On January 2, 2006, a chapter of ancient costume sitcom "Martial Arts Outreach" came out of nowhere, and at that time, it quickly blew up a distinctive new martial arts wind.
The ratings were as high as 9.49% on the 10th day, making it the number one ratings show among the year-opening dramas that started at the same time.
The phrase "Hey brother, it's been a long time, where are you" spread through the streets.
The lines became catchphrases and many of the bridges were made into emoticons.
Martial Arts Outreach became one of the pinnacles of Chinese sitcoms.
This low-budget, small-production sitcom brought us so much joy and emotion over the course of a decade.
But when the director started filming, he said it was a "league of losers" and wasn't viewed favorably at all!
When it came to creating "Wulin Outlaws," screenwriter Ning Caixin was a total loser.
Ning's real name is Chen Wanning, and he was born in Shanghai in 1975, and he grew up with a lot of intelligence, and at the age of 15, he went to the business school of the East China University of Science and Technology, where he studied international finance.
At the age of 19, many people are still at home, but he already earns 100,000 dollars a month.
Ning Caixin, with his brilliant mind, found a way to get rich in futures, and easily became a millionaire.
He claimed to be more greedy, so he named himself "Ning Cai Shen".
However, he was too greedy for money and soon fell into a big mess in the futures.
Because of the Zhengzhou mung bean incident, he saved more than 3 million old capital lost a bottom day.
After this blow, Ning Zaishen abandoned the business and began his literary journey.
Ning Zaishen originally had little talent for writing articles, and when he was in elementary school, he even failed to write essays.
In the high school exam, he scored only 9 out of 40 points.
In 1997, Ning became one of China's first netizens, and a chance experience gave him an unquenchable thirst for writing.
Soon after, he tried to write articles online.
Short stories such as "Competition" and "Summer of the Year" were published at that time.
I didn't expect them to catch fire.
Ning gained a lot of fans and became the director of operations for the literary website Banyan Tree.
With Lu Jinbo, Xing Yusen, Yu Baimei, Annie Babe, they became the leaders.
At Yu Bai Mei's suggestion, Ning Cai Shen became a screenwriter.
During that time, he wrote works such as Men and Women in the City and Health Express, which introduced him to director Shang Jing.
In 2002, Shang Jing had just finished filming The Story of the Cooking Class, and was struggling to decide what to do for his next movie.
He approached Ning Zaishen and complained, "Indoor dramas are low-cost, but we can't play anything anymore, what else can we do?"
Ning Cai Shen smiled and said: "Who said that we can't shoot the flowers, but we didn't write the flowers! If you don't want to try a costume drama?"
Ning Cai Shen grew up watching martial arts novels and movies, and is familiar with all kinds of warriors.
Shang Jing said, "Comedy is most enjoyable when it subverts something, and chivalry, being framed so tall, is just the right place to take comedy to ironize."
One wanted to write it, the other wanted to make it, and the project of "Wulin Outlaw" was finalized.
Shang Jing, admired Ning Caijin's talent.
Especially thought his imagination, really extraordinary.
Soon after, Ning Cai Shen wrote 40 episodes of Wulin Outreach.
Later, because Ning Cai Shen bought a house and had to pay off a 3 million dollar mortgage.
Director Shang Jing then told Ning Cai Shen to keep writing.
So they took Ning directly to the crew in Pinggu, Beijing, and the next 40 episodes were written and filmed by Ning.
The schedule was so tight that the movie was often filmed every other day, and the script was not finished by the end of the day.
Every day, Ning Caixin was devastated, and he was the only one who wrote the screenplay.
In one episode, Guo Furong asked Lv Xiu Cai if he had ever had a moment of despair, and Lv Xiu Cai said:
"There was once before. I promised the troupe to help them write a script ...... I couldn't write a single word. The more urgent the rush over there, the slower I write here, the brain is like eight treasure porridge ...... Every time I write a sentence, my temples jump wildly, the back of my head is also followed by a haze, I can't make a trace of strength, and I want to cry but I can't cry out, and then I fell into a root of the disease - neurological I'm not going to be able to do anything about it.
