The success of "Glory of the Han" did not make Yue Guan lose his mind.
The altar is never stable.
Today you are standing on the altar, but tomorrow if your new play fails, there is a high chance that you will fall off the altar.
Unless you never film again, like Zhou Xingchi, then you can always stay on the altar.
But Yue Guan is still young, and he will definitely not quit the entertainment industry now, so the higher he is praised, the more cautious Yue Guan becomes.
Even more cautious than before.
Originally, Yue Guan planned to make a guest appearance in "Shadow" after finishing "Glory of the Han Dynasty", and gain some imperial aura by the way. Yue Guan is not particularly optimistic about the box office ceiling of "Shadow", so he himself is not particularly concerned about it.
But "Glory of the Han Dynasty" was so successful.
Successful enough that he raised the bar for himself.
The play "Shadow" is not friendly enough to ordinary audiences.
Zhang Yimou has his own aesthetics, and his insistence on artistic aesthetics is often not consistent with the audience's aesthetics.
Great directors also like to play with metaphors, brain-burning, and inscrutable...
These problems are all present in the script of "Shadow".
Originally, Yue Guan didn't care much about these issues, and he didn't take pictures himself anyway.
But now that he has decided to play the guest role of Pei Wang Peiliang, he has begun to care about these issues.
Pei Wang Peiliang has many scenes.
If he is serious about filming, no matter how good his acting is, he will easily be involved in the entire "Shadow" drama.
So Yue Guan only has two choices left:
First, if he doesn’t take on the role of Pei Wang Peiliang, whatever happens to “Shadow” will have nothing to do with him.
Second, modify the script of "Shadow" to make it more friendly to ordinary audiences, less pretentious and more simple and heroic.
Yue Guan chose the second option.
Good emperor dramas are hard to find.
Now that I have decided to put my heart into filming, I just need to improve the script of "Shadow" even better.
If it were anyone else, it would probably be difficult to convince Zhang Yimou.
But Yue Guan now has the ability and status.
Moreover, Yue Guan wants to make changes to the script, which Zhang Yimou probably wants.
As a great director, Zhang Yimou also knows that script ability is his weakness, while color and grand scene planning are his strengths.
Therefore, it is definitely a wise choice to hand over the script to Yue Guan, who is recognized as having stronger control over the market and the deepest empathy for the audience.
Yue Guan talked to Zhang Yimou on the phone. As he expected, Zhang Yimou was overjoyed.
He had gone to Miracle Company to visit Yue Guan before, hoping that Yue Guan would give more opinions on the script of "Shadow".
Yue Guan did make some small comments at that time, but he didn't mention too many constructive ones. Because Yue Guan didn't think about filming by himself at the time, he didn't take it to heart at all.
Now, Yue Guan is obviously serious.
And when Yue Guan got serious, there was no need to go into details about his past achievements.
At this time, the crew of "Shadow" had already started filming. The national master announced that Yue Guan would come to the crew tomorrow. He also said that he would revise the script, and the entire crew immediately became lively.
Some are surprised, and some are scared.
Everyone knows Yue Guan's status, and they also know that the script for "Shadow" was provided by Miracle Company.
If Yue Guan was too hard-working, he might delete all their scenes.
But no matter how worried they were, they didn't dare to say anything.
The core of Zhang Yimou's crew will always be Zhang Yimou, no matter how famous the actor is, it doesn't matter.
The addition of Yue Guan makes the combination of Yue Guan + Zhang Yimou even more important.
I am opposed to this pairing, unless I don’t want to be in the industry anymore.
The next day.
Before Yue Guan's car arrived at the crew, the actors on the crew gathered together and started talking.
Deng Chao was surrounded by the most people, because everyone knew that Yue Guan and Deng Chao had a good relationship, and the script for "The Mermaid" that made Deng Chao famous was provided to him by Yue Guan.
"Chao, is Yue Guan easy to get in touch with? Is he arrogant?" Wang Qianyuan asked.
He is a typical late-blooming actor. His famous film was a literary film. He finally got the favor of Zhang Yimou and starred in the movie "Guoshi". If he loses this opportunity, Wang Qianyuan will be very distressed.
