Cheng Er hasn't come to work yet, and "The Third Man" is enough to keep him on track for several years. The key point is that he is quite calm. It does not mean that after the success of his first feature film, he should strike while the iron is hot. On the contrary, he turned down many offers from film companies. In his words, he just wanted to make his own movie, but he didn't have any inspiration for it for a while.
The preparation team for "Purple Butterfly" is on the second floor of another small building. Li Tang is very familiar with this place. When filming "Shanghai Chronicle", auditions and script readings were all on the second floor of this small building.
Shanghai Film Studio attaches great importance to this cooperation with Lou Ye. Ever since Mr. Xie Jin officially announced his retirement after filming "The Opium War", Shanghai Film Studio has been facing a shortage of directors. The so-called fifth generation directors Peng Xiaolian, Zhang Jianya and others have proven through practice that they are not even close.
The only ones left are Zhang Yimou, Director Chen, and Feng Xiaogang, who came to prominence with his New Year films, but these people are basically "famous and have their wives." Zhang Yimou is deeply connected to the new picture, Director Chen is from China Film Group Corporation, and it goes without saying that Feng Xiaogang has long been Huayi Brothers’ signature character.
Shanghai Film Studio can only pick and choose from sixth-generation directors. At first, they were interested in Chief Jia, and they also developed a series of good cooperation. Unfortunately, Chief Jia's second feature film "Platform" was rejected by the Film Bureau during the preliminary review stage of the script and failed. The cooperation could only abort, and Chief Jia continued to follow his underground film path.
Then the Shanghai Film Studio set its sights on Lou Ye. They hit it off right away, but it was hard work. The script for "Summer Palace" that Lou Ye took out for the first time didn't even need to be submitted for review. It was passed by the factory's internal review. . When it comes to sensitive events, this is a high-voltage red line that cannot be touched.
Fortunately, Lou Ye came up with the script of "Purple Butterfly" again. The anti-Japanese theme, although the factions were blurred, was still positive in the end, and it passed the preliminary review of the script without any danger.
With an investment of more than 30 million, although part of it was invested by France Television 3, it was obvious that Shanghai Film Studio had placed a heavy bet on Lou Ye this time.
"Hey, Miss Zhang, happy new year!"
As soon as Li Tang went up to the second floor, he bumped into Lou Ye's assistant Zhang Rong. This girl was one year younger than Li Tang. She had failed to pass the Nortel Directing Department exam for two years, and later took a further course in the directing department. As a director's assistant, I worked with Lou Ye on the documentary "Digital City" that was ultimately unfinished. Later, he spent several years in the capital without much improvement. This time he was summoned to his banner by Lou Ye again.
"Brother Li, happy New Year!"
Seeing that there was no one in the corridor, Li Tang took out a small, exquisite blue box from his bag and handed it over.
"Wow, Lancôme!"
No matter how rough life is for a girl, she can't resist the temptation of perfume.
"I'm borrowing flowers to offer to Buddha, you know!" Li Tang winked at her and smiled.
This bottle of perfume was prepared by my ex-girlfriend. It's not very valuable. It's just a gadget worth a few hundred yuan, so it's not obtrusive. Always express your gratitude when asking for help. Even if it fails, you can still create a good relationship.
Zhang Rong understood, happily put the perfume into his pocket, smiled and said: "Don't worry, I have already given my resume to the director, and the director hasn't said anything yet."
"Okay, thank you! Oh, is the director here?"
"Yes, Sister Nai'an and Sister Ma are both here."
Lou Ye got married last year, and his wife is the sister Ma mentioned in Zhang Rong's words. The two are about the same age. They are brothers from Beijing University. They graduated from the Directing Department of Beiguang University, which is now the Communication University. Later, they studied abroad to study film directing at the University of Berlin in Germany. After returning to China, they made several documentaries.
Lou Ye's previous "Summer Palace" book was originally conceived by her. They can be considered like-minded.
"Brother Ye, Sister An, sister-in-law, happy New Year!"
Li Tang opened the door of the conference room. The air conditioner was on and it was very warm. The three of them were sitting around a solid wood conference table, with the script open and a few scattered sketches of different scenes. At first glance, it was Lou Ye's handiwork.
Li Tang has always admired these people who can draw, because they can always make the text in the script vivid and vivid with pictures, so that people can understand it at a glance. It’s not that you clearly have a good picture in your mind, but you still have to spend a long time explaining it to others.
"Happy New Year!"
As usual, Lou Ye cherished his words like gold and nodded towards him with a warm smile.
"Li Tang is here, happy New Year!"
