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The film "Qian Tang Storm", adapted from the memoirs of Comrade Wang Fang, former State Councilor and Minister of Public Security, is scheduled to be released in theaters nationwide on August 1, 2024. The film "Qian Tang Storm" selects Wang Fang's true deeds of following the Third Field Army to Zhejiang from May to October 1949, serving as the deputy director of the Hangzhou Public Security Bureau, and exterminating traitors and counter-espionage. It is adapted from the real deeds of Wang Fang, who followed the Third Field Army to Zhejiang from May to October 1949 and served as the deputy director of the Hangzhou Public Security Bureau. It is a passionate spy action film.

Today we are fortunate to have invited the film's screenwriter Xue Qiao to listen to him talk about the story behind the creation of "Qiantang Fengyun" and his insights into the screenwriting career over the years.

Movie poster of "Qian Tang Fengyun"

What kind of opportunity led to the creation of the script of "Qian Tang Feng Yun"?
Xue Qiao:The prototype of the movie "Qiantang Storm" is Wang Fang, who was once the State Councilor and Minister of Public Security. Wang Jinkai, the producer of Honghe Pictures, had worked with me before. After the company obtained the adaptation rights of "Memoirs of Wang Fang", he took the initiative to contact me.

Time was tight, and I only had one day to read and prepare a report to the investors. On the one hand, I had a lot of respect for my predecessors, and on the other hand, I was very interested in this subject, so I cherished this opportunity. Therefore, I hardly slept that night. I first read the memoir carefully and took notes, and then thought about the creative ideas. Due to the tight time, there was no time to write, and all the content was in my mind. The next day, I proposed the development direction of the memoir, as well as the design of the main line and character relationships to the investors in a large conference room. The investors were generally satisfied with my ideas, and soon we decided that I would be the screenwriter.

Of course, after many revisions, the current script is significantly different from the original concept. I would like to thank director Ma Jianjun, producers Jiang Jianying, Wang Jinkai and Ray Lui for their valuable comments, and also thank my fellow screenwriters Cong Fei and Li Zhenrong for their hard work.

Stills from Qiantang Storm

Stills from Qiantang Storm

What is the theme of the movie "Qian Tang Fengyun"?
Xue Qiao:When I was conceiving the storyline, I arranged a dual narrative thread: the bright thread focuses on the operational mission of "countering special forces and suppressing bandits", while the dark thread explores the inner changes of "transitioning from a soldier to a police officer". The two threads, one bright and one dark, jointly advance the plot.

The account in "Wang Fang's Memoirs" is very shocking: after the liberation of Zhejiang, there were still 116 remnant bandit organizations with more than 100 people in the province, and they destroyed government agencies more than 120 times in the second half of 1949 alone. However, the movie cannot cover everything, and a specific and vivid villain must be created to interact with the positive characters. In the end, I chose He Zhuoquan, the "Military Control Commission" in the book, as the prototype. His "Ministry of National Defense Jiangnan Bandit Suppression Command" had more than 700 people, created many explosions, and was eventually brought to justice. In order to make He Yonggui in the movie not a flat character, many details were designed, such as his poor health and need to take a lot of medicine, etc., to highlight his desperate character. The "anti-special bandit suppression" task line is all centered around him.

There is a group of public security protagonists as the positive characters, and each of them has his own dramatic role. The characterization of the protagonist Fang Wangcheng is based on a real prototype, while his subordinate "sharpshooter" Li Dayong is a fictional character. In the inner process of "transforming from a soldier to a policeman", although Fang Wangcheng is ahead, he needs the assistance of Li Dayong. Li Dayong actively made contributions, but also made trouble at the critical moment. The brotherhood between the two is the hidden line of the movie. From cooperation, conflict, and cooperation again, it also tells the theme of the movie-not afraid of sacrifice, not afraid of hardships, everything is to serve the people wholeheartedly.