So he paid great attention to Yue Guan.
Others also looked at Deng Chao.
Regardless of the box office performance of Zhang Yimou's plays, as long as Zhang Yimou opens a new play and says he needs actors, there will be almost no star in the industry who won't be interested.
The national teacher has this appeal.
No one wants to lose this opportunity.
Deng Chao said: "Don't worry, Yue Guan is not difficult to deal with. He is a nice person and has no airs. As long as you don't offend him, Yue Guan is actually an ordinary person."
"Except Director Zhang, no one in the crew dares to offend him." Wu Lei said with envy.
Guan Xiaotong glanced at Wu Lei, shook his head and said, "Director Zhang doesn't dare to offend Yue Guan."
Deng Chao laughed when he heard this: "Why do you think Yue Guan is so scary? I have been in contact with him several times, and he is very approachable."
He was given two resources directly.
Deng Chao felt that Yue Guan was the number one good man in heaven.
Sun Li rolled her eyes at Deng Chao: "To you, Yue Guan is of course a good person. Aren't we worried about our own roles? Director Zhang said that Yue Guan wants to change the script."
She is the heroine of "Shadow". She has many and heavy plot roles in this drama. Sun Li actually doesn't want to change her role.
But she knew that her own thoughts were not important, only Yue Guan's thoughts were important.
Fortunately, Yue Guan and Deng Chao had a good relationship. Sun Li asked Deng Chao specifically when she and Deng Chao were sleeping last night. Deng Chao also said that Yue Guan would definitely not cheat the couple, so Sun Li was a little relieved.
But others are not so sure.
Amid everyone's discussion, Yue Guan arrived on the set.
Zhang Yimou was the first to greet him, but no one dared to compete with him.
"Yue Guan, you are finally here."
Zhang Yimou hugged Yue Guan: "I've been waiting for you for a long time."
This is true.
In Zhang Yimou's eyes, Yueguan is basically equivalent to a box office of 100 million.
It's strange that he doesn't want it.
Yue Guan chuckled and said: "I have been busy and couldn't get away. I finally got some free time, so I rushed to the crew immediately. Director Zhang, I didn't rest at all."
"It's hard work." Zhang Yimou certainly didn't mean to blame Yue Guan.
Yue Guan's original work plan did not include filming "Shadow" at all, and Zhang Yimou knew this very well.
The two exchanged pleasantries, and Yue Guan briefly got to know the actors on the set before getting straight to the point: "Director Zhang, let's do a script reading. The script needs to be revised, and everyone's opinions must also be taken into consideration."
Zhang Yimou certainly had no objection.
However, although Yue Guan wanted to seek other people's opinions, if he didn't speak first, others would not dare to speak rashly.
What if my ideas conflict with Yue Guan
Who will leave and who will stay? This question seems to require no thought.
Zhang Yimou was also very clear about the concerns of these actors. He simply nodded to Yue Guan and said, "Yue Guan, you go ahead."
Yue Guan was not polite: "Then let me throw some light on things. Director Zhang, the script of "Shadow" is generally good, but some threads are buried too deep. If you are not a professional film critic, ordinary viewers may not finish the movie. GET is not available. Such a hidden line may be meaningful for the movie, but it is meaningless for the box office.”
Zhang Yimou straightened up and asked seriously: "What about?"
"For example, Tian Zhan's line."
Hearing Yue Guan talk about Tian Zhan, Wang Qianyuan's expression became serious.
This is his role.
"Tian Zhan's line is buried too deep. I guarantee that after watching the movie, it will be difficult for most viewers to realize that Tian Zhan is actually Pei Wang Peiliang's man."
Yue Guan had read a lot of film reviews about "Shadow" in his previous life.
The drama "Shadow" written by a black man eloquently received thousands of likes, but even Tian Zhan was the king of Pei and no one understood it.
This shows one thing: those who liked him didn't understand either.
