When "Journey to the West" almost stopped filming for the first time due to financial problems, it was the money that Li Hongchang, the deputy director of production, found from the railway department.

3 million sounds like a lot, but it is obviously not enough to support the crew to complete all the filming work behind.

Although the crew is already very economical, and there are two cameras supported by the station, the shooting progress and work efficiency have been greatly improved, and the crew usually saves money as much as possible.

If nothing else, the food alone is not much better than the three difficult years.

But even so, the money will still run out one day.

At the end of last year, because of the lack of money, Director Yang Jie pulled Gu Bei and others to discuss, preparing to cut five episodes and finish the ball as soon as possible.

But which five episodes to cut, Director Yang Jie made another difficulty.

It is all the result of the hard work of the screenwriting team, and she likes every story very much, and she is reluctant to cut any one.

In her previous life, because she had no money, Director Yang Jie could only give up several stories such as "The True and False Monkey King" and "Hindered Lion Camel Mountain".

Now again, Yang Jie is still facing a difficult trade-off.

In her previous life, Yang Jie didn't make up for her regrets until more than ten years later, but now that she has Gu Bei, she naturally doesn't have to wait so long.

"Journey to the West" failed to finish filming, Yang Jie regretted it for more than ten years, and for audiences like Gu Bei, it was a lifelong regret.

Although when filming the sequel, the funds are abundant and the technical means are much more advanced, I believe that many Journey to the West fans have the same feeling.

Obviously, the picture is clearer, and the stunts are cooler, but I just don't think it's right, and I feel that the sequel is not as good as the old version.

Facts have also proved that this is not a personal opinion, because in terms of the number of replays and the impact of transmission, "Journey to the West Sequel" obviously cannot be compared with the 86 version of "Journey to the West".

Even Director Yang Jie herself later made it clear in her autobiography that "Journey to the West Sequel" is indeed not as good as the first 25 episodes.

Compared with the 86 version of "Journey to the West", the "Journey to the West Sequel" has more funds, more advanced equipment, and more realistic special effects.

Some people think that it is the preconceived ideas of the old audience, or it is the cause of feelings, but it is not.

Gu Bei feels that there is a reason why the sequel disappointed the audience.

The first is the congenital disadvantage of the plot without a head and tail, according to director Yang Jie, "Journey to the West Sequel" is a supplement, based on the five episodes that were not filmed in the 86 version of "Journey to the West", and then add a work formed by the story, so it becomes a work without a head and no tail.

However, with the 86 version of "Journey to the West" in front, the impact of not having a head seems to be great, but the ending is obviously too hasty, there is no foreshadowing, it seems too blunt, the entry point of the story is not easy to find, and naturally it is impossible to make the atmosphere rise all the way to the climax of the plot.

In addition, one of the characteristics of the 86 version of "Journey to the West" is that most of the episodes are self-contained, while the sequel abandons this practice and becomes a general TV series format, which also makes some old viewers feel very uncomfortable.

There is a poor music connection, which is also a place that has been widely complained about, the impressive music of the 86 version of "Journey to the West" is one of the only factors in its success, in addition to the opening film, many episodes are also very popular.

For example, "Daughter's Love", "Five Hundred Years of Songhai Cangtian" and so on.

If the sequel can continue to use the original opening song and music style, it will undoubtedly increase a lot in nostalgia, but unfortunately, this has also been abandoned.

Of course, it doesn't mean that the composition level of the sequel is not high, the other party is also a composer, and compared with Mr. Xu Jingqing, he is only strong and not weak, like "Rap Face" and "Qianmen Love Thoughts Big Bowl of Tea" are all masterpieces of this one.

The audience felt bad, mainly because they felt that the music styles of the two works before and after were not connected, and there was a sense of detachment.

The third point is the problem of character modeling.

The styling of the characters in the sequel is obviously much more advanced technically than the 86 version, taking more into account the feelings of the actors, revealing humanity.

It will not be like before, with a lot of glue applied to the face to paste hair, the breathability and comfort of the mask are greatly improved, which is undoubtedly an improvement for the actors, and it is also more humane.

However, the problem brought about by the new technology is the stiff face, and those who have watched the sequel have a feeling that Sun Wukong and Zhu Bajie, who are the two cores, have a lot less facial expressions, and the whole face seems to be immobile, which is the disadvantage of modeling progress.

