As Lin Zixiang finished singing "A Man Should Be Strong", the premiere entered the final question and answer session.
Li Bihua, who was present on behalf of "Oriental Daily", stood up without hesitation and asked a question:
"Excuse me, Mr. Fang, what you and Director Xu have been repeatedly emphasizing since just now is the new What are the new aspects of martial arts? ”
“The art world of Eastern martial arts, like the American Western Cowboys and the Japanese Bushido, has its own unique spirit and thought. Ideals, aesthetics, values, and the most typical literary examples of Xiangjiang's martial arts culture are the martial arts works of the four "Jin, Gu, Wen and Liang". "
Fang Yan said: "It can be traced back to the movies, from Shaw Brothers'. From the beginning of "The One-Armed Sword", with the promotion of martial arts justice as the main spiritual core, a complete set of creative routines has been formed in the plot and story, and it has since become a pearl in the glorious era of Hong Kong movies."
Then the topic changed, "But by the 1980s, the audience had developed aesthetic fatigue. No matter from plots, stories, or fighting moves, they gradually lost their novelty. If traditional martial arts movies want to rejuvenate, they must break and build again, and open up new ideas. New road! ”
"The 'new' of this new martial arts, I think, is new in conception, new in elements, new in chivalrous sentiments, and new in action!"
As soon as these words came out, There was a commotion at the scene, and everyone in the audience was whispering and talking.
Among them, Liu Jialiang, Liu Jiarong and other old-school martial arts practitioners from Shaw Brothers, as well as the disciples and grandchildren of Chang Cheh who pioneered martial arts films in Hong Kong, are quite dissatisfied. Their words are full of criticism, disdain, doubts and accusations. , ridicule...
Even if Fang Yan is a great writer who is famous both inside and outside the country, even if he is the best screenwriter at the Oscar, even if the traditional martial arts in Xiangjiang is declining day by day, it is not your turn to be a scholar with no family and no knowledge of martial arts, in front of a room full of martial arts people. Face, point fingers, comment!
"Ahem!"
At this moment, Zou Wenhuai, Fang Yihua, He Guanchang and others sitting in the VIP seats looked around calmly, with majesty on their faces.
Suddenly, the heated discussion just now suddenly stopped. No matter how dissatisfied you are, you can only keep it in your heart.
No idea, the person speaking on the stage is a guest of several major film companies in Hong Kong such as Golden Harvest, New Art City, Shaw Brothers, Yindu and so on!
In such a situation, Fang Yan stretched out a finger and said bluntly:
"This so-called 'new intention' is that the early traditional martial arts were based on grievances and struggles in the martial arts world. As the saying goes, wherever there are people, there are grievances. The deepest part of the grievances is the rivers and lakes. People in the rivers and lakes cannot help themselves. Love and hatred are hard to resolve, and grudges are endless.”
< br>"The new martial arts takes the perspective from the distance of the rivers and lakes to the heights of the temple, the righteousness of the nation, the affairs of the country, and the heart of civilization. Just like this film, Huang Feihong is not only a martial arts master, but also a martial arts master. The pioneers of the awakening of national and national consciousness seek self-reliance.”< br>
“It is precisely because of the purpose of this grand narrative that the historical background and the environment of the times cannot be ignored.”
“It is necessary to combine history and reality, the country and the nation, the collective and the individual Get up."
Then He held out his second finger and said, "This is the second point I want to make. What's new is that in terms of elements, on the basis of properly handling the relationship between the three above, we can properly integrate suspense, thriller, horror, disaster, and comedy. Even elements of fantasy and weirdness..."
Hearing this, He Guanchang savored the words carefully and said in a serious tone:
"Although I haven't seen the movie yet, based on Fang Sheng's words, I dare to conclude that the box office of "Once Upon a Time" is It can’t be lower!”
“I think so too”< br>
Zou Wenhuai couldn't help but sigh: "Fang Sheng's views on martial arts films are unique, sophisticated, incisive, novel, and profound. They are amazing!"
"This suddenly reminded me of "Fist of Fury" "Gate", "Tangshan Brother"
He Guanchang said: "The success of Bruce Lee and his martial arts films can almost be found in Fang Sheng's new martial arts concept."
Zou Wenhuai nodded in agreement, "In "Police Story", "Tiger" There are also hints of his new martial arts in "The Strongest Man". In my opinion, it won't be a problem for Aaron to get help from Fang Sheng this time and break into Hollywood or even take root in Hollywood." Then he turned to ask Cheng Long when the movie can start production.
“I’m going to start construction in August!”
Cheng Long’s eyes are hot and he vows to avoid the humiliation brought by “Powerful Detective”.
Lin Qingxia was listening quietly and saw He Guanshang patting Cheng Long on the shoulder and said sincerely:
"According to the plan we discussed with Fang Sheng, "Police Story" is to help you and Golden Harvest recover the losses and impact of "Mighty Dragon", and it is also to provide experience for the subsequent "Die Hard" filming. This time we have Fang Sheng is your producer, you have to ask him for advice on everything, okay?”
“No problem!
