"Duchamp said that the greatest work of art of a man is his own life, I decided not to be a painter, change my career to make movies to go."
In 1996, Xiao Yang, a 16-year-old boy from Hebei, came to Beijing and failed to apply for the Central Academy of Fine Arts secondary school, at which time he stayed in Beijing to repeat his studies against his family's objections, renting a small room of a few square meters with three of his classmates, one of whom had to sleep on a cupboard.
After a year of repeating his studies, 17-year-old Xiao Yang finally got into the Central Academy of Fine Arts in 1997.
That year, 28-year-old Wang Taili came to Beijing from Shandong with 1,800 yuan in his pocket, "The dream of being a singer is shattered, and it's okay to do something around music."
The two hadn't met yet, but the 11-year age difference between the "Chopsticks Brothers" put down roots in Beijing in the same year.
In 2001, Xiao Yang did not want to repeat his life at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and decided not to become a painter, but to fill in the film and television commercials directing program of the Fine Arts Department of the Beijing Film Academy.
At the moment he changed his mind, he could never have imagined that the wheel of fate would be spinning: 20 years later, he'll be making a movie with Andy Lau, and he'll still be the lead actor.
The movie, which will be released on February 12, 2021 (the first day of the Chinese New Year)
The Rising Tide.
Produced and starring Andy Lau, directed and written by Rao Xiaozhi, and starring Xiao Yang and Wan Xi, it tells the story of an assassin who swaps his life with that of a dragon-setter:
"Top assassin Zhou Quan (Andy Lau) and forlorn dragon-setter actor Chen Xiaomeng (Xiao Yang) swap identities in an accident. The killer revisits love and life in the process of hitting rock bottom; the dragon actor completely reinvents his life in the process of posing as a killer."
Xiao Yang plays downtrodden dragon-setter "Chen Xiaomeng" in "Raging Crowd," a story that has the same life trajectory as Wang Taili's***.
It was a real life that was once on the verge of collapse every day on the road to chasing a dream.
In the words of Dou Wen Tao, " If you want to understand the suffering of the human world, look at the history of Xiao Yang's struggle."
Xiao Yang, Wang Taili, and Andy Lau, their life trajectories, intersected at the same point in time -
2005, the centennial of Chinese cinema.
In this year, Andy Lau was 44 years old, and had already won his second Golden Movie Award, and was chosen by the Chinese Film Media Awards as the "Ambassador of the Centennial of Chinese Cinema".
This year, he gave 3 million dollars to a new director, who took this investment and made "Crazy Stone".
This year, Xiao Yang, who is a senior at Peking University, got the first tens of thousands of dollars in advertisements in his life, and the advertiser was Mr. Wang Gang, and the boss of his party, a cultural company, was none other than Wang Taili.
Wang Taili felt that this child is good, young and old, especially the two people like music, a hit, and began to partner work.
In 2007, the two of them each contributed 10,000 yuan, tossed out the first original short film "Memoirs of a Male Geisha", extremely spoof.
Although only 6 minutes, but quickly in the network of popularity, but also took a platform of the Grand Prize, won 100,000 yuan in prize money, since the "Chopstick Brothers" was officially established.
The reason for this name is "Chinese character, simple, not separate from each other".
In 2009 came one of the most important turning points in the Chopstick Brothers' career: the 40-minute web movie Oldboy.
But making the movie not only emptied Xiao Yang's wallet, it put them in a state of daily collapse.
First, there was the money. Originally, as part of the 11 Degrees of Youth series, a platform offered 100,000 dollars in funding, but the rules only allowed for a 10-minute film.
Xiao Yang and Wang Taili, put their dreams about music, about Michael Jackson's **** same story, into the script, and the result was overrun with 40 minutes!
So what to do? Xiao Yang put his hundreds of thousands of dollars earned over the years of shooting commercials, all plastered in.
During the filming process, because the props are as cheap as possible, the result of shooting a hot pot scene, the whole crew almost carbon monoxide poisoning.
Wang Taili wore a wig and danced to MJ's dance, and the wig spontaneously combusted while he was jumping! It turned out that the cheap wig was too poor quality and burned up when it was illuminated by the light for too long!
In the middle of filming, Wang Tali's father passed away, so he finished the rest of the movie, went home to take care of his father's funeral, and tried to let go of his dream of making music for a while.
In the song "Old Boy", which was later sung in every KTV in the country, Wang Taili wrote the lyrics: "Life is like a ruthless carving knife, changing the way we look, before we bloom, we have to wither? I had a dream."
The song in the tramp, uncertainty, ambition, so that countless people have **** love: "I do not know the first heard the song in the meaning of the song, and then heard has been the song people."
Later, we all know the story: in 2014, the theme song of the movie "Old Boys of the Dragon", "Little Apple", became a hit, and overwhelmed the Phoenix Legend's "Dazzling Nation Wind", which became a new generation of square dance songs.
The Chopsticks Brothers not only reached the pinnacle of their music career, appearing on CCTV's Spring Festival Gala, but also became the first Chinese artist group to appear on the stage of the National Music Awards, and won the "Best International Pop Music of the Year Award".
Xiao Yang, this year as a representative of young directors, with Guo Fan, Ning Hao, Chen Sicheng, Lu Yang by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, assigned to study in Hollywood.
Later, Guo Fan made Wandering Earth, Chen Sicheng and Xiao Yang made Manslaughter, and Lu Yang made the series The Embroidered Spring Knife.
Above, from left: Lu Yang, Ning Hao, Xiao Yang, Chen Sicheng, Guo Fan
It was also from this year that the two Chopstick Brothers' careers began to move towards different "dream terminals".
