You can't survive without shaking off your baggage. These words are particularly apt for Zheng Quan and Chen Yongxu, the two directors and screenwriters of the sitcom "Let's Retire Together". When chatting with them, you can basically lie down and save some energy to take a breath after they laugh at their words.
On the other hand, looking at the precision and rigor of the lines in the work, combined with the ease and freedom of the off-stage interviews, you will come to the conclusion: Sure enough, all the hard work comes after others.
"Let's Retire Together" director and screenwriter Zheng Quan (left), Chen Yongxu (right)
A good life cannot last us, all it can give are challenges
Dragon TV's comedy variety show "Starts!" After the launch of "Sitcom 2", several groups of comedians such as "Let's Retire Together", "Super Family" and "Metropolis" have their own unique creations. In the creation, we can also see the hard work of the creative team behind the scenes striving for breakthroughs. Be careful. The first episode of the program, "Let's Retire Together" came out on top as a dark horse.
Comedy about elderly care is indeed a bit like roasting potatoes in the furnace. If the fire is too high, the potatoes will be burnt black, and the audience will be too lazy to look at it and directly deny it; if the fire is too low, it will be undercooked, and the content will not be in place, and the audience will be annoyed. Although the performances of veteran actors add a lot to the characters, the actors must be properly integrated with the characters for the effect to be effective, so the script has become the top priority.
Stills from "Let's Retire Together"
The main plot of "Let's Retire Together" is very close to life. In order to fulfill his wife's last wish, Luo Jianhua (played by Che Baoluo), accompanied by Pan Huanghe (played by Pan Changjiang), came to the "Retirement Bar". After meeting Zhang Xiaoguang (played by Zhang Chenguang), who was frustrated with his investment, and Zhang Lele (played by Qiao Jingwen), the owner of the "Retirement Bar" A series of unexpected and hilarious stories happened.
Taking the daily life of "Retirement Bar" as an entry point, "Retirement Together" reflects the difficulties and loneliness faced by the elderly in today's society, and shows the warm and mutual helping friendship between the elderly. It not only reflects society, but also can be used as a The humorous way reflects reality, hoping to convey the positive meaning and positive energy of mutual warmth and mutual help between the elderly and young people.
After the program was aired, it also received praise from more young viewers: ""Let's Retire Together: Correcting the Young People's Tragedy", this episode was so exciting, I laughed so much that I burst into tears. This burden comes one after another. , and it’s also in line with young people’s aesthetics, it’s so exciting.”
Regarding the feedback from young audiences, the two creators seemed a bit unexpected. "Actually, the jobs we usually receive are not very smooth, they are all a bit difficult, and all they can give us are challenges! Brother Quan often teaches me, Yongxu, don't worry, you can't live longer than us. But Now it seems that this job was done very well. Overall, it is good in all aspects, and the audience at the scene, including external reputation, also think this is good. In short, we are very pleased." Chen Yongxu said.
Stills of "Let's Retire Together", starring Pan Changjiang, Li Ping, Che Paulo, Ren Luomin, Zhang Chenguang
When they first received this subject, they found that the most difficult part was the age embarrassment. Because both of them are born in the 1980s, they are older than those born in the 2000s, but they are not close enough to support themselves in old age. They are in the middle age range and cannot reach up or down.
Because they are both from Changchun, Jilin Province, after being introduced, the two of them visited the largest nursing home in Changchun.
"The key word in the preliminary research is self-financing... A good friend of mine works in the health care center. During the visit, we also found that it is different from the nursing home we first imagined because it has rich entertainment facilities. Cultural life, we had a feeling at that time, and we really hoped to live in it at this time, which was also the prototype of our third episode, "Young People's Style of Living in Peace"." Zheng Quan said.
During the interview at the health care center, the two brothers saw the slogan of the nursing home, which roughly means "not to care for the elderly, but to enjoy the elderly." This sentence inspired them a lot.
"Have you noticed? People age slowly nowadays. In the past, people in their 60s seemed to be half buried in the earth. Now, people in their 60s still look very young. Not only artists, but also ordinary elderly people. Of course, in addition to this nursing home, we also I have learned about other nursing homes with relatively low prices and poor environment. In the end, when it comes to the script, we still hope to convey to everyone the feeling of loving life and being positive and sunny."
During the collection process, a grandmother's poem recitation impressed the two creators deeply. Grandma said:
"As long as wrinkles don't grow in our hearts, we will always be in our prime!"
Although it is a shell of retirement, it can still track various hot social issues and smoothly connect various types of work and age groups. "Let's Retire Together" captures the vitality and makes it very fashionable.
