From the "Fengshen Trilogy" based on 3,000 years of national mythology to the adaptation of the 30 billion-viewed peak Chinese comic "Under the Alien", director Wuershan recently received a hot search, "Wuershan never destroys IP". The movie version of "Under the Alien" starring Hu Xianxu, Li Wanda, Feng Shaofeng, Na Ran and others will be released nationwide on July 26.
On July 24, the film held its Shanghai premiere at Shanghai Cinema SHO. Director Wuershan, co-director Xia Peng and actors Hu Xianxu, Li Wanda, Feng Shaofeng, Qiao Zhenyu, Wu Jiakai and Chen Peter appeared in the post-screening interaction and shared with the audience the journey of filmmaking. Wuershan was quite emotional about the expansion of the types of adaptations of Chinese style supernatural comics and the new breakthroughs of the Chinese film industry in the field of Chinese comic adaptations; and the actors talked about this journey of being a supernatural being, which was also a mixture of hardship and happiness.
Group photo of the main creators
Wuershan expands new types of industry
"When I saw "Under the Aliens", I felt very proud. It is a true fusion of traditional Chinese culture and a story about the growth of teenagers set in the current reality. It is a comic work that is not inferior to any other comic book and is something we are very proud of."
At the premiere, director Wuershan not only shared with the audience the story behind the film's production, but also elaborated on his efforts and attempts in the industrialization of the film industry. These innovations not only improved the production level of the film, but also brought new inspiration to the industrialization process of Chinese films.
Director Wuershan
Wuershan pointed out that "Under the Alien" as a Chinese style supernatural comic adaptation film represents a brand new type of attempt. Different from the mythological epic type of "Investiture of the Gods Trilogy", "Under the Alien" has made many innovations and breakthroughs in style aesthetics and production standards. Through an in-depth interpretation of the original comic and a high degree of restoration of the visual effects, the team is committed to creating a work that retains the characteristics of the comic and has the unique charm of the movie.
When introducing the filming process of the film, co-director Xia Peng said that some complex shots even need to be prepared half a year in advance. "The director and screenwriter will carefully design the storyboards for each shot based on the storyline and character settings, providing clear guidance for subsequent filming and special effects production." As for the complex actions, Xia Peng introduced, "The action director will design the action storyboards in advance and rehearse them many times. Under professional guidance, the actors conduct targeted action training, including basic martial arts skills and coordination in specific scenes, to ensure the continuity and viewing of the actions."
Co-director Xia Peng
To ensure that everything is foolproof, the team also conducted multiple pre-shooting and testing. Through pre-shooting and testing, potential problems were discovered and adjusted in a timely manner, including rehearsals of action scenes and preliminary synthesis of special effects, to ensure that every detail can achieve the best effect during the formal shooting. Under this standardized working method, actors can intuitively feel what style of movie they will eventually complete, and understand in advance what effect these scenes will have, so that they can perform more accurately.
At the scene, Wuershan also proudly introduced the new creation of the combination of real-life film-copying animation and artificial intelligence technology in the film. The memory scenes of various aliens in the film are presented by animations that transition from "three-dimensional" to "two-dimensional". With the support of artificial intelligence, "AI film-copying" overcomes the flickering of faces and unstable images under long shots, ensuring that the facial conditions and performance details of the characters at various angles are consistent, which not only prevents the delicate emotions of the actors from being lost during the performance, but also shows the visual tension of the painting style. "Everyone has seen this 18-minute film-copying animation. It should be the first movie-level image involving artificial intelligence that has appeared on the big screen. This may bring some inspiration to my peers."
In the film, the "chaos" of a large number of different martial arts dazzled the audience. Behind the dazzling and explosive special effects, there is also the ingenuity and consideration of the creative team based on Chinese traditional culture.
Wuershan hopes to make this Chinese-style supernatural comic adaptation into a work with both entertainment and cultural value, different from the traditional Hollywood or Japanese comic adaptations that audiences are familiar with. Wuershan said that during the creation of the film, the characteristics of the original comic were fully considered and the Chinese-style elements were deeply explored.
