After the stage of "Second Happiness", the old partners Tudou and Lu Yan starred in the TV series "Don't Panic, Your Majesty". This 14-episode small-scale work has received a very good response. The two "young humorists" on stage release humorous energy in film and television dramas, which is new to the audience, and to themselves as well.
Tudou joked about the opportunity for this project: "The two of us generate some humor energy every day, and this humor energy will leak out when it reaches a certain peak. Then it leaks to Shanghai. There is a company called iQiyi, iQiyi's humor energy receiver It became so popular that after I checked it out, I found out that the root is Tudou Lu Yan, so I told them to make a drama for them."
"Don't Panic, Your Majesty" Poster
"Don't Panic, Your Majesty" sets the background of the story in the familiar "Journey to the West". Tudou and Lu Yan, one is a "Tianting Kaogongren" and the other is "Zhuge Liang in the Demon World", an undercover king and a loyal military advisor. The relationship between the characters is... The dilemma was set up as soon as it came up.
At that time, Tudou had just watched "Chinese Tales" and liked "The Summer of Little Monsters" very much, so he asked: Can we also make a different Journey to the West story? In addition, everyone thought of "Codenamed Big Ben" in "Two Happinesses", so he came up with the idea of "lurking": "Why don't Heaven send a lurking person to help Monk Tang obtain scriptures."
Director Jin Zheyong also agreed with their creative concept and completed the script. The current "Don't Panic, Your Majesty" is a satire on the bureaucracy of heaven, and on the other is the spies of heaven who are struggling in the monster society. The strong mismatch is fully established at the beginning of the series, so that the entire series can continue to be in this big setting. The setting is full of jokes and the comedy is upgraded.
Lu Yan did not hesitate to praise director Jin Zheyong: "We respect the director's creation very much, like it very much, and learn a lot. This is something the director wrote for us 'happy people'. It can be said to be a custom-made role for us. .”
Potato as Mole Master
Lu Yan as Lingling
In this drama, in addition to Tudou Lu Yan, you can also see many familiar faces from the "Annual Comedy Competition". Wang Tianfang, Ma Xudong, Jiang Shimeng, etc. all performed surprises in the play. Tudou and Lu Yan recalled that because they were a group of old friends who had experienced comedy competitions for a long time, they communicated very directly during creation, asking "What's wrong with you?" The familiarity and closeness of the barrier.
The old guys brought a lot of security to the two of them, making this creation feel like a summer camp for a comedy competition. Lu Yan said that he has gained a lot as he has little experience in film and television creation. When a more exaggerated performance is needed, Wang Tianfang, Ma Xudong and others on the scene will directly throw out several performance methods for him to choose and combine.
There are many familiar faces in Flower Neck Mountain.
For Tudou and Lu Yan, the current cooperation is also full of tacit understanding. The two also experienced friction in the early stages of their cooperation. "First they couldn't get along, then they got along again, and now they don't get along anymore. They just ask questions: 'You are wrong.' The cost of communication is extremely low."
Lu Yan remembered that one time he was working on dubbing, but the two of them went to separate recording studios. "I didn't even need to listen to his lines. I just imagined his tone and finished recording. Once I heard it, the emotion and speed of speech were actually the same." "I think this is the result of two years of hard work, because I can fully imagine what he would say," Lu Yan said with a smile, "But Tudou probably didn't think about it when he recorded it."
"Then I really didn't think about it. You were born right in front of my eyes," Tudou continued, "I also asked the sound engineer, is there no ventilation here? I seem to be lacking oxygen. I can see something......"
"Can you generate the way Lu Yan talks? Humanoid AI, but only generate Lu Yan?" the reporter asked.
"It's disgusting." "It's indeed disgusting, but what can we do?" The two never let their words fall to the ground.
The growth of tacit understanding is only one aspect of the change. On the other hand, the two are gradually becoming mature artists.
The "maturity" of the two people comes from being put in the public arena and being scrutinized and commented. "Once you go on the Internet, you will face evaluation. This is what every performer must bear." Tudou said, "I used to think that we would be brave. Be yourself and say what you should say, but the results will still change. Is this a kind of maturity? We can't say."
Lu Yan said frankly that he is personally more affected by online evaluations. "External voices will affect you. For example, others say that you can only play one kind of role. I am a grudge-type personality, and I will be grudged to study. I think overall this The impact is still upward.”
For Tudou, criticism from the outside doesn't matter. He listens to what is right and understands what is wrong. "Everyone is under great pressure and it's time to vent their emotions." But praise is "unbearable" for him. "You can still reflect on your mistakes when you are criticized." "Where do you think you are being praised for?" This is almost a pragmatic way of looking at things.
