Source | Visual Chronicles
ID | iiidaily
Today I would like to introduce you to an interesting person.
Liang Wendao once said, "Have you heard of Zhong Acheng?" If you haven't heard of it, it's a bit of a shame. ”
Jiang Wen once sighed: "Ah Cheng is a human spirit, and when I saw him in person, I found out how unqualified I was as a human being." ”
Wang Shuo once praised: "If everyone in the country is required to chase the stars, I will chase Acheng." ”
Acheng, formerly known as Zhong Acheng.
For ordinary people, Acheng's name is not loud; but in the film and television circle where the spotlight flickers, you can always hear his legend.
As an art director, Acheng is skillful and profound.
Long before Hou Xiaoxian won the best director in Cannes and Golden Horse with "Assassin Nie Yinniang", Ah Cheng played the role of sweeping monk in his films.
Pieces of paper fluttered in the studio, and Hou Xiaoxian was filming a snow scene in "Flowers on the Sea".
Hou Xiaoxian suddenly stopped filming and said, "Snowflakes are too fake, go, call Ah Cheng!" ”
At this time, Ah Cheng, who was working as an art director in the crew, was reading a book in the corner. After rushing to the studio, Ah Cheng leaned over to the monitor and glanced at it: "Got it." ”
Turning to the top of the shed, he said to the snowflakes, "Grab the pieces of paper and loosen them a little." ”
The "snowflakes" flew and fell again, the speed slowed down significantly, Hou Xiaoxian behind the monitor nodded, and Ah Cheng continued to go back to read.
Not long after, Ah Cheng was called back again. This time, Hou Xiaoxian wanted to take pictures of the interior through the glass window, and after trying the electric lamp and kerosene lamp over and over again, he always felt that the light was too "hard".
Ah Cheng picked up a bucket of water and brushed a layer on the glass, and the light behind the monitor immediately softened, a little oily.
Stills from Flowers of the Sea
Even a top director like Hou Xiaoxian will encounter all kinds of troubles when shooting. But as soon as Ah Cheng made a move, it was done.
Ah Cheng's main job is to stay honest in the crew, because Hou Xiaoxian may call him over at any time.
How to define Acheng as an art director?
Yang Kui once said convincingly: "Ah Cheng's art director relies on life experience and the ability to experience a thing. He can quickly find the crux of the problem, and what is even more rare is that he has a solution. ”
Acheng, who became famous by writing and was proficient in fine arts, was fascinated by all kinds of worldliness.
He was extremely hands-on, a good carpenter, and could even create a full set of wedding furniture.
In the late 1980s, Acheng crossed the United States with $2,000 earned by carpenter craftsmanship.
In the United States, Acheng has delivered takeaways, painted walls, taught pianos, compiled computer input methods, and even assembled cars!
In order to subsidize the family, Ah Cheng taught himself to assemble no less than six or seven antique Beetles.
Wang Shuo greatly admired Acheng, a master of automobile assembly: "I have seen with my own eyes, the red open roof, Ah Cheng sitting in it with a pipe, like a great immortal." ”
Over time, Ah Cheng has become a legendary story, and people are not surprised by what he does.
Ah Cheng's own explanation is very popular:
The old king in the front yard was playing the guqin, and suddenly the family ran to say that the stove in the backyard was extinguished, so they came up with a way to re-ignite it, which is a skill that a person should have. Life should be like this - the guqin can be played very elegantly, and when you turn around, you can go through the stove.
In the film and television circle, Ah Cheng is the one who knows both the stove and the guqin.
In 2015, Hou Xiaoxian began to plan the filming of "Assassin Nie Yinniang" and consulted with Ah Cheng again.
In the script envisioned by Ah Cheng, the opening scene of a single Nie Yinniang assassinating the grand officer could not be heard by the guests.