But instead of complaining about the low IQ of these black men, we should reflect on the fact that if some hidden lines are buried so that people can't feel them at all, then do such hidden lines have any meaning
It’s okay to be half a floor above the audience.
But if it's a higher level, from a box office perspective, it's actually not necessary.
It's just for the sake of style.
"Let's talk about the plot from the beginning. The background of "Shadow" is the era of war, when all the heroes came together. Jingzhou, the strategic location of Pei State, was borrowed by its powerful neighbor Yan State in the early years and was occupied without returning it. Zi Yu, the governor of Pei State, went to crusade. , but was hit by the opponent's general Yang Cang's knife and was seriously injured. The unwilling Ziyu secretly sent his substitute Jingzhou to pretend to be himself, the prime minister of military affairs, and his wife Xiao Aixiang to help.
If we divide it carefully, there are actually three parties in the movie "Shadow". The first party is the Yan Kingdom, and Yang Cang is the supreme commander of the Yan Kingdom. The second force is Zi Yu, the governor of Pei State. He has great power in Pei State and is even more powerful than Pei Liang, the king of Pei. Xiao Ai is Zi Yu's wife and Jingzhou is Zi Yu's substitute. The third party is King Pei Liang. He wants to destroy the Yan Kingdom, and also wants to kill Ziyu and become a powerful King of Pei.
Since Pei Wang Peiliang has this ambition, he is naturally not a dreamer. In order to achieve this goal, he has always taken action. Yang Ping, the son of Yang Cang of the Yan Kingdom, sent a message saying that he wanted to take Princess Qingping, the sister of King Peiliang of Pei, as his concubine. Peiliang said that he could consider it, but he didn't really consider it because Qingping killed Yang Ping in the end.
And if King Pei wanted to kill two birds with one stone and destroy Yanguo and Ziyu at the same time, he must have a plan to get rid of Ziyu, so Tian Zhan came out.
On the surface, Ziyu was dismissed by Peiliang for disobeying the king's order.
Tian Zhan directly rebelled against the court and spoke for Ziyu, "My lord is not allowed!" '.
Later, Yang Cang's son Yang Ping wanted to take Qingping, the eldest princess of Pei Kingdom, as his concubine. Pei Liang was about to agree, but Tian Zhan rebelled again and said, "Sooner or later, Pei Kingdom will be destroyed in your hands, you fool!" '
Facing the civil and military forces of the Manchu Dynasty, Tian Zhan scolded and kicked him, leaving no mercy for Peiliang.
Peiliang shot Tian Zhan directly.
As a result, the arrow hit the ground.
Tian Zhan picked up the arrow and said, "I don't have to worry about it, my lord. I will do it myself." '
Then Tian Zhan stabbed himself with an arrow.
The stab was not a vital part, but he won Ziyu's complete trust and became Ziyu's absolute confidant. At the same time, he also deceived the enemy Yang Cang.
After Ziyu was deposed, Tian Zhan became the number one general in Pei. Tian Zhan was also deposed, and Pei Guo immediately became extremely weak.
So Yang Cang began to underestimate the enemy and withdrew 30,000 troops from the city.
Ziyu also secretly found Tian Zhan and made Tian Zhan his confidant.
In order to deceive Ziyu's intentions, Tian Zhan asked him, "Commander, why do you imprison yourself in a secret room?" Why not take the lord instead? '
Ziyu was unprepared and directly told everything about the substitute Jingzhou, and at the same time expressed his true intention: "You help me capture Jingzhou City. After that, make me the king and you the governor." '
Tian Zhan, on the surface, is Zi Yu's confidant, but in fact he is a die-hard royalist.
It was precisely because of Tian Zhan's intelligence that King Pei had murderous intentions towards Zi Yu. He knew that Jingzhou City would soon be destroyed and was able to rescue Jingzhou when it was about to be wiped out by Zi Yu.
Because of Tian Zhan's intelligence, the assassins sent by King Pei were able to quickly find Ziyu's hiding place.
King Pei Liang was not a foolish king, but he was not an omniscient and omnipotent god either. He was able to control the overall situation simply because Tian Zhan was his from the beginning to the end. "
Yue Guan's words made many actors confused.