In addition, there are also problems with makeup for characters who don't need to wear masks, such as the smoky makeup of Guanyin Bodhisattva, although the smoky makeup is very trendy and will make young people feel friendly, but it will undoubtedly make old viewers feel uncomfortable.

There is also a fourth point, martial arts design.

It is said that the martial arts design of the sequel was directly introduced by the director of the station at that time without consulting Director Yang Jie.

Cao Rong later played the role of a prince of Moang in the play, and after filming this sequel, he then filmed a "Journey to the West".

is a TV series in which Sun Wukong seems to have ankylosing spondylitis, his neck can't be turned, and Tang Seng can fight with the villain in a robe.

Originally, the 86th version of "Journey to the West" martial arts design "Erlang God" Lin Zhiqian just hung up his name and gave the crew a set of WIA equipment and went back.

The martial arts design level of the dragon prince in "Eight Immortals Across the Sea" is naturally undoubted, and the various fighting scenes in the play are also very exciting, but I always feel a little bit of martial arts flavor and lack some imagination.

The martial arts action in the 86 version of "Journey to the West" is not fancy, but many designs take into account the beauty and fairy spirit, such as the fight between the little white dragon and the princess of Halloween, one holds a sword and the other dances kelp, although it is not intense, it feels very beautiful.

Finally, and most importantly, change the actors.

Zhu Bajie and Monk Sha have both changed actors, although the new ones have worked very hard and acted very well, but everyone has changed, and it feels naturally not the same as before.

In fact, in Gu Bei's view, whether "Journey to the West Sequel" is replaced or not, there will be people who complain and there will be problems.

Tang Seng and Sun Wukong, who have not been replaced, have also complained to many people.

For example, Xu Shaohua's fatness, Chi Chongrui's hippie smile, Sun Wukong's stiffness and slowness, presumably if Zhu Bajie and Sha Seng do not change people, there will also be complaints.

Therefore, if you don't change people, you may be scolded for sticking to the rules, and if you don't change people, you may be scolded for ruining the classics, and the problem is not whether you change people or not, but in the final analysis, it is difficult to relive the old dream.

Speaking of conscience, if "Journey to the West Sequel" is not compared with any work, it is still a conscience drama relatively speaking, and it is very good in all aspects, so there are many people who think it is good-looking.

But once it is more true than the 86 version of "Journey to the West", it is immediately dwarfed.

Reborn once, Gu Bei certainly would not leave this regret to himself again.

Money, he has, although it is not much, but this is not much and the score is compared with whom, compared with most people in the current era, he definitely belongs to the wave that got rich first.

I didn't take the initiative to take out the money last time, mainly because the timing was wrong, and I didn't get a little return for it.

Just to make up for a regret, he made a loss-making business, Gu Bei was not a prosperous white lotus, and he definitely couldn't do such a stupid thing.

When the crew once again had a problem with funds and was faced with a choice, Gu Bei felt that the time was almost up.

Just when Director Yang Jie wanted to delete a few stories, a big boss in the clothing industry took the initiative to come to the door and expressed his willingness to provide two million funds for the crew.

The condition is to include a special acknowledgment at the beginning of the credits.

When Yang Jie got the news, she was stunned.

That's it?

A special acknowledgement is worth 2 million?

This man can't be a liar!

It's just that when Yang Jie found Ruan Ruolin and Huang Heping with the attitude of trying it out, and asked if she could accept this sponsorship, things were not as easy as she thought.

For this money, I went up to the stage and down to the TV drama production center, and held meetings for several days in a row.

None of them were able to agree on the same opinion.

Some people think that there is nothing wrong with this, and it can even be used as a way to produce TV dramas in the future, just adding a special acknowledgement, and not to take away the copyright of the work.

But some people feel that the TV series produced by CCTV advertise for capitalists at the beginning of the film, which is turning back the clock of history.

Gu Bei heard that there was even an old comrade who slapped the table at the meeting and shouted: "Comrades, do you want your position anymore?" You are erecting a monument for the capitalists. ”

Good guys's!

It all rises to the question of position and line.

Why didn't Gu Bei come out with the money in the first place, this is what he was afraid of.