In addition to being cautious in the face of external evaluation, pressure also comes from within the industry. From the comedy competition stage to film and television dramas, every step the two take is not easy. Most actors are always in the position of being selected. "The first criterion for choosing an actor is always whether they are suitable for the role. The first criterion for whether they are suitable for the role is always appearance and figure. The two of us are restricted." Tudou He said frankly, "Those who come to me are village cadres and leaders, and those who come to him are bullies, gangsters, or pure fools."
Lu Yan has lost 40 pounds during this period, and his image has changed drastically. He admitted that it has something to do with being "selected." "Personal choice depends on external conditions, so I focus on comedy now. I can't judge the individual." Subjective wishes are still caused by reality. As for Tudou’s love for dramas, you have to let Tudou speak for himself.”
It turns out that in addition to comedies, Tudou has quietly tried other genres in the past two years, such as dramas. He joked that when filming "Don't Panic, Your Majesty," he was able to switch from stage performance to film and television drama performance, but before that, in other film and television works, "I was confused because of poor acting," he recalled, He was also joked: "Look, no one can catch Tudou's show."
Frustration can indeed bring about reflection. After meeting professional film and television actors, Tudou respects them very much, "Good actors are really different. They will be immersed in the creation of characters for a long time, thinking about the characters all the time, and never pull away. Come out. I think we also need this kind of concentration." In his view, creating genres other than comedy is a honing process: "Even if our end point is comedy, we still need more acting skills to be a Generalists are the best." He pointed out that after entering the industry, time is tight and the tasks are heavy, making it difficult to sink into life, so you must find ways to use the convenience of your career to experience more life, "otherwise you will feel like you are in the industry. , life becomes shorter.”
Tudou tried to use all non-comedy means to enter life, "I really observe life consciously now. I usually go to the farmer's market to buy vegetables, and I like to observe other people. I will think about why they behave this way? How did they steal and how did they lose their reputation?" A heavyweight?"
The two's pursuit of comedy has not changed. "The most important thing is to be able to give everyone something funny."
Tudou, Lu Yan
【dialogue】
"Drama" should come before "happiness"
The Paper : What new ideas has been brought about by this attempt in film and television dramas?
Lu Yan : First of all, I am very unfamiliar with the presentation of comedy in film and television at the script stage, so when I read the script, there were many places that I could not imagine how it would look. At this time, the director would tell me that I must believe that comedy can be used in film and television. The level of presentation of the drama depends not only on our actors, but also on the integration of camera language, music and sound effects, and post-production editing. After experiencing the filming of the entire drama, I feel that these feelings inspired me a lot in my creation.
I have to learn more about acting. Because I am used to stage performances, I am always waiting to receive signals and react immediately during performances. In fact, in film and television, the processing of performances is very different from that on the stage. Generally speaking, , but the communication objects are different. Stage plays are performed for many people in the theater, while film and television dramas are for the whole society, but the camera performances, I feel, are performed for one person.
In addition, film and television dramas are so long in size, and their foreshadowing of stories and characters, including plot twists, are of course longer than our stage works. Then we need to pay more attention to the rationality of its characters and plot. If it is like our stage work, we still only prepare a few jokes, which are not enough to support something of this size.
Tudou : Let me talk about it from the screenwriter's point of view. First of all, film and television dramas will be less hypothetical. We have previously had works where a planet appeared on the stage. In film and television dramas, there is no way to express it like this. How much money do you have to spend to make people Believe it or not, that planet has come to see you? In addition, we present foreshadowing on the stage, often monologues, such as picking up a letter, and then I say what the letter describes, and directly explain it in the language of the camera in film and television works, which brings more creativity to the creation. possible. But this also means that in the screenwriting stage, you have to imagine how the director will shoot, and you must align the picture with the director.
Second, there are three or four people in a stage play, and there are too many people in film and television dramas, so the presentation of each character is extremely important. I think when it comes to comedy in film and television, the most important thing is the characters. The characters are always greater than everything else. Is the character’s motivation divorced from reality? What is the character’s purpose? Whether or not there are any good stories is secondary.
As long as it is a serious comedy, it must have a good story. This is even more obvious in film and television dramas. We watch dramas to watch the "drama", not just to watch the "comedy", but the "drama" must come before the "comedy" .
The Paper : Different comedy forms have different comedy rhythms. The most important thing on the stage is the actor's performance rhythm, but in film and television dramas, the establishment of this rhythm is more complicated. I would like to ask you two about your thoughts on this aspect?
