Around the end of 2012, Wanda, which owns the copyrights of the last four films, was rumored to be shooting "Ghost Blowing the Lantern": the title of the film was changed to "Long-hunting" at the time of filing, which will be directed by Wu Ershan, supervised by Chen Guofu, and written by Zhang Jialu. Participate in the adaptation. At that time, Wanda Film and Television had not yet become famous, and it only invested in films such as "HOLD". With "Painted Skin 2", Wu Ershan has just secured the throne of the magic director, and "Tai Chi" produced by Chen Guofu has just been released. As for who is the screenwriter Zhang Jialu? Outsiders don't know that at all.
At that time, there were more than one or two voices of doubt. In 2006, the author Tian Ba Sing published "Ghost Blowing the Lamp" on the Internet. After 6 years of intense, the original party has become a huge group. In the past 6 years, the copyright has changed hands several times, and the candidates such as director and producer have also changed a lot. In 2008, there was even news that "Chengdu netizens challenge Du Qifeng to raise money to privately shoot "Ghost Blowing the Lantern".
In the 4 years of the shooting of Dragon Search. The series of games was launched, and Lu Chuan's version of "Nine-Story Demon Tower" invested by "China Film", which owns the first four copyrights, was released, and the radio drama, online drama, and season drama of "Tomb-robbery Notes", which is also a "tomb-robber" series, etc. It is endless and dazzling, so that fans who love tomb raiders often feel confused.
But fortunately, under the huge pressure of the film industry and the original party, Wuershan's version of "Ghost Blowing the Lamp" finally delivered an answer that surprised everyone - authentic touch Jinfan! Under the censorship system of the General Administration, it tells a story that is more complete than the original. Lao Hu, S Yang, Fatty, and Da Jinya have all become more iconic, fully satisfying all the imagination of the original in terms of special effects, art, and music. The success of this adaptation has once again proved a truth: a good movie is not faithful to the original. (The original words are: good movies are adapted from second-rate novels, but "Ghost Blowing the Lamp" itself is a very good novel, so the original sentence has been changed).
one. Good story:
What kind of movie will "Long-hunting Art" be made into "Huangpizifen" under the shell of exploration? I think this is the first problem facing Wu Ershan.
The original "Ghost Blowing the Lantern" is very vaguely defined on several literary websites that publish it: some classify it as a thriller, some count it as a supernatural, and some classify it as a fantasy novel. The author Tian Ba Sing (Zhang Muye) thinks it is an adventure novel.
The novel starts from the book "Sixteen-character Yin-Yang Feng Shui Secret Art" that Hu Guohua obtained during the Republic of China. The real story begins when Hu Guohua's grandson, Hu Ba, became an educated youth in his hometown. Hu Bayi didn't take this secret book seriously at first. Later, he accidentally entered the ancient tomb in the northeast and realized that the ancients built tombs according to Feng Shui. Relying on this collection, he and his good friend Fatty gradually entered the tomb robber industry, "Cong Liang" joined the archaeological team, and revealed the secret of the ancient city of the Western Regions.
Director Wu Ershan continued the original author's intention and continued to make the film an "adventure" style.
But here comes the question. There is no large-scale adventure film in China. How to make an adventure film?
Wu Ershan once revealed in an interview that he had done some work (the following two paragraphs are from Wu Ershan’s interview with Time Network):
The first is to watch adventure movies and find the rules of adventure movies, such as the "Indiana Jones" series, "Tomb Raider" series, "National Treasure" series, "The Mummy" series, etc., find their common laws, what are their basic laws as exploration types, type characteristics, how to set character relationships, and what elements are different It may be avoided. After I figured out these things, I wrote a paper and handed it to the screenwriter. What elements should be created according to these rules.
The second is to read the 8 original novels of "Ghost Blowing the Lamp" several times, sort out its most interesting, core, and essential features, and then what moved me. Combining these two aspects, the rich elements provided by these novels can be turned into the core of the story that the movie can show, which can be explained clearly and wonderfully in two hours. The process of this work is hard but also very interesting. It took two years to complete the work while learning and creating, and adjusting at the same time.
After determining the type, it is the story.