This is the real psychology of Ning Cai Shen.
In the last 20 episodes of the show, Ning was unable to write, and the crew had to stop working for a month.
Ning Zai Shen still can't write, so he begged around, he found his friend Yu Bai Mei that: "Please help me write 10 episodes!"
Yu Bai Mei said: "Stop, you just write it!"
For the sake of self-deprecation, in the 77th episode, the actor who played the role of the head constable was named Xie Budong (谢步东), which means "can't write".
Because Ning is a fan of martial arts (Jin Yong is his favorite).
The main characters in the drama can be found in martial arts novels.
Tong Xiangyu - Gold and Jade from Dragon Inn.
The prototype of Bai Zhan Tang is a combination of "Bai Yu Tang" and "Zhan Zhao" in "The Three Heroes and the Five Righteousnesses". A name actually implies that the character of Bai Zhan Tang is both a thief and a saint with contradictory characters;
Guo Furong
Li Dazui - Li Dazui from "The Greatest Generation".
Lu Qinghou - "The Legend of Chu Liu Xiang" Zuo Qinghou.
Zhu Wushuang - Lu Wushuang of "The Divine Eagles".
Ji Wushang - "Sentimental Swordsman" Jing Wushang.
Among them, Guo Furong in Ning Caijin pen But a white skin, beautiful, chivalrous heroine.
But when he saw the big-mouthed Yao Chen, Ning Cai Shen was annoyed, "This is not the Guo Furong I wrote! The mouth is so big, change it!"
It's a far cry from the Guo Furong he imagined.
But director Shang Jing said, "There are plenty of people in the entertainment industry who want to look good, so why don't you pay for me?"
In one sentence, Ning Zaishen obediently shut up.
Although the heart is not happy, but no money can only be so.
Shang Jing also comforted him by saying, "She is a graduate of Nortel, her acting skills are not a problem, and besides, she is cheap, only 1000 yuan an episode."
At that time, it wasn't just Ning Cai Shen who thought Yao Chen was unattractive.
Yao Chen ran a lot of dramas, all because of her big mouth, and the dramas didn't even want to use her as a dragon set.
Before the interview for "Martial Arts Outreach", she calculated that if she couldn't do it this time, she would change her study to costume design: "If I can't make it on this road, I'll just go on another road."
Unexpectedly, the "Martial Arts Outreach" made Yao Chen a hit and became the biggest winner.
Later, because of the role of Guo Furong, Yao Chen was also chosen by Jiang Wei, the director of "Submerged", to play "Cuiping".
Yao Chen has since become a first-rate actress.
Wulin Outreach started ten years, Yao Chen had sent a microblogging: "Ten years a dream of wulin."
Yanni followed back with, "Still a dreamer of the jianghu."
Because of the limited budget, the main actors of "Wulin Outlaws" are all dragon sets of dragon sets.
That's not true at all.
Not good-looking, temperament earthy, is already 34 years old Yanni, running more than 10 years of dragon sets.
But she is not willing at all, because she has always had a protagonist's dream in her heart.
Later, there was an opportunity for Yanni to make a cameo appearance in the director's "Health Express," which led to the discovery of Yanni's comedic talent.
In 2005, the director Shang Jing was planning to make a TV series called "Wulin Outreach" and found Yanni with the script.
Yanni didn't care what the movie was about, she asked directly, "Shang, is this the main character?"
Shang Jing said, "Yes."
Yanni said, "It's good to be the main character, but what do you care about?"
In this way, Yanni became Tong Xiangyu.
Into the cast Yanni realized that this is a comedy.
At that time, she had just been divorced and was in a very low mood.
"I went through a big turnaround in my life, but I acted in a big comedy. It was as if this was my life, what does it mean to be in pain and happy? When you're in the most pain, God tells you to do a comedy and you have to do it."
Nearly a year, Yanni lived a "double life" in the theater.
During the day, she is the laughing and angry innkeeper of the Tongfu Inn, and the handsome and dashing "Stealing Saints" to talk about the sweet love.
