Wang Hailin Dialogue Director Sheng Ding How did I start working with Jackie Chan?

Sheng Ding: I'm not cut out for business, but I don't want to be an artist.

Wang Hailin: Welcome to Uncle Alice Wei Du's house. I'm glad to have Director Sheng Ding here today. This time we are the judges of Changchun Film Festival and have been together for several days. We seldom chat in our spare time. So, first of all, what was your first film as a director?

Sheng Ding: A terrible movie is called Make a fuss.

Wang Hailin: It's a good movie, isn't it?

Sheng Ding: Terrible. It really sucks.

Wang Hailin: What does "Little Soldier" have to do with it?

Sheng Ding: Little Soldier is different from it. Make a fuss was made in 2000. The actors in the movies 20 years ago were all very good, but I couldn't. At that time, Ethan, Liu Jinshan and Zhang Shi starred in a comedy about tropical adventure.

Wang Hailin: I remember. I saw this movie. Did you shoot?

Sheng Ding: Well, I don't think it's a good movie, but I watch it occasionally.

Wang Hailin: Action comedy, so it pays great attention to action, right?

Sheng Ding: Well, I thought I had a lot of imagination and courage, so I went to Malaysia to make a New Year film. But the ability is still not good, so many plays have not achieved the expected results. That's why I look back occasionally and tell myself never to make the same mistake again.

Wang Hailin: So you studied art?

Sheng Ding: Yes. I first studied film art in the Film Academy, and I also worked as an artist for two films by Xie Fei, one is Soul Girl, which is also my graduation work. I did an art in it, and you can still see my name at the end of the film. The other is Yixi Zhuo Ma, a literary film shot in Tibet. My brother Huo and I are joint artists. Mr. Huo is now the president of our film art society.

Wang Hailin: How did your experience in making these two films affect you?

Sheng Ding: At that time, I was envious of the director. Of course, I will never be able to reach the aura and state of Mr. Xie Fei's scene, but I really want to experience the feeling of being a director. At the shooting scene, I also know that the right to speak, what I want to express, can only be realized in the film through the best channel like the director. At that time, I had the idea of being a director, but at that time I felt that the position of director was still far away for me. Many years later, I was very determined to be a director, because I thought I might go the wrong way after graduating from college.

Wang Hailin: Don't you want to be a film artist all your life?

Sheng Ding: First of all, I don't think I can make a difference in film art.

Wang Hailin: Why do you think so?

Sheng Ding: Because when I was in the second or third grade at the Film Academy, most of my classmates were probably in a cynical stage. At that stage, I would think, why can't I be the person in charge of the film, so that I can express a lot of my thoughts through the film. If I only go through artistic channels, it will be even more difficult. After graduating from college, I felt a little lost and poor, so I wanted to do business and then go to Hainan. This is also a me.

Wang Hailin: What do you do in Hainan?

Sheng Ding: I have done a lot of miscellaneous things, such as introducing jobs to others, speculating in stocks, printing, and coordinating the layout of newspapers. I didn't get a chance to make a movie anyway. But these five years have also come to a conclusion that I am not suitable for business or art.

Wang Hailin: I should say that I am not suitable for business, but I don't want to be an artist. I think it should be unwilling, because your starting point is very high. The film The Heroine Girl is also the winner of the Berlin Prize.

Sheng Ding: Yes.

Wang Hailin: That movie won the Silver Bear Award. So during the Changchun Film Festival, we heard you lament that there were no art awards in our awards. None of the ten awards has an art award.

Sheng Ding: Yes, I want to make a complaint. Since there are no artistic awards in the top ten awards, why are the artistic categories called the three major creations?

Sheng Ding: Very reasonable.

Sheng Ding: I met Jackie Chan because of an advertisement.

Wang Hailin: Then we know that Jackie Chan once worked with director Tang Jili. Why is he looking for your cooperation now?

