Exclusive interview! Guo Fan, Wujing, Andy Lau reveal the film ＂The Wandering Earth 2＂

1905 movie network feature Remarks The attention-grabbing sci-fi blockbuster will be released on the first day of the new year in 2023.

At the press conference held recently, the artificial intelligence MOSS in China was present to help out, and the film also announced the full cast of actors for the first time: starring,,,,, special performances.

New and old friends gather together, what kind of character relationship do they have? Compared with the first one, what are the visual effects upgrades of "The Wandering Earth 2"? Exclusive interview with the film’s creator, director, starring Wu Jing, Andy Lau, Ning Li, Wang Zhi, Zhu Yan Manzi and other behind-the-scenes stories of the creation, let’s see their sharing.

Wu Jing Andy Lau’s group "Jinghua One Dream" has a tacit understanding of acting in the air

"Wandering Earth 2" tells the prequel story of "Wandering Earth", and Wu Jing’s interpretation of Liu Peiqiang’s image is also different from the previous work.

In "The Wandering Earth," Liu Peiqiang sacrifices himself for his home and country, and crashes into Jupiter without hesitation. Wu Jing introduced, "This time, he started as a teenager, without any aura, just an ordinary teenager, and gradually had a family, a lover, and a child. At the beginning, he wanted to lie flat, and he had a lot of losses in life. After he had a tie, he realized the meaning of life, and then went to protect his family and protect his home. He had a very obvious change."

From the credits list at the end of "The Wandering Earth" to the stage of "The Wandering Earth 2", Andy Lau played the scientist Tu Hengyu this time, not only wearing a spacesuit to the sky, but also wearing a diving suit to the sea.

Andy Lau admitted that filming "The Wandering Earth 2" made him feel like he had just switched from TV to film in the 1980s, and every day was full of uncertainty and curiosity. "On the first day of entering the group, I saw everything was amazing and fresh. I asked every day how to use this? How to shoot me later?" He rarely watched replays in the past, but now he has to watch the visual effects of each shot.

Mr. Wu and Mr. Lau last worked together in a movie. "Last time there were a lot of action scenes, and the two of us played all the time. This time, the two of us conveyed emotions through the air." Wu Jing said that the combination of the two can be called "Jinghua One Dream".

One scene in the film left a deep impression on them. "The two people who protect their families are separated by a thick layer of glass, and neither of them can see the other, but the emotions we convey are so similar, and all the voices, dialogues, and psychological rhythms are so consistent." Wu Jing said that the scene was like a dream, and Guo Fan also praised the two people’s performances for being very compatible and synchronized.

Ning Li’s partner Andy Lau’s role is fast, and Wang Zhi plays Wu Jingcheng’s action

"Wandering Earth 2" is the actor Ning Li’s first exposure to science fiction films, and he feels fresh like Andy Lau. He believes that the biggest challenge in this performance is to control the scale of the performance and the relationship with the opponent.

Ning Li’s role as Ma Zhao, who is mainly opposite Andy Lau in many scenes in the film, revealed that the character speaks very fast, "This time the character talks more and more confidently, and the director is constantly challenging my physiological limit. After the performance, can I be faster?"

Wang Zhi plays Liu Peiqiang’s wife, Han Duoduo, a very feminine character. "She is a very optimistic and positive girl, full of tenacity and strength. She always brings warmth and hope to her relatives, and also brings Liu Peiqiang the innermost energy to save the earth."

During the entire filming of the previous film, neither Wang Zhi nor Wu Jing ever met because the character had passed away as soon as he appeared. "I was in charge of the emotions, and she was in charge of the action." As Wu Jing said, in "Wandering Earth 2," Wang Zhi became the actor. "As soon as I met Wu Jing, it was an action play, that is, a fight, and I kicked Brother Jing’s leg." The two even became "brothers" in the film, Wang Zhi said.

Wang Zhi had practiced martial arts when he was a child and had a foundation in martial arts. "When I saw the script, there were no action scenes. But when I was filming on the spot, Brother Jing said you should come." Wang Zhi especially thanked Wu Jing for handing over many of the action scenes in the original script to her.

Zhu Yan Manzi played Hao Xiaoxi in "The Wandering Earth 2". In order to get close to the professional characteristics of the character, she made intensive preparations and read a lot of books and materials. In the film, Hao Xiaoxi is a student of Li Xuejian’s character Zhou Zhezhi.Zhu Yan ManziMost of the scenes were with Li Xuejian.

"He was like my master, like a lighthouse, he stood there all the time, and I was led by him, and I unconsciously integrated into it. Teacher Xue Jian’s aura is very strong, and I learn secret techniques and experience this kind of teaching by words and deeds every day." Zhu Yan Manzi said that by the end of the shooting, she also found that she had grown up with the characters.

The hard visual effects of "Wandering Earth 2" have been upgraded, and errors continue to be recorded during the shooting process

"Wandering Earth 2" has been writing the script since the end of 2019, and has not stopped work since the completion of filming, and is still in full swing in the post-production stage. Guo Fan said that the second part has more visual effects content than the first one, and the production cycle is also shorter than the first one, so the time is very tight.

Compared with the previous film, this shooting was upgraded in many aspects. For example, in the early part, the use of virtual shooting technology allowed the actors to see the visual script, understand the scene scheduling in advance, and better assist the actors in performing.

In terms of visual effects, Guo Fan said that the visual effects of hard surfaces such as mountains, stones and vegetation have improved visibly. "We are exploring, and some can gradually see the process of its maturation. We are still trying the more difficult visual effects part later."

"The Wandering Earth 2" was not only filmed in Qingdao, but also in New York, Iceland and other overseas locations. Thanks to the construction of network technology equipment, the crew can communicate and control remotely in real time at home. "We can see it here in real time, and we can tell the other party in real time. It’s exactly the same feeling as us filming on the spot."

This time, they also started a project cooperation with the Beijing Film Academy, arranging more than 20 interns to calculate the mistakes made every day in different departments. After the movie is completed, the mistakes have accumulated into a thick book. "After writing it down, it is very valuable information, which can allow us to review and sort out this process. Maybe in the next shooting, we should try our best to make less of these mistakes and fall into the pit."

"We thought we could have some experience in the first episode, but after the second episode, we found that when we enlarged the scale and increased the difficulty, the experience in the first episode became insufficient, and we faced more new problems," Guo Fan said.

In 2019, "The Wandering Earth" was born, which was hailed as the "first year of domestic science fiction films". Guo Fan has always believed that all the praise comes from the audience’s love, and there are still many immature parts of the film that need to be slowly explored. Only by constantly learning from experience and constantly achieving breakthroughs can Chinese science fiction films go further.