Chapter 897: What is authority? The moment I stand here, I am authority!
"Cough cough."
The Gao father and son exchanged a glance.
Clearly, Xiao He's question hit the nail on the head.
Gao Zhongbo wanted to speak, but coughed again. Gao Yuan scratched his head, looking somewhat embarrassed. Finally, he said, "This is indeed my fault as the screenwriter... Teacher Xiao, the script you are seeing is indeed the complete version we are preparing to film, but if you look closely at the thickness of this script, you will see that the character's storyline is actually a bit too long—uh, this will greatly affect the pacing in the movie."
The male lead of "Blackbird" is Zhang Zhelin, a Hong Kong film star who has been famous for many years. He plays the lead role, an undercover police officer codenamed "Blackbird".
The villain is played by Du Yuebin, a well-known actor in the Hong Kong film industry. He portrays a high-ranking police officer who has been bribed early on, a smiling tiger in the police station, and a "good father" and "good police officer" in everyone's mind.
Incidentally, both of these award-winning actors had starred in director Gao's classic films in their early careers, and both played the male lead. So, for this script that was essentially a "rehash," the production team of "The Blackbird" specifically invited the two to "recreate the classic."
Therefore, their character portrayals are quite mature in some respects.
On the contrary, Gao Yuan's newly added character is too variable. He is a new character who is outside the "classic" and there is not much screen time to lay the groundwork for him. He has not been tested by the market, so no one is sure whether his part of the story will be welcomed by the market.
Most importantly, the film's plot and pace are largely focused on the two undercover agents on both sides, so the characterization of Wei Dong, whose role is already limited and whose position overlaps somewhat with the protagonist's undercover role, can only be compressed indefinitely, and in the end, he may not even have much screen time at all.
Even though the script we see now has a lot of plot and the filming will take several days, when it is finally implemented in the movie, Wei Dong's scenes may be cut completely.
After all, the protagonist is the protagonist, and the supporting character is the supporting character; this narrative allocation in a film is crucial. If Wei Dong has too much screen time, it will only overshadow the main character. But if his screen time is significantly reduced, the foreshadowing and groundwork for his character cannot be fully displayed, and the character development will ultimately feel disjointed and incomplete.
This is something Gao Yuan didn't consider when he first created the character, since he was creating it based on a "classic" story, so the story is bound to be a bit more complex than the classic one.
However, it can be quite difficult for a film to tell a complete story.
In terms of characters and plot, some trade-offs were inevitable, so the camera didn't give Wei Dong many opportunities to show "suspicion".
The actor playing Wei Dong could indeed deliberately portray himself as very evil, intentionally arousing the audience's suspicion, and the camera could deliberately capture him making shady moves behind the scenes. However, according to the logic of the plot, he shouldn't be so obviously evil, to the point that the audience would feel it was contrived. Therefore, the final reversal and highlight wouldn't be very convincing, and would instead feel like a mindless whitewashing, affecting the overall viewing experience.
So after some debate between the father and son, Wei Dong was ultimately positioned as the protagonist's "tool" in the police force, helping the protagonist catch the mole in the end, and was a purely righteous character.
The highlights of other characters ultimately serve the purpose of supporting the protagonist.
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After hearing Gao Yuan's explanation, Xiao He finally understood.
He then couldn't help but frown slightly: "So actually, there aren't that many scenes that I need to film?"
Characters do serve the plot, and their final scenes are usually cut as appropriate.
But this doesn't mean that all actors can accept that after working themselves to the bone to film so many scenes, not a single one of them will be cut.
If you take a closer look later and find that your character is inconsistent, your part of the story has been cut to pieces, and all your hard work has yielded no positive results, then you might as well close your eyes and lie down right outside the director's door.
"That's absolutely right."
Looking at Xiao He's expression, Gao Yuan said cautiously, "If Teacher Xiao comes to the rescue, we will definitely try our best to shoot the confirmed scenes and not let Teacher Xiao waste too much time."
In other words, he may need to save the day in fewer situations than you might think.
Xiao He didn't rush to ask anything further; instead, he seemed to be deep in thought.
In fact, Xiao He now fully understands why the two directors suddenly wanted to change the character design after seeing him, replacing the current rather conservative role with a character that had already been phased out in the past—
Because he is Xiao He.
Although Xiao He later played many other relatively upright roles in order to broaden his acting range, his most striking label is "the chosen villain".
Aside from Chen Shitou, who made a brief appearance recently and is portrayed as a very upright soldier, even the absolutely righteous protagonist Song Chenye, whose final evaluation was "righteous to the point of being wicked."
Xiao He's temperament is perfect for portraying the kind of villain who hides in the shadows and will suddenly appear to stab you in the back.
Therefore, Xiao He was naturally more suitable than others to play the role of Wei Dong.
—Let's put it this way, when Xiao He appears in a police uniform, and the story is about catching a mole, then what kind of background is needed for his character in the early stages?
Just by standing there, Xiao He is already a definite villain, isn't he? What else is there to ask?
What plot setup, what deliberately fabricated suspicion, what intentionally guiding camera language—none of these things are more authoritative than Xiao He's face.
This is similar to how, in suspense dramas from long ago, when a character like the abbot appeared, all viewers couldn't help but subconsciously suspect that he was the real murderer.
Even though several seasons have passed, viewers still feel that the abbot should be the bad guy.
What is this called? This is authority!
Xiao Heguang doesn't need to do anything bad as soon as he walks out; even if he keeps helping the protagonist, the audience will automatically fill in a lot of suspicious situations in their minds.
Who wouldn't question Wei Dong's stance?
Even if he turns out to be a good guy in the end, his villainous face is just too suspicious, and the audience might still be a little reluctant to give up even after watching the whole thing.
—Huh? Xiao He, you're really playing an upright policeman this time?
Then what about all the doubts we've had along the way?
So I must say, Xiao He is really a perfect fit for the role of Wei Dong in the old version.
What Gao Yuan and the others were worried about—limited screen time and incomplete plot developments—seemed to be no problem at all for Xiao He.
The audience will naturally have their doubts.
When promoting the movie, we can deliberately promote it as a villainous storyline, creating a "promotional scam." When the audience goes to the cinema, they will find out that they have been "tricked." Wouldn't that be incredibly satisfying?
Ahem—I'm thinking a bit too far ahead.
How others promote it is none of his business.
But this role is really good for him!
Everyone doubts me, but I'm a really good person—it's so satisfying.
"Okay, I'll take this script."
Xiao He coughed lightly, and without any pretense, nodded directly and joined the group on the spot.