In short, there is nothing that you can't think of, and there is nothing that uncles and aunts can't do.
sitcom Chinese drama
There is no tool man in "Let's Retire Together"
Zheng Quan, who was born in 1985, and Chen Yongxu, who was born in 1988, often work on their own creations. The younger one is more talkative, while the older one is more suitable for filling gaps. They seem to have a perfect understanding of each other. It has been more than ten years. Although according to the two of them, "good jobs don't go to us, others pick the rest." But looking at their work list, they are still dazzling and lovable. They have opened a film and television company, He also took over big jobs in a low-key manner.
Chen Yongxu has directed and screenplayed "Impulse", "Selling My Life", "Strong Works Miracles", "Northeast Axis God", etc. Zheng Quan has written and directed "Big" Characters, "Big Brother", "Strong Works Miracles", "Little Role", etc.
Both are from the Northeast, and the inherent sense of humor of the Northeastern people makes this script not lacking in baggage. Because it originated from a variety show competition, the two of them could not decide on the actors in the drama. The behind-the-scenes creation was based on tailor-made for the actors. , in this way, it is necessary to explore fresher touchpoints from the actor's own personality characteristics.
When creating, two people play six roles at the same time, typing on the keyboard and chatting for a while in front of the computer. This sophisticated and seemingly magical way of working is just a daily manifestation of hard work and active investment. .
Zheng Quan and Chen Yongxu on the set
Regarding creation, Chen Yongxu said bluntly: "The main thing is that the design by us is good, and the second is that the actors are well selected. Brother Quan and I have always been creative people. Every time we go out, anyone we meet is useful to us. Talking to people is never in vain, it’s always in interviews, it’s always in collecting stories, this has been the case for both of us since we were young.”
It's not enough to have baggage, how can a character stand up?
Chen Yongxu said, "For Uncle Pan and Uncle Paul to form the so-called CP, it also depends on creation. Yes, one tall and one short can produce a comedy effect, but height is just an appearance. It mainly expresses the relationship between offense and defense. In Only with this kind of relationship between characters can jokes be produced.”
Zhang Chenguang as Zhang Xiaoguang
Talking about the characters created by Zhang Chenguang, the two seemed to have a glimpse into the psychological state of veteran artists. "The film and television industry pays attention to the law of the jungle. Most of the roles that Mr. Zhang has received are relatively symbolic. People think that he should play a big boss who comes in and out every day. That style has quite an accent. I Brother He Quan not only needs to respond to the audience's expectations and make him a big boss, but also makes Teacher Zhang Chenguang feel different from other characters, so we designed him to be a big boss who lost all his money. The boss's temperament is also Yes, but I can't pretend at all!" Chen Yongxu said.
Talking about the relationship between the characters played by Ren Luomin and Li Ping, Zheng Quan said, "Don't you think this kind of husband-wife relationship was a more common relationship between husband and wife in that era? Everything my wife said was right. She loved beauty, laughter and life. The old man just He likes to praise his wife at all costs, and is a very optimistic and trendy 'wife-controller'. This was our initial setting for this couple, but it will be more exaggerated in the play."
"Let's Retire Together"
"During the filming scene, did the veteran actors improvise more to their characters?" the reporter asked.
"When we were filming, everyone was actually designed according to the two of us. Only Teacher Ren added a little change of style. He felt that if he acted normally, he would not be able to produce a comedy effect, so he made it for himself I feel a little effeminate. According to Teacher Ren's original words, 'I want to be a little bit horny'!" Zheng Quan replied.
Teacher Pan Changjiang's image and works are deeply rooted in the hearts of the people. When creating the character Pan Huanghe, what did you think about the most?
"Uncle Pan is a serious northerner. First of all, there is a natural contrast with Uncle Paul's image as a southerner. Uncle Pan's character will also have a more outgoing personality. If you look carefully at Uncle Pan's professional resume, it is very obvious Having become famous early, he is a relatively respected and loved artist, and he is also the leader of the military art troupe, so he must have his own temperament of being willing to teach others, so this part is reflected in the play, Uncle Pan can definitely handle it well. Furthermore, Uncle Pan has partnered with Teacher Cai Ming in many sketches in recent years. In the sketches, Uncle Pan is the weak one. So at this time, we give Uncle Pan a chance to become a serf and sing. , will he suddenly like this character very much?" Zheng Quan replied.
Che Paulo Luo Jianhua
When talking about Cha Paul, both of them laughed. It was revealed that Mr. Che has been involved in the drama since the first day he joined the group. Because Paul Cha’s character in the play is that of a confused old man.
"From the first day he joined the team, he became confused and left all his bags on the high-speed train. On the first day of fitting, we collectively mobilized all resources to help him find his bag, and finally found it. At that time, we thought he was He was confused, and it turned out... that he had been confused throughout the filming," Chen Yongxu said.
