＂Haifei Spy World＂： Double Strong Linkage between New Spy IP and Film and Television Innovation ｜ Interview with screenwriter Haifei

Text | AnnaKarina

Edit | AnnaKarina

"I’m only wary of whether creativity is declining. I think writers need talent and physical strength to run marathons on the track."

-Screenwriter Hai Fei

In 2011, the TV series Cheongsam officially transformed Haifei into a screenwriter. At that time, Haifei was already a well-known novelist who had published a large number of novels in mainstream literary publications such as Harvest, People’s Literature and October.

The arrival of Cheongsam became a watershed in Haifei’s career. Since then, he has started to create novels and scripts simultaneously for more than ten years. In the meantime,His novel The Catcher won the Biennial Award of Selected Novels. As a screenwriter, the TV series "Sparrow" became the first spy war drama in history with a total broadcast volume of over 10 billion.Whether it’s a novel or a script, Haifei’s ten-year deep cultivation of spy war creation has also made him one of the leaders in this field.

Recently, the two annual dramas written by Haifei, Thin Ice, have been officially announced, and Plum Blossoms and Hearts have also been officially launched. Taking this opportunity, Spicy Fish interviewed Haifei, a novelist and screenwriter, and talked with him about the easy switching between novelist and screenwriter and the IP creation of "Haifei Spy World".

Double-sided sea flight

The novel emphasizes the description of artistic conception and atmosphere, while the script emphasizes the sense of picture and patability. Perhaps the difference between language use and logical structure construction is the most superficial cognition of the public about the difference between novel and script creation. The methodology of two kinds of identity transformation may be the most common problem faced by Haifei.

Hai Fei knows that novels and scripts are two different things, but it is not too difficult to switch identities. He admits that after Cheongsam, many spy war dramas came to him for cooperation. It is also in this continuous creation that he gradually shuttled freely between his novels and scripts.

Hai Fei, novelist and screenwriter

In addition to the differences in creative techniques, the most important thing is thatHai Fei caught the commonality between novels and scripts-literariness, which he thought was generally ignored by the screenwriter industry."Literariness is very important, artistic feeling is innate, and everyone is different. Novelists and screenwriters have one thing in common, that is, they need to touch human nature more deeply. Even the ugliest side of human nature is shining for novels or scripts. So many of our classic spy war dramas, such as "Hidden" and "Assassination", are very literary, and they tell a lot of vivid lives. Many years later, when we recall, the plot and the bridge will be forgotten, but the last thing we remember is the complexity of life and human nature.Understand human nature and build stories. Stories still serve human nature.Of course, novelists and screenwriters also have a lot of basic skills, and screenwriters need to have strong story structure ability and a sense of relaxation and rhythm; The story structure of the novel is relatively simple, but it needs literary language and blank space. Generally speaking, the most basic things are writing skills, reading, cognition, etc., and at the same time, it depends on talent. "

Being good at capturing details is a great advantage of screenwriter Haifei in his creation. Because spy war plays need a lot of historical basis as creative support, Haifei chooses more historical reference books in ordinary reading. At the same time, Haifei still maintains his love for serious literature, and novels by writers such as Shanghai Literature Magazine and Yu Hua can also impress his works repeatedly.

However, Hai Fei believes that pure literature needs a very sensitive sense of smell in film and television adaptation. "Few people can see the adaptation potential of novels.Pure literature works have roots, and the atmosphere it conveys is very important, but pure literature is not as easy to be recognized by film and television adaptation as popular novels in story and drama.This is actually a pity. Judging from the number of words, it is also a misunderstanding of the current film and television companies. The original novel of the most classic spy war drama "Latent" is very short, the original novel of "Rebel" is a novella, and my own "Sparrow" is only 30,000 to 40,000 words. "

Different from most novelists and screenwriters, Haifei’s plays are almost all adapted from his own novels, which is absolutely original. Although the new work Thin Ice is adapted from the original novel of Chen Dong, a signing writer of Haifei Studio, Haifei knows the whole creation process of the novel very well. "The advantage of adapting one’s own novel is that stories and characters have long taken root in the heart. After numerous tests, if a new screenwriter intervenes, the understanding will be different, but if a novelist does not have the skill of screenwriter, he still has to give it to a professional screenwriter. Most novelists’ works are adapted by professional screenwriters. In this case, whether they can be changed or become explosions can only be resigned. "

For the frequent disputes between original authors and screenwriters, Haifei believes that there is no way to balance them. "With the establishment of rules, disputes will become less and less, which requires a process. When the producer pulls the screenwriter and the original author’s work into a camp, it has already decided half the success or failure of this work.Original works are roots and provide good nutrients and materials. The depth of the screenwriter’s skill directly affects the quality of the work.I believe that a skilled screenwriter can change ordinary novels into fine dramas, and the key depends on how hard the screenwriter works. Because I have a dual identity, I think the most important thing is to make enough efforts to release my creativity and write good works. As a screenwriter, we must know that due to various objective factors, the work will be unsatisfactory when it is finally broadcast, but can we guarantee that our script is impeccable? Therefore, it is useless to complain. The most important thing is to learn and gain new things in every creation.The writer’s right to speak is not won by struggle, but by solid foundation and excellent works. Therefore, for long-term creators, they don’t have to consider the wind direction and sound outside their creation. What they can do is not to ask about the future and end without regrets."

Different stories, the same spy war universe

When the hidden "eggs" related to Sparrow appeared in "Scared", the audience was excited and found that Haifei was weaving a meticulous and huge spy war world.

