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The movie "Children Are Not Stupid 3", directed by Singaporean director Jack Neo and starring Hu Jing, Zhou Yuchen, Liu Shengmei, Jiang Songheng, Rong Qihang and Wu Wei'en, was released nationwide on August 16. The film revolves around two students in a primary school to junior high school class in Singapore and their families. While the parents and children are fighting hilariously, they also have in-depth thinking and discussion on current issues such as education and parent-child relationships. It is a family movie that brings together laughter and tears.

Poster of the movie "Kids Are Not Stupid 3".

Before the movie was released, Beijing News interviewed the film's director Liang Zhiqiang and the lead actress Hu Jing, and talked about the behind-the-scenes story of the film's creation. Director Liang Zhiqiang added a new immigrant element to "Children Are Not Stupid 3" - a Shanghai mother went to Singapore to accompany her child to study, using a new perspective to deconstruct and reflect on the educational philosophy of parents. For actress Hu Jing, after filming this movie, she will also reflect on her child's education problems in reality, and the conflict with her son has basically been perfectly resolved. "I am the biggest beneficiary of this film."

The story of the accompanying mother is very consistent with reality

Beijing News: Why did the director restart the "Children Are Not Stupid" series after 18 years?

Liang Zhiqiang:After filming "I'm Not Stupid 2" in 2005, I suddenly had a lot of inspiration and many themes came to me. I thought at the time that if I kept filming children's themes, the director would become very limited, so I wanted to try something else. Later, I filmed "Ah Boys to Men" about soldiers, "Our Story" about the history of Singapore's founding, and "Musang King of Kings" about durian. Originally, we planned to restart the "I'm Not Stupid" series in 2019, but then the epidemic stopped. As soon as the epidemic was over, we started filming immediately.

Beijing News: How did you two come to this collaboration? Did you know each other before the collaboration?

Hu Jing:Actually, I know the director, but the director doesn't know me. More than a decade ago, when I married and moved to Malaysia, the first local movie I watched was the director's movie. At that time, I thought Singaporean movies were quite interesting because the Teochew, Cantonese, Hokkien, English, and Malay were all mixed together, which was very unique to Singapore and Malaysia. The editing was also very new and funny. So when I saw the script last year, they told me that it was directed by Jack Neo. I asked which Jack Neo, and they said that there was only one Jack Neo director in Singapore.

Stills from the movie "Kids Not Stupid 3".

Beijing News: How did you feel after getting the script and reading the story and character?

Hu Jing:I think it fits the current reality very well, because there are many Chinese mothers around me in Singapore and Malaysia. The director's previous films were very local, and there should have never been a character with a Chinese identity background as the main line, so I am very curious about how the director will shoot it.

Beijing News: The movie incorporates the element of new immigrants, in which a Shanghai mother goes to Singapore to accompany her child to study. How did the director come up with the idea of ​​approaching the story from this angle?

Liang Zhiqiang:In fact, in Singapore, we have always heard or seen some accompanying mothers, many of whom we know, and heard many touching stories. We wanted to make a film about accompanying mothers in the early years, and we shot it immediately after the epidemic was over. Actors are also a key. Frankly speaking, it is good to find two actors, Hu Jing and Liu Shengmei, to act together.

Beijing News: During the initial script stage, did the director and team conduct field research and talk to some mothers who accompanied their children to study abroad?

Liang Zhiqiang:Yes, we talked to quite a few accompanying mothers, because there are many accompanying mothers around me, and friends of friends are also accompanying mothers. We also found two screenwriters this time, both of whom are from mainland China. They have lived in Singapore for about 20 years, so they are very familiar with some of the thinking ideas in China, so I also relied on their help to complete this story.

“Everyone can find themselves in the movie”

Beijing News: Wen Ting in the film is particularly strict with her son. In real life, are you a very strict parent?

Hu Jing:I played a "tiger mom" in the movie, but I am usually a "sheep mom" and my son is free-range. In fact, I think the love a mother has for her child is the same. Although I am different from the character, I can find common ground with the character. For example, we both hate games. In the process of educating my child, I basically don't care about his studies. The most important thing for me is to teach him what kind of person he will be, so I control his game playing very strictly. When I was filming, I would set an alarm clock and set a time for him to go to bed. I would call him back to ask if he went to bed on time and if he returned the computer on time. I also installed a camera in his study area. He kept saying that there was no privacy. I said that you don't need privacy when you study. The biggest conflict between my child and me is the same as Wenting and her child, which is the issue of electronic products and games.

Hu Jing plays a "tiger mom" in the movie.

Beijing News: Which of Wen Ting’s educational philosophies in the film do you disagree with?

Hu Jing:In fact, I think every mother has her own way of educating her children. I don't agree or disagree. Anyway, I think Wenting is a great mother. She gave up her career for her children. Of course, there were also emotional reasons. She traveled across the ocean to Singapore. In a completely unfamiliar environment, she had to adapt to the new environment and make new friends. As a foreigner, it was not easy for her to integrate into the environment and roll with them. So I don't think she did anything wrong, but I think that in addition to learning, mothers and children may also need to communicate more on a spiritual level.

Beijing News: It has been 18 years since the second part of this drama was released. Has Singapore’s educational philosophy changed over the years?

