Special feature of 1905 film network"People’s life is actually short, and sometimes it’s the same as sleeping: when your eyes are closed and opened, a day passes; As soon as you close your eyes and don’t open them, this life will pass. "
This quite classic line comes from the sketch "Not Bad Money" of CCTV Spring Festival Gala in 2009. Just a few minutes’ performance on the stage made hundreds of millions of TV viewers remember Xiao Shen Yang, even his "English name" Xiao Shen Yang, on the night of that year.
After that, in addition to sketch creation, Xiao Shenyang began to participate in the filming of big-screen works as a film actor, and he participated in the works directed by Zhang Yimou, Wong Kar-wai and the regular series of Spring Festival stalls every year. In the upcoming comedy, he finally completed a "cross-border" again and became a film director.
The day before the interview, Xiao Shenyang just finished a road show in more than 20 cities. Although it is hard to hide his fatigue, it still makes him feel very rewarding to be in close contact with the audience in a new identity: "Everyone started to know me through (the stage) in 2009, and this roadshow made (everyone) know more about me."
The explosion of red nine years ago not only made little Shenyang gain attention and opportunities, but also brought prejudice, doubt and even abuse. "Maybe it’s mainly because of my background, and I don’t have a deep culture. People may look down on me when farmers come to be directors." Today, during the publicity of the film debut "The Fierce Worm Crossing the River", Xiao Shenyang still feels helpless about some external comments and opinions.
"Everyone has made this topic too serious. For me, it is actually to learn a trade to enrich myself. When an actor learns to be a director, it will help him see things that he could not see when he was an actor before. " Xiao Shenyang admits that his original intention of filming "The Fierce Worm Crossing the River" is actually very simple. "Everyone (now) says this matter is particularly serious, saying that the threshold (as a director) is low, and when a bad film is filmed, and so on. I think nothing is wrong. If I want to do one thing well, no one can stop me from studying. "
"If you have time to swear, you can also study hard by yourself." Xiao Shenyang gave such a "counterattack" gently.
"Being a director is not that serious. I hope the new director will have less negative energy."
During the interview, Xiao Shenyang mentioned this time point in 2009 many times. There is no doubt that the performance on the stage of the Spring Festival Evening is both a turning point and a new "beginning" for his career.
"So what do you want to share about yourself in 2009?"
"Maybe everyone knew me through that night, and it was hard for everyone to see my previous years." Xiao Shenyang said.
In 1995, at the age of 14, Xiao Shenyang began to study duet in the Art Troupe. From Tieling to Jilin and then to Shenyang, in those days, he performed in the theater every day. "It is not easy for people of all kinds to support their families in order to earn two dollars (work here) every day." In 2006, he gradually began to get the opportunity to appear in TV programs, and finally boarded the stage of the 2009 Spring Festival Gala.
The "Tieling Waiter" wearing a Scottish plaid skirt became an instant hit. Little Shenyang gained more attention and opportunities, and began to participate in the big screen works as a film and television actor. In that year, Xiao Shenyang filmed Zhang Yimou’s work "Surprise with Three Guns", and in 2013, he made a guest appearance in Wong Kar-wai’s martial arts film "The Master", and became a member of the The Journey to the West series, a frequent visitor in the Spring Festival.
This time as a cross-border director, Xiao Shenyang’s initial idea was actually very simple. "I don’t really have a desire (to be a director), that is, friends chat together and say that they want to do such a thing. Actually, I am against it, because I care about what people think of me. Many people may know a little about me and don’t know what I am like behind in 2009, so I am afraid that some people will talk about it. "
After figuring it out, Xiao Shenyang wanted to do it to the end: "It seems difficult, but it’s nothing. Everyone has taken this topic too seriously. (For me) it’s just learning a trade to enrich myself, nothing special. When an actor learns to be a director, it will help him see things that he could not see when he was an actor before. "
After the exposure of the project "Fierce Insects Crossing the River", while gaining support, Little Shenyang was once again attacked by netizens and fans — — Small Shenyang as a director? Some people’s first reaction is "the director’s threshold is too low" and "the film will definitely be ruined again" … … "It may be mainly because of my background and lack of deep culture. People may look down on me when farmers come to be directors, so there will be such a voice."
