There are jokes about the "Wong Kar-Wai Victims Alliance" circulating on the Internet. Due to the popularity of "Flowers", mainland actors have recalled this special journey in interviews one after another. The circulation of many jokes has deepened the profoundness of this alliance. impression. However, what does it feel like for an actor to truly enter Wong Kar-Wai's field of vision? Will it really break down on set? Confused? Painful?
Chen Long’s answer is——
"I said I want to be abused by him now, but I don't know when I will be able to be abused."
"Actors are very lucky to meet a director like Wong Kar-wai."
"Continuously smoothing the edges of our performance, what remains in the end is the most life-like part."
Stills from "Flowers", Chen Long plays Tao Tao
Chen Long feels that he is lucky, "If the selection conditions were not so harsh, it does not mean that I must find an actor who can speak Shanghainese. I may not be able to get my turn. This is not modesty, this is a very real problem."
After four auditions spanning four months, Wong Kar-wai gave him Tao Tao's script. “I don’t know why, but Director Wong Kar Wai saw this side of me that few people see, which is a little bit of a little 13 and a little bit of humor. Maybe I would only show this in front of my closest friends. Show it.”
The drama version of "Flowers" seems to be closely related to the novel. Many characters have been changed, but Tao Tao is one of the few characters who retains more characteristics of the original characters. Therefore, Wong Kar-wai asked Chen Long to go back and read the novel. In addition to reading Tao Tao, We also have to look at Xiao Mao, "The director gave Tao Tao some of the good parts of Xiao Mao's affection for his friends and his very good character."
The audience may not necessarily have a familiar nostalgic feeling when watching Mr. Bao's stock war, but they will definitely recognize it when they see Tao Tao carrying a mobile phone in her bag and chatting with the foursome of Tokyo Night. This is the era and time in their memories. Shanghai.
Chen Long accepted an exclusive interview with The Paper.
[Chen Long’s self-report]
I have never tried a character like Tao Tao.
In June 2020, I received a call from the casting director for the first time, asking if I could come to Shanghai to try out the role. I said of course I would, because I knew that Hu Ge had already accepted the role.
I met with director Wong Kar-Wai for the second audition, and he came up with the idea of trying out Tao Tao. Maybe because I felt relaxed during the first try, the director might have seen something in me.
For me, few directors or producers would choose me to play a character like Tao Tao, because I may have played more positive characters before, such as Wu Song and Meng Datong, but Tao Tao like the one described in the novel characters, I have not tried.
"Water Margin" stills, Chen Long plays Wu Song
"Nirvana in Fire" stills, Chen Long plays Meng Zhi
Stills from "Flowers", Chen Long plays Tao Tao
Over the past three years, I have become one with the character. As soon as I put on his clothes, blow on my head, put on jewelry, and hold my mobile phone, I feel like I can instantly transform, speak, or follow others. The eye contact between friends will be completely transformed by Taotao, and there is no longer any barrier between us.
The character Tao Tao appears at the beginning of the book, but this character has a tragic fate and is a tragic figure. Did you say he got the love he wanted? In fact, no, he gave up his original wife to pursue his so-called love, but in the end it was all in vain.
But Tao Tao in the play has two words of affection in his heart. Whether he is towards A Bao or his own family, he still pretends in his heart that the red line has never been crossed.
He will have ideas. I think the most endearing thing about Tao Tao is that he dares to think and doesn't avoid it. He is a normal person. The great thing about the director is that he did not judge this matter from a moral high ground. He just added all these elements to a character, allowing him to express and develop freely, and let the audience judge for themselves.
In my heart, the part closest to Tao Tao and I is "truth". He is willing to share things with Abao that cannot be shared with others. Movies and TV dramas allow the audience to see it, but you don't know what others think in life.
Taotao and Fangmei
Tao Tao is a Shanghai man. The most important characteristic of a Shanghai man is that he cares about his family. No matter how much he doesn't like to go home, he will still go home at night. No matter how fancy he is outside, no matter how much he drinks, no matter how happy he is chatting with the little sister-in-law, he still wants to go home. go home. Even if he gives you the key, he will not open the door.
He has a lot of imagination, but he never dares to take that step. No matter emotionally or career-wise, he still has a bottom line.
The key given to Tao Tao by my sister-in-law.
He still loves Fangmei, and the red line between husband and wife cannot be broken. He has true feelings for Fangmei.
