The Wind of China Entertainment 2005

Chapter 650
"I think Director Jiang has told everyone that The Cliff is different from other hit dramas on the market and will not disregard basic common sense for the sake of plot twists."

"The biggest feature of this drama is its authenticity. It respects the enemy's intelligence, does not deliberately pursue the perfection of the protagonist, and tries its best to show the state of the agents walking on thin ice on the edge of the cliff."

"It's true that Zhou Yi is the protagonist, but as he said, good luck doesn't always accompany him. No matter how powerful the protagonist's halo is, it will eventually run out."

"What is the ending of a red intelligence agent in reality? Do they always escape danger safely?"

"Otherwise, many of them would have died, and this was in Northeast China in 45. The Cliff only objectively shows this ending."

After Lu Yuan finished speaking, everyone at the table agreed.

Liu Ning agreed, but still insisted: "It is good to pursue truth, but why not stop the plot when Zhou Yi sends his wife across the border? Why bother to design a plot to go back and rescue his goddaughter Shasha? Zhou Yi's mission was successfully completed and he left with his family. There was no need for him to die."

Upon hearing this, people from the other three TV stations nodded repeatedly.

"If Zhou Yi leaves safely, the character of Gao Bin will be over." Jiang Wei couldn't stand it anymore, put out the cigarette, and took over the conversation.

"When Zhou Yi made a desperate attempt to rescue his first wife, Sun Yuejian, he had already been exposed. Gao Bin had been keeping an eye on Zhou Yi. It just so happened that his adopted daughter Shasha was easy to catch. He used her as bait to make Zhou Yi, who had temporarily escaped, willingly take the bait and be arrested. As the head of the secret service, if he couldn't think of this, how could he have climbed to that position?"

"There will be sacrifices when doing revolution. When working behind enemy lines, you may sacrifice at any time. Don't think the enemy is so stupid. If the enemy is stupid, it will not show our greatness. Do you want "The Cliff" to be like the brainless anti-Japanese dramas on the market?"

Liu Ning choked immediately.

The director of Zhejiang Satellite TV asked: "Why did Zhou Yi go to save her, knowing that she was going to die, and leaving his wife and children behind?"

Lu Yuan said, "Old Chen, Zhou Yi personally raised Shasha for seven years since she was born. The relationship between them is better than that between a biological child. He knows very well that Shasha was arrested because of him. What would it mean to Shasha if he just walked away?"

Jiang Wei added: "Zhou Yi seems cold-blooded and ruthless, but that is just a disguise to cover up his hidden intentions. In fact, he is very kind-hearted and has a martyrdom spirit. What is the ultimate meaning of his life on the edge of the cliff? Isn't it for the country he loves and the people he loves to have a happy and beautiful future?
So he will definitely return to Harbin, formulate a plan within the game, sacrifice himself, rescue Gu and Shasha, and find out the spy in the organization. "

"But even if they went to rescue him, there's no need to explicitly tell the story of Zhou Yi being executed. That scene is too unheroic. Wouldn't it be better to give him an open ending?"

"Yes, his death was too pathetic. A heroic figure was shot in the end. After the broadcast, there will be a lot of pressure from public opinion."

At the end of "The Cliff", it was snowing heavily. Zhou Yi finished smoking a cigarette, faced the red wall, and was shot. He fell on the spot in a very embarrassing and unheroic posture.

Jiang Wei looked at Lu Yuan helplessly. Similar quarrels had happened many times.

"Okay!"

Lu Yuan clapped his hands and said, "I roughly know what everyone is worried about. Words are not enough. No matter how good our words are, it is not as good as seeing it with our own eyes. Since everyone insists, why don't we do this? When the crew is filming, we will shoot that scene first and see how it turns out. We can make adjustments later, but Zhou Yi must die."

Seeing this, the heads of the four TV stations had no choice but to nod.

After all, everyone wants the show to have better ratings.

They just think that most audiences would prefer a happy ending rather than a tragic ending.

From the perspective of Lu Yuan and Jiang Wei, the aftereffects of the tragedy are more lasting and the tone of the entire drama is more unified.

Lu Yuan and Jiang Wei have high hopes for "The Cliff".

The two collaborated on "Lush", with a total investment of only about 2000 million yuan, and the filming process seemed particularly hasty.

Although the drama later became a viewership hit, Jiang Wei always regretted the details that were not polished at the time.

When we film "The Cliff" again today, everything is very different.

Because he had plenty of time, Jiang Wei visited eight different cities for field research.

Among them, Harbin and Dalian were visited many times, just to show the most realistic appearance of Manchukuo.

In the end, the crew selected several scenes including Harbin and Dalian as filming locations.

Funding issues are no longer an obstacle.

In order to create a unique spy drama, Yuanfang Media invested 8 million yuan in an attempt to achieve movie-level shooting standards.

As early as the beginning of the project preparation, Lu Yuan had in-depth discussions with Jiang Wei on the production direction of "The Cliff".

They all agreed that "The Cliff" should be filmed with its unique texture.