Stills from Qiantang Storm

Stills from Qiantang Storm

Were there any difficulties or regrets in creating "Qian Tang Feng Yun"?
Xue Qiao:The biggest difficulty is how to make a breakthrough under the main theme. Although ours is a small and medium-cost biographical film, we still hope to be closer to genre films and commercial films. In this regard, Director Ma Jianjun proposed at the time that on the basis of the spy war genre, we can also try to integrate the anti-terrorism genre, and suggested that I watch "White House Down" and "The Hurt Locker". To be honest, I was a little resistant at first, thinking that our story was not related to the American anti-terrorism theme. But after watching the film, I think the director is right. First of all, as a light and shadow art, the audio-visual language of film must be able to capture the audience. The design of explosions and gun battles makes the film get rid of the texture of TV series. Secondly, although we cannot directly borrow from the plot, the techniques of anti-terrorism genre films in mobilizing the audience's emotions and building suspense and fear are what we can learn from.

Now that the movie is about to be released, the biggest regret is that the "police" line in the film is relatively long, while the "civilian" line is relatively small. In the first version of the script, there was a very important character, A Lian, who was a prostitute rescued after the police closed down the brothel. Her lost father was a university professor who wanted to leave the mainland. Finally, with the help of the police, the father and daughter recognized each other and decided to stay together to build a new China. These two characters have tension, and their stories also convey the theme. However, due to limited space, this line was almost completely deleted in the film. Of course, the film itself is an art of regret, and such trade-offs must be made.

July 28, 2024, interacting with the audience at the premiere of "Qian Tang Fengyun"

Maoyan fans took a group photo with the main creators of "Qian Tang Feng Yun" after watching the film

How did you get into screenwriting?
Xue Qiao:I studied in the liberal arts experimental class of the Second Affiliated High School of Beijing Normal University and the Chinese Language and Literature Base Class of Sichuan University. Although I did not major in film and television, I have always loved literature during my studies, published novels and poems, and served as the deputy editor-in-chief of the school magazine.

Since 2012, I have been involved in screenwriting. My first project was the TV series "Princess Jieyou". I would like to thank the director of this drama, Lu Yang. At that time, his movie "Embroidered Spring Blade" still needed time to prepare, so he took our TV series first. I had never written a script before, and although I had made sufficient preparations, I was still very nervous before meeting the director. Director Lu Yang discussed the details of the creation with me very seriously, completely ignoring that I was a newcomer. We often went to a cafe in Maoer Hutong, Beijing, and each time we chatted for half a day, and then I and another screenwriter went back to sort it out separately. Through this collective creation method, we completed the episode outline and the first draft of the script together, which benefited me a lot.

Later, I had less contact with Director Lu Yang, but he had a profound influence on my creative career. On the one hand, Director Lu Yang's dedication to art deeply influenced me. On the other hand, some of his drama concepts also influenced me subtly. For example, he once told me that "the protagonist must be a person with desires, otherwise the story will not be interesting." These words always reminded me when I participated in other projects.

In 2014, he took a photo with the lead actress Zhang Xinyi on the set of "Princess Jieyou"

What kind of works do you want to create in the future?

Xue Qiao:In recent years, the film and television market has been in a bad state, and the pressure on young screenwriters is particularly obvious. But I always keep a calm mind. In my opinion, the profession of screenwriter does not sell words and creativity, but execution and work attitude. I always remind myself that the script is not a simple personal expression, nor is it a literary work written directly for the audience, but a working script written for the entire crew. First of all, you must integrate into the team in mentality and resonate with the team in brainpower, and the script text is just a result of the final outcome. Therefore, in the project, I can always use my past experience to communicate sincerely with the producer and director.

With a learning attitude, my creations in recent years are not limited to movies and TV series, but also include sitcoms such as "You Are My Dish", cartoons such as "New Big Head Son and Little Head Dad", and offline interactive dramas such as "Dongdonglong Science Expedition" supported by Marriott Hotels. As for the future direction of creation, I have not set limits for myself, but want to work more with professional teams. At present, I am writing a movie script that focuses on social issues. After the plan is completed, I will participate in the film festival venture capital. More details will be kept confidential for the time being.

Other works by Xue Qiao