During the on-site exchange, a Belgian audience member who speaks fluent Chinese found that the colors of the exercises of each character in the film were different. When asked about the design inspiration behind it, Wuershan revealed that the visual characteristics and personality of the exercises are related to traditional cultural elements everywhere. Taking the exercises of Zhang Chulan and Zhang Lingyu as an example, the generation of their colors is related to the five elements of the human body.
"Zhang Chulan's red and white thunder method is actually a little different from the original comics. Our visual processing is more in line with the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, the overall concept of the five internal organs, five colors and five elements." Because Zhang Chulan's method is "generated from the heart and lungs. In traditional Chinese medicine, the heart belongs to fire and the lungs belong to gold. Fire is red and gold is white. Therefore, the thunder that becomes red and white after the five Yang thunder passes through the three Yang meridians of the hand is red and white. I think this is a particularly Chinese visual system. These are the aspects that I am particularly happy to express. This will make our Chinese style more clear and also comes from the deep logic of our traditional culture."
Hu Xianxu: I am very proud to have played Zhang Chulan
After watching the movie, the "Alien Group"'s eye-catching performance also captured the hearts of many viewers. Behind this, it is inseparable from the actors' long-term hard training and research on the roles in the "Alien Training Camp". After participating in the "Alien Training Camp" of "Wuershan Yanxuan", all the actors have become "practitioners". Hu Xianxu and Wu Jiakai learned Baguazhang and Bajiquan for the role, and said that the director's requirements are very high, and everyone has done a lot of training in order to try to get close to the role.
In the movie, Zhang Chulan (played by Hu Xianxu) is always "beaten in various ways", and even became what Hu Xianxu called "a must-see attraction in the alien world". In this regard, Hu Xianxu shared that he not only had to learn martial arts in the training camp, but also had to train specifically on "how to get beaten". Recalling the extensive preparations for the movie, Hu Xianxu said, "Practice". He was doing various training every day, and after training, he would think about "what to practice tomorrow".
Hu Xianxu
Hu Xianxu said that he was amazed by the anime "Under One Person" during his adolescence. "I encountered the role of Zhang Chulan when I was in college, and it took me more than half a year to train and shoot. After two years, I finally met everyone on the big screen. This is a wonderful journey of time for me. I really like Zhang Chulan and the comic "Under One Person", and I am very proud to play him."
Young actors Li Wanda and Wu Jiakai also shared their respective explorations of their roles. Feng Baobao (played by Li Wanda) is a mysterious "girl" who has lived from the last century to the present. Regarding her life experience, she can only write her own name. So Li Wanda, in addition to writing a biography of the character, also deliberately wrote a long diary in Feng Baobao's tone. She imagined fighting with pandas for bamboo in the mountains and seeing "the round moon, like glutinous rice balls". Through these actions, Li Wanda made herself closer to Baobao's mentality.
Li Wanda
Director Wuershan also mentioned the cultivation of young actors in the process of film industrialization. In "Under the Alien", many young actors have demonstrated excellent acting skills and personal qualities through rigorous training and professional guidance. They not only performed well in action scenes, but also touched people's hearts in emotional scenes. Wuershan believes that Chinese films need more fresh blood, and the growth and performance of young actors will bring new impetus to the industrialization of Chinese films.
Wu Jiakai
In addition to the amazing performances by the young actors, the participation of powerful actors such as Feng Shaofeng and Qiao Zhenyu also brought a magical sense of interweaving dimensions to the film. Feng Shaofeng often slipped in a few lines in Shanghai dialect in the film, which received a warm response in the theater.
Feng Shaofeng
Qiao Zhenyu plays Xu San, who also shows a wild image in the film, dancing Latin dance with poker cards on his head. Qiao Zhenyu said frankly that this was "a big challenge" for him, and he tried every possible way to "liberate his nature" on the set.
Qiao Zhenyu
In the film, Xu Xiang (played by Peter Chen), who has been caring for and protecting Feng Baobao all his life, also left a deep impression on many viewers. Chen Peter, a Taiwanese musician who has written popular classic songs such as "One Cut Plum" and "Late", made his debut in the film. The old man praised Wuershan on the spot: "You are very brave, how dare you invite me?" Wuershan said frankly that the old man was Xu Xiang himself, just like he walked out of a comic book.
Peter Chen