Sister Ma is very enthusiastic. She knows that the two families are family friends and have different relationships. Moreover, there was no big fuss when she married Lou Ye. It was just a gathering of relatives and friends. Her parents-in-law even specially invited Li Tang's father, Li Guoqing.
She got up and started making tea for Li Tang.
Nai'an looked at him with a smile as usual and said: "How are you doing, boss? I heard that you are now big!"
"No, I just rented more because the houses in 798 were cheaper. If I can't survive in the future, I can still be a second landlord."
"Aren't you afraid of demolition in the future?"
"Don't be afraid, I don't have much money anyway. Besides, even if there is some demolition, there will be some compensation. I can't bear the loss." Li Tang said with a smile.
At the same time, he winked at Nai'an to indicate how the situation was?
Nai'an gave him a helpless look, and it was obvious that he was still undecided about choosing Lou Ye as the male lead.
Lou Ye was lowering his head and dotting on the paper, but he came over with a tea cup. Sister Ma saw the dispute between the two of them. She didn't point it out, but just smiled: "Li Tang, drink tea!"
"Oh, thank you sister-in-law!"
Li Tang quickly stood up and picked it up.
Speaking of which, he was not familiar with this Sister Ma. He had only met her briefly when he went upstairs to his uncle's house to deliver New Year's goods a few years ago. He had a square face, high cheekbones, and thin lips. At first glance, this person seemed quite powerful. With a bit of meanness. But he is very warm and polite in his dealings with others. He speaks in a Beijing style and speaks very nicely.
Without further ado, Li Tang took out a stack of manuscript paper from his bag and handed it over, saying, "Brother Ye, this is a biography I wrote. Take a look at it first. Does it suit you?"
Text is actually the most appropriate way to deal with Lou Ye, otherwise it would be awkward if he didn't respond at all except keeping a warm smile after you talked for a long time.
The manuscript paper is quite thick, with more than a dozen sheets, which totals at least tens of thousands of words. When he saw the script and decided to fight for the role of Situ, he had already begun to figure out the character. He also wrote a lot of thoughts and experiences intermittently. This time, he took advantage of the Spring Festival break and spent four or five days to complete the complete character. Xiaozhuan sorted it out, and it was still handwritten, although his handwriting was still not on the table.
Lou Ye read it very carefully, reading more than 10,000 words for about 20 minutes.
"Why do you emphasize that Situ attended a private school when he was a child?"
"This is determined by the background of the times and family environment, and of course also combined with what the character Situ later experienced..."
Li Tang talked eloquently.
The reason is simple. His understanding of the character Situ is that he comes from a landlord family around Shanghai, and he has a somewhat scholarly family background. He took his original grandfather as a reference for this, because it was the tradition that only those from a scholarly family could study again.
Situ was obviously better than his grandfather. Later, he went to a new-style middle school, and he was probably admitted to a university in Shanghai. He could speak English, so that he could find a decent job in a foreign company and be able to wear a suit and tie.
Being from a landowner family at least shows that the family is in a good situation. After all, studying requires money. More importantly, it is consistent with the fact that the characters in the script can afford to live in a high-end apartment with a bathroom and a flush toilet.
At the same time, referring to the background of the times, Situ was probably born around 1910. At the age of entering school, it was only a few years after the founding of the Republic of China. There were very few new-style primary schools, and most of them were private schools. The reason why I emphasize private school is because Situ did not choose to be a traitor but resolutely resisted in various subsequent incidents. Although he had a lot of helplessness, what is more important is that he still has the feelings of family and country in his heart, and has loyalty, justice, etiquette, wisdom and trust. These are the traditions of Confucian private school education.
Regarding Situ's melancholy character in the plot, he was certainly shocked when his beloved girlfriend died in front of him. In addition, Li Tang also designed the character Situ, who lost his mother when he was young, and his father later died.
Children who grow up in this kind of background are generally sensitive and choose to study hard in order to get rid of their original family. At that time, going to a new-style middle school was no different than being admitted to a scholar; going to a university was similar to being admitted to the Juren Examination.
Most children who live a comfortable life rarely endure such hardships. After all, the imperial examination system has long since disappeared, and studying is no longer the only way to become an official. The original grandfather was in this situation. He was already doing well after graduating from middle school, but in the end he had no choice but to inherit the family business and continue to be a landlord.
Those who can make their way in Shanghai and get a decent job in a foreign trade company are those who are promising.
It is precisely because he lost his biological mother at a young age and was not close to his stepmother that he yearns for love. He often loves the people he loves more deeply and knows how to cherish them more.
This can also explain why his girlfriend's murder was such a huge blow to him, and he would even risk everything for revenge.
This is what character biographies are like. What is shown in the script may be a small section of the character's life. The character's personality, including his love and life in the plot, his psychological changes when encountering things, and the choices he makes, are all closely related to the environment in which he grew up, the education he received, etc. .