Xie Haimeng, who is also a screenwriter for the crew, said: "That is really wonderful, Hollywood movies and what can be compared!" ”
Stills from "The Assassin Nie Yinniang"
So much so that later Hou Xiaoxian was annoyed when he saw the film in the editing room: "Ah Cheng said it too wonderfully, and the limited resources at hand could not be filmed at all." ”
Even so, "Assassin Nie Yinniang" is still called a work of art in the movie by insiders.
The role of Ah Cheng' art director is to understand harmony, understand life, and understand art.
Ah Cheng is the art designer who knows the director best, and is also the script consultant sought after by famous directors, but whether he can cooperate depends on his temper.
He had a unique job — rewriting scripts against sample lip-syncs.
When "People in New York" was filmed to four-fifths, Guan Jinpeng was suddenly not satisfied with the sample film, running left and right, and finally found Acheng to help under the guidance of Zhang Beihai (the original author of "Evil Does Not Pressure justice").
As soon as Ah Cheng saw the sample film, he understood Guan Jinpeng's appeal: change a film that has been filmed almost the same, and change another meaning, change it into a complete new story.
Stills from "Man in New York"
Jianghu rescue, especially for friends, Ah Cheng is very righteous, and it did not take long to help Guan Jinpeng solve the problem. But Wong Kar-wai was not so lucky.
Hearing that Wong Kar-wai was going to shoot "Blossoms", Ah Cheng directly shrugged them off: "Old Jin (the original author of "Blossoms") will definitely die of anger in the end." This kind of director who does not need a film script should not be serious. ”
For Wong Kar-wai, language is the lens, and there is nothing wrong with Ah Cheng's cold words.
Regarding his temper, Ah Cheng once said that his "six-sided exquisite two-sided thorns" stemmed from his little half-life difficulties.
On the Qingming Festival in 1949, Acheng was born in Beijing.
"Chinese I'm here when I miss the dead."
Acheng was 17 years old, went to the countryside for 11 years, went to Shanxi, Mongolia, and Yunnan, and went to several times.
For the people and things he admires and identifies with, Ah Cheng never hesitates to support and praise.
When filming "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", although there were gold medal partners Wang Huiling and James, Ang Lee still invited Ah Cheng to help, and when there was an inaccurate point, he consulted Ah Cheng, and the final version of the line was also reviewed by Ah Cheng to ensure that the text was concise and clear.
In the play, Yu Jiaolong and Yu Xiulian talked, and there was such a sentence:
If you can live freely, choose your beloved person, and love him in your own way...
Stills from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
"Freedom" is changed by Ah Cheng after reading it, and the original script uses "freedom".
The reason given by Acheng is that the word "freedom" was introduced to China after 1894, and the background of the film is the Qing Dynasty, which is inappropriate.
Therefore, the martial arts world of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" has the gentle and ancient style of Acheng, which is not exaggerated at all.
In 2005, as the only Chinese jury member at the Venice Film Festival, Ah Cheng and several other judges fought for 4 hours, and finally won the Golden Lion Award for Ang Lee and "Brokeback Mountain".
But the coldness in Acheng's personality will also stab some people.
Zhang Yimou's "Full of Golden Armor" was released, and a reporter asked Ah Cheng whether he had any expectations for it, and he simply replied: "No, this is not a day of enlightenment." ”
Someone commented on Ah Cheng: "No matter how familiar you are with him, as long as you say one wrong thing, he will immediately correct it and will not show mercy to anyone." He won't follow what you say, he'll always tell you what you should. ”
When Ah Cheng concentrates on being a screenwriter, everyone can truly appreciate the thickness of his culture.
Around 2000, Tian Zhuangzhuang, the leader of China's fifth generation of directors, had the idea of remaking "Spring in a Small Town". "Spring in a Small Town" was once known as the century-old laurel of Chinese films, and once remade, it is very easy to turn over.
