This year, the box office of the entire National Day holiday was 1.4 billion yuan, and ",000 Miles Homecoming " accounted for 1 billion yuan. Neither the actor nor the director had ever thought that this film would become a dark horse in the National Day holiday.
At first, director Rao Xiaozhi was still struggling with " crowds ", and it was also called " Translator " at that time, which was the subject that Guo Fan , the director of " Wandering Earth " was prepared to shoot.
At that time, Guo Fan had already made full preparations, but when it was time to start shooting, he felt that he was not suitable.
specifically went to find Rao Xiaozhi.
"I think it's quite appropriate for you to shoot this movie."
With Guo Fan's introduction, Rao Xiaozhi specially interviewed some diplomats who had experienced the front line, and was immediately moved when reading the relevant reportage.
Rao Xiaozhi began to wonder how these diplomats who had no military power brought their compatriots home, which led to the later "The Road to Return".
. When he was sorting out the information, Guo Fan was busy filming. Many interviews were completed by the director of " Embroidered Chundao ".
"I didn't expect that he joined this project earlier than I did."
In order to make the "Going Back", Rao Xiaozhi specially found Lei Zhigang, whom he had worked with before, and changed it until it started filming in April this year.
At that time, he never thought that 6 months later, this story would become a dark horse for the National Day holiday, and would make Rao Xiaozhi's name popular, and even push his directorial career to a new level.
Today, when Chinese movies are becoming increasingly difficult to achieve, audiences often miss the era when the fifth generation of directors shines. Faced with the cold winter that will pass by in unknown times, people can't help but wonder, will Rao Xiaozhi be spring?
In 1977, the college entrance examination system was restored, and a large number of talents flocked to Beijing Film Academy . Many of them brought the second spring to the Chinese film industry and left their shining names on film and television.
The first Beijing Film Studio son of the director of the factory Tian Zhuangzhuang is one of them.
When he directed the movie "September", he invited him to help with it. Li Shaohong and Zhang Jianya , and Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou , who were the same as him, were busy looking for an internship in the studio.
Because of its own strong background, Tian Zhuangzhuang's starting point is higher than anyone else. Unfortunately, no one can understand the movie he carefully prepared. Later, he filmed "Hunting Ground Zhasa", which made the leader so angry.
"Who do you want to watch this movie for? Who can understand?"
Faced with these people's confusion, Tian Zhuangzhuang was too lazy to explain, and only said that his works were filmed by audiences of the next century.
Unexpectedly, because the movie "Blue Kite" touched on sensitive topics, it directly brought him a 10-year "banned filming" punishment.
Compared to Tian Zhuangzhuang's incomprehension, Chen Kaige's " Loess " shocked the world as soon as he appeared, and directly kicked off the prelude to the Chinese film industry reaching its peak.
Even Zhang Yimou, who was assigned to Guangxi Film Factory, was vigorously supported by Wu Tianming because he started filming "One and Eight".
When this group of people shines in the history of Chinese films, Rao Xiaozhi was still a child who was learning to speak.
In 1986, Zhang Yimou accidentally read " Red Sorghum " by Mo Yan , and he jumped up excitedly. He felt that this was what he wanted.
On the same day, Zhang Yimou climbed onto the train to Beijing to find Mo Yan and obtained the adaptation rights of Red Sorghum.
In order to get closer to the state in the original work, he went directly to Gaomi , stayed with the villagers every day, and planted 100 acres of sorghum.
The next year he won the Berlin movie Golden Bear Award with this "Red Sorghum".
Later, Wu Tianming found the screenwriter Luwei . Several people thought about it day and night in the film factory, which led to Chen Kaige's famous "Farewell My Concubine" and Zhang Yimou's shocking " Living ".
and Feng Xiaogang neither has the background of Tian Zhuangzhuang, nor is he the orthodox professional path he took like Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou.
He is the child who starts from the screenwriter step by step with Zheng Xiaolong .
opened the precedent for New Year's films with a film " Party A and Party B ", and established the status of commercial directors with " See you " and
Immediately afterwards, he became the third largest director in China with films such as " Endless " and " Big Names ".
At that time, the movie world was a sword light and sword shadow, with glory and awards everywhere.
This group of fifth-generation directors not only won the international award for the first time in China's films, but also promoted the industrialization of Chinese films, and also allowed Rao Xiaozhi and other "new waves" to take a lot of benefits.
The talents of these great directors are amazing, but commercial films starting from the millennium have gradually swept the market.
In 2002, Tian Zhuangzhuang finally ended the 10-year-long "ban on filming" punishment and went to Beijing Film Academy to become a graduate supervisor. He became an "old actor" through dramas such as "Love in Love" and "Jasmine Blossoms".
He couldn't help but sigh when he returned to the movie world again.
"There are no children in this era, and everyone is too utilitarian." When Tian Zhuangzhuang said this, Zhang Yimou used a movie " Hero " to take away 1.4 billion yuan in box office, and it also completely ushered in the era of "blockbusters" with exquisite production, grand narrative and weak core.
But these "blockbusters" are the ones that Wu Tianming looked most at. For this matter, the two broke up.
At that time, Zhang Yimou's " Ambush " and " All the City of Golden Armor " were sold out every time.
Rao Xiaozhi has also begun to shine in the drama industry.
Tian Zhuangzhuang once said: "I would rather not shoot than shoot indiscriminately. You have to work for what you love."
This is really perfect for Feng Xiaogang in his early years. After all, he spent more than ten years not only to say it for the movie "1942", but also spent 200 million yuan in it, and he was determined to do a big fight.
