The synopsis of the plot of Shanhe's version of "Magic Phone" is as follows -
In 2300 AD, with the continuous development of science and technology, mobile phones already have advanced functions such as humanoid transformation, light energy charging, time travel, remote control, self-defense, recombinant genes, etc.
On this day, scientific researchers added the function of traveling through multi-dimensional space on the basis of time and space travel. For this reason, they made a mobile phone called Sha Niu to conduct travel experiments.
As a result, an accident occurred while traveling through time and space. Sha Niu in real-life mode came to the Tang Dynasty where Journey to the West is located, and fought a battle with Sun Wukong and King Huang Mei respectively.
After the war, Sha Niu consumed a lot of energy and needed to be replenished, so future scientific and technological personnel urgently recalled Sha Niu to the year 2300. Unexpectedly, the Yellow Eyebrow King also took the human race bag in Sha Niu's hand and refused to let go.
Sha Niu and Huang Mei entered the time tunnel together. During this period, Sha Niu suddenly ran out of energy and entered the modern society of 2020. She accidentally fell into the backpack of Lu Xiaoqian, who had just graduated from college and was looking for a job...
Looking at the plot summary alone, "Magic Phone" brings together many themes including science fiction, mythology, urban love, and action, and even some spy and environmental plots.
A complete smorgasbord!
According to the general probability, such "imaginative" TV series will most likely be bad movies that make money.
But "Magic Mobile" is different. Whether it is the original version or the revised version of Shanhe, the script has been carefully sorted out.
Although the subject matter is complex and the imagination is large, the main line is not confusing and it has strict plot logic.
Ignoring reality and just extrapolating from the settings in the play, there is almost no basis for being imbecile or unreasonable.
At the same time, elements such as the future mobile phone, time travel, Wukong and Bajie coming to modern times, and local superheroes (Flying Man) in the play are indeed very attractive to the audience.
Picking out any one at random will make people want to watch...
With a reasonable script, excellent actors and sophisticated special effects, Zuo Leyou carefully made "Magic Phone" even better than the original version.
After going through the script with the screenwriters, Zuo Le began to consider the casting issue for "Magic Phone".
The male protagonist, Lu Xiaoqian, has been decided for a long time and will be played by Mao Xiao.
With Mao Xiao's image and acting skills, Zuo Le believes that he can control whether it is Lu Xiaoqian, a young graduate in the early stage, or a flying man who has grown up through hardships in the later stage.
Zuo Le considered many people for the role of the heroine Sha Niu, and finally felt that Shui Miaomiao was more suitable.
Although the acting skills of a 70-year-old girl may be worse than those of actors with a bachelor's degree, her looks are hard to beat.
The mistress of Lan Xin Palace of Jade Toad Palace in "Seven Swords" is Bai Yueguang in the hearts of many men. As long as the entertainment industry lists beauties in ancient costumes or martial arts, Shui Miaomiao will definitely be on the list.
Such a great beauty, wearing a tight-fitting leather jacket, with a well-behaved, obedient and sensible look, and a sweet "Brother Qian" in her mouth, would probably make a lot of men jealous to death.
Zuo Le considered it from a male perspective and felt that Qishui girl was very suitable to play the silly girl. Except for him, almost all the male screenwriters in the screenwriting department also supported Shui Miaomiao's role as the silly girl.
However, there is a small flaw in Shui Miaomiao's role as Silly Girl, that is, this girl is slightly taller than Mao Xiao, and Silly Girl is taller, so calling her brother Lu Xiaoqian is a bit incongruous.
Fortunately, Shui Miaomiao is on the thin side and is only a little taller than Mao Xiao, so she and Mao Xiao are quite coordinated when standing next to each other. Plus, the camera makes up for it, so it's not a big problem.
If Shui Miaomiao were a little fatter, Zuo Le would not let her play the role of a silly girl no matter what.
The female lead Sha Niu Shui Miaomiao came, and the second female lead Chu Chu was handed over to Mao Xiao's old partner Zhang Jiajia.