The two main creators concluded: "When an actor gets a role, he will enter the character's life in a short period of time, as if he has changed his identity. Of course, every actor hopes that this identity is interesting and can make some drama. .Although we are small and only have six episodes now, we don’t have tool people here. Everyone has a character, and everyone’s actions and language are quite unified. We thought at the time, for example, we are actors ourselves. , after getting this role, I should also hope to be able to create."
It is necessary and meaningful to work on elderly care topics
Asked how well the script was restored?
The two said that they had quietly joined the team 20 days before the actors joined the team, and were preparing and writing the script. After the actors were in place, the script was basically fully formed.
"The restoration degree can reach 95.82%!"
After shaking off the baggage, Zheng Quan did not forget to add, "Because when we were coding, we had already performed many deductions, even accurate to the breath, and the breath mouth cannot be changed. The rhythm must be this rhythm, and the baggage can ring. Again. In addition, our shooting time is limited, and if we spend too much time on-site research, we may not be able to complete it, so we basically shoot strictly according to the script.”
The two are also very grateful for the trust of veteran actors. They believe that a successful work is inseparable from the in-depth communication and harmonious relationship between the actors and the behind-the-scenes team.
Zheng Quan quickly added that the topic selection was actually given to them by the program team. The elderly care theme is very difficult to do and it is also very difficult to pay for it, so it has to be left to the strongest team.
"We are also very lucky to have chosen this topic. After such a long time of creation and broadcast, especially after seeing the feedback and messages from various short video platforms, everyone began to pay attention to and help the elderly. Both of us felt that This is a matter of immeasurable merit," Zheng Quan said.
Zheng Quan and Chen Yongxu on the set
Afterwards, the serious duo felt that the previous answers were too straightforward and simple, and Chen Yongxu elaborated on their "creative summary" to reporters:
"Elderly care is not only a hot social topic that focuses on the people, but also a people's livelihood issue that the country pays the highest attention to. However, film and television works that have always talked about elderly care and even mainly reflect the lives of middle-aged and elderly people are relatively scarce compared to other themes. It can It is said to be a blue ocean market. In recent years, with the rise of other forms of online content such as Internet movies, short videos, etc., the works of young groups and young topics have begun to suffer from serious homogenization and other problems. So we should turn our attention to middle-aged and elderly people group. So I think it is necessary and meaningful to make a work with the theme of elderly care and reflect the current life of middle-aged and elderly people, both from the perspective of market demand and social significance."
Talking about the origin of the creation of the most hotly discussed third episode of the play, the two of you explained, "Lingping culture started from Japanese otaku culture. This unhealthy trend has spread to us in the past two years." On the rooster territory, this thing is definitely not good, and we have to criticize the bad phenomenon. There is an element of exaggeration in comedy, but this mentality is relatively real, including the fact that we have incorporated here 'Why should we lie down? 'The biggest reason is actually unhealthy workplace culture."
Zheng Quan and Chen Yongxu on the set
They have also worked in film and television companies themselves, and they have an understanding of the employees' fishing mentality in the workplace culture and the boss's ideas of drawing cakes.
"We have touched fish, we have painted cakes, and Party A and Party B have done it, so it is extended to our drama. Look at these elderly people in our drama, they live full of vitality and positivity every day. But young people are now obsessed with all kinds of things, and they can’t afford to live even if they lie down. We think that integrating these two phenomena should be a good contrast. But we didn’t think that this episode would be like this at the time. Exploded." Zheng Quan said.
Talking about the difficulty of creating sitcoms, Chen Yongxu said: "The most difficult thing about sitcoms is investment, because there have been few hit sitcoms in recent years, so investors are more cautious about investing in this genre. We still hope that you will A big producer in the film and television industry can invest in our show, because the current six episodes should show the strength and dedication of our entire team, including the quality of the film we have demonstrated."
After a few episodes were aired, the famous lines in the play have been widely circulated: "He is 1.9 meters tall!" "One or two, seven hundred and five, one drink and one afternoon" and so on, talking about the ending. The two behind-the-scenes creators also made a point: "The ending of episode six is quite bold. You can look forward to it. After we finished writing the script, we deleted it three times."
"Is it very touching?" the reporter asked.
"Maybe it's either touching or heart-wrenching."
"Looking at it now, there are strong calls for "Let's Aged Together" to be hatched. Is it possible to reveal some of the content after six episodes?" the reporter finally asked.
"You will have to pay for future content..."
After the interview, it was like listening to a cross talk that started and ended. The reporter sincerely suggested that the two main creators behind the scenes could make a guest appearance in the play to show their humorous nature. The two main creators also unambiguously started advertising and soliciting investment: "By investing in our drama, you can make a lot of money by investing in the project, and you also bear social responsibility. Kill two birds with one stone! One day, we will all grow old, and caring for the elderly is caring." Ourselves. ps: After incubation, we will definitely work hard to invite all popular Chinese artists!"