At night, she is alone in her room, feeling disillusioned, with the occasional visit from her seven-year-old daughter, Yuan Yuan.
Every time her daughter leaves, Yanni is sadder.
Yanni was tormented in this way.
Until one day, Ning Cai Shen coldly exclaimed, "Ouch, mom! You seem to have aged ten years this year."
All the payoffs are rewarded, and Yanni waited until it was too late.
Yanni is well known for her role as the boss's wife, Tong Xiangyu, who has a lot of charm and understanding.
"I don't know what I'm talking about," she said.
"Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful"
The Shaanxi dialect quickly gained popularity across the country, and was emulated by viewers in droves.
And Yanni, Yao Chen is different, that time, 27-year-old Sha Yi, really handsome.
Shayi was the first to be recognized as the main actor in the "Wulin Outreach".
Shang Jing also gave Shayi the "right to choose", asking him what role he liked, what role he chose.
Shayi chose Bai Zhantang.
There was a six-month gap between the casting and the start of the movie.
Ning Zaishen told ShaYi to prepare himself mentally, and ShaYi agreed dryly.
During the six-month period, Shayi had nothing to do but wait for the start of the movie and neglected to manage his body.
When Ning Caixin saw Shayi again, he found that he was slim at the beginning of the body has been fat into a ball.
The face has become a lot more rounded, more like "white buns", rather than the body as light as a swallow, the light master Bai Zhantang.
Ning Zaishen was very helpless, and persuaded Sha Yi, "You have to change the role, you look at how Lu Xucai, Xucai fat a little bit does not matter".
Shah Yat likes Bai Zhan Tang, and he's not going to play Bai Zhan Tang, so there's no way he's going to discuss it.
In the end, director Shang Jing came out and said, "If you want to play Bai Zhan Tang, you can, but you have to lose weight".
In order to play his beloved Bai Zhan Tang, Sha Yi was busy with his weight loss plan on the set.
He ran every day, and the director specially instructed the cafeteria not to play too much food to Sha Yi.
At that time, the whole crew knew that Shayi wanted to lose weight.
Every time Shayi went into the cafeteria, he lined up, and everyone told him to lose weight, and his face got fat again.
The master also reminded him: "Bai Zhan Tang can not be fat!"
Give others a spoonful of rice, just give him half a spoonful.
Once on the set, the aunty shaking the rice spoon only gave Shayi a meatball.
Then Shayi took the plate and saw that the aunt gave Jiang Chao a spoon full of meatballs.
Shayi directly asked Jiang Chao: How do you have eight meatballs in your bowl?
Jiang Chao directly disliked Shayi: It is the director who does not allow you to eat more, and it is not that he does not allow us to eat!
Kung Fu is not a success, Shayi finally still thin down.
The careful partner will find that the more the "Bai Zhan Tang" is back, the thinner it is.
The role of "Bai Zhan Tang" has become a classic image that no one can replace except him.
During the filming of Wulin Outreach, there were many classic scenes of actors improvising.
In the episode in which Pinggu is featured, Li Dazui says, "I'm a fan of his!"
Bai Zhan Tang said, "Fan? You're still a rotting bamboo!"
This line was added by Shayi himself.
So, the fans of Martial Arts are called rotting bamboo.
Unlike Shayi's painful weight loss, what "Li Dazui" Jiang Chao needs is to gain weight.
When Jiang Chao came to the set, director Shang Jing took a look: "Jiang Chao, you can't do it with this stomach, you still need to eat, Li Dazui is fatter than you" .
Li Dazui is the chef at the Tongfu Inn, so the first thing you need to do is to look like him.
So Jiang Chao every meal to increase the amount of food, eat a meal on the bed a lie.
That time, Jiang Chao in the second floor window above while chewing chicken legs while watching Shayi in the downstairs sweating exercise, but also deliberately asked Shayi, "tired ah?"
Because the role of Li Dazui portrayed too successful, so limit his theater, once faced with the situation of no drama can be shot, good because of the "Ghost Blowtorch of the Dragon Ridge Grottoes" in the role of the king fat by everyone to remember Jiang Chao.
