Join Ning Hao to supervise the production of short films, director Wen Shipei exclusively interprets Zhang Yu’s emotional drama
1905 movie network feature In 2020, Wen Shipei had a particularly busy year. He had just finished filming the film "Once Upon a Time in the Tropics" in the summer, and in the winter, he had caught up with the short film "Killing Time" to start. In the past year, he had been idle, writing a new script while waiting for his work to be tested by the public.
To some extent, Wen Shipei is a creative director with a forward-looking consciousness, bold, avant-garde and with ideas.
Two years ago, the concept of the meta-universe had not yet arisen. He had already begun to think: when technology developed to a certain extent, machine labor had completely replaced human labor, and human labor was no longer needed by society, how would the ruling class want humans to spend the rest of their lives? How would humans consume their time?
He wrote the answer to the question into a screenplay, which later became "Kill Time," an infinite fantasy about 2046. As a unit of "After Tomorrow," produced by Ning Hao and starring Zhang Yu and Li Manxuan, the short film has been released recently.
There was a particularly long kissing scene between the two of them in the play. Zhang Yu hugged Li Manxuan and went from lying down to spinning, from still to jumping, from heaven to earth, like a dance that lasted for two minutes and forty seconds. In order to film this "kissing scene dance" well, Zhang Yu, who lacked dance experience, threw himself into intensive training before the film started, stood on tiptoe, practiced spinning, and "overcame" jumping. It took two weeks of hard work to get the last less than three minutes of amazement. During the "kissing scene", Zhang Yu was still the "abused" party and was slapped by Li Manxuan a lot. Because this detail was photographed many times, he was also "really slapped" forty or fifty times, making a sound.
Wen Shipei interpreted the meaning behind the passage, "It embodies the complete stage of a love: encounter, know, fall in love, hurt, forgive, compound, separate… As Garci ? a Márquez said in" One Hundred Years of Solitude, "even the most fanatical and faithful love is just a fleeting reality. In the end, it will only leave a hundred years of loneliness. And even if it will eventually be separated, boys insist on pursuing girls, which shows that love is our weapon against nothingness."
From "Once Upon a Time in the Tropics" to "Kill Time," Wen Shipei gradually formed his own narrative style and began to emerge among newcomers. Of course, there are occasional voices who feel that his ability to stand out is somewhat blessed by the blessing of luck. From successfully signing Ning Hao’s "Bad Monkey 72 Becomes a Young Director Program" to his debut partner Peng Yuyan and Zhang Aijia, Wen Shipei has been relatively smooth compared with many new directors.
"It’s hard to judge whether a director is lucky or unlucky. I am a lucky director, but I also have unlucky moments. I am an unlucky director, but I also have lucky moments." Looking back indifferently, Wen Shipei chose to emphasize that luck was just a note.
It is well known that only by creating excellent works can a director achieve good luck.
The following is a transcript of the conversation between 1905 Movie Network and Wen Shipei:
1905 Movie Network: Talk about the inspiration for the short film "Killing Time". What is the core that you hope to convey to the audience through this short film?
Wen Shipei: In simple terms, this is a love story that takes place in the future. A boy likes and pursues a girl. It involves an imagination of the future society. Based on various technological premises, robots can adapt to all walks of life, and even replace human labor. For example, autonomous driving is about to replace the driver industry. In the future, human labor may no longer be needed, so how will the ruling class want people to spend their lives, and how will humans consume their time? This is an imagination. I think a lot of science fiction works are about the present, about specific problems in our lives, or a tendency to change.
1905 Movie Network: Share the design of the two protagonists’ "kiss dance" in the film. What is the specific significance of this plot?
Wen Shipei: My imagination of it is a love from beginning to end. Two people meet and love each other, during which there is suspicion, mutual hurt, and finally inevitable separation. This kiss is designed based on this concept. As Márquez said in "One Hundred Years of Solitude", no matter how loyal love is, it may be fleeting, and in the end it will only leave an eternal one hundred years of loneliness. Because human life is limited, then love must be limited. They collide, then kiss goodbye, and separate, but boys still hope to pursue girls. Love is our weapon against nothingness.
1905 Movie Network: To some extent, do you agree with others’ evaluation that you are a relatively lucky director?
Wen Shipei: Some people say I’m lucky, some people say I’m not lucky, and I don’t know what others will say. People are complicated, and I’m a lucky director, but I also have unlucky times. I’m an unlucky director, but I also have lucky moments. Now a lot of things are just making complex concepts rough and simple, and these need to be considered in a longer time dimension.
1905 Movie Network: Talk about the change of mindset after filming "Tropical Past" and "Kill Time"? Are there any new creative plans next?
Wen Shipei: My mentality has not changed much. At present, I am still in the process of learning and growing up. Of course, during the learning process, I am also exploring more step by step. The most important thing is the story I want to tell next. I have considered a lot, and the second feature film is being created. It is inconvenient to disclose it for the time being, and it is not allowed to disclose it. (laughs)