The role of Chu Chu should be regarded as the semi-heroine in the drama. Silly girl is destined to be unable to be with Lu Xiaoqian, so Chu Chu is the most realistic choice for Lu Xiaoqian.
Of course, in order to show the unforgettable love between Sha Niu and Lu Xiaoqian, Chu Chu went to the mountainous area to teach. After Sha Niu died, she did not come back.
When three people die, leave, and are alone, it can be considered a bad fate.
In fact, judging from the plot setting of "Magic Phone", the character Chu Chu is very lovable.
He has a good outlook on life, a bold and generous personality, is kind and loyal, and he also has the attribute of being a foodie.
If the aura of Sha Niu heroine wasn't too buggy, the original version of "Qian Chu Party" might not have been suppressed so miserably.
This time Zuo Le found Zhang Jiajia to play Chu Chu. Previously, Zhang Jiajia and Mao Xiao had formed CPs many times in the "Story of the Cooking Class" series and "Wulin Gaiden", and they were almost official couples in the eyes of the audience.
With this premise, Chu Chu probably won't lose so miserably to Sha Niu. Maybe it will start a CP war and add some topicality to the TV series.
Now Zuo Le and Shan He are not like when "Seven Swords" was broadcast. They don't have similar experience. When they see fans fighting over their characters, they are afraid that it will affect the ratings and the actors.
Now that I have experienced it a lot, I also know that the more noisy the audience is, the more popular the TV series will be.
Therefore, although Shanhe will not take the initiative to hype CP, the audience will think about it after seeing the plot, and Zuo Le and the others are still happy to see it happen.
In the play, there are three women who have romantic relationships with the male protagonist Lu Xiaoqian, Sha Niu, Chu Chu and Hua Mei.
Among them, Huamei can be said to be the least likable character. In the early stage, she was simply the epitome of a green tea bitch. In the middle and later stages, she was barely cleared up, but she was still not liked by the audience.
When Zuo Le Player watched the original version, many comments and comments expressed dissatisfaction with the ending of Huamei and You Suowei.
The actor for this role, Zuo Le, did not appear earlier in Shanhe.
After all, there are only a few female artists in the company. Qishui and Zhang Jiajia already have roles. Yin Li has to go film "Don't Talk to Strangers". Yan Ni is the back-viewer, and the star position is there. It is impossible to play a female third
, which is still very unpleasant.
Therefore, Zuo Le planned to use an outside actress for the role of Huamei. He initially selected two well-known female artists, and received good feedback from them.
When Zuo Le takes time out, he will give them a try, and those who perform well will be retained...
In addition to these three people who have romantic relationships with the male protagonist, there are also several female characters who have more roles, including Sun Feiyan, He Lan who is in love with Bajie, and Mother Lu.
Sun Feiyan's actor Zuo Le was also found from outside, and he auditioned with actor Hua Mei. As for the role of He Lan, Zuo Le planned to give it to Tian Yan's best friend Wan Qian.
The boss of an advertising company and a mature woman with a strong aura. When Zuo Le watched the original version, the first actor that came to his mind was Wan Qian.
As for Lu's mother, Zuo Le found Dongshan TV host Zhang Yan, who played the fat aunt in "Family with Children". Her image and age fit the setting of Lu's mother.
At the same time, it is worth mentioning that the actor who plays Lu's father is also an old acquaintance of Zuo Le - shopkeeper Sun from "Underground Traffic Station".
Lu's father has two scenes in the play that test his acting skills, especially the time travel and Lu's mother making phone calls, which are touching, and I really can't win if my acting skills are not good enough.
That's why Zuo Le invited teacher Bao Xiaoyong, who has superb acting skills, to come and take charge.
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In addition to Lu's father, the other supporting actors in "Magic Phone" are also all good actors carefully selected by Zuo Le.
Zhu Bajie and Zuo Le originally cast Jiang Chao, but Jiang Chao got a role after "The Story of a College Student" and the schedule ran into trouble. Zuo Le had no choice but to find Hong Tao.