When casting for "Lv Xiu Cai", Yu En Tai was the first choice.
Because he is a complete and utter bully.
Yu Entai studied at the Shanghai Opera House and received scholarships every year, and after graduation, he went to graduate school with the highest score in the college.
In 2002, Yu was awarded a full scholarship to study Shakespeare at Oxford University for one semester as an exchange student.
After returning to China, she was admitted to the doctoral program.
Shang honored him for his role in Wulin Outlaws, saying, "The character of Lv Xiu Cai is a learned man who knows the Analects and the Poetry and the Scriptures well."
Yu Entai immediately memorized the Analects of Confucius and the Classic of Poetry, chapter by chapter.
Later, afraid of memorizing the whole book "Analects" is not enough, Yu Entai and find a thick "Analects of Confucius", a **** 430,000 words, word by word study.
But into the theater found, simply can not be used.
The only content of the Analects of Confucius used in the whole play is that sentence: Zi, once said.
That was actually the director's intention.
The director later patted him on the shoulder and said, "Look, it's this kind of contrast that's so good for me to play the role of the talented but uninspired Lu Xucai.
And unlike the other stars, no one recognized him when he walked down the street after the hit show.
During the period when "Martial Arts Outreach" was on the air, he once went to a computer city to fix his computer, when the set photo of him and Yao Chen in the play was on the computer.
Immediately, many fans of the TV series gathered around and asked him where the photo came from.
But no one recognized him in the photo.
One time, he went to his distant uncle's house to celebrate the New Year, and the family happened to be watching Martial Arts Outreach, but they didn't realize that he was the actor in it, and dragged him over to watch it with them.
In the year after the shooting of this drama retired, he did not continue to film, but at home to focus on academic.
"Theater can act for a lifetime, but the best time to read is now."
Yu Entai left the scripts that came to his door with these words, waved his sleeve, and then got a double doctorate in acting and directing from the Chinese Theater.
Shang Jing once took the script for "Wulin Outreach" to Ying Da, the originator of Chinese sitcoms who had filmed "I Love My House," and "Idle Horse Sisters".
At the time, Yingda's comment was: "What the hell? This is not nonsense.
Not only Yingda, but no one was optimistic about the show.
The reason for this is simple: the script is too "out of the box".
One is: funny, subversive, nonsensical , the so-called jianghu story, but there is no fighting and killing of the martial arts.
The second is that it's a costume drama, but it's also interspersed with Shakespearean English lines and a collective square dance.
Wulin Outlaws" is obviously about Jianghu, but the story is set in a small inn, the thief is a runner, the heroine is a waitress, how to look at it does not make sense.
But just when Shang Jing and the screenwriters were worried, finally came a "big head", he is Hao Yaning, the president of the Beijing Union Pictures .
After reading the script and listening to the writer and director's ideas, Hao Yaning didn't think it was "out of the ordinary".
Instead, he thought it might be a bold breakthrough in the history of comedy.
At the time, Hao Yaning's Union Pictures was established less than three years ago, and the family was not solid, but Hao Yaning had a pair of discerning eyes, and saw that the show could be a fire, so he gritted his teeth and invested $10 million.
That's what gave birth to "Wulin Outlaw".
But 10 million to shoot a drama, just like a dollar thrown into the water, can not turn the waves.
In the director Shang Jing let him additional investment, Hao Yaning heart ruthless said: " want money no, want people despite the use ".
One of the actors who played the role of Yang Huilan in the TV series is the actor signed by Alliance Pictures.
Not only did the investors fail to see the play, but the actor also failed to see the play halfway through, and went on to receive other plays.
This is the official "Xing" of the Seven Heroes Town.
Halfway through the movie, Fan Ming said to director Shang Jing, "Shang, I can't do sitcoms anymore, I'm going to do a big TV show."
Director Shang Jing agreed, and originally said to write him off.
Fan Ming said, "It's better to keep him alive, in case there's another sequel, and he doesn't have a big TV show to shoot again."
So the plot was changed to show that Sheriff Xing went to the 18-mile store.
