after playing the role of an elderly mary su huo, the 30-year-old wu qian responded to the "middle-aged and elderly sweet girl" and received a bunch of twilight love scripts

text/eryi

editor/hu hu

"the domineering president fell in love with me after menopause"...

"advanced version of pure love and brain-dead drama for middle-aged and elderly people"...

"the plot is so familiar, the age is so strange"...

"it's over, it's for my parents"...

these comments come from the comment section of the middle-aged and elderly sweet pet short drama "flash marriage my wife is a rich family". this earthy and refreshing drama combines various elements such as flash marriage, wealthy family, vicious in-laws, love at dusk, finding relatives and recognizing daughters, etc., at the end of august it has occupied the top spot on the hot list for many days in a row since its launch. the total number of douyin topics exceeded 2.5 billion, and the audience generated more than 20 million krypton dollars. it is a veritable hit in the short drama circuit for middle-aged and elderly people.

its popularity has also made actress wu qian famous. now in her thirties, she plays the gentle and kind-hearted 58-year-old shi xiaoxiu in the play, becoming a new middle-aged sweet goddess. after the series was launched, wu qian wrote "the heroine shi xiaoxiu" on her personal homepage, and her followers increased by more than 100,000 in 5 days. young people followed her and shouted, "auntie, please marry me."

short drama "flash marriage: my wife is a rich family" becomes popular

on the day she was interviewed by tencent entertainment, she looked youthful and beautiful with a ponytail. she also had a lively personality, which was very different from the one in the drama. as for why she could play a role with such a big age gap without any sense of inconsistency, wu qian said generously: "decryption", attributed this to the coordination of makeup, lighting and my body. he also revealed that he had "stealed from" zhao benshan since he was a child to imitate the old lady.

before starring in "flash marriage, my wife is a rich family", wu qian had actually been in the entertainment industry for more than ten years. her resume included popular ips such as "ode to joy 2", "young pi" and "happiness to ten thousands of houses", and the recent "mortal" she played the role of shen liping in "song", and she also played the role of zhang wanyi's second aunt in "the story of the willow boat". she originally only regarded short plays as a side job, but she unexpectedly ushered in the second spring of her career. "it turns out that everyone i like watching middle-aged people fall in love." from being a "female supporting actress for ten thousand years" to becoming the heroine of a short drama, in her own words, it is "relaxing".

regarding the popularity of "flash marriage: my wife is a rich family", wu qian believes that it will definitely lead to the emergence of more middle-aged and elderly idol-themed works, "because the silver-haired economy has really begun", but she can't help but "complain". at the moment many short play scripts i received were very similar, "i am only in my thirties, and if i am asked to play love at dusk every day, i will really get drunk."

wu qian becomes the goddess of sweet pet dramas for middle-aged and elderly people

a thirty-year-old plays a fifty-eight-year-old, transforming into a middle-aged and elderly sweet goddess

in "flash marriage my wife is a rich family", shi xiaoxiu, played by wu qian, combines countless virtues. she is gentle, dignified, hard-working and kind, but she is bullied by her vicious in-laws, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, etc., while the wealthy boss parachuted in to help her perform a show. it’s a thrilling counterattack scene. shi xiaoxiu is the projection of the simple traditional values ​​of the chinese people. she has become not only the object of substitution for middle-aged and elderly female audiences, but also the goddess in the hearts of middle-aged and elderly male audiences. faced with the "courtship" of her fans, wu qian couldn't laugh or cry, "why have i started to like my aunt recently? auntie, please marry me. i mean, your child, isn't our age difference a bit big? my children are not picky eaters either."

how can an actress in her thirties convincingly play a fifty-eight-year-old character? wu qian recalled that her earliest experience of playing an old lady can be traced back to her childhood, and the "initial teacher" was actually zhao benshan. "have you seen teacher zhao benshan's "little grass"? but it was early. i started imitating zhao benshan when i was a child. i'm playing an old lady. is this god's will? then i started playing roles in my 30s when i was 22 years old, and i started playing roles in my 50s when i was 30 years old. this is a bit of a big jump."