Compared with the original version, Hong Tao was a little thinner, so after Zuo Lecong deliberately cast Hong Tao, he called him and asked him to gain weight.
So far, the results are quite good. Not long ago, when Zuo Le saw Hong Tao at Lao Bai Shabu Shabu and the crew of "Go Boy", he found that his figure was obviously much fatter than before.
When it is turned on, it can almost meet Zuo Le's requirements for Zhu Bajie's figure.
The Bull Demon King/Mr. Fan is chosen to be Zhou Binbin. Although these two characters are villains, they have a bit of comedy, which is suitable for Zhou's comedy skills.
In addition, the last time we filmed "Seven Swords", Hong Tao and Da Zhou played the role of Zhu Wujie and the other played Niu Xuanfeng.
This time, they play Zhu Bajie and Bull Demon King respectively, which can be regarded as an upgraded version of the characters, rising from martial arts to mythology.
After talking about Bajie, we have to talk about Monkey King, the Monkey King. This role is not something that ordinary people can play well.
Zuo Le even toyed with the idea of asking Teacher Six to come out, but then he thought about it, "Magic Phone" made Sun Wukong travel through time and made all kinds of jokes. It was simply "made up".
When Teacher Six gets angry, it will be embarrassing to ask the crew to apologize...
If Teacher Six cannot be invited, then the next best thing is to invite Teacher Six’s substitute.
Ding Jian once served as the stand-in for Teacher Six in the sequel to "Journey to the West". In the real and fake Monkey King segment of the play, Ding Jian directly played the fake Wukong (six-eared macaque) and played against the real Wukong.
No one noticed anything was wrong. They thought that both Wukongs were played by Teacher Six, and were then synthesized with computer special effects.
In terms of playing Sun Wukong alone, Ding Jian is definitely at the top level in China. Even Teacher Six is only a tier above him.
More importantly, Ding Jian is cheaper than Sixth Teacher and has a good reputation. His resume in the sequel to "Journey to the West" can also convince a large number of Monkey King fans.
Even Teacher Six himself had to recognize Ding Jian's level, otherwise the matter of being a substitute would be untenable.
After the monkey, cow, and pig, there is another mythical character in the play, the Yellow Eyebrow King.
This character is definitely the highlight of "Magic Phone", especially in the early stages, when Huang Mei first arrived in modern society and was severely beaten by various modern technologies.
From the yellow-browed king who had 500 children under his command, he transformed into Ah Huang who stole other people's chicken bones and was responsible for most of the laughs in the early stages of "Magic Phone".
Poor batch!
Zuo Le didn't think of this character at all, and immediately thought of his second uncle Yan Changying.
Unfortunately, it is not easy to find a suitable and outstanding role for the second uncle. After the last Captain Jia, I waited for several years to find the Yellow Eyebrow King.
It's not Zuo Lechui, he looks like his second uncle. He dyed his hair yellow, pinched his nose, pulled his ears, and stood there with a mace. He looked like a weasel spirit.
When talking about Huang Mei, we have to talk about what you did. This character is the second male lead in "Magic Phone".
In the early stage, he was a good guy, but in the middle stage, he turned evil, and then bounced back to the decent formation. In the later stage, he even played an undercover spy game with the big villain, the Bull Demon King.
The meaning of his name, as explained in the play, is that a gentleman has certain things to do and things not to do.
But in Zuo Le's view, this guy has the sense that a rich person can really do whatever he wants. The various money-spending in the play really shows what it means to be inhumane. The most damning thing is that this character doesn't even say that he is rich.
So handsome.
Zuo Le, who has a strong sense of agency, almost played this role himself, but in the end he was stopped by the screenwriters who were afraid that the script would be ruined.
They felt that Gu Xiaoge's appearance was more suitable for this role.
However, after Gu Xiaoge finished filming "Enter Guandong", he signed a contract for a fantasy drama. The series has as many as 80 episodes. He is the first male lead, which is enough to squeeze out the schedule.