It’s a pity that the movie Feng Xiaogang wanted to make the most in his life has become the most difficult to erase in his directorial career.
blockbusters with gorgeous appearance have the upper hand, so that Wu Tianming's carefully crafted " Hundred Birds to the Phoenix " almost no one cares about it. Facing the pitiful film scheduling industry insiders have extended a helping hand, which has made it barely enter the public's vision.
But that kind of cute movie will not always stop at the forefront. "Return" and " Great Wall ", which were not accepted by the audience in the past few years, are the best proof.
Faced with the increasing number of junk movies on the market, Feng Xiaogang couldn't help but speak.
"There are so many junk movies in China because there are too many junk viewers."
He must have been looking forward to it in his heart, but looking at today's Chinese movies, these once shining superstars felt powerless.
They began to miss the past youth, but the stories of that era were too far away, and the so-called educated youth and the art troupe could no longer resonate with the audience.
The directors of the era did not see a new path, and the young audience did not want to look back, and the two groups of people were trapped in a game.
In the end, we can only watch these superstars fall one by one. Although they once shine, they are still lonely now.
Just like no matter how Feng Xiaogang scolds, he still has to take the starring actor to the live broadcast room to sell for the movie " Only Yun Knows ".
Some winters, it comes as soon as it says it comes.
This group of dazzling fifth-generation directors was once called the second spring of Chinese films.
When they were shining, Rao Xiaozhi, a director known as the new generation of power, was just a baby.
Although Rao Xiaozhi's living conditions are better than those of the big guys back then, their experience is definitely not smooth. Rao Xiaozhi's talent is so popular that he was recommended to Central Drama after graduating from high school.
At the beginning, Rao Xiaozhi did not make any money by filming, but instead opened a special home-cooked restaurant that he opened was very popular.
Just when he was about to do something big, SARS came. He wanted to survive the epidemic and create new glory. Who would have thought that the business would never get better again.
It was still a classmate who told him that Meng Jinghui director was selecting actors and urged him to go quickly.
At that time, Rao Xiaozhi had no career plan at all. He thought about how to support himself, what the future is, what the stunning success is, it is not as important as being able to have a meal.
So he ran to Meng Jinghui with great enthusiasm to choose, and even the role of a supporting role was very happy.
Whenever he eats full, he feels that he still prefers to tell stories.
"I just hope to tell stories. This impulse is still there."
Relying on this idea, Rao Xiaozhi was mixed in a small theater, climbing from an extra to a role actor, and then started his directorial career bit by bit.
At that time, Rao Xiaozhi didn't even know where tomorrow's meal would be, let alone planning his career. He didn't even have the most basic goal and had no intention of designing his works.
html On his birthday when he was 327 years old, Rao Xiaozhi was busy every day for rent. Finally, he had no choice but to go to borrow money from his family.
The moment he opened his mouth, he couldn't help but cry directly in front of his parents.
The next year he and Li Yapeng founded the Spring Drama Studio, slowly gaining a foothold in the drama theater, from " to carry love to the end " to creating a gentleman drama full of absurdity and black humor "Hello, robbery! 》, Rao Xiaozhi slowly found his own rhythm.
In 2016, his first movie "Hello, Madman! Although it is a small production with a box office of only more than 10 million, it has brought great confidence to his film director career.
He wants to tell a story and is becoming more and more mature in this process.
"Movies are my dream." After the first battle of
won, Rao Xiaozhi immediately started preparing for the next work. He first found Chapter Yu and Ren Suxi who had worked in the stage play, and then found his senior brother Chen Jianbin .
After reading the script, a few people joined the group without any hesitation. These good actors gathered together and were destined to have a "big thing".
During the promotional period, Rao Xiaozhi once said that he was no different from the "Ma Xianyong" in the film.
"We have to estimate our face and strive to schedule films. At some moments, we will indeed look down on ourselves, but we have to fight to the death for those things."
Fortunately, the result did not disappoint everyone.
In 2018, this movie " Unknown " with a cost of only 30 million actually tied with the blockbusters of Hollywood "Venom" and "Fantastic Beasts 2".
won more than ten film awards with a broken-out momentum, achieving a real gain of fame and fortune. Although the movie "The Crowd" after
has Andy Lau, , Xiao Yang, and others in charge, the screening at the beginning was also very low.
Rao Xiaozhi's works are always difficult to attract everyone's attention at first sight, and Huihui always counterattacks from low positions.
This curse-like existence was finally broken by "The Road to Return" this year.
Rao Xiaozhi still started by portraying "ordinary people" and pulled down the diplomats in "myths".
"They will also be fragile or afraid, which is a normal reaction for people."
There are many group scenes in the whole movie, and many "compatriots" are actors brought by Rao Xiaozhi from the stage play. When the filming of
started, he specifically emphasized that these returning compatriots must have their own identities, job types, and stories. Let them set them themselves but plan them.
It’s a pity that those little characters’ stories did not appear in front of the public because of the length of the movie, but from these small details, we see the necessary conditions for shooting a good movie.
In addition to the ability to tell good stories, people must also return to the "people" themselves and experience the joys, sorrows and changes in mentality that the people in the play should have, rather than calling them generalized "mass".
Only when the director is concerned about the story can the movies really enter the hearts of the audience. All the movies that have been named as masterpieces are like this.
No one knows whether Rao Xiaozhi will be the spring of the fifth generation director, but he must represent the future to some extent.
-END-
[Text |buckwheat tea ]
[Editor | Yu Fei Nian]
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