wu qian also shared her experience of playing an old lady. in terms of body movements, she believed that older people tend to hold their breasts a bit. the first scene she appeared in the short play was when her "daughter" meng jie fainted from an asthma attack. shi xiaoxiu he went over to help her and give her asthma medicine. "the back figure turning away is the opening scene. i think it is quite important. i specially designed it to make her have a little slump. when she turns around, she walks slightly splayed, and there is also a gesture of wiping sweat. ". in order to express the roughness of the character as a rural woman, but also to meet the director's request of not looking bad from the front, she could only make some small details on the back. as for the makeup, there was no concealing or smoothing, and the crew's lighting even deliberately created grooves on her face to make her look even older.

she was deeply impressed by a netizen's comment about wu qian's role as an old lady, "how did this aunt manage to look old and young at the same time?" wu qian joked, "here's the secret for you. the coordination of makeup and light is particularly important. coupled with the actor's body shape, why i look like i'm in my 50s in the movie, and i look like i'm in my 30s during the live broadcast, this is the secret." regarding the new title of "middle-aged sweet girl", wu qian accepted it calmly: "it's sweet. just be a girl, no matter what age you are. aging is a necessary process, and you are indeed not 20 years old anymore.”

as a professional actor who has been in the film and television industry for more than ten years, wu qian's acting skills are more than adequate in short plays. against the backdrop of the villain's exaggerated performance style of being startled and the anamorphic lens, the calm and steady performances of wu qian and lei zhiyuan, who plays the rich wife, are like a needle in the sea, showing the texture and complexity of the characters' daily life. when talking about her collaboration with lei zhiyuan, wu qian lamented, "lei's father is very aloof and he just sits there and doesn't talk." he is very different from the character and is not "a boss" at all. "he is a very gentleman actor." wu qian revealed that the two of them would design some life details in the play, "for example, when he hit his head on the corner of the table, i gave him an egg and rubbed it. he showed me the real estate certificate to reveal his identity. i asked him if he had broken his head just now." you're talking nonsense." these small designs add to the interest of life and allow middle-aged people to have a different sense of home when they are in love than when they were in a 20-year-old relationship. netizens also spoke highly of them: "these two protagonists easily make me 'come out of the drama'. they make me feel like i'm watching a tv series, not like a short drama."

after more than ten years of acting, no one recognized him, and he became popular through short plays.

wu qian is the epitome of many unknown actresses in the entertainment industry. "i have been filming for eleven or twelve years, and they are all minor roles." wu qian is also featured in the recently popular "the story of the willow boat" , in addition to praising the leading actor zhang wanyi, praising him as "dedicated, meticulous, and a good actor", wu qian also lamented that the age difference between herself and these "younger" popular male artists is actually less than 10 years, but she is already in acting as their mother. looking back on her career as an actress, she estimates that she has participated in at least fifty or sixty films, but her roles were very few. some of them were filmed for only three to five days, or as long as a month.

wu qian plays the role of a mother in tencent video's "the story of the willow boat"

as a traditional film and television actor, wu qian admitted that when she first received short script roles, she just treated them as a side job to "fill in the blanks" and did not take it as a main direction. unexpectedly, the short drama gave wu qian a second career. the response to "flash marriage: my wife is a rich family" surprised her, "it turns out that everyone likes to watch middle-aged people fall in love." wu qian revealed that she had always dreamed of filming a love story when she was in her 20s, but at that time she had always played a mother. unexpectedly, she started acting in love scenes in her 30s. "flash marriage my wife is a rich family" "although it is a love at dusk, but how much of it it’s also a love story.” she is often asked by fans why she chooses this kind of subject. she feels helpless: “an actor is not qualified to choose a script if he is not very well-known.”

previously, there were many short drama actors who became popular in the industry, or traditional film and television actors who "returned" through short dramas. su chuanhe was called "a combination of xiao zhan and huo jianhua" in the popular spring festival movie "i was a stepmother in the 1980s" it once hit the screen, but unfortunately due to the collapse of the house, no such person was found. however, cheng lei used short plays as a springboard to successfully enter the field of long-form dramas. he gained numerous fans in guo jingming's "the feather of the cloud" and entered the mainstream film and television industry. in turn, celebrities are also filming short dramas. yang rong, who played yue lingshan in 2013 the swordsman, starred in the short drama "twenty-nine"; she also played supporting roles in major dramas such as "si teng" and "meng hua lu". li muchen, who had nothing to film, took the initiative to start filming short dramas at home for three months because she had no scenes to shoot. she became the "queen of short dramas" with many hits such as "invitation".

