Although animal-themed movies are widely loved by audiences, the difficulty of shooting has discouraged many directors. However, for director Yang Zi, animal themes have become his favorite in recent years. In 2019, he directed the animal-themed movie “Beloved”, which has a good reputation and earned a high box office of more than 600 million yuan. The new film “Dragon Horse Spirit” directed by him and starring Jackie Chan, Guo Qilin, etc. is currently being screened. This time, he focused the camera on a horse named “Red Rabbit”. The film tells a touching story between a down-and-out “Dragon and Tiger Warrior” Lao Luo (played by Jackie Chan) and “Red Rabbit”.
Tell a new “human and horse” relationship
Speaking of his feelings for animals, Yang Zi described it as “love and fear”. It turned out that he had been chased and bitten by wild dogs many times when he was a child. “I have been afraid of dogs for 37 years. I was bitten by dogs since I was a child.” He said with a smile. When he was 11 years old, his leg was bitten by a wild dog, which left a great childhood psychological shadow. Afraid of returning home, he was attracted by the “eyes” of small animals, “I was very contradictory.” When filming “Beloved”, he borrowed a dog from his sister-in-law’s house to raise it for a month in order to prepare for the filming. , “Slowly get along with animals, and sincerely cultivate feelings. It turns out that I can also play a good role.”
The success of “Beloved” has greatly enhanced Yang Zi’s confidence in making animal-themed movies, “So I thought of horses. This is the animal I have always wanted to shoot.” However, there are already many movies related to horses. In Yang Zi’s view, the relationship between “horses and people” is nothing more than “horse racing stories” and “war horses”, which basically form a story routine. He doesn’t want to repeat the story, he wants to “break the topic”. But the inspiration did not come for a long time, until one day, he saw the documentary “Dragon and Tiger Warrior” directed by Wei Junzi, and he was shocked. The film gathers the strongest “martial arts lineup” in Chinese films such as Sammo Hung, Jackie Chan, Yuen Heping, Yuen Wah, Donnie Yen, etc., and fully reveals the vicissitudes of Hong Kong’s dragon and tiger martial arts for more than 60 years. “Looking at these old faces and their scarred bodies, listening to them talk about the glorious era they experienced in the past, and talking about their perception of survival today, although they are still active in the film and television industry, they are more or less familiar with their previous life. There is a kind of nostalgia and sentimentality with the changes of the times, and this kind of thing hit me all at once.” So Yang Zi had the idea of combining “the story of the horse and the dragon and tiger martial artist”, “I hope to pass on this emotion .”
In the story, the prototype of the dragon and tiger martial artist is Jackie Chan
When Yang Zi figured out the outline of the story, he suddenly discovered that the prototype character he had been using in his mind was Jackie Chan, and it was also his dream to collaborate with Jackie Chan in a movie.
Yang Zi revealed that when he met Jackie Chan for the first time, he originally agreed to talk for half an hour, but in the end the two chatted for two and a half hours. Asked why he was able to impress Jackie Chan in a short period of time, Yang Zi laughed and said that Jackie Chan has a very sensitive emotional nerve, “He has basically played all the characters he can play, and what he needs most may be a relatively fresh theme.” , or fresh emotional expressions. Of course, there are also many literary dramas in this film, which may also be in line with the big brother’s desire to transform.” However, Yang Zi said frankly that Jackie Chan cannot be tempted by persuasion alone. Start from the heart, judge whether you are interested in your stuff, and whether you are touched by one or two points in it. You want him to read your enthusiasm for movies from your eyes, rather than just using a story to grandstand.”
Yang Zi remembered that Jackie Chan talked with him very frankly about the ups and downs of being an action actor for decades. It mentioned that when he first entered the industry, the young Jackie Chan wanted to seize the opportunity. Once there was a very dangerous action to be filmed, and when everyone was hesitating, Jackie Chan was the first to rush up. When he thought he could win the envious eyes of everyone, he was pointed at his nose by a boss of Wu Xing and scolded “Get down”, “Brother said that when he walked down, his face was like a fire, and the martial arts below were all on fire.” Laughing. But in fact, it was this big brother who protected him, because he was still a young seedling at that time, and if he really did this action, he would definitely be hurt. This is also the inheritance between dragon and tiger martial artists.”
The most difficult thing to shoot is the human-horse emotional interaction scene
In order to find a suitable “Red Rabbit” actor, Yang Zi took great pains. Although the various “old drama bone” horses in the film and television base are good, they all have traces of being polished. , “They have been in the stables for too long, and they lack an unruly tension.”
Hard work pays off. One day, the crew sent a short video to Yang Zi, asking him to see if it was suitable. This is a champion horse that has just retired early from the Macau Jockey Club due to the epidemic. “Its muscles are very beautiful, its athletic condition is very good, and it is very energetic. Of course, it requires a professional rider to drive it, but it is difficult to overcome.” It’s what we filmmakers want to do, so we resolutely bought this horse.” Jackie Chan has dealt with horses before, and when he filmed “Shanghai Noon” in 2000, he received two months of training in Canada. Equestrian training. The champion horse became docile when he saw Jackie Chan for the first time, which amazed everyone in the crew.
In “The Spirit of the Dragon Horse”, there are many scenes in which the “red rabbit” rises into the air or jumps over the trench, but in Yang Zi’s view, it is not difficult to shoot these seemingly intense action scenes, because the really dangerous actions can be done in post-production special effects. “It’s the small emotional scenes that are really difficult.” Yang Zi said, the first circus filmed in the film is when Lao Luo asks his daughter’s lawyer boyfriend Naihua (played by Guo Qilin) to go with “Chitu” “Pair boxing,” this scene was filmed for three days, because it involves the interaction between horses and people, as well as various funny details. Horses will not act according to people’s will, you can only Find a way to capture the horse’s expression in the intermission.”
In Yang Zi’s view, although the horse is tall, it is actually sensitive and timid. The only way is to let the horse relax. This horse has gradually found happiness. This kind of champion horse has actually adapted to the scene of the mountains and tsunami during the competition, and misses the warm atmosphere. It is like a child, and it becomes mischievous after getting used to it If the horse trainer encourages it, it will become a member of the crew.” Yang Zi laughed.Reporter Wang Jinyue
[
责编：张晓荣 ]