One day on set Yao Chen asked Shang Jing, "Director, will our play be hot?"
Director Shang Jing said, "Yes".
Yu Entai asked, "How hot will it be?"
Shang Jing said, "Yang Liwei will go to space again and bring a CD of this show to give to the aliens."
Although not given to aliens, the drama became a national comedy.
Instead, it's been in reruns for more than a decade.
8, become the poorest crew
In 2004, the Wulin Outlaws officially began filming, the theater is located in a mountain, four sides of the "Liao no one", in addition to play hard to figure out the script, there is no other entertainment options.
Because it's on a mountain, the show has to face the problem of insufficient voltage and blackouts every day.
Sometimes when you're shooting, the power goes out on the set, and a group of people have to rush to figure out what to do with the script afterward, and then rush to shoot when the power comes on.
The main actors chosen for this drama are not considered big names, but everyone's attitude towards acting is serious to the end.
Everyone is very serious about what they say, what they do, and what they look like when they're shooting.
In the process of creation, who has any new ideas, new ideas, timely put forward, grinding, grinding again.
We are not afraid of the trouble, not afraid of wasting time, all for the sake of doing a good job of the play.
In the filming of dinner shots, the actors are really eating, both to save time, but also will not spend money to do the meal props.
That's why it's so real in acting out the food grabbing sequences. After a day of filming, the actors must have gotten hungry a long time ago.
It's also a good idea to be smart about it.
The movie team couldn't even afford to hire a group of actors, and there were only a few of them.
In order to avoid being recognized, they, in the words of Bai Zhan Tang, "changed their clothes and seats.
The beggar inside the play, Mi, was played by Zhang Qing, the assistant director of "Wulin Outreach", who took on the role himself in order to save money.
The starring role of Tong Xiangyu, turning over and transferring the past is that a few sets of clothes.
Yanni and Sha Yi's paychecks were only 2,000 yuan an episode.
But at that time, in order to save money, the crew could not even afford to hire a martial arts director, so they relied on the actors and staff to get together and study the action, and what we saw was very simple and rough.
But that didn't stop the show from catching fire, and even the martial arts moves in it were imitated.
Although this crew is poor, but made a classic, they are really poor, poor only acting left .....
The hand ah hold the nest head, the dish does not have a drop of oil.
"Wulin Outreach" is not only the 80s to see, 90s to see, and now the 00s are also watching, has become an outdated rice god drama.
In the "Martial Arts Outreach" has been on the air for 15 years, the director Shang Jing sent a message to ask everyone: "15 years, are you okay?". .
There was a girl who spoke her truest feelings.
"Director, I'm fine, I grew into a girl with a sense of humor, will be a variety of dialects, I learned not to lie, not addicted to gambling, I'm still asking myself, what Wulin Gaidian brought me, is my life, all the positivity that I have now is given by Wulin when I was 12 years old. Thank you to everyone at Wulin Gaiden!"
Tong Xiangyu, the proprietress of the inn, Bai Zhantang, the thief who is hidden in the world, Lv Xiucai, who has aspirations but has no ambition, Xiaoguo, who always wants to break into the world but has no real skills, and Dazui, Xing sheriff, Yan Xiaoliu, and so on...
Each character is so vivid and so full of charisma.
Contains stories of love, friendship and affection between the characters, including all kinds of bizarre, changes, laughs, playfulness, bitterness and happiness ......
Taste the warmth and coldness of the human world, experience the love of affection, and witness the sweet and sour in the process of growing up.
Here there is no fighting and killing, it is everywhere presented with the life texture of the bitterness and pain and joy and sorrow, so that we see a real jianghu.
True chivalry is not about martial arts, but about maturity of heart.
No matter what era you watch it in, there is no contradiction, and it will increase with your life experience, every time you watch it, you can harvest something different.
It's a great show, subversive and ironic, and when you're young, you can only understand the surface of the joke, but when you're older, you know that it's the simplest and most direct way to tell us the philosophy of life.
What's your favorite line?
--END--
This is the first time I've seen a movie that I've ever seen.