China Railway is a state-level public institution, and the cooperation between the two sides is barely acceptable to Taili.

If you change to a sole proprietorship, it is not so easy.

In the end, the lawsuit went directly to the top, and there was a long argument above, and finally Director Yang Jie was called to make a work report, indicating that the crew was only five episodes away from completing all the filming work.

Hearing the request for money, some of the people who opposed it immediately shut up, and some people still shouted "You can't bend your waist for five buckets of rice", but obviously they are not as confident as before.

After more than a month of procrastination, the matter finally passed.

The crew who got the money also went straight to full power after the internal meeting, and no one knew where the money would come from and whether there would be problems in the future.

It's better to hurry up and finish filming, and when the money is spent, even if someone comes to find trouble, it won't change anything.

Fortunately, after several years of running-in of the crew, coupled with the sudden abundance of funds, Yang Jie spent a lot of money to buy a lot of equipment for the crew, and the work efficiency directly doubled.

Now, there is only the airport interior scene, and it can be announced that it is finished.

"Everyone is here, let's go immediately, and the preparations are all done?"

Gu Bei hurriedly said, "Don't worry, everything is arranged." ”

Yang Jie nodded: "Okay, let's try to win all the remaining scenes today." ”

Gu Bei, as the on-site coordinator of the crew, naturally knew that today was the day when the crew was finished.

After so many years of hard work, I finally waited for this day.

Sitting in the car to Junyi, looking at the colleagues around him who had been with him for several years, Gu Bei suddenly felt a little reluctant.

I used to feel miserable, and I always thought that this job could end as soon as possible.

But when the day really came to an end, he desperately hoped that this job could continue indefinitely.

recalled that the whole crew trekked through mountains and rivers together, with hard work, going back and forth to the north and south of the motherland, sleeping in the open air, but they knew their bitterness.

The tens of thousands of colorful pictures that have been filmed, the stunt shots that combine the earth and the ocean with great effort, the latex shapes of demons and gods that have been painstakingly shaped, the artistic images of kings and ministers in a thousand postures, the magnificent and colorful costumes that have been painstakingly designed, the colorful smoke, and the unpredictable lights......

There are also the splendid Lingxiao Treasure Palace, the real Yaochi Wonderland, the colorful East China Sea Dragon Palace, and the magnificent Da Lei Yin Temple......

All of this was done by the crew of "Journey to the West" under the constraints of insufficient funds and various conditions, and in retrospect, it is unimaginable.

But they did.

Think about the previous life, when everything began to improve, the changes in TV stunts were dazzling, and the money invested in TV dramas was hundreds of billions.

should have created higher artistic achievements, but because of different values, the only thing that guided the work enthusiasm of some film and television workers was fame and fortune.

Compared with the two, in the eyes of later generations, the crew of "Journey to the West" may be stupid, because, except for a few leading actors who have been rewarded for their hard work, others have worked hard, but they are still unknown.

Why bother!

But, does anyone regret it?

No!

As a reborn person, Gu Bei has experienced everything in the future, and he also has no regrets.

Now that it is about to be completed, his heart is only full of reluctance and nostalgia.

Because he knew very well that after today, it would be difficult for him to feel the true purity again.

"Okay, it's over!"

In the military art auditorium, with the shout of director Yang Jie, everyone fell silent.

Yang Jie hesitated, got up and walked to the center, holding the tweeter she had used for several years, and as soon as she spoke, her voice was already choked.

"Thank you!"

Yang Jie bowed deeply to the surroundings.

"Thank you all for your hard work in the past six years, there is no feast in the world, and the curtain will always fall one day, after today, many of us may find it difficult to meet again, but I will never forget each of you and the days and nights for which we have given everything......

Before the words were finished, Director Yang Jie, who has always been reluctant to show herself as a weak woman, has long been unable to cry.

The originally quiet set has long been crying.

Many years have passed afterwards, no matter how hard Gu Bei tries to recall, he still can't remember what Director Yang Jie said that day, what everyone did, and only the sobbing sound that always lingered in his ears.

Gu Bei did not regret it, he even felt very gratified, in this great era of hard work and dedication, it was an honor to be able to participate in it and complete a great work.

Six years of hard work are over, and his life in this era will enter a new chapter.

Some people died, but not completely......