the red sea of ​​short plays is large enough to accommodate actors of all different types to swim in it. young actors like wu qian have more opportunities to stand out. she lamented, "i haven't been seen by so many people in more than ten years of filming." we have done so many dramas and our friends around us know about it, but we didn’t expect that people all over the country would see it if we filmed a short drama. if we had known about it, we would have filmed it earlier.”

when asked about the different feelings of being a supporting role in a long drama and playing the lead female role in a short drama, wu qian said that she is an actor who likes to create. playing a supporting role in a big drama does not have so much creative space, and is more of a " "tool man" is to set off the protagonist and the main line of the story. although she also agrees with the politically correct saying that "there are no small roles, only small actors", wu qian does not hide her desire to play big roles. "when you are the protagonist, the whole play will be complete." the leading direction may be with me, i have a lot of space."

but she also emphasized that the shooting pace of short dramas is destined to not give actors so much time to create, even for the protagonist. "so i really want to take on the heroine role in a long drama or movie, and play a plump and complete person. i think it will be a very happy thing." as for the specific type of role, wu qian said that it is special she wants to play a small person at the bottom of society and show the different life experiences of unfortunate people. "there is also a business woman who sacrifices her life to serve the country in "jinling thirteen hairpins", which is also a subject i am looking forward to." she said. for example, zhang wanyi, who has collaborated with zhang wanyi, revealed that after watching his "the awakening age", she went to longhua to present flowers to chen yannian. she also wanted to make a great man drama like zhang wanyi, so that future generations of children would know that this country is what happened in history.

wu qian believes that there is another simple but most important difference between the protagonist and the supporting role, which is that the former can be seen by more people. she smiled and shared a "sad past" about her acting role. in han han's spring festival blockbuster "flying life" released in 2019, she had a role of about a few seconds, "i was so excited and took my whole family to the cinema. i watched it and sat there waiting, but my dad sat there waiting for a long time, yawned and turned around, oh, my camera passed. "compared with the treatment of being the protagonist in short dramas now, wu qian has a generous personality. it is no secret that "i am in (almost) all the shots, it's that kind of fun!" wu qian said that no actor does not dream of becoming famous, and anyone who enters this industry will hope to be known by more people one day.

but wu qian also has a clear understanding of her current "popularity", "we are just a little red, not a big one." although she received congratulatory messages from all over the world, she revealed that her life has not changed much. when going out to eat with friends, someone at the table might say, "i watched your drama recently," and someone would call her "god of war mom." such a new title, but it will not happen that you will be recognized on the street and ask for photos and autographs. "we are not popular yet. we have just begun. the road is still long."

the bigger change comes from within, “i’m not so anxious anymore, and i don’t have to worry about not having a job in the future. because being an actor is basically about finishing my play today, and i don’t know where my next job will be tomorrow. but recently, my the situation is that many producers and coordinators come to wechat every day, and there are some tasks to be arranged later, so i feel more secure. a sense of security is very important to actors. "specifically speaking about the level of filming. regarding the changes, wu qian revealed that in the past, she might only know the work schedule for one week, but now she can know the work schedule for the second half of the month. wu qian is very happy that she has been recognized by the industry. a hong kong director she has worked with left her a message, "little shows are very popular recently," which surprised her. the producer of a big drama she worked with two years ago also gave her some feedback, “this peer recognition makes me feel like my future is bright.”

the earthy short drama focuses on the silver-haired people, "let me play love at dusk every day"

the movie "flash marriage is a rich man" starring wu qian brought the "silver-haired group" into the spotlight and became the absolute protagonists in film and television works. it not only successfully captured the target audience of middle-aged and elderly people, but also broke through and became popular among young audiences. wu qian revealed that although she did not expect the market response to this drama at all, "the production company has always produced many hits, and they should have had this expectation." the production company wu qian mentioned was actually the production company that created tinghuadao, who had the hit drama "i was a stepmother in the 1980s", this time they broke into the middle-aged and elderly track that is experiencing a blowout at the right time. wu qian, who had been filming major dramas before, had no idea about the "popularity" of short dramas. "i asked, is this a big hit or a small hit? after they explained it to me, i realized that it was indeed selling well."

the latest books wu qian received are all about dusk love.