Sheng Ding: It's a long story. After my first movie "Make a fuss" failed, I made the movie "Tough Guy". I made a little effort. I probably wanted everything at that time, so it was like a literary film and a commercial film, although I still liked this movie very much. Because there is a kind of power in it, that is, everyone dies on this character and on this subject. But after the filming, the presentation effect is not so good. Neither investment nor projects on the market are as hot as they are now, and there was no next project to do at that time. I went back to the advertising circle, and one day I shot an advertisement for Jackie Chan. Before that, I worked with him almost four or five times. During that filming, Jackie Chan asked me what I was busy with recently. I haven't seen you for a while. I have a job. See if you have time. I said I made a movie. He asked me who wrote the script for this film. I said I wrote it. He said I'll tell you a story, which is in his mind, because he has a lot of short stories. I admire Jackie Chan very much, and I am learning from him, but maybe my eyes are different from his. Sometimes he will think of some story points in his mind. He kept them, but he didn't have time to write them, so he shared them with different people and let others finish them for himself. That's how many of his films came about. He began to tell the story. In ancient times, when fighting, both armies died, leaving only one soldier and one general. The soldier wants to catch this and then go back to collect the reward. After going through all kinds of hardships, I returned to China and found that it had long been extinct. Chatting for a minute, let me tidy up. I agreed. I will remember the fact that the lights are arranged and the advertisement begins. What I want to do, I think the atmosphere is right, so I will do it. After two months, there was no contract, so I wrote a script and found him. He forgot all about it at that time, because he always shared it with others, and he probably didn't even know who he had told. I remember it clearly at that time, and I also matched the pictures of two films. One is "No Man's Land", just two people, and the other is "Running at Midnight". Screenshots of two movies I matched. That story is only about 20% compared with what is actually shot now, but it is a complete story and has been changed many times later. He was a little surprised because I made a thick color roll with my story and illustrations in it. Why did I put it in the Warring States Period? Why this country and that country? How far apart were they in those years? What clothes did they wear at that time? When is the best season to shoot? Where is a good place to shoot in China? How did their emotions arise? What hardships have you experienced in the middle? It's all written. I'm selfish at this time because I want to be a director. Later, Jackie arranged for his company to sign the script, which was equal to theirs. The reward was almost100000, and I felt a lot at that time. Later, I told someone in his company, and I said, if I shoot, is it okay? It says I'm a director.

Wang Hailin: Actually, this is the appointment of a screenwriter.

Sheng Ding: Then they discussed it for a while, and the feedback came back and said, OK, so I signed a contract,150,000, for the screenwriter and director. I later asked Jackie Chan why he agreed to this appointment. He said that he had experienced many such things. I'm a director anyway. If the director who signed the contract can't do it, you can leave at any time. I can totally guide myself, so it doesn't matter.

Wang Hailin: Anyway, he has an alternative plan.

Sheng Ding: Yes, it's another option. The funniest thing is that the night before the boot, we stayed in Tulin, Yuanmou, Yunnan, and the hotel was only one floor. Jackie Chan suddenly came to talk to me at night. He put his arm around my shoulder and said nothing. Anyway, just let go. If you are in trouble, just sit on the monitor and I will guide you. Your name is still hanging anyway. All the people are mine. This is the first time he feels that the team is 90% mine since filming. Only the action group is his, including photography, and the other groups are mine. I think I can handle it. At this time, you have to amplify your energy, just like going to the battlefield. This person may not be so capable, but the potential will be released at the critical moment. On the third day of shooting, several plays can be produced every day, all of which are filming without any break-in. On the third day, people in his company said, Big Brother asked me to tell you not to worry about shooting, no problem. Because I instilled something in him at that time, I said, I know you are a director and can do anything. I said, can you be an actor this time? Don't worry about anything else. Leave it all to me. In fact, when I said this, I didn't have such a big heart, because I knew it would be fun to advertise with him, but making a movie was not like that. I have been working for two or three months, but I should also tell myself about it. I am more demanding of myself. Then after I got this result on the third day, I was particularly relaxed. I just want to look at it from another angle. He is my actor, he is a way I use, I want to shoot my things. So you may see the movie "Young Soldier" coming out, which may be different from many other movies. I was arguing with the action team all the time during the filming. Although there were many things when I made a decision, and the decisions I made were a bit risky, they all came true in the end. For example, a bear, he thinks that if I want to synthesize, I must find a real bear. He said it was too dangerous, so I said, do you want to try? But I didn't expect him to be Jackie Chan, and the staff around me refused, thinking it was too dangerous, but I took it later. We thought of all kinds of indigenous methods, including controlling bears with Weiya. There are some dangerous places, no problem. In fact, there is another thing that impressed me deeply, that is, Jackie Chan wants to watch me cut the film. I cut the film for almost three months. I cut it myself without any assistant. After watching the movie, he asked to cut three scenes, one of which was a play by Niu Ben, and the other two were his own. From the point of view of a movie, he felt that there were too many of his plays and asked to cut them, even though the scene was filmed for several days, which I didn't expect and I admired. In fact, I have been editing in the later period, trying to make myself have that spirit, that is, I don't consider whether the scene is hard or not, and whether the relationship with the actors is good or not. These are not important, only this work is the biggest.

Wang Hailin: Just like we voted at Changchun Film Festival?

Sheng Ding: Yes, that's right.

Wang Hailin: At this moment, all the people close to you don't remember. This is a completely fair vote.

Sheng Ding: I think our voting process yesterday was too exciting.

Wang Hailin: You don't know this feeling until you have experienced it.

Sheng Ding: The key is that all the judges have the same heart and energy. I think it's quite enjoyable

Wang Hailin: Yes. Ok, thank you, Director Ding.

Sheng Ding: Thank you.