Cheng Long Meifei Sewu, smiling from ear to ear.
Lin Qingxia saw everything and fell silent for a moment, then moved her eyes to the stage and stared at Fang Yan.
Then, he moved to Gong Qi next to him, with a look of surprise and confusion in his eyes. Is she Mr. Fang’s wife?
At this moment, Gong Zhen didn't notice at all how many people were looking at him, and his heart was tied to the eloquent dialect.
"As for the last new thing, it's all about the action!"
"The action design of "Once Upon a Time" is completely different from the real move-by-move style of previous martial arts and kung fu movies. ”
“What we are pursuing is kung fu The power and beauty presented on the outside make the martial arts both enjoyable to watch and fresh."
At the end, Fang Yan said with a smile, "We will wait for the movie to be released later. You can feel these characteristics of the new martial arts.”
The reporters, film critics, and movie fans who were lucky enough to attend were already eager to see it.
After countless calls, the lights finally dimmed, and the entire theater was dark, with only the screen glowing with light.
Although Cheng Long, Hong Jinbao, Yuan Biao and others are far apart, their eyes are unanimously focused on "Once Upon a Time in China".
As a new force in the reform of martial arts films, they have launched a series of innovative and visually impactful martial arts genres such as "supernatural martial arts", "kung fu comedy", and "fashion martial arts". Naturally, they are interested in subverting traditional martial arts. Movies generate goodwill and curiosity.
The action scenes of "Once Upon a Time" are contrary to the long-shot martial arts aesthetics. Sharp and fast editing is used to replace the fighting skills, the fists of hard bridges and horses, and more unconstrained martial arts moves. , giving traditional martial arts routines a new look and highlighting the ferocity of duels.
However, in the eyes of Liu Jialiang, Huang Feihong's true disciple, all this is an insult to Huang Feihong!
Seeing his eldest brother's angry look, Liu Jiahui lowered his voice and asked: "What's wrong, boss?"
"Nonsense! It's just nonsense!"
Liu Jialiang looked gloomy. Face, Huang Feihong is obviously a southern boxer, how can he only use his legs without punching? And it’s still the northern leg that’s being played!
Seeing that his eldest brother was about to leave the meeting angrily, Liu Jiahui was shocked:
"Boss, why don't you leave after watching it?"
"Xu Ke and Fang Sheng filmed "Once Upon a Time" like this, which will make all my hundred thousand Hongquan disciples laugh out loud!"
>"Even if you don't give Fang Sheng If you want to save face with Xu Ke, you should give Fang Tai some face, right?”
“Hmph!”
Liu Jialiang snorted, suppressing his anger reluctantly. Sat down.
As the great disciple of Huang Feihong, he has always been proud of Huang Feihong and his status as a southern boxer. Liu Jiaban, who specializes in Hong Quan, has therefore stood out in the Xiangjiang martial arts school that is full of northern martial arts, so he does not understand why Huang Feihong flew to Such an unnatural movement in the sky.
However, I thought that the subversion of Huang Feihong's image and the nonsense of Hong Quan would end there, but I didn't expect that there are still masters!
At the end of the film, during the ladder fight between Huang Feihong and Yan Zhendong, he flashed around and finally used the incredible "Foshan Shadowless Kick".
"Bang, bang, bang!" When Li Lianjie kicked the third kick in the picture, the audience began to become excited and their eyes flashed.
When four or five feet appeared, some stretched their necks, some widened their eyes, and some opened their mouths, their faces full of disbelief.
After all, a man as powerful as Bruce Lee could only kick three times in the air. How could someone kick so many times in the air?
But just when everyone's heads were buzzing, the sixth and seventh kicks of "Foshan Wuying Kick" suddenly knocked their minds blank.
Not to mention the media and film critics who are accustomed to watching martial arts movies, even the martial arts practitioners who claim to have never seen any scenes were deeply shocked.
They have never seen this scene before!
Cheng Long, Hong Jinbao and others were surprised at first, and then quickly realized that this was not like 100% real Kung Fu, but relied on Diaowei Ya.
However, no matter how fake it is, the martial arts scenes are indeed more beautiful and exciting than the traditional martial arts movies that use hard skills and one move at a time.
Liu Jialiang didn't think so. Just like Newton who couldn't hold down the coffin board after looking at it, his face was so gloomy that it could drip water.
Liu Jiahui's heart skipped a beat, fearing that his eldest brother would do something particularly offensive, and bursts of screams suddenly rang in his ears.
“Wow!”
"Oh, it's so amazing!"
There was an uproar for a while, and the movie fans who had woken up stood up one after another, applauded, and cheered for Foshan Wuyingji just now.
Liu Jialiang was dumbfounded when he saw this scene. He and Liu Jiahui, Hui Yinghong and other people working in Liu Jiaban looked at each other with confusion.
No, audience gentlemen, the earth is attractive!
Not only did you not question this anti-Newtonian and unscientific "Foshan Shadowless Foot", why did you applaud it? !
This idea also appeared in the minds of Cheng Long, Hong Jinbao, Zou Wenhuai, Fang Yihua and others. Although they could not understand it, they were greatly shocked.