Liang Zhiqiang:In fact, Singapore's educational philosophy has changed a lot, but why did I shoot this movie? Because I found that parents have not changed. Our education system no longer focuses on grades, but looks at ABC levels, but parents still check how many points you get for this A, and continue to compare. I told some moviegoers that if you see similar plots in movies, don't worry, I'm actually talking about you.

Hu Jing:Every mother can find herself in the movie, and every child can find himself in the movie.

Beijing News: Some of the lines in the film are actually quite resonant, such as “It’s all for your own good”, as if parents all over the world have said this.

Liang Zhiqiang:I have been saying this since I filmed the first part of "Not Stupid", and it was already very popular in Singapore at that time.

Hu Jing:After filming this movie, I dare not say this sentence anymore. Every time I want to say it, I have to hold it back because I feel guilty.

Beijing News: After filming this movie, you will also reflect on your children’s education issues in real life.

Hu Jing:Of course, I have reflected on it and made some changes. In fact, I am the biggest beneficiary of this film. There is a scene in the movie that specifically talks about the conflict between a mother and her child over games. I think it is too realistic. I used to unplug the computer. When I came back from the filming, I told my son that he could play games from now on. You should thank director Liang Zhiqiang because after filming this film, his mother decided to try his method and let go of the game time, but the premise is that he must finish his homework and go to bed on time. You can play at other times. As a result, I found that I didn't need to call him to bed. He would come down on time. And he didn't play computer games every time he had free time. Sometimes he would go back to his bedroom to read. I have to thank the director for this film. The conflict between my son and I was basically resolved perfectly.

Hu Jing believes that she is the biggest beneficiary of making this drama.

"Children are not stupid at all, it is us adults who are stupid"

Beijing News: There is a scene in the film where Wen Ting and Jayden’s mother quarrel and accuse each other of having problems in educating their children. That scene is particularly exciting. Can you two talk about the filming process?

Liang Zhiqiang:I remember when we were writing, I told the screenwriter that the two mothers were secretly competing with each other, and there must be a direct competition in the end, with no disguises and starting to tear each other apart. I think that scene should be very exciting. When filming, I was really just watching the show. I didn't teach them too much, they were all very good at acting.

Hu Jing:A lot of that scene was adjusted on the spot. In the original script, Jayden's mother blamed Wen Ting for leaking the news, and the two had a quarrel. Later, it was adjusted so that Wen Ting caused the conflict first, and then in the next scene, Jayden's mother went back to report Wen Ting. For me, I am not satisfied with this scene. If I do it again, I can do better, but sometimes there is no way, and film is an art of regret.

Beijing News: You and the young actor who plays your son Zihao in the film have many wonderful scenes together. How did you get along with each other in the beginning?

Hu Jing:When I met Zhou Yuchen, the actor who played Zihao, the filming had already started. I felt quite a bit of psychological pressure to take on this role. In fact, I am not a person who is particularly good at getting along with children. Although I have children, when facing a strange child, I may talk to him for 5 minutes before the topic is exhausted, so I am quite afraid of getting along with children. But this play is about acting with children from beginning to end, so I was thinking about how to get more contact with Zhou Yuchen. Later, I found that they are children of their own, and it is difficult for adults to integrate with them. I remember a scene at a fishball noodle stall. After the child finished speaking two lines, he stopped thinking about filming and started playing. After that, I had a very serious heart-to-heart talk with him, and he has changed a lot since then.

Liang Zhiqiang:In fact, I have talked to him twice before, and when he first came, it seemed like he was here for vacation.

Stills from the movie "Kids Not Stupid 3".

Beijing News: Everyone knows that children’s scenes are particularly difficult to shoot, but the director has shot three “Children’s Play” films. Do you have any secrets for working with young actors?

Liang Zhiqiang:When a child is acting, you can't predict what he will give you, but I often get a lot of benefits on the scene. For example, I filmed a movie called "Run, Child" (2003) before. There were more than 1,000 children who applied, and many of them were not suitable. There was a little girl named Zheng Zhiyun who applied, and her performance was mediocre. Before leaving, she said, "Director, I am very good at crying." After saying two lines, tears flowed down. This child's tears were very attractive, so I confirmed her, but her lines were really bad. Everything she said was very bland and tasteless. Later, I changed my mind. Maybe the way a child acts is also a way of acting, that is, bland. It just so happens that she looks a little dark, very much like a child who grew up in the countryside, thin and small. As a result, after the movie was edited, her expressionless performance actually shocked many people, and later she won the Golden Horse Award for Best New Actor.

So when the kids join the group, I usually don't teach them too much. I let them act naturally first. If they are too far away from the performance, I will pull them back. This is what I do on the spot. Sometimes when writing a script, it is difficult to know how the kids will act, because everyone has a different background. You can only put all the kids together and let them have a chemical reaction. Then you will see their effect.

Beijing News: What do you think of the film title "Children Are Not Stupid"?

Hu Jing:I don't think children are stupid at all, it's us adults who are stupid. If you watch our movies, you will know how stupid you are.

Liang Zhiqiang:The four words in the movie title "Children Are Not Stupid" are actually insulting adults, saying that adults are stupid.

Beijing News reporter Teng Chao

Editor: Xu Meilin

Proofread by Zhao Lin