Bi Gan can be described as the director who has risen the fastest in the Chinese film circle in recent years.
He was almost born in Ye Luzi,
Originally engaged in wedding photography in a remote mountainous area of Guizhou,
At the age of 26, his debut work "Roadside Picnic" was a blockbuster.
Become the spokesperson of young Chinese directors in the international film scene.
His second feature film "The Last Night on Earth" was released on December 31.
The investment of 50 million yuan, the box office pre-sale has exceeded 100 million yuan,
The leading actors are Tang Wei, Huang Jue, Zhang Aijia,
It’s already a hit at the Cannes Film Festival this year,
And won a number of nominations and awards for the Golden Horse Awards.
He won the favor of merchants,
But was not captured by capital,
"I am quite afraid that others will like this movie because of success",
He always has a clear understanding of his position,
"The audience is no fool,
The reason is simple, everyone is living desperately. "
The author Ni Reeds
In 2017, in the deep mountains of southeastern Guizhou, Tang Wei, Huang Jue, Zhang Aijia, and other top seniors in the Chinese film industry wandered with a 28-year-old young man without pay.
It was more than half a year in a flash, just to help him complete his second feature film-"The Last Night on Earth".
This young man is called Bi Gan. He is a truly wild director, a kid who grew up in the mountains, and studied TV director at a junior college degree. The film is almost entirely self-study without any industry resources. At the age of 26, he made his debut feature film "Roadside Picnic", which won more than a dozen international awards at once, and was regarded by Westerners as a new hope for Chinese films.
He was born in June 1989, but his appearance is so mature that he is almost born in the 90s. The "Goddess of Literature and Art" Tang Wei saw him for the first time and felt that he was "definitely like a Buddha." At that time, Tang Wei had just given birth and didn't want to make a movie right away. After talking with Bi Gan for 20 minutes, she decided to join.
Bi Gan said that when he wrote the script, he thought of Tang Wei when he wrote about the heroine. Tang Wei said that at the moment when she read the script, she clearly knew that she was a green leaf to set off the red flower in Bigan. She had come to addiction.
When the protagonist Huang Jue watched "Roadside Picnic", he didn't know that it won many awards or who made it, but he was completely hit and almost burst into tears. He wanted to go to a place called Dangmai in Bi Gan's movie, but later he realized that it was a fictional place by Bi Gan.
Part of the story of "The Last Night on Earth" still takes place in Dangmai. At first glance, it looks a bit like a Hollywood black suspense film. It is about a man attracted by a femme fatale and willing to run for her. In the end, he lost her, so he began to search hard.
When they were about to find it, the audience thought the story was about to end. But it's just the beginning. The second half of the movie is a long 3D shot lasting an hour, which may be a dream of this man.
"What I want to create is very simple, that is, what we look like when we dream." Bi Gan said, "In the dream, those who hurt you, use you, and finally leave you all present a moment of innocence. I am. I hope my protagonists can have that moment."
A savage growth
Have you counted the stars in the sky?
They are like little birds,
Parachuting on my chest.
This is a spell in "The Last Night on Earth", a poem written by Bi Gan in 2016.
"I started to write poetry when I was in junior high school. At that time, it was called QQ space status. Later, others told me that it was poetry."
Bi Gan’s parents divorced when he was very young. He grew up with his grandmother. "Actually, I have been very obedient since I was a child." Because grandma doesn't allow it, for fear of accidents.
During adolescence, a normal boy will have feelings, but no matter what happens, he must rush home before ten o'clock in the evening, because he can't make the elderly angry.
So his "behaved" has slowly become a kind of violation of yang and yin. On the surface, it seems to be well-regulated, but in his head it is always out of the sky.
"Grandma does not limit your thinking. As long as you don't violate the law, you can have any ideas. So most of the time and energy are devoted to developing your imagination."
This kind of imagination has shaped the dreamy temperament of his films. He is very good at leading the audience to a daydream in a movie. There is a 40-minute long shot in "Roadside Picnic", which is "dreamy, poetic and derailed from time to time" and "has a surreal beauty."
When it came to "The Last Night on Earth", this long shot became an hour, and it was 3D, completed in a tunnel of 3 kilometers long, "like layers of dreams falling down, falling into the sweetness of the deepest memory." ."
