long time, and I couldn't go home without crying that emotion. ”
[Did "Mei Yanfang" change her?] 】
"Sister Mei made me stronger"
"Mei Yanfang" filmed Mei Yanfang's life. The film begins when she was four years old selling songs in Liyuan and continues to singing "Sunset Song" in the Red Pavilion in 2003. Born in 1989, Dani Wang is not the generation who grew up listening to Mei Yanfang. She said: "I grew up at a time when I was missing the glory days of Cantonese songs. When I was a child, my understanding of Sister Mei was very superficial, and I remember hearing my mother put her "Dream Companion" at home, and on Saturdays and Sundays, the TV station would replay her movies such as "Rouge Buckle" and "Half Life". The first time she was impressed with Mui Yanfang in her life was in 2003: when Hong Kong was hit hard by SARS, Mui Yanfang mobilized the entire performing arts industry in a very short period of time, holding a "1:99" large-scale concert to raise funds and cheer for Hong Kong. She said: "Sister Mei stood up and did a great thing for Hong Kong, and at that time she thought she was very handsome and a heroine. Later, I slowly learned the title of 'Hong Kong daughter' and knew that she had won many awards. ”
Producer Jiang Zhiqiang said: "There are many superstars in Tianwang, but there is only one Daughter in Hong Kong, Mui Yanfang. I hope that after watching this movie, people who know Mei Yanfang will continue to remember her; those who don't know, also know that there is a Mei Yanfang in Hong Kong. For Dani Wang, this film takes her to re-acquaint herself with the legendary life of Mei Yanfang. Mei Yanfang's perseverance in character, avant-garde in art, righteousness to friends, cherishing talents for future generations, great love for the world, and even dedication to love have aroused the resonance of Wang Dani, "She is sincere and hot for every relationship, and I absolutely believe that Sister Mei enjoys the process of love." I'm actually the same myself, no matter how many times I fail, I believe in love. Of course, it is a pity that her feelings did not yield a good result. But Mei Jie has so many fans, friends and relatives who love her in the end, and she said at the final concert that she married the stage, which also made up for her regrets."
After filming "Mei Yanfang", Wang Dani spent a little time to find herself. She did a lot of things she wanted to do but never did, such as learning to ride a horse, learning animation dubbing, learning character sketching... Playing Mei Yanfang made Wang Danni stronger to some extent: "Before coming to make this movie, I was a little confused about my future. But I think Mei Jie's spirit infected me: when you want to do it, don't think about it, just do it. This role will always accompany me in my heart, and filming "Mei Yanfang" is a very good memory. (For more news, please pay attention to Yangcheng Pie pai.ycwb.com)
Source | Yangcheng Evening News Yangcheng Pie
Image | Still
Editor-in-charge | Shao Ziheng