Outsiders look at a move a static, Xiao Yang more and more fire, and Wang Taili is "disappeared", but do not know that this is their most enjoyable state.
Wang Taili character calm, more preference for music, focus on the field of music to realize his ambitions, successively produced "we are the sun" "ILOVEYOU" "Iron Fist" and other singles;
From the beginning of the "Tang Tang Tang", the two brothers are almost no longer together to shoot a movie, Wang Taili, although he also starred in the "Martial Arts Monsters" "Snowstorm" and other films, but more for the nature of the cameo, the center of gravity is not on the The first time I've ever seen a movie, I've never seen one.
Above: cameo "martial arts monsters"
Xiao Yang personality extroverted, learning from the film, but also more preference for the film, after directing the film "Weather Forecast", from 2015's "Tang Tang Tang 1", as an actor, he almost a one on a stage, there is no let the audience out of the scene.
Whether it's the greasy detective in Tang Detective 1;
or the deep father in Manslaughter;
Xiao Yang's personal film work has reached 6.721 billion at the box office, and he's also gone from supporting roles to leading roles, all the way to a steady professionalism, reaping the rewards of the audience and industry recognition.
2020 Golden Rooster Awards and Hundred Flowers Awards, he was nominated for Best Actor with Huang Xiaoming, Zhang Yi, Zhou Yunfa, Yi Yi Qianxi and other ****, but lost to Huang Xiaoming's Heroes of Fire twice.
Leward even said before the Golden Rooster awards, "I'm willing to use a lifetime of happiness in exchange for Xiao Yang to get the (movie star) award".
Many viewers also regret for Xiao Yang, but he is more sober than anyone else: "Now let me get the award, go up and don't know what to say, don't enjoy that (honor), I feel a greater sense of crisis."
Why is Andy Lau so optimistic about Xiao Yang?
That's because the two have been shooting rival scenes for months in "The Rising Tide", and he's seen how professional and unapologetic Xiao Yang is.
Previously, when filming "Manslaughter", there was a scene in the rain, Xiao Yang continuous rain for three or four days of filming, soaking himself through, to have that kind of state in the role.
This time, when shooting the "crowd", there is a scene that requires Xiao Yang was Andy Lau continuous slapping, Rao Xiaozhi, director of the "real fight", Andy Lau hit all the pain, but Xiao Yang said that not enough force, and then again, it is said to be shot after a **** more than 30 slaps!
The next day, Xiao Yang's face is swollen.
Andy Lau praised: "His trust in me is too great, he is wholeheartedly committed to this role."
From the Central Academy of Fine Arts failed teenagers, to the square dance song of the netizens, and then with Andy Lau in the movie "Pingfan" of the first man, Xiao Yang also consciously like a dream.
"When I was 16 years old, if someone told me that you would grow up and make a movie with Andy Lau, and then both of you would play the male lead, I would definitely scold that person."
But the real truth, just like in "The Rising Tide of Man", Xiao Yang played a dragon-set actor in the most crisis, bursting with the most flamboyant acting skills;
Where in the world is the secret of overnight success, all the anticlimactic changes are thick and thin, there is no running years, where is the brilliance of the awards podium?
"Look at yourself correctly, know yourself, enjoy those beautiful things that God has given you, and become yourself well, and you will be really happy."
Xiao Yang said this, not only is the "against all odds" theater people, but also the reality, from the netroots into the strength of the actor's own.
The amnesia killer Zhou Quan, played by Andy Lau, is another dimension of the "change of fate".
He has no memory, and starts from scratch, wearing a big brother's face to run the show.
The result is that with extreme self-discipline, love of thinking, love of research, and the habit of running a dragon set also run out of success.
Even the director Guo Fan, who made a cameo appearance in the movie, was thrilled to embrace him and praise him for his outstanding acting skills, and wanted to give his name to the end credits: "Thank you for your contribution to Chinese cinema".
No one succeeds casually.
Now, Xiao Yang and Wang Taili are focusing on different areas, but the old boy is still a dreamer, they are together after a long time, to break the rumors of "disbandment" and "parting of ways", and sang the ideal promotional song for the "Raging Tide": "Raging Tide".
Compared to the song "Old Boy" 12 years ago, Xiao Yang and Wang Taili describe their "dream" again, and it's clear that they have a completely different state of mind.
"Beautiful aspirations, don't just imagine, don't let the vicissitudes of the world change your appearance." they sang. So they sang.
"Back then, when we worked with my brother Wang on Old Boy, we were all experiencing the unknown of the future, and maybe this is the last caprice, if it doesn't work, give up idealism. So at that time we sang: life is a ruthless carving knife, changing our mold."
Xiao Yang, 41, so lamented, "But later, we found that together we tripped out an unusual road."
Wang Taili, who has reached the end of his life, said, " Don't be in a hurry to extinguish your dreams and passion for life, and don't let the raging tide of people wash you and those around you away."
Listening and savoring carefully, the Chopsticks Brothers' songs about dreams, passion and persistence in the beginning, it seems that nothing has changed, but there is more of a calm and unhurried.
It seems that they finally understood the value of sticking to oneself in the midst of the crowd.
I remember when the end credits of "Oldboy" read: "Dreams, like the classics, never fade because of time, but more precious", which later became the signature of many people.
Now, after all these years, the two "old boys" are still running on the road to their dreams, singing "everything will be fine, don't be in a hurry to get old", and talking about their dreams, their eyes are still as hot as when they were young.
My first movie ticket in the Year of the Ox, I gave it to "Rough Tide", what about you?
Today's main author: a certain knife.
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