Bi Gan once said half-jokingly that his previous experience in wedding photography made him particularly good at taking long shots. The essential quality of a qualified wedding cameraman is to carry a very backward camera, follow the bride and groom all the way, and shuttle between the banquets to capture the climax of the moment.
A wedding that looks so tacky, "In fact, it is not as bad as everyone thinks. Because what you photograph is the best moment in the life of the bride and groom. If not divorced, it would be the sweetest moment in the lives of two people. I I never feel that weddings are inferior, I think weddings are rather advanced."
Some people are curious as to why the scheduling of complex long shots was so clear when he made a movie for the first time, because he likes to play games. "I love to play live football. I go out to play live football after school every day in junior high school. I have played live for many years. It has a small map and is so scheduled. It is very accustomed to me."
After becoming famous, he repeatedly said in interviews, "Actually, I don't know how to make movies." The first feature film "Tiger" in his school days, he described as being filmed "like fishing."
After the filming of "Tiger", he discovered that half of the material was not tuned in, and many of the pictures were pierced. "The microphone is in the center." He almost lost confidence, "I may not be the material for making movies."
The wedding camera company he opened with his friend was forced to close because the asking price was too high and the business was not good. He ran a lap in Beijing with the script of "Roadside Picnic" and couldn't find any investment. He went back to his hometown, prepared to take a blasting certificate, to work as a blaster for a company that specializes in blasting mines. He was 24 years old that year, and planned to make a movie after he was 30.
Ding Jianguo, the film and television teacher of his college days, who he called the "Master" could not sit still. He can't just watch his "talented" student's life be wasted like this. "He said he was willing to pay out of his pocket and let me make a movie", and then he paid hundreds of thousands of dollars.
"Roadside Picnic" ended up costing less than 200,000 yuan, all of which came from family and friends around Bi Gan. Basically all crew members are born after 90, and everyone gets zero pay. The technical flaws of the film are very obvious, and it was ridiculed that it looked like a small town wedding documentary.
No one thought that this film made Bi Gan an instant hit in 2015, and suddenly became a domestic first-line literary film director.
On the last day of 2015, 26-year-old Bi Gan married the art director of "Roadside Picnic". The song "Little Jasmine" from "Roadside Picnic" was sung at the wedding.
Soon after marriage, Bi Gan became a father. He named his son Ganuo, which is said to be from the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland. "Roadside Picnic" premiered here, and Bi Gan also took his first one here. International awards.
Almost a huge failure
Unlike "Roadside Picnic", which has a rough background, "The Last Night on Earth" has almost assembled the strongest lineup of domestic literary and artistic movies:
The director of photography is Yao Hongyi, the photographer of "Assassin Nie Yinniang", the literary consultant is Zhang Dachun, the screenwriter consultant of "The Great Master", the sound director is Li Danfeng, the recording engineer of "Fireworks in the Day", and the soundtrack is the famous musician Lin Qiang, and later Jia Zhangke's queen art. Instructor Liu Qiang also joined.
And for a literary film, an investment of up to 40-50 million yuan.
But the filming of the film was extremely unsatisfactory. Bi Gan is not accustomed to the basic process of the film industry, the script and the setting, have been fighting, and the crew has ceased to stop work. For a crew of more than two hundred people, one day's delay is a loss of hundreds of thousands.
"Three million, four million, I don't know, I didn't look at those accounts, and I was scared when I looked at them, so I never looked at them."
Later, he figured out a way to at least guarantee the completion of the daily workload: put out a page every day and write a theme on it, such as "the end of the world" and "heartland". The following is a story. After the story is over, it is the shooting method of the day. .
Sometimes there is no shooting method, but no matter what, this day, the story, sentence, and shot written on the paper must be shot.
In retrospect, Bi Gan was very calm: "Because you haven't studied hard, why would you make a movie? You have to spend time learning when you play on the computer? Movies are much more complicated, so it must be very daunting. Part of the time is learning how to shoot and how to communicate with the creator."
When filming "Roadside Picnic," he hadn't even seen the live monitor. He doesn't even know how to use the walkie-talkie. "I always yelled at the scene, and then my deputy director would come to remind me after ten minutes that you can use the walkie-talkie for the director. After ten minutes, my walkie-talkie was lost again."