Wanda only owns the copyrights of the last four books. How to tell a story that satisfies the original party? --rewrite.
The director Wu Ershan and the screenwriter Zhang Jialu ("A World Without Thieves", "The Wind", "Di Renjie", etc.) were very smart and decided to write a new one, and let the original author Tian Ba Sing as a consultant and screenwriter, ensuring that it is the same as the original. Different and original.
In this way, the censorship of "ghosts" by the General Administration can be avoided in the first place. Therefore, it has become a work "adapted" based on "Ghost Blowing the Lantern". And "Long Searching Secret" is the secret book in the original book, which is also appropriate. Secondly, you can keep the essence of the original work and complete the audio-visual conversion from reading to movies. We all know that in fact, the world tyrant is not very good at writing emotional lines, and the fifth "Huangpizifen" can be said to be the one with the most emotional dramas among the 8 films, which includes Hu Bayi's first love - Ding Si sweet. At the same time, the time span is the largest - from "modern" in the 1980s to recalling "the 1970s", and "New York", "Beijing" to "Inner Mongolia", spanning nearly 20 years and 2 countries and 3 places, which can make the story The background is more grand and full. So it will be fun to watch.
The story of the movie comes from "The Tomb of the Yellow Skin", and the entry angle of the movie is basically the same. In the original book, Hu Bayi found old photos before he went to the United States - I remembered the years of the Cultural Revolution with Fatty on the grassland, and the past "revolutionary". Friendship" Ding Sitian, and a letter from Ding Sitian went deep into the hinterland of Inner Mongolia and started a three-person expedition. In addition to the origin and background, some passages from "Huangpizi Grave" are preserved: black dragon black cloud (gadfly), falling into the hundred-eyed cave, Japanese army biochemical base, zombies... And about the "dream" state of Chapter 43, That is to restore Ding Sitian with a mask, and add the most exciting part of the original work - the concept of "Ghost Blowing the Lamp", that is, the way of touching the tomb of Captain Jin: go down to the tomb, light a candle before the light is turned on, and close the light when it goes out. Hand, regarded as "ghost blowing lamp". The most exciting world of the catacombs is completely separated from the 8 novels and created. However, the adventure setting of the goddess of the Liao Dynasty holding the other side flower in her hand is quite like the "queen of exquisiteness". In the end, Ding Sitian did not die in the white disaster (the snow disaster in the pastoral area) in the original book, and it is because of this that the movie can make Ding Sitian the reason why Hu Bayi and Wang Kaixuan came back from the United States and S Yang appeared on the stage-because the first love is the most difficult memorable.
Therefore, non-original parties don't have to worry about "can't understand", because the story setting of the movie is very complete - while fighting monsters and falling in love.
2. Good actors: choose the right actor, and the soul will be restored.
Hu Bayi is like "Hamlet in the hearts of a thousand people", but the characteristics that the original author recognizes are: Hu Bayi was a company commander of the People's Liberation Army, and both of them need to have the heroic spirit of soldiers. Director Wu Ershan also revealed his casting considerations. As a veteran, he is both heroic and handsome, "I think Kun'er is the most suitable." Chen Kun's first exposed look has a bit of sloppy looks, but it is more in line with the setting of his life in the United States, and it is quite hippie. After going deep into the ancient tomb, he became a real "Hu Bayi", and Chen Kun perfectly released the "domineering" gradually accumulated in "Flying Armor of Dragon Gate" and "Zhong Kui". As a core figure in every action, his experience as a soldier makes him often the most calm one. At the same time, he is also the one who has the most knowledge of acupoint-setting, and he is also the most brainy person. He is the whole The commander of the team and the sun. When he was with his first love, he was frivolous and heroic when he was young, but when he was with S Yang, he felt more responsible and knew how to please girls. Such Hu Bayi really makes people want to marry in minutes.
Wang Kaixuan, as a fat man, even asked Huang Bo to act, and it was also a matter of challenging his acting skills every minute. Although the 5 billion emperor is not fat enough, in front of Chen Kun and other actors, he is compared to a fat man. Fatty Wang, played by Huang Bo, has both arrogant strength, such as fooling the Americans to buy a guy for a fight, but also has a great courage, forgetting his personal life and death for what he promised. Na Dese's bad virtue really looks like a son of a high-ranking official, and most importantly, he only believes in Hu Bayi (please dig deeper into this point in the sequel of the screenwriter). Always, he's a fat man stealing the show.
