"The Bad Tongue Lawyer", which has been widely reported in Hong Kong, will be officially released in the mainland on February 24. The film is produced by Jiang Zhiqiang and He Yunming, directed by Wu Weilun, and starring Huang Zihua, Tse Kwan-ho, Wang Danni, Liao Ziyu, Wang Minde and others.
The movie "The Bad Tongue Lawyer" tells the story of a court confrontation of "fighting poison with poison". Huang Zihua changed his image of a big boss in the past and turned into a barrister in the judicial circle, Lin Liangshui. Because of his mistake, the defendant Zeng Jieer (played by Wang Danni) was deeply involved in the unjust case. Facing the powerful family with one hand covering the sky, Lin Liangshui chose to stick to his original aspirations and launched a battle to defend the dignity of the law. He is determined to use the "poison" of court defense and means to fight against the "poison" of power and injustice.
Huang Zihua as Lin Liangshui
In the film, Lin Liangshui and Jin Yuanshan (played by Tse Kwan-ho) have two "venomous tongues" that stir people's hearts. The layers of the case, the solemn and harmonious narrative style, and the compact rhythm of arresting people make this film promote justice and justice. The righteous and Hong Kong-flavored film was well received by the audience.
On the day of the film's release, director Wu Weilun brought leading actors Tse Kwan-ho and Wang Danni to the Shanghai road show to share with fans the creations in front of and behind the scenes. Tse Junhao and Wang Danni, who contributed their wonderful performances in the film, also talked about their performance experience and growth in this film in an exclusive interview with The Paper.
Wang Danni, Xie Junhao
A different image of a lawyer, and the group performers were applauded on the spot
"The Bad Tongue Lawyer" is the debut work of Hong Kong director Weilun Wu. Although it is the first time to direct a film, he is the screenwriter, and he is the behind-the-scenes writer of "Guild Wars", "Slaying the Wolf" and "Cold War 2", which are both well-known and box office.
Wu Weilun has portrayed a poisonous lawyer who is different from the traditional screen image this time. From the depressed idler to the last stand of justice, Huang Zihua's professionalism and explosiveness in the film are impressive. Wu Weilun revealed that Huang Zihua was chosen as the leading actor very early on. Apart from being fierce in court, Lin Liangshui also has many human flaws. He is jealous, petty, and greedy for money. And the joining of "Zihuashen", who is the king of Hong Kong talk show, injects soul into the role.
Different from the rigor and solemnity that is common in court trial legal dramas, the narrative of "Poison Tongue Lawyer" often has jokes that make people laugh. Regarding these designs, the director said that he did not want to write a comedy when he wrote it. Sometimes, I write some jokes to refresh myself”, “Because I have written scripts for many years, when I feel that a certain paragraph is boring when I write it myself, I will substitute the psychology of the audience and know that I should refresh myself at this time.”
Stills of "The Bad Tongue Lawyer"
A large number of important scenes of the film were completed in court. During the preparation of the film, Wu Weilun took different production departments to the court many times to see what the judges, prosecutors, defense lawyers, and suspects were like in real cases. What was the reaction of the court police, security guards, and the people sitting behind? For the filming of such a scene, Tse Kwan Ho revealed that he went through strict rehearsals. Tse Kwan-ho, who was born as a stage actor and won several major performance awards for "The Thirteen Langs of the South China Sea", has a lot of experience in the courtroom's "tongue war" scene, "Our rehearsal and shooting scene is the real court. It turns out that the court Without a mic, the judge, jury, and prisoner sit far away, and lawyers have to be very loud for everyone to hear me, and I have to be very firm in communicating my ideas, sending that energy out to impact On the other hand, this feeling is indeed a bit like a stage play." At the same time, Xie Junhao also mentioned that the director wrote for Jin Yuanshan's biography, "This person likes litigation very much, and going to court is like being on stage for him. The courtroom is also his stage in life, and I can relate to that too."
Xie Junhao as Jin Yuanshan
Wu Weilun is very proud that in the filming of the final replay, a large number of extras who played lawyers later seemed to have experienced a real court trial without knowing the content of the script. I wanted to know what would happen after this, so when Zihua revealed who the ultimate villain in this case was, all the 'lawyers' behind clapped their hands."
The barristers in the trial scene
The role "has to be played", the old and the new all-acting school
Huang Zihua and Tse Kwan-ho, two lawyers with completely different styles but equally "venomous tongues", don't have many scenes with each other in the film, but every time they collide, "sparks fly". Kwan Ho Tse said in an interview that he enjoyed acting with Huang Zihua very much this time. "His character is Lin Liangshui, and mine is Jin Yuanshan. There is a mountain and a river. As the saying goes, 'mountains and rivers meet each other'. On the surface, our behaviors are completely different, but in fact our values and souls are common. Two people defend justice together, Only then can the power be exerted.”