However, he has his charisma. Leading actor Huang Jue said: "Bi Gan is a very provocative person. I would think he is the leader of an MLM organization. When we went to Guizhou, we joined an MLM organization. You will be willing to listen to him, or you will be curious about him. Heart".
Filming started on June 1, 2017. It was originally scheduled to end in October. It was postponed to December. The final plan for the one-hour 3D long shot has not yet been determined, but the initial funding has been spent long ago. Bi Gan knew very well that the long shot could not be taken, but under persuasion, he agreed to take the final long shot while the actors were all around.
The day of the shooting was Bi Gan's most frustrating day. "Everyone knows that the shot was a failure, because I didn't shout'over'. I didn't shout'over'. Everyone knows that it must be done again, but there is no chance because we have spent a lot of money and time."
After the filming, Bi Gan met Zhang Aijia again at the Golden Horse Awards, who was concerned about how he handled this last shot. "I told her that I could change the script, and Sister Zhang said a word that I was particularly impressed: Don't do this."
Bi Gan found that when he himself wanted to compromise, the experienced seniors persuaded him to insist. "So I must not compromise, grit my teeth, even if everyone scolds me."
After waiting until the Chinese New Year, the investor finally heard the news that the long shot could be retaken. A few days before the 30th of 2018, Bi Gan remembered that all the actors had only the last time left.
The crew rehearsed for two days and filmed for two days. The first day was abolished, and the last two of the second day succeeded. At this time, the protagonists dared to tell Bi Gan that they actually set aside more schedule for him.
One man's film history
"Last Night on Earth" started out in 2D. After entering the dream state, it becomes 3D. The audience will be given a pair of 3D glasses when they enter the venue, but they are not sure when they will wear them.
Bi Gan couldn't forget the experience of seeing Zhou Xingchi's "Su Qier" with his father when he was a child. "A sedan chair is full of swords. I am very scared. I cover my eyes with my hand and show a finger to watch a movie. I am scared and looking forward to it."
"When we grow up, we are very proficient in watching movies. Watching any movies will no longer have this very physical feeling, but can we have such a moment? In the dark movie theater, everyone looked at each other and didn’t know what to do. What to do, then put on the glasses together, and follow the characters in the movie into the sweet story below."
Bi Gan is a little bit resistant to using his own experience to interpret the birth of the movie. But his movies are full of traces of his memories.
The actor of "Roadside Picnic" is named Chen Sheng, who has the same name as the famous singer Chen Sheng. The two male protagonists of "Last Night on Earth", one is Luo Hongwu and the other is Zuo Hongyuan, both of them are musicians from Hong Kong and Taiwan who were all the rage in the 1980s and 1990s. Bi Gan feels that naming characters is a particularly difficult task, so he simply puts some of his childhood memories into it.
The heroine played by Tang Wei is called Wan Qiwen, the name of a Hong Kong actress who became popular in the 1990s. "I especially like a TV series that Wan Qiwen played, called "I Have a Date with Zombies."
"Roadside Picnic" is actually the name of a science fiction novel. Tarkovsky was adapted into the movie "Stalker" based on this novel, and "Stalker" is a film that gave Bi Gan the film enlightenment.
There are always scenes of electric lights flickering in the film. When he was a child, his parents were emotionally discordant. When he woke up in the middle of the night, he would often hear his parents arguing because of dampness, electrical problems, and electric lights always flickering, which is a symbol of insecurity.
In "The Last Night on Earth", Bi Gan arranged for Zhang Aijia's mother to run a barber shop. "My mother opened a barbershop. I want to see my mother. It must be in the barbershop because she does business in it. The smell and noise of the barbershop are all familiar to me."
The mother part is even attributed by Bi Gan to the origin of the creation of "The Last Night on Earth".
"In "Roadside Picnic", there was originally a clue about mother. It was actually quite a touching section. Later, I had to cut it out, and I felt a little disappointed. In this film, the emotional concentration of the clue about mother is very strong. of."
Always in Carey
From "Roadside Picnic" to "The Last Night on Earth", Bi Gan's story always takes place in Kaili. The 3D long shot in "The Last Night on Earth" was taken in a mine site near Kaili.