Shirely Yang, a woman who is sexy, smart and heroic, should be a woman who all men are willing to take risks with her, Hua Luo Shu Qi. Shu Qi doesn't look Western enough, but she has a completely different temperament from Chen Kun and Huang Bo, so she is extraordinarily "foreign" by their looks. Also because they are not married yet in reality, they are pouting and crying... They all seem quite natural and don't show off. And the scene of wearing a tank vest to fight zombies in the underground space is really a moment-to-moment "Chinese version of Laura ("Tomb Raider")".
Ding Sitian, played by Angelababy, is a female educated youth. Obviously, AB doesn't look like an educated youth. "If you don't have enough looks, let's make up your style." Wearing Wenqing clothes and playing the accordion on the prairie, she is quite like the goddess imagined by men in the 1970s, enough to be the girl that Hu Bayi and Fatty Wang miss for 20 years. But my personal favorite is her spooky appearance, which is quite like the "Queen of Essence".
Xia Yu's Da Jinya is the agent of Hu Bayi and Fatty Wang. He does the job of taking gold teeth out of dead people's mouths and putting them on for himself. He is an expert in jade, testing his acting skills, and directing (disclosed in an interview) I felt that this role was particularly difficult to play, so I chose Xia Yu from the Best Actors. Xia Yu lost 6 pounds for the play, so he performed the softness of the big golden tooth very well, and that stubborn face was really like the "old insert full of old habits" in the original work. Anyway, I really want to slap him. He is also the comedian of the film.
Others such as Liu Xiaoqing's made-up characters-Rainbow, as well as Japanese female killers, foreign men and the like, are also fine.
It can be seen that every actor who sees it attaches great importance to this play and has made certain preparations for it. For example, Chen Kun went to learn parkour, AB practiced the accordion, and Xia Yu lost 6 pounds of fat, so it showed a group portrait style. nice. Of course, individual supporting roles will still make people dance, but overall it is more successful.
But in fact, the best acting is the Mongolian little fat!
【three. Good technology: a new benchmark for China's industry]
Throughout the history of film, the appearance of some films is to promote technology. For example, the emergence of montage has made the development of editing technology like a dream, and "Avatar" has made 3D technology develop and grow. Not long ago, "Monster Hunt" can be regarded as filling the technical gap of China's live-action CG... In this sense , "Looking for the Dragon" is a new benchmark for Chinese industry, and its technical significance is even greater than a simple work.
This industrial height comes from various aspects such as clothing, makeup, props, special effects, etc. Together, they create a "Dragon Hunt" that can compete with Hollywood. After watching it, I will really feel silently - "The special effects are great", "It doesn't lose to Hollywood blockbusters", "We think Chinese movies really have more possibilities."
What exactly do Guimenguan and Naihe Bridge look like?
The novel "Ghost Blowing the Lantern" is fascinating with its majestic and ingenious scene settings. As "a journey to the underworld to touch Captain Jin", "Looking for the Dragon" needs to build a complete underworld system and form layers of levels: the gate of the ghost gate. The jagged, weird caves look like skeletons from different angles; the shaman zombies in front of the bridge are eyeing, under the shrouded green light unique to the underworld, the bony cable bridge over the Wangchuan River reveals a fatal crisis... The details of the scene are rich and delicate.
In order to achieve the restoration of this kind of imagination, the first is to use 3D to shoot in the early stage. For this reason, Wu Ershan once stole from Tsui Hark's "Di Renjie" to learn 3D shooting skills. The second is to set the scene in Hongda. According to Wu Ershan in an interview, the largest 5,000-square-meter shed in Asia cannot carry a complete scene, and can only be placed in more than a dozen sheds. Therefore, the 15 sheds in the Huairou base of China Film Group have 13 sheds. One, it was dismantled after shooting, and a new scene was built. It took turns to complete the shooting in half a year. Third, on the level, by drawing on the specific shapes and elements similar to the human body such as Turkish grottoes, Hindu corridors, and domes, and using metaphysical elements such as wind and fire on the organs, while maintaining a cold style in color, the overall appearance finally presents a cryptic appearance. With a little bit of horror in hell.