The tone of the film should be cold and the style should be profound, with a blockbuster feel, to distinguish it from the common spy war dramas on the market.

There are also requirements for clothing style. Clothing and art must not be rustic, but should be more fashionable and have a certain style.

Harbin in that era was a particularly Western city.

It is in no way inferior to the Magic City, and can be called the Little Paris of the East. Zhou Yi, an underground party member, lives in such a city.

At first glance, this city seems to be covered with ice and snow for thousands of miles.

But in fact the level of modernization is extremely advanced: trams, telephones, villas, running water, everything.

At that time, most of the drivers of public trams in Harbin were foreigners, wearing top hats and white gloves.

Jiang Wei took all these details into consideration and made sure they were in place during filming.

Therefore, the crew specially used the photography of the movie "The Besieged City in October" and the costume design of the movie "Mei Lanfang".

It is now April, and since there are several snow scenes in the play, some of them can be made with the help of props, fertilizers, etc., it is just a matter of burning some budget.

But some things can't achieve the desired effect even if you spend money.

In order to capture the vastness and loneliness of the deep mountains and forests covered with snow, the crew also planned to cross the border and go to Russia.

May 5st, Dalian.

At the foot of Nanshan Mountain in the city center of Dalian, it is located in the area surrounded by Nanshan Street, Qiqi Street, Jinan Street, Wanghai Street and Shanlin Street. The street is more than 600 meters long and is called Dalian Nanshan Style Street.

It is a street in Dalian that retains the architectural style of the colonial period.

There are many Japanese restaurants, flower shops and coffee shops on both sides of the street.

Under the tree-lined avenue, mottled shadows of trees can be seen everywhere, and alleys named after trees, such as Nanmachi, Fengmachi, Yanagimachi, and Yingmachi.
The style is somewhat similar to Wutong District in Shanghai.

In "The Cliff", Zhou Yi's residence was filmed on this street.

The street was very deserted. Lu Yuan, Jiang Wei, Cheng Yu, Song Jia, Li Hongtao, and Sun Hao walked and stopped, looking around.

The main creators gathered in the morning to check out the venue.

Jiang Wei pointed to the high-end Japanese villas on both sides.

"This place was renovated by the government in 2000. It used to be the residence of Japanese dignitaries. Now it is one of the key tourism projects in DL City. Many houses were rebuilt later."

Lu Yuan looked in the direction he pointed. One characteristic of Japanese architecture is that they like to build trees in the yard to hide the houses.

Seeing his dull expression, Jiang Wei was surprised: "Hey, have you ever filmed a movie here?"

“I’ve been here before. In 06, I starred in my first film, The Difficult Love of a Bachelor, which was filmed in Dalian, on Binhai Road.

In fact, in addition to the Japanese-style street, Dalian also has a Russian-style street. You can go and have a look tomorrow. It is much more lively than this street. "

"Then my introduction just now was in vain. Why didn't you say it earlier?"

"You didn't ask." Lu Yuan shrugged.

Jiang Wei rolled his eyes.

"Really, Mr. Cheng, you also grew up in Nangang District, Harbin?"

Song Jia screamed behind him.

Lu Yuan and Jiang Wei turned their heads and saw Song Jia and Cheng Yu talking about something, looking very excited.

Song Jia plays Gu Qiuyan in the play, a role that is not easy to play.

Gu Qiuyan received professional intelligence training from the Soviet Union. Most of the members of the Anti-Japanese Allied Forces were illiterate, very arrogant, high-minded and bookish. They made mistakes repeatedly due to lack of experience and emotionality, which put the situation in a difficult situation.

The character is unlikable and annoying, and if one is not careful, it is easy to bring bad reputation to the actor.

It is quite a test of the actors' professional abilities.

Jiang Wei initially considered Qin Hailu, with whom Lu Yuan had worked before on "The Disguiser".

This time, "The Cliff" plays a fake couple again, which is an innate topic and traffic.

But he also considered that with Lu Yuan as the lead actor, there would be no shortage of topics.

Besides, Qin Hailu is not suitable. Cui Ping’s shadow is too great, and she herself is not sure she can play the role of an intellectual well.

"The Cliff" is not like "My Love from the Star". The latter requires 70 points in professional ability, while the former naturally starts at 90 points, the higher the better.

Just when Jiang Wei was hesitant, Song Jia volunteered.

"What's wrong? Why are you so excited?" Lu Yuan asked.

Song Jia said loudly: "Teacher Cheng just said that he is also from Harbin. We are from the same place, Nangang District. This is the first time I know this."

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"That's not what I said." Cheng Yu interrupted with a wave of his hand: "I did grow up in Harbin, in the same district as Xiao Song, but I was born in Shenyang and am a Shenyang native."

Cheng Yu was in his fifties, with dark skin, a strong build, short stature, chubby and plain-looking.

In the play, he plays Zhou Yi's boss Gao Bin, the section chief of the Police Department, who was later promoted to deputy director. He is a ruthless and scheming villain.

