This creator really understands young people.
As of press time, the youth urban emotional drama "Lighting Me, Warm You" adapted from the novel "Lighter and Princess Dress" by Jinjiang author Twentine is still popular on Douban. The audience exclaimed: "The screenwriter and director really understand young people." For creators, receiving real feedback from the audience is also the process of their review of the creation, and they are worthy of being cherished.
Screenwriter Zhou Yong has written many classic works, such as "The Era of Naked Marriage", "The Spring Breeze is Not As Good as You", "I Don't Have Time to Say I Love You", etc., and have been teaching in colleges and universities for many years. He admitted that perhaps it was this profession that gave him unique advantages that allowed him to exist as an observer in the lives of young people and pay attention to their emotional changes. He said: "I hope I understand them, and I am also trying my best to understand and empathize with them ."
. For producer Luo Yuanyuan, balancing market demand while protecting the author's expression as much as possible is her proposition. She said she could never predict what the audience would like in two years, so it was enough to do what she could do now.
After all, they all carry some sincerity that belongs to the teenagers. Perhaps it is these that have made "Light Me, Warm You" have the momentum of dark horses. The following is a conversation between " Harper's Bazaar " and the two.
BAZAAR dialogue "Ignite me, warm you"
Screenwriter Zhou Yong & producer Luo Yuanyuan
Q: Let's talk about why you two participated in this project?
Screenwriter Zhou Yong:
When the editor first gave me the novel, I didn't really want to write a youth love drama at that stage, but after I actually read the novel, my thoughts changed. There are two reasons:
The first point is that I think the two protagonists are very unique, and they all have their own personalities and character levels. Li Xun, like his name, has sharp edges, but the edges are wrapped in softness. For example, he is about Zhu Yun, friends, and relatives. This softness may not be easily touched, but it really exists; I don’t just want to write Zhu Yun as a beautiful good girl, because she actually has stubbornness, very twisted and rebellious parts, and has almost stubborn persistence in many things. These are all touching me and I hope to express it to the audience.
The second point is the growth of the two protagonists. Their two-way love and youth transformation and growth across campus and workplaces. I think this is the advantage of the original text.
Producer Luo Yuanyuan:
I came into contact with this project in mid-2020. The reality was that the copyright of this novel was about to expire. Actually, at the beginning, Teacher Zhou and I felt similar. I felt that the name "Lighter and Princess Dress" was very nonsensical, and I was a second-rate person and didn't know what story it would tell. But when I actually read it, I find it very different. It was completed in 2017, but I still feel that many of the temperaments in the text are unique in the market and have a strong author label.
So in text processing, we retained a lot of the descriptive content in the original work and turned it into Zhu Yun's OS in the play. For example, when I first arrived at Feiyang Network, I heard Dong Siyang talk about "corporate culture", Zhu YunOS: "This company also has corporate culture." It's very cute. These are the ways we incorporate some of the so-called "scratch materials" in the novel to enhance some fun and interactiveness.
Another thing is that, as a woman or a producer, I still have a lot of feelings about some of the things in the original work, such as Zhu Yun’s view of love, boldly courting in love, and I like this kind of straight ball courage.
Q: As creators, what is the spiritual core you want to include?
Screenwriter Zhou Yong:
I have adapted many novels, and as a second-time creator, you must see what exactly appears in the work. What we need to keep, improve and adjust. I also searched the famous quotes compiled by book fans on the Internet because I knew these were the reasons why they were moved. For example, during the New Year, Li Xun said "Happy New Year" when he went to Zhu Yun, which is very plain but very touching. I always believe that lines are not declarations made to play characters, or tools to draw characters and poss, but should be discourses that conform to the character's personality and naturally express in specific drama scenes.
I think everyone will experience a lot of things in their life, some things will change, some will lose, and even hurt themselves in the future. But no matter at any stage, what everyone will miss or recall is always beautiful. As a youth film, I hope to express dreams, love and friendship, which are enough to touch people.
Although many young people are afraid of giving and failing in their relationship, what I want to express through this work is that no matter what the result is, the efforts and persistence in the process, this two-way pursuit and protection is enough to make people stay and worth savoring in the future.
Producer Luo Yuanyuan:
I have seen many viewers say "In love, you still have to look at other people's talks". I think from the identity of the creator, we have not whitewashed or erased reality, avoiding suffering or reality. We have truly presented a process, presenting some warm things, hoping to bring you some beauty that may not be able to be done in real life, but can be entrusted to the protagonist.
One interesting thing is that when we were doing the late stage, because there were many young people in the later stages, I found that many people would stop quickly when they saw episodes 22 and 23, and then go through the materials we posted, and turn to see if they were together at the end. It seems that everyone needs such a reassurance to convince themselves to accept the process of abuse.
Q: What kind of scene makes the two feel that Chen Feiyu and Zhang Jingyi really became Li Xun and Zhu Yun?
Screenwriter Zhou Yong:
two starring actors I came into contact with at different stages. Chen Feiyu was when I was finished and I left the machine for a while. I remember that I was chatting with Yuanyuan and Dunqi at Feiyu's company, and he walked in. There is a kind of cleanness in his eyes, handsomeness is also clean, and he is very casual confidence and pride. This kind of trait is not something that everyone has, not arrogance, but pride and confidence from the heart. I think he is the one who can say "I am Li Xun, the first in the college entrance examination this year."
Jingyi I have read her works. I think she has a stubbornness, including when chatting with her, her concentration and the stubbornness behind her concentration. I think it is very suitable for Zhu Yun.