On the basis of real shooting and physical construction, special effects are used to supplement it.
What do dumplings and zombies look like?
"Japanese zombies combine the feeling of rust, while shaman zombies are based on elements such as wind and fire, as well as ancient creature worship elements such as wings and bones. It feels a little more hilarious." - Art Director Hao Yi. The special effects makeup director Xiao Jin's previous "Painted Skin 2" underwater skin changing once amazed me, and the shaman zombie in his hands combines the western 'scar transfer' technique with the eastern blue ghost element.
Another thing that impressed me was that the guardian cavalry, riding on the horse wearing a mask, seemed to see the terracotta warriors guarding the gate. Therefore, the zongzi finally presented are "very Chinese" and "cool zongzi", which have no sense of Western zombies at all, and at the same time will not scare children.
On the basis of real work and real painting, special effects are used to supplement it.
In the end, special effects were made on the basis of serving Huadao, and the special effects shots accounted for as high as 85%: "Of the 1,800 shots in the entire movie, 1,530 are computer special effects shots.
Personally think that the value of these more than 100 million special effects flowers. Also, there are parts of the film that are designed for IMAX full-frame, not 1:2.4. Therefore, please go to various high-format versions, such as IMAX3D, Dolby Sound Hall, ScreenX Hall (three screens with a 270-degree field of view), which are absolutely worth the price.
Moreover, the relatively complete plot and the performance of the actors can make our attention more focused on the central point of view of the movie screen, make the audio-visual more perfect combination, and expand the imagination space.
(Music is Japanese in the subtitles, and there is not much information on other things, so I won't go into details for the time being.)
Of course, this is the only movie I haven't finished watching the subtitles recently. too long! ——A behind-the-scenes production team of more than 2,400 people.
[Other: Is the box office good? 2.5 billion may be available]
(I don’t want to say much about the box office, just watch the tidbits of this article)
At the beginning, it was the exclusive investment of Wanda, and then Huayi and Enlight joined. Huayi boss Wang Zhonglei wanted to shoot "Ghost Blowing the Lantern" after filming "Di Renjie", but unfortunately the copyright was not in his hands, so he deliberately walked in Changbai Mountain with Ye Ning, president of Wanda Pictures, in order to participate in "Ghost Blowing the Lamp". As for the addition of the boss of the light, Nagata, it was also because he happened to be among them "when walking in Changbai Mountain". The three giants of private film and television companies will promote this film as a key project.
The film itself has a high reputation and is a popular IP. There must be many people like me who have been waiting silently since the beginning of the year. There is no strong film around December 18 that can pose a threat to it, so it can dominate the market for at least a week or so. In addition, the word of mouth will be relatively strong (it's really cool to watch it), and there is not much problem with the technical story performance. So the box office will definitely be very high, I feel that there must be 2 billion, but 2.5 billion should not be difficult to complete.
If "Looking for the Dragon" exceeds 2.5 billion, it will break the record of "Monster Hunt" and become the highest-grossing film in mainland film history. Its success has important implications for the film industry. Since then, our imagination and technology can compete with Hollywood to reach a new height in the film industry.
So you say, the movie must be faithful to the original?
Source of some passages:
Interview with Wu Ershan of Time Network:http://news.mtime.com/2015/05/16/1542646.html
The three major companies of Wanda Huayi Light are teaming up for 2 billion: http://news.mtime.com/2014/05/06/1527238. htmlSouthern
Metropolis Daily: "Resurrection" of "Ghost Blowing the Lantern": http://news.mtime.com/2014/05/14/1527466-2.html#content
------------- ---------
Add 1 piece of information: (from huge's short comment) The
soundtrack uses 4 songs of Hang Gai Band:
"Wine Song" for drinking and racing, "Shige Xi" for motorcycle chasing horses "Day", "Hai Ran Hai Ran" is used by Bayiao Ding to pull the other side of the flower. It is a song about first love, and it is used very well.
View more about Mojin: The Lost Legend reviews