Shanghai in troubled times, the hero surnamed Chen, and the different life situations in the parallel universe, Haifei’s spy world view has gradually taken shape. In this regard, Haifei said that this was not achieved overnight, nor was it conceived from the beginning of creation. "This was gradually formed in the process of creation with the passage of time. When there are more and more works, you gradually have the consciousness of establishing a world outlook, such as having a few bamboos and a water tank, you feel that you can build a yard. When you have a yard, you feel that you have to plant another tree. This is natural, and the plan is gradually clear in creation. "

Hai Fei spy war world works collection　

The spy world of Haifei includes not only the spy war of the Republic of China, but also the spy war of ancient costume. In the "spy world of Haifei" composed of In the Dust, Battle of Jiangnan and Kunlun Sea, he initiated the Royal Guards series of Ming Dynasty.

The formation of the world outlook can not only expand the single story more grandly, but also achieve close interaction with the audience. The audience likes to watch spy war dramas because of their suspense of multi-party games, step by step, and unbuttoning. At the same time, the feelings of home and country, emotional entanglements, personal will choices and fate ups and downs are more complicated and rich than other types.

In addition to excellent spy war creation skills, screenwriter Haifei pays more attention to the atmosphere of his works, which includes more delicate contents such as the texture of life and the feelings of characters. Hai Fei once again took "Latency" as an example. "In" Latency ",only sporadic gunshots sounded, but it was enough to make you feel real and nervous." The atmosphere is not created by blind big scenes.

Hai Fei’s new book Plum Blossoms and Hearts wrote a couple of "Smiths in the Republic of China". In his view,Spy warfare is bone, life is flesh and blood, and as a work of art, there must be a soul, and this soul is "deep affection."The most attractive setting of Plum Blossoms and Hearts is how a pair of evenly matched fake couples can find their true feelings in life under the great proposition of the torrent of the times and beliefs. At the same time, the main scene of Plum Blossoms and Hearts is set in a business firm with the bright side and the dark side as the place of Japanese secret service. Therefore, the daily life texture of the business firm needs to be truly presented, but the overall chilling atmosphere should also be fully created.

In the new book Suzhou River, conceived by Haifei for eight years, it tells the tragic life of Baoshan Chen, a policeman in Shanghai, before and after the liberation of Shanghai. In Hai Fei’s talk about the creation of Suzhou Creek, he wrote:"People can’t choose the times, they can only choose a living method in the times."

Hai Fei believes that people in the troubled times under the spy war are very similar to us who are tired at the moment. He emphasizes the sense of substitution, whether the actor or the audience, all need to find an outlet for life in the interaction with the role.

The solidification and evolution of spy war drama

In today’s solidified drama genre, genre superposition has become a magic weapon for innovation.

In terms of spy war drama, Haifei thinks it is not necessary to subdivide the genre itself too much. "For example, The Longest Day In Chang’an, I think it is also a spy war in costume, but it is not impossible to say that it is a legend in costume. Compared with the spy war of the Republic of China, the censorship system is different, and the writing is the same. For example, in a kung fu drama, it is more difficult to define the type by adding an organization or plot that steals intelligence, so it is not necessary to entangle too much with a certain concept. "

In terms of innovation, Haifei believes that innovation should start from the inside, rather than blindly packaging the outside."Sparrow is just a young actor, so it is called the youth spy war, but it is just that the actor is younger. Therefore, if the market demands for spy war dramas have changed in recent years, it is better to say that it is a change in viewing habits. I believe that fine dramas like "Hidden" and "Cliff" will still look good after ten years.A piece of gold, no matter how its shape changes, is gold first.Of course, the audience’s aesthetics and the rhythm of the plot are definitely changing and need to adapt to the situation, but if there are more, it may not be a spy war drama. "

In recent years, more and more young actors are familiar to the audience in spy war dramas. On the one hand, the complexity of characters in spy war dramas is a good acting experience for young actors, on the other hand, it can also add a lot of color to them in the diversification of roles.

There is no denying the bonus of young actors to spy war dramas. Haifei believes that "the world belongs to young people, which is a huge subject, soYoung actors are of great value to spy war dramas.In fact, in the 1990s, Wang Zhiwen and Jiang Shan starred in "Addiction" and Chen Daoming starred in "Chicken Feathers in One Place", weren’t they all young people? Therefore, traffic niche is nothing new, it exists in any age, and it is coming step by step. Actors have a proportion, which has always been the case. Of course, a good drama can’t be separated from the contributions of various posts. "

At present, Haifei’s ancient spy novel Kunlun Sea has completed the first draft, and the script will be Amber. At the same time,Traitor, which has three innovative modes of spy warfare: non-spy, mutual stealth and screening, is also finalizing the copyright of film and television.With the finalization of "Thin Ice" and the launch of "Plum Blossom and Hearts", Haifei pushed his spy war world to the audience one after another at an average annual pace, which he thought was "the best arrangement".

Haifei at the boot site of Plum Blossoms and Hearts

"Everything is fate" is a word that Haifei kept mentioning during the interview. His joke may sound a bit fatalistic. "But it is true. I think that Mo Wen has the best future and just has to bow down and work hard. I never regret that a play is not on fire. It’s all destiny takes a hand, and destiny takes a hand sometimes comes.I’m only wary of whether creativity is declining. I think writers need talent and physical strength to run marathons on the track."

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