If nothing else, the "Once Upon a Time in China" series is Fang Yi's masterpiece so far. In the next few decades, even if he becomes more developed, this will be the masterpiece of his youth.
If we turn to a hundred years later and the predecessor Fang Yi is mentioned in future textbooks, then in that textbook, where every sentence represents the life of countless amazing and talented people, Fang Yi's label may be this
"Once Upon a Time in China" series. It won't be his tens of billions of net worth, it won't be his appearance, it won't be his box office - judged by the standards of the times, the above things are too superficial.
Only works.
Therefore, he has to promote it when he is on the show, and he also takes the initiative to promote it when he is not on the show. Whether it is in "Interviews with Yang Lan" or "Forbes", he will always mention this series. When it comes to his historical status, even Yun Danfeng
Even though he is as light as Fang Yi, he still has to show some utilitarianism.
Yang Lan also gave him time to narrate:
"'Once Upon a Time in China' is a big proposition. I think you need to break down your thoughts and let the audience in front of the TV know your efforts... I know it must be something you are very proud of."
Fang Yi thought for a few seconds and said:
"The 'Once Upon a Time in China' series is not a movie. As you said, it is a big proposition that cannot be fully described in one movie... and China has a very rich history, and I am afraid that I will not be able to explain it in my entire life.
, so I set my sights on the decades after the founding of the People's Republic of China. Even so, it took me several films and many years to gain a little confidence."
Yang Lan: "There are divisions in the textbooks about ancient times, modern times, and modern times... Did you choose the era closest to you?"
"Yes." He continued: "'China's past' is not the past of the Republic of China, nor the past of the feudal dynasty, but can be understood as the past of New China, a story that happened after our nation entered modern society. "Love Letter",
"Seventeen Again" and the new movies being filmed respectively reflect the thoughts of people in different eras, what kind of stories they are like, and what kind of society they live in. I think when people in the future look back on the past, they can
Look at these movies... My skills and abilities are limited, so this series is definitely not perfect, but I hope it can play such a role."
Fang Yi said: "Hundreds of millions in box office, billions in box office, billions in box office... these things are small achievements at the moment. In fact, people in the future will not care. What they care about is the value of the movie itself. And this value will not be until the future.
Only when it has become a part of today’s era can it become more apparent.”
Yang Lan joked: "Fang Yi, you always mention the future, but what if it's a very far future? For example, in a future where humans are extinct, do the things you took still have meaning?"
"Everything that exists has a meaning..." Fang Yi started to speak and started gesticulating, "Look, human beings are extinct, and a bunch of aliens have come to the earth. They are digging the earth, ah, or using other methods.
Technology - I don’t know how they did archeology at that time. Anyway, they have detected that civilizations were born on this planet, and we were among the civilizations, and at a certain point in time, we have a few representative images that can be used for reference.
, even the aliens said after seeing it, the photo was not bad, it turned out that there was art in this place... They didn’t know that it was me, Fang Yi, who took the photo, and they couldn’t possibly worship me. I had long since turned into ashes, but I had already
So satisfying.”
Yang Lan was taken aback. She was originally slightly slumped on her high stool. This was a slightly casual attitude. As Fang Yi explained, she gradually leaned forward and couldn't help but forget to breathe.
.
Fang Yi's words are a bit philosophical and full of the artist's wit. They belong to the creator's highest level of self-spiritual realization.
It's a bit like a science fiction story by Liu Cixin: aliens clean up the interstellar battlefield, randomly check the civilization level of the planets they encounter, and draw the earth. The lucky representative of the earth is a bunch of rural children who have just learned Newton's three laws. These rural children have
Newton's laws were presented, so the aliens felt that the earth's civilization level was up to standard and did not use "singularity bombs" to blow the earth to pieces.
Science fiction, a type of fantasy literature. To put it bluntly, it is YY literature. Most of the time it serves the same entertainment function as the novels written by Little Time Love Song. In this story, the great benefactors of mankind are those rural children and teachers.
Their knowledgeable rural teachers...but! How awesome was Newton who proposed the three laws?
When Newton was alive, did he ever think that he would be so awesome?
Fang Yi wants to be such a great man.
So whatever program he appeared on, he would say whatever he meant. Yang Lan understood what he meant and was amused. She said with emotion: "You are doing a great thing... You want to be the recorder of the times?"
"
Fang Yi did not deny her words: "I am just lucky to be born in this era, which gives me the opportunity to record."
"Why don't others record it?"
"Others have also recorded it. In fact, there are many directors who want to be like this. But the box office is not ideal, or they don't win enough awards... Taking into account both art and audience requires a bit of luck, and I happened to be qualified. I
I won’t waste this opportunity.”
Yang Lan was touched by his words and didn't answer for a while. After a while, she straightened her hair and took this opportunity to read the script and regain her mood.
Fang Yi was also thinking about what he had just said. What he had given was what he said now, from his own heart, not a pre-scripted draft.
Many true words are said in between jokes.
He was thinking: Oh, it turns out that I still have such a big goal.
——This question timed out too much and asked too deeply, so Yang Lan had to skip some prepared questions and cut to Fang Yi's latest movie.
"I heard you're going to make a war movie?"
"There is such a thing."
"War movies are not easy to make, and some of the country's emerging directors dare not get involved. It is a thankless task... The director always has to reflect his own worldview and think for himself, and the thinking of these directors may not satisfy everyone, or even be in line with the mainstream.
Values are at odds - how do you deal with that conflict?"
"I choose to do the opposite. Think less, stuff less private goods, and just restore that period of history as much as possible. Don't you have a saying today called 'the recorder of history'? I will take it as my own.
When a craftsman is done, he shoots whatever happens. I use movies to record this history."
Yang Lan: "Fang Yi, you are very famous, but you are also very mysterious, because you rarely appear in variety shows, and there are not many talk shows. There are some rumors about you... And today I feel that you are very easy to get along with, and
Very sincere, you are very suitable for interviews."