Director Derek Yee: I hope more Hong Kong actors will come to the mainland to film
"Next year I will have been in the industry for 50 years, from 1975 to now. On June 30th next year, I will have a big party." On the afternoon of June 17, the Shanghai International Film Festival Golden Goblet Film Forum "Extraordinary - The New Generation of Hong Kong Film Industry" was held in the Golden Goblet Hall of the Shanghai Crowne Plaza Hotel. Hong Kong director Derek Yee appeared at the scene. Facing the eight new generation of Hong Kong actors in front of him, he could not help but sigh for the passing of time.
"I suddenly wondered, what has changed the most?" He said that when he was young and entered the film and television industry, the educational level of the staff was relatively low, and graduating from high school was considered a good education. "The current generation of actors has a higher education and is more rational than our generation. We used to be emotional, and this is the biggest difference." The purpose of this forum is to continue the tradition and promote cooperation between directors, screenwriters, and actors in Hong Kong and the mainland, and to bring a group of young Hong Kong actors to the forefront. "Today is just the beginning. In the future, we will hold more exchange activities to let everyone build friendships first. I hope there will be more cooperation in the future."
In recent years, Er Dongsheng has filmed two seasons of the performance variety show "Infinite Beyond Class", in which he served as a mentor, selecting actors and training them. The forum scene is also a bit like an occasion to select and evaluate actors. The new generation of Hong Kong actors who walked onto the stage in batches include Liang Yongting, who won the Best Supporting Actress at this year's Hong Kong Film Awards for "Under the Sun", Zhou Hanning, who starred in "The Lights Are Dim" and was nominated for the Best New Actor at the Academy Awards, Yang Siyong, who was nominated for the Best Supporting Actress at the Academy Awards for last year's most popular movie in Hong Kong, "The Venomous Lawyer", and Liang Zhongheng, who was nominated for both the Academy Awards for "My Magic Boy".
In the same "casting" occasion, Er Dongsheng admitted that casting in variety shows is different from casting in real movies. "Variety shows are for entertainment, and you have to create a topic so that the audience can see that the actors are constantly growing." He said that casting in a movie is to find actors in the market who are suitable in appearance and other aspects according to the requirements of the script. Compared with variety shows, there is more time to communicate with the actors on the spot during filming. "It is a great challenge for actors to participate in variety shows. They can learn the skills of coping. This is not derogatory."
In Er Dongsheng's view, with technology and all aspects changing, he hopes that Hong Kong and mainland filmmakers will have more opportunities to cooperate. "I hope more Hong Kong actors will come to the mainland to film. There are also many young actors in the mainland who want to film action movies and gangster movies in Hong Kong."
He said that the Hong Kong market is very volatile, and the overall box office in the past five years has not been very high. For a period of time, some actors had difficulty in getting the chance to make movies. "Due to limited budgets, new directors in Hong Kong have no chance to make period films. This aspect is missing." Er Dongsheng pointed out the dilemma of young filmmakers. If they want to make big-budget police and gangster films, which Hong Kong is good at, investors tend to look for experienced directors to make them. Young directors can only turn to shooting social and literary films that do not require too much special effects and post-processing.
"Someone once said that Hong Kong directors always make realistic films and four-character films, such as "Under the Day" and "Dim Lights". I said that when shooting these films, there was not much money for special effects, so they could only focus on drama." Of course, he thinks this is not a bad thing, "The social themes are serious and the story integrity of the script is very high. Directors and actors will improve from it."
In the past ten years, Er Dongsheng has lived in Hengdian, Zhejiang for more than two years. "I Am No. 1", "The Sword of the Third Young Master" and "The End of the Sea is the Grassland" were all filmed in Hengdian. "With the support of the film industry, the cost will be relatively low. There are land and studios, and those studios even have modern scenery."
Facing several young actors, he gave them earnest advice like a teacher. "Actors, stars, and idols are different. There are professional idols. I advise you not to act because being an idol is easier. If you act well, you will become a big star, but if you don't have the ability, the star will become a shooting star. Any workplace is very cruel. Many actors who have emerged have disappeared. Some of them are due to opportunities and luck, some are due to their own bad behavior, and some are due to fate."
Er Dongsheng said that if you want to be an "actor", he suggested that when the forum is over, you should start paying attention to everyone around you, whether it is sanitation workers, delivery people with different personalities, or any kind of people. "Traffic is important, but remember that the front page of the entertainment section is mostly about divorce and breakups, so the role of mobile phones should be reduced. All your creative sources are not gossip news on your phone." He always felt that actors are happier than ordinary people, and can live different lives through roles, and their lives are very fulfilling. "Of course, being an actor is also a very passive job, especially when facing the public. If you are not strong inside, this is actually a very high-pressure industry."
In Er Dongsheng's opinion, the relationship between director and actor is like the relationship between coach and player, and athlete, which requires building the actor's confidence during the filming process. He also recommended Hong Kong actors to the practitioners present. "Hong Kong actors don't have such a big burden, and you can do whatever you want with them. Liang Yongting did not have a personal image in "Under the Sun", and Hong Kong actors are also more affordable."