wu qian believes that the popularity of this drama will definitely lead to the emergence of more middle-aged and elderly idol-themed works, "because the silver economy has really begun. no matter how reluctant you are to accept it, our aging population has reached a stage. in a very peak state, there are so many elderly people. if you show them a 20-year-old love story, they won’t have much resonance. but if you show them a character who goes through a marriage and then re-encounters happiness in the second half of life, maybe it gives them more empathy and expectations.”

the census shows that the country's population over 60 years old has reached 296 million in 2023, accounting for 21.1% of the population. china has fully entered an aging society. according to data from the china research center on aging, the size of my country’s silver economy market will be about 7 trillion yuan in 2023, accounting for about 6% of gdp. it is expected that the market size will reach 30 trillion yuan in 2035. in addition, the silver-haired people over 50 years old have become the most important contributor to the growth of mobile internet, once accounting for 26.5% of the total growth. specific to the field of short dramas, the "research report on the market development of micro-short dramas in china" revealed that among the user groups who pay for micro-short dramas, middle-aged and elderly users aged 45 to 64 are more active in paying behavior.

a large number of sweet pet skits for middle-aged and elderly people make it difficult for middle-aged and elderly people to stop spending money. young people's consumption has downgraded, but middle-aged and elderly people who don't know how to find pirated resources are more generous. from the previously highly sought-after internet celebrities xiucai, alluring smile, and "fake jin dong" to today's micro-short dramas, the demand for "love meal replacement" among middle-aged and elderly people has always been strong. similar works to "flash marriage: my wife is a rich family" on the market include "flash marriage at fifty years old", "flash marriage at fifty years old", "the overbearing president spoils me crazy", "flash marriage mom", etc. the plots often revolve around "blind date, flash marriage, falling in love at dusk" and "overbearing". the ceo fell in love with me, "slap the vicious wife/in-laws in the face", "the noble son/daughter recognizes her relatives" and other developments. different from the situation where the middle-aged and elderly people silently contribute in the family and are not taken seriously, these short dramas give them a sense of counterattack. it met their emotional needs that were neglected in daily life. one comment that impressed wu qian was a netizen who said, "i gave her new hope in life. she can also marry the boss after divorce."

regarding how to use short plays to create dreams for middle-aged and elderly people, wu qian believes that middle-aged love will not be as passionate and exciting as 20-year-old love, and there will not be many very disgusting and passionate scenes, but it must tend to be warm, peaceful, and stable. what they look forward to more is not saying "i love you", but the sense of security of saying "i am here", just like the feeling of two very familiar friends living together. wu qian also expressed her views on dusk love: any age has the right to pursue their own happiness. “maybe at their age, they don’t think it’s dusk love, but just a normal love, so i think it’s all beautiful. , but there will be some changes in the way of emotional expression.”

wu qian also expressed her worries. most of the short play scripts she has received recently are about love at dusk. "i am only in my thirties. if i am asked to play love at dusk every day, i will really get drunk." and her partner "the oldest actor is more than three years older than my dad. but we are not in conflict with each other. we can act from 18 to 58." she also couldn't laugh or cry at some of the earthy plots, "there is that kind of taiwanese idol drama the routine, the plot of you being bumped and falling into your arms, picking up a handkerchief to help you wipe away your tears, but you avoided it, was a bit gross when i was filming it. i was thinking that you must be targeting the middle-aged and above market. anyway, there are all kinds of weird plots.” despite this, wu qian still feels that “it’s better than not having so many scenes to shoot before.” she comforted herself by saying, “don’t be picky, just shoot when you can.”

on june 1 this year, the state administration of radio, film and television issued the "notice on further coordinating the development and safety of promoting the healthy and prosperous development of the online micro-short drama industry". many illegal works were removed and the "latest work tips on the registration of micro-short dramas" were also strict regulations are in place for content review. talking about the impact of these new regulations on the short drama market, wu qian believes that there is no rule without rules. more restrictions will bring more high-quality products and avoid a mixture of good and bad. she believes that "flash marriage my wife is a rich family" is a high-quality short film. drama, "some people have commented that our drama is a bit filmy and i am very grateful. because we are not the kind of drama that is messy and just to say the lines, but a drama that really has a story and content and can convey values. i think this kind of drama is meaningful, not just to make people laugh and feel happy.”