Therefore, Gu Xiaoge passed and the screenwriters used a backup plan.
Taiwanese artist, Jiao Jun.
This Jiao Jun is amazing, with outstanding looks. He became famous two years ago for playing Li Xun Huan in the martial arts drama "Little Lee Flying Knife", and is nicknamed the Living Li Tanhua.
Together with Gu Xiaoge and two other top handsome guys in the industry, they are collectively known as the four most handsome men in domestic costumes.
His appearance is on par with Gu Xiaoge's, and Jiao Jun's acting skills are also very good. Before becoming popular in mainland China, Jiao was famous as a villain when he was in Taiwan, and later he slowly turned to a decent male protagonist.
But so far, apart from Li Xunhuan and a few positive roles, Jiao Jun's fans still like his villainous roles the most.
The most common slogan among his fans is that - as long as the villain looks good, his appearance will follow his facial features.
Jiao Jun's rich career as a villain has greatly honed his acting skills. The four beauties in ancient costumes are not just based on their looks. Those who make the list are all handsome and good at acting. Even if their acting skills are average, they must have outstanding temperament.
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What's more important is that although Jiao Jun is from Taiwan, he does not have a Taiwanese accent and his Mandarin is very standard, not weaker than ordinary academic actors.
This is very rare. Many Taiwanese actors speak with Taiwanese accents and their lines are very awkward to pronounce.
Maybe other directors can make up for it with dubbing, but when Zuo Le is filming, the actors always record their original voices at the same time, and only post-dubbing is done under special circumstances.
In the case of non-foreign languages and dialects, actors whose lines are not up to standard will be their Achilles heel in Zuo Le.
Not just Zuo Le, many big directors and demanding directors have this attitude, especially movie directors. Even if they are dubbing in the later stage, they still require the actors to do the dubbing themselves. They rarely hire dubbing actors. Moreover, when filming, they must read the lines in line with the mouth shape.
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If you read something like 1234 to fool them, they will have a bad temper and let you go directly.
In the Chinese film and television industry, some big directors even have to give in to their investors. Fresh meat is awesome in front of ordinary directors, but in front of big directors, even if they are pointed in the nose and scolded, they dare not say a word.
Zuo Le is now basically among the ranks of directors at this level. It's okay to joke around at ordinary times, but when he is serious about filming, even Li Youbin and Wang Yan, who look upon emperors and queens, have to be obedient.
Jiao Jun's Mandarin skills are really a very good plus point for Zuo Le, but since they have never worked together before, Zuo Le means to let Jiao Jun try out.
This is also Zuo Le's casting habit. He has an idea of the acting skills of the actors he has worked with, so he can just arrange the roles directly. For most of the actors he has not worked with, he has to audition and check them out.
After Yu Suowei was cast, there were not many main characters left in "Magic Phone".
Wang Tianba, Xiao Wu, plus a Dongzi.
Zuo Le, the role of Xiao Wu, has already been given to Shen Teng, Dongzi can be played by Guo Jinfei, and Lei Jiayin is left to make a cameo appearance as Mr. Fan’s fellow migrant worker.
There is also a police character in the play, which can allow Fan Min or Jiang Chao to make a cameo appearance, creating a parallel time and space linkage with "Serious Case Group Six".
As for Wang Tianba, the philosopher in the world of thieves, Zuo Le plans to take part in the battle himself. Since he can't play the role of the handsome and wealthy boss You Suowei, he will become an ideological "giant"...
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In the following days, Zuo Le struck while the iron was hot and contacted actors Jiao Jun and Hua Mei Sun Feiyan for auditions. The audition ended, Jiao Jun was successfully selected, and the two female roles were also cast. The casting process for "Magic Phone" was basically completed.
Zuo Le temporarily put aside the work at hand and focused his energy on promoting "Crossing Guandong".
As May passes day by day, the premiere date of "Crossing Guandong" is approaching.