Faced with these "messy" remarks, Xiao Shenyang chose to use self-deprecating methods to resolve them. "In fact, I have more doubts about myself than anyone else," he replied in a preview special full of questioning barrage. "I just told these people. China movies are very good now, and we are making progress, and there is too much room for improvement. I want to call on these people to support China movies, support new directors like me, give some strength, and don’t always give some negative energy. "
"Making a movie depends on the flow of actors, and it will not be affected by box office and doubts."
Although it is the first time to direct a film, Xiao Shenyang’s "Fierce Worm Crossing the River" invited a group of familiar faces to join. He admitted that he was very lucky. Many actors and seniors agreed to take part in the show just in time. For example, Jin Shijie, who was recuperating in Taiwan Province at that time, said, "Mr. Jin is over 70, and it will take four or five hours to shoot a film on the spot, so people just sit there silently without saying’ Shoot me quickly’. I was embarrassed to say hello to the teacher and said,’ Mr. Jin will have to wait for a while’, and the teacher said,’ It’s okay, you shoot yours, don’t worry about me’. They are very supportive of me and have never given me any pressure. "
It is naturally best for the new director’s works to be blessed by some traffic stars with hot topics. However, Xiao Shenyang admits that there is nothing in his movie: "I think it is useless to invite. If the script really needs it, won’t it be counterproductive if there is no such character in the script?"
"I like the words of director Jason Wu very much. It’s not expensive to use the right one." Xiao Shenyang said, "It’s not necessarily a good film to pile up a movie with stars. Besides, it’s out of date. Now the audience is very smart. No one watches the stars mainly because they read stories."
So what story does Xiao Shenyang’s "The Fierce Worm Crossing the River" tell? According to him, his "nobody at the bottom of Northeast China" will go to Taiwan Province, a treasure island, and experience a series of embarrassing events there. Whether the sparks between the two contrasting dialects "Dongbei Dialect" and "Taiwan Dialect" are wonderful or not, Xiao Shenyang is also looking forward to the feedback from the audience.
The aesthetic differences between the North and the South have always made many comedians feel afraid in their creation, but Shenyang, which has rich performance experience, is not nervous about this: "We used to tour (in the South) and it was hard to get a ticket. At the scene, we directly responded to the burden audience, so there was not much worry. This is especially true for movies. It is a story. If the story develops, it will naturally make you laugh. " At the same time, in order to avoid the "sketch fragment wind" of comedians making movies, Xiao Shenyang also specially invited the producer who had been in charge of and waited for films to check for himself. "Don’t worry, the film is full!"
On June 15th, "Crossing the River" will land in the cinema. The summer file is approaching, and the competition in the mainland film market is becoming more and more fierce. There is a Hollywood giant painting with the debut of Xiao Shenyang. This is undoubtedly a great pressure for a new director. However, Xiao Shenyang firmly stated that no matter how the film finally performed, it would not affect his future direction.
"This is my first work, and it still has room for growth. I will be very concerned about everyone’s comments. I am very, very receptive to the opinions or criticisms given to me by the audience after watching the film, and even I need to swear. There are many shortcomings in the first work. "Xiao Shenyang sincerely expressed his willingness to listen to the opinions of the audience and continue to work hard and make progress. "So I don’t care whether the box office is good or not. I finished it with my heart, that is, I gave it to the audience to judge. Whether the box office is good or not, I have just begun."
Xiao Shenyang revealed that he actually likes Hollywood’s "heavy industry" movies very much. For example, the one released before is one of his favorites. However, as for his future direction, he revealed that "let everyone laugh first": "We comedians are really the happiest thing to see the audience’s laughter at that moment on stage. So I’d better shoot some movies that will make everyone happy first. If everyone is tired of watching it, I will shoot another one. "