"You ask me what was the original intention of making this film. I think it has a lot to do with that place. It was originally a mine in the former Soviet Union and was used as a prison by the local government. Later, the prison was moved away. This place is completely abandoned. When I saw this place, I really wanted to make a movie for it."
After "Roadside Picnic" became famous, Bi Gan still lived in Kaili most of the time. "The geography that affects me the most is the space in which I live. Unfortunately, people don’t know Guizhou and may not experience the feelings I want to convey. I have a place where I live, I love food, and live it every day. That kind of climate, that kind of thing is hard to be experienced and trusted by others."
In order to make the film, Huang Jue lived in Bi Gan's grandmother's house two months in advance to learn the Kaili dialect. He reads a French writer Modiano's novel "Sunday in August" every day in Guizhou dialect. Bi Gan changed the name of the place in the novel to the name of the street near his grandmother's house, and Huang Jue would go around every day.
"Now everyone always sees me filming in Carey and Guizhou. Wouldn’t I make movies when I’m out of Guizhou? I think it’s very possible. You asked me to make a movie in Tianjin, but I don’t know how to do it, because I really don’t understand. that place."
"When I go to other places to shoot, I will also shoot those places as Kaili, and when you go to Kaili, you will know that Kaili is not the way I am in the movie. It is a spiritual zone that has been shaped. "
Use all possible methods to do what you want
"My movie was made for wild ghosts and wind," in 2015, Bi Gan became the youngest Golden Horse Award Best New Director in history and gave his acceptance speech.
"Roadside Picnic", which was invested less than 200,000 yuan, was screened for 10 days and earned more than 6 million box office. Then investment flocked to Bi Gan.
Many people would be curious, what would such a person making art films do with so much money?
""The Last Night on Earth" is my answer."
"Roadside Picnic" and "Last Night on Earth" are very different in quality of craftsmanship. In fact, I deeply understand that it must not be money that makes you different, and capital that makes you different. Money is indeed important. Whether it’s more than 100,000 for a picnic, or forty to fifty million now. But can money make a movie more imaginative? No."
What makes a difference is imagination.
In "The Last Night on Earth", Bi Gan cuts a train. "Actually, the script is not written that way. Who dares to write that way? Because it can't be done."
There is only one railway station in the script, and the abandoned train carriages are the background. As a result, on the day of the shooting, a group of outsiders came and brought a cutting machine to scrap the train site.
"The producer is in a hurry, I'm finished. If you cut it off, how do we shoot it? I suddenly felt that it would be better to shoot when he was dismembered? It feels like the memory is being dismembered."
Bi Gan stuffed the other party with two cigarettes, and asked them to wait a while and wait for him to correct the script before shooting. In the end, Bi Gan was very satisfied with this scene.
"I think all the memories should be on that iron sheet. It should be like a painting. If the brightness is normal, we will find its texture, which contains many past events.
"If there is a 20-minute short film, I would like to have the lens facing the iron sheet from the first frame to the last frame. It will be very touching," he was immersed in his memories. "Of course, only those who have the habit of reading images can appreciate it. But that piece of iron sheet is really good."
Bi Gan has his own way of telling stories. Luo Hongwu and Wan Qiwen eloped and were caught by Wan Qiwen's lover, the gangster Zuo Hongyuan. At this time, most people would bluntly beat and insult them, but Bi Gan did not do so. He just asked Zuo Hongyuan to sing five hundred "The Reason for Being Strong".
"Zuo Hongyuan must put pressure on them, bullying, and they have all happened, but the most emotional part must be that he is singing. The song is what he says in his heart. For Zuo Hongyuan, it is a lyrical one. At a moment of helplessness, there are many complex emotions in it."
Today, the box office pre-sale of "The Last Night on Earth" has exceeded 100 million yuan, but Bi Gan originally did not have much confidence in the market. He is already considering reducing the volume of filming in the future. Recently, he wanted to collaborate with Dong Jinsong, the director of photography of "The Last Night on Earth", to shoot a work with that old mobile phone that just had video capabilities.
"What I want to do is actually to build a site of my own. "Roadside Picnic" is a bedroom, "The Last Night of the Earth" is a living room, and the short film is a kitchen."
Use all possible methods to do what you want to do.
Some pictures come from the Internet
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