Chinese science fiction filmmakers engage in the first "Huashan Debate" at the Shanghai Film Festival | Guo Fan | Huashan Debate

Release time:Apr 13, 2024 21:25 PM

Perhaps a few years ago, Chinese science fiction filmmakers could only look up to Christopher Nolan's blockbusters such as "Inception" and "Star Trek". However, at this year's Shanghai International Film Festival, Chinese science fiction filmmakers Guo Fan, Wang Hongwei, Dong Runnian, Lu Chuan, Zhang Shiyu, along with their long-term collaboration with Nolan's visual effects director Peter Babu, sat on the same white sofa to participate in the Golden Jubilee Film Forum Science Fiction Film Week keynote forum held in Songjiang, Shanghai on June 11th. When talking about the international perspective and contemporary context of science fiction movies, they are full of confidence.

Today, for the first time, we are sitting down to talk about the industry. Wang Hongwei, Vice President of the China Film Directors Association and Chairman of Blue Planet Science Fiction Film Week, believes that this high-level forum proves that people are paying more attention to science fiction movies and also shows confidence in the industry. Five Chinese science fiction filmmakers showcased their charm through on-site communication and collision, making it the first "Huashan Debate" in the Chinese science fiction film industry. Although Wang Hongwei joked that the total number of Chinese science fiction directors is only a few more than those sitting on stage, the spark of thinking that they inspire each other through their own creative experience is convincing that the era of Chinese science fiction movies has truly arrived.

Guo Fan is very busy

Director Guo Fan has a busy schedule, and shortly after the opening of the Shanghai International Film Festival, he has appeared multiple times in various events, as if everyone is "grabbing" Guo Fan. The host reminded Guo Fan on the forum, "It's already late at night, and thinking that Guo Fan is sleeping at this moment, I want to wake him up to shoot" Wandering Earth 3 "." Wang Hongwei smiled and added that this director, known as "Saibo Daji", has been enchanted by a "Daji" called AI in recent months, sleeping only three or four hours a day, and reading books on this topic outside of work hours.

At the opening forum the day before, director Huang Jianxin revealed that the technical organization of the United Nations in Vienna released "Wandering Earth 2", and Guo Fan also participated in exchanges with experts from various countries, which showed the international influence of Chinese science fiction films. "Science fiction is a popular language around the world and a great medium for the world to know and understand us."

"I didn't expect the sci-fi forum to receive such high attention and be very nervous," Guo Fan said with a smile during a keynote speech, facing heavyweight guests such as Chen Daoming, the chairman of the China Film Association. "If you have anything you want to talk about, feel free to communicate at any time. This can relieve my nervousness." Although he was not prepared, Guo Fan still brought a lot of good work. When Peter Babe, the visual effects director of "Inception", "Batman" trilogy, and "Shark 2", shared Nolan's experience in visual effects production in his films and Nolan's views on special effects and live action, Guo Fan sat on the sofa closer to the podium to listen attentively and waited until the performance was over before slipping back. From his repeated quotes of "Star Trek" on the forum, it can be seen that he really likes Nolan's film expression - "The core of science fiction movies is movies, not science fiction, and the core of movies is emotions. Just like in" Star Trek ", what touches the audience is not a black hole, but the emotional connection between father and daughter. No matter how high the concept is used, it is meaningless to not express emotions well."

On the forum, Guo Fan couldn't help but whisper to the director Lu Chuan sitting next to him several times. The two have many common views on the anxiety of facing AI. On June 10th, Lu Chuan released the protagonist "Ma Shan" Shuzhi Ren image customized by Migu Corporation for his new work "749 Bureau" at the Shanghai International Film Festival, and stated that he will jointly explore new models of the metaverse film industry. Recently, Lu Chuan has requested his team to use AI software for creation. Recently, he also experienced Apple VR glasses, feeling a sense of "science fiction coming true" shock. "The hand scrolling that we see in science fiction films like 'Iron Man' has been achieved. When watching movies, it's like sitting in front of a cinema screen, with dinosaur avatars protruding about three meters from the wall and allowing for real-time interaction. This device provides a true entrance to the metaverse and may completely change the way we watch movies."