Talking about the opportunity for this cooperation, Tse Kwan-ho said that I "moved my heart when I read the script" for this role. "The role of Jin Yuanshan is not only a very powerful lawyer, but also has more complexities. He is not only in court. On the surface, he shows his talent and ability, and at the same time, he is contradictory in his heart. On the surface, he gives people the impression that he is a lawyer who abides by professional codes, but when there is a conflict between legal procedures and true fairness and justice, what will he do? Choice?" Xie Junhao told The Paper that in the face of conflicts and changes, there is a series of mental changes, which is the "play" of this role, "I feel that this role is worthy of acting."
Xie Junhao
Lawyers who talk endlessly in front of the camera often appear in Hong Kong film and television dramas. Tse Kwan Ho hopes not to fall into the usual acting routines, "There are many TV dramas and movies about lawyers and courts. I have always had a question. They are in court. Is it always so impassioned and eloquent, and always running around, looking for the prisoner for a while, and the jury for a while? I asked our consultant, what is the job of a lawyer? It turns out that a lawyer can only speak in a very limited range in court and in accordance with the rules of speech.”
In order to play a real lawyer well, Kwan Ho Tse not only asked the legal consultant hired by the crew various questions, but also asked the legal consultant to be present to "supervise" almost the whole rehearsal, "We are going to the court to do some life experience, go and see We go there almost whenever we have free time. So watching the behaviors of many different lawyers, judges, and witnesses, and observing various characters on that occasion is really a very valuable experience.”
Zeng Jieer, who was involved in the case of female abuse, is Wang Danni's second film after "Anita Mui". As the screenwriter of "Anita Mui", Wu Weilun also found a lot of empathy for the actors and characters. For example, the professional background of being a model, as well as the previous "single mother" experience. Wang Danni said, "I try to bring some similarities closer, but she is always a character, and there will be some designs in it. I think that as a mother or a woman, even regardless of gender, as long as she is human, she will touch people. Inside, I trust my true feelings."
In the movie, there is a scene where she needs to communicate with her daughter using sign language. Wang Danni signed up for the elementary course of sign language class and got a diploma. "I hope that I can get along with my daughter as authentically and naturally as possible, so that I can get closer to the relationship."
Wang Danni as Zeng Jieer
In the play, she experienced a series of tragic experiences such as losing her daughter, being wronged and imprisoned, and the lawyer gradually uncovered the truth and found out that she was betrayed by her lover. Wang Danni suffered a lot in "The Bad Tongue Lawyer". She appeared in the whole play without makeup, sometimes To wear more haggard makeup. Regarding the "collapse" of varying degrees, she also admitted that this performance is not a small challenge, and even made her often "very decadent and depressed during filming, and her emotions will be affected at the moment, and she feels like she has nothing. At the same time, for this performance that requires great explosive power, Wang Danni also grasped the core of the character. It’s also a big challenge in acting.”
Wang Danni, who is not very experienced in acting, is also very grateful for the great help Huang Zihua, who is her opponent, has given her. In the film, there are a lot of generous speeches in the hard-working performance. Huang Zihua could have gone to rest after he finished the performance, but the camera was aligned. Wang Danni, he was still fully committed to supporting the opponent, "He is willing to stand there and do it with 200% strength, in order to help me enter the play, because he knows that if he speaks so seriously, he will really poke me every sentence." Inwardly, leading to my final big explosion, as a rookie actor, I am really grateful to him."
Although they are not the main characters in the film, both actors are very grateful for the experience of this performance. In recent years, Tse Kwan-ho, who has often starred in "Green Leaf" in mainland film and television dramas, said that the criterion for judging a role is not the number of roles. "Wang Danni said that after she transformed from a model to an actor, she still has the desire to try various roles, "I hope to have more different looks to present to the audience."
Wang Danni
New box office record in Hong Kong, the audience will only pay if the show looks good
Since its release in Hong Kong on January 21, the film has broken many box office records in Hong Kong film history. In addition to firmly sitting on the top spot of Hong Kong films in Hong Kong film history, it has also become the first Hong Kong film in Hong Kong film history to break 100 million at the box office.
This is the first time he has achieved such an achievement as a director. Wu Weilun expressed his happiness. He hopes to use realistic themes to bring positive meaning to the society, promote the chivalrous righteousness of keeping conscience and original heart, and hopes to make a "responsible" movie: "Everyone enjoys watching it. , is our greatest recognition.”
"Such a good result, we really didn't expect it at the beginning." Xie Junhao talked about the current box office results, his joy was beyond words, "Our goal at the box office of about 50 to 60 million was very good, and now we have exceeded the target , I am really surprised and thankful to the audience." Talking about why so many Hong Kong audiences like him, Kwan Ho Tse believes, "A lot of analysis is done after the fact, but one thing I can be sure of is that the drama must be good to impress the audience. People in a department try their best to achieve the best results."