Lu Yuan stared at him.

This is not the first time Cheng Yu has played a villain.

In the 1994 TV series "The Highest Interests", he portrayed the image of a failed county magistrate.

He has a cold, vicious, and extremely defensive personality, which disgusts the audience.

Those squinting fox eyes, the bulging beer belly, the sinister sneer always hanging on the corners of his mouth, and an indescribable obscene temperament emanating from his whole body.

Every line hits home and is chilling.

In the 2000 film "Lin Hai Xue Yuan", Cheng Yu transformed into a cruel bandit.

He has a ferocious face, fierce eyes and rude manners.

There is a scene in the play where he is waving a big knife and chasing women and children, and the bloody smell instantly hits you in the face.

A national first-class actor, his professional ability needs no further explanation.

Lu Yuan smiled mischievously: "Song Jia, you and Teacher Cheng are from the same district. It's a bit unreasonable that you only found out about this now."

Song Jia is a northern girl, carefree and open-minded. The two have worked together in many dramas and have a very familiar relationship. She has a bad temper and really wants to argue with him.

So he smiled awkwardly at Cheng Yu.

Seeing this, Cheng Yu waved his hand and said, "Because of work, I have been in Shanghai and Beijing most of the time these years, so it's normal that I haven't run into Xiao Song."

Lu Yuan saw Song Jia's embarrassed look and laughed.

Cheng Yu also laughed.

He was born in 57. In 1977, he accompanied his friend to take the entrance exam for the Harbin Repertory Theatre. To his great delight, his friend failed but he was accepted.

The examiner's original words at the time were: "Someone has to play the villain."

In this way, he began his career as a villain, and he worked diligently for more than 30 years.

In fact, when he first received Jiang Wei's invitation, he didn't want to perform.

His principle of accepting roles is different from that of many of his peers.

Most actors like to constantly break through themselves and try to interpret new roles.

But he won't take on a role that he is not familiar with, he just plays himself.

Therefore, the types of characters he plays are basically fixed on those types. Each character has its own shadow, and he doesn't want to destroy it.

He admitted that he didn't look like a nice guy.

But this doesn't mean he can't play a good guy. Who doesn't want to be a hero?

What's more, a few years ago, he won the Flying Apsaras Award for Best Actor for his role as Xu Dadi in "Field of Hope".

A truly decent character.

I don't know why, but in recent years, people in the industry have been discriminating against people based on their appearance, and they always ask him to play villains.

Well, the real reason was that he was unsure and the pressure of acting with Lu Yuan was too great.

Didn’t you see that after “Before the Dawn” was broadcast, Lin Yongjian stated on many occasions in public that he didn’t want to act with Lu Yuan in the future.

Everyone knows that this is a joke, but it is conceivable that during the filming process, Lin Yongjian must have been under a lot of pressure.

Even so, under the brilliance of Liu Xinjie, Tan Zhongshu was often criticized, and netizens even compared him with the stationmaster Wu portrayed by Feng Enhe in "The Disguiser".

Finally crushed.

Feng Enhe’s portrayal of Stationmaster Wu was such a great success that it would be a thankless task for him to play a villain again.

It was only after reading the script that he changed his mind.

The success of a spy drama depends not only on the protagonist, but also on the villain.

Only when the villain is well-acted and the pressure is strong enough can the tension of the whole drama be built up and the story can be real and interesting.

What does the villain in spy dramas usually look like?

For example, Wu Jingzhong, the stationmaster of Tianjin Station in "The Disguiser", believes in "If a man does not work for himself, he will be punished by heaven and earth."

Therefore, Yu Zecheng's surname Gong or Jiang was meaningless to him. All he wanted was to make money.

Tan Zhongshu in "Before Dawn" is a man of affection and righteousness.

Even after knowing Liu Xinjie's true identity, he still treated him like a brother, which made people respect this "villain".

But Gao Bin in "The Cliff" is different.

His background determined that his cruelty was ingrained in his bones.

He was a member of the puppet state of Manchukuo, a watchdog of the feudal system, and a traitor. Once the puppet state of Manchukuo was destroyed, he would either be shot or spend his life in jail.

Therefore, he hated all anti-Manchu and anti-Japanese elements, and his fear and disgust for this kind of ideology was ingrained in his bones.

This is the powerful motivation for him to do all the bad things.

Therefore, he is proficient in spy warfare and is obsessed with it. He is a truly ruthless person who is neither greedy for money nor has any sense of loyalty. His only pursuit is to catch the traitor, and he is insidious and vicious, and will use any means necessary.

Cheng Yu fell in love with the role of Gao Bin and signed the contract with the crew without hesitation.

Lu Yuan turned around and saw him standing there. He suddenly shouted, "Let's go, Director Gao."

Cheng Yu hung his face, and all his cunning and calculations seemed to be hidden in the wrinkles on his face. He smiled with his mouth but not his eyes, looking extremely evil and sinister.

"Okay, Lao Zhou!"

(End of this chapter)