Tian Zhan is from Pei Wang Peiliang. This matter is not directly stated in the script, so many of them don't know.
After hearing what Yue Guan said, they reacted.
So that’s what happened.
If you think about it this way, the plot is indeed smooth.
"Director Zhang, is this really true?" Everyone looked at Zhang Yimou.
Zhang Yimou nodded: "That's true. In fact, this line is still very clear, right?"
People who eat melon: "..."
Yue Guan spread his hands: "You can tell by everyone's reaction. This line of plot is not explained from beginning to end. Unless you watch the movie very seriously, you will miss it."
Zhang Yimou was puzzled: "Isn't this just a replica of Zhou Yu's attack on Huang Gai - one is willing to fight and the other is willing to suffer? The arrow that King Pei Liang shot Tian Zhan in the palace is Zhou Yu's bitter trick to attack Huang Gai. It is difficult to understand?"
"It's not difficult for me to understand, but for some viewers, they can't think that far ahead. Director Zhang, just watch a movie, and you have to let the audience connect with historical events. The requirements for the audience are too high." Yue Guandao .
Zhang Yimou thought for a while, but was persuaded by Yue Guan: "Then change it and make it clear at the end of the play."
It really needs to be pointed out.
If it is not pointed out clearly, the logic of Tian Zhan's line will not flow smoothly, and the character of Pei Wang Peiliang will not be satisfactory.
Since the forbearing lord of Langya Bang (LYB) like Pei Wang Peiliang is not an incompetent and ignorant king, of course it is impossible for him to have no followers.
After all, he is the orthodox one.
Therefore, Tian Zhan is the most die-hard royalist.
After clarifying all these points, Tian Zhan and Pei Wang Peiliang stood still.
This change did not involve anyone else, so everyone basically had no objections.
Zhang Yimou looked at Yue Guan again: "Is there more?"
"Yes." Yue Guan gave an affirmative answer.
"The final ending of "Shadow" is too blank and leaves too much space for the audience's imagination, but it is not shocking enough. In fact, it could be more shocking."
"What about?" Zhang Yimou became interested.
The other actors also looked at Yue Guan.
The ending of "Shadow" seemed to them to be very clever.
Jingzhou City was captured under Ziyu's plan, and the power of Pei State greatly increased.
After the city of Jingzhou was forced, King Pei Liang fled and sent assassins to kill Ziyu, who was already seriously injured.
Unexpectedly, Zi Yu killed the assassin instead, and also went to the palace, intending to assassinate the king and kill him, and become the king of Pei himself.
At the critical moment, Jingzhou, who was also trapped by Yu Bird, jumped out and killed his real master Yu.
Then Jingzhou killed Ziyu and then King Pei.
Prepare yourself to be the King of Pei.
The entire logic line is smooth.
Shadow has everything by the end.
But it actually doesn't make sense.
Because this is not the final end.
Tian Zhan is a die-hard royalist. In order to save the eldest princess Qingping, Peiliang's sister, he was almost hacked to death by Yang Ping.
His loyalty is unquestionable.
If it was Ziyu who killed King Pei, Tian Zhan might still be loyal to Ziyu, because Ziyu is the idol of all Pei people, and also his idol. In order to save Ziyu, he also fought against more than a dozen bandits. .
But the lord died, and so did Ziyu.
Tian Zhan cannot be loyal to a shadow no matter what.
Jingzhou killed Zi Yu and Queen Pei, so he could not successfully become King of Pei. At least Tian Zhan would not let him go.
After Ziyu's death, Tian Zhan became the number one person in Pei's military.
Tian Zhan's dissatisfaction means that the military is dissatisfied.
The throne of Jingzhou is unstable.
Unless the person who walks out of the Blood Sea Palace is not Jingzhou.
Yue Guan asked Zhang Yimou: "Ziyu is the governor of Pei State, and he has the shadow that he has cultivated since he was a child. Pei Wang Peiliang's status is more noble, where is his shadow?"
Zhang Yimou said nothing.
And other actors seemed to have a window opened.