"Recently, a large number of AI has started to enter the production process. Guo Fan recalled that at a forum held in Shenzhen a few days ago, actor Zhang Songwen described Guo Fan as" proud "to show himself a video generated by AI." I want to correct his slight deviation, but in fact, I am not proud. I have been anxious for a long time. "

Guo Fan introduced that "Wandering Earth 3" is currently being prepared, and more than 20 types of AI such as ChatGPT and Midjournal will affect film creation and production. "In fact, the technology introduced by Peter Babe has already been applied in" Wandering Earth 2 ". The aging and reduction of characters' faces, as well as sound processing, all use AI, but the previous applications were not as convenient. With the rapid advancement of technology during this period, we believe that we can achieve ideal results."

In Guo Fan's view, blindly starting without clear understanding of future trends will bring great risks to science fiction film creation. "How should AI be applied next? Can these applications be transformed into real big screen presentations in the foreseeable future? As Director Lu Chuan said, there may be new carriers appearing in cinemas on the distribution end, which requires our attention and evaluation."

Trying new possibilities for Chinese science fiction

For science fiction movies, the most important thing is emotions, which is almost a consensus among all the filmmakers present. However, strictly speaking, science fiction is not a clear film genre, but just a creative method. Lu Chuan discovered that most foreign science fiction films are disaster films, seriously and sincerely discussing the problems that human future development may face.

Dong Runnian, the director and screenwriter of "The People Captured by Light" and "Crazy Aliens," believes that there should be different science fiction films in China. "I have been reading" Science Fiction World "since 1994 and found that the creation of science fiction novels in China is very diverse, and this diversity has not yet been fully reflected in film creation."

It is worth mentioning that "Crazy Aliens" and "Walking Alone on the Moon" are both sci-fi+comedy genres, which are difficult to see in foreign sci-fi movies. "Walking Alone on the Moon" grossed over 3.1 billion yuan at the box office and was praised by audiences as a science fiction comedy masterpiece with both laughter and tears. "The filming of science fiction movies is difficult. For 'Walking on the Moon Alone', the audience laughs happily while watching it, and we cry tragically while filming. Director Zhang Shiyu smiled and said that the technical difficulty of science fiction comedy can be solved through quantification, while the degree of comedy is even more difficult to grasp. 'Comedy requires a hypothetical nature, and Chinese audiences have high requirements for scientific theoretical basis. Many scenes are either more joyful or more grounded in scientific principles, and we often have to make difficult choices.'"

Crazy Aliens is considered an undervalued work by the industry, and some film scholars have commented that the film combines imported science fiction culture with Chinese local culture very well, making it more pioneering compared to Wandering Earth. Dong Runnian introduced that "Crazy Aliens" collaborated with director Ning Hao, and the initial script was created for three years, with numerous revisions. "At that time, everyone was searching for a special context of Chinese science fiction." This sentence caused Guo Fan to nod frequently. In 2012, when "Crazy Aliens" was first created, Chinese audiences still liked Hollywood style visual effects and narrative methods. The Chinese film industry was still discussing whether audiences could accept science fiction films with Chinese characters as the main characters. "In addition to finding localization methods in visual effects and narrative methods, we are also exploring national characteristics for dramatic presentation."

Lu Chuan's new film "749 Bureau" is also expected to open up a new path for Chinese science fiction films. Lu Chuan has been interested in science fiction anecdotes since childhood. He introduced that the inspiration for this movie came from his own experiences, but he took a detour in the early stages of creation. At the beginning, the screenwriting team spent a lot of time and energy reconstructing a world, setting what kind of watch to wear, whether to use a mobile phone, and what the car looked like at that time, becoming more and more detailed, as if we were making a great invention. For nearly three years, Lu Chuan dared not accept other films, knowing that he was sorry for investors, and the only thing he could afford was "749 Bureau" itself. As he watched the clips of "749 Bureau" in the editing room over and over again, he suddenly realized that it was "a movie", with no essential difference from "Kekexili", "Nanjing! Nanjing!" and others, and ultimately had to return to the characters. "There is no packaging that requires us to pay more attention to than the story or the characters themselves."

Wang Hongwei remembered science fiction writer Liu Cixin participating in a roadshow with the cast of "Wandering Earth 2" and repeatedly saying to the students on several occasions, "I hope you don't just focus on your current studies, or on getting married, starting a business, or buying a house in the future. You need to see further than the real world.". "Top science fiction authors have a magical ability to imagine things they have never seen before that are unrelated to real life. This ability drives us humans to keep moving forward, which is also the mission that science fiction movies shoulder."

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