After relatives and friends knew, they all advised Tian Zhuangzhuang to give up the idea of remake. Tian Zhuangzhuang turned his head and asked Ah Cheng, "Do you think it is okay to shoot "Spring in a Small Town" again?" ”
Ah Cheng did not hesitate, and nodded: "Okay." ”
Stills from Spring in a Small Town
With Ah Cheng's support, Tian Zhuangzhuang was not afraid. What moved him even more was that after Ah Cheng asked about the script requirements, he did not mention the money, and it was not long before he returned a draft of the script.
Li Shaohong, an investor in the new version of "Spring in a Small Town", was directly shocked when he saw Ah Cheng's script:
His first draft touched me greatly, and it was really a genius that only a master could have. It is so concise that there is not a single superfluous sentence, but it gives the director and actors a lot of room to play.
After the script was completed, Ah Cheng said: "In addition to the character modeling before the start of shooting, I was responsible for the other set construction and prop design. ”
Ah Cheng first became a carpenter, transforming an official residence at the end of the Ming Dynasty into a down-and-out large family that conformed to the plot; then he turned to a prop designer, took people to travel to Suzhou and Hangzhou and other places, and gathered hundreds of old antiques to cover the entire house; finally he became an artist and began to set...
Tian Zhuangzhuang sighed afterwards: "Acheng has opened a hole in the circle of "Spring in a Small City", and I don't know how to bite it. ”
Later, Tian Zhuangzhuang prepared the first documentary , "Wu Qingyuan", and the screenwriter was still Acheng.
Wu Qingyuan is a Japanese chess saint, in order to make a good documentary, Tian Zhuangzhuang and Acheng went to Japan together to visit Mr. Wu Qingyuan himself.
During the japanese period, Ah Cheng scavenged all of Wu Qingyuan's materials: chess reviews, chess scores, essays, reports, etc., with millions of words.
The second from the right is Wu Qingyuan
Through these materials, Ah Cheng produced a chronology of Wu Qingyuan, down to the monthly and daily of the year after Mr. Wu Was born.
On the basis of Ah Cheng's writings, Tian Zhuangzhuang uses the lens to present Wu Qingyuan's ups and downs in life.
After watching the film himself, Mr. Wu Qingyuan himself gave a short comment of great appreciation: "Well, this thing is done beautifully." ”
In addition to film screenwriters, Ah Cheng also worked as a TV series screenwriter, but eventually abandoned the TV series line.
In 2003, director Zhang Jianya wanted to make a historical drama, but he was not satisfied with asking someone to write two scripts, so he had to ask ah cheng here.
As soon as Ah Cheng heard that it was a historical drama, he was interested, immediately agreed, unfolded the "Zizhi Tongjian" and "Quan Tang Shu" as references, and began to write the script.
As a result, when he wrote 40 episodes, Acheng surrendered: "I failed to create this TV series, I will not write a TV series." ”
However, this TV series, which Acheng called a failure, is "The Rule of Zhenguan" with a Douban score of 9.2.
Stills from "The Reign of Chastity"
Ah Cheng's writing is simple and simple, the words are less meaningful, the story is light, as if understated, but it is always evocative and contains a Chinese beauty.
Therefore, insiders refer to Ah Cheng as "Ah Lao".
How high is the status of Alao?
Acheng is a legendary existence in the film and television circle.
But the film and television circle is only a job to eat in Acheng.
Outside of film and television, he is a writer, painter, satin hand, carpenter, stylist...
Director Ning Ying said: "Someone should carry a camera to follow Ah Cheng every day, it must be a special film." ”
Now ah cheng is more than a rare age, and he can occasionally be seen in university classes or lectures.
After watching a variety of idol stars, you will find that Acheng, who understands life, understands himself, and understands culture, is the person that this society should appreciate.
Source: Visual Zhi, record life with words, depict life with photos, listen to your joys and sorrows every night, accompany you through spring, summer, autumn and winter, and support the spiritual world of tens of millions of people in the circle of friends.
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