1905 movie network feature Please note that the "Gong Xi Fa Cai" version is open in supermarkets, and the countdown to the thawing of actor Andy Lau…
The new film starring Andy Lau is about to meet the audience on the first day of the new year (February 10). The director of the film created the "crazy" comedy series, but this time, the two of them joined hands, and the comedy was still the same, but no longer crazy, turned around gracefully.
In the movie, Andy Lau plays the superstar Lau Wai-chi, a name that means "Andy Lau ++" – three of the most significant superstars in the modern history of Hong Kong cinema.
The director Ning Hao admitted that when writing the script for "Mr. Red Carpet," "I was full of Andy Lau, and I just wanted to give Brother Hua a gift and realize a dream."
To this end, director Ning Hao is even more in the role of the "true character" director in the film, customizing a movie "going to the film festival" for the big star Liu Weichi.
In the past, it has long been a story that Andy Lau sponsored director Ning Hao to shoot. The stories inside and outside "Mr. Red Carpet" are intertwined with the reality of the two, and this fate that has passed through 17 years finally meets. A story about self-deprecation in the entertainment industry seems to stimulate the audience’s "snooping desire" for the entertainment industry, but the story is far more than that…
01. New breakthroughs after cooperation
The movie "Mr. Red Carpet" is a new feature film submitted by Director Ning Hao after a lapse of five years.
From the material of the film alone, he has continued the original absurdity, but dropped the "crazy" setting and moved to the "elegant" side. This may also be the kind of balance he seeks – like the international poster of the film, Andy Lau’s Liu Weichi clumsily drives a standing electric balance bike and tries to maintain his balance on the red carpet – the intention is always easily misinterpreted, and the consequences are often out of control.
Without a doubt, this was a breakthrough for Ning Hao. Looking back at his creation, this was not the first time.
The first time was "Crazy Stone", the second time was, and this time was the third time. Interestingly, every breakthrough was more or less related to Andy Lau.
Andy Lau’s "Asian Rising Star Director" program, which supported Ning Hao’s "Crazy Stone," has long been a household name, but what many people don’t know is that the screenplay was actually his first screenplay, which was called "Diamond" at the time.
At that time, the marketing process of the mainland film market had just begun, and it was not easy for a new director to get the opportunity. He could only shoot two low-cost literary films in a row – reality films and children’s films.
The story of Bole and Maxima by Andy Lau and Ning Hao has been widely circulated along with the development of China’s film market. The birth of a dark horse also witnessed the rise of a new director.
At least this breakthrough allowed the audience to know Ning Hao. Everyone thought he would cooperate with Andy Lau, but at that time Ning Hao still didn’t know what story to use to "put" Andy Lau in. Every time Andy Lau met him, he always asked about the possibility of cooperation.
In the early days of "No Man’s Land", Ning Hao tried to write the story to Andy Lau, but as he wrote it, he became an old partner in his mind. This atypical comedy made the audience realize that Ning Hao could also make films other than comedy.
"No Man’s Land" has been going around for 10 years, and perhaps another possibility has already been opened for Ning Hao’s creation.
As Ning Hao said, "Mr. Red Carpet" was a gift to Andy Lau.
After 17 years of cooperation, the two did not play the safety card, but used a new style to break the audience’s impression of him and Andy Lau. "Mr. Red Carpet" is a new comedy way to break the routine, so that this 17-year fate has been perfectly responded.
The communication between the director and the actors has come to a good conclusion for the time being.
02. Misplaced and contrasting humor
The biggest difference for the audience of "Mr. Red Carpet" is that the film is "beyond imagination".
When people saw the name of "director Ning Hao", they naturally thought of many "crazy comedies" including "Crazy Stone", but this time, Ning Hao "lost" "crazy", "lost" the classic mode of multi-line narrative in the past, and returned to the original story.
Like the "red carpet" itself, compared to other carpets, it has no complex lines and no curved trajectories.
And "Mr." naturally belongs to the actor Andy Lau.