"What Jingzhou killed was just the shadow of King Pei, and then King Pei killed Jingzhou?" Wang Qianyuan's eyes lit up.
He likes this ending.
After all, Tian Zhan, whom he plays, is a die-hard royalist.
Yue Guan said calmly: "There is no need to make it clear whether the King Pei who survived in the end is the shadow King Pei or the real King Pei. This point can be left blank and let the audience guess by themselves. It is better than leaving it blank."
Yue Guan's suggestion is actually a bit selfish. After all, he plays King Pei, while Jingzhou is played by Deng Chao.
Of course he didn't want to lose to Deng Chao.
However, in terms of plot reversal, this arrangement is actually more logical.
And the audience can see it more clearly.
It also fits the name "Shadow" more closely.
The most important thing is that in this way, King Pei's character is completely established.
Zhang Yimou thought for a moment and nodded: "According to what you said, do you have any other ideas?"
Yue Guan smiled: "There is another most important idea."
"you say."
"The story background of "Shadow" has prototypes, which are taken from the Three Kingdoms. The prototype of Yang Cang is Guan Yu, the prototype of Ziyu is Zhou Yu, and the prototype of King Pei is Sun Quan."
Yue Guan's words did not shock others.
After all, they had also studied the script, and it was not difficult to discover this.
But Yue Guan's next words shocked the whole audience.
"Although there are prototypes, I have to say that the characters created in the script of "Shadow" are all low-end versions, not half as elegant as the original version."
Yue Guan looked around and sighed softly: "Everyone, the Three Kingdoms is an era of fighting and iron horses, and it is also an era of heroes. There are more than just conspiracies and tricks in the Three Kingdoms, but those who have left a deeper impression on us are A familiar hero. Unfortunately, in the script of "Shadow", except for Yang Cang who is somewhat heroic, all the other characters can only play tricks and intrigues."
No one can refute it.
Yue Guan looked solemn and said seriously: "Since we are going to use the Three Kingdoms as the prototype, we shouldn't be so petty in our filming. Director Zhang, I believe you don't want to be said that the Three Kingdoms you filmed is only about intrigues, right?"
Zhang Yimou's expression also became serious.
Of course he doesn't want to.
He thought about the script of "Shadow" carefully and found that it was indeed what Yue Guan said.
"How many changes do we need to make?" Zhang Yimou asked.
Yue Guan's answer was decisive: "Basically everything needs to be changed, because the current script is too petty. King Pei should have the world in mind, and his character is relatively good. The governor is an important minister of the two dynasties, with both civil and military skills. Is he just a skinny pervert? The reason why he regained Jingzhou is just because he was knifed? The ruler, the world, the subjects and the people, and the governor should all feel it. The lord is incompetent, and it is understandable to replace him, but there should be heroes. Where is the aura? The governor portrayed in the script is just a pervert who spies on the affair between his wife and his double. He has no heroic spirit at all.
Also, "Shadow" is a historical drama, and the fighting should have the charm of the cold weapon era. The fight between generals and generals should be a life-and-death struggle. Director Zhang, don’t be obsessed with yin and yang aesthetics. There is no yin and yang on the battlefield, only masculinity on the battlefield.
The historical prototype of "Shadow" is the Three Kingdoms era. What era was the Three Kingdoms? In the Three Kingdoms era, with the remaining power of the Han Dynasty, Cao Cao could still attack Wuhuan in the north, Gongsun could still defeat Xianbei; Sun Quan conquered the Yizhou by conquering Baiyue; Zhuge Liang conquered the southwest. This is the spirit that the Three Kingdoms era should have, a bold China, an iron horse and a fierce warrior, and a heroic spirit. Director Zhang, believe me, historical dramas should be shot this way. Don’t be obsessed with filming conspiracies and calculations. The audience may like to watch conspiracies and conspiracies, but they will always prefer heroes. Our history is grand enough, so we need to shoot it with grandeur and intensity, rather than being coy. "
Looking at Yue Guan's impassioned speech, everyone present understood the meaning of the word.
That word is called pattern!