Do you think Fangmei is a fierce person? It must be fierce, but does Tao Tao have to be strict? He doesn't deserve it, he must be controlled. Tao Tao is the kind of person who is controlled and wants to struggle and break free, but he will never take that step.
He is still very caring for his family. Just like the first scene, there are actually some details that the audience may not be able to see if we don't interpret them. Abao's first fund was given to him by Tao Tao. How did Tao Tao get it? If Fang Mei hadn't turned a blind eye, would Tao Tao have gotten the money? This is not Tao Tao's own money, this is his family's money. If someone really gives all his family's money to another person, wouldn't you pursue it? If she really didn't want to, Fangmei could chase her back, but Fangmei didn't do that. So Fangmei is still very warm inside. She loves Tao Tao very much and supports Tao Tao.
Tao Tao, with Fang Mei's acquiescence, gave all the money to Abao for stock trading.
Taotao and Abao are one and the same.
Tao Tao always has a brotherly feeling towards Bao. In front of Tao Tao, Mr. Bao can say anything. In front of Tao Tao, he is not Mr. Bao, he is Abao. One detail is that Tao Tao has never called Mr. Bao. In Tao Tao's mouth and in Tao Tao's eyes, he will always be Abao. It can even be said that for Tao Tao, Abao is family.
Tao Tao knows A Bao's many characters and tempers best, so he will also persuade Mr. Bao to say whatever he needs to say. Tao Tao will also persuade Mr. Bao, but he cannot make decisions for A Bao. There is no relationship between brothers. Without talking about it, Tao Tao also dumped all these things on his little sister-in-law. To each other, they are an outlet for each other.
In fact, I think they are two sides of the same coin. There is a detail, we put up our collars together in the wedding photos. This was designed by the director and added to the details between the two people. He hopes that through some small actions, the audience can feel that their relationship does not last for a day or two. .
"Flowers" stills
In Abao's mind, he felt that Tao Tao was a troublemaker: I have to protect this person and look after him for Fangmei. He may occasionally have some deviations and wanders, so I have to hold him and occasionally give him money. Just give him a little.
In this play, every character positions himself very accurately. When Mr. Bao’s business grew bigger and bigger, other friends more or less followed and made money, but Tao Tao did not follow. He was willing to stay at the seafood shop. Here, I think there are two reasons.
One is that others are good, but they may not be good to you. You may not be able to bear the wealth and emotions they have on you. Tao Tao felt that his current range and height were the most suitable for him. He was very comfortable, without any danger, and at ease. This was the state he wanted.
My biggest gain from filming this movie is that I have put myself in the right position. What others do well for you may not necessarily be good for you, and you may not be able to bear it.
Second, no matter what, Mr. Bao, if you soar again, you may fall down one day, but with Tao Tao here, I, my brother, will support you. If you cannot fall to the ground, you will fall into my hands. This is called "brothers coming out of the nest". It doesn't matter how far you fly. If you fall down, I will still be there. I can't take risks with you.
Filming Wong Kar-Wai's scenes is very enjoyable for me
We have a script, but it is not as consistent as other TV series. The director gives our actors a lot of room to play, and he will adjust the script according to the actors.
Many people ask me, is the director abusing you? How does it feel? I said I want to be abused by him now, but I don’t know when I will be abused.
After you have experienced this once, you will know what it feels like to really put your heart down to do something. The director spent ten years preparing and three and a half years filming. He was constantly refining the film every day to present the best to the audience. Maybe for him, there are still many regrets. But he was already trying to convince himself.
We often shoot multiple times, more than 10 times is common. He had this time for us to polish it, which other crew members didn't even want. I think others are really envious of it. Many times, our scripts are constantly adjusted based on the scene, and new inspirations constantly come out. He will find some of the actors' unique personalities and languages.
Each actor will be paired with his own BGM. We have music on site when filming. He has thought about the background music and psychological activities of each character. When we walk in the scene, there is music to pave the way. The official filming It’s only when you turn it off, but you already have this rhythm in your heart. It’s a very special way of working and it’s very enjoyable for the actors to be on set.
This role is an unexpected gain for me. The second gain may be of lifelong use. What the director has worn away over and over again are some of our so-called habits in performance over many years. Now no one tells me whether my acting is good or not, and it will take forever to finish filming. Everyone applauds and claps, and few people find fault with you anymore. This play constantly smoothes the edges of our performance, and what remains in the end is the most life-like part. When you're not acting, that's what Wong Kar Wai wants.