Actor Andy Lau has been on the scene for 43 years and has been involved in about 164 films. In these works, he has played a variety of roles and experienced different theatrical lives. Among them, he has starred in only three movies, namely 1993, 2015, and this year’s "Mr. Red Carpet".
Compared with the drama brought by the character setting in the previous two works, the star image in "Mr. Red Carpet" reinforces the absurdity of "making fun of himself". Liu Weichi may be Andy Lau himself, or someone else in the entertainment industry, but it is also a dialogue between inside and outside the circle, observing, telling, and presenting the truth behind the spectacle with the eyes of the participants.
"Mr. Red Carpet" begins with the bold setting of Liu Weichi’s hidden marriage, and then cuts to an awards ceremony, which does not even use other references. It is directly based on the Hong Kong Film Awards. The anecdotes in front of and behind the stage of the awards ceremony add a layer of authenticity to the story.
After the awards ceremony, Liu Weichi was arranged to shoot short video content to recreate the classic pictures from many years ago. These pictures happened to be the movies starring Andy Lau that year, and.
The film uses the misplaced contrast between reality and drama again and again to bring the audience the first wave of thinking – is this a real story? This curiosity is like a thread, constantly pulling the audience, and using this curiosity to become the viewing emotion of the audience.
As the story progressed, the audience would naturally find that "Mr. Red Carpet" was not a true story, and the mode of curiosity was only the face of the story, and the inside was far from it. Like the opening ceremony, the red carpet was bright, but what about the backstage outside the camera? The difference was even more interesting.
Just imagine, where do these gossips come from?Also misplaced, this time from communication.
In the subsequent stories of the film, this dislocation was all continued, and there was also a lack of authenticity outside the screen. Liu Weichi found the director played by Ning Hao because he had funded the other party’s film in the early years and was successfully recognized by the public.
It was like a wave of "crazy self-deprecation", and before the cooperation between the two began, the communication obviously had creative differences – the director wanted to make a film that catered to the festival, and Liu Weichi wanted to make a film that showed fatherly love.
Although there were contradictions, the cooperation was still going on. At the same time, the mistakes caused by communication were hidden like dark thunder. When these explosive points were opened, there were many hilarious moments.
"Mr. Red Carpet" always uses "Liu Weichi" as the point person. He tries to talk to everyone, but in the end, the "words don’t make sense" of the two sides amplify the absurdity of the process. While director Ning Hao is outside the play, he will reflect and criticize the social reality into these humorous dialogues. Liu Weichi’s helplessness on screen becomes the laughing point of the audience outside the play.
But after the punchline, it was more of a quiet thought – Liu Weichi in the play felt that he had been thinking about the people around him, but in the end he did not please everyone, but was constantly criticized. This is like the state of public survival, he has tried his best to consider everyone, why is it not recognized by everyone?
This was always director Ning Hao’s masterpiece. After "Mr. Red Carpet" made everyone laugh, they found that there were still many problems that had not been solved.
But what is the answer?It doesn’t matter. Every statement is correct.
03. Seek empathy for communication barriers
Now, "Mr. Red Carpet" is about to open to audiences during the Spring Festival, making the film a gift for Ning Hao and Andy Lau. As a form of "elegant comedy", it has become the most unique work in this year’s Spring Festival comedy films.
Especially in recent years, the Spring Festival has become more and more diverse, and the type of theme has long been not limited, but has allowed the audience to choose more. Audiences no longer just watch the superficial story of the film, but also find emotional value between the story and themselves. As a film with "miscommunication" as the lining, it echoes everyone during the Spring Festival.
Returning home during the Chinese New Year would always face the inquiries of the elders, or reunite with old friends whom they had not seen for a long time. But these exchanges were no longer just about recalling the past. Looking at the present, it was inevitable that due to the generation gap or other objective reasons, communication would be incompetent.
But these problems should never become a stumbling block for the holidays. It is better to throw away this "obstacle" and enter the world of "Mr. Red Carpet" to find Liu Weichi’s final balance.
After the absurd frolic, the problems left over from communication are no longer important.