Tudou : Let’s talk about the rhythm of the performance first. Before the official start of filming, the entire crew may spend 3 to 5 days or even more time reading the script. This is the running-in stage for the actors. We used to think that professional actors all came from a few institutions, and everyone's performance styles should be very consistent. In fact, everyone's styles are very different. It takes many days of running-in to twist everyone into a rope and move the rhythm to the same point.
Lu Yan : I think the rhythm of a good film and television comedy is very heavy on editing. I feel that a good comedy director should achieve a unified style of writing, directing and editing, which requires a lot of time and energy to complete.
The Paper : The two characters this time are actually based on animal images, one is a panda, the other is a mole. Based on the characters, will there be some design in the performance?
Lu Yan : Before we started filming, we had a storyboard in comic form. At that time, I saw that my character in the storyboard was very cute, which was a big challenge for me! It's impossible for me to act like a real panda. I can only find a certain level, which is how to make people look at it without being disgusting.
Tudou: In fact, we have very few animal-like elements, except for the obedience and individual behavioral characteristics that are more obvious.
The Paper : The two of you seemed to have different preferences for comedy genres before. Do you have any new preferences or thoughts about comedy forms now?
Tudou : I especially like the comedy works of teachers Ning Hao and Feng Xiaogang in the past few years. Many of the comedies we see today are "acting" comedies. In the past, the comedies made by teachers Ning Hao and Feng Xiaogang relied on the dislocation and conflict of the plot itself to produce comedy. When I look back now, they are particularly advanced.
Lu Yan : I would also like to add that the things I like should be funny, but not for the sake of being funny.
Stills of "Don't Panic, Your Majesty"
Sometimes, "praise is a burden"
The Paper : Unlike stage performances, film and television dramas cannot get immediate feedback from the audience. Instead, you will see a lot of messy sounds on the Internet. As an actor, how do you identify these voices and judge your own performance?
Lu Yan : I am very simple. After having in-depth communication with the director, I just trust the director’s judgment. I think trusting others is also a kind of ability, trusting collaborators, and trusting that the team will make something good together.
Tudou : On set, you must only think about the show, the audience, and reviews. I think that’s the product manager’s idea. As for whether our comments after the broadcast are objective or not, this is a matter of where the creators put themselves. If you think of yourself as an artist, that's one thing, but I feel that we are in the service industry to make everyone happy, so don't do things that cause trouble for everyone.
The Paper : Will this purely service mentality affect creation?
Tudou : To be honest, yes, I think 99% of creators today will subconsciously reflect on themselves after writing a certain plot: Is this suitable for me? Will it offend anyone? But there is no way. As a creator, you have to face criticism from the outside world.
The Paper : Sometimes being liked is also a burden. When people like you, you will care about where the like came from and when it will leave. As a creator, do you have this burden?
Lu Yan : I think the two of us have not yet reached the stage where we are worried that "the people who like you may leave you", because most of the people who like us like the works, and I think the creative pressure brought by liking the works is still Quite big.
Tudou : Sometimes I can’t bear it when faced with praise and expectations from others. I haven't solved this problem yet. My solution is to use the Internet less. If he scolds me from a comedy perspective, I will accept the criticism; if he only expresses emotions, I feel that everyone is under a lot of pressure. On the contrary, I feel that praise is a burden. Even if you are criticized, you can still reflect on your mistakes. What is the use of being praised?
The Paper : Are you looking at evaluation from a very pragmatic perspective?
Potato : There may indeed be some pragmatism in this.
The Paper : Don’t pamper yourself at all?
Tudou : Yes, it is true that I torture myself, and I admit that this mentality is not very good.
The Paper : As a person, you are quite interesting.
Tudou : Is this a compliment? !
Lu Yan : He was praised as a human being (laughing).
The Paper : The more experienced you are in performing, the more mature this set of things will be. Do you need to maintain the enthusiasm to make breakthroughs, or to try something that makes you less comfortable?
Tudou : I am new to film and television. I still have many shortcomings in this system. It takes time and experience to first find the comfort zone and then break through it. In the long run, I want to make a breakthrough, but at least I haven't found a way to be good at it yet.
The Paper : In the past two years, as you have become more and more professional as an actor, do you think the order of important things in life has changed?
Tudou : I feel now that my dog is very important to me. My pet will always accept me unconditionally. It will eat what I give it and wait for me when I come home. Pets give me the strongest sense of security, second only to my family. I think the sense of stability they give me is very important to me.
Lu Yan : I used to think eating was the most important thing, but now that I’m losing weight, I can’t eat many of the things I want to eat.