Every time we take a shot, we will watch it in front of the monitor with the director. Every time he sees a little detail, he will stop and talk about what the eyes should be like here, why you have to look back there, and why the language can't be spoken like this. He would say, the look in your eyes is not that of Tao Tao, but that of Chen Long.
For the scene where Tao Tao delivers crabs to the little sister-in-law, we shot two plans. The first time the director chose an alley, the words were actually the same, and it took a lot of effort to perform. After the director cut it out, he may have felt that the taste was still a little bit off. I don't know what he thought afterwards. I went and re-shot the version you see now.
We went to Zhang Yuan to take pictures of Zhang Yuan before it was renovated. The environment was a little more crowded than inside the alley, and it seemed more ambiguous. There are many people and the two characters are moving up and down. For example, when they are in the alley, there is no such detail as two people whispering to move forward.
At that time, the living conditions of Shanghainese were that there were several households on one floor, and gas stoves were shared. It was difficult to have a very private space in the corridor, but the two of them created such a space on their own initiative, so some words must be said. Talk about it when you are very close. There is a sentence that I added myself. I said that your hair smells good today. This sentence is a step forward, and such details are constantly adjusted.
Tao Tao whispers with little sister-in-law
This scene shows that Tao Tao is indeed an unruly person, and he also wants to engage in those ambiguities, but if you really let him go, he can't do it.
Sometimes it's fun to add some small movements to the characters. The BGM for this clip is "Don't Pick Wild Flowers on the Roadside", which was added later and was a stroke of genius by the director.
The official blog of "Flowers" specially cut a MV for "Don't Pick Wild Flowers on the Roadside" for Tao Tao.
You can go back and look at some of the details of this scene. When Tao Tao looked up, the sister-in-law came down from upstairs. Every time I took the camera, she would bring a little bit of the edge of the stairs upstairs. Then when the sister-in-law came down, her hands would pass by the camera and in front of my eyes. , but the person does not appear, only the hand, and when I go back, the hand still goes up. These details create an ambiguous atmosphere, and she is always in my sight.
There was also the scene where I grabbed the little sister-in-law on the street. I couldn't act it out at the time. I don't know if it was because I was embarrassed or because I hadn't acted in such an emotional scene for a long time and I couldn't express it.
The director acted it out for me. He said, just think of yourself as Andy Lau and act however handsome you want. I acted exactly according to what he said, and the effect was really good. At that time, I thought that I was Andy Lau or Tony Leung, and I must have that kind of confidence. Now I may be called Pu Xin. Ha ha.
The live group scenes are also polished over and over again, which is also where the director is great. Each of us has just recited the lines countless times, walked through the scene countless times, and rehearsed the play countless times. Each time it will be different and there will be adjustments every time.
Night Tokyo Foursome
First of all, we are familiar with each other, and this kind of emotion cannot be faked: Ma Yili and I are old friends for 30 years; Teacher A Qing is a famous performing artist in Shanghai and a very representative burlesque performer; I am also a fan of Papi’s works. We're very familiar with her. Although it's our first time working together, she's too relaxed. As soon as the four of us came together, we knew we had a chemical reaction. We all know how to advance and retreat, how to make choices and humility, and how to work together as a team.
The opponents are so important. If you cast a few people who are not from Shanghai to play the role, it really doesn't have the same flavor. It’s not that we praise ourselves, it’s because we have lived this kind of life since we were young. We are no strangers to this environment and this language. Many reactions are instinctive reactions. Many languages are not in the script. Words come out.
The scene where Ling Hong and Reiko quarreled was very representative. It was too difficult for me to act in the middle. I had to speak through gaps, and many of the words were not written in the script. Linghong stuffed the paper into it and ate it. I said it could be eaten. These words were all added by herself.
That's Reiko and Linghong's main scene. If you interfere too much, their scene will be ruined, but if you don't add any words at all, your character will be useless. So you will see me acting like a commentator, saying things like, "How can you really eat it? You still cut it out, how disgusting it is."
"Flowers" stills
Tao Tao should be my uncle's generation
In my memory, from 1993 to 1994, I was already seventeen or eighteen years old, and Tao Tao should be from my uncle generation. They were full of strength, enthusiasm, and hope for life. Shanghai was indeed full of vitality at that time, and there was hope everywhere. Some people resigned from state-owned enterprises at that time and went overseas to start their own businesses. There were many such people around me.
