On January 23, the first domestic nuclear submarine action blockbuster "Operation Jiaolong" held its media premiere in Beijing. Producer Yu Dong, director Lin Chaoxian, and starring Huang Xuan, Zhang Hanyu, Du Jiang, Li Chen, Jiang Luxia and others talked about their feelings about the shooting and the highlights of the film. The film will be officially released on January 29, the first day of the Chinese New Year.
Poster of Operation Jiaolong
Yu Dong said in his speech, "The first audience of Operation Jiaolong was the submarine officers and soldiers of a unit of the North Sea Fleet stationed in Qingdao. A special screening was held for them the night before yesterday. The first feedback from the soldiers after the screening gave us great confidence and encouragement. They applauded for a long time and sang the song of Chinese submarine soldiers, Don't Ask Me Where I Am, with all the actors."
"The nuclear submarine force is a mysterious force. You can see our country's aircraft carriers and 10,000-ton destroyers in newspapers and on television, but you hardly see reports and presentations about nuclear submarines because they are strategic nuclear strike forces hidden under the sea. We brought the film to the military camp and brought this answer sheet to the real 'examiner' to express our respect," Zhang Hanyu added.
Group photo of the main creators
Director Dante Lam said that the filming of Operation Jiaolong was more difficult than Operation Red Sea seven years ago. "You have just watched the movie. Several diving scenes in the film are really dangerous. We put the inner cabin in a large 18-meter pool. The actors had to carry oxygen bottles to shoot, and they had to keep shuttling back and forth in the three-story cabin."
"The director himself is a soldier, and we just complete the action scenes for him." Huang Xuan, who plays the captain of the Jiaolong team, said, "From the first battle scene on the offshore drilling platform, director Dante Lam personally led us through the scenes. He ran up and down with us holding a gun. For the diving scenes afterwards, he would often go down to check the water temperature and water conditions first, and then carry the camera and go into the water with us to shoot. Whether on the ground or on the sea, the director has the highest martial arts value."
"The director is a 'hexagonal warrior' in the film industry, proficient in all kinds of skills." Jiang Luxia, who plays the machine gunner, said that she was afraid of water at first, "but seeing the director insist on filming underwater despite being ill gave me a lot of strength. In Operation Red Sea, we ate dirt in the desert every day, and this time everyone drank a lot of water."
"Every time we shoot, the more dangerous and difficult the shots are, the director must be in charge of the camera himself, together with us actors." In the eyes of Du Jiang, who plays the role of the blaster, director Dante Lam is also the gun instructor on the set, and every action is done with professionalism. "From Operation Red Sea to Operation Jiaolong, we have come from the desert to the deep sea, and I believe everyone can feel the sincerity and hard work of the thousands of people in the crew."
"From 'Operation Mekong' ten years ago, to 'Operation Red Sea' seven years ago, to 'Operation Jiaolong' this year, action is the power that reaches people's hearts. Chinese filmmakers should be united and take action to make this Spring Festival period a prosperous one so that our children can still see beauty in the cinema in the future," said Du Jiang.
"In this difficult time, film companies are facing the dilemma of declining box office in the market. We need to work together to make a comeback during this Spring Festival. Many people asked me, why do you still want to make a movie like this when it costs so much money? I only have one belief, that I want to achieve another upgrade and breakthrough based on the previous work," said Yu Dong.
Stills from Operation Jiaolong
"In Operation Mekong, we upgraded the police and gangster film to a fusion of spy warfare and action, showing the cross-border law enforcement of Chinese anti-drug police on the big screen for the first time. Operation Red Sea broke the convention of such domestic films in the past, which mostly filmed exercises and training. It focused on the Chinese Navy's special forces, the "soldiers within the soldiers, the steel within the steel", participating in the overseas evacuation of Chinese citizens, showing the actual combat against terrorists. In the topic planning stage of Operation Jiaolong, we chose the most difficult nuclear submarine force among the five major branches of the Navy, and handed it over to the 2025 Spring Festival. Operation Red Sea achieved a box office of 3.65 billion during the 2018 Spring Festival, making a comeback. This year's schedule is full of strong competitors, but I firmly believe that Operation Jiaolong will also make a comeback and surpass its predecessor."