Producer Luo Yuanyuan:
From my perspective, it must be the actor himself. The difficulty of this work is that the story is divided into two stages, and it is difficult to use the same actor.If we look for actors who are too mature, it may weaken the sense of teenageness. If we choose those who are too young, it will be weaker in the later stages of the characters. But Feiyu and Jingyi did it and exceeded expectations.
As Teacher Zhou said, Feiyu has a sense of pride. I think this thing cannot be performed. His rebelliousness is very natural, and these are all conditions for the actor himself. Li Xun in the play may be a little different from that in the book, that is, he is warmer than Li Xun in the book.
Zhang Jingyi is an actor with a very personality. She has a very personal personality, so on the one hand, she is not so easy to be persuaded. If it is something she really feels, she can show an impact. For example, the stubbornness that Zhu Yun had in the scene of a quarrel with her parents.
Q: During the broadcast process, are there any barrage or comments that impressed you about the characters?
Screenwriter Zhou Yong:
One day I saw a hot search, saying that I hope episode 19 is the finale. I clicked on the comments and talked about the dispersal of the base, a group of people walking by the river, talking about dreams and the future, these scenes reminded them of their memories and melancholy about youth. I think as a screenwriter, I am most satisfied when I see such expressions, because this is what we want and work hard to do, and everyone really feels it.
Producer Luo Yuanyuan:
I think it depends on my opinion, but I will also wonder if we underestimate the audience's ability to endure abuse, maybe it can be more ruthless? , and many viewers even came up with solutions for us in the barrage. For example, we photographed Li Xun recalling his mother watching the sun. Many people said in the barrage that this is why he later dyed his hair golden because it was the color of the sun.
Q: Can you talk about the invitation from teacher Pu Shu ?
Screenwriter Zhou Yong:
What I personally want to say is that it is impossible for this drama to be presented without such a good production team. Because in addition to the collision and everyone's joint completion, the production team's efforts are in it, such as the part of saying goodbye to youth after the breakup at the base that I just mentioned. In the process of writing the script, we actually did not think very well what song it should be, but Yuan Yuan proposed to use Pu Shu's "Those Flowers" to brighten my eyes.
In fact, there are not many opportunities to present the text truthfully. The final result of our work even added points to the play. This is rare. I think it is inseparable from the efforts of everyone in the team. For example, I really didn’t expect that Yuanyuan and the others had spent so much effort and effort to really get Pu Shu’s cooperation.
Producer Luo Yuanyuan:
In fact, in this part of Teacher Pu Shu, we hoped to find a singer who really runs through everyone's youth, rather than acting. I think Teacher Pu Shu is very suitable, and I was very lucky to really find him. But Mr. Park Shu never authorized any TV series to use his own music, so he said, "Let me show me the outline of the story." We sent the information and the story outline and told him what the song meant to the protagonist, and Teacher Park Shu agreed. But he said what to do with that concert part? In fact, we used the live materials of Pu Shu's concert "Good Good" and chose "forever young" by Teacher Pu Shu.
Q: Do you think he is responsible for something that he wants to express as a creator?
Producer Luo Yuanyuan:
Actually, we have a very important adaptation of supporting roles, Gao Jianhong. I think everyone has discussed a lot. In fact, from the original intention, we really want to be a different male second. Because in the original novel, Gao Jianhong had no role in the first part, but suddenly became a villain in the second part. You don’t even know why. The audience doesn’t know why a classmate got along so well in the first episode suddenly turned around, lacking the necessary preparation and growth path.
But in the drama version, we completed the changes that Gao Jianhong had been around Li Xun step by step. I can empathize with him in this feeling, and I don’t think he is a bad person. Actually, I have read a lot of comments because now everyone is immersed in the story of the male and female protagonists, but if you jump out and read it a little bit, Lao Gao is not that good, but he is not bad enough. We hope that when a top student meets a god, it is not a simple judgment of good or bad. so there will be his curves behind it. To be honest, I will be quite moved by this character in the end, but the audience currently pays more attention to the main storyline. In fact, when everyone looks down at the group portraits of the characters, they will find that each of them has their own story and is worthy of understanding.
"Ignite me to warm you" stills
Q: As a producer, do you think the current general value consensus among audiences will affect your project?
Producer Luo Yuanyuan:
I think to be honest, everyone's preferences and market acceptance will definitely affect me in a comprehensive way from the product. We cannot say on product , we clearly know that it will not be accepted, but we insist on doing it, which is not realistic. But as creators, we insist that no matter what everyone says, we maintain a real attitude at the creative level, and it is impossible to cater to everyone, nor can we please the audience. To be honest, cannot please you, and it usually backfires. We may satisfy the audience and give everyone real love and hate emotions. We can express them positively, we can express them vividly, and then give everyone space to judge themselves.
But we must have the recognition of this drama. In the final analysis, we hope to take one more step than idol dramas. There are few idol dramas that can present a relationship in a complete and clear way from the beginning to the end. We will neither guess the audience's likes and dislikes, nor avoid imperfect characters and the real process of this emotional process, but we are competing for a sense of proportion. We can never do anything to imagine what the audience likes in two years. We can only express our stories in our growth and understanding.
Producer/Ning Li Sherry
Editing/Timmy
Interview & Written by/Zai'an
graphic layout/River
photography/@Oliverjune
planning/Ge Haichen
coordinated/Erjia, Wang Xingyi
image/Yan Danni
Chen Feiyu makeup and hair/@Wang Yafei yafei (WOW!studio)
Zhang Jingyi makeup/@Cai Fenfang fiona
Zhang Jingyi hairstyle/@-Xu Youhua-
clothing assistant/Zhang Songzhen, Wen Junchang