…………
The next day, when "Once Upon a Time in the Sky" was released in cinemas of all sizes in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong media who had received the red envelopes naturally went to full throttle and wrote endless articles. Report on the ground, find various angles, and vigorously praise and publicize it from all aspects.
For example, "Ming Pao" is "Once Upon a Time is Coming Menacingly, and the Powerful Dragon Explodes the Danger".
"Oriental Daily" even wrote a lengthy review, focusing on the point of view of "extension of the core values of martial arts":
"If we want to evaluate the historical contributions that Dialect and Xuke have made to the development of Chinese films in the future, then the most important one is the reshaping and interpretation of Eastern martial arts films. From this version of 'Once Upon a Time' You can see through the image 12. "
"Wong Feihong, played by "Shaolin Boy" Li Lianjie, not only adheres to traditional morals but also conforms to the trend of the times, creating a character who relies on his own meager efforts to help the country and the poor. national hero image , highlighting his chic and wise "kingly style""
"..."
"The film is full of Chinese elements and is full of national consciousness and emotion."< br>
Except Li Bi In addition to Hua's film review, newspapers such as "Hong Kong Wen Wei Po" and "Hong Kong Commercial Daily" commented on the novels of dialect and Xu, from the innovation of fighting design to the analysis of new chivalry, from the new narrative style to the outstanding visual effects. Guest's "new martial arts".
"The action scenes of "Once Upon a Time in China" are unconstrained and have a strong sense of rhythm. Every move exudes rhythmic beauty and has the beauty of dance. It is highly enjoyable to watch. It is visually elegant, beautiful, magnificent and fantastic. It completely subverts the The design concept of traditional martial arts films.”
In the studio, Shi Nansheng held the newspaper and read it word for word.
"Pa!"
Xu Ke slammed the table excitedly, "It's done, Fang Sheng, this time we succeeded!"
Fang Yan smiled, " "Once Upon a Time in China" set off a new wave of martial arts movies in the previous life, and it is bound to be surpassed by everyone who has done it in this life. After all, Huang Feihong itself is a big IP in Hong Kong, and his own "Once Upon a Time" trilogy Also a bestseller.
With such blessing, Li Lianjie and others also came to help.
The "Shaolin boy" at this time is different from his previous life. When Jet Li was filming "Once Upon a Time" in his previous life, his stardom had long been dim and his reputation was not well-known. He had previously filmed "The Dragon Is Here" with Zhou Xingchi. "End of the World", the box office is only 6.8 million, which is simply a failure in the market.
It wasn't until he took over the filming of "Once Upon a Time" that he became completely popular and reaffirmed his status as a first-line martial arts superstar.
Now, Jet Li has taken advantage of the remaining power of "Shaolin Temple" and crossed the river again. Not only can he use the image of "Grandmaster Huang Feihong" to tear off the label of "Shaolin boy" and replace him He opened up a new situation for "Once Upon a Time" and new martial arts in Hong Kong.
“Judging from the current statistics, it is conservatively estimated that the box office can exceed 20 million.”
Shi Nansheng said: "As for the final figure of 20 million, it depends on the next momentum."
"I think the box office is secondary, the most important thing is to set off this new trend in Chinese films." The trend of martial arts.”
Fang Yan looked left and right.
“That’s absolutely true!”
Xu Ke is excited. “Once Upon a Time” created by himself and Fang Sheng will become a watershed between old and new martial arts movies, and even At a turning point, the martial arts films that were declining and going to the bottom may soon have a second spring, rise strongly, and return to their peak.
Just as the three of them were discussing things happily, Shi Nansheng accidentally turned to a page of the newspaper and frowned involuntarily.
Fang Yan was surprised. He took a closer look and saw that the co-author was Liu Jialiang, Huang Feihong's real disciple. He criticized it in the media:
"Although "Once Upon a Time" was filmed well, it seriously violated ”
“Wuyingkou is a solid and real Kung Fu, not like a movie. Such a beautiful thing, what is the shadowless kick? It means that when it is hit, it hits the east and west, disrupts the enemy's target, and then attacks the opponent with its legs, instead of kicking 7 times in the air. "
"Not to mention Huang Feihong. It’s a martial arts master from eastern Guangdong, and he uses the northern kick instead of the southern fist, which seriously violates the historical reality of traditional martial arts.”
"..."
"If the movie is made like this, even if I can agree, I'm afraid the 100,000 Hongquan disciples won't agree!"
"This Liu Jialiang!"
< br>Xu Ke was quite dissatisfied, "I originally wanted to hire him as a martial arts instructor, but it was because he insisted I only found Yuan Jiaban by insisting on my Hong Kong skills and hard work." Then he curled his lips and said, "He has to bear a lot of responsibility for the decline of Shaw Brothers' martial arts movies."
"I think this is a good thing. We are worried about not having new gimmicks to promote the movie!"
Fang Yan was overjoyed and said: "Look, this overwhelming heat is coming. We must not miss it like this."
Xu Ke and Shi Nansheng immediately understood, with intriguing light shining in their eyes. . (End of this chapter)