Only by fully exploring the character's growth process can the character be presented vividly, rather than just following the script after reading the script.
Lou Ye was watching very seriously just now, and now he was listening very seriously. As a director, what he values is not the so-called acting skills. There are a lot of actors with acting skills. What he values more is the actors' understanding of the characters.
After all, "Purple Butterfly" is not the previous "Suzhou River". He can shoot it as he wants without giving the actors a script in advance. A project with such a large investment must have a complete script and be shot according to the normal process.
Li Tang was finally the first to get the most out of the situation. Before others saw the script, he had already understood the characters thoroughly.
It's hard to see the change in Lou Ye's expression on his face. Only the occasional flash of light in his eyes can reveal his surprise at the brilliance of Li Tang's lengthy character analysis.
As soon as Li Tang finished speaking, Sister Ma took the lead in clapping her hands and said in surprise: "Li Tang, your analysis is so spot on. You showed a vivid Situ. I can feel the picture when I hear it."
Although "Purple Butterfly" is Lou Ye's early screenwriting work, since she joined the creative team, she and Lou Ye have repeatedly revised the script. She has a deep understanding of the script and resonates particularly well with it.
Although Nai'an clapped along with Sister Ma, she was already accustomed to Li Tang's behavior. After all, as Li Tang's former manager, she watched him reach his current position step by step, and she was even full of pride.
While clapping her hands, she looked at Lou Ye provocatively. Her meaning was very obvious, as if she was saying: I have chosen the right person, right?
Lou Ye smiled shyly, which seemed to be a sign of recognition.
Li Tang, who said his mouth was dry, drank the warm tea in small sips, not to mention that the tea was good.
He has full confidence in this biography, including the understanding of the characters just explained. On the one hand, he had a good understanding of Situ's era, including his background. In his memory, when he was a child, Lao Li often told him stories about the grandfather he had never met.
For Lao Li, it can be regarded as a kind of remembrance. After all, his ancestors were rich, but he was born at the wrong time and never enjoyed it. He was even implicated in it. He has suffered a lot since he was sensible. Once the kid's hat is on, he will last for more than ten years.
It is precisely from this kind of memory that he can make his setting of Situ's growth experience and character development more reasonable and convincing.
In fact, when Lou Ye wrote this script, he probably didn't think too much about it at first. He just wanted to write about such a character. But if you study carefully, you will find that his description of this character actually originated from Lou Ye himself. understanding of that era. Because from Uncle Lou's point of view, the Lou family didn't come from a good background. After all, in those days, only children from wealthy families could go to college and have the conditions to like luxurious art.
"How do you understand the character Yi Ling?" Lou Ye asked again.
Yi Ling is the second female lead in the script and the girlfriend of the male lead Situ.
Li Tang had recommended his ex-girlfriend to Lou Ye through Zhang Rong before. When Lou Ye asked, his eyes suddenly lit up and he said hurriedly: "I think Yi Ling is a local girl in Shanghai, with a good family background. She is not rich, but above average. She probably lives in a Shikumen house in a rental area, a single-family house. She is very smart, has a good memory, and her education level should be a middle school graduate or a college graduate. She went to a missionary school and knows some simple communication in English or French. She has an older brother or a close classmate. Her relatives may be from the same school as Situ. She met Situ when she attended their class reunion, and some things may have happened in the process. A small episode brought the two young people together..."
The reason why he was able to come up with these analyzes came entirely from the fact that Yi Ling's occupation in the script was that of an operator in a telephone company.
Because at that time, telephone companies were definitely considered high-tech companies, and such companies in Shanghai were often monopolized by foreigners. There was no doubt about the company's address, both in the French Concession and the Public Concession. As a manual operator, you must know some foreign languages. Intelligence and good memory are the qualities that a manual operator must possess.
Moreover, in that era when women rarely had suitable jobs, telephone company operators were definitely considered to have a golden collar, and were more popular than nurses who delivered medicines and injections. This also determined the family environment of Yi Ling.
Lou Ye nodded frequently this time, and after hearing this, he even joked with Li Tang: "That's why you recommend who...oh, Li Binbin to play the role of Yi Ling?"
"That's right! If I were to play Situ, of course I would like her to play the role of Yi Ling." Li Tang quickly followed.
The role of Yi Ling should be said to be the most emotionally invested character opposite the male lead Situ. Everything Situ did after that was based on his feelings for Yi Ling.
After hearing his unabashed words, Lou Ye pondered for a moment and then said: "Then if it is convenient, you can bring her over to see her."
"Convenient, convenient!"
(End of chapter)
