A lawyer has been entrusted to keep the evidence! The director of the movie Dream of Red Mansions responded to the controversy
2024-08-24
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After the release of the film Dream of Red Mansions, directed by Hu Mei, the choice of actors sparked controversy. Zhang Miaoyi, who played Lin Daiyu, was accused of not having the right temperament and appearance for the role, and was even maliciously insulted.
On August 19, Hu Mei wrote a message to accept the opinions, but also noticed that "some people used AI virtual data to send 1-point reviews. Some accounts were registered several months ago, and they seemed to be specifically used to blacken or snipe this movie. There are even people who make personal attacks and insults, with a deep hatred..." Hu Mei said that she has entrusted a lawyer to keep evidence. In addition, in response to Zhang Miaoyi being mocked as "ugly", Hu Mei posted stills on Weibo many times to support the actor.
According to Red Star News, when asked about the criteria for selecting actors, Hu Mei replied: "If you ask me why I chose this way, I think don't ask me, just read the original novel. The original novel has very clear descriptions of Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu, and Xue Baochai. We basically selected actors according to the descriptions in the original novel." In Hu Mei's view, everyone has their own imagination of Lin Daiyu, "I did my best to select the Lin Daiyu who I think is most like Mr. Cao Xueqin's description among all the actors I gathered."
At the beginning, the crew of "Dream of Red Mansions" held actor auditions worldwide and finally selected an all-amateur cast from tens of thousands of people. Hu Mei said that although these actors are all amateurs, they also have certain artistic skills. The crew also opened an actor training camp for these actors for 6 to 9 months. "We gathered these children together and taught them to learn acting, chess, calligraphy, embroidery, and calligraphy. In the end, they learned calligraphy and embroidery... They have to meet these basic requirements before they can go with us to the end."
In the end, the crew decided that Bian Cheng would play Jia Baoyu, Zhang Miaoyi would play Lin Daiyu, and Huang Jiarong would play Xue Baochai.
Stills (Photo from director Hu Mei's Weibo)
The film started shooting in 2018, when Bian Cheng and Huang Jiarong were only teenagers. In the eyes of director Hu Mei, adult actors are naturally better in acting, but this does not conform to the setting of the original novel. "Baoyu was 14 years old at the beginning of the story, Daiyu was only 12 years old, and Xue Baochai was 14 years old. If we want to find famous actors in their 20s to play young boys and girls who are just beginning to fall in love, they may not be able to do it. Their eyes are different from the naive eyes of the children in "Dream of Red Mansions". So we hope to restore these characters in the novel. The actors we are looking for are not only to complete the performance, but also to let the audience see the character and soul of these characters."
On August 20, Zhang Miaoyi, who played Lin Daiyu, responded to the controversy by posting a long article:
The movie has been released to the public, and I have received various criticisms about my role as "Daiyu".
Although I was mentally prepared, these days were still difficult.
I have mixed feelings. Everyone would feel sad if they were scolded. Who doesn't have a sense of shame if they want to live a good life? But if I ask myself, would I still take this role if I could go back seven years? I can't lie to myself. I would definitely take it.
Ignorance leads to fearlessness. If a newcomer to the industry encounters "Dream of Red Mansions" and "Lin Daiyu", I would be lying if I were not moved.
At that time, if I were asked to play Zhu Bajie in Journey to the West, I would go.
Because of my ignorance, I survived a talent show PK with thousands of people. At that time, I was only surprised and surprised. During the 8-month preparation and training period, all kinds of courses made me feel fulfilled. During the 100-day shooting process, I was grateful and cherish the experience of working with the director and all the main creators.
Because of my ignorance, although I have read the original novel and the script, the core of the movie is the characters. As for the real character "Lin Daiyu", I admit that Teacher Xiaoxu has been a gem before me, and I can't reach it.
Call me ugly, it doesn’t matter, my appearance is natural and cannot be changed. That was me at that time.
Call me superficial, that's fine, I can only grow through life experiences. The hardships of life will make me grow.
After playing more roles in the past seven years, I know where my problems lie. I also believe that I am getting better and I will work hard to do better.
At this point, I feel the most sorry for Director Hu Mei. Director Hu Mei put the most effort into this film. Everyone knows that the film Dream of Red Mansions is difficult to make, but the director still insisted on making it.
Seven years is a short period of time, and there are not many such time periods in a person's life. The director has dedicated her entire life to the film and television adaptation of Chinese history, including "The Yongzheng Dynasty", "The Emperor Wu of Han", "Qiao Family Courtyard", "Confucius"... She deserves more respect.
I think that the huge controversy and attention caused by "A Dream of Red Mansions" will be good for the popularization of Chinese classical masterpieces if more people buy the original book to read and look for classic works to read.
I will always remember the role of "Lin Daiyu" and it will always motivate myself.
Source: China Youth Daily compiled from Red Star News, Zhang Miaoyi Weibo, Hu Mei Weibo