These people are vivid in my memory. If you ask me to restore them now, or just catch a shadow, there may be few treasures in life, but there are many Taotaos.
Tao Tao has such a thick gold chain, and he deliberately takes it out every time. He has two gold rings on his hands, and wears a gold watch. I saw on the Internet that someone took out several of our watches and asked how much they cost. In that era, it was very impressive for someone to have such equipment.
Do you know why he always carries a bag? The bag was full of cash. There were no cards at that time. All transactions when going out to eat were in cash. There was at least 10,000 yuan in cash in his bag, but he didn't take it out. It was just opening time, and there were many self-employed people, like Tao Tao, who made seafood and made clothing. There were a lot of people in this class, and it was a very honorable thing to go out and take out cash.
Tao Tao often goes out with her bag under her arm.
In fact, people who sold seafood in those days had a little money, especially people like Tao Tao. He also had a person like Mr. Bao who could speak with him. As long as Mr. Bao was not around, he felt that he was Mr. Bao, and everyone gathered around him. He felt very good and felt that he was Mr. Guling Lubao. Many people may be able to get close to Mr. Bao as long as they get close to Tao Tao, and they can more or less hear something about Mr. Bao from his mouth. Others are also willing to coax him, and Tao Tao also enjoys it.
The difference between Guling Road and Huanghe Road is huge. It's not far away, but in Shanghai, there are too many wet markets like this on Guling Road. I was born and raised in Shanghai, and my ancestral home is Ningbo. My grandfather’s generation came to Shanghai to do business. I was born and raised in the old Luwan District, which no longer exists, so I am not unfamiliar with these scenes at all.
Taoji Fisheries Store on Guling Road
The wet market in Shanghai used to be like this. The ground was full of water stains and pitted. The market was very noisy. People screamed here and there. How much money was there? People were still trying to get business. It was very market-like. It was very noisy. There are fireworks, this may be the life of Shanghai people. Nowadays, most people go to supermarkets to buy groceries. Some vegetable markets have been renovated very well. This is of course an improvement, but compared with this version of "Flowers", there is much less smoke and fire.
No matter how popular "Flowers" becomes, my mentality remains stable
In 1996, the first movie Ma Yili and I collaborated on was "Vacuum Love Record". I was only 19 years old at that time. That play was a very big turning point in my life.
Chen Long and Ma Yili during the "Vacuum Love Record" period
Before that drama, I had been working as an extra or even a guest actor, but I enjoyed the experience of those few years and finally found an industry that I loved.
The accumulation during that period has been very helpful for my mentality. No matter how popular "Flowers" is now, for me, my mentality is not bad. I still do what I like to do. things. Until now, I haven't changed. I told my wife that if I really don't like acting, I might stop acting.
"Vacuum Love Record" was staged through casting, which is very fantastic. This kind of story will never happen again. There were actually very few casting channels at that time. At that time, the crew published a recruitment notice in Shanghai's "Xinmin Evening News". A relative of mine saw it and cut it out and gave it to my mother, who gave it to me. I went to audition just like I auditioned for 100 other dramas, and I auditioned three or four times. I received a call from the crew during the Mid-Autumn Festival of 1996, officially informing me that I would be the male lead in this drama.
Chen Long’s wife, Zhang Lingzhi, wrote on Weibo: "After following "Flowers" ing... I found many old photos of @陈龙 at home. We also had an idol period."
Later, I filmed a large number of idol dramas. There were a lot of idol dramas at that time. After our drama came out, all kinds of idol dramas came out, such as "True Confession", "Yuanlai Family", etc., so I was once considered an idol drama actor. This title has stuck with me for about ten years. It wasn't until I played Wu Song at the age of 35 that others said he was no longer an idol drama actor.
Because you are old enough, what will you do if you don’t transform? It was considered a blessing of fate at that time. Fortunately for me, for every age group I reach, there is an age-appropriate drama to support it. There is no way to avoid age for actors. There is no point in trying to beautify your face. Your mental state, mental state, appearance and other aspects have already reached that time, and they will change.
Transformation is not an easy thing. You have been deeply ingrained in the hearts of the audience. Before playing Tao Tao, who would have thought that I could play Tao Tao? Before I played Wu Song, many people questioned, how can an idol drama actor play Wu Song?
I don't mind others labeling me. It's just a matter of recognition. It may allow others to know you better, but it makes no difference to me.
