Interview with Tang Lijun ｜ 9 years later, what else is the charm of ＂Hua Qiangu＂？

1905 movie network news In the summer of 2015, once the series was broadcast, both the ratings and the webcast achieved great results, setting a record for the 18.70 billion of the webcast. Many viewers were cast and "fans" in the play. Zhao Liying was nominated for Best Actress of Magnolia with the role of "Hua Qiangu" and received professional recognition.

For a time, "Hua Qiangu" became the hottest IP. At that time, the producer Tang Lijun admitted that he wanted to develop this IP pan-entertainment, and at the same time created mobile games of the same name and other content, and announced early that he would make the movie "Hua Qiangu".

Years after the announcement, the film version of "Hua Qiangu" finally met the audience. It’s just that the movie did not continue the popularity of the series, and the box office was 5 million in the first week of its release.

In an interview with 1905 Movie Network, Tang Lijun admitted frankly, "The movie version of’Hua Qiangu ‘is our understanding and creation based on the original work, and then we still need to hand it over to the audience. When someone gives us advice, we all actively accept it and keep doing our best."

In recent years, there have been more and more cases of movie drama development with the same IP, and more and more linkage models. However, in Tang Lijun’s opinion, "The movie version of" Hua Qiangu "is not a linkage. For us, it is a review and study of the classics after 9 years."

plot

The novel "Hua Qiangu" has about 800,000 words and has been adapted into a 50-episode drama "Hua Qiangu". Even so, after the drama was broadcast, many viewers still felt that the plot was slightly regretful.

To this end, during the long film preparation period, Tang Lijun led the creative team to conduct 5 or 6 rounds of market surveys, "If" Hua Qiangu "is made into a movie, what would everyone want to see?"

With these answers, the team started writing the screenplay one after another. However, another question arose. How should we tell the story if we want to compress the plot content into a movie of about 2 hours?

As a creator who has participated in both TV dramas and movies, Tang Lijun admits that it is very difficult to give up. In the process of plot creation, the "ten artifacts" in the original novel have become "three artifacts". "We hope that the movie can inherit the classic parts of the novel and TV series, and we hope to express this story in a new audio-visual language."

Therefore, the movie version of "Hua Qiangu" revolves around the main story of the three artifacts guarding the six realms. "The content of the first version is edited for 180 minutes." In order to allow more stories other than the fans of the series to enter this story, Tang Lijun and the creative team can only reluctantly part with their love and give up many storylines.

No matter what the medium of presentation is, "What remains unchanged in" Hua Qiangu "is the growth and transformation of Hua Qiangu."

Of course, there were always many things that were not realized in the creation of the series at that time. When it came to the film version, Tang Lijun would also take the opportunity of live shooting to restore the original appearance of the novel itself.

At the end, the movie version is treated differently from the drama version.

"Hua Qiangu made a different choice, which is a bigger choice. It can’t be said to make up for the regret of the series, but from the current perspective, it is more realistic and in line with the growth of this female character." Tang Lijun admitted that after watching the final film, "Our main creators are relatively satisfied."

It is understandable that the success of the series has brought a powerful enough filter to this IP. Many viewers who have seen the series will more or less look at the story from the perspective of God and examine the content of the movie with a more rigorous eye.

"As creators, we create according to our own understanding of the original work, and then we leave it to the audience to comment. Perhaps they will also feel that there is another way to interpret these characters, or someone will give us advice, and we will actively accept it."

actor

During the creative process, Tang Lijun once considered asking the main creators of the TV series, such as Huo Jianhua and Zhao Liying, to come back and complete the filming of this movie. However, after many years, everyone’s schedule has never been met, "It is not suitable to lack one." In the end, he could only give up.

Now, the movie has cast Hua Qiangu as Bai Zihua, "We didn’t think about going beyond the drama version, but presented this story to the audience with sincerity."

In her eyes, Hua Qiangu is a very resilient character, especially in the final selection, which exudes the strong side of the women of the moment. The choice of this role is particularly important. Tang Lijun has seen Chen Dueling’s previous works, although in those works, Chen Dueling’s character is set more "White Moonlight", "But in her eyes, I saw a strong and pure that fits Hua Qiangu very well."

After starting to work together, Chen Turin, who was trained in science and engineering, would always use a very meticulous logical line to sort out the story and find the emotion of the film during the reading stage of the script. During this process, Tang Lijun felt more and more that the actor in front of him was focused on his career without distractions. He was kind and simple at heart, and had the temperament of the newly born Hua Qiangu.

In Mr. Chen’s first scene, 16-year-old Hua Qiangu sets a sky lantern by the river because she misses her late mother. "Her eyes were full of hope, and it moved me very much. At that moment, I thought she was Hua Qiangu."

Although the main actors of the drama version did not return in the movie, there are still two actors of the drama version who appear in the movie as easter eggs – the one who plays Mo Yan, who has been "killed" from the drama to the movie; the one who plays Dongfang Yuqing, who has protected Hua Qiangu from the small screen to the big screen.

No matter whether it is a drama or a movie, the IP of "Hua Qiangu" has reached its ninth year. Tang Lijun tried to activate this IP again and again with more diverse possibilities, but did not think much about linkage. It was more about learning after a lapse of 9 years.

Of course, the IP of "Hua Qiangu" is also about to enter its 10th year. What else might it do in the future? Or link all the actors in the past, or other forms?

"I will try my best, but it will be difficult."